Chapter 13 Chapter Thirteen Happy New Year

After dinner, Frances appeared in the middle of the square with a microphone in hand.She took ten minutes to thank all the sponsors of the event, and then she introduced Dr. Reggie Bardolini, who would demonstrate that the technology he developed to communicate with this dolphin works in people It would also be useful in trying to communicate with aliens. Richard Walkerfield lied about going to the toilet when Frances started speaking, then went to get a drink and slipped off to nowhere.Nicole caught a glimpse of him five minutes later, when Frances had just finished her opening speech.He was surrounded by two Italian actresses who giggled at his jokes.Walkerfield waved at Nicole, then pointed at the two women and blinked, with an involuntary expression.

Good luck, Richard.Nicole smiled self-deprecatingly, and said silently in his heart: "At least, one of the two misfits has found happiness." She watched Frances as she stepped out, crossed the bridge, and motioned for the audience to move back to make room for Dr. Reggie Bardolini and his dolphins.She was wearing a tight black evening gown with one shoulder bare and a bodice covered in gold sequins that sparkled.A golden silk scarf was lightly tied around her waist. Her long blond hair was braided and pinned on her head. She was really graceful and charming. You do belong here!Nicole thought to herself.She was very envious of Frances's ease and chic in the public.

As Dr. Reggie Bardolini begins his first dolphin round, Frances also turns her gaze to the water.Reggie Bardolini is a controversial scientist whose research work is unique and innovative, but no matter how hard he tries, others cannot believe and accept it.He had invented a method of talking to dolphins, and he could also identify some thirty to forty kinds of action verbs by listening to the various short screams of dolphins.This is true.But his frequent boast that his dolphins could pass college entrance exams is a hoax. Unfortunately, in the 22nd century, it's the norm in science: if you don't get your ingenious, unusual discoveries tested, or ridiculed, you're going to lose your reputation.Henceforth, all your inventions and discoveries, no matter how infallible you claim them to be, will be squandered and held in contempt.Needless to say, this atmosphere has also brought a narrow and conservative atmosphere to the scientific community.

Unlike most scientists, Dr. Reggie Bardolini is a gifted showman.At the end of the program, his two famous dolphins, Emily and Emina, competed with two tour guides of the ancient palace, a male and a female, randomly selected that night. The rules are simple: four large screens, two under water and two in the center of the square.Each large screen is divided into nine small screens of three times three. There is a blank screen in the lower right corner, and various photos and graphics on the other eight small screens.The participating dolphins and humans are required to analyze the correct answer on the changing graphic array of up, down, left, and right, and fill it in the blank screen in the lower right corner. Each question is given one minute of thinking time.Of course, the dolphins are underwater, using their proboscises to press an eight-button control panel to get the job done.

The first few questions were easy, and both the man and the dolphin passed easily.On the first small screen in the upper left corner is a small white ball.In the first row of the second column, there are two small white balls.Correspondingly, the first row and third column are three small white balls; the second row is full of single balls, black and white; in the third row and first column, there is a small black ball.At this time, it can be judged immediately that the blank space in the lower right corner should be three small black balls. The following questions are not so easy, and the changes in the matrix are becoming more and more complicated.On the eighth question, the human contestant made an error first; on the ninth question, the dolphin made an error.A total of sixteen questions were performed. The last question was extremely difficult and contained at least ten different changes. The contestants had to analyze carefully to find out the law of the change and fill in the correct answer in the last blank.

As a result, both sides scored 12 points each, and the match was a draw.The two pairs of contestants bowed to the audience, who responded with warm applause. Nicole found Dr. Reggie Bardolini's performance fascinating.She wasn't sure if she should trust him.Maybe this performance was pre-rehearsed, and there was something else wrong with it.But in any case, she noticed the cognitive laws revealed by the competition performance itself: Intellectual activities stipulate some special expressions to analyze and recognize graphics and their changing directions. She wondered, "Is it possible to find a way to measure overall ability? It can be done for children, oh, maybe it can be done for adults too."

