Chapter 9 Chapter 5 Destiny-1

The next day, Iowine woke me from a nightmare.In the dream, a sweet voice has been luring me into the snow-like fog. I awoke to find myself on the ground, with the familiar discomfort of a gamma form virus infection.I was bruised all over my body, and I was so numb from the cold that I couldn't move. Eowine wore a mask against the stench of Dr. Malas Macha's corpse.His face was pale and sad, but his movements were still methodical.He dragged me into a wheelchair and wheeled me through empty corridors and curves to the hospital parking lot.It's an abandoned parking lot where there's an abandoned funeral car, apparently for the dead doctor.

My stiff limbs twitched as I approached the fog, its strangely thick, rancid smell reminding me of cantaloupe in a trash can.Then I saw it through a row of trees, gray as the surface of a rushing sea, as if an imperceptible wind stirred the dust. Its surface, dark as lead, had been "torn" to shreds, as if the sun's rays had scattered it.Its height had dropped by perhaps a dozen yards, making the hospital look like an island of slick residue all around. Its twisted surface is milky white, but opaque.It went round and round the tops of the row of trees, filled the valley like a flood, and submerged the whole city.A few scattered buildings tower over the business district, the tallest flashing in large letters: Pittman Trust Company, "A bad night, Mr. King." , "I'm sorry I couldn't help you out last night, but I did my best to save some of my roses." He transferred me from the wheelchair to the car, and I saw that there was already a pile of flowers covered in burlap on the car. Rose, "Although the guards have notified us, the speed of the fog is faster than anyone imagined. I spent the night on the roof of the hospital."

When I learned that the car keys were missing, I despaired, but luckily Andy was an aerospace engineer.He lifted the hood and started the car with a pair of pliers.Watching him drive out of the parking lot, I felt some hope again as the smoke enveloped us, he drove down one street for a while, then turned onto another and had to turn back.We were surrounded by thick fog on three sides, except on the higher south side where there was no fog.At last we found a residential street with sagging roof trees pointing us to a dangerous route through the fog. Eowine stopped the car on the road and watched for a moment the smoke that sometimes obscured the red dirt road.He stood there blankly, took out a cigarette from the back pocket of his trousers, and then bit off the end of the cigarette.

"My unhygienic habit," he grumbled, "was acquired on the moon, and you are not allowed to inhale in a spaceship." He sat there for half an hour, chewing and chewing, and then spit it out, a rag-like cloud of smoke.Finally he dropped the cigarette on the ground, closed the window and grabbed the steering wheel. "Hold on, Mr. King," he yelled at me, "this thing keeps sinking. I guess it's not because of us." The gray cigarette tongue licked the car window, and suddenly my eyes were white.Iowine sat bent and sat steadily, driving the "blind" car.

The car hit something and it wobbled.Along with the car's engine, I think I heard another sound, a faint wail, like some small animal's distressed sound. Maybe it was a hallucination caused by my excitement, maybe it was just the car skidding and the sound of the wheels rubbing against the road.Eowyn concentrated on controlling the steering wheel. We jolted along with the car as we hit the fence, and suddenly the melon-like stench made me vomit.The car still roared and rushed forward until we saw the blue sky. After about a mile down the street, Eowine pulled over.He rolled down the window, wiped his face and let out a mouthful of chewed tobacco.

"So, Mr. King," he said, looking at me casually, "what are you doing now?" "I think I know a place where the smoke and the ants don't come. A place where nobody catches the disease." Then I told him about Spock Barrow and the Moon King. "I've heard of it." He frowned, seeming a little suspicious, "You can hear all kinds of strange things these days." "But I know moon kids. Guy Hood is my nephew and I've seen what he calls moon grit. I believe the story is true and I'd love to see Guy again if we ever get to Fairfax if."

"My son got married there," He squinted at the gas gauge and turned to look at the smoke behind us. "Only two hundred miles to go. It's not as easy as it used to be, but why not?" He shrugged slowly, finally A decision was made, "I don't think we have anywhere else to go." On the road to the top of the mountain, a roadblock set up by the militia blocked our way, and three young men with deep eye sockets stood guard there.Nervously asking us questions.When Eowine told them that I was infected with Gamma Disease, they retreated immediately and watched us on our way.

