Chapter 44 42

Feldman.Colonel Kassad died in battle. Kassad and the Thorn Demon God wrestled together, and only vaguely perceived Moneta as a gray and hazy shadow at the edge of his vision, shifting shape and position in time, staggering and rolling into the sunlight with a feeling of dizziness. The Thorn Demon God withdrew his arms and stepped back, his red eyes seemed to reflect the blood spattered all over Kassad's tights.Kassad's blood. The colonel looked around. They were near Tokizukagani, but at another time, a very distant time.Between the barren rocks and dunes of that barren land, a forest appeared about half a kilometer from the valley.To the southwest, about where the ruins of the City of Poets had been in Kassad's day, stood a living city, its towers and walls and domed towers glimmering in the setting sun.Between the castle and the valley at the edge of the forest, a vast expanse of prairie with long grass swayed in the breeze from the distant Bride Mountains.

To Kassad's left, Tokizuka Valley was still stretching out consistently, only the cliff face was toppled now, whether it was caused by wind erosion or landslide, and it was also covered with tall grass.Those time tombs look very new, as if they were built recently. There are workers' scaffolding around the obelisk and monolith. Every time tomb on the ground is shining brightly with golden light, as if They were all covered and polished with that kind of precious metal.Doors and entrances are sealed.Heavy machines of unknown nature were placed around Tokizuka.Around the sphinx, huge cables and rows of wood as thin as steel wire, Kassad knew at once that he was in the future, maybe hundreds or thousands of years in the future, and those time graves were about to begin. Projected back to his own time and earlier.

Kassad looked back. Thousands of men and women stood in row after row along the grassy slopes that had once been cliffs.They were completely silent, fully armed, and lined up to face Kassad, as if they were waiting for the arrival of the leader. , scale armor, holding a strange weapon, and changing colors, Kassad and Moneta have seen him before in the time and space of his healing. monita.She stood between Kassad and the horde, the forcefields of her bodysuit flashing around her waist, but she was also wearing what appeared to be a soft jumpsuit made of black velvet.A red scarf is tied around the neck.With a weapon the size of a club slung over her shoulder, she kept her eyes on Kassad.

He swayed slightly, feeling the hurt under the tights, but also made him weaker by the surprise of seeing the look in Moneta's eyes. She doesn't know him.Surprise, bewildered awe reflected on her face?It also appeared on the faces of the other pedestrians.The valley was quiet, except for the occasional fluttering of spear flags or the sound of wind blowing through the grass.Kassad stared at Moneta, and she stared back at him. Kassad turned his head to look back. Jing Demon God stood motionless like a metal statue ten meters away.The long grass was almost up to the knees with thorns and blades.

Behind the Thorn Demon God, at the beginning of the large black forest near the mouth of the valley, groups of other Thorn Demon Gods, the army of the Thorn Demon God, line after row of Thorn Demon Gods, stood shining in the setting sun. Kassad recognized his thorn daemon, the thorn daemon, only because it was closest to him, and because his own blood was on the monster's claws and carapace.The monster's eyes glowed red. It's you, right?asked a soft voice behind him. Kassad turned, feeling momentarily dizzy.Moneta stopped just a few feet away from him. Her hair was as short as he remembered when he first met her. Her skin looked very soft. Her dark green eyes were flecked with brown. Just as mysterious.Kassad had the urge to reach up and caress her cheekbones, curl his fingers to trace the familiar curve of her lower lip.But he didn't move.

It's you, Moneta said again, not a question this time.The warrior I prophesied to you all. Don't you recognize me, Moneta?Kassad had several deep wounds, but none hurt him more than this moment. She shook her head, shaking the hair on her forehead in a familiar gesture that made him feel distressed.Moneta is both the daughter of memory and the admonisher.That's a good name. Isn't that your name? She smiled.Kassad remembered her smiling like that the first time they made love in a forest glen.No, she said softly.Not yet, I have only just arrived here, and my journey and guardianship have not yet begun.She told him her name.

Kassad blinked, then reached up and touched her cheek with the palm of his hand.We used to be a pair of lovers, he said: We met on the battlefield lost in memory, and you were with me everywhere.He looked around.Everything leads here, doesn't it? Yes, said Moneta. Kassad turned to look at the army of Thorn Demon Gods lined up outside the valley.This is a war?Thousands against thousands? A war, said Moneta: thousands against thousands in ten million worlds. Kassad closed his eyes and nodded. The tights could be used as sutures for wounds, field clothes, and painkiller syringes, but the pain and weakness caused by those terrible wounds could not resist for long.Ten million worlds?As he spoke, he opened his eyes. Then, is it the final battle?

Yes. Can the winner have these time tombs? Moneta looked down the valley.The winning side decides whether the Thorn Demon God who has been buried here should go alone to pave the way for the others, or whether human beings have the right to decide our past and future. I don't understand, Kassad said, his voice tight.But very few soldiers understand the political situation.He leaned forward, kissed the startled Moneta, and untied her red scarf.i love you.As he spoke, he tied the little piece of cloth to the body of his spear.Seeing that the pulse power and ammunition in the gun are still half available on the gauge.

Feldman.Kassad took five steps forward, turned his back to the Thorn Demon God, raised his hands to the crowd still standing silently on the mountain side, and shouted loudly: Fight for freedom! The voice of three thousand shouted in response: Fight for liberty!After the slogan was finished, the roar continued. Kassad turned around, still holding his lance and flag aloft.Jing Demon God took half a step forward, separated his feet, and stretched out his blade-like fingers. Kassad shouted to attack, with Moneta following him, weapon held aloft.Thousands of people followed. Later, in the killing field in the valley, Moneta and several other selected fighters found Kassad's body, still hugged tightly by the smashed Thorn Demon God.They carefully freed Kassad, took him to a tent in the valley, cleaned his mutilated remains, and carried him through the crowd to the Crystal Monolith.

