Chapter 7 Chapter VII

The anonymous phone call from Nanin aroused the vigilance of the security department on board.To ensure the smooth take-off of the spacecraft, they conducted a surprise inspection.The search personnel quickly found blood and broken glass in the fitness cabin, and opened the next escape hatch.Carlos staggered out of it.The hiding place was small and dark, he curled up and stayed in it for a long time, when he came to the light all of a sudden, he felt dizzy, his body was stiff and he couldn't walk. "What? Bomb?" Facing the sudden interrogation, Carlos felt even more at a loss, "Absolutely not!"

He defended himself in blunt English.He said he knew nothing about the bomb.So hiding here is just because I want to catch the "Space God Bird" and go to a brand new world. Besides, I have no other plans.How could it be possible for him to destroy the spaceship he was on. Carlos was taken to the brig, locked up, and told that Captain Steck would interrogate him himself.But he never saw Steck show up.The guards brought food, water and a kind of mush.In the loudspeaker, someone announced loudly that the spacecraft has entered the launch state.The guard reappeared with a pair of goggles and a small plastic bag with something in it.

"What? Goodbye? Goodbye to Earth?" Carlos asked loudly.He heard something, but didn't understand it. The guard couldn't understand the Spanish he spoke, and seeing that he couldn't find a suitable English word to express his meaning, he left in a daze.Carlos opened the plastic bag, and inside was something he didn't recognize.He took it out, and after some fiddling, he quickly figured out the function and method of use of that thing.It turned out that it was a pair of earplugs.He puts on earplugs and goggles.After tidying up, I lay on the bunk, listening to the countdown of the countdown.His heart was beating wildly with excitement and excitement. "Is the dream of many years coming true? I'm so lucky that they didn't throw me overboard. Not anymore, even if I want to, it's too late, there's no time. I'm finally on this shiny boat The 'Space God Bird' is about to fly to the mysterious heavenly world."

Carlos lay, listening.There was a slight humming sound coming from my ears. It was the sound from various machinery and equipment. It was particularly low due to the noise reduction treatment. He just lay there. After a long time, he finally heard the sirens and felt the hull vibrate and slowly fall. There was a "pop" and something happened.Immediately afterwards, Carlos' body floated up from the bed.For a time, lost all the weight. "It's fun, it's fun, it's fun!" Dai exclaimed excitedly as her body floated up from the bed. Finally, after her body touched the ceiling, she slowly floated down again.

"Honey, be careful. After you get used to the weightlessness, you can have fun again." Rima grabbed her foot and pulled her down. Soon, Kip felt a little weight, and he was almost able to stand without holding on to the handle.The family of them sat together, looking at the monitor screen.But it was blank, and there was no signal at all.After a long time, I heard the announcer's voice.Then, Glenn Gersh, who was driving, appeared on the screen. "Issuing a report on the operation of the spacecraft now." Glen Gersh said, his voice a little nervous.Kip felt that his expression was also a little anxious: "We have successfully returned from the wave state to the normal state, and no obvious adverse conditions have been found. The spacecraft was in free fall at first, and now it is controlled by the rocket. Flying at a speed of kilometers. We are observing the surrounding environment. If we find the situation, we will report again. Over."

The screen flickered and the picture disappeared. "That's all?" Kip looked at his mother disappointedly. "What kind of star's gravitational field is holding us back? Are there any planets here that we can land on?" "Learn to be patient, son." The mother criticized, "When the situation is clarified, Mr. Glengersh will report in detail." Soon, she breathed a sigh of relief and said easily: "Mr. Glengersh and Mr. Captain Alter is an old acquaintance and a good friend of your father's. In those days, the three of them got together whenever they had the chance, and they were inseparable. I can guarantee that Glenn Gersh will keep us safe of."

Kip was still uneasy.He secretly wondered how sure his mother was. Afterwards, he was tired, but held on, and insisted on staying awake, waiting to see if something new arose.As a result, nothing happened.Glengersh did not reappear to give an update.Dai fell asleep, woke up, and was clamoring to ask if she should go home to get her tits.Kip was restless and hungry. "Be patient, dear." Mom comforted, "It takes a while for the body to adjust from a high-speed exercise state to a low-speed exercise state. You will get used to this state soon." Kip remembered the video game board that had been seized by security guards.I really want to play.As he thought about it, his stomach became more and more hungry.Finally, the waitress in the white hat came again and announced that it was time for breakfast.So, they went to the restaurant below to eat.Breakfast is a few pieces of bread and a cup of soy milk.The chef in the restaurant calls the bread-like thing "starch seaweed cake".

