Chapter 1 - Pippo

Since we are uncomfortable with the idea that the people of our neighborhoods are human beings like ourselves, it would be presumptuous to suggest that we can see not as beasts, as tools-makers, but as brothers rather than enemies, and companions on pilgrimages to the sanctuary of intellect.

But this is what I've seen, or what I'd like to see. The difference between xenogenesis and xenogenesis does not depend on the person being judged, but on the party who makes the judgment. When we declare an alien being alien, it doesn't mean that they have crossed the threshold of maturity morally. This means that we have crossed that threshold.

――――

Demosthenes, Interracial Letters

Among the Picniños, the rooter (note: "rooter" means "rooter" - corresponding to his constant attempts to gain new knowledge from Pippo and them; at the same time "supporter" and "root" - corresponding to his help to Pippo and their work. This name alludes to his dual surname as mentioned in the text, and I cannot translate it accurately, so I will translate it by taking the common denominator of the two meanings, 'root'. ) is both the most troublesome and the most helpful. Every time Pippo visited their glade, he was always there, and did his best to answer questions that Pippo was forbidden to ask directly. Pippo relied on him, perhaps too much, and although he was an irresponsible young man, he was just as mischievous and slapstick as his companions, but he was also observing, probing, pondering. Pippo had to be on the lookout for the trap set for him by the Roots.

A moment ago, the Root One was still spinning around the tree, clutching the trunk with only the angular claws on his ankles and inner thighs. In his hands he held two sticks, called father's sticks, which struck the trunk in a rhythmic manner as he climbed the tree.

The noise was drawn from the log house to the big guys. He shouted at the Root in the male surname (note: one of the many languages spoken by the Pig Clan, see below) and then switched to Portuguese. "p′rabaixo, bicho!" (Note: Portuguese, get down, boy!) A few pigs in the neighborhood, hearing his Portuguese witticism, expressed their appreciation by rubbing their thighs against each other quickly. This creates a hissing noise, and the big man jumps into the air with joy in the cheers.

At the same time, the Root One leaned back until he looked like he was going to fall. Then he jerked his hand off, somersaulted in the air, stood on the ground, stumbled a few times but did not fall.

"Yo, you're an acrobat. Pippo said.

The Root Man swaggered as he approached Pippo. This is his way of imitating humans. With his flat nose that flips up like a pig, it's more of a mockery. It's no wonder that the outside world calls them "pigs". The first visitors to the world referred to them in their first reports in 1886, and by the time the colony of Lusitania was established in 1925, it was no longer called. In the Great Hundred World (Note: A general term for planets colonized by humans. Imitation of "The World" translation. The interracial scholars used the term "Lusitanian natives" when writing about them, but Pippo knew very well that it was just a matter of professional self-esteem - hesitating to call them pigs on occasions other than academic papers. As for Pippo, he called them Pickninos, and they didn't seem to object, because now they call themselves "little ones". But, whether it is appropriate or not, the facts are undeniable. At such times, the Root One looks like a pig standing upright on its hind legs.

"Acrobat," the root man tried to pronounce the new word. "What did I just do? Do you use a word for someone who does that? And there are people who take that as their job?"

Pipomer sighed, a stiff smile on his face. The law strictly forbade him to share information about human society, lest it pollute the pig culture. But the Root One is tireless in his trick of squeezing the full meaning out of whatever Pippo says. This time, though, Pippo is no wonder to anyone but himself, who makes a stupid comment of his own, opening an unnecessary window into human life. Every now and then he was so comfortable with the Picnino that he spoke lightly - there was always such a danger. I'm not good at playing this kind of protracted battle of trying to get information without giving anything back. Lipo, my taciturn son, was already better at secrecy than I was, and he had only been apprenticed with me—he had only been thirteen years old—for four months.

"I wish I had pads on my legs like you," Pippo said. "If I climbed, the bark of that tree would tear my skin into strips. ”

"That would make us all feel humiliated. "The Root One froze as if he was expecting something. Pippo thinks it's a gesture of mild anxiety, or maybe a body language warning other Pickniños to be careful. It can also be a sign of extreme fear, but Pippo has never seen a Picknino feel extreme fear.

