The Star Knight

The next day the sky was clear, and the desert stretched to the end of the sky like a rolling khaki silk

"Hello!" Opal was commissioning a small minecart. He shouted at Rector who was out of the door. "Where are you going?"

Rector wears a set of opal work clothes. His figure is very large. The miner's uniform puts on a clean ankle and the sleeve is shorter than the wrist.

"I'm going to find a place to live." Rector said.

Opal came down and said, "Do you have money? What to eat?"

Rector: "No, think of a way."

Opal: "If you don't eat, you will starve to death in the rock mountain! Don't go!"

Rector insisted on leaving. Opal had to bring some food and wrap it, and he packed up a blanket for Rector and came out behind him. The two left the village and walked among the rolling rocks.

Rector glanced at E7.

Opal explained: "My mother did it before she died."

Rector said: "Your mother landed on this planet?"

Opal nodded, remembering what she told herself before she died-Opal, leave this planet and go to the vast universe to find the meaning of her life.

But he had no money, only a ruined spaceship left by his mother. Those repair tools, materials, and merchants from the Opal B11 star had inquired about it. With his current ability, he could not afford to dig a lifetime mine. .There may be a lot of secrets in this man. His rescue capsule has never been seen before. Can he take himself away?

Why did Rector come here with all his injuries?What about his rescue capsule?Numerous questions filled Opal's mind, and he remembered that the rescue capsule disappeared silently after Recht's body healed that day.

"What is this place?" Rector asked after a long walk.

"Crimson bed." Opal said: "The mine has been dug and there are many caves in the mountain. How long do you plan to stay here?"

The rescue cabin is gone, and Rector doesn't have a spaceship. Could it be like Opal's mother, to spend a lifetime here?Opal looked at Rector, who was wearing a miner's uniform. He looked stronger than any miner and might be able to do a lot of work.

Rector looked down on a cliff and seemed satisfied with it.

"I had a fight with a tough guy near the C47 nebula." Rector frowned slightly in the rocky wind with dry sand and dust, and signaled Opal to follow him. "Later I lost, almost He died in his hands. Thanks to the supernova explosion that caused me to escape."

Opal asked: "What is a supernova explosion?"

Rector replied: "The dramatic change before the end of the star's life, it experienced a red giant star or a white dwarf star, and finally exploded out, causing distortion of the surrounding space, which may form black holes.

Opal was confused, and asked, "Where is it?"

Rector said: "30 million light-years away from B11, I made a space jump in time and fled here."

Opal asked: "What about your spacecraft? Is it ruined?"

Rector pondered for a moment, as if it was difficult to answer, and finally said: "For now, yes."

Opal thought about it, he put forward a bold idea, saying: "Will you repair the spaceship, I have an abandoned spaceship, I think if I can repair it... wait!"

Rector walked in the wind, found an abandoned mine hole, breathed a sigh of relief, and seemed to deaf to Opal's proposal.He glanced at the mine and asked, "Where do you want to go?"

Opal shrugged: "I didn't think about it."

Rector said: "I will not overhaul the spacecraft."

Opal sighed.

Rector was very satisfied with this, and he began to clean up the mine.Opal still remembers what Rector said before going to bed last night.

"What is a slave?" Opal suddenly asked: "You said, I am a slave, what will happen to the boss of this planet?"

Rector explained: "In this universe, every intelligent life is equal, they have their own inherent freedom. But a small number of people oppress others for their own benefit, asking them to have no principle. Serve yourself, like your job, whether you want it or not, you have to do it, you can’t leave, this is the slave."

"It violates the principles of interstellar labor law, but the slave owner of this galaxy is very clever, does not use violent means to imprison you, but uses trade, material conditions and the isolation of the planet itself to restrict all workers."

"The ferry ticket is sky high, you can only dig a mine for him for a lifetime, so you are not free."

Opal understood.

My body is imprisoned, but my heart is free, Opal thought.

