The bulletin board outside Lecture Hall 1712-A of Pike Henry High School was blinking red.Rod Volker huddled among a group of students, trying to see what this particular notice had to say.Suddenly, he was elbowed in the stomach, and a voice called out, "Hey! Stop squeezing!" "I'm sorry, relax, Jimmy." Rhodes grabbed the arm, but he didn't force too much, he still stretched his neck to look over Jimmy Soxton's head, "something was written on the bulletin board what?" "There is no class today." "Why not?" "Because tomorrow, disaster will strike!" replied a voice next to the bulletin board.

"Huh?" Rhodes felt a tightness in his chest, which he always did before the exam.At this time, someone walked away in front, and he saw the notice on the bulletin board: Pike Henry High School Sociology Department special notice All students who take the 410 advanced survival course taught by Dr. Masson (advanced discussion elective course 1712-A lecture hall) please pay attention to the following arrangements. On 1.14th, which is Friday, all courses are cancelled. 2. Notes on the final exam of the Independent Survival Course are as follows (this notice is valid for 24 hours): All students will participate in the physical examination at the clinic next to the interstellar space gate in Templeton at 9:00 am on Saturday, and pass through the gate at 10:00 am. Take three minutes between each group.

3. Examination requirements are: (a) Unlimited planets, climates, and terrains; (b) No rules, no weapons, no equipment; (c) It is allowed to form a team, but the team cannot go through the time and space gate at the same time; (d) The examination time shall not be less than forty-eight hours, but not more than ten days. 4. Dr. Mason will accept consultations and answer questions before 5 pm on Fridays. 5. Unless the medical examiner recommends a postponement, the exam will proceed as scheduled. Any student can give up the course exam before 10:00 am on Saturday, which is not considered a violation of discipline.

6. Good luck to everyone! B. P. Masson, PhD in Sociology J. R. Roelic issued Rod Walker to read the notice again slowly, and carefully read the test requirements, he tried to calm his nerves.why?Those "requirements" are not requirements at all, there are no restrictions!They can throw you through the interstellar gate, and then you may face a polar bear in the temperature of minus 40 degrees; or you may have to fight an octopus in the warm deep ocean.Maybe even, he thought, facing a horrible three-headed creature on a planet he had never heard of. At this time, he heard a shrill voice complaining: "'This notice is valid for 24 hours', hum! Now there are not 24 hours until the exam, it's too unfair."

Another female voice replied: "What difference does it make? I can't wait to start now. I don't want to sleep tonight." "If the notice says we have twenty-four hours to prepare, then twenty-four hours should be enough. It's a question of justice!" Another tall, impertinent Zulu girl said to herself, "Hmmm! Gotta go and tell Mason, there's not enough time." Rhodes turned his back to the bulletin board and faced Jimmy. He felt that he could know that "that big fairy" Mason would say that those things that are just and injustice have nothing to do with survival.He thought about the content of Article 5. According to it, even if he gave up this course, no one would say anything.After all, "Advanced Survival" was a college course, and he could have graduated without taking it.

But Rhodes is very clear that if he gives up this course now, he will never have the opportunity to take this course again. Jimmy asked cautiously, "What do you think, Rhodes?" "It's nothing, I'm considering whether to wear a long-sleeved shirt. Do you think Da Xian'er will give us some hints?" "Him? He wouldn't! He'd rather we had a broken leg to be interesting. That guy could eat his grandma without batting an eye." "Oh, forget it! Blink and he will. What do you say, Jimmy? Look at that one about the team." "Ah... say what?" Jimmy's eyes turned to one side.

Rhodes felt a little unhappy.He is clearly showing his intention to form a team, and he intends to live and die with Jimmy.In the individual survival test, the biggest danger is falling asleep from time to time... But forming a team can avoid this, and everyone can take care of each other. Of course Jimmy knew that Rhodes was superior to him in everything, whether it was with a weapon or with his bare hands; such advice could only serve him well.But now he was hesitating, as if he thought Rhodes would hinder him. "Is there any problem, Jimmy?" Rhodes said coldly, "Do you think it's safer for you to go alone?"

