Chapter 28 Chapter 26 Qian's Village

At the last moment, when he came to the coast peacefully at 100 kilometers an hour, Poole wondered if he would fall short.But even as he flew along the dark, steep surface of the Great Wall, he had no trouble. The name for the tablet of Europa couldn't be more appropriate.Because, unlike its own little brethren on Earth and the Moon, Big Brother stands horizontally and is more than 20 kilometers long.Although its actual size is billions of times larger than TMA0 and TMA1, the ratio is exactly the same—the 1:4:9 that has inspired many discussions of the mysterious relationship between numbers for centuries.

Its vertical plane reaches almost ten kilometers in height, so one rather flamboyant theory insists that, among other functions, the Great Wall is a windbreak, protecting Qian's village from the occasional violent storm from the Sea of ​​Galileo.Now that the climate has stabilized, storms are less frequent; but 1,000 years ago, they were really a big threat to those creatures that just emerged from the ocean. Although Poole had made up his mind, he hadn't been able to find time to see the "Tycho Tablet" -- which was still top secret when he set off for Jupiter.The gravity of the earth makes the Olduvai Canyon so unreachable.But he has seen their images too many times, and he already knows them well. (He often wonders, how many people know their palms well?) Apart from the huge difference in size, it is really difficult to distinguish TMA0, TMA1 from the "Great Wall" (or the "old man" that Leonov encountered in Jupiter's orbit). big brother").

According to some crazy theories that border on reality, there is only one original tablet, and the others, large or small, are just projections or shadows of it.Poole was reminded of these arguments when he noted the dark, towering, unblemished surface of the Wall.After so many centuries in such a harsh environment, there must be some spots and scratches on the surface!But it looked so polished, as if it had just been carefully wiped down by an army of window cleaners. Then he remembered that everyone who went to see TMA0 and TMA1 had an irresistible urge to touch the seemingly flawless surface, but no one had ever succeeded.Be it fingers, diamond bits, or laser knives—they all pass obliquely across the slate, as if the surface of the slate is covered with an impenetrable film.Or, as if (and this is another popular theory) they are not really in this universe, but separated from it by a fraction of a centimeter that is completely impassable.He walked around the "Great Wall" leisurely, but the "Great Wall" was completely unmoved.Then he steered the shuttle (still manual, in case Ganymede control tried to "rescue" him again) close to the outskirts of Qian's village and circled it in search of the best place to land.

The scenery seen through the small panoramic window of the Peregrine was all too familiar to him!He had often inspected these records on Ganymede, but never imagined that he would one day see them with his own eyes.It seems that the Europeans have no concept of urban and rural planning: within a square of about one kilometer, there are hundreds of hemispherical structures scattered around.Some are so small that even human children would be too crowded inside; while some are big enough to hold an entire family, none of them exceed five meters in height. They are all made of the same material, and under the double sunlight, they glow miserable white.On Earth, Eskimos have found the same solution to the challenges of an environment that is both cold and lacking in materials.In other words, the huts in Qian's village are also made of ice.

The streets are replaced by canals, which are perfect for creatures that are still amphibious and will run back to sleep in the water.It is also believed that they return to feed and mate, although neither hypothesis has been proven. Qian's Village enjoys the reputation of "Venice on Ice", and Poole has to agree that this is an apt description.However, there are no Venetian citizens as far as the eye can see, and this place seems to have been abandoned for many years. Another mystery: Although Tai Kai is 50 times brighter than the distant sun and remains fixed in the sky, Wei and Wei seem to be locked in the ancient rhythm of day and night.They return to the sea at sunset and emerge as the sun rises—although the brightness doesn't really change much.Perhaps there is a similar plot on Earth; there, the fainter moon and the much brighter sun have equal control over the life cycles of animals.

The sun will rise in another hour, and at that time, the residents of Qian's Village will return to the land and carry out their slow activities-according to human standards, of course they are slow enough.The sulfur-based biochemical reactions that drive the Europeans are not as efficient as the oxidation reactions that power most animals on Earth.Even sloths can easily outrun Europeans, so it's hard to say they're potentially dangerous.That's the "good news"; the "bad news" is this: Even with good faith on both sides, attempts to communicate will be slow—perhaps unbearably long.

Poole decided it was time to report back to Ganymede Control.They must have been very tense, and he wondered how his accomplice, Captain Chandler, was coping. "The Peregrine called Ganymede. No doubt, you can see that I have been—er, taken to the sky above Qian's Village, and the other party does not seem to be hostile. It is currently 'Sun Night' here, and the Europeans are still staying in the water. I'll call you back when I land." Poole let the Peregrine land like a snowflake on a flat piece of ice, and he was sure Tim would be proud of him.Instead of taking advantage of the Peregrine's stability, he offset most of the shuttle's weight with inertial engines—hoping just enough that it wouldn't accidentally be blown away by the wind.

He's already on Europa, for the first time in millennia.When the Eagle landed on the moon, I wonder if Armstrong and Aldrin also felt this kind of euphoria?Maybe their lunar dinghy's primitive and unintelligent systems are keeping them busy. The Peregrine is of course all automatic.The small cockpit is very quiet now, save for the inevitable and reassuring rustle of electronics as they work.When Chandler's voice (obviously pre-recorded) interrupts Poole's thoughts, it gives Poole quite the shock. "You made it! Congratulations! As you know, we'll be back in the Kuiper belt next week, but you should have plenty of time.

"Five days later, the Peregrine knows what to do. It's the same with you or without you. It will find its way home. So good luck!" Miss Prinkle Start encryption program store Hi Tim, thanks for that exciting info!Using this program makes me feel so stupid, like a spy in a spy soap opera.Those soap operas were hot before I was born; then again, it's somewhat stealthy and might work.I hope Miss Prinkle can download it completely...Of course, Miss Pu, I'm just joking! By the way, I keep getting a lot of questions from various news media in the solar system, can you block it for me?Otherwise, it's okay to transfer it to Dr. Ted, he will be happy to deal with them...

Since Ganymede has been watching me, I won't waste my time telling you what I saw.If all goes well, we'll have something to do in a few minutes.When the Europeans surfaced, I would find that I was already sitting here safely, waiting to meet them.Then we'll know if it's a good idea or not... No matter what happens, the shock that Dr. Zhang and his partners received when they landed here 1000 years ago will never happen to me!Before leaving Ganymede, I heard his famous last words again.I have to admit, it gave me an eerie feeling - can't stop wondering if something like that could ever happen again... I don't want to be immortal like poor Dr. Chang...

Of course, if something goes wrong, I can go up at any time... I had another interesting thought just now... I don't know if there is any history of Wei and Wei - any kind of records... About 1000 years ago, what happened in this place Events not far away?