Chapter 14 Chapter Thirteen

The next morning, a helicopter flew low over Allergy South Village.While this may not be malicious (logging companies have been scouting the hills in recent months), it has unnerved the villagers.So Ibudian suggested that they go quickly.It is more dangerous to stay than to leave.she says. where are we going?Liz asked. To the other side of the mountain.Kubrick's tomb.Turk will drive us there, right, Turk? He looks like he's thinking.I may need a sledge, he said mysteriously, but I will carry you there. We're going to drive back to the city in the village car, which is less conspicuous.The car you drove was too eye-catching when you came here.I'll ask a villager to drive it onto the coast road and leave it there.Ebdian said.

Will I get my car back when this is all over? I dare not say. Oh, of course.Turk said. ☆ Liz knew that authorities had many ways to find out who they were looking for.The small size of the radio frequency tags can be installed on vehicles and even clothing.There are many more stealthy and elaborate devices available.Drive their cars to the Minangkabau villagers in the north, also taking their clothes and other things.Lise changed into a calico blouse and cotton trousers from the village shop, Turk a pair of jeans and a white shirt.They both showered in Ibdian's clinic.Pay special attention to your hair, Diane instructed them, there might be something hiding in it.

They became more paranoid and cleaned themselves up and down.Lise got into the rusty car that Diane had arranged for them.Turk got into the driver's seat, Liz sat next to him, strapped in, and waited for Diane to say goodbye to the dozen or so villagers who surrounded her. She is well-loved.Lise said. Every village on the north coast knew her.Year after year she traveled to and from the settlements, helping them, all of them migrant Malays, but also Tamils ​​and Minangkabau.They both kept places for her and were very protective of her.Turk said. Did they know she was a fourth year? certainly.And she's not the only fourth-year guy.Some of the elderly in these villages are older than you think.

The world is changing, Liz thought, and no amount of how sacred human chromosomes are can stop that change.She pictured herself trying to tell Brian this fact.No doubt he would deny or deny this fact.Brian believed that what Genetic Safety was doing was a good thing, but that confidence sometimes faltered and cracked.He's good at mending but the cracks keep popping up.The huge building is crumbling. Ibdianne.Dupree got into the car carefully and put on his worn seat belt.Turk drove slowly, and the people of the village crowded the narrow streets and followed the car for several meters.

They don't want me to go, said Diane, they're afraid I won't come back. ☆ Liz winced every time they passed a car.Turk pulled the cloth cap on his head down over his eyes.As soon as the car got on the flat road, he hummed happily to himself.Ibudian sat patiently, watching the world outside recede. Liz decided to break the silence.She turned to Diane and said, "Tell me about Avran.Duvaly thing. It will be easier for me if you tell me the parts you know. Well, he taught at American University, but he was secretive, and the other faculty members didn't like him very much.Less than a year before my father disappeared, he had left teaching without explaining why.Someone in the archives told me that he wrote to forward his last paycheck to a mailbox address at Kubrick's grave.According to my mother, in an emotionally difficult but rare way, Liz forced herself to talk about the past, when he came to my house a few times before he quit his job.There is no registered address for Kubrick's grave, and I searched for his name and there is no current address, nowhere.I was going to go to Kubrick's grave to see if the mailbox address was still in use, or if there was any record of who rented the mailbox.But that seems to be just speculation.

You're close, though you don't yet know what.No wonder the Department of Genetic Safety is interested in you. So Duvaly has something to do with this communicator pie? It doesn't matter.It was his, it was his creation. Diane said Duvali underwent his fourth year of therapy in New Delhi many years before immigrating to the New World.I met him shortly after he was hired to teach at the university.There are tens of thousands of fourth-years in the area around Port Magellan, not counting those who want to live out their extended lives in isolation.Some are more organized and some are less organized.We will not hold a convention, for obvious reasons.But sooner or later I know most of the known 4th year people and can tell which factions and subgroups there are.

