We may, perhaps, be astonished to find Barbicane and his companions so little occupied with the future reserved for them in their metal prison which was bearing them through the infinity1 of space. Instead of asking where they were going, they passed their time making experiments, as if they had been quietly installed in their own study.
We might answer that men so strong-minded were above such anxieties — that they did not trouble themselves about such trifles — and that they had something else to do than to occupy their minds with the future.
The truth was that they were not masters of their projectile2; they could neither check its course, nor alter its direction.
A sailor can change the head of his ship as he pleases; an aeronaut can give a vertical3 motion to his balloon. They, on the contrary, had no power over their vehicle. Every maneuver4 was forbidden. Hence the inclination5 to let things alone, or as the sailors say, “let her run.”
Where did they find themselves at this moment, at eight o’clock in the morning of the day called upon the earth the 6th of December? Very certainly in the neighborhood of the moon, and even near enough for her to look to them like an enormous black screen upon the firmament6. As to the distance which separated them, it was impossible to estimate it. The projectile, held by some unaccountable force, had been within four miles of grazing the satellite’s north pole.
But since entering the cone7 of shadow these last two hours, had the distance increased or diminished? Every point of mark was wanting by which to estimate both the direction and the speed of the projectile.
Perhaps it was rapidly leaving the disc, so that it would soon quit the pure shadow. Perhaps, again, on the other hand, it might be nearing it so much that in a short time it might strike some high point on the invisible hemisphere, which would doubtlessly have ended the journey much to the detriment8 of the travelers.
A discussion arose on this subject, and Michel Ardan, always ready with an explanation, gave it as his opinion that the projectile, held by the lunar attraction, would end by falling on the surface of the terrestrial globe like an aerolite.
“First of all, my friend,” answered Barbicane, “every aerolite does not fall to the earth; it is only a small proportion which do so; and if we had passed into an aerolite, it does not necessarily follow that we should ever reach the surface of the moon.”
“But how if we get near enough?” replied Michel.
“Pure mistake,” replied Barbicane. “Have you not seen shooting stars rush through the sky by thousands at certain seasons?”
“Yes.”
“Well, these stars, or rather corpuscles, only shine when they are heated by gliding9 over the atmospheric10 layers. Now, if they enter the atmosphere, they pass at least within forty miles of the earth, but they seldom fall upon it. The same with our projectile. It may approach very near to the moon, and not yet fall upon it.”
“But then,” asked Michel, “I shall be curious to know how our erring11 vehicle will act in space?”
“I see but two hypotheses,” replied Barbicane, after some moments’ reflection.
“What are they?”
“The projectile has the choice between two mathematical curves, and it will follow one or the other according to the speed with which it is animated12, and which at this moment I cannot estimate.”
“Yes,” said Nicholl, “it will follow either a parabola or a hyperbola.”
“Just so,” replied Barbicane. “With a certain speed it will assume the parabola, and with a greater the hyperbola.”
“I like those grand words,” exclaimed Michel Ardan; “one knows directly what they mean. And pray what is your parabola, if you please?”
“My friend,” answered the captain, “the parabola is a curve of the second order, the result of the section of a cone intersected by a plane parallel to one of the sides.”
“Ah! ah!” said Michel, in a satisfied tone.
“It is very nearly,” continued Nicholl, “the course described by a bomb launched from a mortar13.”
“Perfect! And the hyperbola?”
“The hyperbola, Michel, is a curve of the second order, produced by the intersection14 of a conic surface and a plane parallel to its axis15, and constitutes two branches separated one from the other, both tending indefinitely in the two directions.”
“Is it possible!” exclaimed Michel Ardan in a serious tone, as if they had told him of some serious event. “What I particularly like in your definition of the hyperbola (I was going to say hyperblague) is that it is still more obscure than the word you pretend to define.”
