Chapter 9 Chapter Four

As Suma parked the car in her father's yard, Vicki, the maid, opened the door and helped little Danny, 3, out.John was already waiting at the door, and Danny ran over like a duckling, calling "Grandpa, Grandpa." Suma has to go back to Tinikum Island almost every month. Her father's life after retirement is very lonely, so she is willing to spend more time with him.Little Danny is very close to his grandfather, and it can be seen that every time his daughter and grandson come home, it is a great joy for John Sr.John's hair was completely white, and the eagle eyes under the bushy eyebrows had lost their former sharpness, but the angular square chin still showed the style of the past.Sometimes Suma thought unemotionally that maybe, even now, the Hella incident was still affecting the lives of everyone around her.Dad just retired at the age of 65, and it cannot be said that this has nothing to do with the failure of Hela operation; Paul failed to return to his major, but Teacher Stephen of the Primate Institute sincerely invited him to go back, but Paul knew that he had been dismissed by his peers. Mentally expelled, he politely declined the teacher's kindness.Now he works in PPG's technical department, studying the long-term effects of drugs on the human body.He did a good job, but he was obviously not the same as he was in the past; as for herself, she accepted the company shares from her father but never participated in the board of directors.She got her job and is now a successful Internet marketer.All these changes are natural, but Suma knows that there is always Hela's shadow hidden in the deep causal relationship.Old John picked up his grandson, and Danny kissed him on the face, yelling to go outside to play on the trampoline.When they came to the courtyard, John and Suma stood guard on both sides of the trampoline. The little guy jumped up happily, and his technique was quite proficient. While jumping, he shouted: "Mom, you come up too! Grandpa, you come up too!"

"You can jump by yourself, grandpa can't jump anymore." Danny danced so well that he didn't need serious guarding.Suma walked to the opposite side of the trampoline, stood next to her father, and said hesitantly: "Dad, I saw Hela..." She smiled wryly, "Why do I keep slipping up, I mean, I saw a girl with Hela... A black girl who looks exactly like that." John turned his head immediately: "Where did you meet?" "Paul saw it on 123rd Street in New York, when she..." Suma said reluctantly, "Soliciting customers on the street. She took drugs." John remained silent for a long time. "Son, I have already retired, and my state of mind has changed very strangely after retirement. Although until now, I don't think the cancer patient plan at that time was wrong; but I also wonder why I was so impulsive at the time and why I didn't think about it The dark side it may bring." He smiled dryly, "Although I don't want to admit it, the temptation of $800 billion must have interfered with my judgment. But now I have changed, not to say that I have become an opponent, but at least I have lost Going forward. Boy," he said emphatically, "I didn't do it, and this second cancer guy—if it was a cancer guy—didn't do it to PPG."

Suma smiled: "Where did you say you went? I didn't suspect that at all. Paul once brought the girl to the hotel and talked with her very well. He wanted to help her detoxify and help her track down her background. She was very I gratefully agreed. Unfortunately, when I arrived overnight, the girl ran away! We searched for a long time in New York, but there was no trace of her." John saw his daughter's bitterness and didn't ask any more questions.Danny suddenly screamed and fell face down. Suma hurriedly jumped on the trampoline, but before she got close, Danny had already jumped up with a giggle.

After lunch, Danny fell asleep, and Suma told Dad the details of the incident. "Did Hela do it?" John asked, and he already knew that Hela was not dead. "Did Hela clone herself?" "It's possible, but I can't believe it. I'd like to believe that she can survive until now, but how could she do it with her bare hands?" The phone rang, and Paul's black face appeared on the screen: "Suma, I guess You are at your father's house, and Howson is with me, and he has an important message." Howson appeared on the screen: "Suma, I saw a girl who looks exactly like Hela, about fourteen or five years old, no, no, it's not the Jessica you've seen, it's another one. We I'll come over to you right away and talk about it."

Both he and Paul seemed worried, and Suma guessed that they must have some bad news. The two arrived 20 minutes later. Howson jumped out of the car and praised sincerely: "Suma, you are still as beautiful as you were then. Hello, Mr. Robertson. Hello, little Danny." He looked at Dan in the distance. yelled. Danny stood sleepily at the door of the bedroom. When he saw Paul, he hurried over. Paul hugged him, and several people came to the courtyard.John asked them to sit down on the cool chairs by the fountain, called Vicky to serve black coffee, and said, "You guys talk, I'll go back to the house." Paul quickly stopped him: "You don't have to leave, we hope you will too. Join the conversation." John sat down again, and Howson didn't delay, and started the topic: "I met a girl named Esa by chance at the Baltimore Cancer Hospital, and I was shocked! She looks so much like Hella." Sue Ma's face turned pale: "Tumor hospital?"

Howson avoided her gaze: "Yes, it was the cancer hospital. She passed away a few days later. Her body was covered with nameless cancerous growths, just like the spots on a sika deer." The conversation became heavy, and the four of them remained silent. Their worries were the same—worried that Hela would suffer the same fate.Howson cleared his throat and said: "There is also a piece of good news. Her parents readily stated the origin of the girl: she was smuggled from abroad, and the middleman was a black man named Ed One-Eyed in Harlem, New York. There is no such thing. The person’s detailed address, but they said it should be easy to find out.” Suma raised her head: “Then shall we go tomorrow?”

"Okay, the three of us are going, hoping to track down some news about Hela from this person. Mr. Robertson, we will inform you in time if there is any news." The search for One-Eyed Ed went well, and the trio sat with Ed in an Italian restaurant at noon the next day, eating veal and pasta and drinking whiskey.Ed quickly poured out all the circumstances he knew without stopping at all, and he had already poured it out for Gaddas once: a foreign woman in her 50s, a Spanish accent, a mixed race, a $500 subsidy... The information was not of much use to the three of them, and finally Ed said: "That's all, nothing more. Two months ago, a reporter named Gardas Billy led a girl named Jessica Come to me and ask the same question."

"Jessica?" Suma asked in surprise. She originally wanted to mention Jessica after asking about Aisa's situation. "You know Jessica?" "That's right. I was the one who had her drug addiction flare up during the conversation," he said, lowering his voice and grinning, "to save her." "Where does she live?" "It must be in New York, it shouldn't be far from here, but I don't know where she is. Besides, she won't be at home now. I heard from Mr. Billy that he will send her to Yunnan, China for drug rehabilitation, because there The cost is relatively low. By the way, he said that he had visited a drug rehabilitation center in China and wrote a report."

