Chapter 3 third chapter

When I got out of the hotel, I told Gorman about it, and he was laughing so hard that the streaks on his thin face turned red. "Prince of Rome and beg for mercy!" he went on and on: "Prince of Rome—beg for mercy there—" "It's a common practice. People who are unlucky can ask local officials for help," I said coldly. “The prince of Rome has no compassion,” Gorman told me. “If you were hungry, he would chop off your limbs and feed you.” "Maybe," interjected Afluela, "we should go find the Flying Inn, and they'll give us something to eat."

"They won't give it to Gorman," I said. "We've got to take care of each other." "We can bring the food out to him," she said. "I think it's better to go to the prince's palace first," I didn't change my original intention, "to find out our current situation, and then, if necessary, find a way to find a place to live." She said nothing more, so we went to the palace of the Roman prince far across the river.It was a magnificent palace with a huge piazza in front, surrounded by large columns.In the piazza, a crowd of beggars, some of whom are not even Earthlings, swarmed towards us.A guy with a stringy beard, wrinkled face, and no nose came running at me, yelling incoherently that I should help him, and Gorman pushed him away, but, after a while, Another guy with the same strange appearance, with pitted and cold skin and eyes on his hands and feet, hugged my leg and begged me to have pity on him, chanting the name of the divine will. "I'm just a lookout, not a pauper," I said, pointing to my car, "I'm also here to beg for mercy." But he still didn't let go, and weepingly described his misfortune, the voice It's still soft, but I can't hear what he said.Finally, despite Gorman's strong dislike, I threw some food into his big breast pocket.Then we squeezed our way towards the palace door.

In the place of the porch, we saw an even more horrific sight: a crippled flying man, with his emaciated legs curled up, one wing half-opened, and the other completely missing.Calling another flying man's name, he galloped towards Afluela and threw himself on top of her, soaking her leggings with tears. "Guarantee me at the hotel," he begged, "they threw me out because I'm crippled, but if you could vouch for me..." Afluela explained that she had just arrived and there was nothing she could do.But the crippled flying man still didn't let go, Gorman picked him up like a bundle of dry bones with great agility, and threw him aside.We continued to walk towards the porch, and soon we met three eunuchs with gentle faces. After they asked us why we came, they let us enter the nearby cordon, which was led by two thin indexers. Both questioned us at the same time.

"We have come to ask the prince," I said, "to ask the prince to give us a favor." "The interview day is four days away," said the indexer on the right, "and we will record your request." "We have no place to sleep!" cried Afluela suddenly. "We're starving! We..." I stopped her.Gorman was fumbling in his big bag and pulled out a handful of something shiny: gold nuggets with a hook-nosed, bearded head on it. This is what he dug out of the ruins.He tossed one at the indexer who just rejected us.The indexer blew on the coin, slid his thumb over the bright front of the coin, and quickly tucked it into the seam of his garment.Another indexer waited expectantly, and Gorman smiled and gave him one too.

"Perhaps," I said, "a special audience could be arranged inside." "Perhaps," said one of the indexers, "go ahead." So we entered the empty nave and walked along the central corridor to the apse. The prince's throne is placed inside.There are more beggars here...with hereditary charters in their hands...and hordes of pilgrims, messengers, historians, musicians, recorders, indexers.I heard someone praying in a low voice, smelled a strong fragrance of incense, and felt the vibration of underground gongs and drums.Gorman told me that, in past epochs, it had been the church of the ancient religion, Christianity, and that despite being the seat of Rome's secular government, it still retained some sacred features, which made me even more suspicious that he was A historian in disguise.But how can we meet the Prince of Rome?I found a richly decorated chapel on my left. A line of imposing merchants and landowners was slowly walking inside. Looking further ahead, there were three skulls placed on an interrogator... An input device for a memory bank... and a burly recorder next to it.I told Gorman and Afluela to wait in the hallway and got into the line.

The line moved slowly, and it was almost an hour before I reached the interrogator. The three skulls stared blankly at me, and there was still a nutrient solution inside, bubbling and gurgling, maintaining the dead but still functioning brain, because now the tens of billions of chromosomal junctions in it serve as an incomparable memory character of.The recorder was surprised to see a watchman in the team, but before he could ask a question, I blurted out: "I just arrived in Rome, and I came to ask for a favor from the prince. The watchman rejected me, what should I do? How can I be interviewed?"

"Come back in four days." "I've slept on the road for more than four days, and now I have to get some rest." "Public Hotel..." "But I'm not without members!" I interrupted him, "the public hotel will not accept me, the lookout society has a hotel here, and I was rejected by the 'lookout people's hotel' because the group recently issued a new policy. policy, and... do you understand my situation?" The recorder said impatiently: "You can apply for a special interview. It may be denied, but you can apply." "Where?"

"Here, explain your request." I told the skull what I was called in public, the names and identities of my two traveling companions, our situation, and all this was received by the skull and transmitted to the various brains in the city.When I was done, the recorder said, "I'll let you know if it's approved." "Where shall we stay in the meantime?" "I'm afraid it's better to be near the palace." I see.I could join the group of unlucky fellows in the square.How many of them have asked for special care from the prince, and after several months or even years have passed, they are still waiting for the prince to be summoned?They slept on slates, ate crumbs they begged, and lived on a foolish hope!

