科幻微小说:迪马利亚——真正的天使
Have you ever heard of Shadow Man?
Cosmic Singularity
At the end of time and space, there are some advanced and unknown civilizations. They live in a multidimensional space and can travel freely through time and space. As high-level civilizations, they are responsible for protecting other low-level civilizations, but they cannot be perceived by low-level civilizations.
A mysterious man(Let's call it “man” for the time being),called CSP, in black was doing his latest research in the huge,advanced,mysterious laboratory.
“Warning!Spatiotemporal chaos!” A line of scarlet letter appeared on the screen.
“Coordinate.”The man touched a white button.
“Earth ,Solar system , Local Fluff ,Gould Belt , Orion arm , The Milky Way, Local Group of Galaxies , Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea Supercluster”
A strange laugh appeared on CSP’s face,and he showed his ferocious white teeth. He looked at the watch in the center of the laboratory,which was suspended in the blue ray. It was his painstaking work, which could help other creatures of low civilization break the limitations of dimension and experience time travel. He can help humans complete time travel and monitor people's words and deeds by regulating laboratory equipment.
Irregularly,the pointer was beating.
Everything disappeared into the shadow,suddenly.
2022,Paris,France
Just another ordinary day.
After a day of training at the Le Parc des Princes, Ángel Di María drove home while listening to music in the dusk. In a few days, his team Paris Saint Germain would play against with Marseille in Ligue 1, which is known as Le Classique.However. it doesn't seem to have much to do with him. With the increase of age and the hot state of Messi, Mbappe and Neymar, he could hardly get playing time and be a substitute in the most matches in the season.
“Damn it!” When he got home, he slumped on the sofa and turned on the TV to relax himself. There is a calendar beside the TV. He is 34 now, knowing that he could no longer be as brave as when he first came to Paris seven years ago, but he was still eager to join Argentina in the World Cup at the end of the year to make up for the regret eight years ago. The lights outside the window were dim, with cold winds blowing the curtains, and the streets outside were silent paradoxically. Romance, beauty and modernity, which are the symbols of Paris, seemed to have nothing to do with him, not right now, anyway. The city now brings him incomparable loneliness, helplessness and depression. What he could do is only keeping company with the shadow and drinking wine alone.
Unknowingly, the time flew to midnight, he returned to his room, disappointed, slowly lying in bed and looking at the dim lights in the hall. Suddenly, the light outside flashed, as if passing a huge figure, whereas he didn't notice the abnormality and closed his eyes, thinking if he could play in that final. If it was not the Real Madrid, Argentina's history may have been rewritten . The dark shadow enveloped the whole room silently.
Just as he fell asleep, a cold, strange, low voice sounded.
“Dear time traveller, during your time trip, you must obey these rules. Mustn’t reveal your true identity. Mustn’t attempt to rewrite history. Must keep secrets about the future...”
Deep sleep came to him, with the shadow man fading away.
An invisible watch was worn on him, for time travelling and to spy on him, without his awareness, and he will never be aware of it.
The watch, which is actually a time machine, and also a monitor, was controlling the mysterious shadow man.
2014, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
“... during your time trip ,you must obey these rules. Mustn’t reveal your true identity. Mustn’t attempt to rewrite history. Must keep secrets about the future...”
A new day.
Ángel Di María woke up, without realizing to be brought to another time and space .He looked outside through the windows. What came into view was a huge statue of Jesus, which stands on the top of the mountain, overlooking all living beings ”Cristo Redentor? Corcovado? Estádio do Maracanã? Rio de Janeiro?”Confused, he just could not trust his eyes. He looked at the calendar, which read July 13, 2014.
“You are now in Rio de Janeiro and the World Cup final is coming .Remember, whoever break the rules will be severely punished.” A strange but familiar voice sounded, with a huge figure reflected on the wall behind him.
The painful memories are suddenly back.
“In the World Cup quarter final against Belgium, I strained my thigh in the 33rd minute and was replaced by Perez due to my serious injury .Although with Higuain's goal, we beat our opponent by 1-0,but as a result of this, I missed the semi-final with Netherland. Luckily, under the leadership of Messi, we eliminated our opponents through penalty shootout. From then on, I tried my best to recovery or even to have an injection if I could appear in the final stage. “
“However a sudden letter from Real Madrid broke my last hope. I could still clearly remember that day, all the details.”
When the people on the streets greeted him, he just said his name is Angel, instead of Di Maria. He went to the training ground of Argentina and saw his young and helpless self eight years ago.
