wandering planet

Silver foil pepper is a plant on the planet Apple, and the people of the Egret space station have spent more than ten years improving it into a food that humans can eat.

Its plant is about one meter high, and the whole body is silvery white. The fruit it bears is slender and long like a finger, which is also silvery.After tasting, they found that the finger-shaped fruit had a strong spicy and bitter smell, and the skin of the fruit was sour and difficult to swallow.

The person responsible for improving it is Kashiwa Ye.She adopted the method of grafting, cleverly connecting the pepper plants brought from Marseilles with the silver foil pepper. After nearly a hundred attempts, she finally planted a fruit that retains the original taste of the silver foil pepper, but completely removes the sour and bitter taste.

The improved fruit is elongated and cone-shaped, and the part near the base is still silver, but the rest is exactly the same as the pepper of Marseilles.

"Even the taste is very similar. I still have a lot of dried silver pepper peppers here. I can give some to you." Bai Ye talked for a long time, and the strangers in front of him swallowed their saliva. "Forget it, let's make you something to eat."

There is a special breeding cabin on the Egret space station, and the fish and poultry are all self-sufficient, but Bai Ye is too lazy to catch them, and directly uses the leftover meat slices in the kitchen to make a pot of boiled meat for them.

"There is even beef in the space station?" Jiang Che's hands were itchy. Although it was not easy to disturb Bai Ye, he couldn't help but leaned over and looked again, "It's very fresh."

"There are a few cows and a few pigs in the breeding cabin, but not many, so you have a good time." Bai Ye moved neatly, and quickly cut up a large piece of beef.

The sliced ​​meat doesn't have to be very thin, just cut along the veins.She took a large bowl, put salt, cooking wine and starch into it, threw the beef into it, and put it aside.

Seeing her skillful movements, Jiang Che couldn't help being curious: "You even know how to do this?"

"After all, I am a cook. Everyone on the space station has different eating habits. We will stay here for a long time, so we must not be sloppy when it comes to eating." Bai Ye put the pot on the fire, and waited for the water in the pot to gradually evaporate. Boil it dry, and immediately put the dried chili and peppercorns into it and stir fry.

At this moment, Cicero was the first to jump up: "Quick! Run away!"

Even if the rest of the people didn't react for a while, they were soon stimulated by the pungent pepper smell and kept sneezing.Bai Ye was not afraid, she looked at Jiang Che in surprise: "Are you used to this taste?"

"Get used to it." Jiang Che looked at the half can of peppercorns in her hand, his eyes turned green, "I haven't seen peppercorns for a long, long time, so give me some, okay?"

Bai Ye could not help but look him up and down: "Where did you come from?"

Jiang Che coughed twice, waved his hand in front of his nose, fanning away the strong smell: "I, I am from the earth. When I was in my hometown, I often ate this."

So he is not afraid of these smells.Even though they didn't smell pleasant at all, and they came aggressively, scurrying unceremoniously into his nose and mouth-but he wasn't annoyed at all.Jiang Che was very happy, he hadn't smelled these smells for a long time.

It made him think of the humid climate, the kitchen that was not bright enough, the folding table that was put down for eating, and many other memories.

The spices in Baiye's kitchen are much more complete than those on the Phoenix.There were a lot of condiments on the Phoenix, but according to Fei Lian, almost anyone who could name them was put on the ship.But 500 years have passed, no matter how well preserved it is, it cannot be used.

He helped Bai Ye cut and crushed the sautéed peppers and peppercorns, watched Bai Ye stir fry the seasoning, and then put water to cook the soup after frying the seasoning.

When Bai Ye finally put the meat slices into the pot, the people who escaped from the kitchen finally came back one after another.Cicero seized the time and was very enthusiastic: "You can eat after sitting for a while, without choking or choking."

Not long after, a large pot of boiled meat was brought out.