Paul said happily: "It must be the report I saw. Thank you, Ed." He left his business card and $50, "If you remember anything, please let me know as soon as possible." "Happy to help. That's what Gardas said." Ed grinned. The three of them went to a nearby Internet cafe. Through the Internet, they quickly found the report of the Washington Post two months ago. The author was Gardas Billy, and the drug rehabilitation center he reported was Jinghong, Yunnan, China.Next, it took a lot of trouble to find the phone number of the drug rehabilitation center, but the phone hung up after an hour.On the screen was a 40-year-old Chinese female doctor, who answered the questions here in fluent American English: "Yes, two months ago, we admitted Jessica Moorcock from the United States. She has not been taking drugs for a long time, and her drug addiction is not too deep, and she has worked very hard, and now she is basically out of addiction, of course, she cannot say that she has completely quit, and at least two months of consolidation treatment will be needed."

"Is she in good health? For example... There is no lump on her body." "What lump?" The female doctor asked puzzledly, "You mean cancer? No. We had a comprehensive physical examination for her when she was admitted to the hospital." Suma breathed a sigh of relief: "Can she answer the phone?" "Excuse me..." Paul didn't want to waste more words—even if he spent more words, he couldn't explain the relationship between several people, because neither English nor Chinese had yet created a vocabulary suitable for the kinship relationship of cloned people.He said simply: "We are Jessica's long-lost biological parents, please call her." The female doctor showed suspicion: Yes, this black man is indeed similar to Jessica, but the white woman with red lips and white teeth will Jessica's biological mother?She politely brushed off those doubts and said, "Okay."

Paul and Howson pushed Suma up to the camera, and they could feel Suma's anxiety.The screen went blank for a full 10 minutes. Maybe the patient was far away, or maybe the patient needed some kind of procedure to get out of the isolation area.After a long wait, the face of Hella (!) suddenly appeared on the screen. The girl stared at this side with wide-eyed eyes, and cried out: "Mom!" This abrupt address broke Suma's heart, and she shed tears.Jessica was also choked up and speechless after shouting this, and the two looked at each other with tears in their eyes half a world away.Jessica looks good, her eyes are clear and innocent, she is no longer the drug-addicted girl who solicited customers on the street.It took a long time for Suma to come out from the sorrow and joy, and said with a smile: "Jessica, I may not be your biological mother, and Paul is not your biological father. I don't know how to explain it to you..." "I know, but I still want to call you mom. Can I?" "Of course, I'd love to have you as a daughter. I heard that Mr. Gardas is tracking down your background. Is there any news?" "He called a month ago, saying that he was interviewing the Virgin Orphanage in Brazil, and that the investigation had made great progress. But he didn't give details, and he never called again." "Holy Virgin Orphanage?" "Yes, near the city of Sao Paulo. I heard that there are many orphans sent to various countries, including people of the same background as me." Paul took the microphone: "Son, rest assured to rehabilitate there, and Suma and I will do the same Help you track it down. If there is a result and you can be discharged from the hospital, we will take you to Brazil to see... that Hela." Jessica's tears flowed again: "Thank you dad, thank you mom, I will definitely quit drug addiction completely." It was already evening, the three of them drove into the car, found a hotel nearby, and opened three single rooms.After dinner they gathered in Suma's room to discuss future arrangements. "Don't refuse me," Howson said, "I'm going to Brazil too. I don't have a detective agency anymore, my wife is dead, and I have time to do what I want to do. Besides, my detective experience is definitely Useful for investigation." Paul looked at Suma: "Okay, three people go together." Howson asked thoughtfully: "Where did the young man named Gaddas dig out the source of the baby smuggling? Does he have any high-level connections? Gaddas Billy, I remember, the one who participated in endangering Hela Senator Brad Billy had a son who was at the University of Hawaii." He shook his head. "Maybe I remember wrong. Oh, wait a minute." He pulled out his electronic memo pad, found a few addresses, and made a few quick phone calls. "My instinct is right," he said with a wry smile after the phone call. "It's not a coincidence. Senator Brad's son is Gaddas, who works as a reporter for the Washington Post and is currently on an interview mission in Brazil. I heard that He hasn't been in touch with the newspaper for a long time, and his father doesn't seem to be worried