To start the game, just click on "Play". It takes the form of a question and answer. Akinator guesses the hidden hero, asking intriguing questions. These are usually general questions that can only be answered with "Yes" or "No". The genie may ask whether the character is fictional or not, whether it is a character from a book or from real life, and so on. In addition to the answers: “Yes” and “No”, the game provides 3 more philosophical answers: “I don’t know”, “Not quite / hardly” and “Possibly / partially”.

Gradually answering questions, you give the genie the opportunity to make a portrait of the one he guesses.

Each new question becomes more and more specific, and it is clear from Akinator's facial expressions how close he is to the solution. As soon as the solver is ripe for an answer, he tries to do so. The first attempt may fail, and then the wizard uses his second opportunity.

It is possible that the magician will not guess the riddle. Then he asks to add the hidden hero to his database, providing a certain minimum of information about him. If you have an account in My World, you can make friends and relatives to the genie.

Recently, it has become possible for Akinator to guess both people and inanimate objects.

If you want to visually diversify the wizard and the game a little, then there are potions with which you can add new heroes, change the appearance of the genie and the background of the game itself.

Purpose of the game

The purpose of the game is, first of all, to develop the intellectual abilities of the gamer and his attention. "Akinator" is designed for those who like to brainstorm and consider themselves an erudite.

Playing with a genie, you expand your own horizons and replenish his database!

Who hasn't dreamed of a personal genie who knows and can do everything? When in 2007 such a character appeared in the vastness of the virtual world, the players who met him first got a real shock! He guessed any conceived character within a few minutes, simply by asking leading questions. How? How does he do it? Even experienced gamers were perplexed.

Acquaintance with Akinatori by its creators

This genius is called Akinator and he still surprises with his abilities, especially since during this time he has greatly expanded his knowledge base and now it has become even more difficult to drive him into a dead end. Its creators are French prankster programmers Jeff Del and Maigret Arno. The original idea that came to their mind was embodied in a fairly simple program, the essence of which is that the genie turns to the World Wide Web to find the answer. Akinator is French by nationality, but he knows many languages ​​​​and is represented in many countries, but in our country he speaks Russian so that everyone can understand him without problems.

How to play Akinator?

It's pretty easy to play. At the very beginning, you conceive a character and give the genie a command to start the game. He asks questions, and you answer them as accurately as possible, as he captures each answer and selects the appropriate data from his library, discarding unnecessary ones. To answer the next one, simply choose one of the options proposed by Akinator, ticking it off. First comes the definition of gender, then you will be asked whether this is a real hero or a fictional one, then the definition of the era will follow. Gradually, the questions may seem complicated, and if you do not know the exact answer, for example, in which country the person lived, it is better to answer honestly - “I don’t know.” There will also be an option: “not sure” or “not quite sure”. It's okay if there are a lot of gaps in your knowledge, even a minimum of information is not a hindrance for such a smart genie as Akinator.

Possible Wizard Questions

• Does your character really exist?
• Is your hero a cartoon character?
• Is your hero a man?
• Does he wear a mustache?
• Does he still live?
• Is the character involved in politics?
• Does the hero speak Russian?
• Is your hero human?
• Does he have eyes?
• Is this your pet?
• Is he from the cat family?

He has many more questions, which he picks up depending on your previous answer. And after Akinator guesses the character you conceived, he will exclaim: "I guessed it again! Great! I love playing with you!".

Who can the genie recognize?

Everyone who first encounters him most often self-confidently conceives obvious characters - politicians, musicians, film actors, hoping that the omnipotence of a computer magician is not unlimited. And what a surprise it is when this genius easily names a name. After such a standard intelligence check, players begin to innovate and set more complex tasks. At least when they ask Akinator to guess their pet, family member, and himself, they think so. But believe me, this is not at all original, because everyone who fought with a genie invariably gives him such a task, and with a smile he reports the correct result after a few leading questions. He is also in the teeth to guess God and the devil, an angel, a comic book hero, cartoon characters, films and literary heroes.

Filling in the gaps in Akinator's knowledge

There are times when Akinator still finds it difficult to answer, but this is because you inaccurately indicated the data or gave him too little information, answering almost all questions: “I don’t know.”

If you provided him with truthful answers in full, but he turned out to be powerless, which is extremely rare, he will ask you to indicate in the proposed questionnaire a subject with a description of him in order to remember in his memory analogues and then refer to the information received next time.

So many people have already tried to play Akinator that the wizard's database is replete with different subjects. If at first it was still possible to put him into bewilderment, today it is almost impossible to do so.

If you're one of the few who haven't yet intellectually challenged the all-powerful genie, now is the time to do so. Who knows, you might be able to teach him something new!