The broth is bright red, and because it is made of silver pepper, there are still silvery white debris floating on the surface of the soup, shining like stardust in the light.In addition to the spicy taste, what is baked by the hot air also has fragrance and umami taste.

Pierre swallowed hard: "I've eaten this! I've had it at home before!"

The chili slices and peppercorns that were carefully fried by cypress leaves are sprinkled on the meat and soup, filling a big pot.The meat is tender and soaked in the red color of chili peppers. It is soft and springy when clamped. The red slurry drops drop by drop and falls into the soup of the same color, splashing small water droplets with oily flowers.

But it's too spicy.

Ovid and Linney had never eaten such a spicy thing before, and they couldn't do it after chewing a piece of meat, and they blushed and shouted for water.

Even after drinking the water, the two of them saw Bai Ye bringing out a pot of hot rice, so they rushed over and dug the rice grains into the bowl.

But the spicy food became even more ferocious when it met hot rice, like a needle piercing into the tongue and oral mucosa, both of them burst into tears, holding a bowl of rice and sitting at the corner of the table pitifully, looking at it unwillingly. On the other side of the table, the meat slices are in full swing.

When the hotness passed, the numb tongue and mouth gave them courage, and finally they raised their chopsticks again, passed through the huge wall formed by Pierre and Song Junxing resolutely and accurately, and picked up a large chopstick meat.

"Both Linney and Ovid cried." Tang Mo said, "It's the first time I saw someone crying while eating, and eating so fast."

"If you don't eat it quickly, you will finish it all." Lin Ni said with his tongue out.His eye circles and nose were red, and his whole body seemed to be steaming, and his face seemed to be covered with inferior blush, which extended to his neck and got into his collar.

Song Junxing stared at him non-stop: "You are so innocent."

Linney's ears are still good, and he heard the words clearly: "Speak up, say it again?"

Song Junxing turned to Cicero: "Station Master, I am very interested in your Dr. Darcy."

Ovid followed them out of the kitchen and turned around to see Jiang Che chatting with Bai Ye.

Bai Ye first stuffed a can of chili oil made of silver foil pepper into Jiang Che's hand, and then gave him the remaining half can of peppercorns.

"Is it helpful to you?"

Jiang Che was very grateful: "Helpful, so helpful!"

Bai Ye stared at him for a moment, then suddenly smiled and said, "You are so interesting."

Jiang Che: "What?"

"You are all very interesting." Bai Ye said, "This trip is going to Earth, not back to Marseilles. It's so dangerous, but you look like you're not afraid of anything."

"If being afraid can make us return to the earth immediately, then we can be afraid every day." Jiang Che suddenly remembered what Bisi said when he took them to the observation room, and couldn't help but blurt out at this moment, "We But in space."

Bai Ye smiled, and stuffed a handful of green onions into Jiang Che's arms.

They are all in the universe.There is no retreat, and there is no need to be afraid, as long as you keep going forward.

Time may give them the correct answer, or they can find the correct answer themselves during the journey.

Jiang Che walked back with the spoils until he reached the place where Egret Space Station and Phoenix were connected, and saw Hu Po and Fei Lian still chatting happily.

"Mr. Jiang Che." Fei Lian was very happy to see him, "She and I, Hu Po, are brother and sister."

Jiang Che nodded: "Great... Fei Lian, you have a family."

Fei Lian pursed his lips, and after a moment of thought, he replied solemnly: "No, to be precise, I have another family member."

Amber happily replied: "You used to have six, but now I have one more. I have more family members than you, but you are the first one to be related to me by blood."

Jiang Che smiled and waved at Fei Lian with difficulty.Will artificial intelligence of the same origin be called "blood relationship"?Or there are better words, but both Amber and Fei Lian clearly prefer this one.Jiang Che didn't know if it was because the two AIs in front of him both had human emotion processing systems, and they were closer to humans than any other artificial intelligence in terms of the way of thinking.

