Chapter 2 Chapter two

Jonas Rock, the son of a Christian fundamentalist pastor, was born in a small town in southern Texas, USA.The old pastor was violent and surly, and there were often storms in the house, and there was never peace.In order to keep the family safe and sound, his mother tried her best, but it was useless.Let's just talk about Rock's 16th birthday. At the beginning, everything was fine, but in a blink of an eye, things went wrong.It should be said that it was a happy day: his mother made him a chocolate cake; Rock himself had just passed his driver's license test; and his grandmother sent money to express his congratulations.Rock bought a cowboy hat with a wide brim and a high top with grandma's money, and he wore it like this on his head, looking very airy.As it turned out, the cowboy hat was the problem.When Roark came to the table with that hat on, the damned old vicar made a mess of everything.

"Take it off!" The old pastor happily ate Rock's birthday cake, but he couldn't understand the cowboy hat on his head, "Your mother made such a good cake for you, but you gave her back this outfit, How can I forgive her?" Rock ignored it.Without saying a word, he cut a piece of cake for himself. "Pick it off!" growled the old pastor. It was a black hat with a high crown.In Rock's view, it was simply wonderful, worthy of anyone.Even if it was his idol of worship, "Billy the Kid," the hat would have been worthy.Hearing his father's roar, he still didn't say anything, just pulled his hat down over his forehead, and took a big bite of the cake.

"Listen!" The old pastor stood up, his face was flushed, and he was panting like a bull. "Do you think you have grown up? It's early! Just because of your appearance! This damn thing will corrupt morals, get rid of it as soon as possible." Throw it away, or I will send you to hell!" "Do whatever you like, I'm not afraid." "Kneel down!" shouted the old pastor as he unfastened the belt on his waist. "God forgive you, you little bastard!" "I don't ask God." Rock shook his head and grinned mockingly, "I have my own way to go to heaven. When the deadline comes, I will rush to the White Sands Space Center in New Mexico, take a quantum spacecraft, and go to heaven gone."

"My God!" The old pastor was so angry that he couldn't speak. He pulled off his belt and was about to hit someone. "You bastard!" "Joseph! Please." The mother rushed forward, hugged the old pastor's arm, and begged, "For God's sake, don't be here today!" After all, the old pastor finally held back his breath. "For your mother's sake, I'll temporarily spare you today." He muttered, sitting down on the chair, his lingering hatred still lingering.After a while, he yelled again: "You stubborn bitch, don't touch my new car! Until you convert to God, kneel before him, and get his forgiveness, don't you! It's no use!"

Rock did not kneel before God.Before dawn the next day, he stole the old pastor's wallet and the keys to the Chevrolet pickup, and then drove west to try his luck in the casino city of Las Vegas.The car flipped around a bend near Flagstaff, smashing a brand-new Chevrolet to pieces.When the police sent him home forcibly, the old priest forbade him to enter the house again and asked the police to throw him into prison.After much pleading from his mother, the police agreed to waive the prosecution, and sent Rock to a work-study school for forced reformation. Rock had been in the work-study school for a few years before his old illness relapsed.An instructor angrily accused him of cheating and violating school rules.The principal ordered his expulsion from school.At first, Rock stayed at school, but not long after, it was discovered that he had issued a check in his father's name, debited a large sum of money from the old pastor's account, and then disappeared.Disappeared with him were the principal's brand new Cadillac and his precious daughter.When police found the car a few days later, they found it abandoned on the side of the road, out of gas.The headmaster's daughter lay on her back in the back seat like a zombie, dead drunk.

Within a few months, Roque was finally arrested by the police on drug charges and spent three years in a Texas jail.After he was released from prison, he found out that his parents had divorced.The old pastor no longer recognizes him as a son, but his mother, who lives on relief money, still thinks about him, prays for him, and promises to help him as much as possible.Ke Rock still has no intention of repenting.Before long, he forged checks and wiped out the last of his mother's meager savings.Then he hung up a long-distance call to a man named Johnny Vega.This person was his former cellmate. After he got out, he went back to his hometown in the south, El Paso.

"Hey! Johnny? Remember me?" "Who is it?" "Jonas Rock. The Rock that people used to call 'Whale Eater.'" "Come out?" After finishing speaking, Vega was about to hang up the phone.He didn't want to talk about it, and he didn't want to repeat the disgraceful history of the past.Now Vega is driving a taxi, has a new home, has two children, and is a new man.Besides, he also has no money to give to the gang of wine and meat friends in the past. "Don't hang up, my man!" Rock begged, "just a minute. Remember that quantum ship we talked about? You brag, you see it launched all the time. Don't we have a brilliant idea ? Get on a fucking quantum ship and escape the police and jail forever. You fucking forgot about that?"