about his son who has lost news. Also, you remember my comrade in the army, the one who took care of troubles for politicians and killed the sea. La’s executioner?” Both Paul and Suma nodded, “He’s not in China, but he’s also in Brazil! My intuition is restless again, and it tells me that something is happening in Brazil.” Suma’s face turned pale again : "You mean, Brad got the news about Hela long ago?" "It's not surprising. He is in a high position and must be better informed than us." "Then Gardas... probably has some sort of secret mission?" "It's entirely possible." The hearts of the three of them are very heavy.They seem to have gone back to 8 years ago. Three FBI monitoring cars wandered around outside the villa, the killer Dutak sneaked into the room, and Hela kissed her parents goodbye on the way to escape... It seems that a new round of hunting has begun again. May the merciful God take care of our Hela again!Paul said decisively: "So, we need to go even more. Tomorrow we will go home and make some preparations, and we will leave the day after tomorrow. I will book a ticket." The three discussed some details, and Howson stood up and said, "It's not early. I'm going back to rest." He looked at Paul and Suma strangely, and Paul got up to leave at the same time, and went back to his room. Suma took a hot shower, lay down on the bed, and found that she couldn't sleep at all.Hela, the orphanage in St. Paul... She suddenly remembered that 8 years ago, when she first learned that Hela was safe and sound, she had dreamed that Hela had become a headwoman with full breasts in the jungle of the Amazon. Maya the shepherd dog led her there.And now, there are indications that she may indeed be living in Brazil.Maybe there really is a telepathy between mother and daughter?Hella, my Hella.Where are you now?Are you using these cloned girls to get your message across to me?She painfully recalled the end of that dream: she was not able to be with Hela, to hold her in her arms, to touch the familiar body.At last Hela and her tribe disappeared into the dense forest.If the first half of the dreamscape becomes real, what about the second half? The dream scene was flowing in front of my eyes, and it became more and more real and visible.She still remembered that after waking up from that dream, she wanted to wake up Paul beside her, only to realize that Paul could no longer sleep in the same bed with her—he was with his wife Victoria.For three years in the Appalachians, they had lived a sexless "married" life, and now she wondered how they had managed it. There was a wave of strong desire in her body, maybe a telepathy, when the phone rang, and before she picked up the receiver, she knew it was Paul.It can be heard that Paul tried to restrain his passion when he spoke: "Suma, I can't sleep, I want to go to your place, is that okay?" She said with relief: "Come on, I've been waiting for you." A few seconds later, Paul turned the lock gently and walked in.Suma went to meet them, opened their pajamas, and pressed their naked and hot bodies together. They temporarily put aside their worries and spent a lingering night.They woke up almost at the same time the next morning, and Paul kissed her and buried his head in her chest.Suma asked softly, "This is our first and last time, isn't it?" Paul looked up from her twin peaks: "Yes, just this once will make up for everything. I will forever Remember this day." Suma hugged him to her chest, "I will remember this day too." She burst into tears. "It's nothing," she explained to Paul with a forced smile, "I just remembered that night, Hella moved your bedding to my bed..." Hella. Gaddas has spent these days in an excited wait, and his father's entrustment and the mission of the newspaper office have become relatively distant things.The only thing he cares about now is Hela's call to him from a secret camp.Hela is such a weird woman—she bases the success or failure of her love on "whether she can get pregnant"!Gardas, though, understood the bitterness and fear. It's been 20 days and still no news from her, Gardas is truly impatient.On this day, in his anxiety and helplessness, he came to St. Paul's Oriental Street to kill time.The road here is still paved with bluestone slabs, and the shop signs on both sides are square characters of China, North Korea and Japan, and the oriental rockery and bonsai can be seen everywhere.He drove the Cadillac left behind by Hella through the crowded street, when suddenly the phone rang in the car, and it was the mother dean with a friendly smile: "Mr. Billy, please come to the orphanage immediately, is that okay? " "Of course! I'll go right away." Gardas shouted in surprise, turning the car around.The mother dean smiled and nodded, and slowly disappeared from the screen.According to the route that Joao took last time, Gardas hurried on his way like a spark.On the way, his heart kept beating outside the carriage, and Hela would never disappear from his side again.Since