Chapter 3 third chapter

Captain Willem van Tromp was a thoughtful man, and on the return trip he sent electricity to Earth in advance, stating: "Please do not ask my guests to attend a public welcome ceremony. Please provide low-gravity aircraft, stretchers, ambulances, and armed guards." The captain also sent his doctor to accompany him to ensure that his special guest, Valentine Michael Smith, lived in a premium suite equipped with a special water bed at the Bethesda Ambulance Center, avoiding the harassment of the outside world.He then traveled to the House of Lords of the Commonwealth of the Free Worlds to attend an emergency session there.

In the hospital, Smith was carefully carried into a waterbed.At the same time, Science Minister Peter was throwing a fit: "Mr. Captain, as the captain of a scientific expedition, you have the right to ask the hospital to treat a patient who is temporarily under your supervision. I don't deny that. But I can't see it." Why do you want to interfere with the work of my department now! Smith is full of scientific secrets, he is a baby bump!" "I think so, sir." "In that case, why—" the Minister of Science turned to the Minister of Peace and Security and shouted, "David, why don't you tell your subordinates? You can't let Professor Tiergarten and Dr. Okajima wait, Not to mention there are others!"

The Minister of Security glanced at Captain Van Tromp with a questioning look, and the latter shook his head slightly. "Why?" demanded the Minister of Science. "He's not sick—that's what you said." "Let the captain speak for himself, Pierre." The Minister of Security smoothed things over, "How about it, Captain?" "Smith is not ill, gentlemen," explained Captain Van Tromp, "but he is not. You know, he has never lived in a standard gravity environment. He weighs two and a half times what he used to be, His muscles couldn't bear the weight. He wasn't used to the regular gravity of the earth, he wasn't used to everything here, he was under too much pressure! Hell, gentlemen, even I was exhausted myself--I They were born and raised on this planet."

The Minister of Science said contemptuously: "If all you are worried about is the little discomfort caused by the change of gravity, then I assure you, dear captain, we have expected this situation a long time ago. After all, I have also been in the sky, and I know it is What's the matter. Smith must be—" Van Tromp decided to take this opportunity to make a big fuss.Anyway, he had an excuse, and his body was indeed extremely uncomfortable, as if he had just landed on Jupiter.Then he interrupted the minister: "Hmph! 'This man Smith'? 'This man'? Can't you see that he isn't?"

"what?" "Smith - no - is - man." "Huh? What's the matter? Tell me, Captain." "Smith is an intelligent being, although descended from humans, he is more Martian than human. Before we got to Mars, he had never seen any earthlings. His thoughts, emotions, all Martian, nothing like us. He was raised by another race that had nothing in common with humans—they didn't even have sex. By birth, Smith was human; by environment, he was Martian .If you want to drive him crazy and ruin this baby bump, then call in your stupid experts and professors, and don't give him any time to adjust to our madhouse! I don't worry about what happened. Responsibility, my job is done."

Federal Secretary-General Douglas broke the silence, "And it's done very well, Mr. Captain. If this person, or this Martian human, really needs to rest for a few days to adapt to the earth's environment, I believe scientific research can wait. Well! I said Peter, don't be so impatient, Mr. van Tromp is tired too." "But there is one thing that cannot wait." The Minister of Information interjected. "What is it, York?" "If you don't let the Martian guest appear on the three-dimensional media website quickly, I'm afraid there will be riots outside, Mr. Secretary-General."

"Hmm—you're exaggerating, York. Of course, there should be some news about Mars in the media, such as me honoring the captain and the crew—tomorrow, I think. Then the captain can also talk about him. experience - after a good night's rest." The Minister of Information shook his head. "Can't you, York?" "The public expects the expedition to bring back a living Martian. Since there are no Martians, we need Smith, and fast." "A real Martian?" Secretary Douglas turned to Van Tromp and asked, "Have you photographed the Martian?"

"Thousands of feet of film." "Your problem is solved, York. The real thing is not enough, you can use a movie to save the day. By the way, Mr. Captain, there is another problem of extraterritoriality. You seem to have said that the Martians do not object to allowing us to enjoy extraterritoriality, right?" "Yes, sir—in fact, it should be said that they have neither objection nor support." "I can't understand that." Van Tromp bit his lips, "Your Excellency, talking to a Martian is like talking to your own echo. You won't be opposed, but you won't get any conclusions either." .”

