Chapter 4 Chapter Four

Holden sat on an iron bench in the airlock.Since he didn't sleep last night and was about to face death, his mind was blank and his consciousness was fuzzy.Nelson knelt before him, holding a white hazmat suit to slip on from his feet.He is the head of the "Lens Cleaning Laboratory". "We've been working on sealing the seams, and now we're using a spray-on material that adds a second layer of protection on the outside of the suit," Nelson said. last longer than anyone before." This sentence woke up Halston.He suddenly remembered that scene back then: watching his wife go out to clean the lens.The top floor of the bunker has a huge screen, which can see images of the outside world. However, whenever someone goes out to clean the lens, the whole floor will become empty and deserted.That's probably because the people in the bunker couldn't bear to see how a person was sent out to face death. However, it might also be because they only like to come up to see the beautiful scenery, but they don't want to see what price must be paid behind the scenery.However, Halston had seen it.No doubt he will.The front of Alison's helmet is a silver visor that is opaque and her face cannot be seen, and she is wearing a protective suit that looks so bulky that when she wipes the lens with a wool cloth, it is impossible to see that her arms are very serious. Thin.However, he recognized the way she walked, her habitual movements.He watched her wipe the camera lens slowly, wiped it clean, then took a step back, looked at the camera one last time, waved to him, and then turned and walked away.Just like those people before, she stepped on heavy steps and walked slowly to the nearest small sand dune, and then began to climb up, slowly walking towards the tall and dilapidated tall buildings on the distant horizon, the abandoned ancient city.During that process, Halston didn't move, watching her intently, until finally she collapsed on the hillside, clutching the helmet tightly with both hands, convulsing and twisting.The poisonous acid in the air first eroded the outer spray protection layer, then the protective clothing inside also began to corrode, and then her body.During the process, he watched without moving.

"Come on, switch feet." Nelson patted his ankle.Halston lifted his foot and let the technician pull the hazmat suit over his calf.Halston looked at his hands and at the black carbon fiber bodysuit on his body, and some images began to emerge in his mind, as if he could see the bodysuit gradually dissolving on his skin, as if the dead bodies on the generator circuit Like oily sludge, it gradually cracks, crumbles, and peels off.Then, blood began to ooze from his capillaries, pools of blood began to pool on his protective clothing, and his body was no longer alive. "Grab the boom, stand up—"

Nelson will accompany him through the process before going out.Halston has seen this process twice before.The first time was when Jack Brant was sent out.That time, Jack was fierce and provocative from the beginning to the end, and as a security officer, he had to stand beside the iron stool to detain him.The second time was his wife.He watched her put on the protective clothing and walk out of the small gate of the airlock the whole time.Halston has seen others go through the process, so he knows what he should do, but now, he still needs someone to remind him.His mind drifted far away.In front of him was a boom hanging from above that looked a bit like a circus trapeze.He reached up and grabbed the boom with both hands, then gave a hard pull and stood up.Nelson grabbed the side of the protective suit and pulled it up, over Halston's waist, two empty sleeves dangling beside him.

"Put it in with your left hand." Halston put his hand in in a daze.In the past, he was a bystander, watching others carry out this routine process towards death, but now, he himself is in it, and suddenly feels that all this seems illusory and unreal.In the past, Halston often felt very strange why they were willing to obediently complete the action.Take Jack Brant as an example. The man was full of foul words and curses, but he still obediently completed all his actions.As for Alison, she was very quiet during the whole process, just like herself at this moment.Halston put one hand in the sleeve, then the other, thinking about it as he put it on.Why do they all become so obedient?When the protective clothing was pulled up to his chest, Hoston suddenly thought that maybe it was because they didn't believe that everything in front of them was real, so they obediently let others manipulate them.It was too illusory, so I didn't even have the idea of ​​​​resisting.He has a wild and ferocious side in his heart. Logically speaking, if he knows that he will die if he goes out, he should not be so obedient, so calm, and so impatient to die.

"Okay, turn around." He turned around obediently. He felt a tug at the back of his waist, and then heard a "rustling" sound as the zipper was pulled up to the nape of his neck.Then another pull and the other zipper closed.Double protection, unfortunately, is all in vain.Then, the Velcro felt on the neckline was also glued on.Nelson patted him a few times to check that the protective clothing was on correctly.Then, as Halston began putting on the gloves, he heard a "creak" and saw Nelson take the helmet off the rack and examine the interior. "Come on, let's go through the process again."

"No need." Holden said lightly. Nelson turned to look at the gate to the bunker.Horston knew in his heart that someone inside was watching them. "Please bear with me," Nelson said. "I have to do what the manual says." Horston nodded, but he knew in his heart that there was no such thing as a "manual".There are many mysterious traditions in the bunker, which are passed down orally from generation to generation, but the most mysterious is the department responsible for making protective clothing and cleaning lenses.That department looks a lot like some sort of secret organization.The technicians in that department are highly respected in the bunker.Even though they weren't actually going out to clean the lenses, none of them would have been able to go out and clean them without them.The bunker is a suffocating coffin. Everyone needs a vast view of the outside world, and they are responsible for maintaining that view.

Nelson put the helmet on the iron stool. "Here's the woolen cloth." He patted the front pocket of the protective suit, and stuffed a few woolen cloths into it. Halston pulled out a woolen cloth and examined it carefully.The surface of wool cloth is rough, and the curled wool fibers present a spiral pattern.He looked at it for a while, then stuffed it back into his pocket. "Remember, you need to spray the cleaning agent twice first, then wipe the lens with a woolen cloth, dry it with this towel after wiping, and finally attach the anti-corrosion film." There are several pockets on the protective clothing, respectively Every thing mentioned.Each pocket is a different color, with a number on it, and the label is clearly pasted, with the words upside down so that it is easier for Halston to look down.But even so, Nelson patted each pocket one by one to show solemnity.

Holden nodded, then looked Nelson in the eye.It was the first time he looked him in the eye.Unexpectedly, he found a look of fear in Nelson's eyes.He has been a security officer all his life and has seen too many fearful eyes.He originally wanted to ask Nelson what was going on, but before he could open his mouth, he suddenly thought: What this person is worried about is that what he just explained will be in vain, because after Holden walks out, maybe there is nothing at all. Refusing to wipe the lens.In fact, everyone in the bunker is worried about the same problem.The man in the bunker had made this law against dreaming of a better world, leading him to face death, so why should he help them clean their lenses and make them happy?It's also possible, though, that Nelson was concerned that the expensive suit would go to waste.The secret technology for making this equipment is ancient, passed down from the days before the riots, and it is very expensive.Nelson and his colleagues spent countless hours and effort to finally come up with a set. However, will they be corroded by poisonous acid air in vain without any effect?

"How does it feel to wear?" Nelson asked. "Is it too tight?" Holden turned to look around the airlock.He originally wanted to say that my life was surrounded by the walls of the bunker, wrapped too tightly, and my soul was surrounded by flesh and blood, wrapped too tightly, so tightly that it was suffocating. However, he didn't say it after all, just shook his head. "I'm ready." He murmured. This is real.Halston was really ready, he really couldn't wait to get ready to go out. At that moment, he suddenly thought that his wife must be like him, really ready and impatient.