Chapter 6 chapter Five
"I think it's time to stop giving me the rookie treatment," Dahl told his lab colleagues.
The four looked at each other, pondered for a while, and finally, Becky said: "Okay, you don't have to serve us coffee anymore."
"It's not about the coffee, Fiona!" Dahl said.
"I know," Becky said, "but I'd say it's okay to try it out."
"Something happened to your field mission," Collins said.
"It's not just about the mission," Dahl said, "but also when Jin came to the lab and you played and disappeared together, and the weird way people avoided when he was in the corridor, and the broken box of unknown origin. , There are incredible things everywhere on this ship!"
"Well, I'll tell you the truth," Collins said. "People have noticed a strange phenomenon. The field missions led by certain officers have a particularly high mortality rate. Those officers are Captain Abernathy, Lieutenant Colonel King, Chief Engineer West, Chief Medical Officer Hartnell and Captain Kerensky."
"It's not just player mortality," Trin said.
"Yes," said Collins, "there are other phenomena."
"Just like if people around Kerensky have died, the other people who acted together will be safe." Dahl thought of McGregor.
"Kerensky's effect is actually not that significant," Kesaway said.
Dahl turned to Kesaway: "Effect? You even gave it a proper name?"
"Well, the effect of sacrifice," Kesaway said, "the effect of sacrifice is the strongest around Hartnell and Kim. Not so strong for Captain and Kerensky. There is no pattern at all for West." , and his people are dead."
"There were explosions around him all the time," Becky said. "It's not a good thing for an engineer chief."
"It's so obvious that they die fast around them, so no one wants to avoid it," Collins said. Mission-like, so when they arrive, everyone is hurrying up and down the corridors."
"What's the matter with you all happening to make coffee or to be in the pantry every time Kim comes over?"
"There's a tracking system," Trin said.
"Tracking system?" Dahl asked suspiciously.
"It's not surprising," Collins said, "each of us is equipped with a communication machine, which can send our positioning information to the main system of the Intrepid at any time. As your boss, I can get information about your position on the ship."
"But Kim isn't your subordinate," Dahl said, "and neither is Captain Abernathy."
"The alert system is not entirely legal," Collins admitted.
"But you all have access to data," Dahl said.
"Only they have it," Cassaway said, pointing to Collins and Tring.
"When King and the others approached, we issued a warning," Tring said.
"'I'm going to get some coffee,'" Dahl repeated overheard the other day.Tring nodded.
"We can only be warned when you two are present," Kesaway said. "If you are not there, we will be in trouble."
"We also couldn't connect the entire ship to the alarm system," Trin said. "It would be too obvious."
Cassaway sneered: "As if they would find out."
"What does that mean?" Dahl asked.
"Meaning the captain, King and the other officers didn't seem to notice that the crew was avoiding them," Becky said. "They didn't realize that they killed a lot of the crew."
"How did they not notice?" Dahl asked. "Didn't anyone report it to them? Didn't they know anything about what was going on?"
The other four laboratory members exchanged quick glances, and Collins said, "Someone pointed it out to the captain, but it seems to have been ignored."
"What's going on?" Darl asked.
"They are indifferent in the face of a large number of personnel losses. Talking to them is like talking to a wall." Kesavi said.
"Then appeal to someone else," Dahl said, "like Commander Comstock."
"Don't you think we haven't tried it?" Kesaway said. "We contacted the fleet, and we also contacted the Yulian Military Investigation Bureau. We even tried the trick of media exposure. It didn't work."
“We were just told that there was no hard evidence of malfeasance or incompetence,” Trin said. “It wasn’t just us, everyone who reported the complaint got the same answer.”
"How many more victims would it take to make them take this fact seriously?" Dahl asked.
"We were just told," Collins said, "that Yulian's flagship, the Intrepid, has taken over more sensitive diplomatic events and military and scientific research tasks than the average spacecraft, and the risks will increase accordingly. So the crew There's a greater chance of injury or death. That's the high risk that comes with a high rewarding position."