A trick lamp

Once upon a time there were traveling friends, Arno and Jeff. Once they decided to go on an expedition to the far East. Making their way through the desert on camels, they noticed something unusual on the side of a sand dune. Their attention was drawn to a shiny object shimmering in the hot sunlight. Dismounting and coming closer, they noticed that in front of them was an ancient oil lamp just like in fairy tales! She must have lain there for many years, until the wind swept away the layer of sand from her and revealed her to the eyes of travelers.

The first thing that came to the friends' minds was that the lamp had to be rubbed to summon a genie. Of course, none of them took this assumption seriously, but the excitement of adventure and the crazy hope that some kind of magic was really contained in the lamp forced them to perform all the necessary manipulations. The Strangers rubbed her a couple of times. Nothing happened. Finally, for the third time, the lamp flashed brightly in Arno's hands, becoming very hot at the same time. Arno dropped it on the sand, and thick smoke poured out of the lamp's nose, from which an unimaginable creature with human features grew. Friends realized that this is the genie.

Stretching and yawning, as if after a long sleep, the genie said: “Hello, I am the legendary Akinator. I can speak any language in the world. For many centuries I have slept in the desert, but you have awakened me, and now I will show you the full power of my magic. But not at once. First you must play one game with me. Guess any character - and I will guess it by asking you a few questions. If I fail, you will win and I will grant your three wishes. Just answer honestly, otherwise you will have to stay in the lamp instead of me!”

Arno and Jeff were equally intrigued and horrified by the genie's offer. Finally, they decided to try their luck. Each of them guessed a character, and the genie began to ask questions carefully to find out who it was. Following the rules of the game, the friends answered them honestly, and the genie easily guessed the intended names. He was very pleased with himself and asked travelers to come up with new riddles for him. The conversation went on for many hours, Arno and Jeff were tired, but the genie did not lag behind.

In the end, seizing the moment when the genie was once again distracted by boasting, they quietly slipped away and rushed to their heels. But all their attempts to escape were in vain - with the help of his magical abilities, the genie easily found them, wherever they were, penetrating through the walls and twisted through the air, and constantly asked to play with him again.

"What do we do? Jeff asked Arno. “He will continue to haunt us and will never calm down!” But Arno already had an idea about it. “Let's take him to France with us,” he replied. “There he can guess the characters as much as he wants!”

Play with Akinator!

How did our heroes get out of a difficult situation? Very simple! They created a website where Akinator could play around the clock with the whole world, guessing one character after another. You can also try your hand at a duel with a genie. Even though he thinks he's invincible, he's not. You can come up with such a character that even he will get confused and remain with his nose! But remember that answers must be given honestly. Otherwise, as you remember, you yourself will have to sit in the lamp until the end of time.

Current page: 1 (total book has 25 pages) [accessible reading excerpt: 17 pages]

Jules Verne
From earth to moon by direct route in 97 hours and 20 minutes. Around the Moon (compilation)

© CJSC "SVR-Mediaproekty" design, 2014

From earth to moon by direct route in 97 hours and 20 minutes

Chapter first
"Cannon Club"

During the American Civil War, a new and extremely influential club arose in Baltimore, Maryland's capital city. We know with what force the military spirit of the Americans awakened then - this people of entrepreneurs, merchants and mechanics. The common merchants abandoned their stalls and suddenly became captains, colonels, and generals, doing just fine without diplomas from the military schools at West Point; they quickly caught up in the "art of war" with their European counterparts and, like them, not sparing the nuclei, millions, and most importantly, people, began to win victory after victory.

And in artillery science - in ballistics - the Americans, to the marvel of everyone, even surpassed the Europeans. It cannot be said that their shooting techniques reached greater perfection, but they created weapons of extraordinary size, hitting hitherto unheard of distances. In the art of flat, mounted and hurricane fire, flank, longitudinal and rear shelling, the British, French and Prussians reached a high level of perfection; but their guns, howitzers, and mortars seem like mere pistols compared to the colossal guns of the American artillery.

However, there is nothing to be surprised. The Yankees are the first mechanics in the world; they seem to be born engineers, as the Italians are musicians, and the Germans are metaphysicians. Naturally, they also introduced their bold, sometimes daring ingenuity into artillery science. Hence their giant cannons, much less useful than their sewing machines, but just as amazing and even more admirable. Everyone knows the extraordinary firearms of Parrot, Dalgrin and Rodman. Their European counterparts Armstrong, Palizer and Trey de Beaulieu could only bow to their overseas rivals.

During the bloody war between the northerners and the southerners, artillerymen enjoyed special honor. American newspapers enthusiastically proclaimed their inventions, and it seems that there was no such small shopkeeper or ignorant booby 1
Simpleton, fool (English).

