Chapter 3 Chapter two

Alice.On the afternoon of August 34th, Adams drove to the small country airport.I feel both lost and free inside. She couldn't even explain the feeling to herself.Maybe it's the weather, she thought.The end of August along the coast of Equatorial Africa is always hot, often unbearably hot.But today the sea breeze was gentle, and the sky was the indigo blue of the New World, a color much deeper and truer than the chaotic pastel skies of Earth.But the good weather has been going on for a few weeks, so while it's nice, it's not that great.Freedom, she thought, yes, absolute freedom.The divorce judgment has just come out, ending a marriage and canceling an unwise move to wait for the man who is about to meet is one of the reasons for the end of the marriage.But it's more than that. What she is about to face is a future cut off from the past, a deeply troubled problem, and she is about to find the answer.

There is also loss to be faced.She was almost completely lost, a path she had only traveled a few times before.She rented an apartment in Port Magellan.The south coast of the port city is flat and is an alluvial plain with farms and light industries on it.The plain was still mostly wilderness, a sort of rolling prairie, covered with soft grass, patches of which lapped like waves against the summits of the Coast Mountains.Before long, she began to see small planes rising and falling.Alongi Airport, that's where she was going.Those were small propeller planes and bushplanes, because the runway at Alonghi airport wasn't long enough for larger planes.The planes that land there are either a hobby of the rich or a livelihood of the poor.If you want to rent a hangar, go on a tour into Glacier Pass, or catch Bone Creek or Kubrick's Tomb, you'll come to Alongi Airport.And if you're smart enough, you'll talk to Turk before doing any of these things.Talk to Finlay, who makes a living flying special charter flights.

Liz had been on his plane once.But she wasn't here today to hire a pilot.Turk's name would appear, in connection with the photo in the brown envelope on her body.The envelope is now tucked away in the glove compartment of the car. She parked the car in the gravel clearing at Alongi Airport, got out, and stood listening to the buzzing of insects in the afternoon heat.Then she entered by the back door, into the big, deep warehouse with the tin roof.The warehouse looks like a converted cowshed, used as the passenger terminal of Alonghi Airport.Turk's charter business is in Michael.With the consent of Alonghi, it operates from a corner of this building.Mike is the boss of the airport, and takes part of Turk's profits as compensation.This is what Turk told her during the previous chat.

There are no security checkpoints here.Turk.Finlay's office was on the northernmost side of the building, and because it was a three-sided cubicle, all she had to do was walk in and clear her throat instead of knocking on the door.He was sitting behind his desk filling out a document that, judging from the blue mark at the top of the page, looked like a document of the United Nations Interim Government.He signed his name in ink one last time, then looked up.Alice! His smile is very sincere and kind.No blame, no hint of why you didn't call me back.She said: Uh, are you busy? do i look busy

Anyway, it looks like there is work to be done.She was pretty sure he'd be happy to drop anything unimportant just to see her.She hadn't given him the chance for so long.He walked around the table and gave her a gentlemanly hug.Smelling his breath at such a close distance, she was a little flustered for a while.Turk was thirty-five years old, eight years older than Liz and thirty centimeters taller.She forced herself to be calm.It's all paperwork, he said, give me an excuse to ignore it.please. this At least tell me if you are doing business or traveling. get down to business.

He nodded.no problem.Tell me a destination! No, I mean, my business is not your business.There's something I'd like to talk to you about, if you'd like.Maybe talk about it over dinner?May I treat you? I'd love to go to dinner, but I invite you.It's hard to imagine how I could be of any help with your book. She was glad he remembered about the book, even though there was no such book.A plane taxied to the hangar a few meters away, rumbling through the thin walls of Turk's office like through an open door.Lise looked at the earthen cup on Turk's table. The coffee in the cup must have been sitting for several hours, and the sound shook the oily liquid in concentric circles.After the roar of the plane died down, she said: You can actually help a lot, especially if we can go to a quieter place

no problem.I leave the key with Paul. that's all?The way frontier people do things never ceases to amaze her.Are you afraid of missing a guest? Guests can leave a message.I will be back sooner or later.Besides, business hasn't been great this week.You came at just the right time.How about we go to Harley? Harley's is one of the most exclusive American restaurants in Port Magellan.You can't afford a Harley. Report to the public account.By the way, I have a question for you!Even if it is mutual compensation. Whatever he meant, she could only say yes.Dinner at Harley was something she hadn't expected.She had driven to Alonji because she felt it had been a while since they last spoke and that being there in person would make more sense than a phone call.It's a silent apology.But even if he's angry about the rift between the two of them (which isn't even a relationship anymore, maybe not even a friend), he doesn't show it.She reminded herself to stay focused on her work, on the real reason she was here.This reason caused a rift in her life twelve years ago, an unexplained loss.

