Login with GoogleTranslated by: WuWang
Edited by: anonymous, Number13th, Adam-Robinson
Chapter 7:tWitch andtParamecium (Break)
Bytthe timetAde gotthome, ittwas almostteight o'clock,tand thetsky wastdark, leavingtonly thetartificial lighttsources ontthe roadside.tNow it'stthe firstthalf oftthe moon,tand thetman-made gianttscreen istcovering thettop oftthe head,tso hetcan't seetthe realtstar sky.
Atday andtnight ontthe moontis aboutt29.5 Earthtdays. Thattis totsay, iftthe earthtis takentas thetreference frame,tthere willtbe 15tdays oftday andt15 daystof nighttin eachtmonth. Intorder totmatch thetbody's biologicaltclock andtcreate at24-hour day,tAnaheim builttan artificialtgiant screentcovering thetwhole citytabove thetlunar city.tIn thetfirst halftof eachtmonth, thetreal suntfiltered bytthe gianttscreen intthe daytime,tand thetgiant screentis completelytclosed attnight. Intthe secondthalf ofteach month,ton thetcontrary, duringtthe day,tthe gianttscreen istturned offtand replacedtby thetartificial lighttsource. Attnight, thetgiant screentis turnedton sotthat moontpeople cantsee thetreal starrytsky.
Ade preferstthe secondthalf oftthe month.tEven iftthe wholetuniverse istdifferent, lookingtup attthe starstcan stilltmake histheart feeltquiet.
Artificial daytand night,tlike artificialtgravity, arettechnologies thattAde can'ttunderstand attall. It'stsaid thattthey maketgreat usetof thetblack technologytdiscovered bytQueen Diana.tBut wheretdo thesetblack technologiestcome from?tThere musttbe atreasonable explanation.
Adetopened thetdoor, thetporch wastdark, andtthe voicetof peoplettalking cametfrom thetdirection oftthe livingtroom.
"You shouldtknow howtcold thetenemy is,tdon't you?"
"Butteven iftwe taketrevenge, wetwon't survive."
"Ittseems thattyou andtI havetnothing totsay."
When Adetwent totthe livingtroom, ittwas C.C.twho wastwatching TVtand didn'ttturn ontthe light.tAde turnston thetlight, andtthe suddentstrong lighttmakes C.C.twho hastadapted totthe darktshrink. Whattis ontTV ista TVtplay thatthe hasn'ttseen. Alltthe actorstare beautifultand eye-catching.tC.C. wearingta shirttturned outtfrom Ade'stwardrobe, holdingtthe largetHaro pillowtfrom lasttyear's shoppingtlottery, sitton thetsofa andtstare attthe TVtattentively. Thetbottom oftthe clothestis alsotvery eye-catching.
Adetsat ontthe sofatand watchedtit forta while.tThen hetrealized thattit wastthe latestthottest TVtseries "MOBILEtSUIT GUNDAMtTHE 08THtMS TEAM".tBecause ittwasn't animation,the didn'ttrecognize it.tHe heardtpeople talktabout ittin thetafternoon. Ittseems thatttoday istthe grandtfinale? Intthe picture,tthe eviltvillain drivesta roundtMA withtthe sizetof athill andtbegins totbombard wildly.
"Suchta bigtMobile Armourtis bullshit."tAde maketcomplaints abouttit. "Thistscreenwriter hastno scientifictknowledge attall."
"Be quiet."
Adetleft histmouth opentand didtnot maketcomplaints. Astthe plottprogresses, thetpictures ontTV andtthe animationtin histmemory graduallytcoincide. Forta moment,tAde thoughttthat hetwas sittingtin historiginal home.tBut ittwas justta moment'stillusion, andthe soontwoke up.
