“No, my dear friend, we did not fall into a black hole, nor were we caught by the huge gravity. On the contrary, we passed by it! The gravity was like a slingshot, shooting us towards the shining stars in the night sky. We are witnessing the shining star ahead of us, and the mother star behind us slowly becoming darker. We will take the torch far away, and wait for the good news to guide your children…”
Anderina was facing a holographic screen. She was sitting in an office and reading the passage in the tone of an announcer.
In fact, writing these words that she devoted the most energy to was not her job. As a journalist, her professional ethics did not allow her to mix rhetoric in rigorous press releases.
She always felt that this job seriously underestimated her talent. Instead of writing boring press releases, she hoped that those who read her words would be sad, happy, or excited because of her language.
She even made up her mind.
One day, she would publish her novel under the pseudonym Anna and make this pseudonym the most widely circulated name on the planet.
When that happened, she would throw her resignation letter on her boss’ desk fiercely and scream her complaints that accumulated over the years to him.
While thinking about this, the door of the office suddenly opened. There was no time for her to turn off the holographic screen. A middle-aged man in a formal suit walked in.
“Ms. Anderina, it’s not appropriate to take breaks at work.”
“I know, Mr. Tedra, but my work has been done, and lunch break is in two minutes.” Looking at him and feeling a little annoyed, Anderina couldn’t help but complain, “And can’t you knock on the door before you come in?”
“But there is still two minutes left, isn’t there?” Ignoring the second half of her sentence, the man called Tedra glanced at his watch and said in a rigid tone, “This is the second time this month I find you slacking at work. I hope there won’t be a third time.”
“Nobody likes a stingy man,” Anderina whispered. Anderina quickly coughed and changed the subject. “Speaking of which, do you need anything from me?”
“I need you to go to the North Sea Alliance tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”
“North Sea Alliance? For what?”
The North Sea Alliance had almost been marginalized because it barely caught on the train of the space age.
Anderina didn’t think there was any news worth digging there, and if it was a business trip, she would prefer to go to places like California or the Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta city groups on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
“We booked an interview with an archaeologist. Don’t you really admire that Academician Lu? You even wrote him into your little novel? It just so happened that the old popsicle was dug out by Professor Leonard. You can ask him some questions that are of interest to everyone.”
Anderina admitted that this was indeed a very attractive proposal, but what made her dissatisfied was that he actually called her idol an old popsicle and made her dreams sound worthless.
“Hey, what do you mean little novel! I will publish it—”
“Enough, I don’t care, just don’t mix those crappy manuscripts into the press release. Anyway, I want you to give me a schedule and interview outline on my desk before I get off work… If you still cherish your job…”
Anderina’s arrogance suddenly collapsed like a deflated balloon.
The reason why she chose to bow her head was not because of how much she loved this job, but because jobs in this era were really hard to find.
The Iberian-French Alliance was not like the Pan-Asian Cooperation. The rich social welfare had been extravagant to the point that even the unemployed could live a decent life.
Looking at Anderina, who had her head down, Tedra smirked, showing a smug expression on his face.
However, just when he was about to berate this girl, the door of the office suddenly opened again, and a middle-aged man with a shiny forehead walked in from outside.
Looking at the man who walked into the office, there was a surprised expression on Tedra’s face.
Not because of his abrupt actions, but because of his status…
“Boss? Why are you…”
“Something huge happened on Mars!”
Tedra calmed down and asked in an uncertain tone, “Another fight?”
“No, it has nothing to do with that.” Purcell placed down his chubby right hand. He stared at Anderina, then at her supervisor, Tedra, and he continued with excitement, “I need your department to send someone to Mars immediately!”
Tedra opened his mouth and spoke with a somewhat embarrassed expression.
“But… we only have one reporter left. And this reporter booked an interview with Professor Leonard, who has made new progress on the research of Mars civilization…”
Purcell thumped the table with his fists. He stared at the two people and said, “Who cares about the Mars civilization? No one is interested in this old story. The important thing is keeping up with the times. Do you understand!”
“But… I don’t understand, why do you want to go to Mars at this time?” Looking at her boss in disbelief, Anderina’s eyes widened, “Even if there is big news there… It will take at least two weeks to get there! After we reach our destination, will it still be relevant?”
Purcell didn’t care about the worries of his own employees. He said indifferently, “It’s only two weeks. As long as you move fast enough, it shouldn’t be too late.”
Anderina felt a headache while looking at her persistent boss.
After pinching the bridge of her nose, she spoke in a weak tone.
“What is the news… Is it about corporate debt again? Or did you hear new gossip—”
Interrupting Anderina’s words, Purcell reached out his index finger and tapped twice in the air, pushing a holographic interface in front of her.
Looking at the holographic screen presented in front of her, Anderina was slightly stunned. All of her attention was completely attracted by the words on the screen.
“What’s this…”
Tedra couldn’t help but mutter to himself, “This is… big f*cking news.”
Anderina didn’t speak. All of her thoughts had already flown to a place far away.
The traditional way of navigation would be abandoned or confined to between planets and celestial bodies around them, and the interstellar travel method that she mentioned in her novel using gravitational slingshots would also become ancient technology.
An unprecedented new world would slowly unfold in front of her.
From communication to travel, from lifestyle to shopping, everything would be changed…