Duvali has his own group? As far as I know, there are several people who think the same.She hesitated.We are called the fourth year because this therapy on Mars is equivalent to entering the fourth stage of life, the adulthood after adulthood.Fourth-year therapy only prolongs life by decades, but other aspects of mental or moral development are not necessarily mature.This can be confirmed from the perspective of therapy itself and the normative system formed.Avran.Duvale brought his obsession into his fourth year. What kind of obsession? Fascination with hypothetical intelligent beings.A fascination with the abstract power of the universe.Some people are very dissatisfied with their human nature.They want the feeling of being redeemed by something greater than themselves, of being recognized for their unique worth.They want to contact God.The paradox of the fourth year is that it acts like a magnet for this type of person.We try to control these people, but she shrugs, we don't have the laws and social norms of the Martians.

So he organizes the group according to an idea, the idea is to create a, a A communicator, a human interface with hypothetical intelligent beings.He takes this very seriously.He called up people who agreed with him from the fourth year group, and then did everything in his power to cut us off.Once the process begins, they can become very mysterious. Can't you stop him? We tried, of course.Duvali's plan is not the first attempt.In the past, the involvement of other fourth-years has been enough to suppress such efforts.Su Lian when necessary.Moai can teach people to stop, and her authority is unquestionable among most fourth-year people.However, Dr. Duvali is not affected by moral suasion, and waits until Su Lianne.When Moai arrived, he and his group were in hiding.Since then, we've only had very sporadic contact with them.Just because the number of times of contact is too small, and it is too late to know, it cannot be stopped.

You mean there is a child? Yes.His name, I hear, is Isaac.It should be twelve years old this year. My father disappeared twelve years ago.Do you think he will join the group? Won't.Based on your description of him and what I know of Duvali's recruiters, no.It's a pity, but he wasn't among them. So maybe he knew they were doing something dangerous, maybe they kidnapped him? We fourth-years refrain from violence.What you said is not impossible, but the probability of it happening is not high.I've never heard Duvaly do anything like this.If that happened to your father, it's more like the work of the Department of Genetic Safety.Even then, they had begun to suspect Duvali.

Why did the Department of Genetic Safety kidnap my father? Possibly to question him.Diane grimly shrugged if he resisted. Why should he resist? I have no idea.I have never met your father and cannot answer that question. How did they interrogate him first and then kill him? I have no idea. Turk said: Genetic Safety has an executive committee, Liz.They will write their own legal certificates, so they can do whatever they want.I'm almost sure it was they who took Thomas.Thomas was a fourth year, and fourth years are notoriously difficult to investigate.They are not very afraid of death, and they have a great tolerance for pain.To get a message out of a recalcitrant fourth-year population means putting him through a process that is often fatal in the end.