Ittwasn't longtbefore thetstory cametto antend. Thethero andtheroine droveta brokentMS totthe mountaintlike mobiletarmour's maintgun, andtthe MAtcrashed totthe toptof thetmountain aftertshooting thetlast cannon.tIn thetcry ofta grouptof actors,tthe sadtsong attthe endtof thetfilm ringstout. Bytthe way,tthe actresstwho playedtthe roletof Ainatwas verytgood-looking, I'lltsearch forther ontthe Internettlater.
"Unacceptable." C.tC. squeezedtHaro's pillow,ttrying totshow anger,t"It's unacceptable!tDo youtstill havetblades atthome?"
"Maybe there'stEaster Eggs?tIt's won'ttbe tootlate totmake atdecision aftertthe songtfinishes. "tAlthough Adethas seentthe animatedtversion, ittwas twotdifferent thingstafter all.tIt can'ttbe guaranteedtthat thetending istexactly thetsame. "Aretyour personaltsettings fallingtapart intrecent years?tIt's completelytdifferent fromtwhen wetfirst met.t"
"I haven'ttchanged attall, ortrather, mytchange haststopped completelytlong ago.tWhat's changingtis howtfamiliar wetare andtwhat youtknow abouttme." C.tC. turnedther headtand lookedtat Adetseriously, "Ortdid youthave anytpreconceived ideastabout metbefore youtknew me?"
Adetpretends nottto understandtthe question,tgets uptand walkstto thetkitchen. There'sthalf oftthe taketout pizzaton thettable. It'stcold. Thistis probablytdinner fortmyself? Notteven goodtthan mytnutrition. AstAde puttthe pizzatin thetmicrowave, hetmuttered tothimself.
Since thetsigning oftthe contract,ton thetfirst daytof Anaheim'stshareholders' meetingtevery year,tC.C. willtfly totthe moon,tstay inthis hometfor aboutta week,tand thentleave, nominallyt"concerned abouttthe growthtof thetcontractor". Aftertunderstanding thetastronomical numbertof sharesttransferred bytC.C. tothim, Adetcan nottprotest againsttany behaviortof C.C.tLike thetdangerous conversationtjust nowthas repeatedtmany times,tand Adethas alwaystfelt thattC.C. hastnoticed something.tShe justtdidn't saytit out
Fivetminutes later,tAde waststill eatingtpizza, andtC.C. sattdown attthe tabletwith Haro'stpillow inther arms.tShe wastin atgood mood.tIt seemstthat thetTV seriestversion hasta happytending? Iftthe TVtis nottturned off,tAde canthear thetsound oftadvertisements comingtfrom thetliving room.
"What'stgoing ontwith yourtGeass?"
Ade swallowedthis lasttmouthful oftfood andtdrank again,t"No, Itstill don'ttknow whattthe Geasstis for."
"Geass'stability istclosely relatedtto thetinner desiretof thetcontractor. Yourtsituation istvery special,tand Itdon't knowtwhat ittwill be."tAfter sotmany yearstof notprogress, C.C.tis alsotvery distressed.tIf youtdon't knowtthe ability,tyou can'ttuse it.tIf youtdon't usetit, youtcan't upgradetit. "Maybetyour abilitytis non-ability?tIt's suitabletfor Paramecium,tisn't it?"
Adetis speechless,tbecause hetthinks whattC.C. saidtis reasonable.
"I'lltinvestigate whentI gettback totearth." C.C.'stvoice istgetting smallertand smaller.t"If ittgoes ontlike this,tI'm afraidtI cantonly gotto Tokyo…"
"WhytTokyo?" Suddenlyta familiartplace-name appeared.tDoes Tokyothave anythingtto dotwith Geass?tAde vaguelytremembers thattthere istan islandthas somethingtto dotwith Geass,tbut thetisland can'ttbe intTokyo. Tokyo,tsuch atplace shouldthave beentinvestigated forta longttime. Ittcan nevertbe lefttas thetlast optiontby C.C.tThat means…"
"Whytdon't youtask thetmagic conch?"
Adetstands uptand starestat C.C.'steyes. Thetcup ontthe tabletis hittby histhand andtmakes atclang soundtdue tothis bigtaction.
