Chapter 18 Part V AD 4000000000

The asphalt on the flat land was exposed to the sun and rain, and turned into lumps of rough and sticky things.I ran several meters across the clearing, ran to the dike at the side of the road, and slid under the dike.As it slid down, the suitcase rattled slightly.The hard-shell suitcase was stuffed with rudimentary clothing, my manuscripts, digital files, and Martian medicine.After sliding down, I was standing in a big gutter with water up to my ass.The water in the ditch is green, like a papaya leaf, warm, as if the whole person is shrouded in a tropical night.The surface of the water reflected the holy moonlight, but it also gave off the stench of manure.

I put my suitcase on a dry platform halfway up the embankment, then struggled out of the ditch and lay down behind the edge.Here, you won’t be seen by anyone, and you can peek into the road, see the boxy concrete building of the Ibuina Clinic, and see the black car parked at the clinic’s entrance. The people in the car had broken into the clinic through the back door.They walked from the back to the front, turning on the lights as they went.Roller blinds covered the window, and from the outside it looked like bright yellow squares.I couldn't see what they were doing in there, but I could probably guess that they must be rummaging through it.I tried to pull myself together and tried to count how long they had been in there, but I couldn't seem to count, and I couldn't even make out the numbers on the watch.The numbers shone like dancing fireflies and just wouldn't stop for me to see clearly.

One of them came out the front door, got in the car and started the engine.Not long after, another one came out and got into the seat on the right.The dark car came onto the road, coming my way, its headlights sweeping across the curb.I quickly lowered my head and lay flat, motionless, listening to the sound of the car's engine fading away. After they left, I began to wonder what to do next.This was a nerve-wracking problem, because I was already tired, and suddenly I felt exhausted, and my whole body went limp, and I couldn't even stand up.I wanted to walk back to the clinic, find a phone, call Ina, and warn her that two people were driving to the clinic.However, on second thought, maybe Ian will warn her.I hope Ian has gone, because I'm afraid I won't be able to walk to the clinic anymore.Now, apart from shaking, I can't move my legs.It felt more than tired, as if my legs had gone numb.

I looked over to the clinic again and saw smoke coming from the vents in the roof and a yellow fire glowing behind the window shutters.The clinic caught fire. Those two driving guys set fire to Ibina's clinic and I couldn't do anything.I can only close my eyes and pray secretly, hoping that when others find me, I will still be alive. ☆ I smelled smoke, heard someone crying, and woke up without knowing it. It wasn't daylight yet, but I found I could move.Although it was strenuous and painful, at least I could barely move.The head seems to be more awake.I struggled to climb up the slope, slowly climbing bit by bit.

There is a large open space between my place and the clinic, which is full of people and cars.The light of the headlights and flashlights flashed across the night sky in circular arcs.The clinic has been reduced to a smoking ruin, the concrete walls are still there, but the roof has collapsed and the entire building is burned to pieces.I braced myself to stand up and walked towards the cry. It was Ibina who was crying.She was sitting on a large patch of asphalt with her arms around her knees, surrounded by a group of women.As I got closer and closer, the women looked at me suspiciously and maliciously.Ina jumped up when she saw me, and wiped her eyes with her sleeve.Taylor.Dupre!She yelled and rushed over.I thought you were burned to death!I thought they burned you with the clinic!

She grabs me, hugs me tight, holds me up.My legs started to go limp again.Clinic.I said weakly, your whole life's painstaking efforts.Ina, I'm so sorry That's okay.She said that the clinic is just a building, and medical equipment can be bought new.But you are you, unique.Ian told me that when the two men who started the fire came, you tried every means to persuade him to leave.Tyler, you saved his life!Suddenly, she backed away.Taylor?How are you? It doesn't seem so good.I looked at the sky behind Ina.It was almost dawn, and the old sun was about to rise.The sky was a deep blue, framing the silhouette of Mount Mepila in the distance.I said: I'm just tired.As I said that, my eyelids became heavier and heavier, I couldn't open them, my legs became weak, and I couldn't hold it anymore.In a trance, I heard Yi Na shouting for help, and then I fell asleep.Just get some more sleep.Someone told me later that I slept in this sleep for several days.

