Chapter 9 7

I'm always bored by space battles in old movies and holograms, but there's something fascinating about watching the real thing: it's like watching a chain-link accident live.In fact, the cost of live broadcast has undoubtedly been much lower than the cost of small-budget holographic film production for hundreds of years.Even with all the effort, the most overwhelming reaction to seeing actual warfare in space is how fast space is, and how human fleets and spaceships and large warships and everything else are. Tiny. At least that's what I thought as I sat in the Strategic Information Center, the so-called Situation Room, watching the battle with Graystone and her generals.The four walls there became a 20-meter-long light curtain, connected together, and the huge pictures on all sides surrounded us, presenting a three-dimensional image, and the loudspeaker also filled the entire room with the sound transmitted by FTL communication : Radio conversations between fighters, orders from the combat command system, messages between ships via broadband, radio frequency channels, and encrypted FTL communications, plus all shouts, screams, and cries, There is also the sound of war that appeared earlier than any medium other than the air and the human voice.

It was a dramatic chaos, an instance of chaos, an unchoreographed dance of sad violence.This is war. Graystone and a small group of her men sat among these sound and light images, the whole situation room was like a gray carpeted rectangle, floating among the stars and explosions, Hyperion was like a glass-colored light Filling half of the north wall of light, the screams of dying men and women were carried from every channel to everyone's ears.I too was one of Greystone's men who had the unlucky privilege of being there. The president spun around in her high-backed chair, tapped her lower lip with cluttered fingertips, then turned to her military general.What do you guys think?

The seven men with the medals present looked at each other, and then at General Mopurgo.He was biting an unlit cigar.The situation is not good.He said: We kept them out of the portal station area and our defenses there were able to hold them back but they pushed too far into the system. Admiral?Graystone asked, she turned her head slightly to the tall, thin man in the black military uniform of the Alliance Space Force. Admiral Singh stroked his short beard.General Mopurgo was right that the fighting was not as expected.He nodded towards the fourth wall.The diagrams there are mostly ellipsoids, ovals, and arcs falling on a static map of the Hyperion galaxy, with some arcs changing before our eyes.The bright blue lines represent Hyperion's military strength, the red ones are the Ousters, and there are far too many red lines on the map than the blue lines.

The two attack aircraft carriers assigned to Task Force 42 were out of combat.Admiral Singh said: Among them, the Olympus Shadow was destroyed and all members were killed.The Poseidon was badly damaged, but is currently being escorted back to the dock on the lunar side by five flare ships for refurbishment. President Graystone nodded slowly.Her lips drooped down to the synthetic-spired fingertips.Admiral, how many men are there on the Shadow of Olympus? Singh's brown eyes were as large as the president's, but did not express the same deep sadness.He stared at her squarely for a few seconds.Four thousand two hundred people.He said: Not including the 600 Marines on board.Because some of them disembarked at the Hyperion Portal Station, we don't know exactly how many were on board.

Graystone nodded, and she turned her gaze back to General Morpurgo: Why is it so hard all of a sudden, General? Mopurgo had a calm expression on his face, but he bit through the cigar that was between his teeth.There are more combat units than we expected, President.He said: "Plus that with their spear boat five-man dinghies, small flare boats, really, much faster than our long-range fighters and much more powerful firepower like deadly little Hornets.We destroy them by the hundreds, but if one slips in, it can run straight into the fleet's defenses and wreak havoc.Mopurgo shrugged.More than one ship broke in.

Senator Korchev sat across the table with eight of his colleagues.Korchev turned to look at the military map, and it looked as if they were almost at Hyperion.The famous voice, he said, was rather hoarse. Singh said: Senator, please remember the proportion.In fact, we still hold most of that galaxy.Everything within ten astronomical units of Hyperion remains ours.The battle is outside the Oort Nebula, and our forces are regrouping. And what about those little red dots above the ecliptic plain?Senator Lei Qiao asked.The senator herself is wearing a red dress, which has always been her registered trademark in the Senate.

Singh nodded.Interesting strategy, he said: The rebels launched an attack of nearly 3,000 spear boats to complete the pincer attack on the electronic perimeter positions of Task Force 87-2.This attack was repelled, but people have to admire that kind of clever Three thousand spear boats?Graystone interjected softly. Yes, President. Graystone smiled.I stopped sketching, thinking to myself that it's a good thing her special smile wasn't directed at me. During the briefing yesterday, didn't we hear that the Ousters would send six or seven hundred combat units, at most?That sentence was said by Mopurgo.President Graystone turned to face the general.Her right eyebrow was raised.

General Mopurgo took off his cigar and looked at it with a frown.Then he plucked a little bit out from the back of his tooth.That's what our intelligence unit said.The message is wrong. Graystone nodded: Did the AI ​​Advisory Committee participate in this intelligence assessment? All eyes turn to Elpidus Consultants.It was a perfect projection, he was sitting in the seat between the others, his hands resting easily on the armrests; he was not at all blurry or see-through like the images of ordinary moving projections.His face was long, with high cheekbones, and a moving mouth that wore a sneer even in the most serious moments, and now it was a serious moment.

