"...I felt as though, instead of going to the center of a continent, I were about to set off for the center of the earth..."(Conrad 17)
The center of the earth (the core) is said to be as hot as the sun but the temperature fluctuates regularly; it is composed primarily of nickel-iron alloy. To travel to the center of the earth is absolutely impossible, you would die instantly, not to mention that difficulty of cutting through the other layers of our earth. Conrad is stating that when Marlow said this he meant that this was going to be a frightful, dangerous and quite possibly, impossible journey.
consider the historical context -- was science at the point where it completely understood the earth in the way you have analyzed Conrad's purpose? I think you've got a good point about emphasizing danger -- what would happen if you took the science piece out of it -- how would going to the "center of the earth" be significant as a concept?
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