CHAPTER IV.
THE STORY OF MARTIAN LIFE.
With a determination of finding a room from which I could command alonger view of Mars, the next day I visited several studios which werefor rent, and finally succeeded in securing one formerly occupied by aphotographer, which was located on the top floor of a house in theimmediate vicinity of my old rooms.
The room was large, in fact it occupied the entire top floor of thebuilding, and this feature pleased me greatly. The only communicationwith the house was by a door which had every appearance of an outsidedoor, so heavy were the hinges and lock. The landlord, in drawing myattention to this, had smiled and remarked that the former tenant, wholived in another section of the city, had been very careful always toleave his studio securely locked. The ceiling of half the room wasentirely of glass, sloping down to the floor at the angle of the roof,and this was the only means of obtaining air and light. It wasconstructed in two sections, which would slide back and forth, for thepurpose of ventilation. This arrangement, I found, would give me anunobstructed view of Mars for several hours each night. Nothing could bebetter adapted to my requirements; I could not be observed by anyoneoutside, and I need not fear being overheard while conversing with myMartian friend.
I therefore determined to have my instrument moved at once, in order tobe installed in my new quarters that evening.
I next bought a crate, used for large oil paintings, and upon itsdelivery at my old rooms, I immediately commenced packing my instrumentin it. Owing to its great weight this was no easy work, and it wouldexpress the procedure better if I said that I placed the crate aroundthe instrument. Making sure that it was all covered carefully, I had itmoved to my new quarters and set in place, the impression of thecarriers being that it was a painting which I was very anxious that noone should see until it was completed.
As it was now within an hour of the time when I expected Mars to appear,I decided to leave my books and other belongings at my former roomsuntil the next day. I uncovered the instrument, and got everything intoreadiness, being careful to see that the batteries were all in place, sothat nothing might occur to interrupt the long talk with the Martianwhich I was anticipating.
Having turned on the current, and opened the sliding section of theglass roof, I now awaited the appearance of Mars. There occurred to mequestion alter question that seemed of sufficient importance to promptimmediate inquiry, only to be forgotten as others came into my mind;until the presence of the increasing faint glow on my instrument foundme unprepared with any single question of actual importance.Consequently I decided to allow my distant informant to continue withthe account of Martian observations of Earth, as being at once the mostinstructive and surest way of suggesting important questions.
As my eyes got accustomed to the brilliancy I saw the Martian waitingfor me, with his instrument in readiness. We greeted each other with theaffection we both now sincerely felt, and though I could not clasp hishand, I endeavored in every way to show him the brotherly warmth offeeling I entertained for him.
It now occurred to me that in the excitement of our first communicationwith each other, we had completely overlooked an importantconventionality. I therefore announced that I was known on Earth asHarold Lonsdale.
"My name is Almos," he responded, his dark eyes sparkling as he quicklyentered into the spirit of the occasion. "Although it was customary oncefor us to have two or three names, we found it in better harmony withthe changed conditions of the present time to have but one. This youwill more easily understand when you have become better acquainted withthis planet and its people."
"And as I am most anxious to learn more about the conditions of life inyour world," I added, eagerly, "I trust you will continue the account ofMartian observations of Earth, which was barely commenced last eveningwhen the wave contact ceased. But first let me ask how you located mywhereabouts, for this morning I moved to another section of the city."
"Ah!" he replied, with a smile, "I was not aware you had moved.Experience has taught me about where to look for the large city you callParis, on the side of Earth that is now exposed to us, and then bysystematic search I soon located the response of your instrument.
"As our observations of Earth with projected light-rays have beencarried on for seven hundred years, it will be necessary to give you anoutline of our history and the progress of science covering that time.This will not only be of interest as a forecast of your own world'sfuture, but will also prove of the greatest value to you, if you decideto visit this planet, an undertaking which I am convinced lies withinyour power."