There, Feldman.Colonel Kassad's body lay on a white marble bier, with his weapons at his feet.The huge fire in the valley illuminated the sky. Up and down the valley, men and women walked with torches in their hands. Others descended from the azure sky. Some were sitting on air vehicles that were as insubstantial as bubbles, and some were riding on energy wings. , or wrapped in green and gold rings. Later, after the bright cold stars were over the light-filled valley, Moneta said her farewell and entered the Sphinx.The crowd sang.Over there on the battlefield, little rodents rummaged among fallen flags, splintered hulls and armor, steel knives and molten steel.

Near midnight, the crowd stopped singing, panting, and backed away.Shizuka is shining brightly.The strong anti-entropy force field pushed the crowd back to the entrance of the valley, crossed the battlefield, and returned to the city shimmering in the night. In the valley, the huge time tomb trembled, faded from gold to copper, and began a long journey back. Brown.Lamia passed the shining obelisk, struggling against the strong wind.The sand scratched her skin and caught her eyes.Static electricity crackled on the clifftop, adding to the gloomy glow around Tokka.Brown threw his hands to his face and staggered forward, looking between his fingers to find his way. Brown saw a golden light, much deeper than normal, shooting from the broken crystal monolith, illuminating the twisted sand dunes at the bottom of the valley.Someone is in the monolith. Braun had originally decided to go straight to the Temple of the Bramble, free Selenus as best she could, and then go back to Thor.Can't be distracted elsewhere.But she saw the silhouette of a human in the tomb.Kassad's whereabouts remain unknown.Saul had told her about the consul's mission.But maybe the diplomat came back in the storm.Father Douhet didn't know what happened. Brown approached the light, pausing at the broken entrance of the monolith. The space inside is astonishingly large, about 100 meters high, with a roof that can be regarded as a skylight on the top. From the inside, the walls are all transparent, illuminated by the light that seems to be the sun into a strong golden and amber color .And the bright light illuminated the scene of a large central place in front of her. Feldman.Kassad lay on a coffin made of stone, wearing a black Overlord uniform, with a pair of pale hands clasped on his chest.In addition to Kassad's long gun, there were many weapons that Brown didn't recognize lying on his feet. The face behind the colonel was very thin, but it was similar to his life.His expression was serene, unmistakably dead; the silence of death hung in the air like a wreath of cigarette smoke. But the silhouette seen from a distance was that of someone else inside who now caught Brown's attention. A young woman in her twenties knelt beside the coffin.She was wearing a black jumpsuit, with short hair, fair skin, and big eyes, and Brown recalled the warrior's story, the one they had told on their long journey to the valley, and remembered Kasa. The details of Dena's ghostly lover. Monita, Brown said softly. The young woman knelt on one knee, with her right hand outstretched and pressed against the stone next to the colonel's body, a purple protective force field flashed around the coffin, and some other energies vibrated strongly in the sky in Moneta A halo of light is formed around, making the whole scene shrouded in hazy light and shadow. The young woman looked up, looked at Brown, stood up, and nodded. Brown started to walk forward, already thinking about a dozen questions in her mind, but the tide in the time mound was too strong, waves of dizziness and déjà vu forced her to retreat. When Brown looked up again, the bier was still there, Kassad was still lying under the force field, but Moneta was gone. Braum longed to run back to the Sphinx, find Thor, tell him everything, and wait there until the storm passed and morning came.But beyond the howling and howling wind, Brawn thought she could still hear the scream from the thorn tree, though the tree couldn't be seen through the sand. Brown turned up his collar and walked back into the storm.Go straight along the path towards Jingmo Temple. The boulder floating in space is like a cartoon mountain, full of towering spikes, blade-like ridges, ridiculous upright cliffs, narrow ledges, huge stone platforms, and snow-covered peaks, the width of which can only There is room for one person to stand and they must keep their feet together. The river meanders from the air, passes through the multiple protective force fields about half