☆ I can't stay in the village any longer.The reason is obvious. Yi Na wanted to continue to take care of me and accompany me through the dangerous period when the drug took effect. Moreover, she believed that the whole village owed me a favor and should protect me. After all, I saved Ian's life.Or should I say, she believed that I saved Ian.Ian is not only her niece, but also has more or less kinship with almost everyone in the entire village.In their eyes, I became a hero.However, in the eyes of those villains, I am also the number one target.If it weren't for Yi Na's strong protection, I suspect that the village chief would have sent me to the first bus and thrown me to Padang.There is hell.So, under Ina's arrangement, I took my luggage and lived in an empty house in the village.The owner had immigrated overseas a few months ago.While I was there, it was time to plan my next move.

The Minangkabau people in West Sumatra know how to dodge under the oppression of their rulers.Looking back at history, they have survived wave after wave of oppression.For example, the Muslim invasion in the 16th century, the Bidari War in the 1830s, the Dutch colonization, Suharto’s new order regime, the restoration of the village system, the post-time cycle period, and the new Agni Moxi regime’s disregard for human life National policy.When she was still living in the clinic, Yi Na told me many stories of blood and tears of her people.Later, I lived in that empty wooden house, and there was a big fan on the ceiling of the small room.Sometimes, I lay there, watching the huge blades of the fan rotate slowly, asking Yi Na to help me wash my body, and listening to her tell a lot of stories about her tribe.She said that the strength of the Minangkabau people comes from their ability to adapt to whatever happens and a deep understanding.They know that the outside world is different from home, and that the outside world will never be their home.She told me a Minangkabau proverb: When you go to someone else’s field, you have to learn to be a different kind of grasshopper; when you go into someone else’s pond, you have to become a different kind of fish.Overseas living is their traditional custom, a bit like short-term immigration, sending young people to the outside world, and when they come back, they will become richer and wiser.This tradition makes the Minangkabau people a sophisticated and sophisticated nation.Minangkabau people's houses are made of wood with a simple shape. The two sides of the curved roof are turned up like a pair of buffalo horns, and antennas for receiving aerostat signals are installed on them.Ina said most of the families in the village have family members overseas, such as Australia, Europe, Canada and the United States.They often receive letters and emails from overseas.

Therefore, it is no wonder that Minangkabau people can be seen at all levels of work on the wharf in Padang.Ina's ex-husband, Jala, is not the only Minangkabauan involved in the import-export trade.There are also many people who hang the signs of import and export trade, arrange expedition fleets to emigrate to the New World, go to the Arch, and from there to farther places.Why did Diane find Jara when she was exploring the road, then meet Ibina, and finally came to this highland village?All this is no coincidence.Ina said: Jara is a person who is very good at making money, and may use despicable means when necessary.However, he is not without conscience.Diane would find Jarrah, if not luck, or she was a good reader.I think she should be very good at seeing people.Most importantly, fortunately, Jiala didn't have the slightest affection for Xinraguo Moxi's group.

She also whispered to me that she was divorcing Jarrah because he had a bad habit of picking up some notorious women around town.He spends almost all of his money on women, and on two occasions he returned home with a nasty venereal infection.Fortunately, it is treatable.Ina said he was not a good husband, but he was not a bad man.Unless he was arrested and tortured, he would not betray Diane to the government gang, and he was too smart to catch him that easily. But burn those people in your clinic They must have followed Diane to the hotel where you were staying in Padang, and then asked the driver where he was taking you.