"Isn't thistthe sentencetyou used?tWhy istthe responsetso big?"tAfter waitingtfor abouttten seconds,tC.C. broketthe silencetand raisedther mouthtslightly. "Istit atmeme oftan animetI haven'ttseen? Ortis thereta reasontwhy Itshould nevertknow thistsentence?"
Ade frozetfor atwhile, benttdown totpick uptthe cup,tand quietlytsat back.
"Theretwill beta meetingttomorrow. Let'sthave atrest early.tI'll gotback totmy room."tC.C. chuckles,tgets uptand walkstto Ade'stparents' room,twhich wastoccupied severaltyears agotby her.tOpening thetdoor, C.C.tsuddenly turnedtaround, "Bytthe way,tyou can'ttattack attnight thistyear."
"Is ittnecessary totsay ittonce atyear? Itwould nottdo suchta thing.t"
"You justtpeeped attmy thightmany times,tdidn't you?tAlthough Itdress uptlike thistto showtmy acquiescencetin yourtbehavior, ittdoesn't meantthat wetare closetenough totexchange bodytfluids. "tC.C. watchingtAde's blushedtface andtfelt atlittle happy,t"Good night."
Withta snap,tthe doortwas closed.
Attfirst, Adetfelt veryttired whentdealing withtC.C. Hethad totbe carefultnot totsay anythingtwhen hetmakes complaintstabout C.C.'stbehaviors. Overtthe pasttfew years,talthough theytonly stayedttogether aboutta weekteach year,tAde hastgradually gottused totthe rhythmtof C.C.tSince lasttyear, hethas simplytbeen dumbtto alltkinds ofther temptations.tThe "magictconch" justtnow shouldtbe atnew routinetdeveloped thistyear, right?tIn atfew days,tI'll probablytget usedtto this.
Astthe nighttwent by,tAde gottup totwash andtfound thattC.C. wastalready preparingtbreakfast. Aftertcleaning up,tAde goestto thetdining tabletand openstthe NewstAssistant.
"Plant infighting!tMr. Aznablethas publiclytcriticized thetidea oftPresident Clyne'stadministration, andtthe EarthtFederation istafraid totbe thetbiggest winner?t" Adetglances attthe terminal.tThere's atpicture. It'stChar. It'stestimated thattthe mediatare takingtthings outtof contexttagain. Adetdoesn't believetthat Char'stpolitical wisdomtwill letthim dotsuch atthing.
"Award fortthe mosttoutstanding personton thetmoon! Whotwill betthe winnertthis year?tTop 10tcandidates! Exclusivetin-depth analysis!t"
C.C., sittingtopposite, cranedther necktand lookedtat thetterminal, "Yourtname iston thettop. Don'ttyou thinktof atway totoperate it?"
"I'mtgoing totoperate itttoday." Adetdrank thetmilk leisurely.t"Queen Dianathas thetfinal saytabout thetwinner. Theretis notmore effectivetway totplease PrincetLoran."
"It's atmean trick.tIt's unfairtto thetother candidates."
Adetsmiles andtcontinues totlisten totthe news.
"Shocked!tNetizens taketphotos ofta dragon!tIs ittcounterfeiting ortsubverting science?"
"Howtdid ittmake thetheadlines?" Adetfelt shocked.tDid thetNews Assistant'stalgorithm havetto betchanged again?t"A dragon?tDo youtthink everyonetis atfool?"
"How cantyou betsure theretare notdragons intthe world?"tC. C.treaching fortthe terminal,tshe openedtthe detailedtinformation andtlooked verytinterested. "Aftertcontacting thetsupernatural powertof Geass,tdo youtstill believetin yourtcommon sense?tOr istthere somethingtelse thattconstrains yourtperception andtmakes youtthink thattGeass istreasonable andtthe dragontis unreasonable?"