a kilometer away from the mountain, flows through a grassy depression on the widest stone platform, and then descends more than a hundred years like a slow-motion waterfall. Meters to another stone platform, and then divided into several artistically to form six or seven small waterfalls, flowing down from the front of the mountain. The trial was held on the highest stone platform. Seventeen Ousters, six men, six women, and five unknown sexes sat in a stone circle. Outside was a larger circle of grass surrounded by stone walls. Both circles were Center on Consul. You know, Freeman Jinga, the spokesperson of the Freeman State across the Taurus Palace, said: We know about your betrayal, right? Yes, said the Consul.He was wearing his best dark blue suit, maroon cape, and diplomat's three-cornered hat. Knowing that you murdered Aundair the Freeman, Iliam the Freeman, Caldwell.Baez and Mijan Speech.Torches. I know Aundair's name, said the Consul in a soft voice, but no one introduced the three technicians. But you killed them? Yes. No quarrel, no warning? Yes. Murder them for the device they send to Hyperion.That is, the machine that we told you would interrupt the so-called Time Tide, open the Time Tomb, and release the imprisoned Thorn Demon God? Yes, the Consul's eyes seemed to be on something, but very, very far away, over the shoulder of Freeman Jinga. We explained, Jinja said: This device should be used after we have successfully repelled the Alliance ships, when our invasion and occupation is imminent.At that time, the Jing Demon God can control it. Yes. But you still murdered our people, lied and deceived us, and turned on the device yourself, years ahead of time. Yes.Milio.Arendez and Theo.Lian En stood beside, a step away from the consul's back, their faces were solemn. Freeman Jin Ga folded his arms.She is a tall woman with a typical Ouster appearance. She is bald, very thin, and wears a very stylish dark blue robe. The material of the clothes seems to have the effect of absorbing light. Although her face is old, she has no wrinkles, and her eyes are black. of. Although this was four years ago in your standard time, do you think we'll forget?Jinga asked. No, the consul pulled his eyes down and looked at her squarely.There seemed to be a smile on his face, and few people would forget the traitor, Jinga the Free. But you still come back. The consul didn't answer.Theo standing next to him.Liam felt a breeze move his own well-formed cocked hat.Xio only felt as if he was still dreaming.The journey to get here is pretty surreal. Three Ousters came to fetch them in a long, low flat-bottomed narrow-bottomed boat that floated easily in the calm water beneath the Consul's spacecraft.After the three visitors from the Overlord League sat in the middle of the boat, the Destroyer standing at the stern pushed the boat away with a long pole, and the boat floated back the way it came from, as if in this impossible river. The water flow reversed itself.Theo literally closed his eyes as they approached the waterfall rising vertically from the surface of their asteroid, but when he opened them a second later, it was still falling, and the river seemed The flow was normal, although the little world was covered with grass and the spherical surface hung on one side like a huge curved wall, and through the two-meter-thick ribbon of water you could see the stars twinkling below. Then they passed through the protective force field and out of the atmosphere, picking up speed as they followed the curving ribbon of water.They're like being in a tube of a defensive force field From logic and they don't die instantly and dramatically, one can deduce that there must be such a thing but it's not like being on a templar tree ship or the occasional tourist The reassuring vibration and clearly visible texture of your travel tools when exposed to space.Here there is only the river, the ship, the people and the vast expanse of space. It was impossible for them to travel between the settlements of the Ousters in this way.Milio.Dr. Arendez said in a trembling voice.Theo noticed that Arendez was also holding on to the side of the boat, so hard that his fingers turned white.When the consul asked earlier if this was the means of transportation they had promised, the expulsor at the stern and the two sitting at the bow just nodded without saying anything. They were showing off the river, and the Consul said softly: It was used by the expulsors when they were resting, but they were all used for celebrations, which showed that they were practical in their actions. To make us admire their amazing technology?Theo said