Chapter 4 third chapter
"I don't know what you two think," Jessie said to Harry and me, "but so far, it's really not what I imagined the Army would be."
"It's not a bad day," I said. "Here, have another donut."
"No need," she said, but took the donut anyway. "What I need is sleep."
I see what she means.It had been eighteen hours since I had been away from home, and almost all of that time had been spent on the road.I wanted to take a nap, but all I could do was sit in the spacious dining room of a starcruiser, drinking coffee and eating donuts with a thousand or so recruits, and waiting for someone to tell us what to do next.At least this part is still very much like the army I imagined.
After arriving at the destination, there was a rush and waiting.As soon as he stepped off the pod car, two colonial union commissioners greeted him.They said we were the last recruits waiting for a ship that was about to take off, so please let us hurry with them so everything can go on time.Immediately afterwards, one of them led the team at the front, and the other went to the back of the crowd to hold the line, and quickly and rudely blasted dozens of elderly people across the entire space station and boarded our spaceship - Henry Harder of the Colonial Defense Force Mori number.
The haste clearly disappointed Jess and Harry, as did I.The colony space station is huge, over a mile in diameter (1,800 meters, I should say; after living seventy-five years, it seems I have to start getting used to metric units).It was the only port of departure for recruits and colonists.Being herded through a space station without being able to stop to take a good look at it feels like a five-year-old being prodded through a toy store at Christmastime by a fast-paced parent.I really want to plop down on the ground and play around until my wish is granted.But unfortunately, I'm too old (or rather, not old enough) to indulge myself like that.
Jess tugged on my sleeve and pointed to our right.In a small, crowded dining area, I saw a blue creature with tentacles holding a martini.I poked Henry: he was completely fascinated, and walked back to stare at the thing.The commissioner at the end of the line panicked, and she hissed with a straight face, driving Harry back to the line.Harry grinned from ear to ear. "It's Gehar," he chuckled.Gehar was one of the first extraterrestrial intelligent beings encountered by humans, before the Colonial Federation had established a monopoly in interstellar travel.This race is very kind, but when eating, it will use dozens of thin tentacles on the top of the head to inject acid into the prey, and then loudly suck the prey that has been corroded by the acid into a sticky shape into its mouth.It's disgusting.
Harry didn't mind.For the first time, he saw a living alien creature.
At the end of the winding road, we entered an air port where the words "USS Henry Hudson/Colonial Recruits" flashed on the flight screen.We all sat down gratefully while the Commissioners went over to talk to a few Colonial Union officials waiting by the hatch of the shuttle.Harry, who was too curious, wandered to the window of the airport to look at our spaceship.Jessie and I followed with our tired bodies.There is a small information screen by the window, which helped us find it among the many ships.
Of course, the Henry Hudson wasn't really docked by the gate.It is very difficult to make a 100,000-ton starship follow the rotating space station synchronously.Like other transportation in the colony, it was kept at a distance from the space station, and supplies, passengers, and crew were transported back and forth by more manoeuvrable transport boats and barges.Docked miles above the space station, the Hudson was sleeker and flatter than the bulky, spoked design that traded off aesthetics for function as colony transport ships.Most importantly, it's not a cylinder or a disk at all.I mentioned this to Harry and he nodded. "Full-time artificial gravity," he said. "Stable over such a large area. Admirable."
"I think we used artificial gravity when we went up," Jessie said.
"That's right," said Harry. "The pod car's gravity generators increased their gravity output as we went up."
"Don't the ships use the same artificial gravity? What's the difference?" Jessie asked.
"It's nothing, it's just extremely difficult," said Harry. "It takes a huge amount of energy to create a gravitational field, and the amount of energy that needs to be generated increases exponentially with the radius of the gravitational field. They probably created many small gravitational fields. , not a large gravitational field, we just can't see it. But even so, it would take a huge amount of energy to create the gravitational field in our pod cars, probably more than the lighting in your hometown for a month More energy."
"I don't know that," Jessie said. "I'm from San Antonio, and we don't have electricity."