Nicholl and Barbicane cared little for Michel Ardan’s fun. They were deep in a scientific discussion. What curve would the projectile follow? was their hobby. One maintained the hyperbola, the other the parabola. They gave each other reasons bristling16 with x. Their arguments were couched in language which made Michel jump. The discussion was hot, and neither would give up his chosen curve to his adversary17.
This scientific dispute lasted so long that it made Michel very impatient.
“Now, gentlemen cosines, will you cease to throw parabolas and hyperbolas at each other’s heads? I want to understand the only interesting question in the whole affair. We shall follow one or the other of these curves? Good. But where will they lead us to?”
“Nowhere,” replied Nicholl.
“How, nowhere?”
“Evidently,” said Barbicane, “they are open curves, which may be prolonged indefinitely.”
“Ah, savants!” cried Michel; “and what are either the one or the other to us from the moment we know that they equally lead us into infinite space?”
Barbicane and Nicholl could not forbear smiling. They had just been creating “art for art’s sake.” Never had so idle a question been raised at such an inopportune moment. The sinister18 truth remained that, whether hyperbolically or parabolically borne away, the projectile would never again meet either the earth or the moon.
What would become of these bold travelers in the immediate19 future? If they did not die of hunger, if they did not die of thirst, in some days, when the gas failed, they would die from want of air, unless the cold had killed them first. Still, important as it was to economize20 the gas, the excessive lowness of the surrounding temperature obliged them to consume a certain quantity. Strictly21 speaking, they could do without its light, but not without its heat. Fortunately the caloric generated by Reiset’s and Regnaut’s apparatus22 raised the temperature of the interior of the projectile a little, and without much expenditure23 they were able to keep it bearable.
But observations had now become very difficult. the dampness of the projectile was condensed on the windows and congealed24 immediately. This cloudiness had to be dispersed25 continually. In any case they might hope to be able to discover some phenomena26 of the highest interest.
But up to this time the disc remained dumb and dark. It did not answer the multiplicity of questions put by these ardent27 minds; a matter which drew this reflection from Michel, apparently28 a just one:
“If ever we begin this journey over again, we shall do well to choose the time when the moon is at the full.”
“Certainly,” said Nicholl, “that circumstance will be more favorable. I allow that the moon, immersed in the sun’s rays, will not be visible during the transit29, but instead we should see the earth, which would be full. And what is more, if we were drawn30 round the moon, as at this moment, we should at least have the advantage of seeing the invisible part of her disc magnificently lit.”
“Well said, Nicholl,” replied Michel Ardan. “What do you think, Barbicane?”
“I think this,” answered the grave president: “If ever we begin this journey again, we shall start at the same time and under the same conditions. Suppose we had attained31 our end, would it not have been better to have found continents in broad daylight than a country plunged32 in utter darkness? Would not our first installation have been made under better circumstances? Yes, evidently. As to the invisible side, we could have visited it in our exploring expeditions on the lunar globe. So that the time of the full moon was well chosen. But we ought to have arrived at the end; and in order to have so arrived, we ought to have suffered no deviation33 on the road.”
“I have nothing to say to that,” answered Michel Ardan. “Here is, however, a good opportunity lost of observing the other side of the moon.”
But the projectile was now describing in the shadow that incalculable course which no sight-mark would allow them to ascertain34. Had its direction been altered, either by the influence of the lunar attraction, or by the action of some unknown star? Barbicane could not say. But a change had taken place in the relative position of the vehicle; and Barbicane verified it about four in the morning.
The change consisted in this, that the base of the projectile had turned toward the moon’s surface, and was so held by a perpendicular35 passing through its axis. The attraction, that is to say the weight, had brought about this alteration36. The heaviest part of the projectile inclined toward the invisible disc as if it would fall upon it.
Was it falling? Were the travelers attaining37 that much desired end? No. And the observation of a sign-point, quite inexplicable38 in itself, showed Barbicane that his projectile was not nearing the moon, and that it had shifted by following an almost concentric curve.
