Chapter 11 Chapter Eleven

After the expedition team composed of Carlos and others set off, Rima immediately called relevant professionals in the life environment construction plan to meet in the control cabin and hold a suggestion meeting.Still the midnight starry sky, the same black sun.Under the starlight, a group of people in neat blue tight-fitting spacesuits stood around Rima, watching the landing vehicle gradually go away and disappear into the boundless dim starlight.Half of the people called by Lima couldn't make excuses to come; "Forgive me, Dr. Valari..." Fujiwara said.He is an expert in hydroponics, a skinny little Asian with a high-pitched voice who speaks pure American English on weekdays.He paused, turned around and bowed to Rima, smiled humbly, and continued: "With all due respect, we are still waiting for Captain Steck's order, and you call such a meeting now, don't you Some overstepped the bounds?"

"I don't think so. Since we have encountered such a planet and have no choice, we should accept it and learn how to adapt to it. We are calling now to come up with ideas and prepare for it Work. We should start..." Suddenly, Rock got out of the elevator.He was covered in oil stains, which brought a smell of sweat and a smell of burnt bean cakes. "I'm sorry, Dr. Villari, I'm late because of urgent business," he said, making a fake face, "Mr. Rivera gave me more work in the kitchen than I could finish. " "It's okay," Rima said, "we're just getting started."

"Rock?" Roy Eisen glared at him and asked loudly.Eisen is a nuclear power expert with short hair and a hoarse voice. He looks like a boxer: "I thought you were still in the brig." "That was in the past." Rock replied with a nod, with a flattering smile, "That was my bad luck. At that time, I was inspecting all the preparations before the launch, and the captain suddenly got news that someone was in the A bomb was placed on the ship. During the search for the bomb, the security department prohibited all people on board from disembarking. When they found the bomb and the Mexican boy, the spaceship had already entered the launch pit, and I thought it was too late to disembark. The Mexican boy must be because of the bomb, I was panicked, confused and lost my way, so I didn't get off the boat in time.

"It can be said that I am of the same heart with everyone. Although it is not my original intention to emigrate to space, I will accept it once I come here. Although I have not studied life environment construction before, I am willing to learn and work hard. Good job." Rock said, with a calm look, and dared to smile at Rima. Rima is the most beautiful woman on board, and in everyone's eyes, the most beautiful woman in the world.At this time, she was wearing a tight-fitting spacesuit, with curves in her chest and buttocks, full of temptation.Rock's heart was despicable, and a pair of thief eyes stared at Lima's body, sneaking around greedily.

"I hope so." Lima replied calmly. "So, you are accusing Carlos? How much do you know about building a living environment?" Eisen stared at Rock and asked again. "Of course, of course, I'm not an expert in this field." Rock retorted disapprovingly, secretly rejoicing that his forged qualification certificate had been thrown on the earth hundreds of millions of miles away, otherwise, it would have been exposed now. But he couldn't get away with it, "I'm just a spaceship launch inspector. However, I'm still qualified to be a system engineering expert." Then, he smiled flatteringly at Rima, "Anyone A life environment construction project is a systematic project that requires experts in various fields. I think my expertise is still useful.”

"If it's true as you said..." Eisen nodded slightly, and said reluctantly, "As long as you have expertise, of course it will be useful." "I don't think it's possible to create a living environment on this ice," Indira Singh said in a low voice.She was tall and slender, with heavy gold rings and bracelets on her hands, and her thick black hair was hastily tied into a big bun.She originally studied anthropology, and later, she studied soil chemistry and bioengineering: "Don't expect to live on this ice, we have to dig caves under the permafrost."

Looking at the rocks and ice on the beach, she showed a sad face again, feeling a little worried. "I thought that the upper layer of ice could be thawed first," Singer continued to express his opinion, "and then proceed with the operation. Otherwise, the lower layer of hard granite is inconvenient to be excavated by machines. Moreover, we must first drill rock samples and Do earthquake detection and find out the geological situation. If this step is not done, everything else is empty talk.” "We are planning to do this step," Rima said. "In my opinion, planning is not enough," says Nels Nolking.He is a Norwegian meteorologist, expert in atmospheric circulation and climate control: "Think about the natural conditions here: there is no air, no weather changes, the water is completely frozen, close to zero Kelvin..."

