Chapter 5 chapter Five

Special Forces soldiers train for two weeks.Gabriel Breher began Jared's class (officially known as the Eighth Training Class) with a question. "What sets you apart from other humans?" he asked. "Raise your hand if you know the answer." The whole class roughly lined up in a semicircle in front of Breher, everyone was silent, and finally Yaju raised his hand. "We are smarter, stronger and more agile than other humans," he recalled Judy Curie saying. "Good guess," Blaher replied, "but wrong. We were designed to be stronger, quicker, and smarter than other humans, but that's the result of our differences. The fundamental difference is that in Among all human beings, only we are born with a purpose. This purpose is very simple, to help human beings survive in the universe."

The class looked at each other, and Sarah Pauling raised her hand: "There are others helping humanity survive. We've seen them on the Phoenix space station and on the way here." "But that's not what they were born for," Breher said. "The people you see, the real people, are born without any plan. They are born because the biological instinct requires humans to make offspring, but biological Instinct doesn't think about what happens after birth. Real people live for years without knowing what they're going to do. As far as I know, some of them don't figure it out all their lives. They just go through life in a daze until they die. To the grave. Pathetic and ineffective."

"You will do many things in your life, but being at a loss is definitely not one of them," Breher continued. "You were born to protect human beings, and you were designed according to this goal. Everything about you, starting from your genes, reflects this. Goal. That's why you're stronger, faster, and smarter than other humans." Breher nodded to Jared, "That's why you're born adults, ready to fight quickly, effectively, and efficiently. Colonial Defense Forces It takes three months to train real soldiers, we not only need two weeks, but also accomplish a lot more."

Stephen Seaborg raised his hand and asked, "Why does training with real people take so long?" "I'll show you," Breher said, "Today is the first day of training, do you know how to stand at attention and other basic military postures?" Everyone in the training class looked at Blaher blankly. "Very well," said Blaher, "the guide is here." Jared felt new information flooding his mind.The new knowledge piled up in his mind in a haphazard manner, and Jared felt that the BrainPal was directing the information into the right place. He was now very familiar with the decompression process, and the new knowledge branched out to connect with the knowledge Jared already knew.

Jared immediately understood the various procedures for parade drills.Not only that, an unexpected emotion spontaneously arose in his brain, which was magnified many times by the fusion thoughts of the entire training class.They stood or sat in front of Breher in a mess, and some even leaned against the steps of the barracks-it was wrong to do so.Faux pas, shameful.Thirty seconds later, they stood at attention and formed a neat four by four square formation. Breher smiled and said: "You succeeded the first time, take a break from the military parade." The whole class changed to a resting posture, with their feet separated and their hands behind their backs. "Fine," Blaher said, "take it easy." The class relaxed their upper bodies.

"You won't believe me when I tell you how long it took real people to train to get as good as you just did," Breher said. You can learn and absorb it in a cycle or two." "Why don't real people train like this?" Alan Milliken asked. "They can't," Breher said. "Their old consciousness is in the way. It's hard enough for them to learn how to use BrainPal. If I send them military posture procedures like I just did, their brains won't work." Can’t handle it. Plus, they can’t blend in and share information automatically like you — like all Special Forces soldiers. They weren’t designed for it, they weren’t born for it.”

"We're better, but there are real soldiers," says Stephen Seaborg. "Yes," Breher said, "the number of special forces is less than one percent of the combat power of the Defenders." "If we're so good, why are there so few?" Seaborg asked. "Because real people are afraid of us," Blaher replied. "What?" Seaborg asked. "They're wary of us," Breher said. "They bred us to protect humanity, but they doubt we're even human. They designed us to be better soldiers, but they worry that the design is flawed. So they Thinking that we are lower humans assigned tasks that they fear would dehumanize them. They only made us enough to do those tasks. They don’t trust us because they don’t trust themselves.”

"Stupid," Seaborg said. "Sarcasm," said Sarah Pauling. "Having both," Breher said, "rationality is not a human's strong suit." "It's hard to understand why they think that way," Jared said. "You're right," Breher said, looking at Jared. "You inadvertently hit on the species weakness of the Special Forces. It's hard for real people to trust Special Forces, and it's hard for Special Forces to understand real people. The problem has never been resolved." .I'm eleven years old—" Amazement passed through the class as they couldn't imagine how long it had been. "I can swear I still don't understand real people most of the time. Their sense of humor - Dirac, which I discussed with you - is just the most obvious example. Therefore, in addition to physical and mental training, Special Forces need Get a special training: the history and culture of real people. So that when you meet real soldiers, you can also understand them and how they see us."

