Chapter 33 first quarter

The train, laden with passengers, came from the village of Positallo and stopped at a little station on Shakespeare's Lake, halfway from Beauvais.Crowds mingled with robots swarming down from the train, carrying groceries, blankets and folding chairs.The children rushed out of the station and ran to the lake with thick and dense green grass, playing and laughing, rolling around on the gentle slope. There is a rectangular platform on the lake 50 meters away from the shore, and many small wooden stakes lead to this platform.On the platform are some chairs and a podium with a microphone.Following the fireworks, Governor Watanabe will deliver a "Settlement Day" speech here.

Forty meters to the left of the stake was a large table covered with a blue and white tablecloth, and the Walkerfields and Watanabes were sitting around the table.Freezers of beverages are placed on the floor, and people are eating, talking and playing games.Two Lincoln robots walked among the crowd, delivering food and water to those far from their tables and freezers. It was a hot afternoon, and the unusually high temperature had lasted for three days.The light of the artificial sun above people's heads slowly dimmed.Eponina was traveling in the train carrying the residents of Hanko and St. Michael's from the Central District.She hadn't planned to attend the celebration, but changed her mind at the last minute.People who came early have already started picnicking on the grass.

Walking from the platform to the grass, Eponina was suddenly stunned: there are too many people here, and all the staff of New Eden must be here.Now she wished she hadn't come.Everyone was with friends or family, but she was alone. Ellie and Ben are playing a game.Eponina was far away from them, but Ellie recognized her teacher at a glance, because the red armband on her arm was particularly conspicuous. "It's Eponina, Mom," Ellie said, running towards Nicole. "Can I ask her to come here?" "Of course." Nicole replied. A small band was playing music, and a voice from a microphone announced that fireworks would be set off in ten minutes, and the crowd burst into applause.

"Eponina!" Ellie yelled, waving at Eponina. "Come here!" Eponina heard someone calling her, but could not see clearly in the dim light.After a while, she walked towards Ellie and accidentally knocked down a toddler in the grass. "Kevin," a mother's voice yelled, "get away from her!" Immediately a blond man took the child away from Eponina. "You shouldn't be here, with decent people," the man told her. Eponina was a little surprised, but continued to walk towards Ellie.Ellie was also walking across the grass towards her. "Get out of here, number 41, and go back to your house!" a woman yelled.

A 10-year-old boy with a bulbous nose pointed at Eponina and whispered something to his sister. Ellie approached her teacher: "It's nice to see you here. Would you like something to eat?" Eponina nodded. "I feel so sorry for these people," Ellie said aloud so that those around her could hear, "they're so stupid." Allie led Eponina back to the big table and introduced everyone: "Hi, for those of you who don't know her, this is my teacher and friend - Eponina. She has no last name." , so don't ask." Nicole and Eponina had met several times before, and they chatted happily.A Lincoln robot served Eponina vegetables and soda.Watanabe Nai and her twin sons Keppler and Galileo, who just turned two a week ago, also came to say hello to Eponina.

Eponina held Keppler in her arms, and a group of people living in Positalo sat beside her. One of the little boys pointed to Eponina's face and said, "It's beautiful!" Nicole asked in French: "It must be hard?" "Yes." Eponina replied.She thought, "Tough? That's the conclusion of a year of life. It's not too bad, I haven't got anything fatal, but I have to wear an armband so people can avoid me." Max raised his eyes from the chessboard and noticed Eponina, "Hi, you must be the teacher I have heard about for a long time."

"That's Max." Allie led Eponina over. "He was joking, but not malicious. The old man who didn't talk to us was Judge Porter Mishkin... Am I right? ,Judge?" "Exactly," replied Judge Mishkin, still staring at his chessboard. "Potter, Puckett, what the hell are you playing? You are either too stupid or too smart, and now I don't know which one you belong to." At last the judge looked up and saw Eponina's red armband. "I'm sorry, miss. I'm very sorry," he said. The fireworks are about to start.A speedboat came from the east side of the lake.There are beautiful girls standing on the deck, and the speedboat is decorated brightly, with "Nakamura" engraved on the side of the ship.