she called, it means that she must be pregnant and pregnant with her own child.Before that, he was very worried that the black angel would flap its wings and leave in the jungle forever. Four hours later, he hurried to the orphanage and rushed into the dean's office: "Mother, where is Hela? Where is she?" The dean smiled and greeted him: "Follow me, someone will take you there." She led Gardas to a room, unlocked the door, and said sideways, "Please come in." The door was gently closed behind Gardas, and there was no Hella in the room, only an Indian man.There were couches and hardwood seats, but the man remained in the center of the room.Gaddas recognized him as the pilot of the stealth plane, with his ordinary short hair, ordinary shirt and shorts, black hair, and bronzed skin.He spoke, in English, but very slowly, as if the words were selected one by one from memory: "I'll take you there, please take off all your clothes." Gardas complied obediently.Now, he was standing there naked, and the Indian came up and went over him unceremoniously: armpits, hips, mouth, and brought a soft suit.After Gardas put it on, he handed over a blue pill: "Please take this sleeping pill, you can only enter there in a deep sleep." Gaddas began to get angry, and the Indian who looked like a stick saw it cleverly, and then added an explanation: "You are the first outsider to enter there." This sentence satisfied Gaddas' self-esteem. He smiled, took the medicine obediently, and lay down on the couch under the guidance of the Indians.The effect of the medicine quickly reached his brain, and everything in front of him gradually sank into darkness. He only remembered that "there" was a top-secret base, and Hela was waiting for him.His Hella.The pregnancy was successful. Someone gave curt orders in an unfamiliar language, and he was lifted and set on something.A slight roar and vibration... He completely lost consciousness. He woke up leisurely. Now he is lying on a simple wooden bed, with bright lights outside the window and a dark sky behind the lights.It's late at night?But he realized right away that it was probably underground, and the dark sky he saw was just the darkness in the cave. A female voice asked softly: "Are you awake?" It was still English with a very slow syllable, which sounded very sweet.Gaddas looked back from a distance and saw a bright smiling face. This is a fifteen or six-year-old girl, naked, with high breasts, black hair in small braids scattered behind her head, bronze skin, only on the legs A red tassel woven with Uluru grass hangs on the waist, and the smile is innocent.Gaddas quickly realized that he was in front of a half-civilized Indian tribal girl, not a prostitute in a red-light district. The girl gently took his hand: "Come on, Hela said, I will take you there as soon as you wake up." Hella!She also knows this name, which means that this is the core area of ​​Hella Kingdom.He happily followed the girl, admiring her toned body and light gait with eyes that didn't have the slightest sensuality.They walked through a long, deserted passage, and the girl pushed open a door and beckoned him in with gestures. Gardas saw the pilot at first glance. He had resumed his tribe's attire, that is to say, he was completely naked, with a tassel on his lower body, red and black oil on his body, and his muscles were protruding. His bronzed skin gleamed with oil, and a tuft of colorful feathers was tied to his arm.He was talking respectfully to a woman, Hela, of course.Hela is also dressed in the same way, except that she has two more red tassels on her breasts.Seeing Gaddas enter, the Indian immediately ended the conversation and withdrew silently. Gardas froze for a moment, almost timidly.Now in front of him was the most "primitive" Hela, but for some reason, this shiny black carcass—he was so familiar with this carcass—seemed to be shrouded in a halo, appearing graceful, mysterious and holy.Hela smiled, her eyes were very warm: "Gadas, how about my fashion?" She joked peacefully, "I like the Guaharibos people very much. They are sincere, without pretense, and without guilt. So Here, the customs of the Guaharibos are practiced throughout the underground world. Not only this fashion, but also the language here is designed on the basis of their language, which we call the New Yanomami language." "Your fashion is very beautiful, but Hela, you..." Hela clings to his hands: "You must have guessed the good news - I'm pregnant!" She is really pregnant.If he was still in the cedar forest near Iguazu Falls at this time, Gardas would definitely jump up, hug Hela into his arms and kiss wildly, and then propose to her without any delay. Scenarios rehearsed many times in my mind.But at this time he just said hesitantly: "Really? It's really good news." Hela said reproachfully: "What's the matter with you? Why are you unhappy? This is of course good news, especially for me. Until now, I was not sure that I had human nature, not a realistic fake. I