"That sounds like a waste of time," Seaborg said. "Why should we protect real people if they don't trust us?" "That's what we were born to—" Breher said. "I didn't ask to be born," Seaborg said. "—and you're as real as human beings when you think about it," said Breher. "We're human beings too. We fight for human beings, and we fight for ourselves. Nobody asks to be born, but we've been born, and Humans. We fight for ourselves, and if we don't defend humanity, we die like the rest of humanity. The universe won't be lenient."

Seaborg fell silent, but broadcast his annoyance to everyone. "Is this all we can do?" Jared asked. "What do you mean?" Blaher said. "We were born to fight," Jared said, "but what else can we do?" "What do you suggest?" Blaher asked. "I don't know," Jared said, "but I'm only a day old, so I don't know enough." This made everyone laugh, and Breher smiled. "We were born for this, but we're not slaves," Breher said. "We had a term of service, ten years, at which point we could retire and colonize as real people. There was even a colony set up just for us. Some Special Forces soldiers go there, some choose to join real people in other colonies, but most stay in Special Forces. Me, for example."

"Why?" Jared asked. "That's what I was born to do," Breher repeated, "and I'm good at it. You're all good at it, or you're going to be good at it in no time. Now, start training." "We can do a lot of things faster than real people," Sarah Pauling said, scooping up a large spoonful of soup, "but I guess eating isn't one of them, you'll choke if you eat too fast. It's fun, but not Good thing." Jared sat across from Sarah at one of the two tables assigned to Class Eight.Alan Milliken was curious about the training methods of real people and special forces, and found that real people trained in platoons rather than squads, and the number of special forces training classes was different from that of the Defense Forces training classes.Milliken sent the information he found on this topic to all members of the eighth class and added it to everyone's information base.Another advantage of integration is naturally manifested. As long as one member of Class Eight learns something, other members will also know it. Jared sipped his soup and said, "I think we eat faster than real people too." "How?" Pauling asked. Jared scooped up a spoonful of soup, "because that's what they do when they're talking and drinking soup," he said, and the soup leaked from his mouth. Pauling covered his mouth, pressed down and laughed.After half a second, she said, "Oops." "What's wrong?" Jared asked. Pauling looked left and right, and Jared looked around, and found that the whole cafeteria was looking at him.Only then did Jared realize that if he spoke, everyone could hear him.In the cafeteria, he was the only one who spoke with his mouth while eating.Jared suddenly realized that the last time he heard anyone speak was saying goodbye to Lieutenant Cloud.Talking out loud is weird. "Sorry." He said on the public channel.We continue to eat. "You're making a fool of yourself," Stephen Seaborg, at the end of the table, said to Jared. "Just kidding," Jared said. "'Just kidding,'" Seaborg repeated mockingly, "idiot." "You're very unfriendly," Jared said. "'You're unfriendly,'" Seaborg said. "Jarred is an idiot, but at least he can talk for himself," Pauling said. "Hey, Pauling, shut up," Seaborg said, "what are you talking about." Jared was about to fight back when an image suddenly appeared in his field of vision.Several short, deformed humans were arguing about something in high-pitched voices.One of them mocked the other by parroting, exactly as Seaborg had just done to Jared. "Who are they?" Seaborg asked, and Pauling also looked confused. Gabriel Breher's voice came to mind. "Children," he said, "underdeveloped human beings. They're fighting. See? They're fighting exactly the way you were just now." "He started it." Seaborg looked for Blaher in the cafeteria.Breher ate with other officers at a distant table.He didn't even look back at the three of them. “One of the reasons real people don’t trust us is because they’re convinced we’re children,” Breher said. “Children with adult-sized bodies but emotionally stunted. The problem is, they’re right. We have to learn to be like Adults, like all humans, control emotions, and the time we're given to learn them is horribly short." "But—" Seaborg said. "Quiet," Breher