Chapter 36 Chapter Thirty-Five

confusion. In the airspace of Hyperion, three hundred spaceships retreated all the way, being attacked by fierce firepower behind their buttocks. They were like people fighting a swarm of bees, fleeing from the swarm. Near the military teleportation gate, the Frenzied Master.The traffic control is overloaded, and the spaceship is jammed there, like a whale-heart electromagnetic car traffic jam, vulnerable as a quail under the upper and lower pincers of the Ouster assault craft. At the exit, Frenzy Master: Warhead spaceships lined up like sheep in a narrow pen, scurrying from the deactivated portal to the Last to the outgoing transporter.The spacecraft circled to the airspace of Hebron, and many of them were directly transmitted to the Gate of Heaven, the Forest of Gods, Infinity Sea, and Asquith.There are still a few hours left before the stragglers invade the Ring.

Chaos, a hundred million refugees teleported away from a cloud-shrouded world, into half-mad cities and redistribution centers that had grown mindless excitement from the incipient war.The chaotic, unthreatening world of the Web ignites riots: Three Lusus hives—almost 70 million citizens—are quarantined due to the Shrike riots, and thirty-story shopping malls are looted , the apartment building was occupied by mobs, the Alliance Center was bombed, and the teleportation terminal was attacked.The Zemstvo appealed to the Overlord for aid; the Overlord declared martial law and sent the army's navy to keep the hives under control.

On Sinchi and Maui, separatist riots broke out.Glennon Gao's best friend - who has been quiet for seventy-five years - launched a sudden terrorist attack in Thalia, Armaghast, North Island and Lee San.Shrike riots also occurred in Qingdao, Xishuangbanna and Fuxingzhi. The military headquarters of Olympus sent the garrison in the transport ship returning from Hyperion to the ring world.The demolition team was dispatched to the torch ship in the threatened system, and reported back—the teleported singularity ball had been tied to the demolition wire, waiting for the super light order from the whale heart at any time.

"There is a better way." Advisor Alberto said to Yueshi and the Combat Council. The CEO turns to face the ambassador at the heart of the technology. "There is a weapon that can destroy an Ouster without harming the Overlord's property. Or, for that matter, without harming the Ouster's property." General Moboge glared at him. "You're talking about the death stick equivalent of a bomb," he said. "It's useless. Military researchers have shown that this weapon spreads infinitely. Not only is this dishonorable and against the new Bushido code, it's also will wipe out the entire population of the world, including the invaders."

"Not really," Albert said, "if the citizens of the Overlord are properly protected, no casualties will occur anyway. As you know, the Death Rod can be tuned to specific brain wavelengths. So, based on the same principle So would the bombs. Domestic animals, wild animals, and even other great apes would not be harmed." General Van Hitt of the Navy Department stood up. "But there is no way to protect the entire population! Our experiments show that neutrinos from death bombs can penetrate rock or metal as far as six kilometers. No one has a refuge like that!" The projection of Advisor Alberto folded his fists and placed it on the table. "We have nine worlds with sanctuaries that can hold a billion humans," he said softly.

Yue Shi nodded. "The labyrinth world," she whispered, "but it is definitely impossible to transfer so many people." "No," said Alberto, "since you have added Hyperion to the protection body, every labyrinth world now has the ability to teleport. The inner core can arrange to transfer people directly to these underground shelters .” The people at the long table began to chatter, but Meina Gladstone's intense gaze was fixed on Alberto's face.She motioned for silence, and they fell silent. "Please elaborate," she said. "We're interested."

A dwarf Neville tree cast a speckled shade, and the Consul sat waiting to die.His hands were bound behind his back with a bundle of fiber plastic.The clothes were torn and still wet, and there were drops of water running down his face, some of it was river water, but most of it was sweat. The two men standing in front of him finish checking his duffel bag. "Damn it," said the first man, "there's nothing here. Except this goddamn pistol." He tucked Braun Lamia's father's weapon into his belt. "Too bad luck we can't get that goddamn flying carpet," said the second.

