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One of the key features of the Spring Boot framework is the built-in support for embedded servers. It includes support for embedded Tomcat, Jetty, and Undertow servers. This means you don’t need any external web servers and no need to deploy WAR files anymore. The embedded Tomcat server is available through the dependency. spring-boot-starter-web However, if you want Jetty or Undertow servers then you can include or dependencies. spring-boot-starter-jetty spring-boot-starter-undertow This article explains how to replace the default embedded Tomcat with Jetty or Undertow servers. https://youtu.be/1gEoiMVULt4?si=RVOx-P3o65KPN2-p&embedable=true Replace Tomcat With the Jetty in Spring Boot To use the embedded Jetty server instead of Tomcat, you need to exclude the from and include the dependency. Also, you will need to exclude the default added spring-boot-starter-tomcat dependency. spring-boot-starter-tomcat spring-boot-starter-web spring-boot-starter-jetty For Spring Boot Version 2.x.x For , make the following changes to your file. Gradle build.gradle dependencies {
    implementation('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web') {
        exclude group:'org.springframework.boot', module:'spring-boot-starter-tomcat'
    }
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-jetty'
} If you’re using build tools, you need to add this to your file. Maven pom.xml <dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    <exclusions>
        <exclusion>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-tomcat</artifactId>
        </exclusion>
    </exclusions>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-jetty</artifactId>
</dependency> For Spring Boot Version 3.x.x The above configuration works for Spring Boot version 2.x, but it will throw the following error if you’re using the latest Spring Boot version 3.x. java.lang.ClassNotFoundException: jakarta.servlet.http.HttpSessionContext 
with Spring Boot 3 and Jetty server This is because Jetty does not yet support Servlet 6.0. To use Jetty with Spring Boot 3.0, you will have to downgrade the Servlet API to 5.0. You can use the property to do so. jakarta-servlet.version Ref: Spring-Boot-3.0-Migration-Guide ext['jakarta-servlet.version'] = '5.0.0'
dependencies {
    implementation('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web')
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-jetty'
    modules {
        module("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-tomcat") {
            replacedBy("org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-jetty")
        }
    }
} If you’re using build tools, you need to add this to your file. Maven pom.xml <properties>
    <java.version>17</java.version>
    <jakarta-servlet.version>5.0.0</jakarta-servlet.version>
</properties>

<dependencies>
    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
        <exclusions>
            <exclusion>
                <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-tomcat</artifactId>
                <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            </exclusion>
        </exclusions>
    </dependency>

    <dependency>
        <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
        <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-jetty</artifactId>
    </dependency>
</dependencies> Replace Tomcat With Undertow in Spring Boot To use Undertow instead of Tomcat, first, you need to exclude the spring-boot-starter-tomcat from spring-boot-starter-web. Then you should add the undertow starter as shown here. For , make the following changes to your file. Gradle build.gradle dependencies {
    implementation('org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-web') {
        exclude group:'org.springframework.boot', module:'spring-boot-starter-tomcat'
    }
    implementation 'org.springframework.boot:spring-boot-starter-undertow'
} If you’re using build tools, you need to add this to your file. Maven pom.xml <dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-web</artifactId>
    <exclusions>
        <exclusion>
            <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
            <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-tomcat</artifactId>
        </exclusion>
    </exclusions>
</dependency>
<dependency>
    <groupId>org.springframework.boot</groupId>
    <artifactId>spring-boot-starter-undertow</artifactId>
</dependency> Also published here

Replacing Default Tomcat Server With Jetty or Undertow in Spring Boot 3: A Guide

Table of Contents Introduction Twelve factors: Codebase Dependencies Concept Config Backing Services Build, Release, Run Processes Port Binding Concurrency Disposability Dev/Prod Parity Logs Admin Processes References The 12factor.net website discusses the best technique to develop web apps or software as a service. So, I'm going over these 12 factors and using this list as the foundation, but I am going to cover items they don't mention. Myth : 12 Factor is a silver bullet for all cloud deployments. While 12 Factor provides excellent guidelines, it's not a one-size-fits-all solution. Consider adapting its principles to your specific project needs and infrastructure constraints. Reality: Introduction A group of people within Heroku developed the 12 Factors manifesto describing the rules and guidelines that needed to be followed to build a cloud-native application in 2011. Currently Azure, AWS, GCP, and Oracle are the leaders in the cloud, not Heroku. However, most of it is still relevant today. How do you create a cloud-based app so that it is robust, scalable, efficient, and cost-effective? First of all, let's understand what are an app and a cloud: App: In any environment, a single instance can be run or deployed. Cloud: The cloud is a distributed collection of servers, where users can manipulate, configure, and access the application or software over the internet. Enter, the Twelve Factors: Objective guidelines and regulations A visual checklist and guidelines for evaluating designs during design sessions. The 12 Factor App's main concepts are briefly explained in the section below. Codebase 1. One codebase tracked in revision control, many deploys There must be a relationship between the repository and the application. Whereas , and many big company uses mono repo i.e., relationship. 1-1 Google, Meta, Twitter, Microsoft 1-many cloud-native apps must always consist of a single codebase that is tracked in a version control system like GitHub, GitLab or Bitbucket. The main goal of a single codebase is to produce any number of immutable releases(build artifacts that remain unchanged). If you found a bug then go to the previous version fix it and then build the code again. These can be deployed to various environments, such as testing, staging, and live production servers. It helps you to do easily CI/CD process for your applications. 2. Dependencies Explicitly declare and isolate dependencies Every Application needs dependencies to be built and deployed, such as external libraries(also known as ) from third parties that are not native code to the respective language. ex: Java given as a JAR, Apache Logging library as a log4j.jar, node.js. packages, .NET DLLs, etc or internal libraries (also known as ) are the ones that the particular platform provides. linked libraries embedded libraries War ( ) vs Jar( ) web application archive java archive a file called a "war" that is packaged and deployed to any servelet or Jsp container address. It includes web-related Jsp, HTML, Js, servlets, and other files required for the development of the web application. It is for a browser-based web application. Jar contains java related libraries, resources, & accessories files like property files. it is for desktop applications and works on machines. Concept declaring dependency & bundling (also called ) vendoring Specify the dependencies your program requires. dependency manifestation: npm ( ) for JS - package.json file( ), node package manager javascript object notation maven for java - dependencies in an XML file, known as Project Object Model ( ), POM gradle for java- build.gradle file, NUGET for .net bundler for ruby, godeps for go, sbt for scala, pip for python 2. dependency isolation App only uses the dependencies it explicitly mentions. You cannot presume that certain dependencies are using it without your knowledge because there are no implicit dependencies that leak in. Main Goal It is simple to deploy, i.e. no pre-setup is required via container, with consistent builds across environments that can be repeated and easy for debugging and troubleshooting. 3. Config store config in the environment Configuration varies depending on the deployment type (such as ) and the time of application run. “config” here doesn’t mean the app’s internal information. If the value remains the same across all deployments then it is part of immutable builds. production, QA, or staging Some examples of configuration are: URLs, hostname, port number, credentials secret keys, API tokens service config( ) Memcached, threat pool For the non-containerized environment: configuration management tools like Ansible, Chef, Puppet, etc to install system-level dependencies. For the containerized environment: docker-compose.yml file, a Kubernetes manifest file, etc Configuration manifest Environment variables, zookeeper, spring cloud config, etc 4. Backing Services Treat backing services as attached resources what is a backing service? Any service on which the functioning of your application depends is a backing service. Services such as databases, caches, messaging systems, Simple Mail Transfer Protocol ( ) services, etc SMTP loosely couples the application - your source code does not couple with other services so, it never relies on any backing services and allows for scaling/flexibility. Locally maintained or provided by some third parties, these services have both options then it is possible to attach and detach backing services without redeploying the application. 5. Build, Release, Run Strictly separate build & run stages Build stage Input: source code Output: executable Bundle Release stage Input: build & configuration (immutable build) Output: release in an executable environment Run stage Input: release Output: a running process Use CI/CD tools to automate the builds and deployment process There is a 1:many relationship between builds & deployments. The entire process is ephemeral, which is the key to Build, Release, and Run. All artifacts and environments can be completely rebuilt from scratch if something in the pipeline is destroyed, utilising resources kept in the source code repository. Main goal a one-directional flow from code to release Note: Never work on production or staging. let it be a one-directional flow. 6. Processes Executes the app as one or more stateless processes Stateless vs. stateful processes Stateless: Without storing any data, a stateless system sends a request to the server and receives the response ( ) back. or the state Stateful: monitor data, anticipate a response, and, in the absence of one, resend the request. Note: all long-lasting states must be external to the application, provided by backing services. Avoid using web servers ( ) sticky sessions Pre-caching in memory, the data must be saved to a store and used from there rather than being kept in memory 7. Port Binding Export services via port binding The twelve-factor app is entirely independent and does not depend on the runtime injection of a webserver into the execution environment to create a web-facing service. An app created to enable externalised, runtime port binding may serve as a backing service for another app. The flexibility is powerful. Using port forwarding, any problems resulting from a conflict/clash between a port number assigned privately to the network and one used publicly by another operation can be avoided. Containers like Tomcat, JBoss, Liberty, jetty, undertow and Web Sphere are common in the Java world. Other web applications might run inside other containers, like Microsoft Internet Information Server . (IIS) In a non-cloud environment, These containers receive web application deployments and are responsible for allocating ports to the applications when they launch. 8. Concurrency Scale out via the process model Processes should be separated after being organised according to their purposes so that they can be scaled up and down as required. The utilisation of resources might fluctuate. Old model: Vertical scaling is the process of adding additional and other resources ( ) to a single monolithic application. CPUs, RAM, physical or virtual New model: Scaling out, or horizontally, is the process of adding more nodes( ) and is a much more contemporary strategy that is suitable for the type of elastic scalability that the cloud allows. workers Building disposable, stateless, share-nothing processes then use horizontal scaling not vertical, and run multiple, concurrent instances of your application. 9. Disposability Maximize robustness with fast startup and graceful shutdown The processes of a cloud-native application are disposable, allowing for quick startup and shutdown. If an application cannot start quickly and shut down gracefully, it cannot scale, deploy, release, or recover quickly. High traffic scale out - When the load is high, new instances are created, and the time consumed by these instances affects user performance. Watch for lengthy startup efforts, and initialization work and externalize them to . backing services Fast shutdown is acceptable, but graceful shutdown is preferred and make sure that the entire state is unharmed and robust against sudden failure. 10. Dev/Prod Parity Keep development, staging & production as similar as possible Reduce, minimize, and eliminate differences between an app’s development, staging, production environment, and so on as identical as possible. Although there are countless chances to create a gap between environments, the most common gap areas are: - Time gap Developers take a long time to move across environments. There must be processes, automated pipelines, possibly one-click production deployment, and takes hours rather than months or days to deploy. Ci/CD - Personnel gap The developers team write the code, operation team deploy it. Don't have manual procedures and there must be automated deployments, predictable deployments that can be and deployment to production. repeated, one-click - Tools gap The tech tools/stack/libraries used should be as similar as possible across environments. To support this principle: the use of containers – a very powerful tool here, as they enable you to run the same execution environment from local development through production. and most of the tools are and ideally all cloud environments (except development) then reduce it works in this environment issues, can easily catch issues and can fix/patch issues. Docker containerization open-source 11. Logs Treat logs as event streams Logging is essential for monitoring how your application behaves and here, it treats log entries as routed to a separate service for analysis and archival. Every developer needs to read logs (to access it) ex: log4J config, etc. event streams The App should not worry about how logs are written; instead, just write to and . The application is unable to predict factors like disc position, log size, rollover time, and others. stderr stdout Logs need to be non-functional requirements i.e., , , , . log aggregation log storage log processing log access To track and analyse your log emissions, you can use tools like the ELK stack (ElasticSearch, Logstash, and Kibana), Splunk, Sumologic, or other 3rd party applications. Logs become a separate service that helps in elastic scalability. 12. Admin Processes Run admin tasks as one-off processes This rule states that management or administrative tasks should be carried out by applications in an environment that is the same as that of the app's normal and ongoing operations. It also recommends running such scripts on the production server using a tool included in the execution environment. Some examples of tasks that might require reevaluation include database migrations, interactive programming consoles (REPLs), running timed scripts like nightly batch jobs, and one-off jobs executing custom code. Moreover, it's crucial to align administrative processes with the cloud provider's features and avoid relying on traditional methods in cloud-native environments. Instead Use cloud-enabled processes like to run instead of traditional administrative processes. cloud functions/lambdas All should be implemented as separate cloud-native processes. data migrations Don't use as an admin. REPL Conclusion In , building applications demands agility, scalability, and resilience. The 12 Factor App guides developers towards creating applications that seamlessly produce in cloud environments. If you are just starting your cloud journey, the 12-Factor App methodology is worth exploring. Its principles offer a solid foundation for building modern, cloud-native applications that can adapt and flourish in the face of continuous change. cloud computing References: https://www.redhat.com/architect/12-factor-app https://12factor.net/ https://www.oreilly.com/library/view/beyond-the-twelve-factor/9781492042631/ Send me a direct message on If you're curious or have any questions on the subject; I'd be pleased to chat with you! X , Also published here.

