A. Belyaev - Classics fantasy – 3

– My thought does not contradict yours. Listen to me up to the end. You know what extreme temperature limits of life of human bodies. The elementary organisms transfer very low temperatures and can be restored to life. Without special error it is possible to tell that even centigrade cold is not quite killing for living beings. Heat as though is transferred more difficultly: at a temperature over fifty five degrees Celsius squirrels curl up. But the dehydrated proteins, for example chicken, can transfer temperature even to hundred sixty – hundred seventy degrees above zero. And so I delivered to myself a task to expand limits of fluctuations of temperature of a human body, to subordinate these fluctuations to will of the person and, of course, to make them harmless to an organism. Each warm-blooded animal has the more or less constant temperature: at the person it is equal 37°, at a monkey – 38°, at a horse – 39°, at a bull – 39,7°, and at pigeons and hens even 42,5°. This constancy has the inconveniences, and the person has to overcome them. Biological progress is not finished. The human body has to develop in the future the ideal regulator of temperature.

We do not know what was the body temperature of the cave person, but it, of course, was higher, than at the modern person. Warm dwellings and suits even more promoted fall of temperature of a body. It is already progress. The person has to possess ideal heating of a body. And then the climate will not have for it any value. Such person – thermo will be able to go in sports shorts to the North Pole, without feeling any cold, and on the equator he will idle in hot sands of the desert. You understand what prospects it will open for mankind! It will not be necessary to build houses. The clothes are not necessary. The housing crisis does not exist. You can sleep on the ice-rink even without shirt…

– But I can kindle «bed» and fail in water as it was with Dashkevich.

Wagner attentively listened to my remark.

– It is necessary – he told – to put shoes on in shoes or galoshes not to fail.

– Means, after all not to do without dress?

– Subsequently it will be possible to regulate temperature of separate parts of a body. And now at us not all parts of a body are warmed equally. The ends of legs can be cold, and a trunk – we heat.

– And here such person – thermo you made Dashkevich?

– Not absolutely. Spontaneous regulation of body temperature is a business of very long-term future. I made Dashkevich artificially the person – thermo, increasing his temperature by means of short radio waves. In it there is nothing unusual yet. Radio waves increase body temperature even then when we do not wish it. My task came down to finding means to expand borders of change of temperature, without doing to a harm organism. You saw Dashkevich. How he feels?

– Apparently, well. But he very strenuously, often and deeply breathes. And from it brings down such steam as if it from a hot bath ran out on frosty air.

Wagner nodded.

– At temperature increase of a body and when cooling a body with effect of external air consumption of oxygen increases. Dashkevich should work strenuously lungs to supply cellular fabrics with oxygen. But one lungs it is difficult to bring to an organism the necessary amount of oxygen, and breath of skin comes to the rescue.

She breathes in all fifteen thousand square centimeters of the surface too. That is why Dashkevich went to walk by naked: the frost is not terrible to it, and the naked body can cope with skin breath better. And, judging by steam emitted by Dashkevich, he breathes skin perfectly. Everything is all right. Would you like to follow Dashkevich’s example? I can and make of you «the warm guy» – the person – thermo, and you will move off in searches of your friend in a swimwear, only in galoshes and with a blanket under the arm. You can not care for food. You should not cook food: your stomach will have sufficient temperature in the best possible way to weld crude and even frozen fish. You will need to care only for one – to go in a radio emission strip. I will act with the directed radio waves. You can take with yourself a compass. I will specify the direction. You wish to do experience? I assure you, you will not undergo any troubles. You will need to prepare the organism only. I will enter to you into blood the solution of salts invented by me. You agree to it?

– Yes, but me it is necessary to replace Pronin soon.

– I will be on duty for you on radio station. Do not worry. We will cope with Pronin, and you go for Dashkevich. It will not be difficult for you to find it as, like you, it will not leave a radio emission strip. I repeat: To Dashkevich the frost is not terrible, and your friend will not catch a cold, but nevertheless I will be quieter if you find it and will bring home. It left without weapon. Bears can attack it, they gad in local places much. So on hands?

In a few minutes I already stood in shorts in the middle of the room.

– How do you feel? – Wagner asked.

– As though my body begins to be poured by fire. Awfully hot!

– You will get used. You breathe more deeply and more often. It at you will become a habit soon. Heart? Let me listen. Pulse? Hundred. Now it is normal. I to you to two hundred will catch up with it. Really hot will become the sky! Well, march! Go!

Wagner widely opened a door, having let in clouds of cold steam. To me it was a little terrible, but I overcame indecision and went outside. And immediately steam shrouded me.

– I see nothing – I told, helplessly turning.

– When you go, steam will not disturb you – Wagner told. – Kind way!

With a blanket under the arm, in rubber galoshes I went on the road, glancing at the compass brought to the eyes. On all my body and on the person hot sweat streamed.

Dogs of our small settlement, увидав a strange show, desperately began a bark and then in panic horror escaped from me. «If animals also are afraid of me, it is quite good» – I thought, going down to the lake.

