Chapter 852 Blindsight
The Moon, the original site of Kepler Base.
The messy rescue scene was separated by a pure white temporary oxygen shed.
Inside, where the extreme cold had not dissipated, the investigators took off their helmets, lowered their heads, and stared at the eyeless corpse in front of them.
"Has the identity of the deceased been determined?"
asked the captain from the command bureau and directly under the decision-making room.
"It has been confirmed with the [Silver Monument] Workshop that this corpse is the workshop's alchemist Ragnar himself." The assistant replied: "Based on the scene reconstruction and the investigation by scholars, the identity of the murderer has also been identified. …It was William Buckle, the Kepler base’s chief of security.”
"Is there any grudge between the two parties?"
"No, no. Since William came here as the security director ten years ago, he has never quarreled with anyone outside of work. He is recognized as a good-tempered person." The assistant said: "With Ragnar's character, he should also You should disdain conflicts with people at the same base."
"Okay, let me guess..."
The captain, who had not slept for nearly forty-eight hours, squatted on the ground, stared at the empty eyes of the corpse, and suddenly said: "This William Barker should have served in the dark side prison before coming to Kepler Base. Have you passed?"
The assistant was stunned, then looked down at the screen in his hand and called up the file, but part of it was blocked.
Top secret nature.
"You don't need to read it. Apart from the Dark Side Prison, there is only the Sixth Research Institute on the moon with such top-secret files. It is absolutely impossible for anyone from the Sixth Research Institute to be outside..."
The captain rubbed his face: "Use my name to send a letter to the dark side prison to inquire."
Within five minutes, the exact reply appeared on the assistant's screen.
Just as the captain guessed, William Buckle had indeed served in the dark side prison for twelve years before coming here.
The service area is the 1st floor of Area B.
The detention center of Grand Master Publius!
Weird coincidence.
"...It just happened, right?"
The captain's eyes were staring at the corpse, but his empty sight fell into the void, becoming gloomy and scary: "The service members of the dark side prison are not allowed to return to the present situation for life, so they can only find jobs on the moon and the border. As a As compensation, they will all have well-paid and high-status positions in various bases and departments..."
He paused for a moment, then turned around and ordered: "Check the whereabouts of the B1 guards over the years after they retired!"
Fifteen minutes later, the report appeared in front of the captain.
Over the past ninety years, a total of 141 guards have resigned from the B1 level. Thirty-four of them voluntarily stayed in the dark side prison and turned into a logistics unit. Forty people went to the border, and the rest were all scattered. Among the major research bases on the moon...
But when they carefully sorted it out, they discovered that on such a huge moon, with hundreds or thousands of institutions, more than eleven people had come to this narrow area between the Ocean of Tempest and the Island Sea.
And without exception, in various accidents... they died quickly!
"When did the last death begin?" the captain asked.
"Seventy years ago..." the assistant said: "Since that time, no demobilized personnel have come to the Kepler area until William retired two years ago."
"It happens to be the time when the two Helios workshops are docking."
The captain laughed mockingly: "Then, help me look at the medical records of Grand Master Publius. When did the signs of source quality decay and soul shrinkage begin?"
"Nine, ninety-one years ago..."
In the long silence, the captain lit the cigarette in the corner of his mouth and muttered to himself.
Twenty years later.
"Have you been preparing to escape from prison since then, Publius... As expected, a grand master is a grand master, and no one should be underestimated."
The assistant was stunned: "Isn't Publius dead?"
"Yes, he is dead, but the problem is...how to define a person's death, my friend." The captain laughed.
He raised his hand and pointed at his forehead: "Is it the destruction of the body or the dissipation of the soul? It's just a dead body, what does it mean? Aren't there any remnants of the soul that can't be found at the scene?"
"Isn't it the erosion of cursed bullets?"
"Let's not care about why someone would go to all the trouble to rush into the dark side prison to kill an old thing that has long been forgotten by the whole world. If, I mean, if there is even the slightest possibility...if he is killed Was his soul no longer here before?"
The captain raised his eyes, and his eyes suddenly lit up: "What if he had escaped from prison before that?"
That's right, jailbreak.
Publius, the great master of Sephirothology, single-handedly accomplished a heroic feat that countless people have not been able to accomplish for hundreds of years.
Escape from the dark side prison!
Even if the recent anomalies in lunar monitoring and the strange things happening in Kepler crater had not received the focus of the Astronomical Society and were linked together, no one would even be able to find any clues.
Only the professional hunting dogs of the original Dark Legion have such a keen sense of smell.
From the seemingly ordinary death, there are clues of abnormality.
"Tony, what do you think?" the captain looked up and asked.
"I'm just sitting and watching." The horse-faced man smoking next to him shrugged: "I'm still on vacation, brother. Even if I'm dragged to work overtime, do I still have to be a compliment?"
"At this time, you need to use your ideas to verify it."
The captain stood up and suddenly asked: "If you were Grand Master Publius, how much price would you pay to gain freedom?"
Tony chuckled softly, grinning from behind his mask as if he felt the same.
I can understand the determination that is already above ordinary people.
"Of course, no matter what the cost..."
He could conclude that.
Even if I am also paying the price!
Well, the answer is already clear.
The first known condition is that the discipline that the great master Publius specializes in is the essence of man.
Known Condition 2: Since ninety-one years ago, Publius's soul has shown signs of collapse due to aging, and the source of essence has been dissipated. Until recently, he lost all the ability to use alchemy before his death.