“It was the morning of the 2014 World Cup final, exactly 11 a.m. I was sitting in a chair at the training center, ready to inject an anesthetic into my thigh.”
Angel heard Di Maria saying to the coach,” If my leg is broken, let it go on like this. I really don't care. I only care if I can play I just want to involve myself completely to the team and I can't live up to the expectations of the Argentines.”
“I was putting an ice bag on my leg when our team doctor, Daniel Martinez, came in with a letter in his hand. ‘You see, Di Maria, this is a letter from Real Madrid.’ I tore the envelope to pieces before I opened it, without any hesitation. Because I knew immediately what had happened. At that time, everyone heard the rumor that Real Madrid would introduce James Rodríguez, and I knew I wanted to make room for his arrival, so the team didn't want to devalue me as the transfer asset of the team due to injury. It was so simple. This is football, just the side that people can't see.”
Capital has ruined me, ruined my youth and the Argentines. He cried, and really could’t help it. He could’t stand the scene.
At dusk, he came to Maracana and sat in the stands, watching the much anticipated final and watching Di Maria on the bench crying. History repeated itself since he was unable to change the result of the game.
“Mario Gotze! Gotze scored in the 113rd minute ,which is the last-second shot to beat Agentina and became a hero of the Germans. Messi ,Di maria and his Argentina falls in front of Germany. In the past, the Argentine team always had a sad color and played luxuriantly, but it always couldn't get to the end, sometimes even out early. This Argentine team was tired of the story of gorgeousness but unfortune, and began to follow the iron blood spirit. They realized that the brilliance on the court was not romantic, and living down-to-earth was the most brilliant art. They have given up their flashiness. They have completed the revolution for themselves. You should know how painful such a revolution is for Argentines who strove for perfection. Maybe all their forbearance and pain will be rewarded only at the moment of winning the FIFA World Cup, but now it's one step away! Just like the Tango Dance One Step Away composed by the famous Argentine composer, their breath even touched the trophy, but they were one step away. The inherent tragic temperament in tango dance music really coincides with the temperament of Argentina. It lingers like fate. However, Argentines move forward endlessly towards what they love in their hearts, constantly innovate themselves and still approach their goals, which is fascinating in itself, isn't it? I believe many Argentinean fans have no regrets like their favorite team. Of course, you fall in love with something not because of success or failure, but because of his temperament, right? Congratulations to the Germans. We also want to applaud the Argentines. Anyone who dares to give up self innovation and constantly change himself for the goal in his heart deserves respect! Even if the loser can win people's respect through their own efforts, at least they are invincible in spirit!” ,said by the narrator ,but it also hurt deeply both Angel and Di Maria. What he could do is only to pound the seat with his hand.
Absolutely ,he hated Real Madrid. You know, just more than a month ago, his goal has already helped Real Madrid win the 10th Champions League in team history, but now, they actually broke his biggest dream on their own.
Back into the room, he sank in thought.
“I always remind myself that I am a member of the best team in the world, and I am playing for the national team, which was my childhood dream. Sometimes, as a professional player, we can't forget some simple things. People nowaday, they will view the imformation on INS, they will see the score of the game, but they don't know what we have paid behind all this. They don't know our journey. They only saw me holding my daughter and smiling at the side of the Champions League trophy, and they thought it was all perfect. But they didn't know that just a year ago, my daughter lived in the hospital for two months. She was full of pipes and wires. She was an early baby. Maybe they will see a picture of me crying with the trophy in my arms. They will think I cry because of football. But in fact, I cry because my daughter has been with me through all this. “
“They all saw the final and they all knew the result.”
“But they don't know how long we fought for this moment. They didn't know that the walls of my house changed from white to black. “
“They didn't know that my father had worked hard under a thin tin skin. “
“They didn't know that my mother had ridden Gracia in the cold, wet night, just for her children.”
“They don't know Hercules”
The broken watch worked again.
The 1990s, Rosario, Argentina
“... during your time trip ,you must obey these rules. Mustn’t... identity...history....the future...”it sounds again.
This time, he found himself in a small town. There were children playing barefoot and playing ragged football all over the street. From time to time, coal trucks could be seen driving in the street. People wore worn-out clothes to do business in the market. “And what surprised me most, I saw the familiar little old broken house. What’s more, my young, tired working mother, and the thin, excited little Di Maria.”
