Читать книгу I am Earthman - Джора Байрамов - Страница 6

We woke up in the morning and Adam no longer felt guilty for lying to Eve all this time. Together they cooked food and after breakfast, Eva, as usual, went out for a walk. Adam began to read the notes. The notes were made in a very small handwriting (apparently the person who left this manuscript treasured the paper very much) and began as follows: "I, Sokolov Andrey Leonidovich, consider it my duty to leave to posterity detailed information about all the misadventures that happened to us, because after the catastrophe on Earth, in incredible conditions, we survived, and the human race continues on Earth."

From this, Adam concluded that these notes were made by the author much later than the nuclear disaster. In addition, the handwriting of the manuscript, although the notes are made in a very small handwriting, seemed very familiar to him. Since Adam did not fully remember his biography, he thought that perhaps he had studied at the same school with the author of these records in the past, or it seemed familiar to him from the fact that he had not read the manuscripts in his native language for a long time. But, this was not the main thing, the main thing now for Adam was the content of the notes left, and from the fact that the handwriting was very familiar and legible, the notes were read to him without much difficulty, even very easily.

Further, he learned from the records that a group of students from Moscow State University consisting of ten people came to the Gorno-Altai Republic to see firsthand and, if possible, study the so-called "New Cave" recently discovered in these places. The cave, as described in media reports, existed before, but speleologists learned about the existence of the cave only after a series of small earthquakes that recently occurred in these places, when the entrance to the cave accidentally opened due to earthquakes. After hearing about the new cave on television and reading about it on the Internet, they decided to see this cave with their own eyes and explore it. Before them, for a very short time, only speleologists who study caves visited here, and they accidentally discovered this cave when they were studying other caves in these places and made a sensational message on television that there is a large underground lake in the cave, that previously unknown waterfowl live in the lake. This message of speleologists was so interested in this group of students who were romantically inclined, who, at the call of their hearts, gathered from different faculties who had not even known each other before, but met later, that is, directly during the hike. And in order to get ahead of other specialists, that is, biologists, historians, geographers and speleologists, who were also going to explore a new cave soon, they quickly equipped themselves, in their opinion, with the necessary equipment for descending into the cave and came here to see the underground lake and the animals living in it with their own eyes. According to the author of these recordings, it was so interesting and romantic that they felt like pioneers and discoverers of something, from their point of view, very important. Inspired by such romanticism and enthusiasm, as the author writes, they did not even take simple precautions and safety measures for descending into the cave and in cases of possible unforeseen circumstances or emergency situations directly inside the cave. So they did not even leave those on duty on the surface, as it is necessary and necessary in such cases, and took with them only a small amount of necessary equipment and auxiliary things, that is, a small axe, two lengths of rope, 15 and 10 meters long, a light scuba diver's suit and a knife. And from food, water in three 5-liter plastic bottles and not a large amount of canned provisions, and then just in case they stay there a little longer than they expected and they will have to eat there, in the cave. And everything else, that is, all the rest of the food, all the outerwear and other things they brought with them, except for smartphones and other personal things that they habitually carried with them, were left in tents in a temporary tent camp, set up outside on the surface, at the entrance to the cave. According to the author, they were not going to stay here for a long time and distributed their time in such a way that they allocated only a day to stay here in the camp and descend into the cave, just to see the underground lake and if it turns out to see waterfowl animals there, fix them on the cameras of their smartphones. Then take a collective photo in the cave, as a sign of proof that they, after the speleologists who discovered this cave, were the pioneers here. After that, they had to return to study at the university and brag about this campaign in front of friends, peers and students. That's all, they set aside four, five days, for an extreme case, a week, if it suddenly turns out that they are delayed on the way due to weather or other reasons. Only in this was all their youth optimistic and adventurous romanticism. That is why, and also because they had not previously studied new caves and for the same reason did not know and did not even think that they might encounter various kinds of difficulties in a previously unexplored cave, so they did not prepare seriously and thoroughly for this event. They were driven only by energetic youth enthusiasm and romance, and they took the descent into the cave, a kind of romantic-adventure extreme game.