His words wrung an exclamation of astonishment from my lips, but, asthough not wishing to be interrupted, he went on:
"Seven hundred years ago, a power derived from that substance known onEarth as radium, was discovered on Mars. This power was found to becapable of projecting light rays almost instantaneously through spacefor inconceivable distances, at the same time preserving their integrityto such a remarkable degree that they would reach the farthest planetswithout diffusion or diminution. Thus my image, thrown upon theinstrument before me, is conveyed to Earth in light-waves by this flowof super-radium with such tremendous speed as to be practicallyinstantaneous; these are received in your instrument, which isresponsive to the flow of super-radium, in the same condition as whenthey left Mars, consequently depicting the image life-size.
"Having come in contact with another body in the heavens, thisoutward-flowing current of super-radium is changed to an inward-flowingcurrent. In making this change it frees the light-waves it conveyed fromMars, and retains the light-waves of the objects about it, which ismerely repeating its performance upon leaving Mars. These light-waves ofobjects on another globe it now conveys on its return journey to Mars,entering a receiving instrument and depicting the objects thereinlife-size.
"Possessing rays invisible to the human eye, except when agitated by asubstance of its own nature, daylight on a planet becomes an entirelyunnecessary adjunct to observations made with super-radium, and we areable to explore the dark side of planets and other heavenly bodies, justas effectually as those illuminated by the sun.
"Thus have we, for seven hundred years, been able to study the country,cities, streets, and people of Earth. And not only did we note aremarkable similarity in the people, buildings, and scientific progressto early Martian ages, but, by the advertisements, placards, and otherstreet signs we were able to learn the principal languages spoken onyour planet, and these were found to correspond in a remarkable degreeto those in use on Mars, before conditions on our planet made theadoption of a composite language an absolute necessity. And undoubtedlythese same conditions in due time will face the people of Earth."
I could not restrain an exclamation of astonishment at this prediction,but Almos at once reassured me by stating that when the time did come,it would be the beginning of universal peace and happiness on Earth.
"Am I to understand, then," said I, "that a condition of perfecthappiness prevails on Mars?"
"Unhappiness is considered a disease with us," Almos rejoined. "It isheard of, but very rarely, and is treated as a serious malady. But youwill understand these things better as you gradually become acquaintedwith the conditions here. You must remember that you are in the positionof a man over fifteen hundred years in advance of his day.
"Having become convinced, through close observations, that the progressof Earth was identical with that of Mars, and that Earth, being theyounger planet, was consequently following our lead, we anxiouslywatched for the discovery on Earth of the wonderful power that had beenthe means of bringing us into such close visual contact with you. Whenyou discovered radium, we realized that this would eventually lead tothe discovery of the higher power, but we feared that this might not befor hundreds of years.
"That communication was possible through the medium of radium andelectricity, we were totally ignorant of. It was the responsiveproperties of radium in your instrument, however, that first attractedmy attention while sea
rching over Paris for an object I had previouslybeen observing. Thereafter my interest in your progress was as great asyour own, and every twenty-four hours, when the eastern hemisphere ofEarth was turned toward Mars, I searched with the radioscope until I gotthe response of your instrument.
"I have kept my success in communicating with Earth a secret, as itinvolves an invention of mine which I have not yet made public, and ofwhich I will now tell you. This invention is the radiphone, throughwhich we are now conversing, and to which the diaphragm of yourinstrument responds, as it doubtless contains radium also. My entirelife has been devoted to the development of Martian-Earthlycommunication, and this instrument has been the goal which I havestriven to reach since boyhood, and yet its success in communicatingwith Earth came as a great surprise to me."
So accustomed was I to hear the Martian speak of the most miraculousoccurrences in an ordinary conversational tone, that the idea of therestill remaining something on Mars to be discovered appeared a stillgreater wonder.
"We have made a most important discovery," pursued Almos. "I say 'we,'as without the response of your instrument the action of a super-radiumcurrent on sound-waves would not have been discovered."
"I feel that I can hardly share in the honors," I protested modestly."Without the super-radium current from Mars, I would still beexperimenting with the hope of finding a substitute for glass."
I now entered into a full account of the experiments I had conducted,describing how, quite accidentally, I had made a substance responsive tothe waves from Mars. He was greatly amused upon hearing of myastonishment at finding that Martians resembled the people on Earth; andwhen I drew for him a verbal picture of the ferocious creatures theinhabitants of Mars were supposed to be, he laughed aloud.
