Chapter 34 Chapter Thirty-Two The Comfortable Gentleman

Generally speaking, this is an interesting but peaceful 30 years, occasionally interspersed with the joy and sorrow brought by the gods of time and fate.The greatest joy was wholly unexpected; indeed, Poole would have dismissed it as nonsense before he set off for Ganymede. There is an idiom that says "a little farewell is better than a newlywed", which really makes sense.When he and Indira Wallace met again, they found that despite their frequent bickering and occasional disagreements, the two were closer than they had imagined.Good things always follow - including their mutual pride, Don Wallace and Martin Poole.

It is too late to start a family now, let alone he is 1,000 years old.And Professor Anderson also warned them that the succession of the family may be impossible, or even worse... "You're much luckier than you think," he told Poole. "The radiation damage is amazingly low. With your undamaged DNA, we were able to make all the necessary repairs. But until more tests are done, I can't guarantee that." Genetic integrity. So enjoy life! But don't rush to have a baby until I say ok." Those inspections were time-consuming, and, as Anderson feared, more restoration work was needed.There was a big setback: although they allowed him to remain in the womb for weeks after fertilization, it was a life that would not have survived at all; but then Martin and Don were perfect, with the correct number of heads , hands, feet.They were equally handsome and witty, and almost spoiled by the parents.After 15 years, their parents have chosen to live independently, but they are still best friends.Because their "social achievement ratings" were excellent, they could certainly be allowed, and even encouraged, to have another child, but they decided not to use up their amazing goodness.

During this time, a tragedy casts a shadow over Poole's life -- and, in fact, shakes the entire solar system: Captain Chandler and his entire crew are missing.At that time, the nucleus of a comet they were exploring suddenly exploded, and Goliath was completely destroyed, only a few small fragments were found.This explosive reaction, caused by unstable molecules at extremely low temperatures, is a well-known hazard in the comet-hunting business, and one that Chandler encountered several times during his career.No one knows exactly what happened to catch such an experienced astronaut by surprise.

Poole missed Chandler terribly: he played a unique role in Poole's life, and no one could replace him—no one except David Bowman, the man with whom Poole shared important adventures.Poole and Chandler often planned to go back into space again, perhaps all the way to the Oort cloud, with its uncharted mysteries and its inexhaustible supply of ice.But conflicts in the itinerary always thwarted their plans, so this expectation became a dream that could never be realized.Another long-desired goal, he managed to achieve: against the doctor's orders, he descended to the surface of the earth, and once was enough.

He travels in a vehicle almost identical to the wheelchair used by the paraplegics of his own day.It was powered, with balloon tires that allowed it to drive over moderately flat surfaces.With a set of powerful small fans, it can also fly about 20 cm high.Poole is amazed that such a primitive technology is still in use, but the inertial control unit is too cumbersome to use on such a small scale. As he descended to the center of Africa in a comfortable flying chair, Poole could hardly feel the weight gain, although he noticed that breathing became a little difficult, but he had experienced worse in astronaut training.What made him completely unprepared was the scorching Foehn that hit him when he drove out of the bottom of the huge, towering African Tower.

It's only morning, what will it be like at noon? He had just gotten used to the intense heat, but was again besieged by a burst of smell.Countless flavors, none unpleasant, but all very strange, hustling to get his attention.He closed his eyes so as not to overload the input circuit. Before deciding to open his eyes again, he felt something large, wet touch the nape of his neck. "Say hello to Elizabeth," said the guide.He was a beefy young man who looked more fancy than practical in his traditional "Great White Hunter" attire. "She's our welcome specialist."

Poole in the flying chair turned his head and found himself eye-to-eye with a beaming baby elephant. "Hi, Elizabeth," he replied softly.Elizabeth raised her long nose in salutation, making a sound not often heard in polite society, but Poole was sure she meant it well. The total time he spent on the surface of the earth was less than an hour.He kept going along the edge of the jungle, where the trees were ugly compared to the Hanging Gardens.He also meets many local animals.His guide apologized for the friendliness of the lions, who were all spoiled by the tourists; but the look more than compensated him.Here is the living, the same nature as ever.Poole ventured a few steps out of the flying chair before returning to the African Tower.He knew it was putting his entire body weight on his spine, but it wasn't a big deal.He'd never forgive himself if he didn't try.

That's really not a good idea, maybe he should try it when it's cooler.After only walking a dozen steps, he happily sat back on the comfortable flying chair. "Enough," he said wearily, "let's go back to the Tower." Pulling into the elevator lobby, he noticed a sign that he somehow ignored because he was too excited to arrive.It says: Welcome to Africa! "The wilderness is the original state of the world." Henry David Thoreau (1817-1862) The guide, noticing Poole's interest, asked, "Do you know him?" Poole had heard this question so much that he had no intention of confronting it at the moment.