The 12 Factor App: Principles Every Cloud Developer Should Know

Interceptors in Spring are used to intercept client requests or responses before they are handled by the controller or before the response is sent back to the client. Interceptors are part of the Spring Web MVC framework and provide a way to add pre/post- processing logic to your application's request-response lifecycle. Realtime Use Cases of Interceptors Some of the the common use cases for interceptors include tasks, such as: Interceptors can be used to log HTTP requests and responses. This can be useful for debugging or tracking the performance of an application. Logging: Interceptors can be used to enforce security policies. For example, an interceptor could be used to check that a user is authenticated before allowing them to access a resource. Security: Interceptors can be used to cache HTTP requests and responses. This can improve the performance of an application by reducing the number of times that requests need to be made to the underlying resources. Caching: Interceptors can be used to transform HTTP requests and responses. For example, an interceptor could be used to convert requests to XML responses. Transformation: JSON Spring Request Life-Cycle In a typical application flow, when the client sends an HTTP request to a specific endpoint(URL), the request is first received by the web server (e.g., Apache Tomcat or Jetty) and then forwarded to the Spring Boot application. Spring Boot The Dispatcher Servlet is the entry point for incoming requests in the Spring Boot application. Once the DispatcherServlet receives the request, it consults the HandlerMapping. The HandlerMapping is responsible for determining which controller should process the incoming request based on the URL mapping defined within your controller. Creating Interceptor in Spring Boot To create an interceptor in Spring Boot, you typically create a class that implements the interface. HandlerInterceptor The interface has three methods: HandlerInterceptor : The preHandle() method is the most important method in the HandlerInterceptor. This method is executed before the actual controller method is called. It returns a boolean value indicating whether the request should continue to the controller or be stopped. preHandle() : This method is executed after the controller method is called but before the response is sent to the client. It allows you to modify the model and view before rendering the response. You can use this method to perform any tasks that you need to do after the request has been handled. For example, you could use the method to add additional information to the response, or to log the response. postHandle() postHandle() : This method is executed after the response has been sent to the client. This method is called even if an exception was thrown during the processing of the request. It's useful for cleanup or resource release tasks. afterCompletion() Interceptor to Check Basic Authentication Let us now create an interceptor to perform the basic authentication check. This interceptor will be invoked only for a specific endpoint. It will do the basic authentication check before allowing access to the controller. /products/new For this example, we will hardcode a username and password to verify the credentials passed by the user. import lombok.extern.slf4j.Slf4j;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.HandlerInterceptor;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.ModelAndView;

import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletRequest;
import javax.servlet.http.HttpServletResponse;
import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
import java.util.Base64;

@Slf4j
public class BasicAuthInterceptor implements HandlerInterceptor {
    private static final String USERNAME = "admin";
    private static final String PASSWORD = "admin";

    @Override
    public boolean preHandle(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Object handler) throws Exception {
        log.info("BasicAuthInterceptor::preHandle()");

        String authHeader = request.getHeader("Authorization");
        if (authHeader != null && authHeader.startsWith("Basic ")) {

            String base64Credentials = authHeader.substring("Basic ".length());
            byte[] decodedCredentials = Base64.getDecoder().decode(base64Credentials);
            String credentials = new String(decodedCredentials, StandardCharsets.UTF_8);

            String[] parts = credentials.split(":");
            String username = parts[0];
            String password = parts[1];

            if (USERNAME.equals(username) && PASSWORD.equals(password)) {
                return true;
            }
        }

        response.sendError(HttpServletResponse.SC_UNAUTHORIZED, "Unauthorized");
        return false;
    }

    @Override
    public void postHandle(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Object handler, ModelAndView modelAndView) throws Exception {
        log.info("BasicAuthInterceptor::postHandle()");
    }

    @Override
    public void afterCompletion(HttpServletRequest request, HttpServletResponse response, Object handler, Exception ex) throws Exception {
        log.info("BasicAuthInterceptor::afterCompletion()");
    }
} Enter fullscreen mode Exit fullscreen mode Registering Interceptor in Spring Boot Once you have created your custom interceptor, you need to register it with the Spring Boot application using configuration: WebMvcConfigurer import org.springframework.context.annotation.Configuration;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.InterceptorRegistry;
import org.springframework.web.servlet.config.annotation.WebMvcConfigurer;

@Configuration
public class WebConfig implements WebMvcConfigurer {

    @Override
    public void addInterceptors(InterceptorRegistry registry) {
        registry.addInterceptor(new BasicAuthInterceptor())
                .addPathPatterns("/products/new");
    }
} Learn more about using interceptors with this video: https://youtu.be/DuMf8Nwb-9w?embedable=true This tutorial is first published on . stacktips.com The lead image for this article was generated by HackerNoon's AI Image Generator via the prompt "a screen displaying a website’s backend”. If you like this article, follow me on Twitter or check out my Youtube channel for more such content. @ask_nilan @TheTechMojo Happy learning!

How to Intercept HTTP Request Response in Spring Boot

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . IN WHICH FIX, THE DETECTIVE, BETRAYS A VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE here CHAPTER VI. IN WHICH FIX, THE DETECTIVE, BETRAYS A VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE The circumstances under which this telegraphic dispatch about Phileas Fogg was sent were as follows: The steamer “Mongolia,” belonging to the Peninsular and Oriental Company, built of iron, of two thousand eight hundred tons burden, and five hundred horse-power, was due at eleven o’clock a.m. on Wednesday, the 9th of October, at Suez. The “Mongolia” plied regularly between Brindisi and Bombay the Suez Canal, and was one of the fastest steamers belonging to the company, always making more than ten knots an hour between Brindisi and Suez, and nine and a half between Suez and Bombay. viâ Two men were promenading up and down the wharves, among the crowd of natives and strangers who were sojourning at this once straggling village—now, thanks to the enterprise of M. Lesseps, a fast-growing town. One was the British consul at Suez, who, despite the prophecies of the English Government, and the unfavourable predictions of Stephenson, was in the habit of seeing, from his office window, English ships daily passing to and fro on the great canal, by which the old roundabout route from England to India by the Cape of Good Hope was abridged by at least a half. The other was a small, slight-built personage, with a nervous, intelligent face, and bright eyes peering out from under eyebrows which he was incessantly twitching. He was just now manifesting unmistakable signs of impatience, nervously pacing up and down, and unable to stand still for a moment. This was Fix, one of the detectives who had been dispatched from England in search of the bank robber; it was his task to narrowly watch every passenger who arrived at Suez, and to follow up all who seemed to be suspicious characters, or bore a resemblance to the description of the criminal, which he had received two days before from the police headquarters at London. The detective was evidently inspired by the hope of obtaining the splendid reward which would be the prize of success, and awaited with a feverish impatience, easy to understand, the arrival of the steamer “Mongolia.” “So you say, consul,” asked he for the twentieth time, “that this steamer is never behind time?” “No, Mr. Fix,” replied the consul. “She was bespoken yesterday at Port Said, and the rest of the way is of no account to such a craft. I repeat that the ‘Mongolia’ has been in advance of the time required by the company’s regulations, and gained the prize awarded for excess of speed.” “Does she come directly from Brindisi?” “Directly from Brindisi; she takes on the Indian mails there, and she left there Saturday at five p.m. Have patience, Mr. Fix; she will not be late. But really, I don’t see how, from the description you have, you will be able to recognise your man, even if he is on board the ‘Mongolia.’” “A man rather feels the presence of these fellows, consul, than recognises them. You must have a scent for them, and a scent is like a sixth sense which combines hearing, seeing, and smelling. I’ve arrested more than one of these gentlemen in my time, and, if my thief is on board, I’ll answer for it; he’ll not slip through my fingers.” “I hope so, Mr. Fix, for it was a heavy robbery.” “A magnificent robbery, consul; fifty-five thousand pounds! We don’t often have such windfalls. Burglars are getting to be so contemptible nowadays! A fellow gets hung for a handful of shillings!” “Mr. Fix,” said the consul, “I like your way of talking, and hope you’ll succeed; but I fear you will find it far from easy. Don’t you see, the description which you have there has a singular resemblance to an honest man?” “Consul,” remarked the detective, dogmatically, “great robbers always resemble honest folks. Fellows who have rascally faces have only one course to take, and that is to remain honest; otherwise they would be arrested off-hand. The artistic thing is, to unmask honest countenances; it’s no light task, I admit, but a real art.” Mr. Fix evidently was not wanting in a tinge of self-conceit. Little by little the scene on the quay became more animated; sailors of various nations, merchants, ship-brokers, porters, fellahs, bustled to and fro as if the steamer were immediately expected. The weather was clear, and slightly chilly. The minarets of the town loomed above the houses in the pale rays of the sun. A jetty pier, some two thousand yards along, extended into the roadstead. A number of fishing-smacks and coasting boats, some retaining the fantastic fashion of ancient galleys, were discernible on the Red Sea. As he passed among the busy crowd, Fix, according to habit, scrutinised the passers-by with a keen, rapid glance. It was now half-past ten. “The steamer doesn’t come!” he exclaimed, as the port clock struck. “She can’t be far off now,” returned his companion. “How long will she stop at Suez?” “Four hours; long enough to get in her coal. It is thirteen hundred and ten miles from Suez to Aden, at the other end of the Red Sea, and she has to take in a fresh coal supply.” “And does she go from Suez directly to Bombay?” “Without putting in anywhere.” “Good!” said Fix. “If the robber is on board he will no doubt get off at Suez, so as to reach the Dutch or French colonies in Asia by some other route. He ought to know that he would not be safe an hour in India, which is English soil.” “Unless,” objected the consul, “he is exceptionally shrewd. An English criminal, you know, is always better concealed in London than anywhere else.” This observation furnished the detective food for thought, and meanwhile the consul went away to his office. Fix, left alone, was more impatient than ever, having a presentiment that the robber was on board the “Mongolia.” If he had indeed left London intending to reach the New World, he would naturally take the route India, which was less watched and more difficult to watch than that of the Atlantic. But Fix’s reflections were soon interrupted by a succession of sharp whistles, which announced the arrival of the “Mongolia.” The porters and fellahs rushed down the quay, and a dozen boats pushed off from the shore to go and meet the steamer. Soon her gigantic hull appeared passing along between the banks, and eleven o’clock struck as she anchored in the road. She brought an unusual number of passengers, some of whom remained on deck to scan the picturesque panorama of the town, while the greater part disembarked in the boats, and landed on the quay. viâ Fix took up a position, and carefully examined each face and figure which made its appearance. Presently one of the passengers, after vigorously pushing his way through the importunate crowd of porters, came up to him and politely asked if he could point out the English consulate, at the same time showing a passport which he wished to have . Fix instinctively took the passport, and with a rapid glance read the description of its bearer. An involuntary motion of surprise nearly escaped him, for the description in the passport was identical with that of the bank robber which he had received from Scotland Yard. visaed “Is this your passport?” asked he. “No, it’s my master’s.” “And your master is—” “He stayed on board.” “But he must go to the consul’s in person, so as to establish his identity.” “Oh, is that necessary?” “Quite indispensable.” “And where is the consulate?” “There, on the corner of the square,” said Fix, pointing to a house two hundred steps off. “I’ll go and fetch my master, who won’t be much pleased, however, to be disturbed.” The passenger bowed to Fix, and returned to the steamer. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Around the World in Eighty Days. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/103/103-h/103-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

