Chapter 2 Chapter 1 From 10:20 p.m. to 10:47 p.m.

Ten o'clock struck, Michelle.Adam, Barbicane and Nicholl say goodbye to the many friends they have left on Earth.To acclimatize the canines to the climate of the lunar continent, two dogs have been imprisoned in the projectile.The three travelers approached the muzzle of the great cast-iron cannon, and a traveling crane carried them all the way to the conical tip of the shell below. A hole was made here so that they could enter the aluminum carriage from this cave.Immediately after the trolley of the crane retreated outside the muzzle, the last part of the scaffolding of the Colombian muzzle was removed.

Having entered the projectile with his companions, Nicholl set about closing the opening with a solid metal plate, fastened from the inside with powerful screws.The same metal plate is also installed on the lens glass of several other portholes.The three travelers, imprisoned tightly in a metal prison, were suddenly plunged into darkness. Now, dear friends, Michelle.Adam said we should feel like we were in our own home.I am a man who loves indoor life, and when it comes to domestic affairs, I am proficient in everything.Now is the time to furnish our new home so that everyone is comfortable.The first thing is to allow us to see things.Hell, gas wasn't invented for moles!

Speaking of which, the carefree young man struck a match with the sole of his boot, and brought the flame close to the gas lamp head fixed on a container.This is a high-pressure container filled with a mixture of gas and chlorine, which is enough to light and heat the cannonball for 144 hours, that is to say, six days and nights. The gas lamps were lit.The interior of the projectile, illuminated by light, looks like a cozy room.The walls were upholstered, and there was a ring of sofas in one corner, with a round top like a cupola. All the things inside, weapons, tools, utensils are tightly fixed on the round wall pads, which can withstand the impact of departure.Every precaution a human being could take was taken to ensure the complete success of this experiment so daring.

Michelle.Ah Dang checked everything carefully and said he was very satisfied with the equipment here. It's a cell, he said, but it's a cell that travels, and has the right to stick its nose out the window, and I'd like to have a lease for a hundred years!You laugh, Barbicane.what's on your mindAre you saying that this prison cell may be our tomb? Even if it is a tomb, I would not exchange it for Muhammad’s tomb, because his tomb can only float in space and cannot move forward! in Michelle.While Adam was making such an argument, Barbicane and Nicholl were making final preparations.

When the three travelers were at last shut up in their cannonballs, Nicholl's voyage clock was reading ten twenty in the evening.His watch was calibrated with that of the engineer Mo Qisheng, and the error was only a tenth of a second.Barbicane looked at his watch. Friends, he said, it is ten twenty.At ten forty-seven, Murchison was to deliver sparks through wires connected to the powder chambers of the Columbia guns.We are about to leave our earth at this moment, and we only have twenty-six minutes on earth. Twenty-six minutes and thirteen seconds, the methodical Nicholl replied. very good!Michelle happily exclaimed that there was a lot to do in twenty-six minutes!We can discuss the most important moral or political issues, and even resolve them!If twenty-six minutes can be used well, it is more valuable than twenty-six years of doing nothing!Pascal (Note: 1623︱1662, French mathematician, physicist.) or Newton's few seconds are worth more than the whole life of a group of hopeless fools

Is this your conclusion, eternal talker?asked Chairman Barbicane. My conclusion is that we have twenty-six minutes, Adam replied. Only twenty-four minutes, Nicholl said. Twenty-four minutes if you insist, honest captain, replied Adam, we can have a deep discussion in twenty-four minutes Michel, said Barbicane, we had plenty of time during the journey to discuss in depth all the most difficult issues.We should be ready to go now. Are we not ready? of course.There are a few precautions to take though, to minimize the first impact! Haven't we already installed drains with partitions of fragile materials, using the elasticity of water to protect us?

I hope so, Michel, whispered Barbicane, but I am not sure! oops!You humorist!Michelle yelled, and he hadn't said so until now!Not sure he deliberately waited until after we were caged to tell us this unfortunate fact!I ask to quit! How to quit?Barbicane contradicted him. no!Michelle.Adam said, this is difficult, we have already boarded the train, and the driver will blow the whistle in less than twenty-four minutes Not twenty minutes, Nicholl said. For a moment the three travelers looked at each other.Then they took a closer look at the contents of the shell. Everything is arranged, said Barbicane.The question now is what position we should adopt to withstand the impact of the start. The position we adopt is not unimportant. It must prevent the blood from rushing to the head.