But why did they set fire to your clinic? I don't know, maybe I want to scare you and force you to a place where it is easier to attack, and it is also to warn others not to help you. If they've been to the clinic, it means they already know who you are. They did not dare openly come to the village and shoot.The government here has not been arrogant to that extent.I think they're going to sit there on the pier waiting for us to fall into our trap. Even so, in case you have been blacklisted by them, in case you want to open another clinic I don't want to run a clinic anymore. forget about it? Yes.Because of you, I'm beginning to think that immigrating to the New World might be a good choice for a doctor.If you are not afraid of someone stealing business from you. I do not understand. I mean, there's an easy way to fix everything once and for all.I have been thinking about it for a long time.Everyone in our village has more or less thought about it, and even many people have already left.Our town is not prosperous, not as good as Berubus or Badusankar.The land here is not fertile enough, and the population has been losing. Every year, some people move to the city or other small towns, or even immigrate to the New World.Isn't that good too?The new world is huge. Do you want to immigrate too? Me, Jara, my sister, my nieces, nieces, and cousins, there were more than thirty people in all.Jara has a lot of illegitimate children here, and they'll be happy to take over his business once he emigrates to the New World.So come on, do you understand?She smiled at me.You don't have to thank me.Don't think of us as benefactors, we are just your traveling companions. I asked her several times if Diane was in any danger.Ina says she's safe as long as Jara is around.Jarrah had installed her in a dwelling above customs house, where she was quite comfortable and safe from detection.She can live there until everything is settled.The more troublesome thing is how to get you to the dock without being discovered.The police suspect that you are currently hiding in high ground, and they will definitely send people on the road to check for foreigners, especially those who are sick.The driver who brought you must have told them that you were not well. My illness is cured. The day the clinic burned down, I passed out in the open field outside.That was the last serious attack.During the few days when I was unconscious, the dangerous period has passed safely.Those days were not easy, Ibuina said.After moving into this small room in the empty house, I was moaning all the time and the neighbors couldn't take it anymore and started complaining.Later, I had such bad cramps that she had to ask her cousin Adak to press my body.Didn't I even notice why I had bad bruises on my arms and shoulders?However, I'm not impressed at all.All I know is that my body is getting stronger day by day, my body temperature is relatively normal, and I no longer tremble when I walk. Yi Na asked me: When it comes to another function of the medicine, do you feel that you have become different? This question is very interesting.I told her honestly: I don't know.Anyway, there is no special feeling. Never mind, it's not important right now.As I said, the real headache is how to get you from the highlands to Padang.I think we've figured it out. When are we leaving? Ina said: Wait another three or four days.During this time, you have a good rest. ☆ Yi Na was very busy during those three days, and I rarely saw her.During the day, the sun was very strong and the weather was very hot, but there was a breeze in the wooden house, so it was quite comfortable.In those few days, I carefully exercised, wrote, and read.There is a rattan bookshelf in the room, on which there are several English paperback books, one of which is the very popular Jason.Lawton's biography, the title of the book is "Stars and Years".I found my name in the appendix at the back of the book, Taylor.Dupre, and five pages of references.I really didn't have the courage to read that book, but those Maugham novels with dented spines were more attractive to me. Ian would come to see me every once in a while to see if there was anything wrong with me, and by the way, he would bring me some sandwiches and mineral water from his uncle's food stand.He still looked like a little adult, asking about my health in a serious manner.He said he was honored to emigrate overseas with me. Ian, are you going to the New World too? He nodded vigorously.And my dad, my mom, my uncle.In addition, he spoke the names of a dozen close