Chapter 39 Chapter 32 Turning

"The latest news is that the Galaxy is floating at sea in a stable condition." Captain Smith of the Cosmos summoned his passengers and said, "We don't know the details of the situation. We only know that a female flight attendant has been shot and killed. All the passengers on board are safe." "Everything is working with the spaceship, just some water leaks, but it's under control. Captain Laplace of the Galaxy said there was no immediate danger to the Galaxy, but mild winds were blowing them off land and towards the light The center of the surface. This problem is not serious, there are many large islands in the local area, and they will soon reach the first large island. At present, they are about ninety kilometers away from the nearest island. They have seen some large, non-hostile marine life.

"Unless there are other accidents, they should be able to last for a few months until the food runs out. Of course, strict food quota control has been implemented. But Captain Laplace said that morale is still high. "This is where we are now. If we returned to Earth immediately for refurbishment and refueling, we could accelerate the rocket into orbit in eighty-five days. Cosmos is currently the only one that can land there and then refuel with the appropriate Loading the spacecraft that re-launched there. Gurneymede's space shuttle might be able to drop supplies, which would bring the people on the Galaxy back to life, but that's about it.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sorry that our tour has to end early, but I believe that we have given you all the sights we promised to show you before the trip. At the same time, I also believe that you will agree with our new The mission, even if the chances of success are very slim, is the current state of affairs. Dr. Buddha, can you say a few words?" While the others floated slowly and thoughtfully away from the main lounge, the captain scanned a clipboard full of messages.Sometimes words printed on paper are the most convenient form of communication, but even here technology can play a role; in order to lighten the burden on waste paper bins, the paper the captain reads is made of material that can be reused without restriction made.

"Doctor Buddha," he said, when the message had finished displaying, "as you might have guessed, the wiring has burned out. There are many other things that have happened that I don't understand." "By the way," Dr. Buddha replied, "Any news about little Chris?" "No, but Gurneymede has already forwarded your message, and he should have received it by now. You should know that the priority line for private communication is already full, but your name must be at the top of the list. " "Thank you. Captain, what can I do for you?"

"I'm not sure yet, I'll let you know." This is the end of their conversation, which is almost the last time they will talk.A few hours later, Dr. Buddha would say "that crazy old fool" and "short-lived Cosmos maniac", all caused by the captain. In fact, that was not Dr. Buddha's idea, he just hoped... Deputy Commander Roy Jorson is an interstellar navigator, and Dr. Buddha hardly recognizes his face. Except for greetings, Dr. Buddha has never talked to him; therefore, when he timidly knocked on the door, Buddha The doctor was very surprised. The navigator was carrying a set of aerial charts and an uneasy heart. Dr. Buddha's company made him feel quite a lot of pressure (now everyone on the spaceship thinks that Dr. Buddha should go with him), so he will come to see Dr. Buddha There must be some special reason. "

"Doctor Buddha," he spoke in a tense and anxious tone at the beginning, making Dr. Buddha feel like a salesman whose future is completely determined by the next transaction, "I need your advice and assistance." "No problem, but how can I help?" Jorsen unfolded an interstellar map that marked the positions of all the planets in the orbit of the magic star. "Your old trick of combining Leonoff and Discovery to get everyone out of Jupiter before it blows up gave me some insight." "That wasn't my idea. It was Wat Kono's." "Oh, I didn't know that. We don't have access to other spacecraft, but we have something better to use."

"What do you mean?" Dr. Buddha asked in great confusion. "Please don't scoff at the idea of ​​expediting, but why would we go back to Earth to refill the propellant? Old Faithful can spew tons of stuff every second hundreds of meters away. If we can harness it, we It would take only three weeks instead of three to reach Europa. This idea was very novel, but very bold, which made Dr. Buddha a little nervous.A dozen objections came to his mind at once, but none of them was fatal. "What is the captain thinking?" "I haven't told him that's why I need your assistance. I want you to evaluate my calculations for me and pass this on to him. I'm pretty sure he won't support the idea, but even if he doesn't, I don't blame him either. If I were the captain, I think I would too..."