For the next part of the way, we passed refugee camps. In the Rocky Mountains, we saw countless tents and vehicles, and there were homeless people everywhere on the road.A convoy of water trucks and food trucks was overtaken by a militia escort. At the top of a hill, a large group of people squirmed around an open-air dwelling.They were so close to the road that I could hear the high-pitched, crackling chants of a preacher preparing his followers for the end of the world, which to me was never Never been this close. We were told at the second roadblock that the space snakes had built their nests on the higher hill ahead, but Eowine didn't believe it. He thought the area was too low and wet for space snakes to come here.When he told the men about my illness, they immediately put us on the road.

We didn’t come across any snakes, nothing on these bare hills, but a half-naked girl on the side of the road waved us to stop.Iowin slowed down the car, and then accelerated suddenly. A group of men emerged from the grass. Someone punched a hole in the rear window, and the broken glass splashed on me. "Eowine stopped the car to check the damage and shared food with me, but I just wanted water. He ate with relish and took a good look at his dentures before driving again. hit the road. The road goes down these hills into a large valley, and I'm glad the valley is free of fog.We walked through miles of overgrown farms, then passed a strange clearing surrounded by piles of broken bricks, like ruined Babylon.

"Interstellar city," Iowine said, looking at the piles of red broken bricks, "The interstellar city is located here, and it is the industrial center of this area, but now it has been 'cleaned' by metal ants." The metal ants removed the iron bridge, and we had to make a detour to a wooden shelf built by a soldier.This road climbs upwards, as if it is going to extend to an empty hill.Suddenly a bullet hit the car window, and the broken glass splashed on me again. A flat tire too, but we kept driving at full throttle until we thought we had thrown the three ragged gunmen chasing us far enough in the farm tractor.

At night we parked in the bushes behind a burned-out grocery store, where Eowine changed the tires.He took a nap while I sat and watched. At dawn we set off again. We came across a grassy hill that day, and I figured it must be a pasture, although I didn't see anything bigger than a frightened rabbit.In the evening we came to a prairie stretching out into the shadows beyond the horizon. "There's Fairfax in the distance," said Eowyn, stopping the car to check the tires and see if there was anything he could do for me. "Before the hill is Old Greenway Park," he said, stuffing a wad of tobacco into his mouth thoughtfully. "Fairfax will bring us new problems. I'm not saying that King of the Moon isn't yours." Nephew, but how do you plan to prove your identity to him?" After all those hazards, it's just a small problem, although I haven't figured out a way yet. We're men, and Gay's women don't like to make friends, and they might shoot us without warning.Andy shrugged and started the car silently, but I haven't been able to think of a reasonable solution. We passed countless abandoned farms, weedy fields and burnt buildings, and then another pasture with no cattle or sheep in sight.Suddenly, Eowine stopped the car, climbed onto the roof and checked the road. "Look at the rut," he muttered. "Your brother's tank was here." I sat up and saw the two ruts the tank had made digging into the dirt and leading to the woods.Following the direction Iowin pointed, I spotted the tank parked under a tree, half hidden by a few broken branches.A shell screeched toward the roof of our car. "Your friend Spock Barrow," Eowine slid under the steering wheel and watched a group of horsemen emerge from behind a tree. "I don't want to