Forced Vacation

When the final report to United Nations Children's Fund concluded, both Audrey Hepburn and Henry breathed a sigh of relief.

She resumed her visits to UNICEF at the end of January and worked continuously for more than three months without a break. Finally, as May arrived, Ms. Hepburn was given a mandatory two-week vacation.

There's no particular reason; the peacekeeping forces are already at full capacity and can't send more personnel to support the operation. Unless the United Nations sends additional troops today; but for UNICEF's activities, the five permanent members of the UN Security Council won't approve it.

Just one question: where does the funding come from? The deployment of peacekeeping forces is entirely subsidized by the United Nations; UNICEF funds haven't been used at all.

The United Nations doesn't print its own money; it comes from membership fees paid by its member states.

Even if it's interspersed with visits to other regions, it's still the same. Any troop movement involved is no small matter.

As a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, Ms. Hepburn's active role is certainly a good thing. With her as a role model, it also facilitates some of the smaller actions taken behind the scenes.

However, everything has its limits, so Ms. Hepburn was forced to request a leave of absence. Two weeks of rest was the maximum possible.

Should they stay in New York and continue hosting fundraising parties to fleece the wealthy? Or should they return to Switzerland and truly rest for two weeks? The answer to this question is obvious.

So Henry was sitting on a passenger plane, accompanying Audrey Hepburn in first class. The cost, of course, was paid by the lady herself, not by public funds.

The service in first class was exceptionally attentive, with the flight attendants providing exceptional care.

Henry isn't afraid of being busy; his Super Speed gives him more "time" to handle things compared to others. But when he can relax and rest, he doesn't neglect himself.

Or rather, for someone with his Super Speed, the act of wasting time is not a luxury, but rather something precious. That's why he enjoys the leisurely time on the plane.

Direct flights from New York to Switzerland take approximately seven and a half to eight hours.

Henry would usually use this time to read a book, savoring it carefully and attentively.

Sometimes I would scribble in my notebook, recording ideas that could be used to enrich the features of Linux.

Aside from not having any free time to communicate with people online, Henry has become a big shot among the collaborative developers, with the username CK.

Although, given his understanding of the future, it would be a simple matter for him to forcefully seize control of Linu's development.

Even Linus Torvalds, a true big shot, extended an olive branch on the Joker BBS, proposing a collaboration.

However, Henry still didn't intend to go public. Just like in the Water Margin, not everyone who joins the outlaws is waiting for amnesty.

Today, he was reading the first edition of the fourth volume of "War and Peace" in Russian on the plane, which deals with the events surrounding Moscow after Napoleon's invasion. However, the content was not entirely about the plot; it also included more philosophical discussions.

This book even bears Tolstoy's autograph. It was part of the private collection of Audrey Hepburn, who also loved reading. She owned a complete set of first-edition signed books.

Logically, such a precious antique book should be properly preserved in a suitable environment. However, the lady believes that books only have meaning when they are taken out and read.

Therefore, he not only did not stop Henry from borrowing the book, but even encouraged him. This was partly because he himself could not read the Russian version and felt somewhat guilty towards the book.

Henry doesn't have a time machine to go back and see the origins of Western philosophy, or whether it's a fabrication. But at least the ideas described in it are genuine.

Lately, he has also wanted to review the thoughts of the ancient philosophers from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period to see if his current Super Brain can give him some new insights.

But finding suitable books wasn't easy in his environment, so Henry had to put these things aside for the time being.

Just as he was pondering the deeper meaning behind Pierre's seemingly pointless lamentations about the war in occupied Moscow, a small commotion arose on the plane, which quickly spread to the first-class cabin.

Everyone craned their necks to look out the window to one side. The airplane, above the clouds, was closer to the universe beyond the atmosphere than the ground. The sky, which had always been filled with only the moon and stars, presented an unprecedented spectacle today.

A ball of orange flame floated in the sky, its tendril-like flames extending outwards from time to time, their shapes constantly changing.

Is that the aurora borealis?

"That's not the aurora. The aurora within the Arctic Circle has a beauty of order. That thing is also beautiful, but it lacks the same geometric beauty."

So what is that?

"I don't know. Look, it can change."

Henry overheard the conversation among the Passenger on the plane. Even Ms. Hepburn, who was also reading a book, noticed it and looked out the small round window of the plane.

"Henry," the woman called to the Kryptonian was also reading a book, "What do you think that is up there?"

Looking out from another window, Henry felt a sense of déjà vu about the scene, but he couldn't quite connect it to a major event in his mind.

However, most radiation from space is blocked by Earth's ozone layer. And judging from the trajectory of the object's changes, it didn't seem to be approaching Earth, so Henry didn't investigate further.

He honestly replied, "Boss, I don't know what it is either."

"You don't know either? That's quite rare." Audrey Hepburn looked at Henry and said with a smile.

Henry shrugged helplessly and said, "The more you know, the more you realize how ignorant you are. This is a realization shared by many senior figures in academia."

"Is there any way to take a picture?" the woman asked.

Henry then got up, took out his camera from the overhead suitcase, and changed to a suitable lens.

Although Ms. Hepburn's photography skills weren't great, she was willing to try. As for Henry's own photography skills, he just figured them out by reading a few books and figuring them out himself, so he had no right to look down on anyone.

But in situations like this, Henry still handed the camera to the lady and explained a few points about aperture for nighttime shooting.

I adjusted the shutter speed. I then used a large blanket to completely cover the window, leaving only the part of the lens pressed against the tempered glass.

"The biggest problem with shooting through glass is the reflections and shadows on the glass. So we have to block out the excess light sources to get any good shots."

After taking one test shot, the woman adjusted the parameters slightly according to her own understanding and took several more shots.

The results wouldn't be available until they got back and the photos were developed. So he handed the camera back to Henry.

I used my eyes and brain to remember this extraordinary scene.

Henry, however, noticed with his Super Vision that a space shuttle had unfortunately approached the strange energy in the air. Then, as if it had been detected, it lost power and hovered nearby.