Adam, for a short time, closed the notebook, picked up a photo of the students. I looked at the photo. Only nine people were captured there, that is, four girls and five guys. And in Andrey's notes, it was about ten students. "Where is the tenth? Perhaps he, that is, the tenth person who photographed all the others, did not enter the frame himself? " thought Adam and then, putting the photo aside, began to read the notes further.

Further, the author wrote that Before going down to the cave, so that the descent into the cave and our entire further excursion would be clearly organized and successful, all the members of the group, after consulting among themselves, despite my objections, chose me as the leader of our hiking group. So, under my leadership, the descent into the cave began. We, by the light of lanterns, going down the slope down the cave and walking about one kilometer, and perhaps a little more than a kilometer, reached the shore of an underground lake. On the shore of the lake, we found traces of a camp of speleologists, where they stopped for a short time and then apparently turned back, since they trampled only there, within a radius of twenty, twenty-five meters, and the tracks did not go further to the right or to the left. After making a short stop here, we decided to continue our journey further. At first we wanted to go along the lake shore to the right, but the flat surface of the lake shore continuously narrowed as we moved forward, and very soon, according to my approximate calculations, after walking about forty meters, we came across a high, insurmountably steep stone block hanging over the water. This meant that there were no paths further along the coast in this direction. We came back where we started on the right. Here one of the girls, probably very tired of walking, suggested to stop, there is a camp here, from here and start exploring the lake. However, many people did not agree with her opinion and proposal. We, that is, everyone else wanted to go further, to see and learn more than the speleologists who had been here before us. With such intentions, we continued our way along the shore of the lake, to the left side. The surface of the lake shore was stony flat, but with turns and bends sometimes to the right, sometimes to the left, and the distance to the side walls of the cave on the way of our journey then narrowed, then widened, however, we no longer encountered insurmountable large obstacles on the way in this direction. And after walking along the shore of the lake for about eight hundred meters, we came out into a wide, daylight-lit area. It was a wide area on the shore of an underground lake, surrounded by very high mountain rocks, which, in its outline, resembled a very large, one-tenth open dome, observatory, with a diameter of about four hundred meters at the base. Moreover, the open part of the naturally created dome was located in the southern side of the mountain and the sun's rays penetrated and fell in a narrow strip on a small part of the lake shore, on the water and, as if reflected by a plume from the water surface, one end reached a small island located in the middle, that is, by daylight of the visible part of the lake. On the island and on the shore of the lake where we were, there were densely growing some exotic, tropical small plants that we had not seen before and unknown to us, similar to reed plants that grow closer to the equatorial part of the earth, but significantly different from them in their appearance and shimmering with a very transparent bluish-green appearance, leaves. The water in the lake slightly smelled of some strange smell to us. The air in the cave was a little moist, as after a short rain in the spring, but we were very easy to breathe, which meant that there was a little more oxygen in the air than usual. Despite the month of November, the cave was very warm and cozy. Before we had time to look around properly, such a bright glow was visible from the open part of the dome that it became blinding light under the arches of the dome of the cave. At that moment, all the members of the group thought that a meteorite had fallen near the cave. Without paying special attention to this event, we decided to set up our temporary camp here, so that we could then start exploring and exploring the cave and the underground lake from here. However, after some time, when we had not even had time to properly settle in and distribute the responsibilities of each member of the group, a powerful earthquake suddenly began. The tremors sometimes intensified, sometimes decreased. Waves began to rise in the lake and the water began to flood the shore of the lake where we were. Under such circumstances, it was very dangerous to stay in the cave. We should have saved ourselves. Under these conditions, we urgently decided to climb back to the surface as soon as possible. On the way back, after going up the slope almost half of the way, we learned that the narrow place of the way out of the cave was filled up with stones during the earthquake. So the way back was closed for us, and the earthquakes continued with strong, then small tremors. We didn't have time to establish the scale of the blockage on the way back out of the cave, since the ground was shaking all the time under our feet. Occasionally, from the depths of the earth came muffled, but at the same time reflected in our body with unpleasant sensations and premonitions of a terrible disaster that had already occurred on the surface of the Earth, dull, muffled sounds, as if the Earth was moaning in pain. By the light of lanterns, we found a narrow, not deep opening in the cave with a low integral stone ceiling and entered it. So they protected themselves from falling random stones on their heads. Everyone was wondering "is it really so catastrophically bad there, on the surface, maybe an asteroid or a large comet fell" Cut off from the world, being in a cave, we could not know what happened on the surface and we could only wait. The earthquake continued. We were rocking from side to side, as if we were at sea in the cabin of a ship during a storm. Time passed, but the earthquake continued and it seemed that there would be no end to it. Therefore, in order to save the batteries on the lanterns, we turned them off. No one asked any questions, they sat in the pitch-black cave darkness, pressing their bodies together, in silence. Sitting in the pitch darkness, without waiting for the earthquake to end, from fatigue and from the nervous strain we experienced, we all fell asleep there.