see them." They were running to stop us, but our car was going faster.We drove along the winding road into a wooded ridge, and by this time there was no sign of the cavalry. Previously, this place was a nice place to relax and a buffer zone around Gai's kingdom. We drove down the road overgrown with weeds and vines, skirting burnt-out cars and fallen trees.With a sudden squeak, Iowine slammed on the brakes.A large ditch appeared in front of us, but the bridge over the ditch was gone. The ditch was only 30 feet long, but we couldn't find a way across it.For me, exhausted and in pain, the result seemed too cruel.But there is still a glimmer of hope in Eowine, that Gai's women will find us before Baror's men. He thought my name was the best pass, so he began to signal patiently.We used the carbon from the burnt bridge mixed with motor oil and wrote my name on the paper. Amidst the madness of Star Wars, this is a place of paradoxical peace, scented with life on Earth.The clear spring water gurgled from the crevices of the pebbles.The frost had not yet touched the blue morning scene still shining in the deep shade of green.A bird resents Iowine for putting a sign on a tree.Not far away, a woodpecker is busy working. We just wait.I was so bored, and with the illness, I was a little drowsy.Suddenly I felt a silence, followed by the sound of footsteps on the road behind us.But after a while the sound stopped again, leaving only the gurgling of the stream.Finally I heard my brother's voice. "Now put on your cool!" He emerged from the morning light, rifle in hand.Although he was as fat as ever, he moved with astonishing care and agility.His disfigured coat, stiff and oily, covered his dark Levantine head. "Oh, Kim, I thought you were dead. You don't look very well," he said slowly, with neither pleasure nor surprise, and he cast a wary glance at Io before walking over to the bullet-ridden "What are you doing here?" "We are refugees," I nodded to Eowyn, "from Pittman's fog. We're looking for Gai." "You'll be disappointed if you find him," he said with a schadenfreude smile on his face, "I don't think you'll be able to see him. His women don't like us humans. But if you could bring us a message If so, I will convince Barrow to let you try." "It's a message from Captain Spock Barrow." Tom took out a crumpled cigarette butt from his pocket, sprinkled the last pinch of blue smoke in his dirty palm, and inhaled it through his nostrils , and then sneezed on me. "Bring it to the women. I guess Guy's sleeping right now." A ghostly grin played across his schadenfreude face.He closed his eyes.Two or three times we watched him inhale the smoke into his nostrils, filled with a greedy desire to keep the precious object. "Tell them that Barrow wants the King of the Moon," he gasped, "and tell them we'll have him before he wakes up. We promised to be very gentle with them if they agreed, and Barrow said he'd bring Billeveland back to take over.But if they don't say yes—" He was leaning against the broken car window, and I caught another pungent smell of tobacco from his lecherous mouth. "We won't give up our right to 'look after' Guy if they don't cooperate with us," his voice suddenly filled with suffocating violence, "and we'll kill all his little bastards and every pregnant woman." Fucking his kid's sluts. Tell them!" I backed away from his spittle. "If they don't want to, I think there's another way here," he giggled, moving closer to the broken window. "It's my idea." He glanced slyly at the vines behind him, lowered his voice and said, "Personally, you know I don't want to hurt Guy, he's my stupid son." He winked at me slyly, " I certainly don't want his women either, there's no one to please them now, all I want is the moon stone and the lump of sand he made. Billy Levelland give it to me and I promise Barrow will never I