Chapter 41 Chapter 17 Gallia Divided In Two

Servadac, on his return from Ceuta, introduced his visit to the English to Count Ironmashev.He told the earl that Ceuta had been sold to the English by the Spaniards, but that the Spaniards had no right to do so.He said nothing about his own original intentions. It was decided that since the British did not want to come to the "Country of Warmth," let them go.The British have been notified of the situation, and believe it or not, that is their business. The question now is how to deal with the serious situation created by the collision of the comet with the earth. The last time a comet collided with the earth, Selvadak and others came to the comet from the earth, and they were able to survive safely. It should be said that it is really lucky.For reasons that are not yet clear, the process must have been rather slow at the time.Whether anyone on Earth has been killed by it will be known soon after they return.But in any case, those who came to the comet after the collision were all safe and sound.

But will it be the same for the next collision?It's hard to say. On November 10, everyone got together to seriously discuss this issue. The ideological estrangement between Captain Selvadak and Count Ironmashev was getting deeper and deeper, but on the surface they still looked nonchalant, and both of them participated in the discussion on this issue. Captain Servadak spoke first.He said: "Gentlemen, today is November 10th. If my teacher's calculations are correct, the comet will collide with the earth again in fifty-one days. We will discuss it today and see if we can think of something To avoid the serious consequences of the collision."

"Do you have any specific ideas, Captain?" Count Ironmashev asked. "I have no idea." Prokop's second mate said at this time: "Gentlemen, there are several different dangers that we might encounter in this collision. If you will, I would like to discuss the dangers that I have in mind first. Then we will discuss it and see if it is possible to improve it." prevent, or mitigate its harm." "Very well, go ahead, Prokop," said Count Ironmashev. Prokop went on to say: "Gentlemen, we should first find out how many circumstances there are in this collision, and then study them separately."

"Exactly," said Captain Servadac, "but let us not forget that the two planets were flying head-on, and that they collided at a speed of 360,000 kilometers an hour." "It's like two trains coming in opposite directions," said Ben-Zoff. Prokop added: "When the two planets collide, they may pass by obliquely or directly. If it is the first case, the comet may pass by the surface of the earth like last time, and then take some of it away from the earth. place, and then continue to travel in space. But after the collision, its orbit may change, and even if we survive by chance, we will never return to the earth to reunite with our relatives.”

"About this possibility, we are quite clear about its pros and cons." Count Ironmashev said, "Now tell me what a direct collision would look like." "Before discussing this issue, we should first see," said Prokop, "that since the mass of the earth is much greater than that of Gallia, the velocity of the earth may not be affected after the collision, while the star Pulu may remain On Earth." "Yes." Selvadak said. "In this case, there are no more than three parts of Galia in contact with the earth: one is the equator where we are now, and the other is the opposite point of this area. The other is a certain pole of Galia's north and south poles. .But no matter which part collided with the earth, not a single person on Gallia survived."

"What's the reason? The second officer." Servadak asked. "Simple. If it was the equator, we'd all be killed." "It goes without saying," said Ben-Zoff. "If the colliding part were on the side of the equator, we would not only be killed--because Gallia's speed of motion suddenly disappeared, and the consequences are not difficult to imagine--we would definitely be suffocated. Because that Galia will form a very high mountain on the surface of the earth, and the atmosphere on the surface of Galia will gradually descend and mix with the atmosphere on the earth's surface. In this way, the air on this mountain will become very thin making it impossible for people to survive.”

