Chapter 47 The final chapter

Five and a half months later, Braun Lamia, seven months pregnant, boarded the morning airboat and began the journey from the north of the capital to the City of Poets.She's going there for the Consul's farewell party. The capital—now called Jacktown by the natives, visiting warships, and Ousters—looked white in the morning light.At this time, the airship flew away from the mooring tower in the urban area and headed northwest along the Hawley River. The largest city on Hyperion was devastated during the fighting, but has now largely been rebuilt, and most of the three million refugees from the fibroplastic plantations and smaller cities of the southern continent have decided to stay, Although lately there has been a sudden interest in fibrous plastics.So the city began to grow on its own, and some infrastructure, such as electricity, sewers, and cable holograms, just passed to the hilltop settlements between the airport and the old city.

But in the morning light, the buildings looked white, the spring air tinged with hope, the rough lines of the new road below, the noisy river traffic, and Braun thought it all portended a bright future. After the destruction of the Ring, the battle in Hyperion Space didn't last long.The Ousters' unilateral occupation of the airport and capital turned into an acknowledgment of the death of the Ring, and a settlement was brokered by the Consul and ex-Governor Theo Wren, and the Ousters would be co-administered with the new Home Rule Council here.But in the six months or so since the collapse of the ring network, the traffic at the airport was only the landing craft of the military fleet that remained in the system, as well as frequent wandering excursions from wandering groups.It's no surprise these days to see tall Ouster figures shopping in Jack's Town Square, or more outlandish guys drinking at Cicero.

For the past few short months, Braun has been staying at Cicero, staying in one of the larger rooms on the fourth floor of the old wing of the hotel, while Stan Leveski made the legendary house Destroyed parts were rebuilt and expanded. "For God's sake, I don't need a pot-bellied woman to help me!" Stan would yell every time Braun tried to step in, but she always managed to get something done, leaving Leveski to mutter garrulous.Although Braun was pregnant, she was still a Lutherian, and she hadn't completely weakened her arms after staying on Hyperion for just a few months.

That morning, Stan drove her to the mooring tower to carry her luggage and packages to the consul.Then the innkeeper handed her a small parcel of his own. "Your trip to the Badlands was a goddamn boring trip," he growled. "You've got to get something to read, don't you?" The gift was a reprint of the 1817 edition of John Keats's Poems, leather-bound by Leevsky himself. Braun pulled the bar owner and hugged him, much to the embarrassment of Leveski, the joy of the onlookers, and the crunching of his ribs by the end. "Enough, damn it," he muttered, rubbing his ribs, "send me a message to the consul that I want to see his skin before I pass this worthless hotel on to my son. Tell Him, okay?"

Braun nodded and joined the other passengers in waving to the well-wishers.She was still waving from the observation mezzanine as the airship let go of its ropes, poured out its sandbags, and lumbered across the roof. Now, as the spaceship left the suburbs behind and staggered west along the Hawley River, Braun could clearly see the hilltops to the south, where the face of Sad King Billy was still prostrate and brooding in the city. .Billy had a fresh ten-meter scar on his face, slowly fading with the wind and rain, from a laser-cut weapon during the battle. What caught Braun's attention, however, was a gigantic unfinished sculpture on the northwest side of the mountain range.Progress on the piece was rather slow, even with modern cutting gear borrowed from the military.The huge aquiline nose, thick eyebrows, wide mouth, and bright sad eyes, these organs are ready to come out.The remaining Hegemony refugees on Hyperion objected to the portrait of Meina Gladstone being carved on the mountain, but Lismay Cobb III, great-grandson of the sculptor who created the face of Sad King Billy - who, by the way, is now also The owner—— said a word, in a tone that sounded like a diplomat: "Fuck your mother's shit!", and then continued to carve.In another year, or two, the work will be finished.

Braun sighed and rubbed her growing belly—she'd always resented the affectation of pregnant women, but now found it hard not to.She lumbered over to a chair set up on the observation deck.If seven months is that big already, what does full term look like?Braun looked up at the top of her head. The huge air membrane of the airship showed an expanding curve, and she couldn't help shivering. If the wind is favorable, the airship journey will only take twenty hours.During the journey, Braun took short naps, but mostly she watched the sweeping familiar scenery below. At about ten o'clock in the morning, as they passed the Kara lock, Braun smiled and patted the package for the consul.In the afternoon, they were already approaching the inland port of Nayadh.Looking down from 3,000 feet, Braun saw an ancient passenger yacht sailing in the river, propelled upstream by manta rays, its tail forming a V-shaped wave.She wondered if that was the Benares.

