Chapter 5 Chapter Four
"Okay, let's see." I walked into the office, and the doctor glanced at his rather large PDA. "You're John Perry, aren't you?"
"Yes." I said.
"I'm Dr. Russell." He said, looking me up and down.
"Looks like your dog just died," he said.
"Actually," I said, "it was my roommate who died."
"Oh, yes," he said, glancing at the PDA again, "Leon Dick. If it weren't for that, it would be his turn after I've done it for you. Bad luck. Well, then Just delete him from your calendar." He tapped the PDA screen for a few seconds before grinning at me with a half-smile.This Dr. Russell's attitude towards his patients really needs to be improved.
"Okay," he turned his attention back to me, "come and see you."
The office was just Dr. Russell, me, a chair for the doctor, a small table, and two cots.The shape of the small bed is consistent with the curve of the human body, and a transparent arc-shaped cover is bent into an arch to cover the respective areas of the two small beds.At the head of each cot is an arm-like rod, with a cup attached to the end. The "cup" looks about the size of a human head.To be honest, this stuff made me a little nervous.
"Go here, get comfortable, and we'll begin," said Dr. Russell, opening the cover of the cot closest to me.
"Should I take off my clothes?" I asked.Since it was a physical examination, of course it was necessary to look at this body.
"No," he said, "but if you feel more comfortable doing so, feel free to."
"Is there anyone else who strips without asking?" I asked.
"Actually, there are," he said. "If you've been told to do a certain thing in a certain way all the time, it's hard to break the habit."
I didn't undress.I put my PDA on the table, walked to the crib, turned around, and lay back.Dr. Russell closed the hood and walked back. "Stay still, I'll adjust the cot." He clicked on his PDA while talking.I felt the cot adjust to the pressure from my body, allowing the curves to better fit my shape.
"It's kind of creepy," I said.
Dr. Russell smiled. "The next thing you'll feel is a little shock," he said.You are right.
"By the way," I said, the crib rocking softly under me, "those guys who were in the waiting room with me just now, where did they go when they came in?"
"Go through that door over there." He waved his hand behind him, without looking up, just staring at the PDA, "That's the recovery area."
"The recovery area?"
"Don't worry," he said, "I'm making the physical exam sound a lot scarier. In fact, your scan is already done." He tapped the PDA again, and the vibration stopped.
"What should I do now?" I asked.
"Wait a minute," said Dr. Russell. "We have a little work to do, and we need to see the results of your medical examination."
"You mean the medical exam is over?" I asked.
"Modern medicine is awesome, isn't it?" he said, showing me the screen of his PDA, which was downloading my scans. "You don't even have to say 'Ah—'."
"Yes, but how detailed will the results be?"
"Very detailed," he said. "Mr. Perry, when was your last medical examination?"
"About six months ago," I said.
"What's the diagnosis from your physician?"
"He said that my body is not bad, but my blood pressure is a bit high. What's wrong?"
"Well, he's basically right," said Dr. Russell, "though he seems to have missed the testicular cancer."
"What?" I said.
Dr. Russell turned the PDA on me again.This time, a color display of my genitals appeared on the screen.It was the first time in my life that I saw my private parts in front of my eyes. "Here," he said, pointing to a black spot on my left testicle, "this is a nodule. The root is also very large. It's cancer, unmistakable."
I stared at him. "You know, Dr. Russell, most doctors deliver bad news in a more tactful way."
"I'm sorry, Mr. Perry," said Dr. Russell. "I don't want to look like I have nothing to do with it. But it's really not a problem. Even on Earth, testicular cancer is easily curable, especially Early cases like yours. The worst outcome is loss of testicles, no big deal."
"Unless you happen to be the owner of that ball," I grumbled.
"It's more of a psychological thing," Dr. Russell said. "I don't want you to worry about it, here and now, anyway. In a few days, you'll have a full physical overhaul, and we'll treat you Your testicles. Should be fine for a few days. The cancer is still in the testicles, it hasn't spread to the lungs or lymph nodes. You're fine."
"Will I lose my testicles?" I asked.
Dr. Russell smiled. "I think you can keep it," he said, "but it really doesn't matter, it's nothing to worry about. Well, apart from the cancer, which I said was not a big deal, you're in as good shape as anyone your age. This is good news, we don't need to do anything else for you at this time."