said, "Seyborg, you have a mission after practice this afternoon. You can access the data network of Phoenix Star through BrainPal. Your mission is to study etiquette and how to resolve interpersonal conflicts. Collect as much information as possible. , and share it with the eighth class before twelve o'clock tonight. Do you understand?" "Understood." Seaborg said, gave Jared a reproachful look, and then pounced on his food. "Dirac, you have a task too. Read Frankenstein. See what you get." "Yes, sir," Jared said. "Also, stop dripping soup from the corner of your mouth," Blaher said, "Looking retarded." Blaher closed the link. Jared looked at Pauling and asked, "Why are you able to retreat unscathed?" Pauling dipped his spoon into the soup. "I didn't mess with the food," she said, swallowing a mouthful of soup, "and I didn't act like a child." Then she stuck out her tongue at Jared. Afternoon training introduced Squad Eight to their weapon, the MP-35A assault rifle.The weapon is bound to its owner through BrainPal authentication, and only the owner and another human with a BrainPal can fire it.This feature greatly reduces the chances of defenders firing weapons at each other.The MP-35A used by Special Forces was additionally modified to take advantage of their fusion capabilities; it had the notable advantage of being able to fire remotely.The Special Forces have used this to fatally scare curious aliens for years. The MP-35A is no ordinary rifle.It can fire bullets, shotguns, grenades, and micro-guided missiles at the discretion of the user, while also projecting flames and ion beams.Ammunition of all kinds is produced in a split second by the MP-35A from heavy metallic nanorobot agglomerates.Jared couldn't help wondering how the rifle did this. BrainPal faithfully decompressed the principle behind this weapon, and then decompressed the huge and difficult data package of ordinary physics. But at this moment, Squad Eight is in the shooting range.The decompressed information was naturally forwarded to the whole class, and everyone glared at Jared with varying degrees of annoyance. "Sorry," Jared said. By the end of the long afternoon, Jared had mastered the MP-35A's many and complex options.Jared and recruit Joshua Redmond concentrated on studying the various rounds the MP could fire, evaluating the pros and cons, and relaying the results to the class. As they prepared to continue researching several other ammunition options, other members of Squad Eight passed along the results of these options, and Jared and Redmond experienced the benefits of information sharing.Jared had to admit that, despite his bad relationship with Stephen Seaborg, if he was looking for someone to cover him with a flamethrower, Seaborg was the man to go.On the way back to the barracks, Jared told Seaborg this, but Seaborg ignored him and started a private conversation with Andrea Gell-Mann instead. After eating, Jared found a place to sit on the steps outside the barracks.With brief tutelage from his BrainPal (who took extra care to cache his search history to avoid a repeat of an earlier data overflow), he logged into Phoenix's public data network and obtained a copy of the Mary Wollstoneclough Shelley's Frankenstein—Prometheus Contemporary, third edition, 1831. Eight minutes later, he finished the book, stunned, and intuitively (correctly) why Breher asked him to read it: he and Squad 8—and all Special Forces soldiers—were Victor The spiritual descendants of the poor monster that Frankenstein pieced together from corpses and brought to life.Jared saw how proud Frankenstein was when he created life, and how fearful and resistant he was when the monster gained life; saw how the monster rushed out of the door and killed the doctor's family and friends; saw how the last Creator and how the creation was swallowed by the funeral pyre - the fates of the monster and the doctor are entwined with each other.The metaphors of monsters and Special Forces are just too obvious. But different.Jared thought about whether the fate of the special forces was to be misunderstood and rejected by real people, just like the creators did to monsters, and suddenly recalled his brief contact with Lieutenant Claude.Cloud, who seemed neither frightened nor disgusted by Jared, held out his hand to Jared, a gesture Victor Frankenstein refused to make to the monster he had created.Jared thought of another point. Although Victor