No, President, Advisor Elpidus said: No one asked the Advisory Council to assess the strength of the Ousters. Graystone nodded.I presume that she still said to Mopurgo: When the Bajun's intelligence unit evaluates the military strength, it will combine the advisory committee's speculation, right? The general of the Overlord Army glared at Elpidus angrily.No, President.He said: Because the Intelligence Core stated that it had no contact with the Ousters, we felt that their speculation would not be better than ours.We did use the Olympus College of Command Historical Tactics Network combined with the Artificial Intelligence Network to calculate our guesses.He put the bitten-off cigar back into his mouth, jaw sticking out.When he spoke again, still biting his cigar, could the advisory board have done better?

Graystone looked at Elpidus. The consultant gestured with the long fingers of his right hand.We estimate that the number of these disorderly troops ranged from four to six thousand combat units. You Mopurgo spoke, his face flushed. You didn't bring that up during the briefing, said President Graystone.Neither was mentioned in the previous discussion. Advisor Elpidus shrugged his shoulders. The general was right when he said: We had no contact with the Ousters.Our estimates are not more reliable than Bajun's, but are based on different premise.The Olympus College of Command Historical Tactical Network has accomplished a lot.If the AI ​​there can be one level higher on the Turing-Dimmler scale, we will include them in the intelligence core.He compared the elegant gesture with his hand again.For now, the premise the committee is relying on may be useful in future programs.Of course, we will hand over all forecasts to this group at any time.

