同章对照

The room erupted into chaos the moment time resumed.

Red lasers and space-piercing bullets faced shockwaves, solar flares, streams of pressurized water, and a storm of glass. Yet it was a kung-fu-powered bear that made the most spectacular contribution, smashing through the Alchemist clones’ barricades right after Mr. Wave. The Panda pulverized two clones while leaking blood from half a dozen lasers, transforming back and forth to regenerate, always staying on the move to avoid a fatal blow.

Ryan himself did his part, punching any clone within his reach while quipping. However, the situation had become so confusing that he needed to freeze time to check up on his allies. Mr. Wave was busy poking the Alchemist’s clones to death, Shroud shielded his allies with reinforced glass barriers, while an enraged Sarin fired shockwave after shockwave in a berserk rage.

Yet no matter the group’s ferocity, the Alchemist’s numbers only increased.

One Eva Fabre clone duplicated by a factor of ten, and the new doppelgangers followed her example. Most appeared unarmed, or with ‘human’ weapons such as rifles and guns. However, a few of the original doubles used strange gauntlet devices to teleport alien weapons to equip their copycats. Ryan figured that they used the same principle as Mars’ power, accessing an armory in a separate pocket dimension.

Which also meant that while the Alchemist’s power could replicate physical matter, Flux-based tech remained beyond her reach. It made sense in a way. Eva Fabre was a Blue Genome, so how could she replicate the source of Green or Red powers?

Ryan decided to focus on the clones’ suppliers first, but some of the new recruits materialized with suicide belts and attempted to blow themselves up in his face. The courier was forced to repel them using his armor’s weapons.

Unfortunately, this gave time for the clone army to organize. When they realized that Ryan was trying to make a beeline to the gate they were protecting, the suppliers among the doppelgangers distributed gauntlet devices to a regiment of new recruits. Two dozen Evas formed a barrier of bodies, their tools projecting a crimson shield. A beehive-like hexagonal barrier now protected the gates, one tough enough to resist Ryan’s gravity gun.

Guessing what Ryan had in mind, Mr. Wave attempted to assist, turning into a laser and smashing into the clones’ defense. The crimson shield repelled him, so he tried again, and again, prodding the barrier from all angles, even jumping into the air to strike the defenders from above. Though the doppelgangers held the line, their shields often flickered on impact. Much like E.T.’s technology, their machinery ran on a limited supply of juice and would eventually run out.

However, for once in Ryan’s life, time wasn’t on his side. Not only were the clones summoning more of themselves, they also organized better. Groups of energy-shield users formed security barriers around the arsenal suppliers, allowing them to arm the reinforcements with minimal interference. Two groups of six laser users each trapped the Panda in a pincer attack, and though the manbear moved swifter than lightning, he couldn’t outrun light. The doppelgangers gave him no breathing room and pushed him back against the Orange World portal, slowly, but certainly…

By now, the dead released so many blue Flux particles that the whole room looked like a Smurf party.

“Riri, behind you!” Len shouted just as time resumed, the courier noticing two Evas raising a rifle with a two-meter wide barrel at him. He barely had the time to dodge to the side to avoid a Green Flux blast, which ended up turning the metal walls into wood upon impact.

“Oh, an eco-responsible weapon!” Ryan said, as Len beheaded the clones with a stream of pressurized water. Shortie moved to cover him, while he engaged the nearest doubles in melee. “I want one!”

If only they weren’t trying to exterminate the last Panda, the Evas might have been true planeteers.

His other allies didn’t fare any better. Some clones could see Shroud even while he turned invisible, and forced him to stay on the defensive by raising glass barriers to stop projectile volleys. Sarin’s shockwaves overpowered shield-users, but her power armor had cracks here and there. Only Leo Hargraves pushed the clones back rather than otherwise, bombarding them with blinding, fiery blasts.

Sarin’s repeated shockwaves ended up structurally damaging the room, and a good fourth of the floor collapsed to reveal a black sea of alien machinery and energy cables below the metal panels. Sunshine raised an advancing wall of flames, trapping hundreds of Evas between his fire and the floor’s hole.

In response, a clone threw a round silver device at Leo Hargraves. The Living Sun quickly melted it in midair, but his action caused the device to unleash a six-meters wide wave of immaculate energy.

The white pulse destroyed any doppelganger it touched, and more worrying, instantly reverted Sunshine to his human form. The Carnival’s leader fell down and would have died hitting the floor below, if Mr. Wave hadn’t disengaged from his assault on the forceshield to catch his ally in time. Shroud immediately raised barriers after barriers of glass to protect his teammates, but this only allowed the clones to surround the trio, their focused lasers slowly melting the defenses.

Worse, the orange portal in the room flickered, and the same cubic monster from last time started crossing through; perhaps the chaos in the room had caught its attention. In any case, the Panda was the closest to the rift when the creature stepped through, and it summarily kicked the bear out of the way. Clones tried to repel the Orange World creature with a projectile volley, but only managed to halt its arrival.

This was getting nowhere.

“The real one is not here!” Ryan shouted through his armor’s loudspeakers, pointing a hand at the gates. He had moved no more than a few meters away from it with judicious applications of his power, but the shield-users still barred the way. “She’s behind these doors!”

He doubted that any of his teammates heard him except for Shortie, until Sarin’s voice echoed over the melee. “Move out of the way, nerd!”

Ryan activated his armor’s jetpack and flew away, as a mighty shockwave pulverized the clone regiment guarding the gates, short-circuiting their shields and vaporizing the wielders. However, the blast failed to affect the doors themselves, with no crack appearing on their blue surface. Still, it allowed the courier and Len to reach the gates.

Then the firing stopped.

Ryan peeked over his shoulder, watching as a crimson and orange shape emerged from the hole Sarin made in the ground. A monstrous reptile in advanced power armor, whose very sight caused the unfazed Eva clones to freeze in terror.