“He must be a naughty boy.”Di Maria stood in the corner ,watching his young self. His mother was selling detergent in the store. He snuck out while she was receiving customers for the reason to explore this magical world. He walked to the middle of the street. A car rushed towards him, yet his mother ran over and pushed him away. His father found a driver, a coal truck driver, who was responsible for transporting coal from San Diego to our town. But the interesting thing was that the family could’t even afford to buy coal. His father persuaded the driver to give him credit for a batch of coal and repay it later. Therefore, whenever his sister and little Di Maria wanted to ask my father for snacks, he will say to us, "I have to pay a loan for two houses and a cart of coal!"
Another day, his father and him were packing charcoal. It was cold and wet, and raindrops fell from the sky. “We only had a piece of tin on our heads to keep out the rain. It was really very uncomfortable.” Di Maria remembered. After working for several hours, He went to school. It was warm and comfortable there. But his father had to stay there and work all day, since if he could’t sell charcoal that day, his family might not have enough for dinner at night. That was so true. But at that time, little Di Maria always encouraged himself that he always believed that at some time, everything would develop in a good direction.
Indeed, things were getting better .After seeing a doctor, little Di Maria began his football career. He was really crazy about football. Football is like to be the only thing in his life. He played football every day, so that his shoes would be completely scrapped every two months. Because of excellent performance, he was invited to a TV programme but could not say anything because of nervousness.
“Then, my father received a call from the scouts from Rosario Central. They wanted little Angel to play there.” However, the scene was once very embarrassing because my father is a fan of Newells Old Boys, while my mother was a fan of Rosario. “If you don't come from us, you can't understand the love and hatred between the two teams. Either you die or I live. When the Derby started, my parents will shout for their team's goals. It's really the kind of heart breaking. The winner can ridicule the other party with the result of the game in the next month.” Therefore, his father responded “Well, I don't know. It's too far away. It's nine kilometers away. We don't have a car. How can we take him there?".However ,his mother replied happily,” No, no, don't worry. I'll pick him up. It's not a problem.”
Then Gracia came to his house. Every day, a woman rode her bicycle called Gracia through the town. A little boy was seated behind her, while a little girl was seated in the sidecar next to her. In the front basket was a backpack with his sneakers and snacks. It didn't matter whether it was uphill, downhill, rain, cold, wet, dark, or even dangerous communities. My mother has been riding, riding all the time. Because of football, Di Maria kept step by step towards success, towards today.
“Because of this, I owe my mother too much, I owe football too much. “He stood at the corner of the street, in the afterglow of the sunset, and couldn't help crying again.
With little time left, the watch entered the countdown.
The Shadow Man appeared for the third time, imperceptibly.
2026, Buenos Aires, Agentina
...
Di Maria has retired, without pity, staying at home and playing football with his daughter.
...
“Warning! Not enough time! Coming to the present soon!” read on the watch screen.
The Shadow Man takes back the watch and disappear forever.
2022,Doha,Qatar
Knocked the door.
“Don’t get up late .Hurry up. It’s time for training.” ,said by Messi with smile.
“What time is it now?” asked Di Maria, looking sleepy.
“It’s already 10,bro.”
“I mean, what’s the year now? Where is Mascherano and Agüero?”
Falling into silence.”Wake up! They have retired for years! And now we have De Paul.”, after a while, Messi replies in surprise,” Tomorrow, we will have our first game in 2022 FIFA World Cup against Saudi Arabia.”
“2022?World Cup?”
“Definitely sure.”
He quickly packs up his belongings and rushes to the training ground. He is 34 and it is his last chance to play in the World Cup ,or even the last match he plays for the Agentina. Eight years ago, Maracana left too many regrets for him and the Argentines. In the last World Cup of Messi, Di Maria and others, they must try their best to realize their lifelong dream. Although he is not the core of Argentina, he often has great ability at critical moments, just like a angel for Pampas. 14 years ago in Beijing, his goal helped the Argentine win the Olympic gold medal by beating Nigeria 1-0. In the Copa America last year, his goal helped the Argentines beat Brazil 1-0, and Argentina won the championship again after 28 years. If it hadn't been for Real Madrid, if it hadn't been for injuries, perhaps in the summer of Brazil eight years ago, Argentines would have realized their dream of the World Cup.
“Match will start in a few minutes. Let me introduce the starting list of both sides to you.First,Agentina,10-Messi,11-Di Maria...”
“Will we win?”
“Of course.”
...
In a distant, unknown and mysterious place .“Rule violation warning”, the Shadow Man receives the massage.
“He must be severely punished”, said the artificial intelligence time machine.
“No.”The Shadow Man smiles,” Because he is the angel for the Argentines and I admire and respect him very much.”