have Love, sexual desire, and the ability to procreate naturally. Gaddas, you gave me all of this, and I can't thank you enough. But why aren't you happy?" Gardas sighed: "How can I be unhappy. You are pregnant, and I can propose to you. I am so happy. But... I don't know why. It seems that after being here, you It is shrouded in a kind of majesty, a kind of kingly air. You are the queen of this underground world, and I am just a lowly lover. I want to look up at you." Hela laughed happily: "It's pure nonsense! Nonsense! There is no dynasty or queen here, only a little mother who can't help it." She took Gadus by the neck and kissed him on the lips—I was not mistaken, thought Gadus wryly; even this passionate kiss was like a queen's handout to her lover.His hands caught the pair of bumping breasts, his heart swayed for a while, his whole body was hot, and he really wanted to hug Haila to the bed immediately.But Hela had already gotten away from his embrace: "Come on eat, after dinner I will take you to visit my underground world. I promised to open all my life to you." Gardas did not expect the underground world to be so spectacular, so magical.There are dome-shaped caves one after another, and each dome is no less than the size of the Sydney Opera House or the Roman Theatre. The core of the building is as delicate and smooth as a shell.The appearance of the house is in the shape of turtle shell, mussel, sea anemone... They are endless, forming a flowing river of music.What's even more amazing is that every wall and floor is as flawless as a shell, shining with a charming luster. "We are using a new type of biological building material," Hella said lightly, "will you cooperate with me? I will make you the world's largest builder." She said with a smile. "Thank you. But I don't want to accept the queen's gift." Gardas said lightly.Hela heard his dissatisfaction, looked up at him, smiled and took his arm. There are almost endless buildings with unique shapes.It's quiet here, save for the slight hum of the MHD generator. "We use magma energy as the main energy source," Hella said.The soft and bright bioluminescence from the walls reflects the instruments in each room, including supercomputers, mass spectrometers, scanning tunneling microscopes, etc.Gardas does not recognize most instruments.He said sullenly: "My God, how did you do this? These projects are no less than the Pyramid of Khufu, and you will not be in Brazil for more than 8 years. I think you must have been helped by aliens." .” "There are no aliens." Hela smiled. "Please remember, this is not the era of Khufu. It is easy to build these with high technology, as long as you have enough money." Gardas asked cautiously: "I heard that you have stolen tens of billions of dollars through the computer network. It seems that it is not a rumor." Hela smiled slightly: "We used this method when we accumulated primitive capital, and now No need. A tycoon in the United States said that when your wealth accumulates to 1 billion, it will grow automatically, and you can’t stop it even if you want to.” Before the start of the tour, Hela asked him tactfully if he would like to change into the attire of this place: "After changing the clothes, people here will think you are one of them. However, you don't have to change your clothes." At that time, Jiada Si thought for a while, agreed, took off his clothes, and put on the tassel.Since then, he has always felt his back and butt whizzing as he cruised through the buildings.But he was immediately overwhelmed by the magnificence of the underground world, and he didn't have the time to take care of his bare butt. There are very few staff here, and occasionally a few Indians or blacks come in and out of the room, and of course they all wear the same "clothing".Seeing Hela and the guests around him, they all nodded respectfully and stayed aside.Hella led him through a dome, where a huge hemispherical building stood alone, with the door closed and no windows.Gaddas originally thought that Hela would definitely lead him in, but Hela said: "It's too late to visit here today, let's do it tomorrow." Just then, the door of the hemisphere opened, and a fourteen or fifteen-year-old black girl stepped out gracefully—another Terri.But it was definitely not her, because the girl was obviously seeing Gardas for the first time.She nodded respectfully to Hela, but turned a blind eye to Kadath.She closed the door behind her when she came out, so Gardas couldn't see the inside of the house.The black girl disappeared around the corner, and Gardas turned his head and looked at the exquisitely built tower with awe-inspiring eyes.Obviously, the core secret of human cloning must be hidden here, but Gardas is not in a hurry, Hela will let him watch. Dinner was in a small restaurant, just the two of them, no waiters.Hela said, just give an order to the automatic cooking machine, and the food will be delivered automatically. "What would you like to eat? Would you