【Xianyang】Siren

At six o'clock in the morning, the lights on Ulysses began to gradually brighten, announcing the beginning of a new day's work cycle.Rainer Brumhalter tidied up her clothes, walked through the corridor that was still silent, and knocked on the cabin door of Senkob.

At around [-]:[-], according to the predetermined path, Ulysses began to merge into the siren orbit, followed by a small scientific research ship, and the outer edge of the interstellar dust belt was densely covered with imperial cruisers, surrounding the planet like a chain. Small stars.About half an hour later, Ulysses and the scientific research ship began to descend, about to sink into the siren's red atmosphere.

"Okay." Pobran's voice came from the public communication system, "When you descend below the clouds, your body's reaction will be more obvious."

Julian knew he was right.The red clouds had already begun to swirl, and gradually formed air holes, as if inviting them to enter.But this time was different from the last time he drove the Spartanion on his own, and Julian barely restrained his urge.

"Lieutenant Colonel Poblain, you have to be careful."

Two Spartanians took off from the main ship, and after passing through the atmosphere, they stuck to the low altitude, released dozens of probes, and then rose rapidly, not daring to delay for a moment.

Ulysses was running at a constant speed and in sync at high altitude. It took some time for the two fighters to arrive, but overall nothing went wrong.So far, the plan is going well, although this is only the prologue.

About three hours later, the topographic map of the siren surface sent back by the probe has almost taken shape, and as guessed from the remote photos before, except for the red gelatinous ocean covering most of the surface, the surface of the siren is indeed There are some land scattered here and there.From the perspective of imaging, these small pieces of land are in deep and shallow yellowish brown or orange, just like the sandy beaches on the seashore.

"The landing module is being prepared." It was the voice of a planetary scientist on the scientific research ship.Sencobb tried to distract himself by recalling his name and face.Stanislav seems to be called, with a round face, wearing a pair of small glasses, and a little bald head.At this time, two of his assistants were on board the scientific research ship, one was named Steven, the other was Andre, and there were some technicians left.Sencobb couldn't remember how many people were there, and the more he counted, the more upset he became, completely failing to achieve the intended purpose of diverting attention.

But he knew that there were Brumhalter and Patrichev in the landing module, which he had slipped in quietly.Two officers had come to him the night before and asked him to help him with this.Xian Kobu thought he had no reason to refuse: if these two people were allowed to watch Yang alone in danger again, they would never feel at ease for the rest of their lives.Besides, if Young could land safely, no doubt they could as well.Yang would probably prefer to go alone, but it's easy to do, just don't tell him.Such a subordinate is really a headache - Yang would probably say the same.

Just when Senkob was turning these thoughts, Julian started to let the main ship closely follow the position of the scientific research ship in the atmosphere space.They were finally suspended over the siren equator, with a vertical height of about 500 meters, and were still slowly descending. "There's a hill there," Senkob pointed to a place in the picture with his sharp eyes. "It's probably where the landing module is going to be released."

That's right.The scientific research ship soon began to slow down and dived smoothly towards the top of the mountain. When it was about to approach the flat ground, the lower hatch opened, and the disc-shaped landing cabin protruded from the buffer plate. After stumbled for a long distance, the fixed rod was finally inserted into the off the ground.

"Huh——" Xiankoubu let out a long breath, pretending to be relaxed and said to Julian and Felicia beside him, "Admiral Yang probably fell off his chair and rolled around several times."

This picture is not difficult to imagine, and everyone laughed sporadically.

It took more than ten minutes for the real picture to appear.Of course Yang didn't roll around on the ground several times, he stepped steadily from the hatch wearing gravity shoes, and then firmly stepped on the surface of Siren.He even kicked slightly a few times, as if testing the hardness of the ground.The hill was very low, and Yang walked half slippery and half along the slope, which should be towards the coast.

"Admiral Yang," a calm male voice sounded from the communication system on the Ulysses bridge, which was breathless, "Can you describe the texture of the soil? And, now you should put the sampling measuring instrument in."