☆ Turk's car was at the airport, so they agreed to meet at the restaurant after dark, three hours later. The traffic situation is not bad.Port Magellan's prosperity means more cars, and not just the South Asian SUVs or motorcycles that everyone used to ride.Although she was surrounded by two 18-wheeler trucks for most of the way in the dock area, and the traffic was jammed all the way, she still arrived at the restaurant on time.The parking lot at Harley's was full of cars, which was unusual for a Wednesday night.The food here is of course good, but it's the view that makes guests pay more.The restaurant is located on a hilltop overlooking Magellan Port.The port was built on the largest natural harbor on the coast, apparently because of its proximity to the Arch, the planet's passage to Earth.However, too many houses were built on the flat and low land, so the port city expanded layer by layer to the foot of the mountain.Most of the houses were built hastily, with little heed to any building codes the interim government wanted to impose.Harley's, made entirely of natural wood and glass paneling, is an exception.

She gave her name and waited at the bar for half an hour before Turk's classic car rattled into the parking lot.From the window she saw him lock the car door and stride toward the door through the fading twilight.His clothes were obviously not as good as those of Harley's ordinary customers, but the restaurant staff recognized him and welcomed him. Liz knew that he often met with customers here.As soon as he came, the waiter led them to a U-shaped booth with a window view.The other tables by the window were full.It's hot here.she says. Tonight, of course.Lise looked at him blankly, he said.So he added another sentence: meteor shower.

oh.correct.She forgot!Lise has been in Port Magellan for less than eleven local months, which means she did not see last year's meteor shower.She knows the annual meteor shower is a big deal, and even celebrates it with revelry, which has become a local custom.She remembered it from her childhood memories of being here: it was a spectacular stellar show that happened with precise regularity and the perfect excuse to throw a party.But the meteor shower doesn't reach its peak until the third night.Tonight is just the beginning. But watching the meteor shower kick off, we're in the right place.In a few hours, Turk said, when it’s completely dark, they’ll turn off the lights and open those atrium doors so everyone can see the panorama.

