Opal opens the star map and reads the notes of the South Gate Double Star.
[Beautiful twin stars, golden stars and winds, everything is thriving in the eternal day, the stars of the eternal day, a place that is drunk with money.]The voyage from Rembrandt to South Gate 2 is forty-three hours. After Mrs. Anta briefly said the entrustment, she went back to the bedroom to rest. Opal and Raymond sat in front of the console, and Opal asked in a low voice: "You? Been to a charity fundraiser? What did she mean?"
Raymond: "No."
Opal: "What is divorce?"
Raymond looked at Opal and said after a while, "Ask her yourself."
Opal waved his hand and said, "Forget it."
Raymond squinted and lay down on the swivel chair to sleep. The maid came out with a wire and said, "Two gentlemen, Mrs. Antar wants to have a cup of afternoon tea in the living room."
Raymond closed his eyes and said, "Please let her do whatever she wants."
The maid opened a device, and the wire unfolded into a disc that floated off the ground. She shook off the tablecloth and laid it on. He took out a hanging lamp from the tool basket on his arm and hung it on the hook in the inner cabin, and the light illuminated the cabin warmly. Opal always watched her actions curiously and asked, "This lamp has a good light."
"This is my hometown, the sunshine of the stars of Andromeda." Mrs. Antar came out of the bedroom, sat down at the round table, and said, "When you are old, you often miss your homeland, and in a few years, you should go home and live comfortably. ."
Madam Antar had changed her outfit, and the maid filled her cup with hot water, and the petals floated in the cup.
"Have something to drink?" asked Mrs. Antar.
Raymond moved his left hand to signal him not to go. Opal went over and asked, "What is divorce?"
Mrs. Anta opened a book in her hand and replied slowly: "Divorce is the end of a normal marriage relationship. Marriage is the grave of love, and divorce is a new life."
Opal nodded in understanding, Anta sighed and said, "There are not many people married in the Republic now, and even fewer people are in love."
Opal asked, "Why?"
Anta said regretfully: "The cost is too high, and marriage is a lifetime thing. In the Silver Age before the Light Era, the average lifespan of human beings was only 80 years. Starting from adolescence, marriage only needs to stay together for 60 years."
Opal thought of his own lifespan, perhaps only this short eighty years, not only him, but most of the mercenaries.
"In the era of black iron after the Light Era," Anta said: "After the development of genetic technology, two hundred, three hundred, or even longer lifespans, the long years make people no longer willing to maintain the strength of their marriages. Apart from starting a family and starting a business, There are more things to do, the price of marriage is too high, once you find a spouse, it will be difficult to be together forever for the next two or three hundred years.”
She smiled at Opal, who suddenly found that she was still very beautiful, with a certain beauty that belonged to her age.
"You know a lot," Opal said.
"I'm a historian." Mrs. Antar said, "I can be your grandmother."
Opal thought for a while and said, "You know Azeroth?"
Antar nodded thoughtfully, and said, "I met him when I was in Girls' Generation. Azeroth is a man of great taste. He made your home planet..."
Opal said: "I am not from the God of War galaxy."
Anta nodded and said seriously: "He likes the retro cultural style, selectively introduces science and technology, and maintains a certain feature of the country of mercenaries, which has been eroded by science in many galaxies. It is a kind of… It's called a product of planetary culture."
Opal understood a little bit, and Lecter also mentioned this. He took a sip of the herbal tea and asked, "What is this in your hand?"
"The earliest book." Anta handed the book to him and said, "The writings of a poet in the golden age of the earth before the Light Era. This is a recorded version."
Opal, like a child, flipped through a few pages, which, like his report, were copied on paper.
Anta looked at Opal and turned the book: "Now the carrier of information in the universe has changed, and so have people. Not many people are willing to experience love patiently, but they all take sex as their starting point and buy a dream machine and fantasy movement. , to fulfill all human desires. To reproduce, you only need to submit a few cells to the Life Gene Company, extract a few chromosomes, find the mother, match, and then pay a small fee. Sometimes the government will give you to increase the birth rate. Allowances to help you raise your offspring."
Opal said: "I know this, it's a good thing that females don't have to go through the pain of childbirth."
Anta nodded and said regretfully: "This pattern has resulted in the equality of men and women in the Cosmic Coalition, and the same-sex union has also been recognized, which has promoted the development of the entire era. It has also caused the love of civilians to gradually die out among the stars. Love and marriage, become a luxury linked to politics, money, etc... Only Ledgerson is still singing about love in the ancient times, these verses are handed down from the golden age... It has been around for a long, long time..."
