Chapter 6 Chapter Six

Issue number: CONSLXT51/11055/＊7 top secret Subject: Telegram from the USS Constitution. The following information is received and processed by the decoding room according to standard instructions.Due to its special nature, a special investigation has been conducted to determine the source. The wireless azimuth data sent from the base on the back of the moon proves that its source is consistent with the current estimated azimuth of the "Constitution" along a line of sight.The signal is strong, but still within reasonable range.The dip in frequency division and the relative phase shift is consistent with the divergence influenced by particulate matter and clouds.

Although there is not enough information to prove that the information comes from an interstellar ship, no evidence to the contrary has yet been found.After inspection, the telegram appears to be the phonetic notation of the northern dialect of Chinese, and only part of the translation has been completed (see note at the end of the text).Translation is exceptionally difficult for two reasons: first, it is difficult to find a translator who is both skilled enough and confers the corresponding security status; and second, because - presumably - the language used may not conform absolutely The dialect may have been concocted by the "Constitution" personnel themselves. (See paragraph eight)

The following is only a provisional, non-authoritative initial English translation of the content of the "Constitution" call.We are continuing our efforts to translate the full text and minimize reporting errors.Subsequent proofreadings will be submitted for review after completion. The translation is as follows: First Paragraph: Speakers for all—Lieutenant General Sheffield H. Jackman—at rest.Out of an abundance of caution, we cease all action after legitimate action has been taken.I—unidentified, but perhaps Mrs Anat Marlene Backlund, not the other three female crew members, nor their descendants—was moved by kindness and love to take his place .

Second paragraph: It is not enough to study or do things that make people frown and nod their heads, nor is it enough to understand the nature of the sky or the sea.Only when you are fully enlightened can you approach wisdom, and only those who rely on wisdom can act properly. Third Paragraph: These are the maxims that are given to our understanding. The fourth paragraph: People who impose their will on others by force should be pushed off the cliff. Paragraph 5: A person who induces others to covet small wooden carvings or sweets is impolite, and he should be restrained from doing bad things.

Paragraph 6: The man who ties a knot and says "I don't care who unties it" is short-sighted and should wash the sores of the poor and pick shit for everyone until he learns to see tomorrow as his brother today. Seventh paragraph: We are here, and we should not impose our will on you there by force.Understanding is long overdue, and we apologize for the events of next week.It was hastily produced, with errors.All of our spokespersons did things without thinking, and our people here regretted it afterwards. Paragraph 8: You may be wondering—Original text: “Ask the hexagram without thinking”—why we communicate in this language.It is both for entertainment and inspiration—the original text is "never leave your fist, never leave your tune"—but the essence of this process is that you have to experience it first, and then people will tell you what it is.Our steps have already trod this road.In order to reconstruct the ancient text, it is first necessary to reconstruct its German translation, from which the English version was translated.Errors lurk everywhere. [Original text: "Nine Tune Haunted Ghosts". ] Our sculptures are engraved with many faults.Please quietly observe the work for several days and hours, until the bad strokes become part of the work.

Ninth paragraph: It is said that you still have eight days to wait for heavy particles to come.There will be very little damage and necrosis.It is best to land all the atomic reactors that are flying in the air until the event is over. Paragraph 10: Please send us a message after the reconstruction is completed, in the direction of the α-star's planet Beetle.At that time, our home should be finished.After everything is ready, we will send a ferry to ferry the migrants across the river. The above text is the information given by the header 825 of the message.The rest of the text, with about 7,500 messages, has not yet been satisfactorily translated.According to an advisor to the Department of Oriental Languages ​​at Johns Hopkins University, it may have been a poem.

/S/Douward S. Richter Thauward S. Richter U.S. Marine Rear Admiral Chief Translator command Send: ××× only hand in hand Washington—the President of the United States—opened the outer paneled window of his study, leaned out and shouted to his chief scientific adviser: "Harry, what are you waiting for! We're waiting for you!" Harry waved his head up, and stubbornly continued on through the dripping jungle of the North Lawn.His progress was slow among the overgrown weeds, rain and mud, but the president showed no sympathy.He slammed the window and said, "That guy is trying to annoy me. How long do I have to wait for him to decide whether we have to move the capital?"

