Chapter 22

Chapter 22: Crew Member Code.

Alice stopped at the door of the captain’s cabin.

The doll raised her head, looked at the dark oak door in front of her, and noticed a line of words on the doorframe, written in elegant cursive letters: “Door of The Lost Ones.”

It was not strange at all for such a line of words to appear on the doorframe of the captain’s cabin of the Vanished, but Alice still frowned without thinking. She was not curious about the door, but about why she could even recognize “writing”.

She had no memory of learning letters. In fact, she had no memory of any “learning” at all. She did not remember ever gaining experience of moving about outside or talking with people. Yet this knowledge simply existed in her mind by itself.

She could read the letters on the captain’s doorframe. She also understood what the different pieces of furniture in a room were used for. It was impossible to learn such things just by lying in a wooden crate and listening to people talk outside—so where had this knowledge come from?

Before today, Alice had never thought about this question. But for some reason, after talking with that “Captain Duncan”, a strange thing rose up in the doll’s mind, which was supposed to run calmly forever: the idea of “curiosity”.

She thought back carefully. The change seemed to have started after Duncan asked about the origin of the name “Alice”… In that moment, she began to question some of the things in her mind that had always felt natural. She tried to recall where her name came from, and then something in her mind loosened.

Alice did not know if this loosening was good or bad, but she did not like the feeling of confusion. So she soon shook her head and pushed the doubt aside. She steadied herself at the captain’s door, then placed her hand on the oak doorknob and pushed forward gently.

The door did not move at all.

Alice froze for a moment and tried pushing again, but the wooden door felt as if it were cast from solid steel and did not budge.

Right as she wanted to try again, a voice suddenly came from inside the captain’s cabin—a hoarse, low voice, as if it came from a rotting piece of wood: “The door opens outward, lady.”

This was not Captain Duncan’s voice. Alice jumped in fright, but she reacted quickly. She let out a hurried “oh” and pulled the door outward. This time, the door opened very easily.

Only then did she remember that when the captain had brought her here before, he had indeed pulled the door open outward.

It seemed that the “everyday knowledge” that had appeared in her mind out of nowhere was still only knowledge. After sleeping in a wooden crate for so many years, she still lacked real experience of living. Alice reflected on this a little, then carefully stuck her head in and looked into the captain’s cabin.

The captain’s cabin was empty. The striking chart table sat quietly under the lamp. A thin mist floated over the surface of the enchanted sea chart on the table, and the dark wooden carving of Goathead was turning its gaze from the edge of the table. A pair of eyes carved from obsidian stared at her in a hollow way.

Goathead spoke, more polite than Alice had imagined, and said: “Please come in, lady. The captain is busy. You can wait for him here. Also, try not to stick your head in like that. It will make some overly nervous fellows on the Vanished think that someone hates them. It is very troublesome to calm them down—and if your head falls off again, that would be a problem too. I have no hands, so I cannot help you pick it up…”

It really talked! This wooden carving really talked!

Even though Captain Duncan had said before that the Goathead on the chart table could talk, it still stunned Alice to suddenly hear a wooden carving rattle off so many words at her. She took a moment to react, then answered: “Ah, okay. But my head actually does not come off that easily, and when they installed it last time, I even… Wait, you said there are some nervous ones on the Vanished… does that mean there are others on this ship…”

Only after that did Alice slowly realize what Goathead’s words had hinted at. She looked around in surprise and nervousness. For a moment, she felt that this captain’s cabin, and even every single thing on the Vanished, was swaying in the dim light and turning into “strange objects” like that eerie Goathead. Goathead’s voice then came into her ears again: “Is that so strange? It takes many hands to keep such a huge ship running. Did you think the great Captain Duncan would personally scrub the deck?”

What Goathead said actually made some sense. Alice’s mind, which had only just awakened and was not very quick yet, still felt that something was wrong, but after thinking for a long time she could only nod: “That is true… so there are many like you on the Vanished…”

“There is only one loyal Deputy to the captain. The rest are a bunch of dim-witted fellows. You do not need to think about talking with them—they have no interest in talking with people anyway,” Goathead cut her off before Alice finished. “But since you are the ship’s new recruit, it is normal that you do not understand many rules and principles. As Captain Duncan’s most loyal First Mate and Second Mate and… I need to tell you some basic knowledge that you must know to live on this ship. After all, the captain would never lower himself to explain such things to a new recruit… lady, are you ready?”

Alice listened in a daze. She had already forgotten why she had come to the captain’s cabin in the first place. She only felt that every time this Goathead opened his mouth, a long string of words came pouring out. After a few exchanges, the pace of the conversation was completely out of her control. When he suddenly threw out that long chain of titles, her whole head buzzed. When he finally finished speaking, she could only nod without thinking: “Ah, ah, o-okay… okay?”

“Very good. Then next come a few rules that every crew member of the Vanished must know. They will help a new recruit adapt faster and fully receive the protection of the Vanished and the great Captain Duncan while sailing on the dangerous Boundless Sea…”

Goathead was clearly very pleased with Alice’s answer. He spoke while shaking his wooden head, and his tone was full of pride—

“First, Captain Duncan is the absolute master of the Vanished. Captain Duncan is always right. Even if the Mortal Realm comes into conflict with Captain Duncan’s words, you must still take Captain Duncan’s judgment as the standard.

“Second, any crew member may only move in the areas that Captain Duncan allows. You must not take even half a step into any area that Captain Duncan has not ordered open, because those areas do not exist.

“Third, if you step into an unpermitted area and somehow still stay alive for a time, you must stay where you are and wait for Captain Duncan to bring you back, or calmly wait for death. You must never return on your own, because what you return to will not be the Vanished.

“Fourth, the Vanished always sails on the correct course. Never question the captain’s sailing plan. If you find that the scenery around the Vanished is different from what you expected, or if you find that the Vanished has entered a ‘deeper’ sea area, then this is a normal part of the sailing plan.

“Fifth, the captain will sometimes leave the ship, but he will always return. While the captain is away, the Vanished will continue to sail normally, but all crew members are strictly forbidden to go near the steering platform at the stern. The rudder system feels insecure when the captain is gone, and the ropes at the stern will strangle any rash fool who shows a ‘usurping’ attitude.

“Sixth, on the Vanished there are, and will only ever be, six basic rules for crew members.

“Seventh, the door of the captain’s cabin opens outward.”

Goathead seemed to have explained this “common knowledge” to new crew members many times before. He spoke of these rules very smoothly and naturally. But when Alice heard the last two, she immediately heard something wrong: “Wait, Mr. Goathead, in the sixth rule you said…”

“Sixth, on the Vanished there are, and will only ever be, six basic rules for crew members,” Goathead answered at once. When he talked about these basic rules, he never hesitated.

For a moment, Alice was not sure whether something was wrong with herself or with this “First Mate” in front of her: “But you just mentioned a seventh rule…”

“Seventh, the door of the captain’s cabin opens outward,” Goathead answered very naturally.

Alice stared blankly at the dark Goathead carving on the table. After doubting her ears, she started to doubt her own brain—but then she soon remembered that she did not have a brain. So she checked again: “These two… are not in conflict?”

“There is no conflict at all.”

Listening to Goathead’s firm answer and looking at his hollow, pitch-black eyes, Alice opened her mouth, but then suddenly swallowed all her questions.