E.T.’s little brother had come, and brought its nephews.

A dozen alien soldiers emerged from the holes gargling and roaring. Most were carbon copies of the creature Ryan’s group defeated earlier, but one of them was twice the normal size, a horned horror with nine eyes and great draconic wings.

A species instinct that never truly died awakened, as the humans in the room briefly stopped their battle to focus on the outside threat. The Eva clones pointed their weapons at the newcomers, while Sunshine managed to transform back into a fiery sun and bathed the alien vanguard with searing flames.

The extraterrestrial creatures responded by teleporting around the room, tearing through Eva’s doppelgangers with claws and beams. The winged alien instead chased after Sunshine, while an E.T. turned its armor into adamantine and attempted to tear the Panda apart. Another soldier noticed Ryan and Len, but was forced to deal with a group of Evas before it could give pursuit.

If one of these aliens had been a match for his entire team, a whole group of them would tear through any opposition. Ryan’s group and the Alchemist could resist for a while, maybe even win, but if more of these critters arrived...

Well, Ryan was in no hurry to reload now.

Mr. Wave, who had raced across the room to get the Panda to safety behind Shroud’s glass barrier, briefly stopped at Ryan and Len’s side. “Mr. Wave and co will hold them off,” the genome said, as an alien soldier roared at them. “Go get them, tiger!”

“You’re sure?” Len asked, worried. She understood that they would only buy minutes.

“Mr. Wave has never been happier!” The living laser raised a thumb up. “He can kill them more than once!”

Ryan didn’t find any fault with that logic, and answered with a thumb up of his own. Mr. Wave immediately tackled the approaching alien soldier head on, sending it flying backward, before reinforcing Sarin. The lively Psycho used shockwaves to push the concrete Orange monster back through the rift.

“Can you hack through these gates?” Ryan asked Shortie.

“Give me a minu—” Len didn’t finish her sentence, as the blue gate reacted the moment she touched it. It slid open in a blink, granting the duo entrance.

The truce ended right there, as the remaining Evas attempted to stop Ryan from reaching the door with a volley of projectiles. But he froze time, grabbed Shortie, and moved into the next room while dodging lasers. The gates immediately closed behind him when time resumed, isolating them from the chaos outside; the courier could barely see a glimpse of Sunshine engaging in an aerial duel with the alien dragon before the separation.

The room Ryan and Len had walked into was clearly the starship’s command center, and reminded the courier of Mechron’s mainframe. A colossal biomechanical brain pulsated in the middle of a glass pillar, hooked to a dome of nervelike cables by biomechanical circuits.

The duo found the real Eva Fabre connected to the machinery.

Though age had wrinkled her face and turned her black hair white, Ryan recognized her facial features. A human head was all she had left though. A hideous biomechanical body supported her skull, a grotesque parody of a human skeleton with elongated arms, life-support systems, and artificial organs pulsating in an iron ribcage.

Here Asshole-Prime stood, with her eyes closed. Cables linked her head to the glass tank and the giant brain within, much like how Alchemo’s technology allowed him to experience captured minds’ memories. Ryan noticed other strange tendrils hanging from the glass tank, probably to allow multiple people to connect to the machinery.

“She’s… sleeping?” Len asked, as the Alchemist made no attempt to stop their approach. She remained in the thrall of a deep, peaceful slumber. Ryan guessed that the body modifications enhanced her control over the alien technology; much like Alchemo, she had cast out everything getting in the way of pure processing power.

Eva Fabre had embedded herself into the starship’s mainframe, like a tick on a cow’s hide. Soaking herself in its technology, knowledge, and power, never interacting with the world outside except through the safety of a screen. She lived in a snowglobe, sheltered from all consequences.

“Damn it, this is Monaco all over again,” Ryan said. He wondered how much the technology had affected her, though. Ryan suspected that hooking oneself up to an imperialistic civilization's brain hadn't improved her sanity.

“Do we…” Len pointed her weapons at the Alchemist’s head, hesitating.

Eva Fabre’s eyelids opened.

The eyes were gone too, replaced with black cameras. They glanced at the two Genomes, as soulless as anything else in this cold, artificial place.

“I dreamed too long,” the Alchemist said, her voice nothing more than a soft rattle. Her artificial organs flared with red light, a thin layer of crimson energy forming over her head and body. “I dreamed of you invaders, stepping into my metal veins and spreading your rot.”

She moved her hand to grab Len, with Ryan responding by freezing time and shooting the H. R. Giger nightmare in the face with his chest weapon.

But not only did the biomechanical monstrosity keep moving in the frozen time, but his gravity bullet also bounced off her black armor.

“Your time anomaly is powerful, Quicksave, but nothing unexpecte—” The Alchemist froze while her metal fingers were within an inch of Shortie’s head, for she had suddenly noticed the black particles and Purple Flux phantom next to Ryan himself. “Black Flux?”

Ryan exploited her confusion to end his time-stop, allowing Shortie to realize the danger and back away. The Alchemist’s metal hand smashed the floor, striking with enough strength to cause a small quake.

“Guess you don’t know everything about us,” Ryan said, as he opened fire again, Shortie assisting him with torpedoes and pressurized water.

“No matter what you do, my progress will not be stopped.” The Alchemist glared at the duo, none of their attacks bypassing her energy shield. “Why are you fighting me, my children? I created you, forged you into gods. You should be fighting the aliens outside, not your maker.”

Shortie’s response was short and to the point. “You killed billions.”

“What happens outside these walls means nothing,” the Alchemist replied, her eyes flaring blue. Immediately, a dozen Eva Fabre clones materialized around her, each carrying either a rifle or a submachine gun. “With this ship, I can restart life anytime I wish. Only the data matters.”

