Chapter 16 Chapter 16 Defendants

Diplomacy has its own set of language and behavior patterns that are purely diplomatic.For example, "unpleasant outcome" refers to war, while "appropriate adjustment" refers to surrender.If the diplomatic representatives in the outside world strictly follow this model, the relationship between them will remain at the formal and rigid level. Therefore, on occasions where he can make his own decisions, Abel would rather leave diplomatic rhetoric behind.When he used the sealed private beam to communicate with Fafu, he looked like just an ordinary old man, chatting kindly while drinking.

"It's hard to find you, Fafu," he said. Fafu smiled slightly, with a relaxed and calm look: "This is a busy day, Abel." "Yeah, I've heard a little too." "Heard what Sting said?" Fafu asked casually. "Part of it comes from him, Sting has been with us for almost seven hours." "I know, it's my own fault. Would you consider returning him to us?" "I'm afraid not." "He's a criminal." Abel laughed, turning the goblet in his hand, staring at the slowly rising bubbles: "I think we can try to make him a political refugee, and the Interstellar Law will protect him safe and sound in the territory of Trantor. "

"Will your government support you?" "I think they will, Fafu. I've been doing diplomacy for thirty-seven years and I don't know what Trantor stands for and doesn't." "I can get Sack to ask Trantor to call you back." "What good would that do? I'm a man of peace, and you know me so well that it's hard to say who my successor will be." After a moment of silence, Fafu wrinkled his majestic face: "I think you already have an idea in your mind." "Indeed, you have one of us in your hands." "Who are your people?"

"A space analyst, native to Earth. That planet, by the way, is part of the realm of Trantor." "Is that the person Sting told you about?" "He said more than that." "Has he seen this earthling?" "He didn't say he'd seen it." "Well, he hasn't. In that case, I really doubt you can trust him." Abel put down his wine glass, clasped his hands on his lap lightly: "It's still possible, I'm sure there is such a person on Earth. Listen to me, Fafu, we should meet for this matter. I have Sting in my hand, And you have that Earthling, we are evenly matched in a sense. Before you go ahead with your current plans, before your ultimatum deadline comes, before your military coup is launched, why don't you convene a conference on the general situation Meeting?"

"I don't see the need for that. What's going on in Sark at the moment is a purely internal matter. I'm personally more than willing to make sure that these political events here, while they're happening here, won't interfere with thistle's trade. Trantor, I think. The justifiable concern should be dismissed.” Abel sipped his wine and seemed to be brainstorming.Then he said: "We seem to have a second political refugee, a peculiar case. By the way, he is a citizen of your Florenians; a town mayor who calls himself Merlin Terrence .” Fafu's eyes suddenly burst into flames: "We were already suspicious! In the name of Sack, Abel, there should be a limit to Trantor's overt intervention on this planet. The man you kidnapped is a murderer, and you cannot as political refugees."

"Okay, but do you want this man?" "You have a quid pro quo, don't you?" "The meeting I just mentioned." "Not for a Florentine murderer." "But the way the mayor managed to escape to our side is quite unusual. You might be interested..." Qiangzi shook his head violently while pacing.It was quite late at night, and he really hoped to get some sleep, but he knew that he would need a hypnotizer to fall asleep again tonight. "I might have had to threaten violence, as Sting suggested," Abel said. "That would be a bad idea. It would be very risky and unpredictable. But until the mayor arrived, I couldn't think of anything else to do, of course. , unless you stand still."

Janz shook his head violently: "No, action must be taken, but what you do is blackmail." "Strictly speaking, I suppose so. Was there anything else you could have done at the time?" "Exactly your method. I'm not a hypocrite, Abel, or rather I try not to be. When I'm trying to make the most of your work, I don't care about your method. But then, how did the girl How is it?" "As long as Fa Fu keeps her word, she will not be harmed." "I feel sorry for her. Although the more I understand what the Sark nobles are doing in Florence, the less I like them, but I can't help but feel sorry for her."

"Personally, yes, but the real responsibility lies with Sark itself. I ask you, old friend, have you ever kissed a girl in a ground car?" There was a slight smile on the corner of Qiangzi's mouth: "Yes." "Me too, but I guess I'll have to go back a few years longer than you to remember. At this moment, my youngest granddaughter is probably doing it, I don't doubt it. Anyway, two people kissing in the ground car, What purpose could this serve other than to express the most natural emotion in the galaxy? "However, the girl in question, who was considered to be of a very high social status, was, by some accident, to be in the same car as - let's say - with a criminal, and the man took the opportunity to kiss her, On the spur of the moment, and without her consent. How should she feel? How should her father feel? Resentment? Maybe; Annoyance? Of course; Angry? Displeasure? Humiliation? All these reactions are possible. But What about the shame? Willing to jeopardize an important situation because you feel so humiliated and because the matter cannot be exposed? This is ridiculous.

