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Finger studied mathematics and somehow answered. Zander nodded and
asked a new question which nonplused Hans. Followed it
others – from the field of chemistry, astronomy, biology. It was real
examination. Hans was confused – he expected it least of all and therefore as to it
it seemed, not always answered truly and it is sensible even on well familiar
questions. Really it will fail at this examination? But Zander was,
apparently, it is satisfied. He nodded meaning that test
it is over, and told:
– You know more, than I assumed. But you should know immeasurably
it is more than what you know if you want to become my same assistant
as Vinkler.
Would he like to become! Hans was ready to work day and night that
to seize all necessary knowledge.
– You got used to be engaged independently? – the new question was asked. —
Vinkler will help you, but he will not be able to devote to it much time.
– And, addressing already Vinkler, Zander continued:
– I think, to our Hans Finger will be reasonably useful to live
month – another in a glass sphere. Observations will not take away from it too
it is a lot of time, and there it will be able to increase the mathematical knowledge. Without
mathematicians in our business it is impossible to step also to a step.
Zander talked some more minutes to Vinkler about affairs and got up.
The audience was ended.
– Well? Did not expect such bath? – Vinkler when they left from asked
houses. – You should sit in solitary confinement.
Month-other in solitary confinement! This prospect at all not
smiled to Hans. He wanted to get acquainted somewhat quicker with the city, from it
strange laboratories, extraordinary constructions. It not all
saw.
– To all time will come, – Vinkler consoled it. – Today you will carry out
put more “on freedom”, tomorrow, well, since morning you will bypass, you will examine
what did not see yet: laboratory where experience action of various
substances, other laboratory in which ways of cooling are tested
working part of the rocket – walls snuffled or дюз. For tomorrow it is enough.
– What will I do in the conclusion?
– Oh, your existence will be very peculiar! You on yourself have to
you will be to test and on you it will be checked whether the person can exist
in the conditions of artificially created circulation of substances. As soon as you
you will enter a sphere and you will receive the necessary explanations, a hermetic door
will slam for you. But there is phone, and we will be with you
to keep in contact. You will take with yourself necessary books, textbooks,
notebooks.
– But what I will eat there?
– Perhaps, you should sit a little on vegetarian food. You
you will eat those plants and fruits which grow in
to sphere greenhouse. To your services there will be an electric stove, a teapot.
– And water?
– Tomorrow you on everything will receive the answer. All allocations of your organism
will be processed. Allocations of intestines will go to fertilizers;
allocations of a bladder, having passed through the soil, through plants, gases,
refrigerators, filters, will turn into the purest water. Water will be given also
the cooled breath gases emitted by you, plants and “companions on
to the conclusion” – animals. You will have to look after and behind them – to feed,
to give to drink. Plants will give oxygen, they will absorb exhaled by you
and animals carbonic acid. In a word, if calculations are right, you will have in
sphere all necessary. I will visit you. If you it is nasty itself
you will feel, we will stop experience. Create to yourself the notebook or
notebook in which write down the major formulas, data from the theory
jet flights, help data, calculations. It is Zander’s council. Such
the notebook very much will help you.
Hans nodded and asked:
– By the way, tell whose portrait hangs in Zander’s office? His father?
Vinkler burst out laughing.
– Yes, in some way father. It is also the famous scientist-self-educated person
Tsiolkovsky, patriarch of a zvezdoplavaniye. Not “father”, and rather “grandfather”
his numerous followers: Roberta Esnopeltri, Robert
Goddard, Herman Obert, Walter Gomann, Tuberculine test, Debus and our Leo
Zander. I already spoke to you about this remarkable person. Modest
the provincial teacher, he managed to rise by “space” height
theoretical thought. This Columbus of the star worlds theoretically planned in
the main all next way of creation of interplanetary messages. Laid
to people road to the sky. In one thousand nine hundred third it published
work in which stated all theoretical calculations of space flights;
but the Russian imperial government helped nothing to it.
– So it is its works stand on the shelf under a portrait?
– Yes. Zander does not leave them.
This day ended with an effective show: from the mountain platform,
turned to the ocean, the first trial was started up in twelve o’clock in the morning
the rocket without people, with recording automatic devices. It had
two meters of height it was also strengthened almost steeply, with an easy inclination in
side of the ocean.
