Chapter 41 41. "Spider"

The mountain had become unrecognizable since Morgan first saw it.The top of the mountain has been completely cut away so that it is a completely flat plateau with a huge "pot lid" in the center of the plateau, which seals off the liftway of the future interstellar spacecraft.Now, who would believe that not so long ago there existed an ancient monastery here, that for more than three thousand years had been the meeting place of the hopes and fears of billions of people?The only thing left of it is Mahanayagai-Tello's pun-heavy gift, which is now crated and awaiting shipment to its new location.However, so far, neither the administration of Jacques Carbiana nor the curator of the Rana Pura Museum has been eager to obtain the ominous bell of Karidasa.It was struck for the last time at the very moment when a brief but harbinger of storms—true great winds of change—suddenly blew on the summit of Sri Konda.Now, as Morgan, accompanied by his assistants, approached the cosmic capsule, glistening with searchlights, the air almost seemed to freeze.On the lower part of the cosmic airtight cabin, someone used a brush board to write the words "Spider-2"; and at the bottom of this line of words, it was written crookedly: "Let's not live up to expectations".

"God bless!" thought Morgan.Every time he boarded here, he always felt a little difficult to breathe.Strangely enough, Cora hadn't even sounded a warning yet.The system prescribed by Dr. Shin is working smoothly. The items carried on the "Spider" have been loaded, and it is supported on the jack, waiting for an external replacement battery to be attached to its bottom.Mechanics are scrambling to finish and undo the many cables for the final preparations.For a person who is not used to wearing the space suit, it is extremely easy to get entangled in these cable nets on the job site.

The "elastic suit" space suit was sent to Morgan from Gagarin City half an hour ago; he had considered for a while, and planned to not wear a space suit at all on this voyage. "Spider-2" is much more complicated than its predecessor, the machine that Maxine Duvall rode.Essentially, it's a tiny spaceship.If the ascent went well, Morgan could dock it with the airlock at the base of the space orbital tower, which had been designed years ago for this purpose.Because the "sling suit" fits so snugly, it has nothing in common with the dumb armor worn by the first astronauts, allowing movement to be almost completely unrestricted.Morgan had attended an exhibition performance by the company that produced the cosmic seal.It was a varied show that included acrobatics, fencing and ballet...

Morgan lumbered up a short ladder, stood on the small metal steps for a minute, then stepped back cautiously into the cockpit.Once seated and buckled up, he took a look around. The "Spider" is a single-seater, but the cabin is very spacious; although there are also take-away equipment in the cabin, it doesn't feel crowded. Two oxygen cylinders are neatly placed under the seat, and a box containing several breathing masks is behind a ladder leading to the airlock above the pilot's head.How little is needed to save so many! Morgan carried with him his only "talisman"—a memento of his first visit to Jacques Kajara; in a sense, that's where the whole thing started. The "tape measure" takes up very little space and it weighs only one kilogram in total.Almost every time Morgan left it at home, he often felt that something was missing around him.Probably, it will be used in this trip too!

He turned on the suit's supply system and checked the air usage.After cutting off the cable that supplies power from the outside, the "spider" gained the ability to move independently. At such a moment, no one made any speeches such as congratulations.Morgan smiled at Warren and said: "Take care of my personal stuff until I come back." As for the huge difference between the actuation of the cosmic airtight capsule and the extensive preparations before take-off of the old-fashioned rocket, as well as the complicated time calculation, the indescribable roar and roar, etc., it is simply unimaginable.After the last two digits on the timer had reached zero, Morgan connected power to the motor.

The top of the mountain, which was illuminated by the strong light of the searchlight, went down smoothly and without a sound.I am afraid that even the balloon cannot be quieter than this when it is lifted into the air.However, if you listen carefully, you can still make out the slight buzzing sound of the two electric motors, which drive the huge friction wheels, and the friction wheels hug the conduction belts above and below the space capsule. The reading indicated on the speedometer is a lifting speed of 50 meters per second, which is 180 kilometers per hour.Under the existing load, this driving speed is the most economical.After the external battery is thrown away, the speed can be increased by 25%.

