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problematic. Already now we are anxious with in what business to place ours
capitals, where big guarantee of their safety. However can come
the moment – and it is rather, than it seems to much, – when it is necessary to think already
not so much about the capitals, how many about to.
– And people will rush about here and there, as in the house embraced
flame, – in Shnirere the prophet recovered again. – From the country to the country will be
to run they and everywhere will meet an all-devouring flame, a pernicious flame,
unrestrained and inevitable, as destiny. Also will not save from him the guard,
iron lattices of fencings, thick walls. Everything will die. Everything will turn
in ashes. And we will die. – And, having passed to shrill shout again, Shnirer
finished – And who is guilty? Cars! Proletarians! They! Still cup to tea,
more strong if you allow.
– Strikes began, revolution will finish, – the banker brought a remark.
– Yes this bowl will pass us! – the bishop exclaimed and, having instantly made
pious expression, crossed. – Here really it is time to think about
some., an ark in which with the God’s help could take refuge
righteous persons – color of our civilization and culture. Whether not merciful
the Lord put some idea this, how in times Noyev?
– To construct such “Titanic” – “ark” of modern scale,
equipped with the latest technology? – ironically Henry asked. —
And further? Where you on it will go? To the southern seas? To uninhabited
to the island mislaid in the ocean and not plotted even? Nonsense,
there are no “white spots” on the world map any more. There are no almost such islands. And if
also is, they will be found soon. Construction of “ark” and its departure will not be able
to pass unnoticed. Will find for us, will overtake and will crush as worms,
together with “ark”. Where, at last, a guarantee that it will manage to be completed?
There came silence.
– Really there is no exit? – lady Hinton asked.
– Why is not present? There is a solution, and quite good as it seems to me, – it is quiet
Henry answered. – Here you, mister professor of philosophy, scolded to the technician,
and from the point of view you, of course, are right. But the same equipment can give
for us and an exit to open a way to rescue. We will force the equipment to render to us
this last service, and then I have nothing against if it is
it is destroyed, to your pleasure, professor.
All pricked up the ears, listening. The henry happy with the had effect,
made a pause and slowly continued:
– “Ark” can save not all belonging to our class and
to circle, and only small group of the electees… “Magics to escape yes will escape”
– so, apparently, the milord is told in the writing? So, “ark” can and
it has to be constructed. But “ark” of absolutely special grade which carried away
us far away from this rebellious planet – well, at least for a while, so far
danger will not be eliminated. Or otherwise., forever…
Listeners disappointedly leaned back on backs of chairs, and the bishop,
Henry as dexterous maneuver who apprehended words to distract the general attention from
gloomy thoughts, threw off a fast mask, began to shine and good-natured burst out laughing:
– Perfectly! The ark floating on waves of the radio ocean!
Excellently!
– Yes, on waves of the radio ocean, – Henry seriously answered.
– It could come to mind only to Henry! – respectable exclaimed
the lady not flatter for it tone.
– Least of all in my head, the aunt. I admit, I understand a little in
to the equipment. But you, misters, know that recently I pay a tribute
to interest in stratospheric flights together with my friend the engineer,
large theorist of a zvezdoplavaniye and talented designer Leo
Zander. I just from it… And if you knew about its works, it
achievements…
– But same chimera!
– Imagination!
– And how we will breathe there?
– And what to eat? Air?
– We will stiffen from world cold which will destroy us also soon
and it is right as it will make communism.
– He wants to send us to the sky prematurely!
– And you depart?
Exclamations, jokes, laughter were heard.
– The lady and gentlemen, – Henry was not appeased, – your questions and
exclamations testify only to full yours, to put it mildly
ignorance of a subject. I claim that if you…
But did not listen to it. The nervous tension found a way out. Society
cheered up. Even Shnirer left the gloomy concentration and
opened that in this world, except strong tea and terrible cars, exist
still amazingly pleasant liquids concluded in graceful small bottles, and
the bishop reddened more than ordinary and laughed more loudly, than it was necessary
to it at its dignity.
Lady Hinton was happy and already graciously glanced at Henry,
it is free or involuntarily rendered her service.
