Deng Kai’s actions made Katz feel worried for him.
Since Ring B is mainly composed of ice cubes, ice slag and smaller but visible ice and snow dust, the "Fuxi" is almost half submerged in these floating objects. There are several objects with a diameter of more than 50 meters within less than 10 meters of the surrounding area.
Centimeter ice cubes - this is also considered to be an interstellar impurity that may pose a fatal threat to the "Express 1" spacecraft - and there are countless small ice crystals with diameters ranging from 10 to 30 centimeters.
To allow the spacecraft to fly in such a complex environment and achieve docking with the "Fuxi" is not so much a brave challenge as it is a huge adventure!
"Express 1" is approaching "Fuxi" little by little. The protective cover at the front of the spacecraft is being hit by increasingly dense particles, and the edges of the observation windows on both sides have begun to form a thick layer of
"Hoarfrost" is a solid substance formed by adsorption and condensation of smaller ice crystal molecules.
"Have you ever received training like this before?" Katz asked.
"I've only simulated traveling through the asteroid belt."
"Oh, my God! Then you have only practiced how to dribble past a defender on the football field, but you have not practiced how to pass a group of people's intensive defense and steals?!"
"You describe it well!" Deng Kai said with a wry smile.
The two spacecraft continued to approach, and the distance between them was less than 30 meters. Deng Kai kept the "Express 1" above the side of the "Fuxi", wanting to take a closer look at the situation of the "Fuxi" and further confirm the relative position.
Speed, angle and posture. He didn't dare to lean in rashly.
Li Zhanxiong's voice came from the answering machine: "'Express No. 1', the control center has seen the 'Fuxi'! I know you are close to it now. Under the condition of ensuring safety, the command headquarters authorizes you to decide independently whether
Docking. If you do not meet the conditions for docking, please be sure to leave the rings of Saturn as soon as possible and go to Enceladus to look for the Solstice!"
"Received! 'Express No. 1' reported to the control center that there is currently no danger found in 'Fuxi', but it has suffered multiple impacts and it is impossible to determine whether the communication and power systems are normal. I am now ready to dock with it! I want to
It pulls out of the ring!"
After Deng Kai finished speaking, he entered the command to enter the docking program into the computer.
"Express 1" lowered its orbit, and its belly slowly immersed in the ring. At the same time, the four orbit-changing nozzles up, down, left, and right were ejecting intermittently, creating a space enough for the spacecraft in the floating ice cubes.
Deng Kai paid close attention to the computer vision measurement images of the characteristic points of the "Fuxi" connection mechanism by the spacecraft's CCD camera, and was highly nervous. In fact, the docking of the spacecraft was completely controlled by the computer. He had conducted countless drills at the X base and successfully
The rate is 100%. But in space, in an extremely complex environment like the rings of Saturn, a single failure may be irreversible.
In the monitor, the connection mechanism of "Fuxi" has been accurately captured by "Express 1", and the picture is frozen. At the same time, Deng Kai almost felt the instantaneous pull between the two spacecraft when the lock was tightened.
"The docking was successful!" Deng Kai fisted hard and let out a sigh of relief.
Katz gave him a thumbs up: "Congratulations on your success! Great!"
Deng Kai high-fived Katz: "Thank you! You are a part of the success!"
After the two spacecrafts docked, Deng Kai increased the thrust of the lower nozzle of the "Express 1" spacecraft, and took the "Fuxi" slowly out of the ring of the B ring, lifting up about 200 meters.
Looking around from this height, the spaceship seems to be suspended above a vast, flat and white glacier. It is spectacular and wonderful!
"What happened to the dark shadow that appeared on the ring before?" After confirming that the surrounding area was safe, Deng Kai thought of the strange phenomenon he saw on the B ring shortly after they passed through the ring gap for the second time. "You were then
It was judged that it was an aircraft, but now no trace can be seen."
Katz was thinking about something and did not answer.