Frankenstein was the creator of the monster, his creator—Mary Shelley—expressed pity and sympathy for the monster between the lines.The real humans in the stories are more complex than the fictional ones, more oriented toward monsters than their creators. He thought about it for a full minute. Jared eagerly searched for links related to the text, and soon found the famous 1931 film version, greedily watched it at ten times speed, only to be greatly disappointed: a sad shambling babbler in place of Snow Lay's persuasive monsters.Jared flicked through the other movie versions, but was still disappointed.The monster he identified with was missing from the movies, not even the ones that were completely faithful to the book.Frankenstein's monster became a joke.Seeing the end of the twenty-first century, Jared gave up looking for a film adaptation. Jared changed direction and searched for stories of other creations, and soon got to know Friday, Machine Daniel Oliva, Data, HAL, Robot Maria, Astro Boy, Generations of Terminator, Qianna Fortuna, Robot Jerk Joe and various other virtual beings, robots, computers, replicants, clones, and genetically engineered products—all, like him, Frankenstein's spiritual descendants.Out of curiosity, Jared searched forward from Shelley and found Pygmalion, clay doll, Hermon Cruz and clockwork robot. Looking at these creations in books and video materials, they are often sad and lack humor to a dangerous degree, so they become objects of pity and subjects of comic passages.He understood now why Breher was so sensitive to the question of humor.Sensitivity meant that Special Forces were misunderstood by real people—or so Jared thought, until he started searching for literary and entertainment films featuring Special Forces. Absolutely not.The colonial era is filled with entertainment of the Colonial Defense Forces and the battles and events they experienced - the Armstrong battle is a particularly prominent subject - but nothing even hints at the existence of Special Forces; what barely counts is a set of Rama Colony Published street novel about the adventures of a secret army of lust-fueled superhuman soldiers who conquer a fictional alien race by having intense sex and fucking them until they surrender.Jared's understanding of sex at this time was limited to its reproductive meaning, and one could not help but wonder why anyone would find it an effective means of conquering enemies.Guessing he had missed some important information about sex, he decided to write it down and consult Breher later. However, the mystery still exists. From the novels produced in the colony, why can't the existence of special forces be found? Try exploring another night.Jared was eager to share the results of his research with the class.He took out the results in the cache and published them to others.That's when he realized he wasn't the only one sharing the results. Breher had given most of Class 8 homework, and the results flooded into his mind.Among them are Seaborg's etiquette and conflict psychology (Jared can feel Seaborg rolling his eyes while reading the material), Brian Michelson's account of important battles of the Colonial Defense Forces, and animations of recruit Jerry Yukawa film, with Sarah Pauling's Human Physiology.Jared decided to make a joke the next time he saw her, since earlier she had expressed sympathy for Jared's assignment.BrainPal faithfully decompresses all kinds of knowledge learned by teammates.Jared leaned on the steps, watching the sunset, the information automatically branched and unfolded. After decompressing all the new knowledge, the sun of Phoenix Star has already set.He sat in the pool of light illuminating the barracks, watching the insect equivalents of the Phoenix buzzing around the light.A daring worm landed on Jared's arm, inserted its needle-like beak into Jared's body, and sucked his bodily fluids.After a few seconds, the bug died.There are nano-robots in Jared's smart blood, and he was reminded by the brain companion to set himself on fire in the bug's body, using the oxygen it carried as a combustion aid.The poor little thing was charred from the inside out, and wisps of barely visible smoke billowed from its corpse.Jared wondered who had programmed BrainPal and Smartblood's defense responses, that guy must have had a life-hating problem. Maybe the real people are right to be afraid of us, Jared thought. Jared heard his teammates in the