The Alchemist should have been at least sixty years old, and Ryan could tell time inside this pocket dimension behaved abnormally. Yet the clones looked no older than thirty. All were humans, instead of a biomechanical horror like their master.

Ryan quickly formed a theory.

Eva Fabre’s doubles remained the same, because she hadn’t aged inside.

Ryan and Len quickly dispersed as the clones opened fire, while the original remained immobile, her head still hooked to the central brain. The courier’s armor sent alarm signals, as it noticed streams of foreign data invading the weapon systems.

Damn, Asshole-Prime was trying to hack into his suit!

“So, you think you can improve the welfare of mankind by sacrificing the old one to make your new, improved version?” Ryan asked, attempting to destroy the clones only to realize his chest weapon had stopped working. She clearly cared more about the idea of humanity than its actual people, that was for certain. “Have you heard of human rights?”

“I have seen other worlds beyond this dimension,” the Alchemist rasped haughtily. “In one of them, the nations of the world were laid low by a flu. No disease will ever ravage Genomes, nor will invaders from other worlds. You will not interfere with the march of progress.”

“Who elected you?” Ryan replied, freezing time for a second to smash some clones, then backing away to avoid a punch from the original. “I was democratically chosen by the plushie majority, gave universal healthcare to my Psycho followers, and fought bravely against the red tide threatening our way of life! What did you do?”

“Governments are for those who cannot lead,” the original Eva Fabre replied, summoning more reinforcements even while Len struggled to keep them at a manageable number. Half a dozen clones turned into twenty, and these started making copies too. “Most humans live a short-sighted existence, caring for nothing more than their own personal comfort. They do not have the courage to make the necessary decisions.”

“And who do you lead, clones of yourself?” Ryan asked with a snort, rushing towards the biomechanical brain’s tank. “You’ve never led anyone in your life! You offered no guidance, raised no nation, inspired no follower! You wrecked the old world, and then you hid among the penguins instead of helping us get back on our feet! Hell, I’m sure you killed everyone at your old workplace when you couldn’t convince them to join you!”

It was an elaborate guess based on what he had learned from Bacchus, but the abomination’s eyes flared with annoyance. Ryan had struck a nerve. "You did," he said.

“They couldn’t understand,” Asshole-Prime replied dismissively, while some of her clones nodded in agreement.

“Neither do you.” Or else she wouldn’t be trying to kill him in the first place. Eva Fabre didn’t understand Ryan’s true ability, nor of all the possibilities where the likes of Bloodstream ravaged the Earth. Her supposed omniscience had holes.

Pushing past doubles, and ignoring his armor’s alarms as the firewalls collapsed one after the other, Ryan grabbed one of the neutral tendrils hanging from the glass tank. “Like for example, could you tell me what would happen if I tried to connect to that big brain of yours?”

“You cannot,” Asshole-Prime replied, while raising a hand to grab him. “You are a Violet. Only Blues can pilot this ship. Even your friend is too weak. The overmind will overwhelm her.”

“I wasn’t thinking of piloting this ship.”

And with that, Ryan froze time, Black Flux flying out of his armor.

The Alchemist could only blink in horror, as black particles touched the alien tendril… and infected their way into the glass tank.

“You fool!” Her giant hand moved to swipe him aside, and when Ryan attempted to jump away, his armor refused to move; she had hacked the motors.

Time resumed just as her fist hit him. Ryan heard the armor’s plates crack under the strain of the blow, and flew across the room like a wingless bird. He hit the blue door in a catastrophic crash, before falling on his chest, unable to move an inch.

But it changed nothing.

The black taint spread through the biomechanical brain, rotting parts of its neurons.

“Stop this!” The Alchemist’s eyes shone with a blue hue, her biomechanical hand moving to the sides of her head, but she couldn’t halt the collapse. Her clones stopped attacking Len to rush at the brain, but the damage was already done. “Stop!”

“Say pretty please,” Ryan replied, unable to move his armor. Shortie, who still could take a step, moved in front of her best friend to protect him.

“If you do not stop, you will destroy the Elixir factory, the labs, all our back-ups!” Eva Fabre screamed, her voice turning deeper like a broken machine. The clones echoed her screams, collapsing into nothingness. “This ship holds eons of accumulated knowledge, wisdom, and technology! I have barely explored half of it, and what I discovered… cloning, mind-transfer, unlimited energy sources… immortality! You will send mankind back by thousands of years!”

Ryan shrugged. “I couldn’t stop this, even if I wanted to.”

“You must!” The Alchemist punched the glass tank with her giant hands, perhaps trying to manually remove the black infection. But even her phenomenal strength couldn’t bypass the overmind’s shield. Half the biomechanical brain had darkened, consumed by otherworldly darkness. “Or the glorious future I have seen for our race will never come to pass!”

“Perhaps,” Ryan admitted. “But at least you won’t be in charge of it.”

As the brain turned black, so did the room. The lights darkened, while rifts in the fabric of space spread. An army of black holes opened all across the ship’s chamber, consuming the metal doors, the glass tank, the floor...

“Riri, what did you do?” Len panicked, while the Alchemist hastily removed the cables linking her to the mainframe in a desperate attempt to escape the infection.

“This place is thin enough to create portals to other colored realms,” the courier explained.

A black rift opened where the biomechanical brain used to be, tearing it apart.

“So I called for help.”

And something peeked through the portal.

To Ryan, it seemed as if a black wave erupted from the rift to devour all of reality. The darkness consumed a screaming Eva Fabre, tearing through her energy shield and swallowing her whole. The walls turned to dust around the courier, the blackness spreading through the ship. Ryan caught a glimpse of an alien pointing its gun at an unconscious Panda’s face, only to freeze in horror as the black tidal wave approached. The light of Leo Hargraves shone briefly in the dark, only to disappear too.