Eponina recognized her friend Kimberly Henderson immediately, standing next to Toshio Nakamura. The people on the speedboat waved to the crowd on the shore. Patrick ran to his mother excitedly: "Mom, look! Katie is also on the boat." Nicole put on her glasses and saw that it was indeed her daughter: standing on the deck in a bikini, waving at them. Fireworks appeared in the sky, and the brilliant colors immediately lit up the dark sky. "Three years ago today," Kenji Watanabe began his speech, "a reconnaissance team from the 'Pinta' set foot on this new world for the first time. None of us knew what was going to happen. Personally, I doubted life here, especially the first two months. We all doubted that there would be a normal life in New Eden."

Watanabe went on to say: "All our worries and fears have not come true. Our alien masters, whoever they are, have never interfered in our lives. Probably as Mrs. Nicole Walkerfield said That way, our alien hosts are watching us, and we never feel their presence. Rama is hurtling toward a planet called 'Cetus' at an incredible speed, and in Rama, we In the residential area, our daily life is not affected by any external changes. "In the early days, we traveled around the planetary system around the sun. Many of us thought that our 'observation period' might be short, and thought that in a few months we would return to Earth, or go to our original Our destination - Mars. We thought that this Rama 3 spacecraft would disappear into the distance of space like the original two Rama spacecraft. Now I stand before you and tell you: Our navigator told us— - Right now we are still leaving the solar system, as we have been for two and a half years, at half the speed of light. If we are lucky enough to return to our solar system, it will be many years away.

"All the facts provide a simple theme for my 'Day of Valh' speech, and that is - Occupants, face up to our own destiny, and take full responsibility. We cannot expect Terrible gods will help us to correct our mistakes. We must manage New Eden as our own home and our posterity. We are responsible for life here, for our present and for our posterity. “We are currently facing some challenges in our neighborhoods. Note that I called them 'challenges' not 'problems'. Together we can overcome these challenges. Carefully weighing the long-term consequences and impact of our actions now is The right decisions will be made. Once we make the wrong decisions, the outlook for New Eden will be very bleak.

