_XIX_
THE END OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
From the abutment, where once had been the windows, through which I hadwatched that first, fatal dawn, I could see that the sun was hugelygreater, than it had been, when first the Star lit the world. So greatwas it, that its lower edge seemed almost to touch the far horizon. Evenas I watched, I imagined that it drew closer. The radiance of green thatlit the frozen earth, grew steadily brighter.
Thus, for a long space, things were. Then, on a sudden, I saw that thesun was changing shape, and growing smaller, just as the moon would havedone in past time. In a while, only a third of the illuminated part wasturned toward the earth. The Star bore away on the left.
Gradually, as the world moved on, the Star shone upon the front of thehouse, once more; while the sun showed, only as a great bow of greenfire. An instant, it seemed, and the sun had vanished. The Star wasstill fully visible. Then the earth moved into the black shadow of thesun, and all was night--Night, black, starless, and intolerable.
Filled with tumultuous thoughts, I watched across the night--waiting.Years, it may have been, and then, in the dark house behind me, theclotted stillness of the world was broken. I seemed to hear a softpadding of many feet, and a faint, inarticulate whisper of sound, grewon my sense. I looked 'round into the blackness, and saw a multitude ofeyes. As I stared, they increased, and appeared to come toward me. Foran instant, I stood, unable to move. Then a hideous swine-noise[14] roseup into the night; and, at that, I leapt from the window, out on to thefrozen world. I have a confused notion of having run awhile; and, afterthat, I just waited--waited. Several times, I heard shrieks; but alwaysas though from a distance. Except for these sounds, I had no idea of thewhereabouts of the house. Time moved onward. I was conscious of little,save a sensation of cold and hopelessness and fear.
An age, it seemed, and there came a glow, that told of the cominglight. It grew, tardily. Then--with a loom of unearthly glory--the firstray from the Green Star, struck over the edge of the dark sun, and litthe world. It fell upon a great, ruined structure, some two hundredyards away. It was the house. Staring, I saw a fearsome sight--over itswalls crawled a legion of unholy things, almost covering the oldbuilding, from tottering towers to base. I could see them, plainly; theywere the Swine-creatures.
The world moved out into the light of the Star, and I saw that, now, itseemed to stretch across a quarter of the heavens. The glory of itslivid light was so tremendous, that it appeared to fill the sky withquivering flames. Then, I saw the sun. It was so close that half of itsdiameter lay below the horizon; and, as the world circled across itsface, it seemed to tower right up into the sky, a stupendous dome ofemerald colored fire. From time to time, I glanced toward the house; butthe Swine-things seemed unaware of my proximity.
Years appeared to pass, slowly. The earth had almost reached the centerof the sun's disk. The light from the Green _Sun_--as now it must becalled--shone through the interstices, that gapped the mouldered wallsof the old house, giving them the appearance of being wrapped in greenflames. The Swine-creatures still crawled about the walls.
Suddenly, there rose a loud roar of swine-voices, and, up from thecenter of the roofless house, shot a vast column of blood-red flame. Isaw the little, twisted towers and turrets flash into fire; yet stillpreserving their twisted crookedness. The beams of the Green Sun, beatupon the house, and intermingled with its lurid glows; so that itappeared a blazing furnace of red and green fire.
Fascinated, I watched, until an overwhelming sense of coming danger,drew my attention. I glanced up, and, at once, it was borne upon me,that the sun was closer; so close, in fact, that it seemed to overhangthe world. Then--I know not how--I was caught up into strangeheights--floating like a bubble in the awful effulgence.
Far below me, I saw the earth, with the burning house leaping into anever growing mountain of flame, 'round about it, the ground appeared tobe glowing; and, in places, heavy wreaths of yellow smoke ascended fromthe earth. It seemed as though the world were becoming ignited from thatone plague-spot of fire. Faintly, I could see the Swine-things. Theyappeared quite unharmed. Then the ground seemed to cave in, suddenly,and the house, with its load of foul creatures, disappeared into thedepths of the earth, sending a strange, blood colored cloud into theheights. I remembered the hell Pit under the house.
In a while, I looked 'round. The huge bulk of the sun, rose high aboveme. The distance between it and the earth, grew rapidly less. Suddenly,the earth appeared to shoot forward. In a moment, it had traversed thespace between it and the sun. I heard no sound; but, out from the sun'sface, gushed an ever-growing tongue of dazzling flame. It seemed toleap, almost to the distant Green Sun--shearing through the emeraldlight, a very cataract of blinding fire. It reached its limit, and sank;and, on the sun, glowed a vast splash of burning white--the grave ofthe earth.
The sun was very close to me, now. Presently, I found that I was risinghigher; until, at last, I rode above it, in the emptiness. The Green Sunwas now so huge that its breadth seemed to fill up all the sky, ahead. Ilooked down, and noted that the sun was passing directly beneath me.
A year may have gone by--or a century--and I was left, suspended,alone. The sun showed far in front--a black, circular mass, against themolten splendor of the great, Green Orb. Near one edge, I observed thata lurid glow had appeared, marking the place where the earth had fallen.By this, I knew that the long-dead sun was still revolving, though withgreat slowness.
Afar to my right, I seemed to catch, at times, a faint glow of whitishlight. For a great time, I was uncertain whether to put this down tofancy or not. Thus, for a while, I stared, with fresh wonderings; until,at last, I knew that it was no imaginary thing; but a reality. It grewbrighter; and, presently, there slid out of the green, a pale globe ofsoftest white. It came nearer, and I saw that it was apparentlysurrounded by a robe of gently glowing clouds. Time passed....
I glanced toward the diminishing sun. It showed, only as a dark blot onthe face of the Green Sun. As I watched, I saw it grow smaller,steadily, as though rushing toward the superior orb, at an immensespeed. Intently, I stared. What would happen? I was conscious ofextraordinary emotions, as I realized that it would strike the GreenSun. It grew no bigger than a pea, and I looked, with my whole soul, towitness the final end of our System--that system which had borne theworld through so many aeons, with its multitudinous sorrows andjoys; and now--
Suddenly, something crossed my vision, cutting from sight all vestigeof the spectacle I watched with such soul-interest. What happened to thedead sun, I did not see; but I have no reason--in the light of thatwhich I saw afterward--to disbelieve that it fell into the strange fireof the Green Sun, and so perished.
And then, suddenly, an extraordinary question rose in my mind, whetherthis stupendous globe of green fire might not be the vast CentralSun--the great sun, 'round which our universe and countless othersrevolve. I felt confused. I thought of the probable end of the dead sun,and another suggestion came, dumbly--Do the dead stars make the GreenSun their grave? The idea appealed to me with no sense of grotesqueness;but rather as something both possible and probable.