barracks arguing about what they had learned that night, and Seaborg thought Frankenstein's monster was a nuisance.Jared burst into the room, to assert the monster's dignity. In the morning and afternoon of the first week, Class Eight learned about fighting, defending and killing.At night they learn other things, some of which Jared doubts are of value. On the evening of the second day, Andrea Gelman introduced the concept of "dirty words" to Class 8. She noticed this topic at noon and shared it with everyone before dinner.During the meal, the eight classes frantically shouted at each other "get the fucking salt, you fucking shit bag" until Breher told them to "stop fucking farting, dick grandson, because talking too much is fucking It's boring." Everyone agreed with Breher until Gell-Mann taught the class how to swear in Arabic. On the third day, Class 8 members asked to enter the canteen kitchen to use the oven and some specific items, and they got permission.The next morning, the other training classes at Camp Carson were given enough sugar cookies for every recruit (and instructor). On the fourth day, members of Class Eight tried to tell each other jokes they found on the Phoenix data network, but most of the jokes failed.As soon as BrainPal decompresses the context of the joke, the joke ceases to be funny.Only Sarah Pauling laughed throughout, concluding that she was laughing because she thought it was funny that most of them couldn't tell jokes.The others didn't think it was funny, which made Pauling laugh so hard that he fell off the bed. Everyone agrees this is hilarious. And the puns are spot on too. In the afternoon of the fifth day, there was an information class about the establishment of human colonies and the relationship between the colonies and other intelligent races (in short, always bad). Class Eight critically evaluated the fantasy novels and film and television works about interstellar wars before the colonial era, The conclusions were pretty consistent: all were good except for the ending, which Class 8 found cheap and crap; "It made most people in Class 8 sad beyond expression, because the war in the novel is so long, and these people were born only a week ago; after watching "Star Wars", everyone wants a lightsaber, but the corresponding technology is depressing. No; everyone agreed that the Ewoks deserved to die. Two classics shocked them.To put everyone in a good mood, the soldiers in the book are just like them, only smaller.The protagonist is even bred to fight an alien race.The next day, members of Class Eight greeted each other with "Hoo, Ender" until Breher told them to shut up and concentrate. The other is Charlie's Homecoming, one of the last books before the colonial era began, and one of the last books with false fantasies about the universe.The alien race in this universe welcomes humans with arms, not arms.This book was later adapted into a movie, but at this time it was not science fiction but fantasy, and it was a particularly bitter kind of fantasy.It failed miserably at the box office.The members of Class Eight are captured by the book and the movie, fascinated by this universe that could never exist, where there is no place for them because they are not needed. On the sixth day, Jared and the rest of Class Eight finally understood what sex was all about. The seventh day is a direct result of the sixth day, they rest. Late on the seventh night, Pauling and Jared were lying on Pauling's bed, intimate but not making love. "Whether it's worth it or not is another matter," Pauling told Jared, referring to the knowledge they had learned. "It may not be useful in itself, but it brings us closer." "We've grown closer," Jared echoed. "Not just that," Pauling pressed Jared, then let go. "Being more intimate as a human being, as a collective. The stuff you're saying is silly, but it's teaching us how to be human." Now it was Jared's turn to stick to Pauling. He lay on her chest and said, "I like being human." "I like you as a human too." Pauling said with a laugh. "You two are so fucked up," Seaborg said, "be quiet, I'm going to sleep." "Whining ghost," Pauling said.She looked down to see if Jared had anything to say, but Jared was already asleep.She kissed Jared lightly on the top of her head and fell asleep too. "The first week, you've trained your bodies to the level of real soldiers," Breher said. "Now it's time to teach you to do things that only