65 million years ago, Venus
Thousands upon thousands of people had gathered in the open space in front of the Venus Alliance Council building. Venus was a civilized society. Though the protesters were furious, there were no clashes, vandalism, or other acts of violence.
The protesters demanded an immediate halt to the so-called rescue plan.
If the sky fell, everyone would die. What if there was a miracle? They couldn't accept deliberately causing Mars to explode.
Under the security regulations of Venus's capital, Rivenburg, and according to past practice, a demonstration involving tens of thousands of people would require at least several hundred police officers to keep order. To everyone's surprise, there were hardly any police cars or officers on duty today.
The rescue plan had been underway for ten years, and the day Mars would explode was drawing ever closer. The work of extracting genes and uploading consciousness was progressing smoothly. The vast majority supported the rescue plan, and more and more people were willingly uploading their consciousness and letting their bodies die.
After the "first come, first served; first to die, first to be reborn" bill passed, people rushed to upload their consciousness as soon as possible, hoping to get a rebirth number closer to the front of the queue.
Those who refused to upload their consciousness and opposed the rescue plan were a tiny minority, but as time went on, their influence gradually gained the upper hand.
The Venus Alliance Council and government were under mounting pressure. How could they pacify the opponents and maintain order until the last moment before Venus was swallowed by flames?
Speaker Kent had been thrust into the spotlight. He appeared on the balcony on the second floor of the council building, facing the square, and spoke directly to the protesters through a loudspeaker.
Persuading people was difficult. Persuading thousands who held different beliefs was practically impossible. Speaker Kent understood that telling this crowd to sacrifice the individual for the greater good and save more people wouldn't work.
If reason wouldn't do, then he could only try to reach them emotionally. The old speaker began his speech:
"Brothers and sisters, I understand how you feel. Let me tell you a secret. I'm over two hundred years old, and I feel the same way you do. Deep down, I, too, oppose deliberately causing Mars to explode."
His opening words sent a ripple through the crowd. Then they fell quiet, unable to help feeling curious and eager to hear what the old speaker would say next.
"But as Speaker of the Venus Alliance Council, I voted in favor of the Mars explosion plan. The one who voted wasn't my private self. If you were faced with the choice of whether humanity on Venus would survive, you would certainly do as I did."
"There may be no absolute right or wrong in this world, but many times, we have no choice but to make one. You've chosen to refuse to upload your consciousness and witness and accompany Venus through its final moments as it burns. I respect your choice. I'm honored to announce and promise that I choose to stand with you. I won't upload my consciousness either. I'll stay with you until the very end."
The crowd stirred again. Everyone was shocked, though their reactions varied. Some genuinely admired the old speaker's candor. His private feelings and his greater sense of duty were so opposed, yet together they revealed his profound wisdom. Others muttered under their breath, "What good does it do for you to stand with us?"
"I know some of you are thinking, 'What good does it do for you to stand with us?' I'm not here today to persuade you. I'm here to ask for your help. The consciousness of almost everyone has already been uploaded. As of today, only a few hundred thousand people across all of Venus, including you, are still alive."
"What I'm asking you to help with today is this: since you've chosen to stay, please make one more choice. Before the final moment arrives, choose which side you'll stand on."
The people looked at one another, apparently unsure what the old speaker meant.
"Perhaps I didn't explain myself clearly. Now I'll announce a bill the Alliance Council just passed. It's very short. Starting January 1 of next year, all existing laws of the Venus Alliance will officially cease to apply. There will be only one law after that. It's even shorter: dignity."
"I think I've made myself clear this time. I came here today to divide those of you who chose to stay until the end, along with people like me, into two groups. One group will choose dignity; the other will choose so-called freedom without restraint. Since dignity is the only law, anyone who doesn't choose dignity will be free to do whatever they want—or, you could say, they'll live without law."
"We won't use voting machines or raise our hands. If you're willing to join me and become the last guardians of Venus, then shout with me—"
"Long live Venus! Uphold our dignity!"
The crowd's emotions surged, spreading from person to person, until they erupted in a deafening roar:
"Long live Venus! Uphold our dignity!"
Under the trees at the back of the square, a broad-shouldered, stocky man stood with his arms crossed, watching the old speaker without expression. His name was Troy, an active-duty instructor at the Air Force training camp. Everyone called him Captain Troy.
Several of his men gathered around him. One of them, a thin man, asked, "Captain, what do we do now?"
Troy made a retreating gesture. "We can't rely on this mob. They've already been brainwashed so quickly. We're going to the spacecraft base. We'll make our move tonight."
Troy wasn't the sort to leave things to fate. He had refused to upload his consciousness for a different reason from the protesters in the square. He'd spotted an opportunity—or, you could say, a loophole in the rescue plan.
Once the genes had been extracted and consciousness uploaded, the number of living people on Venus, Earth, and Mars would plummet, and the security system would completely collapse. Especially after Mars exploded, the only people with a chance of survival would be the few aboard spacecraft beyond Jupiter's orbit.
