The cataclysm revealed by Chumagrin's discovery has put humanity in an almost utter hopeless situation. Despair arouses the fierce fighting spirit of mankind and makes the flower of human wisdom bloom brilliantly. At that time, how many geniuses like Tianle thought brilliantly and imagined a whimsical escape path for mankind. It was the era of genius flying, the era of the deification of human nature. Science and technology are advancing rapidly, and the kingdom of freedom is just around the corner...... But from a higher level, these efforts are blind, unconscious, and groping in the dark. No one knows which path leads to victory. The splendid flower of wisdom may not bear fruit, or it may bear fruit in distant time and space, but we have no way of knowing.

Just like the "Condor Egg" plan that was first implemented in that era.

Sometimes I can't help but think of a naughty child's game: draw a circle on the ground with a naphthalene ball and circle the ants. Ants are afraid of the smell of naphthalene and rush around the circle, but they can't find a way out. The deadlock is often broken in such a way that an ant, in utter despair, rushes across the evil white line. It succeeded, but success had nothing to do with intelligence, but depended on blind courage.

——Excerpt from "A Hundred Years of Collecting Shellfish", written by Yu Leshui

1

George Jacoby and his team quickly completed the development of the term "oviparous" – the word "development" was clearly inappropriate for life, but there was no suitable word for it in human language. It is obviously also inappropriate to use the terms "creation" and "creation", as they are too vast to be used for the precise "biological modification" of such targets. In a word, human language has lagged behind technology. George is an unborn genius, and his team has made a quantum leap in genetic technology in just eight years, which would have taken hundreds of years under normal circumstances. The leap was so fast that George once said to a friend:

"Alex, if the progress of the past eight years is like God's help, I always feel a little uneasy, and I feel that it is 'too smooth'."

Alex laughs and says, "It must be the desperate situation you are facing that triggers your adrenaline rush." George, this is not a joke, I myself think that my brain is much more agile than it used to be, and when a subject is in a mess, it used to take years to figure it out, but now I can often figure out the right thread at a glance. ”

"Yes, that's what it feels like! Perhaps, it is indeed adrenaline that contributes to the excessive burning of the fire of wisdom. ”

Many years later, they learned that their speculation was not true.

Since the "Condor Egg" project is not a pure "aspirin", the incubation of oviparous people must of course be rigorously experimentally verified, which is a standard procedure for "new product development". However, the experiment was conducted in strict secrecy. The death order of absolute secrecy was first proposed by Ji Renrui, and George and others could not understand it at the time, but they understood it later - in the face of a major disaster, a new way of reproduction had to be adopted to make the human bloodline multiply on the wild planet, which the public could understand and psychologically bear. However, if these tough oviparous cubs who are born without milk appear on the earth and appear in the spotlight, it will definitely exceed the psychological tolerance limit of the public and cause unnecessary trouble. On the other hand, this experiment also has its inherent cruelty, because there will be no artificial assistance on the oviparous youngsters, and they will either survive or die on their own. If this situation is stabbed in the media, it will arouse strong opposition from some people. Therefore, if the experiment is disclosed, it will make the "Friends of Music" suffer from left and right.

As a result, they kept the experiment strictly secret, and even within the "Friends of Music" they tried to narrow the scope of insiders. Fortunately, the general public does not know that there is a standard procedure for "new product development", and no one asks about the preliminary experiments.

The choice of the experimental site took George a lot of thought. The site had to be absolutely isolated from the outside world, but not too desolate and harsh. Oviparous humans hatch as toddlers of two years old, and although they are physically strong enough to walk at birth (George is a reference to the genes of herbivorous mammals, which most of them have in order to escape from the clutches of carnivores), they are also unlikely to withstand too harsh environments. Therefore, the positioning of the tolerant environment of oviparous people is: mild climate, basic food and drinking water, and no natural enemies. Savage planets should be able to meet such conditions after they are "fully terraformed".

In the end, he chose a deserted island not far from here, located in the Danjiang Reservoir. The Danjiang Reservoir is the largest man-made lake in Asia with a wide water surface. At the beginning of this century, in order to ensure the water quality of the water source of the South-to-North Water Diversion Project, a large-scale migration was carried out, making it basically a no-man's land. The desert island chosen by George is even more uninhabited. The desert island is stony mixed with soil, and the soil is not yet fully weathered white clay with dense thatch. George bought the desert island, imposed a blockade, and then dropped an excess of biological seeds, including microorganisms, insects, wild vegetables, and wilded crops, in the form of fly-seeding. Two years later, the vegetation on the desert island has changed a lot.

In the evening, a small runabout sailed from the vast lake and anchored on the edge of a deserted island. Four guests left the ship and went ashore, including Chu Guifu, Yu Leshui, Ji Renrui and Lin Bingzhang, the current director of He Guoji's office. It has been eight years since Chu Guifu made the donation, and the old Chu is sixty-eight years old, his hair is almost completely white, and the others have not changed much. The speedboat then drove away, leaving a long white wave on the water. The waves transformed from this wave crashed against the shore of the lake from near and far. The pale green water of the lake is extremely clear, and white waterfowl fly in the sunset with their long legs.

