Chapter 21 Chapter 21

Severa came across the room to Theremon and said to him calmly, "I wish you didn't come tonight." "Why don't you come? Are you serious about your invitation?" "Of course. But in your column, you're sneering at us, you're mean, you're cruel..." "And irresponsible, you use that word," Theremon said. She blushed. "Yes, and that word. I didn't expect that you could still face Arthur after talking so much about him." "I don't just have to face him. If in the end his dire prophecy comes true, I'd rather get on my knees and ask for his forgiveness."

"But what if his prophecy fails in the end?" "Then he'll need me," said Theremon. "You'll all need me. This is where I should be tonight." Severa gave the reporter a surprised look.His words are always unexpected.She didn't want to get to know this man, she didn't like him, of course...it goes without saying.Everything about him, his occupation, his way of speaking, the tacky clothes he used to wear, and so on, seemed to her vulgar and unremarkable.In her eyes, he was a symbol of the world outside the campus that she had always hated: rude, vulgar, monotonous, flat, and repulsive.

But, but, but... Still, there was something about this Theremon that won her over him, though she was reluctant.He's determined, like, when it comes to chasing whatever he wants, he never stops halfway.She admired him for that.He was blunt, if not dull: a stark contrast to the glib, manipulative, fame-seeking academics who surrounded her on campus.He had brains too, no doubt about that, even if he chose to dedicate his intellect to such a boring business as the newspapers.She also admired his vigorous physicality: tall, strong, healthy.Never flattering a timid person, Severa is cautious and tries not to let herself be such a person.

To tell the truth, she realized...it was kind of impossible, and at the same time it made her very uncomfortable...that she was attracted to him in some way.She thought, could this be opposites attract?Yes, yes, this is the most accurate explanation.Not quite, though.Sifra knew that while she and Theremon had superficial differences, there were similarities she would not admit. She looked out the window very unnaturally. "It's starting to get dark outside," she said. "It's darker than I've seen before." "Are you scared?" Theremon asked. "Afraid of the dark? No, really. But what I'm afraid of is what happens after the dark. You'll be as afraid as I am."

"It's going to be like this after the dark," he said. "Onas will go up in the sky, and I guess the other suns will shine, and it will be business as usual." "It sounds like you're pretty confident about that." Theremon smiled. "Onus has risen every dawn of my life, why should I believe it won't rise tomorrow as usual?" Severa shook his head.He's starting to annoy her again with his stubbornness.It was unbelievable that only a few minutes ago she had told herself that she found him attractive. She said coldly: "Onas will ascend to the sky tomorrow and overlook the scene of the world being destroyed. It is obviously impossible for a person like you who lacks imagination to make such a prediction."

"You mean everything's in flames? When the city burns and everyone's wandering around queer and babbling?" "Evidence from archeology shows that..." "The fire, yes, repeated catastrophes, but only in a small place thousands of miles away from here, thousands of years ago." Serimon's eyes lit up when he heard this. "Is there archaeological evidence out there of people losing their minds? Inferred from these fires? How can you tell they're not purely some kind of ritual flame? These flames are fired by perfectly sane men and women Hold it high, they hope to drag back the sun and drive out the darkness. Every time the fire gets out of control, it will cause widespread destruction. Of course, the fire has nothing to do with the spiritual harm of the people."

She stared at him. "There's also archaeological evidence, I mean, of widespread mental damage." "Have it?" "The words on the soil slips. We just typed them all up this morning, and compared them with the documents provided by the Flame Sect..." Theremon laughed out loud. "Flame! Great! Then you're a believer too! It's ridiculous, Severa, that a famous woman like you has to wear one of their fat, shapeless clothes from now on." The smock wraps itself around..." "Ah," she yelled, suddenly gasping for breath in a fit of disgust and anger, "what else do you know but sarcasm? You're so convinced you're right that even when you're faced with the truth, you have to It's enough to be ridiculed. Oh, you, you're so unbearable..."

Severa turned and walked quickly to the other side of the room. "Sephora... Sephora, wait..." She ignored him, her heart pounding with anger.She realized she had made a grave mistake in inviting people like Theremon to watch tonight's eclipse.Actually, this error is related to one person. This is Beanie, she thought.Everything was Beanie's fault. Beanie, after all, had introduced the two of them.It was a day a few months ago, at the staff club.The journalist and the young astronomer had apparently known each other for a long time.Theremon consulted with Beanie every once in a while, sniffing out newsworthy events in the scientific world.