"Oh no, of course not." "Then you mean you don't want to form a team with me?" "No, no, of course I didn't mean that!" "Then what exactly do you mean?" "I want to... You see, Rhodes, of course I am very grateful to you, and I will not forget your kindness. However, the notice also said other things." "What content?" “It said we could still graduate without taking the course. It just occurred to me that I didn’t need such a course for my clothing retail business.” "Huh? I thought you were determined to be a well-rounded lawyer!"

"Since weird laws and regulations can't be exchanged for money... Then why should I care about them? Besides, if my old guy knows that I have decided to inherit the family business, he will be so happy as hell!" "You mean, you backed off?" "This... this is just a way to deal with this problem, aren't you also afraid?" Rhodes took a deep breath, "Yeah! I'm afraid too." "That's right! Now let us show together what is the most classic way of survival! Let's go to the Academic Affairs Office together, bravely cross out our names, and withdraw from the exam of this course."

"Well, no, you go first." "You mean you're going to keep going?" "I think so." "Then... Rhodes, haven't you looked at the statistics of this class last year?" "No, I don't want to read it, it's too long." Rhodes turned his head to the side, looking at the door of the classroom.Jimmy stared blankly at the back of his head with a troubled expression. There is a group of students in the seminar class in the lecture hall.The "big fairy" - Dr. Mason's ass was sitting on the corner of the table, chatting casually.He was not tall, very thin, with a hard face, a black blindfold on one eye, and three broken fingers on his left hand.On his chest are three small ribbons, indicating that he participated in three famous pioneering expeditions, and one of the ribbons also has a small pinch of diamonds, indicating that he was the last of the group on that expedition. Sole Survivor.

Rhode squeezed into the second row.Da Xian'er glanced at him, then continued. "I don't understand why there are so many questions." He said lightly: "The test requirements say that you can bring any weapon and protect yourself however you want...you can bring a gun, even if It’s okay to carry an atomic bomb. I originally thought that the final exam should be done with bare hands, and no nails should be carried. But the education committee disagreed, so we now consider this method of fearing death.” He shrugged , smiling contemptuously. "Well, Doctor, I suppose it's because the committee knows we might encounter dangerous animals?" "Oh? Of course you will! And the most dangerous animal known!" "Doctor, is what you said true?" "Well, of course it's true! Of course!" "Then I think we're either going to be sent to the Mitla Plateau, with those snow apes, or we're sent to the African savannah, with those cheetahs, isn't it?" Da Xian'er shook her head in disappointment, "My child, you'd better cancel the exam for this course now, the things you can't speak are not very dangerous." "But Jasper says in The Beast and the Hunt that these two animals are the most dangerous?" "That Jasper is a bitch! I'm talking about the real king of beasts, the real dangerous animal, dangerous even when he's not hungry, and he walks upright. Look around you! " He leaned forward, "I've said it countless times, and you still don't believe it. Man is the most difficult animal to tame. For a long time, he is as docile as a cow. That's because of everything around him." And when the comfort is gone, he becomes like a cheetah. This is even more evident in the females of this species. Look around you again! Friends, we have been in fact In the examination room of collective existence. We can rely on each other, can't we? Read "Dona's Banquet" or "The First Journey to Venus", and there may be other classes in the examination room, but for you, They're all strangers." Dr. Mason's eyes fell on Rhodes: "I'm not very happy that some of you took this exam, really not very happy. Some of you are only suitable for living In the city, I can't get rid of your entrenched opinions, you're going to a place where there's no