Classics fantasy – 12

– Makar Ivanych, it that it? Illicit requisition of public property? – Volkov heard someone’s young voice and turned back. It was faced by the cheerful swarthy young man, sparkling white teeth. On it the cap, a sweatshirt and leather trousers filled in huge fishing boots with tops was put on the track is higher.

– Vanyushka? Hi! – Konobeev responded and, having addressed Volkov, explained: – Vanyushka Toporkov in our artel works. Komsomoliya. You what not at work? – he asked Vanyushka.

– Day off I, Makar Ivanych! I speak: what does it become? Hello, the citizen – he greeted Volkov. – As they dare to plunder property!

– I and that speak… Closely at them – Konobeev answered.

– I know what is close – Vanyushka was not appeased. – Yes who plunders? Helpers of Toyama of Riokitsa, industrialist tolstopuzy. He will also sell to the Japanese poor this cabbage for four is expensive, and the poor again hungry will be. To drive them from here without any diplomatic notes. Hey you! – he shouted, having threatened a cockleshell on Japanese. – Shoo from here! What take for a disgrace, foot! Shoo, shoo! – And he resolutely walked to the boat directly on water, lifting clouds of splashes.

Japanese quickly talked about something between themselves, then put a spade in the boat and undertook an oar. The boat disappeared soon.

Three – Konobeev, Vanyushka and Volkov – took seat ashore. Over them with shrill shouts seagulls flew. Somewhere aside cormorants pulled. Absolutely near people sandpipers quietly went and pecked.

Makar Ivanovich took out a tobacco pouch, filled greenish tobacco a tube with a short mouthpiece, lit, dragged on and began to speak slowly:

– However now a sea cabbage very little at us get. And earlier got much more. To China, to Japan sold… And what it is so much good in vain vanishes! It is a pity to look!

– Millions of millions – Vanyushka supported.

– Yes, and if to ourselves to undertake cultivation of a sea cabbage as it is Japanese do – Volkov thoughtfully told – we could decuple collecting and sale of cabbage. And if to mechanize all this, to mechanize…

– State farm! About! – Vanyushka exclaimed. – It… it, foot take what it? Export goods. Currency! And? What will you tell, the grandfather Makar?

– However it would be good – having thought, Makar Ivanovich answered.

Vanyushka suddenly jumped, as from a hot plate. He punched the right hand a palm left and started talking, as on a meeting:

– Citizens, who for underwater state farm? Unanimously! Ah, take foot! This will be number! – And he was lost in day-dreams, taken by extraordinariness of the idea: – We will work under water in diving suits. We will build at the bottom the real cities. Let’s carry out roads. Let’s set electric lamps. And on this underwater road we will go by underwater cars to underwater acquaintances! Here so take foot! We will work at underwater tractors… And how, telephone wires can be laid in water? – he asked Volkov.

It is possible, it is only good to isolate them. Cables is called. We will have phones, both radio, and an ear every day because with fishes in one apartment. Directly water having heated fish soup you eat!

It abandoned Volkov with questions: whether well under water it is visible, heard sounds which are made over water as life would change if the mankind lived in the ocean.

– Explained to us – he said – that all live left water. And here if both monkeys, and the person developed in water?

– However far was enough! – Konobeev told. – We about Cabbage began to speak. – These words cooled Vanyushki’s imagination and returned him to practical questions.

– Before thinking of living under water, it is necessary to think of improvement of diving suits – Volkov told. – In modern diving suits long you will not work and too it is difficult and expensive. Our task has to come down to getting the correct economy – to plant a sea cabbage in the Japanese way on new grounds. Japanese can stick the bamboo branches only at very small depth where water over a plantation at an outflow does not exceed one-one and a half meters. Their imperfect tools do not allow to work deeply. You will not make a conic spade too long, otherwise it will be difficult to handle it, and to plant bushes in the made holes, diving from the boat, too difficult and tiresomely, at a considerable depth and it is impossible. If to design the good, convenient diving suit which is not connected with a certain base, then the area of underwater plantations can be increased in many time. It is possible to mechanize, of course, and digging of poles though we should not dream of underwater tractors and cars so far. The tractor without fuel will not move, and burning under Water…

– It is possible to move electricity – Vanyushka was not appeased. – Here wait, I will write to the friend to Leningrad. He is an electrician and the inventor. It works in laboratory of the academician Ioffe. Heard about it? He to us – not Ioffe, but my friend, Mikola Guzik – and diving suits will think up, and underwater tractors. Or perhaps and Ioffe will help. Brainy small!

– However on all this the coin is necessary – Konobeev damped a youthful ardor of Vanyushki again.

– And there is a lot of? – Toporkov by the trembled voice asked, having turned the head to Volkov.

– It is a lot of – that answered.

There came the pause. Three heads strenuously thought. Vanyushka, having forgotten about money, again dreamed, Konobeev remembered the failures with the organization of artel, and Volkov thought whether it is possible to create underwater state farm at least on the most modest beginnings. Certainly, it is possible to make a lot of things, even without moving on an ocean floor. The main issue in money. Business new can also meet natural mistrust…

– Currency! Here it! Take it! – Vanyushka shouted, continuing to weave thread of the dreams, and so waved a hand that frightened off a flock of the birds pecking almost at his legs.

