Chapter 2 Chapter two

Although it was early morning, the light was bright and dazzling, as if the world had just been born.The roads are empty; people don't travel very much these days, and those who walk on the roads like me are people who are used to wandering or work.Sometimes, when we encountered a sedan chair carried by eunuchs, we had to give way to the side of the road and let it pass first.The twelve eunuchs pulling the cart were expressionless, with shackles around their necks, one by one.We walked for two hours on the road, and there were four similar vehicles passing by, each of which was tightly covered to prevent us humble people from seeing the noble faces of the proud eunuchs.There were also a few roller caravans full of agricultural products passing by us, and many aircraft whizzed past our heads.Otherwise, there were only three of us on the road.

The outskirts of Rome show the antiquity of the city of Rome: a lonely column, an aqueduct with nothing in it, no idea where the water came from and where it was sent, a temple still has several entrances, and the temple is It has long since disappeared without a trace.This is the oldest remains of Rome that we have seen, and more and more things have appeared in subsequent eras: peasant huts, domed power stations, and towering outer walls of residential buildings.From time to time we also find the burnt out hulls of some ancient spaceships.Gorman inspected everything carefully, picking up things for specimens now and then.Afluela watched silently, eyes wide.We continued on, and finally the walls of Rome loomed in front of us.

The stones of the city wall are smooth and blue, and they are neatly laid, almost as high as eight people.The road under our feet passes through the arched gates in the city wall.The city gate was open, and as we approached the gate, a man came by.He was a tall man, with a turban on his head, a veil over his face, and dark clothing, obviously a member of the Pilgrim Order.People generally don't take the initiative to talk to this kind of person, but once he greets first, he has to talk to him.This person greeted us first. His voice came from the intercom: "Where are you from?"

"South. I lived in Egypt for a while and then went to Italy via the land bridge connecting Europe and Africa," I replied. "where to?" "Rome, plan to stay there for a while." "How's your lookout?" "Same as ever." "Is there a place to live in Rome?" continued the pilgrim. I shake my head. "Holy will bless us." "Divine Will is not always merciful," said Pilgrim casually. "Besides, Rome doesn't really need lookouts. Why are you traveling with a trapeze?" "In order to have a companion. Besides, she is young and needs protection."

"What about the other one?" "He's a no-man, an ugly man." "I think so, but why is he with you?" "I am too old and he is young and strong, so we go together. Where are you going, Pilgrim?" "Jerusalem. Where else can people from our regiment go?" I shrugged. "Why don't you go to Jerusalem with me?" asked the pilgrim. "Now the road is to the north, and Jerusalem is to the south, near Egypt." "You've been to Egypt, but you haven't been to Jerusalem?" he asked puzzled. "No, time did not allow me to go there."

"Then go now. We can walk together, watch people, and talk about the past and the future. I can also help you watch, and you can help me communicate with the divine will. How about it? " This temptation is not small.I saw Jerusalem of gold, its holy temples, its rejuvenating regeneration chambers, its steeple roofs, its houses of worship.If I were a pilgrim, I would definitely give up Rome and go to Jerusalem with him. I said, "But my companion?" "Leave them alone. I can't go with a man without a meeting, and I don't want to go with a woman. Just you and me, the watchman, go to Jerusalem together."

Afluela, who had been frowning from the sidelines, gave me a look that suddenly filled with fear. "I can't leave them alone," I said. "Then I will go to Jerusalem by myself," said the pilgrim.From inside his robe he stretched out a bony hand with long, white fingers, and I respectfully placed mine on his, and he said, "May God bless you, friend. Wait for you When you arrive in Jerusalem, don't forget to come and find me." Then, without saying anything, he left. Gorman said to me, "You almost left with him, didn't you?" "I thought about it."

"Jerusalem is so far away from here, what can you gain there? It's a holy city, and it's the same here. You can rest here for a while. You are so tired that you are so tired, how can you go?" "Maybe you're right," I didn't deny.With the last of my strength, I strode toward the gates of Rome. Watching eyes from behind the walls watched us.When we got to the middle of the city gate, a fat, pockmarked sentinel stopped us and asked us what we were doing in Rome.After listening to my announcement of my membership and intention of coming, he snorted and looked very disgusted.

"Go somewhere else, watch people! Only useful people are needed here." "Lookouts have their uses, too," I said mildly. "I know, I know." He squinted at Afluela. "Who is that? Watchers are celibate all their lives, aren't they?" "She's just my traveling companion." The sentinel laughed wildly. "I bet you do it all the time! She ain't mean like that. What's she doing, thirteen or fourteen? Come here, boy. Let me see if I have any contraband." His hands snapped He frowned when he touched Afluela's breasts, and raised his eyebrows when he suddenly touched the wing pack under her shoulder: "What is this? This is What? Why is it bigger than the previous one!

Are you flying?It's disgusting that flying people are fooling around with old and dirty lookouts. He kept giggling, and put his hands on Afluela's body in an unruly manner, very presumptuously. Gorman was furious, and rushed towards him with killing intent in his eyes. I quickly grabbed him and exhausted all my strength Grab him by the wrist and hold him tight so that he doesn't ruin the three of us by attacking the sentinel. He tries so hard to break free that he almost pulls me through; but he calms down immediately and looks coldly Watch the fat man check Afluela for "contraband."