won't bother her anymore. Personally, I would love to do that. " I wiped the sweat off my face and asked what the hell the tetrahedron was doing to him. "You're still stupid!" His tone and sarcastic shrug reminded me of my father, "Kim, that mesmerizing crystal is the only thing worth wanting in this crazy world. It has magical powers, see See what Guy gets out of it. You'll know it's safe from the smoke, space snakes, and space contagion. Isn't the moon gem any good?" He slapped his greasy legs with his palms and giggled. "Kim, this is my suggestion," he lowered his face again and raised his rifle for emphasis. "We will help you cross this ditch. If possible, give these women a choice." Chance. Tell them to give up either their king or the gem. They can think about the sun setting. If they don't, tell them we'll come at night and they won't stand in the way, can you do that?" I looked at Andy, who gave a resigned shrug of agreement.Tom got us back in the car and took us down a stone road and out onto the road in front of the creek. "I don't care about your brother," Eowyn whispered. "In fact, I don't care about him." He drove slowly and kept honking the horn.We pulled into an old parking lot, but this time no one came out from behind the trees.He chewed another puff of tobacco, and we rocked out onto the road.A pile of rocks blocked us before we made our way back to the road.Not far from the stone, a thick chain was tied between two trees, blocking the already narrow road. Eowine honked the horn again, and seeing no one answered, he jumped over the chain and disappeared among the vines.He walked for a long time.Lying anxiously, I heard the sound of the wind blowing against the trees and the distant cooing of pigeons, and suddenly a sound woke me up.When I braced myself to stand up, I saw Eowine coming, followed by two female guards, each of them wore a wide green elastic belt, and their expressions were full of strange surprises. A short, red-haired girl was holding a very old, rusty double-barreled gun, and a tall, dark-skinned, long-haired girl was holding a shiny long handle with a With pure youthful excitement.They waved their weapons with glee, which frightened me a little. "Here they are, Mr. King," said Eowyn, turning to look at them, their astonishing beauty bringing a grudging respect to his wrinkled brown face, "but they don't quite believe you. identity." "Sir," the red-haired girl bent over and looked at me suspiciously through the shattered car window, "Honestly, are you really Mr. Hodian?" "Uncle Guy, Jun?" The black girl spoke with a slight Spanish accent, and she pronounced "blonde" as "jun", "From Heaven?" I nodded, and the red-haired girl laughed happily. "It seems so unbelievable," she giggled, "Guy mentioned you to me one night. About how you taught him to talk, how you helped him when he was very young, how you Protected him from others. He was worried that you were dead. You must make him happy to come here!" "Maybe, maybe not," the black girl shook her head and threw the long hair on her face back, "If you're Gai's uncle, I think you'd better prove it and tell us something about Gai." "Did you know him when he was little?" the red-haired girl asked eagerly with wide blue eyes. "I bet he must be as cute as a bear." "Not really," I said, "only Kelly and Nick look cute." She looked disappointed, and the black girl frowned. "Who, who are you talking about?" I realize now that they knew very little about Guy's past.Although he told them a little about his father and me, his distaste for Nick and Kelly led him to deny that he had ever been one of the three famous moon lords, and the female guard apparently believed him. "Maybe you're lying," the black girl said to me as she bent her fork into the turf.She was so close to me, I could smell her hair, "Gai's real father wanted to rob him, maybe