Chapter 17 Four photos of the Kyrio Rodger Delta

The time of violent frenzy is so elusive. There are days when time seems to break free from all shackles and run free.Beyond that cheap illusion of the sky, the sun continued to expand, some stars died, others were born, and a lifeless planet was infused with life and developed its own civilization.Their civilization is enough to compete with us, even surpass us.In our hometown on Earth, some people overthrew the government, replaced the government, and were later overthrown themselves; old religions, philosophies, and ideologies were gradually deformed and transformed, and alien trends of thought emerged.The orderly world of yesteryear collapsed, and new things grew out of the ruins of the old.We harvest the jerky love fruit and taste the sour taste.I always feel, Jasmine.Seagram falls in love with me because I'm readily available.so what?The summer has gradually faded away, but it is not yet known when the fruits will be harvested.

The New Nation Movement has been dead for a long time.Now it seems that the new country is indeed prescient, but it feels old-fashioned.Their rebellion against the traditional church cannot be called vigorous, but their spirit is lingering, converging into a newer and more fringe faith fanaticism.Fanatic sects dedicated to Dionysus blossomed everywhere in the west, unveiling the pious and hypocritical mask of the old new country.To put it bluntly, the New Kingdom is nothing more than a sanctimonious sex club adorned with sacred symbols.Instead of despising human jealousy, they embrace it and even indulge in it.Thus, neglected lovers prefer to shoot each other at close range with a 45-caliber pistol, as if a red rose bloomed on the dead body.A modern version of the Catastrophe that looks like it was an adaptation of an Elizabethan stage play in sixteenth-century England.

If Simon.Townsend, born a decade late, could have gone astray into the bloody faith of the films of Quentin Tarantino, the director known for his violent aesthetic.However, he was disillusioned by the failure of the New Nation movement.He longed for a simpler faith.Diane still calls me occasionally.Usually every month or so, when she had a whim and Simon wasn't home, she would call me.She would tell me how she was doing, or just gossip about the old days, as if trying to feel a little warmth from the ashes of old memories.Apparently, she doesn't get much warmth at home, although her financial situation has improved slightly.Simon currently works full-time as a maintenance worker at the Jordan Chapel, while Diane works part-time as the church secretary.There is their little independent church.Work was often intermittent, so she either stayed at home restlessly, or slipped to the nearby library to read, some books that Simon didn't like her to read.For example, contemporary fiction, news magazines.She said that the Jordan Chapel is an isolated church, and they encourage members not to watch TV, read books, newspapers, and other ephemeral cultural information.In addition, they risk less than complete trance rituals.

Actually, Diane had never been all that enthusiastic about those teachings.She never preached to me.However, she obeyed the Church and was careful not to question it.Sometimes, I get a little impatient.I asked her one night: Diane, do you really believe these things? What is it, Tyler? For example, no books are allowed in the house, or the hypothetical intelligent creature is the special messenger of the second coming of Christ.That's all. (I probably had too much beer that night.) Simon believed it. I'm not asking you whether Simon believes it or not. Simon is more religious than I am.I envy him for that.Throw the book in the trash can.I know this sort of thing sounds weird, like he's really rough and arrogant.But he really won't.It was an act of humility on his part, I mean it.It's like entrusting yourself to God.Simon can totally entrust himself to God, which I can't do.

Simon was lucky. He was indeed lucky.It's a pity you can't see him in person, he's very peaceful and serene.He found a certain peace in the cathedral.He was able to calmly face the whirlwind of time with a smiling attitude, because he knew that he had been saved by God. how about you?Have you been rescued? She didn't speak, and there was a long silence.I wish I could answer this question easily, I really hope.I keep thinking that maybe it doesn't matter if I believe or not, maybe Simon's faith is enough for the two of us to share.His beliefs were strong, strong enough to support me.He was really patient with me.The only thing we would argue about was whether or not to have children.Simon wants to have a baby.The church encourages everyone to have children.I can understand that, but we're so tight, and, you know, a world like this

No one is qualified to force you to make that kind of decision. I'm not saying he's pushing me.He just said: leave everything to God.Leave it to God and he will guide us in the right path. You shouldn't be stupid enough to believe that. Yeah?Oh Taylor, I wish I wasn't, I wish I wasn't what you said. ☆ On the other hand, Jasmine did not believe in such things at all.She'd say that's God's shit.Jasmine's life philosophy is that she wants to be a woman who is completely her own.Most of all, if our world is falling apart and no one lives past fifty, then, she said: I don't want to waste my time kneeling there praying.