The four of them stood on the shore, waiting for the underground laboratory to open. For the sake of secrecy, the rule here is to wait until the speedboat is far away before opening the door. The four of them chatted casually, admiring the scenery of the water and sky. Ji Renrui has been here many times, he is more familiar, pointed to a stone ridge in front of him and said:

"The door is there, but it's so well camouflaged that you can't find it from outside."

As far as the eye can see, the island remains desolate and untouched, with few traces left by man. The half-man-deep thatch shook in the autumn wind, there was no beach on the desert island, the water's edge was the white hard soil washed by the waves, and there were some things like fine sand piled up on the gentle slope, but if you looked closely, it was not fine sand, but shell debris, clay particles and the like. Live shellfish can occasionally be seen in the shallow water, and small fish can also be seen passing by. But the scenery on the island has changed a lot from what Ji Renrui saw last time: there are many dark green patches embedded in the blue-white thatch, and most of them are vigorous wild vegetables or wild-turned crops, such as amaranth, gray cabbage, purslane, broom seedlings, etc. The low soybeans are entangled with the thatch, and the pods have turned from green to yellow. There are also low and small oats, sorghum and millet, most of which have already borne fruit. In the grass, many grasshoppers glide on the tips of the grass and jump in the sparse grass, and the density is quite large. As you know, these are the results of several flights, and they are food for new humans.

You can also see several slender stone pillars in the field of vision, which are somewhat abrupt compared to the surrounding scenery, and the sunset paints them half red, and the camera on the top of the stone pillars is slightly turning. There are twenty-five stone pillars in total, and they are the only man-made objects on the desert island.

The door opened, George beckoned to them, and the four of them walked in quickly, and the door closed. The basement is not too spacious, more than two hundred square meters, and there are only George and a female assistant in the room. At this moment, the female assistant is crouching in front of a giant screen, which is divided into twenty-five screens, showing the scene of the whole island. Most of the pictures are desert islands, with only two white "human eggs" on each of the five screens, some of which are located on the hill slope and some are located at the water's edge. George gestured, and the female assistant switched a split view to the overall picture, and then zoomed in to a close-up. In the shot, two "human eggs" lie flat on a gentle slope at the water's edge, wrapped in a transparent flexible substance, through which the black eggshells can be seen. George Says:

"Now it's a one-to-one picture, so you're seeing a life-size 'human egg'. Removing the light cloud material covering on the outside of the egg, the actual size is about the same as an adult head. "He speaks Chinese. This genius in the field of biology is also a linguistic genius, and his Chinese has been spoken twice as well over the years, and his tone still has a bit of the oily smell of old Beijing.

"Is it black?" Lin Bingzhang asked with a smile, "I always think that eggshells are all white or speckled. ”

"It is incubated by sunlight and uses black eggshells to absorb heat easily. You've come just in time, these two are about to break. They have been hatching for a year and a half. You know, in order to make them strong enough to come out of their shells, I deliberately designed the incubation time to be much longer. So they shouldn't be called fetuses, so I made up a name called a fetus. ”

"I heard that you set an incubation temperature of 37.8 degrees Celsius, which is the same as the incubation temperature of eggs. But you rely on sunlight to incubate, you can reach this temperature during the day, and what about at night? Lin Bingzhang asked.

"The transparent, light cloud cladding allows sunlight to penetrate and at the same time prevents heat from escaping, which is excellent for warmth, and when the temperature exceeds 38 degrees Celsius, the cladding becomes opaque, so it maintains a constant incubation temperature." George smiled and said, "I can't finish talking about the technical details for a while, I'll tell you when I'm free." Anyway, many of the methods are biological patents stolen from platypus, crocodiles, turtles, and black bears, plus some human technology, and come together. ”

Chu Guifu shook his head, "But no animal's eggs need to hatch for a year and a half. How do you make sure that these 'human eggs' don't freeze in the winter? ”

George looked at him appreciatively, "You're asking the point." In winter, the sun is too weak to maintain that temperature even with light cloud cover. However, the actual incubation period of 'human eggs' is actually only 28 days, which is slightly longer than that of birds, and it takes place in the summer. The subsequent incubation process is actually a warm-blooded animal hibernating in an eggshell, relying on the yolk protein in the shell to grow its body and maintain its body temperature. ”

"Oh, yes, you big-headed scientists are amazing."