"What do you do if you find something serious?" I asked. "I mean, what if it's terminal cancer?"
"'Terminal' is a very inaccurate word, Mr. Perry," said Dr. Russell. "In the long run, we are all terminal patients. What we really want to do with this physical examination is The collapsed recruits are stabilized, ensuring they survive the next few days. The situation with your unfortunate roommate, Mr. Died before the medical examination. It's not a good thing for all of us."
Dr. Russell checked the PDA. "Here, let's take Mr. Dick, who died of a heart attack. He could have removed the buildup in his arteries and given him drugs to strengthen the walls of the arteries and prevent them from bursting. That's Our most common treatment. With a little support, most seventy-five-year-old arteries can last a little longer. Using your example again, if you have terminal cancer, we control the tumors so they don't Compromise your vital functions immediately and isolate the affected area to ensure that you are safe for the next few days."
"Why don't you cure it?" I asked. "Since you can 'isolate' the affected area, you probably have the ability to completely cure it if you want."
"It can be done, but it is not necessary," said Dr. Russell. "In a few days, you will undergo a more comprehensive physical overhaul. We just need to keep you alive until that moment."
"Having said that, what do you mean by 'full body overhaul'?"
"That means when the overhaul is over, you'll wonder why you were worried about testicular cancer," he said. "I promise you. Well, now we need to do one more thing. Heads forward."
I did as I was told.Dr. Russell reached down and pulled the hair-raising cup down, directly above my head. "In the next few days, we need to get a good understanding of your brain activity, which is very important." Stepping back, "So, in order to do this, I'm going to implant a sensor in your head." After speaking, he tapped the screen of the PDA.By this time, I had begun to worry about his action.The cup attached to my head with a slight click.
"How?" I asked.
"Well, now, you may feel a slight tingling in the scalp and the nape of your neck," said Dr. Russell.indeed so. "It's the syringes that do the positioning. They're like tiny hypodermic needles that inject the sensors. The sensors themselves are very small, but there are a lot of them, around 20,000. Don't worry, they're self-sterilizing."
"Will it hurt?" I asked.
"It won't hurt too much," he said, tapping the PDA screen.Immediately, 20,000 tiny sensors hit my head, and my head seemed to be hit by four pick handles at the same time, and it hurt terribly.
"Damn it!" I put my head in my hands and slammed it against the cover of the crib. "You son of a bitch!" I yelled at Dr. Russell. "You said it wouldn't hurt."
"I said 'it won't hurt too much,'" Dr. Russell said.
"Won't it hurt so much? Won't it hurt like your head was stepped on by an elephant?"
"It doesn't hurt as much as when the sensors connect to each other," Russell said. "Once they connect, the pain stops. Well, hold on, it's only a minute." He tapped the PDA again .In my head, 80,000 needles pierce out at the same time, piercing in all directions.
Never in my life have I wanted to beat up a doctor so much.
"I don't know," Harry was saying, "I think it's a funny look." He rubbed his head. Like everyone else's head, his was covered with dusty spots. Twenty thousand A subcutaneous sensor is measuring brain activity there.
At lunchtime, the breakfast group got together again.This time, we're joined by Jess and her roommate, Maggie.Harry announced that we were now an official clique, named it The Old Stuff Club, and asked us to start a food-throwing game at the next table.His proposal was rejected, largely because Thomas pointed out that we couldn't eat the food thrown.Although this is almost impossible, lunch is indeed more substantial than breakfast.
"Fortunately," said Thomas, "that little brain injection this morning pissed me off. If lunch wasn't so good, I'd be so pissed I could barely eat it."
"Unbelievable," Susan said.
"Note the word 'almost,'" Thomas said, "but let me tell you, I wish I had a cot like that when I was on earth. It would reduce appointments by eighty percent, and I'd More time to play golf."
"You take so much care of your patients," Jessie said.
"Don't slander me," Thomas said. "Most of the people I play golf with are my patients, and they all wish they had more golf time. Well, I hate to say it, but the cot does make me feel better." My doctor made a brilliant diagnosis on me, better than me. That thing is a doctor's dream. It found a microscopic tumor in my pancreas. There is no way I can find it on earth , unless it gets many times bigger, or the patient starts showing symptoms. Has anyone else discovered something latent that would surprise them?"
"Cancer," said Harry, "lung cancer."
"Ovarian cyst," Jessie said.So does Maggie.