"Okay, let's talk about his hometown then," Harry said, prodding me with a thumb, "but the point is, it's a huge waste of energy. Most places that need artificial gravity use Both are wheel like structures, just spin the wheel so that people and cargo stay on the inner rim. It's much simpler and much cheaper. Once the wheel is spinning, only minimal additional energy needs to be added to the system to counteract the friction force; in contrast, creating an artificial gravitational field requires a sustained, massive output of energy."
He pointed to the Henry Hudson, "Look, there is a traffic boat next to the Hudson. Using it as a reference, I estimate that the Hudson should be 800 feet long, 200 feet wide, and 150 feet high. At that Creating an artificial gravitational field around the guy will definitely dim the lights of a city. Even making multiple small gravitational fields is a huge drain on energy. So they either have a propulsion system that can support both the gravitational field and the ship, The energy source for life support systems and other systems, or they have found some new low-energy way to generate gravity."
"Maybe it's not cheap," I said, pointing to the colony transport ship to the right of the Henry Hudson. "Look at that colony ship, it's a spoke design. The colony station is spinning, too."
"It seems that the colonies have left their most advanced technology to the army." Jessie said. "This spaceship is only used to carry recruits. I think you are right, Harry. We are very proud of the organization we have joined." Really ignorant."
Harry grinned, and turned his head to watch the Henry Hudson lazily circling the rotating colony space station, "I'm happiest when I can convince others."
Once again our commissioner led us into a queue for boarding the traffic boat.At the gate of the traffic boat, we handed our identification cards to the Colonial Union official to register our names on a list; an officer next to us handed us a PDA. "You forgot to say something: Thank you for coming to Earth, please accept this lovely farewell gift." I said to him.He didn't seem to get the joke.
Traffic boats are not equipped with artificial gravity.Our specialist told us to fasten our seat belts and warned us not to try to open the buckles under any circumstances; the buckles were out of our control during the flight just to make sure some of us were claustrophobic - This problem is solved.Commissioners are also handing out plastic hair nets to passengers with longer hair.In weightlessness, long hair will fly around.
They also said that if anyone feels sick, please use the vomit bag in the side pocket of the seat.The commissioner also emphasized not to wait until the last second to use it.In zero gravity, the vomit would fly around, annoying the other passengers and making the person who vomited extremely unwelcome for the rest of the voyage and possibly the rest of his military career.As soon as the words fell, several people started to get ready.The woman sitting next to me clutches her vomit bag tightly.I prepared for the worst in my heart.
Thank goodness no one vomited.The road to the Henry Hudson was uneventful.When the gravity disappeared, there was a buzzing in my head: Damn, I fell.Then it feels like being on a smooth and slow roller coaster.About five minutes later, we came to the spaceship.It took a minute or two to dock and dock, and then, a door in the docking area of the traffic boat opened, the traffic boat flew in, and the door closed.Another few minutes of waiting followed as the air was pumped back into the staging area.After a slight sting, gravity suddenly returned—artificial gravity worked.
The door of the parking area of the traffic boat opened, and a completely unfamiliar commissioner appeared in front of him. "Welcome to the Colonial Defense Forces Henry Hudson," she said. "Please unbuckle your seat belts, pack your carry-on luggage, and walk out of the traffic boat docking area along the lighted passageway. In seven minutes, the air will be pumped out on time." The docking area, so that this traffic boat can leave to free up the berth for another traffic boat. So, please move quickly."
Everyone's movements are astonishingly fast.
Next, we were taken into the spacious Henry Hudson lobby, invited to have some coffee, some donuts, a break, and an officer shortly there to explain things to us.While we waited, the hall was filled with recruits, who probably got on the boat before us; an hour later, there were probably hundreds of recruits milling around.I have never seen so many old people at the same time and place.So did Henry. "Feels like being in the world's biggest Wednesday morning," he said, making himself some more coffee.
Just as my bladder was telling me I had had too much coffee, an imposing gentleman in the blue uniform of a colonial diplomat entered and walked towards the front of the hall.The volume in the hall began to drop.It was visibly relieved that someone finally came to tell everyone what the fuck was up to.
