Chapter 22 Chapter Twenty Two

That was about three weeks ago.At this moment, Severa left Theremon in a huff and rushed to the other side of the room.She saw Arthur standing there alone, flipping through a pile of computer printouts.He sadly turned page after page, as if he wanted to find a secret recipe buried here from the thick documents, so as to delay the coming of darkness.At this moment, when he looked up, he saw Severa. Sefra's expression changed suddenly. "Dr. Arthur, I apologize to you for having that man here tonight. After all he said so much about us, you, and..." She shook her head, "I thought it would be a lesson He paused, but I was wrong. He was more shallow and ignorant than I thought. If only I hadn't called him."

Arthur said feebly: "What's the use of talking now? As long as he doesn't interfere with my work, it doesn't matter to me whether he's there or not. In a few hours, all will be the same." He said Pointing to the sky outside the window, "It's so dark! It's so dark! Of course, it's not as dark as the future! I didn't know Fano and Yermott were there. Didn't you see them? Didn't you?...Dr. Severa, you Just came in and said, before you finally leave the office, something happened, hope it's not serious." "The soil tablets found on Mount Tombo are missing."

"Missing?" "They've been in a safe. Just before I was about to leave here, Dr. Mudlin stopped by. He wanted to check one last detail in the translation, a point he had just thought of, before going to the hideout. .But when we opened the safe, there was nothing in it, the six soils were gone. Of course, we still have a copy, but... the original, something really ancient..." "How could this be?" Arthur asked. Severa said bitterly: "Isn't this obvious? It was stolen by those believers. When the night came and the world was shrouded, Might work as a talisman for them. "

"Any clues?" "I'm not a detective, Dr. Arthur, and any evidence means nothing to me. Except for the believers, who have been trying to get them since they knew I had them. Oh, I wish I could They didn't say a word! I wish I didn't mention these tablets to anyone." Arthur took her hands and said, "Don't be so worried about yourself, my boy." my child!Severa stared at him, very surprised.No one had called her that in twenty-five years!But she still controlled her emotions.After all, Arthur was getting old and just trying to show his affection.

He said, "Let them take it, Severa, it doesn't make a difference now with or without the tablets, thanks to that man. It doesn't make any difference, does it?" She shrugged. "The thought of a thief wearing a cloak of a believer prowling outside my office door, breaking open the safe and stealing things I've found myself makes me furious. It's almost like rape. Can you Do you understand, Dr. Arthur, stealing the soil slips is like violence against me." "I know you're suffering," said Arthur, but in a tone that suggested he didn't really understand. "Look, look there. How bright Dovim is tonight. It won't be long before it's all going to be dark." .”

Severa forced an ambiguous smile, turned and walked away. All around her, people were busy coming and going, checking here, discussing there, running to the windows, pointing and muttering.From time to time, someone rushed in, holding the data just sent from the telescope observation room.Among astronomers, she was a complete outsider, uninteresting, helpless.She thought that something of Arthur's fatalism might have passed on to her; he seemed very depressed, lost, unlike him. She wanted to remind him that tonight wasn't the end of the world, just the cycle of modern civilization.They'll rebuild everything, as has happened dozens of...or twenty, or a hundred...since Civilization in Berkelimot, and those who hide will come out and recreate everything.

However, telling Arthur all this was as useless as Arthur telling her not to worry about losing the slip.He hoped the whole world was well prepared against this catastrophe, but only a handful took his warnings seriously, only those few who were hiding in university hideouts, hideouts built by others... … Benny came over and asked Severa, "I heard Arthur say that Tujian disappeared, what happened?" "Yes, it's gone, someone stole it. I regret that I shouldn't have anything to do with those flame believers." Beanie said, "You think they stole the slips?"

"I'm sure." She had a bitter expression on her face. "After discovering that Tujian's news was first disclosed to the public, they sent me a message saying that they had something very useful to me. Didn't I say that? I Guess no. They want to make a deal. It's kind of like the deal between Arthur and that archbishop, call him, Fleming 66. Fleming said, 'We know the knowledge of the ancient language, which is Said in a previous confessional year. 'Apparently, they have dictionaries, archaic alphabets, and maybe more that can decipher the language.'

