Chapter 40 Chapter Thirty-Nine In the Separation Compartment

"Walter—I'm worried about Heywood." "I know, Tanya—but what can we do?" Kono had never seen Commander Oleva hesitate like this, which added to her charm, despite his prejudice against little women. "I like him a lot, but that's not the reason. His - melancholy is the best word for it - is demoralizing everyone. The Leonov is a happy ship, and I want it to stay that way." "Why don't you talk to him? He respects you, and I'm sure he'll do everything in his power to get that feeling out of the way." "I'd like to do that too, but if it doesn't work—"

"if?" "There's an easy way. What else is he going to do on this journey? He'll be hibernating too, anyway, when we start home. We can always—how should we say, move ahead." "Humph—Katrina played that trick on me too. He'll be mad when he wakes up." "But by then he's safely back on Earth and will be busy. I'm sure he'll forgive us." "I don't think you're serious. Even if I were with you, Washington would be vehemently against it. Also, what if something happens and we really need him urgently? Not until you can revive anyone safely. A two-week buffer?"

"At Heywood's age, it might take a month. Yes, we'll . Or some unknown suburb of Maryland, you have also received instructions in this regard." "I neither admit nor deny. And frankly, I'm a sleazy undercover agent. I talk too much, and I hate security. I've fought all my life to keep my rank a secret. Every time I have to re- When there's a classified or top-secret rating, I'm going to walk away and create gossip. It's getting harder and harder to do that now." "Walter, you're stubborn—" "Stubborn and incurable?"

"Yes, that's what I meant. But back to Heywood. Would you like to speak to him first?" "You mean—encourage him? I'd rather give Katrina the shot. I'm a completely different person from him. He thinks I'm a clown who yells." "You do that a lot. But that's just to hide your real emotions. Some of us analyze and deduce that you have a very good heart, but you just don't want to show it." Kono was speechless for the first time.At last he muttered: "Oh, fine - I'll do my best. But don't expect miracles, I've always seen the wind turn the other way. Where is he hiding now?"

"In the separation module, he claimed he was writing the last report, but I don't believe it. He just wanted to get away from all of us, and it was the quietest place." That's not the reason, although that factor does matter.Unlike the turntable, which concentrated most of the activity on Discovery, the Separation Module was a zero-gravity environment. When the space age just kicked off, people discovered the infinite euphoria of weightlessness and recalled the freedom they had lost since leaving the embrace of the ancient sea.Far from gravity, people have regained some freedom, and their worries and troubles about the earth are greatly reduced in the weightless state.

Heywood Floyd hasn't forgotten his pain, but it's more bearable here.When he was able to look back on the whole thing calmly, he was amazed at how strongly he had reacted to an event that wasn't entirely unexpected.Aside from the lost love, although that's the worst part, there's a lot of related emotion.The blow came while he was feeling vulnerable, a time when he had been feeling down and even inactive. And the reason is very clear.Thanks to the ability and teamwork of his companions, he has done all the work he expected (he understands that he is now disappointing them selfishly).If all goes well - a common prayer for the Space Age! —they will return to Earth with a ship full of data that no one has ever collected, and in a few years even the lost Discovery will be returned intact.

But that's not enough. Big Brother and its unsolved mysteries remain here, only a few kilometers away, mocking all human ambition and achievement.Like its counterpart discovered on the moon ten years ago, it was active only for a moment, and then relapsed into obstinate silence.It was a closed door they had knocked in vain, and only David Bowman, it seemed, had found the key to open it. Perhaps this could explain why he was attracted to this quiet and even slightly mysterious place.From there—the already empty launch pad—Bowman sailed out of the annular hatch, into the vastness of space, on a final mission.

He found that the thought brought more excitement than depression.And it does help him get out of his personal problems. "Nina's" missing brother has become a page in the history of space exploration, traversing -- to use the age-old cliché of snickering without hurting the basics -- "where men have yet to go..." Now where is it?Will he know? He sometimes likes to sit for hours in the crowded but not cramped small cockpit, trying to grasp his thoughts, and occasionally dictating some notes. The other crew members respect his privacy and understand his reasons for doing so.They never got close to the separation module, nor did they need to.Fixing it is future work and will be done by another team.

