Chapter 14 Chapter 12 Setbacks

He'd almost forgotten that conversation with the NASA psychologist until now... "This mission will leave the earth for at least three years. If you want, I can give you a 'suppression implant', which can last until the end of the mission. I promise, when you return, we will double the compensation." "No, thanks." Poole tried to keep his face serious. "I think I can handle it." Then again, after three or four weeks, he was a little suspicious, and so was David Bowman. "I noticed that too," said David. "I bet those damn doctors put something in our meals."

No matter what was put in, even if it was there, it would have passed the expiration date long ago.Before that, Poole was too busy to have any emotional involvement, and declined the offers of several young (and not-so-young) ladies.He also couldn't figure out whether it was his appearance or his fame that attracted them. Maybe they were just simply curious about a man who might be his ancestor twenty or thirty generations ago. To Poole's delight, Ms. McAore's "identity" showed that there was a vacancy in her love life at the moment, and Poole contacted her immediately.In less than 24 hours, he was already sitting on the dragon's back, with his arms comfortably around her waist.He also knows why he wears flying goggles!Because the flying dragon is fully mechanized, it can easily reach a speed of 100 kilometers per hour.Poole doubts that a real dragon could fly at that speed.

He was not surprised that the ever-changing scenery below was copied directly from the story.When they caught up with Ali Baba's flying carpet, Ali Baba waved his hands angrily and shouted, "You don't have eyes!" But he must be far away from Baghdad, because the minarets they were flying around, only May appear in Oxford. Aurora pointed to the bottom to explain, confirming his guess. "That's the tavern, where Lewis and Tolkien used to meet up with their friends. And look at the river—there's a boat coming out from under the bridge—see the two little girls and the priest in the boat?"

"I see." Poole yelled back against the vortex driven by the flying dragon, "I think one of them should be Alice." Aurora smiled back at him, seemingly genuinely pleased. "Quite right. She was made from a picture of the priest. It's a very realistic replica. I'm afraid you don't know, since your time, many people have stopped reading books." Poole felt a pang of satisfaction.Believe I've passed another test, he told himself triumphantly.Riding a flying dragon must be the first item, how many more are there?Want to fight with a big knife? But that's the end of the quiz, the answer to the age-old question, "Your home or mine?" is - Poole's.

The next morning, a shocked and humiliated Poole contacted Anderson. "Everything was going well," Poole said ruefully, "but she got hysterical all of a sudden and pushed me away. I'm afraid I've hurt her somehow— "Then she turned on the room lights - we were in the dark - and jumped out of bed. I guess I stared at her like a fool..." He wryly smiled. "Of course she deserves to be stared at." "I think so, go on." "After a few minutes, she relaxed and said something I'll never forget." Anderson waited patiently for Poole to recover.

"She said: 'I'm really, really sorry, Frank. We could have had a good time. But I didn't know you were—cut.'" The professor looked puzzled, but the look was fleeting. "Ah - I see. I'm sorry too, Frank, maybe I should have warned you first. I've been practicing medicine for 30 years and I've only seen half a dozen cases - all with valid medical reasons, with the exception of you... … "In primitive times, circumcision had its justification, even in your own century. In backward countries with poor sanitation, it was used to combat certain nasty, even deadly diseases; but otherwise, there was no Reason. There are some counterarguments, as you have discovered by now!

"After I checked your body for the first time, I went to check the records and found that there were many medical lawsuits in the mid-21st century, so that the 'American Medical Association' had to ban circumcision. At that time, there were still people arguing about this issue. I I'm sure it will be very interesting." "Probably so," Poole replied wistfully. "It went on for a century in some countries: then some unknown genius invented the catchphrase 'Body and skin, by God, circumcision is blasphemy.' That more or less put an end to it. But if you need , I can arrange a transplant for you, of course it will not be recorded in your medical record."

"I don't think it's helpful, I'm afraid I'll laugh every time in the future." "That's my purpose! You see, you can get over it." To Poole's surprise, he found that Anderson was right, and he found himself laughing. "How, Frank?" "I had hoped that Aurora's 'Rebirth Association' would increase my chances of success. I was so lucky that it turned out to be a reborn animal that she didn't appreciate."