Chapter 12 Chapter Eleven

Due to some early actions of human beings in space, they have been imprisoned on the surface of the earth and cannot develop into outer space.Humanity was ultimately defeated by its own success, as has happened frequently throughout their history.As soon as the first rockets reached low Earth orbit, debris from the rocket fuselage began to appear in space.By 1980, there were more than 7,000 objects in fixed orbits, ranging from a wrench dropped by a spacewalking astronaut to a waste fuel tank the size of a car compartment. .At the time, any rocket launch required a computer to spend a full day figuring out a suitable trajectory to avoid a catastrophic collision with some piece of space junk that was speeding past.Locating large objects is relatively easy, but small objects that are too small to be found are the real dangerous killers.At the time, at least five or six active satellites were known to have been damaged or destroyed.Any metal debris in the low-altitude orbit of the earth can pierce or even destroy an artificial satellite at high speed.This is just the beginning.Then came Star Wars.Some believe that active strategic defense systems are useless.Unfortunately, the opposite is true.After the war, thousands of discarded laser guns, destroyed satellites, anti-missile systems, and exploded missile fragments filled the low-altitude orbital space, forming a high-speed, airtight garbage minefield. Once started, it had to stop abruptly.In some places the garbage is thinner than in others—the least dangerous places are over the poles of the earth, but even at the thinnest places only heavily armed satellites can hope to pass through, and, due to their own weight It is too big, and it cannot rely on the power of the earth's rotation when launching, so it consumes a lot of fuel.Even these satellites would stop if their mirrors were dented by shards of metal, plastic or paint, overheating and damaging the instruments.Since then, no manned spacecraft has traveled into space.This kind of launch has never been successful, and it won't be possible for another 50 or 60 years, unless the space junk is all broken down, which takes hundreds of years.

The Elders recognized that humanity has such a strong desire for space and all things related to space.This is good news for them, so they decided to approve the squad to go to the Republic of York. The decision was relayed from Tanya to Polly on the landing boat, and Polly's forearm began to shake restlessly, which was her usual reaction to the news. "But why didn't the elders tell us who will go and who won't?" she complained. "Well," Tanya said self-righteously, "it seems to be up to you to decide. It is impossible to ask them now, the spaceship has sailed to the other side of the earth, and it is no longer possible to contact them."

Polly turned off the radio, looking sullenly at Aubie and Sandy. "That's it," she announced. "Let me see, Obier, you're our astronaut, so you have to go." "Oh, nasty!" Aubier muttered, "Are you saying I'm going alone, apart from you?" "Of course not. If you go alone, you will be irresponsible in doing things, and you will lose the caution of an adult Haikeli. I will go with you." "No, I want a friend to go with me," he said in English. "I want Sandy to go with me." Polly's eyes widened, and she pinched her thumbs in a warning gesture.Aubie trembled, but still insisted on his stand.Polly thought for a while, shrugged, and announced in a serious manner: "I have decided, the three of us will go to York together. Lasander, go and inform your earth woman of this decision."

"That's great!" cried Sandy, hurrying ahead of the others to find Margerie Dapp. The news pleased her.In fact, everyone is happy.Sandy was happy because Margery was happy.Polly, on the other hand, prided herself on having done what the Senators wanted her to do.As for Obiye, he was already ecstatic.He shouted, jumped and shouted on the side of the road to show the joy in his heart. "New York! New York!" he cried, jumping up to the awning over the hotel door and down again. "Oh, Sandy! We can have a good time at the Broadway theater! We're going to salute Broadway, and take everyone's regards to Harold Square—wait a minute," he paused beside Margerie Dapp, breathlessly. , asked: "What is 'Harold Square'?"

"It's an old street square in New York City," she said, "and it's flooded now." Turning around, she said to Sandy, "I'm really happy. Hudson is a big city, and I I have a place there, and it will be interesting to show you around when the time comes." "Thanks," Sandy said quickly, "I thought it would be fun, too. But..." He hesitated. "However, do you have to take your vertical take-off and landing plane?" She patted his arm. "No. We don't use vertical take-off and landing aircraft for long-distance travel. Although they use hydrogen as fuel, they are too expensive. We will take a blimp this time, and the journey will take a little over 24 hours. I guarantee you will like it Yes, like a cruise."