"We never suspected that the people of Earth did us such a greatinjustice," he said, his whole countenance lighting up with good humor."I have several volumes here giving accounts of observations of Earth,some of them written eight hundred years ago. It would perhaps interestyou to hear what the Martian conception of the inhabitants of Earth wasat that time."
"Indeed it would," I exclaimed, with rising curiosity.
"Well then," rejoined Almos, bringing one of the books and turning overthe leaves, while a curious smile still played about his mouth, "youmust understand that this was written over a hundred years beforesuper-radium was discovered, and at that time we had no means ofobserving Earth except through the telescope, which showed us themountains, seas, and continents, much the same as your telescope mustreveal the physical features of Mars. On the question of whether Earthis inhabited the author says:
"'That this planet is inhabited we have no reason to doubt, as it isknown to be enveloped in an atmosphere, and it is now a generallyaccepted theory that the changes noticed in its color throughout theyear are the seasonal effects on vegetable matter existing on itssurface.... What the inhabitants are like, however, we can onlysurmise, but a study of the conditions under which they live will helpus to picture the wild amphibious creatures they must be. Their planet,more than half covered with water, and being so many millions of milesnearer the sun than we are, is almost continually enveloped in heavyclouds of vapor, which, unless they were half fish, must surelysuffocate them. They doubtless seek the depths of water when theseclouds of thick vapor arise. Upon emerging, however, they have to facesuch intense heat as none of us could tolerate a minute and live....They are no doubt provided with steel-like skin to resist thistemperature.... That they are of a fierce temperament there can belittle doubt, as their atmosphere, which is twice the weight of ours, isso overcharged with electricity, owing to the heat and clouds of vapor,that violent storms are constantly breaking over them, doubtless killingthousands of them at a time and tending to make the natures of thesurvivors as fierce as the elements which surround them.... Their yearis but half as long as ours, and this--impeding the laws of propagation,thus making impossible the higher order of mankind--would naturallyhave the effect of rendering their lives a short, reckless, andferocious existence, full of unrestrained cruelty and passions....'
"And now," continued Almos, with a smile, after closing the volume, "yousee there is no occasion for apologies from you."
"No," I answered, somewhat dryly.
"The fact is, my dear fellow," said Almos, laughing and seeming to enjoythe situation immensely, "the entire solar system is pursuing the samepath; what A thinks of B, B has already thought of A."
The failing light on my instrument at this moment gave warning of thepassing of Mars out of wave contact, and we were obliged to bid eachother good-bye, Almos promising important revelations on the morrow.
As I stood for a moment before my instrument, now wrapped in darkness, Iwas conscious of a strange feeling that, in bidding Almos adieu, I hadalso parted from another inhabitant of Mars. Though well aware that Ihad only seen and conversed with Almos, my mind, nevertheless, alsoreproduced the likeness of a young girl, wonderfully beautiful. I hadfirst experienced this mental image immediately after my firstconversation with Almos. At that time I had tried hard to put it from meas merely a delusion resulting from nervous tension. But I found thatafter each interview with Almos, the image became clearer and moredefinitely fixed in my mind, until now I firmly believed in theexistence of this beautiful being on Mars, and, remarkable though itseemed, I could not deny my growing affection for her. I had notmentioned this mental image to Almos, as I felt convinced that he knewnothing of it, and therefore would be unable to help me in any way.Moreover, my training had taught me to seek a scientific reason forthings which might appeal to the superstitious as weird and uncanny. Iwas therefore loath to speak of it to Almos, until I had proved beyonddoubt that it was not an hallucination.
After I had spent many hours in vainly seeking a possible cause for thismysterious mental image, the realization that I was but the veriestinfant in the wonderful achievements of our sister planet, finallydecided me upon the wiser course of leaving such matters until I hadbecome better acquainted with Martian inventions and scientificprogress. I therefore looked forward to visiting this wonderful worldwith the greatest anticipation, and though I was entirely ignorant ofhow this stupendous and seemingly impossible feat should beaccomplished, such was my faith in Almos' superior knowledge of science,that I did not, for a moment, doubt the possibility of such a thing.Little did I realize the fearful nature of the journey--the success ofwhich was based entirely on theories--or I would have shrunk in horrorfrom such an undertaking.