Chapter 12 Chapter 5 Alliance of Giants

Now, Redwood found himself on a train, heading south across the Thames.He saw the river glistening in the lights of the trains, still smoking from the impact point on the north bank where a great crowd had been organized to burn the horror of Hercules.The South Bank was pitch black. For some reason, even the street lamps were not lit. Only the outline of the tall Reward Tower and the silhouettes of the apartments and schools could be seen clearly.He turned his back to the east window, lost in thought.There is nothing to see and nothing to do until the children are seen.These two great burdens wearied him, and he felt that his mental strength must be exhausted.He drank some espresso to refresh himself before he set off, and his thoughts were now focused and clear.He thought of many things.Inspired by the events that have already been completed, he once again looked back at the past, reviewing the life and development of God Food.

"Bensington thought it would be excellent baby food," he said softly to himself, smiling.Then he thought of the terrible doubts in his heart after feeding his own son with the food of the gods, and the scene was still there before him.Since then, regardless of people's various obstructions, the divine food has spread steadily and spread throughout the world.What now? "Even if they kill all the children," Redwood said in a low voice, "the God Food can't be wiped out." The secrets of making God's Food are well known.It was his fault.Plants, animals, lots of scary-looking children, they will all come together to irresistibly return the world to cannibalism and gigantism, whatever the outcome of the present struggle.

"The time has come," he said, turning his heart against his will to the fate of these children and his son.Will it involve them exhausted from fighting, battered, hungry, on the verge of defeat, or still strong, hopeful, and ready for the harsher struggles of tomorrow?His son was hurt!But he had a message! He thought again of his meeting with Caterham. A stop at Chiselhurst brought him out of his contemplation.He recognized the place from the great rat police tower atop Camden Hill, and from the giant hemlock trees in full bloom that lined the road.Caterham's private secretary came from another car and told him that the track was broken half a mile ahead,

The rest of the journey had to be taken by car.Redwood got out of the car and came to the platform. The platform was only illuminated by a hand lamp, and the cool evening breeze was blowing.This deserted, tree-fringed, weed-ridden suburb—all its inhabitants fled to London yesterday when the fighting broke out—impresses at first glance.The guide led him down the steps to the waiting car with its big headlights—the only lights visible—and handed him over to the driver to say goodbye. "You'll do your best for us," he said, imitating his master, shaking Redwood's hand.Once Redwood sat down, they drove off into the night.For a moment the car seemed to come to a standstill, and then it slid softly down the slope of the station.After turning one corner and another, following a winding narrow road between some villas, an avenue stretched out ahead.The car accelerated to the maximum, and the pitch-black night quickly swept back.Under the starlight, everything is very dark, and the whole world is mysteriously lurking, and there is no sound.There was no sound of flying insects on the side of the road; on both sides were abandoned pale villas with dark windows, which reminded him of a silent skeleton.

The driver next to him was a quiet person, maybe it was because of the environment of this trip that he didn't dare to make a sound.To Redwood's brief questions, he responded with rude monosyllabic words.The beams of the searchlights swept silently across the southern sky; the only but strange sign of life in the abandoned world around the rushing cars. Now the road is wider, and there are saplings of giant prunus growing on the side of the road, which look very dark. Beside the tall big thatch and big dog tendons, the dead branches of giant nettle are as tall as trees, and the dark shadow is on the top of the head. flashed.After passing Keston and coming to a hill, the driver slowed down.On the top of the mountain, the car stopped.The engine shuddered for a while and died. "There," he said, pointing with a thick gloved finger to a black deformity before Redwood's eyes.

It seemed still far away, and there was a strong light on the top of the big camp, and from there shot the beam of the searchlight, pointing directly at the sky.These beams of light shone between the clouds and the mountainous ground around them, as if drawing some mysterious spell. "I don't know," the driver said after a while, obviously afraid to go any further.At this time, a searchlight came down from the sky and shone on them. They stopped as if they were startled, and examined them carefully. Instead of illuminating them, the dazzling light made them even more excited because of something like a big grass stalk. I can't see clearly.They sat with their hands over their eyes, trying to look under them.