"Is the spaceship launched? You can still see it now," Vega replied. "It's not far to the north. There are lightning and thunder several times a year." "Don't remember our final escape plan?" "Are you in trouble again?" "Not yet. But I'm sick of the goddamn world. If the ship is still launching, I want to live on another fucking planet!" "You crazy man!" Vega laughed. "You're still as crazy as ever. Beg the head of Hunterville Prison to take you back, damn it." Crazy or not, in short, Rock bought a ticket to El Paso and went to Vega.Before leaving, he called Vega again.Vega's wife answered the call, and when she heard that it was Rock, she warned him categorically, telling him to get away and not to pester him.Rock had to hitchhike alone to Las Cruces, where he found the headquarters of Operation Space Seeding.In the reception room, a busy staff received him.Rock explained his reason for coming, and when the other party heard it, he rejected him, and did not recruit people like him at all.The other party further explained that unless he possessed certain advanced professional skills or was introduced by an important person, he would never be able to board a spacecraft and go into space.

Unwilling to give up, Rock looked around for the pickets of the "Equal Branch" to inquire about the situation.That night, the quantum spacecraft was about to launch, and the "Equal Branch" was organizing a demonstration to protest the launch of the spacecraft.Rock came to the parking lot of a motel near the launch site, mingled with the crowd of protesters, waiting to watch the launch of the spacecraft.The piercing siren sounded across the night sky, and the police blocked the traffic in the streets and alleys, and kept warning people to wear goggles to avoid burning eyes from the strong light from the launch of the spacecraft.People put on black goggles one after another, waiting for the moment of launch.

The launch pad is 50 miles away.The huge fire ejected by the rocket at the moment of launch was blocked by the mountains, and only the rising spaceship could be seen drawing a red line in the night sky.After a long time, there was a deep rumbling sound. Rock felt that the spacecraft launch itself was not exciting.However, that magnificent sight still aroused in his heart a kind of curiosity and fascination that he had never had before: if the spaceship really carries humans to a mysterious planet that has never been known, then... "That's a trick to lure ignorant children!" When Rock asked a small leader of the "Equilibrium Society" if he could also hope to board another spaceship, the other party laughed at him loudly, "Unexpectedly, there are thousands of Do you think those astronauts really went to heaven? Only God knows where and how they were destroyed. Or, in a place where time and space do not exist, they have long since become nothing. Existence? Space travel? Well said! Only a fucking fool would think such a stupid thing!"

