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.The engineering systems on board the Glomar Explorer were originally constructed to raise heavy objects from the seafloor, not to lower lighter but more expansive objects downward.Procedures were hurriedly modified for the complex operation.Minor glitches were quickly overcome.Every move was coordinated and performed with precision.The tension on the lowering cable was increased by the derrick operator until the reflector hung free in the air.The appropriate signal by the NUMA team was given, indicating that the reflector assembly was “all completed.” The entire unit was then lowered diagonally through the rectangular Moon Pool into the sea with centimeters to spare.It was that close.The immersion time ran ten meters a minute.Full deployment by the cables securing the dish at the precise angle and depth to ricochet the sound waves to Gladiator Island took fourteen minutes.“Six minutes and ten seconds to convergence,” Captain Quick's voice droned over the ship's loudspeakers.“All ship's personnel will go to the engine-room storage compartment at the aft end of the ship and enter as you have been instructed.Do this immediately.I say immediately.Run, do not walk.”Suddenly, everyone was dropping down ladders and scaffolding, hurrying in unison like a pack of marathon runners toward the propulsion and pump room deep in the bowels of the ship.Here, twenty ship's crewmembers had been busily sound-isolating the supply compartment with every piece of dampening material they could lay their hands on.The ship's towels, blankets, bedding and mattresses, along with all cushions from lounge chairs and any scraps of lumber they could scrounge were placed against ceiling, deck and bulkheads to deaden all intruding sound.As they rushed down the passageways belowdecks, Sandecker said to Ames, “This is the agonizing part of the operation.”“I know what you're thinking,” Ames replied, agilely descending two steps at a time.“The anxiety of wondering if we made a tiny miscalculation that put us in the wrong place at the wrong time.The frustration of not knowing whether we succeeded if we don't live through the convergence.The unknown factors are mind boggling.”They reached the engine room storage compartment, which had been selected to ride out the convergence because of its watertight door and its total lack of air ducts.They were checked in by two ship's officers who were counting heads and handing out sound-deadening headgear that fit over the ears.“Admiral Sandecker, Dr.Ames, please place these over your ears and try not to move around.”Sandecker and Ames found the NUMA team members settled in one corner of the compartment and joined them, moving beside Rudi Gunn and Molly Faraday, who had preceded them.They immediately gathered around monitoring systems that were integrated with the warning modems and other underwater sensors.Only the admiral, Ames and Gunn held off using the sound deadeners so they could confer right up to the final few seconds.The compartment quickly filled amid a strange silence.Unable to hear, no one spoke.Captain Quick stood on a small box so he could be observed by all in the room.He held up two fingers as a two-minute warning.The derrick operator, who had the farthest to travel, was the last man to enter.Satisfied that every person on the ship had been accounted for, the captain ordered that the door be sealed.Several mattresses were also pressed against the exit to muffle any sound that seeped into the confined compartment.Quick held up one finger, and the tension began to build until it lay like a mantle over the people packed closely together.All stood.There wasn't enough room to sit or recline.Gunn had calculated that the ninety-six men and women had less than fifteen minutes in the tight quarters before their breathable air stagnated and they were overwhelmed by the effects of asphyxiation.Already the atmosphere was beginning to grow stale.The only other immediate danger was claustrophobia rearing its ugly head.The last thing they needed was unbridled hysteria.He gave Molly an encouraging wink and began monitoring the time while almost everyone else watched the ship's captain as if he were a symphony orchestra conductor with poised baton.Quick raised both hands and curled them into fists.The moment of truth had arrived [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]