Chapter 12 Chapter Twelve

It took cannons to fire from the earth to the moon, and it took cannons to change the axis of the earth.Cannon, cannon, always cannon!In the minds of club gunners there is nothing but cannon.They are obsessed with cannons, and regard cannons as the "highest law" in this world.Could this brute object be the overlord of the universe?Just as canon law can adjust theology, has the cannon king become the master of industrial law and the laws of the universe? It must be admitted that the cannon was the first solution that Director Barbicane and his colleagues thought of.They've played cannon all their lives, and it's hard not to think so.After the Columbia Cannon in Florida, at Land X they presumably built another giant cannon.Have not one heard their resounding voice:

"Aim for the moon, first shot—fire! "Change the axis of the earth, the second shot—let it go!" Hearing this order, the universe really wanted to shout to them: "Aim at the Artillery School, the third shot—fire!" In fact, their actions aptly illustrate the title of this book!The title of the book is "The Universe Doesn't Divide", which seems to be more accurate than "Inverting the Universe", because since there is no "kun", there is no "dry".And what ensued, of course, according to Algid Pierre, was "mass chaos!"

The effects of the notice issued by the Commission of Inquiry remain vague and less reassuring.It can be seen from Ma Sitong's calculation that the mechanical problem has been completely solved.The plan of Director Barbicane and Captain Nicole was very clear, and it was to change the axis of the earth.Replace the old axes with new ones.And what consequences this replacement will have, not to mention everyone knows. Therefore, Barbicane's career has been condemned by thousands of people, cursed and condemned everywhere.The directors of the Arctic Experiment Society had only enemies in the old and new continents.Presumably there are a few hotheaded Americans who continue to support them, but they are pitifully few.

In consideration of personal safety, Director Barbicane and Captain Nicole were very wise to leave Baltimore and America.People have good reason to think that something bad will happen to them.Changing living conditions, destroying human habits, and causing chaos in the world, they threaten the safety of the 1.4 billion residents of the world, and they cannot go unpunished. Not only did they leave, but they didn't leave any traces behind.A project like this needs to use a lot of materials and personnel, how can it not be discovered?If it is transported by land, it will take hundreds of carriages, and if it is transported by sea, it will need thousands of ships, which may not be able to load all the metals, coal and explosives!It is inexplicable that they could slip away so quietly.However, this is all true.After careful investigation, it was found that neither the chemical factories nor the metallurgical factories in the new and old continents received any orders.It's incredible.But the answer will always be revealed one day! ...if there is a future.

Although Director Barbicane and Captain Nicole slipped away and escaped the immediate danger, Ma Sitong was already in complete trouble, and he must be afraid of revenge.Oddly enough, he didn't care!This "computer" is extremely stubborn!He is as iron as his iron arm, and nothing can bring him down. In the dark corner of the Baltimore Jail cell, the secretary of the Gunners' Club yearns for his far-flung colleagues.He seemed to see Director Barbicane and Captain Nicole preparing a gigantic project at that unknown point on the earth, where no one would disturb them.They built cannons, they made Merry-Mellorit dynamite, they cast cannonballs.The sun will enlist this cannonball among its planets!In order to express the hospitality and respect for the wealthy female shareholders of "Xinyuan", the new star will be named after the wonderful name "Sikebi".Ma Sitong estimated the date, in his opinion, the launch date is not far away.

It is now the beginning of April, two and a half months later, the sun passes the solstice of the Tropic of Cancer, and then retrogrades toward the Tropic of Cancer, and three months later, at the autumnal equinox, the sun crosses the equator.Then, for billions of centuries, the earth's annual cycle of four seasons, so regular and simple, will come to an end. The year 189X will also be the last time that the Earth will operate with unequal day and night.After changing the earth's axis, on any horizon on the earth, the hour of sunrise and sunset will be exactly the same. This is really a great, extraordinary, and sacred cause!Ma Sitong forgot about the Arctic and coal mining, and only saw the cosmic changes that the project would bring.The main purpose of the new company is not worth mentioning in the sea of ​​​​changes.

However, the world is unwilling to change its face.Isn't the face bestowed by God when the world was created, still as young as ever now! Ma Sitong was alone, unarmed, sitting in a prison cell, and had been resisting all kinds of pressure on him.The members of the investigation committee came to him every day, but they found nothing.So John Prestis wanted to use certain influences, like Mrs. Evangelina Scobie.Doing so will increase your chances of success.Everyone knows how loyal this venerable widow is to Ma Sitong's career, and how meticulous she is in caring for the calculator. After consultation with the committee members, Mrs. Evangelina Scobie was allowed to visit the prisoner Ma Sitong.When she goes and how long she visits is at her discretion.Wasn't she herself threatened by the recoil of the cannon, like the millions of inhabitants of the earth?Will her new garden suffer less in catastrophe than the simple hut of the woodsman, or the hut of the prairie Indian?Could her life have been spared while the Somersets and Pacific Islanders had perished?This is the enlightenment given to her by the director of the investigation committee, and it is also the reason why she was invited to exert influence on Ma Sitong.

