Chapter 2 Chapter Two Pros and Cons

These events occurred while I was returning from a scientific expedition in the Nebraska Barrens, USA.Since I am an associate professor at the Paris Museum of Natural Sciences, the French government sent me to participate in this investigation.After six months in Nebraska, at the end of March I returned to New York laden with precious specimens, and my departure for France was scheduled for the beginning of May.Therefore, I used the period of my stay to sort out the mineral specimens, animal and plant specimens collected this time, and the accident on the Scotia happened at this time. I was naturally familiar with the question that was being discussed at the time, and how could I not know it?I read and read the various American and European newspapers, but gained no further understanding.Because of this monster, I made all kinds of guesses.Because I can't make up my mind, I have been vacillating between extremely different opinions.It is a true thing, there is no doubt about it; and those who doubt it, let them feel the scotia's breach.

When I arrived in New York, the issue was in full swing.Some ignorant people once said that it was a floating island and an elusive reef, but this assumption has now been completely overturned.The reason was: unless the reef had a machine in its belly, how could it get here and there so quickly? Likewise, the hypothesis that it was a floating hull or a gigantic wreck cannot be established, again because it moved so quickly. In the final analysis, there are only two possible explanations for this problem, so people are divided into two groups with different opinions: one group says that this is a monster of infinite strength, and the other group says that it is a very powerful "submarine" .

Although the latter assumption is very plausible, it is untenable after investigations in Europe and the United States.It is really impossible for private individuals to have such a machine.Where and when.He built this thing?How could he keep the secret and not reveal it? Only one government can possess such a destructive machine, and in an unfortunate age when people are racking their brains to increase the power of weapons, it is possible for one country to manufacture such weapons without the knowledge of other countries.After the machine gun, there are mines, after the mines, there are diving shock machines, and then there are various weapons that restrain each other, at least I think so in my heart.

But this "submarine" hypothesis is untenable due to the statements of the governments of various countries, because this is a matter of public interest. Since the ocean traffic has been damaged, the sincerity of the governments of various countries cannot be doubted.Moreover, how can it be said that the construction of this "submarine" can escape the eyes and ears of the public?In such a case it is very difficult, even for an individual, to keep secrecy, and it is certainly impossible for a government whose actions are constantly watched by hostile nations.Therefore, according to the surveys conducted in Britain, France, Russia, Prussia, Spain, Italy, the United States, and even Turkey, the "submarine" hypothesis must finally be abandoned.

This monster, despite the constant ridicule of it in the press of the time, reappeared on the waves, and the imaginations of the people conjured up the wildest legends from the fish side. When I was in New York, some people came to ask me my opinion on this strange incident. I had previously published in France a book in octavo, in two volumes, entitled: "Mystery of the Sea".This book has been especially appreciated by the academic community, making me an expert in this rather arcane branch of the natural sciences.That's why people ask for my opinion.But whenever I can deny the truth of the matter, I always answer in the negative.But soon I was forced to express my opinion explicitly.Moreover, the "New York Herald Tribune" has already made an appointment with "Professor of the Museum of Natural Sciences in Paris, the venerable Mr. Pierre Aronnas" and asked him to express his opinion on this issue.

I have voiced my opinion.Because I couldn't be silent, I had to say a few words.I discuss all aspects of this issue politically and academically.I now present the following excerpts from the conclusion of a well-informed article which I published in the Tribune of April 30: "I have studied various hypotheses and all impossible conjectures one by one, and I have to admit that there is indeed the existence of a sea animal with amazing power." The unfathomable bottom of the ocean is completely unknown to us.The detectors did not reach it either.What is the situation in the lowest abyss?What is, and what might be, twenty-two thousand miles or fifteen thousand nautical miles under the sea?What is the body structure of these animals?It's really hard for us to speculate.

"However, the problem before me can be solved by the formula of the two-sword theory." "The various creatures that live on the earth, either we know them or we don't know them." "If we don't know all living things, and nature continues to keep certain ichthyological secrets from us, we will have to admit that there are new species of fish cetaceans in layers of water beyond the reach of detectors. , they have a non-floating organ, because they have stayed under the sea for a long time, and under accidental circumstances, out of a moment of pleasure or willfulness, they suddenly float to the surface of the sea. This theory is quite convincing to people today."

"Conversely, if we do know all the living things of the earth, we must find the animal in question among the already classified marine life; the presence of narwhals." "The common and common narwhal, or sea unicorn, often reaches sixty feet in length. Now if this length is increased five times, or even ten times, and this whale, fish animal, has strength in proportion to its size, Then strengthen its attacking weapons, so that it is the animal at sea now. That is to say, it is as long as the length measured by the officers of the Shannon, its horns can pierce the Scotia, and its strength can Break through the hull of a steamboat."