When dinner time came in the Upper Lounge, they flew across the border.The setting sun lit up the prairie with Baise, and under the gentle wind that pushed the airship, countless green grass rolled up and rippled. At this time, they began to cross the sea of ​​grass.Holding the coffee mug, Braun went to her favorite chair on the mezzanine, opened the window wide, and looked out at the sea of ​​grass, which was like a billiard ball for the senses table.The light slowly dimmed.Just before the lantern on the mezzanine deck was lit, Braun was lucky enough to see a wind-powered transport vehicle, which was diligently heading from north to south, with the lantern swaying at the bow and stern.Braun leaned forward, and as the transport jolted and changed course, she could distinctly hear the rumble of the big wheels and the snap of the jib.

By the time Braun went on deck and put on his robe in the sleeping cabin, the bunk was already ready.But she didn't sleep, and after reading a few poems, she returned to the observation deck and waited until dawn, dozing in her favorite chair, breathing the fresh breath of the grass below. The airship stopped at Pilgrim's stop for a while, fresh food and water were obtained, the sandbags were reused, and the crew was changed, but Braun didn't go down for a walk.She saw working lights near the cable car station, and when the journey finally resumed, the airship seemed to be gliding up the cable towers all the way up to the Bridle Mountains.

When they crossed the mountains, it was still pitch black.One of the flight attendants came and closed the long windows as the car was pressurized, but Braun could still catch glimpses below, between the clouds, as the cable car moved from mountain to mountain, and the ice fields shone under the stars. They passed the Fortress of Time just after dawn, and the rocks of the castle were not warm even in the rosy light.Then the high desert appeared, the City of Poets glowing white in the distance to port, and the airship descended toward the mooring tower at the eastern end of the new airport there.

Braun didn't count on anyone being there to greet her.Everyone who knew her assumed she would arrive in the early afternoon in Theo Rain's skimmer.But Braun decided that an airship would be more appropriate, allowing her to be alone with her own thoughts.She is right. But before the mooring cable was taut, before the gangway was lowered, Braun caught sight of the consul's familiar face among the small group.Nearby stood Martin Silenus, frowning and squinting into the strange morning light. "Damn Stan," Braun muttered, remembering that the microwave link was working now, and the new comm satellite was in orbit.