The investigation committee believes that if Ma Sitong immediately tells the location of Lord Barbican and Captain Nicole who are doing the preparation work, and accurately tells the number of people who participated in this work, and then goes to find and find them, the disaster will be stopped and the worries of mankind will be eliminated. With panic, it's still too late. Mrs. Evangelina Scobie came to the cell.Her first wish was to visit Ma Sitong, who had been taken away by the police from his cozy cabin. To think that Avangelina is subject to human frailty is to be too ignorant of this strong woman. On April 9, Mrs. Scobie came to the cell for the first time.Any daredevil with his ear pressed to the cell door will be amazed to hear the following dialogue:

"Dear Ma Sitong, I finally see you!" "Is that you? Mrs. Scobie." "Yes. My friend, after four weeks, four long weeks . . . " "Twenty-eight days and five hours and forty-five minutes." Ma Sitong replied, looking at his watch. "We're finally together again!" "But, my dear Mrs. Scobie, how did they let you in?" "The condition is to exert influence on the one you love!" "What!? Evangelina!" Ma Sitong shouted, "you agreed to persuade me to surrender! You think I will betray my colleagues?"

"Me? Dear Ma Sitong,...do you think I'm so bad? I, please don't consider personal safety for the sake of honor. Me? Will it prompt you to do scandalous things and discredit your life dedicated to advanced mechanics?" "Very well, Mrs. Scobie. You are a generous stockholder in our company! No, I never doubted your great heart!" "Thank you, dear Ma Sitong!" "As for me, to reveal our career, reveal our launch site, tell the secrets hidden in my heart, let those barbarians chase our friends, stop our interests and glorious projects, then I would rather die!"

"Noble Maston!" replied Mrs. Avengerina Scobie. Two people bound together by the same passion, and equally blinded by the same passion, were instantly connected. "No! They don't want to know the location I determined through calculations. This is my masterpiece that will last forever." Ma Sitong said, "If you want to kill them, kill them, but take away my secrets, don't think about it!" "Let us die together!" cried Mrs. Evangelina Scobie. "And I, too, never speak." "Evangelina, my dear, it's a good thing they don't know the secret." "Dear Ma Sitong, do you think that I am a woman and I will tell the secret? Betray you and our colleagues, no, my friend. Let the ordinary people go to incite the towns and villages against you, let the whole world rush into this house Take you away from the prison door. I'll be here, and at least we can take the comfort of dying together." If that was a consolation, Maston could imagine a consolation sweeter than dying in the arms of Mrs. Evangelina Scobie. Every time a kind woman visits the prison, the conversation always ends in this way. When people from the investigation committee ask, she always answers like this: "There is no result yet, it may take some time, and I will succeed." Ah, the treachery of women! She always said "it will take some time", but this time is striding forward.A week is like a day, a day is like an hour, and an hour is like a second passing by quickly! It's already May.Mrs. Avengerina Scobie got nothing from Maston.It is even more difficult for such influential women to fail.Was that terrible shot not to be stopped, but to be left to fate? no!Submission is unacceptable in this situation!Representatives of European countries became even more entangled, fighting with the investigative committee.The latter became the object of direct attack.The cool-headed Jacques Janssen, ignoring even the Dutchman's composure, scolded the investigating committee every day.Major Boris Karkov even fought a duel with the secretary of the committee.However, he only stabbed his opponent slightly.Major Downland, an Englishman, who neither uses firearms nor weapons, and with the assistance of his secretary Dean Tudrink, he and William S. Foster, a calm cod dealer and puppet of the Arctic Experiment Association, , according to the standard boxing competition for more than a dozen rounds. The world has conspired to lay the blame on all Americans for one of America's glorious sons, Imby Barbicane.There was talk of recalling the plenipotentiaries and ministers sent to the government in Washington, and of declaring war on it. To catch Barbicane, the United States could only wish for it!Poor America, forced to promise to the nations of Europe, Asia, Africa, and Oceania, that wherever Barbicane may be, anyone has the right to arrest him immediately.But the promise is in vain, since it has not yet been discovered where the villain and his associates are preparing the odious project. Therefore, countries are still chasing after: "You have captured their accomplice Ma Sitong! He knows where Barbicane is, and pries his mouth open!" Let Ma Sitong speak, it is tantamount to taking out words from the mouth of the god of silence, Hapocrat, and let the number one mute of the New York School for the Deaf speak. People's anger and worry are growing day by day.Medieval torture was suggested by some practical minds, that the pincers, cauterization, and molten lead used by high-level torturers would work, and would force even the most obstinate man to speak.Boiling oil, torture racks, pouring cold water, hanging, etc., the courts in the past used these punishments for trivial cases that had nothing to do with the interests of the masses. Why can't they be used today? What was considered legitimate in the past can no longer be used at the end of this tender and tolerant century.The end of the nineteenth century was also a century full of humanitarianism.This century invented the repeating rifle, the seven-millimeter bullet, and the heavy artillery shell.This century allowed the use of shells of Manin, Rozenwright, Berit, Boncrastet, Mecanit and other explosives in international relations.Of course, these explosives are nothing compared to the Mery-Mellorit explosives. Whether it was a general interrogation or a special interrogation, Ma Sitong was not afraid.And what people hope is that he can finally understand the consequences of the matter and open his mouth automatically.Otherwise, everyone will have to resign themselves to fate.