IN WHICH FIX, THE DETECTIVE, BETRAYS A VERY NATURAL IMPATIENCE

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO here CHAPTER VI: THE GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO The next day, the 12th of February, at the dawn of day, the rose to the surface. I hastened on to the platform. Three miles to the south the dim outline of Pelusium was to be seen. A torrent had carried us from one sea to another. About seven o’clock Ned and Conseil joined me. Nautilus “Well, Sir Naturalist,” said the Canadian, in a slightly jovial tone, “and the Mediterranean?” “We are floating on its surface, friend Ned.” “What!” said Conseil, “this very night.” “Yes, this very night; in a few minutes we have passed this impassable isthmus.” “I do not believe it,” replied the Canadian. “Then you are wrong, Master Land,” I continued; “this low coast which rounds off to the south is the Egyptian coast. And you who have such good eyes, Ned, you can see the jetty of Port Said stretching into the sea.” The Canadian looked attentively. “Certainly you are right, sir, and your Captain is a first-rate man. We are in the Mediterranean. Good! Now, if you please, let us talk of our own little affair, but so that no one hears us.” I saw what the Canadian wanted, and, in any case, I thought it better to let him talk, as he wished it; so we all three went and sat down near the lantern, where we were less exposed to the spray of the blades. “Now, Ned, we listen; what have you to tell us?” “What I have to tell you is very simple. We are in Europe; and before Captain Nemo’s caprices drag us once more to the bottom of the Polar Seas, or lead us into Oceania, I ask to leave the .” Nautilus I wished in no way to shackle the liberty of my companions, but I certainly felt no desire to leave Captain Nemo. Thanks to him, and thanks to his apparatus, I was each day nearer the completion of my submarine studies; and I was rewriting my book of submarine depths in its very element. Should I ever again have such an opportunity of observing the wonders of the ocean? No, certainly not! And I could not bring myself to the idea of abandoning the before the cycle of investigation was accomplished. Nautilus “Friend Ned, answer me frankly, are you tired of being on board? Are you sorry that destiny has thrown us into Captain Nemo’s hands?” The Canadian remained some moments without answering. Then, crossing his arms, he said: “Frankly, I do not regret this journey under the seas. I shall be glad to have made it; but, now that it is made, let us have done with it. That is my idea.” “It will come to an end, Ned.” “Where and when?” “Where I do not know—when I cannot say; or, rather, I suppose it will end when these seas have nothing more to teach us.” “Then what do you hope for?” demanded the Canadian. “That circumstances may occur as well six months hence as now by which we may and ought to profit.” “Oh!” said Ned Land, “and where shall we be in six months, if you please, Sir Naturalist?” “Perhaps in China; you know the is a rapid traveller. It goes through water as swallows through the air, or as an express on the land. It does not fear frequented seas; who can say that it may not beat the coasts of France, England, or America, on which flight may be attempted as advantageously as here.” Nautilus “M. Aronnax,” replied the Canadian, “your arguments are rotten at the foundation. You speak in the future, ‘We shall be there! we shall be here!’ I speak in the present, ‘We are here, and we must profit by it.’” Ned Land’s logic pressed me hard, and I felt myself beaten on that ground. I knew not what argument would now tell in my favour. “Sir,” continued Ned, “let us suppose an impossibility: if Captain Nemo should this day offer you your liberty; would you accept it?” “I do not know,” I answered. “And if,” he added, “the offer made you this day was never to be renewed, would you accept it?” “Friend Ned, this is my answer. Your reasoning is against me. We must not rely on Captain Nemo’s good-will. Common prudence forbids him to set us at liberty. On the other side, prudence bids us profit by the first opportunity to leave the .” Nautilus “Well, M. Aronnax, that is wisely said.” “Only one observation—just one. The occasion must be serious, and our first attempt must succeed; if it fails, we shall never find another, and Captain Nemo will never forgive us.” “All that is true,” replied the Canadian. “But your observation applies equally to all attempts at flight, whether in two years’ time, or in two days’. But the question is still this: If a favourable opportunity presents itself, it must be seized.” “Agreed! And now, Ned, will you tell me what you mean by a favourable opportunity?” “It will be that which, on a dark night, will bring the a short distance from some European coast.” Nautilus “And you will try and save yourself by swimming?” “Yes, if we were near enough to the bank, and if the vessel was floating at the time. Not if the bank was far away, and the boat was under the water.” “And in that case?” “In that case, I should seek to make myself master of the pinnace. I know how it is worked. We must get inside, and the bolts once drawn, we shall come to the surface of the water, without even the pilot, who is in the bows, perceiving our flight.” “Well, Ned, watch for the opportunity; but do not forget that a hitch will ruin us.” “I will not forget, sir.” “And now, Ned, would you like to know what I think of your project?” “Certainly, M. Aronnax.” “Well, I think—I do not say I hope—I think that this favourable opportunity will never present itself.” “Why not?” “Because Captain Nemo cannot hide from himself that we have not given up all hope of regaining our liberty, and he will be on his guard, above all, in the seas and in the sight of European coasts.” “We shall see,” replied Ned Land, shaking his head determinedly. “And now, Ned Land,” I added, “let us stop here. Not another word on the subject. The day that you are ready, come and let us know, and we will follow you. I rely entirely upon you.” Thus ended a conversation which, at no very distant time, led to such grave results. I must say here that facts seemed to confirm my foresight, to the Canadian’s great despair. Did Captain Nemo distrust us in these frequented seas? or did he only wish to hide himself from the numerous vessels, of all nations, which ploughed the Mediterranean? I could not tell; but we were oftener between waters and far from the coast. Or, if the did emerge, nothing was to be seen but the pilot’s cage; and sometimes it went to great depths, for, between the Grecian Archipelago and Asia Minor we could not touch the bottom by more than a thousand fathoms. Nautilus Thus I only knew we were near the Island of Carpathos, one of the Sporades, by Captain Nemo reciting these lines from Virgil: “Est Carpathio Neptuni gurgite vates, Caeruleus Proteus,” as he pointed to a spot on the planisphere. It was indeed the ancient abode of Proteus, the old shepherd of Neptune’s flocks, now the Island of Scarpanto, situated between Rhodes and Crete. I saw nothing but the granite base through the glass panels of the saloon. The next day, the 14th of February, I resolved to employ some hours in studying the fishes of the Archipelago; but for some reason or other the panels remained hermetically sealed. Upon taking the course of the , I found that we were going towards Candia, the ancient Isle of Crete. At the time I embarked on the , the whole of this island had risen in insurrection against the despotism of the Turks. But how the insurgents had fared since that time I was absolutely ignorant, and it was not Captain Nemo, deprived of all land communications, who could tell me. Nautilus Abraham Lincoln I made no allusion to this event when that night I found myself alone with him in the saloon. Besides, he seemed to be taciturn and preoccupied. Then, contrary to his custom, he ordered both panels to be opened, and, going from one to the other, observed the mass of waters attentively. To what end I could not guess; so, on my side, I employed my time in studying the fish passing before my eyes. In the midst of the waters a man appeared, a diver, carrying at his belt a leathern purse. It was not a body abandoned to the waves; it was a living man, swimming with a strong hand, disappearing occasionally to take breath at the surface. I turned towards Captain Nemo, and in an agitated voice exclaimed: “A man shipwrecked! He must be saved at any price!” The Captain did not answer me, but came and leaned against the panel. The man had approached, and, with his face flattened against the glass, was looking at us. To my great amazement, Captain Nemo signed to him. The diver answered with his hand, mounted immediately to the surface of the water, and did not appear again. “Do not be uncomfortable,” said Captain Nemo. “It is Nicholas of Cape Matapan, surnamed Pesca. He is well known in all the Cyclades. A bold diver! water is his element, and he lives more in it than on land, going continually from one island to another, even as far as Crete.” “You know him, Captain?” “Why not, M. Aronnax?” Saying which, Captain Nemo went towards a piece of furniture standing near the left panel of the saloon. Near this piece of furniture, I saw a chest bound with iron, on the cover of which was a copper plate, bearing the cypher of the with its device. Nautilus At that moment, the Captain, without noticing my presence, opened the piece of furniture, a sort of strong box, which held a great many ingots. They were ingots of gold. From whence came this precious metal, which represented an enormous sum? Where did the Captain gather this gold from? and what was he going to do with it? I did not say one word. I looked. Captain Nemo took the ingots one by one, and arranged them methodically in the chest, which he filled entirely. I estimated the contents at more than 4,000 lbs. weight of gold, that is to say, nearly £200,000. The chest was securely fastened, and the Captain wrote an address on the lid, in characters which must have belonged to Modern Greece. This done, Captain Nemo pressed a knob, the wire of which communicated with the quarters of the crew. Four men appeared, and, not without some trouble, pushed the chest out of the saloon. Then I heard them hoisting it up the iron staircase by means of pulleys. At that moment, Captain Nemo turned to me. “And you were saying, sir?” said he. “I was saying nothing, Captain.” “Then, sir, if you will allow me, I will wish you good night.” Whereupon he turned and left the saloon. I returned to my room much troubled, as one may believe. I vainly tried to sleep—I sought the connecting link between the apparition of the diver and the chest filled with gold. Soon, I felt by certain movements of pitching and tossing that the was leaving the depths and returning to the surface. Nautilus Then I heard steps upon the platform; and I knew they were unfastening the pinnace and launching it upon the waves. For one instant it struck the side of the , then all noise ceased. Nautilus Two hours after, the same noise, the same going and coming was renewed; the boat was hoisted on board, replaced in its socket, and the again plunged under the waves. Nautilus So these millions had been transported to their address. To what point of the continent? Who was Captain Nemo’s correspondent? The next day I related to Conseil and the Canadian the events of the night, which had excited my curiosity to the highest degree. My companions were not less surprised than myself. “But where does he take his millions to?” asked Ned Land. To that there was no possible answer. I returned to the saloon after having breakfast and set to work. Till five o’clock in the evening I employed myself in arranging my notes. At that moment—(ought I to attribute it to some peculiar idiosyncrasy)—I felt so great a heat that I was obliged to take off my coat. It was strange, for we were under low latitudes; and even then the , submerged as it was, ought to experience no change of temperature. I looked at the manometer; it showed a depth of sixty feet, to which atmospheric heat could never attain. Nautilus I continued my work, but the temperature rose to such a pitch as to be intolerable. “Could there be fire on board?” I asked myself. I was leaving the saloon, when Captain Nemo entered; he approached the thermometer, consulted it, and, turning to me, said: “Forty-two degrees.” “I have noticed it, Captain,” I replied; “and if it gets much hotter we cannot bear it.” “Oh, sir, it will not get better if we do not wish it.” “You can reduce it as you please, then?” “No; but I can go farther from the stove which produces it.” “It is outward, then!” “Certainly; we are floating in a current of boiling water.” “Is it possible!” I exclaimed. “Look.” The panels opened, and I saw the sea entirely white all round. A sulphurous smoke was curling amid the waves, which boiled like water in a copper. I placed my hand on one of the panes of glass, but the heat was so great that I quickly took it off again. “Where are we?” I asked. “Near the Island of Santorin, sir,” replied the Captain. “I wished to give you a sight of the curious spectacle of a submarine eruption.” “I thought,” said I, “that the formation of these new islands was ended.” “Nothing is ever ended in the volcanic parts of the sea,” replied Captain Nemo; “and the globe is always being worked by subterranean fires. Already, in the nineteenth year of our era, according to Cassiodorus and Pliny, a new island, Theia (the divine), appeared in the very place where these islets have recently been formed. Then they sank under the waves, to rise again in the year 69, when they again subsided. Since that time to our days the Plutonian work has been suspended. But on the 3rd of February, 1866, a new island, which they named George Island, emerged from the midst of the sulphurous vapour near Nea Kamenni, and settled again the 6th of the same month. Seven days after, the 13th of February, the Island of Aphroessa appeared, leaving between Nea Kamenni and itself a canal ten yards broad. I was in these seas when the phenomenon occurred, and I was able therefore to observe all the different phases. The Island of Aphroessa, of round form, measured 300 feet in diameter, and 30 feet in height. It was composed of black and vitreous lava, mixed with fragments of felspar. And lastly, on the 10th of March, a smaller island, called Reka, showed itself near Nea Kamenni, and since then these three have joined together, forming but one and the same island.” “And the canal in which we are at this moment?” I asked. “Here it is,” replied Captain Nemo, showing me a map of the Archipelago. “You see, I have marked the new islands.” I returned to the glass. The was no longer moving, the heat was becoming unbearable. The sea, which till now had been white, was red, owing to the presence of salts of iron. In spite of the ship’s being hermetically sealed, an insupportable smell of sulphur filled the saloon, and the brilliancy of the electricity was entirely extinguished by bright scarlet flames. I was in a bath, I was choking, I was broiled. Nautilus “We can remain no longer in this boiling water,” said I to the Captain. “It would not be prudent,” replied the impassive Captain Nemo. An order was given; the tacked about and left the furnace it could not brave with impunity. A quarter of an hour after we were breathing fresh air on the surface. The thought then struck me that, if Ned Land had chosen this part of the sea for our flight, we should never have come alive out of this sea of fire. Nautilus The next day, the 16th of February, we left the basin which, between Rhodes and Alexandria, is reckoned about 1,500 fathoms in depth, and the , passing some distance from Cerigo, quitted the Grecian Archipelago after having doubled Cape Matapan. Nautilus About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE GRECIAN ARCHIPELAGO

Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book . THE RED SEA here CHAPTER IV: THE RED SEA In the course of the day of the 29th of January, the island of Ceylon disappeared under the horizon, and the , at a speed of twenty miles an hour, slid into the labyrinth of canals which separate the Maldives from the Laccadives. It coasted even the Island of Kiltan, a land originally coraline, discovered by Vasco da Gama in 1499, and one of the nineteen principal islands of the Laccadive Archipelago, situated between 10° and 14° 30′ N. lat., and 69° 50′ 72″ E. long. Nautilus We had made 16,220 miles, or 7,500 (French) leagues from our starting-point in the Japanese Seas. The next day (30th January), when the went to the surface of the ocean there was no land in sight. Its course was N.N.E., in the direction of the Sea of Oman, between Arabia and the Indian Peninsula, which serves as an outlet to the Persian Gulf. It was evidently a block without any possible egress. Where was Captain Nemo taking us to? I could not say. This, however, did not satisfy the Canadian, who that day came to me asking where we were going. Nautilus “We are going where our Captain’s fancy takes us, Master Ned.” “His fancy cannot take us far, then,” said the Canadian. “The Persian Gulf has no outlet: and, if we do go in, it will not be long before we are out again.” “Very well, then, we will come out again, Master Land; and if, after the Persian Gulf, the would like to visit the Red Sea, the Straits of Bab-el-mandeb are there to give us entrance.” Nautilus “I need not tell you, sir,” said Ned Land, “that the Red Sea is as much closed as the Gulf, as the Isthmus of Suez is not yet cut; and, if it was, a boat as mysterious as ours would not risk itself in a canal cut with sluices. And again, the Red Sea is not the road to take us back to Europe.” “But I never said we were going back to Europe.” “What do you suppose, then?” “I suppose that, after visiting the curious coasts of Arabia and Egypt, the will go down the Indian Ocean again, perhaps cross the Channel of Mozambique, perhaps off the Mascarenhas, so as to gain the Cape of Good Hope.” Nautilus “And once at the Cape of Good Hope?” asked the Canadian, with peculiar emphasis. “Well, we shall penetrate into that Atlantic which we do not yet know. Ah! friend Ned, you are getting tired of this journey under the sea; you are surfeited with the incessantly varying spectacle of submarine wonders. For my part, I shall be sorry to see the end of a voyage which it is given to so few men to make.” For four days, till the 3rd of February, the scoured the Sea of Oman, at various speeds and at various depths. It seemed to go at random, as if hesitating as to which road it should follow, but we never passed the Tropic of Cancer. Nautilus In quitting this sea we sighted Muscat for an instant, one of the most important towns of the country of Oman. I admired its strange aspect, surrounded by black rocks upon which its white houses and forts stood in relief. I saw the rounded domes of its mosques, the elegant points of its minarets, its fresh and verdant terraces. But it was only a vision! The soon sank under the waves of that part of the sea. Nautilus We passed along the Arabian coast of Mahrah and Hadramaut, for a distance of six miles, its undulating line of mountains being occasionally relieved by some ancient ruin. The 5th of February we at last entered the Gulf of Aden, a perfect funnel introduced into the neck of Bab-el-mandeb, through which the Indian waters entered the Red Sea. The 6th of February, the floated in sight of Aden, perched upon a promontory which a narrow isthmus joins to the mainland, a kind of inaccessible Gibraltar, the fortifications of which were rebuilt by the English after taking possession in 1839. I caught a glimpse of the octagon minarets of this town, which was at one time the richest commercial magazine on the coast. Nautilus I certainly thought that Captain Nemo, arrived at this point, would back out again; but I was mistaken, for he did no such thing, much to my surprise. The next day, the 7th of February, we entered the Straits of Bab-el-mandeb, the name of which, in the Arab tongue, means The Gate of Tears. To twenty miles in breadth, it is only thirty-two in length. And for the , starting at full speed, the crossing was scarcely the work of an hour. But I saw nothing, not even the Island of Perim, with which the British Government has fortified the position of Aden. There were too many English or French steamers of the line of Suez to Bombay, Calcutta to Melbourne, and from Bourbon to the Mauritius, furrowing this narrow passage, for the to venture to show itself. So it remained prudently below. At last about noon, we were in the waters of the Red Sea. Nautilus Nautilus I would not even seek to understand the caprice which had decided Captain Nemo upon entering the gulf. But I quite approved of the entering it. Its speed was lessened: sometimes it kept on the surface, sometimes it dived to avoid a vessel, and thus I was able to observe the upper and lower parts of this curious sea. Nautilus The 8th of February, from the first dawn of day, Mocha came in sight, now a ruined town, whose walls would fall at a gunshot, yet which shelters here and there some verdant date-trees; once an important city, containing six public markets, and twenty-six mosques, and whose walls, defended by fourteen forts, formed a girdle of two miles in circumference. The then approached the African shore, where the depth of the sea was greater. There, between two waters clear as crystal, through the open panels we were allowed to contemplate the beautiful bushes of brilliant coral and large blocks of rock clothed with a splendid fur of green variety of sites and landscapes along these sandbanks and algæ and fuci. What an indescribable spectacle, and what variety of sites and landscapes along these sandbanks and volcanic islands which bound the Libyan coast! But where these shrubs appeared in all their beauty was on the eastern coast, which the soon gained. It was on the coast of Tehama, for there not only did this display of zoophytes flourish beneath the level of the sea, but they also formed picturesque interlacings which unfolded themselves about sixty feet above the surface, more capricious but less highly coloured than those whose freshness was kept up by the vital power of the waters. Nautilus Nautilus What charming hours I passed thus at the window of the saloon! What new specimens of submarine flora and fauna did I admire under the brightness of our electric lantern! The 9th of February the floated in the broadest part of the Red Sea, which is comprised between Souakin, on the west coast, and Komfidah, on the east coast, with a diameter of ninety miles. Nautilus That day at noon, after the bearings were taken, Captain Nemo mounted the platform, where I happened to be, and I was determined not to let him go down again without at least pressing him regarding his ulterior projects. As soon as he saw me he approached and graciously offered me a cigar. “Well, sir, does this Red Sea please you? Have you sufficiently observed the wonders it covers, its fishes, its zoophytes, its parterres of sponges, and its forests of coral? Did you catch a glimpse of the towns on its borders?” “Yes, Captain Nemo,” I replied; “and the is wonderfully fitted for such a study. Ah! it is an intelligent boat!” Nautilus “Yes, sir, intelligent and invulnerable. It fears neither the terrible tempests of the Red Sea, nor its currents, nor its sandbanks.” “Certainly,” said I, “this sea is quoted as one of the worst, and in the time of the ancients, if I am not mistaken, its reputation was detestable.” “Detestable, M. Aronnax. The Greek and Latin historians do not speak favourably of it, and Strabo says it is very dangerous during the Etesian winds and in the rainy season. The Arabian Edrisi portrays it under the name of the Gulf of Colzoum, and relates that vessels perished there in great numbers on the sandbanks and that no one would risk sailing in the night. It is, he pretends, a sea subject to fearful hurricanes, strewn with inhospitable islands, and ‘which offers nothing good either on its surface or in its depths.’” “One may see,” I replied, “that these historians never sailed on board the .” Nautilus “Just so,” replied the Captain, smiling; “and in that respect moderns are not more advanced than the ancients. It required many ages to find out the mechanical power of steam. Who knows if, in another hundred years, we may not see a second Progress is slow, M. Aronnax.” Nautilus? “It is true,” I answered; “your boat is at least a century before its time, perhaps an era. What a misfortune that the secret of such an invention should die with its inventor!” Captain Nemo did not reply. After some minutes’ silence he continued: “You were speaking of the opinions of ancient historians upon the dangerous navigation of the Red Sea.” “It is true,” said I; “but were not their fears exaggerated?” “Yes and no, M. Aronnax,” replied Captain Nemo, who seemed to know the Red Sea by heart. “That which is no longer dangerous for a modern vessel, well rigged, strongly built, and master of its own course, thanks to obedient steam, offered all sorts of perils to the ships of the ancients. Picture to yourself those first navigators venturing in ships made of planks sewn with the cords of the palmtree, saturated with the grease of the seadog, and covered with powdered resin! They had not even instruments wherewith to take their bearings, and they went by guess amongst currents of which they scarcely knew anything. Under such conditions shipwrecks were, and must have been, numerous. But in our time, steamers running between Suez and the South Seas have nothing more to fear from the fury of this gulf, in spite of contrary trade-winds. The captain and passengers do not prepare for their departure by offering propitiatory sacrifices; and, on their return, they no longer go ornamented with wreaths and gilt fillets to thank the gods in the neighbouring temple.” “I agree with you,” said I; “and steam seems to have killed all gratitude in the hearts of sailors. But, Captain, since you seem to have especially studied this sea, can you tell me the origin of its name?” “There exist several explanations on the subject, M. Aronnax. Would you like to know the opinion of a chronicler of the fourteenth century?” “Willingly.” “This fanciful writer pretends that its name was given to it after the passage of the Israelites, when Pharaoh perished in the waves which closed at the voice of Moses.” “A poet’s explanation, Captain Nemo,” I replied; “but I cannot content myself with that. I ask you for your personal opinion.” “Here it is, M. Aronnax. According to my idea, we must see in this appellation of the Red Sea a translation of the Hebrew word ‘Edom’; and if the ancients gave it that name, it was on account of the particular colour of its waters.” “But up to this time I have seen nothing but transparent waves and without any particular colour.” “Very likely; but as we advance to the bottom of the gulf, you will see this singular appearance. I remember seeing the Bay of Tor entirely red, like a sea of blood.” “And you attribute this colour to the presence of a microscopic seaweed?” “Yes.” “So, Captain Nemo, it is not the first time you have overrun the Red Sea on board the ” Nautilus? “No, sir.” “As you spoke a while ago of the passage of the Israelites and of the catastrophe to the Egyptians, I will ask whether you have met with the traces under the water of this great historical fact?” “No, sir; and for a good reason.” “What is it?” “It is that the spot where Moses and his people passed is now so blocked up with sand that the camels can barely bathe their legs there. You can well understand that there would not be water enough for my .” Nautilus “And the spot?” I asked. “The spot is situated a little above the Isthmus of Suez, in the arm which formerly made a deep estuary, when the Red Sea extended to the Salt Lakes. Now, whether this passage were miraculous or not, the Israelites, nevertheless, crossed there to reach the Promised Land, and Pharaoh’s army perished precisely on that spot; and I think that excavations made in the middle of the sand would bring to light a large number of arms and instruments of Egyptian origin.” “That is evident,” I replied; “and for the sake of archaeologists let us hope that these excavations will be made sooner or later, when new towns are established on the isthmus, after the construction of the Suez Canal; a canal, however, very useless to a vessel like the .” Nautilus “Very likely; but useful to the whole world,” said Captain Nemo. “The ancients well understood the utility of a communication between the Red Sea and the Mediterranean for their commercial affairs: but they did not think of digging a canal direct, and took the Nile as an intermediate. Very probably the canal which united the Nile to the Red Sea was begun by Sesostris, if we may believe tradition. One thing is certain, that in the year 615 before Jesus Christ, Necos undertook the works of an alimentary canal to the waters of the Nile across the plain of Egypt, looking towards Arabia. It took four days to go up this canal, and it was so wide that two triremes could go abreast. It was carried on by Darius, the son of Hystaspes, and probably finished by Ptolemy II. Strabo saw it navigated: but its decline from the point of departure, near Bubastes, to the Red Sea was so slight that it was only navigable for a few months in the year. This canal answered all commercial purposes to the age of Antonius, when it was abandoned and blocked up with sand. Restored by order of the Caliph Omar, it was definitely destroyed in 761 or 762 by Caliph Al-Mansor, who wished to prevent the arrival of provisions to Mohammed-ben-Abdallah, who had revolted against him. During the expedition into Egypt, your General Bonaparte discovered traces of the works in the Desert of Suez; and, surprised by the tide, he nearly perished before regaining Hadjaroth, at the very place where Moses had encamped three thousand years before him.” “Well, Captain, what the ancients dared not undertake, this junction between the two seas, which will shorten the road from Cadiz to India, M. Lesseps has succeeded in doing; and before long he will have changed Africa into an immense island.” “Yes, M. Aronnax; you have the right to be proud of your countryman. Such a man brings more honour to a nation than great captains. He began, like so many others, with disgust and rebuffs; but he has triumphed, for he has the genius of will. And it is sad to think that a work like that, which ought to have been an international work and which would have sufficed to make a reign illustrious, should have succeeded by the energy of one man. All honour to M. Lesseps!” “Yes! honour to the great citizen,” I replied, surprised by the manner in which Captain Nemo had just spoken. “Unfortunately,” he continued, “I cannot take you through the Suez Canal; but you will be able to see the long jetty of Port Said after to-morrow, when we shall be in the Mediterranean.” “The Mediterranean!” I exclaimed. “Yes, sir; does that astonish you?” “What astonishes me is to think that we shall be there the day after to-morrow.” “Indeed?” “Yes, Captain, although by this time I ought to have accustomed myself to be surprised at nothing since I have been on board your boat.” “But the cause of this surprise?” “Well! it is the fearful speed you will have to put on the , if the day after to-morrow she is to be in the Mediterranean, having made the round of Africa, and doubled the Cape of Good Hope!” Nautilus “Who told you that she would make the round of Africa and double the Cape of Good Hope, sir?” “Well, unless the sails on dry land, and passes above the isthmus——” Nautilus “Or beneath it, M. Aronnax.” “Beneath it?” “Certainly,” replied Captain Nemo quietly. “A long time ago Nature made under this tongue of land what man has this day made on its surface.” “What! such a passage exists?” “Yes; a subterranean passage, which I have named the Arabian Tunnel. It takes us beneath Suez and opens into the Gulf of Pelusium.” “But this isthmus is composed of nothing but quick sands?” “To a certain depth. But at fifty-five yards only there is a solid layer of rock.” “Did you discover this passage by chance?” I asked more and more surprised. “Chance and reasoning, sir; and by reasoning even more than by chance. Not only does this passage exist, but I have profited by it several times. Without that I should not have ventured this day into the impassable Red Sea. I noticed that in the Red Sea and in the Mediterranean there existed a certain number of fishes of a kind perfectly identical. Certain of the fact, I asked myself was it possible that there was no communication between the two seas? If there was, the subterranean current must necessarily run from the Red Sea to the Mediterranean, from the sole cause of difference of level. I caught a large number of fishes in the neighbourhood of Suez. I passed a copper ring through their tails, and threw them back into the sea. Some months later, on the coast of Syria, I caught some of my fish ornamented with the ring. Thus the communication between the two was proved. I then sought for it with my I discovered it, ventured into it, and before long, sir, you too will have passed through my Arabian tunnel!” Nautilus; About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Jules Verne (1994). Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/files/164/164-h/164-h.htm This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at , located at . www.gutenberg.org https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html