He shrugged and spread his hands, feeling helpless. "No matter whether there are difficulties or not, we have to live here. This is impossible to change." Mark Sang said in an authoritative tone, calmly and unquestionably, "Fujiwara and Krasov want to reunite It is simply impossible to go back to the wave state, continue quantum flight, and find another ideal place." "Are you sure?" Rock asked, "Captain Steck also wants to..." "I'm sure!" Eisen interrupted him, "We have only two ways, either immediately build a living environment, or wait for death. I think it's more important to find a way to survive."

"Yes, in order to survive, isn't this the purpose of our coming to space?" Rima said, "Now we do encounter serious difficulties, let us unite and find ways to overcome difficulties." "I support Dr. Valari." Rock said.Facing Eisen's cold and hostile gaze, he pretended not to see it, only smirked at Lima, and then turned to everyone: "I hope I can help everyone to overcome difficulties together." Carlos kept calling to the spaceship, hoping to hear Rima's voice.For a long time, there was no echo, only a murmur, which was the beating sound of the heart of the galaxy far away.Suddenly, he heard the ship respond, but not her voice.

"...Unclear...The signal is not clear...Please resend..." "Alpha call, Alpha call." Carlos called to the spaceship again, "I report to you that I found an ice wall..." "Carlos?" It was Glenn Gersh's strong voice, full of concern and anxiety. "What's going on?" "Sir, a wall of ice is blocking our way. Dr. Cruz is backing out." "Don't take any chances!" "The situation is a bit special, sir. I found a bright multicolored halo on the ice again..." "Can you go into more detail?" "Circular, sir. The circular halos burst from the ice one by one, like ripples on water. The colors of the halos change in sequence, showing various colors of the spectrum. I estimate that as we gradually retreat, the halos will go out. .”