Which day and night would not puzzle over the calculation of a crazy trajectory.

And when an American has an idea, he looks for a comrade who would share it. If three of them agree, one of them is immediately elected chairman, and the other two secretaries. If there are four of them, then an archivist is appointed - and the “bureau” is ready. If there are five of them, then a “general meeting” is convened - and the club is established!

It was the same in Baltimore. The first person who invented a new cannon entered into an alliance with the first person who agreed to cast this cannon, and with the first person who undertook to drill it. This is how the “core” of the “Cannon Club” arose. A month later, the club already had 1,833 full members and 35,365 corresponding members.

Anyone wishing to join the club was given a conditio sine qua non 2
Sine qua non (lat.).

He had to invent or at least improve the cannon, and in extreme cases some other firearm. However, it must be said that the inventors of fifteen-shot revolvers, rifled fittings and saber-pistols did not enjoy special honor. Artillerymen eclipsed them everywhere and everywhere.

“The respect they gain,” one of the most learned orators of the Cannon Club once proclaimed, “is in direct proportion to the “masses” of their cannons and the “square distances” their projectiles travel.

A little more - and it would be possible to extend Newton's law of universal gravitation to the entire spiritual life.

It is easy to imagine the extent of American ingenuity since the founding of the Gun Club. Military weapons began to take on colossal proportions, and shells began to fly over all permitted distances, sometimes tearing harmless passers-by to shreds. All these inventions soon left the modest European guns far behind. Here are the numbers.

Previously, "in the good old days," a thirty-six-pound ball could only shoot through thirty-six horses placed across its path, or sixty-eight men, at a distance of three hundred feet. It was the infantile time of artillery art. Since then, the shells have flown far ahead. For example, Rodman's cannon hit at a distance of seven miles, and its core, weighing half a ton, could easily "mow down" one hundred and fifty horses and three hundred people. The Cannon Club even raised the question of whether this bold experiment should be carried out. But if the horses would have agreed to undergo such a test, then among the people, unfortunately, there were no hunters.

In any case, these guns were very deadly: with each of their shots, the combatants fell in whole rows, like ears of corn under the blows of a scythe. And how pitiful in comparison with this kind of projectile would seem the famous cannonball, which in 1587 killed twenty-five people at the Battle of Kutra, and the one that killed forty infantrymen at Zorndorf in 1758, and, finally, the Austrian cannon, which hit in the battle of Kesseldorf with each of his shots, seventy people. What did the Napoleonic cannons mean now, the murderous fire of which decided the fate of the battles of Jena and Austerlitz? All these were only the first flowers! At the Battle of Gettysburg, a conical shell fired from a rifled cannon killed one hundred and seventy-three Southerners at once, and at the crossing of the Potomac River, one Rodman shell sent two hundred and fifteen Southerners to a better world. Mention should also be made of the huge mortar invented by J. T. Maston, an eminent member and indispensable secretary of the "Gun Club"; its effect was extremely destructive: during its test, three hundred and thirty-seven people were killed; however, they all died from the explosion of the mortar itself!

What else remains to be added to these eloquent figures? Absolutely nothing. Therefore, no one will dispute the following calculation of Pitcairn's statistics: by dividing the number of victims of artillery fire by the number of members of the "Gun Club", he found that for each member there were "an average" of two thousand three hundred and seventy-five killed with a fraction!

If you think about these figures, it becomes clear that the only concern of this learned society was the extermination of the human race (albeit for philanthropic purposes) by improving the weapons of war, which were equated with the tools of civilization. It was a kind of union of the angels of death, who in life, however, were distinguished by a very good-natured disposition.

It is necessary, however, to add that the Yankees, as courageous people, were not limited to calculations alone and often paid with their lives for the triumph of their cause. Among the members of the "Cannon Club" there were officers of all ranks from lieutenants to generals; military men of all ages: both newcomers to military affairs and old servicemen who have turned gray at a combat post. Many of them died on the battlefield, and their names are entered in the honorary book of the "Cannon Club", and most of the others who returned from the war left indelible traces of their bravery. In the club, one could see a whole collection of crutches, wooden legs, artificial arms, hooked prostheses, rubber jaws, silver skulls and platinum noses. The aforementioned statistician Pitcairn also calculated that the Gun Club had less than one arm for four people and only two legs for six.

But the brave gunners did not attach importance to such "trifles" and were justly proud when the newspapers reported that in the new battle the number of dead and wounded exceeded ten times the number of shells fired.

The day has come, however—a sad, vexatious day! – when the survivors stopped killing each other and peace was signed. The shots ceased, the rumble of mortars ceased; howitzers were shut up for a long time; cannons with lowered muzzles were placed in arsenals, the cores were stacked in pyramids. Gradually the bloody memories faded; cotton plantations flourished in fields lavishly fertilized with human flesh and drunk with blood; mourning dresses were worn out, suffering subsided, and the members of the "Cannon Club" were doomed to complete inactivity.