relatives in Minangkabau dialect, with sparkles in his eyes.Maybe you can teach me how to be a doctor there. Maybe I really need to teach.After crossing the arch, it means losing the opportunity to receive traditional education.For Ian, this may not be the best choice. I doubt whether his parents thought it through when they made the decision. However, this is out of my control.And, obviously, Ian was very excited about the trip.As soon as he talked about this matter, he couldn't hide his excitement. The more he talked, the more excited he became.I was deeply moved by the earnest desire he exuded and the unconcealed joy on his face.Ian belongs to the younger generation who are able to face the future with hope rather than fear.In comparison, our generation is so absurd and deformed that no one can look forward to the future with such joy and encouragement.His expression was so human, so deep, so beautiful.Looking at his expression, I was both happy and sad. Before leaving that night, Yi Na came.She brought me something to eat and told me the whole plan along the way. She said: My nephew's son has a brother-in-law who drives an ambulance for the hospital.He can borrow an ambulance from the vehicle dispatch yard to take you to Padang.I will arrange for two cars to drive in front of us, with mobile phones, in case there is a random inspection along the way, we will have time to respond. I said: I don't need an ambulance anymore. Ambulances are used as camouflage.You hide behind, I put on a doctor's robe, and find someone from the village to pretend to be a patient.Ian volunteered to pretend to be a patient.do you understand?If the police went to the back of the ambulance to check, they would only see me and a sick child, and then I would tell them that the patient had a weak heart, so the police would not dare to search too thoroughly.In this way, you, a tall American doctor, can get away with it. Do you think you can get by like this? I think the chances are great. But in case they catch you with me Even if I get caught, the police can't just arrest me unless I break the law.It's not a crime to have a Westerner in your car. It is against the law to transport criminals. Park Taylor, are you a criminal? That depends on how the bill of the US Congress is interpreted. I don't care how the bill is interpreted.Don't worry.By the way, did I tell you we're leaving a day late? Why? For attending a wedding.The wedding, of course, was less formal than it used to be.Our Minangkabau traditional weddings have gone sour since the time round happened.Everyone is getting richer and richer, more and more roads are being built, and fast food restaurants are opening up to the highlands one by one.Since then, everything has changed.Although I don't think being rich is a sin, money corrupts people's hearts.These days, young people do things in a hurry.Fortunately, at least we haven't seen that kind of Las Vegas-style ten-minute wedding here. Does your country still have such a thing? I admit that there are. Speaking of which, the trends are the same on both sides of us.Minangkabau culture disappeared, only buffalo remained.But at least we still have the traditional wedding stage, plenty of nasi lemak to eat, and bamboo flute music to listen to.How are you?Can you come and join me?At least the music is worth listening to. I am very honored. Let's sing well tomorrow night, and the next morning we will challenge the US Constitution.This wedding is also very good for us.There will be many people coming and going, and there will be many cars on the road, so we will attract less attention.No one would notice that our little group of overseas immigrants was going to Drupabau. I slept in late that morning and woke up feeling much better.It's been a long time since I felt like this, feeling stronger and more responsive.The morning breeze is warm and pleasant, and the smell of cooking food can be heard from the lively places in the village. You can hear roosters crowing and someone knocking things with iron mallets.Someone is building an open stage.Throughout the day, I sat by the window reading a book, watching the procession of the bride and groom, and watching them walk slowly into the groom's house.Ina's village is very small. Once someone gets married, the whole village shuts down. Even the food stalls are closed for a day.Only the few government-licensed shops on the side of the main road are still open, waiting for tourists to come to their door.By early evening, the scent of chicken curry and coconut milk is already in the air.Ian came over and