"Campbell, John W. - The Moon is Hell" - читать интересную книгу автора (Campbell John W Jr)

There has been some discussion of the message we are to send, when we reach the visible zone. Garner points out that possibly only parts of the message will get through. He suggests that it be so worded that even fragments of it will be intelligible and hopeful. It is a wise suggestion, I believe.

June 26.

It is dark now, outside. Dark and cold. After two years, the transition from day to night is still a startling thing, when in half an hour the rocks, blistering hot but a few minutes before, become so cold that mercury freezes, then carbon dioxide,-and within an hour oxygen freezes to a liquid. The rapidity with which first the mercury, then the alcohol, and finally the pentane thermometers freeze up, leaving only the metal thermometers, is still a phenomenon to wonder at.

And the heavens, studded so thickly with colored stars, not the great, blurry white things of earth, but infinitely minute pinpoints of red and green and blue and orange! It is glorious, and the light from them is incomparably greater than starlight on Earth.

Our force of photo-cell makers is augumented. Tolman has joined our staff permanently, and is devoting all his time to extracting the chemicals we need. The stocks we used for operations were running low, and now grkcious step-mother Moon has provided as liberally as her scant bounty permits, with further supplies. Luna is a single, vast chemical laboratory! The richness of the rocks is beyond belief. Probably the enormous volcanic upheavals of the past brought these substances to the light, and the absolute lack of rainfall has prevented their being buried.

Further argument over message to be sent tonight I believe it is an important point.

June 27.

The heaters are working nicely. The temperature stays constant with beautiful precision, the only disturbance , being a slight, endless hissing, to which we are growing accustomed. Rice, in further protection of his beloved batteries, has rigged a metal stove, burning hydrogen. Whisler was heard cursing him horribly, told to refrain as he was damaging the precious atmosphere, and requested to explain. Rice was over enthusiastic, and had a regular oxy-hydrogen blow-torch for a burner. Whisler tried it out cautiously, but not cautiously enough. It burned a hole through his heavy aluminum frying pan so quickly he couldn't get it away in time.

The stove has been tamed, and works nicely. I agree with Rice that the batteries will be important for light; and for the indispensable electrical work at night, and must be preserved. At least five months more--five nights.

Even cooking might wholly disintegrate them. Without their power, our airlock could not function, and the cost in lost atmosphere, when we could no longer pump the air back to the Dome, would be heart-rending.

June 28.

The work at night is even heavier than before. During the day the machines lifted a heavy load from the men, but now that it is night there are no electric hoists to lift the blocks of gypsum sawed out by electricity, and the men are complaining of weakness. I fear they are indeed underfed. For some time those working in the mines have been fed more heavily than those who work inside, since their work is so much more strenuous.

Beginning with tomorrow those who are to make the longest dash to the Earth-side of Luna will be fed more heavily, the three making the full trip getting three-quarters full rations.

June 29.

No work today. We declared a holiday, not-so-jokingly called Collapse Day! The men spent most of the morning dozing. We needed it badly. Extra rations issued to all.

I am too sleepy and too contented to write more this night.

June 30.

Work resumed today.

Rice has shown himself a genius with tools. He is utterly invaluable now. Today he spent the whole time working on one of the fuel-less tractrucks. This evening to the amazed joy of the miners, it ran down to the minel He has somehow rigged up a valving system so that it works effectively on hydrogen and oxygen, and the exhaust, pure water, is carefully collected and re- condensed to liquid. He arrived at the mine to be greeted with rousing cheers. He dragged behind him two sledges, one loaded with two great fuel tanks full of hydrogen and oxygen, and on the other, one of the large motors converted to a generator. In half an hour he had all the electrical mining apparatus going again. It costs us nothing, for the fuel can be reelectrolysed in the daylight period, and burned again that night. Rice is a popular hero, despite the fact that the machines must be run on more or less reduced load. We will need more photo-cells than ever now, but it is an inestimable boon to the miners.

Moore has joined the laboratory staff. Reed was sent out on an exploring expedition, seeking certain minerals at the directions of the chemists. King is hunting in the other direction. I heard him order nitrates, so I suspect we are going to have explosives again, which gave out long ago.

July 1.

The men are glad the hydrogen driven power plant has been built, aiding them so enormously in the hoisting and sawing, even though the saws stop when the hoists start. Rice wanted to fix up the other tractruck, but we need the hydrogen we have for the heating apparatus. The system is working perfectly, keeping us comfortable again, but we cannot spare much hydrogen.

Output of photo-cells greatly aided by Tolman who showed us how to make the metal much more workable. We are turning out twenty cells a day regularly now, but with the consumption at the mine both day and night now, and the furnaces during the day, we need a lot of power. Power has become our chain to life.

The message to be sent has been decided upon. It will read: "Relief ship crashed. Oxygen from gypsum by electrolysis assures supply. Food scant. Help." *> We hope the message will get through successfully.

July 2.