Half an hour later, Laplace sat up, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and murmured:

“You have something to tell me, right?”

“Yes, it is…”

Elizabeth lay on the bed, smiled softly, and murmured:

“There are three, one bad news and two good news.”

“The bad news first.”

“The world is destroyed and we can never go back.”

“I already know it,” Laplace said. “Are there any details I haven’t noticed?”

“Yes,” Elizabeth murmured, “For example, you don’t really care that much about the collapse of buildings and the end of civilization…”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because you care about yourself, your ambitions, and your goals. Do you remember the long discussions you had with me when we first met?” Elizabeth chuckled. “You said that the satellites observed in the galaxy were too far away from us, making it difficult to observe them, let alone board them. You were very dissatisfied. You said that these satellites were clearly within reach, so why couldn’t we control them? You thought it was frustrating that we hadn’t had a decent manned spacecraft fly into the sky for so many years. You complained that the members of the Federation were always thinking about how to keep the ground stable, and they didn’t care about those things outside the sky at all. You said this made you feel lonely, remember?”

“I remember.” Laplace nodded.

“Yeah, so you don’t care about civilization at all. Why are you so sad?” Elizabeth turned over. “If this skyship can fly into space, you will immediately order all the crew members to fly upwards at all costs. Spark? You don’t care at all.”

“Okay, where’s the good news?” Laplace interrupted Elizabeth. He didn’t like people talking at length for no apparent reason. Elizabeth was a rare exception, but he still had a tolerance threshold.

“There are two pieces of good news. One is about me, and the other is a plan just submitted by the archons.” Elizabeth stood up and moved behind Laplace. “Which one do you want to hear first?”

When the Archon was mentioned, Laplace’s brows slightly frowned, which was the only expression on his face.

When the [Spark] plan was first proposed by the Valantia family, most of the Union Parliament were not very interested. They were very confident in the current disaster avoidance mechanism and felt that the Valantia family was just trying to gain more resources and voice.

What’s more, the “continental island” designated as the place where the fire was preserved was actually a deserted island: the Ademir continent. Due to the scarcity of resources, countries basically did not expand or immigrate to that area. Only a small number of mountain people lived in the snow-capped mountain communities north of the Ademir continent, retaining their primitive customs.

In order to save face for the Volantia family, the various members of the parliament and the member states they represented eventually symbolically elected participants in the plan called “Consuls”. The mission of these people was to continue the unique cultural characteristics of their civilization on the mainland island when a major disaster occurred. Of course, they would not really prepare for this, and most of them were just selected for gilding.

Of course, Laplace could not forget the faces of those guys when Judgment Day happened, and they ran to the Ark very quickly.

At this time, he certainly didn’t want to hear anything about the Archon:

“Let me hear the good news about you first.”

After Laplace finished speaking, Elizabeth’s eyes sparkled with stars, and then she said shyly:

“I… um… that…”

“you are pregnant?”

Laplace interrupted Elizabeth’s shyness and patted him on the back of his head gently:

“…Hate it, can’t you let me say it myself…”

“Actually, I guessed it. This is a foreseeable result.” Laplace turned his head, his expression softened. “How long has it been?”

“Three…more than three months…”

“Not bad,” Laplace breathed a sigh of relief, “Pay attention to nutrition, rest, and don’t stay up too late.”

“Can’t you speak more like a father?” Elizabeth complained. “This is your child.”

“Are they twins?” Laplace looked at Elizabeth’s belly.

“You didn’t listen to me at all…” Elizabeth sighed, “The doctor said it should be a single baby, most likely a boy, um…”

“That’s good. He will become a leader and a guide, and inherit my unfinished work.”

“The baby isn’t even born yet, so curb your desire for control,” Elizabeth said angrily. “Besides, you can accomplish your career on your own.”

“What do you mean?” Laplace seemed to realize something.

“This is the third piece of news I want to tell you.” Elizabeth’s index finger slid across Laplace’s face. “The Archon submitted an application for the Hibernation Chamber experiment. Due to some factors, they seem to be eager to stay alive during the long years of pioneering so that they can witness the arrival of the new era with their own eyes.”

……

Extra) Tower of Babel (Part 3)

Laplace didn’t wait for Elizabeth. He put on his coat, walked out of the room, crossed the corridor, and came to the door of the conference room.

The door of the conference room was closed. A tall man with a bun stood by the door and nodded at Laplace.

