Chapter 369: 10 Years of Life and Death 2 Boundless

Thinker Novel Network

Fina voluntarily asked to enter the game to sleep on the return trip. Since she knew that the flight would not fly over Egypt, she didn’t bother to waste time. The seats on the plane were not comfortable, and it was even more frightening when it took off and landed.

Zhang Zian happily agreed, just to save a ticket, just buy a seat for Richard.

When he came to the United States, Richard's seat was close to the aisle, but when he returned, he learned to be smart and asked to sit by the window, and Zhang Zian sat next to him.

As soon as he boarded the plane, he was pleasantly surprised to find that the stewardesses on this flight were of good quality, tall and young, with a tolerable appearance. He wondered if it was a big Thanksgiving treat from United Airlines... Therefore, since he got on the plane, his The eyes have not been willing to leave the stewardesses.

Richard jumped into his seat and looked out the porthole at the hazy Los Angeles International Airport.

Giant silver-gray birds are parked on the runway, and planes take off or land from time to time, and the airport shuttle bus carries passengers to and from various terminals. Even on rainy days, the third-largest airport in the United States is still a busy scene.

Passengers around were discussing in various languages ​​whether the rainy weather would affect the normal takeoff of this flight, but so far, they have not received any delay announcement from the captain.

Richard felt a little bored. Zhang Zian's oral English improved a lot during this trip to the United States, and he can communicate normally without using it for ordinary conversations. Moreover, he is not talking at all now, and his eyes are busier than the airport shuttle bus...

If it had known this earlier, it would have simply asked to go back to the game and take a nap. When it got home, it could make a big fuss while Zhang Zian was recovering from sleep.

...

She sat in the window seat, quietly waiting for the plane to take off. On her right is a rude middle-aged man, with shrewd and sharp eyes, and from time to time he looks at her critically, as if looking at something that is up for grabs—this kind of look always reminds her of her ex-husband, and She was sure that at some point after the plane took off, he would find an opportunity to strike up a conversation with her.

So, she took out the laptop from the suitcase, opened it, put it on her lap, started the document, and pretended to be very busy. She has no plans to start a next relationship, at least not yet.

In the document is a roughly completed speech, which only needs a few minor repairs.

In recent years, she has become accustomed to writing this kind of speeches, even more frequently than writing her academic reports, running around to raise funds for the Alex Foundation. For the content of her speech, some people can understand, some people can't, and voices accusing her of being too radical are heard from time to time. To this day, some still think Alex is just another joke, a remake of the horse named Clever Hans, who relies on unintentional hints to answer questions, and others say that she has insights into animal brains It's a castle in the air, without any evidence to support it.

Yes, there is no evidence to support it, because the only "evidence" has left this world forever.

There are several other African gray parrots in her lab, all of them excellent, but none quite as good as Alex. It was a genius - she was more and more sure of it after it was gone.

As Alex's deeds made her famous, the funding of the laboratory has gradually become looser. It is not necessary to let Alex, two other parrots and a large living person squeeze together in a small room less than 6 square meters like many years ago. These are Alex's legacy, but it is a pity that it has no chance to enjoy.

She turned her head slightly, staring at her face reflected in the porthole. She was wearing a gray-black suit with a turtleneck sweater inside. Today's Los Angeles is a bit cold, and she is a bit old. There are many more wrinkles on her face than ten years ago, and her skin is weakly loose.

It's been ten years since Alex died, and she still can't let it go.

Why a gray parrot?

Many people have asked her this question,

So much so that she had to put the answer to this sentence often in the first paragraph of her speech.

African gray parrots are one of the most popular pets for humans. As early as 4,000 years ago, parrots as pets appeared in ancient Egyptian murals. They are the easiest to learn and express human language clearly.

Staring at the hazy Los Angeles International Airport, she couldn't help but recall the first time she met Alex in a pet store near Chicago's O'Hare International Airport, when he was only 1 year old and squatted with eight other birds. There was a cage waiting to be adopted, and she picked it, one in nine chances.

