The Mysterious Rock
序
Preface
在四十亿年前，太阳系还处于其襁褓之期，地球还是尚未冷却的一团熔岩。空间中的石块汇聚，崩裂，似一个个无情的梭子将地球刚刚冷凝形成的表层强暴地撕裂。每一次撞击都伴随着漫天飞迸的烈焰，这种撞击每小时可以发生上千次，使得地球表面布满了地狱般的暗红涟漪。
Four billion years ago, the Solar System was still in its infancy and Earth remained a molten mass that was yet to be cooled. Stones in space collided and shattered – like relentless shuttles that violently tore away the newly-condensed surface of the Earth. Every impact was accompanied by a burst of flames, occurring thousands of times per hour and leaving the Earth’s surface boiling with hellish dark-red ripples.
突然，几个恰到好处撞击引发的连锁反应使得年轻地球的地幔压力剧升——几个陨石激出的熔岩激波聚在了一点，鬼斧神差地促成了一个超临界反应堆。一瞬间，涟漪们躁动了起来，开始散发出耀眼的白光，释放的热能呈指数级增长，硅酸盐等物质被瞬间蒸发。那天，如果有人在火星上仰望天空，会发现夜晚的星空多出了一颗星星——那是被核爆撕裂的地球。
Suddenly, chain reactions triggered by the right impacts caused a sharply increased mantle pressure on the young Earth - lava shockwaves scattered by multiple meteorites intersected at a point that coincidentally sparked a supercritical reactor. In an instant, the resulting ripple became turbulent, beginning to radiate blinding glimmers of white. The released thermal energy surged exponentially while substances such as silicates were instantaneously evaporated. On that day, had a bystander looked up at the night sky on Mars, they would’ve beheld a peculiar new star - that is the Earth torn asunder by nuclear explosions.
地球被炸成了一大一小两块，大的成为了我们今天的地球，而小的那块——没错，就是我们的月球。
The Earth was violently blown to pieces- one big one, which later became the Earth, and one small one, the Moon.
而这亿万年前的史诗级核爆不但创造了月球，还为人类在地球深处埋藏了可怕的礼物…
The epic explosion from billions of years ago not only ultimately created the Moon, but also buried a foreboding present for humanity deep within Earth’s core.
一
铃铃铃…
Ring…
一阵刺耳的电话铃传来，把做着美梦的俞老二惊出一身冷汗。“谁这么混，12点多给我打电话…”他想着，睡眼朦胧地接起电话。电话那头传来郝副队长慌乱的声音：“俞队，你快过来！矿上出事了！”俞老二是霍格雷尔矿区上出了名的老滑头，平时也不怎么上矿，就只是让同矿班上的副队长带班，现在听到矿上出了事，他这酒一下子就醒了。俞老二努力着撑开肿胀的双眼，摸索到了之前床边放着的烟。一口猛吸，烟卷瞬间燃下去大半截。
A shrill ring of the telephone bell pierced through the air and jolted Yu Lao’er, who was immersed in a wonderful dream, to burst into a cold sweat. “Who the hell is calling me so late?” He groaned as he lethargically picked up the phone. Vice-captain Hao’s panicked voice could be heard from the other end: “Captain Yu, please come here ASAP! There’s been an accident in the mine!” Yu Lao’er, a notorious old fox in the Hogrel mining area, doesn’t usually go to the mine but instead leaves the responsibility of leading the shift to the assistant captain. But upon hearing the news, he was forced to sober up. Rubbing his eyes, he groped for the cigarette that he had left on the bedside before. He took a deep drag and the cigarette sparked to life in an instant.
“等着，我这就来。”
“Wait, I’ll be there right away”
“倒了八辈子血霉了真是…”俞老二下矿井之前几乎把他这辈子知道的所有脏话骂了个遍。
“What rotten luck…”Before heading down to the mine, Yu Lao’er let out a torrent of expletives, using every vulgar word he had ever heard in his life.
自打辉谷矿业集团发明出了复式智能强化集矿法，使用了机器人帮忙勘测并指导挖掘，矿井意外发生的概率相比从前被大大地降低。老俞的矿队几年来没发生一场事故了，最小的也没有，他甚至好奇究竟什么还能再引起一场事故。
Since Huigu Mining Group has invented the compound intelligent enhanced mining procedure, leveraging robotics to survey and guide excavation, the risk of mine accidents has been dramatically reduced compared to the past. Yu’s mining crew hasn’t encountered a single accident in the past few years, not even a slight one. Thinking about what could possibly cause an accident essentially leaves him perplexed.