he sent you here." I was weak and sweating, scared and tired. I looked at Andy.He was chewing tobacco slowly, and his broad face made me more nervous. "We're refugees," I said, "we're running from space invaders and from our own people. We need Guy's help, and I think he'll let us live here if you bring us to him. " "I trust you will be welcome." "Sir, you'd better not play tricks," the black girl interrupted the red-haired girl, "perhaps you didn't tell us everything," Her dark eyes squinted at me suspiciously, "Who told you how to cross the stream?" "We did meet Guy's father," I nodded uneasily. "He asked us to convey Mr. Barrow's message to Guy's women." I felt a little hard to breathe. "Would you like us to deliver this message?" Apparently the black girl was the boss, she looked thoughtfully at the red-haired girl, and finally said loudly to Eowine and me, "We're giving you a choice," she finally decided, "We're letting you go Go back and tell Barrow and Gay's bandit father that the mothers don't want their message; or we'll take you to the mothers." "Then take us!" I said. "Mothers have covered children," she shook her head, giving Iowin and I a look, "and they share the gem's power enough to see through deceit. Maybe they'll say you're all right, but if they find out If you are not Gai's friend, you will be killed." I turned to look at Eowine, who was walking past the girl, looking in the direction of my brother and Baron. "There's no other choice," he grumbled. "If it's a choice between your mothers and the mist, we'll have to choose the mothers." The redhead girl clapped her hands. "I think you're all right," she said cheerfully, "I just know the mothers will keep you waiting. You'll have to wait, because he's sleeping now, and he's going to sleep for two or three days, and the place is secret, Only mothers know." "Hush!" the black girl motioned her to shut up, "Lifan, I think you talk too much," she said pointing at us with her fork, "Maybe they work for Guy's bandit father, maybe they come to spy on Guy's sleep Local. We'll see what the mothers say." "We won't hurt Guy," I insisted. "He's fond of me. I'm sure he'll be happy to help us now. He's a strange creature, but I'm sure his intentions are always good." "He's great!" Li Fan reveled in pure excitement, "So great!" she said eagerly approaching our car, "If you know what he was like, please tell us! " I looked at the black girl and hesitated how much to say. "Say what you want," she said with a nonchalant air, pulling a lock of her hair back. "Mothers will decide." "Thank you, Eve," Li Fan looked at me excitedly, "I really want to know about Gai's childhood. " "He wasn't cute as a kid," I began uncertainly, "though I tried to love him, it wasn't easy. He always looked more like an animal. " "He's bigger than anyone right now," her big eyes were full of enthusiasm, "in every way!" "Perhaps he has changed," I began to bewildered by their absolute admiration, "I don't quite understand how much you love him." "My father used to talk about heaven in his prayers," said Eve, "but he died in someone else's field. And Guy," she held her breath, and I saw passion in her shining black eyes, "Guy Makes this a little paradise." "Look at me," Lifan ran her fingers through her fiery red hair, "before Guy came, I was a pathetic fellow." She said it with a charming look. "Bad skin, ugly freckles, drooping eyebrows, dry hair and crooked teeth. And allergies that doctors don't want to deal with. I'm afraid of men, I've only dated a boy once. An acne-prone The fruit shop clerk wanted me to eat with him. When he came to pick me up, I had something wrong with my stomach. I threw up, right in front of him.” She shook her head, recovering from the frustrating memory , suddenly became energetic again, "Guy has done many things for me." "Maybe you like to look at