"Early rheumatoid arthritis," Allan said.
"Testicular cancer," I said.
Hearing this, everyone at the table grimaced. "Ouch," Thomas said.
"They told me I'd survive," I said.
"It's just a little unbalanced when I walk." Susan said.
"Enough," I said.
"What I don't understand is, why don't they treat these problems?" Jessie said. "My doctor showed me a cyst the size of a police light, but told me not to worry. Worry about such a thing."
"Thomas, it is said that you are a doctor," Susan said, gently touching her dark gray eyebrows, "what's the matter with those little bastards in here? Why don't you just give us a brain scan? "
"I really don't know anything. If I had to guess," Thomas said, "I think they're trying to watch our brains while we're training. But that's not going to happen by tying us to machines. It was realized on the Internet, so they thought of a different way and tied the machine to us."
"I thought of that, thank you for such a convincing explanation." Susan said, "What I want to ask is, what is the purpose of this measurement?"
"I don't know," Thomas said. "Maybe they still want to give us brain transplants after all; or maybe they have a way to replenish new brain matter, so we have to see what parts of our brain need to be improved. Just hope they don't put it on again." Another set of this shit got stuck in. The first set of shit already killed me."
"Speaking of dying," Alan turned to me, "I heard you lost your roommate this morning. Are you okay?"
"I'm fine," I said, "but it's still nerve-wracking. My doctor said that if he survived this morning's physical, they'd probably be able to remove the plaque from his blood vessels. Something, let him live. I should have forced him to wake him up for breakfast, and maybe he'd survive until the medical exam."
"Don't beat yourself up," Thomas said. "You never knew this was going to happen. Birth, old age, sickness and death are natural."
"Yeah, but not within a few days of a 'full physical overhaul,' my doctor said."
Harry cut in: "It's not like I'm completely indifferent to other people's feelings—"
"As soon as you hear it, you know it's not a good thing." Susan said.
"—only when I was in college," Harry went on, throwing a slice of bread at Susan, "you were usually allowed to skip your final exams for that semester if your roommate died. Everyone understood, you Got hit."
"That's right, your dead roommate didn't have to take the test either, for the same reason. How strange!" Susan said.
"That's a new idea," Harry said. "What I'm trying to say is, do you think they'll allow you to skip the assessment that's scheduled for today?"
"I don't know," I said, "and even if they agreed, I wouldn't accept it. What else could I do, sit in a room all day? If it's depressing, that's the most depressing place. Someone in that room died."
"You can switch rooms," Jessie said, "maybe someone else's roommate died too."
"That's a crazy idea," I said. "Anyway, I don't want to move. Of course, I'm sorry for Leon's death, but now, the whole room is mine."
"It seems that your recovery process has begun." Alan said.
"Just trying to forget about it," I said.
"You're not very talkative, are you?" Susan said suddenly to Maggie.
"Yes," Maggie said.
"Hey, what's next on everyone's schedule?" Jessie asked.
Harry and I took the first test together.We were directed to a conference room where tables and chairs were already set up.
"What the hell," said Harry, as he sat down, "like back in middle school."
Our Colonial Commissioner came in and acted as examiner.Harry's judgment was further confirmed. "You will now be tested on basic language and math skills," said the examiner. "The first test questions are being downloaded to your PDAs, multiple choice. Please answer as many questions as you can within the thirty minute time limit. If you are in Completed all questions ahead of schedule within thirty minutes, please sit still or check your answers. Please do not discuss with other subjects. Start now."
I looked down at my PDA, which was a word comparison question.
"You must be joking," I said.Others in the room were giggling too.Harry held up his hand. "Master," he said, "how many points do I need to get into Harvard?"
"I've heard such jokes before," said the Colonial Commissioner. "Please calm down and answer the questions."
"I've waited sixty years to get some sort of high score in maths," said Harry. "Let's see what we get this time."
The second test was even more outrageous.
"Please stare at this white square. Use your eyes only, don't move your head." The Colonial Commissioner dimmed the lights in the room.Sixty pairs of eyes focused on the square on the wall.Slowly, the box starts to move.
"I can't believe this is what I came to space for," Harry said.
"Maybe it'll get better," I said. "With luck, there'll be another white square in a bit."
A second white square appears on the wall.
"You've been here before, haven't you?" said Harry.