俞老二负责的开采区在地下197000多米，瓦斯爆炸这种低级的意外应该不会出现了。矿井里在开采后都会被一种叫冷凝气的混合气体物质填满。这玩意阻燃，比热容极高，是水的几十万倍。工人下矿只需要套一层防尘膜，带着一个口罩大小的呼吸气体交换机就可以直接在气体里干活。
The mining area in the charge of Yu Lao’er is over 197,000 meters underground, and things involving small-scale explosions like gases should not have happened. That’s because after mining, the mine will be filled with a mixture of gases known as condensed gas. It is flame retardant and has an impressive specific heat capacity worth several hundred thousand times that of water. Workers only need to cover a layer of dust film when going down the mine, and they can work directly in the gas with a respirator-sized breathing gas exchanger.
俞老二带好了装备就赶紧下了矿。矿梯门开了——一股浓浓的暖流迎面扑来，余老二暗叫不妙。 这股桑拿般的热流对于常年保持25度矿井来讲显然是有些怪了。
Yu Lao’er grabbed his equipment and hastily darted toward the mine. As soon as the door to the mining ladder opened - a thick, warm current embraced him, and he felt horrible suspicion. This sauna-like heat, keeping the mine’s temperature at 25 degrees Celsius all year round, was peculiar indeed
远处隐隐传来喊叫声和慌乱的脚步声。“坏了”，俞老二的步伐渐渐地快了起来，最后变成了狂奔。隔离门指示灯的蜂鸣声越来越近，俞老二只感到闷热感愈发强烈。等到采区口时，他已经是上气不接下气。
Yielding distant shouts and hurried footsteps, “Damn”, Yu Lao’er upped his pace, almost running at full speed. With the irritating, buzzing sound of the warning indicator coming nearer and nearer, he felt a stronger feverish sensation. By the time Yu Lao’er reached the entrance of the mining area, he was already out of breath.
矿区里面烟雾缭绕––—消防系统正在努力工作，它们和俞老二一样对于这个将它们从睡梦中乍醒的意外十分困惑，唯一的不同是他们现在知道自己应该干什么。零星的电火花从掉落的断裂电缆中迸发出来，在冷凝气和消防粉末的双重压力下倔强地黯淡下去。
Smoke engulfed the mining site and the fire control system was working hard, leaving them and many miners who were just woken up by the accident completely overwhelmed. The only difference is that they now know what they should do. Some sporadic electric sparks erupted through the broken-down wires as they were extinguished by the condensate and fire powder.
俞老二看到了正在疏散人群的副队长，跑了过去。
Yu Lao’er located the vice-captain evacuating the people and ran over to him.
“什么情况？”
“What’s the problem?”
俞老二僵着脸强作镇定地问。
He asked, attempting to remain calm.
“第三钻道炸了…有人说当时好像钻出来了个白色的石块，没过几秒就开始冒热发光，亮的睁不开眼，然后就炸了。”
’The third drilling hole exploded... Some people said that at that time, it seemed like a white stone popped up, and within a few seconds, it started emitting heat and light with such intensity that it was impossible to open their eyes, and then it exploded”
俞老二眼睛望向第三钻道，钻道口周围的岩壁还隐约泛着些暗红。
Yu Lao’er’s gaze shifted towards the third drilling hole - the rock walls around it displayed some faint dark red hue.
“人有事么？”
“Are they all right?”
“人都没啥大碍，就是那玩意直接把智能监督机给干成灰了。”
“Yes, no one was hurt and only the surveillance machine got destroyed.
“扯淡，地下有这么离谱的东西那玩意探测不出来？”俞老二质疑道。
“Weird. Don’t you believe those outrageous things have gone unnoticed?” Yu Lao’er questioned.
副队长盯着他的脸没说话，那意思你爱信不信。
The vice-captain stared at his face and said nothing, telling a sense of “whether you believe it or not”.
第二天，俞老二所在的矿区总管带着几个专家和一大堆管理层的人来了现场。俞老二被骂的够呛，大气都不敢出一个，黯黯地低头跟在那群人后面。
The following day, the supervisor of the mining site where Yu Lao’er was stationed summoned several specialists and a sizable team of management personnel to the site. Yu Lao’er was savagely reviled and holding his breath, he trailed the group with his head bowed.