Finally, the sentry turned to Gorman with disgust on his face and asked, "What do you do?" "I am a member of no society, sir," Gorman's words were harsh, "a deformed product, humble and worthless, but I enjoy the freedom to enter Rome." "Do we want monsters here?" "I eat less and work harder." "You'll work harder if you're castrated," said the sentinel. Gorman glared.I quickly asked, "Can we go in?" "Wait." The sentry put on his thinking helmet, squinted his eyes and entered a message into the memory bank.His face tensed from the exertion, and then relaxed.After a while there was an echo, and we couldn't hear their conversation at all, but, as could be seen from his disappointed expression, there was no reason why we should not be allowed into town. "Go in, you three," he said, "quickly!" We entered the city. "I should have punched him to pieces," Gorman said. "And castrated him in the dark. Well, bear with it, we're in Rome anyway." "He did that to her! . . . " "You think Afluela's yours," I said. "Don't forget, she's a fly, and she can't marry anyone." He ignored my sarcasm. "I'm as interested in her as I am in you. But I can't stand that guy treating her like that. If you didn't stop him, I would have killed him." Afluela said, "Where do we live?" "I'm going to find our Watchmen's headquarters in Rome first," I said, "and I'll have to check in at the 'Watchmen Inn.' Then, maybe we can get something to eat at the 'Flying Man Inn.'" "Then," Gorman said deadpan, "we'll go to some uninhabited slum for a few pennies." "I pity you because you're ugly," I told him, "but I'd be ashamed if you pity yourself. Come on." We turned into a winding cobbled street and really entered Rome.This is the residential area of ​​the outer city of Rome. The houses are low and the defenses on the roof are also very bulky.Those tall iron towers we saw last night in the fields outside the city are here.The ruins of ancient Rome have been well preserved for more than 10,000 years; various markets, industrial areas, information transmission stations, temples of pilgrimage, memory banks, asylums, alien brothels, government office buildings, various group meetings The headquarters and so on are located here. At a corner, there is a building from the second era era, the texture of the wall is like rubber, and there is a public thinking helmet next to it. Boundary, from here you can enter the brain where the memory bank stores information.I crossed the border and saw the criss-crossed brain, gray and white, surrounded by a dark green.A historian once told me that in the past epochs, people made machines to help them think. Unfortunately, these machines are not only expensive, but also take up a lot of space and consume a lot of energy.And that's not the worst mistake of our ancestors; hundreds of people die every day, and so many amazing human brains have to go into the memory bank, so why build artificial brains?Don't people know how to use their brains?I think it's incredible. I told my brain about my identity and asked where our watchman's hotel was, and I got an answer soon.So we set off for the hotel, with Afluela and Gorman on either side of me, and I, as usual, pushing the cart with the lookout. The city is crowded.I've never seen so many people coming and going in heatwave and lethargic Egypt, let alone along the way.The streets are full of masked pilgrims, mysterious.Among them were busy historians, gloomy businessmen, and occasionally a eunuch's sedan chair.Afluela saw a lot of flying people, but the flying group had a rule that she couldn't greet them until she had performed her cleansing ceremony.I was also very disappointed, saying that I saw so many watchmen, but their faces were full of contempt, and they didn't welcome me at all.I also noticed a lot of Guardians of the Earth and other lesser order members, such as hawkers, squires, workmen, recorders, messengers, porters, and so on.Of course, there is also a group of eunuchs, doing their dirty work in silence.The streets were also populated by aliens of all stripes, probably mostly tourists, and some who came here to do business with the listless, impoverished Earthlings.A lot of crippled ugly men slinked through the crowd without Gorman's arrogance at all.He was probably unique among the Ugly Society.Other ugly people, all spotted and out of proportion, some with missing limbs, some with too many limbs, in short, all kinds of strange things, there are premature babies, squinted eyes, and some hissing mouths , Some shuffled their feet, and some crawled on the ground.They were pickpockets, water filters for brain cleaning, organ traffickers, penitent traffickers, and light buyers, but none of them held their backs upright like a human being. The instructions from the brain of the memory bank were very accurate, and we arrived at the "Lookout Hotel" in less than an hour.I made Afluela and Gorman wait outside and pushed the cart in. There were a dozen or so lazy lookouts in the hall, and their responses to my customary signals were also listless.Is this the watchman who guards the safety of the earth?What a bunch of fools and cowards! "Where should I register?" I asked. "New here? Where?" "The last time I registered was in Egypt." "You should stay there. There's no need for lookouts here." "Where should I register?" I pressed. An idle young man pointed to a screen at the back of the hall.I went over and put my fingertips on it, told my name, and took the questioning.The lookout can only speak his name in the hotel, and only to the lookout.A panel popped open to reveal a bulging-eyed figure wearing a badge on the right side of his cheek indicating his high rank.He called my name and said, "You shouldn't be in Rome. We're full." "But I need accommodation and work." "You should be born in a clown club with such a good sense of humor," he said. "I'm not kidding." "According to the regulations announced at the last meeting of the group, once the hotel reaches the scheduled number of tourists, it is not obliged to accommodate new members. We are full now. Goodbye, friend." I was stunned. "I've never heard of such a rule! It's incredible! I worked so hard to get here, but I was turned away by the hotel of my group! I'm old, and I just left Egypt via a land bridge. When I got here, I'm not familiar with the place, I don't have anything to eat..." "Why didn't you contact us first?" "I didn't know it was necessary." "But the new rules..." "To hell with your new rules!" I yelled. "I want lodging! I've been looking out for you since before you were born, and you're refusing to..." "Calm down, buddy, calm down." "You always have a corner for me to sleep in... always some crumbs for me to eat..." My tone changed from growl to pleading, while his expression changed from indifference to contempt. "We have no room, we have no food. There have been rumors recently that we are about to be disbanded, because we are nothing more than a useless luxury, a waste of the resources of the Holy Will. We are not very capable. There is a surplus of watchmen in Rome today, and our quota There is a shortage, and if we let you live in, the quota will be even tighter." "But where else can I go? What can I do?" "I suggest you," he said coldly, "go to the Prince of Rome and beg for mercy."