La Ronde

Utopia must remain absent to qualify as desired.

Early Monday morning, Valentino arrived at the gate of the detention center.The director personally led him all the way through the oppressive corridor, and turned two more corners before arriving at the cell where Conrad was detained.Conrad received special care in solitary confinement.He leaned against the wall and sat on the wet ground with his head down. He was still wearing the blood-stained white sweater, and his face was covered by his dull blond hair.

Valentino was like Daedalus who saw his beloved son's wax wings melted. Even though he was in grief, he didn't dare to look at the horrible scene. He covered his eyes with his palms.Soon, he collected his emotions, and called Conrad's name twice through the window rail of the cell.Conrad moved, as if trying to look up.

At this time, the guard also opened the cell door.Valentino hurried to Conrad's side, squatted down, brushed away Conrad's messy hair, took out a chest scarf and gently wiped his face: "It's okay... I'm here to pick you up , I'll take you out right now."

Since he hadn't closed his eyes much for two days, Valentino looked sluggish, but the words in his mouth were extremely firm.

Conrad tried his best to open his eyes and looked at him, showing a smile, that smile may have touched his wound, it looked a bit strange, but he talked about Valentino instead: "What is your expression? I Nothing at all, I'm used to these little scrapes at the factory."

And these "little scrapes" made it impossible for him to even stand up.Valentino borrowed the wheelbarrow the jail used to deliver supplies, and the guards offered to help, but he refused.He carried Conrad to the steel plate of the cart by himself, helped Conrad adjust his posture, and made sure that he was sitting properly before slowly pushing him up.

He felt like he was handling a piece of fragile china.

Of course he knew Conrad wasn't porcelain, nor were he painting flowers and vines.He is a tough, passionate, simple and innocent child who can work in the factory for twelve hours a day without saying a word, and will use his fists to defend the dignity of himself and his friends when he is insulted.He was born poor but never humble, and he would not hide his ignorance about something from others.He doesn't want to overcomplicate things, and always lives in a ignorant way, immersing himself in every moment.

Valentino had seen many people, some of whom were learned wise men or refined artists, and he naturally admired these people, but he was not surprised by their achievements.Knowledge and taste can be acquired through hard work, but love and beauty are born.

When he was a child, he had no playmates. His sisters were learning etiquette or playing with dolls. He would sit in the piano room and play the piano. When he was tired, he would read German philosophy for a while.He especially liked "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", in which there are three metamorphoses of the spirit: the camel, the lion, and the child.

The spirit of those mature scholars, including himself, is a camel with a load, strong but too heavy.They could neither completely negate the revolution nor devote themselves wholeheartedly to it.Because they are always analyzing the logic behind the revolution, questioning the specific design of utopia, a pursuit of all-encompassing totality makes them exhausted.The spirit of the young men in the street is like a lion, whose will cries out for freedom, and casts all their strength and passion in this cause.

The third metamorphosis of the mind is the child, and Conrad belongs to this category.The child is in a primordial moment, before the dice are thrown and the roulette is at its origin.Children have not yet separated themselves from nature, so their state of mind is as peaceful and happy as nature.Naive and forgetful, they can start or end at any time.

Conrad is certainly not porcelain, he is something more fragile than porcelain.Conrad is also not a flower, he is a more dazzling color than flowers.

No revolution is worth turning children into camels, nothing in the world is worth such a high price.Under the impetus of this incident, Valentino actually figured out the fate of the revolution, or maybe he just faced up to the conjecture that had always existed in his heart.

Just as the imam can only hang his transcendent power over his congregation by seclusion, so utopia must remain absent in order to be eligible to be desired.It is not utopia that revolution conjures, but the ghostly desires of men that are infinitely postponed.

***

De Ville waited not long at the gate of the detention center when he saw Valentino pushing Conrad out.He hurried forward to help, and helped Conrad with Valentino.

De Ville watched as Valentino rested Conrad's head on his shoulder, not caring that his blood stained the expensive coat.That cautious posture made De Ville laugh in his heart. In his opinion, this injury is not serious. When he was a child, he saw a lot of men in the village whose legs were broken by hooligans because they could not pay off their gambling debts.But he still showed great concern: "Conrad, are you okay? Although the hospital is on strike now, I know students in the medical school and I can ask them to take a look at you." He said this, but looked at Valentino.

Conrad responded vigorously: "Thank you, Mr. de Ville. Except for a little dizziness, I feel fine now."

But his voice was so weak that de Villey couldn't catch the whole sentence.Just as he was about to be questioned, Valentino said, "He's dizzy and can't talk much. I don't bother you anymore, just take him back to the hotel. I've got a doctor from Italy."