Yu Leshui suddenly said: "Look, this 'human egg' is moving!" ”

George said: "I have been moving a lot for the past two months, and we call it sleepwalking. It's about to burst, ladies and gentlemen, and I'm scared of it now. Even though my designs were very strict and careful, even though they did hatch normally according to the procedures I designed, and even though the X-rays showed that the shells were normal human bodies, I still had no bottom in my mind. For example, after he was born, did he not walk on two legs but only crawl? Know that they won't have adults to teach them to walk, and the animal genetically has a more powerful program for four-legged crawling. I can't even guarantee whether they will drink water after they are born. ”

Chu Guifu said unceremoniously: "It's a living creature that knows that it's thirsty and drinks water, or just let it die." ”

George smiled bitterly and said, "Yes, Lao Chu, you are right, every living being has this instinct. But in the eyes of biologists, all 'instincts' are ultimately guaranteed by technical means, and it should be a set of rigorous procedures hidden in the DNA, including the continuous monitoring of the state of water deficiency (thirst) in body fluids, including the identification of the physical properties of water, including the linkage between 'thirst' and the act of drinking, and so on. Such biological programs certainly exist, but modern science has not yet deciphered them in detail. Life is the treasure of nature, and after four billion years of tempering, science is far from discovering all its secrets. I'm a daredevil, brazenly tampering with God's original design, and it's really unknown whether or not I inadvertently ruined the original 'drinking program' during my restructuring. ”

Ji Renrui said with a smile: "George is deliberately alarmist, a typical pre-exam nervousness syndrome. ”

Yu Leshui can feel George's psychological vein. In essence, his words are consistent with the young Chu Tianle's obsession with "a big soap bubble should burst, but why does it turn into a small bubble". These stupid questions actually reflect the deeper thinking of geniuses, and it is not easy for ordinary people to understand. She smiled and reassured: "Don't worry too much, everything will be fine." ”

"Thank you. However, I have to warn you in advance that these young children are not allowed to be rescued, and you must be hardened when observing the experiment. George said.

Yu Leshui said bitterly: "I know this rule, I will abide by it." She knew the criteria set by the George project: if the survival rate of the oviparous child was not less than 10 percent, without artificial assistance at all, the technology would be considered successful and the follow-up work could begin. Ten percent. In other words, in a single batch of ten "human eggs", nine children may die. It was so cruel that she really couldn't guarantee that she would be able to watch indifferently.

Chu Guifu asked: "What are these babies going to do with the babies who survived the earth experiment?" ”

George couldn't help but shake his head and said, "Lao Chu, you are really honest in appearance, and you ask tricky questions." These surviving oviparous people are indeed difficult to deal with. I don't want them to enter normal human society, the reason, Ji Renrui said; Of course, they can't be strangled to death. Fortunately, with the energy that can be used for 500,000 years, it is also possible to make a cryonics device with a working life of 500,000 years - freezing in space does not consume energy, but if you want to revive the cryonics, you can't do it by sunlight alone, so you need ultra-long-life energy. We are going to equip the Chu's spacecraft with a small number of refrigeration devices with energy to place the surviving children from the ground experiments in it. When they arrive on a new planet, at the moment of the birth of a new human being, it should be more conducive to their survival to have a few big brothers and sisters involved. Of course, this kind of freezing and waking program is purely artificial, not as fast as God's program, and its reliability is relatively low, so whether the frozen people can be successfully revived depends on the protection of the gods - if the mana of the gods of the earth can be extended to dozens of light years away. ”

Chu Guifu was very interested, "Oh, it turns out that in addition to the 'human eggs', how many frozen people do you have to send?" You should have told me about such a big change, and don't forget, this ship is called the 'Chu Clan'! ”

Over the years, George has become a little fond of this vulgar guy, but he still can't help but stab him twice when he has the opportunity: "That's right, the name of this ship is 'Chu's", but legally speaking, you are neither the owner nor the captain of the ship, I don't need to report everything to you, right?" ”

Chu Guifu ignored this prickly sentence, pondered for a moment, and suddenly asked, "What is the survival rate?" I mean, after 500,000 years of frozen people, how many people will wake up and survive. ”

"As I said earlier, if the mana of the human gods could extend ......"

"! Don't give me any mana, I want a scientist's estimate. ”

His attitude was very serious, and George also stopped laughing and thought about it seriously, "It should be forty percent...... No, I'm trying to get to fifty percent. ”

Chu Guifu muttered and repeated: "Fifty percent." Then he was silent and asked no more.

The female assistant suddenly said, "It's starting to break the shell!" It's the boy! ”

On the screen, one of the two "human eggs" is shaking violently. Switching to an X-ray camera, you can see that the little guy in the eggshell is awake, but he doesn't open his eyes, yawning lazily, and his outstretched body is pushing against the eggshell - just like Pangu waking up and holding the egg of heaven and earth. The eggshell made a clattering sound, and the crack was pushed out, and the crack was expanding. But the little guy encountered a new problem that Pangu did not encounter: although the light cloud cover on the outside was very weak, it was elastic because of its network structure, and the cracks opened when the inside was forced, and the cracks closed when it stopped, and this process was stalemate for a long time, and the little guy began to become agitated, and the people in the basement were anxious for him. George suddenly picked up a pair of scissors, opened the door and rushed out. He immediately appeared on the screen, used scissors to cut a tic-tac-toe exit in the light cloud cover, and quickly ran to another "human egg" to do the same, and then disappeared from the screen. Lin Bingzhang in front of the screen asked puzzledly:

"Didn't George say that manual assistance is not allowed?"