"That thing can't fly by the end!" said the first guy, and they both laughed. The Consul squinted at the two large men, their armored bodies silhouetted against the dim daylight.Judging by the vernacular they spoke, they were natives; by the way they looked—old army armor, heavy multi-purpose assault rifles, tattered clothes that might have been camouflage aggregates—he guessed they were the Hyperion Self-Defense Forces. deserters. Judging from the attitude of these two people towards him, he was sure that they were going to kill him. At first, reeling from the fall into the Hawley River, tangled with the duffel-bag rope and the useless Hawley Flying Carpet, he thought they were his saviours.The Consul hit the surface of the water with such force that he lay unconscious for a long time under the water. He could not have imagined that he had not drowned for so long; Twist of rope and blanket dragged down.It was a valiant but inevitable battle, and when he was still ten meters from the shallow water, one of the men stepped out from the Neville and Briarwood forest and threw a rope to the Consul.Then they beat him, robbed him, tied him up, and--judged by their cold-blooded conversation--they were about to slit his throat and leave him to the Omenbirds.

The taller of the two fellows—his hair like a heap of oiled ears of wheat—crouched before the consul, drawing a ceramic zero-edged knife from its sheath. "Old man, do you have any last words?" The Consul licked his lips.In the countless flat-screen and holographic movies he has seen, now is the time for the hero to show his might, lying on the ground, twisting the opponent's feet, kicking the other person to scream for mercy, grabbing a weapon, and immediately killing both of them. The guy was killed - fired with his hands tied - and continued his adventure.But the Consul was no hero: he was worn out, middle-aged, and injured in the overboard.These two guys were leaner, stronger, faster, and even meaner than the previous Consuls.He had seen violence—even once—but his life and training had been devoted to the intense, nonviolent path of diplomacy.

The Consul licked his lips again, then said, "I can repay you." The squatting guy gave a sneer, and swung the zero-blade knife back and forth five centimeters from the consul's eyes. "What repayment, old man? We took your Universal Card, that thing is worth a fart here." "Gold," said the Consul, knowing that these were the only two words that had not lost their force through the ages. The crouching guy didn't react - he was staring at the knife with a sick look in his eyes - but the other guy stepped forward, a big hand on his partner's shoulder. "Hey, what are you talking about? Where do you get gold?"