"But it is true that such a thing can only happen to Sak. Lady Samiya's fault is capricious and a little naive at best. I believe she must have been kissed before, and if she kisses someone again, If she kissed someone countless times, no one would say a word unless he was a Florentine. But she did kiss a Florentine. "It didn't matter that she didn't know the man was a Florentine; it didn't matter that the man kissed her. What matters is that if we combine Lady Salmia with The photo of the Florenian kissing was released, and she and her father will no longer be human. I still remember Fafu’s expression when he stared at the regenerated image. In fact, it is impossible to confirm from the image that the mayor is a Flo Renner, he was wearing a sak suit and a hat over his hair. He had a very light complexion, but that's not accurate. But then, Fafu knows a lot, and many people who are interested in scandals and extras would be happy to believe the rumour, and the photograph was the proof. And he also knew that his political enemies would go to any lengths to take advantage of it. You could call it blackmail, Chands, and it might be, but in On no other planet in the galaxy, this kind of blackmail can work. It is their own sick social system that created this weapon for us, and I have no guilt in doing so."

Qiangzi sighed: "What's the final decision?" "We will meet at noon tomorrow." "So, his ultimatum was delayed?" "Postponed indefinitely, I will go to his office in person." "Is it necessary to take this risk?" "It's not a risk, and there will be many witnesses. And the space analyst you've been looking for for so long, I'm also anxious to meet him in person." "Will I be there too?" Janzi asked anxiously. "Oh, yes. And the mayor, who we need to identify the space analyst. And, of course, Sting. The rest of you will be there in three-dimensional avatars."