police, I'm not going to be with you all the time, and I can't help you if you do something stupid." His eyes then moved away from Rhodes.Rhodes was thinking that Daxian might be talking about him.Sometimes he felt that Da Xian'er liked to make fun of him.But Rhodes knew that this was a very serious matter.This course requires a complete experience of individual survival in the wild, because in the wild, either you are outstanding, or you have to die.The reason why Rhodes chose this course before entering university is because it helps to cultivate a better learning state, but it is not just a formality as he once thought. He looked around, considering who would want to team up with Jimmy now that he was out, and there were two guys ahead of him, Bob Baxter and Carmen Garcia.He couldn't think of the two of them, because they would undoubtedly form a team; together they had dreamed of being doctors, and wanted to marry at the first chance! How about John Braun?He's a great partner.Yes, he is strong, fast and agile.But Rhodes doesn't trust Braun very much, and he doesn't think Braun wants to be with him too much.Rhodes thought that he might have made some mistakes in making friends, or he should not only have Jimmy as a friend in class. Caroline, the big Zulu girl, was a bit uncomfortable.She is as strong as an ox and absolutely fearless.But it doesn't seem appropriate to team up with a girl. Girls always mistake serious things for romantic things.Rhodes' eyes kept searching, until finally he had to admit that no one was suitable to be his partner. "Professor, any tips? Shall we bring some sunscreen? Or chilblain cream?" Mason replied with a sneer in a long tone: "Son, let me tell you everything I know. This test room was selected by a teacher in Europe... I also chose one for his class. But I Don't know anything about it like you do. Better send me a postcard when you get here." "But..." The boy who asked the question paused for a moment, then stood up suddenly and said, "Professor, this is not a fair exam, I want to quit." "What's unjust? We didn't say to be fair." "Hmph, you can send us anywhere..." "Of course it is!" “…even the far side of the moon, where there’s a complete vacuum from the chin up. Or a planet full of chlorine gas, or the middle of the ocean. I don’t know if I’m going to have to wear a space suit, or bring a raft. So it's a bad situation, real life isn't like that." "Isn't it?" Mason said slowly. "That's exactly what Jonah said when he was swallowed by the whale." He added: "But I'll give you some hints. We'll let anyone smart enough People pass this test, so we will not throw you into a poisonous gas or vacuum environment without giving you a mask. Even if you fall in the water, you can swim to land. That's all, I don't Knowing where you're going to be, I've looked at the list of exams over the years, and a man of agility can survive any of those exams. You should know, boys, that the Board of Education isn't trying to kill it of all students." The classmate sat down again, just as suddenly as when he stood up. Masson asked, "Changed your plans?" "Well, yes, sir. If it's a fair test, I'll take it." Mason shook his head and said, "You've already failed. Your name has been deleted, but don't bother the dean anymore, I'll tell him." The boy was about to refute, but Mason turned his head to the door: "Get out!" After an uncomfortable silence, the boy left the room. Mason immediately went on to say, "This is a practical philosophy class, and I'm the sole judge of who qualifies and who doesn't. Whoever thinks about the world the way it 'should' be, Instead of thinking according to the actual situation, then he will not be eligible for the final exam. You can relax and not be so nervous... Don't use up your adrenaline before the unpredictable future has not yet arrived, Burning myself out. Any more questions?" It's somewhat clear now that Mason either really doesn't know the situation in the exam room, or he just doesn't want to disclose it, because there is no information in his answer.As for what weapons to bring, he didn't give any advice at all. He simply said that the person in charge of weapons in the school will