sent me some prepared dishes. As soon as it got dark, Ibina came to pick me up at the door.She was wearing a gown with embroidered patterns and a silk scarf around her head.She said: Done.I mean, the wedding is done.There was nothing else to do but sing and dance.Taylor, do you still want to come? The suit I was wearing was the best I ever had with me.It was a pair of cotton white trousers and a white shirt.I was a little nervous because I was terrified of exposure in crowded places.Yi Na told me not to worry, the guests who came to the wedding were all acquaintances, no faces, and everyone would welcome me very much. The two of us walked down the street to the stage.Despite Ina's reassurance, I still felt uncomfortable and felt as if everyone was watching me.It's not because I'm too tall, but because I've been stuck in the house for too long.Walking out of the house, the feeling was as if he had just stepped out of the water, and the solidity of the water surrounding his body suddenly disappeared.Yi Na kept talking to me about the newlyweds along the way, trying to divert my attention and put me at ease.The groom was from Bellubus, a pharmacist's apprentice and a young cousin of Ina's.In addition to brothers and sisters and elders such as uncles, aunts, aunts, and other relatives who are far away, Yi Na calls them cousins.In Minangkabau's kinship system, each relationship has a precise name, and there is no simple corresponding word in English.The bride is a young girl from the village who seems to have had a bad reputation in the past.After the wedding, both of them will emigrate overseas.The new world is calling them. Music has been on since dusk and will continue until tomorrow morning, she said.Next to the stage stood a pole with a huge horn on it.The music will be broadcast from here, so that the whole village can hear it.There were actually only four people performing the music.There were some reed mats on a raised stage, on which they sat, and two men played instruments and two women sang.Ina told me that the songs were about love, marriage, loss, fate, and sex.Especially sex.There are many wonderful metaphors implying sex in the lyrics, I am afraid that even the great British poet Chaucer would be ashamed.We sat on a long bench on the outskirts of the celebration grounds.From time to time, someone in the crowd would glance at me, or even stare at me.Some people probably heard about the burning of the clinic, about an American fugitive.Yi Na was careful and kept me with her all the time so that I would not be left alone and become the object of criticism.However, she would still show a kind smile and face the group of young people around the stage.She said: The lyrics say that I have passed the age of lamentation, and my fields no longer need to be plowed.God, it's so ambiguous. Near the stage are two imitation thrones on which the bride and groom sit, in richly embroidered gowns.The groom has a mustache, and I think he looks a little out of place.But Yi Na said, I was wrong, don't look at the bride wearing a white brocade dress, she looks innocent, she is the one who needs attention.We drank coconut milk and laughed heartily.When it was almost midnight, several women from the village quietly left, leaving only a group of men and young people laughing loudly around the stage.A few old men were concentrating on playing poker at the table, their expressions on their faces as monotonous and blank as old leather. I once wrote down the scene of my first meeting with Wan Nuowen in my notes.I showed it to Ina.She took advantage of the intermission of the music and said to me: I think your description must not be accurate enough, because your tone of voice is too calm. I am not at all calm.I just don't want to write too much and make myself blush after reading it. After all, you're describing a being from Mars looking up at the sky.It was the sky covered by the whirl of time, and the stars were scattered and misty, which seemed a little dim in the dazzling lights of the wedding banquet.You must have some expectations in mind.What would the Martians you imagined be like? I thought they shouldn't be that human. Oh, but he is almost exactly like us humans. I said: This is how I feel. Ina said that in some agricultural areas, such as India, Indonesia, and Southeast Asia, vanovan has become a symbol of reverence.Several times, she saw pictures of Wan Nuowen in other people's homes.The photograph is framed in gilt and looks like a watercolor portrait of a saint or a famous Islamic guru.She said: "His demeanor exudes a