:11:00
except the helicopter
piloted by Burton.
:11:05
He came back
only after the dark had set in.
:11:09
He immediately ran to his quarters,
obviously in a state of shock.
:11:15
lt was so unusual
for a man
:11:21
who had been flying for 1 1 years.
:11:23
He had recovered in a couple of days,
but he would never leave the station.
:11:28
And he refused to approach
the window overlooking the ocean.
:11:31
While under medical care in a clinic
he offered to make a statement
:11:36
of great importance,
:11:38
one which he felt could affect
the whole future of Project Solaris.
:11:42
Very well, let's hear his story.
:11:48
Now is the time
to let Burton talk.
:12:01
The first time l descended
below a thousand feet,
:12:05
l had trouble maintaining altitude,
:12:08
because the wind had come up.
:12:12
All my efforts were required
in operating the ship.
:12:16
l wasn't watching outside.
:12:21
As a result, l entered the fog bank.
:12:24
Was that an ordinary fog?
:12:26
lt was like nothing l'd ever seen
before.
:12:29
lt seemed to be a colloidal substance,
a gluey mass.
:12:33
All the windows were coated.
:12:37
Because ofthe fog's resistance
l began to lose altitude.
:12:43
Where l supposed the sun would be,
the fog glowed like fire.
:12:51
Half an hour later, l emerged
into a large open space.
:12:55
The patch was round,
about a few hundred meters across.