Chapter 1,456 Warren Field

Loneliness can destroy a person, especially when you are in a scarred exile ark drifting endlessly in the darkness. This loneliness will be magnified exponentially: the ruins outside the safe zone of the ark, the ruins outside the ship. Dark spaces, unchanging spaceship cabins, and rigid shipboard hosts can bring even determined soldiers to the brink of collapse. Except for immortals like Xiling Apostles or gods, few mortals can face such a long and long time. In the lonely years, I believed that Commander Warren Field was a well-trained soldier, and as a member of the old empire’s servants, he should have the qualities of tenacity and bravery, but these things did not help. He made it past his twelfth year - which is a pity, but the records we have found indicate that the last shred of his sanity disappeared in the twelfth year.

However, everything cannot be finalized yet. There are still some rooms deep in the work area that have not been searched. There may be information left by Warren Field in the last days of his life. Even in a crazy state, the starship commander still instinctively Driven by this, he kept writing things that were of great significance to him on the walls and equipment. Although there were large sections of nonsense in those words, if we combed through them carefully, we could still find information related to this ghost ship. At least based on the information found so far, we can already determine the purpose of this ship, right?

The rooms in the work area were opened one by one. More than half of the doors were locked and required Sandora to cut them forcefully. However, the other half of the rooms could be easily entered: the doors were not locked. This is normal. After all, there was only one crew member living here at the beginning, so it really didn't make any sense whether to lock the door or not. The little crow released all her schizoites. Although those incredibly fast and clever little guys were not very literate (their mothers didn't even know all the words), they already knew that the large symbols carved on the wall were what we wanted. They were chattering in front of what they were looking for, and we were following behind to record what they were looking for. More and more information was presented to Sandora and I. Most of what makes sense is Warren's diary before he went crazy:

"Warren Field's diary, day ninety-six. It seems that I am a little accustomed to this kind of life. I have a regular schedule, regular meals, regular work and exercise, except that I can't communicate with others and can't go out for shopping. Everything is the same as before. Military life is so monotonous and boring. But I still hope there can be some more interesting entertainment here. The designers of the spaceship - maybe they shouldn't criticize them, but they really don't know enough about mortals. This ship The entertainment room is almost a joke. They just temporarily designed such a room based on the logic of 'mortals need entertainment', but they didn't put anything in it that interests me. It seems that I have to find some fun on my own."

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 123. I spent half the day today chatting with the shipboard host. This rigid thing does seem to have a personality, but it is the way of thinking of the Xiling Apostle. In my opinion It's a near-machine. I've never liked her very much, but something changed today. Because I suddenly realized that the only person on this spaceship who could talk to me seemed to be this AI. This silent spacecraft only prepared With as little AI as possible, the ship-based host is the smartest guy you can find here. Chatted with the ship-based host about this mission. Escape, find other survivors, and share the information that could not be sent out after the catastrophe and other Survivor exchange... a meaningless task, but it must be completed. The shipboard host always emphasizes the importance of this task. It is as annoying as before, but at least it can relieve boredom with chatting."

"Warren Field's Diary. Day 150 was another day of doing nothing. I gave myself a few days off according to my custom on the ground, but I didn't know what the meaning of the vacation was. I chatted with the shipboard host about the spaceship. It's a matter of architecture, but it doesn't make sense. Now I'm used to referring to the AI ​​as 'she'. Although the ship-based host declares that she has no gender, I feel that treating her as a woman can make me feel better. That's it. In this case, I have a reason to endure her more and more frequent health advice and daily routine reminders. I am not sick or have any psychological problems. Why does this host have to warn me every day to reduce my intake of stimulating drinks?"

