Staff members wearing black uniforms from the Traffic Management Bureau skillfully leaned over and pushed hard, easily pushing the pull rod that was half a person's height. Then the elevator chassis, which was fitted with steel plates and rivets under their feet, suddenly trembled, as if it was sleeping.
The giant was awakened and shook off the scattered iron filings and smoke.
Immediately, it began to rise upwards, along the vertical rails erected in the elevator shaft, and gradually moved away from the ground under the cyclic motion of gears and hinges. The sound of heavy machinery roaring and roaring came from the towering steel power towers on both sides, which sounded like
An unruly ferocious beast has been tamed by manpower and is unleashing its power. Occasionally, a spark comes out of the bloated and heavy black iron shell, flickering and hitting the connected steel plates and rivets, making people feel very dangerous.
There is also a sense of mechanical shock.
At the top of the tower, a huge swing arm shaped like a windmill wing slowly descends as the elevator rises, maintaining the internal balance of the entire device. The relative motion of falling and falling contains some kind of scale-like philosophical significance.
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The dense ventilation ducts and exhaust valves continuously spit out smoke mixed with gray and black particles, and merge into the empty elevator shaft, instantly turning into a vast ocean.
The Galede IV elevator was originally an elevator used in mines and mines, specifically designed to carry ore. After being transformed into a civilian elevator, it is now operated by Hessend Orbital Elevator Company. Its single load capacity
It has a capacity of 1,000 people and is a semi-open structure. There are no walls on the outside, only railings and barbed wire are used as barriers.
It is conceivable that you are huddled in the same semi-open space with a thousand people at a height of 100 meters away from the ground. You are stepping on rusty steel plates under your feet, and they will creak and moan if you apply even the slightest amount of force. The joints are not strong enough.
It has even begun to loosen and fall off, and you can see the scene on the ground through the gaps: rows of brown roofs, narrow main roads, and an endless stream of vehicles and people like ants... Then the staff's vows came from the side:
"This lift has been running perfectly for fifty years, and there has never been an accident!"
What about fifty years ago?
Ringer couldn't help but think.
The local residents who have long been accustomed to this kind of transportation are minding their own business, either in a numb daze or thinking deeply, so that although they are rubbing shoulders in the elevator, they show a kind of indifference.
The alienated atmosphere; the foreign tourists who came here felt quite fresh and marveled. Ringer also saw a person taking out a rare film camera and taking pictures of the scene outside the barbed wire fence.
Alice was also among the amazed crowd. She grabbed a seat near the outer edge of the elevator, and now she was lying on the old wire fence, looking at the world outside with her mouth wide open. The power of industry and machinery can only be understood by being in it.
An unparalleled sense of shock.
Lin Ge deliberately reminded her that this was a very dangerous move, but then he thought about it and realized that she probably wouldn't listen, so he kept his mouth shut and didn't mind his own business.
The elevator is crowded with people, and the outside of the elevator is shadowy. The scenes passing along the way are dark and gloomy, like countless gray garbage filled in a cold factory: the integrated box-type houses built along the cliff are more disturbing than the rusty steel plates.
The frightening rotten wood overpass, several broken iron escalators, dim and rotten low-quality street lights, scaffolding made of scrap iron and steel pipes, and abandoned containers hung one by one with ropes all occupy a large area of view.
, at a glance, it looks like barnacles clinging to the belly of a whale or the surface of a giant ship, forming a dense, ugly, huge and bloated monster.
This is a slum with the characteristics of Qiyu Port. An abandoned container can often house 10-18 people. The furnishings inside are very simple. It is better to say that there is no need for furnishings. All it requires is a torn quilt, an old blanket or even a piece of burlap.
You can live on a rope until you die, and the rent often only costs one, half or a quarter of a guinea, which is much cheaper than Renweiting at the same time.
Every time they see these hanging abandoned containers and the confused-looking people living in them, young people will naturally think of a cruel punishment called "cage torture". It was invented in the Middle Ages, and people at that time would
The criminals who committed the most heinous crimes were imprisoned in a cage that was barely large enough to fit in or even stand up, hung in the open air, and allowed to endure the wind and rain, and eventually died of thirst and starvation until they were dried into skeletons, serving as a warning to others with such naked cruelty.
members of society.