Yu Leshui explained: "That's a two-level thing. It is not possible to rescue the viviparous children in their natural state in order to verify their ability to survive in the environment of the new planet; But the trouble caused by the light cloud is a technical error that can be changed. The purpose of the experiments was to find flaws and to achieve technical perfection in order to maximize their chances of survival after 500,000 years. ”

"Oh, that's right."

George hurried back to the basement and said to his assistant, "Remember, there will be a tic-tac-toe opening for future light cloud coverings." The assistant nodded. On the screen, the little cub finally broke through the eggshell and exposed his head. His eyes opened, and he cast his first glimpse out into the outside world in confusion. The little head turned, blankly turning in the direction of the camera, and the old and new humans looked at each other for the first time. This is the peering that transcends time and space, the created and the creator (the God of the new man?) His bright gaze made several people in the basement feel like thunder. At this moment, everyone in the basement (except for Chu Guifu, who had been in a daze alone) was drumming in their hearts with the sound of Huang Zhong Dalu's heavenly sound. Especially Yu Leshui is the most emotional, she has tears in her eyes, and her heart is full of strong maternal love.

Unfortunately, the oviparous cub couldn't actually see the person here, and his blank gaze immediately slipped in other directions. He may have been frightened by the world outside the shell and retracted back into the eggshell. But it didn't take long for the little head to tentatively show itself again, then the arms, shoulders, and finally half of the body. Half of the broken eggshell was toppled over. The cub fell out of the gap and fell to the ground.

The little cub was crying. The cry was not particularly sad, but rather like a ritual that had to be done. The eyes of the people in the room were moist, and they imagined that some planet in 500,000 years would have such a cry echoing in the wilderness. Yu Leshui wiped away his tears and smiled:

"That's right, despite being an oviparous, he is indeed a cub of our humans. Listen to the cry! ”

The newly hatched cub already has a body that is nearly two years old, and when it cries, it shows two rows of tiny white teeth. He stopped crying for a short time, and began to tentatively try to stand up, his legs disobeying, and he fell to and fro, but it only took him a few minutes to stand firm, and he began to stumble and walk. Yu Leshui smiled:

"George, look, he's not a reptile, you just bothered about it." She sighed softly, "But he's not exactly human, he doesn't need his parents to teach him to walk." ”

George didn't speak, his attention was all on the screen. The little cub, who was obviously hungry and thirsty, saw the surface of the water, staggered to the shore, and looked at it in bewilderment. He watched for so long that George really suspected that the God program of "drinking water when thirsty" was ruined. But at last the little cub lay down, crouched on the water, and drank like a puppy. A few people in the basement breathed a sigh of relief.

The zoomed-in footage shows mussels crawling around the water's edge. The little cub stared at it in confusion for a long time, and stretched out his little hand to play with it. The frightened mussel closed its shell and stopped moving. However, the little cub did not recognize that it was food and left the water's edge. Subsequently, his attention was drawn to another "human egg", which was shaking violently at the moment. The little cub was a little frightened and watched from afar. The "human egg" stopped shaking at this time, he overcame his fear, approached the "human egg", touched it, smelled it, stretched out his tongue to lick it, and tilted his head in a daze. No one knew what he was thinking at this moment, anyway, he began to bite the light cloud covering of the "human egg" with his teeth-Yu Leshui suddenly subconsciously grabbed Ji Renrui's arm beside him. Ji Ren glanced at her sharply, and keenly guessed her thoughts at this time: she was worried about whether the oviparous cubs wanted to eat this "human egg" as their first meal after birth, and she was worried that the oviparous humans also inherited the cannibalistic habits of the creator (in the era of ignorance). Over the years, Ji Renrui knows her very well and can see her inner thoughts from her body language. This woman's heart is transparent, full of holiness such as love, kindness, and compassion, and has a natural resistance to evil. But - the essence of survival is black.

Ji Renrui comforted Xiaoyu in a low voice: "Don't worry, it shouldn't be." ”

This sentence is clueless, but Yu Leshui understands it. She found herself clutching Ji's arm, smirking self-deprecatingly and letting go. There, the oviparous (George said the second fetus was female) finally broke through the eggshell, sticking her little head out of the gap in the light cloud cover, and giving her first blank glance at the world. She immediately spotted her kind, and the two stared at each other for a long time.

This is Adam and Eve's eye contact, taking place in a man-made Garden of Eden. The "gods" in the basement watched with bated breath.

The oviparous woman wrenched herself from the eggshell, rolled to the ground, and cried for a while, before stumbling to her feet. The other guy stared blankly and didn't respond. It is not surprising that, although their bodies are already two-year-olds, they are actually newborn and do not have any clear consciousness other than instinct. After a while, he left the girl and staggered away. Perhaps according to the instinct of a social animal, she cried and chased after her. Two figures disappear from the camera.

