Thirty minutes later the pilot announced: "Ten minutes to contact. Please check your seat harness."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpJDUEPnuwF
Marshall obeyed and stowed his papers away. It was asking for trouble to read during the celestial juggling act which took place during the final 300 miles; best to close one's eyes and relax while the spacecraft was nudged back and forth with brief bursts of rocket power.
A few minutes later he caught his first glimpse of Space Station Hyperion, only a few miles away. The sunlight glinted and sparkled from the polished metal surfaces of the slowly revolving, 300-yard-diameter disk. Not far away, drifting in the same orbit, was a sweptback Zhigang spaceplane, and close to that an almost spherical Aries-1B, the workhorse of space, with the four stubby legs of its lunar-landing shock absorbers jutting from one side.
The Omega IV was descending from a higher orbit, which brought the Earth into spectacular view behind the Station. From his altitude of 200 miles, Marshall could see much of Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. There was considerable cloud cover, but he could still detect the blue-green outlines of the Brazilian coast.
The central axis of the Space Station, with its docking arms extended, was now slowly swimming toward them. Unlike the structure from which it sprang, it was not rotating---or rather, it was running in reverse at a rate which exactly countered the Station's own spin. Thus a visiting spaceship could be tethered to it, for the transfer of personnel or cargo, without being whirled disastrously around.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ22hKbx4Q0x
With a very soft thud, ship and Station made contact. There were metallic, scratching noises from outside, then the brief hissing of air as pressures equalized.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDxT8I7dgK
Three seconds later the airlock door opened, and a man wearing the light, close-fitting slacks and short-sleeved shirt which was almost the uniform of Space Station personnel came into the cabin.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGra8Unah6p
"Pleased to meet you, Dr. Marshall. I'm Nildo Mendes, P.E.---Polícia da Estação; I'm to look after you until the shuttle departs."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2CBmeXb9Ym
They shook hands, then Marshall smiled at the stewardess and said, "Please give my regards to Captain Lopez, and thank him for the smooth ride. Maybe I'll see you on the way home."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMX59XlCWTH
Very cautiously---it was more than a year since he'd last been weightless and it'd be some time before he regained his spacelegs---he hauled himself hand over hand through the airlock and into the large, circular chamber at the axis of the Hyperion. It was a heavily padded room, its walls covered with recessed handholds; Marshall gripped one of these firmly while the whole chamber started to rotate, until it matched the spin of the Station.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtnbdQM3dgf
As it gained speed, faint and ghostly gravitational fingers started to clutch at him, and he drifted slowly toward the circular wall. Now he was standing, swaying back and forth gently like seaweed in a tidal surge, on what had magically become a curving floor. The centrifugal force of the Hyperion's spin had taken hold of him; it was very feeble here, so near the axis, but would increase steadily as he moved outward. From the central transit chamber he followed Mendes to curving stair. At first his weight was so slight that he had almost to force himself downward by holding on to the handrail. Not until he reached the passenger lounge, on the outer skin of the great revolving disk, had he acquired enough weight to move around almost normally.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8BVCkRq9vO
The lounge had been redecorated since his last visit, and had acquired several new facilities. Besides the usual chairs, small tables, restaurant, and post office there were now a barber shop, drugstore, cinema and a souvenir shop selling photographs and slides of lunar and planetary landscapes, guaranteed genuine pieces of Maous, Rangers, and Surveyors, all neatly mounted in plastic, and exorbitantly priced.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJsz2GjFf9P
"Can I get you something while we're waiting?" Mendes asked. "We board in about thirty minutes?"447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8i0rshV0Jz
"I could use a cup of black coffee---Colombian---and I'd like to call Earth."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5wHoySEdN
"Right, Doctor---I'll get you the coffee---the phones are over there."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgBWlVJiAsI
The picturesque booths were only a few yards from a barrier with two entrances labeled (translated from Portuguese): WELCOME TO THE BRAZIL SECTION and WELCOME TO THE CHINA SECTION. Beneath these were notices which read, in Portuguese, Russian, English, Chinese, French, German and Spanish:447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwJfZj1FCeb
PLEASE HAVE READY YOUR447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpDh1kRjDWS
1. Passport447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡL7iHOm8aI8
2. Visa447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDOx61Qa856
3. Medical Certificate447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPkwzlgK2ZP
4. Transportation Permit447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5ysWY8QoxJ
5. Weight Declaration447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgOYmBPBMEr
There was a rather pleasant symbolism about the fact that as soon as they had passed through the barriers, in either direction, passengers were free to mix again.The division was purely for administrative purposes.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuSVGqzZVA
Marshall, after checking that the Area Code for Brazil was still 92, punched his 12-digit home number, dropped his plastic multi-purpose credit card into the pay slot, and was through in thirty seconds.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG6wPVvfZOT
Brasilia was still sleeping, for it was several hours to dawn, but he would not disturb anyone. His maid would get the message from the recorder as soon as she woke up.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQbFbqryswM
"Miss Juareto---this is Dr. Marshall. Sorry I had to leave in such a hurry. Would you please call my office and ask them to collect the car---it's at Kubitschek Airport and the key is with Senhor Baileto, Senior Flight Control Officer. Next, will you call the Brasília Country Club and leave a message for the secretary. I definitely won't be able to play in the tennis tournament next weekend. Give my apologies---I'm afraid they were counting on me. Then call Eletrônica Hurteto and tell them that if the video in my study isn't fixed by---oh, Wednesday---they can take the damn thing back." He paused for breath, and tried to think of any other crises or problems that might come up in the coming days.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7swjZSWJ3
"If you run low on money, speak to the office; they can get urgent messages to me, but I may be too busy to answer. Give my love to the children, and say I'll be back as soon as I can. Oh, hell---here's someone I don't want to see---I'll call from the Moon if I can---tchau."447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRm9qwCS0Xa
Marshall tried to duck out of the booth, but it was too late; he had already been spotted. Bearing down on him through the China Section exit was Dr. Luo Yiming, of the P.R.C. Academy of Science. Luo was one of Marshall's best friends; and for that very reason, he was the last person he wished to talk to, here and now.447Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYvMt9B4yQ1
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