Further water injection was impossible, and even if it weren’t, it would act more to combust than to quench the fire.

All emergency command center personnel assembled at the third mine, by Shaft No. 4, the nearest to the fire line.

“The fire is nearing the mine’s extraction zone,” Aygul said. “If it gets there, then the mine passages will supply it with oxygen and multiply its strength considerably…. That’s the present situation.” He broke off, and glanced at the bureau director and the heads of the five mines uncomfortably, unwilling to violate the greatest taboo in mining.

“And conditions in the shafts?” the director asked without emotion.

“Excavation and extraction are proceeding as normal in eight shafts, primarily for stability’s sake,” the head of one mine said.

“Shut down production altogether. Evacuate all staff in the shafts. Then …” The director paused and remained silent for a few seconds.

Those few seconds felt immeasurably long.

“Seal the shafts,” the director said at last, uttering the heartbreaking words.

“No! You can’t!” The cry burst from Li Minsheng before he could stop himself. “What I mean is …” He grasped for counterlogic to present the director. “Sealing the shafts … sealing the shafts … will throw everything into chaos. And …”

“Enough,” the director said with a gentle wave of his hand. His expression said everything: I know how you feel. I feel the same way. We all do.

Li Minsheng crouched on the ground, head in hands, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. The mining leadership and engineers stood silently before the shaft. The cavernous entrance stared back at them like a giant eye, just as Shaft No. 2 had stared at Liu Xin two decades before.

They shared a moment of silence for the century-old mine.

After a while, the bureau’s chief engineer broke the silence with a low voice: “Let’s take up as much equipment as we can from down below.”

“Then,” the mine chief said, “we ought to get together demolition squads.”

The director nodded. “Time is of the essence. You get to work. I’ll file a request with the ministry.”

The bureau party secretary said, “Can’t we use military engineers? If we use miners for the demolition squad, and anything happens …”

“I’ve considered it,” said the director. “But we only have one detachment of military engineers at the moment, far too few even for one shaft. Besides, they’re not familiar with subterranean demolitions.”

*

Shaft No. 4, closest to the fire, was the first to shut down. When the tramloads of miners reached the entrance, they found a hundred-strong demolition squad waiting around a pile of drills. They inquired, but the demolition squad members didn’t know what they were expected to do; their orders were only to assemble beside the drilling equipment. Suddenly, their attention was seized by a convoy heading toward the entrance. The first truck bristled with armed police, who jumped down to secure a perimeter around a parking area for the vehicles that followed. When the eleven trucks stopped, the canvas was pulled back to reveal neat stacks of yellow wooden crates. The miners were stunned. They knew what was in these crates.