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

Food stock inventory taken today. The result is rather disappointing. Due to the fact that all of the men are working heavily, an absolute minimum ration was one and one-half pounds of food per day per man. * If we could lighten the labor somewhat and make machines, deriving their energy from the sun, do it, we would be able to conserve our food. As it is the men are terribly underfed.

(Although Duncan does not mention it in his diary, the miners and the smelters, during the daylight periods, received twenty-four ounces of food, while the photo-cell workers, with the exception of Melville and Rice, received but 20 ounces.) We have enough food to last till October first at the present rations.

I am working on the possibility of a cableway. I am afraid it is impossible, though most of the men's work now consists in dragging the heavily loaded carts to the Dome. It was suggested that work might be saved if only the oxygen were carried here instead of the heavy calcium sulphate, that is carry on reduction at the mine. It is not practicable, as the heavy tanks needed to convey the oxygen more than offset the gain.

July 28.

Moore has been observed by several of the men eating something in a surreptitious manner. They want to accuse him. I am convinced that the thief is storing his stolen food, and Moore, although he does appear to be eating, may merely be chewing something. Bender in particular insists he be accused.

July 29.

Fifty-six cells. We will have a great increase of power tomorrow.

The lights failed this evening, and Rice succeeded in repairing them with Bender's help. One cell had gone completely to pieces, and broken the circuit. The sensations of sitting in the eerie dark, lit only by a slight glow from the hydrogen burners convinced us that we cannot get along without our batteries.

Moore lectured on chemistry tonight. I was greatly interested, particularly on his talk on the chemistry of digestion. It makes me curious, and if my guess is right, I feel heartily ashamed of my suspicions.

July 30.

The lights failed again tonight. Rice says that next night they will not work. The cells are terribly weakened, and he insists that Moore's work during last day did much to hasten their dissolution. He is working on something to replace them. Making an attempt to construct a steam engine! His only materials are oxygen tanks cut off for cylinders, and food cans, braced with metal for pistons. If it works, Rice is a genius. But I admire the man's determination. He has drawn up, with my help, a diagram of a three cylinder wabble-plate engine. It is a known, but little-used type--but the crank problem, hardest of all, Rice says is eliminated.

July 31.

Rice working on his engine. Only fifty cells today.

The lights are yellowish already. I fear that before dawn they will be useless.

A vial of vitamine concentrate stolen from the food lockers. The man is certainly storing food. Vitamines are being supplied and the concentrate is neither tasty nor filling. The men are distinctly enraged over this systematic thieving.

Dr. Garner's forty-second birthday, and celebrated with a large issue of alcohol.

August 1.

Lights failed twice during the day, and once after the miners returned. The filaments are distinctly orange, and the voltage has dropped from 100 to 85. Rice spent the day on his engine, with interruptions to fix the batteries, and install some sort of a circuit breaker, though Lord knows the current the cells will give is little enough. We have to use suit batteries to test the photo-cells now.

I lectured tonight on modern conceptions of space and time.

August 2.

I understand now why Rice installed the circuit breakers. Somehow a cell blew up, and short circuited the line. Before Rice could repair it, only twenty-one cells were left in working condition. The others had been wholly destroyed. The filaments will scarcely glow at all. Moore made a gas mantle for us, and with three of these over hydrogen flames, we get some little illumination. Only twenty-two photo-cells today.

. August 3.

The Dome is very weakly lighted, and practically no work can be accomplished. But twelve cells today, and the men went to work at the mines. I am helping Rice with his engine. My admiration for the man grows! It may work. I only hope so! It was most depressing tonight, in the faint light, the eternal night outside, and that terrible, frozen hell of jagged, black rock under unwinking stars that seem somehow more remote and unfriendly, than Earth's.

The thief took advantage of the darkness. My new burglar trap was avoided with amazing skill, and ten pounds of protein-flour taken, but five had to be left behind, to avoid the trap. It did some good anyhow.

August 4.