"Maybe you should bring that—what's his name? Your linguist?—with you. Maybe he's waiting outside?" "My name is Mahmed, Your Excellency. Dr. Mahmed is not feeling right now, and he has some mental problems." Van Tromp thought to himself, mentally speaking, drunkenness should be similar to being insane. "Space hypersensitivity?" "Maybe a little bit." Damn ground crew. " "Well, let him come when he's sober. As for finding out the attitude of the Martians, I think that young man, Smith, can also help." "Perhaps," Van Tromp replied skeptically.

That young man, Smith, was fighting hard now, trying to survive.There was an unbelievable amount of space in this strange place, and his body was squeezed, making him unbearable and weak.It was not until he entered the soft nest prepared for him by these aliens that he finally felt a little more relaxed.Now that he didn't need to support his body, he turned his third level of consciousness to his breathing and heartbeat. He understood that if he continued like this, his life would soon be exhausted.The lobes of the lungs are struggling to expand and contract as in the normal environment in their hometown; the heart pumps blood into all parts of the body, and the body is fighting against the squeeze of space with all its strength—while being suffocated by the sweltering heat and thick, almost poisonous atmosphere.He started to act.

Slowly, the heartbeat dropped to twenty beats per minute, and the breathing gradually became even, almost imperceptible.He watched for a while, making sure he wouldn't disintegrate even if he turned his attention elsewhere.After that, he let part of the second layer of consciousness remain vigilant, and withdrew all the rest of his mind.It was necessary to do this, new events came one after another, and he had to analyze them one by one, first adapting them to himself, and then digesting and admiring them.Otherwise, he would be consumed by them. Where to start?From the time when you left the old nest and fell into the arms of these aliens?These aliens are now his nest brothers.Perhaps it should start from the moment of arrival in this high-pressure place?At that moment, there was a sudden strong light and loud noises. In the blink of an eye, he was deaf and dazzled, his whole body was torn apart, and his heart was in pain.Ah no, can't analyze this just yet.retreat!retreat!return to!Stepping back to the first glimpse of these aliens who are now compatriots, before the healing of the first epiphany that he is not of the same race as his nest-brethren begins to heal... Back to the nest itself. When Smith thinks, he uses language symbols that people on Earth don't understand.He has learned some simple English, but it is more difficult to communicate in it than the native Indians to do business with Turks in English.He used English the way other people used code books, a tedious process of deciphering and deciphering, and the end result was far from perfect.Therefore, what he was thinking at this moment came from a civilization that was very different from human beings, fifty million years old, thousands of miles away from human experience, and completely untranslatable. In the monitoring room connected to the ward, Smith's doctor Thaddeus was playing cards with special care worker Tom Michon.From time to time he checked the readings on the monitor.Suddenly, the strobe lights showed that the heart rate had dropped from ninety-two beats per minute to less than twenty beats per minute.Dr. Thaddeus immediately rushed into Smith's ward, and Mi Chun followed. The patient lay on the soft surface of the waterbed as if dead. "Call Dr. Nelson!" Thaddeus snapped. "Yes!" Michun replied, and asked again, "Do you have a pacemaker?" "Call Dr. Nelson!" The orderly rushed out, leaving Thaddeus alone.He checked on the patient, but left him alone.A moment later, an elderly doctor arrives, wobbly as he walks, apparently too long in space to reacclimate to Earth's regular gravity. "What's the matter, Doctor?" "Two minutes ago, doctor, the patient's respiration, body temperature and pulse dropped suddenly." "What measures have been taken?" "No, doctor. You instructed—" "Very good." Dr. Swain Nelson carefully inspected Smith, and then inspected the monitors at the end of the bed.These instruments are exactly the same as those in the monitoring room next door, forming a set. "Let me know if there are any changes." Dr. Nelson was about to leave. Thaddeus was puzzled, and asked, "But, doctor—" "What's the matter, doctor? What's your diagnosis?" Nelson asked. "This—I certainly don't want to jump to conclusions about your patient." "I'm asking for your diagnostic opinion." "Well, sir. I think it's a symptom of shock—maybe atypical shock," he