Then the author wrote; I woke up and first of all turned on and looked at the time in my smartphone. It was already 10 o'clock the next morning. The earthquake continued, but the strength of the tremors has already decreased. Having woken up the others, he made a roll call. Everyone was alive and well. After waiting a little more time, we decided to go back down to the lake. We came out of the opening, looked around by the light of lanterns, made sure that the cave withstood the earthquake and came to the part of the cave that was open from above. But it was darkly dark there, but the visibility was quite distinguishable. At first, we thought that it was just morning, but the time in smartphones showed the same time, that is, 13 hours 21 minutes of the day. From the open part of the dome's vault, only the movement of gray fog was visible. Then they realized that when the earthquake started, in a hurry to leave the cave as soon as possible, they forgot all the provisions on the shore of the lake. The shore was flooded with water then and now, when the earthquake ended, the water went back and all our provisions went into the lake along with the water, except for two containers with water, which we took with us. Despite the fact that no one from the group had eaten anything for more than a day and a half, they drank only water, no one complained of hunger. I personally had no appetite at all. I think others have too. Everyone had the same idea on their mind "how to get out" They looked around, there was only the water surface of the lake, going deep into a dark cave, an island and high smooth steep stone blocks forming a natural dome. The height distance to the open part of the dome is presumably at least one hundred and twenty meters. With our equipment, we'll never get there. If we assume that a large asteroid or some other large cosmic body has fallen to the Earth and the scale of the catastrophe is large, then we will soon have nowhere to wait for help. Now, if we had left the duty officers on the surface, although there was no cellular mobile communication working here in the mountains, they would have somehow helped us get out of the cave or brought help. In this matter, I blamed only myself, because as the senior of the group, I made a gross mistake to ensure the safety of the group's trip to the cave. Before descending into a previously unexplored cave, I had to anticipate the occurrence of such unforeseen circumstances, such as our current situation, and take measures to ensure the safety of people, well, at least in the form of leaving those on duty on the surface.

If before that we all treated all our difficulties and adventures from the point of view of romanticism, only now has the full horror and hopelessness of our situation reached the consciousness of each of us. One of the girls began to cry, remembered her mother and other relatives that she did not even warn them about the trip, so that later she could surprise them in the form of showing photos and videos taken in the cave. But she was quickly reassured by the other girls. We decided to discuss the plan of our actions to save ourselves. We will never get to the open part of the dome with our equipment. This was no longer subject to discussion. Whether the waters of the lake come out of the cave, and even if it does, how will it check whether the lake is deep, what creatures live in it, whether they are dangerous to humans, in general, there are a lot of questions. Our only hope was a light scuba diver's suit, a mask and a tube that we brought with us to dive into the water and study the wildlife of the lake. But in such circumstances, diving into the lake for a long time for examination and finding a way out of the cave in the dark part of the cave, without reliable equipment, meant certain death. While we were discussing the plan of our actions, small dark heads of some waterfowl animals could be seen above the water surface and immediately plunged into the water, but we did not even pay attention to them now. Since our future fate depended on the right decision we made. It was impossible to delay in this matter, since it was clear that we would not last long here without food and water. Finally, we decided that while the batteries of our lanterns did not run out, we should look for another exit or disassemble the blockage and clear the way back to the exit. Everyone was strictly forbidden not to turn on even smartphones unnecessarily, in order to save batteries, whose flashlights would also be useful. We were divided into two groups. The first group of three guys had to look for another exit from the cave, if there is one, another, a large group of seven people, including all the girls, had to clarify the scale of the blockage and begin to disassemble the blockage and clear the way out. With such goals, both groups simultaneously began to climb up the cave, back to the exit. The groups did not have to split up, since they did not find any branches in the cave before the place where the cave was filled up, which meant that there was simply no other way out. When we examined the place of the blockage by the light of lanterns, it turned out that the path was blocked not only with stones of different sizes, which we could remove, but also a huge oval, almost round stone, the size of a small truck. This large stone during the earthquake probably broke off from the place where it was before and, due to inertia, rolled down from above. And as he rolled down, accelerating strongly by inertia, he immediately got so firmly stuck in the narrow passage of the cave. This was indicated by the fact that the stone, firmly resting on all sides against the side walls, on the floor and on the ceiling of the passage, with its entire mass, like a cork, tightly closed the narrow passage, and it was clear that even if we removed all the other stones lying ahead, we would not be able to remove a large stone that was stuck tightly in the passage. It was so depressing and depressing for the psyche of each of us, as it put an end to our salvation from imprisonment-the author wrote.