Did they kill Thomas? I guess, or move him to some secret prison and plan to kill him slowly. Could it be possible that Brian would have known about it, heard about it?A frightening image flashed in Lise's mind, the scene of the genetic security staff laughing at her in the consulate, laughing at her naive idea of ​​finding out the truth about her father.She walks on thin ice every step of the way, and has nothing to protect her except her own ignorance. But no, the Department of Genetic Safety might be able to do this, but Brian wouldn't.Although she wasn't happy in the marriage, she knew Brian all too well.He may be multifaceted, but he won't be a murderer. ☆ Ebdiane was wise enough to ask them to leave their cars and clothes behind, but as they moved out of the woods and into the industrial suburbs of Port Magellan, Turk found that they hadn't done enough.At dusk, the car passed the oil refinery, the sea was on the left, and the light from the oil refinery was like a mushroom. He said: Since I got on the main road, I have been seeing a few cars, as if deliberately keeping a certain distance from us.But that could also be my imagination. Then don't go straight to Alonghi.In fact we should get off the highway as soon as possible.Diane said. I didn't say I was followed.It's just something I noticed. We're going to think the worst.Take the next exit.Find a gas station or somewhere to stop without attracting suspicion. Here I have people I know, people I can trust if we ever need a place to spend the night. Thank you, Turk, but I don't think anyone else should be endangered.Besides, I doubt Liz would be in a hurry to get to know one of your ex-girlfriends. I didn't say anything about my girlfriend!Turk said, blushing. He pulled into a gas station attached to a retail store.The area around Port Magellan is home to refinery workers, and many prefabricated bungalows were hastily built during the boom, and have since become dilapidated.He parked the car under an umbrella tree, some distance from the tanker.The last rays of daylight had disappeared, and there was only the orange light of street lamps outside. If you need to drop your car, there is a bus stop a few streets down.We can take a bus to Rice Bay and walk to Alongi.But that would take midnight to get there.Turk said. Maybe that's for the best.Diane said. I really don't like losing another car though.Who pays for these transportation costs? Friends of friends and friends of friends.You don't have to worry about that.Don't take anything out of the car. Turk and Diane took off the license plates and threw them away.Lise asked for something to eat at the little store, and they hadn't stopped for a meal after breakfast. She bought cheese, biscuits and bottled water to eat on the bus.While checking out, she noticed on the counter a stack of disposable phones, the kind that come in case you lose your personal phone and are favored by drug dealers who don't want their identities to be known.She had seen news reports of such things.She grabbed one and checked out together.Then, she walked to the back of the shop with her bag in one hand and her mobile phone in the other. She dialed Brian's home number. He picked it up almost immediately.Hello? His voice stunned Lisi for a moment, and she wanted to press the phone, but then she said it anyway.Brian?I can't speak right now, but I want you to know I'm fine. Liz, please, tell me where you are. I can not.There is one thing though, and it's important.There was a man named Thomas.Jin En, entrust︱horse︱shi︱gold︱en.He was imprisoned a few days ago, most likely without a warrant or any legal record.It may have been taken away by the Department of Genetic Safety or someone who claimed to be the Department of Genetic Safety.can you look it upI mean, do you think it's right for people to be kidnapped?If you don't think this is right, is there any way to get this person released? Listen to me, Liz.listen.You don't know what you've gotten into.You are now with Turk.Finlay together, right?Did he tell you he was a prisoner?That's why he fled America, Liz.he She turned her head and saw Turk coming around the corner from the store, and it was too late to hide.She turned off the phone, but the gesture was useless.In the light, she could see the scowl on his face.Without saying a word, he took the mobile phone from her hand and threw it into the air. The phone flew over the lamppost, danced like a giant moth, and disappeared over the edge of the canyon. Liz, speechless in shock, turned to him.Turk grimaced.She had never seen him like this.He said: You don't know anything, do you?I have no idea what danger is here! Turk He wasn't listening, grabbing her by the wrist and pulling her toward the street.She struggled to free himself from his grip, but dropped the bag of cheese and biscuits on the floor. Damn, I'm not a kid! You fucking prove it!He said. ☆ It was not a pleasant ride on the bus. Liz was sullen, sitting far away from Turk, watching the night recede outside the window.She decided not to think about what Turk had done, or what she might have done wrong, or what Brian had said, at least until she calmed down.But when the anger disappeared, she only felt lonely.The last southbound bus was half full, and the other passengers were a few stern-faced men in khakis and blue shirts, probably shift workers who lived on the south coast to save money on rent in the city.The man in the seat behind her was muttering something in Iranian, perhaps to himself. Every once in a while, the bus will stop at the bus station built with concrete blocks and the storefront bus stop next to the highway. This is a world made up of lonely people and flickering lights.Then the city was left behind, and there was only the highway and the sea, which