She is tenacious by nature.Molly's parents run a farm.Someone is pumping the tar sands next door to their farm, and it's gradually polluting their farm.They spent a decade fighting the lawsuit, and they settled with each other out of court, selling their farm for a hefty sum of money.That sum of money is enough for the two of them to retire and take care of their lives and raise their daughter well.However, Jasmine said that that incident was really a long-term war of resistance, and the barrel of the gun was rusted. The outside world is gradually changing, but she seems indifferent.One night we saw the TV news reporting a riot in Stockholm, Sweden, where a large mob threw bricks at windows and set cars on fire.They ranged from cod fishermen to religious fanatics.Police helicopters sprayed glue on the crowd from the sky, and later, the entire Gamla.The old town of Sta was devastated, almost like Godzilla, who was suffering from tuberculosis, coughed up mucus all over the floor.I said stupidly, what terrible things those people do when they are afraid.Molly said: Come on, Taylor.Do you really sympathize with those bastards?

Molly, that's not what I said. So you're saying they can justifiably smash the Capitol because of the time spin?Why, just because they were afraid? Of course you can't use that as an excuse, but that's the motivation.They have no future, their fate is sealed. Doomed to what?Doomed?Oh, why do people all over the world seem to be the same?They will die, you will die, and I will die too. When is it not like this? Everyone will die sooner or later, but even if we die one day, there will be some comfort in our hearts, because we know that without us, human beings will continue to survive.

However, human beings will perish sooner or later.The difference is that death is no longer a distant, vague future.Maybe in a few years, all human beings around the world will die together, but even if that is the case, that is only a possibility.The inscrutability of hypothetical intelligent beings might allow us to live longer. Are you not afraid? Afraid!Why are you not afraid?I'm scared to death of all of this.However, you can't use this as an excuse to go around killing people.She waves at the TV, which shows someone throwing a grenade into the Swedish parliament.It's horribly stupid.How could they do such a thing.I think their hormones are too strong and they need to vent.Those people are no different from monkeys.

But you don't have to pretend you're not affected either. She laughed out loud, startling me.You're wrong, that's your style, not mine. Yeah? She looked down at me, then suddenly looked back into my eyes with a defiant expression on her face.You have always pretended to be calm, as if there is nothing to be afraid of time reversal.Similarly, you also put on a calm look to the Lawton family.They're using you, they don't take you seriously, and you're smiling like you should be.She stared at me to see how I would react.I didn't say a word, I just didn't want her to succeed.Later she said: "I just thought, there must be a better way to live until the end of the world."

However, she refused to say what the better way was. ☆ Every employee of the foundation signed a non-disclosure agreement when they were hired.Everyone has been screened and vetted by the Ministry of Homeland Security.We're all low-key, and we respect the need for secrecy not to leak conversations at the top.A leak of secrets could alarm committees in Congress, embarrass high-level friends in government, and scare away funding. However, now that there is a Martian living in the park, it is difficult to cover the fire with paper.Most of the entire northern area has been adjusted to a temporary protection area, allowing Wano Wen and his guardians to move about. In any case, this secret can no longer be hidden.When Van Noven first arrived in Florida, the high-level officials in Washington and several foreign heads of state had already heard the news.The State Council also issued a special residence permit to Wan Nuowen, and plans to introduce Wan Nuowen to the world when the time is right.His guardians have begun training him for the hungry media frenzy.That day will come sooner or later. The matter of Vanovan's visit to Earth could and should have been handled differently.He might have been received by the United Nations and made public immediately.The Gulen government has hidden him, and it will inevitably bear criticism from the outside world.The Christian Conservative Party has already insinuated that there are more truths hidden behind the government's announcement of the results of the terraforming of Mars.Their purpose is to drag President Gülen into the water and drag out his possible successor, Romes, to repair it together.There