This time no practical decision was made. However the foundation was laid. These three incidentally met persons represented already some force. One without another they could hardly make something and would probably be limited only to the fact that would dream of underwater plantations and returned everyone to the affairs. But at addition of these three human sizes, contrary to school arithmetics, the sum was equal to three plus X. This X was as if percent on the capital of the joint work. Not without reason the boiling water weighs slightly more, than at a freezing temperature. Vanyushka, Konobeev and Volkov supplemented each other. Vanyushka had “fire”, the imagination, courage of the thought which is not connected by old prejudices, scintillating enthusiasm of youth. Konobeev had practical wit and long-long knowledge of life, and Volkov had knowledge and persistence on achievement of goals. Fire burns, water extinguishes fire. But if on fire of Vanyushkiny enthusiasm to warm up cold water of konobeevsky Life experience in a copper of volkovsky knowledge, then steam which will move the car can Turn out!.

Friends (they were already the friends connected by the general idea) decided to meet in several days.

Chapter 5

MIKOLA GUZIK’S LETTER

In several days Volkov, Konobeev and Vanyushka met on in advance agreed place on the seashore.

– There is a business on a harmony! – Vanyushka exclaimed. – I wrote to Guzik to Leningrad. It, you understand, from shock crew it is sent in addition in higher education institution. Brainy small. And my friend. At one time we together worked with it, there and made friends.

– However nothing will leave this business – Konobeev unexpectedly told, moving with moustaches and dense eyebrows. – I spoke with our collective manager. I ask it: that supposedly if to begin to part cabbage as Japanese whether it is possible on it money from artel to receive or from Dalsoyuz. And the manager speaks, as there is nothing to think. To plant cabbage, speaks, there is nothing; one surf, speaks, casts thousands of tons ashore, and perishes, to neither itself, nor people. Evona, how many! – and Konobeev pointed to heaps of the decaying seaweed cast by waves ashore.

– And look! It that? – Vanyushka exclaimed, pointing to the boat in which two already famous Japanese sat. They continued to plant bamboo bushes. – Show to our manager.

– That case tenth, however – Konobeev objected. – Japanese at themselves pull out all sea cabbage to the last bush, one may say, language lick a bottom, and at us what? Хы! Dog in the manger.

– And you what told earlier? – Vanyushka flared up.

– Said that it is quite good.

– Semyon Alekseevich! What is it? – Vanyushka who reddened for nervousness and disappointment asked. – Same labor desertion. Disbelief!.

– I think that Makar Ivanovich is not right – Volkov answered. – Does not follow at all from the fact that we badly use the natural wealth that we also should not use them. On the contrary, it is necessary to use what the ocean casts ashore that is still stored in its waters, and what can be created the hands. I guided some references. Now we extract seaweed over eight thousand tons, and in one thousand eight hundred eighty fifth more than ten thousand were extracted! – Vanyushka whistled. – Then we sold cabbage to China as foodstuff. Makar Ivanovich is right – now we get less, than earlier. Listen further. The chemical researches made not so long ago showed that the sea cabbage really contains many nutrients and is suitable also for food of the person, and for a cattle forage. It contains from six to thirty percent of protein also a little fat – about a percent one and a half-two. Thus, in cabbage there are all substances, necessary for food. The Japanese cabbage of “amanora” is rich with a protein [55] and is very good nutrient. Japanese great masters to make various foods from an amanora. They put the dried-up cabbage in seasonings or eat it separately prepared. Amanora canned food with bean soy turns out especially tasty.

– Heard? – asked Vanyushk Konobeev, significantly nodding.

– However I heard all this when still you did not exist – the old man responded.

– We could send cabbage both on internal and on external the markets. But a sea cabbage – Volkov continued – it can be used not only as nutrient. From its ashes very valuable fertilizers as in it there are potassium salts turn out. America gets these salts from seaweed for many million dollars annually. At last, in seaweed there are a lot of salts, iodine, bromine and even arsenic. In 1916—1917 there was here a plant which gave up to one thousand kilograms of iodine a year. “The Lyaminaria of a digitat” contains three percent of iodine and to twenty five Percent of carbonic potassium. Are most often eaten “ulva” from green seaweed, “porphyry” and “redimeni” – from red, “alyaria” and “lyaminariya”.

– And how much it is possible to get seaweed? – Vanyushka asked.

– One American calculated that in the Pacific Ocean only one species of seaweed – “macrocisyew” – can give sixty thousand tons of an annual harvest. And stocks of all species of seaweed cannot now even be considered.

– Evona, however? – Konobeev told, having run widely a hand from the North on the South. – On coast of all Strait of Tartary to a bay Plastun, on coast of Sakhalin and for the midday even to Korea. It is incalculable as sand sea!

The new emergency meeting was convened by Vanyushka when he received the answer from Mikola Guzik.

“You, Vanyushka, ask me about diving suits. The best of them – Japanese. It is the device which Closes a nose and eyes (glasses). In the Japanese suits it is possible to plunge about 80 m. It is deeper it is difficult to fall in such devices (water pressure: immersion on each 10 m increases pressure approximately by one atmosphere). For deeper immersion there are rigid devices In which it is possible to fall by depth of 200 m. In such device pressure of water is absorbed by walls. Average immersion in the soft device – 40 m. But also at rigid and at the soft device the diver is connected with the base (air supply). Release of the diver from base (relative) can be reached by supply of the device with compressed air. But this “release” as I told, relative. The diver cannot gain full independence of base already because in water it is difficult to be guided (at a depth of 8 m in daylight it is possible to see in the horizontal direction not further 2—4 m).

So the situation with the existing devices is. But…”

Vanyushka interrupted reading and, having raised a hand forefinger up, told:

– There is a most interesting further!