Chapter 3 crystal

When Jier came to find Luo Ying, she was a little absent-minded.The moment Jill entered the door, she quietly stuffed Reni's manuscript she was reading under the quilt, and nonchalantly picked up a painting album beside the bed.She didn't want to talk to Jill about her quest, not because she had something to hide, but because she didn't know how to explain it. As the sun rose, Jill looked lively and happy as usual. "How have you been these two days?" Jill spoke in a cadence. "It's okay." Luo Ying replied casually. "Already able to walk?" "It can take a few steps."

Luo Ying could see a slight disappointment on Jier's face.In fact, she doesn't have to stay for so long. Renee said that her toe bone has healed well, and she can go home to recuperate.But she just doesn't want to leave, she still wants to ask Rui Ni a lot of things, and she is nostalgic for the feeling of reading an old book facing the sunset on the roof of the hospital.Such a quiet and peaceful time may not come back home again. She stays here, as if she is far away from the hustle and bustle. Jill couldn't hold back her words. "Did you know that the creative contest is about to start! The preliminary round will be next week. We have already formed a team. I thought you could be discharged from the hospital, but I signed you up for our team. Daniel, Pierre and I .”

These few words reminded Luo Ying, she thought of the conversation with Rui Ni a few days ago, and couldn't help being confused for a while, a series of end-to-end fragments flooded into her mind, like a flood silting up a pass. "What's the matter?" Ji'er was a little surprised when she saw her in a daze, "Creative contest. Have you forgotten?" "Ah, no." She shook her head hastily, "How could I forget?" Jill then began to narrate with great interest.She sat and listened quietly, absent-minded. "...We have just decided on the name of the group. After that, we will gather and discuss in the transfer square every afternoon. Each group has designed a flag to hang out. Our group's flag was designed by Lily...I thought...but, Daniel said ... After a few days, your feet will feel better, so come and discuss with us. We can have snacks while discussing."

Jill spoke enthusiastically, her voice floating in the air, seeming very far away.Luo Ying didn't want to participate, she couldn't help but think of the saying she saw on the earth: the totalitarian system uses education to consolidate its rule.But all this could not be explained to Jill. Luo Ying sighed.Jill's fresh face made her feel complicated.Jill was sitting on the windowsill, telling with great interest the various details of their preparations.Luo Ying looked at the window.The sunlight outside the window was just right, and Jill became a dark silhouette against the light, which appeared clear in the bright window.Her arms propped up on the window sill were round, strands of fluffy hair fluttered, and the bright white sun shone from behind her.Luo Ying suddenly felt very tired, and the memory of the earth seemed to have become an unforgettable habit. She doubted everything, was nervous, restless and couldn't get rid of it.

She shook her head slightly and asked Jill, "What are you going to compete in?" "Make another dress!" "what clothes?" "It's still clothes made of Pierre's new material! One of the materials he studied can produce a photoelectric effect, which is similar to our roof. I plan to use it to make a clothes that can generate electricity. Daniel understands microcircuits and can turn The wires are embedded in the seam of the clothes to draw the current out. I will draw the design! Although this material is not as soft as the one made for you last time, it can be made into something similar to armor, and it is majestic and majestic."

Luo Ying nodded: "It sounds good." "It's very good! Daniel and I have already drawn up the design drawings. If Pierre hadn't been in the hospital these days, the experiment would have started a long time ago." "What happened to Pierre?" "His grandfather is sick, and he has to be watched in the hospital." Luo Ying asked tightly in her heart: "Really?" "Well," Jier tilted her head, "Speaking of which, I should go and see. His grandfather is also in this hospital." As she spoke, she jumped off the ground, patted Luo Ying's arm, and was about to walk to the door in a hurry.As soon as he walked to the door, he remembered something again, and suddenly turned around, his eyes flickering.

"By the way, I almost forgot to mention that there is a big party this weekend, so come too!" "What party?" "It's the gathering of all our teams! It's for the preliminary round!" "Don't you guys get together every day?" "Of course it's different. This time it's a picnic, and we'll dance in the auditorium after eating." "Then I won't be able to go." Luo Ying shook her head, "Have fun." Luo Ying knew what kind of party Jier was talking about, but she didn't want to go.They have been together every day since they were young, going to class and playing together, pretending to be soldiers together, going to the studio together, and holding big parties together in every festival.At the party, they will continue the unfinished game last time, make fun of each other's past, be sensitive to the difference in the way someone dances with someone and make a big fuss about it, and make an appointment for the next party arrange.