softly. The Consul nodded. The river twists and turns through space, sometimes turning back in almost illogical ways, and other times twisting tightly like a rope of plastic fibers.Always shining in the sunlight of Hyperion's stars, and stretching to infinity ahead.Sometimes the water soaked up the sun, and the colors were really beautiful; Theo gaped to watch the water return a hundred meters above them, and the shadows of fish stood against the colorful sunlight. But the bottom of the boat was always down, and they were traveling at high speed on a river with neither rocks nor rapids.It was like paddling a canoe on the edge of a great waterfall, Argentez thought, minutes after they were on the road, trying to enjoy the ride while rushing down. The river flows through partial settlements that fill the sky like fake planets; gigantic comet farms, dusty surfaces with geometrically shaped vacuum crop fields; gravity-free spherical cities, huge irregularly shaped transparent membrane spheres that look like An impenetrable amoeba filled with plants and animals; a string of tens of kilometers long, symbiotic for hundreds of years, its innermost core and organism and ecology appear to have been designed from O'Neill 29 or the early days of the space age Stolen; large expanses of floating forests stretch for hundreds of kilometers, like giant floating seagrass beds, and those protruding symbionts and main nodes are connected by protective force fields and tangled roots and vine buds. These spherical dendrites are in the Shaking in the gravitational breeze, it glows in vivid bright greens and deep oranges, and all the autumnal colors of direct sunlight on pre-Earth; hollowed-out asteroids, long uninhabited, now Automatic production and heavy metal refining factories, every inch of rock on the surface is covered with anti-rust buildings, chimneys, and cooling towers like skeletons, the flames of nuclear fusion inside make every world like iron slag look It looks like the melting pot of Vulcan 30; the huge spherical pier on the sphere, its size can only be seen from the proportion of surrounding torch ships or cruiser-sized battleships, such as sperm attacking eggs.The most memorable are the organic creatures that flow through or fly near the river. These creatures may have been made or born, most likely both, huge butterfly shapes, wings of energy stretched towards the sun, Insects are spaceships, or insects are spaceships.Their tentacles stretched out towards the river and the flat-bottomed boats and passengers passing by in the river. The compound eyes shone in the starlight, and the smaller winged human beings entered and exited through an opening in the abdomen that was as big as the parking lot for landing craft on a Tyrannical aircraft carrier. 29 O'Neill (Gerard K. O'Neill, 1927︱1992): American physicist and pioneer who advocated space immigration. 30 Vulcan: The god of fire and forging in Roman mythology. In the end, I saw that this mountain is actually a whole mountain range; some are full of hundreds of large bubbles that provide an ecological environment, some are exposed to space, but are still full of life, and some are connected to each other by suspension bridges or tributaries that are 30 kilometers long. , and some are proudly independent, and many are as empty and formal as a Zen garden.Then there is this great mountain, which rises higher than Olympus or the Hillarys on Asquith, and the penultimate section of the river rushes to the top, and Theo and the Consul and Arendez With a pale and silent face, he firmly grasped the side of the boat, and rushed through the last few kilometers at a suddenly felt terrifying speed.Finally, in the impossibly last few hundred meters, the river gave off energy without slowing down, the atmosphere surrounded them again, and the boat floated to rest on a grassy field, where the Ouster Clan court stood waiting, and The stones surround it silently like Stonehenge. If they did it to impress me, Theo said as the boat docked, then they succeeded. Why did you come back to the Ousters?Freeman Jinja asked.The woman moved, in that tiny state of gravity, with the grace only someone born in space could have. President Greystone asked me to come, said the Consul. You know that your life is in danger and you still come? The Consul was a gentleman and a diplomat to the letter, so he didn't shrug his shoulders, but his expression said the same. What does Greystone want?Another deportee asked, this man just introduced by Jinga is Caldwell, the spokesperson of the Citizens' Representatives.Ming Meng. The Consul repeated the president's five-point question. The