Then Adam, closing the notebook, involuntarily remembered the ISS, his crewmates, how they also found themselves in a hopeless situation after a nuclear disaster, because the events described by the author occurred at the same time when they were still on the ISS. The only difference is that the students, while in the cave, thought that the catastrophe on earth was due to the fall of an asteroid or comet to Earth, and they, while on the ISS, were direct unwitting witnesses of a global thermonuclear war and the destruction of Earth's civilization.

Eve came in and Adam put down his notebook. She looked at Adam. Although she did not ask Adam any questions, however, in her look you could read "did you read the notes, what is written there?" He did not wait for the question;

–I haven't read everything yet, but one thing is clear, the notes were made by your ancestors, but I don't know how they survived the disaster, I'll read everything, then I'll tell you.

Then, as gently as possible, he added;

–Now we will go with you to get food for lunch and dinner, you need to eat a lot, because our baby needs vitamins.

– That they are needed. Did I not understand?

–Well, this, how to explain it, is also the same food, but they are, that is, vitamins that are not visible to our eyes, and there are a lot of them inside green herbs. When we eat green herbs, they get inside us with herbs. These are such trace elements, then, without finishing his thought, what he wanted to say, he stopped, quickly pulled himself together. "Reading the manuscripts, completely immersed in the old world with my thoughts, I forgot where I am and what century I am living in now," he thought and continued;

"I can't explain it all. So they used to write in books, and doctors, that is, former doctors, recommended this to pregnant women.

Eve didn't bother asking Adam any more questions. She understood that it was very difficult for him to forget all his past and turned the conversation to another topic;

–We will go now to the spring and go down the stream, there are a lot of worms and fragrant herbs. We need to stock up on food for the winter. We will also collect root vegetables there.

– And, how will we save them until winter?

– Very simple. We will drown green herbs and worms in fat, they will be preserved there, and root crops will be preserved anyway. We just need to stock up a lot.

– And, where can we get root vegetables?

– Down there, along the stream of the spring, the root crops grow there and are just beginning to ripen.

Adam suddenly remembered the big ants and asked Eve;

– Oh, can I eat ants?

– I don't know, I've never tried it. Even if they can be eaten, I will never be able and will not want to eat them. Because they are harmless to us, and they are also my friends. When I was left alone, they were the only living beings around, with whom I communicated, talked, played and felt not alone here.

Adam felt uneasy, not only because he asked Eve such a question. Ants were the first living creatures that he saw after returning to Earth from a foreign land. He remembered that when he saw them, how happy he was, as they were the first messengers who gave him hope for the revival of life on the planet. How inexcusably quickly he forgot this. Therefore, as if in a guilty tone, he answered not only Eve, but also the ants, too, with only one word;

– I'm sorry.

– I didn't understand why you're asking for forgiveness?

– Yes, I just did it, he replied in a guilty voice.