Hope this winter belongs to Angel Di Maria and Argentina.
Comment:
Shandow Man:It is a mysterious phenomenon. It is said that it is a human like shadow moving at its own pace or speed, and its size is similar to that of adults. Most people inadvertently notice the existence of Shadow Man with the residual light from the corners of their eyes, but when they intend to observe carefully, it disappears again, so they can't see any obvious facial features. Some people believe that this is the imagination of people due to illusion. This phenomenon can be attributed to the illusion caused by excessive tension, paranoia, delusion, fatigue and other symptoms. Others believe that Shadow Man is a creature in other dimensional space, because the space where the creature is located overlaps with our space, so we can partially see the projection of this creature or creatures in other dimensions in our three-dimensional space. Scientific research shows that there is not only the three-dimensional space we live in, but also the space of other dimensions in the universe. Then, other dimensions of space may be inhabited by creatures similar to us. Some theories believe that these spaces are parallel to the space we live in and are usually invisible. However, if the living beings in them inadvertently break into the dimensional space we live in and are partially visible to us, these "time and space travelers" may certainly have the appearance of shadow.
Cosmic Singularity: In modern cosmic science, it is a celestial body that is not really understood but can not be avoided is regarded as the starting point of the universe and the beginning and end of time and space. For human beings, it exists and does not exist.It is also the location of the most advanced civilization in the universe.
Earth ,Solar system , Local Fluff ,Gould Belt , Orion arm , The Milky Way, Local Group of Galaxies , Virgo Supercluster, Laniakea Supercluster: The precise position of the earth in the universe.(拉尼亚凯亚超星系团-室女座星系团-本星系群-银河系-猎户臂-古尔德带-本星际云-太阳系-地球)
CSP: The Niobium God. An unknown species that is said to be able to control everything.
Le Parc des Princes: The home of the famous French football team Paris Saint Germain,which is in the south of Paris.
Ángel Di María:A famous Argentine football player,who was born in Rosario in February 14, 1988 ,had played for Real Madrid from 2010 to 2014 and has played for Paris Saint Germain since 2015.In 2008, his goal helped the Argentine win the Olympic gold medal by beating Nigeria 1-0. In the Copa America 2020, his goal helped the Argentines beat Brazil 1-0, and Argentina won the championship again after 28 years.In 2014 FIFA World Cup in the eighth-finals with Switzerland, Di Maria received Messi's assist in the 118th minute and defeated his opponent, but he was injured in the quarter final against Belgium.Chinese football fans often call him Angel.
Paris Saint Germain:A famous football team in France,which has won 8 Ligue 1 in the last 10 seasons.Many famous football stars such as Di Maria, Messi, Mbappe, Neymar, Ramos play for it in this season.
Marseille:Another famous football team in France founded in 1899. The only team in France that has won the Champions League.
Le Classique:The most attractive match in Ligue 1,for a game against both Paris Saint Germain and Marseille.
Messi:One of the most famous football players in the world. Di Maria is a teammate of his club and national team and his closest friend. They have played together for Argentina for 14 years.
Neymar,Mbappe:The teammates of Di Maria in Paris Saint Germain.
Higuain, Mascherano,Aguero:The teammates of Di Maria in Agentina. They have played together in the 2014 World Cup. Now they have retired for their own reasons.
De Paul: Young stars in Argentina. In last year's Copa America final, he dedicated an assist to Di Maria.
Cristo Redentor: One of the most famous landmarks in Brazil.It is the largest statue of Jesus in the world,located on the top of Corcovado. It was founded in 1931 and is one of the new seven wonders of the world.
Corcovado: A mountain and a famous scenic spot,next to Estádio do Maracanã.
Estádio do Maracanã: One of the most famous stadiums in Brazil, which can accommodate more than 80000 people, has hosted the 2014 World Cup finals.
Real Madrid: Famous football club in Spain. Di Maria has spent the most brilliant years here. It has won 13 Champions League in history,and it is the most successful club in the world.
James Rodríguez: A famous Colombian football player. He made a splash at the 2014 World Cup and joined Real Madrid after that.
Mario Gotze:A famous German football player. In the 2014 World Cup final, he has scored a goal to help Germany beat Argentina to win the world cup.
Rosario Central ,Newells Old Boys:Two different Agentine football club.
Gracia:A yellow and old bicycle.Di Maria’s mother send him to football club in his childhood everyday by it.
Hercules: Refer to the FIFA World Cup.
Pampas:Refer to Agentina