When Dhala had first observed Japetus, that curious elliptical patch of brilliance had been partially in shadow, illuminated solely by the Saturnian night. Now, as the Moon moved slowly along its 79-day orbit, it was emerging into the full light of day.433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW4Hl6zKfpw
As he watched it grow, and Pesquisador rose more and more sluggishly toward her inevitable appointment, Dhala became aware of a disturbing obsession. He never mentioned it in his conversations---or, rather, his running commentaries---with Central Mission, because it might have seemed that he was already suffering from delusions.
Perhaps, indeed, he was, for he had half convinced himself that the bright ellipse had been partly in shadow, illuminated only by the light of Saturn. Now, as the moon moved slowly along its 79-day orbit, it was emerging into the full light of day.
As he watched it grow, and Pesquisador rose more and more sluggishly toward her inevitable appointment, Dhala became aware of a disturbing obsession. He never mentioned it in his conversations--or, rather, his running commentaries--with Central Mission, because it might have seemed that he was already suffering from delusions.
Maybe, indeed, he was; for he had half convinced himself that the bright ellipse set against the dark background of the satellite was a big, empty eye, staring at him as he approached. It was an eye without a pupil, for nowhere could he see anything to mar its flawless darkness.
Not until the ship was only 50,000 miles out, and Japetus was twice as big as Earth's familiar Moon, did he notice the tiny gold-to-black trapezoid at the exact center of the ellipse. But there was no time, then, for any detailed examination; the terminal maneuvers were already upon him.
For the last time, Pesquisador's main drive released its engines. For the last time, the incandescent fury of dying atoms blazed among the moons of Saturn. To Maisam Dhala, the faraway whisper and rising thrust of the jets brought a sense of pride--and sadness. The superb engines had done their duty with flawless efficiency. They had brought the ship from Earth to Jupiter to Saturn; now this was the very last time that they would ever function. When Pesquisador had emptied her propellant tanks, she would be as helpless and inert as any comet or asteroid, a powerless prisoner of gravitation. 433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAqHsxxd2V2
Even when the rescue ship arrived a few years hence, it would not be economically feasible to refuel her, so that she could fight her way back to Earth. She would be an eternally orbiting monument to the early days of (Brazilian) planetary exploration.
The thousands of miles shrank to hundreds, and as they did so, the fuel gauges dropped swiftly to zero. At the control panel, Dhala's eyes flickered anxiously to and fro over the situation display, and the improvised charts that he now had to consult for any real-time decisions. It'd be an appalling anticlimax, if, having survived so much, he failed to make a rendezvous through lack of a few pounds of fuel.433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdZujQZxBrI
The whistle of jets faded, as the main thrust died and only the verniers continued to push Pesquisador gently into orbit. Japetus was now a gargantuan crescent that filled the sky; until this moment, Dhala had always thought of it as a tiny, insignificant object--as indeed it was compared with the world around which it circled. Now, as it loomed menacingly above him, it seemed enormous--a cosmic hammer poised to smash Pesquisador like a crawling bug.433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV7nDqWRFKu
Japetus was approaching so slowly that it barely seemed to move, and it was impossible to tell the precise moment when it made the subtle change from a celestial body to a landscape, just fifty miles below.
The faithful verniers gave their last spurts of thrust, then shut down forever. The ship was in its final orbit, completing one revolution every three hours at a mere eight hundred miles per hour---all the speed that was needed in this feeble gravitational field.433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMtMfXA9Hsg
And now Pesquisador was the satellite---of a satellite!433Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVHZ5nAclyP