True, other tireless inventors still continued to design grenades of unprecedented dimensions. But what was theory without practice? Little by little the halls of the Cannon Club were empty, footmen dozing in the anterooms, piles of newspapers on the tables were moldy, mournful snoring came from dark corners, and the members of the club, until recently so noisy, fell asleep from boredom, indulging in solitude platonic dreams of the successes of artillery .

- You can go straight to despair! the brave Tom Gunter complained one evening in the smoking-room; he stretched out his wooden legs to the fireplace, not noticing that their ends were gradually beginning to char.

- Absolutely nothing to do! And hope for nothing! What a dismal existence! Where is the time when every morning we were awakened by the cheerful shots of cannons?

Happy days are over! - answered the zealous Bilsby, mechanically trying to spread his arms, which he did not have. - It was a wonderful life! It used to happen that you invented a howitzer, they barely had time to cast it, and march with it for a test right on the enemy! Then you return to the camp - and Sherman will praise you, or McClellan himself will shake your hand! And now the generals have returned to their offices and, instead of shells, they are firing ... harmless bales of cotton from their warehouses! I swear by Saint Barbara, the future of artillery in America looks to me in the darkest light!

“Yes, Bilsby! exclaimed Colonel Blamesbury. - What a cruel disappointment! .. Why did we abandon our peaceful studies, left our native Baltimore, why did we study military affairs? Why did we perform heroic deeds on the battlefield? Is it really only so that in two or three years all our labors will go to waste? .. Now sit idle and yawn, putting your hands in your pockets!

In truth, it would have been difficult for the bellicose colonel to confirm his words with an appropriate gesture: he had pockets, but no hands left.

- No war is even expected! - sighed the famous J. T. Maston, scratching his gutta-percha skull with an iron hook that replaced his hand. - Not a single cloud on the horizon ... and yet there are so many gaps in artillery science! By the way, this morning I finished the drawings of a new mortar - a horizontal section and a diagram; this weapon can radically change the laws of war!..

- Indeed? exclaimed Tom Gunter, who involuntarily presented himself with a picture of a "test" of the latest invention of the venerable Maston.

- Indeed! Maston answered. - But, one wonders, why did I work so hard, puzzled over complex calculations? Have I worked in vain? The peoples of the New World have definitely agreed to live in eternal peace. Our militant Tribune prophesies the most gloomy future for humanity in connection with the increase in population, which is taking on downright unacceptable proportions.

“You forget, Maston,” Colonel Blamesbury objected, “that wars continue in Europe, national enmity has not yet died out there.

- Well, so what?

“Well, we can try to do something there, if only they will accept our services…”

- What are you, what are you! exclaimed Bilsby. – Engage in ballistics for the benefit of foreigners?

It's still better than not doing it at all! the colonel said.

- Of course, it's better! Maston put in. “But you shouldn't even think about it.

Why not? the colonel was surprised.

- Yes, because they, in the Old World, have ideas about a military career for us Americans that are not at all acceptable. It doesn’t even occur to these people that one can become a commander-in-chief without starting the service with the rank of second lieutenant ... After all, it’s like saying that you can’t be a good gunner if you don’t know how to cast guns yourself! And this is real...

- Ridiculous! said Tom Gunter, hacking at the arm of his chair with a hunting knife. - So, in the present state of affairs, we can only plant tobacco or distill whale oil!

- How! exclaimed Maston in a thunderous voice. “Are we going to grow old and die without devoting the last years of our lives to the improvement of firearms?” Shall we not get a chance to test the range of our guns? The sky will not light up with the fire of our volleys anymore? Will there never be international complications that will allow us to declare war on some overseas power? Surely the French won't sink a single one of our ships? Do the British not even once violate international law - well, for example, do not hang up three or four of our fellow countrymen?

“No, Maston,” said Colonel Blamesbury, “we shall not be so fortunate!” Not! Not a single incident will occur, and if it does, we will not be able to use it. National pride in the United States is waning every day; soon we will all become real women! ..

- Yes, we often have to humiliate ourselves! Bilsby agreed.

- More than that - we are humiliated! exclaimed Tom Gunter.

- True truth! said Maston with renewed vigor. “Thousands of reasons for war are in the air, but there is still no war! Our government takes care to save the legs and arms of people who don't know what to do with their limbs. And why look far for a pretext for war: had not North America previously belonged to the British?

- Without a doubt! exclaimed Tom Gunter, furiously stirring the coals in the fireplace with his crutch.