This point of mark was a luminous39 brightness, which Nicholl sighted suddenly, on the limit of the horizon formed by the black disc. This point could not be confounded with a star. It was a reddish incandescence40 which increased by degrees, a decided41 proof that the projectile was shifting toward it and not falling normally on the surface of the moon.
“A volcano! it is a volcano in action!” cried Nicholl; “a disemboweling of the interior fires of the moon! That world is not quite extinguished.”
“Yes, an eruption42,” replied Barbicane, who was carefully studying the phenomenon through his night glass. “What should it be, if not a volcano?”
“But, then,” said Michel Ardan, “in order to maintain that combustion43, there must be air. So the atmosphere does surround that part of the moon.”
“Perhaps so,” replied Barbicane, “but not necessarily.
The volcano, by the decomposition44 of certain substances, can provide its own oxygen, and thus throw flames into space. It seems to me that the deflagration, by the intense brilliancy of the substances in combustion, is produced in pure oxygen. We must not be in a hurry to proclaim the existence of a lunar atmosphere.”
The fiery45 mountain must have been situated46 about the 45° south latitude47 on the invisible part of the disc; but, to Barbicane’s great displeasure, the curve which the projectile was describing was taking it far from the point indicated by the eruption. Thus he could not determine its nature exactly. Half an hour after being sighted, this luminous point had disappeared behind the dark horizon; but the verification of this phenomenon was of considerable consequence in their selenographic studies. It proved that all heat had not yet disappeared from the bowels48 of this globe; and where heat exists, who can affirm that the vegetable kingdom, nay49, even the animal kingdom itself, has not up to this time resisted all destructive influences? The existence of this volcano in eruption, unmistakably seen by these earthly savants, would doubtless give rise to many theories favorable to the grave question of the habitability of the moon.
Barbicane allowed himself to be carried away by these reflections. He forgot himself in a deep reverie in which the mysterious destiny of the lunar world was uppermost. He was seeking to combine together the facts observed up to that time, when a new incident recalled him briskly to reality. This incident was more than a cosmical phenomenon; it was a threatened danger, the consequence of which might be disastrous50 in the extreme.
Suddenly, in the midst of the ether, in the profound darkness, an enormous mass appeared. It was like a moon, but an incandescent51 moon whose brilliancy was all the more intolerable as it cut sharply on the frightful52 darkness of space. This mass, of a circular form, threw a light which filled the projectile. The forms of Barbicane, Nicholl, and Michel Ardan, bathed in its white sheets, assumed that livid spectral53 appearance which physicians produce with the fictitious54 light of alcohol impregnated with salt.
“By Jove!” cried Michel Ardan, “we are hideous55. What is that ill-conditioned moon?”
“A meteor,” replied Barbicane.
“A meteor burning in space?”
“Yes.”
This shooting globe suddenly appearing in shadow at a distance of at most 200 miles, ought, according to Barbicane, to have a diameter of 2,000 yards. It advanced at a speed of about one mile and a half per second. It cut the projectile’s path and must reach it in some minutes. As it approached it grew to enormous proportions.
Imagine, if possible, the situation of the travelers! It is impossible to describe it. In spite of their courage, their sang-froid, their carelessness of danger, they were mute, motionless with stiffened56 limbs, a prey57 to frightful terror. Their projectile, the course of which they could not alter, was rushing straight on this ignited mass, more intense than the open mouth of an oven. It seemed as though they were being precipitated58 toward an abyss of fire.
Barbicane had seized the hands of his two companions, and all three looked through their half-open eyelids59 upon that asteroid60 heated to a white heat. If thought was not destroyed within them, if their brains still worked amid all this awe61, they must have given themselves up for lost.
Two minutes after the sudden appearance of the meteor (to them two centuries of anguish) the projectile seemed almost about to strike it, when the globe of fire burst like a bomb, but without making any noise in that void where sound, which is but the agitation62 of the layers of air, could not be generated.
Nicholl uttered a cry, and he and his companions rushed to the scuttle63. What a sight! What pen can describe it? What palette is rich enough in colors to reproduce so magnificent a spectacle?
