第32章

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“Not far from where you are.I’ve brought a birthday present！”

“Hey，it’s been years since I remembered my birthday.Come home at noon，then.It’s been a month since I’ve gone home myself.There’s just the housekeeper there to keep an eye on things.”

“No，I’ll give you the gift right now！”

“I’m at work.The weekly city council meeting is about to start.”

“Not a problem！Open the window and look up！”

The sky today was clear in every direction，a limpid blue，rare weather for the area.The rumble of an engine came from the air；the mayor saw that an airplane was slowly circling in the sky above the city，striking against the blue backdrop.

“Baba，I’m on the plane right now！”Yuanyuan shouted through the phone.

It was an old-fashioned，propeller-driven biplane.In the sky，it looked like a giant bird gliding lazily.Time flashed backward；a familiar sensation struck the mayor like lightning.He shivered all over，as he had done twenty years ago.His daughter had asked him if he was cold.

“Yuanyuan，what—what are you doing？”

“Here’s the gift，Baba，pay attention to the bottom of the plane！”

The mayor had noticed earlier that a big hoop hung from the body of the plane.Its diameter was greater than the length of the plane；clearly，it had unfolded into position only after the plane took to the air.Taken together，the plane and the hoop looked like a flying ring.Later，he’d learn that the hoop was constructed like the one Yuanyuan had used to break the Guinness World Record，made of a tube of lightweight metal filled with the nigh-supernatural FlySol.A film of FlySol stretched across the hoop，and innumerable small holes allowed FlySol to continuously flow out of the thin tube that formed the hoop.

An astounding sight appeared.Behind the giant hoop，a bubble was emerging！Refracting sunlight，its form wavered at the edge of visibility.The bubble swelled rapidly；soon，the plane compared to it was only a sesame seed on top of a transparent watermelon.

In the marketplace below，everyone had stopped to look up.People were starting to run out of the city government headquarters building to watch.

The plane circled slowly above the city，tugging the enormous bubble behind it.The bubble had slowed in its growth，but not completely.Gradually，it came to occupy half the sky.At last，it broke loose from the hoop beneath the airplane，floating independently in the air.

“This is my present，Baba！”Yuanyuan shouted excitedly through the phone.

Huge patches of light shimmered in the blue heavens，as if the entire sky were a slick piece of cellophane being crinkled by invisible hands under the sun.On close inspection，the flashes of light delineated an enormous，transparent sphere that took up most of the sky.The people below had to turn their heads nearly one hundred and eighty degrees to see it in its entirety.It looked as if the mirror of heaven were casting a crystalline reflection of the Earth below.

The city began to grow agitated.Traffic jams formed in the thoroughfares.

The enormous bubble slowly descended from the sky.Once it was at a sufficiently low altitude，the people below could even see the city’s skyscrapers mirrored on the bubble’s surface；as it undulated in the wind，the buildings twisted and distorted，like a kelp forest under the sea.The broad bubble membrane pressed down inexorably.People instinctively shielded their heads with their arms.When the bubble touched the ground，those exposed outside felt a brief itch on their faces as their bodies passed through the membrane.

The bubble hadn’t popped.Instead，it had formed a spherical dome nearly ten kilometers in diameter with the ground.The city and the surrounding industrial plants were now trapped in the bubble！

“It wasn’t on purpose，it really wasn’t！”Yuanyuan said into the camera.“Under normal conditions，the bubble would have floated away in the breeze.Who knew today’s wind would be so much weaker than usual？That’s why it fell and covered the city！”

The mayor watched the emergency report，which had interrupted the city television station’s normal programming.He saw that his daughter was wearing a leather aviation jacket，open at the front to reveal a blue work uniform underneath.Beneath her was the old-fashioned biplane…time flashed backward again.So alike，they look so alike…the mayor’s heart melted，tears spilling from his eyes.

Two hours later，the mayor and the newly established emergency team drove to the bubble wall at the city outskirts.Yuanyuan and several of her engineers were there，well ahead of them.