"Ah, I'm sorry," Yang replied quickly, "I almost forgot. This place is like the sand on the seashore... Ah, but it looks thinner." He knelt down and grabbed a piece of sand through his gloves. Ba, "I can't feel it, and I can't tell what it is." He has slid to the bottom, and you can see from the screen that he tremblingly took out a pen-shaped white pen from the tool bag at his waist. The instrument, and then tremblingly inserted into the sand dune.

During the conversation, Stanislav asked a few more questions, and Yang answered them one by one.There was a tranquility on the siren, and the red waves rushed to the shore, and then slowly receded away, repeating itself like a tide.Yang placed several instruments on his body in the designated place.

When scientists asked him to sample the waves, things didn't go well.The color of the red jelly will gradually fade when it washes up on the shore, and it will disappear in an instant before it is filled into the container.

"Do you still remember Lieutenant Colonel Pobran's aircraft bracket?" Felicity pointed out in a deep voice, "We have tested the substance on it, not only evaporates quickly, but also can't see the internal structure."

"This is not the way." Yang's voice was a little impatient. He had tried several times, but all ended in failure. "Can't your instrument directly send back the test result? Do you have to take a sample?"

The scientific research ship was silent for a while. "I'm afraid not, Admiral Yang, the composition is too thin."

The red sea stretches as far as the eye can see, and thick waves surge in the distance.Yang stood on the shore for a while, the light red waves rose and receded slowly under the soles of the gravity shoes, and there was no trace on the beach.He took a small step inside, the sea romantically wrapped around the calf of the space suit, and washed away again.

"Wait for a while." Yang replied lightly.Senkobu felt something, and suddenly jumped up from his seat.

In the picture, Yang raised his hand, unzipped the neck button of the spacesuit, and took off the helmet.

***

Yang stood on the shore, holding the helmet in his hand, staring intently at the deep red sea.In the depths of the boundless ocean, lava-like rolls can be easily discerned.The world on the siren became extremely clear, and the line of sight was not blocked by anything. The sea and land seemed to be frozen in transparent crystal.It's also surprisingly quiet here, with the sea rolling silently over and over again.

After a while, Yang understood.Because there is no air on the star, there is no barrier of gas, and no sound waves are transmitted.But he looked up at the mist of light surrounding the stars, and determined to deny himself.What is here may be the air that humans have never touched.Just another air.

His state of mind is the same as this silent world at this moment, it is surprisingly peaceful, and he even feels some kind of sweet clarity.He probably stood motionless for a long time, the walkie-talkie next to his ear seemed to be vibrating.He knew someone must be talking inside, but he couldn't hear it.

Yang also took off the earphones, and put them together with the helmet on the dry sand on the shore, then pulled off the space suit on his body little by little, and retreated from the bulky clothes.Finally he took off the gravity shoes too.

The body becomes light and fluffy.Even if you step on the ocean, you won't step on the sand.With some curiosity, Yang watched himself stepping on the water and walking into the depths of the ocean.Dayang supported him, but his heavy body did not fall down.It's really interesting, Yang recalled his childhood time on a merchant ship, he sat by the small porthole with a book in his arms, watching with worry the dark universe pouring in from all directions, the stars were dim and empty; Fearing that the small merchant ship would fall, the adults laughed and forgave this ridiculous idea, and Yang himself had forgotten this worry for a long time.Counting it, he has spent far more time floating in the universe than staying on land.The universe is very stable, it can support hundreds of billions of stars, and it can also support the communication of countless people.

With little effort or time, Yang found himself in the middle of the ocean, turning his head and losing sight of the tawny shore.Only the boundless red remains, the surface is shimmering, and the bottom is vibrating like liquid metal.Yang rubbed his head and thought for a while, and finally bent down and reached in with his hand.He guessed it would be jelly or glue, but he guessed wrong and felt nothing.The real ocean in front of me seems to have no substance, a phantom that can be seen but cannot be touched.

