Book Synopsis
Book Tags
Donation Rankings
Comment
0 Comments
You May Also Like
墨書 Inktalez
Take a break from my novel! You've had a busy day, haven't you? Last time, we talked about how First Officer Creson fainted due to the comet. What could be the reason behind it?
It should be said that Fan Qing's concerns are not without merit. Within the comet, there may lie terrifying bacteria that have been dormant for millions of years. In an environment close to absolute zero, they lie in slumber, everything peaceful; but once exposed to suitable temperatures, they awaken. The unfamiliarity of these organisms will make it difficult for the victims to escape their fate, as no one can recognize their true nature and find a way to combat them in the moment of harm.
The current situation likely involves the presence of a highly infectious bacterium. As for whether it is lethal, no one has any confidence.
Fan Qing dared not delay any further and immediately conducted a comprehensive examination.
Breathing, pulse, blood pressure… everything was extremely irregular.
“Fan Qing, didn’t you notice the presence of bacteria?”
“I don’t know, Captain. I hadn’t even started my chemical analysis when the First Officer had his accident. It was too sudden.”
In fact, Reynold also knew that bacteria were not really within Fan Qing's field of study.
Fan Qing racked his brain to handle the emergency.
He checked Creson's palms and found no abrasions; it seemed that the bacteria had directly infiltrated his body. Judging from the overall symptoms, it could be a bacterium similar to Typhoid. If that were true, they would have much to be thankful for.
For the next hour, everything proceeded with extreme tension. Reynold kept a close watch on the First Officer's condition. When Creson's pulse stabilized, blood pressure calmed down, and his breathing gradually slowed, Reynold finally let out a sigh of relief.
At least the First Officer's condition had not worsened, proving that Fan Qing's reasoning was correct.
When Reynold stepped outside the isolation room to explain the situation to Wenke, Fan Qing also delivered his analysis results.
“I only conducted some reaction tests between the bacteria and organic matter, proteins. From the appearance of the bacteria, they resemble Earth’s Typhoid bacteria quite closely. I suspect they are of common origin.”
"Well done. It seems we can handle it. At least for now, there are no major troubles," Reynold said as he looked at the report.
"Thank God," Fan Qing exclaimed.
Reynold seemed to think of something else. "I have a suggestion: from now on, no one should approach the comet. Fan Qing, once you finish sampling, it's best to discard that comet immediately. The First Officer only came into contact with the surface ice crystals of the Ice Comet; I cannot determine what dangers might lie within the comet itself."
"I think you all should know that we will be returning home 48 hours ahead of schedule."
As he walked into the Command Center, Reynold suddenly confirmed this situation to Fan Qing and Wenke.
Fan Qing and Wenke exchanged glances and nodded.
"We're aware."
Fan Qing couldn't help but say, "But what does that matter? Right now, the First Officer is in a predicament; the most important issue is not about returning home. I just don't understand why the First Officer would go near the surface of the comet!"
"That's exactly what I've been pondering," Reynold sighed heavily. This was what troubled him. Everyone knew—at least the astronauts should know—that one must not casually touch any object obtained from space; even with strict monitoring measures in place, one must not be careless. But how could he neglect such basic safety knowledge?
A painful doubt arose in Reynold's mind: Was Creson's judgment severely deteriorating? Could he no longer make even the most basic decisions?
"Sigh... It seems the problem is far from over; in fact, it's becoming more serious."
Wenke asked in confusion, "Are you referring to the First Officer's condition?"
"No, not that," Reynold replied as he sat down, his gaze fixed on the energy-saving light on the ceiling. The glaring light shone down indiscriminately.
"I've been thinking about how to discuss this issue with you. Initially, I was determined to keep it confidential because it sounds too absurd. But now I feel it's necessary for you to know. Before that, please give me a few minutes to organize my thoughts. Is that alright?"
Reynold closed his eyes.
He thought far and wide, as if he had made up his mind to connect the scenes that had troubled him for days.
At this moment, Fan Qing and Wenke exchanged glances, eager for the captain to reveal what had previously kept them in the dark.
"Alright. Fan Qing, Wenke." Reynold finally broke the silence. His deep voice brought a serious atmosphere to the surrounding space.
"First, I want to point out that none of us wish to lose him, so we must unite and help him through this difficult time."
In that instant, the three of them reached a consensus with their exchanged glances.
Thus, Reynold began to speak. He recounted his experiments, described how much Creson loved the world around him, unable to extricate himself from it. He shared the information he had gathered and his conclusions, and finally mentioned the mysterious power that Creson had told him about. Fan Qing and Wenke showed expressions of astonishment.
