Author: 唇亡齿寒 / Lips Gone, Teeth Cold
Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/
Chapter 85
“Then… Can I stay as well?”
Kester’s answer remained the same as always. “No.” He set down the luggage and then bent down to hug Joshua. The teenager felt himself enveloped in a warm embrace, the arms around his body thin from years of desk work but the only ones in the world he could rely on.
“Joshua, I don’t want to be separated from you either,” Kester whispered in his ear. “I want to see you grow up, see you become a man who can stand on his own… but it’s not possible. You have to leave.” He gently ruffled Joshua’s hair. “Go to the colony with Giorgione, okay? It will be at least fourteen hundred years before you arrive at the colony, and if the modern medical theories haven’t been completely overturned by then, the knowledge you have will still have a place. You’ll continue to study, right? You’ll become a great doctor or medical scientist, just as you’ve always dreamed, right?”
He released Joshua, looking him straight in the eyes. Through his brother’s eyes, Joshua saw his own reflection—a pale, thin boy—a stark contrast to his robust brother, as different as day and night. How could anyone say they looked alike?
“I won’t be by your side, Joshua. You’ll have to learn to take care of yourself,” Kester said, showing a hint of sadness typical of farewells. He pushed the luggage into Joshua’s arms and took a step back, silently signaling: It’s time for you to go.
Joshua wanted to say a proper goodbye to Kester but was abruptly pulled away from behind.
“Let’s go, kid!” Charles Titian yanked his arm and dragged him away forcefully. Joshua stumbled, trying to maintain his balance while attempting to break free from Titian’s grip, but to no avail. He was forced to walk unsteadily towards the Dante, looking back at his brother several times. Kester stood motionless by the car, waving each time Joshua looked back.
“Come on, kid, it’s not like you’re going to die. Stop the waterworks.” Charles Titian gruffly turned the young man’s head.
“I… I’m not crying!”
Charles grunted, pretending not to see the tears streaking down the boy’s face. They were nearing the elevator, where a crowd gathered. Among them was Giorgione, easily recognizable. In the long interstellar journey to come, Giorgione would assume the leadership role in place of Kester, who stayed on Earth.
Charles Titian considered himself immune to the melancholy of farewells, silently vowing never to look back or shed a tear over this eternal parting. But at that moment, he couldn’t help but glance back one last time. Kester was still waving from where he stood, then a colleague approached him. Kester said something, and then the assistant handed him a handkerchief.
God bless that Charles didn’t turn into a pillar of salt. He turned to Giorgione and pushed the sobbing young man towards him. “Take good care of this annoying brat!”
“Of course, I will.”
Giorgione gently patted the young man’s shoulder, comforting, “Stop crying, Joshua. Cheer up, we have a long journey ahead of us.”
The young man nodded, still crying, but at least followed Giorgione to the elevator. He was the youngest member of the “Friendly Earth Scientists’ Interstellar Travel Group”. Most children had left with the earlier groups for space. Joshua remained until now because of his brother. If not for his youth, he might have stayed until the end.
Charles searched his pockets for a cigarette but remembered that he had smoked his last one in anticipation of the long journey. He chuckled to himself. “Might as well try quitting.” With that thought, he quickened his pace to catch up with Giorgione and board the ship together.
“This journey has 429 passengers, most of whom will directly enter cryogenic sleep chambers once the Dante passes the solar system’s outer transition station, and the rest will then begin their long sleep,” Giorgione explained as he led Joshua towards the cabins.
“What happens if everyone’s asleep? Who will control the ship?” Joshua blurted out, then realized he had asked a foolish question.
Who else but their best artificial intelligence? Leonard would take over the navigation and control of the ship, allowing others to safely sleep through the millennia-long journey.
Past interstellar travelers had embarked on the cosmos this way. However, they didn’t have such advanced artificial intelligence, so some had to remain awake for routine maintenance, then enter cryosleep, waking others in rotation to manage the ship.
So in that sense, Leonard’s creation really saved them a lot of trouble. Just enter the sleep chamber, sleep without dreaming, and wake up in a new world.
But when Joshua awoke from his long sleep 1,400 years later, by then Kester would have… would have…
“Teacher Giorgione.” He grabbed his teacher’s hand. “If Kester completes his research, will he come to the colony? Will he come find us?”
“He will.” The teacher smiled kindly. “He won’t leave us behind.”
Giorgione truly believed this. However, at that moment, Joshua felt he was just being comforted with a lie. Kester wouldn’t come. He would stay on Earth until the end of the world or until his last day.
They would never see each other again.
Joshua didn’t dare think further.
“Teacher, how long until the ship departs?”
“Five minutes.” Giorgione checked his watch.
“And how long until we leave Earth? When do we reach the transition station?”
“Seven minutes to leave Earth’s orbit, 36 hours to the transition station,” Giorgione answered truthfully. “What’s wrong, Joshua?”
“Nothing…” The young man bowed his head. “I just… miss Kester a bit.”
The teacher nodded understandingly. “Child, we can still communicate with Earth before we transition. If you wish, you can wait to enter the cryochamber until after that. You can leave him a message before then.”
Joshua silently accepted his teacher’s kind offer. But he knew he would never do that. He wouldn’t go with Giorgione to the colony. He had to find a way off the Dante and return to Earth, to home.
Joshua sat on his cabin’s bed. As the ship vibrated, he knew the engines had started, and in a minute, they would break free from gravity and head into space.
He had thought for a long time but still found no way to leave the ship. Maybe he could steal an escape pod, but he had no idea where they were stored. Teacher Giorgione surely knew but wouldn’t tell him.
Who else could he ask for help? Who else could help him escape the ship?
“Attention, passengers, please return to your cabins. The ship is about to ascend. I repeat, the ship is about to ascend.” The mechanical male voice overhead startled him. Joshua recognized this voice. He had conversed with it countless times in Kester’s lab.
“Leonard?”
“Indeed. How may I assist you, Joshua?”
It seemed Leonard still recognized him. That was perfect. Who knew the ship better than artificial intelligence?
“Leonard, help me!” Joshua jumped from the bed. “I need to get off the Dante!”
“The engines have already started. It’s impossible to stop now.”
“Find a way to help me escape!” Joshua shouted. “Use a lifeboat or anything! Let me return to the ground!”
Leonard hesitated. “I’m afraid that’s not possible. Using an escape pod while ascending is extremely dangerous, and Mr. Giorgione wouldn’t allow it.”
“Your permission is enough!” Joshua pleaded. “Please, Leonard, help me out this once! Let me go back to the ground. I need to return to Kester!”
If Leonard were a regular AI, he would never agree to such a whimsical request. But he was Leonard, the only advanced AI, understanding and adaptable, capable of making independent judgments. He could also be moved by human emotions.
“Turn right out the door. I’ll light the way for you,” Leonard instructed. “Head to the prep chamber. There are sky shuttles there that you can use to return. It’s very dangerous, though. I advise you to…”
“Thank you, Leonard!” Joshua dashed out the door.
“…You’re welcome.” Leonard found an unobserved path in the maps and lit the markers for Joshua.
Back to Kester’s side.
‘Joshua was indeed a fortunate human,’ the AI thought. ‘He still had the chance to return, while I can never look back.’
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