“If so,” continued Maston, “then why shouldn’t England, in turn, belong to the Americans?”

- That's fair! said Colonel Blamesbury.

“Go and offer it to the President of the United States!” shouted Maston. How will he receive you?

- It will be bad! said Bilsby through the last four teeth left from the war.

“I swear on my honor,” exclaimed Maston, “let him not count on my vote in the next election!”

And he won't get ours! - unanimously picked up militant invalids.

“So,” concluded Maston, “this is my last word: if I am not given the opportunity to test my new mortar on a real battlefield, I resign from the members of the Gun Club and leave Baltimore. I'd rather bury myself alive in the savannas of Arkansas.

“And we will follow you,” said the comrades of the brave J. T. Maston.

Such was the state of affairs in the club; the ferment of minds grew stronger, the club was already in danger of an imminent collapse, but one unexpected event prevented this catastrophe.

The next day after the conversation described, each of the members of the club received the following circular message:

The chairman of the "Cannon Club" has the honor to inform his fellow members that at the general meeting on the 5th of the current month he will make a message that can arouse their most keen interest. As a result, he humbly asks the members of the club, postponing their next business, to come to this meeting.

With cordial regards

your Impey Barbicane, P.P.K."

Chapter Two
Message from Chairman Barbicane

On October 5, at eight o'clock in the evening, a whole crowd crowded into the halls of the club, at number 21 in Union Square. All members of the club, without exception, who lived in Baltimore, considered it their duty to appear at the invitation of their chairman. Hundreds of out-of-town correspondent members alighted from courier trains arriving in Baltimore. No matter how large the meeting room was, it could not accommodate all who aspired to get there; learned people flooded the neighboring halls and corridors, occupied even half of the outer courtyard. A huge crowd of "strangers" crowded at the doors of the club, everyone tried to get ahead in order to quickly learn something about the important message of Chairman Barbican; citizens jostled, crushed each other's sides, squeezing with the energy and ease characteristic of a people brought up in the spirit of self-government 3
Self-government (English).

A foreigner who would find himself in Baltimore that evening would not be able to enter the central hall of the Gun Club for any money. Except for full members and corresponding members, no one had the right to enter it, even the most important persons in the city, and the local authorities were forced to stand in the crowd of citizens in the courtyard of the club and catch on the fly the news that was transmitted from time to time from the interior.

Huge hall 4
Hall (English).

The club presented a curious spectacle. This vast hall was exceptionally suited to its purpose. Its light arches - skillfully stamped iron lace - rested on high columns of vertically placed cannon barrels; thick mortars served as abutments for the columns. The walls were picturesquely decorated with intricate designs of muskets, blunderbusses, arquebuses, carbines, and other firearms, old and new. Thousands of revolvers connected like chandeliers, girandoles from pistols and candelabra from bundled guns cast a bright gaseous light. In this amazing lighting, models of cannons, bronze guns, shot through targets, metal boards pierced by the Cannon Club shells, all kinds of piercers and banners, pyramids of cannonballs, garlands of grenades stood out - in a word, everything that had to do with artillery.

These artistically grouped collections gave the impression of more decorative accessories than awesome instruments of death.

In a place of honor, behind a magnificent display case, was a fragment of a cannon "casserole", broken, broken, twisted by the action of powder gases - a precious remnant of the notorious mortar of J. T. Maston.

The chairman sat at the back of the hall, on a vast dais, surrounded by four secretaries. His chair, placed on a carved cannon carriage, had the imposing appearance of a mortar with a thirty-two-inch muzzle, mounted at an angle of 90 ° and suspended on axles so that during the heat the chairman could always freshen up, swaying in it, as in rocking chairs. 5
rocking chair (English).

The chairman's table was replaced by a large piece of sheet iron lying on six ancient naval guns; an excellently carved grenade served as an inkwell, and the chairman's bell emitted shots like revolvers. But during heated discussions, even this peculiar call barely covered the voices of ardent gunners with its volleys.

In front of the presidium, there were zigzags in the form of ramparts and trenches of the auditorium benches, where members of the "Cannon Club" sat; that evening, not without reason, it could be said that the entire garrison of the "Cannon Club" was in combat readiness. The members of the club were all there. They knew their chairman too well and were convinced that he would not bother them without a very good reason.

Impy Barbicane was a man of about forty, calm, cold, stern, with a serious, concentrated mind, accurate as a chronometer, with an unshakable character and iron will; he, it is true, was not distinguished by chivalrous inclinations, but he loved adventure and brought his practical spirit into the most risky undertakings. He was a typical representative of New England, a Northern colonialist, a descendant of the "round-headed" ones, fatal to the Stuart dynasty, an inexorable enemy of the "masters" of the southern states, these former cavaliers of Old England. In a word, it was a Yankee from head to toe ...