The Vice President looked up from her sewing and said, "Gibb, dear, why are you so hard on yourself? Why don't you just move out?" "Hey, that looks really nasty." He sank down on a chair disheartened. "I'm really looking forward to the 10th anniversary parade," he grumbled. "Ten years, that's something to brag about! I don't want to do it in the country. I want to do it on Constitution Street, like before, with crowds cheering, reporters, cameras, everything. That bastard in Omaha says I'm not president!" His wife said calmly, "Don't let him bother you, honey. Know what I'm thinking? The parade looks a little petty on Constitution Street anyway. It would be nice to do it on a smaller street." .”

"Oh, what do you know! Where do we go anyway? What makes you think Bethesda would be better off if Washington was under water?" The Secretary of State put down the solitaire in his hand, looking interested. "You don't have to go to Bethesda," he said, "I've got some good land up north, near the Dalles. It's high up there." "Yes, of course, there are many good places in Virginia." The vice president affirmed, "Remember our picnic after your second inauguration? It was at Fairks Station, surrounded by mountains, the United States Extremely."

The president slammed his fist on the coffee table and shouted: "I am not the president of Fairfax Station, I am the president of the United States of America! Where is the capital of the United States of America? Washington! My God, don't you think, if Houston, Those guys in Omaha, Salt Lake City, etc., will laugh at me when they hear I've been forced to move the capital!" He stopped abruptly as his chief scientific advisor came to the door.The advisor shivered, dripping muddy water as he pulled out of his oilskin raincoat. "Huh?" asked the President. "What did they say?"