Opal said: "Ma'am, but there is still love in Lie Xing, such as a guy I know named Wrench, and his girlfriend..."
Anta smiled and said, "And my husband, he used to have."
Opal said: "Well, I don't mean to offend, but it's true."
Anta said: "I have a book, you can read it if you like."
The maid went in and took out the book. It was a theory of interstellar love written by a scholar of the Republic. Opal turned a few pages, and the text was a little obscure. "I like to read this kind of paper book, and I'm not very used to the electronic holographic medium that you young people use," Anta said.
Opal: "What is this mainly about?"
Anta said: "It expounds the polarization of love and marriage in interstellar civilization. In some uncivilized primitive places, it may give birth to mutual attraction between the two sexes or the same sex, until the middle level of society, love gradually disappears, and then to the pyramid. At the top, rich people use it as a game of entertainment."
Opal nodded slowly, remembering that on the B-11 star, the miners are a group of people separated from the interstellar civilization, and there is love between them, like the one-eyed Ugo and his wife.
"My genes are imperfect," Opal said. "My mother gave birth to me like a primitive planet."
Anta comforted: "That's a good thing, my child, the mother's body is a person's final spiritual destination."
"Thank you." Opal said moved: "You are very wise."
Anta smiled and stopped talking. Opal took the book with him, sat down in front of the console, and read it carefully. The author of this book, Hirocus, mentioned the role of love by hormones, and then proposed the uniqueness of love to the individual.
Through multi-ethnic observation and analysis, Hirokos believes that the original code of "sex-love" for reproduction has gradually faded in human genes. Instead, there is a higher level of love—the emotional reliance on which individuals are attracted to each other regardless of gender, seek out the same kind, and complete the transformation from lonely individuals to mutual companionship.
This kind of love tends to admire and resonate deep in the soul, and aims to accompany each other. In the process, it will also be expressed through the direct means of sex to show that they are frank with each other and surrender their last reservations.
The impact of technology on the primitive feelings of intelligent life individuals has reached a higher level. The indifference and friendship of love may lead to the destruction of human beings, or it may establish a brand new emotional relationship...
Opal glanced at Raymond.
He felt that the book made a lot of sense. Looking back on his previous life, he didn't know what Anta missed her home planet. At least Opal himself did not have any special dependence on the Chiyan Galaxy. Perhaps it was because she had never been a miner.
In those days, he had few real friends, just a few co-workers, whose goal was to save their own money to buy a ferry ticket and live a new life. It was not until he arrived at Ares that he felt the friendship between the mercenaries. No matter how long he digs or chats for many days, he can't get it back. It is a feeling of mutual trust between life and death.
The innkeeper said that he would fall in love with this place one day, and that feeling of living and dying together might never be forgotten in his lifetime.
Raymond is a good comrade in arms, they are together, fighting for the mission...
Opal's mind was filled with random thoughts, and he turned page after page at will. The book was very thin. He read it all afternoon, and finally put the book on his face and fell asleep.
Six hours later, Opal woke up again and heard the voice of the maid frying eggs in the warehouse, and even brought a lot of daily necessities. Mrs. Antar was setting the table and said, "Children, let's eat."
Raymond yawned, put down his feet on the console, and came over to eat.
"Madam, do you know the Knights of the Stars?" Opal suddenly thought of this, and Mrs. Anta lowered her head to cut a steak and said casually, "Yes. The epic heroes in the dark ages have become legends, but many stories point to a fact. , they do exist."
she knows! Opal was shocked, he tried his best not to show it, and asked: "What kind of person is the star knight?"
"It's not so much a person." Mrs. Anta said, "It's better to ask what kind of organization they are."
"The 10,000th year of the Light Era is the Bronze Age in history. The legends about the Sanctuary of the Stars existed in the dark period after the end of the Bronze Age." Madam Antar took a sip of iris wine and said in a trance: "This period in history is caused by the fact that technology has reached the peak since human exploration of the universe, and robots have become new productive forces..."
Raymond stopped and narrowed his eyes, as if interested in this.
"Do you know humanoid lifeforms?" Raymond asked.
Antar nodded and said: "Some artificial life cloned from human cells and equipped with control chips, although the Covenant Ethics Society has expressed strong protests against this, the Interstellar Community insists on this method. After all, robots There is no intellectual curiosity and no emotional thinking, and the human brain can learn a lot.”
Opal recalled that Rickett had also mentioned this history, and he asked, "Call it a revolution in wisdom?"