unique appeal.Listening to him, there will be a feeling of familiarity, even though we are listening to translation.When we look at those photos of Mars and look at those farmlands, it feels like Mars is an agricultural world, not an urban planet.It feels more like the East than the West.Another distant world sent an ambassador to our earth, and that ambassador seemed to be a part of our Orientals!That's pretty much what it feels like.The way he fixes the Americans is really interesting. The last thing Van Novin wants to do is point fingers at others. Apparently, people believe in legends more and are less interested in the truth.Didn't you have a lot of questions you wanted to ask him the day you met him? Of course there is.Yet since his arrival on Earth he must have answered countless such obvious questions.He was probably getting impatient. Would he be less willing to talk about his hometown? exactly the opposite.He likes to talk about his hometown, but he doesn't like being questioned very much. I will not be so polite as you.I'm sure to bore him to death with so many questions.Tyler, if you could ask him any question one day, what would it be? That's not easy.Of course I know what questions I'm going to ask.That question has been on my stomach ever since I first met Van Novin.I'll ask him what the hell is going on with time gyrations.I would ask him what the origin of hypothetical intelligent beings are.I'll ask him if they Martians already know some secrets that we don't. Did you talk to him about it afterwards? have. Did he tell you a lot? a lot of. I glanced towards the stage.Another bamboo flute band has come, one of them is holding a rebe.The musician tapped the body of the piano with the bow and grinned.Another very emotional song. Ina said: I'm so sorry, I seem to be cross-examining you. Sorry, I'm still a little tired. Then you should really go back to sleep.This is what the doctor ordered.With any luck, you'll see Ebdiane again tomorrow. She accompanied me to leave the wedding venue and walk back along the noisy street.The music continued until nearly five o'clock the next morning.Although it was noisy, I still fell asleep unconsciously. ☆ The ambulance driver was thin and not very talkative. There was a New Red Crescent logo on his white medical gown.His name is Nijun.When he shook my hand, the deference was a bit exaggerated.While he was talking to me, he kept looking at Ibina with his big eyes.I asked him if he was nervous about driving to Padang.Ina translated his answer for me: He said that even if the situation was less urgent, he had driven at greater risk.He said he was so happy to meet Van Novin's friends.And he said, the sooner we start the better. So we got into the back of the ambulance.A row of long iron cabinets are fixed parallel to the side walls, about twice the height of the bench, usually containing some medical equipment.We clean out what's in there.If I had my knees bent, my heels pressed against my butt, and my neck tucked in, I could barely lie in that space.The cabinet is filled with the smell of disinfectant and latex. It feels like being locked in a monkey cage. I'm afraid it won't be too comfortable.However, once we were stopped at the inspection post, I was going to lie down inside.Yina would sit on a bench in her doctor's gown, while Ian would lie on a stretcher, pretending to be a patient with a weakened heart.In the hot morning light, the whole project struck me suddenly with a feeling of absurdity. Niqiong would clamp a piece of wood on the door of the iron cabinet, exposing a crack to allow air to circulate and prevent me from being unable to breathe inside.However, I really don't want to imagine what it's like to be locked in that black and hot iron box.Fortunately, we are just preparing, and we don't need to actually nest in it, at least not yet.Yi Na said that the scope of the police raids is on the new road between Butchitingji and Padang, and there are convoys from other people in the village secretly escorting us. If we are really stopped, we will There is still plenty of time to adapt.So, for the time being, I sat next to Ina and watched as she prepared a bottle of saline drip and taped the tube to Ian's elbow.The bottle is sealed and there is no needle on the tube.These are just props in disguise.Yi Jianbing pretended to be excited, and had already started to practice coughing.However, when Yi Na heard the dry cough from the depths of his lungs, she couldn't help frowning with a serious expression.She said: Did you secretly smoke your brother's clove cigarettes? Ian