Chapter 8 Chapter 7 The Moment of Intoxication

So under such strange conditions, a bizarre yet logical, absurd yet understandable phenomenon occurred.Whatever is thrown out of the projectile follows its orbit, goes with it, and stops with it.This is what they can't finish talking about all night.Moreover, as the journey drew closer to its end, the three passengers became more and more excited.In their state of mind at that time, they were so accustomed to all accidents and novelties that nothing could surprise them any more.Their overexcited imaginations had already raced ahead of the projectile, and they did not notice that the projectile's speed had slowed considerably.At this time, the moon seemed bigger and bigger in their eyes, as if they could grasp it as soon as they stretched out their hands.The next day, December 5th, the three got up at five o'clock in the morning.If no miscalculations occurred, it was the last day of their journey.At midnight, that is to say, eighteen hours later, when the moon was just full, they would reach the luminous surface of the moon.Therefore, when they got up in the morning, they immediately shouted confidently to the celestial body of the night: Hurrah!

The moon marches majestically in the starry sky.Turn around a few more degrees.It is about to meet the projectile at a certain point in space.Based on his own observations, Barbicane estimated that they would land in the northern hemisphere, where there are few mountains and vast plains everywhere.That would be a good thing if, as some imagine, the moon's atmosphere accumulates in low-lying areas. Besides, Michelle.Adam said that it is better to land on a plain than on a high mountain. If you put a moonman on the top of Mount Blanc in Europe or the Himalayas, it is difficult to say that he has reached the earth!

Not only that, Captain Nicholl added, but if it were on a flat place, the projectile would land on a flat surface.On the contrary, if it is a slope, it will roll and roll like an avalanche, and no one but a squirrel can get out safely.Now, everything is great. In fact, this daring attempt is clearly in sight.At this time, a thought was always haunting Barbicane, but he did not want to worry his two companions, so he kept silent. It turns out that the direction of the projectile has been biased towards the northern part of the moon.This proves that its orbit has changed slightly, and according to the mathematics, the shell should be fired at the center of the lunar disk.If it cannot achieve this goal, it means that its direction has been deviated.What caused this? Barbicane could neither say nor determine the magnitude of the deviation, since he could not find a bearing.However, he hoped that the deviation would not be too great, but would only yaw the projectile to a place on the upper half of the moon where it would be convenient for landing.

Barbicane did not share his apprehensions with his friends, and he had to observe the moon from time to time to see if there were any new changes in the direction of the projectile.Because, if the shell misses the target, slides to the side of the moon disk, and rushes into the interstellar space, it will be unimaginable. At this time, the moon is no longer a disc like before, but a sphere that can be felt by people.If the sun shines obliquely, the outline of the mountain can be clearly highlighted, and we can also measure the height of the mountain from the shadow.Our eyes can also sink into the depths of the huge crater, and distinguish the countless ravines that spread across the vast plain.But, now in the bright sun.Still can't see the ups and downs of the terrain.Even the face-like pattern on the moon can't be seen clearly.

human face?Be that as it may, Michelle.Adam said, but, the pockmarked face of Apollo's lovely sister really makes me feel sorry for her! Meanwhile, the three travelers were so close to their destination, they were constantly observing this new world, and their imagination led them to wander through these unknown countries.They climbed to the top of the high mountain for a while, and then descended into the depths of the vast crater.Here and there they seemed to see vast oceans beneath the thin atmosphere and rivers winding down deep mountains.They stooped over the abyss to listen to the voice of the celestial body, but in the silence of the vacuum the celestial body remained eternally silent.The journey on the last day left them with countless exciting memories.They recorded even the smallest details of the day.But the closer they get to the finish line, the more anxious they become.If they notice that their speed has slowed down, they will be anxious!Such a speed obviously cannot send them to their destination.The projectile now loses almost all its weight.Its weight is constantly decreasing, and it will completely disappear when it reaches the boundary line where the attraction of the moon and the earth cancel each other out. At this time, many surprising phenomena will occur.

Despite all these worries, Michelle.Ah Dang still did not forget to prepare breakfast on time as usual.Everyone has a good appetite.Nothing tastes better than this gas-fired thick soup, nothing tastes better than this tinned meat.A few glasses of full-bodied French wine ended the breakfast.When it comes to wine, Michelle.Adam said that under the cultivation of this hot sun, of course, moon grapes, if there are grapes, will be able to produce the most mellow wine.The far-sighted Frenchman never forgot to include in his parcel a few precious seeds of the Médoc and Côte d'Or grapes, the two grapes he believed most in.