dared not say, "but it's still shock, and it's life-threatening." Nelson nodded, "This is common sense, but this one is a special case, which is unreasonable. This patient has experienced this symptom more than ten times, and I have seen it with my own eyes. Watch it." He raised the patient's arm, Then let go - that hand hangs in the air and doesn't fall! "catalepsy?" Thaddeus asked. "You can call it anything. Don't bother him anyway, and let me know as soon as there is anything." He pressed Smith's raised hand back to its original place. After Nelson left, Thaddeus glanced at the patient, shook his head, and returned to the monitoring room.Mi Chun held up a handful of poker and asked, "Are you still playing?" "No." Mi Chun paused, and added: "Doctor, if you want to ask me, I can guarantee that that guy will be finished before dawn." "Nobody asked you, go smoke a cigarette with the guards. I gotta think." Mi Chun shrugged and walked towards the guards at the entrance of the corridor.The guard straightened up vigilantly, and was relieved when he saw that it was Mi Chun.A tall soldier asked: "What happened to the chaos just now? "That patient gave birth to quintuplets, and we're busy naming them. Which of you monkeys brought cigarettes? And fire?" Another soldier took out a pack of cigarettes, "Do you still have time to smoke?" "It's just fooling around inside anyway," Michun said, picking up a cigarette, "To be honest, I don't know anything about this patient at all." "It says, 'No female visitors allowed.' What does that mean? Is he a sex maniac or something?" "All I know is that he was brought in from the 'Victor' and that we were told absolutely no interruptions." "From the 'Victor'?" said the tall private. "No wonder!" "No wonder what?" "Need to say? Just think about it! Never touched a woman, never seen a woman, never touched a woman—for months! No, I'm sick. I understand what's going on. Right? If you can get a woman right now, you will definitely be exhausted." Da Bing winked, "If it were me, I would definitely do it!" Smith could feel the busyness and tossing of the doctors, but he realized that the other party was not malicious, so there was no need to arouse the dominant consciousness. In the early morning, the human nurses got busy and began to clean the faces of the patients with cold wet towels.Smith's consciousness slowly returned.He let his breathing quicken, his heart beat faster, and he assessed his surroundings with serenity.He surveyed the room, noting and admiring every detail.This is the first time he has done this.When he was first brought here, he couldn't let everything around him enter his head.Everything in this room is really weird, never seen on Mars, and it is very different from the wedge-shaped metal cabin of the "Victor".He reminisces about events from the past, linking this room to his old lair.Afterwards, Smith was ready to accept it, appreciate it, and even fall in love with it to an extent. He became aware of another creature, a long-legged grandfather descending from the ceiling, swirling along the way.Smith looked at it happily, wondering if this was a human nestling? At this moment, the intern Archer Ferrem, who replaced Thaddeus, came to Smith. "Good morning," he said to the patient, "how are you feeling?" Smith analyzes these two questions.According to his judgment, the previous sentence is a cliché and there is no need to answer it.But for the last sentence, several translations were listed in his mind.Dr. Nelson meant it when he said it, but in Captain Van Tromp's mouth it was just a cliché. He felt the frustration again, the powerless frustration that always arose when trying to communicate with these creatures.But he forced his body to remain calm and risked a single answer: "It feels good." "Okay!" The other party responded, "Dr. Nelson will be here soon. Shall we eat now, early? What do you think?" Every word the other party said was a word that Smith had already mastered, but he couldn't believe what he heard, and always felt that he had heard it wrong.He knew that he was the food here, but he felt that he was not worthy.Such a great honor was not disclosed to him in advance.He really didn't expect that the food here is so scarce, and the number of members who have not disintegrated must be reduced to ensure the supply.Although he felt honored, Smith still felt a little sad.There are so many new things here that require enlightenment.However, he has no reluctance to be food. The presence of Dr. Nelson saved him from racking his brains for the proper answer. The ship's doctor on the "Victor" carefully examined Smith, then checked the instrument data, and finally asked, "Have you relieved?" "No." Smith understood the