blushed.He said he just wanted to look like it. oh?Then you'd better be careful, don't make fakes come true. Niqiong closed the back door, got into the driver's seat, and started the car.So, we started to stagger all the way to Padang.Yi Na told Yi An to close her eyes.You have to start pretending to be asleep and show off your acting skills.It didn't take long for him to actually fall asleep, his breathing turning into a slight snoring. Yi Na said: He listened to music until dawn, and did not sleep at all. I couldn't believe that he could sleep with the car rocked like this. This is also a good place for children.By the way, children should be what the Martians call the first year, am I wrong? I nod. I heard they have four age groups, right?We earthlings have three, and they have four, right? That's right.Ina must know.Vanovan and his five major republics on Mars have many social customs, and what the general public on Earth is most curious about is the way they divide ages. In human culture, a person's life is usually divided into two or three stages: childhood and adulthood, or, childhood, adolescence, adulthood.Some people will specially add an old age.However, the Martians were thousands of years ahead of us in the fields of biochemistry and genetics, which resulted in their unique cultural customs.The Martians divide a person's life into four periods, and the turning points in different periods are caused by biochemical promotion.Development begins from birth until adolescence, a period known as childhood.The period from the beginning of puberty to the cessation of physical growth and the start of metabolic function is called adolescence.The period from the beginning of equilibrium in bodily functions to the point of decay and death, or the complete transformation of the body, is called adulthood. After adulthood, there is another option besides death: the fourth year. Centuries ago, Martian biochemists invented a method that could extend human life by an average of six to seventy years.However, this finding is not entirely gospel.Water resources and nitrogen are scarce on Mars, and the ecosystem is greatly restricted.Although in the eyes of Ibuina, the farmland on Mars looks so familiar, like the home of the earth.However, on Mars, those farmlands are the result of sophisticated biochemical engineering, a great victory between man and nature.For thousands of years, the population reproduction on Mars has been strictly controlled, maintaining the population standard for evaluating the planet's support capacity.If the average human life expectancy were to increase by another seventy years, the result would be a demographic crisis. In addition, the life-extending medical treatment itself is not easy, and the body does not feel comfortable.It is a deep transformation of cells, combined with a variety of viral and fungal strains in the form of cocktail therapy, and injected into the human body after precision genetic engineering.These viruses designed for human physique will fully renew the human body, repair or modify the DNA sequence, repair the centromere at the end of the chromosome, and reset the gene clock.At the same time, the artificially cultivated bacteriophage also began to remove toxic metal elements and platelets, repairing obvious physical damage. However, the human immune system resists.The medical treatment process lasts six weeks.At best, those six weeks can be as debilitating as a flu.Symptoms include fever, joint and muscle pain, and weakness.Certain organs go into an accelerated regeneration process.Old skin cells die, and the process of regenerating new skin is ferocious.Nerve tissue is also automatically and rapidly rebuilt. The whole process is debilitating, painful, and has potentially unwanted side effects.Most of the people treated with the medicine had long-term memory impairment, which was minimal.In rare cases there is a brief episode of dementia leading to irreversible amnesia.As the brain tissue recovers and restructures, it subtly changes into another new organ.And that person will also undergo subtle changes and become a different person. They conquered death. Not quite conquered. Ina said: "I'm just wondering, with their wisdom, there should be a way to make the whole process less painful. They can certainly improve the transformation process in the fourth year and remove that physical discomfort.However, they would rather choose not to do so.While Martian cultures incorporated the fourth year into their social customs, they also retained the painful price that the fourth