me," said Eve, twisting her brown body as if to challenge Lifan. "Guy made heaven for all of us. Maybe you want to know what he did. You know Spock Barrow?" She waited until I nodded and continued: "Before Guy came, Barrow found me in a bar and made me what he called a poppy cola sales girl. I was supposed to sell poppy cola, but he But always wanted to have sex with me, in the conference room, at the bar, even on the couch in that private office. Most of the time he was dead drunk and he got me pregnant. When his wife found out, he forced I go, with a gun and $50. I got another job, but he wouldn't even look at me when he met me again," She spat on the ground, "The cover is much better." Her intelligent eyes looked at me cautiously. "Perhaps now you understand why we guard the border here," she said, touching the chain between the roads. "Guy gave me a little paradise here, but only for women. Men want to kill Guy and Grab his gems." "Men don't like Guy," Lifan said, nodding, seemingly regretting. "Take our pastor as an example. I used to worship him, but that was before Guy came. Such a noble, handsome man God-sent man, even he joined Spock Barrow, I just can't figure out why?" As if to dispel confusion, she tossed her fiery red hair back. "He rode across the creek on an old gray mule and found his wife, who was milking her. He spoke ill of Guy to her until she believed Guy was the Devil incarnate. He told her to hide him in the house and helped him find the place where Guy slept with the gem." "If you want to play such a trick," Eve fiercely danced the steel fork, "you will die!" "The priest's wife came to her senses," Lifan continued, "but he tied her up and ran into Guy's hiding place. Can you imagine? The priest stabbed Guy, took the jewel and died want to run." There was an urgency in her voice. "Guy was as hard to hurt as he was to wake up. But this pastor made a big mistake and put a knife on Guy, and that disturbed Guy, so he got up and called the mothers, and they sent We sent a team of female soldiers to catch the priest." "It was a dark midnight, but we could see the light of the gem. The priest had it in a bag and it still illuminated him, even his mule. We probably caught him around there." She pointed to the rocks on the road, "We don't want to hurt him, but we have to defend Gai's kingdom." She slapped a fly that landed on her with the palm of her hand. "We hung the priest under an oak tree. The next day the mothers tied his body to the back of his old mule and let it go back to warn the men who wanted to come in. I don't know why they just don't know .” With a little doubt, she frowned and looked at the road behind us. "Just last month, Barrow and his men took Billeveland (the first mother). They tortured her and tried to get her to tell me where Gai slept and kept the gems, but she took Arrived a dagger, fought with Barrow and fled." "Maybe you now know why I don't like men," Eve pointed at Eowyn with her long fork, as if to stab him, "maybe you've changed your minds now, maybe you should go back to Spock Bark Lo there." Eowine turned and carefully exhaled the tobacco from his mouth. "We'll stay here," he said, giving me a dark look. "I told you Mr. Hodian was sick. He's been battling gamma disease for a long time. You should see he's incapable of harming The two girls looked me over, Eve's eyes narrowed in doubt, and Lifan's eyes widened in sympathy. "You look pale and feeble indeed," she said, "but you'll get better soon if the mothers will let you stay. Fairfax has been a safe place since Guy came, and a Pleasant place, for women anyway. Our female doctors haven't been able to figure out how the gem works, and now we lock it in—" "Be careful, Li Fan!" "He's not a spy!" Lifan shouted angrily to Eve, and her color became darker. "But we're supposed to protect Gai's kingdom," she smiled