In any case, meeting fellow travelers on the journey is always a happy thing, for both parties.
After a brief greeting, the two of them walked one after the other around the majestic gray-white marble relief in the center of the front hall, entered the collection room from the main entrance, and the view before them suddenly opened up.
The collection room resembled a vast indoor stadium. The sun-blocking dome rose high above the ground, domed with pale yellow LED lights that gave the interior a warm hue. The main entrance faced a main thoroughfare that ran through the venue, and a hundred or two hundred meters further ahead lay the remains of a gigantic fish skeleton. A holographic screen nearby described it as the largest animal ever found by humans in Earth's time. The collections, stored in cubic, transparent glass cases, were scattered on either side of the main thoroughfare, fifteen meters apart, like guards on duty, stretching from near to far, out of sight. The floor was paved with an energy-absorbing elastic material, so even with the large number of visitors, they could not detect a single sound wave vibration from the ground. Five meters above the criss-crossing sidewalks, drones moved about on pre-installed mesh cables. From a distance, they resembled bees flitting among flowers, working diligently and tirelessly.
This wasn't He Chen's first time at this place, so he acted as Vasily's impromptu free guide. The two of them stood by the museum's landmark for a while, took a group photo and a few photos of the scenery using the exoskeleton's viewfinder, and then turned onto the left-hand branch road.
The left and right sides of this branch road are the museum's exhibition areas 1 and 2 respectively.
Exhibition Area 1 mainly displays well-preserved pre-war relics, often common objects whose uses might be confusing to the new generation, but which are likely to attract curious youngsters. Examples include arm-length wooden sticks with curved ends, curved, flexible transparent lenses the size of fingers that appear in pairs, and various palm-sized paper boxes containing 20 paper-wrapped spices in beautifully packaged packaging. . . .
Exhibition Area 2 displays documents and materials excavated from the ruins by archaeologists in recent years. They are boring to look at, so not many tourists visit them.
Vasily was confused by the museum's practice of placing those daily necessities in the display cabinets, but he did not show his dissatisfaction on the surface. Instead, he followed "Old He" and passed by these things one by one without stopping.
This compact tour naturally made it difficult to waste time. It didn't take long for the two of them to reach the end of Exhibition Area 2, cross the main road, and arrive at the other half of the venue.
Section 3 was filled with abstract artworks. If it weren't for the holographic images floating above each booth, no one would be able to connect them to their actual meaning. This reminded Vasily of the short essays he'd seen online as a child. If he hadn't been in the writer's circle, he might not even have understood what they were about.
Exhibition Area 4 was relatively normal, displaying mostly privately donated items. Each item was labeled with the date of donation and the name of the donor, presumably indicating they were of great significance to someone. Vasily observed "Old He" lingering for quite a while at a booth, only to find a glass case containing a jar of several-centimeter-long oval metal pieces with names and numbers inscribed on them. The donor's name was "Mr. He," and he assumed it was an elder in the alumnus' family.
After touring all four exhibition areas, the two continued along the main road, passed through a gate and a downward slope, and arrived at the basement level of the museum.
The temperature underground was obviously much colder, but it was not a temperature in the conventional sense. Even though the temperature regulation module of the exoskeleton was intact, Vasily felt a biting chill.
The structure here is almost identical to that on the ground, except that all the glass display stands have been replaced with monuments engraved with names, each representing a life lost in the war. There are almost no tourists here, as they prefer to remember the abstract shining points and beautiful moments of humanity rather than these people who have been forgotten in history.
He Chen walked to the nearest monument, wiped away the static-charged lunar dust on its surface, and said to Vasily over the communication channel, "Don't be afraid. They are just names. Their souls remain on Earth, forever."
"Yeah?"
Unlike this "Old He," Vasily had experienced the entire process, so he couldn't agree with He Chen's perspective. He had previously found it difficult to imagine such a place where chaos and silence coexisted, but now he could accurately describe the feeling with a single word: cemetery.
Yes, this is indeed a cemetery. Like other lunar museums, it has another unknown name - "Memorial Hall for the Victims of World War IV."
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