There was silence in the small cabin.Then Dr. Buddha said slowly: "I can tell you why you can't do this, and then you can also point out my mistakes." Deputy Commander Jorson knew his officer well, and Captain Smith had never heard such a crazy suggestion in his life... His opposition is obviously a syndrome of disdain for "opposition for the sake of opposition". "Oh! That's theory," he admitted, "but we've got to think about reality, sir! How are you going to fill the propellant into the slot?" "I talked to the engineer. We can move the spacecraft to the crater, fifty meters away is safe. Then lay a pipeline near the Old Faithful and wait for it to spew something; you know the Old Faithful fountain must be Will spew out what we need."

"But our pumps don't work in near-vacuum!" "We don't need a pump, we can use the fountain to generate an input of over a kilogram per second. Faithful can do that." "It's just crystalline ice and vapour, not liquid water." "They will be compressed when loaded onto the spacecraft." "Have you thought about it?" said the captain enviously and enviously, "but I just can't believe it! Is that water pure enough? Isn't it polluted? Especially carbide?" Dr. Buddha smiled helplessly.Captain Smith is plagued by soot problems.

"We can filter out the big particles, and the rest won't affect the reaction. At the same time, the ratio of isotopes seems to be higher than that on Earth, and maybe it can generate more propulsion." "What do your colleagues think about this? If we headed straight for the magic planet now, they might not be home for many months." "I haven't talked to them. But this is related to dozens of human lives. What's the point of returning home later? We may be able to reach the Yinhe in 70 days! Seventy days! You must know that during this period of time, we will be able to reach the Yinhe in Europa. Something might happen!"

"I know very well the importance of time," the captain scolded. "That's our problem too. We may not have enough food reserves to carry out this extra mission." Dr. Buddha thinks he's overthinking little things now, and he must know I know about it, so he'd better be alert... "It's just an extra few weeks! I don't believe we have so little food in reserve. You've provided us with too much food. Anyway, for the good of some of us, you might as well give us a little less." The captain smiled indifferently: "You can talk to Willis and Mihailovich. But I'm afraid the whole idea is a delusion." "At least let's see what the boss has to say, I want to talk to Sir Lawrence." "Of course, I can't stop you," Captain Smith said in a very determined tone, "but I know what he will say." He was completely wrong. Sir Lawrence has not gambled for thirty years, and he no longer needs to use it to maintain his dignity in the mall, but when he was young, he often wandered around the racecourse in Hong Kong until he died for reasons of public morality. until strict controls are implemented.Whenever he recalled that period of life, Sir Lawrence would still be full of thoughts.He didn't have money to gamble then, and he can't gamble now, because being the richest man in the world has to set a good example. So far, no one knows better than him that his entire career is really a long-term gamble.He goes out of his way to gather the best and most complete information he can, and he gets a head start by listening to the wisdom of experts he trusts intuitively;But there are usually risks involved. Today, when he reads Dr. Buddha's memo, he feels the same trepidation that he felt when he was young when he saw a horse race pass the finish line.In fact, it was a gamble, and possibly the last, greatest gamble of his career, but he dared not tell the board, or his wife, Molly, that. "Bill," he said, "what do you think?" His son's (steady and dependable, if lacking a dash of drive that perhaps this generation of young people no longer need) was exactly what he wanted to hear. "This theory sounds good, in theory Cosmos can do it, but we have lost one spacecraft, and we may lose another one." "It's going to Jupiter anyway; not the magic planet." "Yes, but after it's been refitted from Earth orbit. Do you see the possible implications of this proposed mission? It will break all speed records, orbiting at over a thousand kilometers per second !" It was the worst he could think of, and the most shocking thing his father had heard. But Sir Lawrence's only answer was: "It's okay for them to do some tests, although Captain Smith strongly objected and even threatened to resign. At the same time, when checking the position with the Ruddard Merchant Shipping Association, we may also have to give up the rescue. Galaxy." He should add, especially if we're still betting on the Cosmos. He was very worried about Captain Smith.Now that Captain Laplace was stranded on Europa, Captain Smith was the best commander he could use.