The White Oak was still moving forward in the mist, and the surging power output from the steam core drove its large and efficient propulsion system, allowing it to quickly pass through the sea covered by the fog.
The sky turned a little darker at some point, and the cold wind on the sea made people even more uncomfortable. Lawrence tightened his coat and felt that he had spent enough time blowing on the deck today, so he turned and returned to the bridge.
A young priest wearing a black robe with silver edges and blue stripes was praying next to the machine. He slightly shook the incense burner in his hand, causing the smoke to linger on several consoles. After seeing the captain, he stopped and said politely
Lawrence nodded in greeting.
He is the ship's chaplain Jason on this voyage. Lawrence is not familiar with this young priest - in fact, most captains who undertake the task of transporting abnormal objects often face strange priests.
Priests are directly assigned by the city-state church and are frequently replaced. A ship's chaplain usually only completes two or three voyages with the ship. This replacement system is of course also for safety reasons.
After all, ships transporting dangerous goods will inevitably be affected by extraordinary forces. As the extraordinary barrier for the entire ship, the ship's chaplain will bear almost all the pressure caused by extraordinary interference, including the pressure caused by the items on the ship.
Pollution, including the mental stress caused by the crew members on the ship during the voyage - and even the real-life impact of each crew member's dreams at night, will be fed back into the priest's daily prayers and rituals.
Ship's chaplains are also mortals. If they are under pressure under a specific extraordinary influence for a long time, they will inevitably be assimilated and influenced. After several ocean voyages, they will lose their sensitivity to extraordinary pollution and may even become targets of subspace invasion.
cracks, so usually,
The chaplains accompanying the ship must return to shore after a period of time to undergo a period of purification and spiritual reshaping in a specific church. Afterwards, most of them can recover and are assigned to other ships to continue serving as ship's chaplains.
And some who had mental hidden dangers could only stay away from the sea and continue to serve the church as priests on land for the rest of their lives.
Therefore, in a sense, these respectable priests are also consumables in navigation.
But then again, who is not a consumable in navigation?
Mr. Johnson, how is the condition of the machine? Lawrence nodded to the young priest in front of him and asked with concern.
It's running well, Mr. Captain, the young priest said, his voice was very calm. I just went to the mechanical room on the lower level. The entire power system and steam pipes are all normal.
Lawrence nodded with satisfaction, chatted casually with the young priest for a few more words, and then came to the wide window in front of the bridge and looked at the scene outside.
It's gray on the deck, and the sky outside is a little dark. The sky is covered with chaotic and fuzzy clouds, and the diffuse light floats between the clouds and weakly falls to the sea. The weather is not very good, but the frost is not far away here.
, it should not be trapped by bad situations such as storms before reaching the city-state.
Lawrence suddenly frowned and looked at the crew member sitting in front of a console not far away: Did Hanshuang still not respond to our signal?
No, the crew member responsible for monitoring the telegraph system shook his head. He had headphones on his head and a pencil in one hand. An orange light was shining on a small machine in front of him, and no signal feedback was received -
But from the location, we are already within a distance of being able to directly communicate with Frost Port.
Something was not right. The old captain finally felt a little uneasy. He looked up into the distance again, his expression gradually becoming serious. At this time and at this location, we should be able to see the frosty coastline...
He suddenly turned his head and looked at his first mate: Has the route been confirmed?
We just confirmed that our location is correct.
Lawrence frowned, and after a moment, he suddenly took a breath: I will confirm it myself and prepare the stargazing room.
Hearing the captain's words, the first mate obviously hesitated, but before he spoke, the young ship's chaplain Jason came over and said to Lawrence: Captain, you are no longer suitable for entering the stargazing room at your age.
…
Lawrence turned his head and glanced at the young priest, but said nothing.
He knew what the other party meant - entering the stargazing room requires a certain amount of pollution. The light and shadow from the interlayer between the deep and the spiritual world will put pressure on the human mind. As an old captain who has been wandering in the boundless sea for most of his life,
His mind is no longer as normal and complete as it was when he was young, and he is likely to lose himself in the process of observing the stars.