"Tell us anything you want, Pham!" Kingsley's cheery voice was heard from the world left below. "Wait a minute," Morgan replied. "I want to rest and enjoy the scenery. If you want a live report, let Maxine Duvall come." "She is already trying to get in touch with you." "Give her my respects and tell her I'm not available. Maybe, when I get to the Space Orbital Tower...By the way, how's the situation there?" "The temperature remained stable at around twenty degrees. The monsoon forecast station fired a laser with a power of several million watts at them every ten minutes. Professor Saisuyi was throwing a tantrum because it disrupted the normal operation of his instrument." Work." Kingsley conveyed the latest situation received from the ground.

"How's the air going?" Morgan asked next. "The situation is deteriorating. The pressure has dropped significantly and the level of carbon dioxide gas has risen. All people are avoiding unnecessary activities in order to save oxygen." "Everyone? Except the professor, I'm afraid," thought Morgan.It would be interesting to meet this man.Morgan had read several of Sasuyi's pamphlets and found them to be bombastic and trivial.It seems that the author will probably be "a man as he writes". "Any news from the '10-K' space station?" Morgan asked again.

"The transport plane will take off in two hours. In order to eliminate the possibility of fire, they are currently installing the control circuit." "That's a good idea. Was it Bartok's idea?" "It could be him. They'll be coming down the northern line, which is presumably unaffected by the blast, and they'll be there in another twenty-one hours. If all goes well, we won't have to The 'spiders' are dispatched again." Kingsley's tone of voice was quite optimistic. It goes without saying that both interlocutors are well aware that it is too early to rest easy.Maybe... However, the current situation is as good as it gets, and for the next three hours, all Morgan can do is enjoy the endless scenery.

His current lift-off altitude has surpassed all aircraft.There is no such precedent in the history of aviation.Although "Spider" and its pioneers have climbed to a height of 20 kilometers countless times, they have not been allowed to cross this height because of the lack of possibility of rescue measures in case of emergency.Before the distance between the bottom of the space track tower and the ground has not been further shortened, and there are no partners (at least two) who can climb up and down on another guide belt beside the "spider", no creation will be arranged. Recorded climb test.Morgan was trying to shake off the idea of ​​what would happen if the drive mechanism failed?If this happened, the fearful uncle who could not escape the fate of death would not only be the few people trapped on the "base" station, but also himself.

fifty kilometers.He has reached altitudes that not so long ago belonged to the lower boundary of the ionosphere.Obviously, he didn't expect to see anything interesting here.But he was wrong! The first sign was a slight crackling sound from the speakers; then he saw flickering firelight in a reflector mounted outside the sealed porthole.Morgan stared at the mirror in bewilderment for a full second, and couldn't help but start to feel a little nervous, so he hurried to get in touch with Earth. "A clerk from Professor Saisuyi's industry appeared here. It was a luminous sphere with a diameter of 20 centimeters. It followed me closely without letting go, but, thank God, it kept a fixed distance. It Very beautiful - flashing blue light and popping every few seconds. I could hear it on the radio!" A full minute passed before Kingsley could reassure him. "That's just the St. Elmo fire. We've seen them on film during heavy thunderstorms. The pilot of the first Spider was terrified by them. But don't worry, The protections arranged for you are very solid." "I didn't know that St. Elmo's fire would appear at such a high altitude." Morgan was still a little worried. "So do we. You can ask Sai Suyi about this question in the future." Kingsley suggested to Morgan. "It dimmed, brightened, dimmed again. It's completely invisible now. It's kind of pathetic." Morgan still kept his eyes on the firelight. "You'd better see if there's anything there?" Kingsley said. Morgan turned the reflector at an angle, and immediately many stars appeared in the mirror.Then he turned off all the lights that were on. Vision gradually adapted.A faint red light reflected in the mirror.The red light grew stronger, engulfing the stars; then the night sky around the mirror began to glow.Now, Morgan saw the halo directly ahead, because it had covered the entire lower part of the sky, and the looming, ever-moving beam of light was shooting towards the earth.This situation made Morgan begin to understand why some people, like Professor Sasuyi, willingly devoted their entire lives to the cause of unraveling its mysteries. This is the aurora - the rare visitor to the equator, which is marching in majestic splendor from the Earth's poles.