Chapter 39 39. Air Shelter
In the remote depths of Mount Sri Konda, Morgan and his engineers were standing around a hologram at the base of a ten-to-one orbital tower.The image accurately shows the smallest details, and even the four thin conduction bands can be seen clearly. They stretch out along the various facets and disappear without a trace immediately above the bottom surface. .It's unimaginable: Even at a tenfold zoom out, the conduction zone can still be seen extending down to a distance of 60 kilometers—to the point beyond the lower boundary of the Earth's crust.
"Please change to the cut dough, and raise the position of the 'basic' station to the height of the human eye." Morgan said to the cameraman.
The image of the space orbital tower was replaced by a glowing phantom—a long, thin-walled rectangular box containing nothing but superconducting power cables.The lower compartment ("Foundation"--this is an eminently appropriate name, although its present position is more than a hundred times higher than the summit) is a cubical cell, fifteen meters on each side.
"How's the crossing going?" Morgan asked.
The relevant part of the image becomes brighter.On the north and south facets, the roof of the airlock is clearly shown between the guide grooves of the track.The airlocks are located as far apart as possible, the most common safety measure on all cosmic installations.
"Probably, they entered through the hatch on the south side," the cameraman explained, "I just don't know if the hatch was damaged during the explosion?"
"It doesn't matter, there are three other entrances!" Morgan thought.Of particular interest to him were the two access ports at the bottom.This idea was formed in the final stage of the design.In fact, even the idea of a "base" station itself had been conceived only shortly before that—for a while, it was considered unnecessary to build a shelter here, since this section of the orbital tower was ultimately to become the " An integral part of the Earth" station.
"Please turn the bottom towards me," Morgan ordered.
The space orbit tower fell down, it first drew a bright arc, and then hung horizontally in the air.Now Morgan sees the blade in full detail.The hatches on the north and south edges communicate with two independent air locks.The question is how to get there.You know, there is a distance of 600 kilometers between here and there! "
"What about the life support system?" Morgan asked the cameraman.
The image of the airlock dimmed, followed by the image of a small cabinet in the center of the chamber.
"That's the whole problem." The cameraman commented gloomily: "There is only an oxygen supply system in the room, but there is no purifier, and of course, there is no energy. In the case of losing the transport plane, I am afraid they may not be able to survive this. At night. The temperature is dropping—it has dropped ten degrees there after sunset."
Morgan seemed to feel the cosmic chill seeping into his heart.The euphoria once aroused by the news that the people on the transport plane were still alive faded quickly.What was the use of a few days' worth of oxygen in the "basic" station if the rescued were to freeze to death before daybreak? "
"I'd love to talk to the professor," Morgan said.
"We can't contact him directly - the emergency number from 'Basic' only goes to 'Central'. But I can try right away."
It seems that this matter is not so simple.After a lot of trouble to get the line connected, it was pilot Qiangge who answered the call.
"Sorry, the professor is not available." A strong voice came from the phone.
In extreme astonishment, Morgan was at a loss for a second, but then he said every word (especially his own name) clearly:
"Please tell me that it is Vannever Morgan who wants to speak to him."
"I'll tell him what you said, but I'm afraid it won't help. He's explaining to the students the construction of some kind of apparatus. It seems to be a spectroscope. Nothing else has been salvaged. Now they're putting the spectroscope into the A porthole." Qiangger replied helplessly.
Morgan barely suppressed the anger in his heart. He was already planning to ask: "Are they crazy?" At this moment, Qiang continued:
"You don't know the professor, but I have been with him for two days and nights. He is a very strong-willed man. It took us a lot of effort to stop him from going back to the transport plane to salvage the rest of the equipment. ...and now he has declared that since death is inevitable, he should make the most of his time before he dies, if only to prove that the damn spectroscope is working."
From the strong tone, he could feel his praise for his obstinate passenger.Indeed, the Professor's logic is irrefutable.All that could be saved had to be saved, and it took several years to furnish this ill-fated expedition.
"Okay," Morgan said resignedly, "then please report the situation."
"What I can report is very limited. To be honest, we have nothing but clothes. One female student managed to snatch her bag out in time. Guess what it contained? Her draft thesis! ..." Qiang said with a sigh.
Morgan looked at the transparent image of the space orbital tower, and he seemed to see several small figures with a scale of ten to one.The images are so close, just reach out and they'll be saved...