He didn't know that for many things that happened now, Jiang Che knew that he couldn't get the answers with his own intelligence.

But seeing Fei Lian so happy, he was also happy from the bottom of his heart.

Just as he was about to abduct him, Fei Lian suddenly stopped him.

"Mr. Jiang Che, we will stay here for twelve hours." Fei Lian told him, "Huber will transmit to me the information left by the Flying Scene and the Yekaterina, and the information in it says Might fill in the missing second leg of our route."

Jiang Che thought for a while: "That's a good thing, but can I just say no to Lin Ni?"

"There may be some messages left by your sister on the Feijing Ship." Fei Lian paused, and then quickly added, "Maybe not. If there is, I will tell you."

Jiang Che was stunned for a moment, realizing that this was Fei Lian's caring and tenderness.

In fact, he didn't hold out any hope that there might be Jiang Mu's information on the Feijing ship.Jiang Mu is just an ordinary passenger on the Feijing ship, and the Feijing ship must leave important voyage data or scientific research data in the Egret space station. There will be no more information about the passengers, except for the list. There are many.

But he was still deeply grateful for Fei Lian's move.

"Fei Lian, thank you." Jiang Che said, "You are the most gentle AI I have ever seen."

Fei Lian first scratched his chin and then scratched his head, like a child who felt embarrassed and shy because of being praised.

"Fei Lian, your companion is with our station master." Amber said to Fei Lian, "Until he comes back, this connection door will not be closed for the time being, is that okay? Let's talk again."

Jiang Che's green onion fell to the ground, he bent down to pick it up, and asked casually, "Linney and Cicero are still chatting?"

"It's not Linney," said Phillips. "It's Ovid."

When Ovid greeted Cicero, he said this sentence-"I am also a clone".

Cicero didn't understand what this sentence meant at first, but then after seeing Ovid's expression, he understood.

The young man in front of him is not a clone on the Egret space station, but a clone from Marseille.

Moreover, it is the lowest level of clones made for medical purposes.

"In fact, on Egret space station, none of us deliberately brought up the topic of cloning," Cicero said.

He took Ovid into the egret's bar and ordered him a cocktail.The light golden wine was contained in a slender cylindrical wine glass, and as he moved, a mint leaf floated on the wine.

"Look, there are clones here," Cicero said, looking into the bar.

Different people sat in twos and threes in the bar. On the stage, a bald young man was playing the piano. Half of his face was covered by intricate and delicate tattoos.

"He is a clone made for medical purposes just like you," Cicero said, pointing to the luthier. "One of his eyes was transplanted, so he used a tattoo to cover up the vacant eye. Originally he His fate will not be different from other clones for medical purposes, but fortunately, his ears are particularly sensitive. General Lee Swright selected him when he checked the base information. He was only seven years old at the time."

The first people to arrive at the Egret space station were all clones selected by General Lee Swright.

But now there are many more people living on the Egret space station than before.Here they fall in love, combine in a free way, give birth to a child, and then the child grows up and still lives and works in the space station.

"Amber said it well, the Egret space station is like a wandering planet in the universe." Cicero said, "Although we are called wanderers, we are free. No one cares who is a clone and who is not. You Can you tell? You can't either."

Ovid remained silent.His glass of wine was sweet in the mouth, but as it rolled into his throat, it gradually warmed up in his chest.

"What's the point of distinguishing all of this? You can completely forget your identity as a clone..." Cicero stroked his hair, the soft, curly golden hair wrapped around his already rough fingers, he Suddenly there was a strange sadness, which was evoked by this guest who had come all the way from Marseilles.

Even in the face of Linni Cicero was calm, but at this moment, face to face with Ovid in this quiet place, Cicero could not let the strange feeling go away.

He was wondering whether the person who enlightened this clone at this moment was the same as the general Lees Wright who persuaded him back then.

"... Station Master?" Ovid didn't wait for Cicero's next words, but saw Cicero looking at him silently.