"Since we can still find Fuxi on the B ring, what happened to the aircraft that started to fly away? Are there other aircraft here? NASA and ESA have informed us that in the orbit of Saturn
They don't have their detectors. It's not like the 'Fuxi' just flew out and circled around on its own and then came back?!" Deng Kai continued to ask.
"There is an unknown civilization here!" Katz whispered.
"Unknown civilization?! On the rings of Saturn?"
"Not sure...I feel it!"
Deng Kai's heart tightened: "Could it be that the 'Fuxi' was once captured by an unknown civilization and then abandoned on the star ring? ... What about the 'Summer Solstice'?"
"The Solstice may no longer be on Enceladus!"
Deng Kai subconsciously checked the spacecraft control and communication systems, and then checked all the data recorded by the detection instruments. At least everything was normal so far. He breathed a sigh of relief.
"Now we must first figure out the situation of the 'Fuxi', and then go to Enceladus and continue to search for the 'Summer Solstice'!"
However, Deng Kai soon found himself faced with a dilemma——
According to the task division of the "Express No. 1" operation, the original plan was that after finding the "Fuxi", Deng Kai would enter the "Fuxi" for inspection, while Zhang Nan would stay on the "Express No. 1" to take over; now Zhang Nan was captured by Katz
Therefore, without giving Katz full trust, Deng Kai could neither leave him alone on the "Express No. 1" nor let him enter the "Fuxi" on his behalf.
Katz knew what Deng Kai was worried about, and he said: "The two of us must have a division of labor. I'll go to the Fuxi. The situation there is unknown. If an accident occurs, you can escape in time." He saw
Deng Kai was still hesitating, so he added: "At least, when encountering danger, my ability to survive is much stronger than yours!"
Deng Kai thought to himself that this was true. No matter whether the "Fuxi" was out of danger or not, he had to find the "Xiazhi". Only if he stayed on the "Express No. 1" could he continue to carry out the second phase of the mission. Moreover,
Katz boarded the ship without permission, he also needs to take responsibility and even pay the price...
Before Deng Kai could reply, he saw that Katz had already put on his helmet...
Aisen found himself in a strange cave.
The cave was very spacious, with soft light scattered downwards from the dome, enough to illuminate the surrounding environment. In front of him, there was a smooth stone platform about two meters square, with a lamp that looked to be ancient placed on it.
The hourglass has a polished wooden base. The upper and lower bottles each contain half of the fine silvery sand, but there is no sand flowing down from the funnel.
He doesn't know where this place is, and he can't remember how he got here.
There was no one around, and no human voice could be heard...
Eisen wondered if he was undergoing a hypnotic experiment. The cave and hourglass in front of him were all illusions seen in a dream?
He tried taking a few steps in one direction, but found that there was no change in his surroundings, and it seemed that he was still staying in the same place; so he walked in another direction, but the result was still the same.
He thought that he might really be in a dream, and everything around him was an illusion.
Suddenly, a familiar voice appeared in his mind: "When clouds cover the earth, you must hide in caves to avoid disaster."
This is Ai Bin's voice! Moreover, this voice seems to have appeared just now.
What makes Eisen strange is that he has no memory of whether he dreamed of Ai Bin just now. He doesn't know whether this is a continuation of the same dream or a memory of a dream within a dream.
"When clouds cover the earth... hide in caves to avoid disasters?" Eisen repeatedly speculated on the meaning of this sentence. "Could it be said that this will indicate that there will be bad weather phenomena? And at that time, the only way to avoid disasters is to hide in caves? What?
Disaster? Big flood?"
Eisen looked around blankly. Is the cave in front of him a harbinger of a dream, or is it a real existence?
Jacob walked over quietly. Wearing that blue-gray coarse cloth robe, he stood in front of Eisen solemnly and kindly like a priest.
"Mr. Eisen, how do you feel?"
"Mr. Jacob? Why are you here too? Are we doing a group hypnosis experiment? Why don't you see Ding Yushi?"
"This is not a hypnosis experiment, Mr. Eisen. Everything you see is reality. Of course, you have just experienced a long dream. I'm sorry, Dr. Ding Yushi is still in Nanbin now, and you may have a long dream."
