The little girl paused, looked up and asked, "What is anthropology, Dean?"
"It's a subject, Hesta." Alma said warmly, "I know very little about it. I only know that their research topics involve human culture, social structure, institutional morality, etc... In the era of big power outages, In the past, this was a thriving branch of social sciences.”
"Really?" Hesta's eyes returned to the book, "Then what do they do every day?"
Alma thought for a while: "...I guess, just like what it says on the cover, they will go to the wilderness."
Hesta blinked, "Are you like us, going to pick wild vegetables every day?"
Dean Alma shook her head, "They will explore some ancient tribes, live and talk with some people living in the jungle, and try to understand their culture. Sometimes, anthropologists will also go to some primitive people The remains of caves where people lived...they were the ones trying to explain where human civilization began and where it ended.”
Hesta opened the old book in front of him with great interest, "Do they have the answer?"
"Well...how should I put it," Alma smiled, "This cannot be explained in a few words."
"But Miss Gerding said that only lies are cumbersome and complicated, while the truth is always simple and does not require too many verbal modifications." Hestad raised her head again, "Really?"
Alma giggled again, "Yes, Jane...of course Miss Golding is right."
The old man stretched out his hand and quickly turned the book back to the appendix at the end of the book. "But I just read an answer this morning. Maybe it's not that concise... Do you want to hear it?"
"I think!" Hesta replied loudly.
The old man picked up the girl again to prevent the hyperactive girl from slipping from her lap. She held Hesta's finger and led her to read the sentences in the book bit by bit.
The crooked advanced vocabulary in the book made the young Hesta frown, and her fingers moved slowly on the paper like a snail.
Alma read softly: "Years ago, someone once asked anthropologist Mina Delide which clue among all the archaeological discoveries today can best mark the birth of human civilization.
“People expected her to talk about stone tools, wall paintings, or fossilized wheat grains that showed signs of cooking, but Ms. Delider didn’t.
"She said the first sign of civilization should be a broken and healed femur."
Hesta raised her head, "What's a femur, Dean?"
"It's the thigh bone." Alma patted Hesta's thigh lightly, "That's right here."
Hesta lowered her head again, and took the initiative to lower her head and read the following: "Ms. Delide said that in the wilderness, an...an animal with a broken leg will always die quickly...they will either die of thirst. , hunger, or they will soon become the meal of other beasts. And if they have to both forage for food and avoid danger, then...the injuries to their femurs will not heal.
"However, we did find a piece of femur that had been broken and then healed, which suggests... that someone spent a long time... caring for him.
"They stopped his bleeding... fixed his wounds, took him to a safe location and... gave him food and water.
"When we...are in...difficult situations, we can still...help each other. This is...the starting point of civilization."
"Yes, Jane." Alma smiled and hugged Hesta tightly. "When we are in difficult situations, we can still help each other. This is the starting point of our civilization."
Hesta felt herself being surrounded by a warm hug and she smiled too.
But everything around her suddenly changed - the warm afternoon sunlight quickly dissipated, the neat desk was covered with dust in an instant, the daylight dimmed, and a familiar fear came to mind. Hesta lowered her head and saw Dean Alma holding her hand. I don't know when my hand was covered with bandages again.
"..."
"Eat it." The familiar voice turned cold, and a bandaged hand suddenly reached into Hesta's mouth, "Eat it——"
At the peak of panic, everything came to an abrupt end.
She suddenly felt deep pain, as if every joint and every inch of skin in her body was experiencing burning torture - Hesta finally realized that she was immersed in a dream before, and in the dream, she returned to An afternoon of reading with Dean Irma a few years ago.
The figures of the kind old man and the chelate were intertwined in her mind... Which one is the dream?
She adjusted her breathing slightly and tried to get up, but she soon found that it was difficult - she was blindfolded at the moment, and even though she couldn't see anything, Hesta could still feel the bright white light above her head, and the presence of , and there is some smell of disinfectant water.
"Are you awake?" A female voice sounded in her ear unexpectedly, "Don't move, don't open your eyes, you are in the hospital now, you are safe."
Hesta's body trembled——
"Relax and breathe." The voice said again, "Don't be afraid, these pains are normal. The chelated blood splashed into your eyes, so we did some treatment. The gauze on your eyes will have to wait. It will take a while to take it down.”
Hesta wanted to speak, but the sound coming out of her mouth was a murmur that even she could not hear clearly, followed by the same severe throat pain.
"Do you want to talk? Move your fingers if you want."
Hesta's ten fingers were all slightly stretched.
The woman smiled: "The doctor said that your throat has a slight acid corrosion, which may be caused by biting the chelate. They have already given medicine, and it will probably return to normal tomorrow."
Hesta listened quietly.
This woman's voice is different from both Alma and Miss Gerding - she speaks very quickly and her tone is always very flat. Every sentence that comes out of her mouth ends short and crisp, without any Drag or unwanted pitch changes.
Hesta heard the sound of a chair being dragged next to her, and the woman sat down beside her bed.
"I know you probably have a lot of things to ask, and I will answer them for you when you fully recover. Can you please answer a few questions for me now? Of course, you only need to answer 'yes' or 'no'—— If yes, don’t move. If no, just move your finger. Am I clear?”
Hesta didn't move.
"Okay." The woman smiled, "Then let's start... Is your name Jane Hestad?"
"Were you born in the wasteland south of Tanyi City, in the area of Short Ming Lane?"
"You were born in 4612, and you are 11 years old this year. Sister Gerding entered the monastery of St. Anne in 4620, the year you were 8 years old, right?"
"And..." Chiba suddenly paused for a moment, "Are you a Hestad from District 14?"
Hesta's fingers suddenly moved.
The woman glanced at Hesta, "Do you want to answer 'no' or 'don't know'? No, just keep moving your fingers. If you don't know, don't move."
Hesta fell silent - "I don't know."
The woman waited for a while, but when Hesta made no move, she lowered her head and smiled: "Haha, there is no suspense about discrimination. Who else would have such red hair except for the Hesta people? But since you even If you don’t even know if you’re from Hesta, who gave you this last name?”
Hesta could not answer, only silence.
"Then I understand, that's about all my questions." The woman said softly, and the only sound left in the room was the rustle of her pen tip. After a while, she spoke again, "By the way, there are some things I can do about the monastery now. Let me tell you first, do you want to hear it? Just move your fingers if you want to hear it."
