Chapter 18 Chapter 17 Entering the Discovery

Even under the best external circumstances, it is not easy to enter an unmanned and uncoordinated spacecraft.In fact, it must be a dangerous job. Walter Kono has always understood this in theory; but he didn't really understand it until he saw the Discovery, which was no less than 100 meters long, roll and roll when the Leonov sailed to a safe distance for observation. to the seriousness of the matter.A few years ago, friction stopped the rotation of Discovery's turntable, but transferred its angular momentum to other parts of the structure.Now, like a baton waving in the hands of a drum conductor, the derelict spaceship is slowly turning somersaults as it orbits.

The first problem is to stop this rotation, which makes Discovery not only difficult to control, but almost inaccessible.When Kono put on his space suit in the transition chamber and was ready to go out side by side with Max Brerowski, he felt a rare feeling of powerlessness, even pessimism and disappointment, which was not something he could do."I'm a space engineer, not a space monkey!" he argued despondently. But someone had to do the job.Only he has the skills to free Discovery from Io's giant clutches.Due to unfamiliarity, Max and his colleagues would spend too long on the circuit diagrams and getting used to the operation of the equipment.By the time they restored the ship's power and brought it under control, Discovery would have crashed into the brimstone pits below.

As they were about to put on their helmets, Max asked, "You're not intimidated, are you?" "It's not too bad to wear clothes. It's really a little scary." Max giggled, "I gotta say that's what the job feels like. Don't worry - I'll get you there right away with my - what do you call it?" "'Broom handle.' Witches are said to ride on this." "Oh yes, have you tried that before?" "Tried it once, but it didn't work at all. Everyone in there was laughing so hard." Some professions develop unique tools for their use—such as a hook for dock handling, a potter's wheel, a bricklayer's blade, a geologist's mace, and so on.Those who had to spend most of their time in construction in zero gravity developed the "broom handle".

It was extremely simple—an empty tube a meter long—with a pad at one end and a tab at the other end.Once a switch is pressed, it stretches to five to six times its normal length.Its internal shock absorption system allows an experienced user to achieve amazing agility.The end of the pad can be transformed into a claw or hook if desired, and there are many more subtle refinements, but the basic design goes like this.At first glance it seems to be well controlled, but it is not. The air pumps in the transition chamber stopped cycling, the "exit" light came on, the outer hatch opened, and they floated slowly into the vacuum.

Discovery was about 200 meters away, spinning like a windmill, following them closely in its orbit around Io, which occupied most of the sky.Can't see Jupiter, it's just behind this moon.It was a deliberate choice, and they used Io as a shield to protect them from the blast of energy gushing through the magnetic flux tube between the two planets.Even so, radiation levels were dangerously high, and they had less than fifteen minutes before they had to return to their shelter. Almost as soon as he got out of the cabin, Kono felt that the clothes were not suitable. "This suit was fine when I left Earth," he complained, "but now I'm crunching in it like peas in a pod."

"Perfectly normal, Walter," Medical Commander Rudenko interrupted him on the radio. "You lost ten kilograms during hibernation, that's nothing to you, and you've gained three kilograms back." Before Kono could think of a reasonable rebuttal, he found himself staggering away from the Leonov in a light but powerless manner. "Relax, Walter," Brerowski said. "Even if you start rolling, don't use your little thrusters. I'll do all the work." Curnow could see the faint puff of smoke from the young man's backpack as the small draft pushed them closer to the Discovery.With each little cloud of vapor that drifted out, there would be a gentle tug on the cable, and he would be pulled in Brerowski's direction; but he never caught up to Max before the next puff. .He felt like a Yo-Yo (Yo-Yo is also called yo-yo, which is a kind of game ball that is supported by bearings and moves back and forth on a line. - re-calibration note) jumping on the guy rope - now repeating on a journey back.

There is only one safe way to approach the abandoned ship.That is to advance along its slowly rotating axis.The center of rotation of Discovery can be roughly determined to be in the midship of the ship, close to the position of the main antenna system.Ignoring his worried companion who was still dragging on the cable, Brerowski charged headlong into the area.How could he stop us both in time?Kono asked himself. Discovery was now a slender giant dumbbell, slowly hammering all of space before their eyes.Although it takes several minutes for it to rotate once, the speed at the far end is surprisingly fast.Curnow tried not to think about it, focusing instead on the ever-closer—and steady—center.

