Cat and Rose - Cat & Rose - Chapter 33 - The Second Law of Thermodynamics (2)

Chapter 33 – The Second Law of Thermodynamics (2)

Looking at Ling Yi, Su Ting’s emotions gradually subsided.

After all, Adelaide had already stayed with her for a while, and the professional counselling she received from the psychiatrist made her much calmer. To her, the fact that her teacher’s child was still alive was a kind of consolation, hence even though she was sorrowful, she was no longer in a meltdown like when she just heard the news.

Su Ting lifted her cup of water, still a little weak, and drank a few mouthfuls. She asked Ling Yi, “You said…it was Lin-shixiong who raised you?”

“Mm-hm,” said Ling Yi.

“I don’t know. Shixiong isn’t that kind of person…” Su Ting shook her head. “But it was definitely impossible for Ye Selin to get infected in the laboratory. The Wilkins Laboratory’s protective measures are of the highest standard, and the virus was studied for so long without a single incident of it leaking out.”

Ling Yi looked at her. Her words just then had shown that although she believed Lin Si, she still held doubts regarding the incident. The woman from Area 9 had also mentioned this problem before: she had said that it was inherently impossible for the virus to have been leaked out unintentionally, and that it could only be the work of somebody—so then, following this logical train of thought, Lin Si had to take the blame.

“Many on the spaceship have misconceptions about Lin, but I believed you wouldn’t,” said Adelaide. “We all know Lin Si very well.”

“Yes…” Su Ting was a little spaced out. “Shixiong is a good person. I know it definitely couldn’t have been him. But I also think an accident at the Wilkins Laboratory was impossible.”

As Ye Selin’s student, Su Ting naturally knew the laboratory’s various facilities and regulations like the back of her hand. The fact she could say words such as “impossible” demonstrated that the laboratory’s protective measures were indeed very strict.

But it was absolutely impossible for Lin Si to intentionally leak the virus to gain eligibility to board the ship. If the virus was not unintentionally carried by Ye Selin from the laboratory, then how did it come to the spaceship?

Adelaide shrugged. “I don’t know. I’m not too knowledgeable about that area.”

Su Ting made a sound of acknowledgement. “…When is shixiong coming back?”

“He’s with Madam Chen right now,” Ling Yi told her. “He’ll be back before nighttime.”

Su Ting smiled at Ling Yi, albeit with some difficulty. “Tell him to not worry about me too much. I can start working on the programme after I’ve recovered a bit.”

“Thank you, Su Ting-jiejie,” Ling Yi nodded vigorously.

Originally, Su Ting wanted to wait until Lin Si returned to talk face-to-face, but her body’s condition did not allow her to wait for that moment. People who just awoke from cryogenic freezing had extremely weak bodies to begin with, whereas she had suffered a huge blow on top of that, so not long after, she became extremely exhausted and Adelaide took care of her to sleep.

After properly covering Su Ting with the blanket, Adelaide walked to the sofa in the outer room, made a cup of instant coffee and slowly stirred it.

Usually, the psychiatrist from Northern Europe always wore a smile that showed his playful attitude towards life, but when he had truly become quiet, he possessed an elegant aura of nobility.

“Baby, I’ll keep watch here. You can go do your own thing.” He blinked his jade-green eyes at Ling Yi.

But Ling Yi did not leave, not only because he was free without any urgent tasks, but also because he had something to ask this psychiatrist that was elusive like a ghost and usually difficult to meet.

“Can I ask you something?” he asked Adelaide.

“Of course you can. My job is to help you unravel your doubts.” Adelaide leaned closer to Ling Yi, propping up his chin with his hand, and smirked. “Kids at your age, of course, will have many adorable little worries…”

“But I don’t feel worried.” Ling Yi tilted his head.

“Then maybe you’re not grown up yet.” Adelaide examined him from top to bottom with wicked intentions. “Because you’re still missing a lot of your memories, it’s understandable that you’re still a little baby—if you had grown up safely on Earth, perhaps you’d be in your rebellious teenage phase right now, worrying about love every day due to the effects of hormones.”

Ling Yi never really knew how to respond to these “if you were on Earth” types of questions. He had absolutely no idea about the planet, and did not believe he lacked anything—he thought his current life on the spaceship was already very good.

“What question were you going to ask?” said Adelaide.

“Lin Si feels very off sometimes…” Ling Yi spoke slowly. “It’s because of those…things that happened before the Voyager departed that he had a hard time accepting. How can he become well again?”

“He’s acting off?” Adelaide frowned. “I might have to prescribe him medicine again.”

After that small grumble, Adelaide said seriously, “Lin has a very serious stress reaction. Therapeutic techniques can only help lessen it, but it cannot be completely eradicated—unless a day comes where he finally, truly forgives himself.”