like some melonharibos food?" Gardas asked what it was, and she said it was a wild fruit called "chiba," ant eggs, and an insect with a strange name.Gardas laughed and said, "No, I don't have enough courage. Hella, I'm already following the customs in clothes, can I keep my own habits in eating?" "Of course. I'll eat American fast food with you, too." The delivery port delivered chicken noodle, pizza, house cheese and scotch and soda.Gaddas was cutting the cake, while squinting at Hela: "Hella, I am very honored to be the first guest in the underground world. Can I ask some questions? If it is not convenient to answer, you just have to pretend that you don't have any questions." Just hear it." Hella said with a smile: "Okay." "Of course it's under the Amazon jungle, right?" Hela said vaguely: "It's in the Amazon Basin. I know that many people are coveting here, but I don't worry. The stratum here is covered with effective shielding, and remote sensing satellites are powerless. Neither remote sensing nor heavy metal spectroscopy can detect it. So," she said half-jokingly, "you'd better not know the detailed location here, because I don't want to imprison you here for life." This tone made Gardas slightly He was unhappy, but Hela had a smile in his eyes, so he quickly put this unhappiness behind him.He asked again: "Hella, do you know why I came to Brazil? I met five girls with similar looks in several cities around Philadelphia, and I think the total number is more. Are they all clones of you?" Hela readily admitted: "Well, yes. I intentionally scattered them around Philadelphia, hoping my three relatives could see them." "The relatives you mentioned refer to Paul, Suma, and Howson, right? I know about the incident eight years ago." Hela was silent for a moment, trying to suppress her feelings, her voice trembling slightly: "Yes, yes Yes, I miss them." "Why don't you contact them directly? Or, would you like me to act as a messenger?" Hela shook her head desolately: "No, I don't belong to the same world as them anymore." Gaddas's heart trembled: So, do you and I belong to the same world?Maybe, after this reunion, it will be a farewell forever?He didn't say these words out of his mouth, and asked: "I think you may know that some little 'Hella' are in a very difficult situation, and some even take drugs and prostitute." To his surprise, Hella didn't care about it. "I know, I'm perfectly capable of helping them, but I can't do it, I don't want to disrupt the natural process. See what I mean? I mean, my offspring should go out and take root in all kinds of social and natural environments flowering." "There was also a girl named Pamela who died of cancer." Hella was silent.She knew the situation, but tried not to think about it.She has been able to completely control the cloning technology of cancerous people, but she knows that she is still far away from completely deciphering the secrets of life. How many deep mechanisms, procedures and rules are she ignorant of?The cancer spectrum is thriving, but can it suddenly collapse one morning, as Pamela did?Sometimes she envied normal people, who would never have this tortured self-doubt, because human beings had existed for millions of years, and that was the best proof in itself. The sword of Damocles has been hanging above her head, and she has no way to solve it yet. Gaddas sensed her boredom and broke off the subject.After they finished their meal, they threw the dishes into the recycling port. Gaddas embraced her emotionally, and his naked skin touched each other. He felt the familiar electric shock again. Thinking of the ecstasy not long ago, he had already Start imagining the joy of tonight.Of course Hella would spend the night with him tonight, it was self-evident.But Hela gently pushed him away: "I still have some work to do, so I can't accompany you. I wish you a good night's sleep." Gaddas felt deeply humiliated, and slowly let go of Hela in his arms: "Okay, I am willing to obey your orders." He said coldly.Gaddas took a hot bath and changed into pajamas, which he found to be much more comfortable than a few tufts of Uluru grass.He tossed and turned and couldn't fall asleep. For more than 20 days after breaking up with Hela, he looked forward to this reunion every day.In his imagination, as soon as they met, Hela would definitely rush into his arms fiercely like a female leopard—who would have thought that it would be a lonely night?The extreme longing for Hela (not just lust) roasted his whole body like a fire, and he wanted to jump out of bed several times, go out to find Hela's bedroom, and roughly took her into his arms.But he knew it was too ungentlemanly to do so, and Hela would look down on him—and he didn't know where Hela was sleeping. This intricate underground world does not belong to him. But why is Hella so cold?Was it her position in the underworld that suppressed her natural instincts? ...Suddenly the door opened, and Gardas looked up in surprise, but it wasn't