Harry sat down. "It sucks out there. Anyone got dry smoke?" The president threw a packet over.Harry dried his hands on the front of his shirt and took one out. "Well," said he, "I went to every captain I could find, and they all spoke in the same voice. The ships they talked about, and the places they went to, were all the same. The tide came ashore . He looked around for matches.The president's wife handed him a gold lighter emblazoned with the American flag.It took some effort for him to fire that stuff. "It's not looking good, Jimmy. It's low tide, and everything's fine, but the tide's coming up. It's going to be a little higher tomorrow, and there's going to be storms—not just rain like this. I mean, you gotta be right anytime Be prepared for a tropical depression coming from the Bahamas." "We're not in the tropics." The Secretary of State expressed doubt. "That's not what it means," said the science adviser, who at one point gave the weather forecast on the local ABC station, back when there were such things as TV networks. "It means storms, hurricanes. But that's not the worst case scenario, the rising tide is the concern. If the ice is still melting, the water level is bound to rise higher and higher." The president tapped his fingers on the coffee table when suddenly he shouted, "I don't want to move the capital!" No one responded, and everyone knew about his eccentric temper.The Vice President went to knitting; the Secretary of State picked up his cards and shuffled them; the Science Advisor picked up his raincoat and hung it carefully behind the door. The president said: "You should think of it this way. If we move the capital, then all those country bumpkins who call themselves the president of the United States will only be more proud, and the final reunification of the country will be greatly delayed." His lips moved, and after a while he said emotionally: " I want nothing from myself! I just want to do what I have to do for everyone's benefit, which means I have to maintain my position as the real president, which is what the Amendment of the United States Constitution stipulates. Which means I have to Stay here, in the real White House, no matter what happens." His wife hesitated: "Honey, can this work? Other presidents have had some kind of summer White House - such as Camp David, and no one will make a fuss about it. Why can't you be like them? In Fairfield There is a very desirable old farm near Fix Station that could be beautifully furnished." The President looked at her in surprise. "That's a good idea," he announced, "but we can't move the capital permanently, we've got to defend the place from being taken from us. We've got to come back often, how about it, Harry." His scientific advisor mused, "I guess we could charter some boats. It depends. Don't know how high the water will get." "No 'guessing'! No 'seeing'! This is a national priority. We have to do this to get that bastard in Omaha to listen to the President." "I say, Gibb, dear," said the Vice President after a moment, emboldened by the President's approval. "You have to admit they don't listen to us much now. When was the last time they paid their taxes?" The President looked at her slyly over his glasses. "As for that," he said, "I'll surprise them anyway, the so-called secret weapon." "Hopefully it's better than it did in the last war," her wife said. "If you remember, when we started putting down the rebellion in Frederick, Maryland, we got the shit out of us." The president stood up, indicating that the cabinet meeting was over. "Never mind," he said brightly, "you go out again, Harry, and see if you can get a better map from the Library of Congress, where they've just put out the fire. Find us some high ground, within —, well, within 20 miles, if possible. Then we send the Army to commandeer what Mayer calls a summer White House, and maybe I can sleep in a bed that doesn't get moldy." His wife looked worried. "What are you going to do, Jim?" He chuckled softly: "I'm going to check my secret weapon." He shooed them out of the study, and seeing them gone, he went into the kitchen and fetched himself a bottle of Fresca from the open refrigerator, hot of course.The Marine Guard Company is still trying to fix the air generator, but with little success.The president doesn't care.They were his personal guard, and if they were anything less than equipment repairmen, they had proven their worth in a pinch.The President has always been sober. In troubled times, he was just an ordinary member of Congress, and he was appointed to fill the vacancy-his rapid rise from Speaker and heir apparent to President was not only due to his achievements and the fact that he was the barely legitimate heir to the presidency and the only man in the leadership of the Marine Guards at Washington to have a brother-in-law. The president is actually quite happy with the state of the world.If he ever envied previous presidents—missiles, nuclear bombers, billion-dollar turnover—then, as he surveyed the world around him, he certainly saw that in the real world in which he lived, his status was unmatched of. After drinking the soda, he opened the study door a crack and looked out. Seeing no one around, he slipped out and went down the stairs at the back.You can see the extent of the devastation more clearly in what was once the White House's open spaces.After riots, burnings and raids, the resolve to restore it has gradually waned.The president didn't care, he didn't even notice the charred walls and fallen plaster.He listened to the distant chugging of petrol pumps, and smiled smugly when he reached the basement where his secret