"I'm going to head there," Brerowski said. "Stay out of the way, and don't be surprised if something happens." Now, what does he mean by that?Kono tried his best to remain calm while asking himself again. Everything happens in about five seconds.Brerowski flipped a switch on his broomstick.It stretched out at once, reaching a total length of four meters, and made contact with the approaching spaceship.Then the "broom handle" began to retract, its internal springs absorbing a considerable part of Brerowski's impulse.But completely to Kono's surprise, it didn't take him to the antenna array.It immediately extended again, giving the Russian a reverse acceleration, effectively bouncing him off the Discovery as quickly as he was approaching the ship.He flashed past Kono, only centimeters away, and plunged into space again.The stunned Americans caught only a glimpse of Brerowski's laughing face as he passed by like a cannonball.

A second later there was a jerk of tension in the cable connecting them, and they both slowed quickly.Their relative velocities subtly cancel out; in essence, they and Discovery come to a relative standstill.Their speed now depends on Discovery.Curnow just had to reach out and grab the nearest rail to pull them both in. "Ever played Russian roulette?" he asked, breathless. "No—what's that?" "Later—must teach you. It's about as good as this, and it's a cure for boredom." "I hope you're not serious, Walter, did Max do something stupid?"

Dr. Ruden sounded genuinely concerned about it, and Curnow decided it would be best not to answer, since Russians sometimes failed to understand his characteristic sense of humor. "You're trying to fool me," he murmured, so low she couldn't hear him. Now they were so close to the center of the spinning ship that he no longer felt its rotation—especially as he stared intently at the metal disk that flashed before his eyes.His next target was the ladder that stretched endlessly around Discovery's slender, cylindrical main structure.The spherical command module at the far end looked light-years away, though he knew it was only fifty meters away.

"I'll go first," Brerowski said as he reeled the cable between them. "Remember—it's all downhill from here. No problem though—you can hold on with one hand. Even at the bottom, gravity's only a tenth of a G. That's for you—how to say— — it’s just leftovers.” "I think you are talking about side dishes (this is an English word play, the chickenshit used above is literally translated as chicken feces, meaning trivial details, unimportant work, and the chickenfeed used here is literally translated as chicken food, meaning insignificant -Recalibrator's note). Well, if it's the same for you, I'll go first. I've never liked climbing down a ladder instead of climbing it, even with little gravity." Curnow is well aware that maintaining this slightly mocking tone is necessary; otherwise he risks being completely overwhelmed by the mysterious and dangerous circumstances.Now, almost a billion kilometers from home, he is about to enter the most famous abandoned ship in the history of space exploration.One reporter called Discovery the "Maria Celeste of space" (Galileo's daughter, a nun, supported her father's career and life.—Rereader's Note), which is a good analogy.But there are more factors that make his situation unique.Even as he tried to ignore the nightmarish moon Io, which took up half the sky like a nightmare, it would stubbornly prove that it was right beside him.Every time he touched the rungs of the ladder, a thin cloud of sulfur dust rose from under his gloves. Brerowski is absolutely right that the rotational gravity caused by the ship's somersaults is easily overcome.As Kono got used to it, he even welcomed the sense of direction it brought. Then, suddenly, they were in Discovery's control and life support module, a gigantic sphere of filth.A few meters away was the emergency hatch—it was there, Konow recognized, from where Bowman had re-entered the spaceship and faced Hal for the last time. "Hope I can get in," Bryrowski muttered. "What a pity to find the door locked after walking so far!" He wiped the brimstone off the "Air Lock Status" display panel. "No display, of course, do you want to try the controller?" "If you don't want to do something out of the ordinary—then you can't do anything." "That's right. Uh, here's a handle..." It is almost enchanting to watch a hair-thin slit in the curved wall, a tiny puff of vapor escaping from it and dissipating into space, followed by a sliver of paper.Wouldn't that be some vital information?They'll never know, the note twirled away at its initial speed, flying non-stop as it disappeared into the sky. For what seemed to be an infinitely long time, Brerowski vigorously turned the handle controller until the dark and deserted transition chamber was finally fully opened.Curnow had hoped that at least the emergency lights might still come on and not be completely unresponsive, but no such luck. "It's up to you to call the shots, Walter, and welcome to American soil." Apparently, he didn't look very welcome when he climbed in and looked around with the helmet light on.All Kono can say is that everything is in order.What else did he expect to see?he asked himself half annoyed. It took longer to manually close the door than to open it, but they had no choice until the ship restarted.Just as the hatch was about to close, Kono mustered up the courage to glance at the crazy scene outside the ship. Near the equator was a sparkling blue lake that he'd bet hadn't been there a few hours ago.At its edge, bright yellow flames—the color characteristic of molten sodium—dance in a merry dance; The absence of the light of dawn. That's good stuff for future nightmares—and then as if it wasn't enough, like a mad surreal artist adding a huge, humongous angle rising from some fire pit on that flaming moon, Piercing into the black sky, like a matador's last glimpse of his fate. As Discovery and Leonov pass along their shared orbit, crescent-like Jupiter rises to greet them.