Hela, it was the beautiful Indian girl he saw first.She had just been bathed and smelled pleasantly fresh, and she was naked, not even wearing the Uluru tassel.She smiled sweetly, went to bed without waiting for an invitation, and said in slow English, "I'll stay with you, okay?" The girl is very beautiful, a natural beauty, a robust beauty, her skin is as smooth as satin, her muscles are plump and elastic.In normal times, Gardas might accept her happily, but at this time his heart has been filled with Hela, and he can't tolerate other women.He kissed her and said with a smile: "Thank you. But I'm tired tonight, please go back." The girl asked bluntly, "You don't like me?" "How could it be? You are so beautiful that even a robot would be tempted." The girl guessed his thoughts: "Are you thinking about Hela? She won't be angry, she asked me to accompany you, she can't come." Gardas couldn't believe his ears: "It's Hela? It's Hela La asked you to come?" "Yes. She is our god—although she never lets us say so." Gadus's anger slowly rose and gradually increased: "She is your god, so she asked you to sleep with a strange man, and you came here happily, right?" "Yes—of course, I liked you in the first place, and I liked you as soon as I met you." "I think, even if she lets you die, you will die happily, am I right?" “当然，我们都乐意为她献出一切。” 加达斯冷笑着：“很好，很好——可惜我不乐意，我不愿意接受这个劳什子女王的赏赐。请原谅，我不是针对你的，我很喜欢你，换个场合，我会努力去追求你的。但是现在请你快点离开吧。”女孩惶惑的离开了。加达斯苦笑着想：也许这个女孩很难过，但并不是为了女孩的自尊，而是因为没有完成海拉的托咐。 第二天早饭时，海拉微笑着说：“昨晚睡得好吧，我为昨晚的事道歉。”但她到此就住口了，也没有为今晚做出什么许诺。加达斯不快地说：“应该道歉的是我，我伤害了那么好的一个姑娘。不过……地下世界的所有人都是你的臣仆？” 海拉笑了：“怎么会是这样呢，我们都是平等的，你肯定听见，他们对我都是直唿其名。” “那不过是个形式，从心理上说，你们是平等的吗？”加达斯尖利地问。海的沉思片刻，委婉地说：“也许不完全平等，财富和智力的不平等是客观存在，我不能完全消除它。” “那么，从你内心来说，是否有这种不平等？” “不，我没有。我是在美国长大的，不是印度土王或阿拉伯酋长的公主。” “真的吗？那你是否在这儿的男人中寻找过情人或丈夫——我不是说你是否找到，而是你尝试过吗？”这些尖刻的诘问使海拉受到震惊，没错，这几年她一直想找一个男人来完成她的“自然繁衍”，但在潜意识的思考中，她从没把周围的印弟安男人考虑在内。她为什么喜欢加达斯？当然有很多理由，但首先一条，加达斯在精神上与她是平等的。现在，正是这个与她平等的男人尖锐地指出了地下世界的君臣关系。她不快地说：“你到这儿只是为了指责我吗？我想这些指责可以推迟几天，等到你对地下世界多了解一点再说，那时你会公平一些客观一些。” 加达斯走到饭桌对面，把海拉揽到怀里：“请原谅，也许是因为昨晚没得到你，使我的心情太坏。以后我不会妄加指责了。” 海拉领会到这是隐晦的求爱，但她嫣然一笑，轻巧地滑过去：“好的，开始今天的参观吧。”今天他们开始参观克隆工艺的具体过程，出乎加达斯的预料，这个工艺是极简单的。在一间试验室里，加达斯又看到一个同样面貌的黑人女孩，她正在一个球形玻璃器皿前观察着。加达斯打量着她，她回头嫣然一笑。加达斯突然知道她是谁了：“你是特丽？孤儿院的特丽？” 对方笑了：“对，我是昨天来的。你的眼力真好。” “不不，我只是猜到的，这不是眼力，只是一种直觉。” 身后的海拉解释道：“她是我的第一批后代之一，这批克隆人只留了两个，负责地下系统和圣贞女孤儿院中最关键的技术工作。” “特丽，你这会儿在干什么？” 特丽笑嘻嘻地说：“这是克隆人的第一步：细胞的活化，其实这工作是很容易的。你肯定知道，多莉羊的克隆技术是把细胞核抽出，注入空卵泡，靠卵泡内的化学物质激活细胞核。但我们已经不用走这条弯路了，海拉破译了这种催化物质，并配成一种'生命液'，只用把需要激活的细胞浸泡到里面就行。呶，你看。” 她指着那个不大的球形容器，里面是略带绿色的溶液，浸泡着肉眼不易看见的分散的细胞。她解释说溶液是加压的，压力不高，催化物质在压力下更容易渗透到靶细胞中去。“加达斯，你想发财吗？如果你带走50毫升生命液，就会有人出1000万美元来买它。” 加达斯并不认为她是开玩笑，的确，有人会以1000万美元甚至更高的价钱来买这种神秘的生命液。It's incredible!他想起某位诺贝尔奖获得者说过，科学发展的顶峰便是返朴归真，因为生命本身就是在极度简化的环境中诞生的，因此生命系统最深层的机理只能是最简单的。海拉在身后问：“还有什么问题吗？” 加达斯压低声音说：“我不敢问得太详细——如果我掌握了你的核心机密，你会放我走吗？”海拉笑着说：“我并不准备把这些秘密垄断50年，100年，就像中世纪威尼斯的工匠们守护制镜工艺的秘密。说到底，我只是比世人早走了二三十年，即使我守住这些秘密，二三十年后人类也能达到的。”加达斯又是心中一凛，几乎脱口问：“人类？那么你是自外于人类了？”但想起早上的争吵，他忍了下来。刚才特丽的介绍使他震惊，一小瓶绿色的生命液，就能代替男女之间的爱情、交合，代替大自然在40亿年的进化中锤炼出的程序！也许若干年后，克隆人会成为幼儿园的游戏：“杰克哥哥，今天咱们玩什么？” “我们造个克隆人吧。”于是杰克从爸爸书房里偷偷拿来一瓶生命液，从口腔中刮几个粘膜细胞放进去…… 他摇摇头，赶走这些荒诞的、带着恐怖味道的瞎想。上午他们参观完了地下世界的东区，房舍到这儿中止了，前边是一圈3米高的密密的铁栅栏，栅栏外就是蛮荒的岩洞世界。栅栏显然是带电的，上面挂着一条蛇，已经被烧焦了。他不知道这儿距地面有多深，也许，蛇是这儿唯一的野生生物。他在这儿意外地看到了牧羊犬玛亚，这两天他一直纳闷着玛亚为什么没露面呢。玛亚谨慎地蹲伏在离栅栏两米远的地方，呆呆地看着外边，看来它肯定知道栅栏是带电的。后边的脚步声使它抖了抖耳朵，但没有回头，加达斯大声喊：“玛亚！”玛亚立即跳起来，急急跑到两人身边，亲亲热热地蹭着他们。海拉笑着说，玛亚也要作母亲了，你看它的腹部已经开始显形。加达斯看看它，淡淡地问：“玛亚是否想到外面世界去？你看它呆呆地看着外面。” “不，它已经习惯了。” “地下世界的所有人都习惯了？” “对，他们对自己的生活很满意。” 加达斯忍不住说：“那他们太可怜了，换了我，决不会在洞中呆上一生的。”他想这句话肯定会剌伤海拉的，但海拉隐藏了自己的不快，没有说话。 中午玛亚跟他们回到小餐厅，送饭口送出中国式的饭菜。下边还有一个送饭口，送出玛亚的食盘，它很快吃完，安静地卧在主人的身边。吃饭时两人不停在聊着，寻找着话题。但他们都清楚地感到了两人之间的疏离。海拉知道这是为什么，加达斯肯定在这儿感到无形的威压，他狂热爱恋的女子又冷淡地把他拒之门外…… 海拉感到歉然。她感激加达斯，是加达斯的爱抚诱导出她“女人的欲望”，使她怀了孕，证明了她也具有“人类的自然属性”。但怀孕后，她体内的性欲迅速消退了，彻底消退了，就像是退潮的海水。她没办法回到加达斯的怀里，继续那些可笑的游戏。也许这更符合生物的自然本性？众所周知，几乎所有雌性动物的发情期都是短暂的，只要怀孕成功，发情期就告结束，人类是动物中唯一的例外。她确实很抱歉，她曾想尽力补偿，但派去的印弟安女孩反倒更深地剌伤了加达斯。现在她有些后悔，也许不该带他到这里来，不该在情热中答应向他“公开自己的生活”。也许，在伊瓜苏瀑布的销魂之夜后就同他诀别是更好的选择。 餐桌对面的加达斯已喝完了杯中的马提尼：“海拉，下午的日程是什么？是不是参观那个大球？”海拉迟疑地说：“好吧。” 加达斯怀疑地看看她，微嘲道：“你好像不想带我看那儿，是不是里面有什么我不该看的超级机密，或是什么血淋淋的东西？” 海拉笑道：“什么也没有。那只是克隆人生产线的一个标准设备而已。不要把它想得太神秘，要不看后会失望的。” “那好，咱们现在就去吧。” “好的。”海拉站起身，就在这时，一个隐藏的麦克风响了，是用完全陌生的语言说的，加达斯听不懂。但他发现海拉聆听时越来越亢奋，甚至透着紧张，透着渴望，这不大像海拉的风度。她急急说了几句，回头对加达斯说：“真对不起，参观要推迟了，我要上去处理一件急务，最多两三天就赶回来。”加达斯注意地盯着她的眼睛：“也许你遇到了什么麻烦？按照人类世界的规矩，这时男人们应冲上前去保护自己的妻子，不过也许我没有资格这样说。” 海拉笑了，绕过桌子吻吻他的额头：“你当然有资格，不过我没碰上什么麻烦，而是一个喜讯。请你耐心等我回来，好吗？” 她匆匆走了。少顷，加达斯听到轻微的深长的嗡嗡声，这些天他已猜测到，这是一部巨大的电梯开动的声音。此时海拉大概已经到地面上，坐上那架黑色的幽灵飞机。他叹息一声，回到自己沉闷的房间。 薄暮中，海拉匆匆走进院长办公室：“鲁菲娜，他们现在在哪儿？” 鲁菲娜感慨地看着她。在她的印象里，海拉一直是冷静庄重，喜怒不形于色，似乎天生具有历尽沧桑的成熟感，像今天这样的亢奋是绝无仅有的。她笑道：“在会客室。他们是上午到的。我一听到他们自报名字，便立即通知你。下午我领他们参观了孤儿院，他们一直在小心地打听着你的情况。”她一边说一边打开一个隐蔽的按钮，对面的一堵墙立即变成屏幕，她切换到会客室，现在，三个人的面容出现在屏幕上了。 三个亲切的、令海拉朝思暮想的面孔。 保罗、苏玛和豪森。 几年来她一直追踪着他们的生活，案头常常放着录有三人形貌的录相和电子照片。但今天不同，虽然同为电子图像，但她知道三个人就在10米外的房间里坐着，她可以立即冲到那间屋里，把电子图像变成活生生的人。 爸爸没有大的变化，更显得睿智和成熟；妈妈在生下丹尼后变得稍为丰满，但体形仍很健美；只有豪森伯伯明显苍老了，鬓边已长出白发。三人在会客室里漫声谈论着，等待着，从容的神态中也有隐隐的紧张。豪森则像一个机警的老猎犬，不动声色地仔细搜索着屋内，可能他在寻找隐藏的摄像镜头吧。院长轻声问：“海拉，你要见他们吗？” 是啊，当然要见他们，没有任何理由不见他们。他们一直苦苦思念着女儿，甚至专程寻到巴西来。