It was like the opening of a crater64, like the scattering65 of an immense conflagration66. Thousands of luminous fragments lit up and irradiated space with their fires. Every size, every color, was there intermingled. There were rays of yellow and pale yellow, red, green, gray — a crown of fireworks of all colors. Of the enormous and much-dreaded globe there remained nothing but these fragments carried in all directions, now become asteroids67 in their turn, some flaming like a sword, some surrounded by a whitish cloud, and others leaving behind them trains of brilliant cosmical dust.
These incandescent blocks crossed and struck each other, scattering still smaller fragments, some of which struck the projectile. Its left scuttle was even cracked by a violent shock. It seemed to be floating amid a hail of howitzer shells, the smallest of which might destroy it instantly.
The light which saturated68 the ether was so wonderfully intense, that Michel, drawing Barbicane and Nicholl to his window, exclaimed, “The invisible moon, visible at last!”
And through a luminous emanation, which lasted some seconds, the whole three caught a glimpse of that mysterious disc which the eye of man now saw for the first time. What could they distinguish at a distance which they could not estimate? Some lengthened69 bands along the disc, real clouds formed in the midst of a very confined atmosphere, from which emerged not only all the mountains, but also projections70 of less importance; its circles, its yawning craters71, as capriciously placed as on the visible surface. Then immense spaces, no longer arid72 plains, but real seas, oceans, widely distributed, reflecting on their liquid surface all the dazzling magic of the fires of space; and, lastly, on the surface of the continents, large dark masses, looking like immense forests under the rapid illumination of a brilliance73.
Was it an illusion, a mistake, an optical illusion? Could they give a scientific assent74 to an observation so superficially obtained? Dared they pronounce upon the question of its habitability after so slight a glimpse of the invisible disc?
But the lightnings in space subsided75 by degrees; its accidental brilliancy died away; the asteroids dispersed in different directions and were extinguished in the distance.
The ether returned to its accustomed darkness; the stars, eclipsed for a moment, again twinkled in the firmament, and the disc, so hastily discerned, was again buried in impenetrable night.
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1
infinity
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| n.无限，无穷，大量 | |
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projectile
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| n.投射物，发射体；adj.向前开进的；推进的；抛掷的 | |
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vertical
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| adj.垂直的，顶点的，纵向的；n.垂直物，垂直的位置 | |
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maneuver
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| n.策略[pl.]演习；v.(巧妙)控制；用策略 | |
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inclination
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| n.倾斜；点头；弯腰；斜坡；倾度；倾向；爱好 | |
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firmament
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| n.苍穹；最高层 | |
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cone
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| n.圆锥体，圆锥形东西，球果 | |
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8
detriment
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| n.损害；损害物，造成损害的根源 | |
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gliding
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| v. 滑翔 adj. 滑动的 | |
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10
atmospheric
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| adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的 | |
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erring
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| 做错事的，错误的 | |
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animated
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| adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的 | |
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mortar
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| n.灰浆，灰泥；迫击炮；v.把…用灰浆涂接合 | |
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14
intersection
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| n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集 | |
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axis
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| n.轴，轴线，中心线；坐标轴，基准线 | |
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bristling
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| a.竖立的 | |
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adversary
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| adj.敌手，对手 | |
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sinister
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| adj.不吉利的，凶恶的，左边的 | |
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19
immediate
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| adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的 | |
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economize
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| v.节约，节省 | |
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strictly
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| adv.严厉地，严格地；严密地 | |
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apparatus
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| n.装置，器械；器具，设备 | |
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expenditure
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| n.(时间、劳力、金钱等)支出；使用，消耗 | |
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congealed
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| v.使凝结，冻结( congeal的过去式和过去分词 )；（指血）凝结 | |
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dispersed
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| adj. 被驱散的, 被分散的, 散布的 | |
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phenomena
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| n.现象 | |
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ardent
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| adj.热情的，热烈的，强烈的，烈性的 | |
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apparently
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| adv.显然地；表面上，似乎 | |
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transit
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| n.经过，运输；vt.穿越，旋转；vi.越过 | |
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drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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attained