wait at the gate and distribute some conventional weapons. As for whether to bring unconventional weapons, it is completely up to the students up to you. "Don't ever forget that your best weapon is the one between your ears, under your scalp—don't let it run out of clips." The students slowly left, and Rhodes also got up to leave.Mason looked him in the eyes now and said, "Volker, are you really going to take this test?" "Why not, sir, of course I will." "Then come here." He took Rhodes to the office, closed the door, and sat down.He stared up at Rhodes, fiddled with a piece of paper on the table absently, and said slowly: "Rhod, you are a good student... But, sometimes this is not enough." Rhodes didn't speak. "Tell me," Masson went on, "Why are you taking this test?" "gentlemen……" "You are 'Mr.' yourself." Mason said impatiently: "Please answer my question." Rod's eyes widened, as he had argued with Mason when he was accepted to take the course, but he explained again his idea of ​​participating in the field study. "I had to have survival experience, without which I couldn't get a degree in immigration management, let alone a degree in interstellar topography or interstellar science." "You want to be an explorer, huh?" "Yes, sir." "Want to be like me?" "Yes, sir. Want to be like you." "Oh... would you believe me if I told you this was the worst mistake I've ever made?" "Huh? No, sir!" "I hope you don't think so, boy. The most attractive lie is to tell you how you can know now what you will think later. Of course it is impossible. But, I will tell you frankly now, I think, you Born in the wrong era." "gentlemen……" "I think you may be too romantic. Today is just a romantic era, so there is basically no room for romantics. It requires people who are realistic. A hundred years ago, You can imagine being a banker, a lawyer, or a professor; in the dull life, if you have no misfortune, you can also read some charming little stories, or dream about some of your past plans. .But these days, adventure and romance are such a part of our everyday lives that only the practical can deal with it." Rhodes became a little irritable, "What does that have to do with me?" "It doesn't matter, it's just that I think you are very good, so I don't want you to be hurt. You are too emotional and emotional, and it is difficult to deal with the real living environment." Mason patted Rhodes with his hand. "Don't be too nervous. I know you can make fire by rubbing dry wood, and I know you've excelled in practice classes. I know you can make a water filter with your bare hands, and you know which side of a tree it is. Moss will grow, but I'm not sure you know the Bear of Truth." "The Bear of Truth?" "It's all right, son, I think you should cancel the exam for this course now, if you must take it, you can take it again in college." Rhodes looked disappointed.Mason sighed and said, "I could delete you, and maybe I should." "But sir, why?" "That's the problem, and I can't explain why. Based on your grades, you're one of the best students I've ever seen." He stood up and held out a hand, "Good luck You have to remember, no matter what the situation is, do what you should do, and don't cry lightly." Rhodes wanted to go home directly.His home is on the edge of Greater New York City, just outside the Space-Time Gate of Heboken, on the heights of the Grand Canyon.But when he reached the interstellar immigration station, he changed course.He felt that he was always tempted to look around. When he came out of the school aisle, he should turn right, take the spiral elevator up, and then cross the Arizona Strip.But he was thinking about supplies, equipment, and weapons for tomorrow's exam, and his steps involuntarily turned to the left, and he walked up the escalator leading to the lobby of the interstellar portal. He said to himself, just go shopping for ten minutes, as long as you get home before dinner.He made his way through the crowd and into the hall.He didn't enter the level of the immigration station, but went to the sightseeing platform facing the gate.This is a new space-time portal, which opened in 1968. The original immigration station is located on the Jesse