Anyway, Pippo quickly spoke to reassure him. "Don't worry, I'm too old to climb those trees. It is up to you young people to do this. ”

The words worked, and the body of the Root One immediately moved. "I love climbing trees. I could see everything. The Root Man crouched down in front of Pippo and leaned his face over him. "Would you bring an animal that runs on the grass without touching the ground? ”

Another trap. What, Pippo, xenomorphist, are you going to humiliate this person in the society you're studying, or are you going to abide by the galactic council's rigid laws for this region? The only other extraterrestrial intelligent beings humanity has ever encountered are the Zerg - three thousand years ago, and the end result is the death of the entire race. This time the Galactic Council is to ensure that even if humanity makes another mistake, it will be in the opposite direction. Minimal information, minimal contact.

The Root One saw Pippo's hesitation, and he was cautiously silent.

"You don't tell us anything," said the Root One. "You observe us and study us, but never let us go beyond your walls and into your villages to observe you and study you. ”

Pippo is as honest as he can in his answers, but caution is more important than honesty. "If you learn so little, and we learn so much, why do you speak both Portuguese and star. Actually, it's English...... I'm still studying your language?"

"We're smarter. Then the Root Leaned back, sat on the ground, and turned his back to Pippo. "Go back behind your walls. He said.

Pippo immediately stood up. Not far away, Lipo was with three Pickniños, trying to understand how they could weave dry Murdona rattans into grass roofs. He saw Pippo and was with his father a moment later, ready to leave. Pippo led him away without saying a word, and since the Picnino were so fluent in human language, they never discussed what they had learned, until they returned to the gate.

It took them half an hour to get home, and they walked through the walled gate along the hill back to the zenador, the Portuguese word for "xenomorphist". In order to denote the difference, another word is used) workstation, and it rained heavily along the way. Looking at the small sign on the door, Pippo pondered the word. The sign reads "Xenologist" in star language. That's my profession, Pippo thought, at least I guess for people in the outside world. But the Portuguese term "heterologist" is so much easier to pronounce for Lusitanians that few people say "heterogeneous", even when speaking star. That's how language changes, Pippo thought. If it weren't for the instant communication provided by Ansebo to the world, it would have been almost impossible for us to maintain a universal language. Interstellar travel is too expensive and too time-consuming. The star language will be divided into thousands of dialects in a century. It might be interesting to use a computer to predict changes in Lusitania's language, assuming that the star language is allowed to metamorphose and absorb Portuguese - or vice versa......

"Father," Lipo said.

Pippo noticed that he had stopped ten meters outside his workstation. Distracted. The best part of my academic career has always been when my mind wanders, in areas outside of my own job. I guess it's because of the rules they put on me in my job that people can't know or understand anything. Heteroanthropology than the Mother Church (Note: Motherchurch, another name for the Roman Catholic Church. More insistence on secrecy.

As soon as the palm print shines, the door opens. Pippo knew how the night would go when he started to enter the door: it would take them hours to record the work they had done during the day's contact on the terminal. Pippo would then go through Lipo's notes, and Lipo would read Pipo's. When he had read enough, Pippo would put together a short summary, and then let the computer take over and let it add notes, so that it could transmit them to the rest of the xenoscientists in the world via Ansebo as soon as possible. The entire work of more than a thousand scientists is to study the only alien race we know. As for this forest-dwelling race, apart from the little information provided by Sputnik, all the information my colleagues have is the one provided to them by Lipo and I. This is indeed minimal intervention.

But as soon as Pippo entered his workstation, he immediately realized that there wouldn't be a long, easy night's work. Ms. Christie was there, dressed in her lenient nun robe. Which young kid is getting in trouble at school?

"No, no," Ms. Christie said. "All your kids are doing well now, except for this one, I think he's too young to leave school and work here – even as an apprentice. ”

Lipo didn't say anything. Wise decision, Pippo thought. Ms. Christie was a smart, moving—perhaps even beautiful, young woman, but she was first and foremost the filhosdamentedecristo. filhos: child, mente: spiritual, cristo: christ ;) - child of the Holy Spirit - a nun of the congregation, who does not look beautiful when she is angry at stupidity and ignorance. The ignorance and stupidity of those who are still smart have been frozen in the face of the fire of her rebuke is staggering. Lippo, silence is indeed a strategy that works in your favor.