这些年来，我一直把自己的克隆体送到美国，送往费城附近的城市，不就是为这一天作准备吗？但她最终苦涩地摇摇头。不，她和父母们已经分割在两个世界了，她不由想起此刻还在地下世界等她回去的加达斯，他俩曾在“地上”共度了25天的时光，7天狂热的作爱……但是，等她履行诺言把加达斯带到“地下”时，两人之间却莫名其妙地产生了隔阂，变得冷淡了。 不，并不是“莫名其妙”，关键还是那一点：他们已经分属于两个世界，彼此的心理、习俗和爱憎已经不可能一致了。如果父母和豪森伯伯看到她的真实生活，是否也会把炽热的思念化为冷淡和疏离？她不能失去这三个亲人，从某种意义上说，他们是她最坚固的、甚至可以说是唯一的精神支柱。但她也清楚，不失去他们的办法就是保持距离，这真是一个令人无奈的悖论。 “鲁菲娜，你去吧。”她声音沙哑地说，“告诉他们我很好，很想念他们。其余的……你自己想办法去说圆吧。” “她是在这里吗？我们能不能见到她？”苏玛轻声问。 “我想她在这里。”保罗与其说是回答苏玛，不如说是告诉屏幕后的某个人。从豪森的示意中，他知道这个屋子安有秘密摄像系统，至少是窃听器。5天前，他们来到巴西，立即开始了紧张的调查。他们找到了加达斯在圣保罗的房间，但加达斯本人已经失踪了。在他离开饭店后，有人付了足够的钱，把这个房间保留下来，直到加达斯回来。三个人很着急，因为从这些迹象看，加达斯似乎已经接近了海拉的秘密，也就是说，海拉正处在危险中。随后，他们租了一辆汽车，一路打听，来到圣贞女孤儿院。保罗说：“一踏进这家孤儿院，我就嗅到了海拉的味道。你们难道没发现，鲁菲娜院长对咱们有特殊的亲切感？不必怀疑，这家孤儿院肯定和海拉有关。但我不知道她是用什么办法作到的，在我的心目中，她还是一个十一、二岁的小女孩。” 门开了，院长嬷嬷笑容满面地进来。“对不起，让你们久等了。”她与三个人寒喧着，开始这场困难的谈话。“应你们的要求，我已经尽力同我的资助人联系过，很可惜，她因种种原因不能来。不过我已经得到了她的许可，可以向你们透露一些她的个人资料。这些资料一直向新闻界严格保密，因为她不想成为公众人物。但我的资助人说，相信你们会为她保密。” “我们当然会的。请讲吧。” “她是……”鲁菲娜斟酌着词句，“她确实是个黑人女子，今年30岁左右。”保罗和苏玛兴奋地交换着目光，“她的身世很奇特，有一对深爱她的生母养父，她也深深地爱着他们。但由于外界的原因，她不得不离开父母远走异乡。” 苏玛哽声说：“是海拉，是海拉！” “她也记得一位风趣善良的邻居伯伯，一直在怀念着他。” 豪森目中有了泪光。 “她很想回到亲人的身边，但由于种种原因，这不可能实现。她宁愿把儿时的最美好的回忆一直保留下去。她说她永远记得分别时的话，她爱他们，也爱所有的人，决不会对社会报复，请亲人们相信她的诺言。”鲁菲娜抱歉地说，“我知道的只有这些了，很可能她不是你们所寻找的海拉，只是两人的身世有某些相似之处。” 苏玛肯定地说：“她一定是海拉，我知道一定是她！我想见见她，请你转告她，我想见她一面，哪怕是远远的一面。” 保罗拦住她：“不必了，苏玛。这位女资助人既然不愿和我们见面，肯定有她的理由，知道这些情况我们就很满足了。院长嬷嬷，谢谢你。” “不必客气，你们还有什么要求吗？我的资助人嘱咐我，尽量满足你们的所有要求。” “没有别的要求。祝她健康，另外请她小心，有人在打她的主意。据我们所知，至少有两个美国人在巴西转悠，一个是加达斯，即布莱德参议员的儿子；一个是杜塔克，即8年前那次汽车爆炸的策划人。这两人肯定在打她的主意。” 听到这些，院长嬷嬷只是微笑着：“谢谢，但我想她对这些都很了解，请你们放心吧。” “那再好不过，明天我们就想返回美国，以后不会来找她了，再见。” “再见。我代表我的资助人再次谢谢你们。” 他们说话时，豪森一直沉默着，这时他说：“我去方便一下。”他快步走出去，匆匆打量着楼道。凭多年的侦探经验，他觉察到一些迹象，院长嬷嬷说话的口气与上午不一样，在谈话中总给人一个感觉，似乎她在倾听身后的某个声音，或注意着身后的一双眼睛。他相信海拉这会儿就在附近。Where is it?他想到了不远处的院长室，决定先到那儿看一看。推开办公室门，看见一只裙角在内门处闪了一下，他急忙过去。内室没有一个人影，但他确信有人刚在这儿消失。他迅速扫视一番，没有发现秘密门户，他迷惑地走到窗边，正好看见一个熟悉的身影快步走向一辆黑色轿车，轿车随即起动，向茂林中开去。少顷，一架没有灯光的轮廓模煳的飞机从林中浮出来，几乎是擦着树梢飞着，很快消失在薄暮中。 他赶回会客室时，院长正送两人出门，她朝豪森扫过来一眼，但没有流露出什么表情。三人在院里同院长告别，坐上从圣保罗租的汽车，苏玛泪眼模煳地盯着暮色中的林木和院落，真不愿意就这样离开。等到汽车驶出孤儿院的区域时，豪森才平静地说：“苏玛，我想我看见了海拉。我们谈话时，她就在10米外的院长室里。” 苏玛又惊喜又痛楚地瞪大眼睛：“是吗？你和她说话了吗？” “不，我只看到一个背影。不要难过，苏玛。她既然不愿见面，肯定有她的原因，我们只要知道她好好活着就够了。” “对，我很满意，她活着，也很平安。”苏玛笑着，泪水却抑止不住。 深夜的地下世界十分寂静。不是寂静，是死寂。地上的纷纷扰扰的声音被厚厚的岩层隔断了，吸收了，无论是人群的喧闹声，车辆行驶声，飞机轰鸣声，还是自然界的风声鹤唳，林涛水响。白天，这一点还不是太明显，因为毕竟还有轻轻的行走声，偶尔的低语声，电脑的嗡嗡声。现在连这些轻微的声音也没有了，只有侧耳聆听，才能听到似有若无的电流的嗡嗡声发生于岩脉深处。加达斯在床上辗转难眠，心中燃烧着对海拉的极度渴望，有精神上的，也有肉体上的。他现在几乎是痛苦地回味着那7天，回味着两具肉体合为一体时的感受。在这种烧灼般的渴盼中，他也痛苦地承认，他与海拉之间的距离越来越大了，她是地下世界的女王，有无尚权威。这个世界有自己的语言，自己的风俗，自己的道德，它是向人类封闭的。加达斯想着他们近乎全裸的“时装”，开始他对它看轻了，以为这仅仅是一种时尚。不，这不仅是一种时尚，这是对旧秩序的反叛，一种不事声张的但充满自信的反叛。加达斯曾非常相信两人的爱情，但是现在，连这一点也动摇了。在那7天的热恋中，海拉是一个天真开朗的女孩，倾倒于自己的男性魅力。但是，当他看到真实的海拉，一位冷静自信、从容大度的女王时，他还敢相信当初的一见钟情，还敢相信自己对海拉的魅力吗？ 也许他只是海拉做生物学试验（试验她是否具有人的自然属性）时所选中的一件仪器而已。这些想法使他的心境晦暗，甚至产生了自暴自弃的念头——忽然门开了，海拉悄然走进来。太突然了，加达斯几乎以为自己是在梦境中，不，不是梦境，她真的立在门口。今天，她没有穿乌鲁鲁草的时装，而是穿着那几天穿过的彩色连衣裙，眉尖有抑止不住的喜悦在跳动。她笑着，步态轻盈地走过来。在这一刹那，加达斯用最刻毒的语言咒骂着刚才有过的混帐想法。他跳下床，迫不及待地把海拉搂到怀里，他又感受到那具火热的酮体，感受到高耸的乳峰，富有弹性的臀部。两天来，她近在眼前又远在天边，所以，当加达斯又意外地得到她时，真是喜极欲涕。 他狂热地吻着海拉，海拉一直喜悦地笑着，没有热情的回应，也没有拒绝。加达斯小心地为她脱去衣裙，把她抱到床上，如醉如痴地抚摸着……但不久他的欲火就冷却了。不错，海拉顺从地接受了他的爱抚，但她一直是冷静的，被动的，就像是一具橡皮身体。最后加达斯苦笑着放弃了努力。海拉伏在他耳边歉然说：“实在对不起，怀孕后我的性欲就完全丧失了，无论怎样努力也唤不回它。这两晚我一直没来，我不愿扫你的兴。” 加达斯苦涩地安慰她：“不用道歉，这不怪你。不过，今天你为什么这样高兴？我还以为你……”海拉欣喜地说：“我见到了我的父母！” “保罗和苏玛？” “对，还有豪森伯伯，他也是我的亲人。” 加达斯为他高兴，便把自己刚才的失败感抛到一边。“真是个好消息。那你为什么这么快就返回？你该多陪陪他们。” 海拉沉默了：“我没和他们见面。我怕他们不能接受现在的我。加达斯，知道吗？除了我手下的人，你几乎是我唯一交往的人了，我不愿失去你。” 加达斯很感动，起身吻吻海拉湿润的嘴唇。但海拉仍是那样冷静，就像是禁欲的修女，这使加达斯在性渴望中几乎有一种犯罪感。他忙岔开思绪：“我同样不能失去你，我无法想象，如果没有你，这一生我该如何度过。” 海拉仍沉津在回忆中：“他们的变化都不大，只有豪森比较苍老。要是现在我仍然和他们生活在阿巴拉契山中，那该多好啊。” 加达斯已经彻底冷静了，对两人的情爱不再抱幻想。他枕着双手，微笑地打量着这位暂时变回少女的女王。海拉忽然坐起来：“你不是要参观那个球形试验室吗？现在就去吧。” "Now?" “对，现在，那儿24小时都在运转。” 她拉着加达斯跳下床便往外走，加达斯嚷道：“我们还光着身子呢，至少要穿上瓜哈里博斯人的时装吧。” 说完他也笑了，那种时装和裸体又有多大区别？只是一种象征意义的遮羞罢了——其实人类的礼仪不就是“象征意义”吗？海拉没有停步，笑道：“我们现在的穿戴便是最好的晚礼服，走吧。”夜深人静，各个房间的灯光大都熄灭了，但萤光墙壁仍发出明亮的余光，足以照明道路，海拉跨着大步，喋喋回忆着当年在父母身边时的琐事，她忽然一扬手，一道紫色的电芒破空而去，在路阶上留下一圈黑痕。“这就是我当年爱玩的小紫蛇，”海拉自豪地说，“当年我还用它救过父亲呢——也救过自己，从器官贩子的手里。”她忽然沉默了，少女的亢奋也到此结束，她又披上那件雍容威严的外衣。球形高塔孤零零地耸立在地下世界的中区，等两人走近时，大门无声地滑开了。灯光从门中泻出来，映出一个少女的裸影，是加达斯昨天见过的那个黑人少女。加达斯饶有兴趣地打量着身前身后两个型号不同的海拉，不由绽出一丝微笑。那个姑娘向两人点点头说：“你好，海拉。你好，加达斯。这儿一切正常，请进。” 她从门边让开，引导两人进屋。多少年后，加达斯还记得进屋的第一眼印像。屋内波光潋滟，幽明不定，中心区域矗立着一个巨大的透明球体，透明球内是透明的液体，其中浮着一个巨大的半透明的……子宫。透过子宫壁和羊水，能看到其中的几百个胎儿。它们都用脐带同子宫维系着，脐带的长度使它们能互相轻轻地碰撞，但不致缠搅在一起。子宫极大，几百个系在壁上的胎儿只相当于壁上的一层茸毛，中间则是大大的空腔。这些胎儿并不像普通胎儿那样蜷曲在子宫里，而是自由自在地舒展着手脚。子宫的位置太高，加达斯无法精确估量胎儿的大小，但从面容和身形看，它们起码相当于出生半年的婴儿了。胎儿有各种肤色：白人、黑人、黄种人、棕种人。子宫不停地蠕动着，羊水不停地波动着，屋内的潋滟波光便是由此而来。 加达斯目瞪口呆，许久说不出话，海拉很满意这个场面对他的震憾力，微笑着解释道：“这是克隆工艺过程中最主要的设备。实际上，用人造子宫来满足天然子宫的理化条件是相当简单的，上个世纪90年代，日本科学家就造出了羊子宫，但由于人类的迂腐，人类子宫的研究一直停步不前。我们这个人造子宫在性能上已经全面超过天然子宫。你想了解它的优点吗？” 加达斯侧过脸，呆呆地看着她。 “有很多优点。第一条当然是居室宽大了，胎儿再不用弯腰弓背地受10个月的体罚。他们可以从小就自由自在地舒展身体，并和这个集体家庭的同伴们作身体的接触和语言上的交流。”加达斯喃喃地问：“语言上的交流？” “不错。语言交流，我并不是失口。这牵涉到人造子宫的另一条优点，更为重要的一点。你知道吗？人类婴儿实际都是早产儿。这是因为，人类在进化过程中脑容量逐步增大，使头骨尺寸超过了女性骨盆的开口尺寸。所以，进化之神不得不作出一种无奈的选择：让人类婴儿早产，然后再用半年到数年的时间把大脑长足。这些先天性的根本无法克服的困难，在人造子宫中不值一提。你大概已经看到，这个人造子宫中的胎儿实际已经是婴儿了，他们的大脑完全发育成熟了，所以，他们在子宫中就可以学习语言。你想听听他们的谈话吗？”她按了一个按钮，屋内立即响起吱吱的声音，有点像是海豚的说话声。海拉解释说，“因为他们是在水中谈话，声音比较怪异。”她结束了介绍，“至于人造子宫的生产效率就更不用说了，它可同时容纳1000个婴儿。还有一个优点呢。这种办法彻底免除了妇女们的分娩痛苦，她们再也不用承受上帝加给她们的