What was newsworthy that time was the prediction of Mondial 71...that the whole world would be destroyed on September 19th.This day is near the end of the year.Of course, no one in the university took Mondial and his disciples seriously, but, Almost at the same time Beene published his observations...Kargesh's orbit is clearly irregular; Sifra also reported that she found a 2,000-year-old fire in Tombo Mountain.The above two discoveries certainly strengthen the credibility of believers' beliefs and are even more frightening. Theremon seemed to know everything about Severa's work at Tombo Hill, despite her repeated admonitions to Beanie to keep it a secret from him.When the journalists came to the club, Cifra and Benny had already arrived one step ahead.Although there was no prior arrangement... Benny just said: "Serimone, this is my friend Sifra, a doctor of archeology." Serimon immediately replied: "Ah, I have seen you for a long time. The burned villages are piled up in ancient times. on the mountain."

Beanie said hastily, "I told him about it. I know I promised you not to tell him anything, but now you tell him everything." After telling Arthur and Schelling and the others, it might be all right for me to let him know a little bit about it... as long as I swear he'll keep it secret... I mean, I trust this man, Severa, I do I have absolute confidence in him..." "It's okay, Beanie," said Severa, annoyed but trying to hide it. "Don't say that, I forgive you." Theremon said: "No evil has come of it yet! Beanie made me swear not to publish anything about it, but it's marvelous, absolutely marvelous! Tell me how much that thing is buried in the ground." Long history? Fifty thousand years?"