Ryan lost sight of Shortie, as the darkness separated them. An alien cold entered his armor, yet it was neither chilling nor uncomfortable.

The courier floated alone in a lightless void, like a fish returning home.

“Darkling?” Ryan called out to the darkness. “Darkling? Anyone?”

The void answered.

“I am… here.”

An alien shape floated to his side, it was geometric chaos that gave Ryan a headache simply to gaze at it. Triangles turning into cubes, feathers of steel, and bones dancing.

“I love your new look,” the courier greeted his old friend.

“Thank… you.”

“Are my friends—”

“Safe… outside.”

A tunnel of light appeared not so far from the time-traveler’s location. The courier watched the frozen expanse of Antarctica beyond the portal, with Shortie, the Panda, all his companions lying unconscious on the ground; Stitch and Atom Kitten, who had waited outside the anomaly, immediately rushed to their help. Only Sunshine remained unaffected, standing still and watching back through the tunnel.

Could he see the Black World beyond?

Ryan also noticed colored sparks in the darkness. Blue puddles and red stars, orange slimes, and greenish goo swirling away into nothing. They swirled around a colossal black hole entity, like children led by a parent.

“Are these the ship’s Elixirs?” Ryan asked.

The strange entity changed its shape slightly, flattening. Ryan took it for a nod. “The Ultimate One will return the captives home… and this starship will disappear… from your timeline. When you turn back time… the rest of your dimension will not be impacted, but this place… it will be gone.”

“And the Alchemist? The reptilians?”

The entity took a shape similar to a red line of jagged, inhuman teeth.

Ryan had never seen a smile more terrifying.

“I do not want to know?” The courier asked innocently.

“No… you do not,” Darkling replied, before taking a less horrifying, but all too confusing shape. “But they will not trouble you… ever again.”

The wording sent a chill down Ryan’s spine.

“This Alchemist was not wrong in one aspect,” Darkling said. “Ascension is a right granted to all living things… but it cannot be forced. Wisdom comes with time… and you humans are so very young.”

“Will you be there for my nine hundredth birthday?” Ryan joked.

“Maybe…” Darkling sounded vaguely amused. Aw, he could get Ryan’s jokes now! “One day your kind might stand at the side of the Ultimate Ones… until then, we Elixirs will remain among you, and your descendants. When you decide to aim for the stars, and venture forth into the unknown… we will walk with you. Always.”

“You know, once I came to this place to die, but…” Ryan smiled behind his helmet. “Now I hope to live long enough to see mankind explore the universe.”

Darkling’s shape changed into a sphere of light. “You have… something to live for now.”

Yes.

Yes, he did.

“I should go back,” Ryan said. If he trusted his experience, staying too long in the Black World might permanently change him. “But before I go, I have a question.”

“Ask…”

“Is my Black power getting stronger?”

“Black consumes… A paradox is… self-reinforcing… each reality you consume… each color you devour... increases your power. You asked for an end to what cannot die… and the more you destroy what should never die… Black’s logic… becomes your reality’s logic.” Darkling remained silent an instant, before offering a warning. “Beware… Black is anathema to the laws that bind you into a man’s shape… if you are not careful… it will consume you too.”

Ryan’s thoughts turned to the Alchemist, and how the Black Flux had consumed her alien technology. Yes, he would rather avoid seeing his armor painted black. “I will keep it in mind.”

“There are still obstacles for you to overcome, but… I think you are ready. The pieces are set…” Darkling floated away. “I will be watching you… my friend.”

“You don’t wish me luck?” Ryan asked, as the portal grew closer to him.

“What use is there for luck… for a man like you?”

Somehow, even if it came from an alien creature… Darkling managed to make these words sound warm and encouraging.

Ryan floated through the portal, and an instant later crashed on icy ground.

“Finally,” the courier heard Felix say, as his favorite kitty rushed to his side. “I thought you were a goner.”

“I’m a tougher mouse than that, kitten.” With the Alchemist gone, Ryan’s armor worked again, and he managed to move his head around. Stitch was already tending to the wounded, but everyone seemed to have made it to the other side. Sarin’s armor had cracked in some spots, and more tragically, Mr. Wave’s clothes had holes in them.

And Leo Hargraves floated above them all, thoughtfully looking at the horizon.

“You went there too once,” Ryan guessed.

“Years ago,” Sunshine replied, descending down to earth. “I was afraid of the dark back then. Of the unknown. I thought I almost died inside that place, but now… now I wonder.”

Ryan would be happy to exchange tales around a coffee. Felix helped the courier back to his feet, the armored time-traveler glancing at the frozen rift where he last opened a portal to the Alchemist’s lair. His Resonator had become inactive, the rift closed.

Of the Alchemist’s lair and dream, nothing remained.

Nothing but memories.

时间恢复的瞬间，整个房间陷入了混战。

红色激光与穿透空间的子弹，迎上了冲击波、太阳耀斑、高压水柱和玻璃风暴。然而，最抢眼的战果却来自一头会功夫的熊。熊猫紧随波动先生，撞穿了炼金术师分身们的路障。他打碎了两个分身，身上六处激光伤口鲜血直流，只能不断来回变身，恢复伤势，同时一刻不停地移动，躲避致命一击。

瑞恩也没闲着，一边抖机灵，一边把够得着的分身挨个揍过去。然而场面已经乱到了极点，他不得不暂停时间，确认同伴们的情况。波动先生正忙着用手指把炼金术师的分身一个个戳死；裹尸布竖起强化玻璃屏障，保护队友；暴怒的沙林则像发了狂似的，一道接一道地轰出冲击波。