you can do." Class Eight stood at the beginning of the long obstacle course. "We've already run the track," Luke Gulstrand said. "Good observation, Gulstrand," said Breher. "For the reward, you'll be the first to run today. You stay here while the rest spread out on the track, as evenly spaced as possible." The members of the eighth class stood in a straight line along the runway. Breher turned to Gulstrand and asked, "See the runway?" "I see," Gulstrand replied. "Do you think you can run with your eyes closed?" "No," Gulstrand replied, "I can't remember all the furnishings, and I might trip and fall to my death." "Does everyone agree?" Blaher asked.Everyone exuded approval. "However, before disbanding today, all of you will run this runway with your eyes closed. Because you have this ability, you have integrated into the collective team." The class expressed varying degrees of skepticism. "We use fusion to talk and share information," Brian Michelson replied, "and it's a completely different thing than running." "No, that's not the same thing," Breher said. "Last week's night mission was not a punishment and a waste of time. You already know that with BrainPal and pre-birth adjustments, you can learn quickly on your own. You don't realize it, but You have learned in the last week how to analyze and absorb vast amounts of information among each other. That information is no different from obstacle course training. Pay attention." Jared and the other members of Squad Eight gasped at the same time.Not only could he feel the existence of Gabriel Breher in his mind, but Braher's physical perception and personal situation were also superimposed on Jared's own consciousness. "Look with my eyes," Blaher said.Jared focused on this instruction, and his field of vision suddenly switched from his own to Breher's, which made him spin for a while.Blaher turned left and right, and Jared saw himself looking at Blaher.Breher turned off the view he was sharing. "The more you practice, the more proficient you are," Breher said. "From now on, you will do this every time you practice combat. Fusion gives you a situational awareness unique in the universe. All intelligent races will share information as much as possible in combat, even real life. Human soldiers keep a BrainPal channel open when they are fighting, but only special forces have this level of sharing and tactical awareness. It is the core of our operations and combat. "Last week, as I said, you've learned the basics of real life combat, which is how to fight as individuals. Now you're going to learn Special Forces combat, which is how to integrate and fight as a group. You'll learn Sharing and trusting the information your peers share. Not only will it save your life, it will save the lives of your comrades. This will be the hardest and most important part of the training session. So pay attention.” Breher turned to Gulstrand. "Now, close your eyes." Gulstrand hesitated: "I don't know if I can keep my eyes closed." "You have to trust your comrades," Blaher replied. "Of course I trust my comrades in arms," ​​Gulstrand said, "I just don't trust myself." Everyone agreed. "That's part of the training," Breher said, "going out." Gulstrand closed his eyes and took the first step.Jared stood halfway up the runway and saw Jerry Yukawa, who was standing at the front, leaning slightly, as if trying to shorten the physical distance between his and Gulstrand's consciousness.Gulstrand crossed the runway at a slow, but increasingly steady pace.As they approached Jared, Gulstrand jumped off a beam hanging over the mud, smiling.He already believed in himself. Jared sensed that Gulstrand was asking him to open his eyes.Jared opened all his senses to him, sending encouragement and affirmation along the way.He sensed Gulstrand's emotion, and thanked him immediately.Gulstrand grabbed the rope beside Jared and focused on climbing the wall.Gulstrand climbed to the top, and he felt Gulstrand turn confidently to his next comrade.Towards the end, Gulstrand was running close to full speed. "Very well," Breher said. "Gulstrand, take the last man, and the others move up one place. Yukawa, it's your turn." Two more people finished running. At this time, not only the team members shared the perspective with the running comrades, but the running comrades also shared the perspective with others, so that everyone could prepare for what will happen next.After another