During the competition, Nicole kept staring at the problem and doing it himself.She answered 13 questions correctly; accidentally guessed the 14th question wrong; the moment she just figured out the answer to the 15th question, the time-out buzzer rang.In a panic, she couldn't concentrate on thinking about question 16, her head was suddenly in a daze, and she didn't know how to start. "Rama people, what will you do?" When Frances returned to the microphone and introduced Nicole's daughter's idol, the popular singer Julien Leclerc, to the audience, Nicole's thoughts fluttered, thinking of the visitors from beyond the sky , "Can you find the correct answer in one-tenth of the time? Or in one-hundredth of the time?" She paused, because she already understood the infinite possibilities below: 100 One ten thousandth, ten million...

"I wasted my life until I met you; I didn't know what love was until I saw you..." This is an old song that has been handed down for a long time. It floats softly and melts into her heart, bringing her back to a night fifteen years ago.At that time, she also believed that love could conquer everything. Julien Leclerc misunderstood the meaning of her body movements, pulled her over, hugged her tightly, and danced lightly.Nicole didn't refuse, she was very tired, and, as if she had foreseen what was going to happen, she felt that it was wonderful, very good, to be so close to a man's shoulder.This is the first time she has felt this way in many years.

When Julien Leclerc finished his singing, Nicole took the opportunity to complete the task assigned to her by her daughter and told the French singer what her daughter had said.As she expected, he completely misunderstood her meaning. Frances announced that the show was over before midnight and everyone was invited to drink, dance and chat.Julian put out his hand, took Nicole by the arm, and walked back to the colonnade where he had just danced. Julian was a handsome man in his early thirties, but he was not the kind of man Nicole had in mind.The guy was so pompous and defiant, talking about himself all the time and changing the subject without caring.Although he is an excellent singer, he is not good at anything else.However, Nicole estimated that when they danced, they must have attracted the attention and jealousy of many guests.

"He's a good dancer, and it's better to dance with him than to sit around and be bored," thought Nicole. During a break in the music, Frances came over and said, "Happy New Year, Nicole." She smiled brightly, full of sincerity, "I'm so glad to see you having such a good time." She held out a tray , put a dozen black chocolate balls in it, and a thin layer of white powder was sprinkled on top of the chocolate, which may be icing sugar, "These chocolates are delicious, I specially made them for the teammates of the 'Newton'. " Nicole took one and put it in his mouth, it tasted really good.