It's not that she doesn't like this kind of gathering, it's just that she still remembers another kind of gathering, a gathering of complete strangers.At that time, the night sky was lit with lightning, the tarmac surrounded the dance hall, and the small planes temporarily parked were like a flock of birds resting. Weary men and women shuttled among each other, drinking wine with charming smiles, hugging without asking their names, turning around and going their separate ways.Every new face, every introduction, every self-serving shaking of the head.Scattered souls meet temporarily.Since then no return.The long and deep corridors are full of sundries from various countries, such as Sri Lankan mirrors, Thai pipes, German walking sticks, and Mexican scimitars.Wandering loneliness.

※※※ Rui Ni closed the screen and walked slowly towards Hans' house.He didn't take the car, and thought slowly while walking.The video just closed is still in his mind, mixed with some of his original thoughts, and some questions are about to come out. The video was shown by Hans to Rennie, hoping that he could give him some advice after watching it.The picture in the video is a virtual composite animation, the water flow is the water flow of the earth, and the rocks are the rocks of Mars.Rainey felt that he could understand what Hans meant by showing him the videos.Although Hans didn't say it explicitly, the meaning was obvious.

Reni was thinking about what to say when he saw Hans while walking, and the path spread under his feet like thoughts. Rui Ni knew that Hans was a nostalgic person.He knows a little about his past, and knows that he is the kind of person who can remember a wish he made when he was young or an ideal of a good friend for a lifetime.Reni didn't see many people like this, and each of them left a deep impression on him.They are often as silent as iron, but also as hard and persistent as iron.Hans is the only one among his peers who still insists on working. Others died, got sick, and could stand upright and dignifiedly listen to the opinions of all parties. Except for Hans, there is no one else There is no second one.It was something in his heart that supported him for so many years.