Troy had persuaded his men: "We'll seize a spacecraft and hide beyond Jupiter's orbit. After Mars explodes, we'll fly back and take over Earth. Then we'll have all of Earth's resources to ourselves and establish a great dynasty."
Beneath the night sky, the piercing alarms at the Venus spacecraft base blared without pause. A spacecraft soared into the sky, leaving a faint blue-green trail behind it as it headed toward Jupiter...
Before the final bill Speaker Kent mentioned had passed, the Venus Council had also approved another request that was both reasonable and justified. Under the rescue plan, Maria needed a group of volunteers for cloning experiments, and the experiments had succeeded.
This raised a legal problem. Strictly speaking, these clones weren't entitled to have their genes extracted and consciousness uploaded, then be cloned again after the Earth home was built. But in recognition of the volunteers' exceptional contributions, the Council decided to grant their clones one additional chance to be cloned.
Little Brahma and Little Vinu, who were regarded as Cynthia's younger brother and sister, were among them. When Brahma and his wife, Vinu, heard the news, they were happy for Cynthia's younger siblings. But they also remembered that Cynthia had neither the right nor the means to upload her consciousness. They were torn.
At the Tower Island base on Earth, Maria and Nikola Tesla both felt deeply for the unfortunate couple. How could they comfort them? Everyone fell silent.
Vinu took her husband's hand and gazed at him affectionately. Brahma understood her without a word and nodded. Vinu turned to Maria. "However you look at it, this is good news. Dr. Maria, please extract my younger siblings' genes and upload their consciousness."
Maria seemed to understand the couple's decision, but couldn't help asking, "What about you two? You have the right to upload your consciousness too."
The couple looked at each other, their faces alight with a bittersweet happiness. In unison, they said, "No need. We want to stay with Cynthia until the very end."
Nikola Tesla watched a live broadcast of the old speaker's speech on Earth, and was deeply moved. People often said that humanity on Venus had always been blessed by the heavens, which was why they endured and thrived.
Who knew that whenever hardship struck, heroes like Speaker Kent would sacrifice their private wishes for the greater good and protect humanity on Venus?
Suddenly, Tesla realized that someone would also need to stand guard at Victoria Power Station and the Space elevator on Earth and strengthen their defenses.
The problem was that when Mars exploded, even though the impact site would be in the Western Hemisphere and the Victoria region would not be hit directly, Earth would be surrounded by poisonous, sulfurous gas.
If they stationed someone there, that person would have to live in the sealed compartment of the Space elevator, ninety thousand kilometers above the ground, for at least several decades in isolation.
An alarm suddenly beeped on the encrypted video link to Venus. Curious, everyone gathered around as Maria read the message:
"Wanted notice:
Troy, Tulus, and others have hijacked a spacecraft and fled Venus. Earth, Mars, and all space stations are urged to increase their vigilance and strengthen security."
Looking at the photo in the notice, Brahma cried out, "Troy! He was my company commander before I left the army. How could he do something like this?"
Maria asked Tesla, "What are they planning? Will they come to Earth and cause trouble?"
Tesla studied the spacecraft's trajectory and calculated its course. "They're heading toward Jupiter."
Vinu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked in confusion, "What are they going to Jupiter for? At least Earth isn't their target."
"Earth is their target, just not yet. They must be planning to take it over when Mars explodes and no one's left to guard it," Tesla said angrily.
"Then what do we do? Should we post someone to guard it? Earth is enormous—where would we station them?" Maria asked anxiously.
"They hijacked a military spacecraft. It can't land directly on Earth. They can only dock at the space station attached to the Space elevator. We need someone to stand guard in the station's space capsule," Tesla said. "If they attack, the guard will detonate the explosives, blowing up the invaders and their spacecraft."
Brahma wrapped his arms around Vinu, gave her a tender kiss, then turned and gently stroked Cynthia's hair. He said to Maria, "Dr. Maria, please, whatever happens, help Cynthia!"
Tesla seemed to understand what Brahma meant and was about to speak, but Brahma cut him off. "Leave Troy and his men to me. I'm willing to stand guard—for my wife, my daughter, and everyone else."
Vinu's eyes instantly filled with tears. Maria didn't know what to say. Brahma was resolute, then smiled lightly and added, "It'll be lonely all by myself in that confined space. Please design me a fun virtual reality game."
Maria understood what Brahma meant. She said to the family holding one another, "Didn't the speaker say that all laws are about to cease to apply? The only obstacle to uploading Cynthia and the others' consciousness is technical now. Tesla and I will do everything we can to help Little Cynthia."
Quatrain anthology:
Guests gone, feast ended, I close the door alone. Tang, Bai Juyi
Cloud roads to our two homes—each of us turns back. Tang, Wei Zhuang
Will we know who's still hale when we meet again next year? Tang, Du Fu
I fear red dust will seep through the sunlight and fly. Song, Shi Qingchen
Before you continue