The sky was so blue that it was as clear as glacial water.There are no shooting stars yet, and the city below the restaurant is draped in an elegant sunset glow.She could see the fires belching from the chimneys of refineries in industrial areas, the silhouettes of great mosques and churches, the illuminated signs along the streets of Madagascar promoting Indian films, herbal toothpaste (written in Iranian), and hotel chains.The sightseeing boats in the harbor turn on their lights, preparing for the arrival of night.Squint your eyes and think about it, the scenery is really beautiful.In the past, she might have said it was exotic, but she no longer thought so. She asked Turk how business was going. He shrugged.I pay rent, I fly planes, I meet people.Nothing else, Liz.I don't have any special mission in life. Unlike you, he seems to be suggesting.This sentence leads directly to the reason why she contacted him.She was reaching into her purse when a waiter came with ice water.She barely looked at the menu, but she ordered the specialty paella flavored with imported saffron.Turk ordered the steak, medium rare.Until fifteen years ago, the most common land animal in Equatoria was buffalo, and now you can buy fresh beef. The waiter strolls away.Turk said: You can call, you know. He had called her a few times since the last time they met, on the mountain trip, and the restless meetings that followed.Liz returned his calls eagerly at first, then perfunctorily, and then never returned after feeling guilty.I know, and I'm sorry, but I've been very busy these past few months I mean today.You don't have to drive all the way to Alongi just to have dinner together.Just make a phone call. I think it would be too you know, too businesslike to make a phone call.He didn't speak.She added, it's more honest this time, I just want to meet up and make sure I'm still okay. The rules in wilderness areas are different.I know that, Liz.Some things are from home, and some things are from other places.i think we must be Out of town? Well, I think you'd prefer that. There is always a difference between hope and reality. Do you still need to say it?He smiled wryly.How are you and Brian? it's over. real? Officially finally. What about the book you're writing? It's the research work that is slow, but the writing is not.She hasn't written a single word yet, and she won't write in the future. That's why you decided to stay? Stay in the New World, he was referring to this.She nodded. What are you going to do when you're done?Are you going back to America? possible. Ridiculously speaking, he said, people come to this port for various reasons.Some find a reason to stay, some don't.I think people just cross a certain line.You disembark for the first time and realize that you really are on another planet.The air here smells different, the water tastes different, the moon is not the same size and rises too fast again.The day is still divided into twelve hours, but each hour is longer.After a few weeks or months, some people get so confused that they turn around and go home, or they settle in and start to feel normal.That's when they ask themselves if they want to go back to the anthill cities, the bad air, the fetid seas, and all the things they took for granted. Is that why you're here? Partly, I think.Of course he said. The meal came and they chatted for a while.It was dark, and the city shone with dots of light.The waiter came back to clear the table.Turk ordered coffee.Liz worked up her courage and said: Can you show me a picture?Before they dim the lights no problem.what kind of picture? It's someone who probably chartered a plane for you, just a few months ago. Have you read my passenger list? No!I mean, it's not me you're going to report the passenger manifest to the provisional government, right? What's the matter, Liz? There are a lot of things I can't explain right now.Can you look at the photo first? He frowned.Show it to me. Lise put her purse on her lap and took out the envelope.But you said you also need my help? You first. She pushed the envelope across the tablecloth.He pulls out the photo.His expression didn't change.Finally he said: I guess this photo has a story? It was captured by surveillance cameras in the docklands late last year, and the images have been zoomed in and enhanced. You can also get the images downloaded by the surveillance cameras? can't but So you're getting these from another person.A friend in the consulate, Brian, or his best friend. I can't say too much. Can you at least tell me why you are so curious about him compared to the person in the photo, an old lady? You know I've always wanted to interview people who were related to my father.She is one of them.Ideally, I'd like to get in touch with her. Is there any particular reason?I mean, why this woman? Well I can't talk too much about it. I've come to the conclusion that everything points to Brian.What interest does he have in this woman? Brian works in Genetic Safety, I don't. Someone out there is doing you a favor though. Turk, I Needless to say, it's ok.Don't ask questions, don't talk about it, right?Apparently someone knew I had driven this guy.This means that someone other than you wants to find her. This is a reasonable inference.But I'm not asking you on behalf of anyone.What you say or don't say to anyone at the consulate is your business.What you say to me, I will not tell others. He looked at her as if weighing the words.Liz thought, why should he trust her?What had she done to make him trust her, besides sleeping with him on a great weekend? Yes, finally he said, I drove her. OK so can you tell me anything about her?Where is she and what does she say? He leaned back in his chair.His prediction turned out to be correct, and the lights in the dining room began to dim.Several waiters pushed back the glass wall separating the indoor dining room from the atrium.The sky is full of stars, and it looks extremely deep.The lights of the harbor washed out the sky a bit, but it was still cleaner than any time Lise had seen in California.Has the meteor shower started?She saw what looked like a flash of light at the highest point in the sky. Turk didn't even look over.I have to think about it. I'm not asking you to invade someone's privacy, just I know what you are asking.But I'd love to think about it, if I can.You don't think I'm unreasonable, do you? good.She can't push anymore.But you mentioned reciprocity at first? Just something I'm curious about, I thought you might have gotten wind of it from a source you didn't want to leak.Alonghi received a memo this morning from the interim government's air regulations department.I handed