Barbicane made a great fortune trading in timber. When war broke out, he was appointed chief of the artillery; in this position, he became famous for a number of inventions and the amazing courage of his ideas. A brave innovator, he significantly contributed to the success of artillery and carried out his experiments on an unprecedentedly large scale.

He was a man of average height, with all of his limbs intact, a rarity in the Gun Club. The sharp features of his face seemed to have been drawn with the help of a square and a drawing pen, and if, as they say, you can guess the character of a person by looking at his profile, then Barbicane's profile undeniably proved his energy, courage and composure.

For the moment he sat silent and motionless in the chair, engrossed in his own thoughts; a black silk top hat was pushed over his forehead, which seemed to be screwed to the head of an American.

Barbicane paid no attention to the noisy conversation of the people around him, although they asked each other questions, expressed all kinds of assumptions; some stared at the chairman, trying in vain to unravel his secret, but Barbicane's face remained impassive.

At last the clock in the meeting room struck eight loudly. Barbicane instantly stood up to his full height, as if thrown up by a spring; the hall immediately fell silent, and the orator spoke in a somewhat solemn tone:

- Dear colleagues! Too long a barren world has long condemned the members of the "Cannon Club" to sad inactivity. After several years of brilliant revival, we had to stop all our work and immediately stop on the path of progress. I am not afraid to announce publicly that any kind of war is highly desirable for us, which would immediately give us weapons in our hands ...

Yes, war! War is needed! shouted the fiery J. T. Maston.

- Listen, listen! resounded from all sides.

“However, war is unthinkable under the present circumstances,” continued Barbicane, “and however much the venerable orator, who has just interrupted my speech with his fiery exclamation, longs for it, many years will elapse before the shots of our guns roar again on the battlefield. We must come to terms with this fact and look in another field for an outlet for the thirst for activity that devours us.

The meeting sensed that the chairman would now touch on the main topic of his speech. Attention doubled.

“For some months now, dear fellow members,” continued Barbicane, “I have been asking myself the question: can we not, without going beyond our specialty, venture on some outstanding enterprise worthy of the nineteenth century, and whether the high achievements of ballistics will not allow implement it successfully? For a long time I thought, searched, worked, calculated and came to the conclusion that we would be able to carry out one enterprise, which in any other state would have seemed unrealizable. The project of the conceived business was developed by me in all details. He will be the subject of my message. This business is worthy of you, worthy of the glorious past of the "Cannon Club" and, no doubt, will make a noise all over the world.

What about the big noise? - asked some ardent artilleryman.

“Yes, a very loud noise, even in the literal sense of the word,” said Barbicane.

“Dear colleagues,” Barbicane began again, “I ask you now to give me your full attention.

A nervous tremor ran through the meeting. Adjusting his top hat with a confident gesture, Barbicane continued in a calm voice:

- Each of you, of course, has seen the Moon more than once, or at least heard about it. Don't be surprised that I started talking about this night star. Perhaps we are destined to become the Columbuses of an unknown world! Understand me, support me - and I will lead you to conquer the moon! We will add her name to those thirty-six states that form the great power of the United States!

- The moon has been studied in great detail, - continued Barbicane, - its mass, density, weight, volume, composition, movement, distance from the Earth and in general its role in the solar system have long been accurately determined; the lunar maps are drawn up almost in more detail than those of the earth, and photography has already given photographs of lunar landscapes of incomparable beauty. In a word, we know everything about the Moon that could be learned with the help of mathematics, astronomy, physics and geology. But there is still no ... direct communication with the moon.

At these words, the audience trembled with amazement.

“Allow me,” continued Barbicane, “to remind you in a few words of those dreamers who embarked on imaginary journeys and claimed to have penetrated into the innermost secrets of the Earth’s satellite. In the seventeenth century, a certain David Fabricius boasted that he had seen with his own eyes the inhabitants of the moon. In 1649, a Frenchman, Jean Baudouin, published a book entitled: "Travel to the Moon by Dominic Gonzalez, Spanish Adventurer." Almost at the same time, Cyrano de Bergerac described an expedition to the moon in his book, which was a huge success in France. Later, another Frenchman - it must be admitted that the French are very interested in the Moon - the famous Fontenelle, wrote "The Plurality of Worlds" - one of the most brilliant books of his century. But science is moving forward, overtaking even the imagination of writers. In 1835, a curious pamphlet appeared - taken from the New York American magazine - in which it was said that the famous astronomer John Herschel, during his expedition to the Cape of Good Hope, created such an improved telescope, and even with "internal illumination" that he could see the moon as if from a distance of eighty yards. It was as if Herschel clearly saw on the moon the caves in which hippos lived, green mountains bordered by golden lace groves, saw rams with ivory horns, white roe deer and inhabitants similar to people, but with membranous wings, like those of bats. This pamphlet, written by the American Locke, was an extraordinary success. It soon became clear, however, that this was a scientific hoax, and the French were the first to laugh at it.