As we inspected each room, we compiled these records and sorted the valuable information on the data terminal in order of time. All the information seemed to follow a pattern: the dated records were from the first twelve years. Yes, the nonsense records were left later, but just when we thought we had no problem with Warren Field’s guess, an unexpected diary appeared: it was carved in what looked like a computer room In an inconspicuous corner of the room, there is a date and order on it:

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 6000, a number worth recording. I finally realized what happened. What happened before today was a nightmare. I almost destroyed myself, but the good news is that I finally survived. I came here, and perhaps I should thank the nagging ship-based host. Her high-decibel health advice for three consecutive days and nights prevented me from continuing to indulge in the madness. I must reorganize my thoughts and find ways to avoid entering this madness again. An effective means of status, Warren, you must hold on, you are the best Hyikona person, you should complete this task with dignity and tenacity! You are not doing it to let anyone know your achievements, but to complete the military mission Those who have just stood in this spaceship, remember this, remember this, remember this, remember this, remember this!”

Seeing this diary made Sandora and I look at each other, and Lilina looked incredulous next to her: "This guy... actually survived by himself? Sure enough, the psychological model is different from the people on earth..."

"There is also the credit of the ship-based host," Sandora whispered. "The ship-based host has been trying to help this human being stay healthy, but she was designed to control the spacecraft, so she does not have more Other functions. It seemed that the period when Warren Field went crazy lasted for more than three years, and the shipboard host should have been trying to reawaken him during this period... But she never thought of anything other than letting the medical robot use force. Appropriate method.”

"It would be great if we could find that host computer." I looked around. Theoretically, the terminals of the shipboard host computer should be located in all cabins of the spacecraft, but the voice of the host computer could not be heard at all. "We have been here for so long. There is no response from the time and the shipboard host, could it be that it has crashed?"

"It's possible that the ghost ship's navigation system may be separate from the ship's main engine. Its current elusive navigation may also be related to the downtime of the ship's main engine." Sandora nodded in agreement, "We should find a way to find the main engine room. , you can learn more by restarting the host there, but the diary left by this human being has no clues about the host room until now."

The core area of ​​the spaceship has a weird interference environment and a strange structure that even Sandora can't understand, and the computer room may even be located in a different space, so we can only hope that Warren Field's diary can mention it. How to enter the computer room, but unfortunately no one has found anything related to it so far.

So we can only sort out more and more broken diaries.

At present, it seems that Warren Field's main activity area after regaining consciousness has been moved from the rest cabin and food manufacturing room to the radar observation room and two workshops. The diaries dated six thousand days later are also concentrated in this place. Although these There are fewer diaries. But as soon as the first article was found, several other articles were soon discovered one after another. We found some more interesting things on the wall of the radar observation room, which seemed to prove that even if the starship commander regained consciousness, he could not Get rid of the nightmare in your own mind completely:

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 6170. A terrible thing happened today. I don't know how... I thought I was completely used to everything here, used to doing things alone and being in a daze with this place. The only voice chatting. But I suddenly heard another person talking in my ear! Yes, another person. In addition to Warren Field and the ship's host, there is a third conscious guy on this ship. ! Where is he? Is he playing hide and seek with me? The hibernation system failed again. Another poor guy was awakened? Oh, maybe this is not a bad thing, I have an extra companion, and it is not my fault... I want to find him !”

"Warren Field's diary. Day six thousand one hundred and seventy-two, nothing was found. The 'third man' has been talking in my ears these two days. He seems to be living in the next room, but that cunning guy has always been I can find the blind spot in my sight. It seems that it is not easy to find the 'third person' by my own efforts. I have considered checking the dormant cabin to determine which hateful guy has woken up and is driving this with me. It's a bad joke, but the hibernation system is still malfunctioning. The hibernation cabin refuses to be opened from the outside. I haven't seen those lying guys for many years. In the afternoon, I tried to ask the shipboard host to help, but was rejected. The stubborn Guys, she insisted that the 'third person' didn't exist at all, and asked me to give up this normal effort. It seems that a machine is a machine. I already liked her a little, but now it seems that the AI ​​is really different from a human. "

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 6173, a gloomy day."