"What if one of Gallia's poles collides with the Earth?" asked Count Ironmashev. "We must be thrown into the air and fall down to our death," said Prokop, "and even if that did not happen, we would be burned alive." "Burn to death?" Servadac asked. "Yes. Because once Gallia's speed disappears, it will immediately be converted into heat energy, with a temperature as high as several thousand degrees. At that time, the entire Galia will become a sea of ​​flames." "Mr. Prokop," said Ben, "I would like to ask a question: What if Gallia falls into the sea? . . . "

"The Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean are at most only a few meters deep on one side." Prokop said, "Therefore, the sea water cannot offset this collision, and the above-mentioned various situations will still occur." "Gentlemen," said Servadac, "however the collision proceeds, we shall be killed by being struck, thrown, burned, or suffocated." "Yes, Captain Servadac," said Prokop without hesitation. "In that case, I see only one way out," Ben-Zov said. "Which way?" Servadac asked. "Get out of Gallia before it collides."

"How to leave?" "Then I can't tell," said Ben-Zoff. All eyes were on the second officer.I saw him burying his head in the palms of both hands, as if he was considering some kind of bold idea. After a while, he raised his head and said: "I have an idea, and it's a bold idea, but that's the only way to do it." "What do you think? Tell us about it," said Count Ironmashev. The second officer pondered for a while, then said: "Benzov said just now that there is only one way for us; leave Gallia before the collision." "Can it be done?" Count Ironmashev asked.

"May be." "In what way?" "Get a balloon." "Balloon?" Servadac exclaimed. "This method is outdated, and few people use it anymore." "Listen to me, gentlemen." Prokop said with a slight frown. "As long as we know exactly when the collision will occur, we can take a balloon into the air an hour before the collision. Gallia's The atmosphere will definitely bring us closer to the earth at the original speed and mix with the atmosphere on the earth before the collision. In this way, our balloon will enter the earth's atmosphere smoothly and stay in the air when the collision occurs .”