"About fourteen thousand, or sixteen thousand years," said Severa, "but that's long enough. Think of Beckery Mott... know Beklimott... it's only two years old. For thousands of years, we have always believed that they were the earliest inhabitants of Kalgesh, you are not going to write an article to report my discovery?" "To tell you the truth, I didn't intend to write it. To tell you the truth, I gave Beanie my word. Besides, it's a bit abstract to the readers of the Chronicle, and far removed from their everyday life. Still, I know there's real news right now. If you'd like to meet with me and give me some specific details..." "I don't want to." Severa replied quickly. "Don't want to what? Don't want to meet me? Or don't want to talk about the details?" Theremon's sudden question gave her a new perspective on the conversation, though she was somewhat annoyed and surprised.She understood that she was actually attracted to the reporter.Thinking of what had happened a few minutes earlier, she realized now that Theremon had probably seen Benny and her at the club, and wondered if there was any romance between them.At this moment, seeing that the two of them had no special relationship, he chose to say a few words first to flirt. Forget it, it's his business, Severa thought. She said in a deliberately ambiguous tone: "The progress of my work at Mount Tombo has not yet been published in a scientific journal. It would be great if no publisher published news about it before I published it. " "I understand you. But if I promise to abide by the publication date you said, would you still let me browse your data in advance?" "Ok……" She stared at Beanie.Can the journalist's promise be trusted? Beanie said, "Just trust Theremon. I told you he's respected as much as his word in his line of business." "Brave," Thelimon interjected, laughing, "but I know I shouldn't break my word about scientific publishing priorities. If I'd gotten the word out first, Beanie testified I'd have It'll be notorious, but I'm going to make some good news with my connection to the university. May I have the honor of interviewing you? Tell me, how about the day after tomorrow?" That's how it all started. Theremon was so persuasive that Sephora finally agreed to dine with him.He was not in a hurry, very skillfully from her mouth Some details about the excavation at Mount Tombo have been uncovered.Later, she regretted it... She thought there would be a hideous and sensational article in the Chronicle next day... But Theremon kept his word and didn't mention her at all.When he asked to see her lab, she gave in again, and he looked at the charts, pictures, samples of charcoal ash, and asked a few good questions. "You don't know how to write about me, do you?" Sefra asked nervously, "Because you've read all those things." "I promised not to write. I mean, even though you told me you've made arrangements to publish your findings in a scientific journal, I also feel entitled to report the whole thing, tomorrow night at the Six Suns Club How was dinner?" "Well, this..." "How about the night after tomorrow?" Sefra rarely patronized venues like the Six Suns Club.She did not want to give the appearance that she enjoyed such occasions. Theremon is not willing to let it go easily.He was soft-spoken, high-spirited, and tactfully got her into the point where she had to go out on a date... 10 days later.So what, she thought?He's very likable, and she can use this as an opportunity to break out of the tense pace of work that she's been working on all day.The two of them met at the Six Suns Club.Everyone there seemed to know him, and they drank, ate, and sampled a bottle of fine Samian wine.He deftly took the initiative of the conversation: a little bit of her life, her obsession with archaeology, her excavations in Berkelimot.He learns that she is not married and is not interested in getting married.They talked about the Flames, their wild prophecies, and the amazing relationship between her archaeological finds on Mount Tombo and Mondial's claims.All this he said was witty, deep, and meaningful.He's charming...and very cunning, too, she thought. At the final parting that night he asked her subtly, softly and cheerfully, if he could take her home.But she refused. Instead of seeming angry, he invited her out again. In the two months or so since that time, they have gone out together two or three times.The arrangements are very similar every time: find an elegant place to eat first, have a well-designed conversation, and finally invite her to spend the night tactfully.Sefra tactfully changed the subject every time.It's like a happy game, an easy chase.She didn't know how long this situation could last.She hadn't particularly wanted to sleep with him yet, but strangely she hadn't particularly wanted to sleep with him either.She had felt this way about men for some time. Next, Theremon began to publish a series of reports in the newspapers, criticizing the observatory's theory, questioning whether Arthur was still sane, and comparing the scientists' predictions of the solar eclipse with the crazy words of the flame believers. At first Sephora didn't believe him.Maybe it was just some kind of joke?Beanie's friends...now her friends, for this...would attack them so viciously? Two months have passed and the attacks continue.She had no news of Theremon. Finally, Severa lost her composure, and she could no longer remain silent. She called the newspaper office. "Sifra! So happy. Believe it or not, I was going to call you later this afternoon to see if you'd be interested in continuing…" "I'm not interested," she said. "What are you doing, Theremon?" "What are you doing?" "Look at those articles about Arthur and the Observatory." There was a long silence on the other end of the phone. Then he said, "Ah, you're feeling sick." "Uncomfortable? I'm angry!" "You think I'm a bit too sharp, don't you? Sifra, when you write for ordinary people, some of them are very ordinary, you can only use right and wrong words, or you risk being misunderstood. ...I can't simply say Arthur and Beanie are wrong, I can only say they're crazy, you understand?" "Since when did you think they were wrong? Does Beanie know what you're thinking?" "Ok……" "You've been reporting on this for months, and now you're doing a 180-degree turn. When you put it this way, people think that everyone on the university campus is a Mondial follower. We scientists There's something wrong with your head. If you need someone to laugh at, why don't you look outside the university?" "These are not just jokes, Severa," said Theremon unhurriedly. "Do you believe what you write?" "I believe, to be honest, I absolutely believe. The world won't change much, I believe, but Arthur wants to set off the fire in an otherwise crowded theater. I want to use my joke, A good-natured joke trying to tell people not to take him seriously ... not to panic, not to cause a riot." "What?" she cried, "but there's going to be a fire, Theremon! You're playing a dangerous game with everyone's health with your cynicism. Listen to me, I've seen the last millennia The ashes of the former fire. I knew what was going to happen. The flames will come anyway, I have no doubts about it, and you've seen the evidence. The attitude you have now is the most devastating thing that can happen to you. You can imagine it. It's cruel, it's stupid, it's hateful, and it's utterly irresponsible." "Severa..." "I thought you were a smart person, but now I see clearly, you are no different from ordinary people." "Severa..." She hung up the phone. Cifra refused to answer Theremon's calls, and they dragged on without any contact until two weeks before the critical moment. In early September, Theremon called Cifra again.She picked up the receiver, not knowing who it was. "Don't hang up," Theremon said impatiently. "Give me a minute." "no." "Look, Severa, you can hate me all you want. But I want you to know: I'm neither cruel nor stupid." "Who said it was you?" "You said it, you said it a few months ago when we were talking about it. But it's not true. All the eclipse columns are still there because I believe it." "Then you are still stupid, you can also say stupid, there may be a slight difference between these two points, but neither is a good word." "I've looked at the evidence and I think your conclusions are too hasty." She said indifferently: "Okay, we will know by the 19th, whether the facts are the same as what you said, right?" "Wish I could take you at your word, because you, Beanie, and the rest of you are brilliant, good people, honest, and famous. But I can't, I'm a suspicious person, and always have been. I don't It's a serious flaw in my character that I'll readily accept whatever dogma someone throws at me. I guess...it makes me a little frivolous, and maybe I'm frivolous, but at least I'm honest, I just don't think there's going to be any eclipse , madness and fire." "It's not a dogma, Theremon, it's a hypothesis." "That was just playing with words. I'm sorry I hurt your feelings with what I wrote, but that's all I can do, Severa." Severa was silent for a moment, and something in the voice of the other party touched her inexplicably.Finally she said, "Whether it's a doctrine or a hypothesis, whatever it is, we'll see in a few weeks. I'm at the observatory on the night of the 19th, and you come too. Let's see who's right and who's wrong." "Didn't Beanie tell you? Arthur has announced that I'm not welcome at the Observatory." "That stumps you?" "He refused to even talk to me. You know, I have a proposal for him: If the powerful public opinion they created after the 19th doesn't come true, and it becomes an anticlimactic farce, and the whole world cheers that it's safe and sound, It might have helped him then by my suggestion. Beanie said Arthur wouldn't talk to me at all, let alone allow me to be there that night." "Just be my guest and I'll ask you," she said meanly. "Arthur will be too busy to pay attention to you then. I want you to be there when the skies are dark and the fires are burning." In the house, I want to see the look on your face, and I want to see if you're as good at apologizing as you are seductive, Therimon."