Anta said with praise: "In the intelligent revolution, technology replaced almost everyone's life at that time. Human beings can control artificial life with only a spine chip, and artificial life controls machinery, and even robots are not needed later. The cost is too high. And artificial life is based on genetics and biological cell cultivation technology, they can be self-sufficient and create wealth, until these humanoid life forms set off a revolution that intends to replace human beings and become the rulers of the food chain of the universe. "
"This revolution lasted nearly a hundred years and plunged human society into long darkness."
"They all ended up being destroyed," Opal said.
Anta said: "Yes, the consequences of the revolution are very serious. The interstellar community is divided into empires and republics. At this time, a certain surveillance center has sent their messengers."
"They ended the revolution, destroyed all artificial life, and restored the order of the universe to a state of equilibrium between chaos and order."
"Next, human beings fell into reflection. The entire universe is still a mess, and for nearly a thousand years, many precious historical materials have been lost, and there have been faults in the times. Then, the interstellar civilization gradually recovered with the help of the Star Knights. Order, the remaining replicator labs are eradicated."
"Since then, intelligent robots will no longer be developed, and many galaxies have begun to pursue the return to nature. Retro and seeking the coexistence of human nature and technology have become what we see now. The Cosmos Joint Research Organization advocates the coexistence of human nature and progress, no longer Too much reliance on technology.”
"There is another point about the legend of the Knights of the Stars, that is, the founder of the empire, the first Leo monarch mentioned that they came from a place called the Sanctuary of the Stars. It is said to be the central axis of the entire universe, but because of the expansion coefficient of the universe Restrictions, close to the center point, the space will show some strange characteristics, after leaving the starry sky gate, it is almost impossible to reach the place with the power system of the spacecraft alone."
Raymond, who had been listening quietly, suddenly opened his mouth and said, "Now there is a spaceship with its own transition function."
"Yes, some people have tried to find it in recent years. Although the Republic did not say so on the bright side, I believe there must be an exploration plan linked to it. The biggest problem is that there is no star map." Anta said: " No one knows its location. Many people still stubbornly believe that the Knights of the Stars do exist, and it is not just a legend."
"Is the Star Knight strong?" Opal asked.
"It's hard to define," Anta said. "Their purpose is to maintain the order of the stars. Maybe they have some special abilities. Legends are invincible. Of course, they are only in legends."
Opal said: "Compared to Azeroth?"
Anta laughed, shook his head slowly, and finally said, "Maybe he is a little stronger than Uncle. I always thought he was a very ordinary person."
"Do you think what she said is true?"
After dinner, Opal and Raymond were lying on the swivel chair and dozing off. Raymond had been thinking about something and was a little distracted. Opal patted him on the shoulder, and Raymond turned back and said, "What?"
Opal said: "Dark times, star knights or something..."
Raymond said casually: "Maybe, do you want to lie down and sleep? Cover it with a quilt."
Opal shook his head and said, "She knows so much."
"Historian." Raymond said, "It's normal to live for hundreds or thousands of years."
Opal said: "She also makes people think... I like it very much, and I am very interested in chatting with her... "
"The temperament is very good," Raymond said.
Opal said, "Why doesn't her husband like her?"
Raymond said: "How do I know? Don't love me, I never understand you... I don't understand these things. Are you going to marry her?"
"Of course not." Opal could not laugh or cry, love and marriage seemed to be far away from him. He asked again, "Do you have someone you like?"
"I already told you, no." Raymond replied without thinking.
Opal said again: "Are you thinking of marriage?"
Raymond said: "No more."
Opal shrugged and stopped talking about it. He took a quilt and went to sleep. He closed his eyes and felt Raymond watching him while meditating. He opened his eyes in confusion and asked, "What?"
Raymond didn't answer and seemed to be asleep.
Arrive at Maruka planet, which is the fashion capital of the third spiral arm of the galaxy. The eyes behind the opal sunglasses are stunned. Mrs. Antar is familiar with the road. .
There were handsome men and women in luxurious clothes and jewels everywhere, Mrs. Anta stood in a clothing store and said, "I want to put on the best clothes and go to meet the new rival in love."
"Oh dear," a male designer said softly, "I think you look pretty good. There are really not many women who can wear the long dress designed by Mr. Maha Viper."
Opal and Raymond stood on the other side, picking up a long dress from the hanger, and a holographic price tag floated out—300,000 credits.
Raymond: "… "
Opal: "… "
"She can actually buy a general-purpose memory cloth." Opal said casually: "Buy another electronic fashion magazine, let the tailor robot enter the interstellar Internet password according to the above style, and you can make ready-made clothes directly. Next time To change the style and let the robot remove the original clothes…”
Raymond said: "I want one and I can't afford it. There are only two kinds of people in this world who can wear handmade clothes. The rich play retro, and the poor have no money to buy memory cloth, so they have to buy ordinary clothes. Fabric ready-to-wear…”
Opal shrugged, "So we're in the poor category."
