Chapter 4: The Burning Starship
In front of a villa on the outskirts of Shasa in the United States, Alvin parked his old tram and today was his last day at the Astronomical Observatory.
His wife, Lisa, was waiting at the door early, and Alvin knew what Lisa was going to ask.
"Elwin, did you quit your crappy job?"
"Yes, dear Lisa."
Alvin was a little disappointed and placed his briefcase on the table, the bright light of the lamp illuminated the entire study, and the walls were posted with mysterious star maps.
"That's a good thing, and it's more rewarding than staring at the same starry sky all day."
Lisa leaned against the wall with her arms crossed, the S-shaped curve was particularly moving, and today she went to the supermarket to buy a lot of ingredients to make a sumptuous dinner table to celebrate the change Alvin has made.
"Lisa, remember how you fell in love with me in the first place?"
"Oh, my dear, of course I won't forget, that you had a cool job and a lot of vision, and you always took you out into the wilderness outside the city to look up at the wonderful starry sky."
"Don't you like it now?"
"Of course I do, but your poor monthly salary is almost impossible to maintain the operation and maintenance of your old tram, and more importantly, you are always working, even those who are much more paid than you know to stay with their families after work, and you will only stay in the study."
"Okay, it's my fault, but I'm going to work......"
"No, your work is meaningless, you're in your thirties, it's time to think about offspring!"
"Lisa, I'm ......"
"I went to the hospital for a check-up today, and the doctor's opinion was that we should have more private lives, that's all."
"Oh my God, didn't I say you weren't going to go to that hapless hospital to see that stupid doctor?"
"I have my freedom, I have helped you find a decent job, and you can go to work in the bank the day after tomorrow."
"I should also have my freedom, and not follow your arrangement."
"Alvin, I am not restricting your freedom, I am simply urging you to assume the responsibilities of a husband and father in a family."
"Okay." Alwyn whispered, he didn't know what was wrong, but it was done, and life had to go on, just as Lisa had said.
When he handed over his resignation letter to his superiors tonight, his boss's expression of course and slightly mocking made him think that maybe his work was really meaningless!
Observing the changes in the starry sky is like a cicada trying to watch the life of a human being, and it turns gray before a baby walks, which is a ridiculous fact.
However, he was sure that the fist mark he had imprinted on his boss's face was meaningful, and he had wanted to do it for a long time, but it was a pity that he was sensible, no, the meager salary made him have to be more sensible.
"Alright, I'm going to prepare today's dinner, and tomorrow I'm going to go for a walk in Central Park, and then start over."
Lisa smiled and walked out of the study, and after a while the sound of pots and pans colliding and the aroma of food came from the kitchen.
As Alvin sat staring at the starry sky from the satellite on the wall, a throbbing felt in his heart, as if urging him to get up to the roof and fiddle with his personal observation instrument one more time.
No way! Lisa would be angry, these things were going to be away from his life, and he shouldn't touch these things that were causing trouble in his life anymore!
Alwin's strong resistance did not overwhelm the desire in his heart, and there was always a strong desire in his heart that urged him to go to the rooftop.
Is it reluctant?
I've never wanted to see the stars so much, and why did I feel like the world was so different in an instant, and something seemed to be squirming overhead.
This squirming made him feel like his scalp was itchy, still the kind of impatient, unbearable itching.
Alvin scratched at his hair, there were no bugs, except for a little white dandruff, no! That creeping sensation came from farther up.
Why don't you take another look at the starry sky?
Alvin looked over at Lisa, who was busy in the kitchen, and saw that Lisa was cooking wholeheartedly, not paying attention to his every move.
Gotta hurry, Lisa was about to get dinner ready, and she had to come down before she knew it.
Alvin hurried up to the top floor and headed straight for his telescope, accidentally knocking over a few potted plants along the way.
"Turn on the manual operation mode."
"It's on, sir." Smart replied.
Alvin adjusted his telescope and began to observe the starry sky as usual, everything in his eyes was the same as usual, there were no special changes, and everywhere the camera went, everything was as quiet as ever.
Time passed, but Alwin didn't notice it, he was trying to find his target, the throbbing became more and more obvious, he was sure he was almost there!
"Elwin, you're operating your telescope again."