可无论他们攻势多么凶猛，炼金术师的数量都只在增加。

一个伊娃·法布尔分身一变十，新出现的分身又有样学样。大多数分身出现时两手空空，或者拿着步枪、手枪之类的“人类”武器。不过，最初那批分身中有几个戴着奇特的护手装置，能把外星武器传送过来，供复制体们使用。瑞恩猜，这和玛尔斯的能力原理相同：从另一个口袋维度里的军械库取用武器。

这也意味着，炼金术师虽然能用能力复制实体物质，却复制不了以通量为基础的科技。这倒也说得通。伊娃·法布尔是蓝系基因者，怎么能复制绿色或红色能力的源头？

瑞恩决定先对付负责供应武器的分身，可有些新兵一现身就带着自爆腰带，试图在他面前引爆。快递员只好动用装甲武器，把她们打退。

可惜，这也给了克隆人大军整顿阵形的时间。发现瑞恩正试图直奔她们守卫的大门后，分身中的军需员便把护手装置分发给了一队新兵。二十四个伊娃排成人墙，用装置投射出一道猩红护盾。由六边形组成的蜂巢状屏障护住了大门，坚固得连瑞恩的重力枪都打不穿。

波动先生猜到了瑞恩的打算，便化为一道激光，冲撞分身的防线，试图助他一臂之力。猩红护盾把他弹了回来，他便一次又一次地冲击，从各个角度试探屏障，甚至跃至半空，从上方袭击守卫。分身们虽然守住了阵线，护盾却常常在撞击下闪烁。和E.T.的科技一样，她们的设备所带能源有限，迟早会耗尽。

然而，在瑞恩的人生中，时间难得有一次没站在他这边。分身们不仅不断召来更多自己，还组织得越来越有章法。持能量护盾的分身分成小组，在军需员周围筑起防线，让她们能在几乎不受干扰的情况下为援军配发武器。两组各六人的激光射手对熊猫展开夹击，熊人动作虽快如闪电，却跑不过光。分身们不给他半点喘息之机，一点点、却毫不动摇地把他逼向橙色世界的传送门……

此时，死者释放的蓝色通量粒子已经多得让整个房间像在开蓝精灵派对。

“瑞瑞，后面！”时间刚一恢复，蕾恩便喊了起来。快递员发现两个伊娃正合力举起一杆枪，枪管宽达两米，对准了他。他险险侧身躲过一发绿色通量炮击，炮击命中金属墙壁，将其变成了木头。

“哟，一把有环保意识的武器！”瑞恩说道。蕾恩射出高压水柱，斩下了那两个分身的脑袋。小矮个过来掩护他，他则与最近的几个分身展开近身战。“我也想要一把！”

要不是她们还在企图灭绝最后一只熊猫，这些伊娃说不定真能算地球卫士。

其他同伴的处境也没好到哪去。有些分身连隐身的裹尸布都看得见，逼得他只能竖起玻璃屏障抵挡一轮轮齐射，一味防守。沙林的冲击波能压倒护盾使用者，但她的动力装甲已经多处开裂。只有利奥·哈格雷夫斯没有被分身逼退，反而用炫目的烈焰轰击，把她们压了回去。

沙林接连释放的冲击波最终破坏了房间的结构。足有四分之一的地板塌陷下去，露出金属板下方黑压压的一片外星机械与能源缆线。阳光竖起一道不断推进的火墙，将数百个伊娃困在烈焰与地板的大洞之间。

一个分身随即朝利奥·哈格雷夫斯扔出一枚圆形银色装置。活体太阳迅速将其熔化在半空，可这也触发了装置，释放出一道宽达六米的纯白能量波。

白色脉冲摧毁了沿途碰到的所有分身，而更糟的是，它让阳光瞬间变回了人形。嘉年华的领袖坠落下去，若不是波动先生及时中止了对力场护盾的冲击，转身接住同伴，他便会摔死在下方的地面上。裹尸布立即竖起一道又一道玻璃屏障，护住队友，但这反而给了分身们包围三人的机会。集中的激光火力正在慢慢熔穿防御。

更糟的是，房间里的橙色传送门闪烁起来，先前那只立方体怪物又开始往外钻；也许房间里的混乱吸引了它的注意。无论如何，它跨出裂隙时，熊猫离那里最近，于是被它毫不客气地一脚踢开。分身们朝这头橙色世界的生物齐射，试图将它逼退，却只能暂时阻住它的脚步。

这样打下去毫无意义。

“本体不在这里！”瑞恩通过装甲的扬声器大喊，抬手指向大门。靠着巧妙运用能力，他已经推进到离门不过几米的地方，但护盾使用者依然挡在前面。“她在这扇门后面！”

他本以为除了小矮个，根本没有队友听见，直到沙林的声音压过了厮杀声。“让开，书呆子！”

瑞恩启动装甲的喷气背包，飞身避开。一道强劲的冲击波轰碎了守门的分身部队，使她们的护盾短路，将使用者一并汽化。然而，这一击没能撼动大门本身，那蓝色表面连一丝裂纹都没有。尽管如此，快递员与蕾恩总算得以赶到门前。

随后，枪炮声停了。

瑞恩回头望去，只见沙林在地板上轰出的大洞里，爬出了一个猩红与橙色相间的身影。那是一头身穿先进动力装甲的爬行怪物，光是看见它，就让先前始终镇定的伊娃分身们恐惧得僵在原地。

E.T.的弟弟来了，还带着它的侄子们。

十二名外星士兵从洞里钻了出来，喉间咕噜作响，发出嘶吼。大多数与瑞恩一行先前打败的那只生物一模一样，唯独其中一个体型是其余同类的两倍：那怪物头生尖角，长着九只眼睛，还有一对巨大的龙翼。

一种从未真正泯灭的物种本能苏醒了。房间里的人类暂时停下争斗，将注意力转向了外来的威胁。伊娃分身们把武器对准新来的敌人，阳光也终于重新化作一轮烈日，用灼热的火焰淹没了外星先锋。