Rector stared at him with deep blue eyes, and his deep pupil seemed to have a look of prying eyes.

"How can I be free?" asked Opal.

Rector said: "Rebel, pick up the weapon in your hand to fight, fight, bleed and sacrifice."

Opal said: "I will not fight."

Rector said: "Then, you can only be a miner for a lifetime."

Rector dismantled the metal supporting the internal mine. He was very powerful. He dismantled a lot of brackets lightly. He took it outside the mine and looked at the materials at hand as if thinking about how to use them.

The yellow sand was rolling on the ground, and the bare crimson rock bed had a desolate breath. His robes fluttered in the wind filled with yellow sand. Opal said to him, "Can you help me?"

Rector glanced at him, and Opal said: "I mean to teach me how to get out of here. I don't have a spaceship that I can use and no money."

Rector casually said: "When you start thinking about this problem, you are already thinking of ways to help yourself, why not continue it?"

Opal seemed to understand something.

What Rector said had a great impact on him, as if injecting a light into his chaotic consciousness, Opal vaguely felt that he would be an important person who changed his life, and he could not be let go anyway.

After a long time:

"I'm a star knight." Rector sat down on a stone and said seriously: "Now I must officially tell you that I need your help, Opal."

Opal confused: "What is the Star Knight?"

He looked closely at the man in front of him. His eyebrows were thick, his skin was fair, his body was towering like a mountain, his nose was tall and his lips were warm, his eyes were like stars in the sky, and they were spotlessly clean.

Rector thought for a while and said, "Help me get out of here."

Opal said: "I can lend you my spaceship as long as you can drive."

Rector shook his head and said: "No, I don't need a spaceship, just energy, a lot of energy. Can you manage to help me get the rutile spar? About half a million energy units."

Opal was startled and said, "I can't do it!"

Rector said: "Then I will find a way myself, please don't tell anyone about what I am here."

Opal said: "I try, you only have this requirement?"

Rector thought for a while and said, "I still need drinking water and food. In return, I am willing to teach you something."

Opal froze and asked a moment later: "Teach me?"

Rector said: "It depends on your qualifications, there is no way to promise now. Do you know the word? I see your E7 can read the information magazine, you should know the word."

Opal nodded immediately: "Know, my mother taught me, I will find you a crystal mine, I will work hard."

Rector pointed to the cave and said, "I will recover here during this time. You can come to me at any time."

Rector lived in the cave, and Opal returned to his hut. He put E7 on the table. After a long thought, the bell rang, and the miners came out of their place of residence and followed the tunnel to work.

Opal wore a hard hat, and the headlights illuminated the gleaming underground space.

"Do you know?" Opal said to his partner Locke: "We are slaves."

Locke was absent-minded: "Yeah, a slave of money and material."

Opal asked: "You never thought about a certain day, can you leave here?"

Locke replied: "Of course, just save enough and leave."

"There is always not enough money." Some people echoed: "It is said that the outside prices are getting more and more expensive. I don't know who is working for them, who is selling their lives, and they are so busy that they can't afford to buy a pass. You can What to do? Mining honestly."

"Opal." A thin, tall man came and asked, "How much did you save?"

This man is the captain of their mining team. There are a total of five people in the team, including Opal and Locke. The miners died together. Because of accidents such as mine collapse, explosion, etc., the entire team is often stuck. Inside, each team is a special small group, and the feelings are more profound than others.

But not long ago, two old miners suffered from very serious underground diseases, and there was no way to participate in cave operations. They had to wait outside to pull the mine.The foreman did not re-form them, and treated the only remaining three-person team as five.So Opal remained in the team, Locke and Oman as the captain.The more powerful Opal is responsible for cutting the minerals, and Locke and Oman are loaded for transportation.

Oman has a younger sister named Anya who is responsible for making bread for many people and doing some work.Oman’s only wish was to buy a boat ticket and send her sister away so that she would no longer suffer from following them on this planet. After all, she was already 16 years old.