At some point, Lisa appeared at the entrance to the rooftop, her eyes full of loss.
"Oh, Lisa, I just want to take another look, just take another look, okay?" Alwyn stood up, his tone almost pleading, the throbbing that was getting more and more real, and he felt like he was about to grab it!
"Elwin, stop being stubborn."
Alvin hesitated, he was thinking about whether he should listen to Lisa, Lisa would not harm himself, maybe he was really too obsessed?
The starry sky in Alwin's vision suddenly lit up with a faint point of light, although this fleeting point of light in the stars was like a grain of sand in the sea, but it was still keenly captured by Alwin.
Because the point of light came from the direction where he felt the inexplicable squirming, his attention was so focused on that direction that Lisa said a few more words afterwards that he didn't listen to them at all.
Is it another point of light that is fleeting, or is it that direction, no, not one, at least two or more, it won't be a supernova explosion, a supernova explosion won't be so frequent and concentrated, then what would it be?
"Lisa, let me take one last look, just one look, and then we'll live the kind of life you arranged, and I'll sell these instruments and clean up my study."
Elwin's gaze was extraordinarily firm, which made Lisa, who was a little angry, stunned for a moment, and nodded subconsciously.
"Activate the intelligent operation mode and align in that direction."
"It's aligned, sir."
Alvin pointed his eyes at the lens, and he was greeted by a dense patch of dim light, and his intuition told Alvin that these spots of light were anything extraordinary.
A large point of light flickered, followed by several smaller ones, and Erwin's heart grew more and more excited, he knew that today would be his lucky day, whatever it was, it was a new discovery.
"Maximize the magnification!"
"The multiplier has risen to its maximum, sir."
Alvin could now clearly see the presence of these points of light, which were constantly flickering.
He wasn't sure if it was the same light source or the flickering of different light sources, they were so close that they almost blended together, if only they could be amplified a little more.
"Zoom in again!"
"I'm sorry sir, the magnification has reached its limit, and the command has failed."
"Well, good, well done."
Alvin could now vaguely observe the outlines of the objects emitting these light sources, long strips of objects, arranged in a very regular pattern.
"Zoom in again!"
"I'm sorry sir, the magnification has reached its limit, and the command has failed."
"Aha, that's great, you'll be able to see what it is."
???
Lisa on the side looked puzzled, although she didn't know astronomical observations, but at least she knew what the magnification limit meant, but Alvin ......
Elwin's eyes widened, he didn't realize what was going on in the outside world.
Because he was already deeply attracted by the scene in front of him, the light in his eyes no longer flickered, but always maintained a certain brightness.
He saw a long starship, those points of light were the light and flames gushing out from the tail power plant in these starships, and the flashes of light were the bright light emitted by the explosion of a starship!
What's more, this burning fleet is accelerating, aiming for the Earth!
"Elwin!" Lisa yelled angrily.
Alvin was awakened by Lisa's shout, he looked around in confusion, and then looked at the sky, he quickly stepped forward and grabbed Lisa's shoulder and said, "Lisa, guess what I saw, you can't guess, I saw an alien fleet, and it was a burning alien fleet, and they were heading towards Earth again!" ”
Lisa bit her lip lightly, shook her head slightly, and said, "No, you didn't see anything, it was your hallucination." ”
"No way, I'm going to the Observatory, I'm going to tell the world about it."
"No, don't forget, you're not an employee there anymore, wake up!"
"I'm sorry, Lisa, I really saw it, trust me, okay?"
Lisa didn't nod, her eyes were full of loss and pity as she looked at Alwyn's shoulder, and she took a step back from Alwin's grip on her shoulder.
Alvin rushed down the stairs, grabbing his briefcase and coat hanging from the hanger as he passed by the dining room as he watched the sumptuous dinner, but he shook his head and walked out of the house.
"Elwin, if you dare to leave today, don't come back!" Lisa said to her husband, who had opened the door of the tram, standing on the rooftop.
"I'm sorry, Lisa, I'm really sorry!"
Alvin closed the door and started the autopilot program, targeting the Shatha Astronomical Observatory.
Standing on the rooftop, Lisa watching the old tram carrying Alvin melt into the turbulence of the street, she raised her wrist, opened the emergency call screen, typed in the three digits "911", and pressed the dial button.