The man stood for a few minutes, waiting for the hall to quiet down. "Hi everyone," he said, and we all jumped.His voice came through the speakers on the wall, and he must have been wearing a chest mic. "My name is Sam Campbell, and I am an assistant assigned by the Colonial Union to the Colonial Defense Force. Although I am not a member of the Colonial Defense Force in terms of establishment, I have been authorized to train you on behalf of the Colonial Army. Therefore, in You can consider me your commander for the next few days. Well, I know that many of you have just arrived on the last transport boat and are eager to rest; while others are already on the ship I've been up here for almost a day now and am wondering what to do next. In order to take care of both groups, I won't be talking very long.
"In about an hour, the Colonial Army's Henry Hudson will deorbit for its first jump to the Phoenix system. We will make a brief stop there to recharge before proceeding to Beta Compass III , you will start your training there. Don't worry, I don't expect you to understand what I'm saying. What you need to know is that we won't start the first jump for a little over two days, and in the meantime, I Your staff will conduct a series of psychological and physical assessments for you. Now, your timetable is being downloaded to your PDA, please take a look at your convenience. If you want to go somewhere, your PDA will also guide you , so don't worry about getting lost. Those who have just set foot on the Henry Hudson can also find the room assignment list on your PDA.
"Tonight, I don't want you to do anything other than find your way back to your respective rooms. Many of you have already traveled for a long time, and I hope you rest well for tomorrow's assessment. By the way, it's time for you to get used to the boat. It's time. It's Colonial Planet Universal Standard Time here. It's—" He looked at his watch—"Colonial time. Your PDAs have been adjusted to the ship's time. Tomorrow's breakfast starts at 0600 0730, that's the first step, followed by physical assessment and physical enhancement. Breakfast is not mandatory - you have not started to be bound by the army timetable - but tomorrow will be hard all day, so I strongly recommend You have breakfast.
"If you have any questions, your PDA can be connected to the information system of the Henry Hudson and use the artificial intelligence interface to help you. Just write down the question with a stylus or speak it into the microphone of the PDA. Yes. The staff of the Colonial Union can be found on every deck in the guest room area, please ask them for help. According to your personal information, our medical staff has already grasped your physical condition, and may have already made an appointment with you Time, will visit your rooms tonight, just check your PDAs. You can also go to the infirmary on the ship at any time. The lobby will be open all night tonight, but will start opening on normal operating hours tomorrow. Say it again , please check the timetable and menus from your PDA. Finally, everyone should wear the colonial army recruit uniform tomorrow, and the uniform is being sent to your room."
Campbell pauses for a second, and I think he thinks it's important to give everyone that glare. "On behalf of the Colonial Union and the Colonial Defense Force, I welcome you all as our newest members and defenders. May God bless you and keep your future safe.
"If you want to see the de-orbiting scene, we will show the video in the theater on the observation deck. The theater is very large and can accommodate all recruits, so there is no need to worry about no seats. The Henry Hudson is very fast, tomorrow Before breakfast, the earth will be a very small disk; until supper, it will be just a dot in the sky. This will most likely be your last chance to see your own planet. If you want to see it again, Go see it in the theater."
"Hi, how's your new roommate?" Harry asked, taking the seat next to me in the theater on the observation deck.
"I really don't want to mention it," I said.I use the PDA to look up directions, go to my room, and find my roommate already packing: Leon Dick.He glanced at me and said, "Oh, look, it's a Bible monster." Since then, he's purposely ignoring me—a lot of work in a ten-foot-square room.Leon took the lower berth (ideal for seventy-five-year-old knees); I dumped my luggage on the upper berth and took my PDA to Jessie, who lived on the same deck .Her roommate, a nice lady named Maggie, said hi to me and went out to watch the Henry Hudson de-orbit.I told Jessie who my roommate was and she laughed.
She told Harry about it and smiled again.Harry patted me on the shoulder sympathetically, "Don't be too sad, bear with it, you'll be fine once you reach Beta Compass III."
"I don't know where the hell it is," I said. "How's your roommate?"
"I can't tell you," said Harry. "He was asleep when I got to the room. He took the lower bunk too, the bitch."
“My roommate is so cute,” Jess said. “When I met her, she gave me a home-baked cookie. She said it was a parting gift from her granddaughter.”
"She didn't give me a cookie," I said.
"Well, but she doesn't live with you, does she?"
"How do the cookies taste?" Harry asked.
