CHAPTER VI.
"AS OTHERS SEE US."
The next morning found me resolved to make the journey to Mars at anycost. That Almos had intended to say he would leave furtherinstructions, I had no doubt. The instructions would probably bewritten, and placed where I would immediately see them upon regainingconsciousness. In any event, I argued, if, at the usual hour of Martiancontact, my instrument should glow in response to super-radium, it wouldclearly be my duty to fulfil my part of the agreement, for the glowwould be proof that Almos had fulfilled his and that his spirit hadpassed into the upper chamber of the virator.
I had purchased the necessary articles for my remarkable journey, andhad taken the precaution to fasten a notice outside my door to theeffect that I would be out during the evening. I could not restrain agrim smile at the thought of the uncanny literal truth in thisannouncement.
These things done I fell to speculating upon what would be my experienceon Mars if, indeed, I ever reached that planet. For the first hours, tryas I would to check it, there was, at times, a doubt as to the outcomeof this wild soul-adventure. But, strange as it may appear, although Ifully realized the danger attending such an undertaking, the success ofwhich was based entirely on theories, it did not, in any way, act as adeterrent. So great was the prize to be attained, that the risk of lifeseemed unimportant. Indeed, the first step of the journey to Mars was totake my life, as we understand the term on Earth, and, having becomereconciled to this, I was not sensible of any danger beyond. So absorbedwas I in these thoughts, that the time passed without my realizing it,and only the fading daylight warned me of the near approach of the hourof Martian contact.
I now made a complete examination of all the batteries and coils of myinstrument, as failure in any of these might result most seriously.Finding all to be in perfect working order, I next proceeded to arrangemy couch so as to bring it directly between the instrument and thewindow. Having thus completed my preparations, possessed by conflictingemotions, I now waited for the appearance of Mars.
Early in the day I had arranged my letters and private papers so that inthe event of the worst happening, they could be readily packed, and itnow occurred to me that it would be only proper to leave a word ofexplanation with them. I therefore hastily penned a note to a cousinliving in England--my nearest relative--briefly explaining my discoveryof the Martian super-radium current, and also the character of theadventure in which I was about to participate. This note I placed withmy papers.
Returning to the instrument, I discovered that Mars was already visible.Quickly turning on the current and finding no responsive glow, I knewthat Almos was already making the preparations he had described to me.He had said that within half an hour the clockwork would turn on thecurrent, and the glow of my instrument would be the signal for mydeparture.
No time was to be lost. Securely fastening the door of my room, Iprepared the cone of chloroform and extinguished the light, in order notto excite the suspicion of a chance caller during the evening.
I now sat on the couch awaiting with anxiety the current of super-radiumthat would convey me to the far world of my dreams. Minutes seemed likehours, as I sat in the darkness, with every nerve strained to itsuttermost, awaiting Death. What if Death should refuse to release me!Millions have been wrapped in Death's cold arms, but no mortal hasreturned to give accounting.
What was that!--A blinding flash made me instantly shield my eyes. Ah!The glow at last! But such was its dazzling brilliancy that I could notstand the glare. I had been accustomed to see the glow gradually creepup the surface of the instrument, slowly growing brighter as the rim ofthe star appeared above the window casement, but this time Mars hadrisen to full view before the current was turned on by the clockwork.This was ample proof that everything had happened as Almos had planned.It was now my turn to act and I must not hesitate. Stretching myself onthe couch so that I came into full contact with the current ofsuper-radium, I seized the cone saturated with chloroform, and fastenedit securely over my mouth and nose.
A few moments of a slightly suffocating sensation, then a long, longfall, gradual at first, then quicker, quicker--
* * * * *
With a feeling of exhilaration, such as I had never before experienced,I opened my eyes and sprang to my feet. My brain was perfectly clear,and so active that my mind utterly failed to keep pace with themultitude of thoughts that were crowded upon it--thoughts that werestrange to my mind, yet perfectly familiar to my brain, if thisparadoxical statement may stand. It seemed as if my mind stood, apartand marveled at the remarkable activity and knowledge possessed by thebrain--of which knowledge my mind was entirely ignorant.
I was in another world, millions of miles away from Earth. My mindrealized that something little short of a miracle had happened, and yetI felt absolutely familiar with all the objects about me. The glass-likewalls that surrounded me, reaching up and forming a dome several feetabove my head; the narrow passage in the center of the dome (just as theneck of a bottle would appear if viewed from inside), through which thespirit of Almos had passed to the chamber above; all these werewonderfully familiar to me.