The moon did not come several days for the horizon, it beat about the bush on the sky, filling with illusive light polar night. Wagner was right: when I went, steam not really prevented me to see. I watched prints of legs of Dashkevich on ice along the coast of the lake. Poor Dashkevich! Without galoshes it is probably hard for it to go. Where it stopped, traces went deep: hot legs melted ice. And Dashkevich had to go, without stopping at least over lakes and the rivers.

Strange thing: I did not pass also hour as felt infernal hunger and thirst. Thanks to high temperature in my organism there was a strengthened combustion, and the organism demanded fuel, that is food. Yes, I could not worry about preparation of hot food: to me was rather crude fish.

I descended on lake ice, spread a blanket, laid down and put a hand on ice. Ice began to thaw soon, and the hand went to ice more and more deeply. I had to lower a hand almost to a shoulder before fingers touched water. To the outlet done by me the great number of fishes came soon. I directly was enough them with hands and ate raw materials. Never in life I ate so much. It is surprising as soon as could sustain my stomach!

And I drank, drank without measure. But it had not to be surprised. I read that the person under tropics, working at the sun, allocates up to twelve liters of water in days and thus the amount of heat, six thousand five hundred liters of water, sufficient for heating, by one degree releases. A certain natural regulator of a body, obviously, by release of water tried to lower temperature to normal thirty seven degrees. The strengthened release of sweat caused the increased thirst.

Having sated and having got drunk, I went further, but again felt hunger and thirst soon, again was accepted to fishing, ate twice more than former and drank nearly half of lakes. I became is gluttonous as the muskrat eating every day so much food how many his body weighs. Interestingly, than Dashkevich who had to have the same terrible appetite, as well as I ate? Dashkevich had no galoshes and a blanket how he could catch fish? However I noticed a hole ashore and the hole which already semi-froze in lake ice soon. Obviously, careful Dashkevich melted snow and ice to the earth and carefully crept up to the region of the coast. Yes, it was difficult for it to get food. It is necessary to hurry to it to the aid.

I quickly went along the lake. Traces of bare feet of Dashkevich were clearly visible. It, as well as I, went on a compass. The moon shone brightly. It slowly moved ahead in the sky, taking a detour over my head as if wished to look from all directions at an extraordinary show – the steam sphere sliding on the ground.

Circle it was desert and it is silent. Only my noisy breath broke silence as heavy sighs of the engine at the lonely abandoned steppe station.

The ice plain extended endlessly, and Dashkevich everything was not visible. I began to be tired, and I wanted to sleep. Judging by position of the moon, there came midnight for a long time. It was necessary to think of a lodging for the night. I went, choosing the suitable town. In the north the horizon darkened. From there was a cloud. And stars at its approach as if fell in a huge black bag and disappeared. Here black бредень clouds collected stars from the half-sky and approached the moon. It is a little more, and the moon was the swallowed dark mouth of a cloud. Darkness came.

Snow went. But, getting on the hot steam cover surrounding me flakes of snow turned into rain drops, and they fell on my naked shoulders and a back as on the heated plate, and evaporated, and from legs flew down on the earth hot then. Yes, as it is strange, being behind the Polar circle in ice cold winter night, I got under damp tropical heavy rain. But this heavy rain existed only for me. Around the blizzard stormed.

And as it happens in the north when the sky becomes covered by clouds, air became warmer. Temperature from forty degrees below zero rose probably up to five below zero. I experienced the real heat. I could not regulate the temperature still. Short radio waves heated me so that I felt, as at burning noon under the equator. Drops of a rain heated up before reached my body, and could not cool awful heat. I several times rushed on the earth to be cooled, and felt how I plunge into snow which literally melted from my excited body.

At last the snow snow-storm stopped. Black бредень clouds began to shake out stars back. The moon looked out soon. I looked back and saw the ice strip sparkling on fluffy snow which was left by the rain freezing behind me which is flowing down from my body.

It is time to have a rest. I spread out a blanket on snow – it was damp from a rain – and stretched on it. But I did not risk to catch a cold, the blanket began to dry quickly, only my body touched it; from a blanket steam, as from damp clothes which are ironed too hot iron went.

I strong fell asleep. Having opened eyes, I saw nothing: obviously, clouds tightened the sky again. However I never before saw such black, impenetrable darkness. Attentively looking round, I, at last, noticed a star over my most-headed. That for strangeness! As though clouds covered all sky, except for a small circle in a zenith. I quickly rose and went forward, but then hit against an ice wall. Turned aside, took several steps – again a wall. It was unclear. I well remembered that I fell asleep on absolutely flat and open place, and now I was in some ice cave.

I went back and fell in a hole which was in the middle of a cave. Having reached walls, I bypassed around. Walls were smooth, ice and had no exit anywhere. The ice floor of a cave had a slope to the center and in the center – a big hollow. All cave had a hemisphere appearance with a small opening in a ceiling. Perhaps, this dwelling of some locals who found me on ice and brought to themselves in a yurta. But this yurta had neither doors, nor windows, and besides in it was nobody, except me.