platform a few kilometers east of the power pole, and now it is used as an interstellar passage on the earth, mainly for doing business with the Luna people. The sightseeing platform is facing the six-sided space-time gate, and can accommodate 8,600 people, but now only half of them are seated, and they are mainly concentrated in the middle.Of course Rhodes also wants to sit here, because this way he can see the entire six-sided space-time gate.He squeezed desperately to the middle, someone moved forward a few rows, and Rhodes grabbed his seat.Someone on the other side gave him a hard look, because this person originally wanted to occupy this seat. Rhodes threw a few coins into the armrest, the seat opened, and Rhodes sat down and looked around.He was facing a replica of the Statue of Liberty, the exact same one that had stood for a century in what is now Padreau Crater.The statue's torch reaches the ceiling, and on her left and right, there are three time-space portals, which can send interstellar immigrants to outer space. Rhodes didn't look at the statue, he stared at the six space-time gates.It was afternoon, and there was great shadow on the east coast of North America, but Gate One was open, casting in a midday interstellar light.Rhodes could see a bit of the scene inside, where people were wearing shorts and sun hats.Door number two has a pressure lock with a skull and crossbones symbol on it, the sign of chlorine.A red light was blinking on it.While he was watching, the red light went off, a blue light came on, the door opened slowly, and a transport cabin filled with chlorine respirators turned out, and eight people dressed as diplomats were waiting there , one of them still held a golden baton in his hand. Rhodes was wondering, who would this important visitor be?However, his attention was quickly drawn to door number five again.There is a secondary door built into the floor, facing door number five just below the platform.Two tall steel fences connected the two gates together, forming a corridor about seventy-five meters long and fifty meters wide. The width was about the same as the gate, and the length was exactly the space between the two gates.The hallway was full of people walking from a temporary door to door number five—they were going to some planet light-years away.Since the back of the auxiliary gate was empty, they had nothing to rely on, but squeezed between the two fences, packed Gate No. 5 like a herd of cattle, and moved slowly forward. A group of sturdy Mongolian policemen stood on both sides of the two fences, holding big sticks almost as high as them in their hands, and were urging these interstellar travelers, acting somewhat rough.Just below Rhodes, a policeman was shoving a trembling coolie-like old man bluntly, and he almost fell down.The man is on his way to a new world with two packages slung over his right shoulder. Suddenly, the old man fell down and knocked his knee on the ground.He tried to stand up, only to fall again.Rhodes thought that he might be stepped on, but he still stood up, but his luggage was gone.The old man wanted to gain a foothold in the crowd and get his luggage back, but the police kept pushing and shoving him, so he had no choice but to continue walking forward empty-handed.After moving about five meters, he disappeared from Rhodes' sight. There were also some district police outside the fence, but they did not intervene.The narrow space between the two gates was now a chilling scene, and the district police did not come to justice.One of them seemed impatient to see the old man's face turned to the barbed wire of the fence, shouting something strange into it.The Mongolian policeman also responded with simple words. He was telling the North American what he was doing, and then turned around and still treated the group roughly. The group of people waiting to cross the corridor was mainly Asian, with Japanese, Indonesian, Thai, and some East Indies and Europeans.To Rhodes, they all looked the same.The thin women carried their children, one on their backs and one on their arms. The children kept making noises and their heads were all bald.The fathers carried big and small bags