"Thank you." The Trantor ambassador couldn't help but yawned and blinked his watery eyes: "Now, if you don't mind, I haven't closed my eyes for two days and one night. I'm afraid my old bones can no longer bear the pressure. Wake up, I must sleep for a while." As 3D avatar technology becomes more perfect, important meetings are rarely held face-to-face.Appearing in front of the old ambassador in real body made Fafu feel strongly that his dignity was damaged.His olive complexion was far from discolored, but its lines were lined with silent anger. He must be silent, he cannot say anything.He could only sullenly stare at the people who faced him. Abel!This ragged old fool has a million worlds behind him. Chandler!The stamina of the dark-skinned, curly-haired showrunner catalyzed the crisis. Sting!The traitor!The traitor who dared not meet his eyes! And the mayor!It was the most difficult thing for him to see this person.That's the guy, the Florentine, who physically defiled his precious daughter, and who's hiding inside the walls of the Trantor embassy, ​​safe and sound!If he were alone now, Fa Fu would be gnashing his teeth and banging on his desk.But at this moment, every muscle in his face didn't dare to move, although they had been quietly stretched to the limit. If Samiya hadn't... He dismissed that thought.It was his own negligence that caused her willfulness, and she can't blame her for it now.Afterwards, she made no attempt to excuse or exonerate herself.She told him the whole truth about her private attempt to play the interstellar spy and how it ended horribly.She, who is ashamed and in pain, now completely depends on his understanding to support her, and he will not let her down.He will never disappoint her, even if that means his painstaking efforts will be ruined. Fafu said: "I am forced to attend, I have nothing to say, I am here today as an audience." "I believe Sting wants to speak first," Abel said. Fafu shot Sting with contemptuous eyes. Sting responded with a cry: "You're the one who made me fall to Trantor, fat! You're violating the principles of self-government, and you can't expect me to be obedient. Seriously!" Fafu remained silent, and Abel said, "Let's get down to business, Sting. You said you have something to say, so do it now." His tone was somewhat contemptuous. Sting's pale cheeks turned red without rouge at this time: "I will, let me tell you now: Of course, I don't claim to be a detective like the wealthy tycoon, but I can think, really! I have always All thinking. Fafu told a story yesterday, all about a mysterious traitor he called X. I could see it was just a bunch of excuses to allow him to declare a state of emergency, I didn't have a minute Get bluffed." "Is there no X?" Fafu asked calmly, "Then why did you run away? Which accusation is worth running away alone?" "Really? Really?" Sting yelled anxiously, "Well, even if it wasn't me who set the fire, I would still run out of the burning building." "Speak slowly, Sting," Abel reminded him. Sting licked his lips, took another look at his nails, stroked them, and said, "But then I thought, why would he make up a story like that, with all the intricate details? That's not his way of doing things, really! That's not his way of doing things. I know him, we all know him, and he has no imagination at all. His lord, he's a hateful man! Almost as bad as Potter." Fafu's face changed drastically: "Is he talking, Abel? Or is he talking nonsense?" "Go on, Sting." Abel ignored the haircut. "I will, as long as you keep me talking. My God! Fafu, which side are you on? Then I said to myself - this was after dinner - and I said, a man like Fafu , how could such a story be made up? There is only one answer, he couldn't make it up, his brain didn't have the ability. So it's true, it must be true. Of course, several patrolmen were killed, but Fa Fu There is also a way to arrange that kind of thing.” Fafu shrugged. Sting continued to push forward: "The question is who is X? Not me, really! Definitely not me! Of course I also admit that X can only be one of the five big tycoons. But anyway, which of the five big tycoons knows about this matter?" The most? Who has been trying to use that space analyst's story for a year to intimidate the other four into accepting what he calls 'concerted action', which I call surrender to the Fafu dictatorship? "I'll tell you who X is." Sting stood up abruptly, the top of his head brushing the edge of the reception area, and the top inch was immediately chipped off.He pointed with a trembling hand, "X is him, the wealthy tycoon. He is the one who talked about the space analyst. In our first meeting, he found that other people's stupid remarks about him were not good enough." He didn’t do anything, so he let this person disappear. When he finished preparing for the military coup, he moved him out.” Fafu turned to Abel, showing a tired expression: "Has he finished? If he finishes, please send him away. To any noble person, he is an intolerable insult." "Do you have any comment on what he said?" Abel said. "Of course not. It's not worth commenting at all. This man is desperate and can say anything." "You can't push it like that, Fafu!" Sting yelled.His eyes narrowed, his nose turned white with tension.He looked at the others, then continued to stand and speak: "He said that his investigators found some records in the clinic of a certain doctor. He said that the doctor died in an accident after diagnosing that the space analyst had been psychically altered. He also said that it was under X's murderous hand, so that the identity of the space analyst would remain a secret. These are all his words, you ask him, ask him if he said these things." "What if I admit it?" Fafu replied. "Then ask him again, unless the records were with him all along, how could he get those things from his clinic when the doctor was dead and buried for months? Seriously!" Fafu said: "It's so stupid. If we go on like this, we can waste an infinite amount of time. Can't you figure it out? Another doctor took over the business of the dead man, along with his original medical records. Do any of you think that , medical records will be buried with the dead doctor?" "No, of course not," Abel said. Sting stammered a few more words, then sat down. "Who's next? Which one of you has something to say? Are there any accusations? Are there any tricks?" Fa Fu's voice was low and vicious. Abel said, "Okay, that's Sting's speech. Now it's Johns and I. We're here for another thing. We want to meet the space analyst." Fafu's hands were originally on the desk, but now they are raised and lowered, grabbing the edge of the table; two black eyebrows