"Hard as a rock of cereal," Jessie said, "but that doesn't matter. What matters is that my roommate is the best of the three of us, so I'm a head taller than you. Look, there's the Earth. ’ she said, pointing to the large screen in the theatre.The earth hangs there, lifelike.Whoever made this screen did a great job.
“I wish I had a screen like this in my living room,” Harry said. “That way I could have the most popular Super Bowl party on the block.”
"Look," I said, "that's where we've lived all our lives. Everyone we've ever known or loved was there. And now we're leaving it. Don't you feel bad?"
"I'm excited," Jessie said, "and sad. But not too sad."
"Obviously not," Harry said. "Anyway, there's nothing much to do there but grow old and die."
"But you're still likely to die," I said. "You're joining the army."
"Yes, but I will not die of old age," Harry said. "I will have another chance to die in the prime of life, leaving a beautiful body. This will make up for missing the first chance. gone."
"You're such a romantic." Jessie said deadpan.
"Exactly," said Harry.
"Listen," I said, "we're starting to get off track."
The Henry Hudson's communication with the colony station is heard over the speakers in the theater.It was departing, followed by a muffled knocking sound, accompanied by such a slight vibration that we could barely feel it through the seat.
"Engine," said Harry.Jessie and I nodded.
The earth began to shrink slowly on the screen.It's still massive, in bright blue and white, but the screen space it takes up is clearly shrinking inexorably.All the recruits are here, silently watching it go away.I looked at Harry, who was silent as he had been talking a while ago; a teardrop hung on Jessie's cheek.
"Hey," I said, taking her hand, "didn't you just say you weren't too sad?"
She smiled and took my hand. "Well," she said hoarsely, "it's not too sad. But nevertheless, nevertheless..."
We continued to sit there, watching everything we once knew recede on the screen.
I set the PDA's alarm clock for 0600, and the tiny speaker blared softly, with the volume crescendoing until I woke up.I turned off the music, quietly climbed down from the upper bunk, turned on a small light in the closet, and rummaged for towels.In the closet are Leon's and my recruit uniforms: two sets of colonial light blue top and pants, two light blue T-shirts, two pairs of blue chino drawstring pants, two pairs of white socks, simple underwear and two pairs of blue sneakers.It's clear at a glance that we don't need to wear formal uniforms until we arrive at Beta Compass III.I pulled on my pants and T-shirt, grabbed a towel hanging in the closet, and rattled down the aisle to shower.
When I got back, all the lights were on full blast, but Leon was still in bed.The light must have come on automatically.I put my top over my T-shirt, socks and sneakers.When you're ready, go for a jog, or whatever else you're supposed to be doing for the day.The first step is to eat breakfast.On the way out, I gently pushed Leon.He's an idiot, but even an idiot probably wants to eat before going to sleep.I asked him if he wanted to have breakfast.
"What?" he said in a daze. "Don't eat. Leave me alone."
"Really, Leon?" I asked. "You know what people say about breakfast? It's the most important meal of the day and stuff like that. Come on, you need energy."
Leon complained: "My mother has been dead for thirty years, and as far as I know, she has not possessed you. So, please get out and let me sleep well."
It's nice to see that Leon hasn't softened one bit towards me. "Okay," I said, "I'll come back after breakfast."
Leon whimpered and turned over.
I married myself to a woman who was good at making breakfast, and her skills could have stopped Gandhi from hunger strikes.But I still have to say, the breakfast was amazing.I ate two golden and crunchy Belgian waffles, indulging in the goodness of powdered sugar and syrup.The syrup tasted very much like the real thing (if you can't tell the taste of Vermont maple syrup when you eat it, you've never had real Vermont maple syrup).There is a deep hollow in the middle of the square waffle, filled with a spoonful of cream, no more, no less, just to fill the pit.The eggs were tender and served with four thick slices of brown sugar ham; the orange juice was so fresh that the oranges apparently didn't realize they had been squeezed;
I felt like I was dead and in heaven.I'm officially legally dead on Earth and flying through the solar system in a spaceship, so I don't think that's too far off the mark.
"Oh my gosh," said the guy eating breakfast next to me as soon as I set down the overstuffed tray, "Look how much oil is on this tray! You're going to get coronary heart disease like that. I It's a doctor, I know."
"Well, oh," I said, pointing to his tray, "Looks like you're trying to kill a four-egg omelet with a pound of ham and a pound to go."