Dai looked at the soy milk, made a face, and refused to drink it.After suffering, he mustered up the courage and drank it in one gulp.She didn't eat the starchy seaweed cake that was left, she pushed the plate away and clamored for her tits. "It's not bad," Kip said to his mother.He finished his portion of soy milk and starchy seaweed cake and felt okay.It's just that the taste of soy milk is a bit bitter, not like real milk. "The important thing is that they are good for the body." Rima emphasized, "All the food here has been specially compressed, the purpose is to allow the spacecraft to carry enough food, so that before landing and growing food and vegetables for self-sufficiency, It is necessary to maintain the survival of the crew on board."

Kip wondered in his mind, when will he be able to grow food and vegetables by himself? Just as the family got up to leave the restaurant, Kip spotted Carlos at a glance.He stood with another stranger, both wearing yellow overalls, followed by a security guard in a black cap.They are waiting to eat.The stranger's lips were tightly shut and his expression was grim.Carlos, on the other hand, looked very happy, his injured hand was already wrapped in a bandage.He nodded to Rima friendly, smiled at Kip again, and greeted: "Hello, kid!" "Who is that man? I mean the prisoner. How do you know him?" Lima immediately asked after the other party left.

"His name is Carlos, a Mexican, and he's here for this ship," Kip told his mother. Kip also recounted how he met Carlos in the gym. "Why didn't you report it?" "He didn't hurt others, but he just wanted to travel in a spaceship. He accidentally broke the glass, scratched his hand, and was afraid of being found and kicked off the ship. It's so pitiful. I sympathized with him, so I didn't report it. Besides, He also has kind eyes, not like a bad guy." "The eyes are kind! How can you trust others based on appearance!" Lima cried, "He may hurt you, and he may be a spy of the 'Equilibrium Society', who was sent on board to engage in subversive and sabotage activities. You should tell me and promptly Report to the security personnel on board."

"I promised him I wouldn't tell anyone." "Kip! You have to learn how to be wary of strangers." Lima reprimanded loudly. Kip knew he was wrong and had nothing to say.However, thinking that Carlos was on the boat with everyone and was not driven off, he was very happy in his heart. Back in the cabin, the Kip family stood guard in front of the surveillance screen again, hoping that Mr. Glengersh would appear on the screen again and bring them new news.But after waiting for a long time, I didn't even see his shadow.Kip gets bored and misses his video game characters: the captain of the Comet, his friends from Justice Legion.Hey, why don't you ask the security guard for the seized video game board?They might pay me back.Kip thought so, and asked his mother's permission, and went straight out. Three hours later, he happily returned with the game board. "I had a great time meeting Carlos," Kip told his mother excitedly. "Mom, I like him." "Is that the stowaway?" Lima asked with a little displeasure, frowning. "Come on, mom, he's a good guy," Kip tried to convince his mother. "He's out of prison, but he's still under supervision. Now he's working in the warehouse with his hand wounded. My electronics The game board was broken when I found it, and he fixed it for me." "Fix the game board? How did you fix it?" "He understands the principles of computers. He said that when the spaceship changes its material form, an electrostatic surge is generated, which disrupts the reading program of the game board, causing the game board to not work properly. Later, he helped me rewrite the reading program, The gamepad will work just fine. He's still asking about you." "Me?" Lima was a little surprised. "Remember the scene when we drove into the launch base? We ran into a group of 'Equilibrium' protesters at the gate. Carlos said that he was in the crowd at the time. Of course, he was not an 'Equilibrium'. I don't agree with their approach, but because I don't have a badge, I can't sneak into the base, so I asked them to understand the situation. When we entered the door, he saw you, and he had a good impression and wanted to know you. When I told When he said that you are my mother, he said, I am so blessed to have such a mother." "Stop it, Kip!" Lima looked at the sleeping Dai and said sharply in a low voice, "Mr. Glengersh came over after you left. I'll tell you about the situation of the two detainees in yellow overalls." I have asked. He said that they are the suspects in the bombing incident. A bomb was planted on the spaceship. Fortunately, it was discovered in time, so we were not killed. Now, who the criminal is, has not been found out for a while. " "It can't be Carlos!" Kip argued.As soon as he heard the news, he couldn't help complaining for Carlos, "He told me that he was imprisoned because a member of the 'Equilibrium' helped him get on the spaceship. He would never bring a bomb to blow himself up, Wouldn't even think of bombing anyone else. No way! The real culprit is another suspect. You've seen that guy. Look at those eyes, they're creepy and annoying. I knew he wasn't a good guy .The way I see it, that guy must have set the bomb." "Not necessarily." Lima shook his head with certainty, "That man's name is Jonas Rock, the inspector of the launch base, who has worked at the base for many years and has always performed well. It is impossible for him to plant the bomb. It was the Mexican who was suspicious. The security department found that he was mentioned in a document of the "Equal Branch". Therefore, the security personnel suspected that he was a spy of the "Equal Branch" and was hired to plant the bomb." "Then why is he hiding, and hiding on a boat? Did he try to kill himself?" Kip retorted. "It seems that he doesn't speak English very well. The security staff suspected that he got lost after the bomb was planted and couldn't find the way to disembark. In panic, he had to find a place to hide. Kip, you know, he is The one who sneaked in illegally was a stowaway. It stands to reason that from the moment he boarded the ship, he was already a criminal." "Mom, listen to me! Yes, Carlos may be an illegal trespasser when he is put back on Earth. But, right now, all of us are aliens, are we all trespassers?" ?I know that Carlos is poor, but he is a brave and fearless person. His whole wish is to explore the mysteries of the universe and starry sky like the great captain of the "Comet". This is the real reason for his cheating!? " "It seems that you not only don't understand him, but also refuse to understand." Lima became impatient, and raised her voice, "He is a dangerous person. I hope you will stay away from him in the future." At this moment, the monitor screen suddenly opened.Kip's unhappiness was dispelled. Glenn Gersh appeared on the screen with a stubbled face and a wry smile. "Now release the latest situation report." His tone was stern, and there was no smile on his dark face. "Thanks to the efforts of colleagues in the astronomy team, we have finally discovered the celestial body that attracted the spacecraft out of the quantum wave state." Then, the image of Glengersh disappeared and a starry sky appeared on the screen.In the center of the starry sky, there is a small black spot that continues to expand, presenting a round black block.At first, the black block was jet black; gradually, as the black block gradually became larger, some dark red spots could be seen on it; finally, it was clear that those spots turned out to be some interlaced narrow cracks, which were fiery red. "Everyone has seen it," Glenn Gersh's voice sounded again, "it is a black dwarf star. If you don’t know much about dwarf stars, you might as well recall the star formation process. Stars are born from the collapse of air clusters. Under the strong action of gravity, the huge air clusters mixed with dust appear internal gravitational imbalance and collapse, so stars are born. If The newborn star is large, so the enormous heat released by the collapse triggers a nuclear reaction—hydrogen fusing into helium—and the star burns up, giving birth to a sparkling new star. "The star we encountered was too small to sustain the continued burning of hydrogen and thus formed a dwarf star. However, the dwarf star still contains a lot of thermal energy under the surface, and the depth must be very shallow." Anderson The doctor believes that at the beginning, the heat energy released by the collapse of the cloud and the nuclear fission caused by the unstable elements in the star once ignited the hydrogen on this dwarf star and made it burn. If it has planets, it must have released a large amount of it to them Thermal radiation. Unfortunately, no planets have been found so far. However, if there are, even if they are nearby, they are hidden in the darkness and may not be found by us. At present, the search is still ongoing." At this moment, the image of the black dwarf disappeared, and Glengersh reappeared on the screen.He said that if there is any new situation, it will be reported in time. "Even if they found a planet," said Kip, looking at his mother worriedly, "what's the use of it if it can't get any light or heat from the dwarf star?" "Now we can only wait." Lima shrugged helplessly, with the same expression as Glen Gersh, stunned, "Let's talk about it later." They wait. In their spare time, mother and son each think about their own concerns.Rima wants to forget about Carlos, but Kip is becoming more and more interested in him.Later, someone on the monitor was talking about holding a training class to help everyone adapt to low gravity.Rima asked Kip to inquire about it.Kip went.When passing the security department, he went to inquire about Carlos' situation. "Is that Mexican stealing passengers?" The black female police chief shrugged and said, "He has already left." "Where did you go?" Kip asked quickly. "Computer Center," the other replied. "He knows about computers." "I know that," Kip said triumphantly, "he's the one who fixed my video game board." "He eliminated a major fault for our computer system." The female police chief smiled friendly, "Affected by the static surge generated by the spacecraft launch, our computer system was paralyzed. The astronomy team knew about Carlos' situation." After that, I asked Mr. Glengersh to let him go, and asked him to go to his own team." Carlos is awesome!Kip thought that if his mother knew, she would like him. By the time Kip returned from his low-gravity training session, Dai had fallen asleep.After she woke up, she still couldn't forget Mimi.So Rima took her to play in the entertainment room below, trying to divert her attention.Kip stayed alone in the cabin and played video games.He returned to the "Legion of Justice", participated in the raid on Diamond Star, and recaptured his captured companions from the Evil Queen. Rima and Dai came back. They stood by the monitoring screen, hoping to get some new news, but it was blank and nothing.Soon, the restaurant waiter came to call them down for dinner again.What I eat is still some concentrated or compressed food, which is not suitable for taste.They ate hard and slowly learned to enjoy.There were two other men dining together, and they came over and raised their glasses to Rima.But instead of wine, the glass is filled with a synthetic drink.Rima introduced Kip and Day to those two people, one was Andy Anderson and the other was Tony Cruz.Peeling Chinese Sci-Fi Class Ai Rake Anderson, a big, red-haired, red-skinned, easy-going man, served as the landing team leader.Once the landing is found, he will lead the team to land.Cruz, on the other hand, was a small, sallow-faced, stern-looking man with gold-rimmed glasses.He was originally the chief astronomer of the "Space Seeding Operation" organization. He determined the direction and target nebula of many seeding missions launched before.Today, both are haggard, with sunken eyes, worried expressions, and an overworked look.They sat there without saying a word.Kip and Dai didn't understand what adults were thinking, so they got up to get their soy milk drink. "Bad news for you," Cruz murmured to Rima after the kids had left, "Strike's in bad shape. He locks himself up in the cabin with that Jack Hinch guy all day. , not coming out. Either drunk and lethargic, or frightened, or both. The cabin they live in is a mess, with empty wine bottles and broken dishes thrown all over the floor. I went to find them, knocked on the door for a long time, thank you The wizard woke up. He actually asked me if I could get him a woman to play with." Speaking of this, Cruz felt depressed. "Mr. Glengersh was the only one suffering during this time." Anderson said anxiously while stirring the synthetic drink, "Since Steck couldn't replace him, he had to bear it alone. So far, he has been in the dome control cabin. He worked for a full 60 hours in a row, and never slept except occasionally taking a nap in front of the workbench. He had to look for the next step, but also take the overall situation into consideration, stabilize people's hearts, and not let the problems in the ship's command system be resolved. Make it public. It's hard enough for him." "Looking for a landing site?" Rima asked. "A planet?" "We all participated in the search team, but we don't know whether the planet exists. Searching in this dark starry sky is really a difficult job. If nothing can be found..." At this point, Anderson was so upset that he spilled the coffee.He hurriedly reached out to wipe the table and forgot to continue talking. "So what if you can't find it?" Lima urged him to continue, "What's the prospect?" "Not good," Anderson whispered. "To tell you the truth, this is a dead gamble. Even if there were planets around this dwarf star, they should be invisible. Now we can be sure that in our radar detection If the dwarf star can rotate, then its orbital plane can also be deduced from its rotation, and its planet should also be in this plane, so that we can narrow the search area. Unfortunately, it does not Does not rotate; even if it does, the speed is too slow to explain anything." Anderson shook his head helplessly, then reached out to wipe the spilled coffee on the table. "So what if we discover a planet?" Cruz lowered his eyelids and said pessimistically, "Even if we happened to collide with one, it would be a cold planet with no light, no heat, and what use would it be?" Dai and Kip came back with drinks, and it was inconvenient for Rima to continue talking. Late that night, Lima was awakened suddenly by a signal bell. "Dr. Villari?" The co-pilot called from the control cabin. "There is something new. Mr. Glengersh requested that all team leaders gather in the control cabin in 20 minutes."