"In other words, the high casualty rate was treated as a feature, not a bug," said Kesaway dryly.
"Now you see why we avoided them," Becky said.
Dahl pondered for a while, then asked: "Then how to explain the box?"
"We have nothing to explain about the box," Collins said. "No one can explain it. To be honest, there is no such thing as a magic box."
"It looks like a microwave oven, and it dings when it's ready, and then spits out some meaningless data." Dahl said, "You have to present these data conclusions to King yourself, no matter what you explain to him, it's just Give him something to fix. All of this is bullshit, am I right?"
"It's been done that way since we first got here," Trin said. "We've been doing it the way we were taught. Because it works."
Dahl waved his hands excitedly: "Why don't you use this box to solve everything? How much time can it save!"
"It doesn't work in every situation," says Thering. "It only works when things are extremely difficult."
"It's like developing a so-called anti-bacterial agent in six hours," Dahl said.
"Exactly," Tring said.
Dahl looked around the room and asked, "Isn't it weird that a science lab uses a magic box to solve a problem?"
"Of course it's weird!" Collins retorted sharply. "I hate the damn thing. But I can only convince myself that it's not magic. We just got our hands on an amazingly advanced instrument, and that's how it works Yes. It’s like you show a cave man your communicator, he can’t understand how it works, but he can still use it to communicate.”
"If you use the communication machine as a metaphor for the box, it probably only works if the hominid's ass is on fire," Dahl said.
"Exactly," Collins said, "we put on airs and do these nonsense because that's the only way to solve the problem. We can't do anything with the data, but the main engine of the Intrepid can. When the imminent death situation arises When it’s time, just do it. That’s all. We all hate it this way, but there’s no choice.”
"When I first arrived on the Intrepid, I mentioned to King that the experiments you did on the ship could not be repeated at the Spaceship Academy." Dahl said, "Now I understand, you haven't really done the experiments at all."
"Have you answered all your questions?" Collins asked.She was clearly tired of the question-and-answer confrontation.
"Why didn't you tell me this when I first reported for duty?" Dahl asked.
"What shall we say then, Andy?" Collins said, "'Hey, welcome to the Dreadnought, don't go near those officers or you'll die on a field mission they're commanding. Oh, and there's A magic box that solves all impossible problems.' Must be a great first impression, right?"
"You're not going to believe us," Cassaway said, "until you go through all the goddamn shit."
"It's crazy," Dahl said.
"That's right," Collins said.
"And do you have any plausible explanation for that?" Dahl said, "even if it's a guess?"
"The reasonable explanation is what Yulian told us," said Tring, "the Intrepid is carrying out high-risk missions, and there will be more sacrifices for this. The crew members have evolved superstitious thoughts and avoidance strategies. Although we The technology used is unknown, but we can get the job done with it."
"But you don't believe it yourself," Dahl said.
"I don't like it," Tring said, "but I have no reason not to believe it."
"Jenkins isn't quite so rational," Becky said.
Dahl turned to face Becky: "You mentioned this person's name before."
"He's doing an independent study," Collins said.
"Related to this matter?" Dahl asked.
"Not exactly." Collins said, "He is one of the creators of the alarm system. The artificial intelligence of the spacecraft host will determine our alarm system as a hacker, trying to fix the vulnerability with a patch. So if it is going to work for a long time, Jenkins has to be constantly updated."
Dahl glanced at Kethaway. "You said he looked like a snowman."
"Exactly," said Kesaway. "Like a snowman or, both ways, and both are quite accurate."
"I think I met him face to face," Dahl said. "I went to the bridge to give King the data on Kerensky's plague pathogen, and I met him in the corridor on the way back."
"What did he say to you?" Collins asked.
"He told me to stay off the bridge," Dahl said. "He told me to 'don't get carried away by the plot.' What the hell does that mean?"
Becky opened his mouth to say something, and Collins spoke first: "Jenkins is a very good programmer, but he is also a little too focused on his own small world. The life on the Intrepid has had an unprecedented impact on him."