Cicero stroked his head tenderly and smiled.

It's amazing.How wonderful, he thought.They are obviously in a space where they don't need to think about the past, and he is also persuading this young clone to forget the past-but it turns out that everyone's past is indelible.It is deeply, deeply engraved in the soul, hidden in the blood of the bones.

No one can leave the past and live.

"Ovid," whispered Cicero, "you must always remember that you are a clone. This is your identity, and you cannot forget it, nor can you erase it."

Ovid stared at him blankly, like a bewildered fawn.

"But……"

"You are a clone, and so am I. We were all created." Ovid pressed his shoulders, stared at his blue eyes, and said word by word, "But so what? ?”

He increased the strength in his hands.

"Jiang Che is from Earth, Fei Lian and Hu Po are AI. You and I are clones, Lin Ni, Bai Ye, and my dear Darcy, they are the most ordinary kind of people." Cicero said It sounded like a question, but Ovid couldn't answer, "Children, so what? You see there is an Arlans star field next to us, and you have even encountered predators. Isn't this the universe? ?All kinds of people, all kinds of things we have never seen before. All creatures are in this space, we seem to be different from each other, but fundamentally the same."

His deep voice made Ovid involuntarily think of poets or wizards who sang ballads in ancient legends.

"We are all creatures of the universe, the dust of the stars."

After Jiang Che put away the things Bai Ye gave him, he went back to his room and lay down for a while.

He can't sleep.

He was used to lying next to Ovid, but now that Ovid was not around, he felt uncomfortable.

Terrible.Jiang Che sat on the bed and had some intense philosophical thinking in his head.

After thinking about it, he readily accepted the fact that he might not be able to do without Ovid, and began to rearrange the bed, waiting for Ovid to come back.

When Ovid entered the room, the first thing he saw was Jiang Che's bare back.He took off his shirt and was squatting beside the bed looking for his luggage.

There was a dark gray scar on Jiang Che's back. Although Ovid couldn't touch any protrusions or traces of damage, there was a nebula-like radiating pattern on the smooth skin, just like the tattoo of a skilled tattooist. work.

He asked Jiang Che what it was, and Jiang Che said that he only discovered it after waking up in the freezer.This is a trace of cosmic radiation, and it is precisely because of this trace that Jiang Che was excluded from the gene survival plan.

"What did you say? It's been so long." Jiang Che looked back at him, and continued to rummage in the luggage, "Do you still remember the jar that used to hold drunk eggs? When our peppers grow well, I will make one too." The chili oil in the jar is no worse than that of Bailu. Although the chili oil of Bailu is also good, but the fragrance is a little bit lacking, it is more exciting to grow it ourselves. Next time you see Tang Mo and Pierre in the cultivation room, you must Remember to remind them, don't touch the chili peppers all day long. If you touch too much, it won't grow well..."

He babbled on and on, and suddenly his back felt hot.

Ovid pressed his palm to his scar.

"...Ovid?"

"Does it hurt?" Ovid lay on Jiang Che's back, his heart pressed against the back of his hand, and the palm of his hand rested on the stripes on Jiang Che's back.

"What's the matter?" Jiang Che smiled, "It doesn't hurt, it never hurts. Why do you ask this suddenly?"

He could tell something was wrong with Ovid's voice.

"What did Cicero tell you?"

Ovid put his chin on Jiang Che's shoulder and shook his head.Jiang Che noticed that he seemed a little sad, but it was different from the usual sadness. For some reason, this sadness was mixed with a bit of liveliness and relief.

Soft hair brushed against his ears, and his shoulders were itching to hunker down.

"Cicero is a good man," Ovid whispered cheerfully in his ear, "and he will send us a small ship."

The author has something to say: Amber: The terrible predator, took chili oil, took pepper and green onions, and now also takes small ships.

Ulala~ The success of the small ship means that the second volume will soon end meow~