Since then, the doctor has never mentioned anything about the system in the Black Tower. He began to show Zha more about what was on the ship and about the lives of the collectors.
In a room on the ship, the doctor showed him part of the Collectors' production equipment. In Zha's opinion, it was just a huge metal cabinet that was incredibly exquisite, and there seemed to be some structures inside that aroused disturbing associations. The doctor showed a rare and quite obvious contempt for this device, which in Zha's opinion was ingenious and complicated and almost unimaginable by humans. He explained to Zha that he believed that the technology used to make the Collector was neither clever nor humane, and that it was unnecessary torture caused by poor skills.
This combination of metal and human body is toxic to the original body. This is the simple explanation offered by doctors. The Gatherers' designers still relied on the subtle electrical reactions of raw matter that could not be imitated with metals and circuits. Rejection is just a matter of time, so the life span of the collectors is very short, he estimated that it is only two to three years. But they were relieved of pain and most of their sensibility, and did not have to feel the despair of their bodies decaying under the metal. This could probably be considered a mercy.
The doctor described to him a world that he had never imagined. Krishna, he claimed, was not nothingness. In fact, there are many lands that are the same as where Zha lives, and they are not far apart from each other. However, most of them are lightless, so Zha cannot detect their existence.
He investigated the fragments, ranging from the legends of the different regions to the geological features of each place, ultimately concluding that they had been one piece long ago. The place where Zha is located - called the "House of Frost" by the leaders of the collectors - has almost 90% of the crystal oscillators in the surrounding area. This can be called a perfect mining area.
The doctor pointed him to other places as well. Xinsheng Home is a very interesting place, he pointed out to Zha in particular. It is very close to the Frost House, and also very close to where the leaders live, perhaps because it is also very important to the leaders. It was a very prosperous and beautiful place, where reproduction was much easier than in Frost Home, and on the surface the leaders were quite tolerant of the policies implemented there. Neither taxes nor servitude was required. In that land, every year, every day, the only echoes are the noisy cries of babies and the laughter of young children. People have never heard of the wrath of Krishna. They only know that life is for reproduction and then growing up healthily and happily.
The Collectors also go to New Life Home. They want one thing, and people rush to give it to them. Because what the collectors want is young and beautiful lives. They announced that the chosen ones would be able to stay young and make the good things last forever. To prove this, some of the chosen ones will occasionally return to the House of Rebirth after many years to prove the existence of eternal youth to those who still know them but have long since begun to age. The person who comes back looks exactly the same as when he left, and can also tell everything that happened before he left.
In fact, the doctor announced to Zha in a slow and even cruel manner that the man who returned was the leader of the collectors. It is very easy for the leaders to read some memories, and they have the same appearance as the person who was taken away. This is not surprising at all, because adjusting the appearance is simple for people with a little skill, let alone the residents of the New Life House. ——The ancestor of every family——are made using the blueprints of the leaders. There will be random mating and mutation, but these errors will be corrected regularly, and the remaining unmatched raw materials will replenish the rapidly depleting foragers.
There is also the House of Calamity. The doctor gave another example. It was a place further away from them, used to conduct some weapons experiments. The situation there was so chaotic that the leaders didn't want to live too close to each other. Livestock House. The most picturesque wilderness he has ever visited is used to cultivate creatures that are difficult to support in other areas. Resting place. Rather, it was a vast, sterile prison, where it seemed that opponents of the leaders would be banished as punishment.
Yes, there were indeed rebels in the past, most of them were new-born families. A few lucky ones would be appreciated by the leader for their intelligence or beauty. They knew more than others, and at the same time they created more pain and hatred. What followed was resistance. There have also been things on the House of Calamity that made the bosses uneasy. A monster that never seems to be killed. They managed to capture him, throw him to his resting place, and expect him to slowly die from lack of nutrition.
When the physician described these events, his attitude was contemptuous and cold. He did not sigh or show a trace of pity, which made people feel that he was equally cold and ruthless in nature. Zha's respect and gratitude for him grew over time, as did his fear and unfamiliarity.
Sometimes he felt the doctor looking at him strangely as he described it. It is no longer the look in the eyes of a friend in the past or a student being taught, but of observation and evaluation, as if looking at a sample. Some kind of plan is brewing in the mind of that incomprehensible outsider, making Zha anxious.
On the last day of Zha's stay on the ship, the doctor told him about his experience of returning to Frost Home. At first, he didn't think about coming back. By the time he finished his investigation of the resting place, he had a pretty good idea of what the leaders were capable of. Therefore, he decided to go directly to the land where the leaders lived to see what was unique about the central world. What surprised him was that the area was quite mediocre - it was neither the richest in resources, nor the most pleasant environment, nor the largest in area, nor the most abundant in light sources.
The criteria used by the leaders to choose their camps aroused his curiosity, and even the rebel leader who was trapped in his resting place could not give him a reasonable answer. He adjusted his regional optimization plan and tried to solve the mystery in a low-key way. There were inevitably some twists and turns, but in the end he got the answer. An answer he hadn't envisioned, but one that fit his needs perfectly. So when he found a leader taking a boat to the Frost House, he immediately followed him. He did not deal with the leader immediately, but hid on the ship and secretly observed the other party. If he hadn't recognized the Zha brought by the collectors, he would have continued to observe it for a while.
He rescued Zha and also killed the leader who in his opinion had little value left. All the collectors on the ship were under his control. He was walking through the aisles with a grotesque figure, but to the collectors he was the leader patrolling around.
In Zha's opinion, doctors are almost omnipotent. He has no way to repay, and the other party does not need his repayment. On their last day together on the ship, the physician ordered several searchers to take him home. Seemingly out of politeness, he also asked about Zha's family, the names of his wife and children, their personalities and living habits.
These questions were so detailed that Zha felt particularly uneasy. When the doctor asked about his sister's condition, he finally couldn't help expressing his confusion. He and his family were nothing compared to everything the doctor mentioned. What can the other party get from his family?
A little experience. the doctor answered.
Zha looked at him suspiciously.
The doctor pondered in silence for a while. At the end, before the collector's chariot took off, he told Zha that he once had a sister. Although in his hometown, all the so-called words of relatives are meaningless. This is a backward system that was abolished long ago. However, among all the members, there was one person that he really missed. He wanted to know if she was safe and well. But he could not return to visit her because he had not completed an agreement. He didn't know how to treat her, so he always observed how other siblings got along.
Zha's fear seeped into sympathy. He comforted the doctor and advised him not to worry about anything and that he could go back for a visit at any time. There is no need to think too hard when dealing with loved ones, because it is a natural thing. Relatives will know how to get along when they meet.
If he did that, the doctor replied, he would forever lose the chance of making the agreement. And when the members in the Black Tower meet him, there is no doubt that one of them will have their brains ripped out and disposed of. Someone is looking for him now, ready to do that to him. He didn't know if it was appropriate to call the man his brother, but he cared about him just as much because they had worked so close to each other.
Zha stood stunned. He couldn't understand the situation described by the doctor. He had never heard of relatives getting along like this. That didn't seem like a question that should be asked of him.
The doctor put him in the chariot. When Zha flew away, he saw the doctor still standing there in deep thought.
