Chapter 6 Chapter Six

"If you don't mind, let's talk here," General Schillard said to Jane Sagan. "The service will be very nervous to see two people looking at each other silently. If they don't see us Talking, coming over every minute to ask if we need anything. It's annoying." "As you wish." Sagan replied. The two sat in the officer's dining room, with the Phoenix star spinning on the zenith.Sagan stared intently, Schillard followed her gaze and looked up. "Isn't it spectacular?" he said. "Indeed," Sagan said. "Phoenix can be seen from any dock in the space station, at least some of the time. But no one takes a second look," Schillard said, "but once in here, you can't take your eyes off it anymore .Anyway, I'm always like this." He pointed to the transparent vault covering the restaurant and said, "This is a gift, you know?" Sagan shook his head. "When the space station was built, the Yara people sent it. It was completely diamond-like. They said it was a natural diamond, from a larger crystal, which they dug out from the core of the gas giant planet in the parent galaxy. Yara Man is a great engineer, the book says so, so it must be true."

"I'm not familiar with Yara people." Sagan replied. "Extinct," Schillard said. "A hundred and fifty years ago, they and the Obin fought for the colony. They had an army of clones, they had the means to make clones quickly, and at first they seemed to be able to defeat the Obin." Bin people, but the Obin people later bred a virus targeting the genes of the clone. The virus appeared harmless at the beginning of the infection and spread through the air like the flu. Our scientists estimate that it spread throughout the Yara army. In another month, the virus enters a mature stage and begins to attack the cell reproduction cycle of the Yara army clone. The infected person literally melts."

"At the same time?" Sagan asked. "It lasted a month," Schillard said, "so our scientists estimate that it took a month for the virus to infect the entire army. Immediately after the Yala army was cleared, the Obin wiped out the Yala civilians. The genocide The massacre was swift and brutal. The Obins were not sympathetic, and now that the Obins own all of the Yara planets, the Colonial Federation has come to two conclusions: one, the clone army is a bad idea; two, don't mess with the Orbins Guests. Up to now, we have had nothing to do with them." Sagan nodded.The Special Forces battlecruiser Kite and her crew have recently begun scouting and raiding the Obin territory, assessing the Obin's strength and responsiveness.This task is very dangerous, because the Obin never condoned the attackers, but the Obin and the Colonial Union are not technically in a state of hostility.The news of the Aubin-Lerrey-Anisha alliance is kept strictly secret; most members of the Colonial Alliance and the Defense Forces are unaware of the threat this news and the triad alliance pose to humanity.The Anisha even have diplomatic envoys in Phoenix, the colonial capital of Phoenix.Strictly speaking, they are also allies of mankind.

"Are you going to talk to me about the raid on Obin's territory?" Sagan said.In addition to leading a squad on the Kite, she was also the ship's intelligence officer, responsible for assessing enemy forces.Most Special Forces officers have more than one position and lead combat squads at the same time, which not only keeps the crew small and keeps the officers on combat duty, it also reinforces the mission of Special Forces - since you live to defend humanity , then no one can escape the battle. "Leaving that aside," Schillard said, "this is not the place. I want to talk about one of your recruits. The Kite has three recruits, and two of them are going to you."

Sagan raged: "Yeah, but that's a problem. I only had one vacancy in my squad, and I got two people filled, so you move a veteran to make room for a new guy." Sagan recalled Will Lister The helpless look on his face when he received the transfer order to the Peregrine Falcon. "The Peregrine is a new ship and needs experienced hands," Schillard said. "I assure you, there are other squad leaders on other ships who are just as angry as you. The Kite has to hand over a veteran, and I It happened that a recruit wanted to be assigned to you, so I asked the Peregrine to transfer one of yours."

Sagan was about to continue complaining, but suddenly he closed his mouth, sulking.Schillard watched the expression on her face change.Most Special Forces soldiers say what comes to mind, a consequence of not being taught social etiquette in childhood and adolescence.Sagan's self-control was one of the reasons she caught Schillard's attention, but there were other factors as well. "Which recruit are we talking about?" Sagan said finally. "Jariel Dirac," said Schillard. "What's so special about him?" Sagan asked. "He has the brains of Charles Boutin." Schillard said, watching Sagan suppress his instinctive answer again.

The last thing Sagan said was, "You think that's a good idea?" "And it's getting better and better." Schillard said, sending all of Dirac's confidential files to Sagan, including technical materials.Sagan sat silently, digesting these materials.Schillard sat opposite, watching the junior officer.A minute later, a restaurant waiter came over and asked what they needed.Schillard asked for tea, but Sagan ignored him. "Okay, I get it," Sagan said after reading the document, "but why did you give me this traitor?" "Boutin was a traitor," Schillard said, "Dirac just had his brains."

"And you tried to imprint the consciousness of a traitor into this brain," Sagan said. "Yes," said Schillard. "I draw your attention to my question again," Sagan said. "Because you have experience in this field," Schillard said. "Deal with traitors?" Sagan asked confused. "Dealing with unusual Special Forces members," Schillard said. "You briefly commanded a JDF soldier. John Perry." Sagan was slightly uncomfortable hearing the name, Schillard. Noticed it, but didn't say much. "He's doing well under you," said Schillard.That last sentence is pure sarcasm and an understatement, because during the Battle of Coral Star, Perry carried an injured and unconscious Sagan across the battlefield for a few hundred meters, got Sagan medical attention, and then rushed into a collapsing building In the process, the enemy's key technological equipment was found.