De Ville keenly noticed that Valentino's tone was different from before. If he had originally had the desire to make friends with Valentino, he had completely given up on it now.Valentino remained polite and restrained, but the distance in his tone was hard to ignore—not the kind of alienation toward strangers—but it made De Villere aware that this was a man of a completely different class from his own. the alienation of the nobility.Maybe he will receive a reward sent by Valentino after he goes back, thanking him for writing articles for Conrad and supporting him along the way, which also means that the so-called "communication" between them is just equivalent An implied contract for a fee.

Under the oppression brought by this sense of identity, de Villey responded with a few words on the surface, but he was even more aggrieved in his heart.He scrutinized Conrad vaguely, wondering if there was anything better about this kid than him.At first glance, he is a German guy from the countryside, and he must not be very smart, otherwise, how could he go to France to work as a car factory worker at a young age.Moreover, he acted recklessly and acted impulsively, and was arrested by the guards when the French government deliberately controlled the conflict.There is nothing comparable to him in personality, knowledge, and vision. If there is any advantage, it is the face.But he personally doesn't like the typical Germanic appearance, the too serious and tight lines are not friendly enough.Oh, maybe that's why the country boy always plays crazy to counteract the heaviness.In this way, he is not hopelessly stupid.But even so, it wasn't worth Valentino's extra glance at him.What the young prince needs is a right-hand man, a shepherd for his flocks, and what is it to be friends with a garage worker?

De Ville even sighed imperceptibly at the end, thinking that Valentino was a free-wheeling dandy.If he had Valentino's background, he would never waste his energy on these inferior people.Thank you, what can this little worker give in return?

He was so immersed in his own world, and after a while, the three of them returned to the Ducap Hotel.De Ville left quickly, saying that he still had urgent matters to rush to the newspaper office.

The doctor called by Valentino did a general examination and debridement and disinfection for Conrad. It was confirmed that he had three fractures of different degrees, and he was put on a handguard.

Conrad was dripping with cold sweat but kept silent. After the doctor left, he pretended to glance casually at Valentino's expression, and was caught by the other party.

Valentino sat by his bed and tucked his quilt: "Kurt has also been released, and Barbara should have gone to pick him up."

Conrad was still a little uneasy at first, but when he heard this, he seemed to forget the pain with joy, and he straightened up: "Really? He's still alive!"

Valentino gently pushed him down and let him lie down: "Yes, it's all right now, you don't have to worry about him anymore." Then he looked at Conrad with a stern look.

Conrad has never been disciplined by male elders since he was a child, and it is rare to experience the feeling of being scolded by his father after a child does something wrong.But when he thought about it again, he had done nothing wrong, so he regained some confidence, and his eyes no longer dodged.

"It's too dangerous this time. What will you do if those guards become impulsive and shoot at you?" Valentino was finally able to look into those blue-gray eyes again, and he couldn't stop being afraid, his tone With blame in it.

"But I didn't do anything wrong. They insulted Barbara first. If they shot, I'd be better off than Barbara, and she's got two kids..."

Valentino took a deep breath.

He never showed too much emotion in front of others, and one of the teachings of the superiors was to behave calmly and calmly at all times.Even on the day his mother died, he didn't cry until he returned to his room.But right now, he couldn't control his anger: "They insulted Barbara, do you have to fight back immediately? It doesn't matter if you are beaten to death? Do you remember that you said you would take me back to see your courtyard? ?”

He was so angry that he wanted to smash two glass vases of Emile Gallet to relieve his anger, but his internalized upbringing for many years did not allow him to do so, so he could only sit there with trembling hands, staring at Conra without saying a word Germany.

"If I didn't fight back at that time, what chance would I have? Besides, I thought Kurt was killed by them!" Conrad was also taken aback by his inexplicable excitement, but seeing Valentino's face became more serious. After leaving the errand, he added: "Forget it, look, isn't it all right now? The police station is still afraid of the power of the workers, so they let us all out."

Valentino laughed back angrily. He didn't want to say it at first, but at this moment he couldn't control himself: "Afraid of the power of the workers? Do you know why you and Kurt were released? Do you think Kurt has been imprisoned?" How many days! Where is the worker who disappeared with him now!"

Conrad also thought of a possibility, and an abnormal light pink appeared on his pale face: "...Why?"

Valentino's heart felt sad, but at this point, there was no possibility of turning back: "Why else? Of course it was because I contacted the Italian Communist Party privately and did business with them! Otherwise, why would the trade union go to the police? You I have seen the trade union stand up for a worker who was taken away!"

Conrad almost fainted. He asked incredulously, "You used your privilege to let the union negotiate and let me and Kurt out?"

Valentino didn't continue talking, he walked to the other side of the room, where Conrad had his answer.He was struggling to get out of bed and leave the room right now.

Valentino seemed to have expected his reaction long ago, quickly dialed the phone, called the doctor who lives next door, and said without any emotion: "Doctor Gooden, give him a tranquilizer."