spokesman Ming Meng folded his arms on his chest and looked at the free man Jin Jia. I'll answer now, Jinja said.She looked at Arendez and Theo.Listen up, both of you, because the man who brought these questions is not going back to your ship with you. Wait a minute, Theo said and took a step forward, facing the Ouster who was taller than him, you must first consider Be quiet, the speaker Liberty Kinga ordered, but the Consul had already put his hand on Theo's shoulder to silence him. I will answer those few questions now, Jinga said again.High in the air above her, several small battleships called squid boats by the Tyrannical Army flashed by silently, moving like a school of fish at 300 gravity like zigzag lightning. First of all, Jinga said: Gray Stone asked why we attacked Wanxing.com.She paused, looked at the sixteen Ousters present, and continued: We didn't.Except for this army group, which is preparing to occupy Hyperion before the opening of the Time Tomb, there is no army group attacking Ten Thousand Stars Network. The three people from Balian took a step forward, and even the consul lost his usual composure and stammered excitedly. lie!We saw I see FTL images The Gate of Heaven was destroyed and the Valley of the Gods was burned! Quiet!Freeman Jinga ordered.She said in silence: Only this army group is fighting against the Balian.The rest of our sister armies are moving away from the location where the long-range detectors of the Wanstarnet were first detected by the Wanstarnet to avoid triggering an incident like Brescia. The Consul rubbed his face like someone just waking up.But who would that be? That's right, said Ginga the Freeman: Who can solve such a riddle?And who has the motive to murder hundreds of millions of human beings? Intellectual core?asked the Consul, panting. The mountain had been turning slowly, and just then they entered the night.A convective wind blew across the mesas, shaking the Ousters' robes and consul's cloaks, and above them the stars shone, and the ring of great stones at Stonehenge seemed to glow with inner heat. Theo.Liam stood beside the Consul, fearful that he would collapse and collapse.We only have your side of the story, Theo told the Ouster spokesperson: It doesn't make sense. Jinga didn't even bat an eye.We will show you the evidence, void link transmission probes, live star field images from our sister armies. Void connection?Arendez said.There was excitement in his usually calm voice. What you call a FTL communicator, Spokesperson Liberty Jinga walked to the nearest boulder and ran his hands over the rough surface, as if to be warmed by the heat contained within.The star field spun up above. Answering Graystone's second question, she said: We don't know where the Intelligence Core is.We have been hiding from them, fighting them, looking for them, and fearing them for hundreds of years, but we haven't found out where the intelligence core is.The answer to this question must be told by you!We have declared war on this parasite you call the Intelligence Core. The Consul looked sluggish.We don't know at all that Wanxing.com authorities have been looking for intelligence cores since before Sanqian, but it's as illusory as Golden City 31. We can't find any hidden worlds, nor any computer hardware piled up. There are no signs of asteroids in the various worlds of Wanxingwang.He gestured with his left hand very tiredly. From our point of view, you are the ones who hid the intelligence core in one of your settlements. 31 Golden City (El Dorado): A legendary city in South America built entirely of gold. we do not have.Spokesman Caldwell.Ming Meng said. The Consul shrugged his shoulders anyway.Thousands of planets were abandoned in the Ten Thousand Stars Test during the Sanctuary Period, and all planets that could not reach at least 9.7 points on the full-scale standard scale were ignored. The intelligence core is likely to be on these early flight detection routes Somewhere on the Internet, we have never found it. Even if we did, it would be many years after Wanxing.com was destroyed. You are our last hope to find their location. Jinga shook his head.Above them, the peaks reflected the light of the rising sun, and the line of light and darkness moved across the ice field toward them with almost astonishing speed.Thirdly, Graystone asked what we wanted for a ceasefire.We are not the ones attacking Tenstarnet other than the armies in this system, and once Hyperion is under our control, we accept a ceasefire which probably won't be too long.We have just received reports that our advance forces have taken control of the capital and the capital's