Next, Harry and I parted ways.I enjoyed the next batch of tests on my own.
The first room I entered contained a Colonial Commissioner and a collection of blocks.
"Please build a house out of these blocks," said the Colonial Commissioner.
"Can you reward me with a box of juice after the build?" I said.
"I'll do my best," the Colonial Commissioner promised.I built a house out of blocks and went into the next room where the Colonial Commissioner pulled out a piece of paper and a pen.
"Please start from the center of the maze and see if you can get to the periphery."
"Jesus," I said, "a drugged rat can do it."
"I hope you can," said the Colonial Commissioner. "Well, let's see how you do it."
I did it.The Colonial Commissioner in the next room made me read the numbers and letters.I learned how to behave, no longer pondering why, just follow their orders.
Later in the afternoon, I was fired up.
"I have seen your file," said the Colonial Commissioner.It was a thin young man who looked as though a gust of wind could fly him into the sky like a kite.
"Got it." I said.
"The file says you were married."
"That's right."
"Do you like it? Do you like marriage?"
"Of course. It's better to be married than not to be married."
He smiled hypocritically, "What happened later? Divorced? Flirting around?"
Although this guy is annoying, but there is still a little bit of something, which makes people feel quite funny.But now, I don't think he's funny. "She passed away," I said.
"Oh? What's going on?"
"Stroke."
"I love strokes," he said. "Boom, brains blown into a mess. Good thing she got her braids up when she had a stroke, or she'd be fat like, you know, like a big bedridden turnip. You've got to Feed her a straw or something." He made a snorting noise.
I did not say anything.Part of my brain was calculating how fast I could rush over and snap his neck; but I sat still, sudden shock and anger taking over most of my thoughts.I couldn't believe everything I was hearing.
In the back of my head, a voice told me to start breathing or I would pass out.
The Colonial Commissioner's PDA suddenly buzzed. "Well," he said, standing up quickly, "our testing is over. Mr. Perry, allow me to apologize for the comment I made about your wife's passing. My job here is to Quickly elicit an angry response from recruits. Our mental models show that you would have an extremely negative reaction to the kind of comment I just made. Personally, I would never make that kind of comment about your late wife comment, please understand."
I foolishly blinked at him several times, and then yelled at him: "What kind of disgusting and perverted test is this?!"
"I also thought it was an extremely unpleasant test, and I apologize again. I was just ordered to complete the task, nothing else."
"Jesus!" I said, "you know what, I almost went up there and broke your neck."
"Actually, I know." His voice is composed, and he really knows. "My PDA has been tracking your thoughts. Before you are ready to jump, it sounds the warning bell. But even if it doesn't , I know that too. I've been doing this job and I know what to expect."
I'm still trying to calm my anger. "You do this to every recruit?" I asked. "Then how are you still alive?"
"I understand the problem," said the man. "In fact, I was chosen for the job because I was small and the recruits thought they could beat me to pieces. But I can subdue a recruit if I have to. Usually, of course, it is not necessary. As I said, I have been doing this job for a long time."
"That's not a good job," I said, finally regaining my sanity.
"'I don't go to hell, who goes to hell,'" said the man, "I think this job is very interesting. You see, every recruit is irritated by different things. But you are right, this job It's a lot of pressure and not everyone can handle it."
"I bet you're not very popular at the bar," I said.
"Actually, I'm attractive when people say I'm not deliberately provocative. Mr. Perry, our assessment is over. Go through the door on your right to start the next assessment. "
"They won't mess with me again, will they?"
"You may still be angry," the man said, "but if so, it's on you. We only do this test once."
I walked towards the door, but stopped again. "I know you're doing your job," I said, "but I still want you to know that my wife is a very good person and she shouldn't be used like this."
"I know, Mr. Perry," said the man, "I know."
I went through that door.
In the next room was a very beautiful young lady completely naked.She wanted me to do my best to tell her what had happened at my seventh birthday party.
"I can't believe they showed us that movie before dinner," Jessie said.
"It wasn't before dinner," Thomas said, "and then there was Bugs Bunny. After all, that movie wasn't really that bad."
"Yeah, um, maybe you won't be turned upside down by a bowel dissection movie, doctor, but we all thought it was a hell of a movie," Jessie said.
"So you don't want your ribs coaxed?" Thomas said, pointing to her plate. "Has anyone ever met a naked woman asking about her childhood?" I asked.