was dark beyond the sea level. Diane.Dupre walked down the aisle and sat down beside Lise. Turk thinks it's a risk that you have to be more careful about these things.said the old woman. He told you? I speculate. I am serious. Calling is not a good idea.Cell phones may be untraceable, but who knows what technology the police or the Department of Genetic Safety will use?Best not to speculate. I do mean it, insisted Lise again, but She couldn't find the right words.Suddenly she realizes how much of the life she's known is passing under the wheels of the bus. ☆ By the time the bus pulled up to a station near Alongi Airport, Turk had stopped gnashing his teeth and started looking a little embarrassed.He shot Liz an apologetic look from the side, but she ignored it. He said: There is still about one kilometer to Alongji, are you two ready to walk? Yes.Diane said.Liz just nodded. The road from the station is relatively remote and sparsely lit.As she walked, Lise heard the clack of her feet on the poorly paved side of the road, and the sound of the wind sweeping through the weedy, treeless clearing.There was a bug chirping in the tall grass in the distance, and if it hadn't been for the sad tone in the chirping, it really looked like a depressed man had painted the teeth of a comb with his nails, and she would have mistaken it for a cricket Voice. They came to the back door of Alonghi Airport, which was far from the main gate.The airport was fenced off, and Turk took a key out of his pocket, pushed open the iron mesh door, and said: After entering here, we'd better not attract attention.The airport is closed after ten o'clock, but there are maintenance crews on site, and there are guards on the new runway. Liz asked: Don't you have the right to be in here? Okay, but we'd better not draw too much attention to it. She followed Turk and Diane to an aluminum hangar, one of dozens in a row behind the airport terminal.The huge door was chained shut, and Turk said: I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted a crowbar.I need something to get this out of the way. Are you locked out of your own hangar? It's a bit ridiculous.He walked away, apparently looking for tools. Liz was sweating profusely, and her calf hurt from walking.She also had to go to the toilet and had no change of clothes. Forgive Turk, said Diane, it's not that he doesn't trust you, he's worried about you, he Are you going to be like this from now on?Making such a masterful statement?It's kind of annoying. Diane stared at her with wide eyes.Then, to Lisi's relief, she laughed.Liz said: I'm sorry, but Need not!no need to say sorry.You are absolutely right.This is the shortcoming of the old man, who can't help but make long speeches. I know what Turk is afraid of.Turk burned the bridge of his retreat.My bridge is still there, and I still have a way out to go back. Well, that's it.She smiles again.The master has spoken. ☆ Turk came back with a steel bar from the construction site.The latch was weaker than the padlock on which it hung, and it snapped open with a snap.He pushed open the two huge steel doors and turned on the lights in the room. His plane is in there, his twin-engine King.Lise remembered that it was the plane they had flown on their unsuccessful voyage over the mountains.That seemed like years ago. Liz and Diane went to the filthy staff bathroom while Turk was doing the flight check.Lise emerges from the back of the hangar to find Turk arguing violently with a man in uniform.The man is not tall, slightly bald on the top of his head, and has obvious displeasure on his face.I have to inform Mr. Alonji, he said, as you know, Turk. Give me a few minutes, that's all I ask.Is the wine I've invited you to drink these past few years not enough for my request? I'm just advising you that this kind of thing is not allowed. good.no problem.Fifteen minutes, and then you can notify whoever you like. I am now officially telling you.No one can convince me to accommodate you. No one would say such a thing. fifteen minutes.Just ten minutes. The guard turned and left. ☆ Turk said that any place in Equatoria used to be an airport as long as a landing runway could be opened.With a little four-seater prop plane, you can go places you couldn't go before, and no one has to worry about applying for a flight plan.But that has changed under relentless pressure from the interim government and the air travel consortium.It's only a matter of time before strong corporations and strong governments drive places like Alongi Airport underground.Even now, it's not legal to take off after hours like this when the airport is closed.Doing so might cost him his license, but he'd be driven out anyway.There is nothing to lose.He said there wasn't much to lose.He then turned the plane onto an empty runway and began taxiing before takeoff. Turk is doing what he does best, Liz thought.Put on your shoes and walk away.He believed in the redemptive power of the distant horizon.Her beliefs are different from his. The plane left the ground, the fuselage shaking like a kite, only the sound of the engine could be heard, and the huge bladed propeller carried them to the moonlit mountainous area.Ibdiane looked out the window and murmured: These things are much quieter now than they used to be, oh, so many years ago, many years ago. Lise saw the arc of the coast slanting to the right side of the fuselage, and the dark area of ​​Port Magellan in the distance became smaller.She waited patiently for Turk to say something, even an apology.But he didn't, just pointed with his finger suddenly, and Liz looked in the direction he pointed, just in time to see the white-hot light tail of a shooting star flashing over the mountain top and the pass, heading towards the empty western desert.