spaceport. What nonsense are you talking about!Xio couldn't help clenching his fists as he spoke. That's the way it is, said Freeman Jinja: Tell Graystone that we will now join forces with you in the war against the Intellect.She looked at the other silent members, but since it will take us many years to reach Ten Thousand Stars Network, and we don't trust your intelligence-core controlled portals, we must take revenge for destroying the Alliance I will help you in the form of a sword, and I will definitely avenge you. It's really reassuring.The Consul said calmly. Fourth point, Graystone asked us if we would like to meet her, and the answer is yes. If she, as she said, is willing to come to the Hyperion galaxy, we have kept the portal of the Overlord for the purpose of For this inevitable thing, we don't need a portal to communicate. Why not?Arendez asked. The third Ouster, a furry, beautiful mutant who was not introduced at first, said: The device you call a portal is a nasty thing and a blasphemy to the void connection. Ah, for religious reasons, the consul nodded understandingly. The Ouster with the fur of a strange pattern shook his head resolutely and said: It's not the portal network, it's the ropes around the necks of humans, a kind of restraint of submission, which makes you stagnate and make no progress.We don't want it. Fifth, Freeman Jinga said: The sudden death bomb explosive device mentioned by Greystone is just a very rude and rude ultimatum, but as we said, it is given to the wrong opponent and swept away. The power of the fragile and dying Wanxingwang is not the clan of the Twelve Sisters. We only have your promise in this matter, the consul said, and his gaze, which looked into Jin Jia's eyes, became firm and challenging. You do not have any promises from me, the spokesman Jin Jia said: The clan leader will not make any promises to the servants of the intelligence core.But I speak the truth. The Consul turned half-turned to Theo, seemingly distracted.We must pass these words to Graystone at once.He turned back to Jinga.Speaker, can my friends go back to the ship and transmit your responses back? Jinga nodded and gestured for the punt to be ready. If you don't go, we won't go back.Theo spoke to the consul, stepping between him and the nearest deportee, as if to shield the old man with his own body. To go, the consul said and touched Theo's arm with his hand.If you want to go back, you must go back. He was right, Arendez said, pulling Theo away before the young governor could say anything more.This matter is too important to risk not sending a message.You go, I will accompany him. Jin Jia gestured to the two taller and strange-looking Ousters.You both go back to the ship, the consul remains here, this court has not yet decided his fate. Arendez and Theo both raised their fists and turned around, but the two furry Ousters grabbed them and led them out like two mighty adults grabbing a disobedient child . The Consul watched as the two sat down on the flat-bottomed boat, and resisted the urge to wave his hands. He watched the boat travel twenty meters on the calm water, then disappeared into the arc of the platform, and then reappeared, climbing along the waterfall. Into the darkness of space.In less than a few minutes, he disappeared into the glare of the sun, and he turned around slowly, looking at the seventeen Ousters one by one. Let's get this over with, the Consul said: I've been waiting for this moment for a long time. Sol.Wen Chaobo sat between the two big paws of the Sphinx, watching the storm gradually subside, the sound of the wind changed from screams to sighs and then to whispers and disappeared, the curtain of sand and dust thinned, and then parted to reveal the stars , and at last the night became a terrible stillness, and the mounds were brighter than usual, but nothing came out of the bright door of the Sphinx, and Thor could not enter; Thousands of irresistible fingers pressed against his chest, no matter how hard he tried, Sol could not pass three meters away from the door.And in that blinding light, whatever was standing or moving or waiting inside was invisible. Saul sat, gripping the stone steps, and the tide pulled him, tugged at him, and made him cry in a false sense of déjà vu.The entire Sphinx seemed to sway in the storms created by the stretching and contracting of the anti-entropic field. Rachel. Thor would not leave as long as his daughter had a chance of living.Lying on the cold stone, he heard the howling of the wind die down, saw the appearance of icy stars, saw the tail of the meteorite and the laser death beam flashing back and forth in