are crowded together. "That's right, we've detained a mentally handicapped man who claims to be a space analyst. I'll send someone to bring him in!" In all her life Varona March had never, never dreamed that there were so many such impossible things in the world.From the day she landed on this planet called Sark, everything seemed miraculous.Even the two prison cells where she and Yu Ke were locked up respectively seemed to be full of dreamlike splendor.For example, just press a button and water will flow from the end of a pipe.Although the air outside was colder than she had imagined, the walls inside were steaming with heat.In addition, everyone who spoke to her was wearing very beautiful clothes. She has stayed in several rooms here before and after, and all kinds of things in it are unprecedented.This room was now larger than any previous one, but it was almost empty.But there were quite a few people in the room, including a serious-looking man sitting behind a desk; a very old, wrinkled old man sitting in a chair; and three more... One of them is the mayor! She jumped up and rushed towards him: "Mayor! Mayor!" But he's not there! He stood up and waved his hands at her desperately: "Don't come here, Rona, don't come here!" She went right through him.She originally reached out to grab his sleeve, but it was in vain.So she lunged forward, stumbling, and passed right through him.For a moment, she was like a deflated balloon.The mayor had turned to face her again, but she could only stare down at her legs. Both her legs pierced the thick armrest of the mayor's chair, and she could see it clearly, the color and texture of it were real.The armrest went around her legs, but she couldn't feel it.She stretched out a trembling hand, five fingers sank a full three centimeters into the chair cover, but she also didn't feel anything, and each finger was still clearly visible. She screamed and fell to the ground.The last thing she realized was that the mayor reached out to her naturally, but she fell from his arms as if they were two pieces of flesh-colored air. When she regained consciousness, she sat down on a chair again.Yu Ke held her hand tightly, and the wrinkled old man leaned closer to her. "Don't be afraid, dear lady. It's just an image, you know, a kind of photograph," said the old man. Varona looked around, the mayor was still sitting there, but he didn't look at her. She pointed out: "isn't he there?" Yuke suddenly said, "That's a three-dimensional avatar, Lorna. He's somewhere else, but we can see him here." Varona shook her head.If Yuke said that, he couldn't be wrong.But she still lowered her eyelids, she dared not look at those who were there and not there. Abel said to Yu Ke: "So you know what a three-dimensional avatar is, young man?" "Yes, Your Excellency." For Yu Ke, this was also an unusual day.The difference is that Varona felt more and more dazzled, but he found many things more and more familiar and easier to understand. "Where did you hear that?" "I don't know either, I knew it...before I forgot." During the process of Varona Macchu rushing towards the mayor like a madman just now, Fafu was always sitting behind the desk and never moved half a step. He said grimly, "I'm sorry I had to bring in this hysterical Florentine woman and unexpectedly disrupted the meeting. The so-called space analyst insisted on her company." "It's okay," Abel said, "but I noticed that your mentally handicapped Florentine seems to be quite familiar with three-dimensional avatars." "I guess he was well trained," Fafu said. Abel asked, "Has he been interrogated since he came to Sack?" "Of course there is." "How is the result?" "No new information." Abel turned to Yu Ke: "What's your name?" "Yu is the only name I remember." Yu Ke said calmly. "Is there anyone you know here?" Yu Ke looked at everyone's faces without fear: "Only the mayor, and of course Lorna." "This," said Abel, pointing to Fafu, "is the greatest tycoon ever. He owns the whole world. What do you think of him?" Yu Ke boldly said: "I'm from Earth, he can't control me." Abel turned to Fafu: "I don't think an adult native of Florence can be trained to despise you like this." "Even if you use a mind reformer?" Fafu retorted contemptuously. "Do you know this gentleman?" Abel asked Yuke again. "I don't know, sir." "This is Dr. Shamlin Chandz, an important official of the Interplanetary Space Analysis Bureau." Yu Ke looked at him carefully. "Then he should be one of my officers. But," he said in a tone of disappointment, "I don't know him, or maybe I just don't remember." Janz shook his head in frustration: "I've never seen him either, Abel." "It's worth discussing." Fa Fu murmured. "Listen now, Idiot," said Abel, "I'm going to tell you a story. I want you to give me your full attention, and think about it, think about it! Do you understand me?" Yu Ke nodded. Abel spoke slowly, and for a long time his words were the only voices in the room.When he was halfway through speaking, Yu Ke closed his eyes and closed them tightly.He pursed his lips, folded his hands across his chest, and tilted his head forward.It was obvious at a glance that he was in great pain. Abel went on and on, reorganizing many of the incidents that the rich tycoon had originally reported.He mentioned the telegram about the catastrophe, how it was intercepted, how Yuke met X, the mind reformer, how Yuke was discovered, how he was brought to Florence, The doctor who diagnosed him and died shortly afterwards mentioned his gradually recovering memory. Finally he said, "Here's the whole story, fool. I told you the whole story. Does anything sound familiar?" Yuke replied slowly and painfully: "I remember the last part, you know, the last few days. I also remember something earlier, maybe the doctor, when I first started talking. It Very vague...but that's all." "But you do remember earlier events, you remember the crisis in Florence," Abel said. "Yes. That's the first thing I remember." "So you can't remember what happened after that? You landed in Sark and met a guy..." Yu Ke moaned: "I can't, I can't remember!" "Try it! Try it!" Yu Ke raised his head, his pale face was drenched with sweat: "I remember two words." "What word, Yuke?" "It doesn't make sense." "Anyway, you just say it." "It was associated with a table, it was a long, long time ago, I can't remember exactly. I think I was sitting, maybe, and someone else was sitting too. Then he stood up and looked down at me , and those two words came out." Abel was very patient: "What word?" Yu Ke clenched his hands and whispered, "Fat Fu!" Everyone stood up except Fafu.Sting screams, "I told you so!" followed by a high-pitched giggle.