"What good will Arthur get out of this?" "A little bit, but enough to confirm that the believers do have the astronomical records of the last solar eclipse. Arthur said it is enough to prove that the world has experienced at least one such disaster before." She went on to tell Beanie that Arthur had given her some fragments of astronomical texts from Fleming, in copies.She showed Mudlin.Mudlin did find these copies extremely valuable for the translation of the tablets.But at least believers Having said that, Severa was indecisive when she showed her clay tablets for them to see.The believers claimed to have the means of interpreting the early manuscripts, and perhaps they did.Fleming repeatedly insisted that Sephora give them the real soil slips, and he took them to copy and translate, but he was unwilling to give Sefra the information he used for decoding.He is not satisfied with the copy of the soil slips, he must have the original, otherwise, there is no deal to discuss.

"You just ignored him?" Beanie asked. "Of course. The slips must not leave the university. I said to Fleming, give us a way to interpret the text, and we will provide a copy of your slips, and then we can each do our own translation." But Fleming refused.Copies of texts were of no use to him, as they could easily be passed off as bogus forgeries abandon.As for giving the files to Sefra, he would never.He said that the material in his hands was extremely sacred and was written especially for believers.Give him the slips, and he'll provide her with translations, but once he has the texts, no one else will even bother to look at them.

"Honestly. I was once tempted and almost became a believer," she said, "just to get close to the code." "You, believer?" "I just want to get their textual materials. But one thought stopped me. I rejected Fleming!" Thus, without the help of some materials that believers might have, Mudling had a hard time translating .Obviously, the soil tablet seems to mention a certain doomsday that the gods sent down to the world that will be burned by raging fire... But Mudlin's translation is very incomplete, the content is not well grasped, and the translated text is very small. Well, no matter what, believers now have soil slips, which is more likely than not having soil slips.It was unbearable.In the chaos to come, they would raise their hands and wave these tablets...her tablets...and flaunt them around as evidence of their own wisdom and devotion. "Unfortunately, your tablets are missing, Sephora," Beanie said, "but it's also possible that the tablets weren't stolen at all. So where are they?" "I don't think so," Severa said.She smiled wretchedly and turned to stare at the darkening sky. A good way to comfort her is to take Arthur's advice.The world will end soon and nothing will make sense anymore.But in fact it was self-deception, and she disagreed with this discouraging advice from the bottom of her heart.The important thing is to keep thinking about the day after tomorrow... thinking about surviving, thinking about rebuilding, thinking about fighting, thinking about succeeding.It's no use shrugging your shoulders, accepting the fall of humanity, giving up all hope, losing faith, as Arthur did. Her meditations were interrupted by the appearance of a tenor voice. "Hi everyone! Hello everyone!" "Sherin!" cried Beanie. "What are you doing here?" A smile bloomed on the newcomer's chubby face. "How eerie is the atmosphere here? I hope no one is afraid." Arthur was very surprised to see the person coming, and said angrily, "Sherin, what are you doing here? I thought you were in the shelter!" Schelling laughed, and his fat body fell into a chair. "To hell with the hideout! That place bothers me. I'm here, and there's so much life in here. Do you think I'm not curious? After all, I've been in a mysterious tunnel once. I can get out of another dark Besides, I want to see the stars that believers have been talking about." He rubbed his hands and said solemnly, "It's cold outside, and my nose will freeze. Dovim is so far away from us tonight. Far, it seems that there is no heat." The gray-haired old principal gritted his teeth angrily, and he suddenly lost his temper. "Why are you making trouble on purpose, Sherin? What's the use of you hanging around here?" "What's the use of me here?" Schelling spread his hands, showing a helpless funny look, "Psychologists are worthless in the hideout. Not worth it now, I can't do anything for them, they are very safe , there is nothing to worry about underground." "But what if a thug rushes in in the dark?" Schelling laughed. "I doubt a man can get into a hideout in broad daylight, let alone after sundown, if he doesn't know where the entrance is. But once someone does go in, they need someone who can defend it They. Me? Weighing over a hundred pounds, why would I curl up in a place like that when I can't do much? I'd rather be here." After hearing Schelling's words, Severa was refreshed.She also chose to spend the night at the Observatory