Known condition three is that all the people who retired from the B1 area of the dark side prison and came to the vicinity of the Kepler base all died of legitimate deaths due to various reasons.
The fourth known condition is Publius’ inhuman obsession with miracles, and even the big mistake he made because of it!
To accomplish what purpose, to escape from here.
He didn't hesitate to kill himself.
"But, is such a thing possible?" Tony asked, "Isn't this a bit too sensational?"
"Don't forget, he is the Grand Master, Tony."
The captain said: "Fifth-level ascendants may have their limits, but for a grand master, as long as they are well prepared... nothing is impossible. What's more, what about this mere 'suicide'?"
The only thing that the cage cannot isolate is the desire of the soul.
he was thinking.
He kept thinking.
For him, escaping from here is all he wants.
The two looked at each other without saying a word, but at the same time they felt an indescribable chill.
They all already understood that in the world's most stringent guard and blockade, under surveillance without any privacy at all times, in full view of everyone, what did the man who longed for freedom do.
For countless long nights, I endured unprecedented pain, bit by bit... tearing my soul apart.
With wisps of escaping essence, the broken souls were implanted bit by bit into the guards who were close at hand.
In order to avoid triggering monitoring, the source of essence must be extremely thin, contained in words, thoughts, and sight.
Relying on the accidental exchange of eyes, the unanswered confession and the moaning when talking to the doctor.
Cut your own soul into pieces, tear it into pieces, merge it into other people's souls, and finally reassemble it into another shape, letting them take away part of your soul.
Once, and again, and again…
Create hell from your own soul, and then extract the essence of freedom from this narrow hell day after day.
As a result, the source material gradually became scarce and the soul gradually collapsed.
This painful suicide has been repeated for ninety years. How many times has it succeeded and how many times has it failed? Except Publius, probably no one knows.
When each person dies, he will take with him a part of his body and the remains of his soul.
Just like planting a seed, it grows silently and waits silently until one day, the recipient hears some news, sees something, has an unusual dream, and finally, faces an irreversible fate. The erosion and transformation became part of the Grand Master Publius.
"If this is true, he at least divided his soul into eleven parts. No, if you include William, it should be twelve parts." Tony sighed, "Is such a thing really possible?"
"Don't forget, Tony, he is the Grand Master."
As long as he can pay the price, the Grand Master is omnipotent...
The captain put out his cigarette and said softly: "For such an inhuman existence, what is impossible?"
"If you write a report based on such baseless speculation, I'm afraid the boss above won't believe it, right?"
"Who says it's not?" The captain stood up and took one last look at the corpse on the ground: "But apart from this, what else is there to write about? After all, it is a possibility... How to verify it is a headache for the gentlemen above. Bar."
Three hours later, in a separate bedroom in the temporary settlement base of Kepler Crater, the captain completed his sixth investigation report.
After a small glass of wine, he wrapped himself in a blanket and fell into a deep sleep.
Snoring began.
This report was sent to the current location through the satellite between the earth and the moon. It arrived at the London extension Watt one minute later and was transferred to the central decision-making room and the overhead floor.
After receiving the preliminary review, the analysis team of more than 600 people summarized and assembled the intelligence, and submitted the third batch of findings and speculations half an hour later.
After being verified by the axis mechanism, fifteen minutes later, the report was forwarded to the higher-level organization.
After another hour, the meeting ended.
After the video conference, Secretary-General Yegor sat in his study in his pajamas and smoked a cigarette without drinking alcohol.
He bowed his head and signed the new order.
At the seventh hour, a state of emergency regulation was ushered in on the moon. After everyone forcibly stopped all activities, they went to the thirteen sanctuaries.
At the same time, the moon's orbit began to adjust for the fourth time. In an emergency, it was temporarily decoupled from the gravity of the current situation.
After the adjustment of the orbital inclination, the huge star circulated once, performed a slight acceleration, and separated from the orbit by virtue of the effect of the gravitational slingshot.
A round of quasi-moonlight was left hanging above the current sky.
And among the countless interlaced star paths, on the back side of the eternally dark moon, silver-white dust rises.
In the vacuum, the moon sea collapsed, and forty-seven ring-shaped metal creations with a diameter of six kilometers erupted into the universe with blue firelight.
They seem to be penetrated by an invisible axis, extending straight outward.
Aiming in the direction of Jupiter.
Hold on to the devil's eye.
In the center of countless concentric circles, under the cracked shell of the moon, a pure metal substance that had been silent for more than sixty years was waiting quietly.
Heavy cannons with a mass comparable to those of medium-sized islands are ready to go.
Wait quietly.
Waiting for the results of the observation.
Waiting for the war to come——
At the same time, under the aim of the heavy-mass cannon, Huai Shi struggled in his sleep and felt suffocated.
He was about to be suffocated to death by the broken dog lying on his face.
Ah...Cavan...
By the way, Blindsight is one of my favorite science fiction novels by Peter Watts. It's perfect for watching when you can't sleep, as it will make you sleepy immediately. But its setting and some plots won’t make you give up reading. Every time I read it, I feel like I forgot about it, and then I read it again... Every time I reread it, I can feel good for at least a month. sleep. (Except for Blind Sight, the only short story that has been translated into Chinese in China is "Island". If there are others that I haven't discovered yet, please remind me!