weapon was locked. This secret weapon, Dieter von Neffhausen, is trying to complete a general justification of every act in his life, which he calls a memoir. He is less pleased with the world than the president.He can count on many changes.Physical fitness is one of them.He was well aware that he had essential hypertension, bronchitis, and gout.They were fighting the final stages of a general war to see who would be lucky enough to destroy their common battlefield - himself.He didn't care much about his lack of freedom, but he was really hurt by the destruction of so many of his manuscripts. The original typescript of the autobiography had been lost for a long time, but he had tricked the president—the fake, self-appointed president—to send someone to find the remaining pages.Finally, some tattered and incomplete copies came out. As far as his memory and the existing materials allowed, he filled in some omissions, recounted how he planned the α-Alien project, and listed in detail how he lied , forged, to implement the plan. He was as honest as he could be, without forgiving himself.He admits that he conspired to cause the "accidental" death of Ann Basto's husband in a car accident so that she could marry the man of his choice and follow the astronauts to Alpha Centauri.He admitted knowing that the secrecy would not be maintained during the voyage, thus betraying the trust of the president who made the plan come true.He wrote everything down, everything he remembered, and bragged about his successes. He is well aware that his success has been proven.What could prove this more definitively than what happened 10 years ago? "The Incident of Next Week" lives up to expectations, with drama and integrity, and although its details have yet to be deciphered, mainly because it destroys existing technological structures, its main features are already evident.Heavy Particle Rain—Baryons?Maybe even quarks? —has drenched the earth.Its origin has been traced to a point in the sky corresponding to the USS Constitution's map. Combining the information received, it can be asserted without a doubt that the astronauts have developed knowledge far more advanced than any civilization on Earth, and they can impose their will on the human head from two light-years away. superior.They have done it.After a shower of particles, the entire military-industrial system of planet Earth fails. what happened?How did you do it?Oh, Neffhausen thought, proudly envious, that's a problem.Impossible to know.All that is known is that every kind of nuclear device—an atomic bomb, a nuclear power plant, a radioactive source in a hospital, or a stockpile—simultaneously absorbs the stream of particles and ceases to be a source of nuclear energy at that moment.It's not like a bomb dropped, which happens quickly and catastrophically, it's slow and persistent.The uranium and plutonium were simply melted away in the long, sustained reaction.Where silos and nuclear power plants once stood, the reaction continues in boiling lava lakes.No radioactive material leaked out.Besides very appreciable heat. It's been a long time since Kneifhausen expressed regret about the helpless things, but he still looks forward to the day when he can make a good measurement of the total heat flux.Not less than 1016* watt-years, he was sure, judging from the effects on the earth's atmosphere, storms, and rising global temperatures, and above all rumors of rising sea levels, which Reflecting the melting of the polar ice caps.There is no good weather network. From the fragmented information he can collect, it can be seen that the temperature of the earth has risen by 4 degrees Celsius, or even 6-7 degrees Celsius, and the reactors are still in Czechoslovakia, Congo, Colorado and hundreds of countries. Little hell boils. Rumors about sea level? Not a gossip, no, he corrected himself, looking up at the serpentine rubber tube protruding from under the plinth at the far end of the room and out of the iron window.The water pump outside the iron window was trying to keep the water level in his room below the tread.Judging from the amount of water flowing in, most of the White House grounds are completely submerged in water. The door opened, and the President of the United States (Washington) stepped in and patted the thin, frightened, hungry young man on the shoulder. "How are you doing, Neffhausen?" the president said loudly, "Ready for a short explanation?" "I'm at my beck and call, Mr. President. But as I've said, there's a limit to everything. Besides, I'm not young anymore, and my health—" "Don't fucking talk about health and limits!" roared the President. "Don't complain to me, Neffhausen!" "Sorry, Mr. President," Neffhausen whispered. "Don't apologize! I'm judging by the results. Do you know what it took to keep that pump going and you didn't drown? Gasoline is rationed, Neffhausen! It's a high state priority I just got it! If you don't cooperate, I don't know how long I can spend our resources confidently." Neffhausen said sadly but stubbornly: "As much as I can, Mr. President, I cooperate." "Yes, of course." The President was in an unusually good mood today, as Neffhausen noted with a prisoner's paranoid alertness to detail. After a while the President said, "Look, let's not get stuck on this. I have one condition, one word from you, and I'll fire that stupid bastard Harry Stokes and make you my chief Science advisor, how about it? Right back to the upper floor again, your own apartment, electric lights! Waiters - you can pick your own, some beautiful chicks in the pool, the best food you can dream of. A real for America An opportunity to serve, to