“Eliza said you would be here soon and asked me to wait here.”

“【Crown Day】,” Laplace waved his hand, “Very good, Shelby, come in with me.”

“As you wish.”

The man called [Crown Day] nodded slightly. He was the elite guard of the Valantia family. To be more precise, he was Laplace’s personal guard. He used to work in the United Intelligence Agency and was probably the most powerful combat individual on the planet.

The [Spark] plan was an effort to continue civilization, but the moment the plan began, it was destined to deviate from the track of civilization.

Therefore, Laplace needed a gun to arm himself, and that gun was Shelby.

“…”

Shelby opened the door for Laplace, and Laplace walked in. The moment he showed up, the people who were talking at the conference table immediately fell silent.

Laplace walked straight to the end of the conference table, sat down on the single chair, and looked around.

Apart from the four people sitting next to Laplace, most of the people sitting at the table below were scientists. Most of them were people with a certain reputation in the scientific research organization [Academy] established by the Valantia family. However, they were worried at this time, and some of them even did not hide the tears in their eyes.

As for the four people sitting next to Laplace, they are the [Archons] in the Fire Continuation Plan.

“…”

After Shelby closed the door and stood behind Laplace, Laplace tapped the table lightly with his index finger:

“You seem to be discussing a great plan, but unfortunately, I seem to be excluded from it?”

“You misunderstood, Chief Consul Laplace,” a [Consul] said, “We are going to discuss a plan, and then…”

Before he could finish, Laplace tapped the table with his index finger, interrupting him. He ignored the archon’s expression becoming a little ugly, and spoke softly:

“I will not allow any incident beyond my control to happen on the Ark. This is the first time and will be the last time. Do you understand?”

The whole place was silent. No one dared to challenge Laplace who had predicted this disaster. The few resistant glances were forced back by the holster on Shelby’s waist behind Laplace.

“So, you plan to become immortal?” The silver eyes swept around. “While everyone else is pioneering, you plan to freeze yourselves like frozen food, and wait until the delicious soup of civilization is ready, and then thaw you and put you into the pot?”

“You are obviously biased,” said another [Consul] in an oriental accent, “As [Consuls], our mission is to continue the flame, but right now, we don’t know how long it will take to land on the surface. If we die, who will continue the flame?”

“Obviously, you’ve given this a lot of thought,” Laplace glanced at the Archon sarcastically. “Yes, your mission is to continue the fire. What a cool mission, but you’ve only just started thinking about it, right? Even though the Fire Project has been in place for three years, you haven’t made any advance preparations. Instead, you’ve treated the Archon’s badge as a golden mask in social situations. Oh, forgive me for saying this, but you do dance beautifully, miss. As for the rest, I don’t hold out any hope.”

Laplace ignored the archons beside him and looked at an old man in a white coat opposite him. He was a senior scientist in the Academy and a member of the Odin Council.

“Tom, how’s the plan going?”

“It went very smoothly,” the old man named Tom stood up and bowed to Laplace, “According to the resources and parts currently available on the Ark… we can build six life support systems…”

“Well, it’s the same as what I know.” Laplace’s words made the archons’ faces change. “Is there anything that needs to be improved in the blueprint I gave you?”

“Your design is perfect, but there are some flaws that will appear after 50-70 years of continuous operation. I have provided some reference opinions, and you can review them later.”

“Well, I see.”

Laplace motioned for Tom to sit down, and the old man sat down tremblingly. Even for the Odin people, whose average lifespan was about 100 years after genetic modification, Tom, who was 125 years old, was considered old.

The four [Archons] were obviously dumbfounded. They thought the hibernation chamber was a clever way for them to escape time, but they didn’t expect that Laplace had actually prepared it a long time ago.

They suddenly realized that they were many steps behind Laplace.

In fact, Laplace has thought of countless ways to spend the pioneering time, and the hibernation chamber is his final conclusion. It may be the capsule he uses to travel through time and space, which can allow him to reach that new world without any loss to pursue his truth.

But even so, he felt vaguely uneasy.

It’s not for any other reason, it’s just because when he is in the hibernation chamber, he will fall into an unconscious state, and at that time he has no control over the outside world.

Laplace hated losing control.