"One hundred and fifty thousand energy units," Opal said without looking up. "What's wrong?"

Locke asked: "Oman, do you want to gather money to buy a boat ticket?"

Oman said: "I heard the businessmen say that there are many places in Chiyan galaxy to ask for waiters. They like to let people order food, serve dishes, Anya can also sing. I want her to get a pass and buy a boat Tickets, go to Crimson Star to find a job."

Locke said: "The ticket is now 800,000, how many do you have?"

Opal said: "You only have 200,000 energy units, Oman."

Oman nodded and Locke said, "How are you going to give it back to us?"

Oman said: “Anyah said she would also like to stay on the Crimson Star, provided that she can find a job, work to make money, save money, and then ask someone to bring us.”

Locke whispered: "I heard that all people leaving B-11 must sign a contract first. They can no longer contact the people here, nor can they tell the story here, is it true?"

Oman said: "Impossible! She is my sister! Where did you hear that?"

Opal used a magnetic drilling machine to buzz against the wall of the mine, oscillating the original rhodochrosite down. Locke pushed the minecart in the back. Opal was thinking about the alien guest all day long. , What the man said.

The magnetic drilling machine got stuck.

"Be careful!" The foreman gave Opal a slap on his head and shouted roughly: "You can't afford to sell it."

Oman immediately blocked the foreman's hand and said, "I will pay attention, don't hit my teammates!"

Opal looked at the foreman angrily, and Locke quickly apologized and apologized, motioning Opal to move on.

Locke walked and said, "You are not enough."

"Yeah, not enough." Oman said absently. "Or wait a few more years."

The mine was opened, and the earth fell into the air, and Opal breathed a sigh of relief.

"The mine here has been dug up." Opal said: "Oman, how much do you need?"

"Change direction." Locke looked at the map.

Oman said: “Let’s add up, if there is one million energy units, maybe it’s enough. I heard the businessmen say they have to pay an introduction fee for working on the Scarlet Planet. If you don’t find a professional agent, say It may be cheaper. Forget it, think about it again in a few years."

At noon, several miners gathered for a break, had lunch, and exchanged work progress with each other. Somebody dug a body deep in the new mine tunnel. It was a worker who collapsed in the mine a long time ago and died inside.

The planet was almost hollowed out, and they had to explore along the former danger zone.

Opal has been thinking about the 500,000 energy units needed by Rector, 500,000, one kilogram of high-quality rhodochrosite is a ten-point energy unit, and Rector needs 50 tons of ore after purification. .

Where is so much energy injected?Does he have a load?

Before the sun went down, Opal dragged a cart of mine out of the tunnel, which contained the mine he left behind-the B11 star tube was not strict. After all, there is no place to hide the mine. , Overweight ore can not take away.On such a barren planet, except that the ore is the ore, even the metal can't be extracted, and the spacecraft can't escape?

Opal beats and beats, today he came back very early, the sky is clear, there is no sign of sandstorm.He pulled the car mine out of the miner's village and went to the abandoned cave in the red bed.

"Rector." Opal shouted.

Rector came out of the cave and Opal gave him a bottle of water and a piece of black bread.

Rector said: "Is there a way?"

Opal said: "I only have this spar at hand, but how do I turn it into energy?"

Rector said: "I teach you, come with me."

There is a strange thing in the cave. It is less than half a meter high, like a stove, and the bare wires are thrown on the ground to expose the core.

Opal said: "I've seen this."

He did see it in the spaceship left by his mother, but he didn't know the purpose.

Rector said: "This is called an atomic furnace, it can dissolve ore and convert it into universal energy for the universe."

"What's this?" Opal looked curiously at a large round box, and Rector immediately said: "Don't touch it."

The sixteen wires on the atomic furnace were directly connected to the round box.

"This is called the heart of the universe." Rector said: "I will explain it to you in the future."