For the observer in the basement, and especially for Yuleshui, this is a very complete development. Several people clapped their palms and hugged each other, then eagerly returned to the screen, waiting for the two cubs to emerge from another shot. Chu Guifu patted George on the shoulder:

"Hey, I have a new idea." The addition of cryonics to the Chu's spacecraft will certainly cost a significant increase. I'm going to sell my last villa, maybe a billion dollars, and I'll give you the money. ”

George looked back at him suspiciously, and said sarcastically, "I can imagine that you must have asked for something in your generosity." "This is a repetition of what Chu Guifu himself said when they first met." Tell me, what's the hell in your head that's different from everyone else? ”

Chu Guifu didn't think it was wrong, and said with a smile: "Look, I've been with my old Chu for a long time, and I've turned you into a happy person." He whispered a few words in George's ear. George was obviously extremely shocked, staring blankly at the white-haired old Chu for a long time. At this time, the female assistant said:

"It's out! In District Four! ”

The figure of the cub appeared on the screen in Area 4, and then the girl also followed. George hurriedly turned around to watch, and said to Chu, "I'll talk about that later!" But he looked at it for a while, and couldn't help but turn back and say:

"You sell the last villa too, where do you live with your family?"

Chu Guifu said simply: "You don't have to worry about this, Lao Chu, I can survive if I find a kennel." ”

George shook his head, stopped talking, and turned his attention to the screen. Over there, the two oviparous pups were instinctively looking for food. The others didn't have time to distract themselves at this moment, and they didn't pay attention to the conversation between George and Chu. Only Ji Renrui knew Chu's new plan just now, and he was as shocked as George, he still turned his gaze to Chu from time to time while watching the screen nervously, and Chu Guifu also nodded at him with a tacit smile.

2

The "Chu's" starship has made rapid progress, exceeding people's expectations. Twelve years after the Condor Egg program was proposed, the huge starship was successfully assembled in synchronous orbit. Subsequently, the "Chitu" cargo spacecraft took off several times, carrying 501 dome capsules (one more than the original plan of 500) and interstellar spacecraft fuel. On the second day of the second lunar month of the second lunar month of the following year, the day when the dragon raised its head in Chinese legend, the "Red Rabbit" cargo spacecraft took off for the last time to refuel the "Chu's". The "Chu's" will set sail immediately, carrying the genes of two million species of life on Earth, including human genes, to begin this long journey that will last for hundreds of thousands of years.

The last delivery of the "Red Rabbit" will carry a group of human representatives to see off the "Chu's" in synchronous orbit. Due to limited space, no more than eight people can be seen off. Therefore, during this period of time, the selection of the send-off representative was Ji Renrui's biggest headache, and he once said with a smile: It is no less difficult than making the decision to "start the Condor Egg Plan" back then.

The first representative was, of course, Chu Guifu, who built the spacecraft solely and named after him. There is a small tidbit that outsiders don't know: in fact, Chu's original intention was not to donate naked, although he donated 20 billion, he originally hoped to be able to exchange for 1 million tickets, how could he sell 10 billion, or even more. This little abacus of the rich man is ridiculous, and it also shows that the ideological realm of this nouveau riche is not high. But when Ji Renrui categorically rejected his condition, he still decided to donate 20 billion naked, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people. The naked donation of 20 billion yuan really bankrupted his family, making him "fall back to forty years ago", leaving only a manor for the whole family to live in.

The second representative was Zhang Mingxian, an astronaut who presided over the "Condor Egg" program, and he made great contributions to the smooth implementation of the program. At the Laojieling meeting that year, Zhang Mingxian seemed rigid and rigid, leaving a rather bad impression on everyone. But the stiff technologist is at home in his field, and it can be said that he has squeezed out the last trace of potential in chemically powered rockets. Coupled with the fact that the spacecraft did not need to consider a safe landing (for reasons to be discussed later), there was no need to consider the return journey, so the ratio of the initial mass to the final mass of the spacecraft reached an astonishing fifty, thus increasing the top speed of the spacecraft to nearly forty kilometers per second. In terms of the progress of the implementation of the project, he also squeezed out the last drop of oil, and it took only 12 years for the "Chu's" spacecraft to be designed, manufactured, and assembled. Insiders know that Zhang Mingxian's exploits can only be described as great when so much oil can be squeezed out in a technology that has been developed to perfection. But even so, it only shortened the original planned journey of the "Chu's" spacecraft from 600,000 years to 450,000 years -- it was still a terrible long time.

In God's kingdom, human effort is too small.

The third representative, biologist George Jacoby, is also a major contributor to the project. He was responsible for the design of the new home ecosystem, including the design and manufacture of "human eggs", including the collection of biological DNA. According to the latest estimates of the scientific community, there are nearly 8 million species of organisms on Earth. Of course, it is impossible and unnecessary to collect the genes of so many species, George has collected two hundred of the most vigorous ones (mainly microorganisms and lower organisms), which can ensure the construction of a complete ecosystem on the new planet. He also presided over ten hatching experiments for oviparous people, perfecting the technique. The experiment was carried out in extreme secrecy and was unknown to outsiders.