The Raytheon and Leonio devices have been working accurately.The air has been kept absolutely fresh.All the molecules of carbonic acid gas cannot resist caustic potash, and oxygen, as Captain Nicholl said, must be first-class.A little water vapor mixed in the air was enough to relieve the dryness inside the projectile, and many apartments and theaters in Paris, London, and New York would never have such air-conditioning conditions.However, the device must remain in perfect condition to function properly.Therefore, Michelle.Ah Dang checks the air flow control valve every morning, tries the faucet, and adjusts the firepower of the gas with the pyrometer.Up to that point all had been going well, and the three travelers, like the venerable Maston, had begun to gain weight, and if this continued for a few months they would be so fat that no one knew them, in a word, They will fatten up like chickens in a cage.

Through the porthole Barbicane watched the ghost of the dog and all the objects thrown out of the projectile, which followed the projectile invariably.Looking at the satellite's corpse, Diana let out mournful cries from time to time.These floating objects did not move at all, as if they were placed on solid ground. Did you know, my friends, Michelle.Adam said, if one of us dies under the impact of the departure, we can't bury him, so what?I had to hold an ether burial for him, because here, ether replaced the land!You see, this corpse will follow us in space, like a heart disease, always condemning us!

That would be tragic, Nicholl said. Unfortunately, Michelle added, it was impossible to get outside and go for a walk.How comfortable it would be to float in this radiant ether, to bathe and roll in this pure sunlight.If Barbicane had thought of getting a diving suit and a pump, I would now be venturing outside, climbing a projectile spire and performing Himera. Flame-breathing monster.) and Ipogriff (Note: In mythology, a monster with the head of an eagle, the body of a horse, and wings.) Lah! My old Michel, replied Barbicane, your Ipogriff can't last long either, because the air in your body will still swell up like a bomb, or rather, despite the diving suit. Blown to pieces like a balloon that rose too high.So you don't have to regret it, but please remember: as long as we are floating in a vacuum, we cannot allow you to take a leisurely walk outside the projectile!

In a way, Michelle.Adam was persuaded by Barbicane.He admits that there are difficulties, but disagrees that it can't be done. He never said that it can't be done. They passed from one subject to another, and went on endlessly.Under these conditions, for the three friends, many ideas seemed to emerge from their brains, like young leaves that have been plucked in the warmth of spring.They feel that their brain is like a leafy bush. For a whole morning, they asked me questions and answered them, talking with eloquence.At this time, Nicholl suddenly raised a question that could not be solved for a while.