A huge Boeing 787 passenger plane was parked on the runway not far away. Such a behemoth usually flies on international routes. She couldn't help guessing where this plane would fly to? Russia? China? Australia? Or some other distant country? The airport passenger elevator car has been evacuated, the cabin door is closed, and the 787 is following the instructions of the control tower, ready to take off at any time to clear the runway.

The captain's announcement sounded in the cabin:

"The plane is about to take off soon, and now the cabin crew is conducting a security check. Please sit down, fasten your seat belt, put away the seat back and the tray table. Please make sure that your belongings are properly placed in the overhead luggage shelf and under the seat. This flight is non-smoking throughout, please refrain from smoking during the flight.”

She pursed her lips and smiled, closed the lid of the laptop and hugged it in her arms. It seemed that her plane was going to be one step ahead.

After a while, the plane trembled slightly, taxied slowly, accelerated gradually, and overtook the 787 parked on the runway from behind.

The moment the two planes passed by, her eyes seemed to catch a familiar gray in one of the cabin windows of that 787. She gave a slight snort, and quickly turned her body sideways, trying to keep the gray in her field of vision for a second or two longer.

Due to the misty rain and the distance, she couldn't see it clearly, but she was sure that it was an African gray parrot, after all, she was too familiar with their shapes.

A gray parrot that follows its owner in the cabin!

If you guessed right, its owner is probably also her fellow scientist. Like she did many years ago, she did not hesitate to apply for a scientific research certificate, so that it can accompany her without being locked in a cage-she is very grateful for it , which shows that the owner loves it very much and cares about its feelings.

For a moment, she couldn't help but wonder if that could be Alex, but then she smiled self-deprecatingly and shook her head, pushing the crazy thought out of her mind. She must have missed Alex so much to have such an unrealistic idea.

It's been ten years since Alex passed away on September 6, 2007...

The plane trembled slightly again, its nose was raised, it left the runway lightly, and fell into the embrace of the sky.

The 787 on the ground was getting smaller and appeared to be taxiing on the runway, about to take off.

She straightened her body and leaned back in the seat with relief.

It's been ten years, and it's time to let it go.

This may be her last speech as she is retiring. She no longer worried that no one would inherit Alex's inheritance. Like the scientists in the 787 just now, didn't they just bring a gray parrot for scientific research? It must be very good, probably as good as Alex, otherwise it would not be so easy to get the scientific proof of accompanying in the cabin. Its owner must have done a good job, better than her, because she had never taken Alex abroad.

She is so relieved to have other people and parrots continue on the path she and Alex have blazed.

She is looking forward to, looking forward to, one day in the future, she will be able to see the figure of the gray parrot on TV, and see the news that the whole world is exclaiming about it. She sincerely hopes that it will stay healthy and go farther than Alex.

The cabin announcement sounded again:

"Ladies and gentlemen, we have left Los Angeles for Chicago. We have lunch for you during this journey. We will announce on the radio when it is served."

She has already decided that after leaving the Chicago airport, she will go to the original site of the pet store decades ago to see if the pet store is still there. If it is, she plans to choose another parrot from the store. gray. This time it was not for scientific research, but just to accompany me through the rest of my retirement life.

Full of longing, a smile appeared on the corner of her mouth.

...

The stewardesses also sat in the seats reserved for flight attendants. Zhang Zian's line of sight was blocked, so he reluctantly withdrew his gaze.

He glanced sideways at Richard, and reminded him: "The plane is about to take off—I heard this English correctly, right? Please sit down quickly! I said, did you get cervical spondylosis as soon as you arrived in the United States or something? Idle What are you doing looking up at the sky when you have nothing to do? What’s in the sky? Handjob?”

Richard blinked quickly, and said calmly: "It's nothing, the sand has gotten into my uncle's eyes again."