"I'll help you." Opal stepped forward to work with Rector to pour the spar in. Rector activated a button, the spar rolled, crushed, and the slag settled, and the high-purity spar reunited into a small piece Energy crystallization.

The red light on the crystal flickered and was completely evacuated, and the edge of the round box was faintly lit.

"Three percent." Rector said: "The road ahead is still very long."

Opal said: "This is all my property."

Rector stared at him and didn't speak. Opal didn't feel distressed because his ore was so decomposed. On the contrary, it was still a bit of a sense of accomplishment to help him, as if it was his goal-to be sure and to be achieved. Quantified goals.

"How much is needed?" Opal asked.

Rector said: "About 70%."

Opal said: "What happens next?"

Rector said: "This is part of my spaceship, which is equivalent to an energy pool. When its energy storage reaches 70%, it will automatically implement mass-energy conversion to repair the damaged parts. I can leave here. Now."

Opal said, "Do you still have a spaceship? Where?"

Rector said: "Wait until there is enough energy, I will let you see."

Opal nodded in disbelief.

"What is mass-energy conversion?" Opal asked.

The two sat in front of the cave and ate the opal dinner, and Rector absently broke the bread and said:

"The mutual conversion of mass and energy is derived from a constant axiom in ancient physics. Just like you burn wood, it can emit light and heat, and radiate continuously to the surroundings. The mass is consumed and becomes disordered heat. The same Pure energy can also be transformed into matter as long as it satisfies certain conditions. 300,000 points of energy units are enough to be converted into what is needed to repair the spaceship-the outer shell, the inner core and other damaged places. 200,000 points of energy units make it Be able to continue sailing."

Opal nodded and said, "You know so much."

Rector looked at Opal and said: "This is the preliminary knowledge of the Interstellar United School. After leaving here, you can find a place to go to school, and the entire universe has compulsory education."

Opal said: "Will the Interstellar School let me in?"

Rector said: "I think so."

Opal sighed and barely ate half full, lying on the bare rock bed, looking out at the starry sky above him.

The night sky was full of stars, and the two were lying side by side. Opal remembered what Rector said yesterday and asked: "You said you are a star knight, what is that?"

Rector stared at the stars and muttered: "I don't know what the Star Knight is, and I'm also confused."

Opal: "?"

"You said these stars." Opal has too many questions. In the past many years, he has never had an object to ask and answer. At this moment, just like the child who finally has a teacher, he asked curiously: "All and Are we exactly the same here?"

"No." Rector smiled and said, "Of course it is different. There will never be two identical gravels in the desert, nor will there be two identical stars in the universe."

Opal asked: "What are they like?"

"Blue, golden, orange." Rector said: "Glowing, not glowing, some planets burn themselves, we call them stars..."

Opal said: "This, I know, is not called a planet, not all planets have life."

Rector nodded slowly, and Opal smiled: "My mother taught me."

Rector praised: "You know a lot, there are many places in the universe, hiding very dense stars, they are called black holes, you can't see it, you can only feel the gravitation that it produces. There is also a substance called Dark energy, it can’t even be turned into matter, just a projection of a massive object in the higher dimensional universe in our four-dimensional space, where the dark energy gathers is empty, there is nothing there, but the space will be in this projection It bends under the effect, which creates gravity."

Opal did not understand at all: "What? What is that?"

Rector didn't explain further. He changed the subject and said: "Your left hand, the most shining star, it is the main star of the red flame galaxy VCU07."

Opal nodded confusedly, Rector got up into the cave, took out a transparent crystal plate, and pressed a button, the beep sounded, and the edge of the crystal plate showed a small line: X337, Y160, Z19 γ-B11.There is a long series of numbers behind.

Opal took over the board, and Rector said: "The number in front represents the planet's position in the universe, γB-11 is its name, and the number in the back is the current time."

"Interplanetary navigation uses three-dimensional space, plus a time coordinate to locate each planet. So this is a self-positioning starry sky chart, try to put it in front of your eyes."