"Go ahead," Redwood said after a while. The driver was still hesitating; he tried to express his doubts, but all he could say was another "I don't know." In the end, he decided to take a risk. "Here," he said, starting the car, and the big white light followed them closely. It seemed to Redwood that for a long time they seemed not to be on earth but to throb, rushing through a glowing cloud.Suddenly, suddenly, suddenly, suddenly, the machine beeped, and again and again—from some nervous impulse—the driver honked the horn. They entered a fenced alley that was reassuringly dark, and drove past lowlands and houses into blinding glare.Then, across the bare plateau, they seemed to hang abruptly in the boundless air.

Huge weeds reappeared, sweeping past them and behind them.Then, quite suddenly, right in front of them, there loomed a giant, his lower part gleaming from the searchlights, his dark upper body against the night sky, looking down at them. "Hey, listen!" he yelled. "Stop! There's no road ahead. Is that Redwood's father?" Redwood stood up and gave a vague cry in answer. Cossar then joined him on the road, took his hand in both and pulled him out of the car. "How is my son?" Redwood asked. "No problem," Cossar said, "They didn't hurt him too much."

"Where are your children?" "Very well. All well. But we had a war." The giant said something to the driver.Redwood stood aside and turned the car around. Then suddenly Cossar disappeared, everything vanished, and for a moment he was plunged into absolute darkness.The searchlight followed the car back to the top of Keston Hill.He watched the little car drift away in a white halo.It's really weird to watch, it's like the car is not moving at all but the halo is moving.A great battle-torn elderbush flashed suddenly, haggard, bullet-spattered, and slanting, before being swallowed up by night again.

Redwood turned to Kosar's shadowy figure and grabbed his hand. "I was arrested and cut off from the outside world for two whole days," he said. "I didn't know anything." "We bombarded them with God's Food!" Cossar said. "Obviously! Thirty rounds. Ugh!" "I've just come from Caterham." "I know," he sneered, "I think he's killing it." "Where is my son?" Redwood said. "He's fine. The Giants are waiting for news from you." "Yes, but my son—" He and Cossar descended a long, sloping tunnel.The red light in the tunnel was bright for a while, and then it returned to darkness.

Then they entered the huge shelter made by the giants. Redwood's first impression was that a large area was surrounded by high cliffs, and many things were piled on the ground.It was dark here, illuminated only by the reflection of the sometimes searching searchlight overhead.There was also a red light that flickered on and off from a far corner, where two giants worked to the clang of metal.Against the night sky, as the lights swept across, he could make out the outlines of the workshop and playground that had been built for Kosar's children.They hung over a cliff now, twisted by Caterham's cannonballs.There appears to be a large artillery emplacement up there, with cylinders, possibly ammunition, nearer.There are huge engines and unrecognizable big guys all over the place below, scattered here and there in a little haphazardness.In the uncertain light giants came and went among these things; their towering figures were in proportion to them.Some giants were busy with some work, while others were sitting or lying down, as if trying to fall asleep.The one in front was bandaged and lying on a rough mat of pine branches, apparently asleep.Redwood watched the blurry figures, moving his eyes from one moving figure to another. "Where is my son, Kosar?" Then he saw him. His son sat in the shadow of a massive steel wall.It could only be discerned from the posture of the dark figure—his face could not be seen at all.He sat with his chin resting on his hands, as if tired, or lost in thought.Beside him, Redwood spotted the figure of the princess, just a dark figure.At this time, the light reflected from the red-hot iron in the distance was red and soft; in the blink of an eye, he saw her extremely kind face.Standing with her hands on the steel wall, she gazed at her lover.It seemed that she was speaking to him softly. Redwood wanted to go to them. "Now," said Cossar, "the first thing is your news." "Yes," said Redwood, "but—" He stopped.His son was looking up and speaking to the princess, but his voice was too low for them to hear. Little Redwood looked up, and the princess bent over him, looking sideways before speaking. "But if we are defeated," they heard little Redwood whisper. She paused, her tear-filled eyes glistening with red light.She bent down even more and spoke in a lower voice.There was something so intimate, so secret, in their manners and whispers, that Redwood—who had thought of nothing but his son for two days—felt he would be a kind of man there. interference.Suddenly he restrained himself.For perhaps the first time in his life, he realized that a son was far more important to a father than a father was to a son; he realized all the advantages of the future over the past.Here, between these two, he has no place at all.His role has been played.He turned to Kosar, realizing all of a sudden.Their eyes meet.His voice became resolute. "I'd like to talk about my information now," he said, "later—later." The shelter was so large and filled with so many things that Redwood had to walk a long way before he got to the place where he addressed the whole group. He and Cossar went down a steep ramp.Drilled under a connecting arch of a machine, down to a wide passage across the bottom of the shelter. The passage was wide and empty, yet relatively narrow, and it combined with everything around it to make Redwood aware of his own insignificance. It becomes like a dug canyon.High above, across the wall of darkness, searchlights were spinning and shining, bright lights coming and going.Loud voices called to each other from above, calling the giants to a war council and hearing Caterham's terms. The pathway still descends into bottomless darkness, into shadows, mystery and unseen things. Redwood walked slowly and reluctantly into it all, Cossar took a confident stride. Redwood was busy thinking. The two entered complete darkness, and Cossar held his companion's hand.They had to walk slowly. Heartbroken, Redwood said, "This is all very strange." "It's huge," Cossar said. "Strange. Strange to me, and strange enough—I, it was I, in a way, who started it all. This—" He stopped, catching elusive thoughts, and made an invisible gesture towards the cliff. "I didn't think of this before. I've been busy, so many years have passed, but these days I see—this is a new generation. Cosar, new generation, new needs. All these, Cosal -" Cossar could now see a little of the gestures he was making to things around him. "All this is called youth." Cossar did not answer, and his irregular steps continued to move forward. "This is not our youth, Cossar. They took it. They walked their own way with their own feelings, their own experience. We made a new world, but this world is not ours. This Big place "I planned it," Kosar's face was very close. "But now?" "Oh! I gave it to my sons." Redwood could feel the careless movement of the arm but not see it. "That's right. We're done—or nearly done." "Your message!" "Yes. Then—" "Let's finish it." "what--?" "Of course we stay out of it, us two old men," said Cossar, with the familiar outburst of anger, "of course we are, obviously. Every man has his time. And now—their time has begun. This Good. A bunch of diggers. We're done and we're off. Get it? That's what death is for. We drain our little brains and hearts and update the whole thing. Update and update! Simple as hell .What's wrong?" He paused, leading Redwood to a step. "Yeah," said Redwood, "but it always feels—" He didn't finish talking. "That's what death is for," he heard Corsal insisting below him. "Is there any other way? That's what death is for." Climbing winding steps, they ascended to a ledge from which much of the giant's shelter could be seen. From here Redwood could make his voice heard by all the assembled giants. The giants had assembled at different heights below and around him, to hear his report. Cossar's eldest son stood high overhead, watching what the searchlights showed, for they feared that the other side would break the truce. The men operating the searchlights placed in the corners could see clearly in the glare; they were bare-chested and backless, their faces turned toward Redwood, but they still glanced now and then at the machines they couldn't do without.He looked at the nearby figures illuminated by waves of sweeping lights, the farther away they became less clear.They emerged from the boundless chaos and disappeared into the boundless chaos. The giants kept their shelters as unlit as possible, in order to accustom their eyes to the darkness and to be able to see what might strike from the surrounding darkness. Now and again a light illuminated the bodies of this or that group of gigantic, powerful giants, the giants from Sunderland clad in fish-scale chain mail, the rest, according to their condition of life, in leather or Rope fabric or wire fabric.Among the huge and powerful machines and weapons like them, they stood or looked, the twinkling lights shone on their faces, and all of them had piercing eyes. He made an effort to start talking, but couldn't.Then, after a while, his son's face, lit by the flickering firelight, looked up at him; kind and strong.Only then did he have the strength to speak to everyone, as if he had crossed a bay and told his son in the distance. "I'm from Caterham," he said. "He wants me to come and tell you his terms." He paused. "These are unacceptable conditions, I know, I know they are unacceptable when I see you all gathered here; but I promise him to bring them, because I want to see all of you—and me son. I want to see my son." "On his terms," ​​Cossar said. "That's Caterham's condition: He wants you to leave, to leave his world!" "where to?" "He doesn't know. Cut off a chunk of the world somewhere. You can no longer make god food, you can't have children, so you can live in your own way until you die." He stopped. "that is all?" "that is all." Then there was silence.The darkness that hung over the giants seemed to watch him thoughtfully.He felt someone touch his arm, and it was Cossar who had brought him a chair—a strangely small piece of furniture like a doll's among the big things.He sat down, crossed his legs, crossed one knee over the other, and clutched his boots nervously.He felt his own insignificance, realized that he had become the target of all eyes, and stayed in a ridiculous position again. Then he heard a voice, and he forgot himself again. "Do you hear me, brothers," said a voice from the shadows.Another voice replied: "Understand." "What answer, brethren?" "Answer Caterham?" "Tell him: no!" "What about the future?" There was a short silence. Then a voice said: "Those people are right. From their point of view, of course. They have a right to kill anything bigger than themselves—beasts, plants, anything big that grows. They're trying to kill." We were right, too. Now they are right when they say we are not allowed to marry our own kind. They are right in their eyes. They understand—and we understand now—that dwarfs and giants cannot Coexistence in the world. Caterham has said time and time again—clearly he has said it—that we and them are at stake." "We don't even have half a hundred, but they have countless people," said another. "Let it be. But the nature of the problem is what I just said." There was another long silence. "Then are we going to die?" "God forbid!" "where are they?" "nor". "But that's what Caterham said! He let us live this life, one by one, until there is only one left, and this one will die too. They will kill all the huge crops and weeds, and kill all the huge Bugs, fish, birds, burn all traces of Godfood - get rid of us and Godfood once and for all. Then the world of gnomes will be safe. They will survive - live their little gnomes safely forever Living, giving each other dwarf kindness or playing dwarf cruelty, they may even create a dwarf peace and prosperity, end wars, solve overpopulation, sit in a big city practicing their dwarf arts, respect each other , until the world starts to cool and freeze." In the corner, an iron plate fell to the ground with a bang. "Brothers, we know what to do." In the passing searchlight, Redwood saw the eager faces of all the young people turned to his son. "It's easy to make God's Food these days. We can mass-produce it for the world without much effort." "You mean, Brother Redwood," said a voice in the dark, "give god food to little people." "What else is there to do?" "We don't have half a hundred people. They have millions." "But we persevered." "Until now." "If it's God's will, we'll stick with it." "Yes, but please think of the dead." Another voice picked it up. "The dead," it said, "the unborn." "Brothers," said little Redwood's voice, "we have no way out but to fight, and if we beat 'em, force them to eat the god's food. Suppose we give up our natures, and follow Caterham's case , suppose we can do this, if we let go of what is great about us, throw away what our fathers did for us, you, father, did it for us, and then the time comes to see ourselves fall , to nothing! And after that? Will their little world be the same as it used to be? We are the sons of men, and they may fight against us, and fight us, but can they conquer the great? Even if each of us Extinct, so what? Can it save them? No! Because the gigantic has stepped onto the stage of history, not only in us, not only in God Food, but in everything! It exists in everything In nature; it is part of time and space. To grow, and to grow again, from the first to the last, that is living things—that is the law of life. Can there be any other law?" "Helping someone else?" "Helping to grow, to grow again. Unless, we want to help others fail. "They will fight hard to defeat us," said a voice. Another asked: "If so, how?" "They're going to attack," said Redwood Jr. "as long as we reject the condition, I don't doubt they will. I really want them to attack openly. Because if they end up making peace, it's just a surprise attack." Catch us. Don't be careless, brethren; one way or another, they're going to fight. The war has begun, and we must fight to the end. Unless we're wise, we'll find ourselves living only to make them the posterity to fight us and better weapons of our kind. This battle is but the prologue to a long battle. Our lives will be battles. Some will die, some will be ambushed. Victory will not come easily—any Victory is costly to us all. Remember this. So what? Even if we have only one foothold left, even if we are all wiped out, we leave behind a growing fighting force!" "What about tomorrow?" "We spread the food of the gods and soak the world with the food of the gods." "What if they agree to the terms?" "Our condition is God's food. It's not that smallness can live in harmony with bigness. It's either this or that. What right do parents have to say that my children are not allowed to be smarter or bigger than me? You agree with me Any opinions, brethren?" A murmur of approval was his answer. "It is true of the child who will grow up to be a woman, and the child who will be a man," said a dark voice. "Especially for a mother of a new race." "However, there will be big and small in the next generation," Redwood said, looking at his son. "Many generations. The little ones get in the way of the big ones, and the big ones overwhelm the little ones. That's the way it should be, papa." "There will be conflict." "Endless conflict. Endless misunderstanding. Such is life. The big and the small cannot understand each other. But in every child born, Father Redwood, there is something huge hidden—etc. Seeking God's food." "Then I'll go back and tell Caterham—" "You stay with us, Father Redwood. Our reply will be in Caterham at dawn." "He said he was going to fight." "Go ahead," said Redwood Jr., and his brethren agreed. "It's hot," a voice called. So the two giants working in the corner began a rhythmic hammering that added powerful music to the scene. This time, the iron was redder than before, allowing Redwood to see the camp better than before. He saw the entire rectangular space, and all the equipment for combat inside was ready.A little farther in the past, the taller one is the house of the Cosals. Around him stood young giants, tall and beautiful, in gleaming iron, among things for tomorrow.The sight thrilled him.They are so calm and strong!So tall and graceful!They move so calmly and steadily!Among them was his son, and the first female giant, the princess. A memory, a strangest contrast flashed through his mind, so small, yet so bright and vivid - Bensington's hand in the soft breast hair of a gigantic chick, in his old-fashioned furnished room Standing there, looking out suspiciously through the glasses, Sister Zhen slammed the door and left.That was twenty-one years ago. Then suddenly a strange doubt seized him; could this place, these gigantic things, be a dream?Isn't he dreaming?Wouldn't he wake up and find that he was still in the study, the giants were brutally killed, the god food was suppressed again, and he himself was still a prisoner?Really, isn't life always like this--always a prisoner of a prison!This was the culmination and end of his dream.He will wake to the sound of bloodshed and battle, and find that God Food is the stupidest of all whims, and that his hopes and beliefs in the greater world to come lie above the bottomless abyss. color phantom.Small and invincible! This despondency, this impending disillusionment, was so deep and powerful that it made him jump up.He stood there, covering his eyes with his fists, not daring to take them away, for fear that the dream would disappear if he opened his eyes. The giants were talking to each other, and it was a whisper compared with the continuous tapping music of the blacksmith.The tide of his doubts receded.He heard the voices of giants.Heard them still moving around him.It's true, it must be true--as true as a dreadful thing!Perhaps more truly than these gigantic things are things to come, and man's littleness, beastliness, and weakness are to perish.He opened his eyes. "It is over," said one blacksmith, and dropped the hammer with the other. There was a voice from above.Kosar's son, standing on top of the huge fortification, turned around and addressed the group. "It's not that we want to drive these little people out of the world," he said, "just so we can be a little bigger than them and we can take over the world forever. It's just a step we're fighting for, but And not just for ourselves. Brethren, why are we here? We are fighting for the spirit and purpose infused into our lives. We are not fighting for ourselves—for we are but temporary eyes of the life of the world. And hands. You, Papa Redwood, teach us this way. Through us and little ones, life observes and learns. It must pass through our birth and speech to the greater stage of life. The earth is not a place to inhabit; the earth is not a playground, otherwise, we would not have a greater right to live than the little people, and we could only lead our necks to fit the butcher's knives of the little people, and they should succumb to ants and insects. We are not Not to fight for ourselves, but to grow - never stop growing. Tomorrow, whether we live or die, growth will triumph through us. This is the eternal law of life. Grow as God wills Go! Out of these crevices and holes, out of these shadows and darkness, grow into greatness and light! Bigger,' he said deliberately, 'bigger, my brethren! Then, still bigger. Grow— —Longer. Until at last you can match God and understand God. Longer. Until the earth is a bench. Until life wipes out fear and spreads out." His arm waved to the sky: "Towards that side." His voice stopped.A blazing white light from a searchlight waved past, illuminating him.He stands majestically, with his giant hands pointing straight to the sky. All of a sudden, I saw him in all his splendor, looking fearlessly into the star-studded boundless space, covered in iron armor, young, strong, determined, and motionless.Then, as the lights passed by, against the starry sky, he was a gigantic black figure—a shadow that threatened the sky with its mighty gestures, and the myriad of tiny stars above it.