“Baba，isn’t my superbubble amazing？”Yuanyuan had lost her earlier panic，her face alight with inappropriate excitement.

The mayor paid no mind to his daughter，raising his head to consider the bubble’s surface.The vast sheet of membrane shimmered in rainbow colors under sunlight，intricate patterns of diffraction on its surface shifting and morphing hypnotically in a bewitching sea of all the universe’s colors.The membrane was transparent，so that the outside world seen through it was coated with a layer of iridescence too.A certain distance up，the iridescence disappeared；from the air，it would be impossible to see the membrane.

The mayor reached out a hand and carefully touched the superbubble.The back of his hand itched，very faintly：it was already on the other side of the bubble.The membrane might only be a few molecules thick.He drew his hand back through；the membrane instantaneously returned to its original form.The pattern of iridescence there was unchanged，as if it had never been interrupted.

The others also began to touch the membrane，then waved their hands in an attempt to tear it，then at last devolved into flailing punches and kicks…but none of it made a difference to the membrane.Every assault passed through the bubble without resistance，after which the membrane restored itself perfectly.With a wave of his hand，the mayor halted everyone’s futile efforts.He then pointed to the highway in the distance；the others saw that the traffic on the highway was passing through the membrane undisrupted，even at their high speeds.

“It’s like a soap bubble membrane：solid objects can pass through，but not air，”said Yuanyuan.

“Air not being able to pass through is the problem.The air quality in the city is rapidly deteriorating，”the mayor said，glaring at his daughter.

Everyone looked up and saw that an enormous white dome-shaped cap had appeared in the sky above the city.The membrane was trapping the smoke from the city and industrial plants in the mold of the superbubble.If one were to observe the city from a distance right now，perhaps they’d be seeing a towering hemisphere of milky white.

“We may need to shut down the power plant and the chemical plant to slow down the rate of pollutant release，”said the leader of the emergency team.“But the most serious problem is the rising temperatures inside the bubble.Right now，the city is effectively inside a sealed greenhouse without air exchange with the outside world.It’s the middle of summer，and the heat from the sun is building up quickly.According to our calculations，the temperature inside the bubble will eventually peak at sixty degrees Celsius！”

“Up to now，what methods have we tried for destroying the superbubble？”asked the mayor.

“An hour earlier，we had army aviation people fly their helicopters through the top of the bubble，trying to use the propellers to tear it open，but it didn’t work，”answered an officer from the local garrison.“Then we set explosives where the bubble met the ground.The explosion only made the bubble ripple a while，without causing any damage.Even more incredibly，the membrane instantaneously extended down into the blast crater，traveling right along the bottom without any gap！”

“How long will it take for the bubble to burst naturally？”the mayor asked Yuanyuan.

“Bubble rupture is primarily caused by evaporation of the fluid membrane.This substance has an extremely slow rate of evaporation—even with sunny weather，the bubble will take five or six days to pop，”Yuanyuan answered.To her father’s outrage，she sounded full of pride.

“Then we’ll have to evacuate everyone，”the leader of the emergency team said，sighing.

The mayor shook his head.“I won’t take that step until we absolutely have to.”

“There’s another way，”said an environmental specialist.“Hurry and have a lot of long tubes made，the wider the better.Place the tubes with one end outside the bubble and a high-power ventilation fan on the other end，and we can exchange air with the outside world.”

“Haha—”Yuanyuan started to laugh，startling everyone around her.Surrounded by angry looks，she was laughing so hard she couldn’t stand upright.“That idea’s—that’s hilarious！Haha—”

“This is all your fine work！”the mayor thundered.“You’re going to take responsibility and pay back all the losses you’ve caused the city！”

Yuanyuan looked up at the sky and stopped laughing.“I know，I’ll pay up.But I just thought of a simple way to pop the superbubble—burning.Dig a trench one to two hundred meters long where the bubble meets the ground，pour it full of fuel，then light it.The fire will make the membrane evaporate much faster.The bubble should burst after about three hours.”