Yang took out the composition detector from the tool bag on his waist, turned on the pulse signal, and then grabbed the instrument and reached in again.The red light of the instrument flickered in the red gelatin. Yang hoped that the scientific research ship could collect more detailed information.After going on like this for a while, Yang withdrew his hand and put the instrument back into the sampling bag.

But he squatted in the middle of the sea and didn't get up for a long time.Just at the place where he probed in with the detector, an identical instrument appeared. It was embedded in translucent red gelatin, which reminded people of animal carcasses in amber.After staying for a while, Yang cheered himself up in his heart again, stretched out his hand again, and stretched out to this newly born instrument.

This time it was full of reality.He caught the thing and brought it up.In Yang's other hand, the original was spread out flat, and the copy was just like it.But only on the surface.Yang immediately tried to debug, but as expected, the new thing didn't respond.

Just when he was about to put this imitation useless instrument into the sampling bag and take it back, a new plan suddenly appeared in his mind.In his kit he found the Electron Pulse Transmitter, originally equipped for positioning in emergency situations.

He began to search for the previously placed unmanned probe, and sent signals in various directions. In the end, without hesitation, he sent the electronic pulse to the bottomless red under the ocean surface.

Waited quietly for a while.The instrument began to vibrate in his hand, Yang couldn't hear it, but he knew it was because of the extremely strong feedback he received.The pulse node is exactly the same as it was just launched.The siren, then, repeated what he had just said.Yang's hands trembled a little, and he slowly closed the instrument and put it back into the bag, feeling a little excited in his heart, almost like the feeling of a creator.Let there be light, and there is light.

The sky became brighter, almost dazzling, and when Yang raised his head, he involuntarily raised his forearm to block his eyes.The part where the sea meets the sky is orange-red, and Yang noticed a whitish spot of light expanding there.He remembered that this should be Alsti, the only sun in the corridor star field.He turned to the other side, and another point of light was expanding; there should be the aging red giant star in the corridor.At this time, the entire ocean surface is deep red to purple, and the world is shrouded in this fog of gradually rising temperature.

Although he felt that it was time to return to the landing module, Yang couldn't help but go to a place where the light and heat were deeper.On the ocean surface, people can hardly feel the weight and walk very lightly.

He cried out when he saw Rapp and Jessica, but they were too far away from him.Marshal Piccolo stood not too far away, but when the old man turned around, Yang ran away desperately.He felt ashamed.

--etc!Don't be fooled, they are all illusions in your head!

Yang forced himself to stop, he didn't know where he ran to, anyway, anywhere in the ocean, it looked the same.The entire sky has turned orange-red, holding up a distant sun, under the light rose-colored mist, while the ocean surface is close to blood-black, faintly burning.

It was Schenkob who followed Golniv and Fisher.His lips were moving, as if he didn't know that Yang couldn't hear his voice.

Yang still stood there waiting, and it seemed like he had waited for a long time. In the midst of the diffuse rose color, he felt a hand being handed to him, and felt the first contact.This feeling of touch then slowly appeared on his lips, on his cheeks, and even expanded by itself, until his whole body began to tremble slightly.But Senkob just stood facing him, and there was a fiery silence between them.

But there is no doubt that they are discovering each other, and frequently exchange their discoveries.Yang still couldn't hear what Senkob was saying, but he felt his voice.Yes, it was the feeling itself, he didn't hear it, the voice appeared in his head.For the first time in this ocean of eternal silence, Yang heard the sound of a heart beating as if it were his own.At the same time, he also felt boundless suffocation in his chest, and he almost wanted to cry, as if he could end this sudden tearing.The ocean seems to be discharging, and everything is dazzling, the distant light beams are tightened in the pupils, and the world is radiant, falling into a clear pure white in the peak of pain and euphoria.

He didn't look down, so he didn't see himself and Senkob standing above the burning fireball.A swollen sun is spreading in all directions, and the ocean is dark red and almost black.