外星生物随即在房间各处传送，用利爪和光束撕碎伊娃的分身。长着翅膀的外星人追向了阳光，另一个E.T.则把装甲变成精金，试图撕碎熊猫。还有一名士兵发现了瑞恩和蕾恩，但在追赶之前，不得不先应付一群伊娃。

一只这样的外星人便足以匹敌瑞恩的整支队伍，一群则能撕碎任何抵抗。瑞恩一行与炼金术师或许能撑上一阵，甚至获胜，可如果还有更多这种家伙赶来……

好吧，瑞恩还不急着现在就读档。

波动先生刚刚横穿房间，把熊猫送到裹尸布的玻璃屏障后面，暂时保住了他的安全，随后在瑞恩与蕾恩身边稍作停留。“波动先生和其他人会拦住它们。”一名外星士兵正朝他们咆哮，这位基因者却说道，“去收拾她吧，猛虎！”

“你确定？”蕾恩担忧地问。她明白，他们只能争取几分钟。

“波动先生从没这么开心过！”活体激光竖起大拇指。“同一个敌人，他可以杀不止一遍！”

瑞恩挑不出这逻辑有什么毛病，也竖起大拇指回应。波动先生立即迎头撞上逼近的外星士兵，将其撞飞出去，随后赶去支援沙林。那位生龙活虎的疯魔正用冲击波，把混凝土模样的橙色怪物往裂隙里推回去。

“你能破解这道门吗？”瑞恩问小矮个。

“给我一分——”蕾恩话还没说完，蓝色大门便在她触碰的瞬间有了反应。门眨眼间滑开，放两人进入。

休战到此为止。剩余的伊娃齐射出一轮弹雨，试图阻止瑞恩进门。但他暂停时间，一把抓住小矮个，避开激光，闯入下一个房间。时间恢复，大门立即在他身后闭合，将两人与外面的混战隔绝。在门关上之前，快递员只来得及瞥见阳光正与那头外星飞龙在半空决斗。

瑞恩与蕾恩进入的房间显然是星舰的指挥中心，让快递员想起了梅克隆的主机。玻璃柱内，一颗巨大的生物机械脑正在搏动，生物机械线路将它与穹顶状的神经缆线网连在一起。

两人找到了真正的伊娃·法布尔。她正连接在这些机械上。

岁月在她脸上刻下皱纹，将黑发染白，但瑞恩还是认出了她的五官。然而，她属于人类的部分只剩下一颗头。一具丑恶的生物机械身躯托着她的头颅，仿佛对人类骨架的怪诞戏仿：手臂拉得细长，身上装着生命维持系统，铁肋围成的胸腔里，人造器官一跳一跳。

混蛋本尊就站在那里，双眼紧闭。缆线把她的头连接到玻璃槽和其中的巨脑上，就像阿尔凯莫用自己的技术体验所捕获心灵的记忆那样。瑞恩注意到，玻璃槽上还垂着其他古怪的触须，大概是为了让多人同时接入机器。

“她在……睡觉？”蕾恩问。炼金术师丝毫没有阻止两人靠近的意思，依旧沉浸在深沉、安详的睡梦中。瑞恩猜测，这些身体改造增强了她对外星科技的控制；就像阿尔凯莫一样，她舍弃了一切妨碍纯粹运算能力的东西。

伊娃·法布尔把自己嵌进了星舰主机，像一只叮在牛皮上的蜱虫。她沉浸在其中的科技、知识与力量里，只有隔着安全的屏幕，才肯与外界接触。她活在一只雪景球中，躲开了所有后果。

“妈的，又来了一遍摩纳哥那一套。”瑞恩说道。不过，他很想知道，这些科技究竟在多大程度上影响了她。把自己接到一个帝国主义文明的大脑上，恐怕对她的神志没什么好处。

“我们要不要……”蕾恩把武器对准炼金术师的头，犹豫不决。

伊娃·法布尔睁开了眼皮。

眼球也已经没了，取而代之的是黑色摄像头。它们看向两名基因者，和这片冰冷的人造空间里的一切一样，毫无灵魂。

“我梦得太久了。”炼金术师说，嗓音只剩下轻微的沙哑气响。她的人造器官亮起红光，一层薄薄的猩红能量覆住了头颅与躯体。“我梦见你们这些入侵者，走进我的金属血管，散播你们的腐败。”

她伸手抓向蕾恩。瑞恩立即暂停时间，用胸前的武器朝这具H. R. 吉格尔笔下的噩梦脸上开了一炮。

然而，这头生物机械怪物不仅能在暂停的时间里继续活动，就连重力弹也被她的黑色装甲弹开了。

“你的时间异常很强，快存，但也没有超出预——”炼金术师的金属手指离小矮个的脑袋已不足一英寸，却突然停了下来。她刚刚注意到瑞恩身边的黑色粒子与紫色通量幻影。“黑色通量？”

瑞恩趁她愣神，结束了时间暂停，让小矮个得以察觉危险，抽身后退。炼金术师的金属手掌砸中地板，力道之大，掀起了一场小型地震。

“看来，你对我们也不是无所不知嘛。”瑞恩再次开火，小矮个也用鱼雷与高压水柱助攻。

“无论你们做什么，都阻止不了我的进步。”炼金术师怒视两人，他们所有的攻击都未能穿透她的能量护盾。“为什么要与我为敌，我的孩子们？我创造了你们，把你们铸成了神。你们应该去对付外面的外星人，而不是你们的造物主。”

小矮个的回答简短而直接。“你杀了几十亿人。”

“这些墙壁外发生的事毫无意义。”炼金术师回答，双眼亮起蓝光。十二个伊娃·法布尔分身立即在她周围现身，每个都拿着步枪或冲锋枪。“有这艘船，我随时都能让生命从头再来。只有数据才重要。”

