Aside and in special compartments, strings of supremely beautifulpearls were spread out, the electric light flecking them withlittle fiery sparks: pink pearls pulled from saltwater fanshells in the Red Sea; green pearls from the rainbow abalone;yellow, blue, and black pearls, the unusual handiwork of variousmollusks from every ocean and of certain mussels from rivers up north;in short, several specimens of incalculable worth that had beenoozed by the rarest of shellfish. Some of these pearls werebigger than a pigeon egg; they more than equaled the one thatthe explorer Tavernier sold the Shah of Persia for 3,000,000 francs,and they surpassed that other pearl owned by the Imam of Muscat,which I had believed to be unrivaled in the entire world.
Consequently, to calculate the value of this collection was,I should say, impossible. Captain Nemo must have spent millionsin acquiring these different specimens, and I was wondering whatfinancial resources he tapped to satisfy his collector's fancies,when these words interrupted me:
"You're examining my shells, professor? They're indeed ableto fascinate a naturalist; but for me they have an added charm,since I've collected every one of them with my own two hands,and not a sea on the globe has escaped my investigations."
"I understand, captain, I understand your delight at strollingin the midst of this wealth. You're a man who gathers histreasure in person. No museum in Europe owns such a collectionof exhibits from the ocean. But if I exhaust all my wondermenton them, I'll have nothing left for the ship that carries them!I have absolutely no wish to probe those secrets of yours!But I confess that my curiosity is aroused to the limit by this Nautilus,the motor power it contains, the equipment enabling it to operate,the ultra powerful force that brings it to life. I see some instrumentshanging on the walls of this lounge whose purposes are unknown to me.May I learn--"
"Professor Aronnax," Captain Nemo answered me, "I've said you'd be freeaboard my vessel, so no part of the Nautilus is off-limits to you.You may inspect it in detail, and I'll be delighted to actas your guide."
"I don't know how to thank you, sir, but I won't abuse your good nature.I would only ask you about the uses intended for these instrumentsof physical measure--"
"Professor, these same instruments are found in my stateroom,where I'll have the pleasure of explaining their functions to you.But beforehand, come inspect the cabin set aside for you.You need to learn how you'll be lodged aboard the Nautilus."
I followed Captain Nemo, who, via one of the doors cut intothe lounge's canted corners, led me back down the ship's gangways.He took me to the bow, and there I found not just a cabin but an elegantstateroom with a bed, a washstand, and various other furnishings.
I could only thank my host.
"Your stateroom adjoins mine," he told me, opening a door,"and mine leads into that lounge we've just left."
I entered the captain's stateroom. It had an austere,almost monastic appearance. An iron bedstead, a worktable,some washstand fixtures. Subdued lighting. No luxuries.Just the bare necessities.
Captain Nemo showed me to a bench.
"Kindly be seated," he told me.
I sat, and he began speaking as follows:
CHAPTER 12
Everything through Electricity
"SIR," CAPTAIN NEMO SAID, showing me the instruments hanging onthe walls of his stateroom,
"these are the devices needed to navigate the Nautilus. Here, as inthe lounge, I always have them before my eyes, and they indicatemy position and exact heading in the midst of the ocean.You're familiar with some of them, such as the thermometer,which gives the temperature inside the Nautilus; the barometer,which measures the heaviness of the outside air and forecasts changesin the weather; the humidistat, which indicates the degree of drynessin the atmosphere; the storm glass, whose mixture decomposes toforetell the arrival of tempests; the compass, which steers my course;the sextant, which takes the sun's altitude and tells me my latitude;chronometers, which allow me to calculate my longitude; and finally,spyglasses for both day and night, enabling me to scrutinize everypoint of the horizon once the Nautilus has risen to the surfaceof the waves."
"These are the normal navigational instruments," I replied,"and I'm familiar with their uses. But no doubt these others answerpressing needs unique to the Nautilus. That dial I see there,with the needle moving across it--isn't it a pressure gauge?"
"It is indeed a pressure gauge. It's placed in contact with the water,and it indicates the outside pressure on our hull, which in turngives me the depth at which my submersible is sitting."
"And these are some new breed of sounding line?"
"They're thermometric sounding lines that report water temperaturesin the different strata."
"And these other instruments, whose functions I can't even guess?"
"Here, professor, I need to give you some background information,"Captain Nemo said. "So kindly hear me out."
He fell silent for some moments, then he said:
"There's a powerful, obedient, swift, and effortless force that canbe bent to any use and which reigns supreme aboard my vessel.It does everything. It lights me, it warms me, it's the soulof my mechanical equipment. This force is electricity."
"Electricity!" I exclaimed in some surprise.
"Yes, sir."
"But, captain, you have a tremendous speed of movement that doesn'tsquare with the strength of electricity. Until now, its dynamicpotential has remained quite limited, capable of producing only smallamounts of power!"