Brumhalter, who came suddenly, pushed him away, and Yang almost fell.The young Rose Knight opened his mouth wide, as if calling for Admiral.In a daze, Yang looked around again, but he didn't see the person he just met.There are fighter jets approaching in the distance, and the quiet Siren is shining with a light rose-colored shimmer under the pale sun.

***

Senkob opened his eyes on the narrow single bed, and suddenly sat up straight.He opened the wardrobe against the wall and pulled out a bulging laundry bag from the bottom shelf.The bag was turned over and the contents fell to the ground.First, Cobb squatted down and searched inside for a while.

There was a military uniform that was cut from the neckline along the side seam, and the seams were so tight that it was impossible to put it on or take it off.

Cobb stared intently for a while, then walked back to the table and picked up the electronic screen to take a photo of the military uniform. Then he rolled it up from the ground and rushed outside.

Yang Weili and others are still on the bridge.After returning from the Siren, he had several physical examinations and was following up with new test results every day.This effort was not in vain, and the journey has achieved great results. At least, according to the chief planetary scientist Stanislav, "We can basically confirm that the Siren is a life form with advanced intelligence." ——Senkob He talked at length and felt a little bored.It was obvious that the star could respond to human actions, and there was no doubt that it was alive.Of course, Cobb didn't think too much about how to live, and he didn't bother to think about it.But Yang Weili felt that his yawning was too obvious, so he reminded him, or ordered him to go back to the cabin to rest.

Yawning very covertly, Bobran saw Senkob come in again, and he lifted his spirits a little. "Aha!" He turned the coffee cup in his hand, "Lieutenant General Sincob seems to have kissed the siren."

"I'm not as unstandard as you are." Xian Cobb replied casually, and then threw the things in his hands onto the podium.Yang raised his eyelids to look at him, and stretched out his hand to spread out the torn military uniform.Cobb waited for a while, but Yang didn't say anything, he just put this thing in front of everyone and briefly explained the reason.

"I've also seen this phenomenon on Golniv." Pobran was the first to speak, "The detector that the admiral saw in the siren that couldn't be used should be the same. But what does this explain? Senkobuzhong Well, we've long known that sirens are good at imitating..."

"Based on what imitation?" Xiankoubu interrupted. He called up the photos he just took from the electronic screen and placed them side by side with the clothes. "Which of these two things can be regarded as real clothes? Which one can be normal?" use?"

"Of course not..." Frederica suddenly stopped, as if he had thought of the answer.

By this time Stanislav had stood up. "Very enlightening, Mr. Lieutenant General, very enlightening... in the form of images instead of words! What the Sirens can interpret are the images in our heads!" Xian Cobb nodded slightly at him.

This is similar to how dreams work.Stanislav further explained.The protein bodies in the nervous system and brain form the basis of the perception process, and our memories are images stored frame by frame in the protein bodies; when we fall asleep, the activity of the cerebral cortex is weakened, and logical thinking behaviors are randomly organized The following screen replaces it.In dreams, we seem to see the people and things we see every day, but they are presented in a completely different form from what we see every day; because at that time, our brain partly forgets the meaning of the picture itself.When the siren penetrated us in a certain way, it also got the negatives of the photos, or the design drawings, and it recreated our memory according to these drawings—but, among these drawings , but did not include an instruction manual.

Assistant Andre called up a dialysis chart at this time, "According to the preliminary data we have obtained, the composition of the Siren contains protein bodies and enzymes. That is to say, it does have the ability of isomorphic perception."

Yang moved a little in his seat at this time, and interjected in doubt, "I'm sorry to interrupt... But your report just now said that there is still no definite answer to the specific structure of the siren."

