Chapter 21 Chapter Twenty

The car continued to drive towards the clinic.Jane sat quietly, as if thinking about something.Once, he turned his head to say something, but stopped again.The damaged reactor was repaired again, and the clinic building was brightly lit.After Jenkins got out of the car, he saw Dr. Orrego as soon as he entered, and hurried forward. "Wait a minute," he called. The doctor turned away with an air of impatience. "Come back to die, Mr. Jenkins? I didn't expect you to come back so soon. Miss Northuppo has a room ready for you too. Are you bleeding somewhere?" "Nowhere!" Jenkins replied. "I'm feeling fine. I'm not going to die just yet. I just haven't got my job done, and I need help. Is there any possibility that those engineers..."

Vorego shook his head gravely. "When they come out of Amadin's coma, they'll be blind and bleeding," he stopped abruptly, his sharp eyes resting on Nick, "your own days are numbered, Mr. Jenkins. "I'm fine..." Ignoring Nick's objections, Uurigo took him into the consultation room, checked his throat and eyes again, took his temperature, and applied test fluid.Nick is still hoping for a miraculous turnaround.The impatient doctor snapped, "Better get to your work right away!" "Me," Nick paused, "how long am I going to live?"

"Slight bleeding is possible at any time now." Uurigo frowned, as if irritated by his inability to do anything about it, "within two or three days there would be vomiting, fever, and soon blindness and total incapacity. You should really stay..." "No!" Jenkins replied emphatically.He took another long breath and asked almost desperately, "Is there no hope for all of them?" Vorego shook his head. "At first, I thought there was hope for Mackey," he said slowly. "Early treatment showed a good response, and I was thinking that if we could cure him, maybe he had some immunity." "He didn't." Is it?" Nick waited anxiously for him to finish.

"He's an asteroid. I think most asteroids are more resistant to radiation than people on Earth. You know, radiation itself can accelerate mutation. I sometimes wonder whether the process of mutation and natural selection is evolving a new race. "McGee is really different. Jenkins asked anxiously again, "Are you sure he's really going to die?" Urego nodded angrily. "Yesterday I was hoping for a full recovery, hoping..." He laughed at himself. "I've dreamed too many miracles."Mackey wasn't adaptable enough to withstand a few thousand rads of X-rays.Today, his temperature is starting to rise, and he will die before everyone else. "

Jenkins came out of the clinic feeling light-headed and heavy.Jane was still waiting for him in the car, and he let Jane drive back to the landing site.The black CT Intruder has landed, towering high above Farewell.next to the abbreviation.He looked at the battleship curiously. It was converted from a cargo ship, and the platform for loading ore still remains on it.Two rectangular turrets were installed in the middle of the hull, and a series of black space cannons protruded. O'Brien's battalion of weary amateurs was still guarding the tugboat.When Jenkins got out of the car, he saw O'Brien himself coming down the gangway of the battleship, so he rushed to meet him and asked hopefully.

"Can I go?" The politician didn't answer, but staggered forward, his body like a deflated rubber ball, his face expressionless.Nick repeated: "Can I go?" "No." The old man replied weakly, "You can't go." Jenkins took his arm. "What happened?" O'Brien sighed in pain. "I've spoken to the brothers on the Raider," he stammered. "They say we've failed. Even he's disappointed that 'Brother Stone' isn't on board. He ordered me to take Albania Hand it over to the custody fleet that is about to arrive."

Jenkins couldn't help trembling: "You will let me go before the fleet arrives." O'Brien shook his head feebly. "The 'Brothers of Stone' ordered us to detain you and your ship and hand them over to the Trustee Fleet. The Brothers brought robbery and treason pending against you." "No, I don't have time!" "I'm sorry, Jenkins." O'Brien looked dejected. "The party's discipline is very strict. I can't help you. We must hand you over to the Trustee Fleet." Jenkins suddenly felt furious.He hated the stupid and stubborn O'Brien, was angry with the unknown leader of the Free Space Party, hated the arrogant nobles of the Interstellar Corporation, and despised the selfish and greedy trusteeship officials.

In his view, the entire human nature, driven by ignorance, fear and greed, constitutes a huge resistance to the establishment of the fifth freedom.The technical problems of the Bryan transmitter have long been solved, but the human disaster is deeper and more complicated than ever. It can be seen that the greatest obstacle to human progress is human nature itself. Jenkins took O'Brien's hand and said eagerly: "Your uprising has failed, but the Bryan transmitter has not yet! It can still bring freedom and peace to the people of the asteroid, and to all planets. That is The only chance, if you help me leave..."

"It's no use, Jenkins. I've put everything into this uprising, my last chance. Years of plotting, friends' lives . . . and we've failed." He breathed wearily, " I don't want to try again." Jenkins suddenly heard the sound of wheels spinning behind him, and turned around just in time to see Jane disappearing into the horizon in O'Baliang's car.A poor ally, he thought bitterly, who fled when the first real danger came. There was no escape from her on little Albania. He turned to O'Brien and said impatiently: "At least, you have to let me escape by myself?"

"The 'Stone Brothers' have promised to hand you over so that members of the party and rebels will not be implicated in treason. We must keep our word." "You betrayed me?" Jenkins was furious. "Come save yourselves!" "No, don't say that." O'Brien began to sob, with tears in his haggard eyes, "Jenkins, I'm old, and I'm afraid I've been betrayed myself. I really don't understand, since there are CT missiles , 'Brother Stone' why surrender? Leave me alone!" With that, he turned around and stumbled away.

Jenkins didn't stop him, turned back in despair, and saw the guard saying goodbye.Jane's team of asteroids. "Have you all joined the Free Space Party?" Some of them nodded and looked at him suspiciously. "It shows that you want freedom for yourself or for others," he tried to convince them, "and I'm going to tell you something about freedom." They all clutched their rifles carefully. "The Trusteeship was able to oppress you because the major planetary forces that functioned in the government joined the nuclear power monopoly. Your uprising failed to break that power monopoly, but it could be done in another way, with a new Energy—CT energy!" They were still listening, with distrust on their faces. "Infinite energy, come to think of it, we're building the Brian Transmitter on the Liberty Star, and we'll be able to supply enough CT energy to people everywhere. It will mean economic freedom, and economic freedom will bring Come to political freedom. Our power plant can help you get rid of the trusteeship government." Two or three people shook their heads in disbelief. "I already have the materials to make those transmitters here." He nodded towards the tugboat, "Can you let me go? Give me a chance to escape, and I will bring you true freedom!" "Shut up, sir!" The team leader said suddenly, his voice was low and hard, and he raised his head at a thin man who was getting off the Intruder, "That's a brother of the party, he I'll watch over you. Shut your mouth and wait for him." "Didn't you hear what I said?" Jenkins was a little desperate, "Why don't you understand?" "We hear that," gruffly the bearded miner, "but we don't understand. We're not engineers, we're not politicians, we don't know about energy transmitters, let alone economic freedom. We are just ordinary asteroids, but we are all loyal to our duties, Brother O'Barian ordered us to guard you until the fleet arrives here." Jenkins shrugged painfully, this is the people who need the fifth freedom!Their ignorance is more terrible than the ruler's greed!He turned in disappointment to face the man who was approaching from the Intruder. Suddenly there was a sound of emergency braking behind him, and the team leader staggered back a few steps, raising his rifle vigilantly.Jenkins turned his head and saw O'Brien's car skid through the crater and stop beside him.Jane jumped out from inside. "Nick, I'm afraid you need this thing!" She panted quickly, but her voice was calm, "I borrowed it from Karen, and there are 80 CT pellets in the magazine!" The gun was thrown.Jenkins was taken aback, wondering if he had misjudged her.Suddenly, he saw those miners with weapons walking towards him, so he skillfully raised his gun and aimed at them. "Better not shoot," he warned sharply, "this special magazine holds CT. If your bullets..." I need not say the following.These people have all used ordinary test guns with material iron pellets, and they all know the power of CT. Two people had already dropped their weapons and rushed towards the gun body. "Stop!" the team leader yelled, "Catch him!" But these people are miners again now, and no one wants to die from a CT explosion.Jenkins crouched down and aimed his gun at them, and they dropped their weapons and fled in panic.The captain also hesitated and walked away. "Open the hatch." Jenkins handed the key to Jane who was standing beside her, "I want to guard against the Intruder." She nodded silently. "Be careful!" The terrified squad leader warned loudly to the party leader who was walking this way, "Be careful, Brother Lagerina..." Upon hearing this name, Jenkins felt as if he had been slapped in the face Hold, a little dizzy.But now, he knew who that man was, and it was Keith.La Gerina.The strange thing is that after not seeing him for a few days, his body became thinner and his back became hunched.Nick didn't have time to wonder how this quiet Earthling had joined the Free Space Underground.With a shudder, he turned the long, thin coil. La Gerina reacted quickly and jumped into the crater when she heard the shout.Nick pointed the gun at the Raider's open hatch and pulled the trigger.It stunned him. The test gun is just a tool, not a weapon. It also has a telescope, a disassembly spectrograph, etc. on it. It is too heavy to hold in the hand and it is difficult to maintain balance. As soon as the CT iron particles come out of the muzzle, they start to react, which is extremely powerful.The gun itself hardly moves at all. These CT iron particles flying out at high speed screamed in the air, drawing a long silver line. The explosion sound from the collision of CT iron and material steel is deafening. La Gerina was still hiding in the crater and couldn't see clearly, and the group of soldiers had long since fled without a trace.O'Barian was stumbling back to the warehouse when he heard the explosion and turned to look blankly.The hatches of the battleship were closing slowly, and Jenkins directed the stream of fire at them, and the doors stopped sliding. The terrible light of the fire blinded Nick's eyes, and he couldn't see anything, and his body swayed, and he couldn't stand still.He lowered the heavy test gun.The ears also seem to be deaf.The geiger on his wrist whined, warning of the terrible energy unleashed by the explosion. "Nick, be careful!" Jane uttered a sharper warning voice, "There are cannons over there!" He blinked and saw clearly that the flat turret on the tall black spaceship was quickly turning around to aim at it. He, so he raised his gun again, firing wildly at the turret, at the range finder tube, at the periscope and radar dish.Soon, he could see nothing again. A heavily armed frigate with deflecting shields and heavy armor plating might be immune to such impromptu raids, but this converted ore loader was not.He knew that the other party would not shoot again. "Okay." Jane's quiet voice floated gently into his deaf ears.She gently held his arm with her hand, "Come on, I'll help you get on the boat." Panting for breath, they stumbled onto the spaceship.His eyes gradually improved a little. At that time, Jane had closed the hatch, and he looked at her gratefully. "Thanks, Jane," he whispered, "though I don't know you that well!" There seemed to be a hint of mockery in her calm blue eyes: "Why don't you trust your only friend?" He didn't have time to explain now. solve her riddle.He got into the cockpit and started the tug at full speed.Through the periscope, he saw the CT Intruder lying on the ground tilted, black smoke billowing from the shattered hatch, the turret distorted by the explosion stopped, and no one was chasing them.