"What about this one?" Mrs. Anta was wearing a light blue gauze skirt, the folds of the louver on the skirt gently undulating like a sea tide.
"Baby." The male designer tutted: "It just makes me fall, I really want to pursue you now."
Mrs. Anta smiled sweetly and turned her head: "What do you think?"
Opal: "Looks good."
Raymond nodded and said nothing.
Mrs. Antar said, "You two also need a dress."
Raymond said immediately: "No, I don't need it."
Opal also said: "It's too expensive to buy."
Mrs. Antar said: "It is included in the allowance, choose it."
Raymond was really speechless about this task, and he was already a little impatient. Opal took a few glances and decided not to. The designer came over and said: "Oh, the two of you are in good shape, if you don't know How to match, let me help you choose..."
Opal was caught off guard, blocked the hand that was touching his face and his chest, and said, "I'm not used to wearing a dress... I've never worn one! Stay away from me! Thank you for your kindness!"
"What do you do?" said the male designer, "let me measure your waist..."
Talking and hugging him, Opal said embarrassedly: "Let... let go!"
"Well..." said the male designer, "don't be so shy..." and turned to Raymond.
Raymond said: "What are you going to do, don't touch me, I'll do it myself!"
Mrs. Antar said, "Dear, please don't bully my guests."
"Okay." The male designer threw a wink at Opal, turned around to get a scanner, and scanned their body size with a few beeps.
Opal said: "I'm just a mercenary."
"You all need a decent dress." Mrs. Anta said lightly, "Just think of it as an old lady to play with."
Opal and Raymond were both pressed into their dresses. Opal was wearing a gray-blue dress vest with a front collar, a white shirt, and a neatly tied tie. He lowered his head and fastened the platinum cufflinks on the cuffs. Look. Looking at himself with thick eyebrows and big eyes in the mirror, he felt uncomfortable.
Raymond is a dark red waisted suit jacket with wide shoulders and long hands, and two shirt collars are unbuttoned, showing a strong bronze complexion, which is very sexy.
Mrs. Anta didn't even look at the signed form. She got into the car and went to the jewelry city. Opal was still thinking about the price of the clothes, and whispered in the back: "Can this dress be refunded? There are tens of thousands of credit points..."
Raymond was wearing a shirt, with his suit jacket on his arm, glanced at Opal, and said, "You can try this set and go back, there must be a lot of people chasing you."
Opal made a "fuck you" gesture, and this time they didn't follow them into the store, so as not to be forced to add any decorations. The two sat side by side on the roadside chairs and watched the scenery. People came and went, all wearing the highest-end clothes, and they were very drunk.
Three long-necked green-necked men with a head resting on their necks passed by wearing dark red suits similar to Raymond's style, glancing at them.
Opal squirted the drink out.
Raymond was expressionless.
"What kind of star is this?" Opal teased, leaning on Raymond's shoulder.
"I haven't seen it." Raymond said coldly.
"What about that?" Opal held the hand of the canned drink and pointed his finger to the opposite side.
Raymond stared sideways at Opal.
"Madam asked." The maid came out and said, "Are you two lovers?"
Opal immediately said: "No, it's just a comrade-in-arms, what's wrong?"
At that moment, both of them were a little embarrassed. The maid said, "Your earrings are of the same style. Do you need to change a pair of gemstones? Madam will pay."
Opal turned his head to show her, and said, "This is just a long-distance communicator, you can't change it casually."
Raymond was very uncomfortable, took off the ear button and put it in his shirt pocket.
Neither of them spoke. Opal moved his claws from Raymond's shoulders consciously. After waiting for a long time, Mrs. Anta came out wearing a blue necklace, and there was a gold shot inlaid with broken gemstones on her wrist. White bracelet.
The entire ring-shaped band bracelet presents a rainbow-like dreamy color, from red to blue, gradually graduating, as if enveloped in a layer of light brilliance.
The necklace pendant is a small swimming fish, as if there is an ocean flowing in it.
Even her maid had changed into a luxurious, princess-like attire, with a light green hairpin fastened on her hair, the green light in the hairpin was like an ancient tree, and her long brown soft hair was flowing. with the light of life.
"Go to the charity fundraiser now." Mrs. Anta said gracefully with her handbag: "You can treat it as a troublemaker, please don't be restrained."
Raymond and Opal finally breathed a sigh of relief.