There is another secret reason why the above three representatives were selected first, Ji Renrui did not plan to keep them a permanent secret, and it will be announced after the spacecraft sets sail.

The fourth delegate was an uninvited guest – six months before the scheduled departure date of the spacecraft, the Church of Rome sent a euphemistic letter to the "Friends of Joy Foundation", asking if it was possible to reserve a seat for Pope Benedict XVII, since "religious representatives cannot be absent at such a historical moment". This letter surprised the "Friends of Music". Although the Vatican has become more and more enlightened over the past half century, they have kept pace with the times and embraced many scientific ideas (such as the Big Bang theory); But on the other hand, the Holy See has always been very careful to distance itself from occasions where "too much technical power is shown". The reason for this is actually quite simple - when a human ship roars into space, the direction of the Garden of Eden will not be marked in the ship's navigation map. When science and technology show their power, it will inevitably impact the belief in God, not to mention that this spacecraft launch is still in an atheistic country.

Therefore, the Holy See's initiative this time was somewhat unexpected. Ji Renrui did not hesitate, and immediately replied with an enthusiastic letter, inviting the Pope to participate in this grand event as "one of the representatives of mankind", as long as the Pope's body can adapt to space navigation. It's just a pity that he can only leave a place for the Pope and can't bring his entourage. The Holy See fully understands this. After months of busyness, the sixty-five-year-old Pope successfully passed the physical examination and accelerated training in space, and the place was confirmed for him.

The fifth representative is Chu Tianle, he is undisputed as a representative, and the problem is also his body. After careful examination and space training, the final result is gratifying. Although he is sick and frail, it is strange that he is not as sensitive to overweight and weightlessness as ordinary people, that is, he has a greater tolerance for space flight. The number of delegates was decided.

The sixth place was also determined - Yule Water. She is not only a representative of the "Friends of Joy Foundation", but also a health doctor for the Pope and Chu Tianle, an interpreter for the Pope, and a photojournalist on board (the photography outside the cabin is taken care of by a nearby geostationary satellite).

The seventh is Lin Bingzhang, the representative of China's first and the current director of He Guoji's office.

The eighth is the representative of the United Nations, SCAC Secretary-General Abikar. Abikar served two terms as Secretary-General of the United Nations and was instrumental in the world's efforts to save the world. Finding that the SCAC's "rotating chief executive committee" organizational model was too inefficient to meet the needs of the situation, he led to the SCAC setting up a civilian permanent secretary general under the five military executive committees, without term limits – these rules were later said to be purely tailor-made by him, and when he stepped down from the post of secretary general of the United Nations, he deigned to be transferred to the post of secretary general of the SCAC, not caring at all about the "big and small" position. He is still very strong in this low-level position, and it is said that in the special situation of the cataclysm, the role of this "little secretary-general" is actually no less than that of the "big secretary-general".

Now, six of the eight delegates from China have gathered at the Beijing airport and will fly to the Wenchang Launch Center on Hainan Island.

Entering the airport VIP lounge, among the waiting crowd, they first saw a wheelchair with an old man sitting on it, and the wheelchair was pushed by He Zizhou, who was already 23 years old. Yu Leshui hurriedly pushed Tianle's wheelchair and sped up, the two wheelchairs stopped face to face, Tianle got up and held the old man's hand tightly:

"Old He, I haven't seen you for a few years, and I haven't been able to go to your ninetieth birthday. You shouldn't have come here with a sick day. ”

Although the old man was frail, he was in good spirits, and his eyes were as bright as ever. He smiled and said, "How could I let go of this opportunity?" To be honest, when the Condor Egg Project was launched, I didn't expect that I would live to see the spaceship in the sky, so do you think I'll let go of today's opportunity? It's a pity that the body is not angry, otherwise Xiaolin's ship position should be mine. He said to Lin Bingzhang with a smile.

People on both sides met each other and hurriedly talked a few words. He Lao still keeps an eye on current affairs, knowing that the hypothesis of "local space contraction" proposed by Chu Tianle 14 years ago continues to be supported by observations, the blueshift central ring zone and the blueshift boundary have migrated outward (expanded) for more than ten light-years, and the blueshift of the stars closest to the earth is increasing, which is in good agreement with the theoretical values. I also know that the "02 Project" under the United Nations SCAC has made a breakthrough, and cold fusion has been achieved in the laboratory, and it can be used in engineering within ten years; also knew that Tianle's condition had stabilized after the new treatment, in fact, the fact that Chu Tianle could live to the age of thirty-six was already a big victory in itself, but it was a pity that the Chu couple still had no children. He Lao asked:

"When will the next seeding ship hit the road? Of course, it must be driven by nuclear fusion. ”

"Yes, it's fusion-driven. The maximum speed of the ship should be 1.5 percent of the speed of light. The spacecraft will definitely be in space within 15 years, and strive to be within 10 years. ”