person runs, the team members begin to share the perspective with the next team member in the line, so that they can better help their comrades on the field switch perspectives.By the time Jared was on the runway, the whole class had fully integrated everyone's perspectives, and began to practice how to quickly analyze the perspective of the next person and pick up relevant information without interrupting their own perspective.It feels like a trance—being in two places. Jared ran blissfully, accompanied by an odd group consciousness, until he reached the wooden beam on the mud—the borrowed perspective suddenly turned away from under his feet, and Jared stepped on the air and fell straight into the mud. "Sorry," Stephen Seaborg said after a few seconds.Jared opened his eyes and crawled out of the mud. "I was bitten by something, and I was distracted." "Fart," Alan Milliken said privately to Jared, "I'm his next stop, just watch him. He didn't get bitten." Brecher cut in: "Seyborg, if you kill a comrade on the battlefield because of something like an insect bite, you will unfortunately fall out of the airlock, remember that. Dirac, run." Jared closed his eyes and started walking. "Why is Seaborg always against me?" Jared asked Pauling.The two are practicing dagger fighting.The members of the eighth class fully opened the fusion consciousness, and they caught each other and fought for five minutes.The adversary knows 100% of what's going on inside of you, which is an added fun challenge. "Don't know?" Pauling said, holding the knife loosely in his left hand, and slowly circling, "Two points. One, he's a jerk; two, he likes me." Jared stopped walking in circles. "What?" he said.Pauling rushed forward fiercely, swayed half a step to the right, and stroked Jared's neck from bottom to top with his left hand.Jared staggered back to the right, dodging the blow; Pauling shifted the knife to his right and slashed down, missing Jared's thigh by a centimeter.Jared stood up straight, in a defensive position. "You're distracting me," he said, continuing to circle. "It's your own distraction," Pauling said. "I'm just taking advantage of it." "You can't be happy without cutting a major artery, can you?" Jared said. "Want me to be happy? Shut up and just kill me with a dagger." Pauling replied. "I said—" Jared leaned back suddenly, and he felt Pauling's intention at the last moment before he attacked.Before Pauling could retract, Jared stood up straight again, got within Pauling's arm span, raised his right hand, and wanted to lightly touch Pauling's chest with the tip of the knife.Before the point of the knife hit the target, Pauling suddenly raised his head and hit Jared on the bottom of his jaw.Jared's two rows of teeth clicked and collided, and his vision was white.Pauling seized the moment of Jared's loss of consciousness, pulled away and kicked his legs, and Jared fell flat on the ground.By the time Jared regained his senses, Pauling had put his legs on his arm, and the dagger was on his carotid artery. "I said," Pauling imitated what Jared said just now, "if this is a real fight, I have already cut off your four main arteries, and I will rush to the next target." Pauling put away the dagger, released and held Jared. Column arms to knees. "It's a good thing it's not a real fight," Jared pushed himself up. "As for Seaborg—" Pauling punched Jared on the nose, throwing his head back.A moment later, Pauling's dagger was on his throat again, and his legs were pressed against his arms. "What?" Jared said. "Five minutes," Pauling said, "have to keep playing." "But you—" Jared said.Pauling stabbed him in the neck with a knife, and blood spurted out.Jared gasped in pain. "Don't tell me 'but you—'" Pauling said, "Jarred, I like you, but I've noticed you're not focused enough. We're friends, and I know you think that means we can talk while we fight. But I promise you, the next time you show yourself like I just did, I'll cut your throat. Smart blood will probably save your life and make you remember that even as a friend, I can seriously hurt you. I love it so much You're dead, so I don't want you to die distracted in a real battle. Enemies on the battlefield won't stop to chat with you." "You will take care of me on the battlefield," Jared said. "You know I will," Pauling said, "but fusion isn't everything, Jared, and you have to watch out yourself." Breher said five minutes was up.Pauling watched Jared