– Let’s not be, misters to think of gloomy things, – she told. – God
it is mercy, our people are reasonable, the power in reliable hands, and to us,
I hope, it is not necessary to resort to the air ships and to look for rescue in
similar flight. Why you will not taste this liqueur, the baron?
Henry was angry by a failure of promotion of a zvezdoplavaniye.
He expected to receive several checks for continuation of experiences
Zander.
Lady Hinton seemed she managed what as to the skillful captain, already
to bring the ship out of a strip of the most severe storm, and suddenly flew new:
Stormer who was silent all evening zagromykhat by the thunderous voice:
– And I assure you, the sir, – addressed he Blotton, – that in the southern seas
there will be not one ten more unopened islands. I well know Silent
ocean. In its southeast part, far from main ocean roads, and
now still it is possible to find a silent shelter, – the island which is not put on one
card… But… I am a businessman, the businessman not inclined to panic and
to hysterics. Silly, however, to close eyes to reality. We live
on a volcano. Yes. We with devilish (Hinton shuddered) speed fly in
abyss. I will not list the latest events, they are known to all.
It is necessary to be ready to the worst. Yes. – Everyone it “yes” rattled as
thunderclap. – I speak not about a silly pose a rack. The baron is right. It is necessary to fight
and at the same time to prepare ways of retreat, so far we did not tie hands and
there are capitals.
To construct the huge motor ship. Such “Noah’s Ark” of three hundred
meters and with the displacement of eighty five – hundred thousand tons. So
mechanized that it was possible to manage the minimum quantity
crew – from young people of exclusive classes. Any
the proletarian, because all of them are obvious or our secret enemies. Yes. How many
wars, revolutions will last? Four-five years? We will be able to take
food on six, for eight years. Not to mention an opportunity
replenishments of stocks fishing and hunting on lonely islands. And we
let’s sit out. We will be able to keep thus the life if not the
capitals. I offer, without postponing, to organize the company for
constructions of “Noah’s Ark”. Needless to say that members of this
the companies will be only chosen and all case will be processed in the most strict
to secret. My project does not exclude yours, the sir, – turned Stormer to
To Blotton, having filled on him the red face with goggle rachy
eyes. – He agrees: to open our floating island our enemies nevertheless
will be able. In a zvezdoplavaniye I, unfortunately, understand nothing. But if it
it is feasible why don’t we prepare as a last resort and to
to the last jump – from Earth to abysses of the sky? You will not refuse courtesy,
the sir to acquaint me with your inventor?
If he convinces me that a zvezdoplavaniye not a chimera, I am the first
I will bring a share.
– Ffva you fverit Nneuzheli in a zvezdoplavaniye and hkhgotova to fvlozhit фв it
business to., to., capital? – Marshal Stormera when they asked
came back from lady Hinton.
– I trust! Yes! – Stormer bellowed. – Both of us are businessmen, the baron, and with you
I can frankly speak, – it continued more quietly. – I trust in
the zvezdoplavaniye is as firm, as in a placer on the Thames. Yes.
Listen. If the Thames proceeded for thousands of kilometers from London, in
to the exotic country, thousands would believe in a placer on the Thames.
You remember mine “silver mines” in New Zealand or I wash “the Australian
oil”? I acquired on them millions, and they existed only in imagination
shareholders. Now you understand, as on the Thames can be gold
scatterings which will enrich us?
The car began to shake as if flew on the timbered bridge. Driver
looked back.
It Mr. Stormer laughed.
– Situation really extremely serious, – was continued by it more quietly and
more quietly. – What we endure, you know. In three countries already
communists dominate. Every day brings news of new
suicides. Whether long ago Smith, Milton., behind them Skarfas, now
Сиддонс, Abbington… Real epidemic. The most terrible crises happened and
earlier, but committed a suicide the few. Why? People trusted: behind crisis
again there will come the prosperity era. There is no this belief now. Who was ruined —
it was ruined forever. Unless I am not right?