rather than hiding in the hideout.It might have been a risk, or foolish conceit, but she believed she could hold out to see the eclipse...or even the stars if it had anything to do with that myth...keep sane.So she decided not to let go of such an experience. Now, while Schelling can't be labeled a hero, he seems to have thought the same way as Sephora.That said, despite his relentless prophecy a few months ago, he doesn't think the effects of the darkness will be so alarming after all.She had heard of the mysterious tunnel and the damage it had done to Sherin, yet here he was.Perhaps he had grown to believe that people, at least some, were more resilient to the last minute than he had expected. Maybe he was just desperate, Severa thought.Maybe he'd rather lose his mind all at once tonight than keep his head clear and escape the countless unsolvable problems he'll face later on... No, not like that.She fell into a deep pessimistic depression again.She pushed the thought out of her mind. "Sherin!" Theremon yelled.He came straight over and greeted the psychologist. "Remember me? Theremon 762." "Of course I remember, Theremon," said Schelling, holding out his hand. "My boy, you have not been very friendly to us lately, have you? But let's not talk about it tonight. Let the past go." "I hope it will be a thing of the past." Severa lowered his voice and muttered.She scowled in disgust and took a few steps back. Theremon grabbed Schelling's hand. "What was the shelter you stayed in just now? I've heard of some cases, but I don't know what it looks like." "Well," Schelling said, "we managed to convince some people, at least, that we were right about the end of the world, and let them stand as witnesses to history. These people have taken appropriate measures. Most of them are observatories. Families of staff, families of Salo University staff, and a handful of others. My buddy Lilias is there at the moment. Honestly, if it wasn't for my bloody curiosity, I think I should be there too .It is said that there are about three hundred people there." "I see. Let them hide in it from the dark... er... and the stars to drive them mad. They'll hold on when everyone else goes mad." "That's right. Believers have their own hideouts too. We're not sure how many are hiding in them...if we're lucky, they may be a few, but it's likely that thousands of them are hiding, and They will come out first to control the world after the darkness has passed." "In this way, all the people in the university team have to do is stop their actions?" Thelimon asked. Schelling nodded. "If possible. Because it's not easy to do. The whole human race is almost crazy. All the big cities Destroyed by fire, perhaps a large group of believers will impose their so-called order on what remains... No, it will be difficult for them to survive.But at least they have food, water, light, shelter and weapons..." "They want more," Arthur said. "They have all the records we've had in addition to our records today. Those records are vital for the next cycle, and that's what has to be preserved. Nothing else matters." Theremon gave a long, soft whistle. "You fully believe that everything you predicted will happen as expected!" "Is there any other way we can see it?" Sephora asked gravely. "Once we see that disaster is bound to happen..." "Yes," said the reporter, "you must be ready. For you have the truth in your hand, just as the Flames have the truth. What you two men of truth say is going to happen tonight , as long as it can be half believable." She stared at him intently. "Wish you were out tonight, wandering the burning streets! But no... no, you're safe here! It's your great honor!" "It's easy," Schelling said.He tugged on Theremon's arm, and said unhurriedly, "My friend, it's so boring to provoke people now. Let's find a place to talk and don't disturb other people." "Good idea," Theremon said. But he didn't go out of the room at all.Some people started a game of random variable chess around the table. Theremon stood and watched for a few minutes. The players played quickly without speaking.He seemed shocked that these people, who all believed that the end of the world would come in 12 hours, could still play chess so intently. "Come on!" Schelling said again. "Come, come," replied Theremon. He walked out of the hall with Schelling.Beanie followed after a while. It's so irritating, Severa thought. She watched Dovim's bright celestial orbit, blazing across the sky.Had the sky darkened a few minutes ago?No, no, she told herself, it was impossible.Dovim is still there.This is just imagination.The sky looked very strange now, Dovim was the only sun left.She had never seen such a deep purple sky before, but the sky outside was not all dark and gloomy, there was still enough light, and everything outside was clearly visible except for the little sun that was blurred. She thought of the lost soil tablet again, and then pushed it out of her mind again. Still a good idea for the gamers, she told herself.Just sit back and relax.