the space battlefield, and knew in his heart that the war had been lost, Wanxingwang is very dangerous, that great empire is falling before his eyes, and the survival of mankind may depend on this long night, but he doesn't care. Sol.Wen Chaobo only cares about his daughter. And even as he lay here, cold, battered by the wind and the tide, tired and hungry, Thor felt a sense of peace descend upon him.He gave his daughter to a monster, but not because God commanded him to do it, not because fate or fear made him do it, but only because his daughter appeared to him in a dream and told him it was okay to do it, saying It was the right thing to do, to say that their love for him and Shari's and Rachel's love made him do it. (Finally,) Thor thought, (Not logic and hope, but dreams and the love of our dearest form Abraham's answer to God.) Thor's comm was dead, and it might have been an hour, or five, since he had delivered his dying baby to the Thorn.Thor lay back, still clinging to the stone steps, as the tide made the Sphinx bob up and down like a boat in the midst of the sea.He looked up at the stars and the war. Mars streaked across the sky, glowing like a supernova when the laser death beam hit it, and then rained down a shower of molten slag that went from white hot to bright red to blue flame to nothing.Thor pictured landing craft ablaze, Ouster troops and Tyrant marines dying amidst the atmosphere and the screams of molten titanium. He tried and failed.Thor found space wars and the movement of fleets and the fall of empires, all beyond his imagination, far beyond his sympathy or understanding, such things belonged to Tesedides32, Tassi Tuo 33, Caton 34 and Sun Wu 35.Thor had met the senator from Barnard's world, several times when he and Shari were pleading to save Rachel, who was suffering from Merlin's disease, but Sol could not imagine Fedestan participating in an interstellar event of this magnitude. War or anything bigger than the donation of a new medical center in Barnard's capital, or the button-turning of lights at a convention at Crawford's University. 32 Thucydides (Thucydides): A Greek historian in the late fifth century BC, whose book "The Battle of Peloponnese" describing the war between Athens and Sparta in the fifth century BC is the first in history The first political and moral analysis of the nation's war policy. 33 Tacitus (Tacitus, 55?︱120): Member of the ancient Roman Senate, historian. 34 Bruce Catton (Bruce Catton, 1899︱1978): American journalist and historian, mainly researching the history of the American Civil War. 35 Sun Wu: A native of Qi in the Spring and Autumn Period, he wrote thirteen chapters of "Sun Tzu's Art of War", and is the ancestor of military strategists. Sol has never met the current president of the Balian, but as a scholar, he appreciates her clever use of speeches by classic masters such as Churchill, Lincoln, and Avarez︱Temple, but now, lie Sol, weeping for his daughter between the front paws of a gigantic stone beast, couldn't imagine what was going on in that woman's mind when she made a decision that would cost billions of lives, to defend or betray the greatest empire in human history. Thinking about something. Saul didn't care about that at all.He wants his daughter back.He wanted his daughter alive despite all logic leading to negative results. Lying between the stone paws of the sphinx on a besieged world in the invaded empire, Saul.Wen Chaobo wiped away the tears from his eyes so that he could look at the stars more clearly, thinking of Ye Ci's poem "Pray for My Daughter": ∮ 暴風雨又在號叫，半隱在 搖藍遮篷和蓋布下 我的孩子繼續安睡，毫無阻礙 只有葛利哥萊的樹和一座光禿的山丘 由是能颳走草堆和屋頂的風 來自大西洋的風，能停留在此 一小時來，我走著，祈禱著 只因心中充滿悲哀 ∮ 我走著為這個孩子祈禱了一個小時 聽到海風呼嘯在高塔上， 也在橋拱下，也呼嘯在 漲水的小溪邊的榆樹林裡 在興奮的空想中想像 未來的歲月 隨著狂亂的鼓聲跳舞， 由那海洋可怕的純真中出來 索爾現在才明白，他所要的正是這種能再次為未來歲月擔心的可能，那是每一個為人父母者擔心害怕的。不讓她的童年和青少年的歲月還有那些尷尬的青春年華被疾病偷竊摧毀。 索爾一生都在希望那些不可能回復的事情回復。他記得那天他看見莎瑞把蕾秋學步時的衣裳摺好，收進一個盒子放到閣樓上去，他回憶起她的淚水和自己那種失落的感覺，因為他們曾有過的那個孩子已經因為時光飛逝如箭而失去了。索爾現在知道沒有什麼能再回復到從前，唯有靠記憶莎瑞已經死了，不可能再回來，蕾秋童年時的朋友和世界也已經永遠消失了，甚至在他自己這個時代裡，不過幾週前才離開的那個社會也正一去不回。 索爾想著這件事，躺在人面獅身像那一雙巨爪之間聽著風聲止息，看著虛飾的星星閃亮，又想起葉慈另一首更不吉利的詩來： ∮ 想必就有些啟示： 想必二度降臨就會到來。 二度降臨！這些字句方才出口 就有精靈的巨大形象出現 困擾我的視野：在沙漠的沙塵之中 一個獅身人首的形體 眼光空白無情如太陽 緩緩移動雙腿，周圍 是憤怒的沙漠鳥群旋飛的黑影 黑暗再度籠罩；但我現在知道 兩千年的沉睡 因搖晃的搖籃而落入噩夢 是什麼樣的猛獸，牠的時刻終於來臨， 走向伯利恆而誕生？ 36 36引自葉慈詩作. 索爾不知道。索爾再一次發現他也不在乎。索爾只想要他的女兒回來。 在戰情委員會裡似乎一致認為該投下驟死炸彈。 Mena.葛萊史東坐在長桌的首位，感到那種特別卻不見得不舒服的疏離感，那種因為在過長的一段期間睡眠過少而引起的感覺。若是閉上眼睛，哪怕只有一秒鐘，也會等於滑行在疲憊的黑色冰原上，所以她沒有閉眼，哪怕兩眼火紅。而簡報、談話和急切的辯論都似乎消褪到精疲力竭的厚重簾幕之後。 所有的人望著那一群第一百八十一之二特遣部隊李上將的攻擊部隊的紅點一個接一個地閃動消失，最後在原先的七十四艘戰艦中只剩十來艘，仍然衝向來犯亂軍的中心，李的巡洋艦也在其中。 在這寂靜無聲的損傷情況中，雖然抽象卻清楚地代表了暴力和極其真實的死亡畫面進行著，辛赫上將和莫普戈將軍已經完成了他們對這場戰爭的悲觀評估。 