I don't know weeks

Chapter 9

Monday, August 2075, 9

Shen Xuan

So beautiful.

Shen Xuan was lying behind the porthole on the tail of the spacecraft, looking at the earth without blinking.The land of her hometown is being divided into two by the golden twilight line, and she knows that the beautiful dusk is falling at the same time in countless places that are connected in a line.To the east of the faint line, the lanterns first come on, and to the west of the faint line, the day is vast, and the whole earth is clearly floating in front of her eyes, and there is nothingness up, down, left, and right.It's really hard to believe... Such a huge and precious existence is suspended in the universe like this, only being pulled by a star the size of a ping pong ball. There is no shelf to put it on, and no one is worried that it will fall and shatter—even though it looks It looks like blue-glazed ceramic, fragile and vulnerable.

Shen Xuan looked at the porthole for a long, long time, and walked back with a limp until both legs were numb, just in time for the spacecraft broadcast to remind everyone to wear seat belts, because the gravity in the cabin will soon drop to her Not big enough to stand on two legs.It also means they will be reaching the moon soon - within the third hour after boarding.

I'm off Earth!I actually landed on another planet!she said to herself excitedly.

To be honest, before boarding the spacecraft and flying out of the atmosphere, Shen Xuan never seriously thought about the voyage itself.But three hours of earth-moon travel...it's incredible to think about.Her world is far away at the other end of 38 kilometers away.

No, this is the Yuan world, and my world is far away on the other side of the virtual... She said to herself with some doubts.The fellow interns with her, the teacher and the staff along the way all started to wear spacesuits. Shen Xuan also pulled out the spacesuit that came with the spacecraft from under the seat. The helmet seemed to have a will of its own, and it slipped out of her hand and floated away. , and then she pulled him over and pressed him back into the seat; Shen Xuan's hands were trembling with excitement, and he struggled to put on the full set of equipment in a weightless environment.She recalled the illustrations in history books of astronauts from the last century, all alone dressed like a giant refrigerator.Modern spacesuits are at least much simpler and lighter than those at that time.

The sublunar space—Shen Xuan heard the fellow staff call it "Toad Palace" very romantically—the additional facilities have not been built, the spacecraft can only stop on the surface of the moon, and all passengers must walk a certain distance on the surface of the moon .The place where they landed is on the edge of the rainy sea plain on the front of the moon. When Shen Xuan walked down the gangway, she could see the sunlight on the back of the distant earth, but the astronomical knowledge in her mind reminded her that, just like her own homeland, this infinite The desolate rainy sea of ​​water just entered the night.

She followed her mentor and classmates towards the entrance of Toad Palace.What I saw in front of me was a vast and boundless desert, the pure black sky and the pure white lunar soil were still clearly separated at the farthest point of vision, and the vast land from there to the place where I was standing was so flat that there was not a single crater .

perfect terrain.Shen Xuan analyzed as professionally as possible.The lunar soil under your feet is softer than sea sand, and this is the side with fewer impact craters on the moon.Excluding the geologically unstable Cold Sea and Ocean of Storms, the too small Chenghai and Dangerous Seas, and other small plains that do not meet the requirements, the remaining Sea of ​​Imbrium is a perfect place that we dare not dream of.

They trudged silently on the surface of the moon, following the road signs left by the previous pioneers.A leading staff member kept adjusting the navigator in his hand just now, and now he raised his finger and pointed forward:

"We have arrived!"

The sound is a bit distorted, with a hissing electrical sound.Shen Xuan looked in the direction of his finger, and couldn't help shouting:

"This is……?"

In the distance ahead, on the flat moon surface stands a Chinese-style pavilion. The pavilion has dark blue tiles, vermilion pillars and bucket arches. The style is small and the eaves are raised high.Seeing such a building on the desolate moon, Shen Xuan's sense of disillusion immediately rushed to the top of the sky; the companions around her must have the same feeling.

"Ahead is the entrance to Toad Palace." The leader's tone was pious.

"MoonPalace." A foreigner among the staff also came out.

Inside the pavilion is an elevator, which leads directly to the sublunar space 50 meters below the lunar surface.After everyone entered the huge elevator, they began to take off their space suits. Shen Xuan hurriedly removed the heavy helmet, and breathed freely the warm and moist air in the elevator for a while.The number indicating the depth on the dial of the elevator continued to rise and stopped at fifty, and then the door of the elevator opened solemnly to both sides.

Friday, August 2075, 12

Han Zixi

In the afternoon, Han Zixi nestled in his room to write a [-]-word internship report, holding the pen so hard that his fingernails bled his fingers.The internship is coming to an end soon, the technical department and the space station have no assigned tasks, and the temporary superiors will no longer occupy their time... This means that she will soon lose all opportunities to go to the space station—at least this year's opportunity.

With her right hand, she unconsciously wrote her thoughts on the paper, and she gritted her teeth and scratched out the handwriting fiercely.It's not that she didn't get the chance to go to the space station. In fact, she went to the space station with her companions five or six times...go together and come back together, and she must not be left behind during the period.Not being left behind means not getting anything done.

The communication bracelet on her left wrist suddenly rang, and it was Qin Jia who was looking for her.One of her temporary bosses.

Han Zixi put down his pen and clicked on the connection icon, "Dr. Qin?"

"Zixi? Are you free? Have you finished your internship report?"

She raised her eyes to look at the report on the table, it was almost the end. "It's finished."

"Well, there is a maintenance robot on the space station that has broken down, and I need you to bring it back. If I ask someone else, I'm afraid they will blame me for making them unable to complete the task... But you are my old acquaintance, do me a favor Wait for a while, and I will contact you immediately to issue an authorization."