The mayor ordered the emergency team to do as Yuanyuan explained.A wall of fire more than a hundred meters long sprung up on the city outskirts.As the row of furious flames licked at the bottom of the superbubble，strange colors and shapes shimmered in the membrane.The patterns of color revealed that the FlySol from other parts of the bubble was rushing over to replace what had evaporated from the fire，as if the portion being burned had become a giant whirlpool，sucking gorgeous，beguiling floods of color from every direction to disappear into the flames.Their black smoke pressed upward along the bubble’s inner surface，gathering into an enormous black hand pressing down，terrifying the millions of city-dwellers within the superbubble.

Three hours later，the bubble popped.People in the city heard a soft tinkle of breaking in the space between heaven and earth，crisp and clear and echoing for a long time after，as if a string in the instrument of the universe had been very gently plucked.

“It’s weird，Baba，you didn’t blow your top like I thought you would，”Yuanyuan said.She and her father stood on the roof of the city government headquarter building，watching the superbubble burst.

“I’ve been considering something…Yuanyuan，I’d like you to answer a few questions for me seriously.”

“About the superbubble？”

“Yes.I want to know，since the bubble membrane is impermeable to air from the outside，would the superbubble also be able to retain moist air on the inside？”

“Of course.In fact，toward the end of FlySol’s development，I thought of a possible practical application for the superbubbles：giant greenhouses.They could form miniature climate zones in winter，providing temperature and humidity levels suitable for crop growth over large areas.Of course，that would require longer-lasting bubbles.”

“The second question：can you make a superbubble float a long way on the wind，for，say，a few thousand kilometers？”

“Not a problem.Heat from the sun accumulates in the bubble，so the air inside expands and creates buoyancy like a hot air balloon’s.The superbubble today fell only because it was formed too low in altitude，with too weak of a breeze.”

“The third question：can you ensure that the superbubbles burst after a specific length of time？”

“That’s doable.We’d only need to adjust the concentration of one of the ingredients to change the solution’s rate of evaporation.”

“The last question：given enough investment money，can you blow millions，or even billions，of superbubbles？”

Yuanyuan’s eyes widened in surprise.“Billions？Heavens，what for？”

“Picture this in your mind：above the faraway sea，countless superbubbles are forming.Propelled by the strong winds of the stratosphere，they’ll set sail on a long journey to ultimately arrive in the sky above northwest China，then burst in unison，scattering the humid ocean air they formed around into our dry air…yes，with superbubbles，we can bring in moist air from the seas to the Northwest！In other words，we can bring in rain！”

Shock and emotion left Yuanyuan speechless for a time.She could only look at her father，stunned.

“Yuanyuan，you gave me a glorious birthday present.Who knows，today might prove the birthday of the Northwest too！”

The cool wind of the outside world was blowing over the city.Without the superbubble to confine it，the white dome of smog above was slowly coming apart in the breeze.In the eastern sky，an odd rainbow had appeared.When the superbubble burst，the FlySol in the membrane had scattered into the air to form it.

8

The enormous engineering project to aerially divert water into western China took ten years.

In these ten years，vast sky-nets were built in China’s southern waters.The nets were constructed from thin tubes covered in tiny holes.Each eye in the net was hundreds，even thousands，of meters in diameter，similar to the hoop that had blown the superbubble ten years ago，and each net had thousands of such apertures.

There were two types of sky-net：land-mounted and aerial.The land-mounted sky-nets were placed along the coastline，while the aerial sky-nets hung from giant tethered balloons at high altitude，several kilometers above.In the South China Sea and the Bay of Bengal，the sky-nets ran continuously for more than two thousand kilometers along the coast and above the sea，and were nicknamed“The Bubble Wall of China.”