Opal lifted the crystal plate, and the blue lines criss-crossed, dividing the starry sky into many small areas, and the stars visible to the naked eye turned into a star map.Each star is marked with a name.

"I've been to many places," Rector said. "I even went into some stars. Some planets are covered with plants, some are always covered in lightning and thunder, some planets have been raining, and others It's full of water, like a drop of water in space."

Opal heard it, and Rector said: "There are six suitable planets in the stars around the Sirius double star. The creatures on the above are strange and strange, and they are all wild civilizations. They have eight thousand lights away from here. year."

Opal said: "What does light year mean?"

Rector said: "It's a unit of length, and now you have no way to understand it."

Opal heard it with relish, and said, "Say something else."

Rector said: "The Milky Way is two million light-years away. There is a Persian galaxy on one of its spiral arms. The civilization there is highly developed. The planet around this star system forms a republic and is regulated by the Parliament."

Opal heard many strange words, but did not ask questions one by one, only blindly remembered, Rector said: "Republic residents only need to do a small amount of work to support themselves. Their social welfare is very good, rich in materials If you live there, you can drink fresh raw cow milk every day when you wake up Thing."

Opal said: "So what do they do?"

Rector replied: "Entertainment, obsessed with art and philosophy, looking for the ultimate state of the development of intelligent biological civilization."

Opal said: "I don't understand. Do they have money without doing anything? What if someone gets sick?"

Rector said: "Sick people are cared for by robots. Those who are willing to work can accumulate wealth through work. Those who do not want to work can enjoy government benefits as long as they complete a small amount of labor quota. Perfect legal constraints With everyone, such as the Interstellar Charter of Human Rights-this law must be obeyed by the Empire and the Republic.

"It respects the right of every intelligent life to exist, as long as it is within the territory of the Republic, it should not be oppressed, at least on the surface, officials claim to be the case."

Opal Road: "Is B-11 also in the Republic? Why are we not so well treated?"

Rector didn't answer, and Opal asked: "Because it's too far away, no one found out?"

Rector replied: "Yes."

"If they know." Opal frowned.

Rector replied: "Then bet on luck, maybe the money can be used to buy the court, or it may have no effect, or it may be-all the miners on this planet have been killed."

Opal remained silent for a long time, and neither of them spoke.

Opal asked again: "What else? Tell me more."

Rector said: "In the other direction of the universe, 35 million light-years away from the Milky Way, there is a galaxy in Leo, which is composed of three galaxies. One of them is M66, which is also highly The advanced civilization, which is led by a centralized institution, commanding nearly 300 billion stars, is called an empire. They believe that there is a single god in the universe and pray for his guidance."

"They have a long lifespan. They also pursue artistic and religious philosophy. Interstellar poets and singers sing for gods only. The emperor of the Golden Lion Republic convenes a celebration every five years and invites performers from many small countries."

Rector said: "This emperor was assassinated seventy years ago, which involved a certain dark force, and some people believe that this is a conspiracy to stir up turmoil."

Opal heard God, Rector said: "In addition to the Empire and the Republic, there are many small kingdoms, which are scattered among the galaxies, forming their own civilized system and social rules. For example, the God of War galaxy, famous for mercenaries... …It's very late, this star chart is for you, you can check it back."

Opal said: "This is a very important thing for you, right."

Rector said: "You're welcome, you saved my life, you need to give you far more. I'm not someone who likes to say thank you, take it away, and don't let others see it."

Opal said: "No, I didn't save you for your reward."

Rector was silent. He stared at Opal for a long time, as if looking at another person through him.

Opal smiled and said, "You..."

Rector waved his hand: "Go back and rest."

Opal said: "I will come tomorrow, I will find a way to bring you more ore."

Rick said with a head: "The premise is to protect yourself."

Opal took the board and walked backwards, saying, "Thank you, you told me a lot."