霸軍和新武士道本來的定位只是為了應付有限的衝突，小型的戰鬥，有先天限制和最小目標，莫普戈結論著：麾下只有不足五十萬男女的霸軍無法和千年前元地球上一個國家的武力相比。亂軍單憑人數就能掃蕩我們，軍力超過我們的艦隊，以數字來計算就能贏過我們。 柯爾契夫參議員在長桌那頭的座位上哼了一聲，在簡報和辯論中，這位盧瑟斯人比葛萊史東要主動得多向他提出的問題也比問她的多幾乎好像這個房間裡的每一個人都下意識地感覺到權力正在轉移，領袖的火炬正在移交。 （還沒有呢，）葛萊史東想道。她用搭成尖頂的指尖輕叩下巴，聽著柯爾契夫盤問莫普戈將軍。 退回防守在第二波攻擊名單上的主要世界天崙五中心，當然重要，但是也要保護工業世界如小文藝復興、富士、天津四和盧瑟斯吧？ 莫普戈將軍垂下兩眼，整理著文件，好像要隱藏起眼中突然閃現的怒火。參議員，到第二波攻擊全數名單上的目標只剩下不到標準時間十天的時間，小文藝復興在九十小時之內就會淪陷。我現在說的是以霸軍目前的兵力大小，結構和所能使用的科技來看，我們能不能守住一個星系，比方說天崙五，都很有問題。 柿沼參議員站了起來，這話讓人無法接受，將軍。 莫普戈擡起頭來。我同意，參議員，可是這是事實。 臨時主席丹哲爾︱海特︱阿敏坐在那裡，搖著夾雜灰白頭髮的腦袋，這沒有道理，我們就沒有防衛萬星網的計畫嗎？ 辛赫上將在他的座位上說道：對這種威脅的最佳評估是如果亂軍轉而攻擊我們的話，我們至少有十八個月的時間。 外交部長帕爾索夫清了下嗓子，那要是我們把這二十五個世界讓給驅逐者的話，那到第一波或第二波能攻擊萬星網其他世界之前，還有多少時間呢，上將？ 辛赫不需要再查看他的筆記或通訊記錄器。要看他們的目標而定，帕爾索夫先生，最近的一個萬星網世界希望星距離最近的亂軍會是標準時間九個月，最遠的一個目標居家星系使用霍金空間跳躍推進器也需要十四年。 時間足夠轉換到戰時經濟。費黛絲坦參議員說。她選區所在的巴納德世界只有不到標準時間四十小時的壽命了。費黛絲坦曾發誓說，在末日來臨時要和她的選民在一起。她的語氣實事求是而毫無感情。這話有道理，減少損失，即使失去了天崙五中心和其他二十幾個世界，萬星網還能生產令人難以相信的大量戰備物質即使只有九個月，在驅逐者能再深入萬星網之前的那段時間裡，我們應該只憑工業生產就能打敗他們。 國防部長伊摩鐸搖了搖頭。在第一波和第二波攻擊中會損失無法替代的原料，對萬星網經濟的傷害驚人。 我們還有選擇餘地嗎？天津三來的皮特斯參議員問道。 所有的眼光都轉向坐在ＡＩ顧問艾爾必杜旁邊的那個人。 好像為了強調這一刻的重要性，一個新ＡＩ方面的人員得到允准進入戰情委員會，就那個很尷尬地命名為驟死彈裝置的東西做了說明。南申顧問很高，男性，皮膚曬得黑黑的，神態輕鬆，很有吸引力和說服力，也值得信任，而且有領袖人物的魅力，使人一見就對他又敬又愛。 Mena.葛萊史東一看到這個新顧問，就覺得既害怕又討厭。她覺得這個投影好像是ＡＩ專家們刻意設計來促成那種信任和服從的反應，她覺得其他人已經有了這種想法，而她害怕南申所傳達的訊息正是死亡。 驟死棒成為萬星網的科技已有幾個世紀這是由智核設計，只限於霸軍將領及少數特定安全人員，如政府大廈及葛萊史東的禁衛軍等知道。這種武器不會燃燒、爆炸、射擊、熔化，或焚化。沒有聲音，不會投射出可見的光線或音痕，就只會使目標死亡。 那是說，如果目標是人的話。一根驟死棒的範圍很有限方圓不到五十公尺但在那個範圍之內，作為目標的人會死，其他的動物與資產都完全安然無恙。解剖之後發現所有神經突觸粉碎，但別無損傷。驟死棒只是讓一個人不再是人。幾代以來，霸軍將領都攜帶作為短程武器和權威象徵。 現在，南申顧問揭露智核已完成一種裝置，使用驟死棒的原理，用在更大的範圍，他們原先遲遲不想公開這種裝置，但在驅逐者入侵的巨大可怕威脅下 提問非常踴躍，有時很尖銳，軍方比政界人士更持懷疑態度。 不錯，這種驟死彈裝置能消滅驅逐者，但霸聯的居民呢？ 把他們送到迷宮世界的避難所去。南申回答說，再重複了一次先前艾爾必杜顧問提出的計畫。五公里厚的岩石可以保護他們不受驟死波擴散的影響。 死光會傳到多遠呢？ 大約在三光年左右就會減弱到致命的程度以下，南申很鎮定而很有信心地回應道，是說這種倒數第二的推銷詞的頂尖推銷員。範圍大得足以消滅所有來犯的亂軍，卻又小得足以保護所有最近的星系。萬星網的世界裡有百分之九十二會在五光年之內，沒有其他有人居住的世界。 那些無法疏散的居民怎麼辦？asked Mopurgo. 南申顧問微微一笑，把手掌打開，好像要表示他沒有藏著任何東西。在你們當局確定所有霸聯居民都已經疏散和進入避難所之前，不要啟動裝置，他說，畢竟那完全在你們控制之下。 費黛絲坦、薩班斯托瑞菲、皮特斯、帕爾索夫，還有其他很多人立刻反應熱切。一種可以終結所有祕密武器的祕密武器，可以先行警告驅逐者可以安排一次示範表演。 對不起，南申顧問說，他微笑時露出的牙齒像身上的袍子一樣白。不可能有示範表演，那件武器的作用和驟死棒一樣，只不過範圍大得多。不會有其他損傷或爆炸的結果，也不會有微中子程度以上的震波，只有死了的入侵者。 要示範表演，艾爾必杜顧問解釋道，你一定得至少用在一支驅逐者的亂軍上。 戰情委員會的興奮之情不曾稍減，太完美了，萬事議會議長吉朋說，太棒了，選一支亂軍，把那個裝置試用一下，再用超光速通訊把結果送給其他的亂軍，給他們一個鐘頭撤回他們的攻擊行動。這次戰爭不是我們發動的。寧願讓幾百萬個敵人死掉，也比在接下來十年裡讓幾百億人遭殃要好得多。 廣島，葛萊史東說，這是她那天唯一的意見。這話說得太輕柔，除了她的助理西黛蒲塔之外，沒有別的人聽見。 莫普戈問道：我們確實知道死光在三光年就失效了嗎？你們有沒有試驗過？ 南申顧問微微一笑。如果他回答說是的話，那早就在什麼地方有成堆成堆的死人了。如果他說沒有的話，那這個裝置的可靠性就會受到強烈的置疑。我們確定是那樣的，南申說，我們的模擬實驗絕對可靠。 （基輔研究小組的ＡＩ對第一個傳送門基點也是這樣說的，）葛萊史東想道，（就是那個毀了地球。）她並沒有說什麼。 不過，辛赫和莫普戈以及馮．哲達特和他們手下的專家們還是攔住了南申的話，說明無涯海洋星來不及疏散，而受第一波攻擊的萬星網世界裡唯一有地下迷宮的是亞瑪迦斯特，離平安星和斯沃博達不到一光年。 南申顧問那熱切而熱心的笑容不曾稍減。你們希望有一次示範表演，這想法很有道理。他不動聲色地說：你們必須要讓驅逐者知道你們不能容忍侵略行為，但也要把重點放在最少的人命損失上。你們需要保護霸聯的人民。他停了一下，把兩手交叉在桌上。那海柏利昂如何？ 會議桌四周的雜亂語聲再嘈雜起來。 那其實還不算是萬星網的世界。吉朋議長說。 可是現在是在萬星網裡了，霸聯的傳送門仍在原處呢！Minister of Foreign Affairs Jarrion.帕爾索夫叫道，顯然也同意這個想法。 莫普戈將軍還是一臉嚴肅的表情，在那裡也不過再有幾個小時而已。我們現在還在保護連接基點，但是隨時都可能淪陷，海柏利昂大部分已經在驅逐者手裡了。 可是霸聯的人已經撤離了嗎？帕爾索夫問道。 辛赫回答道：只剩總督還在。在混亂之中找不到他。 可憐，帕爾索夫部長不是很關心地說：可是重點在於，剩下的人大部分是海柏利昂的原住民，很容易進入當地的地下迷宮吧？right? 經濟部長巴布雷．丹︱吉迪士有個兒子在浪漫港附近一個塑性纖維墾殖場當經理，他說：三個小時之內？impossible. 南申站了起來。我想不會不可能吧。他說：我們可以用超光速通訊向在首都的自治政府當局提出警告，讓他們立刻開始疏散，海柏利昂的地下迷宮有幾千個入口。 首都慈濟市被圍，莫普戈大聲地說：整個星球都在攻擊之下。 南申顧問很傷心地點了點頭。而且很快就會被野蠻的驅逐者屠殺殆盡。各位女士，各位先生，這是個困難的決定。可是那裝置是會有用的。在海柏利昂上的侵略就此不再存在。星球上的幾百萬人能得救，而對其他驅逐者的侵略勢力會有重大影響。我們知道他們所謂的姐妹軍群以超光速通訊相互連絡，消滅掉第一支入侵霸聯的亂軍海柏利昂的亂軍也許是好的制止方法。 南申又搖了搖頭，以近乎為人父母的擔憂神情四下看了看，他那痛苦而真誠的表情無可比擬。這必須由你們來決定。武器到底由你們來使用或是不予理會，要取任何一個人的性命，對智核來說都是一件痛苦的事或者，由於無所作為而使得任何人命受到傷害也是一樣。不過，在這件事情上，幾十億人的生命都有危險南申又把兩手伸開，最後再搖了搖頭，坐了下來，顯然把這件事留給人類的頭腦和良心來做決定。 長桌周圍人聲鼎沸，辯論激烈。 總裁！exclaimed General Mopurgo. 在突如其來的寂靜中，葛萊史東擡眼望著展現在上方暗處的光影圖像。無涯海洋星的亂軍衝向那個海洋世界，如一道湍急的血流對準一個小小的藍色小球。第一百八十一之二特遣部隊的橘色小點只剩三個，而在委員會成員默然地注視下，其中兩點閃動消失，然後最後一個也熄滅了。 葛萊史東輕聲地對著她的通訊記錄器說：通訊部門，李上將有最後消息傳來嗎？ 沒有給指揮中心的，總裁。回應傳了過來，交戰中只有標準的超光速通訊，看來他們沒有能到達亂軍中心。 葛萊史東和李原先希望能俘虜驅逐者，加以盤問，以確定他們敵人的身分。現在那個那樣富有精力和能力的年輕人已經死了死在梅娜．葛萊史東的命令下七十四艘戰艦也喪失了。 無涯海洋星的傳送門由預設的電漿炸彈摧毀，辛赫上將報告道：亂軍的先頭部隊現在已進入這一側的防衛區。 沒有人說話，光幕影像顯示出血紅色光點的浪潮包圍了無涯海洋星星系，那個金色世界外圍的最後一圈橘色小點也消失了。 幾百艘驅逐者的戰艦還在軌道上，想必是在將無涯海洋星那些高雅的飄浮城市和海上農場化為灰燼，但是大部分的血潮繼續向前推進，超出了投影其上的地圖範圍。 標準時間三小時四十一分鐘後，艾斯葵司星系遭受入侵。展示幕旁邊的一名技術人員說。 柯爾契夫參議員站了起來。我們投票決定要不要用海柏利昂來示範。他說，看來是向著葛萊史東，但卻是對所有的人說。 Mena.葛萊史東以手指輕叩下唇。不要，她最後終於說道：不用投票，我們就用那個裝置吧。上將，準備把配有裝置的火炬船傳送到海柏利昂，再向星球上和驅逐者發出警告，給他們三個小時的時間。伊摩鐸部長，用密碼以超光速通訊通知海柏利昂，告訴他們說他們必須我再重複一遍，必須立刻到地下迷宮避難。告訴他們要試驗一種新武器。 莫普戈擦了下臉上的汗水。總裁，我們不能冒任何讓這種裝置落入敵手的危險。 葛萊史東看著南申顧問，盡量讓自己的表情不致洩漏任何感覺。顧問，這種裝置是否可以設定在萬一我們的船艦遭到俘虜或摧毀時自動引爆？ 可以，總裁。 設定吧。把所有可能的狀況解釋給霸軍的專家聽。她轉身對西黛蒲塔說：給我準備一份對全萬星網的廣播稿，預定在那個裝置引爆前十分鐘播出。我必須把這件事告訴我們的人民。 這樣是不是個聰明的？費黛絲坦參議員開口問道。 有此必要，葛萊史東說。她站了起來，房間裡有三十八個人也隨之起立。你們忙的時候我去小睡幾分鐘。我希望立刻將裝置準備好傳送過去，同時警告海柏利昂。我在三十分鐘之後醒來的時候，要把談判的備用計畫和緩急順序準備好。 葛萊史東看著這一群人，知道不管怎麼樣，大部分的人在接下來的二十小時內都會失去權勢和地位。不管怎麼樣，這都是她最後一天擔任總裁。 Mena.葛萊史東微微一笑，委員會解散。她說完，由傳送門回到她住的地方去睡午覺。