and walked in front to lead the way.There were also some people pushing two-wheelers that were so big that they swayed from side to side, but most of the crowd just carried their belongings. Rhodes decided to see what happened.He stuffed a coin into the small hole of the seat broadcast, and the voice of the explainer reached his ears, "...the prince was greeted by the officials of the Earth Management Agency, including the director of the agency himself. The prince is being escorted To the Latonian consular district. After the TV interview tonight, there will be a meeting at the staff level. The spokesperson next to the general manager pointed out that because there is no possibility of existence between us and the Latonian people in the form of oxygen supply Conflict of interest, so any cost of the meeting can only be beneficial to us, the question is how much benefit." "Please turn your attention to Gate No. 5. We will repeat what we have said before: Gate No. 5 to the Republic of Australia is now operating at full capacity for forty-eight hours. As you have also seen, the temporary gate erected below is Facing Central Australia in the Arunta desert, it is also overloaded at the moment. Over the past few weeks, the number of immigrants has been rising. His Excellency Feng Chimu, Chairman of the Republic of Australia, has sent a note to the Earth Governing Body, his The government intends to transport the remaining 2 million people within 48 hours. This is really a tempting figure. More than 40,000 people have to be transported every hour. This year, all interstellar immigration time-space gates—immigrant station time-space gates, large The target number of the Peter and Witwatersland portals is only 70 million people, or only 8,000 people per hour. Their notes indicate that if only one of the time-space gates is used, it will have to be expanded by 50 million people. times the shipping frequency." The docent continued: "We look at speed, efficiency, and... well, they executed cleanly, as if they could pull it off. Our own numbers show that they overachieved in the first nine hours." During the same nine hours, a total of 107 immigrants were born and 82 died. Of course, the death rate is considered high. This is also a temporary risk of interstellar immigration.” "The target planet is GO-8703-Ⅳ. According to Chairman Feng, it has always been called 'Paradise Mountain'. It used to be an empty planet, and no immigration has ever occurred before. The Earth Management Agency guarantees that all immigrants It's all voluntary." To Rhodes, the tone of the broadcast seemed a little sarcastic. "It's easy to understand if you know how much population pressure the Republic of Australia is now facing. There have also been simple strategies to reduce the population historically. After the earlier Australian population immigrated to New Zealand, under the peace agreement, the new government's initial efforts were Create a giant sea of..." Rhodes turned off the speaker and looked at the floor behind him.He didn't care about the numbers in the school books, how the Australian desert had turned into a rose garden... after all it was now an overcrowded congested land with more people than all of North America.At this moment, something new happened at Gate No. 4... When he first arrived, door number four was occupied by a goods conveyor belt.Now the conveyor belt is rolled up and set aside.A group of interstellar immigrants lined up in a long queue, waiting to pass through the gate of time and space. There are no images of refugees fleeing here, no police pushing and shoving.Every family has its own transport vehicle... The queue is long, like a tugboat, with three groups of people guiding it, and the flow of people is covered under a solid glass tarpaulin...The transport vehicles are moving forward neatly and orderly , the chassis is high, so it won't get stuck in the mud, and the car is pulled by two or three teams in front.Among the animals they brought was even the big-brained Missouri mule, which had great strength and suspicious eyes.Dogs scurry among the wheels.The delivery cart was piled high with household items and utensils, with children