Graystone nodded: Do it right away. She looked back at the screen, as did everyone else.Sensing the silence, sensors in the room returned the loudspeakers to their original volume.Then again we could hear the cries of victory, the cries of distress, and the calm echoes of position, fire control orders, and other orders. The information on the closest wall was transmitted instantly by the torch ship Jamina. This ship is searching for surviving personnel in the flying wreckage of the B-5 Corps. The damaged torch ship that is gradually approaching is zoomed in. A thousand times, it looks like a pomegranate bursting from the inside, the seeds and red rind inside explode in slow motion, tumbling into a cloud of particles, gas, frozen oil, millions of microscopic Electronic parts, stored food, tangled mechanisms, and now and then lots and lots of corpses recognizable by their puppet-like twitches.After flying 20,000 miles, the searchlight of the Jamina swept across the wreckage frozen under the starlight with a beam of light about 10 meters wide, allowing people to see clearly every object, equipment and human face. beauty.The reflected light made Greystone's face look much older. Admiral, she said: Does it seem plausible that the Traitors waited until Task Force 87bis entered the system before attacking? Singh stroked his beard, are you asking if that is a trap, President? Yes. The admiral glanced at his fellow officers, then at Greystone, I don't think so.We believe, I believe, that the Ousters reacted in this way when they saw our strength.However, this means that they are determined to capture the Hyperion galaxy. Can they do it?Graystone asked.Her eyes were still on the wreckage writhing over her head, the body of a young man, half in his spacesuit, half uncovered, rolling toward the camera, his burst eyes and lungs clearly visible . No way, Admiral Singh said: they could hit us hard, maybe even drive us back to the defenses around Hyperion itself.But they can't beat us, or throw us out. Or destroy the portal?Senator Lei Qiao's voice was tense. Portals cannot be destroyed either.Singh said. He was right!General Mopurgo said: I can endorse my professional future. Graystone smiled and stood up.Everyone else, including me, also stood up quickly.Indeed, Graystone said softly to Morpurgo: Indeed.She looked around.We'll meet here again when things change.Mr. Hunter is my liaison with you.In the meantime, gentlemen and ladies, the work of the government must continue.good afternoon.As the others left one after another, I sat back and waited until I was the only one left.The loudspeakers went back to their normal volume, and on one channel, a man was crying.There was manic laughter over the static.Above me, behind me, all around me, the starry sky moved slowly in the dark, starlight shining coldly on the wreckage and ruins. The Government House is built in the shape of the Star of David, and in the center of the star, shaded by low walls and specially planted trees, there is a garden: much smaller than the formal large garden in the Deer Park, but no less beautiful .As dusk fell, the bright blue and white light of Tianlun Five faded to gold, and I was walking there, Mena.Graystone came towards me. We walked together in silence for a while.I noticed that she had changed into a gown worn by a middle-aged patrician lady in Pataifa; it was very baggy and intricately embroidered with dark blue and gold, almost like a darkening sky.Greystone's hands were in invisible pockets, his wide sleeves fluttered in the breeze; his hem dragged on the milky stones of the path. You asked them to interrogate me, and I said: I'm curious what the reason is. Graystone's voice was tired.They are not sending data.There is no danger in letting them know that information. I smile slightly.Anyway, you let them torture me. The NSA wanted to know as much as possible about what they might leak. Use me to suffer I said. Yes. Now does the NSA know who they work for? The man mentioned Hublot, and the president said: The NSA is pretty sure they're referring to Anleen.Hublot. The trade broker on Asquith? Yes.She and Diana.Philomel has a lot to do with the Old Grannon︱Hite Royalists. They were unprofessional fans, and I say this because I remembered Hemed uttering Hubrit's name, and Diana's questioning was haphazard. certainly. Are the royalists connected with some important organization? Only the Church of the Thorn Demon God, Graystone said.She stopped before the stone bridge that crossed a creek on the path.The president lifted his robe and sat down on a cast-iron bench.You know, not a single bishop has yet come out of hiding. There were some riots and boycotts, and I don't blame them.I said.I was still standing, and although I couldn't see the bodyguards or the monitors, I knew that if there was any threat to Graystone, I would wake up and find myself in the brig of the Administration Building.Above us, the golden rims of the clouds had faded to reflect the silver light of Tianlun Wu's countless towering cities.What did the NSA do with Diana and her husband? They have been thoroughly interrogated and are now in custody. I nodded.Thorough interrogation means that their brains are now floating in fully diverted water tanks, while their bodies are temporarily placed in cryogenic tanks, waiting for a secret trial to determine whether they have committed treason.After the trial, the body would be destroyed, and Diana and Hemed would remain in custody, with all sensing and transmission channels switched off.The Balian has not used the death penalty for hundreds of years, but the other option is not comfortable.I sat down on the bench, too, six feet away from Graystone. Do you still write poetry? Her question took me by surprise.I glanced down the garden path, where floating Japanese lanterns and hidden orbs of light had just begun to light up.No, I said: sometimes I dream, or rather used to Mena.Graystone looked at the hands clasped in his lap.She said: If you wrote down what happened #now, what kind of poem would you write? I laughed.I had already started writing, and gave up twice, or rather he did.The poem is about the death of the gods and their difficulty in accepting their transposition.It's about transformation, suffering, and injustice.It was also about the poet who he thought was the one who suffered the most from that injustice. Graystone looked at me.In the dim light, her face was lined and shadowed.Who are the gods transposed this time, Mr. Silveron?Is it man or is it a false god we created to dwarf ourselves? How the hell do I know?I said angrily, and turned to look at the stream. You belong to two worlds, don't you?The human world and the intellectual core world. I smiled again.I don't belong to either world, a cybernetic monster here, a research target there. Yes, but whose study was that?And for what purpose? I shrugged my shoulders. Graystone stood up, and I followed suit.We crossed the creek and listened to the sound of the water flowing over the stones.The path wound among tall boulders, covered with moss, that shone in the light of the lanterns. Graystone stopped at the top of the short stone steps.Do you think the Supremes of the Intellectual Core can successfully construct their Supreme Wisdom, Mr. Silveren? Can they make gods?I said: Some AIs don't want to create gods.They have learned from human experience that the next step in the construction of consciousness brings enslavement, if not actual destruction. But would a true God allow everything He created to be wiped out? In terms of wisdom core and hypothetical supreme wisdom, I say: God is a creation, not a creator.Maybe God had to create smaller things to come into contact with in order to feel some responsibility for them. But it seems that the intelligence core has been responsible for human beings for centuries since AI became independent.Graystone said she stared at me as if she was using my expression to assess something. I looked into the garden, the path was shining white, and it looked a little gloomy in the darkness.Intellectual core is seeking their purpose.When I say it, I know there is no human being like Mena.President Greystone knew this fact better. And you feel like humans are no longer a consideration for what they're trying to achieve? I waved my right hand, I was not created by these two cultures.Nor, I repeat, have the naive favor of unintentional creators on both sides, much less the curse of the terrible concern for their creations. Physically, you are fully human.Graystone said. It's not a question, so I don't respond. People in the past also said that Jesus Christ was completely human.She said: It is also completely a god.It is the meeting of man and God. I was surprised to hear her mention that ancient religion.Christianity was first superseded by Zen Christianity, which later became Zen Gnosticism, and was later replaced by more than a hundred important theologies and philosophies.Greystone's hometown is not a treasure trove of dead religions, and I think and hope the president isn't either.If he is both fully human and fully divine, I say: Then I am his negative image. No, said Graystone: I think it's the Thorn God your Pilgrim friends are facing. My eyes widened.This was the first time she mentioned the Thorn Demon God to me, even though I knew it and she knew I knew it was her plan that made the Consul open the Tomb and release the thing. Perhaps you should join the pilgrimage, Mr. Silveren.said the president. In a way, I say: I am. Graystone gestured, and a door to her private quarters opened.Yes, in a way you are inside, she said: But if the woman with your clone is nailed to the legendary thorn tree of the Thorn Demon God, you will also suffer the eternal pain in your dream. Is it bitter? I didn't have an answer, so I just stood there and said nothing. Let's talk after our meeting tomorrow morning, Mena.Graystone said: Good night, Mr. Silveron, and good dreams.