"The main problem is the cold and the air. I don't know if we will be suffocated by carbon dioxide gas soon. Maybe someone can find a way to get rid of this threat. But..." Qiang lowered his voice a few times Decibels, it seems, he was afraid that others would overhear him: "Professors and students don't know that the air lock on the south side was damaged in the explosion. There is already a leak in there - there is a constant hissing around the seal." Sound. As for the seriousness of this situation, it is still difficult for me to say for sure." Qiang Ge's voice rose to a normal level again: "The situation is like this, we are waiting for your instructions."
"What else can we say here but 'Farewell'?" thought Morgan.
For those who are good at making decisions in critical situations, Morgan always admires, but never envies them.Janos Bartok is the senior security officer on duty at the "Central" station, and he has the power to call the shots.All the people in the depths of the 25,000-kilometer mountain below him (they are only 600 kilometers away from the accident site) can do nothing more than listen to the report, make useful suggestions, and satisfy the curiosity of the reporters as much as possible. .
Only minutes after the accident, Maxina Duvall got in touch with Morgan.As usual, her questions hit the nail on the head:
"Will 'Central' get to them in time?"
How to answer her?Morgan hesitated.Undoubtedly, the answer to the question is no.But it would be irrational, even cruel, to give up hope so early.You know, these victims are lucky after all...
"I'd like to give people unfounded hope, but it's possible we can handle this without the help of Central. On station 10-K, which is much closer to where it happened--it's at 10,000 At an altitude of 10000 kilometers, there is a team of assemblers working there. Their transport plane can reach Saisuyi within 20 hours." Morgan replied calmly.
"Then why hasn't it started yet?" Maxina asked urgently.
"Senior Security Officer Bartok will make a decision soon, but all efforts may be in vain. The air is only enough for ten hours in total. The more serious problem is the temperature."
"What does this mean?" Maxina couldn't understand what "temperature" was all about for a while.
"It's nighttime up there, but they don't have a heat source. Maxina, please don't report this situation for now. It's unclear what will be used up first—heat or oxygen." Morgan replied sadly.
Maxine was silent for a few seconds, then asked with her unusual timidity:
"It's possible I'm an 'idiot talking in my sleep', but you should know that weather satellites can emit powerful infrared lasers..."
"No, I'm the 'idiot'! Wait a minute, I'll contact the 'Central' station immediately." The unexpected inspiration made Morgan shout excitedly.
Bartok was very polite, but from his answer, it clearly expressed his views on people who are nosy and only understand the surface.
Morgan reconnected Maxina's line.
"Sometimes, the experts may also be confused, but ours is really good." He declared proudly: "Ten minutes ago, Bartok had contacted the monsoon forecast station. Now, the electronic computer is Calculate the required light energy, so as not to emit too much energy and burn Sai Suyi and the others to death."
"So I got it right." Maxina reminded Morgan again unceremoniously: "What else have you forgotten?"
There was nothing to answer, and Morgan had no intention of answering.He seemed to see that the computer in Maxina's mind was coming up with various ideas rapidly, and guessed the question she was going to ask next.
"Can't you take advantage of the 'spider'?" Maxina asked.
"Even including the latest models, their climbing heights are very limited - the design capacity of the battery installed on the machine can only climb a total of 300 kilometers. Their purpose is to inspect the space orbital tower, but they can only wait The space orbital tower will only be used after entering the atmosphere."
"Can't you install batteries with higher power?"
"A new battery in two or three hours? But that's not even the question. The only machine that's being tested right now isn't suitable for carrying passengers." It has already been carefully considered.
"Can we use unmanned driving!"
"We have already thought about this trick. When the 'spider' arrives at the 'basic' station, one operator needs to complete the docking operation. In order to transport the seven people down one by one, it will take several hours. time of day."
"But you have to figure out a way to do it!" Maxina was a little anxious.
"We've even sketched out several methods, but none of them will work. If I find anything that works, I'll be sure to let you know soon. As for the present...you can help us."
"How can I help?" Maxina asked with doubts and interest.
"Please explain to your TV viewers why two spaceships can easily dock at an altitude of 600 kilometers, and when you do this, we may have something new I told you."
When Maxina's bewildered face faded from the screen, Morgan returned to the orderly mess of the command post.Although Morgan encountered a polite soft nail in front of the senior security officer who was proficient in business at the "Central" station, he, Morgan himself, would still come up with some useful insights after all.Miracles didn't happen often, of course, but anyway, he knew the Orbital Tower better than anyone else in the world—with the possible exception of Warren Kingsley.It is possible that Warren understood some details better than he did, but it was always him, Dr. Morgan, who had a better understanding of the overall situation.
These seven were indeed caught in the sky.This is an unprecedented encounter in the history of interstellar navigation.It was impossible not to think of any way to save them before that little airlock became suspended between the earth and the sky.
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