"Let me illustrate my point with an example. Richard Walkerfield has publicly explained to you on television that our weather is based on stable air conditions in residential areas and that our weather control requires carbon dioxide and dust in the air I'm not trying to give you a deep science lecture here, I'm really talking about our policies. Most scientists believe that four months of freak weather is due to carbon dioxide in the air and dust levels, my administration has made a number of specific proposals to address this problem, but all of our proposals have been rejected by the Senate. "Why? Our proposal is to gradually limit the use of fireplaces, as they are completely unnecessary here. But they call this a 'restriction of personal freedom'. Our detailed proposal is to rebuild part of the 'air exchanger' and reduce the lion forest Loss of vegetative cover to balance northern meadows. This proposal was also rejected, why? Opponents reasoned that residential areas would not be up to the task, arguing that the new 'air exchange' system would cause power stress and would not allow Strict power-saving measures are not taken. "Ladies and gentlemen, it would be rather foolish to commit suicide. Every step delayed, the future of our settlements will face more difficulties. Don't have any illusions, the alien atmospheric work here must be found anyway. Principles, adjust them to keep them running properly with high CO2 and dust levels. Don't delay, guys!" Both Nicole and Nye watched the crowd's reaction to Kenji's words: Impatientness grew.Nanono said to Nicole in a low voice: "He's too nerdy, he will lose people's support." It seems that Chief Watanabe is going to make a long speech. His topic shifted from environmental issues to retrovirus RV-41, which is a sensitive issue in residential areas and has attracted everyone's attention and attention.The prefect described the heroic deeds of how the community's medical staff under the leadership of Dr. Robert Turner figured out the RV-41 virus and their ongoing efforts to find a cure for the disease.Watanabe also pointed out that anyone with antibodies to the RV-41 virus must wear a red armband. "Oh yeah..." exclaimed the occupant standing to the right of Nicole and Nye. "These unfortunate poor people have suffered tremendously..." Kenji said. "They're all whores!" a man standing behind Nicole yelled, and the crowd around him burst into laughter and applause. "...Dr. Turner has confirmed after many studies that the virus can only be transmitted through blood and semen... Kenji said. People began to lose control of their emotions, and Nicole hoped that Kenji would notice this and end the speech as soon as possible. Governor Watanabe paused, hissed into the microphone, and the audience fell silent for a moment. He continued: "I have something to say, without offending anyone. "As you all know, my wife Nai and I have twin sons and we have been blessed. On this 'Settlement Day,' I ask you to think more about your children and look forward to the next 'Settlement Day' Imagine the children you brought to life and the children of your children, imagine being with them, hugging them, talking to them, telling them with a clear conscience that you did your best Has your best efforts left them a happy and happy home?” Towards the end of the picnic, Max thrills Patrick by inviting him to spend the night at Puckett's farm for the day.He said to his mother, "University doesn't start until Wednesday. Can I come, Mom? Please." Nicole, also troubled by the crowd's reaction to Kenji's speech, suddenly lost track of what his son was saying, and Patrick repeated it. Nicole looked at Max and said, "You'll take good care of my son, won't you?" Max Puckett nodded with a smile.After the robot cleaned up all the picnic litter, Max and Patrick headed towards the train station together.They walked for half an hour to the train platform from the central area to the agricultural reclamation area.A large group of Patrick's college classmates board a train bound for Hanko. "You should come with us," a classmate said to Patrick. "There are free drinks all night." Noticing Patrick watching his classmate get on the train, Max asked Patrick, "Have you ever been to Vegas?" "No, sir, my mother and uncle..." "do you want to go?" Patrick nodded reassuringly, which was exactly what Max wanted. They boarded the train to Hanko with the happy people. Sitting in the car, Max said: "I don't necessarily like that place very much. It's too fake and superficial... But it's still worth seeing. It's not bad to go there alone to have fun." Two years ago, when Rama Speed ​​was over, Toshio Nakamura accurately predicted that the occupants would be happy to live in New Eden for a longer period of time.Before the first meeting of the Constitutional Council elected Nicole de Jardin as interim governor, Toshio vowed that he would become the most powerful and richest man in the borough, and that he continued to develop his connections.When there are banks and currency in the settlement, he begins to build his own kingdom. Toshio Nakamura firmly believes that the best-selling products in New Eden are those that bring people joy and excitement.His first venture was to start a gambling club.The club brought him huge profits immediately.Next, he bought some farmland east of Hanko, built the first hotel in the residential area, and opened a second club in the hotel foyer.In addition, he also opened a small private club, in which the waitresses served in an entirely Japanese manner.He then