"It doesn't matter which of your children I'm here," Ms. Christie said, "I'm here for Nowanhua." ”

Ms. Christie doesn't have to say her last name; The terrible descolada, a local infectious disease; "descolada" = "de" + "scolada" = "de", "curl, spiral", i.e. "unspiral". DNA molecules are usually two strands entwined together in the form of a double helix. It was only eight years after the plague ended. The plague nearly wiped out the colony before it had a chance to take off, and the cure for it was discovered by two alien biologists, Nowanhua's parents, Gasto and Sida. Unfortunately and ironically, they discovered that the cause and cure of the disease was too late to save themselves. Their funeral was the funeral of the last victim of cyclotronia.

Pippo vividly remembers the little girl, Nowanhua, standing there, holding the hand of the mayor of Bosquina, at the funeral mass presided over by Bishop Peregrino himself. No—it wasn't her holding the mayor's hand. The scene came back to his mind, along with how he felt at the time. What would she think about that? He remembered asking himself. It was the funeral of her parents, she was the only survivor in the family, and all she could feel was the joy of the colonists. Is she, so young, to understand that our joy is the best tribute to her parents, who have struggled, who have succeeded, who have found the way to salvation when they are dying and dying, and who we are here to celebrate the great gifts they have given us. But to you, Nowanhua, this is the death of your parents, just as the death of your brothers once upon a time. Five hundred dead, and in the last six months, the colony has held more than a hundred masses for the dead, each of which was celebrated in an atmosphere of fear, sorrow, despair. Now that your parents are dead, fear, sorrow, and despair are no less to you than ever before - but this time there is no one to share with you. The joy of being released from prison fills our hearts.

Looking at her, trying to imagine how she felt, the memories he succeeded in evoking were only his own grief at the loss of his Mary. At the age of seven, she was wiped out by the winds of death that swept through her body, tumors grew, fungal tissues spread rampantly, muscles swollen here and there rotted, new limbs that were not hands or feet grew from her hips, and the muscles of her head and feet peeled off to expose bones, and they watched her lovely and beautiful body destroyed, and most cruelly, her sharp mind remained awake and could feel everything that happened to her, until she cried out to God and begged for her to die. Pippo remembered that, then her Requiem Mass, the one with the other five victims. Whether he was sitting, kneeling, or standing, with his wife and surviving children, he could feel the harmony of the people in the cathedral. He knew that his pain was everyone's, and that through the loss of his eldest daughter, he and his community were bound by an unbreakable chain of grief. Knowing this became a comfort to him, something to rely on. This sad thing deserves it, a public mourning.

None of these little Nuo Wanhua have. Her pain, if anything, was worse than that of Pippo - at least Pippo was not left alone, without a family, and he was an adult, not a frightened child who had suddenly lost the basis of his life. Instead of connecting her more closely to the community, her grief pushed her further. Today, everyone rejoices, except her. Today everyone is praising her parents, and she misses them alone, wishing they had never found a cure for anyone else, as long as they themselves lived.

Her loneliness was so intense that Pippo could see it from where she was sitting. Nuo Wanhua withdrew her hand from the mayor as quickly as she could. Her tears were dry during the Mass, and at the end of the Mass she sat in silence, like a prisoner who refused to cooperate with the captors. Pippo's heart was broken for her. But he knew that no matter how hard he tried, he would not be able to hide his own joy at the end of the plague, and the joy that his other children would no longer be taken away from him. She would have found out, and his efforts to comfort her would only turn into mockery and push her further.

After Mass she walked in solitude and misery, surrounded by a large crowd of well-meaning people, cruelly telling her that her parents would be sanctified and that karma would sit at the right hand of God. See Psalm 110:1 in the Old Testament and Romans 8:34 in the New Testament. ）。 What comfort is that to a child? Pippo whispered to his wife, "She will never forgive us for what we did today." ”

"Forgive?" is not the kind of wife who can immediately understand her husband's chain of thought. "It wasn't like we killed her parents—"

"But today we're all in rejoicing, aren't we? She will never be able to forgive us for that. ”

"Nonsense. She's not sensible yet; ”

She knows, Pippo thought. Isn't Maria already in trouble at a young age in Binothua?