The day the aerial water diversion system started up for the first time，the thin tubes in the sky-net filled with FlySol，forming a membrane of fluid over each aperture.Strong，moist sea wind blew into the sky-net，forming countless superbubbles，each kilometers in diameter.The bubbles broke loose from the sky-net one after another，rising in droves to higher skies.Ascending into the atmosphere，they followed the air currents onward，even as more bubbles steadily blew forth from the sky-net.Great flocks of superbubbles glided majestically inland，wrapped around the humid air of the seas.They drifted past the Himalaya Mountains，past the Greater Southwest，into the skies of the Northwest.Between the South China Sea and Bay of Bengal，and northwest China，two rivers of bubbles thousands of kilometers long had formed！

9

Two days after the aerial water diversion system began full-scale operation，Yuanyuan flew from the Bay of Bengal to the capital of a Northwest province.When she stepped off the plane，she saw only a round moon suspended in the night sky：the bubbles that had set out from the ocean had yet to arrive.In the city，crowds were out under the moonlight.Yuanyuan got out of the car at the central square，squeezing her way into the crowd too，to wait fervently along with them.

Even when midnight came，the night sky remained unchanged.The crowd began to disperse as it had the previous two days，but Yuanyuan didn’t leave.She knew the bubbles would arrive tonight for certain.She sat on a bench，at the edge of sleep and wakefulness，when she suddenly heard someone cry out.

“Heavens，why are there so many moons？”

Yuanyuan opened her eyes.She really did see a river of moons in the night sky！The countless moons were the reflections in countless massive bubbles.Unlike the real moon，they were all crescents，some curving up and some curving down，all of them so translucent and jewel-like that the real moon seemed plain in comparison.Only by its unchanging location could it be distinguished from the mighty current of moons crossing the sky.

From that point on，the sky over northwest China became the sky of dreams.

During the day，the drifting bubbles were hard to see.There were just the reflections off the membranes，everywhere in the blue sky，that made it look like the surface of a lake rippling under the sunlight.On the ground，enormous but faint shadows traced the slow passage of the bubbles.The most beautiful moments were at dawn and dusk，when the rising or setting sun on the horizon would limn the river of bubbles in the sky with radiant gold.

But these lovely scenes didn’t last for long.The bubbles above popped one after another.More bubbles were rolling in，but clouds were beginning to gather in the sky，obscuring the bubbles.

Next，in the season that had been driest of all in previous years，a slow，steady drizzle drifted down from the sky.

Amid the rain，Yuanyuan arrived at the city of her birth.After ten years of evacuation，Silk Road City had become quiet and empty.Unoccupied skyscrapers stood silently in the rain.

Yuanyuan noticed that these structures hadn’t truly been abandoned；they were well-preserved，the glass in the windows unbroken.The whole city seemed to be deep in slumber，waiting for the day of revival it knew would come.

The rain tamped down the dust，leaving the air fresh and pleasant.Raindrops tickled deliciously cool on the face.Yuanyuan strolled along streets she knew well，streets through which her father had led her by her small hand countless times，on which countless soap bubbles she’d blown had scattered.A childhood song resounded in Yuanyuan’s heart.

Suddenly，she realized that she really could hear the song.The sun had set now，and in the city descended into night，only one window shone with light from within.It belonged to the second floor of an ordinary apartment building，her home，and the song came from there.

Yuanyuan stopped in front of the building.The surroundings were clean and well-kept.There was even a vegetable patch，the plants in it growing heartily.A tool cart stood to one side，fitted with a big metal bucket，clearly used to carry water from elsewhere for the plants.Despite the obscuring darkness，one could sense the breath of life here.In the dead silence of the empty city，it beckoned to Yuanyuan like an oasis in the desert.

Yuanyuan climbed the well-swept stairs and gently pushed open the door to her home.Her father was reclining on the couch，his hair grizzled under the lamplight，contently humming the old children’s song.He held the little bottle that Yuanyuan had used to carry bubble liquid as a child，and the little plastic hoop，and he was blowing a string of multicolored bubbles.

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