letter was from mother.
“Dear Leva! – Elvira Karlovna wrote with bold, sprawling handwriting. – I do not know that I have more, to rejoice or grieve. I am glad to your termination of institute and appointment. You are an engineer. Found the way. But unless there are no good places on the earth? Why offered you such service? At you the head can begin to spin, and you will fall from your air mill. I would prefer that you were as your father, the simple repairman, but the terrestrial, but not air engineer. It is dangerous. And I will not understand why it is necessary. Explain you to me, please, the silly old woman why it was impossible to install your car on the earth? Wind blows everywhere. You write about Zoya. She is a good girl. And to the girl did not stick on air snakes at all to live. And it there! Would marry it and lived on the earth as all people. And that the grandson will be born, and will not have a look at him. Not to climb to me, the old woman, under clouds!”
“And it about the same! – smiling, Miller thought. – About the children born in the sky…”
“And one more disturbs me – continued to write mother. – At us speak about war. And if there is a war yes the Romanian or Polish airplanes will arrive? And you on your attached kite and have no place to disappear. At your sphere will shoot, as at the hanging bottle in a dash. And you have no place to disappear. On the earth after all it is safer also during war”…
Levka leaned back on a chair back, thought and wrote to mother:
“Mutti! You ask me why people needed suit the cars “in the sky”. I will try to explain so that it was clear to you.
You remember, we with you read Wells’s novel “When sleeping wakens”? This Wells in the first years of our revolution was in Russia, having returned to himself to England, wrote the book “Russia in a Haze”. In the book of this Wells was surprised to “the Kremlin dreamers” – as it they start to electrify the country flat, with a slow current of the rivers. Where they will take energy? – to Wells – the thought did not come to the fantast, the dreamer, the seer of the future to mind that for getting of electricity not only energy of water, but also wind can be used. This slow-wittedness especially is strange that Wells in the novel which we read with you describes the vetrosilovy turbines supplying with energy London. But wind can give energy for electrification not only one city, and and the whole globe. Wells probably believed that we will not manage “to take also wind in Bolshevist hand”. But Wells was mistaken in it, as well as in many other.
Wind power is immense. By the most approximate calculations, energy which the mankind could receive from wind within a year surpasses all world reserves. By only one European part of the Union it would be possible to receive the energy equal to two billion hundred fifty million tons of coal a year. This figure will become more clear to you if I specify that for the first five-years period all our extraction of fuel in conversion to coal made only hundred forty million tons.
We need a huge number of energy – not less than sixty million kilowatts. We let and partly already started up our major water power sources: Dnieper, Angara, Yenisei, Volga… One Yenisei gives us eight million kilowatts. But energy of the rivers nevertheless has a limit. And here wind has to come to the rescue of the rivers.
All trouble, however, that wind – the most whimsical, most changeable elements. It is an unreliable power source. Wind blows, ceases to blow. And there is no wind – there are also power plants. You will tell: means, Wells was right. No, he was the bad prophet and an ugadchik. We shamed both wind, and Wells.
The matter is that wind is capricious only over the Earth’s surface. At the height about five hundred meters the constant, never ceasing wind blows. Air Niagara. Inexhaustible power source. Even if wind ceases at the height of five hundred meters, it blows slightly above. And the higher, the stronger, the more constantly. Means, all question only in how to use these high air rivers. “If the mountain does not go to Magomet, then Magomet goes to the mountain”. It is necessary to lift, so on height vetrosilovy installations. This idea was for the first time introduced and technically developed by the engineer Kazhi certain.
Imagine a kite which is started under clouds. But dragon of the huge sizes. On a snake there is something like a windmill, only instead of wings such cylinder – a vingrotor rotates (a ving in English – a wing, a rotor – the rotating part of the mechanism). That all car was lighter and rose by air, emptiness in huge wings and other parts of a construction are filled with hydrogen. Besides, and wind supports the device. All vetrosilovy high-rise electrical unit is attached to the earth by a steel wire. On this wire there is on the earth from the station also current. And current turns out because that the wings rotating from wind put the motor which also is on a snake in action. It is clear? Here I will also work at such high-rise station.
So we won wind. From now on he is subordinated to us, works for us, obedient to our will. Now we have an unlimited stock of energy.
This victory over wind, of course, could not but frighten our enemies. Nearly an every month new high-rise vetrosilovy installation rises in air. “From the sky” millions of kilowatts of energy flow on the earth. We become too strong. And in fear of our growing power enemies, perhaps, will also try to attack us. Well that? We will win against them wind! Storms will work for us.
And for me you do not worry. If enemy airplanes arrive, the kite can always be lowered on the earth, having winded a wire the same as boys take up a string of snakes. Small stations soar in clouds without people. In case of accident, for lubricant of parts, adjustments of the motor, replenishment of reserves of gas and other lower them on the earth. But often to lower such powerful installation as “Condor” on the earth, it is unprofitable. It leads to energy loss. That is why we will constantly live with Zoya in ours “the air country”. Zoya already on a last year also goes with me as the trainee. It – the good fellow. “The air repairman”. Has no dizziness. Brave girl. Do not worry and do not worry, expensive! Mother has to be courageous. (Mutter – mother and Mut – courage are not without reason conformable.) I will write you every week. Hi to the father. How his rheumatism?
Yours Leva.
P.S. My all companions on institute envy me. From ended this year only I one was given such “high” and responsible assignment. I brought some improvements in a design of a tail of “kite” (our car has also a tail). The invention was recognized important, this and helped me to receive “a captain’s post” as my companions speak. “Condor” will serve the electric power huge collective farm (the majority of tractors and cars works at electric accumulators now), sawmill, the cellulose plant and other. Work is interesting. I kiss. Zoya sends hi. L.”.
The electric train quickly rushed Miller and Zoya Tveryanova on the South. In way there were only two stops.
“At a groundless table курыць zaboronyaetsets” – was read by Zoya in buffet of one station. – Belarus!
“At a zagalny table ask you do not scorch”. – Over them there was already a sky of Ukraine.
Some more hours’ journey, and they on the place. Pyramidal a poplar, at night similar to cypresses, the sharp tops to the star sky directed. The warm, caressing wind brought the “Ukrainian” smells of herbs and fields.
On the high hill the shapeless construction was seen. It their “Condor” slept on the earth the last night. From the next shed through the opened door light on a glade fell, snatching out two trucks from a gloom. Voices, blows of a hammer were heard. There were last preparations. The message about arrival of the engineer quickly extended on workshops