"I don't think I do," he replied wearily.The gates closed behind them, shutting out the sights, smells, and sounds of man's earliest homeland. This vertical adventure in Africa fulfilled his desire to visit Earth, and when he returned to his apartment on the 10,000th floor (a prestigious high-end housing complex, even in this democratic society), he did his best to ignore it. All kinds of soreness.However, Indira was frightened by his appearance and ordered him to go to bed immediately. "Like the opposite of Antaeus!" she muttered sullenly. "Who?" Poole asked.His wife's erudition sometimes makes him unable to resist, but he has made up his mind long ago and will never feel inferior because of it.

"Son of Gaia, Mother Earth. Hercules wrestled with him, but every time he was thrown to the ground, his strength returned immediately." "Who's winning?" "Heracles, of course. He held Antaeus high, and Gaia couldn't charge him." "Well, I believe it won't take much time to recharge myself. I learned a lesson: If I don't exercise more, I may have to move to the lunar gravitational layer." Poole's determination lasted a full month: every morning he chose a different floor in the Africa Tower and walked an easy five kilometers.Some floors are still huge, echoing deserts of metal that may never be occupied; but others have been landscaped and developed amidst centuries of incongruous architectural styles.Many of them draw from past times and cultures; Poole dismisses those that hint at the future.At least he isn't bored, and his hikes are often accompanied by friendly children from afar.They usually couldn't keep up with him.

One day, Poole was striding down the fake Champs-Elysées (realistic but sparsely visited) when he spotted a familiar face. "Danny!" he called. There was no response, and it was useless if Poole called him again, louder. "Don't you remember me?" Now that Poole was on him, he was sure it was Danny, but he looked bewildered. "Sorry," he said, "of course you're Commander Poole. But I'm sure we haven't met before." This time it was Poole's turn to be embarrassed. "I'm so stupid," he added after apologizing, "I must have mistaken someone. Have a nice day." He was very happy to have this encounter, and he was relieved to know that Danny was back in normal society.Whether his previous crimes were cold-blooded murders or overdue library books, his former employers no longer had to worry, the file was closed.While Poole sometimes misses the gangster movies he enjoyed as a young man, he has also come to embrace the modern philosophy that over-focusing on pathological behavior is itself a pathology. With the assistance of three generations of Miss Prinkle, Poole was able to rearrange his life, and even take a break from time to time, setting his brain cap to random searches and browsing areas of interest to him.Apart from the family around him, his main interest was in the moons of Jupiter/Taiyu; it was not the main reason that he was the leading expert on this subject and a permanent member of the "Europa Committee". This committee was formed almost 1,000 years ago to study that mysterious satellite and what we could and should do about it - if anything at all.Over the centuries, the committee has amassed an enormous amount of information, dating back to a rough report following the flyby of Voyager in 1979 and the first detailed report from the orbit of the Galileo spacecraft in 1996. Like most long-lived organizations, the Europa Council has ossified and now only meets when there are new developments.Stunned by Harman's reappearance, they appointed a new, energetic chairman whose first act was to elect Poole. Poole was delighted to be on the committee, though he could only offer a little off-the-record stats.It was clearly his responsibility to allow himself to contribute, and this provided him with the formal social status he otherwise lacked.He was in a situation that was once called a "national treasure" before, which made him feel a little embarrassed.In the past turbulent years, the rich world beyond the imagination of the people is providing him with a luxurious life; although he is also willing to accept it, he still feels that he should prove his existence. He also felt another need, one he rarely even mentioned to himself.It's been 20 years since Harman spoke to him during their strange meeting.Poole was sure that Harman could easily talk to himself again if he wanted to.Could it be that he has lost interest in human contact?Hopefully not, but maybe that's one of the reasons for his reticence. He was in frequent contact with Ted Khan, who was as lively and sarcastic as ever, and was now the representative of the Europa Council on Ganymede.Since Poole's return to Earth, Khan has been trying in vain to open a channel of communication with Bowman.He couldn't understand how Bowman, who had sent out a long list of important questions about philosophy and history, didn't even reply with a brief receipt confirmation. "Does Slate keep your friend Harman so busy that he doesn't even have time to talk to me?" he complained to Poole. "What the hell does he do with his time?" This is a very reasonable question.The answer from Bowman came like a bolt from the blue, in the form of an extremely ordinary video call.