"I met a man like that," said Susan.
"Woman," said Harry.
"Man," Jessie said.
"Woman," Thomas said.
"Man," Alan said.
We all looked at him.
"What's wrong?" Alan said, "I'm gay."
"What's going on here?" I asked, "I mean the naked guy, not Alan's gay leanings."
"Thank you." Alan said dryly.
"They're trying to elicit certain specific responses, that's all," Harry said. "All the tests today are designed to assess the most basic intellectual or emotional responses that underlie the more sophisticated intellectual and emotional abilities. They just Trying to figure out our basic thinking and reactions. Nudity is obviously meant to turn you on sexually."
"But what about childhood? That's my question," I said.
Harry shrugged, "If you don't feel a little bit guilty, what's the excitement in pure sex?"
"I hated the test they pissed me off the most," Thomas said. "I swear, I was going to punch that guy. He said he hadn't won a world championship for two centuries and should have been relegated. "
"I think that's true," said Susan.
"Don't mess with me," Thomas said. "Listen, I'm warning you, don't make fun of the Cubs."
If the test on the first day insults your intelligence, then the test on the second day insults your physical strength, or in other words, treats you as someone who has no physical strength.
"Here's a ball," an examiner said to me, "smack it." I did and was told to move on to the next test.
I walked around the small track.I was ordered to run for a short distance.I did a little calisthenics.I played a video game.I was ordered to shoot a target on the wall with a light gun.I took a swim. (I love this part. I've always loved swimming, but I just don't like putting my head in water.) For two hours, I was left in an entertainment hall with dozens of other people who let us do what we liked.I played pool.I played a game of table tennis.I also played around.
I didn't break a sweat in any of the activities.
"What the hell is this army?" I asked the other old stuff in our little club over lunch.
"There's a bit of truth to it," Harry said. "Yesterday we had a basic mental and emotional assessment, and today it's a basic physical fitness assessment. It seems like they're only interested in the parts that form the basis for advanced activities."
"I didn't expect that playing table tennis is also an indicator of advanced physical activity."
"Hand-eye coordination," Harry said, "timing, precision."
"It's hard to tell when you need to kick a grenade back with a racket," Alan interjected.
"That's right," said Harry. "So what do you want them to do? Let's run a marathon? We'll all go down if we don't run a mile."
"Just you, flabby guy," Thomas said.
"I'll correct you," Harry said, "our friend Thomas will run five miles before his heart will burst—if he hasn't had a stomach cramp from food before then."
"Don't be silly," Thomas said, "everyone knows you need carbs before a run. So, I'm going to go back and get some more baguette."
"You don't have to run a marathon, Thomas," Susan said.
"It's early anyway," Thomas said.
"Honestly," Jessie said, "I don't have anything else on my schedule. I don't have anything planned for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, the only thing on the schedule is from 0600 to 1200 points, 'achieve physical enhancement', and 2000 points after dinner for all recruits to assemble."
"It's not on my schedule until tomorrow," I said.I glanced at the table full of people, it seems that everyone has finished their work today. "Well, then," I said, "what shall we play?"
"Isn't there a push game?" Susan said.
"I've got a better idea," said Harry. "1500, anyone?" We all shook our heads.
"Great," Harry said, "and meet me here until then. I'll arrange a field trip for the oldies."
"Is it okay to come to this place?" Jessie asked.
"Of course it's fine," Harry said. "Even if this isn't where we're supposed to be, what can they do? We haven't actually enlisted yet. There's no way they'll be court-martialed."
"True, but they might throw us out of the capsule into space," Jessie said. "Don't be silly," said Harry, "that would be a waste of clean air."
Harry took us to the observation deck of the ship's colony.We recruits were never explicitly instructed not to go on the decks of the colony, but no one said we could do so, or have the right to do so.We just stood on the empty deck like seven schoolchildren who skipped school to watch a diorama show.
From a certain point of view, it is really a diorama. "During our little training session today, I happened to have a chat with a Colonial Commissioner," said Harry. "He said the Henry Hudson would be making today's jump at 1535. I don't think any of us have really Seen what the jump looks like, so I asked him where I should go to see it. He mentioned here. That's why I brought everyone here. And—" Harry glanced at his PDA—"Four minute."