But in many cases, only older captains have enough experience to see the clues of the ship's yaw from the subtle changes in starlight - something that young navigators with strong minds cannot do.
I finished it as quickly as possible, and after looking at each other for a few seconds, Lawrence finally spoke, with a serious expression. I suspected that the ship had yawed, but there was an inaccuracy in the stargazing room, and I had calibration experience.
Confirming Lawrence's firm attitude, the ship's chaplain could only sigh and step aside: ...You are the captain, and the captain is the law on the ship - I will prepare protection for you.
Lawrence nodded and looked back in the direction of the bow of the ship.
In the direction where we expected to see the frosty coastline, there was still only the boundless sea and boundless mist.
He withdrew his gaze and walked towards the passage leading to the star observation room.
Leave the bridge, walk through a corridor, and step onto a staircase that extends to the lower level of the White Oak. After passing through several connecting cabins and several doors, you will find the stargazing room.
At the bottom of the cabin.
Lawrence stood in front of the door, and the ship's chaplain Jason began to get busy. The young cleric added special spices and holy oil to the incense burner, recited obscure scriptures, and shook the chain in his hand.
, so that the scent of incense gradually filled up around Lawrence, and then he took out a ceremonial knife with many storm runes painted on it, and used it to cut through the air in front of Lawrence to symbolize the arrival of the protection of the storm goddess Gemona here.
The navigator of the White Oak had already rushed over after hearing the news. He was a young man with a slightly pale face. He seemed a little uneasy. After seeing that the captain was about to enter the star observation room to confirm the route, he was so nervous that he almost pulled off his clothes.
buttons.
Relax, Lawrence noticed the navigator's reaction, a smile appeared on his face, and in turn comforted the young man, it is not necessarily your fault, the spiritual world and the deep are full of unpredictable changes, and the lens of the spiritual world is not always reliable.
Yes, astrological deviation is normal - you are inexperienced, this is normal.
I have repeatedly confirmed that our route is fine, the young navigator said subconsciously, but
Lawrence waved his hand: I will figure out what's going on.
Captain, the blessing has been completed. The voice of the ship's chaplain sounded from the side at this time. You can enter the stargazing room - but please remember, don't stay too long and don't stare too long. After fifteen minutes, if
If you haven't come out yet, I will go in to find you.
Ten minutes is enough. Lawrence adjusted his clothes and said calmly.
Then he breathed a sigh of relief, stepped forward to the metal door painted with storm runes and inlaid with holy silver threads, and pushed the door open.
A dimly lit cabin came into view.
Lawrence closed the metal door behind him and roughly checked the situation in the stargazing room.
There are no windows in this room, and the metal door is the only way in and out. There are no extra facilities in the whole room. The only furnishing is a cylindrical device with a diameter of about one meter placed in the center of the room.
It looks like an altar, but there are a large number of cranks, connecting rods and mirror devices distributed around the cylindrical base. Next to it is a small platform for people to stand, which is the position reserved for the navigator.
The top of the cylindrical device is a transparent component that is concave inward.
It was a crystal lens, held up by a very complex set of connecting rod brackets. The crystal lens was bowl-shaped, and it looked empty inside - but when the line of sight was focused on it, it seemed that there was something inside the lens.
Sparkling.
The waves seemed to be filled with sea water.
Lawrence
He stepped onto the small platform next to the cylindrical device and looked at the lens in front of him.
A ship sails on the boundless sea. There are almost no reference signs on the sea, and the city-states are isolated islands. Once they miss their destination, the voyager will be lost in the boundless sea——
Then navigation has become a very important knowledge.
Phenomenon 001 - The sun is a very useful marker in the sky. Using the sun to confirm the position of a ship is certainly one of the navigation skills, but the sun is not always visible in the sky, and the sun alone sometimes cannot provide enough accuracy.
Navigation and positioning, when encountering this situation, how can you accurately judge whether you are sailing on the correct route?
The answer is of course - look at the stars.
Stargazing is an essential skill for modern ocean navigation. Lawrence lowered his head, slowly lowered his body, and immersed his entire face in the concave structure of the large crystal lens.
The stars are very, very deep - to see them requires not only sophisticated equipment, but also a sound mind.