is no escape from the artillery attack, but Wan Nuowen has made it clear that he does not want to become a tool for election campaigning.He said that he also hopes that he can face the whole world, but he will not show up until after November. The fact that Wan Nuowen came to the earth itself is surrounded by too many unsolvable mysteries. His existence is just a more suspicious secret.There are more secrets.That summer, there was an eerie atmosphere in the Foundation. In August, Jason called me to the North Side.We meet in his office.I'm talking about his actual office, not the lavishly furnished room reserved for visitors and the media.His real office is a small windowless room with only a desk and sofa.He sat in a chair with stacks of scientific journals on either side.Wearing jeans and a greasy sweatshirt, he looked like a hydroponic vegetable grown in a dump.He is sweating.For Young-jae, this does not bode well. He said: "I can't move my legs again. I cleared the sofa, made an empty seat and sat down, ready to listen to his explanation of the situation. In the past few weeks, my illness has occurred several times, but it is not very serious.Usually it's the pins and needles in the morning, however, I can still do things.However, that feeling has not subsided, in fact, more and more serious.I'm wondering if I need to change the medicine. Maybe, but I really don't like the way the drugs are doing to him.Currently, Jason consumes an entire handful of pills a day.Primary agents include myelin boosters, which slow down damage to nerve tissue, and neurostimulators, which help the brain reconnect damaged areas.In addition, secondary medicines are used to treat side effects caused by main medicines.Can his dose be increased?May be.However, with his current dose, the toxicity of the drug has almost reached its maximum limit.He had lost weight and, more importantly, his emotional balance was a little off.Jason talks faster and laughs more than ever.In the past, his hands and feet were very flexible and his movements were agile, but now, his movements look like a puppet.Sometimes he reached for the glass, stretched it too far, then wobbled back to realign the glass. I said: No matter what, we must first listen to Dr. Mustang's opinion. Absolutely impossible.I couldn't leave for so long, so I ran all the way to see him.As you have noticed, things are different now.Can't we make a phone call? May be.I'll ask him to have a look. There is one more thing.can you do me a favor What's the matter, Xiaojie? Tell Wan Nuowen about my condition, and pick out some relevant medical textbooks for him. Medical textbooks?Why?Is he a doctor? That's not true, but he brought a lot of materials from Mars.Martians are more advanced in biological science than we are.When he said this, the smile on his face was a bit weird, and I couldn't figure out what he meant.He said he might be able to help. Are you kidding me? I mean serious.Stop making a fuss.Can you go talk to him? That man came from Mars, and Martians have been around for a hundred thousand years.I said: Well, it is my honor to have a chat with him, but In that case, let me arrange it. However, if the medical knowledge he brings is really effective in the treatment of atypical multiple sclerosis, he must find a doctor who is more knowledgeable than me and talk to him. Van Novin brought a whole set of encyclopedias.Someone is already studying those Martian databases, at least part of it should be.They want to find out some useful information, medical, and other aspects.You go to him, just to give him a little sideshow. Does he still have extra time for sideshows? In fact, his life is more boring than you think.He needs friends.If there is someone to accompany him and not treat him as a savior or an enemy, I think he should be very happy.But for now, you'd better ask Mustang first. of course. Also, use your home phone to call, okay?I'm completely afraid to use the phone in the Foundation. He laughed, as if the incident were ridiculous. ☆ That summer, I occasionally walked from home to the beach for a walk.The beach is just across the road. The beach looks inconspicuous, with a long promontory protruding into the sea next to it, forming a protection that protects the beach from erosion, but for surfers, this place is useless for heroes.It was a hot afternoon, and there was an old motel behind the beach. The glass windows reflected the sunlight, like piercing eyes, scanning the beach.A few tourists walked quietly on the waves. Near the beach was a shallow grassy area covered with a wooden walkway, hot from the sun.I walked down and sat on the trail, watching the clouds gradually gather on the eastern horizon, and suddenly thought of what Jasmine said.She said, I have always acted