Although this kind of punishment was abolished long before modern times, it seems that only the form has been abolished, while the core still exists. For some people, when they need to curl up as hard as possible in less than a few inches of space to feel safe
When falling asleep, they have to use a rope as a tool to enter and exit dangerously because their residence is suspended at a high place. In order to prevent them from accidentally falling in their sleep, they can only struggle half asleep and half awake... This is another "type" given to them by modern society.
"Cage punishment" is deeply reflected.
Ringer also noticed that when the elevator passed through this "slum area", the tourist who was holding a film camera and taking pictures naturally put down the tools in his hands, turned around and started talking to his companions, and saw the casual frivolity on his face.
His smile is probably not discussing a serious and heavy social issue, and it is naturally difficult to find traces of his life in his precious film with those indifferent faces.
Is this human nature hard to criticize...?
The young man quietly withdrew his gaze.
About ten minutes later, accompanied by a crisp clicking sound of gear meshing, the elevator platform stopped firmly at the terminal. The high-frequency piston movement inside gradually became gentle. The balance and stabilizing device pushed the heavy lever to extend and insert into the docking station.
Inside the device, the elevator platform was temporarily combined with the terminal platform to form a complete and fixed structure. Then the staff pushed the pull rod and released the safety lock of the elevator door, allowing passengers to leave the platform and step onto the ground in the middle area of Qiyu Port. The middle-level area, located at an altitude of 362 meters, is the city's commercial and residential area. From here, humans will experience the feeling of living in the sky. As for the lower-level area, although there are many suspended structures, most of them
The main body is still built on flat ground, such as the port area and Rutal Steam Engine Factory.
Leaving the terminal is a small circular square, where people come and go and it is very lively. The greening here has been slightly improved, the streets and buildings are more rationally planned, and it is obvious that the residents' mental outlook is also more high-spirited and positive. Lower level
The residents seen in the middle-level area are mostly tired workers, numb coolies, rough sailors and even poor people who have no hope for life. At least the residents in the middle-level area do not need to worry about tomorrow's food and clothing, so there are natural differences between the two sides.
, this difference can be seen with the naked eye.
The image of residents often profiles the image of urban areas, which is an unbreakable point of view in modern urban theory.
The narrow tube effect caused strong winds and gusts in the canyon where Qiyu Port is located. In order to block the smoke and dust blown down by the wind erosion of the mountain, the shops and workshops along the street hung gray and black curtains, as if to blend in with the city.
Corresponding to its own gray and dark tones. The streets are bustling with people, food and fruits from the Andrich Plain, fashion accessories from the capital Elfland, exquisite utensils and custom products from overseas, naturally all kinds of products produced by local factories are indispensable.
Precision instruments: table clocks, pendulum clocks, wind-up dolls and other gadgets.
Alice wandered happily among these shops, and occasionally turned around to ask Saint Xia Liya to come and take a look. This confused the shop owner and the passers-by around her, thinking she had met a strange maid who "liked to talk to the air."
Liya always responded with a smile, and at the same time thoughtfully told her to watch her steps carefully and not to trip over any warped iron sheets or loose rivets.
They really looked like they were on a trip, except Ringer. The young people didn't pay attention to the lively scene around them. They raised their heads frequently and looked through the huge steel base across their heads and the rust-colored rows filled with them.
The roof, the densely arranged gray and black pipes, the maze-like spiral staircase shaped like a post-modern artwork... I saw the upper area higher up. The huge elevator rose and fell, and the black heads surged and receded like a tidal wave.
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The sun still hangs high above the city, its scorching brilliance making people afraid to look directly at it. The dark steel church stands tall in the light, and the silent gears and towers reveal a solemn majesty.
The headquarters of the Holy See of Judgment, the Church of Conviction.
To use the common view of the world to describe it, this is the end of all evil and sin, the final chapter of baptism and judgment, and the majestic palace of justice and power.
In Ringer's eyes, it is a majestic dragon that gradually reveals its majestic face in the mist, an ancient giant in the mountains with the mountain ridge as its pillow, or the largest and most ancient sperm whale in the deep sea, cruising and walking inadvertently.
Crushed to death the billions of ants beneath me.
I hope this trip will not be noticed by them.
The young man sighed quietly in his heart, and then slowly looked back.
At this moment, his vision suddenly fell into darkness.
What followed was a terrifying and shocking explosion.