Chapter 15 Chapter fifteen

"what?" "Isn't that a little unusual name for you?" "Of course." The colonel looked Thorby over, "but he doesn't look like him at all." "I said 'adopted son.' The colonel adopted him in Jubul." Colonel Brisby closed the door and said to Clauser, "Colonel Baslim is dead, or disappeared two years ago, so presumably dead." "I know that. This kid has been following me. If you have any questions, I can report to you some details about the colonel's death." "Are you one of his agents?" "yes."

"Can you prove it?" "I'm X3079, codenamed FT." "This is verifiable. Now let's assume that you are the man. How can you prove that... he is Thorby Baslim?" Soapy didn't understand what they said, he only felt a buzzing sound in his ears, as if the current in the fire control target tracker was too strong, or as if the room was gradually expanding and then gradually shrinking of.He could see that the officer knew Papa well, which was all right...but what was it about Papa being a colonel?In his mind, Pop was nothing more than Baslim the Cripple, a pitiful licensed beggar.

Colonel Brisby snapped at him to sit down, and Thorby wished he did.The colonel put the ventilation fan on high gear, turned to Captain Krause and said, "Well, I believe you. I don't know what the regulations say, what to do in this situation... the people who asked us to assist the X-force , but it does not seem to be the case now. However, I will not disappoint Colonel Baslim." "According to Baslim's words, it is to help this 'unfortunate citizen'." Klausar said. "What? Well, 'unfortunate citizen', I don't know of anyone on a Confederate planet who could use that phrase. The lad is clearly not very 'unlucky', just a little breathless and pale. It's all white."

"Thank you, Captain." Clauser said, looking at his watch, "May I go? Seriously, I must." "Wait a little longer. You left him with me?" "I'm afraid that's the only way to go." Brisby shrugged. "Then do as you say. But please stay for lunch. I want to know more about Baslim." "Sorry, I really don't have time. If you need it, you can find me at the meeting place." "I will. A cup of coffee will do." The colonel tried to press the button. "Captain," Krause said worriedly, glancing at his watch again, "I must go now. Today is Remembrance Day...and my mother's funeral is fifty minutes away."

"What? Ling Tang passed away? My God! Why didn't you say it earlier." "I'm afraid...but I have to go." "Let me arrange it." The colonel opened the door and went out, "Eddie! Get Captain Krausser an air car, it should be faster. Take the guest right away, and you can stop wherever he wants to fly." To where. Quick!" "Understood, Captain!" Brisby returned, raised his eyebrows, and went outside to an office. Clauser looked at Thorby and said sadly, "Come here, son." "Yes, Dad." "I've got to go... I think you might be able to come to the party someday."

"I'll definitely come, Dad!" "If you can't come... Well, your blood has been left on the deck of the Sisu, and your blood has seeped into our steel. You are still a Sisu." "My blood is in the steel." "Good trade, son. Be a good boy." "Business is going well! Ah, Papa!" "Don't do this! My tears will flow if you do this again. Listen, we will take care of the party for you this afternoon. You must not show up." "Yes, sir." "Your mother loves you very much, and so do I." Brisby knocked on the open door. "The car is waiting for you, Captain."

"Here we come, Captain." Krause kissed Soapy on both cheeks, turned and left.Soapy could only watch his broad back leave quietly. After a while Colonel Brisby returned.He sat down and looked at Soapy and said, "I don't know what to do with you. But we'll do what we can." He flipped a switch and said, "Picket Chief Eddie, send someone to find a berth." Turning to Soapy again, "We've got beds too, if you can make it work. I know you merchants live in luxury." "gentlemen?" "how?" "Baslim is a colonel? Of your army?"

"um, yes." Soapy thought for a few minutes at this—and the past was thrashing again in his mind.He hesitated and said, "I think I have something to tell you." "Is it Baslim's words?" "Yes, sir. I could only figure it out when I was in a light hypnotic state, but for some reason, I can remember it now." Then, Soapy recited several sets of codes, "Do you think these codes are related to you?" ?” Brisby quickly closed the door again, and said eagerly: "Unless you are sure that the people around you are all right, and there are no bugs installed in the room, don't reveal these codes to anyone."

"sorry sir." "No problem now. But any information contained in these codes is very important. It's hot. I just hope it hasn't been cold for two years." He flicked the intercom switch again and said, "Eddie, don't go Call the marshal, get the therapist. If he gets off the ship, get him anyway." Then he looked at Soapy and said, "I still don't know what to do with you. But, I Make sure you are safe first." Except for Soapy, the only people present were Colonel Brisby, his second-in-command, Lieutenant Colonel "The Brat" Tank, and Isadore Krishnamurthy, the ship's psychiatrist and medical director.Through hypnotism, Soapy finally delivered Baslim's long message.The hypnosis took a long time, because Dr. Clichy did not practice hypnotism very often, and Soapy was very nervous and had a kind of resistance that could not be restrained. Besides, the recording equipment was malfunctioning, which caused the second-in-command to curse.But in the end, the psychiatrist finally straightened his waist and wiped the sweat from his face. "I think it's done," he said wearily, "but what's he talking about?"

[① Krishna, Krishnamurthy's nickname. 】 "Doctor, forget what you heard," Brisby warned. "Better forget, or you'll lose your head." "My God, thank you, boss." Steinke said, "Let's do it again, Pappy. I hope it's clearer this time. His accent is probably too slurred." [①Papi, Brisby's nickname. 】 "Nonsense. The lad speaks with a pure Earth accent." "Well, it seems that there is something wrong with my ears. I have been on the ship for too long, and I have listened to the crew for a long time, and my ears are not working well."

Brisby replied calmly: "As a commander, my accent is flawless and very pure. It must be other people who affect you. Brat, is your recording analysis equipment sure to record everything you want to study? down?" "The only thing it doesn't understand is your accent... Sir, I'm not targeting you. Uh, let's put it this way, I've got the noise out of the way, now what?" "Doctor, what do you think?" "Mmm...the hypnotized subject is too tired. Can we only do this once?" "Oh, he'll be with us for a while. Well, wake him up." Thorby was soon put to rest in one of the sergeant's bunks, after which coffee, a plate of sandwiches, and a late meal were brought.The colonel and his deputy had clearly recorded the final report of thousands of words of old beggar Baslim.Stank straightened up, leaned back in his chair, hissed, and said, "Just take it easy, Pappy. I guess it's been a long, long time, but it hasn't cooled off yet. " Brisby said gravely: "Yes, many good people will die before it cools down." "That's true. But I really don't understand that trader boy who runs around the galaxy with top secrets like 'burn it after reading' in his head. Should I just sneak over and poison him?" "what?" "Well, maybe Chrissy will figure out a way to wipe out all the sensitive stuff in that mortar between his ears without having to do a lobotomy." "I reckon Baslim would come out of the grave and strangle him if anyone touched that lad. Do you know Baslim, boy?" "The last year of military school, he taught us psychological tactics. Then he went to X-Force. Of all the people I've ever met, he's one of the smartest minds. Except you, of course, boss, Mr. Pappy, the boss." "Don't get me into it. He's a brilliant teacher, no doubt, a top man in anything he does. You should have known him before he retired from the line. I had the honor of being a soldier under him. Now I have One of my ships, I often ask myself: 'What would Baslim do if the captain of this ship was Captain?' He is the best commander that has ever been on any ship. He was a fleet commander, but he didn't want to sit in an office, so he voluntarily downgraded—twice to colonel—so he could directly command the ship." Stank shook his head and said, "I can't even hope for such a good position. I can sit in an office and draft some documents that no one will read." "You're not Baslim. He doesn't like an easy job." "I'm not a hero, I'm a hardcore member of society. Papi, did you go with him when you rescued the Hanxi family?" "Did you think I'd miss the chance to get the medal and ribbon? No, thank God, I was transferred. It was a hand-to-hand fight, and it was a bloody mess." "I thought you had some brains and wouldn't go voluntarily." "Boy, if Baslim asks for volunteers, even a fat, lazy guy like you will volunteer." "I'm not lazy, but I do things efficiently. But I really don't understand: Why should a commander personally lead the landing advance force? Isn't there a regulation that prohibits this?" "The old man only abides by the rules he himself approves. He hopes to kill the slave trade ship with his own hands. He has a deep-seated hatred for the slave trade ship. He became a hero when he came back. What will the leaders above do to him? Wait for him to recover and leave the hospital What about military law? Brats, even the top leaders, will be reasonable when they are pushed into a corner. So they rummaged through the regulations, found some excuses such as being arbitrary in an emergency, and let him go One horse, let him retreat from the front line. But after that, once an "emergency situation" arises, every commander knows that they can no longer use the method of reviewing the regulations and making excuses to deal with it. They understand that they should Follow his example." "I wouldn't do that," Stank said emphatically. "You will! If you become a commander, you will inevitably encounter difficult things. At that time, you will shrink your stomach, puff your chest, come forward, and then your chubby Face becomes a hero. You can't control this Baslim reflex." They didn't sleep until it was almost dawn.Brisby had intended to sleep in a little longer, but long habit drove him to the office only a few minutes later than usual, and was not surprised to find that his deputy, who was accustomed to claiming to be a slob, was already working there. . In the office, a lieutenant in finance was waiting for Brisby.The treasurer held a letter, which he recognized at a glance. They had spent hours last night cutting Baslim's report into discrete moments, recording them, and sending them out via different routes.Then it occurred to him that there was a more troublesome thing to do before going to bed, which was to investigate the identity of Colonel Baslim's stepson.Brisby didn't believe that a waif found in Juble could be found in the Confederate vital statistics files, but if the Don asked him to find a needle in a haystack, he'd have a needle in a haystack, no excuses.Dead or alive, Baslim was always his boss.So he wrote an express letter and told the officer on duty to extract Soby's fingerprints, complete the encoding and encryption of the fingerprints before the morning exercise queue, and send them away with the letter.He didn't go to bed until these things were done. Brisby looked at the express letter he wrote in the other party's hand, and asked, "Why haven't you sent it yet?" "The camera room is encoding the fingerprints, Captain. But the communications room handed me this letter, saying that there will be a fee, because it is an off-ship business." "Okay, then pay. Do you have to ask me for this kind of daily trivial matter?" The financial officer concluded that the old guy didn't sleep well. "One more bad news, Captain." "Okay, let's talk." "I don't know how to pay for it. I'm afraid we won't be able to find a program that would make this money, even if we figured out a suitable title for it." "I don't care what it is, just make up an item and get this thing over with. Use a general name, pick whatever you want." "That's called 'Administrative Charges' . . . but no, Captain. Checking out a civilian's status doesn't count as an onboard charge. Oh, and if I can just mess around with that bill, you can get the results of the investigation. Yes. But—" "That's what I want: the results of the investigation." "Yes, sir. However, the account must eventually go to the chief accounting office, and a card with a red check will pop up at the turn of the auditor's wheel. Until I pay this fee, my salary It will be suspended. The responsibility is on me, so they want us to study law and accounting system." "I'm really disappointed by what you've said. Well, if you're too timid to sign, then I'll pay. Tell me, how much does it cost? I'll sign my name and title, okay?" "Okay, sir. But, Captain..." "Come on, pay. I've had enough the night before." "Yes, sir. The law requires me to remind you. Of course, you may not accept my reminder." "Of course." Brisby sneered. "Captain, have you ever thought about how much this kind of identity investigation will cost?" "It can't be much. I don't see why you keep asking such annoying questions. Just get a clerk and go through the file from scratch. Maybe they don't charge at all, just a little favor. " "I really hope I can agree with you, sir. But the problem is that your investigation is groundless. Since you are not completely sure which planet the person you want to investigate is, the first step is to go to Tycho City Check the files of the living or the dead. Or, do you only check the files of the living?" After hearing this, Brisby pondered.Baslim thought the young man had been born in the civilized world, and well, the kid's family would probably think he was dead. "No." "It's too bad, the files of the dead are twice as many as the files of the living. In this case, they have to go to Tycho City to check. Even if they use a machine to check the files, it will take a long time-there are more than 20 billion The entries need to be checked. What if the results are not found? The information in the large archives will not be very complete, and the governments of some planets do not submit archives. Therefore, you have to go to the Bureau of Life and Death Statistics of each planet to inquire one by one. In this way, the cost will rise sharply, especially if you choose the multidimensional space route, the precise encoding of a set of fingerprints is equivalent to the content of a thick book. Of course, if you choose a planet each time, send the survey to Send it back." "No." "Well... Captain, I feel that this investigation should be stopped. This investigation may generate thousands of fees, whether you can afford it or not." "Thousands of fees? That's ridiculous!" "If I'm right—and I'm right—thousands of fees are only the beginning. Then you'll be in big trouble." Brisby shouted: "Treasurer, you are doing things for me, not telling me not to do this or that." "Yes, sir." "So you have to tell me how to do what I want to do. So you have to go through the books and find a name that is legal and can be reimbursed." "Understood, understood, sir." Brisby did not immediately go to work.he is very angry.The red tape!In a few days they'll be messing with this and never start an investigation.He believed that Baslim entered X-Force with a sense of relief.The leaders of that unit don't have these time-consuming red tape, as long as one of them feels that it is necessary to spend money, he will act immediately, no matter whether it is small money or big money, he can let it go.When they handle affairs, they first select the staff, and then give them full trust. They don't need to make reports, they don't need reports, they don't need anything, they just need to do what needs to be done. Brisby picked up the ship's quarterly fuel and management report, put it down again, took another statement, and began to fill out a follow-up note on Baslim's report to the Foreign Office: the person who submitted the report, currently unidentified courier, still under the supervision of the signatory.The undersigned believes that, if approved, it would be prudent to discuss the contents of the report with the courier, and perhaps to obtain further relevant intelligence. This form Brisby decided not to hand over to the cipher team.He opened the safe, coded and encrypted it himself, and had just finished compiling when he heard the treasurer knock on the door.Brisby looked up and said, "It looks like you've figured out what to call that fee." "Perhaps, Captain. I've consulted with the mate." "Say it." "I know the lad is still on board." "You don't want to say that I will pay for his living expenses, do you?" "No, Captain, I'll settle his provisions quickly. You can keep him on board as long as you want, and I'll take no care of that. But when these accounts are in the books, there's the problem. You wish to keep him How long will he stay? It must be more than a day or two? Otherwise, you wouldn't want to do an identity check for him." The commander frowned and said, "It could be quite a while. First, I have to find out who he is and where he is from. Second, if we find out, I want him Our ship goes back, not on the log. If it can't be done, well, I'll give him to another ship that can. It's too complicated to explain. Treasurer, he stays on the ship It is very necessary." "Okay, so why not enlist him?" "what?" "Doing this will solve all problems." Brisby frowned again. "I know, I can legally enlist him in the army... and change the troops later. That way, I can also give you a name for the expenditure. But... for example, if he is from Khiva III , Now he has joined the army, and the service period has not yet expired, so we can't let him go home. Besides, I don't know if he is willing to join the army. " "You can ask him that. How old is he?" "I'm not sure he knows his age. He was a waif." "That's all the better. Now you can put him on board, and later when you figure out where he's supposed to go, you'll find he's got the wrong age. . . must be corrected. Give him some wages, Just send him back to his own planet." Brisby blinked and said, "Treasurer, are you cashiers all this tricky?" "Only a good cashier is like that. You don't like it, sir?" "I like it. Well, I need to think about it and put that letter aside for a while and send it later." The teller said gravely, "Oh, no, sir, we'll never send that letter again." "why?" "Because it's not necessary. We can ask someone else to fill the vacancy first, and then send the file to the Personnel Bureau. The Personnel Department will conduct a general review, including name and birth planet. Since we accepted him here, I think, let’s write Hecate on the planet of birth. When they found out that there is no file of him in this place, we have already gone far away. Then, they will hand over the file to the Security Bureau, and the Security Bureau will notify us immediately. This guy is allowed to do classified work. That can only be the result, because this poor, innocent citizen may never have registered. But the Security Bureau can't just let it go like this, they dare not take that risk, so They'll do the research you need, first in Tycho, then in various other locations. Safety first. That way, they'll be able to identify him. Unless he committed murder , need to be further investigated, otherwise this is a big investigation that is both ordinary and mobilizing. As a result, maybe they still can't confirm his identity, so they have to register him, or give him 24 hours to leave. Generally speaking , they will choose to forget about it completely-or maybe tell someone on the ship to keep an eye on him for any suspicious behavior. The big advantage of this is that the cost of this investigation will be paid by the Security Bureau bear." "Treasurer, do you think there are Security Service personnel on this ship that I don't know about?" "Captain, what do you think?" "Hmmm... I don't know—but if I were chief of security, I'd put someone in. It's annoying, no matter what I write in the logbook, putting a civilian on board will definitely be reported. " "It happens quite often, sir." "Get out of here! I'll take care of this myself, I've got to get that lad into the army." Brisby snapped a switch and said, "Eddie!" He didn't call Soapy, but asked The surgeon went directly to Tisso for a physical examination.It would be too hasty to call him Wu before ascertaining his physical condition.Before lunch, Major Surgeon Tank and Medical Director Krishnamurthy arrived to report to Brisby. "How about it?" "Physically, there is no problem, Captain. Psychologically, I will ask the psychologist to report to you." "Fine. By the way, how old is he?" "The lad himself doesn't know." "Yes, yes," said Brisby impatiently, "but how old do you think he is?" Dr. Stein shrugged and said: "What does his genetic map look like? How is his ecological environment? Is there any distortion? Is the planet's gravity large or small? What is the planet's metabolic index? We don't know all of these. From the appearance of the body Look, it's possible from 10 to 30 years old. Assuming there are no major distortions, and assuming his home planet's ecological environment is the same as the earth, I can give an approximate age, but this is just without clear data and unproven An assumption — no younger than 14, no older than 22." "How about 18?" "Exactly what I was going to say." "Okay, just fill out the form like this, just reach the legal age, and you can enlist in the army." "He also has a tattoo," said Dr. Krishnamurthy, "that may be the mark of a slave." "Damn it!" thought Colonel Brisby, thankfully sending X-Force a supplementary note, "Is it the date of birth?" "Just the date of emancipation, plus a Sargon date, to match his history. The stamp of the clerk, not the date of birth." "Too bad. Well, now his condition is clear. I'm going to call him." "Colonel." "Huh? What's the matter, Krishnamurthy?" "I cannot recommend him for military service." "What? Isn't he as healthy as you?" "Yes, but he is a dangerous man." "why?" "I spoke to him this morning while he was under light hypnosis. Colonel, have you ever had a dog?" "No, there are not many dogs in my hometown." "Dogs are very useful experimental animals. They have many similarities with human beings. Take a puppy as an example. If you scold it, kick it, or mistreat it, it will return to wildness; if you put it Treat him like a little brother, pet him, talk to him, let him sleep with you, and train him well at the same time, then he will be a happy and obedient family pet. If you pick up one of the puppies that people throw away Come on, treat and pet him well every two days, beat and kick him every single day, and you'll drive the dog into a trance, and as a result, he won't touch either end: Neither survives as a wild dog nor makes a good pet. After a while, he doesn't want to eat or sleep, and he can't control his faculties except barking and shaking." "Well... do you psychologists often study things like this?" "I have never studied such things. I have only seen these situations in literature. That child can be said to be the same as what I just said. From childhood until yesterday, he has suffered a series of painful and unforgettable experiences. .His current state is very chaotic, very depressed, and like that dog, he may bark and bite at any time. He should not be stressed anymore so that he can receive psychological treatment." "Pooh!" The psychologist shrugged.Brisby continued: "Excuse me, Doctor. But I know something about the matter, and of course I fully respect your knowledge. The boy has been living in good circumstances for the past few years. A few years ago, He has been under the care of Colonel Richard Baslim. Have you ever heard of Colonel Baslim?" "I've heard his name for a long time." "I'll bet my ship that Colonel Baslim wouldn't ruin a kid. Well, even if the lad has had a rough time, he's got the toughest that ever wore our uniform." , the sanest, most humane man. You bet on the dog, and I trust Colonel Richard Baslim as a man. Now, do you still advise me not to enlist him?" Psychologists are a little hesitant.Brisby asked, "How?" Major Stank interrupted, "Don't think about it, Krishnamurthy, I think you're wrong." "I want to hear a straight answer so I can make a decision," Brisby said. Dr. Krishnamurthy said slowly, "What do you think if I treat my opinion as a remark and state in the text that I have no reasons for refusing his enlistment?" "why?" "Obviously because you want him to enlist. But in case something goes wrong with him, my note saves me from trial. His previous fate was too tragic." Colonel Brisby patted him on the shoulder and said, "That's right, Krishnamurthy! That's it, gentlemen." Soapy had a not-so-happy evening.The chief of pickets put him in an officer's quarters.He was treated well by the people in the dormitory, but he was embarrassed to realize that the eyes of those around him were polite and deliberately avoiding his gorgeous sisu uniform.Up until this point, he was still proud of his beautiful sisu uniform, but also painfully aware that clothing should match the appropriate occasion.That night, he heard the snoring of people around him... strangers... Vlaky... He wanted to go back to the Sisu, because there people knew him, understood him, knew him. He was not used to lying on the hard plank bed, tossing and turning, unable to sleep, wondering who would sleep in his bunk on the Sisu? Soapy's thoughts drifted back to Jubulbo.He wondered if someone had already lived in the cave he still considered "home."Are they going to fix that door?Will they keep it clean and spiffy like Dad?What would they do with Dad's fake leg? In his sleep, Soapy saw Pop mingling with the Sisu.At last, he dreamed that the patriarch grandma had been beheaded, and that the marauders were aboard the Sisu, and that's when he heard his father whisper, "The nightmare is over, Soapy, never again, Son. I will only have good dreams from now on." Soapy slept soundly after that, only to wake up to find himself sleeping in the same obnoxious place, surrounded by chattering Flackies.The breakfast is a lot, but it is not as good as the meals made by Aunt Athena, besides, he is not hungry. After breakfast, he was sullen, when suddenly he was asked to undress and be examined.It was the first time he experienced the rough handling of his body by medical staff.He hates needles and blood draws. The commander sent for Soapy.Soapy still couldn't lift his spirits after meeting the man who knew Pop, for it was in this room that he finally said "Good trade" to Pa.What he thought about was still the scene at that time, and he was not in such a happy mood. Brisby explained to Soapy why he had been invited, and he listened listlessly, until he realized that he was going to be drafted and thereby improve his status, sobering up a little, but not quite sobering.Identity, it turns out that Frankie also has the issue of identity and status.Before that, he never knew that Frankie's identity was so important to Frankie. "You don't need to enlist," said Colonel Brisby, "but when you enlist, it's easier for me to do what Baslim gives me. I mean find your home. You like finding your home, yes. no?" Soapy almost said that he knew where his home was, but he realized at once that the Colonel was talking about his own clan, and that he had never thought of his own parents before.Does he really have relatives somewhere? "I suppose so," he said after a moment's thought, "but I don't know if I have a home." "Hmm..." Brisby thought, what a picture without a frame would be like, "Baslim is desperate for me to find you a home. If you become one of us, this It's easier to do. How about it? A National Guard third class . . . $30 a month, enough to feed you, but not enough to sleep. It's honorable, but not a lot of money." Soapy looked up and said, "Colonel Baslim, as you call him, was he ever in this family too? Really?" "Yes. Much higher rank than you, of course. But we are all soldiers. You mentioned 'family', and we like to think of the army as a big family. Colonel Baslim is an outstanding member of the family. a member." "Then I am willing to be adopted by you." "It should be said to enlist in the army." "You can say whatever you want."