CHAPTER XXXV.
"A CERTAIN POINT WITHIN A SPHERE."--MEN ARE AS PARASITES ON THE ROOF OF EARTH.
I realized again, as I had so many times before, that it was useless forme to rebel. "The self-imposed mystery of a sacrificed life lies beforeme," I murmured, "and there is no chance to retrace my footsteps. The'Beyond' of the course that I have voluntarily selected, and sworn tofollow, is hidden; I must nerve myself to pursue it to the bitter end,and so help me God, and keep me steadfast."
"Well said," he replied; "and since you have so wisely determined, I amfree to inform you that these new obligations, like those you haveheretofore taken, contain nothing which can conflict with your duty toGod, your country, your neighbor, or yourself. In considering thephenomena presented by the suspension of the act of breathing, it shouldoccur to you that where little labor is to be performed, littleconsumption of energy is required. Where there is such a triflingdestruction of the vital force (not mind force) as at present is thecase with us, it requires but slight respiration to retain the normalcondition of the body. On earth's surface the act of respiration aloneconsumes by far the larger proportion of vital energy, and the muscularexertion involved thereby necessitates a proportionate amount ofbreathing in order that breath itself may continue. This act ofrespiration is the result of one of the conditions of surface earthlife, and consumes most of the vital force. If men would think of this,they would understand how paradoxical it is for them to breathe in orderto live, when the very act of respiration wears away their bodies andshortens their lives more than all else they have to do, and withoutadding to their mental or physical constitution in the least. Men areconversant with physical death as a constant result of suspendedrespiration, and with respiration as an accompaniment of life, whichever constant and connected conditions lead them to accept that the actof breathing is a necessity of mortal life. In reality, man occupies anunfortunate position among other undeveloped creatures of externalearth; he is an animal, and is constitutionally framed like the otheranimals about him. He is exposed to the warring elements, to the viciousattacks of savage beasts and insidious parasites, and to the inroads ofdisease. He is a prey to the elementary vicissitudes of the undesirableexposure in which he exists upon the outer surface of our globe, whereall is war, even among the forces of nature about him. These conditionsrender his lot an unhappy one indeed, and in ignorance he overlooks thetorments of the weary, rasping, endless slavery of respiration in thepersonal struggle he has to undergo in order to retain a brief existenceas an organized being. Have you never thought of the connectedtribulations that the wear and tear of respiration alone inflict uponthe human family? The heaving of the chest, the circulation of theblood, the throbbing of the heart, continue from mortal birth untildeath. The heart of man forces about two and one-half ounces of bloodwith each pulsation. At seventy beats per minute this amounts to sixhundred and fifty-six pounds per hour, or nearly eight tons per day. Thelungs respire over one thousand times an hour, and move over threethousand gallons of air a day. Multiply these amounts by three hundredand sixty-five, and then by seventy, and you have partly computed theenormous life-work of the lungs and heart of an adult. Over two hundredthousand tons of blood, and seventy-five million gallons of air havebeen moved by the vital force. The energy thus consumed is dissipated.No return is made for the expenditure of this life force. During thenatural life of man, more energy is consequently wasted in materialtransformation resulting from the motion of heart and lungs, than wouldbe necessary to sustain the purely vital forces alone for a thousandyears. Besides, the act of respiration which man is compelled to performin his exposed position, necessitates the consumption of large amountsof food, in order to preserve the animal heat, and replace the waste ofa material body that in turn is worn out by these very movements. Addthis waste of energy to the foregoing, and then you will surely perceivethat the possible life of man is also curtailed to another and greaterdegree in the support of the digestive part of his organism. His spiritis a slave to his body; his lungs and heart, on which he imagines lifedepends, are unceasing antagonists of life. That his act of breathing isnow a necessity upon the surface of the earth, where the force ofgravity presses so heavily, and where the elements have men at theircommand, and show him no mercy, I will not deny; but it is exasperatingto contemplate such a waste of energy, and corresponding loss of humanlife."
"You must admit, however, that it is necessary?" I queried.
"No; only to an extent. The natural life of man should, and yet will be,doubled, trebled, multiplied a dozen, yes a thousand fold."
I stepped in front of him; we stood facing each other.
"Tell me," I cried, "how men can so improve their condition as tolengthen their days to the limit you name, and let me return to surfaceearth a carrier of the glad tidings."
He shook his head.
I dropped on my knees before him.
"I DROPPED ON MY KNEES BEFORE HIM."]
"I implore you in behalf of that unfortunate humanity, of which I am amember, give me this boon. I promise to return to you and do yourbidding. Whatever may be my subsequent fate, I promise to acquiescetherein willingly."
He raised me to my feet.
"Be of good cheer," he said, "and in the proper time you may return tothe surface of this rind of earth, a carrier of great and good news tomen."
"Shall I teach them of what you have shown me?" I asked.
"Yes; in part you will be a forerunner, but before you obtain theinformation that is necessary to the comfort of mankind you will haveto visit surface earth again, and return again, perhaps repeatedly. Youmust prove yourself as men are seldom proven. The journey you havecommenced is far from its conclusion, and you may not be equal to itssubsequent trials; prepare yourself, therefore, for a series of eventsthat may unnerve you. If you had full confidence and faith in yourguide, you would have less cause to fear the result, but your suspicioushuman nature can not overcome the shrinking sensation that is natural tothose who have been educated as you have been amid the changingvicissitudes of the earth's surface, and you can not but be incredulousby reason of that education."
Then I stopped as I observed before me a peculiar fungus--peculiarbecause unlike all others I had seen. The convex part of its bowl wasbelow, and the great head, as an inverted toadstool, stood upright on ashort, stem-like pedestal. The gills within were of a deep green color,and curved out from the center in the form of a spiral. This form,however, was not the distinguishing feature, for I had before observedspecimens that were spiral in structure. The extraordinary peculiaritywas that the gills were covered with fruit. This fruit was likewisegreen in color, each spore, or berry, being from two to three inches indiameter, and honeycombed on the surface, corrugated most beautifully. Istopped, leaned over the edge of the great bowl, and plucked a specimenof the fruit. It seemed to be covered with a hard, transparent shell,and to be nearly full of a clear, green liquid. I handled and examinedit in curiosity, at which my guide seemed not to be surprised. Regardingme attentively, he said:
"What is it that impels a mortal towards this fruit?"
"It is curious," I said; "nothing more."
"As for that," said he, "it is not curious at all; the seed of thelobelia of upper earth is more curious, because, while it is asexquisitely corrugated, it is also microscopically small. In the secondplace you err when you say it is simply curious, 'nothing more,' for nomortal ever yet passed that bowl without doing exactly as you have done.The vein of curiosity, were it that alone that impels you, could not buthave an exception."
Then he cracked the shell of the fruit by striking it on the stonyfloor, and carefully opened the shell, handing me one of the halvesfilled with a green fluid. As he did so he spoke the single word,"Drink," and I did as directed. He stood upright before me, and as Ilooked him in the face he seemingly, without a reason, struck off into adissertation, apparently as distinct from our line of thought as adisconnected subject could be, as follows:
"HANDING ME ON
E OF THE HALVES, HE SPOKE THE SINGLEWORD, DRINK."]