"Strange." Glenn Gersh paused, hesitated, and then asked, "Can you estimate the approximate reason for the halo?" "No, sir. However, it seems to be caused by our proximity. Dr. Cruz believes that is a signal of consciousness." "Who sent it?" "I don't know. Maybe some kind of spiritual life on land." "Are there any mountains nearby?" "No, sir. There's ice everywhere, covered with hoarfrost, stretching to the horizon." "It's fine if there are no mountains. Are you in danger?" "No. Now the car is parked, one kilometer away from the ice wall. The halo has not reappeared." "I want to talk to your commander." Pang Chinese science fiction posing as Aibai "Report sir, Mr. Hinch is sleeping in the main compartment below." "Then put me through Mr. Anderson." "I'm Anderson, sir, and I'm speaking with you on the walkie-talkie." Anderson replied immediately. "What do you think about that wall?" There was still a hint of anxiety in Glengersh's voice. "Looks like it's completely natural, sir, an uplift fault formed naturally in geological time. The fault line runs north-south and runs endlessly. The age of the fault is uncertain. It may have been yesterday, or it may have been billions of years ago. The matter. However, what is puzzling is that..." Confused, Anderson hesitated. "It's a charade, sir. It's like a barrier in front of us, and there's a colorful halo coming from the wall. It's like a warning to stop going." "What's Mr. Hinch's reaction to that?" "He was sleeping in the main car, probably drunk again." "Understood." Glenn Gersh paused, and then said, "He's a useless extra. I wonder why Steck would send him? There must have been some quarrel between them again, Turned face. Did he cause any trouble for you?" "No, sir. He just told us to keep going." "Then you guys do it. Keep in touch. What else do you think about the halo in the ice wall?" "I can't explain it, sir. Many halos formed the shape of an archery target, and spread out from one ring to another. The color is exactly the same as the light we see on the continental ice cap. What does that mean? Maybe it is to warn us, Too close." "I think you may be getting closer." Then, Glenn Gersh instructed, "Wake up Hinch and inform him that the captain ordered him to return immediately. Don't hang up the phone, I want to keep with you connect." "Understood, sir." Carlos kept the earphones on his head all the time, but the connection with the spacecraft headquarters was still cut off.Suddenly, he heard Anderson calling Hinch, and then the turbine engine started up again, and the landing vehicle continued to retreat away from the ice wall. "Stop!" Hinch yelled hoarsely from behind, "If you can talk to Glengersh, tell him I've got his orders, but we can't go back! Fuck, I Still awake, not drunk enough to be manipulated." Carlos turned his head and found that Hinch was already standing on the steps leading to the bubble chamber in the main car, holding a pistol in his hand.He looked terrible, the stubble on his face was growing wildly like weeds, and his haggard face was now the color of a pig's liver. "What's the matter? What happened?" Carlos asked puzzled. "I'm sorry, everyone!" Hinch ordered incoherently. "Listen, all three. To hell with Sterk and his spaceship, we're not going back, we're going to keep going No matter what the situation is, you are not allowed to stop. If you see a mountain, you will go up the mountain, and if you see hell, you will go to hell." "But, sir..." Carlos swallowed, "Sir Hinch, have you seen the situation outside?" "I saw it, isn't it just a fault ice wall?" Hinch panted heavily, obviously terrified, his hand holding the gun was shaking uncontrollably, but he still insisted, "I heard what you said , Isn’t it just a few fucking halos? Maybe it’s to scare us and want us to leave. But I’m not afraid, we have to climb over that ice wall..." "Sir!" Carlos begged, "Put the gun away!" "Put the gun away!" Hinch yelled, waving the gun in his hand, "I'm not a fool. In a word, we can't go back." "Sir, I believe that if we ignore that signal, our lives will be in danger!" Anderson reminded loudly. "Afraid of death?" Hinch laughed loudly, took a deep breath, and continued, "What kind of devil is here again? Aren't we here to find the devil? From the moment this crazy spaceship takes off , we've already been murdered. Staying on the ice and starving, we can die more slowly; if we go back to the spaceship, everyone dies faster. Because the old Sterker doesn't want to stay on this planet Now, he's going to launch the ship again. God knows, where the hell it will go. If there are any ice monsters here, I'd like to join them. They can't be as bad as old Straker." "Sir..." Looking at the gun in his hand, Carlos was a little scared, and tried to find a reason to convince him, "Dr. Valari said that we have a way to live besides death. She said that we can modify the planetary environment, Build a living environment and create your own homeland. She also said that we have mastered the relevant technologies whether we live on the ice or under the ice.” "Then what to eat? Cannibalism! We will become cannibalistic beasts!" Hinch yelled. "Come on, sir, it's not the point where you have to die..." Hinch swung his gun, and Carlos bowed down in fright, but he continued to persuade, "Please, sir. Who is the owner here? , we will continue to explore. Perhaps, the other party is not hostile. The halo signal they sent is not just to drive us away, but maybe it is still a welcome." "I don't see anyone welcoming us!" Hinch didn't believe Carlos' words. "Who can tell?" Anderson said calmly, "Mr. Hinch, can you tell us why you came out with us? Is it because of Steck? Or, is there a relationship between you and him?" Didn't there have been some differences?" "If you really want to know..." Hearing Anderson's question, Hinch immediately stepped back like a deflated ball, and dropped the gun in his hand.However, his eyes were still full of despair and terror: "What is that old bastard Steck, let me tell you." "Of course he is not a good guy." Cruz also said below, "He played a despicable conspiracy and drove away the old captain Alt." When Xin Qi heard this, he seemed very stunned, as if he didn't know that Steck had cheated the old captain Alter.He stomped his feet, tilted his head, and complained bitterly. "This rascal, his methods of dealing with me are even more vicious. I was kidnapped by him and left the earth. I don't want to come here at all. He tricked me into the spaceship and refused to let me go down; he also got me drunk and locked me in In the sleeping cabin. The reason why he did this is because I took his advantage and knew that he embezzled a huge amount of money from the "Space Seeding Operation" organization, and he was afraid that I would come out to testify against him if I stayed on Earth." The more Xin Qi spoke, the angrier he became. His face, which had been flushed just now, had now turned livid, and the muscles on his face were twitching uncontrollably. "But I'm not dead, I'm still alive and well!" "I see, Mr. Hinch." Anderson nodded sympathetically. "What else do you have to say?" "There are no secrets here, and there are no secrets between dying people." Hinch looked blankly past Carlos, looked at the ice wall and starlight in the distance, and smiled ferociously, "If you want to listen, I will tell you I know enough about this bastard's business to hang him on the gallows. He's a cunning thief, the greatest con artist of the century. He's embezzling public money in the millions. About to be arrested When he was brought to justice, he jumped on the spaceship. You wonder how I know so much, don’t you? Let me tell you, I was his minion back then. His series of activities were all done by me. " "Huh?" Carlos and the others exclaimed. "The 'Space Seeding Operation' back then was a big deal, a real big deal!" Speaking of the past, Hinch still yearned for it, he spoke slowly, and loosened his grip on the gun, "Every spaceship cost millions, and many ships at a time. Big Liar Steck's job is to raise money. He drums up his tongue that can turn straws into bars of gold, calling for 'space seeding' Believers in action', and those credulous people who don't think long, let them give generously. Those fools think they are contributing to the future of human destiny. As for Steck himself, he has no He also doesn't believe in 'Space Seeding Operation.' He regards those who donate money as stupid pigs, saying that they paid for themselves a 'one-way ticket to hell'. "He was a master of deception and raised a lot of money," Hinch said enthusiastically, with a chuckle, "and made a lot of money for himself. Since then, he has become rich and powerful, and his net worth is growing day by day. Not only in the He bought luxury apartments in New York and Geneva, and raised many women. But he has a fatal problem, gambling like his life. He often goes to top casinos around the world to gamble, and most of them gamble when drunk. No matter whether he wakes up or not, he is always a loser. Later, he loses like crazy, and even gambles wildly. As a result, he owes a huge amount of gambling debts. So, he started to get involved in public funds. At that time, I was dragged into the water by him .” As Hinch spoke, he grinned and waved the gun in his hand from time to time.Carlos shrank back in fright, not daring to move.Ai Bang amine, Australia, shore, cancer, China, science fiction, shore, Aiba, stripping "At the beginning, I made a mistake and accidentally got on a pirate ship. As a result, I got deeper and deeper. I worked for eight years. Later, I didn't want to do it anymore, so I left him, changed my name and surname, and wanted to start a new life. But he still found I was obliged to do a lot of nastier things with him. Finally, I got so sick of it that I denounced him. That's why he got me here." As he spoke, he turned and stared at Cruz defiantly, with a combative air. "I've come to this stage, what am I afraid of? I'm not afraid of him, I'm not afraid of you, and I'm not afraid of any 'Ice God'. I don't want to go back because I don't want to wait to die with that scoundrel Steck and be eaten by others My bones. Do you understand?" "Understood, sir." Carlos quickly nodded in agreement. "Thank you, Mr. Hinch." Anderson calmly said to Hinch through the intercom in the cab, "We can all understand this. You are against Steck, stop working with him, and continue to do evil. We are very sorry." Glad. But, I want to know, how do you plan to cross this fault wall?" "That's your business," Hinch responded gruffly, baring his teeth. "I'm not an engineer. I don't understand." After venting, Hinch grumbled and went back to his bedroom.Then, Carlos heard the clink of bottles, and knew that Hinch was drinking away his worries again.Anderson withdrew the landing vehicle for another kilometer, then stopped for a major overhaul in order to successfully climb over the ice wall.Anderson overhauled the nuclear reactor and turbine engines; Cruz donned a space suit and descended through the airlock to the ice to overhaul the exposed wheels and steering. "The temperature of the car body is still within the safe range," Cruz reported below. "After the car stopped, a circle of frost and fog formed around it, which was caused by the light and heat emitted by the heat lamp. The frozen atmospheric molecules were affected by the light and heat. It began to sublimate, drifted to a further distance, and froze again, forming this circle of frost fog." "Write it all in the logbook," Hinch said suddenly behind Carlos, who also squeezed into the bubble room at some point, "if you think there's any idiot going to read it here." After the confrontation last time, the relationship between Xinqi and everyone has eased a lot.Although his words were still harsh, even sarcastic and sarcasm, his attitude was much more kind after all.He even brought out his own whiskey and offered them all a drink.Carlos mixed a fresh synthetic drink and toasted some multidimensional wafers on the microwave.Hinch and everyone gathered in the main car and had a meal together.After dinner, Cruz drove north along the ice wall to find a suitable place to cross.About 10 kilometers north, the wall is still 4 meters high.They continued northward and came to a place where the ice wall was slightly lower. "Stop and take a look," Anderson called, "I think we can jump over here." "If you can..." Hinch hesitated, turned and squinted at Anderson, "then climb over here." The car stopped by the ice wall.Anderson carried a toolbox and descended to the ice through the airlock.Carlos watched Anderson's homework in the bubble room.I saw him drill a few holes in the ice wall with a laser knife.The ice chips splashed by the laser hitting the ice wall were immediately vaporized, forming a cloud of red mist around them.After drilling the hole, he filled the hole with explosives, then motioned for Cruz to back out of the car and lead everyone away. Then, there was a silent explosion.Accompanied by a dazzling flash, a huge cloud of mist and shards of ice rose into the sky.Carlos felt dizzy for a while, and couldn't see anything clearly for a while.When he could see the scene clearly again, under the starlight, a slanting gap had already been blasted at the fault.Anderson had returned to the car, and Cruz drove the car, bumping and slowly driving through the gap and onto the high-level ice. "Carlos, if Mr. Hinch does not object, please call the spaceship immediately and report to them." Anderson said to Carlos. Hinch didn't object, just disapproving. "What the hell is there to report," he muttered aside, "that old bastard won't touch a hair of us again." Carlos called.But there was no echo, just a whoosh caused by cosmic rays coming from the earphones. "We have sailed too far, and we have come to a place below the direct range of the signal wave emitted by the spacecraft, and the signal has passed us." Anderson told Carlos, "This means that any signal sent by the spacecraft, only After reflection, it can reach us; on the other hand, there is no reflector above us at this time. Therefore, we cannot receive the signal from the spacecraft." "The landing vehicle continued to move towards the direction of the black sun. Carlos stayed in the bubble chamber, looking ahead. The scene ahead remained the same, the same ice field covered with hoarfrost, the same dark horizon, and the same eternal midnight starry sky. Xin Qi walked around in the car, peeking around for a while, boarding the bubble chamber for a while, and looking forward. Finally, he retreated into his bedroom and never came out again. Anderson packed up his tools, yawned, and went down to take a nap.Carlos in the bubble room, as long as he heard the clock strike, he read the azimuth data on the sextant and the temperature data on the thermometer, and marked a corresponding black dot on the itinerary map.He called the ship several times, but got no response.Just as he was drowsy, he suddenly heard Cruz's excited cry. "Look, ahead! Another light!" Carlos blinked, and found that on the eastern horizon, there was indeed a bright light, which was constantly changing colors.The colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and then indigo, gradually getting darker, and finally completely extinguished.After a few seconds, the light came on again. "Another warning," Anderson said to Hinch, who had reached the bubble chamber, "Mr. Hinch, we've come far enough." "Keep going." Hinch ordered bluntly.His eyes were red and empty.Because he was still a little drunk, his words were slurred: "Whatever 'ice god' or 'ice demon' they are, I want to see how they can withstand our powerful heat." Anderson turned to Carlos and said, "Please call the spaceship again." There are still only bursts of humming in the earphones.It was the sum of all kinds of ray energy, the sound of the universe, so vast and mysterious that Carlos couldn't comprehend it.Anderson went down to pick up Cruz's shift and continued driving.Following that, Hinch also left.Carlos was alone in the bubble chamber.At this time, a huge sense of loneliness suddenly hit him, making it difficult for him to hold on.He realized that they seemed to be cut off from all of humanity, and the group was trapped in this small landing vehicle, completely isolated.Everything around is so indifferent and terrible.The silence of ice and the heaviness of time surround, oppress and suffocate.He felt that he was almost dying. Suddenly, a voice came from the earphones, breaking his deep thinking. "Spaceship calling...calling Alpha..." Ah, it was her voice!This voice connects people's hearts, with warmth and hope.That is the thread of life.It's just that it's too slender to pull; it's too far away to reach.For a moment, Carlos seemed to be in a dream and vaguely saw her.I saw her standing on the rock in the "Golden Horn" of her hometown, holding her child and Mimi in her arms, facing the wind.Feng'er lifted the blond hair on her head and rolled up the skirt on her body to set off her graceful figure. "The spaceship is calling for Alpha." Rima's voice suddenly amplified, "Did you hear my call? Please answer." "I'm Alpha, I received the call." In a panic, Carlos uttered a sentence in Spanish. "Carlos? Where are you? Please answer." Carlos was a little flustered, not wanting the other party to have recognized his voice. "We blasted a breach in the fault wall and made it onto the ice on the uplift. We're heading east now." "You have been ordered to return, why do you still have to move forward?" The other party reprimanded without any excuse, "Mr. Glengersh believes that you are in danger." "Maybe he's right, but Mr. Hinch here refuses to carry out orders." "I need to speak to him." "He's not here, probably sleeping down there." "Go and find him." Rima raised his tone and said loudly, "Captain Steck has something to tell him." "He won't say anything, but I have something to report here. On the eastern horizon, the mysterious light appeared again, like a star, changing colors according to the color spectrum of the rainbow, completely different from the light we have seen from the sky before. Same." "You're in danger. I'm going to speak to Mr. Hinch..." Suddenly, the signal was interrupted and Rima's voice disappeared.The thread of life is broken. Carlos asked Anderson to come to the bubble room and stood by the radio station in case Rima called at any time, while he went to the cab to drive for Anderson.He drove in the direction of the light.It turned out that the light was not a star at all.As the distance gets closer, it becomes brighter and bigger, with an arrow-target-shaped halo, and the halo is still rising.Finally, Carlos discovered that there was a mountain under the halo.In fact, it is not a mountain, but a black single-body giant, whose height is unbelievable.Carlos parked the car, and everyone huddled in the bubble room, watching, horrified and sighing. "What is that! What is it!" Hinch exclaimed. "Don't ask who it is, I don't know." Anderson whispered, "But one thing is for sure, it is not a natural thing, but who built it. It is a building, because it is too tall, It looks like a mountain. Perhaps, it was made by God, and only God can make such a wonderful thing." The landing vehicle moved on.They drove one way, stopped to study for a while; studied for a while, and continued to drive another way.Just walking and stopping like this, they crossed the ancient beach and came to the small island.The small island rises to form a low hill, and the huge stone black tower stands on the hill.Due to the erosion of the years, the surface of the mountain is very smooth, covered with a thin layer of frost.Now, under the radiance of the seven-color halo, the whole body is silver.The closer the car gets, the taller the tower becomes, with the upper half protruding into the starry sky.The tower is surrounded by a beautiful seven-color halo, which shines brightly and shines on the new visitors under the tower.That glow was actually brighter than the heat lamp of the landing vehicle. "Let's go here." When walking 200 meters in front of the tower, Anderson raised his hand to stop, "It's close enough." "What is that tower for? We don't know yet!" Carlos said panting. Everyone craned their necks, watching.This magical thing, if not the god himself, is also his masterpiece, and the masterpiece of the giant god, Carlos thought.He blocked the changing light with his hands, only to find that the body of the tower is composed of countless boulders, each of which is about 20 meters high, and some are as high as 30 meters.The darker places on the tower are the seams between the boulders.There is also a huge gravel pile at the base of the tower.Presumably, a huge boulder fell from a very high place, hit the ground and shattered, thus forming this gravel pile. "What is that? A door?" Cruz frowned, showing everyone a place. When everyone looked at it, they saw a square-shaped dark part at the base of the tower, half covered by the pile of gravel.Obviously, that's a channel.At first glance, the passage was very small, less than half the height of a boulder, and it seemed that the landing vehicle could not pass through it. However, after Carlos' visual inspection, he found that the passage was not so short and narrow, and the landing vehicle could pass through.With the light from the top of the tower, Carlos tilted his head and looked into the passage. It was dark inside and he couldn't see anything. "We are very close," Anderson reminded again, "We know enough about the situation..." "Is that enough?" Hinch interrupted him harshly, "I don't think it's enough. I'm going to the monster's lair, meet the old monster, and ask him in person what he meant by sending that bird signal."