THE RED SEA

ADVANCED THEORIES

A while ago, I wanted to learn how to create REST APIs with , a popular Java framework used by companies such as Netflix, Walmart, PayPal, Udemy, and many others. I had some experience building REST APIs with libraries like Jersey, Jetty, and Jackson, but I wanted to try Spring Boot. Spring Boot You can use a tool called Spring Initializr to generate the initial Spring Boot boilerplate code by accessing it through an online form. The form creates a zip file that contains the basic project structure and configuration. To use Spring Initializr: Go to , where you can find the Spring Initializr web tool. start.spring.io Fill out the form, specifying your desired build tool, programming language, Spring Boot version, project metadata, and dependencies. Click the button at the bottom of the screen to download the autogenerated code as a zip file. GENERATE Extract the contents of this zip file. The Spring Initializr Form Options At first, the many options available on the Spring Initializr form can be overwhelming. The following sections offer explanations for each form option and suggestions on which choices to make for your project. The Project Option The project option allows you to choose a build tool for your project. The purpose of build tools is to automate and manage the process of building software projects, which includes tasks like handling external dependencies, compiling source code, running tests, and packaging everything into distributable formats, like . There are three options: JARs Gradle – Groovy Gradle – Kotlin Maven has two options because it can use a (DSL) based on Groovy or Kotlin. If you have used Gradle before but are still confused about the difference, you may have been using Groovy as the DSL without knowing it since it is Gradle’s original DSL. Gradle domain-specific language If you do not know which option to pick, I would suggest Gradle because working with a DSL is more pleasant than XML, in my opinion. To better understand the differences between Gradle and , consider reading for more information. Maven this summary The Language Option The language option lets you choose a -compatible programming language for your Spring Boot project. There are three options: JVM Java Kotlin Groovy If you are not familiar with Kotlin or Groovy, Java is what you want. The Spring Boot Option The Spring Boot option enables you to select the version of Spring Boot to use in your project. It’s important to note that Spring Boot 2.x.x and 3.x.x are distinct . If you are starting a new Spring Boot project, I recommend choosing a stable 3.x.x version. major versions Also, note that some versions may be labeled M1, M2, RC1, or SNAPSHOT, indicating they are pre-release versions and not considered stable or production-ready. Be careful when using these versions, as they may contain bugs or incomplete features due to being in active development. The Project Metadata Options The project metadata options enable you to choose configuration details and settings for your project. There are seven metadata fields: – The unique identifier of your organization or project, typically written in . It helps to ensure that your package names do not conflict with packages from other organizations or projects. If you are creating a personal project, feel free to leave it as . Group reversed domain name notation com.example – The name of the archive generated by your build tool. The artifact usually has the same value as the name field below. Artifact – The name used for the project’s root directory, as well as the default name of the main application class. Name – A field that provides a short description of the project. Description – The name of the package generated Java classes will be placed in. The package name should be a combination of the group and name fields above (e.g., ). Package name com.example.myproject – Packaging refers to the type of archive your build tool will generate. Two common packaging types are JAR (Java Archive) and (Web Archive). JAR files are usually used for standalone applications, libraries, and command-line tools, while WAR files are used for web applications intended for deployment to a web server. I do not have a general recommendation here because it depends on your use case. Packaging WAR – The Java version for this project. If using Spring Boot version 3.x.x, the Java version must be 17+. Java The Dependency Option The dependency option allows you to select common dependencies used in Spring Boot projects that will be added to your project’s if you are using Gradle, or if you are using Maven. Some popular dependencies include: build.gradle pom.xml – provides annotations to reduce boilerplate code in Java classes. Lombok Lombok – provides functionality to build web applications, including support for RESTful web services and MVC architecture. Spring Web Spring Web – is a server-side template engine that allows for the creation of dynamic web pages by defining templates using HTML. Thymeleaf Thymeleaf – is a security framework that provides authentication, authorization, and other security features. Spring Security Spring Security – provides a simple way to interact with relational databases through the Java Persistence API (JPA) by generating boilerplate code for database operations. Spring Data JPA Spring Data JPA You can start by adding Spring Web if you want to keep things simple. As you build your application, you can add anything else you need. The Spring Boot Folder Structure When you extract the zip file created by Spring Initializr, you should end up with a folder structure that looks something like this (if you chose Maven as your build tool, it will look slightly different): .
└── demo/
    └── demo/
        ├── .gradle/
        │   └── ...
        ├── gradle/
        │   └── ...
        ├── src/
        │   ├── main/
        │   │   ├── java/com/example/demo/
        │   │   │   └── DemoApplication.java
        │   │   └── resources/
        │   │       └── ...
        │   └── test/
        │       └── java/com/example/demo/
        │           └── DemoApplicationTests.java
        ├── .gitignore
        ├── build.gradle
        ├── gradlew
        ├── gradlew.bat
        ├── HELP.md
        └── settings.gradle If you look carefully, you may notice the outer folder contains another folder, also called . You can remove the outer folder to simplify the folder structure to: demo demo .
└── demo/
    ├── .gradle/
    │   └── ...
    ├── gradle/
    │   └── ...
    ├── src/
    │   ├── main/
    │   │   ├── java/com/example/demo/
    │   │   │   └── DemoApplication.java
    │   │   └── resources/
    │   │       └── ...
    │   └── test/
    │       └── java/com/example/demo/
    │           └── DemoApplicationTests.java
    ├── .gitignore
    ├── build.gradle
    ├── gradlew
    ├── gradlew.bat
    ├── HELP.md
    └── settings.gradle Let’s take a moment to understand what these generated files and folders are: – This is where Gradle stores its project-specific cache. .gradle/ – This contains the JAR file and configuration of the . gradle/ Gradle Wrapper – This contains the main source code for your application. Initially, it contains one source code file, , the entry point for your Spring Boot project, and the directory, where configuration files, static assets, and HTML templates would be. src/main/ DemoApplication.java resources/ – This contains the test code for your application. Initially, it contains one test file, , which contains a trivial test. src/test/ DemoApplicationTests.java – This specifies which files and folders should be ignored by . .gitignore Git – This is the Gradle build script for your project, which defines your project’s dependencies, plugins, and other build settings. build.gradle – This is a wrapper that allows you to build your Spring Boot project without already having Gradle on your system. gradlew shell script – This is a that does the same thing as but in the Windows command prompt. gradlew.bat batch script gradlew – This is just a with some references, guides, and additional links. Feel free to delete this file. HELP.md markdown file – This is mostly used for . For your Spring Boot project, it will likely just contain the name of your project. settings.gradle multi-project builds As you can see, most of the files and folders above are from Gradle. If you want to learn more about what these are for, I encourage you to go to the . Gradle documentation Conclusion Congratulations! You now have a better understanding of Spring Initializr and how to use it to create Spring Boot applications. You also have an idea of what the various files and folders autogenerated by Spring Initializr do. Now it is time to open up your favorite text editor or IDE and start coding! Also published . here

A Guide to Creating Spring Boot Projects With Spring Initializr

Key Out of Time by Andre Alice Norton, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . Return to the Battle Return to the Battle Ross lay listening to the even breathing from across the cabin. He had awakened in that quick transference from sleep to consciousness which was always his when on duty, but he made no attempt to move. Ashe was still sleeping. Ashe, whom he thought or had thought he knew as well as one man could ever know another, who had taken the place of family for Ross Murdock the loner. Years—two ... four of them now since he had made half of that partnership. His head turned, though he could not see that lean body, that quiet, controlled face. Ashe still looked the same, but ... Ross's sense of loss was hurt and anger mingled. What had they done to Gordon, those three? Bewitched? Tales Terrans had accepted as purest fantasy for centuries came into his mind. Could it be that his own world once had its Foanna? Ross scowled. You couldn't refute their "magic," call it by what scientific name you wished—hypnotism ... telaporting. They got results, and the results were impressive. Now he remembered the warning the Foanna themselves had delivered hours earlier to the Rovers. There were limits to their abilities; because they were forced to draw on mental and physical energy, they could be exhausted. Thus, they had barriers, too. Again Ross considered the subject of barriers. Karara had been able to meet the aliens, if not mind-to-mind, then in a closer way even than Ashe. The talent which tied her to the dolphins had in turn been a bond with the Foanna. Ashe and Karara could enter that circle, but not Ross Murdock. Along with his new separation from Ashe came that feeling of inferiority to bite on, and the taste was sour. "This isn't going to be easy." So Ashe was awake. "What can they do?" Ross asked in return. "I don't know. I don't believe that they can telaport an army into Baldy headquarters the way Torgul expects. And it wouldn't do such an army much good to get there and then be outclassed by the weapons the Baldies might have," Ashe said. Ross had a moment of warmth and comfort; he knew that tone of old. Ashe was studying the problem, willing to talk out difficulties as he always had before. "No, outright assault isn't the answer. We'll have to know more about the enemy. One thing puzzles me: Why have the Baldies suddenly stepped up their timing?" "What makes you think they have?" "Well, according to the accounts I've heard, it's been about three or four planet years here since some off-world devices have been infiltrating the native civilization—" "You mean such things as those attractors set up on the reef at Zahur's castle?" Ross remembered Loketh's story. "Those, and other things. The refinements added to the engine power on these ships.... Torgul said they spread from Rover fleet to fleet; no one's sure where they started. The Baldies began slowly, but they are speeding up now—those fairing attacks have all been recent. And this assault on the Foanna citadel blew up almost overnight on a flimsy excuse. Why the quick push after the slow beginning?" "Maybe they decided the natives are easy pushovers and they no longer have to worry about any real opposition," Ross suggested. "Could be. Self-confidence becoming arrogance when they didn't uncover any opponent strong enough to matter. Or else, they may be spurred by some need with a time limit. If we knew the reason for those pylons, we might guess their motives." "Are you going to try to change the future?" "That sounds arrogant, too. Can we if we wish to? We never dared to try it on Terra. And the risk may be worse than all our fears. Also, the choice is not ours." "There's one thing I don't understand," Ross said. "Why did the Foanna walk out of the citadel and leave it undefended for their enemies? What about their guards? Did they just leave them too?" He was willing to make the most of any flaw in the aliens' character. "Most of their people had already escaped through underground ways. The rest left when they knew the cutters had been sunk," Ashe returned. "As to why they deserted the citadel, I don't know. The decision was theirs." There—up with the barrier between them again. But Ross refused to accept the cutoff this time, determined to pull Ashe back into the familiar world of the here and now. "That keep could be a trap, about the best on this planet!" The idea was more than just a gambit to attract Ashe's attention, it was true! A perfect trap to catch Baldies. "Don't you see," Ross sat up, slapped his feet down on the deck as he leaned forward eagerly. "Don't you see ... if the Baldies know anything at all about the Foanna, and I'm betting they do and want to learn all they can, they'll visit the citadel. They won't want to depend on second- and third-hand reports of the place, especially ones delivered by primitives such as the Wreckers. They had a sub there. I'll bet the crew are in picking over the loot right now!" "If that's what they're hunting"—there was amusement in Ashe's tone—"they won't find much. The Foanna have better locks than their enemies have keys. You heard Ynlan before we left—any secrets left will remain secrets." "But there's bait—bait for a trap!" argued Ross. "You're right!" To the younger man's joy Ashe's enthusiasm was plain. "And if the Baldies could be led to believe that what they wanted was obtainable with just a little more effort, or the right tools—" "The trap could net bigger catch than just underlings!" Ross's thought matched Ashe's. "Why, it might even pull in the VIP directing the whole operation! How can we set it up, and do we have time?" "The trap would have to be of Foanna setting; our part would come after it was sprung." Ashe was thoughtful again. "But it is the only move which we can make at present with any hope of success. And it will only work if the Foanna are willing." "Have to be done quickly," Ross pointed out. "Yes, I'll see." Ashe was a dark figure against the thin light of the companionway as he slid back the cabin door. "If Ynvalda agrees...." As he went out Ross was right behind him. The Foanna had been given, by their own choice, quarters on the bow deck of the cruiser where sailcloth had been used to form a tent. Not that any of the awe-stricken Rovers would venture too near them. Ashe reached for the flap of the fabric and a lilting voice called: "You seek us, Gordoon?" "This is important." "Yes, it is important, for the thought which brings you both has merit. Enter then, brothers!" The flap was looped aside and before them was a swirling of mist? ... light? ... sheets of pale color? Ross could not have described what he saw—save if the Foanna were there, he could not distinguish them from the rippling of their hair, the melting film of their robes. "So, younger brother, you think that which was our home and our treasure box has now become a trap for the confounding of those who believe we are a threat to them?" Somehow Ross was not surprised that they knew about his idea before he had said a word, before Ashe had given any explanations. Their omniscience was only a small portion of their other talents. "Yes." "And why do you believe so? We swear to you that the coast folk can not be driven into those parts of the castle which mean the most, any more than our sea gate can be breached unless we will it so." "Yet I swam through the sea gate, and the sub was there also." Ross knew again a flash of—was it pleasure?—at being able to state this fact. There were chinks in the Foanna defenses. "Again the truth. You have that within you, young brother, which is both a lack and a shield. True also that this underseas ship entered after you. Perhaps it has a shield as part of it; perhaps those from the stars have their own protection. But they can not reach the heart of what they wish, not unless we open the doors for them. It is your belief, younger brother, that they still strive to force such doors?" "Yes. Knowing there is something to be learned, they will try for it. They will not dare not to." Ross was very certain on that point. His encounters with the Baldies had not led to any real understanding. But the way they had wiped out the line of Russian time stations made him sure that they dealt thoroughly with any situation they considered a threat. From the prisoners taken at Kyn Add they had learned the invaders believed the Foanna their enemies here, even though the Old Ones had not repulsed them or their activities. Therefore, it followed that, having taken the stronghold, the Baldies would endeavor to rip open every one of its secrets. "A trap with good bait—" Ross wondered which one of the Foanna said that. To see nothing but the swirls of mist-color, listen to disembodied voices from it, was disconcerting. Part of the stage dressing, he decided, for building their prestige with the other races with whom they dealt. Three women alone would have to buttress their authority with such trappings. "Ah, younger brother, indeed you are beginning to understand us!" Laughter, soft, but unmistakable. Ross frowned. He did not feel the touch-go-touch of mental communication which the dolphins used. But he did not doubt that the Foanna read his thoughts, or at least a few of them. "Some of them," echoed from the mist. "Not all—not as your older brother's or the maiden whose mind meets with ours. With you, younger brother, it is a thought here, a thought there, and only our intuition to connect them into a pattern. But now, there is serious planning to be done. And, knowing this enemy, you believe they will come to search for what they can not find. So you would set a trap. But they have weapons beyond your weapons, have they not, younger brother? Brave as are these Rover kind, they can not use swords against flame, their hands against a killer who may stand apart and slay. What remains, Gordoon? What remains in our favor?" "You have your weapons, too," Ashe answered. "Yes, we have our weapons, but long have they been used only in one pattern, and they are atuned to another race. Did our defenses hold against you, Gordoon, when you strove to prove that you were as you claimed to be? And did another repulse younger brother when he dared the sea gate? So can we trust them in turn against these other strangers with different brains? Only at the testing shall we know, and in such learning perhaps we shall also be forced to eat the sourness of defeat. To risk all may be to lose all." "That may be true," Ashe assented. "You mean the sight you have had into our future says that this happens? Yes, to stake all and to lose—not only for ourselves, but for all others here—that is a weighty decision to make, Gordoon. But the trap promises. Let us think on it for a space. Do you also consult with the Rovers if they wish to take part in what may be desperate folly." Torgul paced the afterdeck, well away from the tent which sheltered the Foanna, but with his eyes turning to it as Ross explained what might be a good attack. "Those women-killers would have no fear of Foanna magic, rather would they come to seek it out? It would be a chance to catch leaders in a trap?" "You have heard what the prisoners said or thought. Yes, they would seek out such knowledge and we would have this chance to capture them—" "With what?" Torgul demanded. "I am not Ongal to argue that it is better to die in pursuit of blood payment than to take an enemy or enemies with me! What chance have we against their powers?" "Ask that of them!" Ross nodded toward the still silent tent. Even as he spoke the three cloaked Foanna emerged, pacing down to mid-ship where Torgul and his lieutenants, Ross and Ashe came to meet them. "We have thought on this." The lilting half chant which the Foanna used for ordinary communication was a song in the dawn wind. "It was in our minds to retreat, to wait out this troubling of the land, since we are few and that which we hold within us is worth the guarding. But now, what profit such guardianship when there may be none to whom we may pass it after us? And if you have seen the truth, elder brother"—the cowled heads swung to Ashe—"then there may be no future for any of us. But still there are our limitations. Rover," now they spoke directly to Torgul, "we can not put your men within the citadel by desiring—not without certain aids which lie sealed there now. No, we, ourselves, must win inside bodily and then ... then, perhaps, we can pull tight the lines of our net!" "To run a cruiser through the gate—" Torgul began. "No, not a ship, Captain. A handful of warriors in the water can risk the gate, but not a ship." Ashe broke in, "How many gill-packs do we have?" Ross counted hurriedly. "I left one cached ashore. But there's mine and Karara's and Loketh's—also two more—" "To pass the gates," that was the Foanna, "we ourselves shall not need your underwater aids." "You," Ross said to Ashe, "and I with Karara's pack——" "For Karara!" Both the Terrans looked around. The Polynesian girl stood close to the Foanna, smiling faintly. "This venture is mine also," she spoke with conviction. "As it is Tino-rau's and Taua's. Is that not so, Daughters of the Alii of this world?" "Yes, Sea Maid. There are weapons of many sorts, and not all of them fit into a warrior's hand or can be swung with the force of a man's arm and shoulder. Yes, this venture is yours, also, sister." Ross's protests bubbled unspoken; he had to accept the finality of the Foanna decree. It seemed now that the make-up of their task force depended upon the whims of the three rather than the experience of those trained to such risks. And Ashe was apparently willing to accept their leadership. So it was an odd company that took to the water just as dawn colored the sky. Loketh had clung fiercely to his pack, insisted that he be one of the swimmers, and the Foanna accepted him as well. Ross and Ashe, Loketh, and Baleku, a young under-officer of Ongal's, accorded the best swimmer of the fleet, Karara and the dolphins. And with them those three others, shapes sliding smoothly through the water, as difficult to define in this new element as they had been in their tent. Before them frisked the dolphins. Tino-rau and Taua played about the Foanna in an ecstatic joy and when all were in the sea they shot off shoreward. That sub within the sea gate, had it unleashed the same lethal broadcast as the one at Kyn Add? But the dolphins could give warning if that were so. Ross swam easily, Ashe next, Loketh on his left, Baleku a little behind and Karara to the fore as if in vain pursuit of the dolphins—the Foanna well to the left. A queer invasion party, even queerer when one totaled up the odds which might lie ahead. There was no mist or storm this morning to hide the headlands where the Foanna citadel stood. And the promontories of the sea gate were starkly clear in the growing light. The same drive which always was a part of Ross when he was committed to action sustained him now, though he was visited by a small prick of doubt when he thought that the leadership did not lie with Ashe but with the Foanna. No warning of any trouble ahead as they passed between the mighty, sea-sunk bases of the gate pillars. Ross depended upon his sonic, but there was no adverse report from the sensitive recorder. The terrible chill of the water during the night attack had been dissipated, but here and there dead sea things floated, being torn and devoured by hunters of the waves. They were well past the pillars when Ross was aware that Loketh had changed place in the line, spurting ahead. After him went Baleku. They caught up with Karara, flashed past her. Ross looked to Ashe, on to the Foanna, but saw nothing to explain the action of the two Hawaikans. Then his sonic beat out a signal from Ashe. "Danger ... follow the Foanna ... left." Karara had already changed course to head in that direction. Ahead of her he could see Loketh and Baleku both still bound for the mid-point of the shore where the jetty and the sunken cutters were. Ashe passed before him, and Ross reluctantly followed orders. A shelf of rock reached out from the cliff wall, under it a dark opening. The Foanna sought this without hesitation, Ashe, Karara, and Ross following. Moments later they were out of the water where footing sloped back and up. Below them Tino-rau and Taua nosed the rise, their heads lifting out of the water as they "spoke." And Karara hastened to reply. "Loketh ... Baleku ..." Ross began when he caught a mental stroke of anger so deadly that it was a chill lance into his brain. He faced the Foanna, startled and a little frightened. "They will not come—now." A knob-crowned wand stretched out in the air, pointing to the upper reaches of the slope. "Nor can any of their blood—unless we win." "What is wrong?" Ashe asked. "You were right, very right, men out of time! These invaders are not to be lightly dismissed. They have turned one of our own defenses against us. Loketh, Baleku, all of their kind, can be made into tools for a master. They belong to the enemy now." "And we have failed so early?" Karara wanted to know. Again that piercing thrust of anger so vivid that it was no mere emotion but seemed a tangible force. "Failed? No, not yet have we even begun to fight! You were very right; this is such an evil as must be faced and fought, even if we lose all in battle! Now we must do that which none of our own race has done for generations—we must open three locks, throw wide the Great Door, and seek out the Keeper of the Closed Knowledge!" Light, a sharp ray sighting from the tip of the wand. And the Foanna following that beam, the three Terrans coming after ... into the unknown. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Andre Alice Norton (2006). Key Out of Time. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19651/pg19651-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

