:12:00
The first time l descended
below a thousand feet,
:12:04
l had trouble maintaining altitude,
:12:07
because the wind had come up.
:12:11
All my efforts were required
in operating the ship.
:12:15
l wasn't watching outside.
:12:20
As a result, l entered the fog bank.
:12:23
Was that an ordinary fog?
:12:24
lt was like nothing l'd ever seen
before.
:12:28
lt seemed to be a colloidal substance,
a gluey mass.
:12:32
All the windows were coated.
:12:35
Because ofthe fog's resistance
l began to lose altitude.
:12:42
Where l supposed the sun would be,
the fog glowed like fire.
:12:50
Half an hour later, l emerged
into a large open space.
:12:53
The patch was round,
about a few hundred meters across.
:13:00
At that moment l observed
great changes in the ocean.
:13:06
The water became still,
and the surface looked transparent.
:13:12
A sort ofyellow mucus started
to congeal under it.
:13:16
When it rose up,
it glistened like glass.
:13:22
Then it began to boil,
and a frothy crust appeared on top.
:13:27
The surface was brown
like burned sugar syrup.
:13:31
This substance solidified into big
lumps,
:13:36
giving shape to
all sorts offigures.
:13:41
l was being drawn to
the fog bank,
:13:44
so l had to struggle
against this force for some time.
:13:48
When l looked down again,
:13:50
l saw a sort of garden.
:13:54
A garden?
:13:56
Quiet, please.
:13:59
l could see vegetation, hedges,
acacia trees, narrow paths.