indifferent, as if the time round didn't bother me at all, and the Rawdon family didn't affect me.She said that my superficial calm is all pretended, because how could I be so calm. I'm willing to admit that Molly is right, maybe that's how I am in her eyes. The word time gyration sounds a bit silly, but you have to admit that it is the most correct word to describe the current situation on Earth.It's a bit silly to say it's not literally true.In fact, the entire universe and the earth are not rotating more violently or faster than before.However, the word is a very apt metaphor.In fact, Earth has never been so stable.However, don't you feel that the earth has rotated to the point that it is almost out of control?All your senses throughout your body will tell you, yes.If you don't hold on to something, you'll be sucked into a void of insensibility. Perhaps that's why I clung to the Lawtons.I was holding onto not just Jason and Diane, but their whole world, the big house and the small house, and the innocent childhood years that were gone.Perhaps, these are the only things I can hold on to.Maybe, that's not necessarily a bad thing.If what Molly is saying is right, then we all must hold on to something, or we will be lost.Diane clings to faith, Jason clings to science. And I was holding onto Jason and Diane. The clouds in the sky started to swarm towards the beach and I left in a hurry.There is always a storm in the afternoon in late August, and here it is again.The eastern sky began to thunder and flash, and the rain fell in torrents, beating on the dim balconies of the motel.When I got home, I was soaking wet.The air is very humid and it may take hours for the clothes to dry.When it was almost dark, the storm stopped.After the wind and rain, there was a silence, the air was filled with steaming moisture, and there was an unpleasant smell. After dinner in the evening, Jasmine came.We downloaded a recent movie to watch together.It was another high-society drama in Victorian England, and Molly liked to watch it very much.When the movie was over, I ran to the guest room and called Dr. Mustang while she was in the kitchen getting drinks.Mustang said he would like to see Jay if he could.He thought it would be okay to increase the dosage a little bit, but Xiaojie and I must pay special attention to see if there are any adverse reactions. I hung up the phone and walked out of the room to see Molly standing in the living room with a glass of drink in one hand and a confused look on her face.Where did you go? Just went to make a phone call. Is there something urgent? Nothing. Tracking a patient's condition? I said: almost. ☆ A few days later, under Xiaojie's arrangement, I went to Van Novin's reserve and met him privately. This Mars ambassador has his own taste.He chose some furniture from the catalog and furnished the room he lived in.The furniture is all rattan, very light and relatively small.A cloth blanket was spread over the linoleum floor, and a computer sat on a rough pine desk, along with several shelves of books that seemed to match the desk.Apparently our Martian furnished the room like a newlywed college student. I brought all the professional medical materials Wan Nuowen wanted to him.These include a book on the etiology of multiple sclerosis, a book on its treatment, and an anthology published by the Journal of the American Medical Association for non-MS.Non-MS is short for atypical multiple sclerosis.According to current medical opinion, non-MS is not really MS at all, but a very different disease.Non-MS is caused by a genetic disorder. Symptoms are very similar to multiple sclerosis, and the myelin sheath that protects human nerve tissue will have a similar degeneration phenomenon.What makes non-MS easier to identify is the severity of symptoms, rapid progression, and resistance to standard treatments.Wan Nuowen said that he is not familiar with this disease, but he can find some information from the database. I thanked him, but I also clearly questioned it.He is not a doctor, and the physical structure of Martians is obviously unusual. Even if a suitable treatment method is found, will it be effective on Jason? We Martian physiology is not as different as you might think.After I came to the earth, the first thing your people did was to analyze the sequence structure of my genome.As a result, my genome sequence is exactly the same as yours. Please bear with me if I'm being rude, I didn't mean to. I don't think you're being rude.We were separated by 100,000 years, which is a long time, from a biologist's point of view, long enough to form a new species.Even so, you and we can intermarry if given the chance.The more obvious difference is that our epidermal tissue can adapt to a colder and drier environment. He