– Fff…
– Such is situation and such is mood. Revolutions and ruin,
inevitable as death, guard all of us. Inevitable death. Stormer
made a pause to recover the breath.
– The person despaired. Was overstrung. It was exhausted. The person already stretches
hand to the revolver. And this minute to it our agent comes and speaks:
“We can save you. We will provide you a silent shelter where will not reach
your enemies and where you will be able in a circle of people close to you, surrounded
habitual comfort to live your life. Yes, it will cost to you
millions. But what these millions will cost tomorrow? Tomorrow you can
to wake up the poor, and you will intercept the retreat all,
to flight, rescue…”
Whether will be much such which will refuse our offer? To
to example, lady Hinton. Quite ripened fruit. Two-three more already close
political crash, and from this rich person fall down in our hands
pounds sterling without account. We will build “Noah’s Ark”. We will be
to build a starprobe vehicle, tens of starprobe vehicles, without caring for that at all,
they will depart or not. We will be at the head of business and to move huge
means. Conspiracy simplifies the reporting. It is necessary at all not
to have commercial intuition not to estimate all advantage of it
enterprises. I hope, now you quite understood what means to open
placer on the Thames?
Marshal de Terlonzh for nervousness long puffed, sniffed and, at last
squeezed out from itself:
– E-e-e., ffva are absolutely right!
So new was born in foggy London evening in darkness of a limousine
the joint-stock company fastened with short strong handshake.
Chapter 3
ABOUT ADVANTAGE OF THE EQUATOR
Hans Finger was by the cabin window. His curling fair hair and face
burned in the sun. He whistled a cheerful march, beating time and a leg and
hand. Finger experienced delight of the first flight on the stratoplena.
“Life – devilishly interesting movie when time and events fly as
this стратоплан…” Hans all accelerated a march. If it was possible
to start up the movie of life even quicker! To strike time in a nape so that all
hour hands were started turning quicker second, detachable leaves
calendars fell down as autumn leaves during a storm, and the sun a comet
would rush on a sky…
Hans suddenly reeled, hit the head against a wall and screamed. Or it
also, like a certain utopian hero, received a gift to work wonders?.
The sun as soccerball, described an arch in the sky and was behind a frame
windows.
Hans rubbed a nape, took seat in an easy chair and laughed.
“Well of course, it стратоплан the abrupt bend made. Yes, changing time
on the third speed, it is necessary to keep more strong”.
Hans thought.
Elections, strikes, street demonstrations. Hans kept up everywhere:
scattered illegal leaves from a roof, filled with them abonent books in
boxes of payphones, managed “Mohicans” near by to do, as well as
hundreds of his companions, antigovernmental inscriptions on walls of houses and on
the passing vans, collected the chronicle for underground newspapers, let
children’s spheres with leaflets, set up at night red banners on spikes
churches, sold theatrical programs, putting in them leaflets,
invented tens of ways of propaganda, ran away from prosecution, disappeared,
changed clothes; even it zagrimirovyvatsya and again threw out such pieces, from
which enemies turned green, workers laughed and political raged
caliphs…
Vinkler’s call. Organization of escape of Zander. A smart suit “under
Englishman”. Soft compartment. To the Swiss border – on a car. Boundary
strip. Night, storm… Searches of companions to which at Vinkler was
letter. Wandering… A crossing through the river. Alarm. Firefight…
Switzerland. Mountains in the neighborhood of the Alps. The small house – a chalet – among
unction, larches, Alpine cedars. Snow. Tasty mountain frosty
the air which is given to drink by a needles smell. Work in a workshop. Production of model
starprobe vehicle according to drawings. Study. War with integrals and differentials. In
leisure hours – skis, excursions on the mountains… Blotton’s arrival with big
news. Order of a big passenger starprobe vehicle. Blotton’s departure,
Zander and Vinkler in some unknown Stormer-city…
New duties are assigned to Hans: purchase and reception
high-quality staly Europe in the different cities and America.