For the past few years -- eight years -- he had been watching her. She and her son Lipo were the same age, which meant that they were together for many grades until Lipo's thirteen-year-old birth. He heard her occasional recitations and speeches with other children. The beauty in her mode of thinking, her keen examination of ideas, attracted him. At the same time, she seems completely aloof, completely away from other people. Pippo's own son, Lipo, was born an introvert, but even so, he had a few friends and was well liked by his teachers. Nuo Wanhua, on the other hand, has no friends at all, and her happiness never needs to be shared. No teacher really liked her because she refused to communicate and did not respond. "She's paralyzed," Ms. Christie said when Pippo asked her about it once. "I can't communicate with her. She swore that she was very happy and did not see any need to change the status quo. ”

Now Ms. Christie has come to the Alien Workstation to talk to Pippo about Nowanhua. There was only one reason why he was looking for Pippo and that the headmaster would come to him for this special orphan girl. "I guess I'm the only one who has asked about her during all the years that Nuo Wanhua has been in your school?"

"You're not alone," she said, "and there was a lot of interest in her—two or three years ago, when the Pope consecrated her parents. Everyone asked if Gesto and Hida, the daughters of the Venerables, had ever seen miracles related to her parents, as many others did. ”

"What did they really ask her?"

"Rumours swirled and Bishop Peregrino had to investigate. Ms. Christie's tone was cold when she spoke of the young spiritual leader of the Lusitanian colony. Then again, the bishops and the children of the Holy Spirit are said to have been on bad terms all the time. Her answer was creative. ”

"I think so. ”

Roughly she was saying that if her parents were really listening to prayer and had enough influence in heaven to make it happen, then why didn't they answer her prayer and come back from the grave? See Matthew 28 et seq.) If His Holiness really had the power to perform miracles, it meant that they would not love her so much that they would not answer her prayers. She would rather believe that her parents still love her, but are incapable of acting. ”

"A born debater. Pippo said.

"A natural polemicist, and a natural troublemaker: she told the bishop that if the pope sanctified her parents, the church was saying that her parents hated her. The call to be consecrated for her parents was proof that Lusitania had despised her, and if it was allowed, it would prove that the church itself was contemptible. Bishop Peregrino's face turned blue. ”

"I noticed that he still made an appeal. ”

"For the benefit of the community. And there are miracles. ”

"Some people touched the shrine and the headache disappeared, so they shouted 'Milagre!-Ossantosmeaben?oaram!' "Miracles!—The saints have blessed me!"

"You know, holy Rome asks for miracles more reliable than that. It doesn't matter, though. The Pope graciously allowed us to call our town the town of miracles, and I suspect that every time someone says that name, the selfish anger in Nowanhua burns even hotter. ”

"Maybe it's colder. People never know what kind of emotions that kind of thing will bring. ”

"Anyway, Pippo, you're not the only one who's ever asked about her. But you are the only parent who asks about her for her own sake and not for her. ”

It's sad to think about - no one cares about the girl except the congregation that runs the Lusitanian school - except for the little attention Pippo has paid to her over the years.

"She has a friend," Lipo said.

Pippo had forgotten where his son was - Lipo was so quiet that he was easily ignored. Ms. Christie also looked startled. "Lipo," she said, "I think it's not prudent for us to talk about one of your classmates like this." ”

"I'm a trainee alien now," Lipo reminded her. This means that he is not a school boy.

"Who is her friend?" asked Pippo.

"Makau. ”

"Marcos Liberali," Ms. Christie explained. "That tall boy—"

"Ah, yes, he who was born like a kabra. ”

"He's strong. "But I never noticed any friendship between them." ”

"Once Macao was accused of something, and she happened to witness it, she spoke for him. ”

"You've put an overly noble motive on this, Lipo," said Ms. Christie, "and I think it's more accurate to explain that she's speaking out in order to be right against the boys who actually did something wrong and wanted to blame the overdogs." ”

"Makau doesn't see it that way. Lipo said. "I noticed a few times the way he looked at her. Not much, but there are still people who like her. ”

"Do you like her?" asked Pippo.