"My ship," said the Consul, "is the Benares." The squatting guy raised the knife and stuck it to his face. "He's lying, old Xie. Remember those blue guys we killed three days ago, the 'Benares' is theirs, it's that old old punt propelled by manta rays." The Consul closed his eyes for a moment, feeling sick inside, but he didn't surrender.Five or six days ago, Bettik and the rest of the robotic crew left the cruise ship in one of the dinghys of the Benares and headed up the river toward Freedom.Apparently they knew something else. "Bettik," he said, "the captain. Didn't he tell you about the gold?" The guy with the knife grinned. "That guy was loud, but he didn't say much. He did say where the ship was, that shit was on the frontier. A cruise ship without manta rays, I thought, fuckin' going there But it's too far." "Shut up, Auburn," said another guy, crouching in front of the consul, "I say, why are you hiding gold in that wreck." The consul looked up. "Don't you know me? I was Consul of the Overlord in Hyperion for several years." "Hey, don't you play this with us..." said the guy with the knife, but the other cut him off. "Yes, old man. I remember your face. I saw you in the camp hologram when I was a child. Let me ask you, old overlord, why are you transporting gold upriver now that the sky is falling?" "We're going to the Vault... Fortress of Time," said the Consul, trying to suppress his inner anxiety from being audible, but at the same time thanking him sincerely for every second he was given to breathe. .Why?part of him asked.You are tired of living in the world.Happy to die.No, not dying like this.Not when Saul and Rachel and others need help. "There are several rich people on Hyperion," he said, "and the evacuation authorities don't allow them to transfer gold bars, so I agreed to help them hide the gold in the vaults of the Fortress of Time, an ancient cave at the northern foot of the Bridle Mountain Range." The castle. They entrusted me with it." "You're so fucking crazy!" The guy with the knife sneered, "Now the north is fucking Shrike territory." The consul bowed his head.The tiredness and sense of failure on his face needn't be faked. "We found out too. The droid crew escaped last week. Several of the ship's passengers were killed by the Shrike. So I'm running down the river alone." "Fart," said the guy with the knife.There was that sick, mad look in his eyes again. "Wait," said his partner.He slapped the consul heavily, "Old man, let me ask you, where is this so-called golden ship?" The Consul tasted blood. "Upstream. Not on the river. It's down a tributary." "Hmm," said the knife holder, with the zero-edged knife flat against the side of the consul's neck.If he wanted to slit the Consul's throat, he didn't have to cut it hard, he just had to turn the blade. "You fucking fart. We're wasting our fucking time." "Wait a minute," snapped another, "how far upriver?" The Consul thought for a moment about the tributaries he had passed by in the past few hours.It's late.The sun has almost touched a line of coppice to the west. "Just above the Kara lock," he said. "Then why are you flying downstream on that toy thing, why don't you drive that pleasure boat?" "I'm looking for help," the consul said.The adrenaline wore off, and now he felt utterly exhausted, close to despair. "There are too many... too many bandits on the shore. It seems too dangerous to take a cruise ship. The Huoying Flying Carpet is more...safe." The guy named Lao Xie laughed. "Auburn, put your knife away. Shall we go over there?" Auburn jumped up.Still with the knife in his hand, but now, the blade - and the anger - was directed at his own partner. "Hey, are you out of your mind? Are you fucking out of your mind? He's fucking talking nonsense, just trying to make his life last longer." Lao Xie didn't ignore him, nor did he back away in fright. "Of course, maybe he's talking nonsense. But what does it matter? It won't take us half a day to get to the lock, and we've got nothing to do anyway, so what? If there's no boat, no gold, then you'll snap him, How about it? Isn't it just dying slowly, it feels like being hung upside down. If there is gold, you don't click him, and you work with a knife, but you have become a rich man, so what? ?” Auburn hovered between anger and reason for a second, then turned to the side, holding a ceramic zero-blade knife, and sent his anger towards an eight-centimeter-thick Neville tree, chopping the trunk.He turned back just in time, crouched before the Consul, and then gravity told the tree that it had been severed, and Neville fell headfirst into the river with a boom from the trunk.Oban grabbed the consul's still damp shirtfront. "Okay, overlord old man, let's go and see what's there. If you dare to make a noise, run, or stumble, I'll use your fingers or ears to practice the guy, huh?" The consul stood up unsteadily, and the three of them walked into the bushes and bushes.The consul walked three meters behind Lao Xie, and Auburn was three meters behind him.He plodded, trudging in the opposite direction from where he had come, a little bit away from the