"It is true that this narwhal, as some biologists say, has a: bony sword or a bony stem, then it must be a steel-like: hard tusk, Narwhal teeth have been found on whales. Narwhals always succeed in attacking whales with their teeth. Narwhal teeth have been plucked out of the bottom of boats—with difficulty. It penetrates the bottom of a ship like an awl through a barrel." There is a tooth of this kind in the Museum of the Faculty of Medicine in Paris, measuring two meters and twenty-five centimeters long and forty-eight centimeters wide at the base! " "Well! Now suppose the weapon is ten times more powerful, and the animal ten times more powerful, and if its forward speed is twenty miles an hour, then multiply its weight by the square of its speed, and you get Find the force of impact that destroyed the Scotia."

"Therefore, before I get more materials, I think it is a sea unicorn. This sea unicorn has a very large body. The armament on its body is not a sword or halberd, but a real horn, like on an iron-clad ship or a warship. As installed, it has the weight and power of a battleship at the same time." "That accounts for this mysterious phenomenon.—Or, conversely, that whatever one sees and feels is really nothing; that is also possible." The last few sentences can only show that I have no independent opinion and I am vacillating when looking at issues; this is to preserve my identity as a professor to a certain extent, and at the same time I do not want to make Americans laugh, because Americans laugh very hard.So I took this retreat.In fact, I admit the existence of this "monster".

My article aroused heated discussions and generated a lot of repercussions.There are quite a few people who support it.Moreover, the conclusions proposed by Zhang Zhong can be imagined at will, without any restrictions.People are always intrigued by the weird and fantastic fantasies.And the sea is the best source of these fantasies, because only the sea is the environment in which huge animals can breed and grow, land animals, elephants or rhinos.Compared with them, it is simply very small.In a vast ocean: with the largest mammals known to us, there may also be mollusks of immense size and crustaceans that look frightening, such as a one-hundred-meter prawn, or a two-hundred-ton crab!Why not? "In the past, the land animals, quadrupeds, four-handed beasts, reptiles, and birds of the same age as the geological chronology were all created according to huge models. The creator made them out of tall models. After a long period of time, Over the years, this model has gradually shrunk. Under the unfathomable depths of the ocean (for the ocean is never changing; and the earth's crust is almost constantly changing), why can't it preserve the species of huge creatures from another era? The interior of the ocean , why not harbor the last varieties of those gigantic creatures, those gigantic breeds whose centuries are years and millennia? Again I immersed myself in fantasies.Stop these fantasies now, because, it seems to me, time has turned them into horrible realities.I repeat, there was then such an opinion as to the nature of the strange event, that there was a general agreement on the existence of a marvelous being which had nothing in common with the grotesque sea serpent. But while there are some who regard the matter as a purely scientific problem to be solved, there are others, more pragmatic, especially in the United States and England, and there are many of them, who advocate that this terrible monster of the sea Eliminate plunder, so that the safety of maritime traffic is guaranteed.The newspapers and periodicals in the industrial and commercial circles, in particular, study this issue from this point of view. The Maritime Business Journal, the Leyte Sailing Magazine, the Cruise Ship Magazine, the Ocean Colonization Journal, and the papers that advertised for the insurance companies that the companies would raise their premiums, were all in agreement on the removal of the monsters. . As soon as public opinion was raised, the United States of America first issued a statement to prepare in New York for an expedition to remove narwhals.A high-speed battleship of the second class, the HMS Lincoln, fitted with an angle of attack, is scheduled to sail out to sea in the nearest period.All the shipyards provided various conveniences to Commander Farragut's palace to help him equip this second-tier warship one day earlier. That's how it usually is, when people decide to go after the monster.The monster never appeared again.For two months, no one heard of the monster, and no ship encountered it.It seems that this sea unicorn has received information that people are planning to attack it.Because everyone has said a lot, even using the submarine power lines in the Atlantic Ocean!So, the joker said, the elf thing must have overheard the telegram on the way, and now it was on its guard.No longer come out casually. Therefore, this second-tier battleship, which is used for expeditions and equipped with powerful fishing machines, does not know where to go now.Everyone became more and more impatient, and suddenly, on July 2, the San Francisco Steamship Company's San Francisco steamship, the Tang Bigger, sailed from California to Shanghai, saw this thing again three weeks ago in the northern Pacific Ocean. The news caused a great commotion.Everyone wants Commander Farragut's palace to leave immediately, and twenty-four hours' delay is not allowed.All the daily necessities in the ship were loaded up, and the bilge was also full of coal.There are not many people from all departments on the ship, and they are all here.Now it's just a matter of raising the fire, heating up, and untwisting.We will not allow another half-day delay for this ship.Besides, Commander Farragut's Palace himself is eager to set off immediately! Three hours before the Zhuken left the Brocksock Pier, I received a letter with the following contents: "Submitted to Mr. Aronnax, Professor at the Fifth Avenue Hotel, New York, Paris Museum of Natural Sciences. Mr.: If you agree to join the Lincoln Expedition, the Government of the United States would be pleased to see you represent France on this expedition.Commander Farragut has left a cabin on board for your use. Yours sincerely, Secretary of the Navy Robertson. "