炼金术师至少应该有六十岁了，而且瑞恩能感觉到，这个口袋维度里的时间流动并不正常。但那些分身看上去都不超过三十岁，全是人类，而非主人那般的生物机械怪物。

瑞恩很快有了一个猜想。

伊娃·法布尔的分身始终未变，因为她在内心里从未老去。

分身们开火，瑞恩与蕾恩迅速向两侧散开，本体却仍停在原地，头颅依旧连接着中央巨脑。快递员的装甲发出警报，侦测到外来数据流正在入侵武器系统。

该死，混蛋本尊在试图黑进他的装甲！

“所以你觉得，只要牺牲旧人类，造出你的新版改良人类，就能造福人类了？”瑞恩想消灭分身，却发现胸前的武器已经失灵。至少有一点可以肯定：她在乎的是“人类”这个概念，而不是活生生的人。“你听说过人权吗？”

“我见过这个维度之外的其他世界。”炼金术师傲慢地嘶声说道，“在其中一个世界，各国被一场流感击垮。任何疾病都无法摧残基因者，异界的入侵者也不能。你们休想阻碍进步的步伐。”

“谁选你出来的？”瑞恩反问。他暂停了一秒钟时间，打碎几个分身，随后后退，躲开本体挥来的一拳。“我是经毛绒玩具中的多数派民主选举产生的，给我手下的疯魔提供了全民医疗保障，还英勇抗击了威胁我们生活方式的赤色浪潮！你又干过什么？”

“政府是给没有领导能力的人准备的。”伊娃·法布尔的本体回答。蕾恩正竭力把分身控制在还能应付的数量，她却又召来了更多援军。六个分身变成二十个，新分身也开始复制自己。“大多数人类一生短视，关心的不过是自身的安逸。他们没有勇气作出必要的决定。”

“那你领导了谁，你自己的复制品？”瑞恩嗤笑着问，朝装着生物机械脑的玻璃槽冲去。“你这辈子根本没领导过任何人！你没指引过谁，没建立过国家，也没激励过追随者！你毁了旧世界，然后就躲到企鹅堆里，而不是帮我们重新站起来！妈的，我敢肯定，当初你说服不了老单位的人加入，就把他们全杀了！”

这是他根据从巴克斯那里得来的信息推测出的全貌，可那怪物眼中闪起了恼怒的光。瑞恩戳到了她的痛处。“你确实这么干了。”他说。

“他们理解不了。”混蛋本尊不屑地回答，几个分身也点头赞同。

“你也一样。”否则，她根本就不会试图杀他。伊娃·法布尔既不了解瑞恩真正的能力，也不了解血流之流肆虐地球的种种可能。她所谓的无所不知，漏洞可不少。

防火墙接连崩溃，瑞恩却无视装甲的警报，挤过分身，抓住玻璃槽上垂下的一根闲置触须。“比如，你能不能告诉我，要是我试着接入你那颗大脑，会发生什么？”

“你办不到。”混蛋本尊抬手抓向他，“你是紫系基因者。只有蓝系基因者才能驾驶这艘船。就连你的朋友也太弱了。主脑会压垮她。”

“我可没打算驾驶这艘船。”

话音落下，瑞恩暂停了时间，黑色通量从装甲中飞散而出。

炼金术师只能惊恐地眨着眼，看着黑色粒子触及外星触须……一路侵染进玻璃槽内。

“蠢货！”她挥起巨手，要将他打到一边。瑞恩试图跃开，装甲却纹丝不动；她已经黑进了驱动系统。

拳头击中他的同时，时间恢复了。瑞恩听见装甲板承受不住冲击，迸出碎裂声，整个人像只没翅膀的鸟，横飞过整个房间。他轰然撞上蓝色大门，随后胸口朝下摔落，再也动弹不得。

但这改变不了什么。

黑色污斑在生物机械脑中蔓延，腐蚀着其中的神经元。

“停下！”炼金术师眼中蓝光闪耀，生物机械手掌按向头颅两侧，却阻止不了崩溃。她的分身停止攻击蕾恩，朝巨脑奔去，但破坏已经造成。“住手！”

“先说‘求求你啦’。”瑞恩回答，依旧无法驱动装甲。小矮个尚能迈步，便走到挚友身前，护住了他。

“你再不停下，灵药工厂、实验室、我们所有的备份都会被毁掉！”伊娃·法布尔尖叫起来，嗓音像坏掉的机器一样，变得越来越低沉。分身们也一同尖叫，随即崩散成虚无。“这艘船储存着亿万年积累的知识、智慧与科技！我探索到的连一半都不到，可那些发现……克隆、心灵转移、无限能源……永生！你会让人类倒退几千年！”

瑞恩耸了耸肩。“就算我想停，也停不了了。”

“你必须停下！”炼金术师用巨大的双手捶打玻璃槽，也许是想亲手剔除黑色感染。但即便她力大无穷，也突破不了主脑的护盾。生物机械脑已经黑了一半，被异界的黑暗吞噬。“否则，我所见的、属于我们种族的光辉未来，就永远不会实现！”

“也许吧。”瑞恩承认，“但至少，不会再由你来做主了。”

随着巨脑变黑，房间也暗了下来。灯光黯淡，空间结构上的裂隙不断蔓延。大批黑洞在星舰舱室各处张开，吞噬金属门、玻璃槽、地板……

“瑞瑞，你做了什么？”蕾恩慌了。炼金术师则匆忙拔掉连接主机的缆线，绝望地试图逃脱感染。

“这个地方的空间足够薄，可以打开通往其他颜色领域的传送门。”快递员解释道。

一道黑色裂隙在生物机械脑所在的位置张开，将它撕碎。

“所以，我叫了援兵。”