Once or twice, when he was extremely frustrated, he found himself standing on the edge of a precipice: If I had ordered Hal to open the door of the separation module and let me set off on the track of David Bowman, I would not have To witness the same spectacle that he had seen and that Vasily had glimpsed weeks before?This will solve all my problems... Even the thought of Chris didn't hold him back, but there were very good reasons why this suicide move was impossible. The "Nina" was a very complicated piece of equipment, and he couldn't control it any more than he could control a fighter jet.

He was no intrepid explorer: fantasies of sailing to Big Brother were only in his head. Walter Kono rarely accepted an assignment reluctantly.He genuinely sympathized with Floyd, but at the same time was impatient with his depression.His own emotional life is bright but shallow, and he never puts all his eggs in one basket.He had heard more than once admonitions about his poverty, which he never regretted, but was now beginning to think about settling down. He cut through the turntable control center and noticed that the "top speed reset light" was still blinking dumbly.His main job is to determine when to ignore alerts and when to take them in stride—and when to take them seriously.If all distress calls on the ship were given equal weight, he would have a never-ending job.

Propelled by occasional flicks of the tubular wall rungs, he drifted down the narrow corridor leading to the pod.The barometer showed a vacuum on the other side of the airtight door, but he knew better.There was a failsafe here, and if the gauges were right, he wouldn't be able to pick the lock at all. The group cabin looks very empty, and two of the three space cabins have long since disappeared.Only a few emergency lights were working, and Hal's fish-eye lens on the far wall was staring calmly at him.Kono waved at it, but said nothing.At Chandra's orders, all audio inputs are still disconnected now, except the one he uses himself. Floyd was sitting in the space capsule, with his back to the hatch, dictating some records. He heard the intentional noise made by Kono approaching, and slowly turned around.For a while, the two men confronted each other in silence, and then, Curnow spoke first, "Dr. Hay Floyd, I hereby convey the greetings of our dear Captain to you. She thinks you should return to the civilized world." gone." Floyd gave a languid smile, then let out a short laugh. "Please forward my regards, I'm sorry I haven't been - can't communicate. I'll be at the next 'six o'clock Soviet meeting' and meet everyone. " Ko Nuo put a big stone in his heart, and his method worked.Privately, he felt that Freud was a bit smug, with the practical engineer's contempt for the tolerance of theoretical scientists and bureaucrats in his thinking.Because Floyd held high positions in both respects, he was the subject of Curnow's occasional jokes.However, the two still respect each other and even admire each other. Kono changed the subject gratefully, and patted the brand new hatch of "Nina" - it was found directly from the spare parts warehouse, which formed a sharp contrast with the dilapidated appearance of the entire space capsule. "I'm wondering when we're going to launch her again," he said, "and who's riding her this time. Has it been decided?" "No. Washington is afraid to make a decision, Moscow says let's do it, and Tanya wants to wait." "What do you think?" "I agree with Tanya. 'Rangodak' shouldn't be interfered with until we're not ready to go. If something goes wrong then, being prepared increases the likelihood." Kono seemed lost in thought and hesitated uncharacteristically. "What happened?" Floyd asked, sensing his change of mood. "Don't give me away, but Max is considering a little solo expedition." "I don't believe he's serious. He doesn't dare—Tanya is going to throw a fit and put him in detention." "I told him, more or less, as well." "I'm disappointed: I think he's too immature. After all, he's thirty-two!" "Thirty-one. Anyway, I convinced him. I told him this was real life, not some stupid show where the male lead sneaks into space without telling his companions and creates 'Space Discoveries.'" Now it was Floyd's turn to feel a little uncomfortable.After all, he had thought so too. "Can you guarantee that he won't take the risk?" "Two hundred percent guaranteed. Remember your precautions with Hal? I messed with 'Nina' too. No one can drive her away without my permission." "I'm still not entirely convinced. Are you sure Max can't fool you?" "He doesn't have that great sense of humor. Besides, he's so busy right now." "Oh—now I see. He must have quarreled with Rania, and I guess he was trying to impress her. Anyway, they seem to be on good terms now." "I'm afraid so," Curnow replied mockingly.Floyd couldn't help smiling, Curnow noticed his expression and started giggling too, Floyd looked at him and couldn't help laughing out loud,... This is a great example of positive feedback having a positive effect.Within seconds, they were both rocking back and forth laughing. The crisis is over.More importantly, they have taken the first step towards a true friendship. They were evenly matched.