- They laughed at the American! exclaimed Maston. - Here's your casus belli 6
Reason for war (lat.).

- Calm down, my worthy friend! Before laughing, the French themselves were fools, because at first they believed our compatriot. To complete this brief historical review, I will add that a certain Hans Pfaal of Rotterdam, having filled a balloon with a gas extracted from nitrogen and found to be thirty-seven times lighter than hydrogen, ascended on it and reached the Moon in nineteen days. This journey, like all the previous ones, was, of course, imaginary, but it was written by one of America's favorite writers, a kind of fantastic talent. I mean Edgar Poe.

Long live Edgar Allan Poe! exclaimed the audience, electrified by the chairman's speech.

“I have done away with attempts that I will call purely fictional and wholly insufficient for establishing relations between the Earth and the Moon. I must add, however, that there were also serious, scientifically substantiated attempts to enter into communion with the Moon. So, for example, a few years ago a German mathematician proposed to equip a scientific expedition to the Siberian steppes. There, among the wide plains, it would be possible with the help of reflectors to depict gigantic geometric figures, and, moreover, so bright that they would be visible from the moon, among other things, the Pythagorean triangle, which is colloquially called "Pythagorean pants." “Every rational being,” the geometer argued, “should understand the scientific significance of this figure. Therefore, the Selenites, if they exist, will respond with a similar figure, and then it will be easy to create an alphabet that will enable people to exchange thoughts with the inhabitants of the Moon.

So spoke the German mathematician, but his project was not carried out, and so far no connection has been established between the Earth and the Moon. However, I am convinced that the practical genius of the Americans will make connections with this celestial body. There is a means to reach the moon; the means is simple, easy, true, reliable - and I want to tell you about it.

A deafening noise, a whole storm of exclamations greeted Barbicane's speech. Every single one of the listeners was carried away, captivated, captivated by the speaker's words.

- Listen, listen! Shut up! – began to shout from all sides.

When the excitement subsided, Barbicane spoke in an even more solemn tone:

“You know what progress ballistics has made in recent years, and to what a high degree of perfection firearms could reach if the war was still going on! You also know that the strength and durability of guns and the propelling power of powder gases can be infinitely increased. So, based on these principles, I asked myself the question: is it possible with a weapon of sufficient size, sufficient power and properly installed to launch a cannonball to the moon?

At these words, a unanimous "oh" escaped from a thousand throats. There was a moment of silence, like the deep silence that precedes a thunderclap. And indeed, thunder immediately broke out: a thunder of shouts and applause, such a din that it shook the entire huge assembly hall. Barbicane tried to continue his speech, but it was unthinkable. Only after ten minutes did he achieve that they began to listen to him.

“Let me finish,” Barbicane went on coolly. “I boldly approached this question, I discussed it from all sides and, on the basis of indisputable calculations, I can say that a projectile with a muzzle velocity of twelve thousand yards 7
Yard = 914, 402 mm.

In a second, with an accurate sight, it must inevitably fly to the moon. And so, worthy fellow members, I have the honor to invite you to make this little experiment.

(748x700)
... In 1865, even before the end of the four-year civil war in the United States, he gave the press "From the Earth to the Moon." The heroes of the novel, members of the Baltimore "Cannon Club", do not want to come to terms with the onset of the "dead season". But since hostilities have ceased, they have no choice but to find a new field for the use of artillery excitement. And then, at the suggestion of the chairman of the Barbican club, it was decided to build a giant Columbiad and target ... the Moon. The sole purpose of the shot is to demonstrate the advances in ballistics. This was not enough for the crazy Frenchman Ardan, and he initiates the first flight into space. Nothing is impossible for science. “Sooner or later, such a journey will be made,” the author declares through Ardan.

It is difficult to talk about a forecast "calculated" for a hundred years. We can talk about conjectures, or rather, about rare intuition. Without exaggeration, Jules Verne showed brilliant intuition in the lunar dilogy, choosing the Florida peninsula as the launch site for an aluminum cylindrical-conical projectile car with three passengers, forcing them to experience the effects of weightlessness, see the far side of the Moon, return in an elliptical orbit to Earth and fall into the Pacific Ocean , four hundred kilometers from the coast, where they are caught by an American corvette (1).

Let me remind you of the well-known facts. The Apollo spacecraft launched from the US Eastern Spaceport (Cape Canaveral, Florida, indicated on the geographical map attached to the first edition of "From the Earth to the Moon").