get up. "I'm serious, Jared," Pauling said, pulling him up. "Be careful next time, so you don't get my knife." "I understand," Jared said, touching his nose, "or eat your fist." "That's right," Pauling said, smiling, "I'm not picky about that." "So you're saying Seaborg likes you just to distract me?" Jared said. "Hey, no," said Pauling, "that's totally true." "Oh." Jared said. Pauling laughed and said, "Look, you're distracted again, aren't you?" Sarah Pauling was among the first to be shot, and she and Andrea Gell-Mann were ambushed while scouting a small valley.Pauling was shot in the head and neck and died instantly; Gell-Mann, desperate to locate the shooter, was also knocked down by three bullets in the chest and abdomen.两人与队友的融合瞬间崩溃，感觉就像从全班的集体意识里被生生拽走。又有几个人陆续倒下，八班的战斗力大打折扣，剩下的队员乱作一团。 八班这场战争游戏打得非常糟糕。 杰瑞·汤川腿部中弹，问题变得愈加严峻。他身上的训练服记下这一“枪”，冻结了这条腿的行动能力。汤川的步子迈到一半，就这么倒下，挣扎着爬到一块大石头背后，凯瑟琳·伯克利几秒钟前先躲到了这里。 “你应该用压制火力掩护我的。”汤川责备道。 “我掩护你了，”伯克利说，“还用你说？但我只有一个人，他们有五个人。你行你来。” 十三班的五名队员将汤川和伯克利困在石块背后，他们再次举枪齐射。十三班队员感觉到了模拟的训练步枪后坐力，脑伴在视觉和听觉方面模拟子弹飞向山谷尽头的死角。汤川和伯克利的脑伴相应地模拟部分子弹打烂石块，其他子弹嗖嗖飞过。子弹当然不是真的，但就模拟物来说，已经足够真实了。 “我们需要帮助。”汤川对指挥这次练习的斯蒂芬·西博格说。 “收到。”西博格说，扭头望向雅列，雅列是他剩下的唯一帮手，默默地站在旁边看着他。八班还剩下四名站得住的士兵（对汤川，这只是个比喻），十三班却有七名队员在森林中穿梭。机会不大。 “别总那么看着我，”西博格说，“又不是我的错。” “我没这么说。”雅列说。 “你肯定在这么想。”西博格说。 “我也没这么想，”雅列说，“我在复查数据。” “什么数据？”西博格问。 “十三班的行动和思维模式，”雅列说，“根据八班阵亡队员传来的数据，我想看有没有咱们用得上的信息。” “能快点吗？”汤川说，“这儿的情况非常不妙。” 雅列望向西博格，西博格叹息道：“好吧，我洗耳恭听。你有什么看法？” “你会认为我发疯了的，”雅列说，“但我注意到了一点，我们和他们都极少注意上方。” 西博格抬头望向茂密的森林，阳光穿过地球树木和凤凰星植物织成的顶棚，凤凰星植物粗大的竹状树干伸展出令人叹为观止的枝杈。两类物种在基因上并无竞争关系，来自不同行星，所以生性相克。两者要抢夺阳光，都尽可能地向高空爬升，分出浓密的枝杈，为树叶和树叶的等同物提供光合作用的战场。 “我们不注意上方是因为上面只有树木。”西博格说。 雅列看着他，在脑袋里读秒。读到七，西博格说：“噢。” “噢。”雅列附和道，他调出地图，“我们在这里，汤川和伯克利在这里。两者之间都是树木。” “你认为我们可以一路从树上过去。”西博格说。 “这个不是问题，”雅列说，“问题是我们能不能及时救出汤川和伯克利，同时不发出声音，免得害死自己。” 雅列很快发现在树上穿行属于说起来容易做起来难的事情。上路才两分钟，他和西博格就两次险些坠地，在枝杈间移动需要的协调能力超乎想象。凤凰星植物的枝杈不如预想中那么能承重，地球树木的枯枝数量多得惊人。他们的行进不但慢，而且吵闹。 东方传来飒飒声，雅列和西博格分别抱住树干，不敢动弹。三十米开外，雅列的六米之下，十三班的两名队员走出灌木丛。他们非常警觉，正在用眼睛和耳朵搜寻猎物，但没有向上看。 雅列从眼角看见西博格缓缓举起MP。“等一等，”雅列说，“我们还在他们的余光视野内，等完全背对我们再动手。”两名士兵缓缓前行，来到了雅列和西博格的前方。西博格对雅列点点头。两人悄悄取下MP，尽可能端稳，瞄准对方后背。西博格命令开火，子弹以点射飞出。对方身体一挺，中弹倒地。 “其他人压制住了汤川和伯克利，”西博格说，“咱们快走。”他拔腿就跑。西博格的主动性逗乐了雅列，这家伙刚才还那么郁闷，此刻突然有精神了。 十分钟后，汤川和伯克利的弹药即将耗尽，雅列和西博格看见了十三班的剩余队员。左手边八米以下，两名士兵躲在一棵倒伏的大树背后；右手边三十米开外，另外两名士兵躲在一堆石块背后。这四个人让汤川和伯克利无暇他顾，第五名士兵偷偷摸摸从侧面包抄，但他们都背对着雅列和西博格。 “我收拾树后的两个，你收拾石块背后的两个，”西博格说，“我通知伯克利有人偷袭，但叫她在我们动手前按兵不动。没必要过早暴露。”雅列点点头。西博格恢复自信，策划能力也越来越强。雅列把这部分资料储存起来，留待以后思考。他变换姿势，背靠树干，用左脚勾住下方的枝杈，更好地支撑身体。 西博格爬向下方的枝杈，想避开遮挡瞄准视线的一根枝条，却不料落脚处是一段枯枝，枯枝咔擦一声断裂，掉下去发出了难以忍耐的响动。西博格失去平衡，拼命去抓更下方的枝杈，MP失手而飞。地上的四名士兵扭头张望，看见他无可奈何地吊在半空中，纷纷举起武器。 “妈的。”西博格抬头望向雅列。 雅列瞄准石块背后的士兵先是一轮扫射，一人抽搐倒下，另一人爬到了石块的另一边。雅列转身扫射大树背后的士兵，虽说没能击中目标，但对方被他压制住了一瞬间，他抓住机会，把MP调到制导导弹模式，朝两名士兵之间的位置射出一发。模拟的导弹爆出无数虚拟弹片。两人倒下。雅列再转身，恰好对上正在石块背后瞄准的士兵。她刚扣动扳机，雅列就射出了一枚制导导弹。雅列感觉到肋部一紧，训练服收缩，勒得他生疼。他继续调整MP。他中弹了，但既然没有摔下去，就说明他还活着。 实战演习！肾上腺素涌遍全身，雅列觉得他都要尿裤子了。 “拉我一把。”西博格说着伸出左手，让雅列把他拽上去。第五名士兵正好绕过来，一枪击中他的右肩。训练服冻结了西博格的这条胳膊，他松开枝杈。雅列赶在西博格的坠势难以阻挡前抓住了他的左手。雅列的左腿仍旧勾着那根树枝，被额外的重量压得疼痛不已。 地面上，那名士兵开始瞄准。不管是不是虚拟子弹，雅列知道要是被击中，训练服冻结身体，他不但会松开西博格，自己多半也会掉下去。雅列用右手摸出战斗匕首，扔了出去。匕首插进那名士兵的左大腿，士兵倒在地上，边惨叫边试着拔出匕首，却被伯克利从背后摸上来，一枪夺去了他的行动能力。 “这一场八班获胜，”雅列听见布雷赫说，“我现在松开被冻结诸位的训练服。下一轮三十分钟后开始。”雅列右边侧肋的压力陡然消失，西博格冻结的训练服也松开了。雅列把西博格拽上去，两人小心翼翼地爬回地面，捡起各自的武器。 十三班被冻结的队员在等他们，从还在地上呻吟的队友身边冲过来，其中之一对着雅列的面门大喊：“狗娘养的，你朝查理扔飞刀。你难道想杀人吗？这他妈的还是不是战争游戏？” 西博格插进雅列和那名士兵之间，说：“傻逼，这话留给你的朋友吧。他要是击中我们，我会从八米高处摔下去，根本没法控制姿势。他瞄准的时候怎么不关心我的死活？雅列的飞刀救了我一命。你的朋友也死不了。所以去他妈的，也去你妈的。” 西博格和那名士兵大眼瞪小眼对峙几分钟，最后那名士兵扭头朝地上啐了一口，回去找队友了。 “谢谢。”雅列对西博格说。 西博格看看雅列，看看汤川和伯克利，最后说：“咱们走，还有一场呢。”他跺着脚走开，三个人跟上。 回程的路上，西博格放慢脚步，到雅列身边说：“爬树是个好主意。另外，还好你抓住我，没让我掉下去。谢谢。” “不客气。”雅列说。 “但我还是不太喜欢你，”西博格说，“但我以后不再找你茬了。” “我觉得这是个好开始。”雅列答道。 西博格点点头，重新走到前面，剩下的一路上，他都很安静。 雅列和前八班的其他队员走进交通艇，他们要去凤凰星空间站执行第一次任务，迎面听见克劳德中尉说：“哎呀呀，瞧瞧这是谁？莫不是我的雅列哥们儿？” “哈啰，克劳德中尉，”雅列说，“很高兴能再见。” “叫我戴夫，”克劳德说，“看来你结束训练了。妈的，真希望我的训练也能两周结束。” “但我们学得很不少。”雅列说。 “这点我完全不怀疑，”克劳德说，“那么，狄拉克二等兵，你去哪艘船？去哪儿？” “我被派往风筝号，”雅列答道，“还有我的两个朋友，萨拉·鲍林和斯蒂芬·西博格。”雅列指了指已经落座的鲍林，西博格还没有登船。 “我见过风筝号，”克劳德说，“新船，漂亮的线条。不过当然没上去过。你们特种部队总是神神秘秘的。” “大家都这么说。”雅列说。安德蕾·盖尔曼登上交通艇，撞了雅列一下。她发来抱歉的情绪，雅列望过去，微微一笑。 “看起来今天要满载，”克劳德说，“你要是愿意，可以继续坐副驾驶的位置。” “谢啦，”雅列望向鲍林，“我想这次还是和朋友坐在一起吧。” 克莱顿望向鲍林，说：“完全可以理解。不过别忘了，你还欠我几个新笑话。希望训练的时候，上头给了你培养幽默感的机会。” 雅列犹豫了一小会儿，回想起他和加百列·布雷赫的第一次对话，他问：“克劳德中尉，你读过《弗兰肯斯坦》吗？” “没有，”克劳德说，“但我知道故事，没多久前才看过最新的电影版。怪物会说话，据说这样更接近原著。” “你有什么感想？”雅列说。 “还凑合，”克劳德说，“表演有点过火。我很同情怪物，弗兰肯斯坦博士是个王八蛋。为什么问这个？” “好奇而已，”雅列说着朝快满员的座舱点点头，“我们都读过这本书，让我们有很多想法。” “啊哈，”克劳德说，“我明白了。雅列，请允许我跟你分享一下我的人生观。简而言之，只有五个字：我喜欢好人。你看着像个好人。难说这一点是不是对所有人都很重要，但对我很重要。” “谢谢夸奖，”雅列说，“我的人生观似乎也差不多。” “那就好，咱们应该能处得来，”克劳德说，“现在我要问的是，有新笑话吗？” “好像有几个。”雅列答道。