The Consul greeted her with a hug.Martin Silenus yawned, shook her hand, and said, "Can't you come at a more inconvenient time?" There is a banquet tonight.It was even more lively than the Consul's farewell party the next morning-most of the remaining military fleets returned, and a considerable number of Ousters came with them.The Ousters came to the Tomb of Time for the last time, and the officers of the army stood in front of Kassad's tomb for the last time.As a result, we could see more than a dozen landing craft parked randomly on the small field, and the consul's spaceship was parked next to it. Today, the City of Poets has almost a thousand permanent residents, many of whom are artists and poets, though Silenus says most of them are poseurs.On two occasions, they tried to elect Martin Silenus as mayor, but he rejected both times and gave these self-proclaimed supporters a beating.But the old poet continued to run the business, directing restoration work, adjudicating disputes, allocating housing, and arranging supply flights from Jacktown and the southern cities.Now the City of Poets is no longer the City of the Dead. Martin Silenus says the collective IQ is much higher now than it was when the place was abandoned. The banquet was held in the renovated Dining Pavilion.Martin Silenus read bawdy poems, other artists performed skits, and the gigantic dome echoed with laughter.Beside the consul and Silenus was a round table where Braun sat with a dozen Ouster guests, including Freeman Zhenjia, Caldwell Minmeng, and Lisimei Cooper The third, he wears a quilted fur coat and a tall conical hat.Theo Lane, who was late and apologetic, shared a recent Jacktown joke with the audience before heading to the table to share dessert.Wren has recently been embraced by the people, who will become mayor of Jack Township in the upcoming April election session - and it seems that both the natives and the deportees like his style of doing things.So far, Theo has not shown any signs of rejection. It seems that when the yellow robe is added, he will not refuse. After several glasses of wine, the Consul quietly invited some of the guests to his spaceship to listen to music and drink more wine.They all went, Braun, Martin, and Theo.A group of people sat high on the observatory of the spaceship, and the consul played Gershwin, Studley, Brahms, Luthor, Beatles with a serious face and full of emotion, and then It was Gershwin again, and the last piece was Rachmaninoff's thrillingly beautiful piece-"Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor". They sat in the dim light, looking out over the city and the valley, and drank wine into the night. "What do you expect from the Ring?" Theo asked the Consul. "Political unrest? Mob rule? Regression to life in the Stone Age?" "Probably all of these and more," laughed the Consul.He swirled the brandy in his glass, "Really, there were enough streams sent out before the hyperlight stopped, and through them, we know that despite our practical difficulties, most of the Ring Network's The old world is safe." Theo Lane sat there, savoring the glass of wine he brought from the dining hall. "Why do you think Chaoguang stopped?" Martin Silenus scoffed. "God is tired of our scribbling on the walls of his outhouse." They talked about old friends and wondered what Father Durey was doing now.Through the intercepted last ultra-light information, they have already learned of his new position.They miss Rainer Hoyt. "Do you think he will automatically become pope after Duray dies?" asked the consul. "I doubt it," Theo said, "but if that other crucifix on Dure's chest works, at least he has a chance of being alive again." "I wonder if he's coming for his balalaika," Silenas said, plucking at the strings.In the dim light, Braun thought, the aged poet still looked like a sensual emperor. They talked about Saul and Rachel.Of the hundreds of people who have attempted to enter the Sphinx over the past six months, only one has succeeded—a gentle Ouster named Mijensbe Amonyet. Ouster experts have spent months analyzing the Time Tombs and the remaining tidal traces of time.Strange to say, after the Time Tombs were opened, hieroglyphs and familiar cuneiform appeared on some of the buildings.These have led to educated speculation about the functions of the various Time Tombs. The Sphinx is a one-way portal to the future that Rachel (Moneta) talked about.No one knows how it picks who gets in, but for tourists, their favorite thing to do is trying to get in.No one found a sign or trace of Thor and his daughter's fate.Braun found himself thinking often of older scholars. Braun, Consul, Martin Silenus toast Saul and Rachel. The Emerald Tomb seems to be related to some giant gas planet.No one could walk through its unique entrance, but the strange Ousters, the ones who were designed to live in the conditions of Jupiter, came here every day, wanting to go in.Whether it is the Destroyer or the experts of the military department, it has been repeatedly pointed out that the Time Tomb is not a teleporter, but a completely other way of connecting the universe.But tourists don't care. The Obelisk remains a dark mystery.The tomb still shines, but it has no entrance now.The Ousters guessed that the Shrike was still waiting inside.Martin Silenus felt that the obelisk was just a phallic symbol thrown into the valley stage as a remorse.Others feel it may have something to do with the saint. Braun, Consul, and Martin Silenus toast Het Masteen, the loyal voice of the Giant Tree. The resealed Crystal Monolith is the tomb of Colonel Feldman Kassad.Symbols on the rock have been deciphered, and they are told of cosmic warfare, of a warrior from the past who helped defeat the Lord of Mourning.Young rookies aboard flare ships and attack carriers are addicted to it.As these many ships return to the old world, the legend of Kassad will be passed on by word of mouth. Braun, Consul, Martin Silinas toast Fedman Kassad. The first and second catacombs seemed to lead nowhere, but the third seemed to lead into a labyrinth on several worlds.After several of the researchers disappeared, Ouster researchers reminded visitors that the maze was in a different time—possibly hundreds of thousands of years in the past