"Your Excellency, are you looking for me?" , the airlock rattles, the steel walls parting on either side, and Pike, led by Chief of the Kane Guard, somewhat reluctantly arrives at Judge Ahab's reception room.

After the people were brought in, even though there were only four people in the entire room, Kane still didn't have anything to say. He stood on the side of the hallway with his hands behind his back, like a normal guard.

Seeing his former friend express his dissatisfaction with his decision with such a lifeless gesture, there was no expression on Ahab's swarthy face.

"Kane!" Dr. Abby, who was on the side, stopped discussing the topic with Ahab and glared at Kane with some dissatisfaction. But Kane, who has always respected Abby, maintained his original behavior after a fluctuation in his eyes.

Parker saw all of this in his eyes, and it seemed that Kane voted against the "100 sons of the earth" plan yesterday, and not just because he had consistently supported Abby.

Of course, Kane's relationship with Abby is much more than just a friend and a colleague. When Parker pursues Julie himself, Trist kid hints (spoilers) Kane's relationship with Abby intentionally or unintentionally. "--Uncle Pike, if you like it, you have to be brave enough to chase it, Aunt Julie is not exclusive to you!" "--Hey! Uncle Pike, don't be like Captain Kane who missed Mr. Abby, you will regret it! "Nonsense? I'm not talking nonsense, look at the way Captain Kane looks at Mr. Abby! ”...... Pike has always been silent (Trist calls it sullen) and is not a talkative person, so he can't see through it, but at this moment he notices the interaction between the men and women in front of him, and inexplicably thinks of Triste, as well as Murphy, Trist's last relative. In the near future, Murphy will be sent to Earth along with the other children, much to Pike's distraction.

"Your Excellency, are you looking for me?" After not receiving a response for a long time, Pike repeated the question. At this moment, looking at the culprit in front of him who caused all this, he faintly felt a little repulsed in his heart.

Judge Ahab put his hands behind his back and turned his back to the crowd and looked at the earth outside the porthole. After hearing Pike's words, he turned around, revealing bloodshot eyes, "Thank you for coming, Pike".

Pike shrugged and smiled, "I don't think I have ...... choice," but the smile didn't reach his eyes.

"Very well", Ahab said solemnly, ignoring Pike's petty emotions, "before I get down to business, I feel compelled to repeat what I asked at the end of the meeting yesterday...... The content of yesterday's meeting ......"

"The contents of yesterday's meeting cannot be disclosed to anyone, and violators will be punished with death...... I see, and then what? Pike put his hand in his pocket, as Trist had said it was cool "before he died".

Pike looked up into Ahab's eyes, but couldn't read any emotion in them, "So if you're just here to repeat yesterday's warning to me, okay, I've got it now...... So, can I go now? ”

"Wait a minute!" Before Judge Ahab could answer, Dr. Abby stepped forward and grabbed Pike's sleeve to defuse the unnecessary conflict in advance. Pike, who had become more and more radical and irritable in recent months, finally refused to save Abby's face and quieted down and waited for Ahab to speak.

Ahab was unaware of what had happened before, and he said solemnly, "Pike! You are the Ark's Director of Agriculture and the Ark's premier expert in botany and wilderness survival traditions...... Your theoretical knowledge in this area is the richest ...... in the entire Ark."

"But these are completely useless to the current ark", Pike also looked at the blue earth outside the porthole, it was so far and so close. Pike sighed, "According to estimates, it will take another 100 years for the surface radiation to drop to the habitable level of human beings, and by then, the surface environment will definitely be completely changed...... "To become the director of the agricultural district, Pike is naturally not stupid, combined with the current situation of the ark mentioned in yesterday's meeting, and the "hundred sons of the earth" proposed by Judge Ahab, Parker seemed to understand something, his voice trembled slightly, "Your Excellency, do you want to?" You're going to ......"

Ahab didn't answer, he nodded slowly, "Yes! I want you to start a crash course in surviving in the wild, planting, hunting, pitching tents, and dealing with dangerous animals...... Teach everything you know to those kids as much as you can! The judge paced inside, "As you and Kane said at yesterday's meeting, they are our future, they are our hope!" ”

"So you sent these kids to Earth? As soon as they open the hatch after landing, they will die! We all know that it will take another 100 years for the radiation on the surface to dissipate! The statue-like Kane turned, hammering the steel bulkhead hard.

The other three didn't speak, leaving Kane to vent his frustration.

"--Pike! Parker! I have a discovery...... The shell of the Ark space station is not completely insulated from space radiation...... But except for the first generation, you, me, and the younger generations who were born after us did not have a radiation reaction...... Born on the space station, it is likely that we have completed the evolution of adapting to the environment...... You said that it will take another hundred years for the surface radiation to dissipate, so how does the intensity of surface radiation compare to space radiation? Will...... If! I mean what if! Will we be able to withstand space radiation enough to survive in the Earth's radiation environment after a hundred years of ecological restoration? Pike couldn't help but think of Trist's bold conjecture (spoiler) when he mentioned the earth before, he looked at the starry sky outside the porthole, and said silently in his heart, "Trist, I hope you are right this time, just like you are always right......

"Your daughter, Clark, is among the 'Hundred Sons' too," Pike looked at Abby, as if making a final confirmation.

"She won't attend, she'll be held in solitary confinement until she's sent to the landing capsule," said Kane, who returned for Abby, unable to bear to see Abby's heartache at the mention of her daughter.

"It's good that she studied very hard the first time she took this course, and her grades were only second only to Trist'......", Pike nodded in understanding, and then changed the subject: "Many of these children have taken my previous courses, and I have taught many people, or I have tried to teach many people...... It's just that many of them don't have that strong ability to learn......"

This is just a euphemism, the vast majority of skills training will end before the age of 14, and the Ark allows children after the age of 12 to pass the assessment to enter the department they want to enter, as assistants and other positions. Unless you are particularly outstanding and have been unanimously recognized by the entire department, you cannot become a regular before the age of 20. As for the children who have not passed any departmental examination by the age of 18 (80 per cent), they are arranged by the council, and most of them will fill the vacancies of technician positions, and a small number of them will work as security guards, or be hired as assistants to the engineer's relatives and friends. Because the content of the general assessment is too difficult and the pass rate is too low, many children after the age of 12 will spend the last six years of self-indulgence, and then some children will go too far and commit crimes.

Pike didn't expect much from these children's learning abilities, and out of a sense of responsibility, he added, "Many of them don't have that much learning ability, but it's just out of their mind." ”

"They didn't know they were going to be sent to Earth," Ahab added, again, "if you told them ......"

"Know, know, then I'll be executed!" Pike was a little impatient.

"You might as well think about it, you finally have the opportunity to teach the skills of survival on Earth to the children who can really come in handy!" Dr. Abby patted Pike on the shoulder, she looked stronger than Pike had imagined, "and, if only they could get to the pre-war Weather Mountain Shelter......"