"Because it might be camouflage," Stanislav replied immediately. "Yes, we did see protein molecules, cells, enzymes... all those familiar atomic structures. But it's entirely possible that the Sirens The atomic structure has been reproduced and reconstructed." Noticing everyone's gaze, he stopped and thought for a while, "To put it simply, the basic composition of a siren should be much smaller than an atom...according to the current scientific Hypothetically, it is generally called a neutrino. Of course, it doesn’t matter what the name is. I mean, if it is not a substance with higher precision than atoms, it cannot form such an integrated structure in such a short time. Such a high-precision composition is not a simple copy, but a material projection of memory, it uses our memory as raw material, and then materializes Gestalt."

Yang tilted his head and thought for a while. "I dare not say that I understand completely, Mr. Stanislav, but I probably understand what you mean. Then, I want to ask a question that may be hidden in everyone's heart: Why do sirens choose our memory? What is in our head? How did those trivial things attract the attention of—as you said, a "higher intelligent life form" like the siren? Is it so interested in us? What exactly does it want to do?"

The planetary scientist pondered for a while, and then smiled with some confusion. "That's my guess too... I guess it's not interested."

"Then is this thing joking with us?" Pobran sneered.

"I don't think it has a sense of humor either. In other words, when it chose the path of evolution, it had already given up the possibility of understanding a sense of humor." Stanislav replied cautiously, "The colloidal ocean on the surface of the siren is a collection of consciousness. , it can respond to the activities of our cerebral cortex, as well as the weapons and rays we send out, etc. It can be said that it has a rare ability to materialize and aggregate. But what is even more rare is that it may not have a fixed physical form at all, It also does not reflect the activities of material life. For example, there is no metabolism, and there is no problem of survival, death, and reproduction. At least for now, I have not found it. I can only guess boldly that it exists in the form of pure consciousness. In evolution At a certain moment on the road, one or a group of primordial beings on the siren, it or they gave up their bodies in some way, and then slowly became what they are now: a sea of ​​consciousness without form."

Cobb drank some water to moisten his dry throat, imagining the image of stepping on a pile of brain cells made him feel a little uncomfortable. "What does this mean?"

"It means that those past events that may be thrilling to us, the siren is just chewing as a routine." Stanislav raised his voice a little, "It is not interested in us or our memories, as a sensitive consciousness , it just senses the reaction process of our cerebral cortex, and it senses those parts with strong impact especially strongly, that is to say, it bumps into our despair, pain, regret, hope, ecstasy...it's not a siren looking for They, rather, they pounced on the sirens with irresistible intensity. Only, to the sirens, those were only the most active brain activity, the clearest protein structures. That's all."

After a long silence, Yang's hand reaching for the black tea cup trembled slightly. "It's dangerous." He lowered his head and didn't say any more.

"But do you know what is the most dangerous thing?" Stanislav seemed to have not noticed Yang's emotional fluctuations at all. The scientist was completely occupied by some kind of passion. He leaned towards the display screen and clicked, and two sets of molecular formulas appeared in the air . "No, I'm not going to give a popular science lecture, but I just want to use this to tell you one thing. These are two sets of protein molecular structure diagrams sent back by the pulse detection device. Admiral Yang received feedback from the siren when he sent the signal. We analyzed that the siren responded in a way that is isomorphic to Admiral Yang's cerebral cortex... The interesting thing is that in the signal sent back by the siren, there is actually a type of brain wave activity that is fundamentally different from that of Admiral Yang... …We can be sure that it came from another person's consciousness."

Yang seemed even more disturbed. "What's so interesting about this?" His previously pale face was now flushed.Sencob watched him attentively.

"Then I'll jump directly to the conclusion... Sirens can't recognize individual differences." Stanislav put away the molecular diagram, and Yang let out a sigh of relief, but the scientist didn't notice, "As I said just now, Sirens We are a conscious body, but we are not. In addition to consciousness, we also distinguish individuals by our respective physical existence, different looks, figures, etc. On the contrary, our respective thoughts are not transparent to each other. Our Consciousness is related to each other, but there are clear individual distinctions between each other. Siren has no similar concept, it exists in the form of a collection of consciousness, and the individual concept is outside its perception boundary, so a person's strong Love is no different to it than another person's intense love. Put simply: it sees us, but knows nothing about us."