"Then I'm going to have to try to live a few more years. Xiao Yu, Xiao Chu, when the next spacecraft sets sail, I will not be satisfied with seeing off here, I will also go to the synchronous orbit, and by the way, I will celebrate my 100th birthday there. You'll have to reserve a spot for me on the Red Rabbit in advance. ”

Tianle smiled: "A word is a certainty." He asked He Zizhou, who was pushing a wheelchair, "Yangyang, have you finished reading the doctorate?" ”

"It's going to be over right away. I'll report to you when I'm done. ”

"Welcome. Yangyang, do you still remember those problems you had more than ten years ago, and the ambitions you set? Over the years, I've come to have a little bit of an idea about the 'energy of the vacuum' you talked about, and we'll talk about it when you come. Let's be honest, this thing is waiting for you, and you will start researching it as soon as you come. ”

"Great! It just so happened that I also had some ideas, which I discussed with Changchang. "Ji Renrui's son Ji Jichang is in the same school as him, two terms lower than him.

There were too many people waiting for them, and they didn't have time to talk more, so they hurriedly said goodbye to He Lao and continued to walk inside. In front of him was Chu Guifu, who had just arrived on another flight. Chu Tianle has not seen him recently, and when they first met, they couldn't help but sigh that this predator in the financial world who "fell back to forty years ago" in terms of financial resources seems to have "fallen back to forty years ago" in terms of dress. His clothes were very low-grade, Chinese cardigans, Chinese trousers, round cloth shoes, his bare head, and the thick gold ornaments on his neck and fingers were all gone; His skin was dark and rough, with deep wrinkles, and at first glance, he was completely a coolie in the construction team. Tianle and his wife looked at each other, and couldn't help but respect Chu Guifu, feeling that the scar on his face was not so hideous. In the past two years, Ji Renrui has talked about him many times with respect, saying that although Chu Guifu has gone bankrupt, he will not be so poor that he can't maintain his personal enjoyment. The key is that Chu has "self-exiled" in his state of mind, repositioning himself as the "poor", and sharpening his mind with the living standards of the poor. In this way, he can have no distractions, dung and money, and bite his life goal without letting go. And he only had such a simple life goal in his later years:

Keep the bloodline of the Chu family and send them outside the cataclysmic area.

After watching the hatching experiment, he did what he had promised, auctioning off the only remaining property for the whole family to live in to fund an additional secret project. In his words, his wife has already gone to heaven, and he himself will go to heaven soon, and there is no need to leave another nest on the earth. Ji Renrui once said with emotion that this most selfish vulgar guy in the world is really a hero and a martyr.

Only a handful of relatives came to see him off today: his eldest son, daughter-in-law and two-year-old grandson. This is also his youngest grandson. The grandson obviously loved him very much, hugged his neck without losing his hand, and put his tender face on his wrinkled old face. The Chu couple walked over to shake hands with him, and Yu Leshui asked with a smile:

"Hello Mr. Chu. What about your family, why didn't they come to see you off today? I still remember the first time we met, your left wife and right concubine hugged each other. ”

Chu Guifu was very straightforward, "You mean my four little wives." Damn, after I donated naked, they couldn't endure hardship, and they were sad every day, and it was rare to see a trace of a smile. I'm annoyed, so I let them fuck off with their children and marry whoever they want. Anyway, I'm worthy of them, and I bought everyone such an expensive ticket - a billion yuan each! ”

Over the years, George had actually developed a lot of respect for this vulgar fellow, and he quipped in his Chinese dialect: "It's a pity that after they remarry, will those children of yours no longer have the surname Chu?" ”

Chu Guifu grinned and said: "Not surnamed Chu is also my species, I only care about real things, not fame." ”

The crowd laughed.

It's time to board the plane. Chu's family said goodbye to him at the boarding gate, and the little grandson shouted crisply: "Goodbye, grandpa!" It is said that Chu kept the secret plan from his family, so the children and grandchildren did not know that this birth and death were death. Chu Guifu smiled and waved goodbye to them, turned around and entered the gangway. The seventy-two-year-old man was in good health, walking with a clattering sound, and his face did not show any sadness. The people in the crowd who knew about the secret plan, like Zhang Mingxian, George, and the Chu family, couldn't help but secretly exchange glances behind him, their eyes full of admiration.

Of course, Chu's parting sorrow is still there, in the two hours of flying to Sanya Airport, Chu Guifu is not as talkative as usual, and he does not tell his best meat jokes, but sits quietly in the first-class cabin, staring out the window with blazing eyes. Chu Tianle and the others also deliberately did not bother him.