speaks with a sense of authority, which is really out of proportion to his figure.He speaks in a higher pitch than the average adult, but he definitely doesn't speak like a child.He spoke in a cadence, almost feminine, but statesmanlike. I said: Even so, if we treat Jason privately without the approval of the Food and Drug Administration, we may encounter some legal problems. I believe Jason will be willing to wait for the official approval, but unfortunately his illness may not be so patient.Speaking of this, Wan Nuowen raised his hand, meaning that I don't have to object any more.Let's discuss it after I finish reading the materials you brought. When the business was over, he asked me if I could stay and chat with him.I feel a little flattered.Although he looks a little strange, but he seems to exude a leisurely temperament, which will make people feel very comfortable.He sat back on the rattan chair.The chair seemed too big, and he sat with his feet dangling in the air.He sat there listening to my brief account of my life, obviously enjoying it.He asked a lot of questions about Diane.He said Jason rarely talked to him about his family.In addition, he also asked a lot about things in medical school.For him, dissecting a dead body was a novel concept.As I carefully described the dissection, he cringed a little, as most people would. Later, I asked him to talk about his life.He reached out and took the small gray leather bag that he always carried with him, and took out a few printed pictures from it.It was a photo he had brought with him from Mars, printed out from a digital file.Four photos of Mars. You only have four? He shrugged.No amount of photos can replace my memory.Of course, there are many more pictures in the encyclopedia's database.These are my personal ones, would you like to see them? Of course I want to. He showed me the photo. The first photo is of a house.It is obvious that it is a human residence, but the architectural style is a bit weird, with both modern technology and retro flavor.The house was round and low, like a ceramic model of a prairie hut.The sky behind was a clear, bright turquoise, or at least that's what the printers printed.The ground plane extending to the sky looks a little strangely close, but it is as flat as a geometric plane, cut into pieces of slanted rectangular farmland green space.I can't tell what crop is growing on it, it looks plump, not like wheat or corn.It grows tall and doesn't look like lettuce or kale.In the foreground are two adult Martians, a man and a woman, with serious expressions but a slightly comical look.The whole photo looks very much like a Martian version of a famous American Gothic painting. The only difference is that the old rural couple in the photo lacks a pitchfork in their hands, and the famous painter Grant is missing from the picture.Wood's signature. Wan Nuowen said casually: My parents. In the second photo, he said: When I was young. This one will shock you.Van Novin explained that the amazing wrinkles on the Martian skin did not begin to develop until puberty.In the photo, Wan Nuowen has smooth skin on his face and a bright smile.In Earth time, he was about seven years old.Many Martian traits can be seen from his face, such as: blond hair, brown skin, narrow nose, and wide lips.All that aside, he looks a lot like an Earth kid.The landscape behind him looks like some kind of wacky theme park at first glance, but Vanovan says it's a Martian city, a mall.There are food stalls and shops inside. The high-rise buildings are the same as the farm houses in the previous photo. They are all made of ceramics, and the main colors are still the same. They all look the same gaudy.The street behind him was crowded with flickering mechanisms.Only a small patch of sky can be seen in the photo, sandwiched between two tall buildings.Still, some sort of craft could be seen flying across that patch of sky, its turning propellers forming a vague gray oval. I said: You look very happy. That city is called Hoj Faoud.That day, we went from the country to the city to buy things.Since it was spring then, my parents let me buy a mokuz.It was a small animal, a bit like a frog, kept as a pet.It's in the bag I was carrying, did you see it? Wan Nuowen was holding a white cloth bag, and there seemed to be something bulging inside.mokuz. He said: "Mokuzi only live for a few weeks, but their eggs taste great. The third photo is a large panorama.Near the front was another Martian house, with a woman in a gown of mixed colors.Van Noven said that was his wife.There were also two pretty smooth-skinned little girls in amber clothes that looked like sacks.That is his daughter.That photo was taken from a high place, and the whole semi-rural landscape behind the house