"Cruising? Like 'Love Boat'?" She frowned. "I don't know what a 'love boat' is, here you go again, come on, okay? We're going to be busy today. If you all go to York Republic, there will be 100 people here in Dawson eager to ask you questions, so anxious It's life and death." Aubie made a face.Sandy didn't like that, he didn't want to be too shameless in front of Margery, but he also complained: "Why are they talking endlessly. Can't we give us a break?" "Tonight," she said firmly, "how about we have a farewell party on the top floor after all your interviews? Now let's get busy."

They are really busy.During the morning interview, the three of them dealt with five or six polite and persistent questioners.Check out the questions they asked!Why did the Hekri freeze their eggs and not hatch right away?What was the title of the Earth movie shown to the crew?What is "magnetic drive" called in Haikli language?What would happen if, say, a meteor hit the cockpit of a starship?Polly, too, trembled with terror as she answered the last question. "That's horrible," she said, showing her tail, hoping someone would lick it as a sign of sympathy (no one on Earth understood what she meant, and Aubie and Sandy were separated again. too far), "would destroy the whole ship."

The morning questions ended on such an unpleasant note.Polly murmured morosely that she was in no mood to eat, but of course she and Aubier ate anyway.Sandy wasn't so lucky.Marge was away, he just ate a sandwich, and then the afternoon questioning started again. This time he was questioned alone, and the other party was three different batches of questioners.He had never met most of them, and even though they told him their names time and time again without hesitation, Sandy still couldn't tell them apart.The first group of people wanted to hear about his life experience, from the time when the Haikeli found his parents' spaceship, they spent a full hour asking about his childhood, his education, and his relationship with other members of the team, including Qing Taiqi Various details of the relationship between Luo and Marsala.For the first time since the lander left the starship, Sandy thought of Marsala, his dear, deceased nanny, and he was so sad and ashamed that he almost burst into tears.The second group of people is more special.Sandy has talked about having games and competitions in his practice.Their question is, are these games and competitions of a military nature? (Oh no, he answered them in the affirmative; wrestlers used to fight to the death when they competed, but they didn't do it any more.) Nobody ever used a "weapon"? (Of course not! Why do the Haikeli people use "weapons" against their own kind?) Don't they even have "police"? (Of course not! The Heckley have no "police" - what's the use of having a policeman? The Senators don't allow "crime" to happen, and no Heckley would resist their wishes.)

Compared with the first two groups of questioners, the questions asked by the third group are almost like small talk.Sandy liked this group of people, and another reason was that Margery Dapp was one of them.She sat down in front of him and said straight to the point: "Sandy, we want to know everything about the Highkleigh. So please start at the beginning, wherever you feel fit, and tell us what you think we Everything you should know." It's easy.The more Sandy looked at her, the easier it was to talk to her.He'd just sit there and tell her everything he could think of about the Highkleys: about Tichthik, about how the magnetic drive made the landing craft jump forward when they landed; and about his mother, or rather his mother A part of the body is still alive, in a way, still alive in the genetic file on the starship.Margery listened, very attentively, and said nothing, except now and then a grunt or a "What's next?" she talks.

There was a knock on the door, and Sandy was talking vigorously, which made him feel uneasy.Hamilton Boyle leaned in, told them the two Highkleighs had finished their afternoon Q&A and were going to eat "milk biscuits," and asked Sandy if he wanted to come along.Margerie replied for Sandy, "Oh, I don't think so, Ham. Sandy and I will go upstairs and wait for them for a drink, if Sandy doesn't mind." Of course he doesn't mind.Instead, it couldn't be better. "What would you like to have?" They found a table bathed in the warm afternoon sun, and after sitting down, Margery asked, "I want a cup of coffee, do you want to try it?"