However, Rock was thinking about that "stupid thing" seriously.He was really tired of the endless troubles in the world.Coincidentally, a construction contractor recruited workers to clean up the launch site of the space center in preparation for the installation of a new launch pad.Roque went to apply for the job.During the interview, the other party didn't ask any questions. After looking him up and down, he was issued a pass and asked him to board the car entering the base.Then he began to toil in the desert all day long, clearing stones and charred tree stumps from the construction site.The new spaceship towered atop the launch pad, glistening in the sunlight.One after another heavy trucks and cranes surrounded the surrounding area, constantly busy. Here, Roque had a new glimmer of hope.The reeducation-through-labor personnel in the prison once assured him that as long as he sincerely changed his mind, studied hard, and worked hard, he would still be saved.His mother had said the same thing.He thought that the "Space Seeding Operation" organization might really give him a chance to start a new life.Who knows? Rock is determined to give it a go. With the Spanish he learned in prison, he got along very well with a group of lower-level Spanish-speaking foremen and colleagues at the base.But it is difficult to get close to those quantum physicists.People speak professional jargon and do professional work, which Rock doesn't understand at all.If you can't get close to those people, how can you get on the quantum spacecraft?Rock was a little discouraged.Just when his dream was about to be shattered, he got acquainted with Mort Nanning, a backbone of the civil organization "Equilibrium Society" against "Space Seeding Action", and got a lot of help from him, and the situation finally changed. Nanin was short, fat, bald, shrewd, cunning, and cynical.He used up all the money in his pocket to buy wine, always had a low-quality brand of cigar in his mouth, and was doing nothing all day long, obsessed with spreading various rumors about the black insider of the "Space Seeding Operation" organization.He said that the "Space Seeding Operation" was a conspiracy instigated by a group of crooks with ulterior motives, and those instigators profited from it themselves.Of course, the scientists involved in this operation may be innocent, they are just fanatics, dreaming that they really have the ability to send human beings out of their home planet, to other planets beyond the solar system. However, whether it is agitators or fanatics, Aaron Qilan, the leader of the "Equilibrium Society", doesn't care about dealing with them.Nanin said that those scientists were fanatical, but Qi Lan was even more fanatical than them.Whatever they can create, Qi Lan can destroy.As a leader leading the fight against Operation Space Seed, he has plenty of money.If Rock can get any information in the base, even if it is a small fault report, as long as it helps to destroy the "Space Seeding Operation", no matter how high the asking price is, Qi Lan can pay it. At first, Rock refused to provide them with any information.After all, the quantum aircraft towering high on the launch pad was so magnificent, miraculous, mighty and awe-inspiring that he felt awe-inspiring and dared not easily offend it.But later, seeing them whizzing away one after another, and none of them were willing to catch him, he became discouraged.Besides, he really needed money.There are so many beautiful girls in the hotel, all waiting to serve the rich master, and none of them will give themselves to him.In this way, he began to drink heavily with Nanin, and betrayed some little information he had heard and seen in the base. By selling intelligence and some trivial news, Rock can't earn a few dollars, sometimes not even a dime.Nanin told him that in order to make a lot of money, he had to do as well as he could.First, one should strive for a decent job.In that way, the scope of activities in the base can be expanded, and more valuable intelligence can be spied on.To this end, Nanin put him in several evening classes, taught him the basics of mathematics and other natural subjects, reworked his resume, and taught him to speak some formal English.In this way, Roque was finally promoted to inspector of the launch site by the employer.The work is easier, but the money is earned more.Just at this time, he received a letter from his father, the old pastor.It turned out that his mother died.However, Rock didn't care at all. It was too late for him to be happy about his new job, so he didn't care about his wife. "It's really great!" Nanin was very excited about Rock's new job, and drove him into Juárez City, where he first ate Mexican-style barbecue, and then went to the bar to drink and have fun, celebrating the success of the plan. "That's it! Before any quantum spacecraft launches in the future, you will board the spacecraft and check the nuclear fusion engine and quantum converter. There, you will meet the captain, mechanics and other engineering personnel, eavesdrop their conversation." Rock is still a little skeptical.He shook his head and said, "People will always be suspicious of my work." "No. As long as you cover up well, no one will suspect you." Nanin ordered two margaritas, and then said, "I will teach you some basics and jargon commonly used on spaceships." "I'm afraid I..." "Don't worry, there's no problem." Nanin shrugged, "Remember, you will lose your words if you talk too much. Don't open your mouth unless you have to. Even if you have to ask, you have to show a professional look, pretending to understand after listening. The most sloppy thing is: get off the spacecraft before it is launched. As long as you get off the ship, if anything happens on it, it won’t hurt you.” When he first started doing this job, Roquechan felt a little scared.Being so close, he was really afraid that the spaceship would explode on the launch tower, so he dared to hide in the bunker, watching one after another of fiery spaceships soar into the sky like flames, and disappear in the boundless sky.However, the explosion never happened, and gradually Rock was no longer afraid, and began to engage in espionage activities recklessly.Besides, the reward he got for this is also very impressive.Because of the value of the information he stole, Nanin was willing to spend money on him.Therefore, Rock was happy to do this job, for fear that after the launch of the ninety-ninth spaceship, he would have nothing to do and his money would be cut off. "Maybe your luck is yet to come." Nanin grinned and said with a treacherous smile, "Zilan is waiting to see you in Albuquerque, and has a special mission for you." Nanin took Rock to Albuquerque in an unmanned Cadillac.In the office at the headquarters of the "Equal Branch", a slender blonde girl informed Qi Lan of Rock's arrival.Soon, a fat man came out. His skin was fair and delicate, and he had a big round head with a pair of round blue eyes. orchid.He stood at the door, as if he had come out of a place with particularly strong light, he couldn't adapt for a moment, and blinked vigorously.In a blink of an eye, a baby-like smile suddenly piled on his fat face. "Mr. Rock, I would like to congratulate you. You have done a good job." As he said, he stretched out his hand. The voice was as soft and soft as those warm and ruddy hands. "Please come inside." Nanin stayed outside, drinking coffee and chatting with the blond secretary.Rock followed Qi Lan to a large room facing windows on three sides.Looking out of the window, the Sandia Mountains a few miles away are numerous and undulating.Under the sky, thunderclouds are surging, and the weather is myriad, which is magnificent.The indoor furnishings are even more magical and elegant, and Rock was attracted, and couldn't stop looking around.At the foot of one wall was a large and elegant fireplace of large cobblestones, and on the mantelpiece were displays of Mexican silver and pueblos.— -Translator's note) pottery, precious and rare objects hanging on the wall. Famous.——Translator’s Note) tapestry.There is also a large marble-clad desk on one side, and the wall behind the desk is covered with photos.The content of the photos varies from melting and collapsing glaciers to flooded cities and dusty farms. "This tragic scene is the expensive price of the 'Space Seeding Operation'." Qi Lan stood aside, looked at those photos, and said angrily, "Those bastards destroyed our beautiful planet alive, but he himself Let go and travel into space." "All of this should never have happened, but after all, it has become a fact." Rock said while trying to figure out what Qi Lan was thinking, "Fortunately, this No. 99 spaceship is the last one." "That's what everyone says, but I'm still not entirely sure. I'm sure: there won't be another one." "Aren't you sure yet? The hundredth spaceship has been abandoned due to lack of funds and has become a pile of scrap iron, and workers from the waste recycling company have arrived at the base and are dismantling and handling it. It can be said that the entire 'Space Seeding Operation' That's the end of the plan." "Are you sure?" "I'm right there." Rock stared at Zilan's smooth, fat face like a baby, wondering what else was hidden behind it, "I listened everywhere all day with my ears pricked up, important people were talking about it, saying The project was terminated. The reason was the mismanagement of the operation, repeated shortages of funds, arrears of wages, non-payment of debts. In addition, there were various rumors about private embezzlement of funds by its director, Hermann Steck." "Let's drink and talk." Qi Lan pointed to the bar at the end of the room, signaling Rock to go there. Like a stupid bear, Qi Lan slowly took out two glasses of ice cubes, a jug of water, and a bottle of Scotch whiskey.While waiting, Rock carefully looked at the various exhibits in the room: Mexican silverware, Pueblo pottery, and Navajo tapestries on the wall, etc., which one is not valuable?Thinking of those volunteers who had no money and braved the scorching sun to march and protest at the desert base, Roque felt that Qi Lan took good care of himself. "What do I want to know?" Qi Lan poured himself a large glass of wine, then pushed the glass over to Rock, "I want to know, what are the shady rumors about Herman Steck? " "I've heard it all." "Let's talk about it." "Sterker regards the 'Space Seeding Operation' organization as his own independent kingdom, doing whatever he wants, living a luxurious life like a prince, renting and renting luxury planes, staying in high-end hotels, and enjoying himself. All the expenses are from the funds of the operation organization Expenses." "That's not enough, is it?" "The situation is really like this. The operation organization has been squeezed dry by that guy and has no money. The number ten or so spacecraft is the last one. The experts originally planned to build another 100 ships, and now it seems that that plan is even more distant gone." "Only by stopping it can I really achieve the purpose of destroying it!" Qi Lan shouted with a straight face, as if someone had snatched the baby's feeding bottle, Qi Lan's rosy and smooth jaw was tightly tensed , with a look of anger, "Make it impossible to launch successfully, this is your new task, Mr. Rock. Only in this way can we ensure that the entire 'Space Seeding Operation' is completely ruined!" "However, the 'Space Seeding Operation' has been stranded. I can assure you, sir, that it is absolutely true." Rock was frightened by Qi Lan's fury, shrinking his neck and said. Qi Lan didn't listen to his excuses, leaned over and opened a drawer, reached in, hesitated for a moment, retracted his hand, and closed the drawer again.He raised his glass, drank it down, then put down the glass, leaned over, and fixed his eyes on Rock. "I trust Mort Nanin." After a while, Zilan finally muttered under his breath. "He has your history and knows you. He said he has made you the executor of one of our top-secret operations." gone." "what?" Qi Lan didn't answer him, but asked instead: "Do you know the reason for the establishment of the 'Equilibrium Society'?" "I've read an old Dr. Zellen's book. . . yes, is he your father?" "No, it's my uncle." "I know, he put forward such a theory in the book: the launch of the quantum spacecraft caused global warming..." "Theory? Do you think that's just a theory?" Qi Lan screamed, "Look at the facts in front of you. The spaceship dragged the fire through the atmosphere, breaking the balance of the upper atmosphere and causing global climate anomalies." He pointed The pictures on the wall, go on, "melting glaciers at the poles, rising seas, accelerating desertification, hurricanes, starvation, floods..." Speaking of this, Qi Lan stopped suddenly, grabbed the wine bottle, paused, put it back in its original place, and leaned over anxiously. "Operation Space Seed, Mr. Rock, has made me an orphan!" Ziran said, his tone full of hatred. "Let me tell you how it happened. My father had a twin brother named Harry, and they The two brothers are both geniuses, both studied at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and were assigned to the same class. Later, they cooperated and successfully developed a quantum thruster, whose huge propulsion force can make objects move at and beyond the speed of light. So they came up with a bold and stupid genius idea: to use this new type of thruster to send human beings to galaxies outside the Milky Way, making human footprints spread all over the universe. In order to realize this dream, they devoted all their efforts energy. "The 'Space Seeding Operation' organization was originally founded by my father and uncle, but shortly afterwards, the actual power of the organization was seized by other people with ulterior motives. Those people advocated and peddled this whimsical plan everywhere, and used This is a cover for self-interest. After the first quantum spaceship was completed, those in power only allowed two people to be carried on the first voyage. At that time, both father and uncle had married, and both were reluctant to leave their wives, so they relied on coin tossing It was decided who would go first. My father won. So my father and mother went on the first ship, leaving me with Uncle Harry. "At that time, I begged them to take me away, but they couldn't. That incident almost drove me to death. My uncle also felt that he was deceived and fooled, and soon left the operation organization and embarked on the anti-space seeding He used his knowledge to simulate the impact of the launch of the spacecraft on the atmosphere and the global climate, and used this to warn the people in power of the action organization and persuade them to abandon the plan. However, those who only want to colonize space The dreamers and those ambitious people who took advantage of the opportunity to make a fortune and enrich their own pockets did not listen to his advice. They even laughed at him and attacked him. In this way, he was forced to form an "equal division" to prevent this suicide sex plan." Qi Lan's fat face was flushed red, and she spoke faster and faster, but she suddenly became speechless when she didn't want to.He took out a white silk handkerchief and wiped his face. "I'm sorry, I was so excited. I still hate it when I mentioned it. Slowly, I developed a relationship with my uncle and understood what he was doing. Just when he was getting old and unable to participate anymore' I took over the heavy burden from his shoulders during the "Equal Branch" affairs, and vowed to continue to lead the activities of this organization. It is for this cause that we can meet here today." Qi Lan panted heavily Angry, he wiped his face again, "This is my experience, Mr. Rock. This experience also explains why we assigned you this new task. This is the last action, Mr. Rock. In the future, you will There is no chance to serve us." Qi Lan sat there, his heart agitated.After a while, he calmed down a bit before he stood up, moved to the bar to get some ice, and came back again.He picked up the wine bottle, filled himself with wine, and then pushed the wine bottle in front of Rock. "For this special mission, let's have a toast!" "Wait." Rock pushed the bottle aside, "Frankly speaking, sir, I still don't quite understand what you mean. I think you've won. After all, the 'Space Seeding Operation' has ended..." Upon hearing this, Qi Lan's face suddenly changed, and the blood rushed to his face again.He roared loudly: "The goal of our decades of struggle is to completely destroy it! And you, Mr. Rock, can let it be buried there once and for all!" "So, what exactly do you want me to do?" "Aren't you at the launch site? I want you to blow up the spacecraft the moment it flies out of the launch crater. That way, the explosion itself will become a symbol, and it will tell the Chinese Science Fiction People of the world: This is the final shameful end of 'Operation Space Seeding'! " Rock sat there, shaking his head without saying a word. "50,000." Qi Lan chuckled, and there was a mad murderous look in the laughter, which made Rock dizzy. Pay you the remaining 40,000." "Sir..." Rock spread his hands and said, "I don't know..." Qi Lan leaned down again, opened the drawer, and carefully pulled out a small, heavy object, which was wrapped in a layer of putty-gray plastic film.Then, he gently placed the thing on the table in front of Rock. "It's two kilograms of high plastic explosive with a timer and detonator. The only thing you have to do is take it aboard in your briefcase on your final rounds of the ship. Then, adjust the timing. set the detonation time to the moment the spacecraft is launched into space. Finally, find a place that is not easy to be found and place it, and get off the spacecraft by yourself. It’s that simple.”