"Sorry," Thomas said, "I didn't want to take everyone's time. The tagliatelle was delicious, but my large intestine obviously wanted to object."
"Please don't share similar information in the future, Thomas." Susan said, "We don't know you that well."
"Well, how do we get to know each other without sharing that kind of information?" Thomas said.No one bothered to answer that question.
"Does anyone know where we are now? I mean in space." After a few minutes of silence, I asked.
"We're still within the solar system," Alan said, pointing out the window. "The constellations are recognizable. Look, that's Orion. If we fly far enough, the stars change their relative positions in the sky, The appearance also changes, making it impossible to recognize."
"Where will we warp to?" Jessie asked.
"The Phoenix Galaxy." Alan said, "but with this sentence, you still don't know anything, because 'Phoenix' is the name of a planet, not a star. There is a constellation called 'Phoenix', and it is there." He Pointing to a certain constellation, said, "But the planet Phoenix is not near any of the stars in that constellation. If I remember correctly, it is in the constellation Sirius, farther north." He pointed to another, fainter constellation, " We can't see it from here."
"You really know a lot about constellations." Jessie said with admiration.
"Thank you," Allan said. "I wanted to be an astronaut when I was a kid, but the pay for astronauts was horribly low, so I became a theoretical physicist instead."
"Can discovering new subatomic particles make a lot of money?" Thomas asked.
"Uh, no," Alan admitted, "but I developed a theory that helped my company invent a new energy containment system for use on Navy ships. The company has a profit-sharing incentive program, and I got One percent profit. Too much money to spend. Believe me, I did spend as much as I could."
"It must be nice to be rich," said Susan.
"Not bad," Alan said. "Of course, I'm not rich anymore. To join the military is to give up wealth. There are other things to lose. I mean, in about a minute, the time I spent remembering constellations It would be all for naught. There is no Orion, Ursa Minor or Cassiopeia where we are going. I will miss the constellations more than I will miss money. It may sound stupid, but it is completely true. Earn money at any time Either way, but we're never coming back here again. This is the last time I'll see these old friends."
Susan walked over and put an arm around Alan's shoulders.Harry looked down at his PDA. "It's almost time," he said, counting down.On the count of one, we all looked up and looked out the window.
The jump is not dramatic.One second, we are looking at a starry sky; the next second, we are looking at another sky.If you blinked, you missed it.But even so, you can still tell that this is a completely strange sky.We may not have Alan's knowledge of constellations, but most of us know how to spot Orion and the Big Dipper from the shape of the constellations.Now, they are nowhere to be found.Of course, such a blank can only be faintly noticed, but it is in your heart, and it does exist.I glanced at Alan.He stood there like a pillar, holding Susan's hand.
"We're turning," Thomas said.The Henry Hudson began to change course, and we watched the planet slide counterclockwise.Suddenly hovering above our heads is the huge blue arm of the Phoenix planet, above (or below, according to the training class) is a busy space station, so big that there is no end in sight, and we can only stare blankly He stared at it with wide eyes.
Finally, someone spoke up.Surprisingly, it was Maggie who spoke. "Look at this big guy!" she said.
We all turned to look at her.She was visibly annoyed. "I'm not dumb," she said, "just not very talkative. This scene deserves a comment."
"Exactly," Thomas said, turning back to look at it. "Compared to it, the colony space station is like a pile of dung."
"How many ships did you see?" Jessie asked me.
"I don't know," I said, "dozens. Maybe hundreds. Before this, I didn't even know there were so many starships in the world."
"If any of us still think the Earth is the center of the universe," Harry said, "this is the time to correct that mistake."
We stood there, looking out the window at the new world.
My PDA chimes the time at 0545, waking me up.Something is wrong.The alarm time I set is 0600 hours.The screen was flashing with a message marked urgent.I clicked on that message.
At my age, you don't need a second reminder to go to the toilet.I pattered to the bathroom and solved the problem.Wish I had my treatment sooner, I don't want to ask permission to go to the bathroom.
My treatment time is neither too early nor too late. At 0900, my PDA alerted me; at 0915, there was a loud banging on my door and a man calling my name.I opened the door to find two Colonial Commissioners standing opposite.I got their permission, stopped in the bathroom quickly, and followed them from the deck where I was to Dr. Russell's waiting room.I waited a little longer before being allowed into his consulting room.