Continuous trips. It is interesting. But… “purchasing agent” – such
work not in Hans’s taste. It sends desperate letters to Vinkler. At last
Vinkler “took pity” on him. Arrived to Europe personally to make
some purchases and to capture with itself Hans. And now they fly in
this mysterious Stormer-city. Also Blotton flies. He will make the first
rise in a stratosphere on the single rocket. He did not want this honor
to concede to nobody.
Hans looks out of the window. The sky at this height of gray and flaky color. Sun
it is dazzling is white.
And what becomes below? Concave dark blue board of the ocean. On it
it is dazzling a bright circle – reflection of a solar disk.
Magnificent, wonderful flight! Terrible jump! From west banks
Europe on the southwest, through the Atlantic Ocean, to South America.
Stratoplan crossed all its continent from edge to edge over a river basin
Amazons, passed through the Andes, made a wide semicircle over the coast
The Pacific Ocean and now goes to the same Andes from the southwest. Here they
are seen hardly noticeable zazubrinka on the horizon…
– Уф! – Hans zasvistat a march again.
– What did you rassvistetsya there? – Vinkler from the next cabin speaks.
– Very well we fly! – Hans answers, going to Vinkler.
– On the airplane so would not whistle! – Vinkler speaks. He sits at
little table also considers something in the notebook, puffing
unseparable tube.
– I only in water am not able to whistle, – Hans answered. – And in the airplane —
as much as necessary.
– The same effect that in water: stops the engine.
– It is right, – Hans agreed. – Here it is absolutely silent. As if you fly on
balloon. Even explosions are not heard.
– Quicker than a sound we fly, because and it is not heard. Four hundred. We slow down
the course also we decrease. Height is only fifteen kilometers.
– But here temperature has to be much lower, than on
the Earth’s surface, the speed of a sound decreases with decrease
temperatures…
Vinkler nodded in the affirmative.
– . reaching at zero three hundred thirty two meters per second.
Now probably the motor is switched already off.
– And what ceiling?
– Twenty – twenty two kilometers. It is the most favorable height if
not to chase record speed.
– Mosquito take-off. Two hundred – three hundred kilometers – all right! Five hundred
– six hundred is the real height! – the voice of the third was heard
passenger.
Smoking the Egyptian sigarette, Henry Blotton approached Vinkler’s chair.
The lord was dressed in warm light brown sports overalls though in
to such “prozodezhda” there was no need: cabin of a stratoplan
it was well heated by electricity and supplied with clean air. In it
it was warm, cozy, with comfort, as in a compartment of the pullman car.
– Aeroplanny champions of height, certainly, pottered about in dust on
to comparison with us. For all these “saunders-Valkyries”,
“pharman-sou-pergoliafov”, “yunkers” twelve – fifteen thousand meters
were already almost extreme height. Researchers of a stratosphere rose
higher. But they rose on balloons. And recently in Taymsa I
read…
Blotton rode out the favourite fad and began a never-ending conversation
about height records, about rivals who can challenge its monasteries, about
chances of a victory of the same champions, as it.
– You will go to an interplanetary travel and at once will beat all
the rivals, – Vinkler told. Blotton did not understand a sneer.
– Yes, but., I am afraid that about it it will not be printed in Taymsa and
my rivals just do not learn about a new record, – melancholically answered
it.
Stratoplan decreased and reduced speed. Mountains on the horizon grew, dark
color of the sky turned pale, turned blue, stars, as one by one died away on
dawn.
Far below, at a foot of mountains as the bright green ocean, spread
violent tropical vegetation.
– The Andes – the South American continuation of the Cordilleras, – Vinkler told. —
Behind them the desert lowland, and further – the Rocky Mountains the republics
Ecuador.
– Surprisingly! It is difficult to get used to it. What speed, what
victory over space! – Finger exclaimed and once again Endured all
flight.
Europe – as if the big card. On the right – the Azores, at the left —
the Cape Verde Islands, hardly distinguishable even in the strongest sea
field-glass, South America… The basin of Amazon with its inflows similar on
tree branches… A semicircle of “atmospheric braking” over the Great ocean and
again coast of South America, already western.
– Yes, quite good way of studying of geography. It is better our school
books and maps, – Henry told. – But speed turtle. Other business —
space flight!