Return to the Battle

Key Out of Time by Andre Alice Norton, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Foanna The Foanna "Ross!" Ashe's hands gripped his shoulders as if never intending to free him again. "Then you did come through—" Ross understood. Gordon Ashe must have feared that he was the only one swept through the time door by that freak chance. "And Karara and the dolphins!" "Here—now?" In this black bowl of the citadel bay Ashe was only a shadow with voice and hands. "No, out with the Rover cruisers. Ashe, do you know the Baldies are on Hawaika? They've organized this whole thing—the attack here—trouble all over. Right now they have one of their subs out there. That's what cut those cutters to pieces. Five days ago five of them wiped out a whole Rover fairing, just five of them!" "Gordoon." Unlike the hissing speech of the Hawaikans, this new voice made a singing, lilting call of Ashe's name. "This is your swordsman in truth?" Another shadow drew near them, and Ross saw the flutter of cloak edge. "This is my friend." There was a tone of correction in Ashe's reply. "Ross, this is the Guardian of the sea gate." "And you come," the Foanna continued, "with those who gather to feast at the Shadow's table. But your Rovers will find little loot to their liking—" "No." Ross hesitated. How did one address the Foanna? He had claimed equality with Torgul. But that approach was not the proper one here; instinct told him that. He fell back on the complete truth uttered simply. "We took three of the Baldy killers. From them we learned they move to wipe out the Foanna first. For you," he addressed himself to the cloaked shape, "they believe to be a threat. We heard that they urged the Wreckers to this attack and so—" "And so the Rovers come, but not to loot? Then they are something new among their kind." The Foanna's reply was as chill as the sea bay's water. "Loot does not summon men who want a blood price for their dead kin!" Ross retorted. "No, and the Rovers are believers in the balance of hurt against hurt," the Foanna conceded. "Do they also believe in the balance of aid against aid? Now that is a thought upon which depends much. Gordoon, it would seem that we may not take to our ships. So let us return to council." Ashe's hand was on Ross's arm guiding him through the murk. Though the fog which had choked the bay had vanished, thick darkness remained and Ross noted that even the fires and flares were dimmed and fewer. Then they were in a passage where a very faint light clung to the walls. Robed Foanna, three of them, moved ahead with that particular gliding progress. Then Ashe and Ross, and bringing up the rear, a dozen of the mailed guards. The passageway became a ramp. Ross glanced at Ashe. Like the Foanna, the Terran Agent wore a cloak of gray, but his did not shift color from time to time as did those of the Hawaikan enigmas. And now Gordon shoved back its folds, revealing supple body armor. Questions gathered in Ross. He wanted to know—needed desperately to know—Ashe's standing with the Foanna. What had happened to raise Gordon from the status of captive in Zahur's hold to familiar companionship with the most dreaded race on this planet? The ramp's head faced blank wall with a sharp-angled turn to the right of a narrower passage. One of the Foanna made a slight sign to the guards, who turned with drilled precision to march off along the passage. Now the other Foanna held out their wands. What a moment earlier had been unbroken surface showed an opening. The change had been so instantaneous that Ross had not seen any movement at all. Beyond that door they passed from one world to another. Ross's senses, already acutely alert to his surroundings, could not supply him with any reason by sight, sound, or smell for his firm conviction that this hold was alien as neither the Wrecker castle nor the Rover ships had been. Surely the Foanna were not the same race, perhaps not even the same species as the other native Hawaikans. Those robes which he had seen both silver gray and dark blue, now faded, pearled, thinned, until each of the three still gliding before him were opalescent columns without definite form. Ashe's grasp fell on Ross's arm once more, and his whisper reached the younger man thinly. "They are mistresses of illusion. Be prepared not to believe all that you see." Mistresses—Ross caught that first. Women, or at least female then. Illusion, yes, already he was convinced that here his eyes could play tricks on him. He could hardly determine what was robe, what was wall, or if more than shades of shades swept before him. Another blank wall, then an opening, and flowing through it to touch him such a wave of alienness that Ross felt he was buffeted by a storm wind. Yet as he hesitated before it, reluctant in spite of Ashe's hold to go ahead, he also knew that this did not carry with it the cold hostility he had known while facing the Baldies. Alien—yes. Inimical to his kind—no. "You are right, younger brother." Spoken those words—or forming in his mind? Ross was in a place which was sheer wonder. Under his feet dark blue—the blue of a Terran sky at dusk—caught up in it twinkling points of light as if he strode, not equal with stars, but above them! Walls—were there any walls here? Or shifting, swaying blue curtains on which silvery lines ran to form symbols and words which some bemused part of his brain almost understood, but not quite. Constant motion, no quiet, until he came to a place where those swaying curtains were stilled, where he no longer strode above the sky but on soft surface, a mat of gray living sod where his steps released a spicy fragrance. And there he really saw the Foanna for the first time. Where had their cloaks gone? Had they tossed them away during that walk or drift across this amazing room, or had the substance which had formed those coverings flowed away by itself? As Ross looked at the three in wonder he knew that he was seeing them as not even their servants and guards ever viewed them. And yet was he seeing them as they really were or as they wished him to see them? "As we are, younger brother, as we are!" Again an answer which Ross was not sure was thought or speech. In form they were humanoid, and they were undoubtedly women. The muffling cloaks gone, they wore sleeveless garments of silver which were girded at the waist with belts of blue gems. Only in their hair and their eyes did they betray alien blood. For the hair which flowed and wove about them, cascading down shoulders, rippling about their arms, was silver, too, and it swirled, moved as if it had a separate life of its own. While their eyes.... Ross looked into those golden eyes and was lost for seconds until panic awoke in him, forcing him after sharp struggle to look away. Laughter? No, he had not heard laughter. But a sense of amusement tinged with respect came to him. "You are very right, Gordoon. This one is also of your kind. He is not witches' meat." Ross caught the distaste, the kind of haunting unhappiness which colored those words, remnants of an old hurt. "These are the Foanna," Ashe's voice broke more of the spell. "The Lady Ynlan, The Lady Yngram, the Lady Ynvalda." The Foanna—these three only? She whom Ashe had named Ynlan, whose eyes had entrapped and almost held what was Ross Murdock, made a small gesture with her ivory hand. And in that gesture as well as in the words witches' meat the Terran read the unhappiness which was as much a part of this room as the rest of its mystery. "The Foanna are now but three. They have been only three for many weary years, oh man from another world and time. And soon, if these enemies have their way, they will not be three—but none!" "But—" Ross was still startled. He knew from Loketh that the Wreckers had deemed the Foanna few in number, an old and dying race. But that there were only three women left was hard to believe. The response to his unspoken wonder came clear and determined. "We may be but three; however, our power remains. And sometimes power distilled by time becomes the stronger. Now it would seem that time is no longer our servant but perhaps among our enemies. So tell us this tale of yours as to why the Rovers would make one with the Foanna—tell us all, younger brother!" Ross reported what he had seen, what Tino-rau and Taua had learned from the prisoners taken at Kyn Add. And when he had finished, the three Foanna stood very still, their hands clasped one to the other. Though they were only an arm's distance from him, Ross had the feeling they had withdrawn from his time and world. So complete was their withdrawal that he dared to ask Ashe one of the many questions which had been boiling inside him. "Who are they?" But Ross knew he really meant: What are they? Gordon Ashe shook his head. "I don't really know—the last of a very old race which possesses powers and knowledge different from any we have believed in for centuries. We have heard of witches. In the modern day we discount the legends about them. The Foanna bring those legends alive. And I promise you this—if they turn those powers loose"—he paused—"it will be such a war as this world, perhaps any world has never seen!" "That is so." The Foanna had returned from the place to which they had withdrawn. "And this is also the truth or one face of the truth. The Rovers are right in their belief that we have kept some measure of balance between one form of change and another on this world. If we were as many as we once were, then against us these invaders could not move at all. But we are three only and also—do we have the right to evoke disaster which will strike not only the enemy but perhaps recoil upon the innocent? There has been enough death here already. And those who are our servants shall no longer be asked to face battle to keep an empty shell inviolate. We would see with our own eyes these invaders, probe what they would do. There is ever change in life, and if a pattern grows too set, then the race caught in it may wither and die. Maybe our pattern has been too long in its old design. We shall make no decision until we see in whose hands the future may rest." Against such finality of argument there was no appeal. These could not be influenced by words. "Gordoon, there is much to be done. Do you take with you this younger brother and see to his needs. When all is in readiness we shall come." One minute Ross had been standing on the carpet of living moss. Then ... he was in a more normal room with four walls, a floor, a ceiling, and light which came from rods set in the corners. He gasped. "Stunned me, too, the first time they put me through it," he heard Ashe say. "Here, get some of this inside you, it'll steady your head." There was a cup in his hand, a beautifully carved, rose-red container shaped in the form of a flower. Somehow Ross brought it to his lips with shaking hands, gulped down a good third of its contents. The liquid was a mixture of tart and sweet, cooling his mouth and throat, but warming as it went down, and that glow spread through him. "What—how did they do that?" he demanded. Ashe shrugged. "How do they do the hundred and one things I have seen happen here? We've been teleported. How it's done I don't know any more than I did the first time it happened. Simply a part of Foanna 'magic' as far as spectators are concerned." He sat down on a stool, his long legs stretched out before him. "Other worlds, other ways—even if they are confounded queer ones. As far as I know, there's no reason for their power to work, but it does. Now, have you seen the time gate? Is it in working order?" Ross put down the now empty cup and sat down opposite Ashe. As concisely as he could, he outlined the situation with a quick résumé of all that had happened to him, Karara, and the dolphins since they had been sucked through the gate. Ashe asked no questions, but his expression was that of the Agent Ross had known, evaluating and listing all the younger man had to report. When the other was through he said only two words: "No return." So much had happened in so short a time that Ross's initial shock at the destruction of the gate had faded, been well overlaid by all the demands made upon his resources, skill, and strength. Even now, the fact Ashe voiced seemed of little consequence balanced against the struggle in progress. "Ashe—" Ross rubbed his hands up and down his arms, brushing away grains of sand, "remember those pylons with the empty seacoast behind them? Does that mean the Baldies are going to win?" "I don't know. No one has ever tried to change the course of history. Maybe it is impossible even if we dared to try." Ashe was on his feet again, pacing back and forth. "Try what, Gordoon?" Ross jerked around, Ashe halted. One of the Foanna stood there, her hair playing about her shoulders as if some breeze felt only by her stirred those long strands. "Dare to try and change the course of the future," Ashe explained, accepting her materialization with the calm of one who had witnessed it before. "Ah, yes, your traveling in time. And now you think that perhaps this poor world of ours has a choice as to which overlords it will welcome? I do not know either, Gordoon, whether the future may be altered nor if it be wise to try. But also ... well, perhaps we should see our enemy before we are set in any path. Now, it is time that we go. Younger brother, how did you plan to leave this place when you accomplished your mission?" "By the sea gate. I have extra swimming equipment cached under the jetty." "And the Rover ships await you at sea?" "Yes." "Then we shall take your way, since the cutters are sunk." "There is only one extra gill-pack—and that Baldy sub is out there, too!" "So? Then we shall try another road, though it will sap our power temporarily." Her head inclined slightly to the left as if she listened. "Good! Our people are now in the passage which will take them to safety. What those outside will find here when they break in will be of little aid to their plans. Secrets of the Foanna remain secrets past others' prying. Though they shall try, oh, how they shall try to solve them! There is knowledge that only certain types of minds can hold and use, and to others it remains for all time unlearnable. Now—" Her hand reached out, flattened against Ross's forehead. "Think of your Rover ship, younger brother, see it in your mind! And see well and clearly for me." Torgul's cruiser was there; he could picture with details he had not thought he knew or remembered. The deck in the dark of the night with only a shaded light at the mast. The deck ... Ross gave a choked cry. He did not see this in his mind; he saw it with his eyes! His hand swung out in an involuntary gesture of repudiation and struck painfully against wood. He was on the cruiser! A startled exclamation from behind him—then a shout. Ashe was here and beyond him three cloaked figures, the Foanna. They had their own road indeed and had taken it. "You ... Rosss—" Vistur fronted them, his face a mixture of bewilderment and awe. "The Foanna—" said in a half whisper, echoed by crewmen gathering around, but not too close. "Gordon!" Karara elbowed her way between two of the Hawaikans and ran across the deck. She caught the Agent's both hands as if to assure herself that he was alive and there before her. Then she turned to the three Foanna. There was an odd expression on the Polynesian girl's face, first of measurement with some fear, and then of dawning wonder. From beneath the cloak of the middle Foanna came the rod of office with its sparking knob. Karara dropped Ashe's hands, took a tentative step forward and then another. The knob was directly before her, breast high. She brought up both hands, cupping them about the knob, but not touching it directly. The sparks it emitted could have been flashing against her flesh, but Karara displayed no awareness of that. Instead, she lifted both hands farther, palm up and cupped, as if she carried some invisible bounty, then flattened them, loosing what she held. There was a sigh from the crewmen; Karara's gesture had been confident, as if she knew just what she was doing and why. And Ross heard Ashe draw a deep breath also as the Terran girl turned, allying herself with the Foanna. "These Great Ones stand in peace," she said. "It is their will that no harm comes to this ship and those who sail in her." "What do the Great Ones want of us?" Torgul advanced but not too near. "To speak concerning those who are your prisoners." "So be it." The Captain bowed. "The Great Ones' will is our will; let it be as they wish." About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Andre Alice Norton (2006). Key Out of Time. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19651/pg19651-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Foanna