Felicity's face also changed. "So...then before...it didn't know what it was doing? It didn't know what consequences it would bring?" She seemed almost angry.

Stanislav clearly felt her emotions. "Yes, ma'am, the universe is vast, and where does human beings come from to be confident that they can always understand and be understood? Our memory is nothing more than a protein structure to it. There is no language, no emotion, no feeling for someone. Memories are just an image, maybe phantom is just a proper name. Beautiful lady, you are quite right, yes, the siren has no idea what it is doing, it has no idea what the resurgence of memories means to us What will happen, and what consequences will it cause." He let out a long breath, and he was also calming down his emotions, "It is innocent, so it is also very dangerous."

***

In the three-dimensional conference call a few days later, Iserlohn informed the Empire of the preliminary research results and hypotheses.

Just like the initial reaction of Yang and others, Reinhardt and the generals of the Imperial Army could only respond in silence.This form that fell from the sky knows the structure of our body, the operation of our body and the transformation of matter. It also makes the most accurate analysis and summary of our strongest emotions; but it has the knowledge stolen from our minds. No idea, dismissive of our spiritual endeavors.It is indeed like the siren in the myth, singing beautiful and moving but empty songs on the coast.She can confuse people because of her insight into people's hearts. However, thousands of emotions are poured into this vast ocean, but none of them are understood by her.

"The siren doesn't know what he's doing? Well..." Reinhardt's voice was very calm, he rested his chin on his hand, thoughtful, "Is it like a wayward child? Well, no Not to mention, this is a romantic idea..." Hilde looked at him suspiciously, and Reinhardt paused for a while before continuing to speak slowly, "But in this case, I am afraid that such a simple conclusion cannot be tolerated. .”

"With all due respect, this conclusion is not simple—" Stanislav interrupted anxiously.

Reinhardt shook his fingers, "Mr. Scientist, I am not questioning you. But you only saw part of it, right? Perhaps, part of the facts can only bring more doubts." He turned his head to the side Nodding, "While Admiral Yang went to the Sirens, the Imperial Academy of Sciences actually carried out other related research activities. Unfortunately, our research has drawn completely opposite conclusions."

Yang Weili seemed a little surprised. "But I didn't meet on the siren..."

"No, not to the Siren." Reinhard shook his head, "Admiral Yang, have you ever thought about why the Siren came here? How does it maintain itself? No matter whether it has a shape or not, no matter what it is Neutrinos are still consciousness, everything needs energy, right? So where does this energy come from? I believe you must have noticed that the environment of the Corridor star field has changed a lot, temperature, gravity, magnetic field, all aspects , do you think these cases exist in isolation?"

Yang Weili was at a loss for words for a moment, and Stanislav's expression changed drastically.

A man with gray hair and an oriental appearance politely stood up and bowed slowly. "This is Professor Yosic Tanaka, an astrophysicist." Reinhardt introduced, "The team he led has just surveyed this entire star field, especially the stars Alsti and Red Star in this galaxy. Superstar. Professor Tanaka, it's up to you to explain."

"Then explain my humble opinion to the admirals." Professor Tanaka bowed slightly and saluted, "First of all, at the micro level, the spiritual dissection of people by sirens is naturally intolerable. In fact, This can almost be regarded as an indiscriminate military operation. But compared to the more serious macro level, this can indeed be regarded as a child's small fight." Professor Tanaka paused, his eyes became serious, "The Sirens must Otherwise, it is difficult to imagine what we are facing, maybe the fire in hell? As Mr. Stanislav said, it does not know the consequences of its actions - because, it does not belong to our universe, Doesn't belong in this galaxy. It shouldn't be here."

tbc.

notes:

1. The (forced) scientific explanation of the siren in this chapter is basically copied from "Solaris", with only a few deletions and changes.

2. The new online teacher should be loved by everyone. Who is he? (Quiz without prizes)