"His wife died on a field mission," Becky added.
"What happened?" Dahl asked.
"She was shot by the assassin of Sequilia." Collins said, "The killer's target was the Yulian ambassador to Sequilia. When the captain pushed the ambassador to lie down, Margaret was standing by him. Behind her. The bullet penetrated her carotid artery, killing her instantly. After that incident, Jenkins chose to live in isolation."
"What does he think the truth of the matter looks like?" Dahl asked.
"Let's talk about this next time we have a chance," Collins said. "You already know what's going on and why. I'm sorry I didn't tell you this sooner, Andy. But now you know, Now you know what to do when Ben and I suddenly say we're going to pour coffee."
"Hide," Dahl said.
"'Hiding' is not what we call it," Kesaway said. "We prefer to call it 'secondary mission.'"
"So we're not hiding in a storage room," Becky said, "we're just in the second workspace."
"Then I'll just use the back of the workbench as the second mission site, no problem," Dahl said.
"You've got the essence," Becky said.
At dinner time, Dahl told his four friends what he had heard in the lab, then turned to Finn: "So, what about the news I asked you to inquire about?" "Got it," Finn said. "Excellent," Dahl said. "Before I start, I want to say that I generally don't work for free." Finn said, handing Dahl his communicator. "Usually the pay for such things is a week's wages. But Since that field mission, I also feel that this shit looks too weird, and I want to figure it out." "What are you two talking about?" Duvall said. "I had Finn get some archival records," Dahl said, "mostly medical records." "Whose?" Duvall asked. "Your boyfriend's," Finn said. Dahl didn't react for a while: "What?" "Duval is dating Kerensky," Finn said. "Shut up, Finn! I didn't!" Duvall glanced at Dahl. "After he recovered, he kept following me and thanked me for saving his life. He said that when he first got on the shuttle, he thought he was going to die because he saw an angel appearing in front of him." "Oh my God!" Hester said, "it turns out that this kind of flirting talk is really useful! I always feel that if I say this, I would rather let me die." "Of course not," Duval agreed. "Anyway, he asked if he could buy me a drink on the next shore leave. I said I'd think about it." "And he said he wasn't a boyfriend." Finn sneered. "I want to poke your eyes out right now," Duvall said, pointing at Finn angrily with a fork. "Why are you interested in Captain Kerensky's medical records?" Hansen asked. "A week ago, Kerensky was infected with a plague," Dahl said, "but he recovered so quickly that he was even able to lead a field mission again. In that mission, he was attacked by a machine and lost consciousness. As a result, he recovered quickly and even had the strength to hook up Maya." "Honestly, he still looked miserable," Duvall said. "Honestly, it's basically death in that condition," Dahl said. "The plague on Merovia dissolves muscle from bone. Kerensky would have died if he had been treated fifteen minutes later." He died. As a result, he led the team to the field alive and kicking a week later? It’s almost the same to beat a bad cold virus in a week, and it’s a bit unbelievable to beat a muscle-eating virus.” "So he's got an amazing immune system?" Duvall said. Dahl stared at her, then tossed Finn's communicator to her. "In the past three years, Kerensky has been shot three times, contracted a deadly disease four times, been struck by rubble, involved in a shuttle boat crash, burned in a bridge console explosion, experienced Local airtight pressure drop, suffered from induced psychosis, bitten by two venomous animals, and taken over by alien parasites. This is what happened before the recent plague and field missions." "He also has three sexually transmitted diseases," Duvall read, scrolling through the notes. "Enjoy your date with him," Finn teased. "I think I'll have to order penicillin to burn stones," Duvall said, handing Dahl the communicator, "so you don't think there's any way he's still wandering around unharmed now." "Leaving aside the things that could kill him hundreds of times," Dahl said, "it's incredible that he's acting as if nothing happened. He didn't become a post-traumatic stressor." A classic case of catatonia." "They're going to get rehabilitative psychotherapy," Duvall said. "Yes, but with so many injuries," Dahl said, "seventeen severe injuries and stimuli in three years, that's a narrow escape every