I won’t be able to see her or contact her for a while.”
"Where are we?" Eisen became alert.
"Aisen, my child! I must tell you that you are a member of our group of eternal humans, and the mission God has given to the eternal humans requires your participation."
"Can you let me see Ai Bin?" Aisen said hesitantly.
"Although I am not sure yet, I will definitely try my best to help you realize your wish."
Eisen looked around and asked: "Are we in a cave now?"
"Yes. We are in the Kunlun Mountains. This is the holy land of eternal people. I brought you here because you have this qualification. We will continue your work in '601' here."
"In a cave like this without sunlight?! Like an animal?!" Aisen couldn't laugh or cry.
"The important difference between immortal people and ordinary humans is that we can abandon all desires and greed that have nothing to do with survival! This is also the prerequisite for you to realize your inner wishes."
Aisen nodded, as if accepting. He thought for a moment and said: "Before you came, I dreamed that Ai Bin said to me, 'When clouds cover the earth, you must hide in caves to avoid disasters.' You know this is
What do you mean?"
After Jacob heard this, his expression seemed to be frozen, and he did not answer for a long time.
"Mr. Jacob?"
"Disaster may come soon..."
Jacob's gloomy voice echoed in the cave...
Katz followed Deng Kai's instructions and opened the airtight cabin door of the "Fuxi", got in while lying down, turned around and waved to Deng Kai, and then closed the hatch from the inside.
According to the two people's prior agreement, in order to ensure the safety of "Express 1", after Katz entered the "Fuxi", the two spacecrafts temporarily separated and kept flying together. After Katz confirmed that the "Fuxi" had no hidden risks,
, and then conduct the second docking.
Just as Deng Kai was preparing to break away, all the lighting and LCD instrument panel in the cabin suddenly went out. In the darkness, there was only a line of Saturn's reflection coming through the porthole. He tried restarting the auxiliary power supply several times, but it didn't work.
Someone pulled out the main power switch of the entire building from outside.
This is a phenomenon he has never encountered before!
"Katz, can you hear me?" Deng Kai called Katz through the headset.
He didn't hear Katz's answer. There was only the noise of "ZilaZila" in the headset.
Deng Kai felt an inexplicable uneasiness in his heart!
The brightness outside the porthole was weakening, as if the spacecraft was entering a shadow. Deng Kai looked out of the porthole and saw a large, dense, boundless "cloud" with a dreamlike halo blocking the space.
Between the spacecraft and Saturn, the reflection of the figure is covered bit by bit.
"Where did the clouds come from here?" Deng Kai wondered. He turned to the porthole on the other side and saw colorful thick clouds rolling outside, like the "Pillars of Creation" seen by the Hubble Telescope!
At this time, he could no longer confirm whether the camera on the spacecraft was still working. Out of instinct, he took out the camera he brought with him, approached the porthole, and took continuous pictures of the beautiful "cloud body". However,
Soon, the spacecraft was completely enveloped by dense "clouds", and looking at it again, it looked like a blur of strange bubbles and ribbons...
Due to the complete power outage of the spacecraft, it is impossible to determine the current orbital altitude. Deng Kai is worried that the spacecraft has fallen into the clouds of Saturn, and the luminous clouds outside are caused by the super strong magnetic field.
He began to fall into extreme nervousness and fear.
He called Katz over and over again, but there was still no response from the "Fuxi".
Colorful luminous "clouds" continued to pour into the cockpit of the spacecraft until the cabin was full, and began to rotate around Deng Kai at high speed, like gaseous ribbons wrapping around him...
His consciousness began to become blurred, and his body was completely weightless, as if he had entered a dreamlike wonderland. At the same time, an unprecedented sense of comfort and pleasure began to spread throughout his body, reaching every nerve ending.
, making him unable to control himself.
In the psychedelic haze of light, Deng Kai felt that his body was "evaporating" bit by bit, gradually merging with the "cloud body"...