"Professor," Captain Nemo replied, "my electricity isn'tthe run-of-the-mill variety, and with your permission, I'll leaveit at that."
"I won't insist, sir, and I'll rest content with simply beingflabbergasted at your results. I would ask one question, however,which you needn't answer if it's indiscreet. The electric cells youuse to generate this marvelous force must be depleted very quickly.Their zinc component, for example: how do you replace it,since you no longer stay in contact with the shore?"
"That question deserves an answer," Captain Nemo replied."First off, I'll mention that at the bottom of the sea there exist veinsof zinc, iron, silver, and gold whose mining would quite certainlybe feasible. But I've tapped none of these land-based metals,and I wanted to make demands only on the sea itself for the sourcesof my electricity."
"The sea itself?"
"Yes, professor, and there was no shortage of such sources.In fact, by establishing a circuit between two wires immersedto different depths, I'd be able to obtain electricity throughthe diverging temperatures they experience; but I preferred to usea more practical procedure."
"And that is?"
"You're familiar with the composition of salt water. In 1,000 gramsone finds 96.5% water and about 2.66% sodium chloride; then smallquantities of magnesium chloride, potassium chloride, magnesium bromide,sulfate of magnesia, calcium sulfate, and calcium carbonate.Hence you observe that sodium chloride is encountered there insignificant proportions. Now then, it's this sodium that I extractfrom salt water and with which I compose my electric cells."
"Sodium?"
"Yes, sir. Mixed with mercury, it forms an amalgam that takesthe place of zinc in Bunsen cells. The mercury is never depleted.Only the sodium is consumed, and the sea itself gives me that.Beyond this, I'll mention that sodium batteries have been foundto generate the greater energy, and their electro-motor strengthis twice that of zinc batteries."
"Captain, I fully understand the excellence of sodium under the conditionsin which you're placed. The sea contains it. Fine. But it still hasto be produced, in short, extracted. And how do you accomplish this?Obviously your batteries could do the extracting; but if I'mnot mistaken, the consumption of sodium needed by your electricequipment would be greater than the quantity you'd extract.It would come about, then, that in the process of producing your sodium,you'd use up more than you'd make!"
"Accordingly, professor, I don't extract it with batteries;quite simply, I utilize the heat of coal from the earth."
"From the earth?" I said, my
voice going up on the word.
"We'll say coal from the seafloor, if you prefer," Captain Nemo replied.
"And you can mine these veins of underwater coal?"
"You'll watch me work them, Professor Aronnax. I ask only a littlepatience of you, since you'll have ample time to be patient.Just remember one thing: I owe everything to the ocean;it generates electricity, and electricity gives the Nautilus heat,light, motion, and, in a word, life itself."
"But not the air you breathe?"
"Oh, I could produce the air needed on board, but it would be pointless,since I can rise to the surface of the sea whenever I like.However, even though electricity doesn't supply me with breathable air,it at least operates the powerful pumps that store it under pressurein special tanks; which, if need be, allows me to extend my stayin the lower strata for as long as I want."
"Captain," I replied, "I'll rest content with marveling.You've obviously found what all mankind will surely find one day,the true dynamic power of electricity."
"I'm not so certain they'll find it," Captain Nemo replied icily."But be that as it may, you're already familiar with the first use I'vefound for this valuable force. It lights us, and with a uniformityand continuity not even possessed by sunlight. Now, look at that clock:it's electric, it runs with an accuracy rivaling the finest chronometers.I've had it divided into twenty-four hours like Italian clocks,since neither day nor night, sun nor moon, exist for me, but onlythis artificial light that I import into the depths of the seas!See, right now it's ten o'clock in the morning."
"That's perfect."
"Another use for electricity: that dial hanging before our eyesindicates how fast the Nautilus is going. An electric wire putsit in contact with the patent log; this needle shows me the actualspeed of my submersible. And . . . hold on . . . just now we'reproceeding at the moderate pace of fifteen miles per hour."
"It's marvelous," I replied, "and I truly see, captain, how rightyou are to use this force; it's sure to take the place of wind,water, and steam."
"But that's not all, Professor Aronnax," Captain Nemo said, standing up."And if you'd care to follow me, we'll inspect the Nautilus's stern."
In essence, I was already familiar with the whole forward partof this underwater boat, and here are its exact subdivisions goingfrom amidships to its spur: the dining room, 5 meters long andseparated from the library by a watertight bulkhead, in other words,it couldn't be penetrated by the sea; the library, 5 meters long;the main lounge, 10 meters long, separated from the captain'sstateroom by a second watertight bulkhead; the aforesaid stateroom,5 meters long; mine, 2.5 meters long; and finally, air tanks 7.5 meterslong and extending to the stempost. Total: a length of 35 meters.Doors were cut into the watertight bulkheads and were shut hermeticallyby means of india-rubber seals, which insured complete safety aboardthe Nautilus in the event of a leak in any one section.
