Hot Wavelength

Chapter 43 (Choosing Sides 1): My Own Self
6500 million years ago, Venus
Thousands of people gathered in the open space in front of the Venusian Union Parliament building. Venus is a civilized society, and although the protesters were indignant, no violent incidents such as ramming or vandalism occurred.

The protesters demanded an immediate halt to the so-called rescue plan.

If the sky falls, everyone dies; what if a miracle happens? They cannot accept the idea of ​​deliberately and artificially blasting Mars apart.

According to the security regulations of Riftenburg, the capital of Venus, and past practice, a march or rally of tens of thousands of people would typically require at least several hundred police officers to maintain order. People were surprised to find that today, the number of police cars and officers maintaining order was pitifully small.

Ten years have passed since the rescue plan began, and the day of Mars' explosion is drawing ever closer. The extraction of genes and the uploading of consciousness are progressing smoothly; the vast majority of people support the rescue plan, and an increasing number of people are voluntarily uploading their consciousness while their bodies perish.

After the "first come, first served, first die" bill was passed, people rushed to upload their consciousness as early as possible in order to get a higher chance of being reborn.

Those who refused to upload their consciousness and opposed the rescue plan were a tiny minority, but over time their power gradually gained the upper hand.

The Venusian Union Parliament and government are under increasing pressure. How can they appease these opponents and effectively maintain the last order before Venus is engulfed by flames?
Speaker Kent was thrust into the spotlight when he appeared on the second-floor balcony of the Parliament building, facing the square, and spoke face-to-face with protesters through a loudspeaker.

Persuading people is difficult, and persuading thousands of people with differing beliefs is practically an impossible task. Speaker Kent understood that talking about sacrificing oneself to save more people would not work with this group of people.

If reasoning doesn't work, then we can only try to empathize. The old speaker began his speech:

"Brothers and sisters, I understand how you feel. Let me tell you a secret: as an old man who has lived for over 200 years, I share the same thoughts as you. From the bottom of my heart, I also oppose the artificial explosion of Mars."

The old speaker's opening remarks caused the crowd to stir for a moment, then quiet down, filled with curiosity and anticipation for what he would say next.

"But as the Speaker of the Venus Alliance Council, I voted in favor of the Mars Explosion Project. Because the person who voted was not just me. If you were in my shoes, facing the choice of whether humanity on Venus could continue, you would definitely have done the same as me."

"There may not be absolute right or wrong in this world, but many times we have to make choices. I respect your choice to refuse to upload your consciousness and witness and accompany Venus in her final moments of being consumed by fire. I am very honored to announce and promise that I choose to stand with you and will not upload my consciousness to stay with you until the very last moment."

The crowd stirred again, everyone shocked, but their reactions varied. Some genuinely admired the old speaker's frankness; the apparent split between personal interests and the greater good, yet seamlessly blended, highlighted his great wisdom. Others muttered, "What's the point of you standing with us?"

“I know some of you are thinking, what good would it do if I stood on your side? I’m not here today to persuade you, but to ask for your help. The consciousness of the vast majority of people has already been uploaded. As of today, there are only a few hundred thousand people alive on the entire planet Venus, including you.”

"What I need your help with today is this: since you have chosen to stay, please make one more choice. This choice is, before the final moment arrives, which side you choose to stand on."

The crowd exchanged bewildered glances, seemingly not fully understanding what the old speaker was trying to convey.

"Perhaps I didn't explain it clearly. Now I will announce a bill that the Alliance Parliament has just passed. The bill is very short. Starting from January 1st next year, all the existing laws of the Venus Alliance will be officially invalidated. There will only be one law after that, which is even shorter. It can be summed up in two words: dignity."

“Now I should make myself clear. I’m here today to divide those of you and me who chose to stay until the end into two groups again. One group will choose dignity, and the other will choose so-called freedom without restraint. Because the only law is dignity, those who do not choose dignity can be unrestrained, or you could call it lawlessness.”

"We don't need voting machines, nor do we need to raise hands to vote. If you're willing to join me as the last guardians of Venus, then please shout with me—"

"Long live Venus! Uphold dignity!"

The crowd's emotions surged, infecting each other, and erupted into a deafening roar:
"Long live Venus! Uphold dignity!"

Under the shade of the trees at the back of the square, a burly, stocky man stood with his arms crossed, staring expressionlessly at the old speaker. His name was Troy, an active-duty instructor at the Air Force training camp; everyone called him Battalion Commander Troy.

Several of his men who had come with him gathered around him, and one of the thin men said to Troy, "Commander, what do we do now?"

Troy made a retreat gesture and said, "This rabble is unreliable; they've been brainwashed so quickly. We're heading to the spaceship base now; we'll begin our operation tonight."

Troy was not one to resign himself to fate. His reasons for refusing to upload his consciousness differed from those of the protesters in the square. He had discovered an opportunity, or rather, a loophole in the rescue plan.

After the genes were extracted and consciousness uploaded, the number of living people on Venus, Earth, and Mars drastically decreased, and the security system was completely destroyed. Especially after Mars exploded, only a very small number of people hiding on spaceships outside Jupiter's orbit had a chance to survive.