Lipo was silent for a moment. Pippo knew what that meant. He was examining himself in search of an answer. Not an answer that he thinks will most likely please adults, nor is it one that will provoke their anger - most children of his age are happy to give one of these two false answers. He is looking at himself in search of facts.

"I think," said Lipo, "I know she doesn't want to be liked." It's as if she's a passerby ready to go home at any moment. ”

Ms. Christie nodded solemnly. "Yes, exactly, it looks like that's what she is. But now, Lipo, we must put an end to this carelessness, and ask you to leave so that we—"

Before she could finish, he left. He nodded his head quickly, and quickly left with a smile that said "I understand". This is a stronger proof of his prudence than staying and arguing (Note: discretion, as opposed to the above indiscretion, refers to the ability to prudently and wisely judge and choose one's own actions, which is related to the so-called "capacity" in law. ）。 From this action, Pippo knew that Lipo was annoyed by being asked to leave, and he knew how to make adults feel immature when comparing themselves to him.

"Pippo," said the headmaster, "she applied for an early exam as an alien biologist. Good to pick up her parents' class. ”

Pippo raised an eyebrow.

She declares that she has been passionate about the field since she was a little child. She's ready to start working now, without having to go through a probationary period. ”

"She's only thirteen, isn't she?"

"There is a precedent. There are many people who take this kind of test in advance. There was a man younger than her who also passed. That was before 2000, but it was allowed. Bishop Peregrino, of course, opposes this, but Mayor Bosquina, God bless her pragmatic heart (note: pragmatism is relative to caring for the soul, so according to the general religious view, the soul of the pragmatic is dangerous and therefore needs special protection. ), pointing out that Lusitania is in great need of alien biologists - we need to start developing new strains of crops so that our menus can be richer and we can get better harvests from Lucitanian soil. In her words, 'I don't care if it's a baby, we need an alien biologist.' ’”

"And you need me to test her?"

"If you're willing to help. ”

"I'd love to. ”

"I'll just say you will. ”

"I have to confess, I have no motives. ”

"Oh?"

"I should have done more for that girl. I'd like to know if it's too late to start. ”

Ms. Christie smiled. "Oh, Pippo, I'm glad you want to try. But believe me, my dear friend, the contact with her heart is like a bath of ice. ”

"I can imagine it. I can imagine how cold it would feel to touch her. But how did she feel? She was so cold that she must have felt like she was on fire. ”

"What a poet," Ms. Christie said. There was no sarcasm in her voice; "Does the pigs know that we have the best poet among us as ambassadors?"

"I tried to tell them, but they were suspicious. ”

"I'll let her come to you tomorrow. I warn you - she will take the exam with indifference, and she will resist any attempt to pre-judge her from your side. ”

Pippo smiled. "I'm much more worried about what happened after that. If she fails, she'll be in a bunch of big trouble. And if she passes, I'm in trouble. ”

"Why?"

"Lipo is going to ask me to put him through the Miracle Town Xenologist qualification test as soon as possible. And if he passes, then there's no reason why I shouldn't go home and curl up and die. ”

"You're such a romantic fool, Pippo. If there's one man in Miracle Town who can accept his thirteen-year-old son as a colleague, it's you. ”

After she leaves, Pippo and Lipo work together as usual, documenting the day's events about the Pickniños. Pippo compares Lipo's work, his way of thinking, his insight, and his attitude to the graduate students he met at the university before he came to Lusitania Colony. He may still be young, and he may still have a lot of theory and knowledge to learn, but he is already applying the research methods of a true scientist and already has the heart of a humanitarian. After their night's work, they rode home in the light of Lucitania's huge, twinkling moon, and Pippo decided that Lipo should be treated as a colleague in the future, whether he took the exam or not. Either way, the test doesn't measure anything that really matters.

Also, whether she likes it or not, Pippo has to find out if Nowanhua has the unmeasurable potential of a scientist, and if she doesn't, then he won't let her pass the test, no matter how much practical knowledge she remembers.