can be seen.The green wetland stretches as far as the eye can see, connecting to the turquoise sky.The raised road separates the farmland into pieces. There are several square cars running on the road. Among the clumps of crops in the field are several farming machines, elegant black harvesters.The road stretches out into the distance, converging on the horizon.Near the horizon stands a city.That city was Hoj Faoud, the place where he had bought Mokuz as a boy, and the capital of the province of Kirio Roja.Intricately stepped low-gravity buildings stand tall. From this photo, you can see most of the Kyrio Roche delta.The river looked like a blue ribbon and meandered into the lake, which reflected the clear blue of the sky.Van Noven said that a crater was formed by the impact of meteorites in ancient times, and the edge of the crater was eroded by wind and rain to form a highland, and the city of Hojfaud was built on that highland.To me, though, that plateau is just a long stretch of knolls.There are some black spots on the far lake, which may be boats or large yachts. I said: what a beautiful place. Yes. The scenery is beautiful, and your wife and children are also beautiful. Yes.He looks into my eyes.They are no longer there. Oh what a pity. A few years ago, they were drowned in a great flood.Have you seen the last photo?It was taken from the same location, but after the flood. Towards the end of the long dry season of the year, a strange storm came, and the slopes of the Lonely Mountains dropped the most astonishing amount of rain ever recorded.Most of the rainwater collects in the dry tributaries of the Kyrio Roche River.The terraformed Mars can only be regarded as a young world, and the cycle of mountains, rivers, water and soil is still developing.The water cycle in the atmosphere reassembles ancient dust and regolith, causing the surface landscape to evolve rapidly.The sudden downpour turned the soil into a slurry of oxidized red clay, which rolled down the Kilio Roche River, pouring into the agricultural delta like a flooded train. The fourth photo is the scene after the flood.Only a foundation and a wall remained of Wanowen's house, like fragments of pottery, standing alone in a mess mixed with mud and stones.The cities on the distant mountains were not affected, but the fertile farmlands were all submerged.In addition to the yellow and turbid lake still shimmering, such a scene looks as if Mars has returned to its original appearance, returning to a lifeless topsoil layer.Several planes circled overhead, presumably searching for survivors. That whole day, I was on the knoll at the foot of the mountain with some friends, and when I got home, it was all over.Not only my family, but many people died too.So, I keep these few photos just to remind myself where I came from and why I can't go back. That pain must have been hard. I finally made it through.Always try to survive.By the time I leave Mars, the delta has been rebuilt.Of course, there is no way to completely restore the old view, but the delta is still very fertile, vibrant and rich in products. Having said that, he seems to not want to talk about these things anymore. I look back at the previous photos and remind myself of what they represent.This isn't some fancy-looking computer-generated imagery.These are some ordinary photos, photos of another world, photos of Mars.For a long time, Mars has been just a bunch of whimsical imaginations in our minds.It's not like Edgar at all.Burrows' "Martian Princess" is even less like "War of the Worlds" written by Wells, but it has a taste of Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicle". Wan Nuowen's brows were already full of wrinkles, but now they seemed to be more deeply wrinkled.Sorry, I don't quite understand what you're saying. I just talked about a few writers, fiction writers.They have written about your planet. Long, long ago, before Mars was terraformed, a few writers imagined a living Mars.When I talked about these things, Van Novin obviously listened with gusto.Is there any way you can bring these books to show me?Next time you come we can have a good chat, okay? That was my real pleasure.However, do you have time to watch it?There must be a large group of heads of state waiting to meet and talk with you right now. should be.However, they can take their time. I told him I was looking forward to seeing him again. On the drive home, I stopped by a used bookstore to search.The next morning, I carried a load of science fiction to Van Novin.Although it was not given to him, at least the silent guards at the door of his room got it.There's Welles' "War of the Worlds," Blossom's "Princess of Mars," Bradbury's "The Martian Chronicles," Heinlein's "A Stranger in a Strange Land," and Kim.Stanley.Robinson's "Red Mars". I didn't hear from him again for several weeks. ☆ New construction work in the perihelion park continues.By the end of September, they had built a huge concrete foundation on which a massive structure of steel beams and aluminum tubes had been erected.The place was originally a forest of scrub pine and broken Balmer palms. That night, Jasmine and I went to the Champs Restaurant for dinner again.Most of the guests were glued to the giant plasma TV, watching a Major League Baseball Marlins game.We tucked away in a far dark corner, enjoying appetizers.Molly told me she had heard that the military-grade lab and freezer would be coming in next week.Xiaotai, why do we need experimental equipment?The research of the perihelion foundation is all about space and time gyrations.I really don't understand. I don't know either.Nobody ever talked to me about it. Maybe when you go to the North Side some afternoon, you can ask Jason. I had told her earlier that I was only going to help Jason with a medical consultation, and I was not qualified to meet the Mars ambassador at all.My security level isn't that high yet.So did Jasmine, of course. You know what, I'm starting to feel like you don't trust me. Xiaomo, let's play according to their rules of the game. She said: Yes, I will learn from you to be a saint. ☆ One day, without warning, Jason popped up at my place to talk to me about his medical problems.Fortunately, Jasmine was not there that night.I told him Dr. Mustang said it shouldn't matter to increase the dose, but we must pay close attention to his body's reaction.His condition is not stable, and we can only suppress his symptoms to a limited extent.It's not that he has been sentenced to death, but sooner or later he will have to face another situation, that is, the symptoms can no longer be suppressed, and he must learn to adapt to his illness.In addition, there is a last level that we avoid talking about, that is, the body is completely disabled, and it falls into dementia. I understand this.Jason said.He crossed his long legs and sat on a chair by the window, occasionally staring blankly at his own reflection in the glass.I just need a few more months. How many months? It will take a few more months to cut off Edward.Lawton's feet made him unable to walk.I stared at him dumbfounded, thinking he was joking, but he didn't smile.Can't you understand?Need I explain? If you don't want me to sound like an idiot, I'd better explain it. Regarding the future of the Foundation, Edward and I have completely different views.What Edward cares about is to support the aerospace industry through the existence of the Foundation.That's his bottom line, and it's always been.He never believed we had a way of dealing with time gyrations.Speaking of which, Jason shrugged.We really can't eliminate time gyrations, and from this perspective, we have to admit that he's almost right.However, that doesn't mean we can't figure out the details of time gyrations.In regular warfare, we can't compete with imaginary intelligent creatures, but we can develop a little guerrilla warfare science.That is the main purpose of Van Novin's coming to Earth. I do not understand. Van Novin wasn't just here to act as an interstellar goodwill diplomatic envoy.He came to earth with a plan.He hopes that the earth can cooperate with Mars to carry out an adventure plan together.這項計畫也許能夠找出和假想智慧生物有關的一些線索，例如：他們是從哪裡來的？他們有什麼目的？他們想從地球和火星身上得到什麼？對於他的提議，我們這邊有贊成反對兩派意見。艾德華打算阻攔這項計畫，因為他認為這項計畫不但毫無用處，而且會帶來風險，導致我們失去殘餘的政治資本。自從火星改造完成之後，我們的政治資本就已經所剩無幾了。 所以你要暗中扯艾德華的後腿？ 傑森嘆了口氣。聽起來也許很殘忍。艾德華曾經有過輝煌的時代，可是，他就是看不到，他的時代已經過去了。二十年前，這個世界需要的正是我爸爸這種人。這方面，我很佩服他。他達到了驚人的成就，不可思議的成就。如果沒有艾德華在那些政客耳邊煽風點火，根本不可能會有後來的近日點基金會。時間迴旋最諷刺的地方是，艾德華的天才雖然發揮了巨大的影響，但最後的結果卻是聰明反被聰明誤。如果沒有艾德華這個人，就不會有後來的萬諾文。你不要以為我在搞什麼俄狄浦斯的戀母弒父情結。我知道我父親是什麼樣的人，知道他做了什麼事。在權力遊戲的角鬥場上，他是一流高手。他可以和葛蘭總統在高爾夫球場上稱兄道弟。但反過來，他也是個囚犯，被自己的短淺目光囚禁了。他不喜歡萬諾文的計畫，因為他不信任科技。任何東西，只要不是他能夠玩弄於股掌之間的，他都不喜歡。他不肯面對現實，不肯承認火星人運用科技的能力。在那個科技領域裡，他們已經達到爐火純青的境界，而我們才剛起步。而且，他痛恨我站在萬諾文那一邊。除了我，或許還可以再加上華府那邊新一代的政治玩家，包括那個想當下一任總統的普雷斯頓．羅麥思。突然間，艾德華被一群他無法操控的人包圍了。那是一群年輕人，他們想馴服時間迴旋，而那正是艾德華那一代的人辦不到的。像我們這樣的人，小泰。 被視為我們的一份子，還真有點飄飄然，不過，也有點緊張。 我說：你一直在忍氣吞聲，是不是？ 他眼睛炯炯有神地盯著我。打從我生下來那天開始，我做的一切，就是艾德華教的。他想要的從來就不是兒子，而是繼承人，是徒弟。泰勒，早在時間迴旋出現之前，他就是這種心態了。他很清楚我聰明到什麼程度，知道要怎麼利用我的聰明才智，而我也順了他的心。甚至到後來我長得夠大了，知道他心裡在想什麼了，我還是乖乖聽話。所以，這就是我，艾德華．羅頓的產品，帥氣，精明，不男不女，大眾眼前的媒體寵兒。我是一個可以用來推銷的商標，一種智慧的象徵，而且絕對忠誠，和基金會同進退。可是，假設我和他之間是一種合約關係，那麼，合約裡總是會有附加條款。也許艾德華不想面對這個事實。繼承這個字眼意味著取代，意思是，等時候到了，我的判斷力就會超越他。好了，現在時候到了。眼前這個機會太珍貴了，絕對不能搞砸。 我注意到，他雙手握拳，握得緊緊的，腿在發抖。那是因為他太激動了，還是症狀發作了？I am also not certain.如果是症狀發作，那麼，他剛剛的長篇大論，有多少是真的？有多少是因為吃了我開給他的神經興奮劑，藥效發作胡言亂語？ 傑森說：你好像很害怕。 你剛剛講的火星人科技到底是什麼？ He smiled.那真的很高明，半生物科技，非常精密。基本上是一種分子自動催化回饋循環，在繁殖過程中外掛附加程序。 小傑，幫個忙，講白話文好不好？ 微形人造複製體。 生物嗎？ 從某方面來看，是的，是生物。我們可以把那種人造生物射上太空去。 小傑，用來做什麼？ 他笑得更開心了。他說：它們會吃冰，然後排出資訊。