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的过去式和过去分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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plunged
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| v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降 | |
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deviation
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| n.背离，偏离；偏差，偏向；离题 | |
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ascertain
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| vt.发现，确定，查明，弄清 | |
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perpendicular
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| adj.垂直的，直立的；n.垂直线，垂直的位置 | |
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alteration
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| n.变更，改变；蚀变 | |
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attaining
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| （通常经过努力）实现( attain的现在分词 )； 达到； 获得； 达到（某年龄、水平、状况） | |
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inexplicable
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| adj.无法解释的，难理解的 | |
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luminous
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| adj.发光的，发亮的；光明的；明白易懂的；有启发的 | |
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incandescence
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| n.白热，炽热；白炽 | |
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decided
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| adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的 | |
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eruption
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| n.火山爆发；（战争等）爆发；（疾病等）发作 | |
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combustion
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| n.燃烧；氧化；骚动 | |
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decomposition
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| n. 分解, 腐烂, 崩溃 | |
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45
fiery
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| adj.燃烧着的，火红的；暴躁的；激烈的 | |
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46
situated
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| adj.坐落在...的，处于某种境地的 | |
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latitude
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| n.纬度，行动或言论的自由(范围)，(pl.)地区 | |
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48
bowels
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| n.肠，内脏，内部；肠( bowel的名词复数 )；内部，最深处 | |
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49
nay
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| adv.不；n.反对票，投反对票者 | |
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50
disastrous
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| adj.灾难性的，造成灾害的；极坏的，很糟的 | |
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51
incandescent
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| adj.遇热发光的， 白炽的，感情强烈的 | |
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52
frightful
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| adj.可怕的；讨厌的 | |
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53
spectral
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| adj.幽灵的，鬼魂的 | |
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54
fictitious
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| adj.虚构的，假设的；空头的 | |
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hideous
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| adj.丑陋的，可憎的，可怕的，恐怖的 | |
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56
stiffened
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| 加强的 | |
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57
prey
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| n.被掠食者，牺牲者，掠食；v.捕食，掠夺，折磨 | |
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58
precipitated
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| v.（突如其来地）使发生( precipitate的过去式和过去分词 )；促成；猛然摔下；使沉淀 | |
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59
eyelids
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| n.眼睑( eyelid的名词复数 )；眼睛也不眨一下；不露声色；面不改色 | |
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60
asteroid
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| n.小行星；海盘车(动物) | |
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61
awe
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| n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧 | |
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62
agitation
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| n.搅动；搅拌；鼓动，煽动 | |
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scuttle
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| v.急赶，疾走，逃避；n.天窗；舷窗 | |
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64
crater
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| n.火山口，弹坑 | |
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65
scattering
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| n.[物]散射；散乱，分散；在媒介质中的散播adj.散乱的；分散在不同范围的；广泛扩散的；（选票）数量分散的v.散射(scatter的ing形式)；散布；驱散 | |
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66
conflagration
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| n.建筑物或森林大火 | |
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67
asteroids
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| n.小行星( asteroid的名词复数 )；海盘车，海星 | |
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68
saturated
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| a.饱和的，充满的 | |
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69
lengthened
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| （时间或空间）延长，伸长( lengthen的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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70
projections
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| 预测( projection的名词复数 )； 投影； 投掷； 突起物 | |
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71
craters
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| n.火山口( crater的名词复数 )；弹坑等 | |
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72
arid
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| adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的 | |
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73
brilliance
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| n.光辉，辉煌，壮丽，（卓越的）才华，才智 | |
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74
assent
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| v.批准，认可；n.批准，认可 | |
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75
subsided
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| v.（土地）下陷（因在地下采矿）( subside的过去式和过去分词 )；减弱；下降至较低或正常水平；一下子坐在椅子等上 | |
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