opened an even more chaotic girls' club.Everything Toshio Nakamura did was a huge success.Soon after Kenji was elected governor of the residential area, he purchased 1/5 of the Shilong Forest from the government. The newly sprouted trees were cut down and replaced by Toshio Nakamura's private palace and a brand new luxury hotel, entertainment venues, comprehensive restaurants and several clubs.To cement his monopoly, Nakamura also lobbied extensively and successfully got lawmakers to veto a bill to limit the development of the gambling industry in the area around Hanko.Nakamura has finally achieved his sinister purpose - those would-be entrepreneurs have quit the gambling industry, unwilling to compete with the "King of Japan". Nakamura's power grew unmatched, so he let his subordinates dabble in drugs and sex services, neither of which was considered a violation of New Eden's laws.At the end of Watanabe's term, the government's propaganda increasingly conflicted with Nakamura's purpose, so he made up his mind to control the government.He didn't want to be trapped by administrative affairs, so he chose the retired former "Pinta" commander McMillan. In the first election, Kenji Watanabe defeated McMillan, and now Nakamura supports McMillan to run for governor, on the condition that McMillan be loyal to him. The Walkerfields and Hawkman-designed buildings in New Eden have become saturated.In Vegas, the original harmonious architectural style has become too dazzling, and it really attracts tourists deeply. Max and young Patrick walked into the compound of the Vegas Hotel, and they were dumbfounded by the splendor in front of them. Patrick stared at the shiny sign and exclaimed "Ah yeah". Max lit a cigarette and said to Patrick, "I don't mean to spoil your fun, boy, but it would take a square kilometer of air exchangers to light this sign." "You talk like my mother and uncle," Patrick replied. Before entering any room of the club, a registration card must be filled out. Nakamura has never missed a penny of betting money, and he has detailed file records of every visitor's actions.Nakamura clearly knows the business scope he should master. Max and Patrick were standing at a gambling table. Max was explaining the rules of the game to Patrick, but Patrick couldn't take his eyes off the scantily clad waiters.There are more than a hundred people in the club, everyone is having a good time, and the waiters are offering free drinks to the tourists. Patrick said, "I don't see a robot here." "You won't find a robot here," Max said. "A robot might be more efficient at dealing cards, but the King of Japan respects the nature of gambling." Max and Patrick were talking when a young woman in a soft pink skirt approached them. "Hi, Max Puckett, long time no see," she said. "Hi, Samasha," Max stammered. "Who is this handsome young man?" said Sha Masha, winking at Patrick. "This is Patrick O'Toole," Max replied. "He's..." "Oh my God!" shrieked Samantha, "I've never met a resident who lived here all the time." She looked at Patrick and said, "Tell me, is it true that you've been asleep for so many years? " Patrick nodded shyly. "My friend Godie said the whole thing was a fabrication, he said you and your family were ISA intelligence agents, she couldn't believe we were out of Mars orbit..." "I assure you, ma'am," Patrick replied politely, "we did sleep for years. I was six years old when my parents put me in the bed box, and I woke up like this." "Okay, this is unbelievable...Max, what are you going to do? By the way, do you need to formally introduce me?" "Sorry, Patrick, this is Martha Porter from Mississippi. She works..." "I'm a whore, Mr. O'Toole, one of the best . . . have you seen a whore before?" Patrick blushed and said, "No, ma'am." Masha reached out and touched Patrick's chin, and then she said to Fang Kex, "He's so handsome. Bring him here, and if he's a virgin, I'll give him free." She kissed Patrick quickly on the lips, and then Turned around and left. After Sha Masha left, Max didn't know what to say for a while.He wanted to apologize to Patrick, but in the end he couldn't say it.He patted Patrick on the shoulder and walked back with him. "Now it's ready, oh," a young woman called with her back to them. "Call five or six!" Patrick glanced at Max in surprise. "It's Katie!" he said, slowing his pace. Katie is completely addicted to this gambling game.She took a drag on her cigarette, bent down and took another sip of the wine offered to her by a dark-skinned man on her right, and then raised the dice high above her head. "Buy all the pips," she said, handing the chip to the cashier. "It's 26, plus 5 points...well, it's 44 now." Katie said, throwing a chip across the table. like child. "44 o'clock!" The people around shouted together. Katie jumped up excitedly, hugged her boyfriend who was standing next to her, and took another sip of her drink and cigarette. When Katie was about to roll the dice again, Patrick called "Katie." Katie's hands were in the air, and she turned her head with a puzzled look on her face. "Oh, damn it! It's my little brother," she said. Katie stumbled over to say hello to Patrick.The gamblers around the table yelled at her to continue. "You're drunk, Katie," Patrick said quietly, putting his arms around her. "No, I'm not drunk, Patrick," Katie replied, turning to the crowd at the table and shouting, "I'm flying, flying to the stars in my spaceship!" She turned back to the table and raised her right hand high. "It's all set now, oh! York, are you there?" she cried.