Han Zixi stared at the last line of her report, and it took him a long time to realize what he said.For a moment, a crazy tremor ran through his body like an electric current.

"Okay, I'll be right there," she replied.

She arrived at the launch station of the management center with her backpack on her back, and soon found the small unmanned spacecraft Qin Jia sent her. The spacecraft looked like a car without wheels, with a small circle on each side. There are four seats and a small table inside. It is difficult for her to judge where the power system is installed.This creation is as thin and small as a glass ecosphere.

A trip to the space station these days is as convenient as a self-driving tour 50 years ago. Han Zixi sat stiffly by the window and watched the blue sky fade at a speed visible to the naked eye; her whole body was hot and cold, and the acceleration made her dizzy. Rumination over and over his own plans.In the past few months, she has been pondering over every detail of the plan with Cuihua in the PPS space station archive... Cuihua.Thinking of Cuihua, she still felt uneasy.Although when she went to find her that day, she vowed to guarantee that the behavior of this replica Cuihua would not be recorded by the research institute.Yet I must rely on her.She swore to me three years ago, and it's time for her to keep her vow.

But doesn't Qin Jia have any subordinates?The suspicious voice in Han Zixi's head reminded her stumblingly.Why did he send me to go by myself... He couldn't possibly know what I was going to do, could he?If he knows, I will definitely lose.Defeat...

I will not lose.At least I don't think about it.Another, more powerful and passionate voice tried to overwhelm her question, Han Zixi clenched his hands into fists, and a brand-new courage seized every nerve ending in her.

It was as if countless pairs of eyes were staring at her.Han Zixi's hair stood on end.

She took out walking shoes that fit the ground from her backpack, put them on, walked through the hatch, and arrived at the transition module of the Edward space station.The pale image of the space station is like a floating ghost.The bulkhead of the space station gradually lit up, adjusted to the manned state, and she knew that the AI's eyes were everywhere. — except for staff cabins.Employees need privacy.

Staff cabin.She stabilized her mind on the spot, passed through the bright transition cabin and the dark main control room, passed the staff cabin, and reached the white round cabin door that never opens in the virtual world.This feeling is very strange. Han Zixi stood still in front of the door, raised his left arm high, and approached the center of the hatch, as if silently shouting for uprising; and the hatch opened in response to her movement, revealing the entire operation layer to her. in front of you.

It was like entering a dead city.Rows and rows of huge mainframes are like high-rise buildings, extending almost infinitely, and the top of each one is submerged in darkness, invisible; before the hatch was opened, there was no light on the operation floor, and now the bulkhead is gradually emitting a faint light due to her presence. Light.Han Zixi had no time to marvel at how vast the illuminated space was.

The bang of impact was heard in the distance, again and again.She drifted towards the source of the sound and found that it was a maintenance robot banging its head against the wall and making electronic sounds that humans could not understand.She looked down at the information Qin Jia left her, and confirmed that this guy was malfunctioning.

Dealing with this kind of robot couldn't be easier. Han Zixi pressed the emergency stop button behind it, and the robot froze immediately; she took out the tools in her backpack, disassembled the shell on its back, and adjusted it on the control panel. The robot obediently followed behind her.

So far... going well.Han Zixi led the robot back and stopped in front of a hatch in the staff cabin.The small screen in the center of the square hatch reads "Nobody."She left the robot outside the door, reached out and lightly touched the doorknob, and the hatch slid open to the left. In front of her was a simple small suite, including a bedroom, an office and an independent bathroom. All items and furniture were blunted. With chemical treatment, the walls are softer than the outside.It seemed impossible to find the knife here.

She wasn't worried that the AI ​​would become suspicious.During her previous internship, she had seen too many people looking for toilets in the staff cabin.Yep, the biggest problem right now is...

It's not a problem, not at all.This decision was made long ago.Han Zixi unloaded his backpack, sat down on the ground, and pulled out a brand new utility knife from the interlayer with his right hand.Utility knives are not regulated knives at all, so this is not a problem, no need to hesitate.

Crackling.She pushed the blade out of the scabbard. It glowed a blur of white, with a blade thinner than a hair.

Han Zixi rolled up the sleeve of his left arm, put his arm on his knee, gestured a few times with the knife in his right hand, aimed at the edge of the identity chip, and stabbed down fiercely.

The blood was dazzling, gushing out from the knife edge and hanging in the air, crystal clear like a red gem.Crazy delayed the pain, she gritted her teeth and cut deep gashes on all four sides of the chip.then...then...

She turned the blade sideways, and gently used one side to grope in the flesh and blood under the skin, and finally touched the hard corner of the identity chip.Drenched in cold sweat, Han Zixi inserted the tip of a knife into the bottom of that corner, trying to pry the chip out.

"Hiss—ah."

She cried out in pain.The chip is implanted in every citizen at birth, and 20 years later, it has already been integrated into the flesh and blood. The only good thing is...it is very small, no more than an index finger nail.

Maybe a year later, Han Zixi finally dug out his own identity chip.It took a large mass of flesh and blood from her arms and flew to the height of her head.There were bursts of blackness in front of her eyes, and she almost fainted. It took a lot of effort to pull out a bandage from her bag to cover the horrible wound. ... It was useless, the blood quickly soaked through the gauze.But as long as you don't get seen by the AI.she thought weakly.

She put the chip in the robot's chip storage tank, doing it unnoticed, and continued to walk back with it, all the way to the transition chamber.The connection between the space station and the spacecraft is still the same.She made the robot advance to the spacecraft, and the moment it stepped out of the connecting port, Han Zixi noticed that the lighting of the space station began to dim: getting darker and darker, and it entered unmanned mode.

This means she is no longer "human".