Among Hans' best friends, Galman was the only one who fought by his side for many years.They came out of the wartime flying team together, and they have been together since the first day of the post-war reconstruction.In those years, Ronning ran around, Garcia stayed on the ship all the year round, only Galman stayed by Hans's side for forty years like a roaring lion.If Hans is Diocletian, then Galeman is Maximian, but this Augustus has no intention of secretly splitting with the governor, let alone cultivated Caesar, but has been with Han for decades. Si fought side by side on different sides of the city, fighting against the wind and sand on the battlefield without gunpowder.Without each other's support, none of them would be able to get to where they are today. Hans and his contemporaries are the bearers of the entire kingdom construction of Mars.Their thirties were accompanied by the birth of Mars, a baby that grew inch by inch for the next forty years.Galaman is full of technical architects and designers of urban structures.At the age of 22, he gave the first design drawing of a glass house, which later became the core construction principle of Martian houses and the basic blueprint of urban infrastructure.Their cities built, constructed, and expanded on this basis, and around the unchanging technical core, infinitely changing forms of art and magnificent and rich detail modifications were derived.This is a city where ideas were born. Galman drew a crystal hanging garden in his mind, leading the people in the valley to finally walk out of the night of war. Of all Hans's beliefs, Galeman and his city plan was one of the most important.Hans participated in most of the construction work, from collecting resources as an ordinary pilot when he was young, to signing one perfect plan after another as the governor in his old age, his dedication to this city was no less than that of Galle Full of himself, he fought for it and others, defending its integrity with his life. Rui Ni knew that it was more difficult than anything else for Hans to make the decision to abandon the current city, especially at this juncture, when his two-term Governor's career came to an end and he was about to retire peacefully. Decisions are definitely a dilemma. When Rainey walked into Hans' study, Hans had just turned off a video of Calman.Rainey saw the last clip of the video.That was a video from forty years ago. It was the age when Calman had a violent temper. The irrepressible enthusiasm was about to come out on the smooth wall through the young face, and it was burning in the air of the old man's large study in the evening. The sun is setting outside the window, and the back of the window is lonely. Rini stood for a moment, then coughed lightly.Hans turned around, saw Rui Ni, and nodded silently.Rennie sat down at the table, Hans poured him a cup of tea, and pressed a few times on the wall.After a while, a jug of wine and two small dishes slowly came up from the transmission channel. Hans opened the small door, brought them out, and put them on the small square table by the window. "I watched those videos," Rainey said. Hans poured the wine for Reni and listened attentively, but did not speak. "I also read their simulation plan." "What do you think?" "I think the difficulty lies in two points, one is the gas, and the other is the water temperature." Hans nodded, waiting for Rainey to continue.Rui Ni pondered silently for a while, considering the way of expression in his heart.Hans' eyes seemed calm and steady, but Renee could see that there was a look of anticipation in it, like when he was waiting for the doctor to go out at the door of the operating room.Obviously, he had hopes in his heart. "The gas problem is the hardest," Rainey said. "Keeping the gas in an open environment is 10,000 times harder than in a closed environment." "Is the air pressure too low?" "Yes. But this is not the most important thing. The most important thing is the gas ratio. A human is a water polo that maintains air pressure balance with its surroundings. If the surrounding gas changes, the human body will immediately change. The ratio of oxygen should not be too low, otherwise There will be abnormalities in the brain; the other gas must be inert, otherwise it will disturb the body's reaction, and the element must be common, so it must be nitrogen; carbon dioxide cannot be too much, otherwise it will cause suffocation; the water vapor content cannot change too much, because the human body Sensitive to humidity. In short, the Earth's atmosphere must be nearly replicated, which is not an easy task at such a low escape velocity." As Renee spoke, he seemed to see countless thin threads protruding from his body, tightly connected with the air, like a plant leaving the ground, with roots full of soil.He has always kept his distance from the fantastic fantasies that throw human beings to every corner of the universe, and he is not easily moved by their passion.He does not regard man as an independent form like a sculpture, but as a layer of membrane plus gas on both sides.Human beings cannot survive in any environment. Without the environment, human beings will lose even their own definition, just like a jellyfish, which has no shape without water. Hans' expression was slightly relaxed, and it could be seen that this answer made him feel stable and willing to accept it. He nodded without commenting, and instead asked, "What about the water temperature?" "I'm afraid this is equally difficult," Rainey said. "If you can't maintain the flow of water and form a real atmospheric circulation, then a so-called open ecological environment is meaningless. No matter how you choose the location, the subzero temperature at night on Mars is very difficult. It is undeniable that the river is bound to freeze, and there is no time to thaw it even during the day. If it is heated artificially, it is conceivable that the energy consumption will be huge, and the final result will not be better than the current city.” "In other words, the possibility of success of the open plan is low?" "I can't say it's impossible, I can only say it's very difficult." "I see." "Of course," Rainey added, "this is just my rough estimate, and I haven't calculated it reliably." "It's okay." Hans said slowly, "I just want to know. The final result is not up to me." Rini hesitated for a moment and asked, "What stage is it now?" "It is still in the process of project approval, submitting technical detail assessment and reliability analysis. It has not yet been reviewed by the council." "Is this a parliamentary referendum or a referendum by the people?" "Not yet decided." "Which do you prefer?" "It hasn't been decided yet," Hans said. He paused for a moment before adding, "I must be careful with this decision. I'm afraid this is the only thing I can do." Rui Ni was slightly touched by the faint and deep bitterness in Hans' words, and after a while he nodded and said, "I understand." Renee understood what Hans meant.Hans wished to stay in the city, but he had few opportunities to carry out this wish. Hans is no longer a soldier, he is a governor.A soldier can make decisions and shout for the ideal of a good friend, but a governor cannot.The Governor does not have the power to implement personal decisions. His role is like that of a court justice, presiding over