Jonas and the “Fox”
An aircraft buzzed in the dark purple sky overhead, making ripples in the fields. Jonas’s hair fluttered in the wind, showing his face. The fox had no hair to fly in the wind, so he shaved his head, still wrapped in a bandage. He knew that the jagged black hunting machines-the villagers called them crows-couldn’t recognize himself at this time, but when the shadow passed by, he still lowered his head subconsciously, with fear in his heart.
It’s just a cargo plane, and he straightened his neck. Jonas raised his hand in salute like a revolutionary fighter, and turned his head to look at the fox for a long time, just enough to make the fox catch a glimpse of contempt from the corner of his mouth. He immediately turned his head back, staring into the distance, striding across the rustling genetically modified wheat and canola. Yes, he doesn’t like to stare at foxes, except in unavoidable circumstances. This is a problem that needs attention.
”When we are in the village, you have to talk to me,” said the fox, “especially when there are people around. Here, I don’t care what you want. But when you get to the village, you have to take out the one you chatted with Damian Yang. The deputy is talking to me.”
In response, Jonas quickened his pace. When he was only twelve years old, he was already very tall, with long legs, white skin, a firm and stylish chin, and his black hair was always messy. The fox could see that Jonas looked like his father. However, when the fox looked at Damian’s face from the stained windowpane and the shiny blade of the harvester, he felt that it was not very similar to his father. The bruises and swellings on Damian’s face have not faded; besides, the same person is no longer behind that face.
The fox took a step, looking clumsy-he was still adjusting to the child’s body. “If you don’t do this, others will find it weird,” he said, “you understand, huh? You have to behave normally, otherwise everything we did before was just a mess.”
Jonas muttered Two sentences. The fox didn’t hear clearly and felt annoyed. It would be great if Jonas didn’t even know about “uploading”. His parents could have told him that his brother suffered brain injuries after the fall, and his behavior was different from usual, but they told him the truth and let him witness the whole operation.
”What are you talking about?” the fox asked. The blurted voice was still low in his head, but when it came out, it became a little boy’s tone, sharp and harsh.
Jonas turned around, his forehead flushed with rage. “You are not normal,” his voice trembled. “You are an electronic devil.” The
fox squinted. “Do the teachers in the school teach you this way?” He asked, “Jonas, electronic storage is not witchcraft, it is technology. It is no different from the tablet you use in school.”
Jonas continued to walk forward. The fox followed him, but he really looked like his brother. The adults in the village always let the children play in the fields until dusk-in the eyes of the fox, this is tantamount to the dereliction of their parents. He grew up in the city, and there was a fat AI nanny at home to take him to school. In order to keep him safe, the Jonas family took a lot of pains, and helping to take care of Jonas was only a trivial return to them: everything happened at midnight that day, after he was covered in blood and mud knocking on their windows…
The two passed by the sacred tree. The tree has a towering trunk and thick tubular branches, pointing straight into the evening sky. The genes of the sacred tree are taken from the Baobab tree on the ancient earth, and the genetic recombination can adapt to the colder climate on the colonizing planet. The fox noticed that Jonas didn’t like to stare at the tree, and since his brother fell from it, he never stared at it as before.
The sacred tree marked the edge of the field, and children generally would not cross it, but today Jonas walked forward on his own, and the fox had to follow. The land outside the sacred tree gradually turned light gray, and the soil was mixed with thick clay, which was obviously not completely terraformed. A dilapidated barn in rapid concrete was stained red by the setting sun. The fox had seen this barn when he entered the village and inspected it as a hiding place, but because he was afraid of the shadow behind him, he finally walked towards the place with light-towards the house on the edge of the village. A house belonging to his distant cousin.
”Jonas, we have to go back,” said the fox. “It’s getting dark.”
Jonas raised his mouth again and rushed towards the barn. He turned his head and looked at the fox provocatively, and then went into the dilapidated barn door. The fox suddenly became angry. The kid knew that he couldn’t do anything about him, and Jonas was almost a head taller than him now.
”Do you think I like this?” The fox whispered, “Do you think I like these little fat legs and these soft little arms?” As he said, he followed Jonas into the barn. A glass bottle creaked and was smashed by him, startling him. “Do you think all things I like to eat are as broken as sand? It’s not all because that damn, patched automated doctor almost screwed up my surgery!” He muttered, and walked forward again. Go, “Six months ago, I was a resounding character, and I hugged and hugged everywhere; now, I am chasing a kid in the country, and…”
There was a scream from the barn. Called, the fox was startled. If Jonas steps on a nail or smashes his foot, Damian’s small arms are not strong enough to drag him back; or worse, if there are people in the barn—the kind of fugitive like a fox , Things quickly became very bad. The fox has never caused trouble, even in his own body before.
The fox’s heart was pounding and his ribs hurt. He picked up the broken glass bottle and turned the toothed edge outward. Maybe nothing happened at all? “Jonas?” He shouted as he walked towards the dark doorway, “Are you all right?”
There was no response. The fox hesitated for a moment, thinking whether it would be better for him to run away first. Perhaps there was a vicious refugee living in the barn, who broke Jonas, waiting for the next ignorant child to hit the door.
”Come and see!” At this moment, Jonas’s voice came from inside. The fox threw the broken bottle on the ground, let out a sigh of relief and cursed himself for being too imaginative. He walked into the barn, was about to ask Jonas why he didn’t respond to him, and then urged him to leave quickly, but saw what Jonas was staring at. Suddenly, his words disappeared before they came out of his throat.
I can faintly see an elliptical ship-shaped object in front of my eyes. There are some red navigation lights on the dark composite shell. At this time, they light up because of the presence of the two, and they look like the eyes of a hunter in the dark. . The spacecraft is very streamlined, with nothing more than the engine and cockpit. The fox realized that the reason why it was designed to be so small was to pass through the blocking barrier on this planet, so why hide it here instead of using it?
The fox blinked in the darkness, glanced across the cockpit, and saw a metal glove sticking out behind the conical nose of the spacecraft. His eyes are very sharp now, which is a good thing. Jonas was still obsessed with the red navigation lights and the beautiful shape of the spacecraft. He didn’t notice the gloves. He even forgot his anger for a while.
”Is it a spaceship?” Jonas’s voice was filled with wonder.
The fox snorted. “Reluctantly.”