Exactly, Nicholl said. Well, we're going to hang out like clowns in a big circus! While Michelle answered, she prepared to perform a demonstration action according to her own words. No, said Barbicane, we should lie on our sides.In this way we can better withstand the force of the impact, and please note that when the shell is fired, whether we are in the shell or in front of the shell is more or less the same thing. If it's just more or less the same thing, I'll be relieved, Michelle.Adam contradicted him. Do you agree with me, Nicholl?asked Barbicane. Totally agree, replied the captain.Thirteen and a half minutes.

This Nicholl is not human at all, exclaimed Michel, he is like a chronograph with double pendulous hands and eight holes But his companions stopped listening to him, and with an unimaginable composure made final arrangements.They were like two orderly passengers stepping onto a train, trying to settle as comfortably as possible.I really don't know what material the hearts of these Americans are made of. Even in the most terrible danger, it is impossible to make their pulse beat a little longer! Inside the shells were three durable thick mattresses.Nicholl and Barbicane placed them in the center of the raised floor of the projectile.During the first few minutes of departure the three travelers had to lie down on these three mattresses.

At this time, Adam couldn't be idle for a while, he was like a wild animal in a cage, wandering around in the small cell, talking with his friends for a while, and talking with the two men for a while. Dog Diana (Note: The moon goddess in Roman mythology; here is the dog's name.) and satellite chatter, we can see that he has just given these two dogs a very meaningful name. Hello!Diana!Hello!satellite!He teased them and called to them loudly.You are about to show the elegance of the earth dog in front of the moon dog!Nono!This is the honor of the dog!Really, if we can return to the human world, I must bring back a hybrid moon dog, it will be very lively!

That would have to have dogs on the moon, said Barbicane. Of course there is, Michelle.Adam said confidently, just like there are horses, cows, donkeys, and hens on the moon.I bet we'll be able to find the hen! I'll bet a hundred dollars if I don't find a hen on the moon, said Nicholl. good!We agree, replied Ardan, my captain, shaking Nicholl's hand.But when it comes to betting, your three bets have already been lost to our chairman, because the funds required for this scientific experiment have been raised, the casting of the cannon has been successfully completed, and finally, the Colombian gunpowder has not caused any trouble , a total of six thousand dollars. Yes, Nicholl replied.It is ten thirty-seven minutes and six seconds past. We are settled, Captain.In another quarter of an hour, you'll have to hand over to the chairman nine thousand dollars, four thousand dollars because the Columbia gun didn't explode, and five thousand dollars because the shell was going to go up over six miles. My money is ready, Nicholl patted his pocket and replied, I just wait to pay. Very well, Nicholl, you are, in my opinion, an orderly man, in a way I could never be in my life.On the whole, though, your bets have been against you both ways, allow me to tell you. Why?Nicholl asked. For, if you had won the first bet, that is to say, the Columbia had exploded with the shells, Barbican would not have paid you here! My bet was deposited in the Baltimore Bank, Barbicane honestly replied, since Nicholl was gone, my bet would pass to his heir. Ah!You two practical people!Michelle.Adang shouted, I really admire your spirit of seeking truth from facts, but I can't understand it. Ten forty-two!Nicholl said. Only five minutes left!Barbicane replied. yes!Only five minutes to go!Michelle.Ardan went on to say that we are now enclosed in a shell, which is placed in a barrel nine hundred feet deep!Another 400,000 pounds of gunwool were placed under the shells, equal to 1.6 million pounds of ordinary explosives!Our friend Mo Qisheng, with the watch in his hand, his eyes fixed on the pointer, and one finger on the button, is counting the time second by second, and he is about to send us to interstellar space Enough, Michelle, enough!said Barbicane in a solemn voice.Come get ready.We are only moments away from this solemn moment.Let's shake hands, friends. OK, Michelle.Adam said aloud that he was more excited than he had hoped to appear. The three brave companions embraced one last time. May God bless us!said the devout Barbicane. Michelle.Ardan and Nicholl lay down on the mattress in the center of the shell. Ten forty-six!the captain muttered. Twenty seconds to go!Barbicane quickly extinguished the gas lamp, and lay down beside his companions. There was silence.Only the ticking of the clock broke the silence. With a sudden and terrible jolt, the projectile rose into the sky, propelled by six billion liters of gas released as the gunwool burned.