"That's Perry's credit, it's none of my business," Sagan said.Speaking of Perry, Schillard felt Sagan's mood fluctuate again, but he still didn't say anything. "You're too modest," Schillard said, pausing to wait for the waiter to serve his tea. "The point I'm making is that Dirac was a hybrid," he continued. "He was a Special Forces soldier, but at the same time maybe And there’s a side to it that isn’t a Special Forces soldier. I need someone who’s worked with characters other than a Special Forces soldier.” "'Beyond Special Forces soldiers,'" Sagan repeated. "General, do you think Boutin's consciousness is still somewhere in Dirac's mind?"

"I didn't say that." But Schillard's tone suggested that he probably did. Sagan pondered the question, especially its implications, and said, "You are undoubtedly aware that the Kite's next series of missions will require us to contact the Raray and the Anisha," she said, "wherein and Enisha-related missions are extra sensitive." That's why I need Will Lister especially, Sagan thought, but didn't say it. "Of course I know." Schillard reached for his teacup. "And my soldiers have traitor personalities that may emerge at any time, don't you think this is a bit risky?" Sagan said, "Not only is it risky for his mission, but it may also endanger his comrades."

"That's obviously a risk," Schillard said, "and that's exactly what I'm counting on you to deal with with experience. But it's also a potential repository of critical information, and that's something I'd need someone to handle as well. If nothing else, you An intelligence officer and therefore the ideal officer to manage this soldier." "What does Corrick think?" Sagan was referring to Major Corrick, commander of the Kite. "He didn't have any opinion because I didn't tell him," Schillard said. "It was unnecessarily confidential and I decided who should know and who should not. All he knew was that there were three recruits on board. " "I didn't like it," Sagan said. "I didn't like it from the beginning to the end." "I didn't ask you to like it," Schillard said, "I was just telling you to deal with it." He took a sip of his tea. "I don't want him to be a key player when we're dealing with the Le Rey or the Anisha," Sagan said. "You can't treat him any differently than the other soldiers under your command," Schillard said. "Then he might have died like any other soldier," Sagan said. "For your own good, don't be killed by friendly fire." Schillard said as he put down his teacup. Sagan fell silent again.As the waiter approached, Schillard waved him away impatiently. "I want another person to look at this file." Sagan said, pointing to his head. "The information is confidential, for obvious reasons," Schillard said. "Whoever needs to know already knows, and we don't want anyone else to know otherwise. Not even Dirac knew about his past. We hope to Maintain the status." "The soldier you're asking me to accept is a huge security risk," Sagan said. "You've got to at least prepare me. I know an expert on human brain function and Brainmate fusion, and I think his opinion should be It will be useful." Schillard thought for a moment and asked, "Do you trust this person?" "I trust him on this matter," Sagan replied. "Do you know his security level?" Schillard asked. "Yes." Sagan said. "Is it high enough to handle the situation?" "Well," Sagan replied, "well, it's hard to say." "Hello, Lieutenant Sagan," Director Kennan said in English. His pronunciation was terrible, but it was not Kennan's fault. His mouth was not constructed for most human languages. "Hello, Director," Sagan said. "You're learning our language." "Yeah," Kennan said, "I have time to study, but I really have nothing to do." Kennan pointed to a book next to the PDA in the Kerkann language, the main language of the Le Rey people. "Only two books are available in Kerkann. Either study language or study religion. I chose language. Human religion is more..." Kennan searched the few English words he knew, "... Disaster." Sagan nodded towards the PDA: "Now you have a computer, there are more options than that." "Yes," Kenan said, "thank you for the computer. I'm glad." "You're welcome," Sagan said, "but the computer comes at a price." "I know," Kennan said, "I read the files you asked me to read." "So?" Sagan asked. "I had to switch to Kerkann," Kennan said. "My English vocabulary is so small." "Okay," Sagan said. "I dug into the files of Private Dirac," Kennan said, his Kerkann consonants harsh, but he spoke quickly, "Charles Butin was a genius who found a way to preserve consciousness outside the brain. You're idiots trying to stuff this awareness back into your brain." "Idiot," Sagan said with the tiniest of smiles, and the word was translated into Kerkann through a small speaker tied around his neck. "Is this your professional evaluation, or is it your subjective opinion?" "Both," Kennan said. "Tell me why," Sagan said.Kenan was about to send her the document from the PDA when Sagan raised his hand to stop him. "I don't need the technical details," she said, "just to know if Dirac will jeopardize my team and my mission." "Well," Kennan said, hesitating for a moment, then continued, "the brain, even the human brain, is like a computer. The analogy is not perfect, but it applies to what I am going to say next. It takes three Components: hardware, software, and data files. Software runs on hardware, files are processed by software. Hardware without software cannot open files. Put a file into a computer that lacks critical software and it won't do anything. See what I mean ?" "Understand by now." Sagan said. "Very good." Kenan said, reaching out to pat Sagan's head, Sagan resisted the urge to snap off Kenan's fingers. "Then, the brain is the hardware, and the mind is the file, but for that Dirac friend, you lack the software." "What's software?" Sagan asked. "Memory," Kennan replied, "experience, sensory activity. Put Boutin's consciousness into his brain, which lacks the experience to comprehend this consciousness. If consciousness is still in Dirac's brain - note the 'what if' Two words - consciousness is also isolated, and there is no way to access it at all." "Newborn Special Forces soldiers are conscious when they wake up," Sagan said, "but we also lack experience and memory." "What they're experiencing is not consciousness," Kennan said, and Sagan could sense the revulsion in his words. "Your bloody brain mates forcibly opened the sensory channels artificially to create the illusion of consciousness, and your brains are well aware of this." Kennan pointed to the PDA and said, "You gave me very high permissions, allowing me to access the brain and Data from the BrainPal study. Did you know that?" "I know," said Sagan, "that I asked them to allow you to read the entire file, if it could help." "Because you know I'm going to be a prisoner for the rest of my life, and if I escape, I'm going to die very quickly from the same disease you've got me, so it won't do any harm to allow me to read," Kennan said. Sagan shrugged. "Well—" Kennan continued, "you know? There is no reasonable explanation for the fact that the brains of Special Forces soldiers absorb information much faster than ordinary Defense Force soldiers. Both are unmodified human brains, Brainmate Computers are no different. The special forces soldier's brain is pre-tuned before birth, which is different from the average soldier's brain, but it should not significantly increase the speed at which the brain processes information. However, the special forces soldier's brain absorbs and processes information It's amazingly fast. Know why? Lieutenant, it's the brain protecting itself. The average Wehrmacht soldier already has consciousness and the experience of using it, you special forces soldiers have neither. Your brain perceives the Brain Compulsory Brain Accepted artificial consciousness, so hasten to establish its own consciousness as quickly as possible, lest the artificial consciousness permanently change the brain—or kill the brain.” "There are no special forces soldiers who died because of brain mates," Sagan said. "Oh, of course not now," Kennan said, "but if you go back to the early days, it's hard to say what you'll find." "What do you know?" Sagan asked. "I don't know anything," Kennan said impartially. "It's just a random guess. The point is that on the one hand, you used the so-called 'consciousness' to awaken the special forces soldiers; on the other hand, what you did to Private Dirac , the two cannot be compared. They are not the same thing at all, they are far worse." Sagan changed the subject and said, "You said that Butin's consciousness may no longer be in Dirac's brain." "It's very possible," Kennan said, "that consciousness needs an external stimulus or it dissipates. So it's almost impossible to preserve a model of consciousness well outside the brain, and Butin is a genius for doing that. I guess even Butin The consciousness that once existed in Dirac’s brain has disappeared, and you are just one more soldier. It’s hard to be sure that consciousness is still there, maybe it’s wrapped in the consciousness of Dirac’s private.” "If it's in his brain, why would it wake up?" Sagan asked. "Shall I guess?" Cainen asked.Sagan nodded. "The reason why you couldn't get in touch with Butin's consciousness in the first place is that the brain has no memory and experience. As Private Dirac accumulates experience, there may be something close to its essence that will unlock some of that consciousness. part." "Then he became Charles Butin," Sagan said. "Maybe," Kennan said, "maybe not. Private Dirac already has his own consciousness and self-concept. If Butin's consciousness wakes up, I'm afraid it won't be the only consciousness in his mind. Good or bad It's up to you, Lieutenant Sagan. I can't be sure about that, and I don't know what will happen to Butin when he wakes up." "That's what I need you to tell me," Sagan replied. Cainen let out a Le Rey chuckle, and said, "Send me a lab, and I might be able to tell you some answers." "Didn't you say you'd never help us?" Sagan said. Kenan switched back to English and said, "Leaving me a lot of time to think, too much. Not enough language lessons." He switched back to Kerkan and said, "This won't help you against my companions, but it will help you. " "Help me?" Sagan said. "I know why you helped me today, because I bribed you with computer access. Besides, why are you helping me? I made you a prisoner." .” "It also made me suffer from a disease. If the enemy doesn't give me an antidote every day, I will die." Kennan said as he took out a small syringe from a small table fixed on the cell wall. "My antidote," he said, "they allowed me to inject myself. Once I made up my mind not to inject myself, to see if they would die. I'm still alive, so you can imagine the answer. But first they let I struggled on the ground for hours. Speaking of which, that's what you did to me." "But still can't explain why you want to help me." Sagan said. "Because you remember me," said Kennan, "and to the rest of you, I'm just one of your many enemies, and it's not even worth giving me a book, lest I go mad with boredom. One day if you forget to detoxify me If I die like this, it won’t make any difference to them. You at least think I have value. In this small universe where I live, enemies belong to enemies, but you are my best and only friend.” Sagan looked at Kenan, recalling his arrogance when they first met.How pathetic and cowardly he was now, Sagan felt for a moment that this was the saddest thing she had ever seen. "Sorry," she said, surprised to hear herself say that. Kennen let out another Lraey giggle.He said: "We were planning to destroy your people, Lieutenant, and we still are, and you don't need to feel too sorry." Sagan had nothing to say about that.She signaled to prison officials that she was leaving, the cell door opened and a guard came to guard the door with the MP in his arms. The door slid shut behind her, and she turned to Kenan and said, "Thank you for your help, I will ask them to arrange the laboratory." "Thanks," Kennan said, "I didn't hold out much hope." "Indeed." Sagan replied. "Besides, Lieutenant," Kennan said, "it just occurred to me. Private Dirac will be in action, right?" "Yes." Sagan said. "Keep an eye on him," Kennan said. "Whether it's a human or a Raray, the stress of combat leaves a permanent imprint on the brain. It's a primal experience. If Boutin's consciousness is still there, war will It might wake him up. It might be the war itself, or it might be some combination of experiences." "How do you think I should keep an eye on him during the fight?" Sagan asked. "That's your problem," Kennan said. "I've never been in a war except when you caught me. I don't even know where to start. But if you're really worried about Dirac, I'm You and I will definitely do that. You humans have a saying, 'Close to your friends, but closer to your enemies'. I think both are suitable for Private Dirac. If it were me, I would definitely keep an eye on him." The Kite seized the opportunity of the cruiser Le Rey to take a nap. Warp engines are a difficult technology to serve.On the one hand, with it, interstellar travel can be carried out. The principle is not to drive the spacecraft faster than the speed of light (this is impossible), but to punch a hole in the space-time continuum, and the spacecraft (or any object equipped with a jump engine) ) directly anywhere in the same universe. (Actually, this is not entirely the case. The farther the spatial distance between the origin and the destination, the more reliable the jump flight becomes exponentially. The reason is the so-called "jump engine horizon problem", which will cause the spacecraft and its crew to The disappearance of personnel, we have not yet fully understood the problem. This traps humans and other races using jump engines in the interstellar "proximity" not too far from the parent star. If a race wants to control the colony - this is As a matter of course—then the act of colonial expansion would be limited to the sphere defined by the horizon of the jump engine. In a sense, this question is moot, because there is a fierce competition for land in the adjacent area where humans are located. But the Kangsu people are an exception, their technology is much more advanced than other races in the nearby airspace, and it is not even a question of whether they use the jump engine.) On the other hand, the jump engine has many strange problems, and you have to endure it if you want to use it, such as its requirements for the starting point and the ending point.When starting out, the jump engine needs a relatively "smooth" space-time continuum, which means that when the jump engine is activated, the spacecraft must stay away from the gravity wells of nearby planets, which can only rely on ordinary engines to travel through space.However, the end point of the jump engine can be as close to the planet as possible. In theory, if the navigator is confident in his technology, the spacecraft can directly land on the surface.While the Colonial Federation openly and strongly opposed the use of jump engines to land on planetary surfaces, the Colonial Defense Forces recognized the strategic value of unexpected surprise attacks. The Kite arrived over the planet that the human settlers had named Gettysburg, and suddenly appeared just a quarter of a light-second away from the cruiser Le Rey, its twin railguns warmed up and ready to fire.It took the Kite's gunner less than a minute to get his bearings and aim at the hapless cruiser, which was obviously in a hurry, and the railgun's magnetized shell took only two and one-third seconds to fly from the Kite to its prey .The railgun's shell was fast enough to pierce the shell of the Le Rey ship and rage inside it like a bullet through condensed milk, but the designer of the shell was not satisfied, and the shell would expand and explode when it came into contact with matter. The instant after the cannonball hit the Le Rey spacecraft, it turned into the fastest scattered bullets in the universe, and fragments and shrapnel flew wildly along various vectors related to the original trajectory.The amount of energy required to alter these trajectories is certainly not small, and undoubtedly reduces the velocity of the shrapnel.However, the shrapnel has plenty of energy to waste, and the only result is that the shrapnel has enough time to wreak havoc on the Le Rey ship, piercing the already injured ship, and starting their long, frictionless journey through space. Fortunately, the position of the Kite and the Le Rey cruiser was not good. The first shell only hit the starboard side of the front, and the fragments passed through the spaceship diagonally upwards. It exploded into blood mist.When the shell hit the spaceship, it formed a neat round hole with a caliber of seventeen centimeters, but when it exited it was a ten-meter hole with jagged edges. Metal, flesh and air flew soundlessly into the vacuum. The trajectory of the second shell was parallel to that of the first shell, and its position was a little behind. Unfortunately, it didn't explode, and the exit was only slightly larger than the entrance. Fortunately, it smashed an engine of Le Rey's spaceship.The cruiser's automated damage control system lowered bulkheads, isolated the damaged engine, and shut down the other two engines to prevent cascading failures.The Le Rey spacecraft switched to emergency energy, and the power of attack and defense became very limited, and neither of them could effectively counter the Kite. The Kite was partially depleted (started to recharge) due to the use of the railgun, so she fired five conventional tactical nukes at the Le Rey cruiser, which solved the problem once and for all.It takes more than a minute for the missile to fly, but Kite has plenty of time now.The cruiser was the only Rraey ship in the airspace nearby.Le Rey's spaceship lit a small flame, and the cruiser that was about to be destroyed launched a jump drone, which could quickly rush to the place where the jump could be made, and inform the Le Rey military of the cruiser's fate.The Kite fired a sixth and final missile at the drone, which would catch up and destroy the drone less than 10,000 kilometers from the jump point.By the time the Rraey knew what had become of the cruiser, the Kite would be many light-years away. The cruiser Le Rey had become a growing debris field, and Lieutenant Sagan and her second platoon had received clearance to carry out the mission. Jared tried to clear away distracting thoughts and contemplate inwardly to calm the nervousness of his first mission and the slight fear of the troop carrier's jolt as it plunged into Gettysburg's atmosphere.Daniel Harvey sitting next to him made it difficult for him to concentrate. As the troop dropship plummeted, Harvey said, "Damn wandering colonists, running out to build illegal colonies, come to us and cry when the fucking aliens crawl into their nests." "Take it easy, Harvey," said Alex Roentgen, "and don't trouble yourself." "I just want to know how these sons of bitches got here," Harvey said. "The Colonial Confederation didn't send them, and you ain't going nowhere without the Confederacy's permission." "Of course," Roentgen said, "The Colony cannot control all interstellar voyages, only human beings." "Aren't these colonists human, Einstein?" Harvey said. "Hey," said Julie Einstein, "don't get me involved." "Just a saying, Julie," Harvey said. "Idiot, the colonists are indeed human beings, but not the ones who transport them," Roentgen said. "The colony has trade relations with some alien races. The wandering colonists pay to take their spaceships and go wherever they want." "Stupid," Harvey said, looking around the platoon for support.Most of the soldiers were either closing their eyes and meditating, or deliberately not getting involved.Harvey was notoriously fond of brawling. "If the colony wants to, of course it can stop it. Inform the aliens that they are not allowed to carry wandering colonists. This way we don't have to risk our lives to save people." Jane Sagan in the front seat turned her head and said to Harvey in a bored tone: "The Colonial Federation doesn't want to stop the wandering colonists." "Why the fuck is that?" Harvey asked. "They are troublemakers," Sagan said. "Anyone who defies the order of the Colonial Union and runs to open an illegal colony will cause more trouble if he is forced to stay at home. The Colonial Union feels that it is not worth doing so, so it Turn a blind eye and let them go. They're all on their own anyway." "Until there is trouble." Harvey snorted. "Usually, even then," Sagan said, "the drifters know what to do." "Then what are we doing here?" Roentgen said. "Not that I'm for Harvey, but they're wandering colonists." "Because there was an order," Sagan said, closing his eyes and ending the argument.Harvey snorted and was about to speak when the troop carrier suddenly jolted extremely violently. "The Rarays on the ground seem to know we're coming," said Chad Arsizzi from the pilot's station. "Three missiles are heading towards us. Hold on and I'll see if I can burn them before they get close." .” A few seconds later, a low and continuous hum sounded in the cabin.The troop carrier's defensive masers fired to meet the missiles. "Why don't you go the old fashioned way," said Harvey, "and blast the thieves out of the tracks?" "There are humans down there," Jared ventured. "I guess we can't use tactics that might injure or kill them." Harvey glanced at Jared, then changed the subject. Jared looked at Sarah Pauling, who shrugged.This week after entering the second row, the most appropriate word to describe the relationship between them and the old players is "cold".If they had to deal with each other, the others would be terribly polite to them, otherwise just ignore them as much as possible.Platoon Chief Jane Sagan put it succinctly that this is the path that recruits must go through before going to the battlefield for the first time. "Just accept it." After she finished speaking, she turned and went to work. This disturbed both Jared and Pauling.It's one thing to be casually ignored, quite another to be denied full integration.They got partial links that allowed public channels to be used to discuss and share mission-related information, but the intimate sharing of the training sessions was missing.Jared turned his head to look at Harvey, wondering for the umpteenth time whether fusion would be just a training tool.If that's the case, it would be too cruel to give it to you first and then take it away.However, he also noted evidence of fusion among comrades within the platoon.Subtle movements and behaviors speak of unspoken communal discourse and sensory sharing beyond personal awareness.Jared and Pauling wanted to join, but knew that keeping them out was testing their reactions. Since they couldn't integrate with their comrades-in-arms, in order to make up for this, the integration of Jared and Pauling became very close.The first week, they linger on each other's minds for so long that despite loving each other, they start to loathe each other.They found that there is indeed such a thing as overfusion.The two dilute the intimacy by inviting Stephen Seaborg to unofficially merge with them.Seaborg also received the same cold treatment in the first row, but he was not accompanied by his training teammates in the first row. Seeing their invitation, he was so grateful that he was a little pitiful. Jared looked at Jane Sagan, wondering if the platoon leader would still keep him and Sarah out of the group while they were on duty?That seemed dangerous—at least to him and Pauling. As if hearing his thoughts, Sagan looked at him and began to speak. "Assign a mission," she said, sending the group a map of the Gettysburg mini-colony along with everyone's mission, "remember, this is a sweep and clear mission. Either they're all dead, or they're kept in captivity somewhere where they can't get messages out. The goal is to get rid of the Le Rey with as little damage to the colonial buildings as possible. Try not, do you hear, Harvey?" She pointed Staring at Harvey, Harvey twisted uncomfortably. "If necessary, you can blow it up and down, but what we destroy, the settlers will lack." "What?" Roentgen said. "Aren't you kidding? You mean if they're still alive, we'll allow them to stay here?" "They're runaways," Sagan said, "and we can't force them to be rational." "Well, but we can force them," Harvey said. "We're not going to force them," Sagan said. "We've got new guys to protect. Roentgen, you'll take Pauling, I'll take Dirac. The rest, in teams of two. We land here— —” A small landing zone lit up on the map. “Use your creativity to get where you need to go as soon as possible. Remember to scout the environment and the enemy situation. You are scouting for us all.” "It's better to say some of us." Pauling whispered to Jared.At this moment, the sensory impact of fusion—the super-perceptuality of so many perspectives superimposed on my own perspective—overwhelmed and overwhelmed Jared with difficulty. "Don't hurt yourself," Harvey said, and there was some amusement in the platoon.Jared ignored it, struggling to digest the emotional and informational gestalt offered by his comrades.There is the confidence that they can defeat the Rraey; there is the subterranean structure map, which can be used to map out the route to the target location; there is tension, anticipation and excitement that seem to have nothing to do with the upcoming battle; Buildings, because the colonists are mostly dead. "Behind you." Jared heard Sarah Pauling say. He and Jane Sagan turned and fired at the same time they received the images and data. From Pauling's long-distance perspective, the three Le Rey soldiers were silent. Silently but not invisible, they circled a small complex, intending to ambush Jared and Sagan.As soon as the three soldiers emerged, the bullets fired by Jared and Sagan flew towards them. One soldier fell to the ground immediately, and the other two fled separately. Jared and Sagan quickly called up the perspective of other comrades in arms to see who could take down one or both of the fleeing enemies.Too bad everyone was busy, including Pauling, who had reverted to her original mission of knocking out the Le Rey snipers on the edge of the Gettysburg settlement.Sagan let out a long sigh. "You chase that one," she ordered, and went after another person by herself, "watch out for your own life." Jared was galloping after the Raleigh soldier, and the powerful bird legs of the opponent ran fast, throwing Jared some distance away.Jared chased after him, and the Le Rey soldier turned around sharply, shooting at him indiscriminately with a gun in one hand, the recoil caused the muzzle of the gun to rise, and the gun flew out of the Le Rey soldier's hand.The bullets drilled into the ground ahead of Jared, and Jared turned for cover as the Rraei guns fell to the ground with a clang.勒雷伊士兵没有去捡，而是继续逃窜，钻进了殖民地车辆调配站的修车场。 “我需要帮助。”雅列在门口说。 “彼此彼此，”哈维在别处说，“王八蛋比咱们至少多一倍。” 雅列穿过入口走进修车场。左右张望一眼，他发现这里只有两个出入口，另外一扇门和入口在同一面墙上，这面墙上还有一扇用来通风的窗户。修车场的窗户都在高处，而且很小，勒雷伊人不可能钻过去。敌人还在修车场的某处。雅列走向一侧，开始有条不紊地搜查场地。 一个矮架上盖着一块防水油布，一把匕首突然从油布底下刺出来，砍中雅列的小腿。刀刃才近身，军用防护服的纳米机器织物瞬间变硬。雅列毫发无损。但他吃了一惊，反而绊倒了自己，稀里哗啦摔在地上，脚腕扭了一下，MP也脱手了。勒雷伊人爬出藏身之处，没等雅列抓回武器，就用握刀的手推开了MP。MP飞出雅列伸手可及的范围，勒雷伊人刺向雅列的面门，在他脸上划开一个大口子，智能血喷涌而出。雅列惨叫一声，勒雷伊人爬下去跑向MP。 雅列转过身，见到勒雷伊士兵已经用MP瞄准了他，奇长无比的手指笨拙但有力地抓住枪托和扳机。雅列顿时无法动弹，勒雷伊士兵怪叫一声，扣动了扳机。 No response.雅列这才想起MP设置成由他的脑伴控制，人类以外的种族无法开火。他松了口气，微微一笑，勒雷伊士兵又是怪叫一声，抡起MP，砸在雅列已经被他划破的面颊上。雅列大声叫痛，踉跄后退。勒雷伊士兵把MP扔到架子高处两个人都拿不到的地方，接着从工作台上捞起一根轮轴，挥舞着冲向雅列。 雅列用胳膊挡开第一击，防护服再次凝固，但这一击打得他胳膊生疼。第二击，他伸手去抓轮轴，但估计错了速度，轮轴狠狠敲在手指上，打断了右手食指和中指，把右臂砸得垂了下去。勒雷伊士兵挥动轮轴，从侧面击中雅列的头部，雅列跪倒在地，头晕目眩，先前扭伤的脚腕又扭了一下。雅列晕乎乎地用左手抽出匕首，勒雷伊士兵一脚踢在他手上，匕首飞了出去。勒雷伊士兵紧接着第二脚踢在雅列的下巴上，牙齿咬中舌头，智能血淌进口腔，染红了牙齿。勒雷伊士兵推倒雅列，抽出匕首，俯身来割雅列的喉咙。雅列的意识突然跳回和萨拉·鲍林练习格斗的训练课：她骑在雅列身上，匕首贴着他的喉咙，说他不该分神。 他现在精神很集中。 雅列使劲一吸，把一口智能血喷在勒雷伊士兵的面门和眼带上。怪物抽搐退缩，雅列抓住机会，命令脑伴让智能血在勒雷伊士兵脸上做它在凤凰星上被吸血小虫吞下后做的事情：爆燃。 智能血烧灼勒雷伊士兵的面门和眼带，勒雷伊士兵惨叫着丢下匕首，抓挠脸孔。雅列拿起匕首，从侧面插进勒雷伊士兵头部。勒雷伊士兵戛然惊叫，突然软瘫下去，向后倒在地上。雅列也倒了下去，他静躺片刻，让眼睛休息，勒雷伊士兵闷烧时的刺鼻气味越来越浓。 “起来。”过了一阵，有人对他说，用靴尖捅了捅他。雅列皱起眉头，仰望上方。来者是萨根。“走吧，狄拉克。我们全歼了敌人。你就别装死了。” “我受伤了。”雅列说。 “妈的，狄拉克，”萨根说，“看着你，我眼睛都疼了。”她朝勒雷伊士兵打个手势，“下次记得开枪。” “保证记住。”雅列说。 “说起来，”萨根说，“你的MP呢？” 雅列望向高处的架子，说：“能帮我找把梯子吗？” “你需要缝针，”萨根说，“脸都快掉下来了。” “中尉，”朱莉·爱因斯坦说，“你快过来。我们找到定居者了。” “有活着的吗？”萨根说。 “天哪，没有。”爱因斯坦说，萨根和雅列都通过融合感觉到她打了个哆嗦。 “你在哪儿？”萨根说。 “呃，”爱因斯坦说，“我想你还是自己来看吧。” 一分钟后，萨根和雅列来到了殖民地屠宰场。 两人走到近处，萨根说：“他妈的勒雷伊人。”她转向在屠宰场外等待的爱因斯坦，“他们在里面？” “在里面，”爱因斯坦说，“后面的冷库。” “所有人？”萨根问。 “应该是的，不过很难说，”爱因斯坦说，“大部分已经被肢解了。” 冷库里塞满了肉。 特种部队士兵目瞪口呆地望着铁钩上剥了皮的躯体。铁钩下的桶里装满内脏，加工到不同程度的肢体堆在台子上。另外一张台子上是许多脑袋，颅骨被锯开，准备取出大脑。台子旁的大桶里装着取空了的脑袋。 一块防水油布下是一小堆未经处理的尸体。雅列走过去掀起油布，底下是所有的儿童。 “天哪，”萨根说，她扭头对爱因斯坦说，“派人联系殖民地行政办公室，调取能找到的全部医疗和遗传记录，还有殖民者的照片。要靠这些东西辨认尸体。再派两个人去翻垃圾箱。” “找什么？”爱因斯坦问。 “残渣，”萨根说，“勒雷伊人已经吃掉的人。” 雅列听见萨根下令，脑袋里嗡嗡直响。他俯身盯着那堆孩童尸体，怎么也转不开眼睛。尸堆最上面是个小女孩，精灵般的脸孔那么沉静、安详和美丽。他伸手轻轻抚摸女孩的面颊：冰凉。 不知怎的，雅列心头涌起一阵凄凉。他呕了一下，转过身去。 丹尼尔·哈维，找到冷库的是他和爱因斯坦，走过来对雅列说：“第一次。” 雅列抬起头，问：“什么？” 哈维朝尸体摆摆头：“第一次见到儿童，对吧？” “对。”雅列说。 “我们总是这样，”哈维说，“第一次见到殖民者，是殖民者的尸体。第一次见到儿童，是儿童的尸体。第一次见到不是人类的智能生物，不是已经死了就是正企图杀死我们，因此我们必须杀掉它，于是它也变成尸体。我等了好几个月才第一次见到活生生的殖民者，到现在我还没见过活生生的儿童。” 雅列扭头看着尸堆，问：“这个有多大？” “妈的，不知道，”哈维也望了过去，“估计三四岁吧，顶多五岁。知道哪一点特别有趣吗？她比你我加起来都大。她比你我加起来再翻个倍都大。朋友，这个宇宙他妈的乱套了。” 哈维溜溜达达地走开。雅列盯着小女孩又看了一分钟，用油布盖住她和其他孩子。他转身去找萨根，在殖民地的行政大楼外找到了她。 “狄拉克，”见到他走近，萨根说，“你对第一次任务有什么想法？” “我觉得很可怕。”雅列说。 “确实，”萨根答道，又问，“知道我们为什么会在这儿吗？为什么来这个流窜者定居点？” 雅列花了一秒钟才意识到这句话是她用嘴说的，他跟着开口答道：“不知道。” “因为这个定居点的领袖的母亲是殖民联盟国务卿，”萨根说，“这个白痴王八蛋想向母亲证明，殖民联盟反对非法定居的规定是侵犯民权。” “侵犯了吗？”雅列问。 萨根望向雅列：“为什么问这个？” “好奇而已。”雅列说。 “也许侵犯了，也许没侵犯，很难说。”萨根答道，“但不管侵没侵犯，都绝对不该选择这颗行星证明他的观点。尽管勒雷伊人在这颗行星上连一个定居点都没有，但多年前就声明了对这里的主权。我猜那个龟孙子心想既然防卫军在上次战争中大败勒雷伊人，那么勒雷伊人说不定会因为害怕报复而睁只眼闭只眼。结果，十天前，我们在行星上空的间谍卫星被敲掉了，下手的就是刚才被我们炸沉的那艘巡洋舰——间谍卫星在被敲掉前拍到了一张巡洋舰的照片。于是我们就出动了。” “真是一塌糊涂。”雅列说。 萨根郁闷地笑了笑，说：“现在我得回该死的冷库验尸了，非得找到国务卿的儿子不可。告诉国务卿说她儿子全家被勒雷伊人剁碎做成食物，这个光荣的任务也是我的。” “他全家？”雅列问。 “老婆，”萨根说，“一个女儿，四岁大。” 雅列想到尸堆最顶上的小女孩，猛地打个哆嗦。萨根死死地盯着他，问：“你没事吧？” “我没事，”雅列说，“就是觉得他们死得很冤。” “老婆和孩子确实死得冤，”萨根说，“带她们来这儿的白痴王八蛋活该。” 雅列又打个哆嗦，说：“随你怎么说。” “我就要这么说，”萨根说，“走吧，该去辨别殖民者的身份了——或者说辨认他们的肉块。” “唉，”雅列走出风筝号的医务室，萨拉·鲍林对他说，“你做事总这么不当心。”她伸手抚摸雅列的面颊，尽管做了纳米级的缝合，但还是留下了一道伤疤。“能看见你受伤的位置。” “不疼了，”雅列说，“反正比我的脚腕和手指强。脚腕没骨折，但手指需要几天才能痊愈。” “也比死掉强。”鲍林说。 “这倒是真的。”雅列承认道。 “而且还教了大家一个新招，”鲍林说，“智能血居然还能这么用。大家现在管你叫岩浆雅列了。” “大家都知道能让智能血燃烧，”雅列说，“我在凤凰星上经常看见人们用智能血烧虫子。” “是啊，大家都用它烧小虫，”鲍林说，“但想到也能烧大虫子就需要一定脑力了。” “我其实什么都没想，”雅列说，“只是不想死而已。” “不想死能让人变得这么有创造力，有意思。”鲍林说。 “能让人变得精神非常集中，这才真的有意思，”雅列说，“我想起你说我需要集中精神，看来你救了我一命。” “很好，”鲍林说，“记得你欠我一个人情。” 雅列忽然停下脚步。“怎么了？”鲍林问。 “你没感觉到？”雅列问。 “感觉到什么？”鲍林问。 “我觉得我特别想性交。”雅列说。 “呃，雅列，”鲍林说，“忽然在走廊里站住并不是你平时表达特别想性交的办法。” “鲍林，狄拉克，”阿历克斯·伦琴说，“娱乐室，快来。战后庆祝活动要开始了。” “喔！”鲍林说，“庆祝。有蛋糕和冰激凌吗？” 没有蛋糕，也没有冰激凌。只有一场群交。二排除了一个人之外全在娱乐室里，裸体程度各自不同。他们三三两两地躺在沙发和软垫上，亲吻，互相贴紧。 “这就是战后庆祝活动？”鲍林说。 “每次打完一仗，”阿历克斯·伦琴说，“我们就要举办一次。” "Why?" Jared asked. 阿历克斯·伦琴盯着雅列，有点难以置信地问：“群交难道还需要理由吗？”雅列正要回答，但伦琴举起一只手。“首先，我们走过死荫的山谷，来到了另外一边。没有比群交更能让你感觉你还活着的了。见过今天的那种烂事，我们需要尽快忘掉。其次，因为性爱那么美妙，你融入的集体同时做爱尤其如此。” “你的意思是说不会中断我们的融合了？”鲍林问。她是用调笑的口吻问的，但雅列感觉到问题深处有一丝细微的紧张。 “不会，”伦琴轻声说，“你们已经是战友了。这不但是性爱，还是在更深刻地表达沟通和信任，是另外一个层次的融合。” “听着非常可疑，很像是胡扯。”鲍林笑着答道。 伦琴发送了一波哈哈大笑。“唉，被你看出来了。我不否认，这首先是为了性爱。但你会明白的。”他向鲍林伸出手，“来吧？” 鲍林看了雅列一眼，使个眼色，抓住伦琴的手，说：“悉听君便。”雅列望着两人走开，忽然觉得有人戳他的肩膀，转身一看，站在背后的是朱莉·爱因斯坦，赤身裸体，意气洋洋。 “雅列，让我测试一下你是不是真能喷岩浆。”她说。 过了天晓得多久，鲍林找到雅列，在他身旁躺下。 “今晚很有意思。”她说。 “这么说也不错。”雅列说。伦琴之前说过融合集体同时做爱感觉大不相同，事实证明这么说实在太轻描淡写了。除了一个人，雅列纠正自己，说：“萨根为什么不在？” “阿历克斯说她以前参加，但最近不了，”鲍林说，“她在一场险些战死的战役后就不再参加了。那是几年前的事情。阿历克斯说参不参加完全自愿，没有人因此说她不好。” 听见“阿历克斯”的名字，雅列感觉到一阵尖锐的情绪；先前爱因斯坦骑在他身上的时候，他瞥过伦琴和鲍林一眼。雅列有点尴尬地说：“倒是说得通。” 鲍林用一条手臂撑起身子，问：“你开心吗？参加这个？” “你知道我很开心。”雅列说。 “我知道，”鲍林说，“我脑袋里能感觉到你。” “对。”雅列说。 “但你似乎并不完全投入。”鲍林说。 雅列耸耸肩：“我也说不清为什么。” 鲍林凑过来轻轻亲吻雅列：“你吃醋的样子很可爱。” “我并不想吃醋。”雅列说。 “要我说，没有谁天生就想吃醋。”鲍林答道。 "Sorry," Jared said. “没什么好抱歉的，”鲍林说，“我很高兴我们融合了，我很高兴能成为这个排的一员。群交乐趣无穷。但是，雅列，你对我来说很特殊，一向如此。你是我的最爱。” “最爱，”雅列赞同道，“永远。” 鲍林笑得很开心。“很高兴我们谈妥了，”她的手向下摸去，“现在嘛，轮到我享受一下我的最爱了。”