Chapter 32 Chapter 32 Huge Wave

Even in that shocking moment, Newton's first concern was his spaceship. "Endeavour!" he called. "Report!" "All is well, Captain!" came the reassuring answer from the mate. "We felt a slight jolt, but no damage. There was a slight change in orbital altitude, about 0.2 degrees, according to the bridge. They thought Rama had a slight change in the rate of rotation as well. In two minutes we'd be able to Get accurate readings." So the shocks are starting now, Newton thought, much earlier than we expected; still a long way from the logical moment of perihelion and change of orbit.But there will undoubtedly be some corrections and more shocks to come.

The effect of this first time alone is already too significant.The curved sheet of water overhead seems to be constantly pouring down from the sky.The huge wave that spanned the north and south banks was already ten kilometers away, and the waves on both sides hit the shore with white foam. In the deep water in the middle, there was only a blue line, which surged in much faster than the two sides, making the huge wave The waves curve into a bow, with the center section leading more and more. "Sergeant," Newton said urgently, "this is your duty, what should we do?" Sergeant Barnes stopped the boat and studied the situation carefully.Her expression reassured Newton.She didn't look flustered—like an athlete, sizing up the impending challenge with interested excitement.

"If only we had bathymetry," she said. "If we're in deep water, we have nothing to worry about." "Then we'll be all right. We're four thousand meters offshore." "I hope so, but I still have to find out." She launched the Resolve and pointed the bow of the boat on the waves.Newton saw that the crest of the wave would rush in front of him in less than five minutes, and suddenly it broke in the middle of the sea.Obviously, the huge wave was smashed by a horizontal wall several kilometers long that was not deep below the sea surface, and at the same time, the waves on both sides also collapsed.

The splatters, Newton said to himself, exactly like the ones in the fuel tanks on Endeavour, only a few thousand times bigger.There must be a series of these devices in the sea, so that the surge can be eliminated as quickly as possible.The question now is whether we happen to be on top of a breakwater. Sergeant Barnes moved faster than he thought.She anchored the Resolve and cast the anchor immediately.Only 5 meters deep, the anchor sank to the bottom. "Pull it up!" she called to the sailors, "we must get out of here at once." The sergeant drove the boat towards the waves at full speed, and the huge waves were only 5,000 meters away.Now they could hear the roar of the waves in the distance, a sound no one had expected to hear in Ramari.

The sergeant turned off the motor and dropped the anchor again.This time it didn't reach the end until 30 meters. "We're fine," she said with relief, "but I still have to keep the motor running." She pointed the boat in the direction of the wave, ready to face it with all her strength. Now, two kilometers away, the waves are foaming and raging again, and its roar fills the whole world.The sergeant must have noticed the expressions of the sailors, so he shouted in a voice that drowned out the sound of the waves: "What are you afraid of? I have experienced it before even older ones!" This is not entirely true, and she did not tell everyone , her previous experience was a well-built and solid wave-breaking boat, not this kind of makeshift raft. "But if we have to dive, I'll tell you then, check your life jackets."

She was handsome, Newton thought, like every pirate warrior waiting to strike, and it was obvious that she was enjoying every minute of it. The huge wave continued to move forward, rolling in, like a huge irresistible force of nature that wanted to destroy everything in its path. Then, in a matter of seconds, it collapsed again as if unmounted, as it encountered another underwater breakaway bank.When it reached Resolve, all that was left was the aftermath that sent Resolve up and down a few times.The Resolve then headed north with full force. "Thank you, Rube—a job well done. Can we make it before the next wave?"

"Probably not. It will come back in twenty minutes. But it will probably be much less powerful by then." Now that the storm was over, they could enjoy their voyage—though none could rest easy until they got back to shore.The breaking waves created eddies in the water, and at the same time they stirred up a strange sour smell-like the smell of a bunch of crushed ants. Not a hundred meters away, something like a spinning wheel tumbled out of the water.Under the illumination of the Rama light, the 5-meter-long spokes shone with a metallic luster, and they jumped back into the water all at once.It resembles a giant starfish with tubular arms.

At first glance, it is difficult to tell whether it is an animal or a machine, and it floats up, half floating on the water, rippling with the waves. Now they could see that it had nine articulated arms radiating from a central disk.Two of them had broken off at the joints.The other arms ended with a bunch of intricate robotic hands that reminded Jimmy of a crab he had encountered.This thing is from the same evolution, or from the same drafting table. A small tower protruded from the center of the disc, containing three big eyes, two of which were closed, and the opened eye seemed lifeless.Undoubtedly, this monster was thrown to death by the underwater breakwater in the huge waves just now.

They saw again that it was not alone.Around its movable limbs two small lobster-like creatures were swimming, and they were clamping the monster's limbs. This reminds Jimmy of the crab destroying the dragon again. "Look, Captain!" he whispered, "do you see?—they're not eating it. They don't even have mouths. They're just nibbling it to pieces, exactly as happened to the wyverns." "That's right. They're dismantling it... like... a destroying machine." Newton sniffed, "but no dead machine smells like that." He was startled by another thought Jump, "My God! If they fuck us! Lube, get us back to shore as soon as possible!"

Regardless of the life of its powerful batteries, Resolve pushed forward with all its might.Nothing catches up with them.But none of them could breathe comfortably until they stepped ashore with gratitude. When he turned back to look at the mysterious and treacherous waters, Newton made up his mind that he would never let anyone sail the sea again.There are too many unknowns and too many dangers. He looked at the towers and ramparts of New York, and the cliffs of the mainland behind it. In the future, there will be no meddling human beings there. He no longer teases the god Rama.