city, the ship, and the hope of saving Saul and Rachel. An hour passed.The Consul still couldn't think of any clever idea of ​​what to do once he reached the tributary and didn't spot the pleasure boat.A few times, Old Xie waved at them, telling them to be quiet and hide. One time, he heard the sound of spider yarn fluttering among the branches, and another time, he heard a commotion in the distance on the other side of the river. silhouette.There was no sign of rescue.The Consul remembered the charred houses along the river's banks, the empty huts, the empty wharves.Fear of the Shrike, fear of being thrown to the Ousters during evacuations, and months of looting by rogue SDF hoodlums had turned the place into a deserted land.The consul concocted all sorts of excuses and ways to prolong his life, but finally brushed them aside.His only hope was that they would get so close to the locks that he could leap into the deep rapids, with his hands still tied behind his back, but he would try to keep himself from sinking until he was hidden On the twisting isle below that point. It's just that he is too tired to swim now, even if his hands are not tied.The weapons carried by the two men could be aimed at him effortlessly, even if he was given ten minutes of priority time to move between the reefs and the small islands, he couldn't help it.The Consul was dull of mind with fatigue, and courageous with old age.He thought of his wife and children, dead for many years, killed during the bombing of Brescia, the executioner was more shameful than these two guys.The only thing the consul regrets is not keeping his promise to help other pilgrims.He regretted... not being able to witness the results of it all. Auburn spat behind him and called, "Hey, fuck it, old Xie. I said, let's get him something nice, and help him open his mouth, how about it? If there is a boat, How about we go by ourselves?" Old Xie turned around, wiped the sweat around his eyes, frowned at the Consul with doubts in his eyes, and said, "Hey, well, maybe you're right, it's up to you, but don't let him be unable to speak in the end, How are you doing?" "Of course." Auburn grinned, hung the weapon on his shoulder, and pulled out the Zero Blade. "Don't move!!!" A deep and reverberating voice came from above his head.The Consul fell to his knees, and the bandits of the former Self-Defense Forces immediately unarmed in a well-trained manner.There was a roar of galloping all around them, and the thrashing and whipping of branches and dust, and the Consul looked up just in time to see ripples in the cloudy night sky.Below the clouds, directly overhead, a mass was descending.Lao Xie raised the steel spear gun, and Auburn was holding the launcher to aim, and then the three of them fell down at the same time, not like a soldier shooter, nor like the recoil movement in the ballistic equation, but like the one that Auburn cut down earlier. Falling down like a tree. The Consul lay face down in the dust and grit, and he lay there without blinking, not at all. Stunning weapons, he thought, the synapses in his brain sluggish like old oil.On the dusty river bank, something huge and invisible landed between the three, and a local hurricane erupted violently at the same time.The Consul heard the whine of the hatch as it opened, the internal ticking of the impediment turbine as it descended to the point of lift.He still couldn't blink, let alone look up.All that remained in his field of vision were a few pebbles, a stretch of sand dunes, a patch of forest-like grass, and a construction ant, so large from this distance, that the thing was wet but unblinking to the consul. The moving eyes seemed to suddenly become interested.It turned around and ran towards the wet spoil half a meter away in front of it. The consul thought of "quickness", but what he heard in his ears was the sound of unhurried footsteps behind him. A pair of hands were stretched under his arms, and there was a grunt, and a familiar but unnatural voice came: "Damn, you are a lot heavier." The Consul's heels dragged in the dirt, and he tripped over the occasional twitching fingers of Old Xie...or Oban...he couldn't turn his head to see their faces.He also couldn't see his savior until he was lifted - and the man uttered a long, soft curse in his ear - and shoved him through the starboard hatch into the long soft leather chaise longue.The skimmer has been stripped of its camouflage. Governor Theo Wren appeared in front of the consul, the hatch was closed, and the red light inside illuminated his face, which was still childish, but at the same time slightly demonic.The young man helped the consul attach the snap button of the safety net. "Sorry, I had to knock you out with those two guys," Theo sat back, hooked up his safety net, and tugged on the omnicontroller.The Consul felt a jerk in the skimmer, lifted it into the air, hovered there for a moment, and then began to turn to the left, like a plate turning on frictionless bearings.The acceleration pushed the Consul into the seat. "I don't have much choice," Theo said from the soft voice inside the skimmer, "the