When they arrived at Sanya Airport, they rushed to Wenchang by car, and the other two representatives and Ji Renrui were already waiting at the Wenchang Launch Center. From a distance, the group saw the towering "Chitu" cargo spacecraft, next to which were the tall spacecraft assembly and testing plant and the filling and fairing assembly plant, like three pillars rising from the ground. Thousands of reporters were waiting on the side of the road early, and their cameras and camcorders were like a dense jungle. The convoy slowly moved forward in the sea of people, and when they arrived at the VIP room, Yu Leshui pushed her husband out of the car in a wheelchair. Ji Renrui was waiting at the door, and next to him was an old man wearing a white short cloak with a hood and a white skullcap, which was very conspicuous in the crowd. Yu Leshui whispered to her husband:

"Pope! Let's hurry up and greet him. ”

Chu Tianle had already seen it, and before the wheelchair arrived, he had already gotten up in the wheelchair. But Pope Benedict XVII hurried over, pressed Chu Tianle's body back into his wheelchair, and then—the Pope crouched down so that he could speak to Chu at the same height. Of course, the reporters who have been flocking to it for a long time will not let go of this precious lens and take pictures one after another.

Unfortunately, the reporters were separated by the guards and could not hear the conversation between the two, otherwise they would have come up with sensational headlines.

Pope Benedict XVII smiled and said: "It is an honor to meet my friends who God has made for many years, Ms. Yu and Mr. Chu. ”

"Your Excellency, my wife and I are also honoured." Chu Tianle said earnestly, "I sincerely thank Your Excellency for rushing to the synchronous orbit to see off the 'Chu'. ”

"I should have come, and I would like to thank you. You are acting on behalf of the Lord, creating life in the Lord's distant land. You are writing a new book of Genesis. ”

Chu Tianle was stunned for a moment, the religious meaning of this sentence was too heavy, and it could not be connected with the rational thinking he was usually used to for a while. The "Chu's" spacecraft did not create life, but only spread "existing life" to the wild planet; Moreover, the "distant lands" dozens of light-years away do not seem to be under Jehovah's jurisdiction, and the old man in the robe does not have a spaceship as a means of transportation. Yu Leshui knew her husband's recklessness and innocence, and quietly touched his back, and Ji Renrui on the side was also busy glancing at Chu Tianle. Chu Tianle smiled slightly at the two. The two of them were too worried today, even if there was no reminder from the two of them, Chu Tianle would not be rude on such an occasion. Following the Pope's words, he respectfully said:

"Thank you for your high regard. We try to do what is satisfying the Lord and want Him to bless us with success. ”

With his temperament, it is not easy to speak such a proper diplomatic language. Yu and Ji were relieved and smiled at each other. But none of the three expected the Pope's reaction, only to see the Pope shake his head and say frankly:

"The Lord does not interfere in the earthly world. You will succeed, but success depends only on science, on your genius and hard work. But you are indeed writing a new book of Genesis. The Lord will rejoice inexplicably, and the robe will live forever in your cause. ”

Chu Tianle was taken aback by these words, and he also secretly respected, feeling that the hearts of the two of them were suddenly closer. He recalls the introduction of Benedict XVII in the sources, saying that he had long been president of the Pontifical Bible Commission and chair of the International Theological Commission before his accession to the throne, but he was never enthusiastic about the discussion of theological issues. He has repeatedly stated that the study and belief in Scripture is important in "understanding the righteousness," but in acknowledging the "allegorical nature" of the Bible. For a pope, such an insight is extremely profound and courageous. Chu Tianle wondered how much difference could such an enlightened religious belief (the Lord do not interfere with the earthly world and recognize the allegorical nature of the Bible) and atheistic faith? It should be said that there is no difference in essence. It can even be said that the Pope's assessment of the Condor Egg project, although religious, is actually more profound than that of the scientific community. Scientists are immersed in concrete matters all day long, thinking only of "great engineering", not realizing that its significance has long gone beyond the level of engineering. They are indeed creating a new world (in place of God), and if they are fortunate enough to succeed in cultivating new humans on a wild planet dozens of light-years away, then for the latter's mind, the "Condor Egg" project can only be understood as divine power and divine action.

Now he understands why the Pope took the initiative to see him off.

The Pope looked left and right and asked, "Didn't Mr. Ma come?" ”

"Nope. He has been in poor health recently, and my mother-in-law and sister have not come, so they stay in the mountains to accompany him. Yu Leshui said.

"I'm sorry I didn't get to meet this philosopher." He looked at Yu Leshui, "I read your report from fourteen years ago. I still vividly remember Mr. Ma's discourse on 'living' in the article, which is so incisive that it should be engraved in gold on the top of the Caucasus Mountain. ”

"Thank you!" Yu Leshui said happily, "I will convey your words to my father-in-law. He will be very happy. ”

There was no time to talk about it on such occasions, so the Pope stood up, dusted his knees, and said goodbye to the two men. Abikar, the UN representative in the back, greeted everyone and shook hands with everyone, and said with a smile:

"First of all, congratulations on your success. Especially you, Mr. Ji Renrui, my junior classmate, you have expanded the technical success of the 'Chu's' spacecraft into a more successful public relations operation, which has effectively channeled social emotions. He looked directly at Chu Tianle and said frankly, "But I would prefer to carry out the real human escape as soon as possible." ”