I said, he said, it's great to go to the moon, but how do we get back? His two interlocutors looked at me and I looked at you, feeling very strange.It could almost be said that this possibility was presented to them for the first time. What do you mean by that, Nicholl?asked Barbicane gravely. Asked how to get back before arriving at this place, Michel interjected, I think it is inappropriate. I said this not to back off, but Nicholl gave him a rebuttal.I repeat, I'm just asking: how do we get back? I don't know, said Barbicane. Me, said Michelle, if I knew how to get back, I wouldn't have come. Look what he said, Nicholl said aloud. I agree with Michel, said Barbicane, but let me add that, for the time being, the question is worthless.We'll think about it later when we think it's appropriate.We don't have Colombian guns, but the projectiles are always there. What a wonderful prospect, a bullet without a gun! Guns, we can make them, answered Barbicane.Gunpowder, we can make it too!The moon would not be free of metals, saltpeter and carbon.What's more, if we want to come back, if we can overcome the attraction of the moon, if we can reach an altitude of 8,000 leagues, we can fall to the earth by the law of gravity alone. Enough, said Michele, getting excited.Don't talk about going back any more, we've talked too much.Regarding the connection with our old colleagues on Earth, I don't think it is difficult. what to do? Shoot meteors with moon volcanoes. Brilliant plan!Michel, answered Barbicane with a firm tone.Laplace (Note: 1749︱1827, French mathematician and astronomer.) once calculated that it would be possible to send a meteor from the moon to go to earth.In fact, all volcanoes are driven by a force much greater than this. Ulla!cried Michelle.These meteors are our good postmen, and they don't cost a dime!We should be satisfied with Lunar Post!Ah!i remembered What do you remember? A good idea came to me: why don't we tie a wire to our shells?That way, we'll be able to send telegrams to Earth! To hell with you!Nicholl retorted him.Eighty-six thousand miles of wire, do you think it weighs nothing? What does that matter!We just need to triple the powder of the Columbia guns!We can even triple and quadruple it!Michelle said aloud, his voice getting higher and higher. The plan needs only to be raised with one small objection to be untenable.Because when the earth rotates, our wires will be entangled on the earth like iron chains on the winch, and finally it will inevitably pull us to the earth. I swear by the thirty-nine stars of the United States!Michelle said, all I came up with today were bad ideas that couldn't be implemented!Almost comparable to Maston!But I think that if we don't go back, Maston may come here to find us! Um!He will come here, agreed Barbicane, he is a worthy and brave friend.Besides, what could be easier?Isn't the Columbia cannon buried under the ground in Florida?Will there still be a shortage of cotton and nitric acid for making gun cotton?Could the moon stop passing the Florida zenith?In another eighteen years, won't the moon return to its current position? yes!Michel said, yes, Maston will be here, and our friends Alphiston, Bloomsbury, and all the members of the Cannon Club will be with him, and they must Will be well received!In the future we will build many more Earth-Moon projectile trains!Ulla!Maston! The venerable Maston, though he could not hear the cheers raised to him, might at least warm his ears.What is he doing now?No doubt he may be at Lang Peak Observatory in the Rocky Mountains, trying to find this nearly invisible cannonball orbiting in space.If he is thinking of his dear companions, we should say that they are also worthy of him, for they, too, in this particularly excited state of mind, are constantly wishing him well. But why do the projectile travelers sink into this increasingly palpable state of excitement?There can be no doubt that they have always drank in moderation.So, could this strange excitement in their brains be attributed to the special environment they're in right now?Is it because they are so close to the moon, only a few hours away, that the nervous system has been affected by some secret of the moon?Their faces were flushed as if they had just been warmed in front of a stove, their breathing was rapid, their lungs were like the bellows of a blacksmith's furnace, their eyes were particularly bright, their voices were terrible loud; their words seemed to be pushed out one by one by carbonic gas. Like the corks of champagne bottles, they gesticulate, disturbingly, as if the size of the place is too large to move their arms.Another striking detail is that they did not notice their overwrought mental state at all. Now, said Nicholl in a blunt tone, since I don't know if we can get back from the moon, I should ask what we are doing there. What to do there!replied Barbicane, stomping his feet as in a training hall, I don't know! you do not know!Michel gave a cry, and his cry echoed loudly in the projectile. No idea, I didn't even think about it!Barbicane also retorted, and he too began to quarrel with his interlocutor. snort!I know, I Michelle replied. Just say it, Nicholl said aloud, and he couldn't help letting out a tone of reproach. When I think it's appropriate, I'll speak up naturally!cried Michel, grabbing his companion's arm. You ought to think that the moment is right now, said Barbicane, his eyes blazing, and he made a menacing gesture.It is you who have induced us to take this dreadful journey, and we shall ask why! yes!Said the captain, since I don't know where I'm going, I'll ask why I'm going there! Why?exclaimed Michelle, he jumped half a foot high, why?In order to occupy the moon in the name of the United States!To add a fortieth star to the United States!To colonize the moon, cultivate the land there, breed there, spread art, science and industry!If the lunar people are not as civilized as we are, we will civilize them, and if they have not yet established a republic, we will establish one for them! Haha, what if there were no moonmen!Nicholl retorted that under the sway of this inexplicable intoxication he had become a quarrelsome man. Who said there are no moonmen?Michelle yelled in a threatening tone. I!Nicholl yelled. Captain, said Michelle, don't you ever say such goddamn words again, or I'll pry open your two big teeth and stab you in the throat! When the two enemies were about to rush together, and this vexatious quarrel threatened to develop into a fight, Barbicane jumped up and intervened. Stop, damned fellow, he said, and parted his two companions too, we can get by without the Moonmen! of course!Michelle exclaimed that he was no longer insisting on his opinion, and we could get by.We just have to create moonmen!Down with the Moonmen! The Moon Empire is ours, Nicholl said. It belongs to the three of us, and we shall establish a republic! I am the House, Michelle said aloud. I am the Senate, Nicholl said. Barbicane is the President, cried Michel. Not the president elected by the people of the whole country, answered Barbicane. But there is also a president elected by the parliament!Michelle said loudly, since I am the House of Representatives, the House of Representatives unanimously elected you as President! President Barbicane, hurrah!Ulla!Ulla!cried Nicholl. Ulla!Ulla!Ulla!Michelle.Adam cheered. Then, the President and the Senate sang "Yankee Doodle" (Note: A song popular during the American Revolutionary War.) with terrible voices, while the House of Representatives also sang "Marseillaise" (Note: French national anthem.) in tenor. And so the three began to dance wildly, their hair disheveled, their hands dancing, somersaulting like dislocated clowns.Diana joined in, screaming, jumping, and leaping up to the projectile vault.Suddenly they heard unexplainable flapping of poultry wings and a particularly loud crowing of a rooster!Five or six hens hit the wall like crazy bats At last the three traveling companions, under the influence of an incomprehensible force, as if drunk, the air burning their respiratory organs, the lungs beginning to be destroyed, suddenly fell unconscious at the bottom of the projectile.