一整个上午，总管请来的那些专家都在忙着架起一台台奇形怪状的仪器，在监测终端上敲下一行行深奥晦涩的代码，还有与同事交头接耳。下午5点，总管和管理层与科学家们开了个闭关会。俞老二和矿区的工人们在外面等着，听从发落。
Experts invited by the supervisor buzzed throughout the morning, setting up strange instruments, programming enigmatic code on their monitoring terminals, and engaging in hushed exchanges with their peers. At 5 pm, the supervisor and the management convened with the scientists in a confidential meeting. Outside, Yu Lao’er and the other miners waited for the guidance of the superior.
会议持续了2个小时。当会议结束领导们都面无表情地走出来时，俞老二甚至都没发现，他正在聚精会神地望着远处的夕阳在山丘上映下的最后一抹红霞。
The meeting lasted for 2 hours. When the leaders walked out expressionless at the end of the meeting, Yu Lao’er didn’t even notice that as his discerning eyes were glued to the final scarlet bout of the sunset painting the hills,
不出意外，俞老二被降级了。下矿的时候，俞老二的电子工作牌已经不再是象征着区级矿队队长的绿色，而是蓝色——最普通的开采工作准许证。这就意味着他无法再享受单独进出矿区的特权了，现在只能与工人们一起进出。俞老二的副队长，或许现在更应该叫他队长，因为这个事情转正了。他现在再看俞老二时的眼神里有一半是怜悯，还有一半是大仇得报似的洋洋得意。
It was no surprise that Yu Lao’er was demoted. When mining, his electronic work card no longer boasted the green symbol of a district-level mining captain but was now blue - the most common mining permit. This meant that he could no longer enjoy the privilege of entering and exiting the mining area by himself, but must instead go in and out with the workers. His former vice-captain - or perhaps, the new captain - gave him a look half of pity and half of the revengeful triumph when he looked at Yu Lao’er again.
俞老二郁闷的不行，下班后就跟着几个老朋友出去喝酒。他们来到矿区上一个露天酒吧，虽然抵不过降级的糟心，但他觉得在露天的环境下欣赏着晚霞喝酒还算是惬意至极，几个人喝的十分舒坦。他们从傍晚一直喝到天上可见繁星点点。
Yu Lao’er was engulfed in a pit of despondence, so he followed some of his old mates to an open-air bar in the mining area for a few drinks after work. Despite the upset mood caused by demotion, the pleasant, sunset ambiance coupled with the friendliness of the group created an enjoyable, laid-back atmosphere. Together they toasted with their drinks until they could start to spot the twinkling stars in the night sky.
借着醉意，俞老二含含糊糊地张开嘴问：“哎，就总管开的那个会，职位低点的管理层都不让进去，有没有知道到底说了什么的？”
Under the influence of intoxication, Yu Lao’er mumbled, “The meeting held by the general manager is not open to management at the lower level. Is there anybody knowing what was discussed?”
一桌子人的兴致一下子就起来了，一个个把头都凑到了桌前，压低声音——毕竟谁也不敢在集团的管区大声讲这些东西。“我有个朋友的亲戚是管理层的，”一个人说，“说那帮专家好像在地下深处发现了一条矿层，里面全是高能量物质，一般机器还探测不到。”
The collective interest of the group quickly peaked as they leaned in and hushed their voices - after all, no one dared to make a scene in the group’s administrative district. “My friend’s relative is from the management team,” one person voiced. “It appears that the experts have discovered a mineral layer lying deep beneath the surface; that is filled with high-energy substances which cannot be detected by conventional machines.”
“那什么高能量的物质是不是就是当时挖出来那白色的玩意儿？”
“Is that high-energy substance the white thing dug up at the time”
“应该是。”那人确信地点点头。
“Yes. “ The person nodded confidently.
“我想起一个杂志上的段子，说在地球很深的地方有一个大炸药仓库，专门卖炸弹给那些大国使用，只要用随便一点就是一发原子弹那么大的威力。” 一个新来的小伙子说到。
“I still remember the story featured in a magazine. That claimed a big explosive warehouse is well hidden in the bowels of the earth and it supplies various forms of bombs for those big powers. With a tiny quantity, the outcome can be as devastating as that of an atomic bomb.” A young newcomer said;
“然后呢？”
“And then?”