two months. He must be an embryo now, that's all Just enough time to recover before the next accident. It's unbelievable." "Do you see a problem?" Duvall said, "or are you just jealous of his physicality?" "The problem is that many things on this ship are incredible." Dahl said, scrolling out more data on the screen. "My superiors and lab colleagues fed me a bunch of nonsense today, about field teams, Kerensky, and other things. But I'm not buying it." "Why?" Duvall asked. "Because I don't think they can convince themselves," Dahl said, "and it doesn't remove any doubts about events like this at all." He frowned at Finn, "You can't get information about Jenkins ?" "You mean the snowman we ran into the other day?" "That's right," Darl said. "There's not a single bit of information about him in the system," Finn said. "It wasn't a ghost we ran into that day," Dahl said. "It's not really," Finn nodded, "it's just that his file is not registered in the system. But since he is a god-level programmer in the minds of your laboratory people, and he is now frequently invading the ship's host system, then he has no It’s no surprise that it’s on the record. Right?” "I think we've got to find him," Dahl said. "Why?" Finn asked. "I think he must know secrets that others don't want to talk about." Dahl said. "Didn't your friends in the lab say he was crazy," Hurst said. "I don't think they thought of Andy as a friend," Hansen said. Everyone looked at Hansen. "What does that mean?" Hearst asked. Hansen shrugged: "They explained why they didn't tell Andy these things in advance, saying that he wouldn't believe what they said if he hadn't experienced it himself. Maybe that's right. But if he wasn't told, Ann would Dee couldn't avoid Commander King and other officers like them to avoid getting involved in the field team. Think about it, guys, all five of us were assigned to the same field team at the same time. Out of thousands of crew members, why us? What do we have in common?" "We're all new here," Duvall said. Hansen nodded: "And so far, none of our colleagues have told us these things unless they are forced to do nothing." "You think it's not because we don't believe them that they don't tell us," Dahl said. "It's because, someone has to die, and they'll be safe if we take the scapegoat." "I'm just assuming," Hansen said. Hurst looked at Hansen with admiration: "I didn't expect you to see things so sharply." Hansen shrugged again: "If you are the heir to the third largest consortium in the history of interstellar, you will also start to question people's motives." He said. "We've got to find Jenkins," Dahl repeated. "We've got to get him to tell us what he knows." "How do you want to find it?" Duvall asked. "Let's start with the cargo aisle," Dahl said.
Notes:
At dinner time, Dahl told his four friends what he had heard in the lab, then turned to Finn: "So, what about the news I asked you to inquire about?" "Got it," Finn said. "Excellent," Dahl said. "Before I start, I want to say that I generally don't work for free." Finn said, handing Dahl his communicator. "Usually the pay for such things is a week's wages. But Since that field mission, I also feel that this shit looks too weird, and I want to figure it out." "What are you two talking about?" Duvall said. "I had Finn get some archival records," Dahl said, "mostly medical records." "Whose?" Duvall asked. "Your boyfriend's," Finn said. Dahl didn't react for a while: "What?" "Duval is dating Kerensky," Finn said. "Shut up, Finn! I didn't!" Duvall glanced at Dahl. "After he recovered, he kept following me and thanked me for saving his life. He said that when he first got on the shuttle, he thought he was going to die because he saw an angel appearing in front of him." "Oh my God!" Hester said, "it turns out that this kind of flirting talk is really useful! I always feel that if I say this, I would rather let me die." "Of course not," Duval agreed. "Anyway, he asked if he could buy me a drink on the next shore leave. I said I'd think about it." "And he said he wasn't a boyfriend." Finn sneered. "I want to poke your eyes out right now," Duvall said, pointing at Finn angrily with a fork. "Why are you interested in Captain Kerensky's medical records?" Hansen asked. "A week ago, Kerensky was infected with a plague," Dahl said, "but he recovered so quickly that he was even able to lead a field mission again. In that mission, he was attacked by a machine and lost consciousness. As a result, he recovered