Chapter 23 23. "Ashoka" space station

Looking down from a height of 36,000 kilometers, Taborobani is obviously very small.Even if the entire island is used as a target, it is still too small, but what needs to be hit is only an area the size of a tennis court. Of course, Morgan can also choose Mount Kilimanjaro or Kenya in East Africa as a target, and use the space orbital station "Golden Jet" to perform.Although the position of "Golden Jet" happens to be one of the most unstable points in the fixed space orbit, so it is difficult to maintain balance over Central Africa, but for the test that lasted a total of only a few days, this This situation will not have much impact.In addition, it is also possible to cast the lead wire on the top of the extinct Chimborazo volcano in Ecuador; the Americans even suggested that the "Columbus" space station be moved so that its position is exactly on the longitude of this mountain.However, in the end Morgan still chose Sri Kondasan.

Fortunately, in the age of widespread use of electronic computers, even such a laborious task as a judgment by the world court can be completed in a few weeks.Naturally, the monks were against experimentation.In this case, Morgan had to prove again and again that because the experiment was conducted outside the confines of the temple land and did not cause noise or pollution, it did not constitute an illegal act.And if the test is blocked, the work that has been completed will be abandoned halfway, and the design plan that is crucial to the Republic of Mars will also be shelved for a long time.

In the face of these arguments, Morgan felt that even if he himself changed places, he could be completely persuaded.As a result, five of the seven justices concurred.However, perhaps the real reason for the court's passage: it had already been swamped with three other complex cases involving Mars... But Morgan certainly understood that his actions were not merely the product of logical reasoning.Instead of being discouraged by failure, he renewed his challenge.He seemed to be announcing to the world and the stubborn monks: I will definitely make a comeback. The "Ashoka" space station is in charge of communication links, weather control and space transportation in the Indochina region.If something goes wrong with the space station, billions of lives could be threatened.To be on the safe side, "Ashokha" has two independent satellites - "Bhaba" and "Sarabhay" which are 100 kilometers apart.Should all three space stations be destroyed by some unforeseen catastrophe, the Golden Jays and Imhoteps in the west, or Confucius in the east, would come to their aid.You can't put all your eggs in one basket, or make a "sly rabbit with three nests" arrangement - human beings have learned this truth by experience.

In this part of outer space far from Earth, there are neither tourists nor transit passengers: the high altitudes of geosynchronous space orbit belong to academics and engineers.However, none of them had ever visited this "Ashok" which was equipped with unique equipment for such an extraordinary mission. A key core part of the "Spider Silk" operation plan is now suspended in a dedicated space on the space station, where it is awaiting final checks before launching.Judging from its appearance, no one could have imagined that so many man-years of man-hours and millions of huge investments were spent in its manufacture!

The dark gray cone, which is four meters high and two meters in diameter at the base, looks like a solid piece of metal; only with a magnifying glass can it be seen that its surface is made up of tightly coiled superfibers.But if you don't count the core and some intermediate partitions, then the cone is purely made of 40,000 kilometers of thin wires of gradually decreasing diameter. To make such a simple cone, two forgotten techniques were reused.Three hundred years ago, underwater telecommunications facilities laid on the seabed began to be used; when people managed to master the skill of coiling thousands of kilometers of cables into coils, they paid a large tuition fee.It was only after this that it was possible to lay cables evenly from one continent to another at a specified speed without being affected by violent winds.A century later, the first primitive missiles with wire guidance appeared.Today, Morgan's "missiles" will fly to their targets fifty times faster than these antiques in military museums, and at thousands of times farther away.However, it also has favorable conditions: almost the entire range is in a complete vacuum, and the target itself is inactive.

The female director who directed the "spider silk" action plan coughed embarrassingly: "There is a little difficulty, Dr. Morgan. The issue of downward delivery has been clarified, and the experiment and the test of various data have gone smoothly. What is not yet sure about safety is another issue: what method to use To the recycling line." Morgan's eyes narrowed; he hadn't really thought much about it.It might seem obvious that winding the wires shouldn't be too difficult.As long as there is an ordinary winch, of course, it must be equipped with some special accessories.The reason why these accessories are necessary is to facilitate the control of such thin lines with inconsistent thickness.However, anything in the universe cannot be taken for granted.

"It's like this," the girl broke the silence first: "When the experiment was over, we let go of the end of the line on the earth, and 'Ashoka' started to recycle the line. The problem is that it is a 40,000 kilometer-long thin line, so that, even with great effort, the various movements are not initially coordinated. It takes half a day for the pulse to reach the other end of the thin line. Only then does the entire system Only then can it move as a whole. Therefore, it needs to withstand the effect of tension... This is an extraordinary thing!..." "My colleagues made a rough calculation," the girl continued, "when the line can finally be pulled, it will fly to the space station at a speed of thousands of kilometers per hour. This has a mass of several tons!"

"I see. Is there anything I can do?" Morgan asked modestly. "Then keep an eye on the spread of the pulse and pull a little slower. In the worst case, we will be forced to complete this operation outside the range of the space station." "Does this necessitate a delay in our actions?" "No need. An emergency plan has been drawn up. In the event of a last resort, a complete set of equipment can be sent into space within five minutes." The girl replied confidently. "Can you find it after that?" Morgan asked worriedly. "Not a problem." The girl answered very frankly.

"Please try your best to find a way. This 'fishing line' is worth a lot of money! Besides, I still need it." Morgan asked again with concern. "Okay, let's do it on Mars first," Morgan thought, watching the curve of Earth that was slowly filling up. "As long as the elevator starts to move in Pavonis, the earth will definitely behave like Mars. At that time, all obstacles will be destroyed by themselves..." Yes, it would be so—a name no one will ever remember when the bridge once connects the banks of the deepest abyss.

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