The shipboard host was right, the ‘third man’ did not exist, it was all poor Warren’s hallucination. At the suggestion of the shipboard host computer, I locked myself in a closed cabin and used four sets of cameras to monitor my every move. When the 'third person' appeared again and talked to me about the rising sun in my hometown, it was me who was speaking. "

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 6176. I am in a very bad mood. I may fall into a new madness. I must find a way to reverse this situation. The shipboard host suggested that I cultivate a person who can be on the starship. There is ample material supply here, and all hobbies that are not destructive can be satisfied. For the first time, I feel that maybe this rigid girl's proposal has some reference value: although her proposal is still 'based on logic', this This time it sounds much more reliable, more reliable than the treatment plan. It’s strange, when did the shipboard host give this kind of advice? Don’t think so much, Warren, cheer up and try to find something to do these days. Do."

There was a long gap after that. We searched for a long time but could not find the diary between the 6000th day and the 7000th day, that is, a relatively short period of time after the sixteenth year. During this period, Warren might He moved to a new place to write his message. This is a habit we discovered of this starship commander: He will be used to writing his diary in a fixed place at each period of time. This period of time is short. It can last for more than ten days, or as long as one or two years. This makes it somewhat easier for us to organize this information.

Finally, we found a record with a later date in an empty room at the end of the corridor. The date suddenly jumped back a lot:

"Warren Field's diary, day 8500. I haven't written a diary for a long time, so I forgot the date. I only found out today's date after asking the ship's host computer. I was in a state of numbness during this period, but I I feel that this should be the best state: there is nothing to be happy about. But there is no depression. Such days may be a bit dull, but at least it is good to be alive. Think about those who failed to escape. And I found a new way to comfort myself: the shipboard host reported that the ship was more damaged than expected. It was originally designed to sail for millions of years, but now the shipboard host estimates that it can only fly for a hundred thousand years. Maybe there won’t be a second survivor before the spacecraft disintegrates. Those people in the dormant cabin may disappear into the endless void with the spacecraft without knowing anything. And what about me? Oh, lucky Warren , although I woke up alone. But at least I can enjoy the feeling of being alive for a while before the spacecraft disintegrates, walking and breathing freely, which is actually not bad."

"Warren Field's diary, day 8522. Another diary to record good moods. I have been tending the vegetable garden all day today. My nursery is growing well this year. I think of the ship a few years ago. The suggestion made by the host: Cultivate a hobby that can be maintained on the starship. Now it seems that this suggestion is really the genius idea of ​​the rigid girl. The plant seeds found in the Gnaku are completely adapted to artificial soil. I can eat it again today As for the fresh vegetables grown by myself - although the food synthesized by the spacecraft tastes good, the things grown by myself have special meaning. I invited the shipboard host to have dinner with me, fresh stewed vegetable soup, of course. That The rigid girl refused righteously and used a lot of logical arguments to explain why she couldn't eat. She was always so serious. Fortunately, she was just an AI."

"Warren Field's diary. Day 8546. tending the vegetable garden, recording some data, and watching those old videos in the database. This is life. I didn't expect that it was brought out to rebuild civilization. Image data has now become a good thing to relieve boredom. The crazy days of the past few years were really unimaginable. If only I could realize the value of 'diversion' at that time, I could save many years of time. Ship-based host She said that the video materials she found were enough for me to watch for a lifetime. She was such a considerate person, but unfortunately she was a bit dull - she thought those instructional films and formulas were also 'entertainment media', and she enthusiastically sent those things to me, as if she was expecting them. It's like a compliment. Well, at least her motives are good, but I don't know when her Xiling-like mind will be able to figure out what 'entertainment' is."