in a flight plan to the Far West, and if all goes well, I could be in the air by the time you get to me this afternoon.But they won't allow the flight.So I called around and tried to find out.It appears that no one is currently available to fly to Rub Al Khali. Why? They refused to speak. Is this flight ban temporary? I can't find an answer to this question either. Who gave the order?Which agency? No one in the Provisional Government would readily admit to anything.I got kicked out by a dozen departments, as were other pilots affected by this incident.I'm not saying there's anything bad about it, but it's kind of weird.Why turn the western half of the state into a no-fly zone?There are still regular flights back and forth between the oil field and this area, and there are only rocks and sand after passing there!Only hikers and backcountryers go there, the same people who charter my plane.I can't figure it out. Lisdo wished she could have a piece or two of real information to exchange, but this was the first time she had heard about the no-flying.Yes, she had acquaintances at the US consulate, chief among them her ex-husband.But the Americans are only consultants of the provisional government, and Brian is not even a diplomat, just a small employee of the Department of Genetic Safety. All I can do is ask people.she says. I'd appreciate it if you'd ask.all right.Are you done with business?At least for now it's done. For the time being.she said reluctantly. So how about we take the coffee outside to the atrium while we can still find a seat? ☆ Three months earlier, she had hired Turk to fly her over the Mohinder Mountains to a tubing area called Kubrick's Tomb.This is a purely business arrangement.She wanted to find an old colleague of her father's, a man named Duvali.But she failed to reach Kubrick's tomb in the end, because a strong wind forced the plane to land in an alpine pass.Turk landed the plane on an unnamed lake, and the clouds in the sky were like giant cannon smoke, churning north and south among the granite hills.He parked the plane on the shore of a lake covered with small boulders.Under a grove of mutant pine trees that looked like bulbs to Liz, they pitched an unusually comfortable camp.In this pass, the wind howled for three days, and the visibility was close to zero.As long as you get out of the canvas tent, you will get lost within a few meters.However, Turk's ability to move in the mountains is not bad, and he also has luggage for emergencies.Even canned food becomes delicious when one is at the mercy of nature and only has a camp stove and a hurricane lantern.Under other circumstances, this might have been a three-day endurance race, but Turk was unexpectedly easy to get along with.She hadn't meant to seduce him, and she believed he hadn't meant to seduce her.The attraction between the two was sudden, mutual, and entirely explainable. They tell each other stories and warm each other when the wind turns cold.At the time Liz thought she might hug Turk.Finlay hugged a blanket and left everyone else forever.If you asked her at that time: do you want to have further plans, not just a sudden tryst?She might say: Well, maybe. Back in Port Magellan, she did want to keep the relationship going, but the port city has a knack for destroying your best plans.Feather-light problems in tents in the Mohinder Mountains returned here to regain their usual mass and inertia.By that time her breakup with Brian was already a given, at least in her mind, although Brian would come up with the suggestion from time to time that we try and work together to save it.It's good to be careful, she thought, it's just too humiliating for both of them. What she told Bryant Turk, while it thwarted his attempts at reconciliation, brought a whole new kind of logic to her mind: She began to suspect that she was using Turk as a tool, an emotional crowbar, to keep Bryant from Ryan's attempt to reignite his love.She was apprehensive, and after meeting Turk several times, she decided to let the relationship fade.Better not make a complicated enough situation even more out of hand, she thought. Today, though, she has a divorce decree in the glove compartment of her car.Her future was a whole new page, and she was eager to write something on it. The crowd in the atrium is starting to react to the meteor shower.She looked up to see three white lines, hot and bright, drawing across the zenith.Meteors scatter in all directions from a point just above the horizon, almost due east.As she watched intently, more meteors appeared.Two clusters, three clusters, and then the spectacular five clusters. She thought of a summer in Idaho when she and her father had gone stargazing when she was less than ten years old.When her father was a child, before the time gyrations existed, he mentioned to her about the stars of the past, before hypothetical intelligent beings pushed the earth back in time billions of years ago.He missed the old constellations, the old names of those stars.There were meteors that night, dozens of them, the largest intercepted by the dialysis membrane that protects the Earth from the sun, and the smallest burned up in the atmosphere.She watched them fly across the sky with speed and light that took her breath away. as it is now.God's fireworks.Wow!She was a little insincere. Turk pulled his chair over to the table on her side so they both faced the sea.He didn't make any obvious moves, and she didn't think he would.Compared with this kind of thing, it must be easy to fly a plane over the mountain pass.She didn't make any movements, she was careful not to make any movements, but the distance was only a few centimeters, and she could feel his body temperature.She drank her coffee absently.Another burst of meteors appeared.She expressed her doubts: I don't know if there are meteors falling to the ground? It was just dust, Turk said, or astronomers called it, the remains of an ancient comet. But something new caught her attention.So what is that?She asked, pointing to a point higher on the eastern horizon, where the dark sky meets the dark sea.It seemed to Liz that something had fallen there.Not meteorites, but bright points of light, hanging in the air like flares, or so she imagined flares to look like.The reflected light paints the sea surface in various shades of orange.As far as she could remember, she had never seen anything like this when she lived in Equatoria.Is that part of it too? Turk stood up, as did several people in the atrium crowd.The chatter and laughter were replaced by a bewildered silence, and the phone calls and voices began to ebb and flow. No, Turk said, that wasn't part of it.