――――――――――――――――――――――――

Pippo doesn't look like a good deal. Nuo Wanhua knew what adults would do if they didn't want things to go her way, but they didn't want to fight, or take even the slightest risk. Of course, of course you can take the test. But there's no reason to start in such a hurry. Let's take a moment to reassure me that your first attempt will be successful.

Nowanhua didn't want to wait. Nuo Wanhua is ready.

"I'll jump through all the circles you've set up. She said. (Note: Have you ever seen the lion and tiger jumping in the circus?)

His face turned cold. Their faces were all like that. That's okay, it's better to be cold, she can freeze them to death. "I don't want you to jump into circles. He said.

"My only request is that you have to line them up so I can finish them quickly. I don't want to drag it out again and again. ”

He thought for a moment. "You're in such a hurry. ”

"I'm ready. The Codex of Galaxy allows me to challenge the test at any time. This is between me and the Galactic Council, and I haven't seen anywhere that a xenologist can predict the outcome of an interstellar exam bulletin board. ”

"That's because you didn't read it carefully. ”

"The only condition I needed to take the test before I was sixteen was the consent of my legal guardian. I don't have a legal guardian. ”

"Quite the opposite. Pippo said. "Mayor Bosquina has been your legal guardian since the day your parents died. ”

"And she agreed to let me take the test. ”

"Let you come to me. ”

Nuo Wanhua saw the eagerness in his eyes. She didn't know Pippo, so she took it as the look she had seen in many eyes: the desire to dominate, to dominate her, to stop her determination, to break her reading, to make her submit.

Ice turned into fire in an instant. "What do you know about alien biology! You're just out talking to the pigs, and you don't even have the rudimentary understanding of the function of genes! What qualifications do you have to judge me! The Lusitanians needed an alien biologist, and they hadn't had them for eight years. And you want to keep them waiting longer, just so you can take care of things!"

Much to her surprise, he didn't panic and didn't retreat. He wasn't upset about it, either. It was as if she hadn't said anything.

"I read," he said calmly, "that it was your love for the people of Lusitania that made you willing to become an alien biologist in Lucitania. Seeing the need of the public, you are willing to dedicate yourself and be prepared to start a career of altruistic service early. ”

It sounded ridiculous for him to say that. This is not her true feelings at all. "Isn't that good enough?"

"If it's true, that's good enough. ”

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"It's your own words that say you're a liar. You spoke of how much they, the people of Lucitania, needed you. But you live among us. You have lived among us all your life. Be prepared to die for us, but you still don't feel like you're part of this community. ”

He didn't seem like the adults who always believed lies as long as she looked like the kid they wanted her to be. "Why should I feel like I'm part of this community? I'm not. ”

He nodded solemnly, as if contemplating her answer. "So what community are you part of?"

"The only other community on Lusitania is the Pigs, don't you see me out there with those tree worshippers? ”

"There are many other communities on Lucitania. For example, you are a student – students form a community. ”

"Not for me. ”

"I know. You have no friends, you don't have close associates, you go to Mass but you never confess (note: Mass is basically a public event that the inhabitants of the diocese must attend, but confession is personal. You are so alienated from the crowd, as far as possible from the life of the colonies, not in any way with the life of the human race. All the evidence suggests that you are living in complete solitude. ”

Nuo Wanhua didn't expect to encounter this. He is proclaiming the pain of her life, and she doesn't have a ready-made strategy to deal with. "If I did, it wouldn't be my fault. ”

"I know. I know where this state of affairs came from, and I know whose fault it is that continues to this day. ”

"Mine?"

"Mine. And everyone else's. But my heaviest because I knew what happened to you and I didn't do anything. Until today. ”

"And today you are going to hinder me in one thing that is important to my life!

He nodded solemnly again, as if he was accepting and approving of her sarcasm. "In a sense, Nowanhua, it doesn't matter if it's not your fault. For the town of Miracle Town is a community, and whether it is bad or bad for you, it must provide as much welfare as possible to all of its members, like all communities. ”

"A member means everyone in Lusitania except me - except me and the pigs. ”