Chapter 15 Chapter 15

Alvardan met Schechter in a room at the back of the second floor, where every window was carefully tuned to be completely opaque.Paula sat downstairs in an armchair, watching the empty, dark street with alert, keen eyes. Compared with the impression of Aivadan more than ten hours ago, Schechter's hunchbacked body presents a different look.The physicist's face was still haggard, showing endless weariness, but the expression that looked hesitant and timid before now showed an expression of almost desperate resistance to the end. "Dr. Alvardan," he said firmly, "I must apologize for the way I treated you this morning. I hoped you would understand..."

"I must admit I didn't understand it then, Doctor, but I believe I do now." Schechter sat down at the table and pointed to a bottle of wine. Alvardan waved his hand to decline: "If you don't mind, I'd like to eat some fruit... What is this? I don't think I've ever seen it before." Something like that." "It's a kind of orange," Schechter replied, "I believe it can only grow on the earth, and the peel is easy to peel off." He demonstrated it, and Aivardan smelled it curiously, and bit into it. Wine-flavored flesh. He immediately let out an admiration: "Wow, it's delicious, Dr. Schechter! Has the earth tried to export this kind of thing?"

"Those ancients," said the biophysicist sullenly, "did not like to trade with outsiders. And the worlds in the nearby starry sky are not interested in trading with us. This is just one of the difficulties we face." A feeling of boredom suddenly rose in Avadan's heart: "This is the most stupid thing. Let me tell you, when I found out that there are such stupid thoughts in the human heart, I simply despaired of human intelligence." Schechter shrugged his shoulders with his usual tolerant attitude: "I'm afraid, it's just a part of anti-earthism, and that's an almost unsolvable problem."

"However, what makes it almost unsolvable," cried the archaeologist, "is that no one really seems to want an answer! Faced with such a situation, how many Earthlings have responded with an equal hatred of all Citizens of the Galaxy. It's almost a universal disease, tit for tat, hate. Do your people really want equality and mutual tolerance? No! Most of them just want to change themselves to be the boss." "Maybe what you said makes sense," Schechter said sadly, "I can't deny that. But that's not the whole truth. As long as we are given a chance, the new generation of earthlings will mature and will Abandon the bad roots of narrowness, and sincerely believe that human beings are one family. Those assimilationists who are tolerant and firmly believe in benign compromise have been in power on the earth more than once. I am one of them, at least, I used to be one of them. But today Earth is led by fanatics, extreme nationalists who dream of past and future dominance. It is against them that we must protect the Empire."

Alvardan frowned: "You mean the rebellion mentioned by Paula?" "Dr. Alvardan," Schechter said sullenly again, "the fact that the earth is about to conquer the galaxy sounds so ridiculous that it is not easy to convince anyone, but it is absolutely true. I am not I am a valiant fighter, and I am the most fearful of life, so, as you can imagine, there must be a great danger to force me to take such a risk. The magistrates have noticed me, and in their eyes, What I'm doing now amounts to treason." "Well," said Avadan, "if it's that serious, I'd better make a statement right away. I'll help you as much as I can, but I'm limited to being a galactic citizen. I have no official status here, And in the court, not even in the magistrate's mansion, I have no special influence. My real background is what you see - an archaeologist doing scientific research, which is only related to my academic interests. Related. Since you're going to risk mutiny, wouldn't you better see the administrator? He's the one who can actually do something."

"That's exactly what I can't do, Dr. Alvardan. The ancients sent people to watch me because they were afraid of such a change. When you walked into my office this morning, it even occurred to me that you might be a An emissary, I thought Ennias was suspicious." "He may be suspicious, and I can't answer this question. But I'm not an emissary, and I'm sorry. If you insist on telling me the truth, I can promise to go to him on your behalf." "Thank you, that's what I'm asking for. And—you're going to intercede for Earth, and save Earth from retaliation too severe."

"Of course." Alvardan felt very uncomfortable. At this moment, he was convinced that the person he was facing was an old and surly paranoid patient—he might not be dangerous, but he had completely collapsed.And he had no choice but to listen patiently and try to temper the mild insanity—for Paula's sake. Schechter continued, "Dr. Alvardan, have you ever heard of synaptic amplifiers? You mentioned them this morning." "Yes, I do know. I have read your original paper in Physical Review, and I have discussed the device with the Administrator and the Dean." "Have you discussed it with the Headmaster?"