– Space flight! Turtle speed! – in Blotton’s tone continued
Vinkler. – That twelve mean some – eighteen kilometers in
second of space flight in comparison at least with thirty kilometers
flight of Earth? And star fogs! Some of them fly from huge
speed.
– ? – Blotton asked.
– About one thousand kilometers per second – usual average speed. But
there are also exceptions. According to the latest data, a fog Big Dipper
number twenty four flies with a speed of eleven thousand seven hundred
kilometers per second, Lev number one – nearly twenty thousand kilometers.
– Yes, such speed is pleasant to me. But do not laugh, kind Vinkler.
I understand in such things a little, but our friend Leo Zander said to me that
when we have radioactive energy down to a science, it will be possible
to reach also velocity of light.
– Alas, even with velocity of light you should fly to the next
stars four years and four months. To other sun stars, which we
we consider our “neighbors” in world space, – ten – fifteen
years. Some tens of stars are from us on such close
distance. To the others it should fly hundreds and thousands of years. You
the immense desert within months, years, decades would surround.
Any concept about time will disappear.
– What star, next to the Sun? – Blotton asked.
– Alpha Tsentavra. In total about forty trillion kilometers.
– Four over a year – are not much. Having kept silent, lord Henry
returned to terrestrial affairs:
– And why, actually, for start this is chosen wild, desert
place?
– Just because it wild, desert, unsociable. Such is desire
shareholders of your wild society “Noah’s Ark”. Conspiracy.
– But there is a lot of desert places on the globe, to take at least Youzhny
pole. There nobody would prevent us, even efficient reporters. Why
exactly here? I would like to know, than the choice was defined.
– On it there were the, and important, the bases, – seriously answered
Vinkler. – Exactly there are optimum conditions for
take-off. You probably know that to the rocket at take-off from Earth
it is necessary to break through a double armor: atmospheres and terrestrial
inclinations. The greatest inclination exists on poles, the smallest – on
the equator as Earth is a little flattened to poles. Besides on
poles the smallest, and on the equator the greatest centrifugal effect.
Therefore an inclination armor on the equator minimum.
– And what difference in weight?
– On the equator the body weighs on the one two-hundredth share less, than on
pole.
– Only? – disappointedly Blotton told.
– Yes, only. Thanks to centrifugal effect and “inflation” of terrestrial
sphere at the equator of a body weigh on half-percent less here, than at poles.
As though really it is a little. But for the rocket important even it
reduction of weight: it gives noticeable economy in a fuel reserve. So
weight half-percent – not so small size in our enterprise.
– Well, equator. He agrees. But why this place on the equator?
– To answer also this question, we should talk already about
other armor – atmospheric. Air which we approximately do not notice,
represents almost absolute obstacle for quickly moving
bodies. The quicker the movement, the is more resistance. At very big
speeds resistance of air is almost also big, as well as resistance
solid body, – the real steel armor. This not only figurative
expression. Meteors – the stones which are on a silver platter – move from space
speed; crashing into the atmosphere, meteors more small, being heated because of
air resistance, evaporate, being besieged тончайшею by dust. Here with
what obstacle it is necessary to deal in our flight. Zhyulvernovskiye
the heroes who were taking off from the gun in a shell would have to in the first
the moment of a shot to break in flat cake against a shell bottom. To avoid
this sad fate, we will increase the speed of our rocket
gradually. We have to choose such place on the globe where
the atmospheric armor has the smallest thickness. Relative
density of air depends on pressure, temperature, humidity, and all
it, in turn, from height above sea level. Than higher over level
the seas, an armor of the atmosphere are thinner than subjects, it is easier for that to punch, therefore
it and that should be spent for it fuel less. At the height of six
density of air is approximately already twice less than kilometers, than at the level
seas. Now, I hope, it is clear to you that it is more favorable to the interplanetary ship
to start in total from perhaps higher place, with some mountain
surfaces? So what is is necessary for us? The equator and the greatest height on it.
Take the globe, and, turning it, you will see what mountain areas
crosses the equator. Islands of Sumatra and Borneo and South American