But I really have no choice.I went back to Gorman and Afluela and told what had happened, and said we'd better settle down somewhere now.Gorman was a chap who was welcome in any of the dirty, smelly public hotels reserved for his kind, Afluela might find lodging in the Trapeze Inn, and I had only Sleeping on the street... It's not the first time for me.However, I still hope that the few of us will not be separated. I already regard us as a family, although this is an absurd idea for a flying person. We headed for the exit when my clock chimed softly and it was time for me to lookout again.No matter where I am or what the environment is, when the watch time comes, I have to put everything aside and start watching immediately.So I pulled over, turned on the lookout vehicle, activated the instruments, and Gorman and Afluela were standing next to me.There were mocking smiles on the faces of those who entered and exited the palace; the lookouts had a bad reputation, because we had been looking out for so long, and the so-called enemy still never showed up.But everyone has their own responsibilities, no matter how ridiculous it may seem to others.What some consider a form of vanity, is another's life's work.I try to get myself into shape.The world disappeared from me, and I went into space, immersed in the joy of the familiar, searching for places that were familiar or not.My mind is infinitely wide, traveling quickly between countless galaxies.Has a fleet gone missing?Are these armies training to conquer Earth?I look out four times a day, and the other companions do the same, but with a slight difference in time, this is to avoid leaving empty time when no one is watching.I don't think it's a stupid profession.

I had just finished looking when I heard a loud and piercing cry: "The prince of Rome is coming! Get out! Get out!" I blinked, took a breath, and completely got rid of the state just now.A procession of eunuchs came out of the apse, carrying a gilded palanquin, and was coming towards me along the nave.On both sides of the imperial sedan chair were four richly dressed eunuchs wearing beautiful masks, and in front of them were three short, strong, big ugly men, whose throats had been modified so that their voices resembled those of a bullfrog coming out of a resonance sac.I hurriedly packed my things, more and more awkwardly, when the ugly people were very close, and the bullfrog-like voice in my throat was deafening.Gorman tried to help me, and I booed at him, implying that the Lookouts were not allowed to touch my instruments.I pushed him away; suddenly, several eunuchs who opened the way appeared before me, ready to whip me with shiny whips. "By God," I cried, "I am a lookout."

Then came a deep, calm, sonorous voice: "Let him go, he's the lookout." Everything came to a standstill, and the Roman prince spoke. The eunuchs who led the way drew back, and the ugly men stopped their music.The eunuch who carried the palanquin lowered it to the ground, and everyone in the nave backed away, except Gorman, Afluela, and me who stood still.The dimly glowing movable curtains on the sedan chair opened.The two eunuchs hurried forward, stretching their hands over the sonic sedan chair, to help their master.The sonic car beeped, like a whine, and disappeared. The Roman prince appeared. He is so young!Almost like a boy, with thick black hair and no wrinkles on his face.He was born to be a ruler.Despite his youth, he is still majestic, with tight thin lips, a sharp hooked nose, and cold, deep eyes like bottomless pools.He wore the bejeweled tunic of the Order of the Rulers, but on his cheeks he bore the double-bar cross star of the Order of the Guardians of the Earth, and around his neck the shawl of the Order of the Historians.Members of the Ruler Group can join any group, and it is strange that a ruler is not also a member of the Earth Guardian Group.But I am surprised that this prince is also a member of the Historians Association.That regiment is not for grumpy people. He looked at me, a little interested, and said, "This is not the place for you to lookout, old man." "It's lookout time, Your Majesty," I replied. "I was just at this place, and I must lookout at once, as it is my duty. I didn't know you were going to be here." "You didn't find any enemies, did you?" "No, Your Majesty." I just wanted to hurry up and make the most of my chance encounter with the prince and ask him for help, but his interest in me disappeared as quickly as a burnt candle, he turned his head away, and I dared not call him again.Frowning, rubbing his chin, he stared at Gorman for a long time, then his eyes lit up suddenly as they fell on Afluela. "Come here, little flying man," he said, beckoning, "are you a friend of the lookout?" She nodded, looking terrified. The prince stretched out one hand and grabbed her, and she fell lightly onto the imperial palanquin. The young ruler grinned maliciously and grabbed her into the sedan chair.The two eunuchs quickly recovered the Sonic sedan chair, but the whole team stayed put.I stood dumbfounded, and the sturdy Gorman was as motionless as a stick.I pushed the car to an inconspicuous spot.A long time has passed.The people in the palace stood silently, not daring to look at the prince's sedan chair, so they had to look elsewhere. Finally, the car curtain opened again, and Afluela stumbled out, pale, blinking, looking a little panicked, with glistening sweat dripping from her cheeks.She nearly fell to the ground, and a eunuch held her up.Her wings stood up slightly under her coat, which made her look like a hunchback, and I knew she was in great pain.She staggered toward us, trembling, without saying a word; he glanced at me and threw himself on Gorman's broad chest. The bearer lifts the imperial sedan chair.The prince went out of the palace. When he was gone, Afluela stammered hoarsely: "The prince promised us to stay at the hotel in the palace!"