reassuringly at me. "We gotta protect the gem, because it's really amazing. Look what it did to my grandma!" Li Po turned around and turned her beautiful back to the restless Eve. "She was 92 years old the first day she saw Guy, and she lay dying in the house, and Guy didn't even touch her, or let her see the gem, and she was miraculously healed. She was fragile. Her bones hardened, her cancer disappeared, her weakened heart became strong again, and she can now walk out of the house and work on the farm." Lifan turned around and giggled at Eve. "Guy likes music, weird music you've never heard before. He had some of us play it for him. Eve used to be the best, but now my grandma is his favorite fiddler." up. And I think grandma is pregnant again. " "Who isn't pregnant?" said Eve, and I saw a worship similar to Lifan manifest in her for a moment, "I told you Guy made a little paradise here. The mothers said that even the weather here had changed since he learned to use the gems, "Maybe they were right, the rain came when it should, and the hail and frost didn't come when it shouldn't. I sat there wondering what connection had been made between the atmosphere and that mysterious interstellar object.Eowine asked Eve cautiously, "Will you bring us to the mothers now?" "It's your own choice," She shrugged, she is a fierce woman, "Maybe you will regret it." To our amazement, the two girls pushed the two boulders away from the road with little effort.Eve unhooked the chain, and I settled back comfortably on my pillow, and the car wobbled forward again. Eve searched the car for a weapon, then dodged and slid into the back seat, vigilantly pressing a fork against our backs.Li Fan stood on the front fender of the car, her beautiful hair fluttering in the wind.She casually used the gun to point us the way. Soon we were on the road.As Iowine drove toward Fairfax, I felt we entered a remarkable world full of joy and life.Early frost had browned the barren landscape we passed, and all that lay before us was a lush green scene. Lifan directed us to stop in front of an old gnarled tree with scattered branches and leaves, green leaves and white flowers hiding red apples.She plucked big apples from the tree and threw them into the car, and a bird kept trembling and singing in the tree.Eve handed me one and I took a bite.Although I don't have much appetite, its sweet juice makes my mouth water. Eowine gracefully weighed the apple in his hand, and slowly leaned over to spit the waste from his mouth to the ground.He was munching on an apple while driving, expressionless. I sat up again, sharing Li Fan's love of life, feeling much refreshed.She joyfully waved her gun, pointing at a large quail running along the road, like it was always spring here.She smiled at a calf sucking at its mother's milk, a brown foal prancing across a green field, a black stallion lying on top of a mare to mate. Although Barrow and his men burned down most of the buildings near the river, we soon entered an undamaged area. Cows graze beside a white-painted feed ditch, half-naked women sing while plowing fertile fields, a young girl and a dog herd a herd of white sheep, sprayed with red Zhang Harvesters are harvesting ripe wheat in the field.We overtook two women in a wagon full of corn. Compared with the desolation and chaos we have experienced before, Fairfax itself means peace.Clean streets, naked children running around on the school playground, when we passed a bakery, the smell of freshly baked bread made my mouth water again. Near Courthouse Square we came across a small group of women on horseback.They carried different weapons, a police pistol, a rifle, an axe, and a slingshot.At the head was a tall, dark, pretty girl with long yellow hair and a bright face.She was carrying a short gun and was holding a child in her arms. Li Fan asked us to stop, and