I followed Captain Nemo down gangways located for easy transit,and I arrived amidships. There I found a sort of shaft heading upwardbetween two watertight bulkheads. An iron ladder, clamped to the wall,led to the shaft's upper end. I asked the captain what thisladder was for.
"It goes to the skiff," he replied.
"What! You have a skiff?" I replied in some astonishment.
"Surely. An excellent longboat, light and unsinkable, which is usedfor excursions and fishing trips."
"But when you want to set out, don't you have to return to the surfaceof the sea?"
"By no means. The skiff is attached to the topside of the Nautilus's hulland is set in a cavity expressly designed to receive it. It's completelydecked over, absolutely watertight, and held solidly in place by bolts.This ladder leads to a manhole cut into the Nautilus's hull andcorresponding to a comparable hole cut into the side of the skiff.I insert myself through this double opening into the longboat.My crew close up the hole belonging to the Nautilus; I close upthe one belonging to the skiff, simply by screwing it into place.I undo the bolts holding the skiff to the submersible, and thelongboat rises with prodigious speed to the surface of the sea.I then open the deck paneling, carefully closed until that point;I up mast and hoist sail--or I take out my oars--and I go for a spin."
"But how do you return to the ship?"
"I don't, Professor Aronnax; the Nautilus returns to me."
"At your command?"
"At my command. An electric wire connects me to the ship.I fire off a telegram, and that's that."
"Right," I said, tipsy from all these wonders, "nothing to it!"
After passing the well of the companionway that led to the platform,I saw a cabin 2 meters long in which Conseil and Ned Land,enraptured with their meal, were busy devouring it to the last crumb.Then a door opened into the galley, 3 meters long and locatedbetween the vessel's huge storage lockers.
There, even more powerful and obedient than gas, electricity didmost of the cooking. Arriving under the stoves, wires transmittedto platinum griddles a heat that was distributed and sustainedwith perfect consistency. It also heated a distillingmechanism that, via evaporation, supplied excellent drinking water.Next to this galley was a bathroom, conveniently laid out,with faucets supplying hot or cold water at will.
After the galley came the crew's quarters, 5 meters long.But the door was closed and I couldn't see its accommodations, which mighthave told me the number of men it took to operate the Nautilus.
At the far end stood a fourth watertight bulkhead, separating the crew'squarters from the engine room. A door opened, and I stood in thecompartment where Captain Nemo, indisputably a world-class engineer,had set up his locomotive equipment.
Brightly lit, the engine room measured at least 20 meters in length.It was divided, by function, into two parts: the first containedthe cells for generating electricity, the second that mechanismtransmitting movement to the propeller.
Right off, I detected an odor permeating the compartment that wassui generis.* Captain Nemo noticed the negative impression itmade on me.
*Latin: "in a class by itself." Ed.
"That," he told me, "is a gaseous discharge caused by our use of sodium,but it's only a mild inconvenience. In any event, every morningwe sanitize the ship by ventilating it in the open air."
Meanwhile I examined the Nautilus's engine with a fascinationeasy to imagine.
"You observe," Captain Nemo told me, "that I use Bunsen cells,not Ruhmkorff cells. The latter would be ineffectual. One uses fewerBunsen cells, but they're big and strong, and experience has proventheir superiority. The electricity generated here makes its way tothe stern, where electromagnets of huge size activate a special systemof levers and gears that transmit movement to the propeller's shaft.The latter has a diameter of 6 meters, a pitch of 7.5 meters,and can do up to 120 revolutions per minute."
"And that gives you?"
"A speed of fifty miles per hour."
There lay a mystery, but I didn't insist on exploring it.How could electricity work with such power? Where did thisnearly unlimited energy originate? Was it in the extraordinaryvoltage obtained from some new kind of induction coil?Could its transmission have been immeasurably increased by someunknown system of levers?** This was the point I couldn't grasp.
**Author's Note: And sure enough, there's now talk of such a discovery,in which a new set of levers generates considerable power.Did its inventor meet up with Captain Nemo?
"Captain Nemo," I said, "I'll vouch for the results and not tryto explain them. I've seen the Nautilus at work out in frontof the Abraham Lincoln, and I know where I stand on its speed.But it isn't enough just to move, we have to see where we're going!We must be able to steer right or left, up or down!How do you reach the lower depths, where you meet an increasingresistance that's assessed in hundreds of atmospheres?How do you rise back to the surface of the ocean?Finally, how do you keep your ship at whatever level suits you?Am I indiscreet in asking you all these things?"
"Not at all, professor," the captain answered me after aslight hesitation, "since
you'll never leave this underwater boat.Come into the lounge. It's actually our work room, and there you'lllearn the full story about the Nautilus!"