接着，某个东西从传送门里向外窥来。

在瑞恩眼中，仿佛有一道黑色巨浪从裂隙中喷涌而出，要吞没整个现实。黑暗撕穿能量护盾，将尖叫的伊娃·法布尔整个吞下。快递员周围的墙壁化为尘埃，黑色席卷了整艘船。瑞恩瞥见一名外星人正把枪口对着昏迷的熊猫的脸，却在黑色巨浪逼近时，恐惧得僵住了。利奥·哈格雷夫斯的光在黑暗中短暂一闪，也随之消失。

黑暗将两人隔开，瑞恩看不见小矮个了。一股异样的寒意渗进装甲，却既不刺骨，也不难受。

快递员独自漂浮在无光的虚空中，像一条回到故乡的鱼。

“暗灵？”瑞恩向黑暗呼唤，“暗灵？有人吗？”

虚空作出了回应。

“我在……这里。”

一个异形身影漂到他身旁。那是一团混乱的几何形体，瑞恩光是看着就头疼。三角形化作立方体，钢铁的羽毛，还有舞动的骨骼。

“我喜欢你的新造型。”快递员向老朋友打招呼。

“谢……谢。”

“我的朋友们——”

“安全……在外面。”

时间旅行者不远处出现了一条光之隧道。快递员望见传送门另一头冰封的南极大地，小矮个、熊猫以及其他同伴都昏迷着躺在地上；一直在异常空间外等候的斯蒂奇与原子小猫立刻冲上前去救助。只有阳光安然无恙，静立在那里，隔着隧道往回看。

他能看见另一头的黑色世界吗？

瑞恩还注意到了黑暗中的彩色火花。蓝色水洼、红色星辰、橙色黏液与泛绿的胶质盘旋着，没入虚无。它们围着一个巨大的黑洞实体打转，像一群由家长领着的孩子。

“这些是船上的灵药？”瑞恩问。

那奇异的实体稍稍改变形状，变得扁平。瑞恩把这当作点头。“终极者会把俘虏们送回家……这艘星舰将从你的时间线上……消失。当你让时间倒流……你所在维度的其他地方不会因此受到影响，但这里……将不复存在。”

“炼金术师呢？那些蜥蜴人呢？”

那实体变成了近似一排猩红尖牙的形状，参差错落，绝非人类所有。

瑞恩从没见过这么可怕的笑容。

“我还是不知道的好？”快递员无辜地问。

“对……你不会想知道。”暗灵回答，随后变成了一个没那么恐怖，却仍让人看不明白的形状。“但它们不会再来烦你了……永远不会。”

这措辞让瑞恩脊背发凉。

“有一点，炼金术师并没有说错。”暗灵说道，“升格是所有生命都享有的权利……却不能强求。智慧需要时间积累……而你们人类，实在太年轻了。”

“那我九百岁生日的时候，你会来吗？”瑞恩开玩笑道。

“也许……”暗灵的语气里隐约有了几分笑意。哎呀，它现在已经听得懂瑞恩的笑话了！“总有一天，你们也许能站在终极者身边……在那之前，我们灵药会一直留在你们与你们的后代之中。当你们决定奔向群星，踏入未知……我们会与你同行。始终如此。”

“你知道吗，我曾经到这里来，是为了求死，可是……”瑞恩在头盔里笑了。“现在，我希望自己能活得够久，亲眼看见人类探索宇宙。”

暗灵化作一团光球。“你现在……有了值得为之活下去的东西。”

是的。

是的，他有了。

“我该回去了。”瑞恩说。根据他的经验，在黑色世界停留太久，可能会让他发生永久的改变。“但走之前，我还有个问题。”

“问吧……”

“我的黑色能力在变强吗？”

“黑色吞噬万物……悖论会……自我强化……你每吞噬一个现实……每吞下一种颜色……力量都会增强。你求的是让不死之物迎来终结……而你摧毁越多本不该死去的存在……黑色的逻辑……就越会成为你所在现实的逻辑。”暗灵沉默片刻，随后给出警告。“小心……黑色与你得以维系人类形态的法则水火不容……如果不够谨慎……它也会吞噬你。”

瑞恩想起炼金术师，想起黑色通量如何吞噬了她的外星科技。是啊，他可不想看见自己的装甲被染成黑色。“我会记住的。”

“还有障碍等着你去克服，但……我想，你已经准备好了。棋子已就位……”暗灵向远处飘去。“我会注视着你……我的朋友。”

“不祝我好运吗？”传送门越来越近，瑞恩问道。

“对你这样的人……运气又有什么用呢？”

不知为何，尽管出自一个外星生物之口……暗灵还是让这句话听起来温暖而振奋人心。

瑞恩飘过传送门，下一瞬便砸在冰面上。

“总算出来了。”快递员听见菲利克斯说道，他最喜欢的猫咪正冲到身边。“我还以为你完蛋了。”

“小猫咪，我这只老鼠可没那么容易死。”炼金术师一消失，瑞恩的装甲又能运转了，他总算得以转头查看四周。斯蒂奇已经在照料伤员，看来大家都平安出来了。沙林的装甲有几处裂口，而更惨的是，波动先生的衣服破了几个洞。

利奥·哈格雷夫斯则悬浮在众人上方，若有所思地望着地平线。

“你以前也去过那里。”瑞恩猜道。

“很多年前。”阳光降到地面，答道，“那时候我害怕黑暗。害怕未知。我以为自己差点死在那个地方，但现在……现在我却拿不准了。”

瑞恩很乐意和他喝杯咖啡，交换彼此的故事。菲利克斯扶快递员站起身，身披装甲的时间旅行者看向那道冰封的裂缝，他上次就是在那里打开了通往炼金术师巢穴的传送门。共振器已经停止运转，裂隙也关闭了。

炼金术师的巢穴与梦想，什么也没留下。

只剩回忆。