"Very well, I understand. Your method can be adopted." Earl Ironmashev said. "But we're only one percent sure," Prokop added. "One percent?" "Yes. Because when Gallia's movement speed suddenly disappears, the balloon will also burn." "Balloons burn too?" asked Ben-Zoff. "The whole of Galia will be a sea of ​​flames, how can the balloon survive?" Prokop said, "But... unless the atmosphere of Galia is mixed with the atmosphere of the earth... I can't say what will happen in the future... ...but I always feel it's better to get off the ground in Gallia before the collision." "Okay! Let's do it!" Servadac said, "Even if we are only one in a hundred thousandth sure, we have to give him a try." "But we have no hydrogen inflatable balls," said Count Ironmashev. "Hot air will suffice, and we won't be in the air for more than an hour anyway," said Prokop. "Okay. Let's just make a hot-air balloon," said Servadac. "There's nothing difficult about that. But what about the outer shell?" "Can be done with the cloth sails on the Dobrina, which are both light and strong." "Excellent, Prokop," said Count Ironmashev, "you have thought of everything." This is indeed a rather bold idea.But since everyone had no other way to go, they had to put all their eggs in one basket.The problem now is that in order to be foolproof, it is necessary to know the time of the collision of the two planets very accurately, and it is best to know the minutes and seconds. Lieutenant Servadac was in charge of doing everything possible to inquire about Palmilla Rosset.In this way, from this day on, everyone started to make balloons under the leadership of Prokop's second mate.The balloon must be made quite large enough to hold the twenty-three inhabitants of the Land of Warmth, and as for the Englishmen of Gibraltar and Ceuta, let them be left alone if they do not wish to come. In order to make everyone have more possibilities to escape, Prokop also thought of many ways to prolong the time that the balloon floats in the air.After the collision, it will likely take some time to find a landing site, so the hot air inside the balloon is indispensable.Prokop therefore decided to put some straw and hay in the balloon in order to heat the air inside the balloon.That's what the first man to fly a balloon did. The cloth sails on the Dobrina had already been placed in the tunnels of the Great Cave.So we took out these canvases, cut them into long strips, and painted them to prevent air leakage.The lacquer was found in stock moved from the Hansa.Prokop's second mate also specially made a model.Everyone sewed the cloth strips together according to this model.Everyone, including little Nina, took part in this work.Russian sailors are very skilled at this kind of work, and they teach the Spaniards how to sew. Of course, we said that all people participated in this work, but in fact it did not include the Jewish professors Isaac and Palmier Rosette.Professor Rosset was not at all interested in such matters. This work took a month.During this period, Captain Servadac never found the opportunity to ask Professor Rosset about the exact time of the planetary collision.He was very difficult to get close to, and he was often invisible for several days.As the temperature gradually warmed up, he had moved back to the original small cave, where he was locked up all day long, and no one could enter.Regarding the time when the two planets will meet, Captain Servadak tried to discuss it with him once, but he was pushed back.He doesn't want to go back to Earth at all, so he doesn't want to do something for everyone on the issue of going back. However, the timing of the collision of the two planets is a very important issue, and Selvadak had to wait patiently. During this period, Galia has been orbiting towards the sun.In the eyes of the Galians, the round wheel of the earth had grown larger and larger.The comet traveled 236 million kilometers in November, and on December 1, it was only 312 million kilometers away from the sun. The temperature rose sharply, and the sea ice plate cracked and disintegrated.The scene is very spectacular, and even the sound of ice bursting can be heard clearly.There were trickles on the slopes, and after a few days, these trickles turned into torrents and waterfalls rushing through the mountains, and the snow on the mountains had long since disappeared. At the same time, clouds began to appear in the sky.The wind that had stopped for a long time picked up again, and the clouds began to float with the wind in the sky.It seems that within a few days, thunderstorms will follow.In short, as the light and heat from the sun gradually increased, the planet Gallia regained its vitality. In that little bay, what was long expected happened at last. When the ice plate burst, the Dobrina and the Hansa were still more than 30 meters above the sea surface.As the ice gradually thawed, the huge ice block under the hull began to sink and tilt.As is common with icebergs in the Arctic Ocean, the bases of the ice cubes are eroded by warmer seawater and may break off at any time.Under these circumstances, it was impossible to save both ships. On the night of December 12th and 13th, the disaster finally happened.As the base part fell off, the huge ice block suddenly lost its balance and turned over.The Dobrina and the Hansa fell on the rocks on the shore, and were smashed to pieces in a blink of an eye. This kind of ending has been expected by everyone, but no one can do anything about it.Now seeing the two ships crashing into pieces suddenly, everyone couldn't help but feel very sad. Isaac Haqhab wept bitterly, like a mourning concubine, and his tragic state cannot be described in words.He cried and cursed Servadac and others, saying that it would be a shame if they did not drive his Hansa to this little bay in the "Sunshine Land", but let it anchor in the harbor of Gulby Island. Nothing will happen.They did not listen to his advice and insisted on going their own way, thus causing today's catastrophe.They are responsible for this.When he returns to Earth in the future, he will sue them. "Mr. Isaac, if you continue to talk nonsense," Captain Servadac called, "I'll have you tied up." Isaac had no choice but to go back to his dark cave without saying a word. On December 14th, the balloon was ready.Due to the fine sewing and painting, the whole balloon is very strong.The ropes for hanging the gondolas were made of the light cable of the Dobrina.The side basket of the gondola is woven with wicker using the cargo hold of the Hansa as a partition, and it can accommodate twenty-three people.Besides, everyone didn't stay inside for a long time, so a squeeze would do. During this period, Galia has reached the orbit of Mars, but is still 224 million kilometers away from Mars.Therefore, Mars will not be attracted away. However, on the night of December 15th, an unusually strong "earthquake" suddenly occurred in Galilee. Everyone simply thought that the end of Galilee had come.The volcano was also shaking constantly, so Servadak and others left the volcano immediately. At this time, there was a scream from the mountainside.I saw Professor Rosset standing on the cliff with a broken telescope in his hand; his telescope was broken by an "earthquake". That night, a satellite appeared on Gallia's horizon. This satellite is the fragment from which Gallia split off! Same as Gambard child stars of the past.Gallia has been split in two under the influence of its internal forces.The huge fragments carried the Britons out of Gallia and began cruising through space.