help reunite this great country and make it again the great power it should and must be!" "Mr. President," said Neffhausen, "I naturally want to be effective in any way I can, but we've talked about these issues before, and I'm doing everything I'm told, but I don't know how. Get the bombs working again. You saw what happened, Mr. President, they failed." "I didn't say bombs, did I? Look, Nephi, I'm a reasonable man. How about this, you promise to use your best scientific powers in any way you can. You say, you can't make a bomb, okay Yes, but there will be something else." "Anything else? Mr. President." "Don't rush me, Neffhausen. Anything, anything you can do for your country. Make me a promise and you'll be out today. Or, would you rather I turn the pump off?" Neffhausen shook his head, not in disapproval, but in despair. “You don’t know what you’re asking for. What can a scientist do for you today? 10 years ago, yes—even five years ago, we might have made something, I might have done something. But now this The prerequisites are not there. At this time all nuclear power plants are out of operation - at this time, the factories that depend on them are cut off - at this time, the fertilizer plant cannot fix nitrogen, and the pesticide plant cannot start the cargo - this time When people began to die of hunger, and the plague began to prevail—" "I know all about it, Neffhausen. Yes, or no?" The scientist hesitated, looking at his opponent thoughtfully, a cunning glint flashed in his eyes. "Mr. President," he said slowly, "you know something, something has happened." "Yes," said the President triumphantly, "you are very clever. Now tell me, what do I know?" Neffhausen shook his head.After 70 years of being alive and 10 years of dying, reviving hope is not easy.This dreadful villain, this upstart, fool—not without a certain animal cunning, he seemed sure enough. "Please, Mr. President, tell me." The president put his finger on his lips, and listened to the door with his ear. After confirming that no one was listening, he approached Neffhausen and whispered: "You know, I have trade representatives everywhere, Neffhausen. Sen. Some are in Houston, some are in Salt Lake City, some are even in Montreal. They're not there just to trade, sometimes they find something and they tell me. Wondering if anyone in Anaheim just tell me what?" Neffhausen didn't answer, but his wet old eyes begged. "A message." The President lowered his voice. "From the USS Constitution?" Neffhausen yelled. "But, no, it's impossible! The base station on the far side of the moon is gone, the Jinshi station has been destroyed, and the orbiting satellites are falling—" "It's not a wireless message," the President said. "It's coming from Paloma Peak. It's not the big telescope, because that one was blown off, too, but what they call 'Schmidt,' whatever it is, it's still working." .And they still have some old-fashioned people who go to see it from time to time, for the sake of old times. So they get a laser message. It's in ordinary Morse code. It says it's from Alpha Centauri, it's you from your little friend, Neffhausen." He took a piece of paper from his pocket and held it up. Neffhausen, reeling from a fit of coughing, finally said hoarsely, "Give it to me!" The president held up the paper. "A deal, Neffhausen?" "Yes, yes! You can say anything, just give me the telegram!" "Oh, of course." The President smiled, handing the crumpled paper over. It says: Notice today that we have created α-Alienus, which is beautiful and majestic.We'll send the ferries in and pick up the right people to populate and do other work.We have a special tribute to Dr. Dieter von Neffhausen, and we would love to speak with him.It will arrive within three weeks after receiving the electricity, please press. " Neffhausen read it twice, looked at the president, then read it again, "I'm... very happy." He didn't know how. The President snatched back the pages, folded them, and put them in his pocket, as if the good telegram itself was the key to power. "So, you see," he said, "it's very simple, you help me and I help you." "Yes, yes, of course," said Neffhausen, staring past him. "They're your friends, and they'll do what you tell them to do. Anything you tell me, they'll do—" "Yes, the particles, the ability to reproduce, God forbid, and the ability to build a planet—" Neffhausen would probably go on endlessly, but the President was impatient. "So now it's only a few days and they're coming. But imagine what they're going to have? Guns, tools, everything -- and all you have to do is have them help me restore the United States of America to a The right place. I won't let them do it for nothing. Neffhausen, and you. They—” The President paused, watching the scientist carefully.Then he yelled: "Nefhausen!" and jumped up to catch him. It was too late, and the scientist slumped backwards on the pedals.The guards were ordered to run to the doctor who had come to the White House, and the doctor moved as fast as he could with his bad leg and beer-filled head, but he was too late.It was too late for Neffhausen, his tired heart could no longer beat... As it was confirmed a few days later - when the great golden ships from Alpha-Alienus had landed on Earth and spit out their resourceful and fearsome members to cleanse the planet - it was time. Editor's note: Centaurus is a multiple star, and the two brightest sub-stars are yellow visual binary stars, which are regarded as the third brightest stars in the sky, with a visual magnitude of -027 ; the second fainter sub-star is Proxima Centauri, the closest star to Earth at a distance of 4.3 light-years.