This was followed by a long gap, when the diary was interrupted or moved to other compartments that we have not yet discovered. Warren Field has been awake for more than twenty years. This ordinary person with a mortal heart has experienced a series of changes in these twenty years. He has been strong and optimistic, and has disciplined himself. He relies on some kind of stimulating drink. Paralyzed in his heart, he fell into madness and self-destruction for a short period of time. He was trapped in the "third person" hallucination caused by schizophrenia. Finally, he was freed with the help of the shipboard host. He seemed to have planted flowers and plants on the spaceship. And find entertainment that you can immerse yourself in.

We still don’t know what went wrong with the ship’s system to wake up Warren Field alone, but it seems that this mortal officer did not self-destruct in the end, which may be the only good thing. .

If Warren Field belongs to a race with similar physiological indicators as humans, then he should be past middle age: we still have to find the final destination of this starship commander in his later years.

Lilina had been running around looking for clues with the group of little crows. At this time, she suddenly discovered something and shouted in the corridor outside: "Boss, boss! There is another cabin here!"

Shandora and I ran out quickly and saw that she and Little Crow were pushing a metal plate away from the wall of the alloy corridor: this metal plate seemed to be part of the deformable corridor, and I didn't know it was Warren back then. It was still an operation performed by the ship-based main engine. It happened to block another cabin section inside the work area.

We finally found the new record here, etched on the hallway wall:

"Warren Field's Diary, Day 30,000. An absolutely memorable day, a number so huge: it's incredible how long it's been since I woke up."

I looked in the mirror and found that I was already very old. I had been seriously ill a few days ago. Although I was rescued by the medical room, I didn't know when I would get sick next time. It was probably all over soon. "

This ship was never designed to allow a crew member to survive indefinitely. It was just a hastily built exile spacecraft that lacked the necessary life modification equipment: even if there were, they should be located in the outer area that has been completely scrapped, and The Haikona people are not an immortal species either, so it seems it’s time to accept the fact. "

I leave this record because something disturbing happened a few days ago. I think it is necessary to leave some words to explain my final whereabouts and explain to people who wake up later why I did a certain thing. some decisions. "

Three days ago, I tried to bypass the shipboard host and activate all dormant pods. "

Although this behavior was quickly stopped by the system and I regained my consciousness, I realized that I was falling back into a new round of madness. The crazy thoughts that had been entangled with me all my life and that I thought had been completely suppressed, appeared again. He planned to make a comeback, but this time, Old Warren did not have enough willpower to fight against it. "

It is a stupid idea to activate other dormant facilities. The shipboard host has explained this problem: the system in the core area of ​​the spacecraft is damaged, and sufficient supplies cannot be provided here. If other dormant people wake up, they can only wait to die slowly together. I believe that girl, we have lived together for so long, and she has never lied to me... So I must find another way to completely prevent myself from doing such a stupid thing again one day in the future. "

I am in the small warehouse at the end of the corridor. From today on, no matter what happens, I will not leave that room until the moment of natural death. If anyone who wakes up later can see these words, you can come here to find me and re-awaken the host through the terminal in my hand: In order to extend the endurance of the spacecraft as much as possible, the shipboard host and other core redundant systems will be in my Turn off your phone when you die. I hope this can buy you more time, you lying little bastards. "

Of course, if you were awakened according to the normal process, you must have encountered other surviving ships, and you probably don't need to look for anything here again. I hope that's the case. "

Warren Field, captain of the Shilling No. 6 ship, on his last day on duty. "

We finally found the starship commander, in the small warehouse at the end of the corridor.

The air here has been evacuated, the temperature is maintained at an extremely low level, and the internal environment is similar to that of space. The most energy-saving way is used to maintain the state of the captain after his death: this is obviously done by the shipboard host before shutting down.

A skinny old man sat on a chair facing the warehouse door. He had white beard and hair. He was still wearing the uniform of the servant army from the old empire. It was obvious that he took care of himself for the last time before his death.

The old man's hands were frozen stiffly on his chest, and the data terminal that could wake up the ship's host computer was in his hands. (To be continued...)