“然后有次一个军事部部长带着他儿子参观的时候，那孩子手欠不知道按到了什么开关，把一仓库的火药全点着了了，烧了三天三夜，把南极都给热化下去一大圈。国家们为了抢夺资源，但起因就是一个小男孩…想想是不是还挺讽刺的？”
“Then a military minister took his son on a tour and the child accidentally pressed a switch in the armory which ignited all the gunpowder in the warehouse. It burned for three days and three nights and even heat up a large area in the Antarctic. The countries were seizing resources but the true culprit was a mere little boy. Isn’t that quite ironic?
“嘿，这上过大学的就是不一样！” 另一旁醉醺醺的拍了拍小伙子调侃道。
“Ah, a college boy is definitely a cut above the rest!” The young man jokingly remarked as he drunkenly patted his companion on the back.
几个人又天马行空地聊了半天，等都醉的不行了才晃晃悠悠地各自回家。
A few merrymakers continued their spirited conversation until they were all too tanked up to trek home.
那天会议后，听完专家们的汇报的矿区总管当晚就给在首都的总部发了一封邮件，第二天就飞去了首都。
After listening to the experts’ reports at the meeting that day, the mining area manager promptly sent an email to headquarters in the capital that night and flew to the capital the next day.
出了航站楼，在去公司总部的路上，总管望着两边高耸入云的摩天巨物缓缓后退，不禁开始惆怅起来。
After stepping out of the terminal and heading towards the headquarters, the manager was struck by a wave of melancholic nostalgia as he watched the metropolitan skyline gradually fading away on the horizon.
他得有好几年没来首都了，他的老婆和孩子都在这边。孩子今年正在上5年级，这几年来面也都没能见上几次。
He had not visited the capital for many years, and his family was there. His child was in 5th grade and they had not seen each other several times in the past.
其实他可以在首都工作，但办公室里的文职肯定没有地方矿区总管的工资高。况且除钱外，人脉也是很重要的资源。他最近就在苦恼，自己五大三粗的，也不知道给那帮教育局的秀才们送什么才能把孩子在首都这边重点初中上学的事落实。他又想到那封邮件，那封他发给总部有关于那奇怪石头的邮件。
In fact, he could work in the capital, but the salary for desk jobs was considerably lower than the job of a local mining area manager. Moreover, besides money, one needs strong social connections. Recently, he was still bothered why he, a forthright stalwart, didn’t give some gifts to officials in the Ministry of Education so that his child was allowed to attend key junior high schools in the capital. He again thought about the email he had sent to headquarters about the odd stone.
向总部汇报那么危险和不稳定的高能矿带基本就等同于判了霍格雷尔矿区一个死刑。根据现在的法律，这么危险的矿带是一定要封锁的。
Submitting a report to headquarters regarding this volatile and hazardous mining zone would be tantamount to dooming the Hogrel mining area. As dictated by current regulations, this perilous mining zone must be immediately contrived.
作为拥有着目前全世界最深的矿井的矿区和他的管区，霍格雷尔矿区对于总他来说简直就像亲人一样。他当然不希望陪伴了自己这么多年的矿区停业，但是出于安全考虑与对公司和工人们的负责，他还是决定向公司汇报高能矿带的事情。
Hogrel is the mining area with the deepest mine in the world and he has jurisdiction over it, so it feels like a close family member to him. The last thing he wishes for is the mining area he had devoted himself to for many years will shut down. But fully aware of safety considerations and responsibility to the company and workers, he still decided to report the high-energy mining belt to the company.
他已经五十多岁了，有妻子和正在上学的孩子，也于是时候从那片充满着财富，矿灰和机油的地方离开了。
Already in his fifties, he has a wife and a child who attends school. It is also the time for him to leave the place full of wealth, mineral ash, and oil.
总管的思绪就被出租车司机的声音拉回了现实：
The taxi driver’s words abruptly brought him back to reality:
“霍尔斯大厦到了。”
“The Holes Building is here.”
“哦..好，谢谢。”
“Oh… okay, thank you,” he replied.
他将钱转给司机后就下了车，向大厦前门走去。在经过两分钟在高速电梯的等待后，他终于来到了公司总部所在的大厦顶层。电梯门打开，总裁已经在大厅等待了，见到他出来了便迎过来微笑着拍了拍他的肩膀：“快来吧，各位专家都在我的办公室里等着呢。”
After handing over the money to the driver, the manager left the car to walk up to the entrance. After two minutes of taking the high-speed elevator, he finally reached the top floor of the building where the company headquarters is located. As the elevator door opened, he found the CEO already waiting in the lobby, smiling at him and patting his shoulder: “Come, all the experts are already waiting for you in my office.”