Key Out of Time by Andre Alice Norton, is part of the HackerNoon Books Series. You can jump to any chapter in this book here . The Sea Gate of the Foanna The Sea Gate of the Foanna Ross raised a shell cup to his lips but hardly sipped the fiery brew it contained. This was a gesture of ceremony, but he wanted a steady head and a quick tongue for any coming argument. Torgul, Afrukta, Ongal—the three commanders of the Rover cruisers; Jazia, who represented the mysterious Power of Phutka; Vistur and some other subordinate officers; Karara; himself, with Loketh hovering behind: a council of war. But summoned against whom? The Terran had come too far afield from his own purpose—to reach Ashe in the Foanna keep. And to further his own plans was a task he doubted his ability to perform. His attack on the Baldies had made him too important to the Rovers for them to allow him willingly to leave them on a quest of his own. "These star men"—Ross set down the cup, tried to choose the most telling words in his limited Hawaikan vocabulary—"possess weapons and powers you can not dream of, that you have no defense against. Back at Kyn Add we were lucky. The salkars attacked their sub and halted the broadcast powering their flamers. Otherwise we could not have taken them, even though we were many against their few. Now you talk of hunting them in their own territory—on land and in the mountains where they have their base. That would be folly akin to swimming barehanded to front a salkar." "So—then we must sit and wait for them to eat us up?" flared Ongal. "I say it is better to die fighting with one's blade wet!" "Do you not also wish to take at least one of the enemy with you when you fight to that finish?" Ross countered. "These could kill you before you came in blade range." "You had no trouble with that weapon of yours," Afrukta spoke up. "I have told you—this weapon was stolen from them. I have only one and I do not know how long it will continue to serve me, or whether they have a defense against it. Those we took were naked to any force, for their broadcast had failed them. But to smash blindly against their main base would be the act of madmen." "The salkars opened a way for us—" That was Torgul. "But we can not move a pack of those inland to the mountains," Vistur pointed out reasonably. Ross studied the Captain. That Torgul was groping for a plan and that it had to be a shrewd one, the Terran guessed. His respect for the Rover commander had been growing steadily since their first meeting. The cruiser-raiders had always been captained by the most daring men of the Rover clans. But Ross was also certain that a successful cruiser commander must possess a level-headed leaven of intelligence and be a strategist of parts. The Hawaikan force needed a key which would open the Baldy base as the salkars had opened the lagoon. And all they had to aid them was a handful of facts gained from their prisoners. Oddly enough the picklock to the captives' minds had been produced by the dolphins. Just as Tino-rau and Taua had formed a bridge of communication between the Terran and Loketh, so did they read and translate the thoughts of the galactic invaders. For the Baldies, among their own kind, were telepathic, vocalizing only to give orders to inferiors. Their capture by these primitive "inferiors" had delivered the first shock, and the mind-probes of the dolphins had sent the "supermen" close to the edge of sanity. To accept an animal form as an equal had been shattering. But the star men's thoughts and memories had been winnowed at last and the result spread before this impromptu council. Rovers and Terrans were briefed on the invaders' master plan for taking over a world. Why they desired to do so even the dolphins had not been able to discover; perhaps they themselves had not been told by their superiors. It was a plan almost contemptuous in its simplicity, as if the galactic force had no reason to fear effective opposition. Except in one direction—one single direction. Ross's fingers tightened on the shell cup. Had Torgul reached that conclusion yet, the belief that the Foanna could be their key? If so, they might be able to achieve their separate purposes in one action. "It would seem that they are wary of the Foanna," he suggested, alert to any telltale response from Torgul. But it was Jazia who answered the Terran's half question. "The Foanna have a powerful magic; they can order wind and wave, man and creature—if so be their will. Well might these killers fear the Foanna!" "Yet now they move against them," Ross pointed out, still eyeing Torgul. The Captain's reply was a small, quiet smile. "Not directly, as you have heard. It is all a part of their plan to set one of us against the other, letting us fight many small wars and so use up our men while they take no risks. They wait the day when we shall be exhausted and then they will reveal themselves to claim all they wish. So today they stir up trouble between the Wreckers and the Foanna, knowing that the Foanna are few. Also they strive in turn to anger us by raids, allowing us to believe that either the Wreckers or Foanna have attacked. Thus—" he held up his left thumb, made a pincers of right thumb and forefinger to close upon it, "they hope to catch the Foanna, between Wreckers and Rovers. Because the Foanna are those they reckon the most dangerous they move against them now, using us and weakening our forces into the bargain. A plan which is clever, but the plan of men who do not like to fight with their own blades." "They are worse than the coast scum, these cowards!" Ongal spat. Torgul smiled again. "That is what they believe we will say, kinsman, and so underrate them. By our customs, yes, they are cowards. But what care they for our judgments? Did we think of the salkars when we used them to force the lagoon? No, they were only beasts to be our tools. So now it is the same with us, except that we know what they intend. And we shall not be such obedient tools. If the Foanna are our answer, then—" He paused, gazing into his cup as if he could read some shadowy future there. "If the Foanna are the answer, then what?" Ross pushed. "Instead of fighting the Foanna, we must warm, cherish, try to ally ourselves with them. And do all that while we still have time!" "Just how do we do these things?" demanded Ongal. "The Foanna you would warn, cherish, claim as allies, are already our enemies. Were we not on the way to force their sea gate only days ago? There is no chance of seeking peace now. And have the finned ones not learned from the women-killers that already there is an army of Wreckers camped about the citadel to which these sons of the Shadow plan to lend certain weapons? Do we throw away three cruisers—all we have left—in a hopeless fight? Such is the council of one struck by loss of wits." "There is a way—my way," Ross seized the opening. "In the Foanna citadel is my sword-lord, to whose service I am vowed. We were on our way to attempt his freeing when your ship picked us out of the waves. He is learned beyond me in the dealing with strange peoples, and if the Foanna are as clever as you say, they will already have discovered that he is not just a slave they claimed from Lord Zahur." There it was in the open, his own somewhat tattered hope that Ashe had been able to impress his captors with his knowledge and potential. Trained to act as contact man with other races, there was a chance that Gordon had saved himself from whatever fate had been planned for the prisoners the Foanna had claimed. If that happened, Ashe could be their opening wedge in the Foanna stronghold. "This also I know: That which guards the gate—which turns your minds whirling and sent you back from your raid—does not affect me. I may be able to win inside and find my clansman, and in that doing treat with the Foanna." The Baldy prisoners had not underestimated the attack on the Foanna citadel. As the Rover cruisers beat in under the cover of night the fires and torches of both besieged and besiegers made a wild glow across the sky. Only on the sea side of the fortress there was no sign of involvement. Whatever guarded the gate must still be in force. Ross stood with his feet well apart to balance his body against the swing of the deck. His suggestion had been argued over, protested, but at last carried with the support of Torgul and Jazia, and now he was to make his try. The sum of the Rovers' and Loketh's knowledge of the sea gate had been added for his benefit, but he knew that this venture must depend upon himself alone. Karara, the dolphins, the Hawaikans, were all too sensitive to the barrier. Torgul moved in the faint light. "We are close; our power is ebbing. If we advance, we shall be drifting soon." "It is time then." Ross crossed to the rope ladder, but another was there before him. Karara perched on the rail. He regarded her angrily. "You can't go." "I know. But we are still safe here. Just because you are free of one defense of the gate, Ross, do not believe that makes it easy." He was stung by her assumption that he could be so self-assured. "I know my business." Ross pushed past her, swinging down the rope ladder, pausing only above water level to snap on flippers, make sure of the set of his weighted belt, and slide his gill-mask over his face. There was a splash beside him as the net containing spare belt, flippers, and mask hit the water and he caught at it. These could provide Ashe's escape from the fortress. The lights on the shore made a wide arc of radiance across the sea. As Ross headed toward the wave-washed coast he began to hear shouting and other sounds which made him believe that the besiegers were in the midst of an all-out assault. Yet those distant fires and rocketlike blasts into the sky had a wavery blur. And Ross, making his way with the effortless water cleaving of the diver, surfaced now and then to spot film curling up from the surface of the sea between the two standing rock pillars which marked the sea gate. He was startled by a thunderous crack, rending the air above the small bay. Ross pulled to one of the pillars, steadied himself with one hand against it. Those twists of film rising from the surging surface were thickening. More tendrils grew out from parent stems to creep along above the waves, raising up sprouts and branches in turn. A wall of mist was building between gate and shore. Again a thunderclap overhead. Involuntarily the Terran ducked. Then he turned his face up to the sky, striving to see any evidence of storm. What hung there sped the growth of the fog on the water. Yet where the fog was gray-white, it was a darkness spouting from the highest point of the citadel. Ross could not explain how he was able to see one shade of darkness against equal dusk, but he did—or did he only sense it? He shook his head, willing himself to look away from the finger. Only it was a finger no longer; now it was a fist aimed at the stars it was fast blotting out. A fist rising to the heavens before it curled back, descended to press the fortress and its surroundings into rock and earth. Fog curled about Ross, spilled outward through the sea gates. He loosed his grip on the pillar and dived, swimming on through the gap with the fortress of the Foanna before him. There was a jetty somewhere ahead; that much he knew from Torgul's description. Those who served the Foanna sometimes took sea roads and they had slim, fast cutters for such coastwise travel. Ross surfaced cautiously, to discover there was no visibility to wave level. Here the mist was thick, a smothering cover so bewildering he was confused as to direction. He ducked below again and flippered on. Was his confusion born of the fog, or was it also in his head? Did he, after all, have this much reaction to the gate defense? Ross ducked that suspicion as he had ducked the moist blanket on the surface. He had come from the gate, which meant that the jetty must lie—there! A few moments later Ross had proof that his sense of direction had not altogether failed him, when his shoulder grazed against a solid obstruction in the water and his exploring touch told him that he had found one of the jetty piles. He surfaced again and this time he heard not a thunder roll but the singsong chanting of the Foanna. It was loud, almost directly above his head, but since the cotton mist held he was not afraid of being sighted. The chanter must be on the jetty. And to Ross's right was a dark bulk which he thought was one of the cutters. Was a sortie by the besieged being planned? Then, out of the night, came a dazzling beam, well above the level of Ross's head where he clung to the piling. It centered on the cutter, slicing into the substance of the vessel with the ease of steel piercing clay. The chanting stopped on mid-note, broken by cries of surprise and alarm. Ross, pressing against the pile, received a jolt from his belt sonic. There must be a Baldy sub in the basin inside the gate. Perhaps the flame beam now destroying the cutter was to be turned on the walls of the keep in turn. Foanna chant again, low and clear. Splashes from the water as those on the jetty cast into the sea objects Ross could not define. The Terran's body jerked, his mask smothered a cry of pain. About his legs and middle, immersed in the waves, there was cold so intense that it seared. Fear goaded him to pull up on one of the under beams of the pier. He reached that refuge and rubbed his icy legs with what vigor he could summon. Moments later he crept along toward the shore. The energy ray had found another target. Ross paused to watch a second cutter sliced. If the counter stroke of the Foanna would rout the invaders, it had not yet begun to work. The net holding the extra gear brought along in hopes of Ashe's escape weighed the Terran down, but he would not abandon it as he felt his way from one foot- and hand-hold to the next. The waves below gave off an icy exudation which made him shiver uncontrollably. And he knew that as long as that effect lasted he dared not venture into the sea again. Light ... along with the cold, there was a phosphorescence on the water—white patches floating, dipping, riding the waves. Some of them gathered under the pier, clustering about the pilings. And the fog thinned with their coming, as if those irregular blotches absorbed and fed upon the mist. The Terran could see now he had reached the land end of the jetty. He wedged his flippers into his belt, pulled on over his feet the covers of salkar-hide Torgul had provided. Save for his belt, his trunks, and the gill-pack, Ross's body was bare and the cold caught at him. But, slinging the carry net over his shoulder, he dropped to the damp sand and stood listening. The clamor of the attack which had carried all the way offshore to the Rover cruisers had died away. And there were no more claps of thunder. Instead, there was now a thick wash of rain. No more fire rays as he faced seaward. And the fog was lifting, so Ross could distinguish the settling cutters, their bows still moored to the jetty. There was no movement there. Had those on the pier fled? Dot ... dash ... dot ... Ross did not drop the net. But he crouched back in the half protection of the piling. For a moment which stretched beyond Terran time measure he froze so, waiting. Dot ... dash ... dot ... Not the prickle induced by the enemy installations, it was a real coded call picked up by his sonic, and one he knew. Don't rush, he told himself sharply—play it safe. By rights only two people in this time and place would know that call. And one would have no reason to use it. But—a trap? This could be a trap. Awe of the Foanna powers had touched him a little in spite of his off-world skepticism. He could be lured now by someone using Ashe's call. Ross stripped for action after a fashion, bundling the net and its contents into a hollow he scooped behind a pile well above water level. The alien hand weapon he had left with Karara, not trusting it to the sea. But he had his diver's knife and his two hands which, by training, could be, and had been, deadly weapons. With the sonic against the bare skin of his middle where it would register strongest, knife in hand, Ross moved into the open. The floating patches did not supply much light, but he was certain the call had come from the jetty. There was movement there—a flash or two. And the sonic? Ross had to be sure, very sure. The broadcast was certainly stronger when he faced in that direction. Dared he come into the open? Perhaps in the dark he could cut Ashe away from his captors so they could swim for it together. Ross clicked a code reply. Dot ... dot ... dot ... The answer was quick, imperative: "Where?" Surely no one but Ashe could have sent that! Ross did not hesitate. "Be ready—escape." "No!" Even more imperative. "Friends here...." Had he guessed rightly? Had Ashe established friendly relations with the Foanna? But Ross kept to the caution which had been his defense and armor so long. There was one question he thought only Ashe could answer, something out of the past they had shared when they had made their first journey into time disguised as Beaker traders of the Bronze Age. Deliberately he tapped that question. "What did we kill in Britain?" Tensely he waited. But when the reply came it did not pulse from the sonic under his fingers; instead, a well-remembered voice called out of the night. "A white wolf." And the words were Terran English. "Ashe!" Ross leaped forward, climbed toward the figure he could only dimly see. About HackerNoon Book Series: We bring you the most important technical, scientific, and insightful public domain books. This book is part of the public domain. Andre Alice Norton (2006). Key Out of Time. Urbana, Illinois: Project Gutenberg. Retrieved October 2022 https://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/19651/pg19651-images.html This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org , located at https://www.gutenberg.org/policy/license.html .