I was in the virator, but it was uncomfortable to remain inside, as theair was oppressively warm. Moreover, dictated my brain, I must preparethe virator for my return within five hours, and my hand instinctivelygrasped a lever in the wall of the apparatus. A door opened and Istepped out, carefully closing it behind me. Again I was astonished atmy wonderful familiarity with everything. If I had lived on Mars all mylife, I could not have had a more intimate knowledge of my surroundings.I seemed to know exactly how to proceed, and after attending to severalimportant details, and carefully noting the temperature of the viratoron a thermometer placed for that purpose, I consulted a chronometer toascertain how long it would be safe for me to remain on Mars. I foundthat, allowing a half-hour for the process of arrival and the same fordeparture, I had just five hours.
My mind, at first stunned by the new and strange conditions to which itwas subjected, now gradually began to realize its remarkable position inrelation to the brain.
That the mind and the spirit are one, or so closely related as to beindistinguishable and inseparable, was now beyond doubt, as I was keenlyaware of all that had happened to me on Earth, showing that my mind notonly existed, but also possessed the same faculty of thought in Almos'body as it did in mine while on Earth. Here was a positive proof, infact a demonstration, of the theory advanced by some scientists, thatthe mind is separate and distinct from the brain.
But the gulf that lies between life and death remained as wide as ever.Death was still shrouded in mystery, for my mind knew nothing from themoment it left the body on Earth, until it awakened in the body on Mars.Flesh and blood, then, were essential to the mind's existence. Mind orspirit must have expression through some form. Although man may achievemuch by scientific advancement, that to which he has progressed is butas a grain of sand in the desert, to the wonders that surround him.Science shall never penetrate the mystery of those things that arewithheld from him.
The brain of which my mind now took control, acted merely as thematerial handle by which the machinery of the body was operated, thusconverting thoughts into actions. But although my mind, having by nowbecome perfectly familiar with the strange conditions, was able torecord new impressions on the brain, there still existed the impressionof Almos' thoughts. It resembled a book which my mind could instantlyrefer to and be guided by, and thus was I in possession of a perfectknowledge of Mars, its people, and its language.
I now realized that my first actions, upon becoming conscious, hadsimply been carrying out the instructions Almos had left for me. Strangeto the conditions in those first few minutes, I had instinctively donewhat the brain dictated. In this remarkable way had Almos completed theinstructions he was about to give me when interrupted by the cessationof wave contact.
Having thus arrived at what I felt to be the true relation of my mindwith Almos' body, I now turne
d my attention to the objects surroundingme.
I stood in a room about the size of my laboratory on Earth. There wereno windows to admit light, but the ceiling, which was fully twenty feethigh, emitted a beautifully diffused white light, which filled everycorner of the room, leaving absolutely no shadows. Its effect was thatof daylight, and so closely did it resemble the sky, that, had I notbeen supplied with Almos' knowledge of Martian science, I would havenaturally supposed that there was no ceiling to the room. Immediatelyupon the question coming into my mind, however, I became aware that theceiling was coated with a composition, one of the component parts ofwhich was radium in a highly developed state. Its action upon the otherelements that composed this substance resulted in a perpetual lightwithout heat, which was equal in every way to daylight.
The tourist, finding himself in a new country, has but one thought, oneambition, that of seeing all he can; yet, strange to say, although awhole new world lay before me, my first thought was of Mother Earth. Adesire to view my old habitat as Martians see it seemed almostirresistible.
To touch the radioscope that was trained on Earth, would result in aninstant change taking place in my body as it lay in the laboratory, andthis would be disastrous. It was only the regenerating properties of thesuper-radium current that kept it in a state acceptable to my return,and the delicate mechanism of this instrument was regulated so as tokeep the current exactly in position, as long as that part of theEarth's surface was exposed to Mars. To interfere then with thiscurrent, for a moment, would mean certain death.
Immediately I became conscious of the presence of another instrument,which was in a room adjoining, and, feeling absolutely familiar withevery inch of the way, I proceeded thence. The room was a small one,just large enough, indeed, to operate the radioscope, which was exactlythe same as the one in the room I had just quitted.
With a perfect knowledge of the mechanism of the instrument, I was soonat work adjusting the projecting and receiving apparatus. An ordinarytelescope was attached to the huge tube of the radioscope, and withAlmos' dexterity I soon located Earth through it, thus sighting theradioscope for that planet.
I had now but to turn on the current to see the people on Earth andwatch their doings, as had done Martians for hundreds of years, but,with my hand on the lever that controlled the current, I paused.