"Okay," he said, bracing himself for another torture.Still, he rejoiced at the chance to undo the ill effects of that unisex poem for himself.The waitress brought two glasses and a silver coffee pot, and Sandy reached into her pocket and was about to speak when Polly and Aubie appeared at the door.He frowned straight at them. "I didn't expect you to be so fast." He complained. "If the Earthlings had behaved better, we would not have found this place." Polly said grumpily, and stepped out into the sunshine on the terrace.She looked like she wanted to pinch someone. "What's up?" Sandy asked. She rushed towards Marge Li aggressively. "Just now I talked with our team members, do you know that some of you people on Earth are taking 'souvenirs' indiscriminately?" Margeley was stunned, "What do you mean 'souvenir'?" "They stole some parts of the landing ship's shield. Tanya said that someone cut off large pieces of the shield while they were unconscious." "I'm sorry about that," said Margerie apologetically. "Did you tell Hamilton Boyle?" "I haven't seen Hamilton Boyle since this crime was discovered. You have to deal with it. Stealing parts from our ship is an offense to the Highkley people and must be stopped." Aubie interjected, "Sandy, I told her it's okay, it's just the old protective screen that's missing, and it's going to be replaced sooner or later anyway." Seeing Polly turning to him, he quickly flashed, and argued: "It's true." Margelie said firmly, "No, Aubie, she's right. It was a bad thing, and I promise it won't happen again. Polly, I apologize." Polly turned sharply. "That's not over yet. Your boy Boyle has been grilling me all afternoon about how the landing craft works, what fuel we're running on, whether we can take off again without refueling - so many questions Questions, it's killing me! Someone else did the same with Obier, Tanya, Burton, Helen and Demi were all questioned. We're here for friendship! Shouldn't be like Perry Mason were interrogated!" "Who is Perry Mason?" Marge Li asked, then hurriedly added, "I'm sorry, we're just too curious about you, um, you high-level races from extraterrestrials." Sandy decided to chime in. "It's okay, Margery. We understand this. If you still have questions, feel free to ask." Marge Li hesitated, biting her lower lip and smiling slightly. "Are you sure you're not too tired?" "Of course not." "Okay," she thought for a moment, then asked with an apologetic smile, "There's one little thing I've been thinking about. It's silly to ask, and it's about your names." She paused again.Sandy waited for the question, encouraging her, "Really? How is it?" "Oh, this question is unofficial, just my own curiosity, your names don't sound like Hykleite names at all, do they? Where did you find them?" "Oh, our names," Sandy blushed, "they're just for fun, you know." Aubie jumped over, much more relaxed now that Polly was no longer pinching. "Yes, as a joke," he said cheerfully, "they're from a play, an Earth play, that we did together many years ago. It was performed in front of the crew! They were so enthralled! That The play was a huge hit. Of course they couldn't understand the language we spoke, and it was the first time we'd acted in English. Shall we show her, Sandy, Polly?" "Show me what?" Margery asked with a worried tone. "No, Theseus isn't here," Sandy objected. Aubie twisted his body in protest. "We don't need him. I know his lines. And I know Polly remembers her part, maybe you can play Iggies - come on, let's do it!" Aubie laughed and jumped onto the low wall next to the terrace, and began to recite: "Beautiful Hippolyta, now our wedding day It is drawing near, four more days of bliss, The new moon is about to appear, but alas!this old moon How slowly she fades away, she delays my hope, Like an immortal stepmother or widow, It is all about consuming the property of young people. " "It's your turn, Polly," he coaxed. Polly's face was still ugly, but she agreed. "Okay." She sighed. "Four days will soon be nights, Four nights can quickly pass in dreams, Then the moon will be like a newly bent silver bow, Watch our good night in heaven. " Sandy tried his best to recall the next line of Iggis, and just about to speak, Margery surprised him and said, "This is Shakespeare!" "That's right! That's right!" cried Aubier happily, jumping from the low wall to her side. "It's called A Midsummer Night's Dream. Oh, we were doing really well. Go on, please?" But all Sandy could recall from Eggies was "It is with all my heart I accuse my child, my daughter Hermia," and then faltered. "Oh, think again." Obiye induced him, and Sandy shook his head. "We could get someone else to do it over the radio," he suggested wistfully.Marge Li shook her head, she was already amazed. "No need," she said, "I see. Really, you did a great job. Is this how you learn English?" "It's one of the ways, and it's the best. But Ching Tai Chi Roh was mad at Masala for letting us do it, saying we were learning the wrong way." "That's not true," said Sandy, who remained loyal to Marsala. "We know the difference." "But we've all kept those names," Aubier said. "It's good for you, too, Marge. Lucky you, you don't have to bother remembering our name, Hackley. Sandy, do you want to play a few more scenes?" ?” Polly waved her hand in disapproval. "I'm going to go back and tell Tanya, you said, these acts of vandalism will be stopped." She said to Marzhili with a gloomy face, "In this way, she can ask Qing Taiqi Luo for instructions. Will you go with me, Aubie?" "No, no, I'm going to stay here and talk to Marge Lee about New York, New York—Times Square, Hallam, Wall Street..." He danced away, crying, singing. Margery stared at his back. "What about your real names he mentioned?" she asked Sandy. He moved his position, following Aubie who was happily jumping up and down on the empty terrace. "Oh, there is a lot of information about the person in the name of the Heckley." He explained to her that the name can reflect a person's lineage and status in the Heckley society, and the number after the name indicates which batch of egg storage he was from. Hatched.Speaking of this, of course, it must be mentioned that the Heckley people are used to freezing and storing their eggs immediately after laying eggs, so as not to exceed the limit that the spaceship can hold. "Polly said, if you human beings also adopt this method," Aubier shouted across three tables, "you won't have so many troubles now." "Thank you for the great idea," said Margery.Sandy gave her a look, the meaning of which didn't match her tone of voice. "You're mocking her, aren't you?" he asked. She was about to answer when she sneezed suddenly.Sandy was taken aback and hurriedly asked, "Are you okay?" "You should say 'good health', you know? I'm fine, what did you just ask me?" "I say……" "Oh, I remember," she interrupted him. "Yes, Sandy, I was sarcasm. Your friend Polly is making my nose crooked." His eyes widened. "Your nose is crooked..." "Oh my! I mean she annoyed me. I'm sorry about that." "Why the apology? She annoys me too, annoys everyone. She's the most bossy of the squad." "Really?" Margery seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, "Oh, I'm glad to hear you say that, I don't want to think that all the people in Highkley are as unreasonable as her." "what?" "I mean, uh, not likable. Honestly," she looked across the terrace, where Aubier was practicing his high jump, "I like Aubier a lot. He's kind of childish, isn't he? But Pretty funny." "He's my best friend," Sandy said, wondering if she should ask her what the "funny" meant in that sentence, and then forgetting. "You know, me and him, the two of us have been together since childhood..." He yawned. "Didn't you get enough sleep?" "I just can't sleep as long as you guys," he argued. "We usually only sleep for two 12 days on the spaceship. It's hard to stay in bed any longer. However, I woke up last night and did something .” "Oh?" "I've written another poem," he said, passing a piece of paper. This is for I dearest margeley I have many shortcomings but still in love with her wish me and margeley often there are many Wonderful story, I'm with her Happy to share I love yes! I love yes! I love yes! I love love you! love you yes! She gave him a dazed look, thought for a moment, and then spoke. "I guess you got the gender right this time," she remarked, handing the poem back to him. Sandy had wished she had said something else. "Do you not like it?" She looked at him with both affection and anger. "Oh, damn, of course I do. Pretty much. You're straight enough. But every woman likes to have poetry written to her, doesn't she?" "I don't know, I hope so." "Women love it, and so do I. It's just..." She paused. "Look, Sandy, it's a mess right now, you understand? I want to work and I don't want to get myself involved in a relationship." "Are you saying I can't kiss you anymore?" Sandy asked blankly. She laughed, and Obiye suddenly jumped beside her, and she quickly dodged.Aubie looked over her shoulder and said, "He finally showed you the poem." "Yes, he showed me." "I think the poem is really good," Aubier said defiantly. "It's still in English. He can write better poems in Heckley if you want." "Can you leave us alone for a while?" Sandy snapped.Aubie looked at him with a hurt expression, and jumped away.Sandy said apologetically to Margery, "He's going to New York soon, so he's so excited." "Sandy, that place isn't called 'New York' anymore." "Okay, York, call it whatever you want. We've seen so many old movies about it anyway... Hey, really, Aubier is too small." Funny, until saying this, Only then did he realize that this idea had been circling in his mind for a long time.Marge Li's comment is really in one language.The boisterous, mischievous, reckless, sometimes lazy behavior of his fellow Highckley teammates was indeed childish.Unlike John William Washington, not only mature, but also "in love".This is something that the Highkleites will never understand. Aubie heard his words. "I'm not a child," he cried. "Look how far I can jump! Can a child do it?" So, keeping his eyes on Sandy, he jumped to the top of the elevator and crouched there, grinning at them. "I think he's too young," Sandy said apologetically. Marge Li nodded and said nothing.Suddenly, she looked over Sandy's shoulder. "Oh, there!" she exclaimed, "to the left, just above that cloud, see? That's our blimp. It's here overnight, and we'll take it to York to-morrow." Sandy craned his neck full of joy to look, and heard Aubie shout behind him: "I'm coming." He jumped down, but his eyes were not on the low wall he was aiming at, but on the airship in the sky. An accident happened.He had miscalculated the route of his jump, though only slightly.He hit the railing, but didn't stop.Margerie screamed, and Sandy jumped over with a yell, trying to catch him, but it was too late.Obiye struggled with his legs in fright, trying to stop himself.He hit the low wall, bounced, and was out in a flash.They heard him fall screaming all the way.