The Sea Gate of the Foanna

THE EMPIRE OF THE ANTS

HOW I STOLE THE HEAPS OF QUAP FROM MORDET ISLAND

Failure in a Modern Utopia

David Copperfield: Chapter 3 - I Have A Change

The Count of Monte Cristo, Illustrated: Chapter 46 - Unlimited Credit

"Learn to program by creating working applications" that's the first thing you see when opening up the . And I would like to share my experience so far. (been pretty awesome in a nutshell) website Learn by Doing... a phrase I have come across countless of times in any technology I ever began to explore. The issue with learning a specific language or framework is I never quite understood where to stop and make a proof of work, a project to showcase what I learnt and given how vast a programming language can be and also not ending up seeing that new construct in use for my project that I just learnt. JetBrains Academy or Jetty does a very good job in addressing these issues I face and tops it up with a personal bias I have to learn something. Instead of video based tutorials, it has tons of learning material in a textual form. :D What you have is a choice of 4 tracks each with its own set of projects. I have only explored the Java track up to now and would keep my admiration and criticism centred there. One thing to point out is that these tracks are not strictly separable. More on this later. Each project has its own level of difficulty and selecting any in your destiny spawns this page. A study plan by Jetty :o Well, this is what's great about the platform. The project is divided in x number of stages and each stage has its own share of concepts. Each stage builds upon the previous stage and by the time you reach the last stage, you end up with a complete project to showcase. Like I said earlier, the topics in a track are intertwined, you might see some Web concepts in your Java track if your making something with Spring Boot. Or they will introduce some SQL in your stage if project ships with a database. My main point being is that you get a hands on development experience. You end up learning many things with Java but not restricted to the language itself if you chose that track. Some backstory about me. Before encountering Jetty, my interaction with Java was two years prior, Java as a college subject. I ended up reading Head First Java, one of my most favourite books because of its humour and lucid explanations but it ever taught me concepts in Java. I started with the Java track with the aim to code and revise my Java concepts.What it delivered was definitely many good things at once. Each concept has its own theory and set of questions (both quizzes and coding exercises as shown below). It has this cool UI as you can see, which is self explanatory, but I would like to mention it. At the side you generally have three labels. The eye catching two are 'topic is required for' and 'topic depends on' which connects each concept to others while making it easy to work through a single byte-sized topic. You will also notice a feedback and comments section. The feedback is a couple of cute emojis and the comment section is full of additional knowledge most of the times. That ends up being really helpful especially when the topic felt too vague or maybe you want to know.... "Hey what if x ?" The small comment community below each topic is definitely helpful and fun to read and always adds quite a bit to the amazing learning experience. The guys down there are definitely helpful and you always end up with more hyperlinks in case you desired more depth in the topic. But like every code we've written where we have some scope of improvement, the same goes for Jetty. The platform still has to put in more work on it's Algorithms section. Though it has a well written theory section, we still want some coding questions that are lacking. That's the only thing I guess. I did have a complaint earlier that the projects in the Java track were ideal for beginners but basic and rather not ideal on my resume. But seeing the newer ones come out, especially those in Challenging and some in Hard are definitely worth putting on your resume after some creativity of your own as suggested on Reddit. (still yet to implement my own creativity :c ) What's great about the platform is also that the Reddit community is very active and even the moderators are very active both on the website and the Reddit space. The platform keeps updating itself with new topics, projects and revisions in the previous material. (As I am writing this article, I think it would be great to highlight concepts with major revisions yellow instead of green so I could have a look at them again.) For me personally, since I have started using it, I have nothing but praise for the platform and its community, the little ways in which it has helped my developer life.I was happy to be part of the Early Access Program and hope to continue on the platform and complete its Java track and would recommend you to start your free trial too especially if your a college student looking to build a project easily (...easily because the stage stuff makes doing it pretty simple). It is an effective 2 month trial if you use it as stated on their but you can also use for a 3 months trial (I get gems in the barter). Also two of the tracks are currently free, being in Beta. The subscription is on the costlier side but they have spoken about rolling out special offers too . website my referral link here Thanks for the read 💙

My Experience with Jetbrains Academy So Far [Review]

In this article, we will discuss some important 10 interview questions in Spring Boot. These the entire question is trending with building strong java career in the job market. 1) What is the use of @SpringBootApplication annotation and what is does internally? As per Spring Boot documentation, @springBootapplication annotation, is combination of @ComponentScna, @EnableAutoConfiguration, and @Configuration annotations with their default values. Spring boot enables the user to use single annotation, instead-of multiple annotations. @SpringBootApplication also provides the customize settings using different attributes like exclude (to exclude the auto-configuration classes), basePackages to provide base-package name for component scan. 2) What are the Advantages of Spring Boot? Main Advantages of Spring boot are: It provides the auto-configuration feature, which load the default configuration to . speed-up the Java web development company It comes with embedded web-server with different types of servers like tomcat, jetty etc.. It also provides the customizes to customize to server settings. It provides the starters for different modules, by adding these start-modules, spring boot will bootstrap will the default values. Spring-boot actuator is the framework, to providing API for monitoring and management of the application. Spring boot provides the conditional annotations, based on which conditions which bean should be loaded. Spring-boot easily integrates other modules like security, batch, and also with external frameworks like Hibernate, Redis etc. 3) Different possible external configuration sources for spring boot: Spring boot multiple ways to externalize the spring boot configuration, spring boot can read configuration either properties file or from yaml files. Below are the different ways to read configuration: Application configuration: Spring boot by default will search for either application.properties file or application.yaml to read configuration in class-path root directory. Command-line properties: Spring boot provides a way to pass command-line argument and convert these properties to target types using converters, and them to environment properties. Profile-specific properties: As spring boot supports the profile, spring boot will recognize the configuration properties file in application-{profile}.properties, it will also load the application.properties and also application-{profile}.properties file, if nay duplicate properties are found, properties from profile will take overwrite with global properties. 4) What is Spring Boot dependency management? For spring boot applications, we can use spring-boot-parent, where we don’t need to specify the versions for spring-boot-starter, it will automatically resolves version from parent pom file. 5) How to change the application port and context-path of spring-boot application? We can specify the server.port key for specifying the application port, if we are using profile, then we can also specify or override the for the specific profile in application-{profile}.properties(.yaml) with same key. server.servlet.context-path is key used to specify the application context path, by default all spring boot application are deployed as root application. 6) What are the spring-boot dev-tools and what are its uses? Spring boot Dev tools are an elaborated set of tools, which will help developer in developing the application easier, it will automatically re-deploy the application whenever developer made changes with less time. Spring boot dev-tools uses two class loaders, one for loading the dependencies from external jar file, one class-loader which loads the application classes, spring-boot dev-tools will re-load the classes from second class-loader. Using this approach deployment time of the application will be reduced. It also provides the live-reload server, it any modifications for User interfaces related files, like CSS, HTML, JS files, live-reload server will send the request to reload the browser page automatically. 7) How to prepare the spring-boot-application jar/war with all dependencies: Spring-boot-maven-plaugin comes with spring-boot will helps in providing the fat-jar with all dependencies as executable jar file. 8) How to enable HTTP/2 support in Spring Boot: You can enable the HTTP/2 support in Spring Boot by: server.http2.enabled=true 9) What is the best way to expose custom application configuration with Spring Boot? We can create a custom configuration by using annotation called @ConfigurationProperties and specify the prefix and add this annotation along with @Configuration annotation at class-level. The properties/fields specified in class, we can configure these properties along with prefix in spring-boot configuration file. We can retrieve these values either using @Value annotation. 10) Explain how to register a custom auto-configuration? In order to register an auto-configuration class, you have to mention the fully-qualified name under the @EnableAutoConfiguration key META-INF/spring. factories file. 11) What is meaning of relaxed binding? And how spring boot will support? Relaxed binding is key to the environment, where property-name does not need to exact match with configuration property name.environment property can be written in camelCase, kebab-case, snake_case, or uppercase with words separated by underscores. 12) How to write Integration tests in spring-boot? Spring-boot-test provides the @SpringBootTest, which starts the applicationContext from classes attribute, if not it will search for all configuration classes. 13) What is Spring-boot-Actuator? What are its uses? Spring-boot-actuator brings the spring-boot application to provide the production ready features. These features will allow us to monitor and manage the applications. It provides the different endpoints for different purposes. Here are the some of built-in endpoints: Info: display the information on the application. loggers: It provides the loggers associated with different packages, we can also able to modify the loggers for each package. threaddump: performs the threaddump at a particular point. metrics: It shows the application metrics. env: It provides the Environment properties. auditevents: It exposes audit events information. Health: Shows the application of health. Mappings: It provides the information of all @RequestMappings specified in application.

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