the fair order of policy discussions and judging when and how the discussions should continue. However, he cannot determine the outcome of the discussions on his own.He wants to understand the basic technical principles, just like a judge wants to understand a case. These days, the debate over the program is getting more and more heated.Ever since Ceres began orbiting overhead, planning for future cities has been on the agenda.At first, it was only a conceptual design, but since the negotiations with the earth have progressed step by step, the concept has been gradually transformed into a detailed planning report.According to the practice of Mars deliberations, all proposals must first publish the research results and reliability demonstrations on the proposal interface of the database, then go through free debate, and finally get the results through the House of Representatives or referendum. The two most competitive plans are the relocation plan and the residency plan. The former advocates moving into the valley to create an open ecological environment, while the latter advocates staying in the current crystal box and reducing the heavenly water of Ceres to a river that surrounds the city.Both proposals have their merits and their difficulties, they are evenly matched, and they are equally supported, and it is Hans' job to preside over the debate. method to be changed. "Actually," Hans' voice suddenly became lower, "I came here to ask you something." "You tell me." "I would like to ask you to listen to everyone's opinions when you are free." Hans said cautiously, "Knowing people's tendencies should be helpful in making a decision." "OK." "Just don't be too deliberate." Hans hesitated, "You know, it shouldn't be like this." "I understand," Rainey said, "Don't worry." Hans nodded and said nothing more.Rini could see that Hans was very embarrassed.Within him two tendencies were fighting fiercely.One is the personal desire to protect the hard work of close friends from being turned into waste in their later years, and the other is the system desire to protect procedural justice from private influence.He values ​​both, and neither is willing to compromise easily. Hans has the power to decide how the final vote will be cast, so he can choose what is best for Kaleman and Crystal City.Theoretically speaking, which kind of vote to choose depends on the nature of the event itself, and should not be determined by the tendency of the result. However, ordinary people can see that the council composed of elite elders and the overall opinions of all citizens often have different perspectives. If the Governor If you can see this clearly, you can choose the method according to your desired tendency within the framework allowed by law.Such choices are subtle and often directly affect the final decision.Hans had always looked down on such methods before, but this time, he finally bowed his head and wanted to use it.Rainey was a little sad.He knows how much Hans has always cared about procedural justice. Mars democracy is planning democracy, and the innocence of planning has always been the core essence of keeping the city running. Rennie felt that Hans' biggest embarrassment was that he had to make decisions he didn't want to make all his life. He looked at the old man opposite.Hans was pouring himself a drink in silence. His slightly curly brown hair was combed back neatly, his beard was thick but graying, and there were drooping skin lines at the corners of his mouth.His appearance hasn't changed much in the past twenty years, but if you look closely, you can see that his skin is aging every day, and there are more and more wrinkles under the eyes and on his neck.When the time wants to prove itself, the body made of iron can't stop it. "Actually," Reni said as much as possible to make himself look relaxed, "you may not be too demanding on yourself, just let it be. Even if the result is not satisfactory, the chief of Kaleman will not blame you." Hans raised his head and looked out the window, looking into the distance, as if he was looking at a period of time in the past, and also seemed to be looking at some kind of pessimistic future.The setting sun shone on his face, making the wrinkles appear bright and shadowy.He was silent for a while before speaking, his voice was slow, with a hint of tiredness. "I have regretted too many things in my life." He said in a low voice, "I'm afraid it will be the same this time." "There's nothing you can do about it," Rainey said. "I sent away almost all my relatives and friends." Hans suddenly turned his head and looked at Reni, "All of them." Rainey was speechless.The old man's eyes were fixed, and there was a deep sadness in his dark brown eyes that was not easy to reveal, like the deep sea, only the surface was calm.What he meant, Rainey could hear quite clearly, but he didn't know how to respond. "Perhaps you would have liked to have retired earlier." "You used to persuade me that way before." Hans said, "You may have wondered a long time ago, what's so good about this position, since it doesn't meet your wishes, why don't you want to retire early. I also know that I should retire early. It's good to be down, maybe I shouldn't be re-elected five years ago, but I just can't let go." When Hans said this, his voice suddenly fluctuated a little, as if driven by a sudden surge of emotion, almost Sad, "I can't let go." Can you understand, he looked at Rainey with such eyes. Rini also watched Hans, watching the late old man wrestle with himself.He sighed and nodded.The setting sun shone quietly in the distance.The old man's frown and the lines of his face were stiff in the setting sun.Hans still controlled himself and didn't appear emotional, but an almost tragic helplessness escaped from his body unstoppably. After a while, the air gradually softened. Hans put down his wine glass, slowly poured out half a cup of cold tea from the teapot, and returned to his usual calmness.Emotions cooled down like tea, Hans put his hands on his forehead, and gradually returned to the usual topics. He began to talk about the reform of the database system discussion form, the research report submitted by the land system some time ago, and the mountain shape of the Seys crater. Terrain and Prospect Design.Rainey listened quietly, occasionally interjecting a sentence or two of brief inquiry and analysis. In the end, Rui Ni told Hans that Luo Ying seemed to be very interested in historical events.He didn't say she wanted to go to the archives, only that she wanted to know the family history. "What did she ask?" "Ask about past lives," Rainey said. "About the cause of the war." "Then what do you say?" "I didn't say much, but I promised to show her related books." Hans nodded and said in a low voice: "You can figure it out. If she wants to know, she should tell her. This child grows up, and one day he will want to know about the past." Renee nodded in agreement.He knew that Hans was more worried about Luo Ying than Lu Di.They exchanged a few more words, and he got up to say goodbye to Hans.Hans walked him to the door, patted his upper arm, and watched him leave.Renee walked to the corner of the stairs and looked back. Hans' figure returned to his usual solemnity.The momentary emotion had disappeared from his face, and the old man was still as solemn and stable as ever.