"Oh, of course. When I asked him to write a letter of introduction, it was the one you—well—if you refused to open." "I'm sorry about that, but I wish you hadn't—how much do you really know about synaptic amplifiers?" "It was a hilariously unsuccessful attempt. It was meant to enhance learning, and it worked somewhat in mice but failed completely in humans." Schechter looked very annoyed: "Yes, you can't see why from that article. We deliberately announced the results of failures, and the excellent success stories were deliberately hidden."

"Oh, that's a rather unusual scientific ethics, Dr. Schechter." "I admit it. But I'm fifty-six, sir. Anyone who's ever heard of Earth's customs knows I won't live long." "You mean the sixty limit, yes, I've heard that—more than I'd like to hear, in fact." He couldn't help thinking of the first stratospheric flight on Earth, "I've heard that too. , or some people get amnesty, such as famous scientists." "Of course, but the decision rests with the Patriarch and the Council of the Ancients. No one can change their decision, not even the emperor. They told me back then that the price of living is to strictly keep the secret of the synaptic amplifier and do their best to improve its efficacy. "The old man spread his hands helplessly, "So, can I reveal the real purpose of this machine and the real result?"

"What exactly is it used for?" Avadan took out a cigarette from his shirt pocket, and made a gesture to hand it to the other party, but was declined. "Please listen patiently. When my experiments have progressed to a certain level, and I feel that they can be safely applied to humans, I have used this device to transform some biologists on the earth. Everyone who comes to accept the transformation, I found out that it was all about fanatics, that is, extremists, a person who vented his breath. They all survived, but after a certain period of time, the secondary effects appeared. One of them had to be sent back for treatment. I Although I couldn't save him, I discovered the truth from his ramblings before his death."