"Good to see you again, Mr. Perry," he said, holding out a hand.The Colonial Commissioner, who had accompanied me, went out through the door a little farther away. "Go to the crib, please."
“上一次我这么做的时候，你用手提钻把几千块金属碎片弄进了我的脑袋，”我说，“要是我对于再度爬上小床并不是那么热情，还请原谅。”
“我明白。”拉塞尔大夫说，“但是，今天的治疗将是无痛的。而且咱们的时间有限，所以，请吧。'他走向小床。
我心不甘情不愿地走了过去。“只要让我感觉到刺痛，我就会打你的。”我警告道。
“很公平。”拉塞尔大夫说着，将小床的罩子关上了。我注意到与上次不同的是，拉塞尔大夫将罩子门在了小床上；也许他拿我的威胁当真了。我并不介意。“请告诉我，佩里先生，”他边门罩子边说，“你觉得过去这几天过得怎么样？”
“很让人困惑不解，也很让人生气。”我说，“要是我知道自己将被当做学龄前儿童来对待，也许我就不会报名参军了。”
“差不多每个人都这么说。”拉塞尔大夫说，“那就让我稍微解释一下我们一直以来都在试图做些什么吧。我们植入大量的传感器有两个原因。首先，也许你已经猜到了，我们在监控你发挥各种功能和经历一些基本情绪时的脑部活动。每一个人的大脑处理信息和经验的途径都大致相同，但与此同时，他们又会采用一些特殊的方法和途径。这就好比每个人都有五根手指，但又有各自不同的一套指纹一样。我们一直试图做的就是分析出你的脑部'指纹'。听懂了吗？”
I nodded.
“很好。那现在你知道为什么我们要让你连续做两天荒谬而愚蠢的事了吧。”
“比如让我跟裸体女人讲述七岁生日宴会的事。”我说。
“我们从那次交谈中获取了大量真正有用的信息。”拉塞尔大夫说。
“我看不出你们是如何获取的。”我说。
“这是技术上的问题，”拉塞尔大夫向我保证道，“无论如何，在过去的几天内，我们对你的大脑如何操作神经系统和产生各种刺激都有了不错的了解。这些信息都可以被我们用来当做模板。”
我还没能问这是什么的模板，拉塞尔大夫就接着说了下去：“其次，大批的传感器不仅能记录你的大脑活动，还能实时传送你的大脑活动表现。换言之，它能传播你的意识。这一点很重要，因为跟具体的大脑活动不同，意识是无法记录的。要是想实现传送，就必须是实时的。”
“传送？”我说。
“没错。”拉塞尔大夫说。
“要是我问你，你究竟在说些什么鬼话，你会不会介意？”我说。
拉塞尔大夫微微笑了，“佩里先生，当你报名参军时，你认为我们会使你重获青春，对吧？”
“对。”我说，“人人都这么认为。你们不能让老年人去打仗，但却征召了他们，那就不得不采用某种方法使他们变年轻。”
“你认为我们是怎么做的？”拉塞尔大夫问。
“我不知道。”我说，“基因疗法，移植克隆器官。你们通过某种方法换出旧器官，植入新器官。”
“你说对了一半。”拉塞尔大夫说，“我们的确会采用基因疗法和克隆移植。但却不'换出'任何东西，除了你。”
“我不明白。”我说。我感到极度寒冷，仿佛现实从我脚下被猛地拽走了。
“你的身体已经老了，佩里先生。它已经衰老了，干不了多久了。没必要再努力去拯救或更新它了。它既不能随时间增长而增值，也没有备件可以让它运作如新。当人体衰老的时候，它就是老了。所以，我们要扔掉它，彻底抛弃。我们只需要拯救一个器官，也是唯一一个尚未衰退的器官——你的思维，你的意识，你的自我。”
拉塞尔大夫走到稍远那扇门边，殖民专员就是从那里离开的。
他敲了敲门，然后转头望着我，“好好看看你的身体吧，佩里先生。”他说，“因为你就要跟它说再见了，就要前往另外一个地方去了。”
“我要去哪儿，拉塞尔大夫？”我问道——嘴里发干，几乎无法产生说话所必需的唾液。
“去这里。”他说着，将门打开。
殖民专员们从门外走进来。其中一人推着一架轮椅，上面坐着一个人。我伸长脖子去看。我开始颤抖。
that's me.
五十年前的我。
Notes:
Notes: