Chapter 14 Chapter VII

"The more I think about it, the less I like it," Harvey told Sagan.The two of them and Seaborg sprawled on the edge of the woods surrounding the scientific outpost. "Then don't think too much about it," Sagan said. "It's easier for you, Harvey," said Seaborg, trying unsuccessfully to brighten things up. Sagan looked down at Seaborg's legs and asked, "You can do it? You're limping even more." "I'm fine," Seaborg said, "I'm not going to sit here like a piece of shit and watch you two get things done." "I didn't mean that," Sagan said, "I meant you and Harvey could switch roles."

"I'm really fine," Seaborg insisted. "Besides Harvey's going to kill me if I take his job." "Too damn right," Harvey said, "I'm good at killing people." "Legs hurt, but I can walk and run," Seaborg said. "I'll be fine, but let's not just sit and talk now. The muscles in my legs are getting knotted." Sagan nodded and turned to look at the scientific research outpost.It was a cluster of the most austere buildings, with the Obin barracks at the northern end, incredibly compact; the Obin probably neither wanted nor needed any privacy.Like humans, the Obin gather together at meals, and many eat in the mess hall next to the barracks.Harvey's task was to make some noise there, to attract the attention of the Obin, and to get the Obin from all over the scientific outpost to gather towards him.

There is a spacious shed at the south end, which houses the energy supply system and voltage stabilizer.The energy used by the Obin is generally a huge battery, which is continuously charged by the windmill set some distance from the base.Seaborg's task is to find a way to cut off the power supply, and he must use local materials to complete the task. Between the north and south ends is the scientific outpost itself.With the power cut off, Sagan would grope in, find Butin, bring him out, stuff him in the captive compartment, and beat him unconscious if necessary.If she encounters Dirac, she needs to quickly judge whether Dirac can still be useful, or has become a traitor along with her predecessor.If it was the latter, she would have to kill him cleanly.

Sagan figured she would have to kill Dirac anyway, and she didn't think she had the time to judge Dirac's trustworthiness, nor did she have an upgraded BrainPal to read Dirac's mind for her.Sagan spends half a second laughing at himself about his mind-reading ability, which he claims is a super-secret weapon that he never uses when he really needs it.Sagan didn't want to be forced to kill Dirac, but she didn't think she had any other options in the matter.Maybe he was dead, Sagan thought, and that would save him a lot of trouble. Sagan pushed away this idea, she didn't like the character traits revealed by this train of thought just now.If you can really meet Dirac, it won't be too late to worry about it.The three of them had enough to worry about right now.After all, the most important thing is to stuff Butin into the captive compartment.

We have an advantage, Sagan thought, none of us expect to survive, so we have a choice. "Ready?" Sagan asked. "Ready," Seaborg said. "Damn it, it's over," Harvey said. "Then do it," Sagan said, "Harvey, you go first." Jared dozed off and woke up to find Zoe staring at him. He smiled and said, "Hello, Zoe." "Hello," Zoe said, frowning, "I don't remember your name." "My name is Jared," he said. "Oh, yes," said Zoe, "Hello, Mr. Jared." "Hello, honey," Jared said, again finding it hard to keep his voice steady.He looked down at the stuffed animal in Zooey's hand, and asked, "Is that Celeste the baby elephant?"

Zooey nodded and held it up for him to see. "Uh-huh," she said, "I used to have a Baba, but I lost it. Do you know Baba?" "Yes," Jared said, "I remember meeting your Baba." "I missed my Baba," Zoe said softly, but immediately regained her spirits, "but then Daddy came back and brought me Celeste." "How long has he been gone?" Jared asked. Zooey shrugged and said, "It's been a long time. He said he had something to deal with first, but he said he would send the Obin people to protect me and take care of me."

"Are the Obin looking after you?" Jared said. "Probably," she said, shrugging, lowering her voice. "I don't like the Obin. They're boring." "I can tell," Jared said, "I'm sorry, Zoe, that you and your dad have been separated for so long. I know he loves you very much." "I know," said Zoe, "and I love him too. I love Mom and Dad, my grandparents—too bad I never met them—and my friends at Cowell. I miss them. You Say they miss me?" "Definitely missed," Jared said, trying not to think about the fate of her friends.He looked at Zooey and found that Zooey pouted. "What's the matter, baby?" he asked.

"Dad said I would go back to Phoenix Star with you," Zooey said, "He said you would stay with me so that he could finish his work here." "Your father and I talked about it," Jared said carefully. "You don't want to go back?" "I want to go back with Dad," she said plaintively, "I don't want him here." "He won't be separated from you for too long," Jared said, "it's just that the spaceship that came to bring you home is so small that it can only hold you and me." "You can stay," Zoe said.

Jared smiled and said, "Me too, honey. We'll have a lot of fun while you're with your dad, I promise. Is there anything in particular you'd like to do when we get back to Phoenix Space Station?" "I'll buy candy," Zoe said. "There's no candy here. Daddy says the Aubin don't make candy. He tried to make it for me one time." "How is it?" Jared asked. "It sucks," said Zoe. "I want hard candy balls, butterscotch, lollipops and jelly beans. I like black jelly beans." "I remember," Jared said, "the first time I saw you, you were eating black jelly beans."

"When was that?" Zoe asked. "It was a long time ago, honey," Jared said, "but I remember it so well, it's like yesterday. When we get back, I'll buy you as much sugar as you want." "Not too much," Zoe said, "it'll make my stomach hurt." "That's right," Jared said. "It can't give you a stomachache. A stomachache is bad." Zoe looked up and smiled at Jared, his heart was about to break. "You're a fool, Mr. Jared," she said. "Oh," Jared replied with a smile, "I'm trying."

"Okay, I'm leaving," Zoe said. "Daddy's taking a nap and he doesn't know I'm here. I'll go back and wake him up because I'm hungry." "Go ahead, Zoe," Jared said. "Thank you for visiting me, Zoe. Nice to meet you." "Okay," Zoe turned and left, waving as she walked, "Goodbye, Mr. Jared! See you later." "See you later." Jared knew he would never see her again. "Love you!" Zooey shouted in a child's casual tone. "Love you too." Jared whispered in a fatherly tone.Hearing the door of the corridor next door close, he let out a breath that he had held for a long time. Jared looked at the laboratory, glanced at the console brought by Butin to transmit consciousness, and paused for a while on the second tank in the room where Butin pushed into - the tank where Butin would lie down and send his consciousness into The body of Jared, obliterating the existence of Jared, as if Jared is just a placeholder, placed in the body to wait for the real master to return. Jared thought about it again, isn't that the truth?This body was originally prepared for Butin, and it was made for this.Jared exists only because Boutin's consciousness refuses to stay at first, and must be coaxed out to share the mind space created by Jared's nanny.What's even more ironic is that now Butin wants to accept everything and kick Jared out completely.Damn it, Jared thought wildly.I just configured this brain to my liking!He laughed, hearing his own laughter quavering and eerie.He wanted to calm down, to regain his sanity with breath after breath. Jared heard Butin describe the crimes of the Colonial Alliance in his mind, and heard Kennan (whom he trusted in these matters) respond to the accusations.He looked back on his past in the special forces, what they did in the universe under the banner of "for the safety of mankind".The Colonial Federation literally holds every line of communication, directs every operation, tightly controls every aspect of human society, and attacks almost every race they know with determination and brutality. If the universe is really as hostile as the colonial alliance said, perhaps such strict control is justified, otherwise it will not be able to seize the territory, meet the needs of race development, and win a place for human beings in the universe.But if the universe is not like this, and it is not external competition that encourages the Colonial Union to fight for years, but internal paranoia and xenophobia, then Jared knows that the Colonial Union is leading him and everyone he knows in Special Forces. way towards the slow death of the human race, and Butin assured him that was the case.If so, he should have refused to go to war. But, Jared thought, Butin was not reliable.Boutin claimed that the colonial alliance was evil, but he himself chose to do evil things.He led three races—two of which had been at odds for years—to attack the Colonial Union, putting millions of humans and billions of other intelligent beings at risk of war.He experimented with special forces soldiers, killed soldiers.He also planned to kill all the Special Forces and Defense Force soldiers with the brain-companion virus. Considering the number and special structure of the Colonial Defense Forces, what is the difference between this and genocide?After the Colonial Defense Force is wiped out, the human colonies and the Earth will lose their resistance, unable to prevent other races from taking the human colonies for themselves.Even if the Obin people are willing, they cannot stop other races from looting, and what the Obin people are after is not land, but consciousness. Jared realized that colonists without protection would surely die.Human colonies will be destroyed and the colonists will have nowhere to go.The races in this part of the galaxy do not like sharing land with others by nature.The planet and its billions will be spared, and it's very hard for you to get rid of billions without a fight.Colonized planets with less population and less ecological stress are more attractive.But if someone decides to attack Earth, and the Colonial Alliance does hinder Earth's development for its own self-interest, then Earth will be helpless - survive, but the damage will be great. Could Boutin fail to see this?Jared asked himself.Maybe he saw it, but preferred to believe that things would not go that way.Maybe he didn't think about the consequences of his actions at all.When the Obin contacted him, perhaps Butin only saw the desperation of the race—they wanted one thing he could give them, and would pay anything for it.Butin asked them to exchange the moon, but he didn't expect what to do after getting the moon.Maybe Boutin didn't expect the Obin people to actually fight the war he wanted. With all kinds of thoughts intertwined, Jared was worried that Zoe would die of worry.If Butin was defeated and died, what fate would she meet?What would happen to Butin if she got away with it?Jared was very guilty because the trajectory of billions of lives was about to be changed or ended, and he was so worried about the fate of a little girl, but he couldn't help it.He tried his best to find a way that would allow Zoe to live through many hardships. The choice he had to make made Jared at a loss. The information available for reference flowed like water, and there were so few things he could do. He lost all courage.He felt that he was the only one in the world who should not be troubled by these things, but there was nothing he could do at the moment.He closed his eyes, considering the options before him. An hour later, Butin led an Obin into the room, and Jared opened his eyes."You're awake," Butin said. "Yes." Jared said. "It's time to teleport consciousness," Boutin said. "I've set up the program and run the simulation a few times, and it looks like it's going to be successful. There's no need to procrastinate." "It seems that I can't stop you from killing me." Jared said easily. Butin hesitated, and Jared immediately noticed that the mention of killing earlier made Butin a little uneasy.Good, Jared thought. "Speaking of which," Boutin said, "if necessary, I can run the command to put you to sleep before I start teleporting. You won't feel anything. I suggest you accept it. It's up to you." "You don't seem willing," Jared said. "According to the simulation results, this will increase the difficulty of teleportation," Butin said, "If you are also awake, teleportation will be safer." "Forget it, I'd rather be awake," Jared said, "I don't want to make it harder for you." "Listen, Dirac," Boutin said, "this is nothing personal. You have to understand that you provided a clean solution to the problem with as little sacrifice as possible on all sides. I'm sorry, but you had to die, Otherwise, more people will die." "You're going to kill all the Colonial Defense Force soldiers with a virus, so why don't I think that's trying to minimize the sacrifices on all sides?" Jared said. Butin turned around and ordered the Obin to start preparations, and the Obin walked to the console and got busy. "Tell me," Jared said, "after you kill all the soldiers of the Colonial Defense Force, who will protect the human colonies? Humans will have no protection, because they all died at your hands." "The Obin will protect them for a short time," Boutin said, "until humanity builds up new defenses." "Are you sure?" Jared said, "After you give the Obin people consciousness, why should they still obey your orders? Or are you going to withhold it temporarily until they meet your next request?" Butin glanced at the Obin people in the room, and then faced Jared and said, "I won't withhold anything. They are willing to cooperate because they promised." "You're willing to gamble Zoe's life?" Jared asked. "That's what you're doing." "Don't use your daughter to teach me." Butin said angrily, turning around.Jared trembled with grief, thinking about the choice he was making. The Obin nodded towards Butin: It's time.Butin looked at Jared again and asked, "Is there anything else you want to say before we start?" "Let's save it for later," Jared replied. Butin opened his mouth to ask what this meant, but before he could speak, there was a sudden loud noise outside the outpost, which sounded like heavy-caliber firearms firing violently. Harvey lives for this kind of shit. As he approached the outpost, all he feared was that Lieutenant Sagan would adopt her signature deliberate, methodical gait, sneaking around and forcing him to tiptoe like a fucking spy.He hates this shit the most.Harvey knew what he was and what he was best at.He is a rambunctious son of a bitch, who is best at blasting the sky up and down the sky.In his occasional introspection, Harvey guessed that his prototype—the source of most of his DNA—was some antisocial bastard, say, a pyromaniac or a professional wrestler, who might have been in jail for wounding.Whoever it was—or what—Harvey would love to give him a good kiss.He got along so well with his own nature that Zen monks would only dream of being as good as him.So Harvey danced in his head to hear Sagan say that his job was to attract attention so she and Seaborg could carry out their mission.He's guaranteed to attract tons of attention. The question is only the means. Harvey doesn't like introspection, but that doesn't mean he's stupid.He has his own code of conduct, and although he doesn't like it, he understands the value of being invisible.The primary reason why he was able to get away every time there was a huge disturbance was because he insisted on strategy and security very much.Give him a task, and he'll try to do it, but always choose the method that creates the most chaos, but at the same time is sure to get the job done.One of Harvey's guiding strategies when it comes to strategy is simplicity.As long as the situation remains the same, Harvey is more willing to choose to cut the mess quickly.Ask him, and he'll say it's his Occam's razor: Kicking someone's ass, the easiest way is usually the right one. It was this philosophy that allowed Harvey to accept the suspension vehicle that Sagan had snatched. He rode on it, studied the basic guiding method for a few seconds, and slammed into the door of the Obin canteen at full speed.Before he bumped into it, the canteen door opened inward by itself, and an Obin man finished his meal and went back to work.Harvey grinned wildly, floored the gas pedal, then slammed on the brakes to (hopefully) slam the damn alien back into the house. The action is done perfectly.The Aubin only had time to scream, and was stabbed in the chest by the barrel of the hover vehicle, and flew backwards like a marionette, and almost reached the other side of the cafeteria when it landed.Harvey's victim spun and fell to the ground, and the other Obins in the room looked up at the same time, many compound eyes turned to the door, Harvey, and the hover car with its huge muzzle exposed. "Hello!" Harvey's roar was like thunder, "Second row greets you!" After finishing speaking, he pressed the fire button viciously. The scene immediately became a mess.It's fucking beautiful. Harvey enjoyed the task so much. On the other side of the scientific research station, Seaborg shuddered involuntarily when he heard Harvey start his happy work.It’s not that Seaborg doesn’t like Harvey, but after a few missions with No. 2, it’s hard not to realize a truth: If you don’t like seeing unnecessary explosions around you, you’d better stay away from Daniel Harvey. dimension. Explosions and gunshots had the desired effect, and the Aubin soldiers guarding the energy supply system left their posts to go to the other side of the site to help their companions who were being massacred in the carnival.Seaborg sprinted toward the energy supply system with one leg shuffling, frowning as he ran.He rushed through the door and was startled at the sight of some Obin who he presumed to be scientists.Seaborg took out one with his outlandish Obin weapon and then wrung the neck of the other—which was more uncomfortable than expected for Seaborg, who felt as though the other's neck would come loose with the force of his hand.Seaborg, unlike Harvey, was not born violent, he was born nothing.He sensed it from the start and overcompensated so many of his practice teammates thought he was a jerk.He'd gotten over his demons—if he didn't, he'd be pushed off a cliff—but he'd never gotten over the idea that, after all, Special Forces might not be quite the cut for him. Seaborg rushed into the next room, which took up most of the shed, and contained two giant machines, which Seaborg figured were the battery packs he had to destroy.As long as Harvey was alive, he would continue to attract the attention of the Obin, but Seaborg didn't think it would be long.Seaborg scoured the room for a console or control panel, hoping to get some clues as to how to cut the power.He found nothing, the control systems were all in the room where he had just killed the two Obins.Seaborg thought he should save his life and persuade the other party to turn off the power for him, but then he thought that might be a dead end. "Fuck!" Seaborg yelled in frustration, unable to think of a better way, raised his Obin weapon and fired a shot at a battery pack.The bullet hit the metal casing of the giant battery pack, sparking.Then Seaborg heard a thin whine, like a tiny hole in the air.He looked at the point where the bullet fell, and saw a green high-pressure air gushing out.Seaborg looked there. Fuck it, Seaborg thought, raising his weapon and aiming at the blast.See if that ghost gas is flammable. combustible. The shock wave from the explosion of the energy supply system pushed Sagan to his buttocks and sat on the ground, his eyes went black for three seconds.She had just recovered her vision when she happened to see several large pieces of wreckage from the energy supply room flying towards her.Sagan stepped back quickly, dodging the rubble, and instinctively checked to see if Seaborg miraculously survived through fusion.Of course, there is no fusion to view.Plus, you can't escape an explosion of this magnitude.She could feel Harvey, though, and shuddered for a moment at Harvey's violent orgy.Sagan turned his attention to the research station itself.Windows were shattered and several areas were on fire.She took a few seconds to formulate a plan, and suddenly realized that the fusion had been restored.Cutting off the power somehow restored BrainPal functionality. Sagan wasted a solid two seconds, reveling in the fusion and finding her brainmate, before thinking of seeing if anyone else fused with her. The shock wave knocked Butin and Obin to the ground.Jared felt the tank shake violently.Neither container collapsed.The lights went out, and half a second later, the emergency power came on, and the room glowed with a soft green light.The Obin got up and went to the wall to turn on the laboratory's backup generator.Butin stood up and rushed out of the room calling Zooey's name.Jared watched him run away, and his heart was in his throat. "Dirac," said Jane Sagan, "answer me." The fusion bathed Jared like a golden light. "Yes." Jared said. "Is Butin still alive?" Sagan said. "Yes," Jared said, "but he is no longer the target of the mission." "I don't understand," Sagan said. "Jane," Jared called Sagan's name for the first time, "Zoe is still alive, right here. Butin's daughter, you must find her and take her away as soon as possible." Sagan hesitated only for a moment, then said, "You've got to tell me all about it, quick." Jared relayed to Sagan as quickly as he could all the information he had learned from Boutin, including the conversations he had begun to record from the moment Boutin regained his BrainPal function—albeit with little hope, he still I hope that some comrades in arms survived and find a way to find him.Sagan didn't have time to hear the whole conversation at once, but it was given to her, and that was his evidence. After Jared finished teleporting, Sagan said, "We should still take Butin back." "No," Jared delivered the word as violently as possible, "as long as he lives, the Obin will save him. The Obin have something they want very much, and Butin is the key. Since the Obin Ken started a war because of Butin's request, and he will start a war to get him back." "Then I'll kill him," Sagan said. "Go save Zoe," Jared said, "Leave Butin to me." "How?" Sagan said. "Trust me," Jared said. "Dirac," Sagan said. "I know you don't believe me," said Jared, "and why you don't, but, Lieutenant, I remember what you said to me. You said, no matter what, remember that I am Jared Dirac. I want to tell you now, Lieutenant, I know who I am. I am Jared Dirac of the Special Forces of the Colonial Union, and my mission is to save humanity. I ask you to trust me and let me complete my mission .” Sagan was silent for a long time.Jared heard Butin's footsteps coming back from the corridor. "Do your job well, Private," Sagan said. "I will," Jared said, "thanks." "I'm going to find Zoe," Sagan said. "Tell her you're a friend of Mr. Jared, and that both Mr. Jared and Daddy said she could go with you," Jared said, "and don't forget her stuffed elephant." Jared sent He thought the location of Zoe was in the corridor where the laboratory was located. "Won't forget it," Sagan said. "I'm breaking the fusion," Jared said. "Goodbye, Lieutenant, and thank you for everything." "Goodbye, Jared," Sagan said, sending a wave of something resembling reassurance, and cut off the fusion; she disappeared. Jared was alone. Butin returned to the laboratory and yelled at the Obin, who quickly flipped on a few switches.The lights in the lab are back on. "Let's get started," Butin said to the Obin. "We're under attack and we must finish this at once." Butin glanced at Jared.Jared smiled, closed his eyes, and listened to the sound of Obin knocking on the control panel. Butin opened and closed the door of the tank, and Jared's tank made a low humming sound, which was storing energy for consciousness transmission. . At the end of his life, Jared's biggest regret is that life is too hasty, only one year.But this year he met so many people and experienced so many things.Jared lingers in the mind, feeling everyone's presence one last time: Jane Sagan, Harry Wilson, Kennan, General Mattson, Colonel Robbins, Second Row, who share a fusion of intimacy, the eccentric Martin The Captain and Carmela, his jokes with Lieutenant Crowder, Sarah Pauling, his favorite, and Zoe.As long as Sagan can be found, Zoe can live.Sagan was sure to find her. Forget it, thought Jared.No regrets.I live without complaint or regret. Jared heard the soft tap of a key, and the Obin started the teleportation process.He kept his ego as long as possible, and didn't give up until the last moment. The loud rumbling made Zoe fall from the bed to the floor, and the TV fell off the wall, and Zoe cried.The nanny came to see if she was injured, but was pushed away by Zooey.What she wanted was not a nanny, but Daddy, and Daddy rushed into the room right away, hugged her into his arms, comforted her, and said that everything would be fine.But then Daddy put her down and said that Mr. Jared would come to her in a few minutes, and she had to do what Mr. Jared said, but now she had to stay in the room with the nanny because it was safer here. Zoe cried for a while longer, and told Daddy she didn't want him to go, and Daddy said he would never leave her again.It didn't make sense, because Mr. Jared was coming to pick her up soon, but she felt better anyway.Daddy said something to the nanny and turned to leave.The nurse went into the parlour, and came back with the Obin weapon.Which is weird because Zoe has never seen the nanny use a weapon.There were no more explosions outside, but Zooey could hear gunshots bang bang bang.Zoe returned to the bed, hugged Celeste tightly, and waited for Mr. Jared. The nanny yelled, raised her weapon at something Zoe couldn't see, and rushed out of the room.Zoe screamed and hid under the bed, crying and remembering the time at the Kovill Space Station, wondering if those big chicken-like monsters were coming to catch her again.She heard a thump from next door, followed by a scream.Zooey covered her ears and closed her eyes. Open your eyes again, there is an extra pair of feet in the room, and these feet are walking towards Zooey's bed.Zooey covered her mouth, but couldn't help sobbing once or twice.The feet became knees, which became hands and arms, and finally a face turned sideways, which spoke to her.Zooey screamed and backed away holding Celeste, but just as she crawled out from under the bed, the woman grabbed her and held her in her arms.Zoe kicked and yelled, but after a few seconds, Zoe realized that the woman was calling her name over and over again. "It's all right, Zoe," the woman said. "It's all right, shhhh. It's all right." Zooey finally stopped struggling, turned her head and said, "Where's Daddy? Where's Mr. Jared?" "They are all busy now," the woman said holding Zooey, "They asked me to pick you up and promise you will be fine. I'm Miss Jane." "Daddy told me to wait for Mr. Jared to pick me up." Zoe said. "I know," Miss Jane said, "but they can't get away now. It's chaotic outside, and they can't come to pick you up, so they sent me here to protect your safety." "The nanny kept me safe," Zoe said. "The nanny has been called away," Miss Jane said, "It's really messy outside now." "I heard a very loud voice." Zooey said proactively. "Yes, that's why everyone is so busy." Miss Jane said. "Okay." Zooey was still a little skeptical. "Now, Zoe," said Miss Jane, "I want you to put your arm around my shoulders, wrap your legs around my waist, hold me close, and close your eyes till I tell you to open them. Can you do that?" ?” "Uh-huh," said Zooey, "then how do I hug Celeste?" "Well, put her between you and me, here." Miss Jane said, placing Celeste between her belly and Zoe's. "She's going to have a hard time," Zoe said. "I know," said Miss Jane, "but it'll be all right, are you ready?" "Ready," Zoe said. "Then close your eyes and hug me tightly," Miss Jane said.Zooey did as she said, but when she walked out of the bedroom, Zooey's eyes were still open, and when she walked into the living room, Zooey saw that the nanny seemed to be sleeping on the floor.Along the way, Zooey kept her eyes closed, waiting for Miss Jane to tell her to open them. Most of the Obin people Sagan encountered in the scientific research station avoided her. She estimated that they were all professional scientists, but occasionally they tried to attack her with weapons or even with bare hands.However, the space here is small, and the Obin's firearms are too bulky, making it difficult to shoot accurately, so Sagan insisted on using only daggers, and his movements were fast.This tactic was defeated by Zoe's obin nanny, and her head was almost blown off.Sagan threw a dagger at the nanny, and when the nanny was distracted, Sagan rushed forward and started a hand-to-hand fight.The two rolled around on the ground, and one of Obin's legs was suddenly caught by furniture. Sagan knew that luck had come, and seized the opportunity to break free, ride on Obin's neck, and strangled the enemy to death.She found Zooey and held her in her arms.Time to leave. "Harvey," Sagan said. "It's a bit busy right now," Harvey said.Through the fusion of consciousness, Sagan saw that he was fighting a bloody path, running to another hover vehicle.One of the spaceships was trying to take off to kill him from the sky, and he crashed into it with the previous hover car. "The target is in hand, I need support. I also need transportation." "Five minutes, I'll give you both," Harvey said. "Just don't rush me." "I have to rush you," Sagan said, breaking off the conversation.The corridor outside Butin's residence leads north past the laboratory and east to other areas of the research station.She could rendezvous with Harvey sooner by walking through the corridors of the lab, but Sagan didn't want to risk Zoe seeing her father and Jared.Sagan sighed, returned to the room, picked up the Obin weapon, which felt awkward in his hand.This is a two-handed weapon, and it's Obin's hands, not suitable for humans.Sagan hoped everyone escaped the building or was busy chasing Harvey so she didn't have to open fire. Unfortunately it backfired and she used it three times, the third time beating the Obin with the butt of her rifle after running out of ammunition.The Obin screamed.So does Zoe, who yells every time Sagan is forced to use a weapon.But she kept her promise and kept her eyes closed. Sagan ran to where she had entered the research station—a smashed window in the stairwell on the ground floor. "Where are you?" she asked Harvey. "Believe it or not, the Obin's not very keen on letting me borrow their gear," Harvey sent. "Leave me alone, I'll be right there." "Are we safe?" Zooey asked, her head buried on Sagan's shoulder, and her voice was a little muffled. "Not yet," Sagan said. "Soon, Zoe." "I want Daddy," Zoe said. "I know, Zoe," Sagan said, "shh-" Sagan heard a sound upstairs. Gosh, Harvey, Sagan thought, come on. The Obin made Harvey more and more angry.Running over a dozen Obin men in the canteen was undoubtedly a unique and enjoyable experience—refreshing, especially since he knew how the grandson of Obin killed most of his comrades in the second platoon.Of course, driving a small hover car into a spaceship also has its own special fun.However, Harvey, who was back on the ground, finally realized how many goddamn Obins there were, and it was even more difficult to run around on foot to deal with them.And then there's Sagan - the fusion of consciousness is restored, which is a good thing - who says he needs transportation.It seems that I still think I am not busy enough. She calls the shots, Harvey said.As it turns out, getting a hover car parked is difficult.The Obin people parked the suspension vehicles in the yard, but there was only one entrance and exit in the yard, but at least two Obin people were looking for him in the yard. Behold, says Harvey, a hover car comes into view, growing from a small to a large.The opportunity has come.Harvey was squatting by the wall just now, trying not to attract attention, but now he took the initiative to walk to a conspicuous place, waving his hands desperately. "Hey!" Harvey yelled, "Bastard! Come get me, Slug!" Not knowing whether he heard his shout or saw his actions, the Obin turned towards Harvey with the hover car.Well, Harvey thought, now what the hell am I going to do? As a result, first of all, he jumped to avoid the rain of needles shot from the muzzle of the hover vehicle.Harvey rolled, got up, and opened fire on the fleeing Obin with his weapon.The first shot missed by a million miles, and the second knocked the back of the Obin's head off. That's why you need a helmet, idiot, Harvey thought, running to the prize, to get Sagan.Along the way he encountered several Obins on foot who tried to do to him what he had to the hovercar driver.Harvey would rather run them over than shoot them, but he's not picky. "The vehicle is here." Harvey said to Sagan, who was surprised to see what Sagan had in his arms. "That's a child!" he said. “我知道，”萨根说，把佐伊牢牢地放在悬浮车上，吩咐道，“以最快的速度赶去俘虏舱。”哈维把速度加到最大，径直飞向目的地。似乎暂时无人追击。 “我们好像是来抓布廷的吧？”哈维说。 “计划有变。”萨根说。 “布廷呢？”哈维问。 “交给狄拉克处理了。”萨根说。 “狄拉克！”哈维又吃了一惊，“还以为他死了呢。” “相信他现在已经死了。”萨根说。 “那他怎么处理布廷？”哈维说。 “不知道，”萨根说，“只是知道他一定能做到。” 布廷睁开新躯体的眼睛。 唔，不算新，他纠正自己：略磨损。 奥宾助手打开容槽，扶他起身；布廷踉跄着走了几步，接着又稳稳当当地走了几步。布廷环顾四周，欣喜地看见实验室有多么生机勃勃和迷人，就仿佛他的感官在最低挡运行了一辈子，现在忽然被调到了最高一档。连科学实验室在他眼中也那么美好。 布廷望向旧躯体——已经脑死亡，但还在呼吸，还能苟延残喘几个钟头，顶多一天。布廷要用新躯体的记录功能录下旧躯体的死亡，带着证据和女儿登上俘虏舱。前提是俘虏舱还在原处，他心想，奥宾人抓住的特种部队士兵不知怎的逃出来了。其中之一说不定已经坐进俘虏舱离开。唔，布廷心想，无所谓。他已经在脑海里编造了另一套说辞，就说他——狄拉克——杀死了布廷。既然无法得到意识，奥宾人于是决定休战，允许狄拉克带着布廷的尸体和佐伊离开。 嗯——不算特别可信，布廷心想。他必须想出足够多的细节。不过，无论编造什么样的说辞—— 布廷忽然注意到视野内有个图标在闪动——信封的图标。 你有一条来自雅列·狄拉克的留言，视野下部出现了一行字。说“打开”就能打开阅读。 “打开。”布廷大声说。有意思。 信封打开，图标消失。留言不是文字，而是一段声讯。 “哈啰，布廷。”一个模拟的声音说，听起来很像狄拉克——布廷纠正自己：听起来很像我自己。“看来你占了上风，已经占据这具躯体。离开之前，我想跟你说说我最后的想法。 “有一位智者曾经对我说，选择至关重要，”那声音继续道，“我的生命很短暂，绝大多数时间内没有做过选择——或者至少没做过重大抉择。不过生命走到尽头，我现在面临一个选择。我无法选择生死，因为你替我做了决定；但你说我别无选择，只能帮助你实现计划，这话你说错了。我有得选，而且我已经选好了。 “我选择的是不帮助你。我无法判断殖民联盟对人类是不是最好的政府，我没有时间去了解应该了解的情况。但是，我选择不拿几百万甚至几十亿条性命冒险，不帮你推翻它的统治。也许是个错误的决定，但这是我的决定，能最大限度地允许我完成我的使命：保护人类的安全。 “说起来有点讽刺，布廷，你和我有那么多相同的想法，有着同一个意识，或许连目标都一样是为了全人类的幸福，但尽管有这么多共同之处，却在行动手段上得出了相反的结论。真希望你我有更多的时间相处，我能成为你的朋友和兄弟，而不是承载你的意识的容器。可惜为时已晚。对我来说已经太迟了——也许你还没有意识到，对你来说也一样。 “无论如何，我还是想谢谢你。好坏暂且不论，我毕竟因为你而活过一段短暂的时光，体验过生命所能给予的欢乐与悲伤。能让我有幸认识和爱护佐伊——衷心希望她现在已经安全了。我因你而生，查尔斯，也因你而死。 “现在，请允许我岔开话题，不过我保证会在最引人瞩目的时候说回正题。不知道你是否清楚，智能血有一项很厉害的特性是能够瞬间氧化，也就是爆燃。我忍不住觉得编码者是对智能血开了个残酷的玩笑，因为第一次见识到这个能力，是特种部队士兵在用它杀死企图吸血的昆虫。不过事实证明这个能力很有用，在战斗中救过我的命。 “查尔斯，你制造了一种病毒，打算用来征服殖民联盟。既然你那么了解电脑病毒，就应该听说过特洛伊木马这个名词。这条留言，我的朋友和兄弟，就是特洛伊木马。打开信封，你就运行了我编写的一小段程序。这个程序指示我的智能血里的所有纳米机器人在我的命令下同时爆燃。听我说话的这段时间，恰好就是我估计这段程序传遍我的智能血所需要的时间。 “现在，咱们看看结果吧。” 把佐伊放进俘虏舱的时候，萨根收到了一条留言，发送者是雅列·狄拉克。 “如果你能读到这条留言，就说明查尔斯·布廷已经死了，”留言是这么说的，“我设定让脑伴在运行程序，指挥智能血爆燃后立刻发送这条留言。即使爆燃没有杀死他——其实不可能啦——他也会在几分钟后窒息而死。无论如何，他已经死了，我也一样。不知道你会不会收到这条留言——希望会，也希望你平安顺利。再见了，萨根中尉，很高兴能认识你。若是见到凯南，告诉他，我听了他的忠告，做出了自己的选择。” 萨根把留言转发给哈维。“了不起，”哈维说，“他是骨子里的特种部队士兵。” “对，确实是，”萨根说着示意哈维坐进俘虏舱，“哈维，进去。” “开什么玩笑。”哈维说。 “总得有人陪佐伊回去，”萨根说，“我是指挥官，我留下。” “中尉，”哈维说，“那孩子又不认识我，是你把她救出魔窟的，所以也是你陪她回去。再说我还不想回去呢。我玩得太开心了。估计在殖民联盟扔陨石砸烂这地方之前，我能把他们杀个干净。完事以后，我打算进去看看有什么好东西值得抢回去。萨根，你先走吧。叫他们过几天送个俘虏舱下来接我。人死卵朝天，不死万万年。反正我会玩得很开心的。” “好吧，”萨根说，“你要是能摸进科研站，记得取回布廷实验室里传送模块的存储设备。这是首要任务。” “那上面记录了什么？”哈维说。 “不是什么，”萨根说，“而是谁。” 远处传来嗡嗡声。“他们追上来了，”哈维说，“中尉，快进去。” 发射过后几分钟，佐伊问：“我们安全了吗？” “对，佐伊，”萨根说，“我想我们安全了。” “爹地怎么没来？”佐伊问。 “不知道，佐伊，”萨根摸着佐伊的头发说，“不知道。” 狭窄的俘虏舱里，佐伊向她举起手臂，萨根紧紧抱住佐伊。