or in the future—and certainly in another dimension.They sealed the mound and opened it only to qualified experts. Braun, Consul, Martin Silenas toast Paul Dooley and Rainer Hoyt. The Shrike remains a mystery.A few hours later, Braun and the others returned, but the rows of bodies were gone, and the interior of the mound was as large as before, but now a portal of light glowed in the center.Everyone who went in disappeared, and no one came back. Researchers have declared it off-limits as they work to decipher the inscriptions on the rock, which have been severely eroded by time.So far, they've identified three words—all Latin for Old Earth—that translate to "colosseum," "Rome," and "re-inhabit."Tales have been told that this gate leads to the lost Old Land, to which the victims of the Thorn Tree have been teleported.Countless people are waiting. "Look," Martin Silenus said to Braun, "if you hadn't gotten the fuck out of me so soon, I'd probably be home already." Theo Lane leaned forward. "Do you really want to go back to the old place?" Martin Silenus smiled, the sweetest smile ever. "I don't want to be in a million fucking years. When I lived there, it was so boring. It never was. This is where it happens." Selinas Made myself a toast. In a sense, Braun realized, this was true.Hyperion is where the Ousters and the citizens of the former Overlord meet.As the human universe adapts to life without teleporters, Time Tombs mean future trading, sightseeing and travel.She tried to imagine a future in the eyes of the Ousters, with huge fleets opening up human horizons, and genetically tailored humans colonizing giant gas planets, asteroids, and worlds even more inhospitable than pre-terraformed Mars and Hebron.But she could not imagine these sights.That's the universe her children...or her grandchildren will see. "What are you thinking, Braun?" the Consul broke the silence. Braun smiled. "I'm thinking about the future," she said, "and Jonny." "Ah, yes," said Silenus, "the poet who might have been God, but never did." "What do you think of this second personality?" Braun asked. The consul gestured. "I don't think it survived the death of the core. What do you think?" Braun shook his head. "I'm a little jealous. Seems like a lot of people have seen him. Even Merio Alondez said he saw him in Jacktown." They drank to Merio.Five months ago, the archaeologists had returned in the first military orbiter to return in the direction of the ring. "Everybody's seen him, except me," Braun said, frowning at her brandy, realizing she'd have to take some prenatal hangover pills before bed.She found herself a little tipsy, but if she took the medicine, the thing wouldn't hurt the baby.By then, however, it was evident that it had already had an effect on her. "I'm going back," she said, stood up, and hugged the consul. "I'll get up early tomorrow morning to see you off on your sunrise flight." "You really don't want to spend the night on the ship?" the Consul asked. "The cabin has a nice view of the valley." Braun shook his head. "All my things are in the old palace." "I'll talk to you before I go," the Consul said, hugging her again, and Braun walked away without anyone noticing her tears. Martin Silenus escorts Braun back to the City of Poets.They stopped in the brightly lit wind and rain commercial street corridor outside the apartment. "Are you really in the tree, or is that just a stimulus simulation—you're just sleeping in the Shrike Temple?" Braun asked him. The poet did not laugh.He touched his chest, where the steel thorn had pierced him. "Am I a Chinese philosopher, dreaming that I am a butterfly? Or a butterfly, dreaming that I am a Chinese philosopher? Are you asking me that question, child?" "right." "That's right," Silenas said softly, "Yes. Both. Both are true. Both pain me. I will always love and miss you because you saved Me, Braun. To me, you'll always have the air of air." He held up her hand and kissed it. "Go in?" "No, I want to take a walk in the garden." The poet hesitated. "Okay. We've got patrols now, I guess—both mechanics and people, and our Grendel-Shrike hasn't even put on a show yet...but watch out, okay?" "Don't forget," Braun said, "I'm Grendel's nemesis. I can walk on air, turn them into glass goblins, and smash them to pieces." "Understood, but don't go too far. Will you, my boy?" "Okay," Braun said, rubbing her belly, "we'll be careful." He was waiting in the garden, where the lights didn't shine and the monitors didn't catch it. "Johnny!" panted Braun as she galloped forward, onto the rocky path. "I'm not," he said, shaking his head, looking a little sad.He looks a lot like Johnny.Exactly the same auburn hair, hazel eyes, straight chin, high cheekbones, gentle smile.He was dressed in a strange, thick leather jacket, with wide belts, heavy shoes, a walking stick, and a rough fur hat.As Braun approached, he took off the hat. Braun stopped less than a meter away. "Of course." The voice was almost a whisper.She reached out to touch him, but her hand passed through his body, although that body was completely free of the quivering and blurring of the hologram. "This place still has a very strong metanet," he said. "Aha," she agreed, not quite understanding what he was saying. "You're another Keats. Johnny's twin." The short man smiled and reached out, as if wanting to touch Braun's protruding belly. "Braun, am I going to be an uncle?" She nodded. "You saved the kid... saved Rachel... didn't you?" "Did you see me?" "No," Braun whispered, "but I feel you there." She hesitated for a moment, "But you're not the one Cloud Gate is talking about—the empathic part of the ultimate human intelligence, are you? " Keats shook his head.His curls shimmered in the dim light. "I found myself the one who came before. I paved the way for the one who preached, but I'm afraid the only miracle I did was hold the baby and wait for someone to take her from me." "You didn't help me...with the Shrike? Help me float?" John Keats laughed. "No. That wasn't Moneta either. It was you, Braun." She shook her head violently. "impossible." "Not impossible," said Keats softly.He reached out again, trying to touch Braun's belly, and she imagined she could feel the strength of Keats's palm.He whispered: "" He looked up at Braun, "I think the mother of the missionary must be able to use some privileges," he said. "The missionary's..." Braun suddenly couldn't stand, and quickly found a bench.She had never been clumsy in her life, but now, seven months pregnant, it was impossible to sit down and think about elegance.Inappropriately, her thoughts raced to the scene of the airship coming to anchor that morning. "...Mother," Keats repeated, "I don't know what that man will preach, but what she will preach will change the universe and set in motion ideas that will, for the next ten thousand years, become extremely important.” "My child?" she opened her mouth, a little out of breath. "Me and Johnny's child?" The Keats personality rubbed his face. "The combination of human spirit and artificial intelligence logic, which Cloud Gate and the kernel have been searching for for a long time, and never figured out," he said, taking a step forward. "When the man preached, I Wish I was alive. Wish I could have seen the impact it had on this world. This world, and other worlds." Braun's mind was racing, but she heard something in his tone. "Why? Where are you going? What happened?" Keats sighed. "The core is gone. The datanet here is too small to even accommodate my simplified form... except for the military's ship AI. But I guess, I don't like being there. I've never been very good at completing orders .” "Is there no other place?" Braun asked. "Supernet," he said, glancing behind him, "but it's full of lions, tigers, and bears. I'm not ready yet." Braun never mind it. "I have an idea," she said, and told him. The beloved image came close, wrapped her arms around her, and said, "Ma'am, you are a miracle." He stepped back into the shadows. Braun shook his head. "I'm just a pregnant woman." She reached into her robe and felt her round belly, "the preacher," she murmured, and then to Keats, "well, you're the archangel who announces it all. So what should I name her?" When there was no response, Braun looked up. There is nothing in the shadows. Before sunrise, Braun came to the airport.The group who saw us off were not very happy.Aside from the usual sadness of saying goodbye, Martin, Consul, and Theo were coping with their own hangovers, because the next day's pills were out of stock on post-Ring Hyperion.Only Braun was in a rather cheerful mood. "The damn ship's computer has been acting weird all morning," the Consul complained. "What's wrong?" Braun laughed. The Consul squinted at her. "I told it to do a preflight check, and this stupid spaceship actually read me a poem." "Poetry?" said Martin Silenus, raising a dizzy eyebrow. "Right...listen..." The Consul clicked on the comlog. Braun's familiar voice came: Farewell, three ghosts!you can't take me Resting on the head of the shady flower fields; I don't want people to feed me praise, Be pampered like a sheep in a romantic drama! Get out of my sight, become again In the dream, the overlapping shadows like masked people on the stone urn; Goodbye!In the night I have visions, By day I still have visions, though faint; Gone, ghosts!Leave my idle mind, Fly into the clouds and never come back, forever! Theo Lane said, "Glitchy AI? I thought your ship had the best intelligence out of the core." "Best indeed," said the Consul, "it didn't malfunction. I gave it a full cognitive and functional check. Everything was fine. But it gave me... this!" He pointed Read data for comlog records. Martin Silenus stared at Braun Lamia, who scrutinized her smile before turning to face the consul. "Ah, it looks like your ship has become a learned man. Don't worry. It will make a good traveling companion during your long journey out and back." In the ensuing silence, Braun brought out a huge package. "A parting gift," she said. The Consul unwrapped it, slowly at first, then ripped, and the folded, faded, abused rug came into view.He stroked it with both hands, raised his head, his voice was full of excitement, "Where are you...how are you..." Braun smiled. "A native refugee found it under the Kara locks. She was trying to sell it in the Jacktown market, and I happened to be passing by. No one wanted to buy it." The consul took a deep breath and stroked the device on Huo Ying's flying carpet. It was it that made his grandfather Mei Run meet the destined woman Xili. "I'm afraid we won't be able to fly again," Braun said. "The flight control cable needs to be recharged," the Consul said. "I don't know how to thank you..." "You're welcome," Braun said, "I'm giving you this for good luck on your journey." The consul shook his head, gave Braun a hug, shook hands with the others, and took the elevator up to the spaceship.Braun and the others walked back to the terminal. There was not a single cloud in Hyperion's blue sky.The sun casts deep hues on the far peaks of the Bridle Range and lends warm hope to the coming day. Braun glanced back at the City of Poets and the valley ahead.She happened to be able to see the tops of the taller Tombs of Time.One of the Sphinx's wings catches daylight. Suddenly there was a faint sound, and there was a slight trace of heat, and the jet-black spaceship of the Consul took off with pure blue flames and rose to the sky. Braun thought back to the verse she had just read, to the last paragraphs of her lover's longest and best unfinished work: Immediately swept by the radiant Hyperion, The flame robe poured out from the heel, Let out a howl, like the fire of the earth, To scare away the pliable, shapeless goddess of Time, Let their dove wings tremble.He flies on fire... Braun felt the warm wind tugging at his hair.She raised her face, looked towards the sky, and waved.She didn't try to hide or wipe away her tears, but swung them harder, and the wonderful ship dragged its fierce blue flames, tilted its hull and climbed skyward, and let out a sudden sonic boom - like a distant shout - Tearing the desert in two, the sound echoed among the distant peaks. Braun burst into tears as she continued to wave her arms at the departed consul, at the sky, at friends never to be seen again, at parts of her own past, at the wonderful black arrow that rose up like God's bow, Without a break. He flies on fire...

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