only weapons we have at our disposal are anti-riot stunners, and at the same time, the easiest way is to put all three of you on the lowest configuration. Down, get you out of there quickly." Theo pushed his old glasses up his nose with one finger, and the motion was familiar.He smiled at the consul. "The old mercenary proverb—'Kill everybody and let God fix the mess.'" The Consul tried to use his tongue to speak, but drool trickled down his chin and on the leather chair. "Relax," said Theo, returning his attention to the instruments and the view outside, "you should be able to talk in two or three minutes. I'm flying low and slow now, so it will take Ten minutes to get back to Keats." Theo glanced at his passenger, "You're in luck, sir. I must have been dehydrated. Those two guys were down with their pants wet. Stunner, benevolence weapon, but it's embarrassing if you don't have a change of trousers next to you." The Consul would like to express his opinion on "benevolent" weapons. "Sir, wait a little longer," said Governor Theo Wren. He took a handkerchief and leaned over to wipe the consul's chin. A little uncomfortable." That's when someone plunged thousands of needles into the consul's body. "How on earth did you find me?" the consul asked.They flew several kilometers above the city, still on the Hawley River.He had already sat up, and he could almost hear his words clearly. The consul was also very happy, and he had to wait several minutes before he could stand up or walk around. "Sir, what did you say?" "I said, how did you find me? How did you know I came back down the Hawley River?" "CEO Yueshi sent me a super-light message. Privileged message received by the old transmitter pad in the old consulate." "Pleasant Stone?" The Consul shook his hand, trying to shake back the feeling of his finger, which was now as big as a woman's mouth like a rubber sausage. "How the hell did Pleasant Stone know that I was in trouble on the Hawley River? I left my grandmother Sealy's comlog receiver in the valley, and I wanted to get in touch with the other Pilgrims when I got back to the ship. How did Pleasant Stone will know?" "I don't know, sir, but she pinpointed your location and told me you were in trouble. She even told me you were flying a Hawk Hawk carpet and the blanket fell off." The Consul shook his head. "Theo, this lady has a source of intelligence beyond our imagination." "Yes, sir." The Consul glanced at his old friend.Theo Wren is now the governor of the new protected world of Hyperion, and he has been in office for more than a year, but the old habit is hard to get rid of, he always calls him "sir", this title is in the consular administration Developed in seven years, when Theo was the vice-consul and his right-hand man.The last time he had seen the young man—no, the Consul realized, he was no longer young now: duty had lined the youthful face—he had been furious at the Consul's refusal to take over the governorship .That happened just over a week ago.It seems like a lifetime away. "Theo, by the way," said the Consul, biting each word carefully, "thank you." The governor nodded, apparently lost in thought.He did not ask the consul what he had seen north of the mountain, or the fate of the other pilgrims.Below them, the Hawley River widens and winds its way toward the capital, Keats.Far behind, the low cliffs on either side of the river bank rose, their granite slabs glowing softly in the nightlight.The groves of everblue shimmered faintly in the breeze. "Theo, why did you have the time to come to me in person? The situation in Hyperion must be messed up." "Indeed," Theo said, letting the autopilot take over, and he turned to look at the Consul. "In a few hours...maybe minutes...the Ousters will begin their invasion." The Consul blinked. "Invasion? Do you mean landing?" "Exactly." "But the Overlord Fleet—" "Totally messed up. Before the Ring was invaded, they were completely overwhelmed by the Ousters." "Ring!" "The whole system is falling. Others are in crisis. The military department has ordered the fleet to withdraw from the military portal, but obviously the ships in the system cannot be easily evacuated. No one gave me these details, but it is obvious that, in addition to The military has established a defensive circle around the singularity ball and the portal, and the Ousters have unfettered control of all places." "What about the airport?" The Consul imagined his beautiful spaceship lying there, a gleaming pile of wreckage. "It hasn't been attacked yet, but the military department is evacuating the landing spacecraft and supply ships as soon as possible. They only left a dummy force of the navy there." "How is the evacuation going?" Theo laughed.The Consul had heard the young man laugh countless times, but this time it was the bitterest. "Evacuation, including only the people of the consulate and the overlord's master can pack everything on the last landing ship that goes out." "Have they given up on saving the people of Hyperion?" "Sir, they can't even save their own people. In the super-light message sent by the ambassador, I can hear a little