"'Do as I say, not as I do.' That's my mantra as a physician," he said. Blindly follow my pathetic example and they will all be alive and well now. This is a lesson for all of us. By the way, my name is Thomas Jane."
"John Perry," I said, shaking his hand.
"Nice to meet you," he said, "and sad at the same time. Because if you eat all of this, you'll die of a heart attack within an hour."
"Don't listen to him, John," said the woman sitting across from us, who still had some pancakes and sausages on her plate, "just so you can give him something to eat so he doesn't have to go to the Queue. That's how I lost half my sausages."
"This allegation, while true, has nothing to do with my diagnosis," Thomas said indignantly. "I admit I coveted his Belgian waffles, yes, I won't deny that. But at the expense of my own coronary arteries To prolong his life, my sacrifice is worth it. Think of it as throwing a grenade for my comrade."
"Most grenades are not dipped in syrup," she said.
“Maybe they should be doused in syrup,” Thomas said. “That way the act of self-sacrifice would increase a lot.”
"Here you are," I said, cutting off half a waffle, "and jump on it."
"I'll throw myself on it," Thomas promised.
"It's a relief to hear from you," I said.
A woman on the other side of the table introduced herself.Her name is Susan Reardon, and she had been living in Bellevue, Washington. "How do you feel about our little cosmic adventure so far?" she asked me.
"If I had known that the cooking level here was so high, I might have joined the army through the back door a few years ago." I said, "Who would have thought that the food in the army would be like this."
"I don't think we've actually enlisted yet," said Thomas, mouthful of waffles. "You know what I mean, it's like the Colonial Defense Forces waiting room. In a real army, the food would be much less. Yes, we probably won’t be allowed to walk around in sneakers like we do now.”
"So you think they're trying to get us used to it?" I said.
"Yes," said Thomas. "Well, there are a thousand complete strangers on this ship, all of whom are now without homes, relatives, or jobs. Mentally, it's quite a blow. Courtesy Fabulous food to completely occupy our minds, that's the minimum."
"John!" Harry in the queue spotted me, and I waved for him to come over.He and another man came over with a tray.
"This is my roommate, Alan Rosenthal," he introduced.
"It used to be called 'Sleeping Beauty'." I said.
"That's half the description," Alan said. "I'm absolutely beautiful." I introduced Harry and Alan to Susan and Thomas.
"Tsk tsk, tsk tsk," Thomas looked at their tray, "so much fat, it looks like two more heart attacks."
"Harry, you'd better throw some ham at Tom," I said, "or we'll be harassed by him forever."
"I resent the suggestion that I can be bought by food," Thomas said.
"He didn't hint," said Susan, "he said it plainly."
"Well, I know you're unlucky to have a good roommate," Harry told me, offering two hams, which Thomas accepted with all seriousness. "But I'm lucky. Alan's a theoretical physicist, and he's brilliant."
"And it's so beautiful." Susan interjected.
"Thank you for remembering this detail," Alan said.
"Since there's a table of smart adults here," Harry said, "what do you think we'll be doing today?"
"They arranged for me to have a medical at 0800," I said. "I think we're all going to have a medical."
"That's right," said Harry, "but I'm asking what people think the physical exam means. Do you think we're going to start rejuvenation treatments today? Are we going to stop aging from today?"
"None of us know about the problem of not getting old," Thomas said. "It's just what we all think, because everyone thinks soldiers should be young and strong. But when you think about it, none of us have actually seen colonialism." Soldiers of the Defense Forces, these are just speculations, and it is very likely that they are very wrong."
"What's an old soldier worth?" Alan asked. "I'm no good to anyone if they're going to put me on the battlefield like this. I have a bad back and nearly walked from the pod car to the gate of the ship yesterday." Killed me. I can't imagine marching twenty miles with packs and weapons."
"I think we all obviously need repairs," Thomas said, "but it's not the same as being 'younger' again. I'm a doctor and I know a little bit about this kind of thing. You can improve your physique and improve your performance at any age, But a certain age has a certain limit of ability. A seventy-five-year-old body is naturally slower and less flexible, and it is harder to repair than when it was young. Of course, it can still do some amazing things. I don’t want to boast, But to tell you the truth, when I was on Earth, I regularly ran ten-kilometer races. I just ran one less than a month ago, and it took me less time than when I was fifty-five."