"Now I would like to ask." Frances hesitated, and continued, "I have not been able to finish the special report on you. Just now we received a lot of calls from the audience, saying that they want to know more about you. Could you Come to the camera and let me interview for a few minutes before midnight?" Nicole stared at Frances, and a voice told her in her head: Don't promise!But another voice said: Why not? "I agree!" Julian Leclerc interrupted as the two women looked at each other. "The press is always talking about the 'mysterious female astronaut', and they are talking about it and giving it a nickname. What is it called 'Ice Princess.' Show them that you are a woman of flesh and blood, with a heart and a heart, just like when we danced together just now, just like everyone else." why not!At least, father and daughter wouldn't be dragged in here, Nicole finally decided. They start talking as they make their way to the improvised video camera on the other side of the colonnade.At this time, through the crowd, Nicole suddenly saw Dr. Gao An, who was leaning against a stone pillar, talking with three well-dressed Japanese. "Wait for me for a minute, I'll be right back." Nicole said to his companion, and walked over quickly. "Good evening." Nicole greeted Takashi. The Japanese scientist was taken aback, turned around, saw that Nicole was coming, and smiled.Gao An said that these Japanese were his assistants.Several Japanese bowed to her. "Have you studied the medical records?" he asked quietly. "Yes," she replied, whispering to her Japanese colleague, "I only have a minute, and I just want to tell you that I have carefully reviewed your physical records and think you are qualified for this operation, no Necessary to report your heart problems to the medical board." Looking at Dr. Gao An's appearance, it was as if someone told his wife to give birth to a fat boy, and he was extremely excited.He wanted to say something thankful, but when he saw other people present, he swallowed it back. "Thank you very much." He said to Nicole who was walking back, his eyes filled with deep gratitude. Nicole was delighted when she spun lightly between Frances and Julien Leclerc.Frances happily settled into a pose, motionless, as she checked to see if the signal was working.She sipped champagne as she talked to Julian intermittently. Then, sitting next to Frances under the arc lights, she thought about meeting Takagi just now: "It would be nice to help this clever little old man!" Frances asked a stupid first question, asking Nicole if she was excited about the launch. "Of course." Nicole replied.Then, Nicole briefly and vividly described everyone's urgency and anxiety to rendezvous with "Rama 2" after such a long wait for training. The interview was conducted in English, with one question and one answer, fluent and natural, as if rehearsed in advance.Frances asked Nicole to tell when, where, and how she entered the Astronautics Academy, her role in the team, etc.; and asked her what she hoped to find in "Rama 2". "I really don't know," Nicole said. "But whatever we find will be fascinating and interesting." In front of the camera, Nicole feels very comfortable and comfortable, and cooperates seamlessly with Frances. Frances then asked three personal questions: one, about her father; two, about her mother and the Ceroff tribe in Ivory Coast; and three, about her life with her daughter. These questions Nicole found easy to answer, but the last question caught her off guard. "Obviously, from the photos of your daughter, her skin is much fairer than yours," Frances asked calmly, with a flat tone, "This shows that her father is likely to be white, so who is her?" Where's father?" For a moment, as if time had frozen, Nicole's heart was surging, seized by a strong emotion.For a moment, she was afraid that she would cry out because she couldn't hold herself back. She was trembling and panting.Soon, she controlled herself and regained her composure. She tried to calm down her anger and pain, and drove away the stormy memories of past love. "You stupid woman, you should know what she's doing." She said to herself in her heart.Tears rolled in her eyes, and she tried her best to hold back. She looked at the bright lights and Frances in the light and shadow. The Italian female reporter with the gold medallions on her chest seemed to have turned into a dreamlike pattern. Nicole saw a big cat's head, The eyes were glowing green, and the mouth was opening, revealing sharp teeth. I don't know how long it took, and finally, Nicole felt that he had controlled his emotions.She glared at Frances angrily and said loudly in calm Italian, "I don't want to talk about this! This is the end of the interview." She stood up abruptly, but felt her feet tremble, and sat down again.The camera is still turning.She took a few deep breaths, rested for a while, stood up and left the camera. She wanted to escape, to avoid all this, to go to a place where no one was around, to heal the old wounds that had been reopened by herself.But this is impossible.As soon as she came out, Julian grabbed her by the shoulders. "The bitch!" he swore in Frances' direction. People surrounded Nicole, all talking about it, and all eyes and ears turned here all at once, what a nuisance! The sound of music seemed to be coming from far away, and Nicole could vaguely hear that it was "The Good Times of the Past".Beside him, Julian was holding Nicole's shoulders and singing vigorously.He directed more than twenty (or more) people, and they sang the ending line of the piece loudly