year had to pay.Not all of them will choose to enter the fourth year, because, in addition to the pain of the transformation process, the legal penalties for their life extension are also very severe.Any citizen of Mars has the right to receive life-extending medical treatment, completely free and without discrimination.However, those in the fourth year are forbidden to give birth.Reproduction is a guaranteed right of adulthood.For the last two hundred years, the life-extending cocktail treatment has been added to male and female infertility drugs. Once injected, the ability to conceive can never be restored.People in the fourth year also do not have the right to vote in congressional elections.No one wants to let this group of highly respected people control the entire planet for their own personal gain.However, the five major republics all have their own judicial review bodies, which are equivalent to the highest court on earth.Members of this body are elected entirely by fourth-year voters.Compared with adults, fourth-year people have their own advantages and disadvantages, and adults have similar advantages and disadvantages compared with children.Older people are more powerful, less playful, and more independent, but they also lose some freedom. The Martian medical technology is hidden in countless codes and symbols.Anthropologists have spent years trying to decipher their technology from the database Vanovan brought.Later, the government banned the research.I couldn't explain all the Martian medical technology to Ina, and I didn't even fully understand it myself. Ina said: Now we have the same technology. Only some people use it.I hope that one day everyone will be able to use it. I just wonder if we can be like the Martians and not abuse such technology. We should be able to.The Martians did just that.Martians are also human beings of the same origin and species as us. I know that.Of course we can do it too.But Tyler, do you really think we will? I look at Ian.He's still sleeping, maybe still dreaming.His eyeballs were gurgling in his eyelids, like fishes in the bottom of the water.他呼吸的時候，鼻孔一張一闔，身體隨著顛簸的救護車左右搖晃。 在地球上大概辦不到。I said. ☆ 離開布奇汀吉之後，我們已經沿路開了十六公里。這個時候，尼瓊忽然猛敲駕駛座和後車廂中間的隔板。那是我們事先說好的暗號，表示前面有臨檢了。救護車開始減速。伊娜匆匆忙忙站起來準備。她把一個螢光黃的氧氣口罩套在伊安臉上，然後自己戴上一個紙口罩。這個時候，伊安醒過來了。他開始有點緊張了，開始覺得這場冒險沒那麼好玩了。伊娜壓低著聲音對我說：快一點。 於是，我趕緊縮著身體擠到那個鐵櫃裡。鐵門砰的一聲關上，卡在木片上，露出一道小縫，讓空氣稍微可以流通。那道不到一公分的小縫隙可以讓我免於窒息。 我還沒躺好，救護車就停下來了，我的頭重重地撞上鐵櫃的尾端。 伊娜說：千萬別出聲。我搞不清楚她是在跟我說，還是在跟伊安說。 我在一片漆黑中靜靜地等著。 過了幾分鐘，我隱隱約約聽到有人在講話。就算我聽得懂米南加保話，也聽不清楚他們在講什麼。有兩個人在說話。尼瓊的聲音和另外一個我沒聽過的聲音。那個聲音聽起來很微弱，口氣卻很嚴厲，好像在找麻煩。那是一個警察在講話。 我想起剛剛伊娜講的話：他們征服了死亡。 我心裡想，恐怕沒有。 鐵櫃裡的溫度上升得很快。我汗流滿面，襯衫都濕透了，汗水刺痛了眼睛。我聽得到自己的呼吸聲，聲音大得彷彿全世界都聽得到。 尼瓊畢恭畢敬地小聲回答那個警察的問話。警察大聲咆哮，持續逼問他。 你別動！千萬不要動！伊娜壓低著聲音說，口氣很急迫。伊安的腳在輪床的墊子上彈跳著。他一緊張的時候就會有這種習慣動作。然而，心血管耗弱的病人是不可能會有這種力氣的。車頂的燈光透過那個不到一公分的小縫照在我頭上，我看到伊安張開的指尖從燈光前面劃過去，看起來像是四條有關節的陰影。 忽然，車子的兩扇後門嘎吱一聲打開了，車子的廢氣猛灌進來，還夾雜著一股雜草在正午太陽的暴曬下所散發出來的臭氣。我小心翼翼伸長了脖子，看到車子外面透進一道窄窄的光，兩團黑影遮在前面。可能是尼瓊和那個警察，也可能是樹影或是雲影。 那個警察好像在叫伊娜做什麼。他的聲音像是從喉嚨擠出來的，平板單調，很不耐煩，充滿威脅的語氣。我心裡開始冒火了。我想到伊娜和伊安。他們在這個男人的槍口下畏縮發抖，在這個男人所代表的勢力下畏縮發抖。他們都是為了我。我聽到伊布伊娜用米南加保話說了些什麼，語氣很堅定，但不會有挑釁的感覺。她好像在說什麼心血管耗弱如何如何心血管耗弱。她想展現一點醫生的權威，看看那個警察會不會緊張。製造恐懼對抗另一種恐懼。 警察很粗暴地頂回去，說要搜查救護車，還要伊娜把證件拿給他看。伊娜好像又說了什麼，態度很強硬。但我不知道她是不是已經快無計可施了。我又聽她說了一次心血管耗弱。 我想活命，但我更想保護伊娜和伊安。我寧可束手就擒，也不想看到他們受到傷害。投降，或是跟他們拚了。跟他們拚了，要不然就逃。火星人的藥賜給我更長的生命，更多的時間，然而，必要的話，我願意放棄這一切。也許這就是第四年期的人的勇氣，萬諾文所說的獨特的勇氣。 他們征服了死亡。But no.不管是地球人還是火星人，都只是一種生物，不管在哪個星球上，都有一定的壽命。我們只是運用科技延緩了死亡。生死仍在未定之天。 There are footsteps.我聽到沉重的靴子踩在金屬板上。那個警察正要爬上救護車。我感覺到車身在震動中往下一沉，彷彿一艘船在和緩的波浪中起伏。那一刻，我就知道他已經上車了。我用身體頂著鐵櫃的門。伊娜站起來尖叫抗拒。 我深吸了一口氣，準備要跳出去。 這個時候，馬路上傳來一陣尖銳刺耳的聲音。有另一輛車呼嘯而過。從引擎怒吼聲由高而低的頻率變化，猜得出來車子開得有多快。那是一種啟人疑竇的聲音，驚人的舉動，無法無天的加速逃逸。 那個警察大聲咆哮，氣瘋了。車子又是一陣晃動。 一陣雜沓的腳步聲，安靜了一瞬間，車門砰的一聲猛關上，然後警車一陣猛加速，追趕亡命之徒。我彷彿看得到路上的碎砂石被輪胎猛甩出來。 伊娜掀開了鐵櫃門。 我滿身汗臭地坐起來。what happened? 那是阿吉，村裡的人。他是我表弟。他闖越路障，把警察引開。她臉色蒼白，不過卻鬆了一口氣。他開起車來大概很像喝醉酒。 他這樣做就是為了要引開那個燙手山芋？ 燙手山芋？你形容得很妙。That's right.不過，你忘了有車隊在幫我們護航嗎？另外幾部車子上有手機，所以他一定知道我們被攔下來了。他頂多就是被開罰單，或是挨一頓臭罵，不會怎麼樣的。 我吸了幾口氣，忽然覺得空氣變得清新涼爽起來。我看看伊安。他咧開嘴對我笑笑，卻還在發抖。 我說：等我們到達巴東之後，你一定要介紹阿吉給我認識。我想謝謝他，為了我假裝喝醉。 伊娜翻了個白眼。阿吉喝醉酒可不是裝的，他是個貨真價實的酒鬼。在先知穆罕默德的眼中，這可是罪過。 尼瓊在門口看看我們，眨眨眼，然後把後門關起來。 唉，剛剛真是嚇死人。伊娜扶著我的手臂說。 我說我真對不起她，害她為我冒生命危險。 她說：別胡說八道。我們已經是好朋友了，而且也沒有你想的那麼危險。警察也許很難纏，但至少他們還是當地人，還是要守一些規矩。不像雅加達來的那些人，那些自稱什麼新烈火莫熄還是什麼鬼東西的傢伙，放火燒我診所那些傢伙。而且，必要的時候，我相信你也會為我們冒生命危險。對不對，帕克泰勒？ 是的，我一定會。 她的手在發抖，凝視著我的眼睛。Oh My God.火星人的藥真的可以征服死亡。 Actually no.我們從來沒有征服過死亡，只是運用科技延緩了死亡。那些藥丸、藥粉、血管修復術、第四年期。這一切的科技使我們產生堅定的信仰。我們相信，更長的生命會帶給我們所渴望的喜悅與智慧，或是為我們找回生命中曾經失去過的喜悅與智慧。即使生命只能延長一點點。當你做過心血管分流術，或是接受了生命延長醫藥處理之後，回到家裡，你也不會指望自己能夠永生不死。 《聖經》上記載，拉撒路在墳墓裡躺了四天，耶穌讓他復活了。但他也知道有一天自己還是會再度死去。 但他還是重新活過來，滿懷感激地活過來了。我心中也充滿了感激。