At experience there were Zander, Vinkler, Hans, Blotton and a little
the engineers working with Zander. Approximately a rocket deviation from a vertical
it was almost not noticeable, and Blotton told:
– And suddenly it will fall to us on the head? Zander, smiling, answered:
– It is a lot of years ago, in the seventeenth century, the monk Mersen and
the military Pti conducted such experiment: they delivered to a down vertically as
it seemed to them, and shot, observing whether the kernel on the earth will return. They
several times repeated this dangerous experiment. But as at them it did not appear
there is enough art to force a kernel to hit them directly the head,
they considered themselves to have the right to conclude that it hung in mid-air where and
long time will stay, undoubtedly. Not only at that time, but also now
it is seldom possible to find the gun which is perfectly calibrated for such experience
and it is difficult to establish it absolutely vertically. Well, and now depart.
I launch the rocket.
All departed and became silent waiting. In the dark sky stars flickered.
The new moon shone almost over the head, and it seemed that the rocket
goes to a lunar travel. Burst explosion. Thunder peals,
reflected by rocks, shook air. The fiery strip cut through
space. For a moment the mountain platform as though contacted the sky
golden bridge. Then the comet created by people picked up the tail,
turned into an asterisk and grew dim in height. Zander looked on
the dial of a chronometer and, counting seconds, spoke:
– Upper bound of the troposphere… Went beyond a stratosphere…
Return flight.
Next morning the whole flotilla of motorized vessels was sent for searches
the rocket which fell to the ocean. But Hans as he wanted it, could not
to take part in searches. Having examined several laboratories with Vinkler and
far without having got acquainted with all “shops” of grandiose
“the zvezdo-flight plant”, Finger took away chosen for him by Vinkler
books, a commonplace book, a recording feather also went to the glass
prison where had to spend not one day.
Chapter 9
ON THE EARTH THERE IS NO RESCUE!
– All this is awful! – lady Hinton told. Put finger-tips to
to temples:
– Give me cologne, Ellen!
– Would you like to rub whisky a menthol pencil, lady Hinton? —
doctor Teker asked.
– Does not help! – with irritation lady Hinton answered. – This rolling
will kill me. Why the steamship stands still? When it moves, swings
it is less.
– We have to protect fuel, lady Hinton! – drowsily responded from the
chairs Stormer. – Dead ripple. For hundred miles from us there passed the cyclone…
The baron – that absolutely got sick. Expresses with one interjections.
– I cannot… To me it is bad!. – Ellen squeezed spoke
by voice. Her face became green. It pressed a scarf to a mouth and, convulsively
pulling shoulders, hasty was removed.
– Ah! – it is noisy lady Hinton sighed. – It is heavy to be the exile in ours
years! Without house, a shelter and hopes…
– And I prefer to be an exile, than the decaying corpse. Yes! —
Stormer objected, sucking round pomegranate. – If not mine
foresight, we, likely, would already be production of sepulchral worms.
– Any hair will not fall from the head without God’s will! – instructively
the bishop Iov Weller noticed.
– Why you, the my Lord, did not remain in London, having entrusted
to God’s will your head of hear?
Distorted lady Hinton from such “blasphemous” words. “Demons of war
and revolutions broke from chains” as Shnirer before was was expressed
the rocket is ended and the huge motor ship is constructed. Stormer managed
to charter the ocean steamship standing in port, to put on it
shareholders – participants of future interplanetary flight and to sail in Silent
ocean.
– Around water. Defenseless, unarmed, we stand in full view of all… —
lady Hinton continued the complaints. Stormer was bothered, probably, by it
grumbling.
– You begin to hallucinate? – almost he shouted at the old woman. —
Whom do you see? Who has us on a look? Who looks at us? The ocean is desert,
as in the first days of creation. And who will look for us now? Believe,
nobody does not care about us. Ocean not of Oxford Street, not Piccadilly. In the ocean
there are roads and the solitudes. We are in the center
the triangle which is formed crossing of big ocean ways: from
Yokohama and Valparaiso – Japan, South America; from Wellington – New
Zealand to Panama and from Panama along coast of South America to Magellanic
to the passage. More than one thousand kilometers separate us from west banks Southern
America. Here any ship does not come, unless a cyclone a sailing vessel
will bring. But sailing vessels to us are not terrible. Ocean steamships all are equipped
radio stations. They notify on themselves, we have a radio direction finder.
From a special mast tower watchmen sharp-sightedly watch the horizon. Ours
vessel one of the most high-speed. And we could not get away unless only
from warships. And, at last, we have hydroplanes. All valuable freight
long ago it is stored in the Andes.