Fan Qing's hands were tightly clenched, while Wenke stood up in silence, bowing his head.
Yes. Everything sounded like a legend.
"Please use your utmost wisdom to understand what I am saying. Right now, we need not concern ourselves with what motivated him to approach the comet; the key issue is how he ended up in this situation... I find it extremely troublesome. If you could provide me with some new insights, I would be very grateful."
Reynold looked at the two young people with hopeful eyes.
"This is a psychological issue," Fan Qing hesitated for a moment. "Captain, I think this has gone beyond my field. The First Officer is seasoned and knows every star in the Solar System like the back of his hand; it’s hard to believe such a terrible incident could occur on this voyage. Because... because we are all individuals who have undergone rigorous training, especially you and the First Officer. Scientists capable of venturing into deep space possess strong self-control and restraint."
"That may be true," Reynold slumped back in his chair, "but those hallucinations..."
"Hallucinations? Didn't you say it was the Subconscious?"
"Ah, actually, I'm not sure myself—subconscious only works when the subject is in a hazy state, and once the subject returns to their daily activities, the subconscious is replaced by the conscious mind. It's difficult to make sense of things using the subconscious."
"I've heard that some people have multiple personalities..."
"Multiple personalities? No, Fan Qing... true multiple personalities cannot appear at the same time. At specific stages, only one aspect of the personality can be present in consciousness; during this time, all emotional expressions and actions are governed by this personality, while the others cease to exist. Individuals with multiple personalities usually do not feel any conflict between their personalities. So what I suspect most now is that everything he mentioned might be fabricated by him or could be hallucinations caused by an overwhelming desire... I should check the results of the program!"
Suddenly, Reynold had a thought and leaped up from his seat; Fan Qing was startled by his sudden movement and stood there in a daze. Before she could ask anything, Reynold had already left the cabin, and she snapped back to reality and immediately followed him. Only Wenke seemed completely oblivious to the two of them and did not hear their conversation; he simply stood there, quietly pondering with his brows furrowed.
Upon seeing countless ellipses, Reynold felt an ominous premonition: his program had essentially failed. Lines of information were displayed after being correlated with the database, and Reynold read through them with a sense of frustration.
"...Is it him? Yes, it's him, he has come... I'm so happy."
"...We are really happy..."
"..."
"...I want to... but I can't..."
"...Why?"
"Because..."
"We will wait for you..."
"Why?"
"We want to be together... we need you, and you need us..."
“……”
“Have you been to...?”
“No.”
“Have you been to...?”
“No.”
“Have you been to...?”
“No.”
“……”
A series of questions, yet the same answer—“No.”
All the keywords were replaced by ellipses, making it clear that there was no corresponding brainwave data in the database.
“It seems like a conversation?” Fan Qing murmured. After learning about Reynold's program, he nervously focused on these sentences. Reynold did not respond, only impatiently flipped through the pages until suddenly a complete sentence appeared. This was probably the only specific and complete sentence.
“Who are you? Where do you come from?”
Yes, who are you? Where do you come from? Reynold asked himself, as if he had discovered a clue and was frantically searching for the next line.
But there was no continuation. He suspected it might be in another section, but as he eagerly continued searching, all that awaited him were endless ellipses. Those sentences held no meaning at all.
"...I am very sad... I have to go..."
"...Where to...?"
"...Home..."
"..."
"Then, we will come... together..."
"I have been searching hard. These dialogues... perhaps we should clarify who each comes from within. However, it's not difficult... It's strange, why are there so many 'we' and 'you'?"
He looked up at Reynold, but suddenly felt a chill.
Reynold was staring at the screen with a skeptical gaze, as if in a trance.
"I hadn't noticed until you mentioned it... Do you know, Fan Qing, I have a feeling: perhaps all our judgments are wrong. It seems this is not Subconscious; its pronoun is plural, and the thought process is independent. Unbelievable, I fear a brand new 'us' that we were previously unaware of has arrived—Creson has encountered it," he hesitated and added, "perhaps there will be more of us."
"I have been searching for a fragment in my memory. It's really inconspicuous; I don't even remember when or where I came across some knowledge about it. But my intuition tells me it might help with the current situation."
Wenke said as he handed the printed results back to Reynold, speaking slowly yet clearly, "Captain, my view is similar to yours. This is not the activity of Subconscious, especially not the kind of magical power you mentioned associated with it. If my deduction is correct, this is not a mental illness; rather, our physics community once referred to it as 'dark consciousness'."
Comment 0 Comment Count