It was close to midnight and it had been a long day with so much going on.But now, Avadan felt a commotion in his heart, and he said in an outrageous tone: "I hope you hit the nail on the head." Schechter said: "I beg you to take it easy. If you want to believe me, I have to explain in detail. Of course you understand the special environment of the earth, its radioactivity..." "Yes, I have a deep understanding of this." "And the impact of radioactivity on the earth and its social structure?" "yes." "Then I won't dwell on that. I just need to tell you that the chances of mutations are higher on Earth than anywhere else in the galaxy. Our enemies do have some sort of factual basis for thinking that Earthlings are different." said In fact, those mutations are very slight, and most of them have no value in existence. If there is any permanent change in the earthlings, it is only in the change of the chemical structure in the body, which makes them show greater endurance to the special environment. Therefore, Earthlings are particularly resistant to the effects of radiation, and their tissues heal very quickly when burned..." "Dr. Schechter, I understand all that you said." "Then let me ask you, have you ever thought that besides the earthlings, these mutation processes will also happen to other earth creatures?" After a short silence, Alvadan replied: "Ah, no. But, of course, I think it's almost inevitable after you put it that way." "That's right, there is such a phenomenon. Compared with other animals that live in the human world, there are many kinds of animals on our earth. The orange you just ate is a mutant variety that cannot be found anywhere else. These willows Oranges simply cannot be exported, which is one of the reasons. Outsiders have the same misgivings about them as they do about us—we ourselves regard them as prized possessions. Of course, the same principles apply to animals and plants as well. The same applies to microbes." At this moment, Aivadan really felt a piercing fear. He said, "You mean—bacteria?" "I mean all protozoa, including protozoa, bacteria, and nucleoproteins that can replicate themselves, which some people call viruses." "What do you want to say?" "I think you should already have some ideas, Dr. Alvadan, your interest seems to have come suddenly. You should know that you outsiders have a deeply-held notion that people on Earth are the messengers of death; contacting people on Earth is courting death." ;Earthlings will bring misfortune, will bring some kind of bad omen..." "I know all these things. They are nothing but superstitions." "It's not all superstitious, and that's the scary thing about it. Like all folk belief, no matter how much superstition, distortion, and misunderstanding there is, there's a grain of truth at the bottom. Sometimes, you know, Earthlings There will be mutants of certain microparasites in them, they are not the same as those found everywhere else, and sometimes outsiders have no resistance to them. What happens next is simply common sense of biology, Dr. Alvardan. " Alvadan was silent. Schechter continued: "Of course, we ourselves sometimes get infected. In the radioactive fog, new strains of bacteria can arise naturally, and then a new epidemic can sweep the entire planet. But generally speaking, Earth Humans have always been able to cope. For every new bacteria and virus, we build up defense mechanisms within a few generations, so we are not wiped out. Outsiders, however, do not have that opportunity." "You mean," Avadan said with a strange and vague feeling, "I'm in contact with you now..." He hurriedly pushed his chair back, thinking about the two long kisses tonight. Schechter shook his head: "Of course not. We don't create disease, we're just vectors, and even that rarely happens. If I lived on your world, the bacteria I carry would not There will be more than you, I have no special affinity for them. Even here, there are only one in a trillion, or one in a trillion times a trillion, of dangerous germs. Your chances of being infected now, compared to It's even less likely that a meteorite will go through the roof and hit you on the head. Unless, someone is deliberately looking for specific bacteria, and then isolate and concentrate them." There was another silence, longer this time.Then, as if being strangled by someone, Avadan said in a strange voice: "Did the people on Earth do this?" He no longer thinks that the other party is suffering from paranoia, he is ready to believe it all. "Yes, but the original motive was quite simple. Of course our biologists are particularly interested in the peculiarities of life on Earth. Not long ago, they isolated the common fever virus." "What is ordinary heat?" "An endemic disease on Earth, that is to say, it has always been prevalent around us. Most people on Earth have been infected in childhood. Its symptoms are not very serious, just mild fever, temporary rash, and joint and Inflammation of the lips and, besides, an annoying thirst. It lasts about four to six days, and the patient is immune for life. I have had it, as has Paula. Occasionally, there are more violent cases of the disease—presumably From a slightly different virus—then it was called radiant fever." "Radiation fever, I've heard of it," Alvardan said. "Oh, really? It's called radiant fever because there's a common misconception that it's a disease from exposure to radioactive fields. In fact, exposure to radioactive fields does often cause radiant fever, because in Where there is radiation, those viruses are most likely to mutate into dangerous varieties. However, the real cause of the disease is the virus, not the radiation. With radiant fever, symptoms appear within two hours, and the lips are so inflamed that the patient can hardly speak Talk, and in a few days could die. "Now, Dr. Alvardan, we have finally come to the point. People on Earth are accustomed to ordinary heat, while outsiders have no resistance. Occasionally, it is inevitable that some imperial garrison will be exposed to that virus. At this time, the symptoms he produces are as follows: Like Earthlings with radiant fever. Usually he would die within twelve hours, and then the body would be cremated—by the Earthlings—because any other soldier would have died if he came close. "As I mentioned earlier, that virus was isolated ten years ago. It is a nucleoprotein, like most viral viruses. However, it has the unusual quality of having extremely high concentrations of The radioactive carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus contained in it. The so-called extremely high concentration means that 50% of the carbon, sulfur, and phosphorus in its body are radioactive. The currently accepted theory believes that the impact of this microorganism on the host is mainly That is, it comes from its radioactivity, not the toxin it produces. Since people on earth are accustomed to gamma radiation, they will not have serious symptoms, which is naturally a logical inference. "In the beginning, the initial research on this virus focused on the way it accumulates radioactive isotopes. You know, if you want to chemically separate isotopes, you have to go through a very long and complicated process. And besides this virus, there are no other No known organism can do this either. But then, the direction of research changed. "I'll make a long story short, Dr. Alvardan, I think you've guessed the story behind it. Experiments in this area can be carried out on non-earth animals, but you can't directly experiment on outsiders. There are too many outsiders on the earth. A few missing for no reason will definitely attract attention. Moreover, this plan will never allow premature exposure. Therefore, a group of bacteriologists were sent here to accept the modification of the synaptic amplifier, so that their insight increased by a thousand times They are the ones who invented new mathematical tools for the study of protein chemistry and immunology. Finally, they finally artificially cultivated a new virus that will only infect humans in the Galactic Empire, that is, outsiders. Today, several Tons of crystallized virus are at the ready." Alvadan looked haggard, he felt beads of sweat slowly flowing down his temples, and then gradually sliding down his cheeks. "So you're telling me," he gasped, "that Earth is about to unleash these viruses into the galaxy, and they're going to wage a germ war like never before..." "Exactly. We will never lose this war, and you will never win it. Once the disease starts to spread, millions of people die every day, and there is no way to stop it. Panicked refugees will flee to space, The virus can then spread around. Even if you blow up many planets completely, it will repopulate other worlds. No one will think that this has anything to do with the earth. When the fact that we are safe and sound seems doubtful, the havoc of the galaxy It is irreparable, outsiders are too busy to take care of themselves, and will not care about anything anymore." "Are all men going to die?" The blood-curdling fear hadn't penetrated -- not at all. "Probably not. Our bacteriological research is going in two directions at the same time, and we have developed antitoxins, as well as methods for mass production. If the enemy surrenders early, it can come in handy. In addition, some remote parts of the galaxy may Can get away with it, and there may even be a few examples of natural immunity." For Avadan, a frightful blankness ensued, and Schechter's voice was weak and weary.At this moment, Alvadan no longer wanted to doubt the authenticity of those words.This terrifying truth overturned the disparity of 25 billion to 1 in one fell swoop. "Not the whole planet wants to do this. A few leaders, because they are under extreme pressure and excluded from the galaxy, have become psychopathic and began to hate those who refused to accept them, wanting revenge at any cost Revenge, and in a crazy and fierce way... "Once they start, the whole planet has to follow suit. Otherwise, what can other people do? Now that they have committed a heinous crime, they can only do one thing and keep doing two. They can risk punishment and allow the galaxy Are too many people alive? "Although I am a person on Earth, I am also a part of mankind. Is it necessary to kill trillions of people for the sake of 10 to 20 million people? Is it necessary to avenge the shame of a planet—no matter how legitimate the reason? Collapse a galaxy-spanning civilization? And even if it did, would we be better off? Galactic supremacy would still rest on worlds with the necessary resources—and we have nothing. Earthlings of this generation Possibly even ruling Trantor, but their children would become Trantorians, who would in turn discriminate against their fellow Earthlings when they grew up. "Besides, for the entire human race, what is the benefit of changing the tyranny of the empire into the tyranny of the earth? No—no—there must be another way to solve the contradictions of all mankind, and another way to achieve justice and freedom. " He unconsciously covered his face with his hands, and behind ten bony fingers, his head shook gently back and forth. Hearing this, Alvadan seemed to be frozen in a mist.He murmured, "What you have done is definitely not treason, Dr. Schechter. I will go to Mount Everest immediately, and the administrator will believe me. He must believe me." There was a sudden sound of hurried footsteps, and then Paula ran into the room with a terrified face, before even closing the door. "Father—a lot of people came to the door." Dr. Schechter's face was ashen. "Quickly, Dr. Alvardan, get out of the garage." He pushed Alvardan roughly away, "Take Paula and go together, don't worry about me, I will block them." Unexpectedly, when they turned around, there was already a person in a green robe waiting at the door.With a faint smile on his face, he held a nerve whip in his hand.At the same time, there was a violent knock on the door, followed by a loud bang, and the sound of ping-pong-pong footsteps. "Who are you?" Alvardan asked in an unreasonable tone, he had already stood in front of Paula. "Me?" The man in the green robe replied harshly, "I'm just the humble secretary of His Highness the Dean." He took a few steps forward, "I almost waited too long, but it's okay. Well, still There's a woman. That's not very smart..." Avadan said in a calm tone: "I am a citizen of the Galactic Empire. Without legal procedures, I don't think you have the right to arrest me. Besides, you also have no right to break into this house." "I," said the Patriarch's secretary, patting his chest with his other hand, "represent all power on this planet. Before long, I will represent all power in the galaxy. We've got you all, you know— —even including Schwartz." "Swartz!" shouted Dr. Schechter and Paula almost simultaneously. "Are you surprised? Come, I will take you to see him." The last thing Alvardan realized was that the other person's smile gradually widened, and then the nerve whip flashed.He felt a burning pain and fell to the ground, unconscious.