sitting on top of it.The poultry were caged and tied to the backs of wagons, dooming them to a humiliating fate.There was also a Shetland pony, carrying nothing but its own saddle. It was a little taller, so it could not climb up and down like a dog, but could only follow closely behind a family's convoy. Rhodes was very surprised, why didn't he see the cow?So he turned the loudspeaker back on, but it was still croaking about Australia's abundance, and he turned it off again, then went on to look around.The convoy moved to the floor, took up a position near the gate, and was about to set off when the convoy's tail snaked out of sight below. The time-space gate was not ready yet, so the pilot climbed down and assembled in the control room under the folds of the Statue of Liberty. They wanted a cup of coffee and some grilled sausage. Rhodes thought, maybe there is no coffee in the place they are going to, maybe they haven't had coffee for many years.Earth has never exported food, instead food and fission metals have always been imported items.Unless a non-native colony can overproduce either of these two items, it's unlikely to get a little help from Earth. It takes a lot of very expensive uranium to keep the interstellar gate open. If people in the queue want to leave, they can only do business with the earth.They have to wait until they have accumulated enough extra value before they can exchange for a pass, and then the door will be reopened at a certain time interval.Until then they can't go on the road, and they have to take what they can... horses are more useful than helicopters at this point, and shovels and shovels are more useful than bulldozers.There is no market for mechanical things, which require very complicated technology to work, while the ancient "hand tools" can sow, harvest and load and unload perfectly well. The great fairy Mason once said in his survival class that the most difficult conditions in the original native Outer Territories were not due to lack of water supply, heat, electricity and light, nor were they due to bad weather conditions, but simply because of the lack of things like coffee and Simple things like cigarettes. Rhodes doesn't smoke, and he can drink coffee or not.He couldn't imagine any difference without those two things.He craned his neck to get a better look at the gate, he wondered what was causing the blockage.He couldn't see very well, the arched sails blocking his view, but it seemed the gate operator had made some mistake, and parts of the sky looked as if they should have been land.To use the super-dimensional twisting and deformation to make the corresponding points on the two planets that are many light-years apart is not simply a matter of simply consuming huge energy.They are also judgment questions beyond imagination, embodying superb mathematics and artistry. The mathematics is done by the machine, and the gate operator has to constantly adjust the corresponding points of the final decimal number according to the goal and intuition. Every planet has its own normal motion, which sometimes needs to be accounted for and sometimes ignored.In addition, there is the question of the rotation of each planet.The key issue is to determine the final orbital curves of the two planets so that they are inscribed at the point chosen by the gate.In this way, their axes of rotation are parallel and the direction of rotation is the same.In theory, it is also possible to match two points in reversed directions, following the actual steps of "real" motion to manipulate imaginary space-time matter.But in practice, such a solution is not only a staggering waste of energy, but it basically doesn't work - the ground is higher than the gate and it may slide away like an escalator, and there will be unpredictable angles. Rhodes can't use mathematics to solve such difficult problems, because he is just a child who is about to complete high school courses, and his skills are not yet comparable to sophisticated calculation and statistical machines. He can only perform simple conversion operations, general six Dimensional geometric operations.In actual operation, he can only do some electrical device