Troy rallied his men, saying, "Let's seize a spaceship and hide outside Jupiter's orbit. After Mars explodes, we'll fly back and conquer Earth. Then we'll have all the resources on Earth to ourselves and establish a great dynasty."

Under the cover of night, the piercing alarms of the Venus spaceship base blared in unison. A spaceship took to the air, leaving a faint blue-green contrail behind it, heading towards Jupiter… Before the Venusian Parliament's final bill, as Speaker Kent had mentioned, was passed, another perfectly reasonable request was approved. According to the rescue plan, Maria needed a group of volunteers for cloning experiments, and the cloning experiments were successful.

A legal dilemma arose as a result. Strictly speaking, these clones had no right to have their genes extracted, their consciousness uploaded, and to be cloned again after Earth was built. However, given the special contributions of these volunteers, the council decided to allow their clones an extra chance to be cloned.

Brahma and Vinu, who were considered Cynthia's younger brother and sister, fell into this category. After receiving the news, Brahma and his wife Vinu were happy for Cynthia's siblings, but also conflicted because Cynthia had neither the right nor the ability to upload her consciousness.

At the Tower Island base on Earth, Maria and Nikola Tesla felt great sympathy for the unfortunate couple. How could they comfort them? Everyone fell silent.

Vinu held her husband's hand, gazing at him affectionately. Brahma nodded to his wife, as if by unspoken agreement. Vinu said to Maria, "Anyway, this is good news. Dr. Maria, please extract genes and upload your consciousness for your younger siblings."

Maria seemed to understand the couple's decision, but she still couldn't help but ask, "What about you two? You also have the right to upload your consciousness."

The couple looked at each other, their faces beaming with a bittersweet happiness, and said in unison, "No need. We will stay with Cynthia until the very end."

Nikola Tesla watched the live broadcast of the old speaker's speech from Earth and was deeply moved. It is often said that Venusians are always blessed by heaven, which is why they have been able to thrive and multiply.

Who knows that in times of hardship and adversity, there are always heroes like Speaker Kent who sacrifice their own interests for the greater good, protecting the people of Venus.

Suddenly, Tesla realized that the Victoria Power Station and the Space Elevator on Earth also needed to be manned and protected.

The problem is that when Mars explodes, although the impact point is in the western hemisphere of the Earth and the Victoria region will not be directly impacted, the Earth will be surrounded by sulfur-containing toxic gases.

If it is assigned to guard the spacecraft, then he can only live in a sealed cabin in a space elevator located 90,000 kilometers above the ground, and he will need to live in a confined environment for at least several decades.

Suddenly, an alarm sounded on the encrypted video feed connected to Venus. Curious, everyone gathered around, and Maria read aloud as she watched:
Arrest warrant:
Troy, Toulouse, and their crew have hijacked a spaceship and escaped Venus. Earth, Mars, and all space stations are urged to be on high alert and strengthen security measures.

Brama stared at the photo on the wanted poster and exclaimed, "Troy! He was my company commander before I retired from the army. How could he do such a thing?"

Maria asked Tesla, "What are they going to do? Will they come to Earth to cause destruction?"

Tesla observed and calculated the spaceship's trajectory, saying, "They are heading towards Jupiter."

Vinu breathed a sigh of relief, then asked, puzzled, "What are they going to Jupiter for? But at least their target isn't Earth."

"Their target is Earth, just not now. They definitely want to take over Earth when Mars explodes and no one is around," Tesla analyzed angrily.

"What should we do? Should we send people to guard it? The Earth is too big, where should we guard it?" Maria asked anxiously.

“They hijacked a military spacecraft that cannot land directly on Earth. It can only dock with the space station with the space elevator. We need someone to guard the space station’s cabin,” Tesla said. “When they attack, the guards are responsible for detonating the bombs and blowing up the intruders and the spacecraft.”

Brama embraced Vinu, kissed her gently, turned and lovingly stroked Cynthia's hair, saying to Maria, "Dr. Maria, please help Cynthia no matter what!"

Tesla seemed to understand Brahma's intention and was about to speak when Brahma spoke first: "Leave Troy to me. I am willing to be the watchman, for my wife, daughter and everyone."

Vinu's eyes instantly welled up with tears. Maria was at a loss for words. Brama was firm, then smiled easily and said, "It must be very lonely to be alone in a confined space. Please help me design a fun virtual reality game."

Maria understood Brahma's feelings, and she said to the family who were hugging each other, "Didn't the Speaker say that all the laws are about to become invalid? The only remaining obstacle for Cynthia and the others to upload their consciousness is the technology. Tesla and I will do everything we can to help little Cynthia."

&
The poem composed of collected verses at the end of the chapter:
The guests have left, the banquet is empty, and I alone close the door. —Bai Juyi, Tang Dynasty

The two villages, separated by cloud-covered roads, each return home. (Tang Dynasty, Wei Zhuang)

Who will be healthy enough to attend this gathering next year? — Du Fu, Tang Dynasty
I fear the red dust will seep through the sun and fly away. (Song Dynasty, Shi Qingchen)
(End of this chapter)