The sight of Earth, as it appeared through the telescope, was toobeautiful to pass by with a mere glance. Half illuminated, owing to thegreater distance of Mars from the sun and the position of the planets atthat time, Earth appeared about the size the moon looks to the nakedeye. But what a wonderful sight! Bathed in sunlight lay the eastern halfof the continents of North and South America, faintly outlined by thepale blue of the western portion of the Atlantic Ocean. So familiar wasI with the appearance of these two great continents as drawn in anatlas, that I had difficulty in recognizing them as they now appeared.Mexico and Central America seemed almost as broad as that part of theUnited States from San Francisco to Washington; the whole tapering downfrom Canada to Cape Horn almost in the shape of a cone.
Aeronauts passing over a lake or river are able to see the bottom, owingto their altitude; this was undoubtedly the explanation of the strangeappearance of the continents of North and South America. On account ofthe enormous distance I was away from Earth, the shallow waters appearedas land, obliterating completely the familiar coast line, and only theextreme depth of an ocean showed a pale blue.
Night covered Europe and Africa, which would otherwise have been visibleto me, and the shadow of darkness was steadily creeping across theAtlantic Ocean, as the Earth revolved upon its axis. I could notsuppress a shudder at the thought that I must cover that enormousdistance ere it revolved too far.
I now moved the lever that controlled the current, and at once the lensin the receiving apparatus shone with a brilliant dark blue color. Thecurrent of super-radium had reached Earth and returned in less than asecond, and I saw, beautifully pictured before me, an expanse of oceanwith waves tumbling and tossing so near me that it seemed as if I werebut a few feet above them.
By diminishing the current I found that the image on the lens grewsmaller, the effect being exactly the same as that from a balloonrising. The picture at first appeared slanting at an angle of aboutthirty degrees, owing to the curvature of the Earth, but by manipulatinga small lever close at hand that operated a mirror in the radioscope,this defect was corrected.
After searching about with the current, I at last came upon a largesteamer, evidently an ocean liner. Throwing huge billows aside in cloudsof white spray as she cut through the water, she made a beautiful sight,and it was with difficulty that I kept her in the field of vision. As Iappeared to be looking straight down upon her decks, it was evident thatshe was about in the center of the Earth's surface exposed to Mars.
I now moved the current in a westerly direction, travelling at whatwould be a terrific speed on Earth, until I came to land. Notrecognizing the small coast town that first came in view, I moved up thecoast in a northerly direction, diminishing the current until I couldsee a large stretch of country. Toward the northwest a large cityappeared, which I immediately recognized as Washington. Directing theinstrument to that city, I increased the current until the people on thestreets measured two or three feet on the lens of my instrument. Here Ifound that the curvature of the Earth resulted in my looking downobliquely at the objects on its surface, but not at a sufficient angleto see the faces of those who passed across my lens.
But now I became aware of a strange condition that, owing to the motionof the liner at sea, had escaped my notice before. Although I waslooking at the people passing before one of the large governmentbuildings in Washington, I had to keep regulating the instrument inorder to keep this building in view. Moreover, I discovered that I hadto regulate it as fast as I had done with the ocean liner. In fact,obviously the liner's speed mattered but little; it was the rate atwhich the Earth was revolving upon its axis and journeying around thesun with which I had to contend. Through the telescope this was notdiscernible, but now that I had come into such close visual contact withthe Earth's surface, I realized the terrific speed with which it rushedthrough space. Hundreds of miles a minute was the speed my instrumenthad to be regulated to, in order to keep an object on Earth in view--themotion of the liner was insignificant!
Moving the current eastward over the Atlantic Ocean, I discovered thatdarkness in no way hindered my view of objects on Earth's surface. Thereproduction on the lens, however, presented quite a differentappearance to that which I had witnessed while observing the part ofEarth illuminated by the sun. The beautiful colors which contributed somuch realism to the picture were now replaced by a sombre gray tone,greatly resembling a photograph in appearance.
So absorbed had I become in all that this wonderful instrument revealedto me of the different phases of life on Earth, that I forgot all else,until, with a start, I realized that someone was moving about in thelarge room which contained the virator that I had recently left. I wasfilled with apprehension. Who could it be? And what was the reason ofthis unexpected visit? Almos had not warned me against intrusion of anykind, and I felt that to meet and converse with a Martian, thusunprepared, would be impossible. In that room, however, were theinstruments that held two lives within their delicate mechanism, andeven now they might have been tampered with enough to cause the mostserious consequences. I must not hesitate a moment longer. Hasteningdown the passage that led to the larger room, I pushed aside the heavyportieres and found myself in the presence of a Martian.