question.Nelson asks every time. "We'll figure it out, but first you've got to eat. Order, bring the tray." Nelson fed him three mouthfuls himself, then let him eat with a spoon.It was tiring, but it brought him a joyful sense of accomplishment.For the first time since coming to this weird, twisted place, he had done something on his own without help from others.He ate all the food in the bowl, and then he remembered to ask: "Who is this?" After knowing it, he wanted to express his gratitude to the benefactor who gave him his body. "What is it, I should say," Nelson replied. "It's a jelly-like synthetic food. Look, you know exactly as much about it now as you did before. Finished? Well done, let's go." "Excuse me?" He knew that when the communication failed, he should send out this voice signal to remind the other party. "I mean, get out of there, get up, and walk around. Yes, you're weak like a kitten, but you're never going to grow any muscle on this water bed." Nelson A valve was opened and the water bed drained quickly.Knowing that Nelson cared about him, Smith fought back his uneasy feelings.Soon he was on the bed, surrounded by the crumpled waterproof jacket.Nelson said, "Dr. Ferrem, come, give him a hand. Take his arm." With words of encouragement, Nelson worked with Ferrem to move Smith out of the bed. "Steady! Okay, stand up." Nelson continued to cheer him up, "Don't be afraid, we are here for those who can't fall." After a lot of effort, Smith finally stood up alone.A thin young man with underdeveloped muscles and an excessively large chest.He had had his hair cut aboard the Victor, and his beard shaved off, completely removed.The most striking thing is his face, which is blank, like a baby's, but his eyes are completely different from a baby's, like the eyes of a ninety-year-old man. He stood alone, a little trembling, and then began to try to move.He shuffled, and finally took three unsteady steps, with a bright childlike smile on his face. "Good job!" Nelson applauded loudly. He took another step, and suddenly trembled violently, his body went limp.The two doctors barely caught him in time. "Damn it!" cried Nelson. "It's the same old thing. Come on, help me get him into bed—no! No! Fill it with water!" The mattress swelled rapidly, to a height of six inches, and Ferem closed the water inlet valve.Smith was already stiff and curled up in a baby position, and they had a hard time getting him onto the bed. "Bring a neck collar pillow and put it under his neck." Nelson ordered, "Call me anytime if you need anything. Continue to train him to walk in the afternoon. In fact, there is nothing serious about him. Within three months, he can swing in the woods like a monkey." "Yes, doctor." Ferem seemed unconvinced. "Oh, by the way, when he wakes up, tell him to use the bathroom. Ask the orderly to help you, I don't want him to fall." "Don't worry, doctor. But is there any special way—I mean, how—" "A way? Just show him a demonstration! He doesn't understand what you say, but once you do it, he will understand. He is very clever!" By noon, Smith was able to eat alone.After eating, an orderly came in to collect the trays.The man leaned over. "Listen," he said in a low voice, "I have a proposal for you to make some money." "Sorry." "One transaction, without any effort, you can make a lot of money!" "Money? What is 'money'?" "Don't be a philosopher, money is a good thing and everyone needs it. I can't stay long. To cut a long story short, I'm an agent for Nonfiction Press and I'm going to buy the exclusive rights to your biography for $60,000. A bit No trouble—we have the best ghostwriters, you just need to answer the questions, and they will take care of the rest." Then, the other party took out a piece of paper, "Just sign it." Smith took the paper and stared at it.He held the document upside down.The other party exclaimed in a low voice: "Hey! You don't know English?!" Smith understood this sentence. "yes." "Then—well, I read, you listen, and at the end you just put your hand in this box, and I'll be a witness. Listen,' Here's a license for Nonfiction Press to publish exclusively me, Valentine Michael ·Smith, also known as the biography of the visitor from Mars, the title of the book is "I am a Prisoner of Mars", for which, the Documentary Publishing House paid me——'” "Nurse!" Doctor Ferem stood at the door.That document immediately disappeared up the attorney's cuff. "Here it comes! I'm taking away the dishes, sir." "What were you thinking just now?" "I didn't read anything." "I've seen it all. This patient needs to rest and not be disturbed." They left, closing the door behind them.Smith lay motionless for an hour, trying to comprehend what had just happened, but couldn't.