“…”

Laplace stood up and looked around again, especially at the four archons:

“The hibernation chamber will be put into operation in two months, but I don’t think you are qualified to enter. Oh, don’t look at me like that. This is not directed at any of you. I hope you can strive for a place in the hibernation chamber through your own efforts. At the same time, I also welcome others on the Ark to strive for this position.”

“Excuse me, Chief Archon, but this goes against the original intention of the Spark Plan.” A Archon gritted his teeth.

“Oh?” Laplace raised his eyebrows. “You mean, you followed the original intention of the [Spark] plan?”

For a moment, the entire conference room was silent. The consul’s face turned blue and purple, and finally he lowered his head and looked at the table weakly.

“Oh, by the way,” Laplace clapped his hands, “Only four of the six cabins are open for competition, and the remaining two are reserved by me.”

Without further explanation, he waved his hand and left the meeting room under Shelby’s escort.

Of course, he has the right to hold two cabins. He is the pioneer of the “Spark” plan and is also an advance preparer.

Moreover, unlike those archons who only seek personal gain, he has something precious to protect.

“Laplace, how is it?”

Leaving the conference room, Laplace saw Elizabeth standing in the corridor. She was already dressed, wearing a clean white shirt, a tie, and a hip-hugging skirt that fit her curves. Such a mature outfit still couldn’t hide her youthfulness.

Looking at Elizabeth’s delicate and beautiful face, Laplace wished that time would stop at this moment.

Before the door to the conference room closed behind him, he stepped forward, pressed Elizabeth against the wall, and kissed her.

……

Extra) Tower of Babel (Part 4)

Laplace fell in love with Elizabeth in one night.

For him, the world before his eyes is always made up of numbers and logic. He can calculate the number of years before a building collapses based on its structure and materials, and he can deduce the characteristics of factor energy through different theories. Everything can be explained in his eyes.

But he couldn’t explain Elizabeth.

In fact, Laplace did not get to know Elizabeth much after she became his assistant. He just focused on the experiment at hand. Elizabeth was just a replaceable part responsible for recording data. Even if she was gone, there would be someone else to take her place.

He is a genius and doesn’t need anyone’s help.

Until that starry night.

That day, Laplace finished his work for the day. In the early morning, he asked Elizabeth to make him a pot of tea, and then he went to the rooftop of the building alone.

He walked to the edge of the rooftop and looked up at the starry sky. His silver eyes reflected the light of the starry sky in the dark night.

The starry sky, that was the only thing he could not understand.

To be precise, he could understand that the light of stars light years away traveled through the universe and reached his eyes, but what he could not understand was the strange feeling that burst out from the bottom of his heart when he looked up at the starry sky.

He felt himself being watched, and at the same time, a feeling close to pleasure repeatedly washed over him.

He could not understand the starry sky, but he enjoyed bathing in starlight immensely, which was why he always went to the top floor of the building at night and spent some time alone.

During this period of time, he was insignificant, but he was willing to be insignificant.

“…”

“Professor Laplace, your tea.”

When he heard light footsteps, Laplace knew it was Elizabeth. In fact, this was not the first time Elizabeth brought tea to Laplace.

Normally, Laplace would not spend too much time looking at Elizabeth’s face. He would just take the tea, say thank you, and continue with the work at hand.

But that night, perhaps because Elizabeth’s footsteps were exceptionally light, or perhaps because he caught a glimpse of the reflection of the starlight falling on the girl’s pupils, he turned to look at Elizabeth’s face.

Once he saw it, he could never forget it.

“The starry sky is always beautiful recently…” Elizabeth murmured as she looked at the sky, “When can I go to those stars?”

After looking for a while, Elizabeth lowered her head and suddenly found that Laplace was looking at her.

“Professor Laplace, what’s wrong?” The girl tilted her head slightly.

Laplace didn’t know how to describe his feelings. He saw the stars falling into Elizabeth’s sapphire eyes, and saw the assistant’s long black hair flowing over her slender shoulders after a busy day. At that moment, he suddenly realized that he was looking at something exactly like the starry sky.

He couldn’t understand his current emotions: Elizabeth, like all human beings, had two eyes, a nose, and a mouth, but when put together, she was so beautiful that he was speechless.

He could not understand what this effect was, just as he could not understand why those literary young people became depressed and sleepless because of poetry, and he could not understand why he felt a throbbing sensation because of Elizabeth’s face.

“Your name is… Elizabeth, right?”

“Right…right…Professor?” Elizabeth was a little nervous. “Did I…did I do something wrong?”