“But it wasn’t his fault in the first place,” said Ling Yi.

“Every person has a different personality, and different things they aspire towards,” Adelaide said steadily. “Lin has always thought of himself as a doctor. Think about it—a patient in critical condition is lying on the operating table. The primary surgeon uses all methods he can, but is still unable to save them. Is it the surgeon’s fault?”

Ling Yi shook his head.

“Nobody has the right to blame this doctor, but he can’t help but blame himself—if only he did better, a little bit better, could he then prevent a life from passing away?” Adelaide smiled. “You have Asian ancestry. In ancient China, there is a phrase—‘doctors have hearts like parents’—that speaks of this feeling. At that time, Lin Si certainly had the ability to save everyone. But the Voyagers, so that they could successfully take off, had forcefully brought the entire laboratory and abandoned the several billion lives on Earth.”

“That’s why, he only needs to look out from the rear of the ship—at that sea of stars—to see the debts of blood formed from the hundred millions of human lives, clustering around him. And who can he blame? The Voyagers? But the Voyagers have the higher moral ground of ‘protecting human civilization’. Who can blame this cold decision they made from the start?”

Adelaide shrugged helplessly. “Nobody did anything wrong, but tragedies happen just like that. Our several billion comrades struggled and died on that planet of despair. Nobody could accept this fact. After the cure for the third-generation virus was created, almost all the laboratory staff chose to sleep indefinitely. That meant, they would only be defrosted if the ship needed them on very very special occasions—it was practically suicide. It’s understandable—if it were me, I would never ever be able to let go.”

“Then how can he get better?”

Adelaide’s voice was low. “Sometimes, some things will follow a person for their entire life.”

“Then will he have to live forever in pain?” Ling Yi lowered his eyes.

Adelaide smiled, grabbed Ling Yi’s hand and spread it out.

Ling Yi looked at the shallow lines on his palms.

“A person’s life must move forward.” Adelaide’s fingertip touched Ling Yi’s palm, tracing along the creases. “The past gradually moves farther away, and we will always have the future to look forward to.”

“Lin Si is not a fragile person. In fact, his ability to withstand things is stronger than most people, so you don’t have to worry about him.” Adelaide overlapped his fingers with Ling Yi’s one by one, his voice fleeting with an ancient and mysterious ambience, but it was full of gentleness, like a pastor’s prayer. “That is why, we can leave this indissoluble pain up to time’s eternity. “

“Then do I not have to do anything?” said Ling Yi after a period of silence.

“Actually, your existence is already enough.” Adelaide let go of his hand and blinked. “If I have a precious baby like you, what kind of pain and suffering in this world can ever defeat me?”

Ling Yi pursed his lips.

Adelaide started to laugh.

***

When Lin Si returned to his room, he saw Ling Yi reading an ebook.

Ling Yi did not realise he had developed such a hobby himself—especially towards classic literary poetry and novels.

Someone who had a life filled with academic texts like Lin Si would not know how to appreciate these things.

When he sat by Ling Yi’s side, Ling Yi immediately closed the reading interface, and like he no longer had any bones, draped onto Lin Si’s body, his arms tightly wound around his shoulders.

“What’s going on?” asked Lin Si. “Are you feeling down?”

“No, I’m good…” Ling Yi’s voice still had not changed yet, so it sounded soft and sweet. “Did you solve the issue with the materials?”

“Not yet, Madam called me to discuss something else,” he told Ling Yi. “Do you know what Africa is?”

Ling Yi nodded. “On Earth.”

“Before the Age of Discovery, almost every continent had formed civilizations, but Africa had not.”

Ling Yi nodded again.

“This was because its natural environment and climate had limited the development of a civilization, with no soil appropriate for farming, and without animals that could be tamed. Although their resources were rich, they didn’t possess the requirements for a civilization to form—whether it were agriculture civilizations or nomadic civilizations. So no matter how rich their resources were, they would stop at the most primitive tribal form, relying on gathering to survive.”

Ling Yi listened quietly.

“Madam thinks we’re situated in a different Africa.”

Ling Yi frowned. “Then what do we do?”

“In the future, we might have to split into two, where part of us will stay on the base to multiply the results of our civilization, while the other group will re-embark on the path of voyage, to look for a more suitable planet for us to live, like the Age of Discovery.”

Ling Yi nodded. “Can we go play in space again?”

“Do you prefer to stay on the ground or explore space?” asked Lin Si.

Ling Yi thought indecisively for a while, then finally hugged Lin Si’s arm tightly. “As long as Lin Si’s here, I’m good with anything…”

A hint of a smile surfaced in Lin Si’s eyes as he hugged Ling Yi back.

On the ground was a dull lifestyle day after day, while voyage was a lonely wandering without end. But it seemed like as long as the little one was here, new life could sprout from this deathly stillness of an unknown future.

*

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