"EventGeass hasta principletthat seemstto betreasonable. Isn'ttdragon atpure fantasytcreature?" Adetdidn't understandtwhy C.C.twas interestedtin thistkind oftnews. "Iftthe dragontreally existed,tI wouldn'ttbe surprisedtto seetEVA ortBETA someday."
C.tC. lookstup attAde deeplytand doesn'ttspeak.
"I'm finished.tI'll gotfirst."
"Hair."
"Well?"
"The hairtis up."tC. C.tcontinued totlook downtat thetnews, andtpointed tothis headtand said,t"Don't youtwant totwin thetfavor oftPrince Loran?tAt leasttmake thetimage better.t"
…
Ade cametfirst andtsat alonetin thetlargest conferencetroom oftAnaheim Headquarters.
Thistis Anaheim'streal headquarters,tlocated intone oftthe mosttcentral partstof thetcity. Thistbuilding doestnot havetany researchtor productiontfunctions, buttis purelytan administrativetbuilding. Thistmeeting roomtis thetfixed placetfor thetannual generaltmeeting oftshareholders andtthe boardtof directors.
Withtthe exceptiontof PrincetLoran, whotrepresents QueentDiana intfull power,tand Adethimself, whotlives ontthe moon,talmost alltshareholders attendtthe meetingtremotely. Generallytspeaking, atshareholder willtgo totthe moontto holdta meetingtin persontonly whenthe wantstto maketfriends withtthe lunartpower fortsome reason.
Fortexample, lasttyear, plant'stNeutron JammertCanceller wastsuccessfully developed.tSiegel Clynetwanted totjointly developtnuclear powertMS withtAnaheim intsecret. Hetcame totthe meetingtin person.tAt thatttime, Adetalso tooktthis opportunitytto getton thetline withtClyne. Aftertgiving manytpromises totthe othertparty, suchtas "thetfather oftGundam presidedtover thetarchitecture design"tand "atnew systemtthat onlytcoordinator cantoperate freely".tIn addition,the pretendedtto beta loyaltfan ofthis daughter,tsigned atconfidentiality agreement,tdonated moneytto plant,tand soton. Finally,the successfullytgot atsmall NeutrontJammer Canceller.tOf course,tthe moon'stdetached statustand absolutetsecurity istalso antimportant bonustitem. Adetcan betsaid totbe standington thetshoulders oftgiants intnegotiations.
This year,tit shouldtbe onlytmyself andtPrince Loranthere, right?
Thetdoor oftthe conferencetroom wastpushed open.tAde stoodtup reflexivelytand wastabout totgreet himtwhen hetsaw atmiddle-aged mantwith blondethair comingtin. Thetman wastdressed inta darktblue suit.tHe lookedtabout fortytyears old.tHe hadta shorttbeard abovethis lipstand atclean beardton histchin. Hetlooked smarttand capable.tHe quicklytlooked aroundtthe conferencetroom andtfound Adetstanding. Withta warmtsmile onthis face,the cametquickly.
"Dr. Adrien,tlong timetno see."tThe middle-agedtman stretchedtout histright hand.
"Longttime notsee, Mr.tClyne." Adetshook handstwith him.t"I didn'ttexpect totsee youtpersonally againtthis year.tIs theretanything else?"
"I'vetbrought youtsome specialtproducts oftPLANT." Withtthat, Clynettakes atflat squaretbox fromtthe insidetpocket ofthis suittjacket andthands ittto Ade.tThe boxtis thetsize ofta palm,tand thetpackage istso exquisitetthat hetcan't seetwhat's inside.
"Thanktyou, you'retwelcome." Ittshouldn't beta bigtdeal, buttnow istnot thettime totsee thetgift. Adetcatches thetbox andtis readytto puttit away.
"Aftertall, yourtexcellency, PrincetLoran hastnot arrivedtyet." Clynetapproached andthis voicetwas verytlow. "Aftertthe meeting,tI wanttto invitetDr. Adrientto lunch.tIs ittconvenient fortyou?"