analysis, elementary control technology and robotics technology, and then do some basic design of analog computers.He hadn't learned advanced mathematics, and wasn't very clear about what he didn't learn, so he simply thought that the gate operator's job was simply to move his fingers. Rhodes looked back at the crew again.The driver is still resting in the control room, drinking coffee and eating snacks.Several of these immigrants had beards, and Rhodes thought that they must have been training for several months.The captain seemed to be the one with the goatee, the beard on the upper lip, and the long hair.However, Rhodes felt that this person was not much older than himself.Of course, this captain is very professional. He has to obtain a certificate or degree for work outside the territory, such as hunting, machine operation and maintenance, weapon use, agricultural knowledge, assistance skills, group psychological adjustment knowledge, group survival strategies, law, etc. In addition, he also needs to understand many other things that must be mastered during the march. The captain's mount was a palomino stallion, as lovely as the rising sun, and the captain was dressed like a California clergyman from the previous century, which suited his horse.The warning light on the indicator board of the time-space gate is blinking.The captain climbed into the saddle, still eating.He looked down at the convoy for a final review.He sat facing Rhodes, sitting upright, but looked relaxed and confident.On his belt were two lasguns, carried low, each silver-plated to match the color of the saddle. Rhodes held his breath until the captain passed under the viewing platform and disappeared from sight.Then he breathed a sigh of relief, and imagined imitating him, not the role of a brain worker in a profession outside the domain.He actually doesn't know what he wants to do... He just wants to leave the earth as soon as possible to deal with the things that are about to happen! This reminded Rhodes of tomorrow's expedition.He will know in a few days whether his decision is correct, and perhaps, all worries about this are unnecessary.He suddenly remembered that it was a bit late now, he hadn't thought about his equipment, and he hadn't picked out his weapon yet.The captain is carrying a laser gun, shouldn't he also be carrying one?No, because the team fights as a unit when necessary.Team leaders carry such weapons just to emphasize their authority, but this does not apply to individual survival, so what should they bring? 警报响了起来，驾驶员回到了他们的岗位上。队长也很快地回来了。“准备！”他大声喊道：“准——备——”他在时空门边站定，脸冲着车队，马不停地刨着蹄子，像是要跳舞一样。 一个女人从后面跑了出来，怀里抱了个小女孩。她对着队长喊着什么，不过她的声音传不到观光平台上。 队长的声音倒是传了上来，“四号位！多莉！快带着你的孩子上来！” 一个红头发红胡子的男人从第四车上爬了下来，他对着年轻女子叫着同样的话，声音像猫叫一样。他把孩子向上递给了自己的妻子，他的妻子把孩子接了过去，并安顿好。多莉爬到了那个男人的座位上，拉着他的缰绳。 “预备！”队长大声喊道。 "one!" "two!" "three!" "Four!" "Fives!" 读秒的声音从观光平台下传来，渐传渐远，慢慢消失，眨眼间，回声又传了回来，最后听到了高喊的尾音“一”。队长举起了右手，注视着控制板上的警示灯。 一盏灯变绿了。他突然放下了胳膊，大声喊道：“出——发！” 帕洛米诺马像赛马一样，压低身子，伸长马脖，冲过了时空门。 鞭子“啪啪”地响着。罗德还可以听见吆喝声：“驾，莫利！驾，内德！” “吁，吁，你们这些家伙！” 车队动了起来。在地板上的最后一车穿过大门之前，速度已经很快了，驾驭者的双腿一张一合地夹着马肚，他们的妻子稳着车。罗德想数数一共有多少辆车，最后通过大门的，可能是第六十三辆……他们已经穿过了时空门，几乎一半已经走到了星空。 罗德叹了口气，心里热呼呼地坐在座位上，有一丝说不出的失落感涌上心头。他又把扬声器打开了，“……来看看新加南星，伟大的朗弗德曾经把这颗行星称为一朵'不带刺的玫瑰'，殖民者每人最初首付一万六千四百普拉顿元作为保证金，这不是最终的数字，这是为了优先搬到新加南星去寻找幸福，保护他们的财产。计算显示，下一个二十八年内，保证金的数字还会增长。如果你想给孩子一个无价的新加南星的公民权的话，现在就行动起来吧！想得到关于这颗美丽星球的详细资料，请花一个普拉顿元垂询'大纽约市新泽西县移民站一号信箱信息处'，再加半个普拉顿元就可获得所有已开放行星的详细资料，外加一份即将开放的行星清单。收听广播的人可在大厅外的信息站获得相应的资料……” 罗德没再往下听，他很久以前就索取过每一份免费的资料，还有大部分由移民和贸易署派发的收费资料。他觉得很奇怪，为什么通往新加南星的时空门到现在还没有冷落下来。 罗德突然发现，地板上升起了隔离障，从四号门到他身下的坡道之间形成了一个通道。然后一群牛涌出了时空门，哞叫着朝他这个方向走来。这些都是西尔弗德的牛犊，将会成为某些富裕却又饥饿的地球人的可口的牛排和香美的烤肉。在牛群后面和中间，有几个新加南星的牛仔，手里扬着长长的牧鞭，他们催促着牛群走得快一点，他们可不想让这些家伙的价值被大门开放所花费的成本抵消掉太多，这些花费都得加到牛的身上去。 罗德的扬声器不响了，他只付了半个小时的钱，而现在时间已到。他站起身，突然意识到自己必须赶快回家，否则晚饭就晚了。他冲了出去，嘴里嘟哝着什么，跑得飞快，一把跃上了去往贺伯肯门的扶梯。 贺伯肯门只是作为地球表面的交通工具使用的。它一直开放，不需要操作人员。因为地球上的任意两点总是由一些僵硬的经纬线框定。罗德在电子监视器前出示了交通票，准备去往亚利桑那，与邻居为伴。 “地球”大门的机器人可以解决一些曲变量问题，但是它不能事先预测到一些小小的变化。罗德是站着的，他感觉到脚底有一丝轻微的震动，就像是一场小的地震，从陆地升了起来，然后空气锁锁定了地面的气压。他的身体随着机器晃动起来，门锁闭合，气压才逐渐下降。罗德深吸了一口气，他在调整自己适应北部边地大峡谷高地的气压，因为这里的气压还不到新泽西的四分之三。虽然这样的事他每天要做两次，但是他仍觉得自己的右耳会有一点点的疼痛感。 门锁打开了，罗德走了出去。他在几秒钟的时间里已经走过了三千多公里，他还得再用十分钟时间乘坐滑道管，然后步行十五分钟才能到家。他决定跑步前进，尽量不迟到。如果不是有几千人和他一起挤用同样的设备，他也许可以按时到达。