quickly and even had the strength to hook up Maya." "Honestly, he still looked miserable," Duvall said. "Honestly, it's basically death in that condition," Dahl said. "The plague on Merovia dissolves muscle from bone. Kerensky would have died if he had been treated fifteen minutes later." He died. As a result, he led the team to the field alive and kicking a week later? It’s almost the same to beat a bad cold virus in a week, and it’s a bit unbelievable to beat a muscle-eating virus.” "So he's got an amazing immune system?" Duvall said. Dahl stared at her, then tossed Finn's communicator to her. "In the past three years, Kerensky has been shot three times, contracted a deadly disease four times, been struck by rubble, involved in a shuttle boat crash, burned in a bridge console explosion, experienced Local airtight pressure drop, suffered from induced psychosis, bitten by two venomous animals, and taken over by alien parasites. This is what happened before the recent plague and field missions." "He also has three sexually transmitted diseases," Duvall read, scrolling through the notes. "Enjoy your date with him," Finn teased. "I think I'll have to order penicillin to burn stones," Duvall said, handing Dahl the communicator, "so you don't think there's any way he's still wandering around unharmed now." "Leaving aside the things that could kill him hundreds of times," Dahl said, "it's incredible that he's acting as if nothing happened. He didn't become a post-traumatic stressor." A classic case of catatonia." "They're going to get rehabilitative psychotherapy," Duvall said. "Yes, but with so many injuries," Dahl said, "seventeen severe injuries and stimuli in three years, that's a narrow escape every two months. He must be an embryo now, that's all Just enough time to recover before the next accident. It's unbelievable." "Do you see a problem?" Duvall said, "or are you just jealous of his physicality?" "The problem is that many things on this ship are incredible." Dahl said, scrolling out more data on the screen. "My superiors and lab colleagues fed me a bunch of nonsense today, about field teams, Kerensky, and other things. But I'm not buying it." "Why?" Duvall asked. "Because I don't think they can convince themselves," Dahl said, "and it doesn't remove any doubts about events like this at all." He frowned at Finn, "You can't get information about Jenkins ?" "You mean the snowman we ran into the other day?" "That's right," Darl said. "There's not a single bit of information about him in the system," Finn said. "It wasn't a ghost we ran into that day," Dahl said. "It's not really," Finn nodded, "it's just that his file is not registered in the system. But since he is a god-level programmer in the minds of your laboratory people, and he is now frequently invading the ship's host system, then he has no It’s no surprise that it’s on the record. Right?” "I think we've got to find him," Dahl said. "Why?" Finn asked. "I think he must know secrets that others don't want to talk about." Dahl said. "Didn't your friends in the lab say he was crazy," Hurst said. "I don't think they thought of Andy as a friend," Hansen said. Everyone looked at Hansen. "What does that mean?" Hearst asked. Hansen shrugged: "They explained why they didn't tell Andy these things in advance, saying that he wouldn't believe what they said if he hadn't experienced it himself. Maybe that's right. But if he wasn't told, Ann would Dee couldn't avoid Commander King and other officers like them to avoid getting involved in the field team. Think about it, guys, all five of us were assigned to the same field team at the same time. Out of thousands of crew members, why us? What do we have in common?" "We're all new here," Duvall said. Hansen nodded: "And so far, none of our colleagues have told us these things unless they are forced to do nothing." "You think it's not because we don't believe them that they don't tell us," Dahl said. "It's because, someone has to die, and they'll be safe if we take the scapegoat." "I'm just assuming," Hansen said. Hurst looked at Hansen with admiration: "I didn't expect you to see things so sharply." Hansen shrugged again: "If you are the heir to the third largest consortium in the history of interstellar, you will also start to question people's motives." He said. "We've got to find Jenkins," Dahl repeated. "We've got to get him to tell us what he knows." "How do you want to find it?" Duvall asked. "Let's start with the cargo aisle," Dahl said.
Notes: