Chapter 2 Chapter 2 Fly to Mars

What's so ridiculous about being seasick alone?Only a fool with an iron stomach would laugh at it.I'm sure an emotionless guy like this would laugh at seeing his grandma break her legs. I did get seasick when the rocket ship was ignited and coasting after takeoff.However, I slowed down after a while.Probably because of the empty stomach - I haven't had anything since breakfast.Nor did Tucker say it had been a long and scary trip.All I felt was weakness in limbs and a trance.We will meet again in one hour and forty-three minutes. Although this period of time is short, for a person like me who is used to living on earth, it is like suffering in hell for a thousand years.

Tucker didn't laugh at my seasickness.He's a veteran of spaceflight, and he thinks my reaction is perfectly normal, so he doesn't take it seriously.His demeanor was that of an air hostess, with no emotion in his face, like those dull-witted, gruff-tongued passengers on the lunar lander who laughed for fun when they saw people sick and sick.According to my thinking, this group of people should die laughing in a vacuum when the spaceship enters the corridor! Even though my mind was in such a mess, with hundreds of questions to ask, I couldn't really take much interest in anything.Thinking about it, our spacecraft is almost going to meet the torch spacecraft that flies back and forth between the earth and the space orbit station, and the torch spacecraft is parked in the resident orbit around the earth.

To be honest, this kind of space flight is really not a taste.If it was announced that people who are seasick should be taken out at dawn and shot, I guess the seasick people would say, "Well, please hurry up and shoot!" However, I finally began to adapt gradually, so I gave up the idea of ​​suicide.The situation is gradually improving, and of course there is no need to think about death.Tucker spends most of his time on the communicator.He was apparently communicating with dense radio beams, directing the navigation.I saw him holding the directional control device with both hands all the time, with the look of a gunner aiming under very difficult conditions.I couldn't hear what he was saying, and I couldn't guess what he was saying from the movement of his lips, because his face was still pressed against the microphone.

I figured he was talking to the torchship space station that was going to accept our rendezvous. As Tucker put the communicator aside and lit a cigarette, I felt another bout of nausea brought on by the smoke from the cigarette.I forced myself to hold back, not to throw up the contents of my stomach. "Tuck, is it time to tell the secret?" I said. "We'll have plenty of time to talk on the way to Mars," he said coldly. "Hey, don't be so smug," I couldn't help but get angry, very disapproving. "I don't want to go to Mars. If I had known, I would not have accepted your wild plan!"

"Listen! You don't have to go if you don't want to." "what?" "The air lock is behind you, please go ahead! Be careful, you have to close the door when you go out." He was simply joking.I simply ignore this suggestion.Then he went on: "However, if you can't breathe in space, you'd better go to Mars with me... I will be responsible for bringing you back to Earth. The nickname of our spaceship is 'Incompetent', and it About to rendezvous with a flare ship nicknamed Desperate. 17 seconds after we dock, or the blink of an eye, Desperate is heading straight to Mars. Because we have to get there by Wednesday."

With the restless willful obstinacy that patients often have, I replied: "I'm not going to Mars. I'd rather stay in this ship. I think someone will send me back to Earth, where I'm going." Landing. You can't fool me!". "You're right," Tucker agreed, "but you can't stay on this ship forever. Those three guys used to be on this ship—but according to the records from the rocket launch site—they're on Desperate. And this is a three-person ship, you must have noticed this. I'm afraid they won't give you a seat at all! Besides, how do you get past the immigration gate when you go back like this?"

"I don't care about that, as long as I can return to Earth, I don't care about anything else." "Then get ready for jail time, accused of crossing the border illegally, and find out why you sneaked in a spaceflight and what kind of shady business you did. At least one thing is certain: you smuggle. They'll put you in A secret room where needles are poked in your eyeballs to force you to confess a conspiracy. They ask you questions you will never answer. But don't be complacent, you can't implicate me at all, because honest Brod Bent hasn’t been back to Earth for a long time, and he can find many innocent witnesses to testify.”

After hearing this, I really felt sick and wanted to vomit.This nauseating feeling is partly due to fear and partly due to the sequelae of seasickness. "Are you planning to report me to the police? You are despicable..." I really couldn't find the exact words to retaliate at him, so I had to hold back and stop talking. "Hey, no! It's easy enough to call the police, man. Just twist your arm. But I ain't gonna do that. Linklein's twin brother Linklath sure knows That old Klin never came out of the hotel door. He will reveal the truth. Their twin brothers are quite closely related, and people on Earth can’t understand it. Because we humans don’t reproduce through fission.”

Whether or not Martians reproduce like rabbits, or how they came about, is irrelevant to me.Just like Tucker said, I'll never go back to Earth!I questioned him again on this point.He shook his head and replied, "That's not the case at all. I'll take care of it. We got you out of the earth without anyone noticing, of course we can get you back cleanly." .After the scene you can show a pass and walk out of that launch site without a hitch. We will prove that you are a mechanic, the repair time is a little longer, and the last one off work. We have prepared a set for you Overalls and a toolbox. A talented actor like you can play a mechanic for a few minutes, right?"

"Well, of course it's not a problem! But..." "You are here again! You just follow me, Tucker, and I will take care of you. In this secret operation, we have mobilized eight guild brothers to help us return to Earth, including assisting the two of us to evacuate Earth. We can repeat Once. And yet, nothing happens without astronauts." He grinned. "You know, an astronaut, by nature, is a free trader. Don't talk about the art of smuggling, we always think of ourselves as port guards, helping each other out. And outsiders usually don't get that kind of help of."

I stroked my stomach to comfort it a little while I went over what he had said. "Tuck, this is not considered a smuggling? Because..." "Oh, it doesn't count! If you say it's a smuggling, then you are a private goods." "I just wanted to say that I don't think smuggling is a crime." "Who would think that? Only those who want to extract wealth from us by restricting trade and communication! But we want you to play that role, it is completely above board. Lorenzo, you are a suitable man. I Met you in the bar, not by chance. We watched you for two days. As soon as I set foot on the earth, I went straight to where you were." He frowned for some reason. "I wish I could be sure that it is I, not you, that our venerable opponent is following." "why?" "If they are following me, they will try to find out about my public activities. That's no problem, because the routes and policies of both sides have already been determined, and each other knows that they are enemies. But if they are following you, they will Knowing that my real intention was to find an actor who could play that part." "But how are they going to see that? Unless you tell them." "Lorenzo, this is a very important matter. It is much more important than you can imagine, and I myself cannot appreciate its full significance. You don't need to know, and the less you know, the better. But there is one thing I have to say. Let me inform you: It is a giant computer installed in the General Census Bureau of The Hague, which stores a set of personality characteristics data about people. This computer can compare the personality characteristics of each professional actor with the personality characteristics of the characters it stores. The data are compared. This kind of analysis is very detailed and the accuracy is quite high. The actor who plays the role is integrated with the person who plays the other, it is difficult to distinguish, and there is no flaw." "Well, does that machine offer me the right fit?" "Not bad! Besides you, there is another person." That being the case, it is better for me to say as little as possible.However, my fate is related to my life and death, and I cannot remain silent.I have to figure out who the other actor actually is.He was supposed to be good enough for a role that only a talented, one-in-a-million guy like me was supposed to be able to play! "Who's the other actor?" Tucker looked me up and down.I could see he was hesitant. "Well, that guy, . . . a guy called Orson Droblich. You know him?" "Bad actor!" I felt so exasperated that I trembled with rage and forgot I was seasick. "Well, I heard he's a very good actor." Someone thought that a fool like Droblich could take on the role I was going to play.I couldn't help but fly into a rage at this thought. "That's a big crazy fool! A big cowhide!" I couldn't go on.I think it's better to ignore this kind of peers, so that you can look nobler. Droblic, however, would play tricks and get rich on bombast.Fate is injustice, real artists are always as poor as I am. "Tuck, I really don't understand why you chose someone like him to play this role." "You're right, we don't want him anymore. He has signed a long-term contract with others. If he is forced to transfer him out, his vacancy will easily attract attention, which does not meet our requirements. It is really lucky for Sanquansheng to let us meet Fuck you, and as soon as you agree to take the job, I'll send a message to Jacques: Don't go looking for Droblich again." "I think it's the right thing to do!" "But... listen, Lorenzo, I'm going to tell you the truth. When you got seasick and vomited on takeoff, I hung up the Desperate spacecraft and sent them a message to contact Droblich again..." "what?" "It's your own fault, buddy. In our line of business, what you say counts. For example, once you decide to contract to transport a batch of medicines to Jupiter Ganymede, you must transport them, and even express your regret at sacrificing your life. No matter what the odds are, but you, agreeing to take on the task, are always talking about 'if' and 'then' or 'but' and so on and so on, and you get very panicked after the hotel fight ...and then, at the launch site, you tried to sneak away when I wasn't looking. Just ten minutes ago, you were arguing that you were going to die to get back to Earth. As an actor, you may be a little better than Droblich. But it is clear to me that we need a man who is completely reliable, who is sure to be unflappable and able to deal with the situation. As far as I know, Droblich is such a man. Therefore, we can replace you as soon as we get him. At that time Fire you immediately, without saying a word, and send you back to Earth. Do you understand?" This point could not be clearer.He's saying I'm not a troupe veteran at all--just don't use that word.I doubt he understands the meaning of the word "old actor" - but his meaning is clear.I feel very sad.Because what he said is not unreasonable.I felt ashamed, sad, and blamed, but I couldn't get angry.I was an idiot for accepting his offer in a daze.The embarrassment of me agreeing to play the role unconditionally, or relentlessly, and then desperately trying to quit, really resembles a stage-frightened amateur actor. We have an unwritten tradition in the artist industry that no matter what, "the show must go on".My father took that view—I once saw him put on two plays in spite of the risk of a ruptured appendix, taking a curtain call before being taken to the hospital.I can still vividly see the look on his face.He often looked at me with a look of contempt, that attitude is like a respected old actor looking down on an actor who is not appreciated by the audience and who is doing nothing. "Tuck," I said humbly, "I'm so sorry. I was wrong." He gave me a sharp look. "So, are you planning to go on?" "Yes." I said it sincerely.Then, I suddenly remembered one thing.This incident made it difficult for me to play that role. "That means...well, I thought...but..." "But what?" he said in a contemptuous tone. "Your old habit again?" "No, no, but you said we were going to Mars, Tucker, are you going to ask me to play that part among the Martians?" "Yeah, that's right! So what? What about Mars?" "Well...but, you know, Tucker, I can't stand Martians! They give me the chills. I really don't want to go, I try not to. But... I might not be good, I might not be Drawing characters out of character would make a mess." "Oh, if you worry about it, you don't have to!" "Hey! But I have to worry. It's not my business! I..." "I said, buddy, don't worry. We know you're a noob at this sort of thing. We know you all too well: you're as afraid of Martians as you are of spiders and snakes. It seems very childish, very absurd. But that's what we expected. We've noticed that, so you don't have to worry." "In that case, it's easy to say." But I was still not at ease.However, after all, he caught me right away..."bumps", uh, isn't the audience also "bumps"?I don't say anything anymore. Tucker moved the communicator to his side, opened his voice without any scruples and issued a password: "Dandelion calls Tumbleweed, Dandelion calls Tumbleweed, immediately cancel 'Ink Blot Project'; we will finish 'Madi Grass' plan." "Tuck," I called after he had given the password. "We'll talk about it later," he replied. "I'm going to dock the two orbits. Be careful, there will be some bumps during the rendezvous and docking. Because of time constraints, even if the two spaceships will hit a hole when they dock. You have to remember, be calm, and don't worry about it." Don't move." Sure enough, the spaceship was bumping violently.When we boarded the torch spacecraft, I was very happy and re-entered the inertial motion, which was much more comfortable; however, the seasickness produced when the spacecraft flew up was more uncomfortable than when it flew down.The coasting stopped in less than five minutes; the three guys heading back to the Incompetent were still squeezing into the transition airlock as Tucker and I floated into the flare ship. …The next period of time, I felt at a loss again: I realized that I was really a "bumpkin" who was only used to being on the earth, because in the blink of an eye I was completely lost, even the floor Can't tell the difference from the ceiling.Only someone called out: "Where is he?" Tucker replied: "Here it is!" The man called out again: "It's him?!" It seemed that he couldn't believe his eyes at all. "That's him! That's right," Tucker replied. "He's dressed up, it's okay, it's not a problem. Come on, help me drag him into the bunk on the spaceship! A hand grabbed my arm and dragged me down a narrow corridor into a small secret cabin." Next to the bulkhead are two parallel bays, which they call "cider squeezers." There are also several pressure-balanced hydraulic tanks, shaped like bathtubs, to accommodate the super high acceleration of the flare ship. I have never seen such a device.I've only used a model like this for the interstellar adventure fantasy Invaders of Earth. A sign nailed to the bulkhead behind the bunks read: WARNING!If you don't wear a gravity suit, you can't bear more than three gravitational forces.Ordered by... I changed direction before I could read the fine print on the sign.It just felt as if someone had pushed me into a bunk.Tucker and the others hurriedly strapped me to the bunk.At this time, a terrible sound was heard suddenly from an alarm somewhere nearby.It sounded for a few seconds, and then someone said, "Danger alarm! Two gravitational forces! Three minutes! Danger alarm! Two gravitational forces! Three minutes!" Through the roar, I heard Tucker asking anxiously: "Is the transmitter ready? The recording device is ready!" "Ready, ready!" "Did you get the syringe?" Tucker twisted in the air, turned to me, and said, "Come on, buddy! We're going to give you a shot. It's nothing. It's part anesthesia, part stimulant." , because you have to stay awake to study the lines. Once the injection is given, the eyeballs may start to feel hot and the whole body may itch, but this is not harmful to your body." "Wait a minute, Tucker. I..." "There's no time: I'll have to smoke this drug too," Before I had time to object, he twisted his body and floated out.Another guy pulled up my sleeve and pushed a needle into my skin.Before I knew it, I had been given an injection.The man left after the injection.At this moment, the siren issued a sharp siren again: "Danger alert! Two gravity! Two minutes!" I tried to look around, but the shot had made me delirious.I felt a burning sensation around my eyes and teeth, and an unbearable tingling sensation began to develop in my spine - but the seat belt prevented me from touching the tingling area with my hands - maybe this also protected me The role of the arm, approximately so as to avoid breaking due to sudden acceleration.At this time, the terrible sirens stopped again.Only Tucker's baritone voice was tuned up, loud and powerful, full of confidence.He said, "LAST ALERT! TWO GRAVES, ONE MINUTE! Stop playing cards, lay your fat pig bodies flat, we're ready to use the medicine!" This time, the sirens were less intimidating.Instead of blaring sirens, it was the recording of the 61st Symphony in C major.It's a piece played by the London Symphony Orchestra, and people are buzzing about it.The whole song is composed of 14 suites, the tunes are a bit weird, and the sound of timpani often overwhelms all the main melodies.This tune doesn't do anything to me anyway, because I've been injected with an anesthetic and I'm dazed and dazed... Suddenly, it seemed like a mermaid appeared at the door.It doesn't have a fish scale tail, but it doesn't change the original appearance of the mermaid. When I took a closer look at this rare animal, I realized that she was a mammal and looked like a young woman in a sweatshirt and shorts, with her head down in a swimming motion. Apparently, she is used to inertial motion in space.She glanced at me, but there was no smile on her face.She just leaned back on the other bunk and grabbed the armrest - it looked like she didn't need a seat belt at all.When the music played came to an end, the drums were rumbling and majestic.I feel my body getting heavy... The two gravitational forces didn't have much effect.When you float on the hydraulic bunk, you will not feel uncomfortable.The skin that clings to the bunk that looks like an apple juice squeezer gradually bulges and supports the body. Only then will you feel your whole body is heavy and breathing is somewhat difficult.I have heard that some astronauts destroyed themselves by flying down under ten gravitational conditions.It took me two gravitational pulls to believe that could be true.However, lying on the bunk, wearing a seat belt to bear the two gravitational forces, I just feel a little listless and unable to move my limbs. After a while, I suddenly realized that the siren mounted on the ceiling was calling me alive. "Lorenzo, how are you feeling, man?" "Nothing." I spoke with a little effort and felt out of breath. "How long will we have to endure this situation?" "Two days!" I must have sounded like a groan because I realized Tucker was laughing at me. "My friend, stop moaning. The first time I went back to Mars, it took me thirty-seven weeks to enter an elliptical orbit, and I was in inertial motion almost every minute. The route you are taking now is much more comfortable. Yes. Only two pulls in two days. I should add: only one pull when turning over in bed. You should pay something for such good conditions." For his humor, I'm going to give him a sarcasm with the language that actors use in the waiting room.But the thought of a woman in the room made me shut up.Ever since he was slapped on the mouth severely by his father with a backhand, he used all swear words that might offend women.I never said it again... However, Tucker couldn't stay idle, and started talking nonsense again: "Penny! Baby, are you still there?" "Yes, Captain!" replied the young "mermaid" woman I was with. "That's good then: start basic training on him! I'll be down as soon as I've got this fire-prone waste dump out of the way." "Yes, Captain," she said, turning to me in a slight, husky alto voice, "Dr. Capac wants you to relax and watch a few hours of movies. I'm here for you, if necessary." answer your question." I sighed. "Thank God, someone finally came to answer the question!" She didn't answer my emotion, but raised an arm with some difficulty and pressed the switch.Then, all the lights in the room went out, and at the same time there was a sound.A three-dimensional image immediately appeared before my eyes.I recognized this important figure at once, a man who would be recognizable at a glance to any subject in an empire of several billion people.Now I suddenly realized that I was really fooled by the cunning guy Tucker Broadbent! This big man is—Penfort. The Penfort I am talking about is none other than the eminent and well-known His Excellency John Joseph Penfort, the former Prime Minister of the Empire, the current leader of the opposition party loyal to the Empire, and the chairman of the Expansionist Alliance.He is also said to be the most beloved and most hated man in the entire solar system. In addition to being surprised, my mind exploded, and there was a staunch cis-style thought retrospective.After some logical reasoning, I seem to have figured out a little bit.Penfort is said to have had at least three assassinations.Two of these escapes seemed inconceivable, almost like miracles.Suppose he escaped twice and did not perform miracles, what would happen?Suppose he got out of danger--but in fact Lord Joseph Penfort is not often present when people are assassinated, what then?It's all a mystery! To perform this play, it seems that the actors must use all their strengths, and they must be exhausted.Don't get away.God, I must be caught in it and can't pull it out!