"What were you like when you were fifty-five?" I asked.
"Well, here's the point," Thomas said. "I was a fat slob when I was fifty-five. I didn't take care of my body until I had a heart transplant. I mean, a hard-bodied seventy Five-year-olds can actually do a lot of things, you don't have to be 'young', you just need to be in good physical condition. Maybe this is the only thing this army asks of us. Maybe all other intelligent races in space can't handle it If that were the case, it would make sense, odd as it is, to call up veterans. Because young people are more useful to society, and they have a lifetime ahead of them, and we are perfectly expendable."
"So maybe we're not going to get younger, we're just going to be very, very healthy," Harry said. "Exactly," said Thomas.
"Okay, don't say any more. It's very discouraging to say that," said Harry.
"As long as you give me your fruit mix, I'll shut up," Thomas said.
"Even if, as you say, we're turned into seventy-five-year-olds in great shape," Susan said, "we'll keep aging. In five years' time, we'll be eighty-year-olds in great shape." Old man. As a soldier, that will be the upper limit of our residual heat."
Thomas shrugged, "The enlistment period we signed is two years, maybe they only need us to serve for so long. The difference between seventy-five and seventy-seven is not as big as the difference between seventy-five and eighty, even Can't keep up with the difference between seventy-seven and eighty. Thousands of people enlist every year, and after two years, they replace us with a fresh batch of soldiers."
"They can extend our service to ten years," I said. "It's in the fine print of the enlistment agreement. It shows that they have the means to keep our bodies going for that long."
"They still have our DNA records," Harry said. "Maybe they've cloned a batch of our organs."
"That's right," Thomas admitted, "but it's a huge undertaking to transplant individual organs, bones, muscles, and nerves from clones to us one by one. Even so, they have to grudgingly accept our brains." , that cannot be transplanted."
Thomas looked around and saw that he was frustrating a table full of people. "I'm not saying we won't be rejuvenated," he said. "Just based on what I saw on the spacecraft, I believe that the colonial alliance's technological level is much higher than that of the earth. But as a doctor of internal medicine, I am very It's hard to see how they can completely reverse the aging process, as everyone thinks."
"It is impossible to reverse aging, and the balance of entropy is enough to dispel all possibilities." Alan said, "We have many theories, all of which prove that this is an iron law."
"But there is a piece of evidence that, whatever they do, they will greatly improve our bodily functions," I said.
"Tell me now," said Harry, "Tom's theory about the oldest army in the galaxy is turning me off."
"Appetite, that's it," I said, "if they couldn't trim our bodies, they wouldn't feed us food that was greasy enough to kill most people in a month."
"That's very true," said Susan. "You've made a strong argument, John. I'm feeling better already."
"Thank you," I said, "and based on this piece of evidence, I believe the Colonial Guards will cure me of all ailments. Well, I'll be back for a while."
"Since you're getting up, get me some pancakes by the way," Thomas said.
"Hi, Leon," I pushed his slack body, "waking up, bedtime is over. You have something to do at eight o'clock."
Leon lay on the bed like a mountain of meat.I rolled my eyes, sighed, bent over and pushed him vigorously, but noticed that his lips were a little dark.
Oh damn it.I thought, and shook him again.Still nothing.I grabbed his body and dragged him off the bed to the floor.It felt like dragging a dead body.
I grabbed the PDA, called for medical assistance, and knelt beside him blowing into his mouth and compressing his chest until two paramedics arrived and pulled me away from him.
A small crowd had gathered outside the open door.I spotted Jessie and reached out and pulled her into the house.As soon as she saw Leon lying on the floor, she immediately covered her mouth with one hand.I took her in my arms.
"How is he?" I asked a doctor who was reviewing the PDA.
"He's dead," he said. "Been dead for about an hour. Looks like he had a heart attack." He put down his PDA, stood up, and glanced down at Leon. "Poor guy. It's all over here." One step, but there is something wrong with the heart."
“Last minute volunteering with the ghost brigade,” said another colonial doctor.
I gave him a hard look.It's really inappropriate to joke around at a time like this.
Notes:
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