Eve ran up to her and said something to her.A few minutes later, the yellow-haired girl dismounted and walked towards our car with Eve.I saw a long welt on the girl's back that hadn't fully healed, and ugly bruises on her waist and ankles. "This is the first mother," Eve said respectfully, "Mother Billy Levelland, she will decide your fate." "So this is Guy's favorite uncle?" Her voice was a little childish.She paused to hear what Li Fan was muttering, and suddenly her voice became anxious, "Eve said you were sick." She looked carefully inside the car, and the doubts on her face disappeared, "You look really Very bad. I think you need the power of the gem. If Guy misses you," she finally nodded and smiled slowly, "Eve will find you a place to stay until Guy wakes up." "We have messages," Eowine reminded me uneasily. "Behind the creek we had a conversation with my brother," I said, "a man who calls himself Todd Hunter Hawk." She looked at me angrily. "Go on," she said suddenly, "what message?" "Spock wants to build it," I said, "and my brother wants moon sand, and they want you to hand over one of them before sunset. If you refuse, they'll come in with a tank. They're threatening to kill Kill all the children." “让他们来吧，”她用带着伤痕的手臂拖紧了那可爱的金色婴儿，它就像小凯莉一样机灵地望着我，她的笑容变成了一种藐视的神情，“他们曾经来过。如果他们再来的话，那会再给他们一次教训。” 冷静下来后，她停下来拍了拍她那大眼睛的孩子。伊欧维因听着，皱着眉头。虽然我耳朵发烧，除了耳鸣声外什么也没听到，他却说他能听到坦克的轰鸣声。坦克正通过山脊朝我们开来。我想没有什么可以阻止它。 丽蕃和夏娃护送我们到了费尔发克司中心，它有十二层，在上面可以望到法院广场。电灯不时闪烁着，可能是因为那些女人们在使用备用发电机时出了些小问题，但我们却无权抱怨。丽蕃和夏娃监护着我们。我们吃饱了饭后便被送到顶层的一间套房里住下，等盖醒来。 尽管有可能将会受到攻击，我还是感觉轻松，甚至有一丝奇怪的快意。虽然还没看见四面体，但我已经不感到疼痛了，头脑很清醒，又开始想吃东西了，我甚至开始想念盖的女孩们和她们的粉红色衣服了。那天晚上我睡得很好。 黎明之前，一声震动惊醒了我。窗户摇晃了起来。从某处传来了妇女的尖叫声。毫无疑问巴罗的坦克冲进来了，它正在向费尔发克司开火，我大声叫着伊欧维因。 “我在外面，金先生，”他那冷静的声音从房顶传来，“我想女人们受到攻击了。” 一阵喘气声打断了他的话。 两年来，我的感觉从没有这么好过，我离开了床来到了他那儿。 穿过广场，在一个街角处，黄色的火焰正从一间破烂的建筑往外冒，女人们在街角四周跑动着，拖出一根消防水龙头，但突然都倒下了。 在她们旁边，火焰又从一颗燃烧弹中喷出，顿时地动山摇，弹片纷飞。我趴在护墙后，注视着伊欧维因，他没有看着街上，而是抬头望着月光照耀下的天空。 “那是什么？”我第一次听到他的声音如此颤抖，“那是个什么东西？” 当我看到他所指的东西时，不禁倒吸一口气，一个比月亮还亮的球体从空中落下，在法院上空旋转后盘旋于燃烧着的建筑上空。伊欧维因盯着它看了很长一段时间，最后慢慢地转向我。 “我是个普通的人，金先生，”他嘶哑地小声说道，“我总是在做着自己想做的事，不管是在这里还是月球上。我想我已度过了几年安稳的日子了，我现在只想要有时间种我的玫瑰，我原以为在这儿找对了地方。” 说着开始抽泣起来。 “我不喜欢那些飞舞的太空蛇，金先生。还有金属蚂蚁，杀人雾，以及所有的太空疾病和现在天上的那个东西。最初我以为我脑子出了毛病，但那不是我的错，整个世界都出问题了，金先生。” 他抱紧我，不住地抖动着。 街道上边没有了女人。那个闪亮的球又落了下来，好像是想观察一下那些已烧焦了的水管子一样。水管就像蛇一样横在路上，胡乱的喷着水。圆球盘旋了一阵，像是勘察那火焰一样，然后慢慢地向上飘去。 大概升到我们这个高度，它有些迟疑地在法院上空转动着，就像在打猎。它离我如此之近，以至于能看清它表面的银色图案——呈蜂房状的小六边形。 伊欧维因喘着粗气并挥舞着拳头，但它并没有理会我们。它飞过时，我听到了一声微弱的尖啸声，就像是金属蚂蚁的哀号一样，并且我还闻到一股浓浓的硫磺味儿。我想，蚂蚁开始侵略盖的王国了。 在离我们不远处，它停了下来，静静地悬空。另一颗炸弹呼啸着落在法院的草皮上，炸开了一个新的弹坑。 再没有炮弹了，我又听到了坦克的声音。它的引擎轰鸣着，连响了十几声，小一些的武器也在远处噼啪地响着。但这些声音很快便消失了，再没有燃烧弹落入费尔发克司。 女人们又回到了街上，检查着那弯曲的胶管，渐渐控制住了火势。我们不安地在空中寻找着，只看到正在下落的苍白的月亮和即将到来的粉红色的黎明，我的迷惑和恐惧逐渐地退却成一种神秘的平静之感。我有些困了，便回到了床上，中午伊欧维因叫醒了我，并给我带来了消息和食物，一群金属蚁攻击了巴罗的坦克并驱散了他的人。盖仍在睡觉，他的王国现在安全了。伊欧维因也恢复了，他不紧不慢地讲话，显得很镇静。我静静地听着，吃完了面包便又睡了起来。 次日我比伊欧维因起得早，并且感觉特别好。我们跟着比利夫兰去吃早饭，旁边还跟着我们的两个戴绿佩带的警卫。吃完后，伊欧维因开着车把我们带到离城几里以外去看看蚂蚁对坦克的攻击。 坦克撞开了篱笆冲进了紫花苜蓿田，它的履带撕开了土地，在一烂泥沟里布满了逃跑的脚印，除此以外什么都没有了，我们没发现金属蚂蚁，甚至连一点儿硫磺味都没有。 伊欧维因慢慢地开着车往回走，一路上寻找着能够种植玫瑰的地方。巴罗的人已经逃散了，盖很快就会醒来见我们，在四面体的庇护下我们都很有安全感。 星际大战似乎已经很遥远了。比利夫兰坐在我旁边，容光焕发地摆弄着她的小女儿，这个小孩与凯莉如此相像，让我感到极为惊讶。我想月球砂粒是不是让盖成为了一个超人类种族的父亲，以继承太阳系的文化？我的猜想突然被打断了。正当我们把车停在旅馆边时，孩子突然受到了惊吓，尖叫起来，比利夫兰喘着粗气伸手去抓匕首。伊欧维因惊恐地大叫着，我们前面不知是什么东西闪着亮光。 我听到一声哀号，闻到一股硫磺味儿，看到一个闪亮的球体掠过我们。它在街对面停了下来，升到用玻璃和花岗石建成的正方形的费尔发克司国家银行上空，然后缓缓落到服务窗口。 一条长长的以多个六边形相连的板弯曲下来，形成了一条活动梯，两个人轻轻地从上面走下来。他们是一男一女，赤裸着身子，那个男的手臂中夹着一张折起的毯子。 看上去他们跟普通人没有什么两样，但当太阳光照到他们时，他们身上闪耀着金光。 那是尼克和凯莉！ 我呆呆地站着，几乎不能呼吸，我从未想到过会再次看到他们，他们的到来连同乘坐的工具都让我感到难以置信。我向他们跑去，却被围栏挡了一下，摔在街中间的我感到有点眩晕，感觉身体不像以前那么好了。 “金叔叔！” 凯莉的声音充满惊喜，冲过来抱着我并用力地握着我的手。 我张着嘴凝视着他们，因为他们变了，两人都长高了。尼克不再是瘦弱的，大眼睛的喧闹的小孩了，他如此镇定和充满信心，就像一个金色的神。 我用一种喜悦的神情望着凯莉，以前她还是个女人，而现在则成为了一个女神。她让我感到的不只是她那恰到好处的完美的身材，凯莉爱我，她眼里闪烁的喜悦使我热泪盈眶。 “怎么了，金叔叔？” 她身上那紫丁花香味包围了我，那爱人般的声音对我来说就像一种爱抚，“你病了吗？” “现在没事了，”我告诉她，“你们也到这儿来了。” 当我回过头找伊欧维因和比利夫兰时，我发现他们已不在了。他们逃进了旅馆，我回过来时，发现一件令我十分吃惊的事。 在尼克和凯莉身后，那个斜梯散成了无数的蚂蚁，其中一队在悬在空中。凯莉伸出一只手，一只蚂蚁落在了上面。