around them.Nicole followed the melody mechanically, humming laboriously.At the end of the piece, Julian suddenly kissed Nicole on the lips. Photographers swarmed forward to capture the news, and there was a lot of noise around.Nicole was dizzy and felt like she was going to pass out.She struggled hard, broke away from Julian's hand, and rushed out of the crowd. Nicole staggered back, only to bump into an angry Reggie Wilson.He pushed her away, grabbed the man and woman in the flash who were sharing a New Year's kiss, and pulled them away as hard as if he wanted to punch the man.Nicole watched all this blankly, feeling that he was in a dream or a movie.David Brown, still in Frances' arms, tries to get out; Frances hurries to stop Wilson. "Get away from her, idiot!" Reggie yelled, threatening Brown. "Don't think I don't know what you've done." Nicole couldn't believe what she was seeing, it was incomprehensible.After a while, the room was full of security personnel. Nicole left the noisy scene with the flow of people.Everything returned to calm again.Nicole passed the place where the camera was filmed just now, and saw Ellen Brown sitting alone in the colonnade with her back leaning on the stone pillar.I remember that not long ago, Nicole met Ailian at the family doctor of David Brown's family in Dallas.She was warm and friendly, except that she kept telling the doctor that David had been acting strangely lately. But at the moment, she was clearly drunk and didn't want to talk to anyone. Nicole heard her cursing in a low voice, "You stinking piece of shit. Let's see, I'm going to write this all out, and things will be different then." Nicole left the party and immediately went back to Rome in a car.It was unbelievable that Frances was going to accompany her out to find a car as if nothing had happened. Nicole coldly rejected her affected attentions and came out alone. On the way back by car, snowflakes fell in the sky. Nicole stared at the snowflakes all over the sky, thinking about what happened tonight, and trying to figure it out.One thing she was absolutely sure of was that there must be something in that chocolate ball that Frances gave her.Nicole had never been so nearly out of control as tonight. "Maybe she gave Wilson one too," thought Nicole. "That would partly explain why he was so hysterical." "But why is she doing this? What is her ulterior motive?" she asked herself. Back at the hotel, she went to bed quickly, and was about to turn off the lights when she seemed to hear a knock on the door, she listened carefully, but there was no movement.Perhaps hallucinations.Just as she thought about it, there was a clear knock on the door.Nicole put on her pajamas and went to the locked door. "Who's there?" she asked aloud, a little timidly, "who is it, please?" She heard the sound of paper being torn.Immediately afterwards, a folded piece of paper was slipped through the crack under the door.Nicole felt a little nervous, carefully picked up the slip of paper, and opened it to read.It was written in the original script of her mother's tribe, with just three words: "Ronata, grandpa, here." "Ronata" was Nicole's African name. Excited and startled, Nicole opened the door without even looking at the monitor to see who was there. A few meters away from the door, a pair of old eyes stared at her. This is an old man who has gone through vicissitudes and is full of wisdom. His face is covered with green and white horizontal stripes; he is wearing a light green African tribal robe with some golden tassels on it. What does the bar pattern mean. "Grandpa!" cried Nicole, her heart about to burst. "How did you get here?" she asked in Cyrov. The black old man said nothing, holding a stone and a small bottle in his right hand.Nicole stepped back as he came toward the room, the old man staring at her intently.They were in the middle of the room, three or four feet apart.The old man suddenly looked up to the sky and chanted, singing a mantra to pray for blessings and exorcise evil spirits.These spells and chants have been handed down for hundreds of years among the tribes on the African continent, and they have been helping people to drive away evil spirits and evil spirits. Oh, that's all, the old man looked at his great-granddaughter again, and said slowly: "Ronata, grandpa had a foreboding of a terrible danger. This is also recorded in the chronicle of our tribe. It is said that a three hundred A year-old man is going to exorcise evil spirits for a lonely woman. But when you leave the Kingdom of Mirowai and come here, grandpa and grandpa will not be able to protect you." After that, he grabbed her hand and put the stone and Hand the vial to her, "Take these with you forever." Nicole looked down at the stone. It was very shiny and oval, about eight inches long and four wide, and creamy in color, with some strange brown square-cornered patterns faintly visible, sinuously.That little green bottle is smaller than the perfume bottles people travel with. "The water in this bottle of 'Wisdom Lake' can help Ronata." Grandpa said, "Ronata knows when to drink it." He held his head up and sang the mantra just now. This time, his Eyes shut tightly. Nicole stood beside him, holding the stone and the vial in his hands, in a daze, without speaking.After the grandpa sang, he uttered three loud incantations that Nicole could not understand, then turned around suddenly, and walked out of the room quickly. Nicole was taken aback, came to her senses, and hurried out the door, only to see her grandfather's green robe flashing in the elevator.