Chapter 43 Chapter 19 Return to Earth

The balloon has been rising to an altitude of 2,500 meters.Prokop decided to keep it at this height.Below the balloon hangs a stove made of iron wire. The stove is filled with hay and can be lit at any time to keep the air thin and prevent the balloon from falling. People sat in the gondola and looked around.Below is a vast sea of ​​Galia, which is a concave basin.There is a piece of land to the north, which is Gulby Island. Everyone stared west for a long time, hoping to see Gibraltar and Ceuta.But the two islands have disappeared without a trace. To the south is the volcano that stands on the "Warm Country" and the coast.The endless layered rocks show colorful rays in the sun.The mineral gold telluride appears to be the only thing that made up the comet.

The sky was as clear as a wash.In the sky opposite the sun in the northwest, a new planet orbits.No, it's better to say it's a bolide.This is the fragment that split off from Gallia.The fragments were following a new trajectory away from Galia, which was now ten thousand kilometers away.Because it is daytime, this fragment is not very visible now, but after dark, this bright point of light must be visible in space. Soon, on the slant above the gondola.People finally saw a beautiful round wheel of the earth.It seemed to be rushing towards Galia, blocking most of Gallia's sky. The round wheel is dazzling and dizzying.The distance is already very close, and it is impossible to see its two poles at the same time.Gallia is now only half the distance from Earth to the moon, and that distance is still shrinking rapidly.Spots on the earth are clearly visible, some very bright, that is land.Some were quite dark, which was the ocean, because the water did not reflect the sunlight.Over the earth, white bands can be seen, and the shadows below the bands can be seen; these are clouds floating in the earth's atmosphere.

Since the two planets are approaching each other at a speed of 116 kilometers per second, after a while, the appearance of the earth will be displayed in front of everyone.Not only the broad coastline has been clearly distinguished, but also the mountains and plains have been clearly distinguished.The people in the hanging basket looked at these strange scenes, as if they were lying on a topographic map of undulating mountains. At 2:27, Galia was less than 12,000 kilometers away from the earth.The two planets are approaching rapidly.By 2:37, only 6,000 kilometers remained. The lines on the round wheel have become suddenly distinct.Second Officer Prokop, Earl Iron Mashev, and Captain Servadak called out three places they saw one after another:

"Europe!" "Russia!" "France!" They were not mistaken.The side of the earth facing Gallia is the continent of Europe.Since it was noon, the topography of each country was clearly discernible. They looked at the earth fascinatedly, thinking of landing as soon as possible, and had already forgotten the danger of landing.They are now about to return to the human society they thought they would never see again after two years of absence. Yes, what they are seeing now is indeed Europe.The borders of the countries on this continent are very strange, some are formed naturally, and some are determined by international agreements.

England is like a lady, in a dress full of ghosts, with islands dotted on her head, walking towards the east. Like a lion, Sweden and Norway are standing up and rushing towards Europe from the Arctic hinterland. Russia is completely like a polar bear with one head turned to Asia, one foot on Turkey and the other on the Caucasus. Austria is like a cat lying on the ground, having a nightmare. Spain was a flag on the prow of the European steamer, Portugal a yacht beside the great ship. Turkey is like a rooster clutching the continent of Asia with one claw and Greece with the other. Italy is like a beautiful and delicate boot, playing with Sicily, Sardinia and Corsica.

Prussia was like an ax cutting deep into the German Empire, the point of which had just touched France. France is like an outstretched chest, with Paris as its heart. In short, everything is so clear, so clear.Everyone was very excited.Only Professor Palmier Rosette stood there dejectedly, staring at Gallia 2,500 meters below.He didn't even look at the earth that was beckoning to him.He felt lost, and his heart always revolved around his beloved Saturn. Prokop's second mate held a horse watch and counted the minutes and seconds.From time to time he ordered some dry grass to be added to that stove, so that the balloon would maintain a steady position in the air.

Few people in the crane company speak.Captain Servadak and Count Iron Mashev have been watching Earth greedily.The balloon is always in the position behind the gallia.It is also good that the comet collided with the earth first, so that the transition of the balloon into the earth's atmosphere would not be too sudden. But where on Earth would the balloon fall? If it falls on a barren and inhabited land, can it be quickly contacted with inhabited places? If they fell in the sea, would there be a ship nearby to rescue them? .In short, unexpected dangers may be encountered at any time.As Count Ironmashev said, everyone's life is now in the hands of God.

"It's two forty-two," Prokop said aloud through the silence. In five minutes, the two planets will collide.Their distance now is less than 32,000 kilometers. At this time, the second officer of Prokop discovered that the two planets were not walking in a straight line, and there was a slight deviation between them.However, it is still possible that the comet's orbit will stop abruptly, rather than just skimming the Earth's surface as it did two years ago.The Gallias won't hit the Earth right now, but they're likely to "bump hard," as Ben-Zoff puts it.

Also, when the atmospheres of the two planets collide suddenly, a strong airflow is likely to be generated, and the balloon in this strong airflow is likely to burst, causing the hanging basket to plummet and fall to the earth.In this way, no one in the hanging basket will survive.Moreover, their two years of extraterrestrial life and their travels in the solar system will never be known. Captain Servadac suddenly had an idea.He tore off a piece of paper from his notebook, and wrote down the name of the comet, the pieces of land brought by the comet from the earth, and the names of everyone.

Then he turned to little Nina and told her to give him the carrier pigeon she was holding in her arms. Little Nina kissed the carrier pigeon and handed it to him immediately. Servadac tied the note around the pigeon's neck and threw the pigeon out of the basket. Another two minutes passed.The distance between the two planets is only 12,800 kilometers.They are now approaching each other three times faster than the Earth is moving in its orbit. Needless to say, the hanging basket did not feel this rapid speed at all.Their balloon seemed to remain motionless in Gallia's atmosphere.

"Two forty-six," Prokop said again loudly. The distance between the two planets is only 6,800 kilometers.The earth is like a huge cave waiting for Gallia to drill into. "Two forty-seven." Prokop's second officer said again. There are still thirty-five and three-fifths of a second, and the current speed is 1,080 kilometers per second! There was a whistling sound in the sky, caused by the earth attracting Galia's atmosphere.The balloon has become so elongated that it is nearly bursting. Everyone was so frightened that their faces were pale, and they hugged the edge of the hanging basket tightly. At this time, the atmospheres of the two planets finally mixed together.The hanging basket got into the sea of ​​clouds, and nothing could be seen around.Everyone only felt that there was a sea of ​​fire everywhere, and the hanging basket under their feet fell off, and finally returned to the earth.But no one knows exactly how it came back.They left the earth in a coma, and now they return to the earth in a coma. The balloon, not even a strip of cloth can be found. As for Gallia, contrary to everyone's expectations, it just brushed away from the earth and disappeared in the east.