Lady Hinton became angry about the fact that Stormer-city was called not her
name. Not to irritate the old lady, Stormer at her presence
called Stormer-city descriptively: “the city in mountains”, “the city where is under construction
rocket”.
– In case of extreme danger we can always depart there.
– But why don’t we make it now – not to depart to this yours
Stormer-city? – lady Hinton asked.
– Because there yet the hotel is not built. You to live in a working barrack
you will not be. Yes here, believe, and more safely. Here we can
to maneuver. If not yours, – Stormer wanted to tell “whims”, but
restrained, – not your indispositions, we would go down in more southern latitudes,
there we would be already in the absolute safety. There we would be “on
to look” at one penguins. And if to cover us in Stormer-city before
the rocket will be ready, we died. It is possible to run only by air from there.
But also there will be no place to run.
– My God! My God, my God! – tragicly lady Hinton exclaimed.
– Why you so nakazut us?
– Smoke on the horizon! – lingeringly the watchman from a tower shouted.
– Where? Where? – the turned pale bishop and too hasty shouted for
the dignity walked to a board, taking out on the run from a case prismatic
field-glass.
– Second smoke., the third., whole squadron!. – the watchman proclaimed.
By the ship vanity rose. Sharply the team was distributed. Powerful recovered
cars, the vessel case began to tremble. It began to be developed on the left board,
accelerating the course.
On the deck Shnirer ran, swinging Kant’s volume.
– Amelie! What? And? Already?
Being unsteady, there was Ellen. From where the baron crept out. His jaw shivered.
He tried to tell something to Stormer:
– E-e-e…
That waved away from it, as from a fly. Stormer was also excited, but
kept better than others.
The ship turned on the South and went with speed limit.
– Well, solve horsepowers now, – Stormer murmured.
– Perhaps, we absolutely are also not pursued, – suggested
Ticker. – The whole world is at war. The Japanese and American fleet chases in the ocean
one after another.
Lady Hinton for the first time with gratitude looked at the doctor.
These words of calm worked on it better than drugs. Teker caught
the mercy look of lady Hinton also used it.
– I will go to visit the wife and the child. I will return soon, lady Hinton, —
he told.
– For us or not for us a pursuit, but we were found, and this harm, – not
Stormer was appeased. – The unknown squadron follows us close. If
it will not be possible to disappear before nightfall, put rubbish.
There came burdensome silence. It was heard only as cuts
stem an ocean smooth surface yes diesels gradually knock.
Hour passed after an hour. The sun was inclined to the horizon, distance
between motor ship and the pursuing squadron everything decreased.
– It is good still that they do not shoot! – Stormer told. All were too
are suppressed to keep up the conversation. The captain phoned,
that, by its calculations, before twilight the squadron will not manage to overtake
them. And, perhaps, for the first time for many years of lady Hinton it is passionate
wanted that time went rather.
Before sunset already with the naked eye it was possible to distinguish
head vessel. According to the captain, it was the military cruiser. But Japanese
or American – it is hard to say.
– And it is even more difficult to guess who conducts these cruisers, – noticed Stormer. —
Everything in the world changes. Yesterday the country was capitalist, it today
already republic of proletarians.
At last beneficial night lowered the black curtain. If on
it the drama play also ended, it would be possible to disperse peacefully on
to the houses. An interval, alas, only an interval which should use.
To disappear under the screen of night, having sharply changed a course, – here in what now
there was a task. The captain thought and turned on the East.
– Hgu., хглупо, – Marshal to whom together with night told
cool the speech power returned. – In the east we will get on the sea way,
which goes along the southern coast of America.
– And I believe, – Stormer objected, – that our captain very cleverly
arrived. It is necessary to present itself on the place of persecutors and to think about
in their opinion, we will choose volume, what way. That, which
you specify. And for the same reason. And the squadron will probably turn
on the West. A sea way on which there are commercial ships, to us not
it is terrible. Even it is better if we meet these trade ships. They will distract
attention of persecutors if the squadron nevertheless turns, as well as we, on
East.
The baron and Stormer continued to argue.
The squadron went probably with the extinguished fires. It was impossible to define,
far it or it is close.
The captain, having given the instruction and having charged management to the assistant, collected
also declared all passengers it:
– Our situation remains extremely serious: the squadron can
to be divided, having directed the ships in three directions – east,
western and southern. And next morning you can be overtaken. Could save you unless
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