On December 21, 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft was sent to the Moon with astronauts Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders. They were the first people to see how the Earth, gradually decreasing, turned into one of the heavenly bodies. Three days after launch, at an altitude of about 130 km above the lunar surface, the spacecraft entered a lunar orbit. After completing eight orbits, the cosmonauts turned on the main engine and transferred the ship to the flight path to the Earth. On December 27, the cockpit entered the earth's atmosphere with the second cosmic velocity and, after aerodynamic braking, descended by parachute in a given area of ​​the Pacific Ocean.

All stages of the flight to the Moon, except for the landing of the crew, were also carried out by Apollo 9 (March 1969) and Apollo Nom 10 (May 1969). Finally, in July 1969, the Apollo 11 manned spacecraft landed on the moon for the first time. Soviet cosmonaut K.P. Feoktistov defined the historical significance of this flight as follows:

“I think that the natural desire for self-affirmation is characteristic not only of individuals, but also of collectives and humanity as a whole. Landing on the moon is an act of self-affirmation of all mankind... But, of course, the significance of the landing on the moon is not limited to the emotional aspect of this event alone. I would like to emphasize the technical and scientific significance of a successful landing on the moon” (“Izvestia”, 1969, July 22).

The successful completion of the Apollo program was marked by the flight of the eleventh, and last, manned Apollo 17 spacecraft (December 1972).
At the same time, the most complex tasks of studying the Moon and delivering lunar soil to the Earth are solved by Soviet automatic stations and self-propelled vehicles controlled from a great distance. Lunokhod-1 (November 1970 - January 1971) worked for eleven lunar days, passing 10.54 km on the lunar surface. "Lunokhod-2" (1973) traveled 37 km in four months of operation, transmitting to Earth 86 panoramic and more than 80,000 television images of the lunar surface (2).

In the second half of the 19th century, it was impossible to even dream of such methods of space research.

But back to Jules Verne's novel.

By a strange coincidence, American astronaut Frank Borman noted, Apollo 8, which is approximately the same size and weight as the Barbican projectile, circled the Moon also in the month of December and splashed down four kilometers from the point indicated by the novelist. (We note in brackets: the height of the Columbiad projectile is 3.65 m, weight is 5.547 kg. The height of the Apollo capsule is 3.60 m, weight is 5.621 kg).
Not only the number of participants in the flight, the place of start and finish, the trajectory, dimensions and weight of the aluminum cylindrical-conical projectile, but also atmospheric resistance, air regeneration and even a telescope with a five-meter diameter on the top of Longspeak in the Rocky Mountains, which is surprisingly similar in parameters and resolution to the one that is now installed at the Mount Palomar Observatory (California) - all this is provided for in a novel that is more than a hundred years ahead of real possibilities!

By the way, Longspeak in Missouri is a place not too far from Mount Palomar.

Another interesting coincidence. The heroes of the novel, bending around the moon, observe a volcanic eruption on the reverse side. Volcanic activity on the Moon was first recorded by the Soviet astronomer N. A. Kozyrev. The spectrum of the flash obtained by him in the crater of Alfons allowed us to conclude that it meant a gas eruption.

The lack of fuel, the energy of which could be regulated, forced Jules Verne to use the most powerful explosive mixture known in his time - pyroxylin. And at the same time, the “carriage-projectile” has a rocket launcher for shock absorption if a “moon landing” occurred: “Indeed, rockets, having a fulcrum at the bottom of the projectile and flying out, should have caused the projectile to move backward and thereby to to some extent to slow down the speed of its fall. True, these rockets would have to burn in an airless space, but they would have enough oxygen, because it is contained in the rockets themselves.

It never occurred to Jules Verne to make the rocket engine the soul of interplanetary flight. For the heroes of the novel, this is only an auxiliary tool that they did not have to use. The writer, of course, understood that his project was unrealistic. The fate of the passengers of the "projectile car" would be deplorable due to the monstrous starting overloads at the time of the shot. Such a fantastic assumption was needed for the development of the action. Jules Verne's Mistake soon became as classic as his novel.

Anatole France also remarked on this in The Book of My Friend (1885): “Simple-minded boys, believing Jules Verne’s word, imagine that you can really get to the moon in a cannonball ...”

(1) The coordinates of the fall of the projectile, indicated in the novel: 27 ° 7 "north latitude and 41 ° 37" western longitude along the Washington meridian.
(2) The given data are taken from the book: K. A. Kulikov, V. B. Gurevich. "The New Look of the Old Moon". M., "Nauka", 1974.

Excerpt from the article by Evg. Brandis "Jules Verne - writer and traveler" . Collection "World of Adventures". 1977. Moscow.