sign that Yueshi has planned to let the threatened ring world fall in order to regroup the army. While Youqun increases the time debt, it takes a few years to build a defensive force." "My God," the Consul whispered.He'd spent most of his life working on behalf of the Overlord while secretly plotting its downfall, avenging his grandmother... for the way she had lived.But now, thinking that these things really happened... "Where's the Shrike?" he asked suddenly.A few kilometers ahead, Keats's low white building appeared.The setting sun touched the mountains and rivers, as if it was the last blessing before darkness. Theo shook his head. "There are still reports. But now the deportees are the main source of panic." "But isn't it on the Web? I mean the Shrike." The Governor cast a sharp look at the Consul. "On the Ring? How could it be on the Ring? They haven't built a teleporter on Hyperion yet. Nobody in Keats, Endymion, or Port Romance has seen it. Everyone in the big cities Haven't seen it." The Consul was silent, but he was thinking: My God, my betrayal was all for nothing.I sold my soul and opened the Time Tombs, and the Shrike wasn't the reason the Web fell... Ouster!They were smarter than us to begin with.My betrayal of the Overlord was part of their plan! "Listen," said Theo sternly, grabbing the consul's wrist, "there's a reason why I've dropped everything to find you. Pleasant Stone approves the release of your ship—" "Great!" said the Consul, "I can—" "Listen! You can't go back to the valley of the Time Tomb. Yueshi wants you to avoid the defense circle of the military headquarters and fly into the system to contact the wandering people." "You Qun? Why—" "The CEO wants you to negotiate with them. They know you. She's figured out how to let them know you're going there. She thinks they'll let you... they won't destroy your ship, but she doesn't take it Go to Youqun to confirm the information. This is very dangerous.” The Consul sat back in the leather chair.He felt as if he had been hit by a nerve stunner again. "Negotiation? What can I talk to them about?" "Yue Shi said that once you fly away from Hyperion, she will contact you through your spaceship's super-light device. All this must be done immediately. Just today. Before all the first wave of worlds fall into the hands of wandering groups." The Consul had heard of "the first wave of the world," but he didn't ask if his beloved Maui was among them.Maybe now, he thought, and it would be great if it was.He said, "No, I'll go back to the valley." Theo adjusted his glasses. "Sir, she won't allow it." "Oh?" the Consul laughed. "How is she going to stop me? Shoot down my spaceship?" "I don't know, but she said she wouldn't allow it," Theo sounded genuinely disturbed. "The Corps fleet does have guard and flare ships in orbit, sir. They're escorting the final landing craft." "Well," said the Consul, still smiling, "let them shoot me down. No manned spaceship has been able to land near the Valley of the Time Tombs for two centuries. Although the spaceships landed unharmed, their passengers I was hanging on the shrike's tree before they melted me down." The Consul closed his eyes momentarily, imagining the spaceship landing empty on the prairie above the valley.He thought of Thor, Duray, and the others—who had miraculously returned—running into the ship to seek refuge, using the ship's consulting room to revive Het Masteen and Braun Lamia, Sleep and sleep pods to save young Rachel. "My God," Theo murmured, pulling the Consul out of his reverie in a tone of shock. They were just above the city and had reached the last bend of the river.Cliffs towered here, reaching to the south and reaching their summits to the mountains that carved Billy the Sad King.The sun was about to set, igniting low clouds and tall buildings on the eastern cliffs. Over the city, the battle is in full swing.The laser cuts into the clouds and penetrates down, the spaceship dodges left and right like mosquitoes and flies, as if moths that got too close to the flames burned, and the small dots of the umbrella wings and the levitation field fluttered under the cloud tops.Keats was under fierce attack.The Ousters have come to Hyperion. "Damn it!" Theo whispered respectfully. On a jungle ridge northwest of the city, a small spout of flame and a flickering trail marked the discharge of a shoulder-fired rocket launcher heading straight for the Overlord skimmer. "Hold on!" Theo snapped.He re-engaged the manual controls, activated the switch, and yanked the skimmer to starboard, trying to steer within the small rocket's turning radius. The stern of the boat exploded, throwing the Consul into the safety net, momentarily blinding his eyes.When he regained his focus, the cabin was already full of smoke. In the darkness, the red warning lights kept beating, and the system failure warning sound of the skimmer eagerly echoed in his ears.Theo persevered on the omnicontroller. "Hold on!" he repeated, but it was unnecessary.The skimmers spun dizzyingly, steadied in midair, then lost their center of gravity as they rolled and skidded toward the burning city.