1 AOL

Five hundred kilometres¹ over Europe，Ship OM-45 moved north．In a room at the back of the ship，Kiah watched the numbers on the computer in front of him．

‘Time for dinner，’Rilla said．

The numbers changed quickly and Kiah's eyes didn't move．Rilla went across⁵ the room to his table．She began to watch the numbers，too．

‘What's wrong with the satellite？’she asked．She was⁸ a beautiful girl，about twenty years old，with long black hair and big eyes．

‘Nothing's wrong with the satellite，’Kiah answered quietly．‘It's the AOL．’He began to write the numbers in the book on his table．

Suddenly，the numbers stopped changing．Kiah looked at Rilla．‘Over Europe，’he said．‘It's happening．The AOL is breaking up．There are big holes in the AOL and they're getting bigger．’

‘You're right！Shall¹⁰ we see Captain¹¹ Seru now，before dinner？’

Kiah stood¹² up．He was nearly¹³ two metres² tall，with dark¹⁴ eyes and hair．‘Yes，come on，’he said．

Quickly，they went to Captain Seru's room．They waited at the door．

‘Come in！’captain Seru called．She was a little woman with a fat face．‘Come in！Would¹⁵ you like a drink？’

‘No，thank you，’Kiah answered．‘I'd like you to look at these numbers．’Kiah gave¹⁶ Captain Seru his book．

Captain Seru looked at the numbers．Suddenly，her face changed．‘No，no， ’she said．‘I don't want to talk．It's late and I'm tired．Sit down and have a drink．’

Kiah and Rilla sat⁷ down．There was a big window in Captain Seru's room．Kiah looked out of the window at the dark sky．He saw¹⁷ the Moon．It was cold and white in the dark sky．

‘Captain Seru，’he began．‘It's important．Look at those numbers carefully．The AOL is beginning²⁰ to—’

‘Stop！’captain Seru stood up and put her hands in her pockets．She went to the window and looked at the sky．

‘Three hundred years ago，Earth²² nearly died，’Rilla said．‘Earth stopped dying²³ because of the AOL．But now，over Europe，the AOL is breaking up．We would like you to talk to Earth Commander．’

Captain Seru did⁴ not move．‘Do you remember Adai？’she asked．She didn't wait for an answer．‘I was on his ship，two years ago．One evening，the satellite⁶ gave us interesting numbers about the AOL．We went back to Earth and saw Earth Commander．’captain Seru stopped speaking．

Rilla looked at Kiah．‘And then？’she asked Captain Seru．

‘Gog was angry，very angry，’captain Seru said．‘In the end，he sent Adai to the Moon． Adai's there now，Commander²⁴ of the Moon colony，under the Moon．’

Kiah waited for a second or two．‘I know about Adai． But we need to talk to Earth Commander again．These numbers are worse．’

Captain Seru's face went red．‘You don't understand．I'm not going²⁶ to talk to Gog．Last time，he sent me to a weather ship in the Antarctic！This is my first Ship for two years！’And Captain Seru began drinking．

Kiah stood up．‘Thank you，Captain Seru．’

Captain Seru said³ nothing．

Kiah and Rilla left the room，and walked slowly²⁸ downstairs．The Ship was dark and quiet．It was eight o'clock and every-body was at dinner．

‘What are we going to do next？’Rilla asked．

‘I need to talk to Adai，’Kiah said．

‘OK，talk to Adai．But he's far away on the Moon colony，’Rilla said．‘Let's visit Commander Zadak．’

‘Zadak？Commander of Australia？ He's famous！’

‘Yes．He's my father's friend．He worked with my father in Brazil³¹ ten years ago．Perhaps³² he can help us．’

Kiah smiled．‘Good！We return³³ to Earth next week．I can phone Adai from Kisangani and then we can go to Australia． But now，I'm hungry！Let's get some dinner．’

1 人工臭氧层

OM-45号宇宙飞船在欧洲上空500公里的高度向北飞行。飞船尾部的一个房间里，凯注视着面前计算机屏幕上的数字。

“该吃饭了。”瑞拉叫他。

那些数字飞快地变换着，凯眼都不眨一下。瑞拉穿过房间走到他的桌旁。她也开始观察那些数字。

“卫星怎么了？”她问。她是个美丽的女孩，大约二十岁，黑黑的长发，大大的眼睛。

“卫星没问题，”凯平静地回答，“是人工臭氧层。”他伏在桌上，开始往一个本子上记录那些数字。

突然，那些数字停止了变换。凯转向瑞拉。“在欧洲上空，”他说，“已经开始了。人工臭氧层正在破裂。那上面本来就有大洞了，现在那些洞还在增大。”

“说得对，咱们现在去见塞鲁船长吧，待会儿再吃饭好吗？”

凯站起身。他身高几乎有两米，眼睛和头发都是黑色的。“好，走吧。”他说。

他们迅速朝塞鲁船长的房间走去。他们等在船长的门外。

“进来！”塞鲁船长喊道。她是个胖脸的小个子女人。“进来！喝点什么吗？”

“不用，谢谢，”凯说，“我想请您看看这些数字。”凯把自己的笔记本递给塞鲁船长。

塞鲁船长看了看那些数字。突然，她的脸色变了。“不，不，”她说，“我不想谈。时候不早了，我也累了。坐下喝点什么吧。”

凯和瑞拉坐了下来。塞鲁船长的房间里有一扇大窗子。凯透过玻璃凝望黑色的天空。他看见了月亮。在黑色的天幕下月亮显得冰冷皎洁。

“塞鲁船长，”他开口了，“这事很重要。仔细看看那些数字。人工臭氧层已经开始……”

“别说了。”塞鲁船长站起身把双手插进衣兜。她走到窗前注视着天空。

“300年前，地球几乎毁灭，”瑞拉说，“因为有人工臭氧层地球才免于灾难。但是现在，在欧洲上空，人工臭氧层正在破裂。我们希望您能和地球司令高格谈一谈。”

塞鲁船长没有动。“你还记得阿岱吗？”她问。不等回答，她接着说：“两年前我在他的船上。一天晚上卫星发回了关于人工臭氧层的一些不寻常的数据。我们回到地球去见地球司令。”塞鲁船长停了下来。

瑞拉看了一眼凯。“然后呢？”她问船长。

“高格生气了，特别生气，”塞鲁船长说，“最后，他把阿岱分配到了月球。阿岱现在还在那儿，在月亮下面作月亮部族的司令。”

凯等了一两秒钟：“我知道阿岱的事。但是我们需要再和地球司令谈谈。这些数据比上次的还要糟。”

塞鲁船长的脸涨红了：“你不明白。我不会去跟高格说的。上次他把我发配到了南极的一艘气象飞船上。我第一次在飞船上呆了两年。”塞鲁船长喝了一口水。

凯站起身：“谢谢您，塞鲁船长。”

塞鲁船长没说话。

凯和瑞拉出了门，脚步迟缓地下楼去了。飞船里寂静漆黑。8点钟了，大家都在吃饭。

“下一步咱们怎们办？”瑞拉问。

“我得跟阿岱谈谈。”凯说。

“好，跟阿岱谈谈。可是他现在在遥远的月亮部族，”瑞拉说，“咱们还是去见扎达克司令吧。”

“扎达克？澳大利亚司令？他很有名气呢！”

“是的，他是我父亲的朋友。10年前他和我父亲一起在巴西工作。也许他能帮忙。”

凯笑了，“好，咱们下周回地球后。我可以在基桑加尼给阿岱打个电话，然后咱们就去澳大利亚。现在嘛，我可饿了。咱们吃饭去吧。”