总管有些疑惑，他从总裁的脸上找不到苦恼，找不到愤怒，甚至还找到了一丝狡猾的兴奋，这是他所不能理解的。
The manager was in a state of bafflement. He noticed the CEO’s face was not reflecting distress or anger—but rather, a hint of cunning excitement, which he could not understand.
他跟着总裁走向了他的办公室，镶在光滑的高级玻璃门中闪闪发亮的贵金属名牌上镌刻着：“Mr.迈尔斯”。办公室里面已经做了几位西装革履，抱着笔记本电脑的人，看起来像专家，正在浏览着他之前发的邮件里附录的调查报告。
He followed the CEO to his office, where a polished precious metal nameplate embedded in a glossy glass door marked “Mr. Miles”. several men in suits were sitting holding a laptop looks like an expert and they were browsing the investigation report in the appendix of his previous email.
总裁一屁股坐在他那宽大的工作椅上，那椅子宽的像沙发，是暴发户地产和矿业大亨们钟爱的类型。总裁将身子舒舒服服地陷在他的沙发椅中，说到：“我知道你这次来是想向我亲自说明这个事情，还想在总部找个差不多的职位。但是你不用担心矿区和你总管的位置，一切照常运行。”
The CEO settled himself in his spacious chair, much like the sofa favored by real estate nouveau riche and mining tycoons. He comfortably seat down on his sofa chair and said, “I know you’re here to explain this matter to me and secure a place for yourself at headquarters. But don’t worry about the mine and your position, and everything will continue as usual.”
“领导，我..我不太理解，这个矿带…”
“Mr. Miles, I... I’m still at a loss,” the manager said. “The mining…belt?”
“这就是我还是让你来这里的原因，这会是一个前所未有的商机。”
“That’s why I still sent you here. This will be an unprecedented business opportunity.”
这位迈尔斯先生点上了一只雪茄。
Mr. Miles lit a cigar.
“出现在你矿区的这种矿物是一种前所未有的能量密度极高的物质” 总裁拿雪茄指了指坐在他身边的那几个抱着电脑的人，“这种矿物很可能仅存在于你管辖的矿区里，只不过经过这么多年的开采我们才刚刚到达它们的分布区域。”
The mineral that appears in your mining area is an unprecedented material with extremely high energy density, “the CEO pointed to the few people holding computers sitting next to him with a cigar.” This mineral is likely to only exist in the mining area under your jurisdiction, but after so many years of mining, we have just come to their distribution area
总管听完后更加的疑惑了：“但是按照法律…”
After listening, the manager became even more puzzled: “But according to the law…”
“别这么急嘛。”
“Take it easy”
迈尔斯示意了一下，旁边的一个人就将他抱着的电脑摆在了桌子上，朝向他和总管。
Miles gestured, and the person next to him placed the computer he was holding on the table, facing him and the manager.
“矿区中挖出的这种物质是一种能量密度极高的矿物，正如总管先生所说。这种矿石是一种核子湮灭物质，也就是说他的质子和中子甚至都不是稳定的，一点微小的扰动都能够使得整个物质幻灭成一团夸克电子云，有着比铀还高的质能转换率。这意味着这个矿物是一种前所未有，极其高效的能源，同时，比铀还高的能量释放也使得它可以被用来制造…”
“The minerals discovered in the belt have an unprecedentedly high energy density,” revealed the speaker. “as the manager said, These minerals are a kind of nuclear annihilation material, that is, its protons and neutrons are not stable, and even a slight disturbance can cause them to collapse into a quark-electron cloud with a mass-energy conversion rate far greater than that of uranium. This makes these minerals a new and extremely efficient source of energy. Moreover, the higher energy release than uranium also means these minerals can be used for manufacturing.”
“效率远超核聚变的湮灭反应堆，” 迈尔斯说道，站了起来，拍了拍演讲人的肩示意他可以停下了。 “你能想象这是多大的市场吗？目前世界上只有我们有足够的能力去尝试开采这种矿物，” 迈尔斯对总管说到。
“The annihilation reactor is far more efficient than nuclear fusion,” Miles said, rising from his chair and patting the speaker on the shoulder to signal that he could stop. “can you imagine the size of the market it will be? Right now, only we are capable of mining this mineral.” Miles told the manager.
“行了，你先回去等我下一步的通知吧。” 迈尔斯摆摆手。
“Alright, you may now return and wait for my news, ” Miles waved his hand.
