Life in a Thousand Worlds Part 21

The soles of the feet of these Briefites are composed of a substance most nearly resembling hoof material. They never think of covering the feet under any change of climate. If one of the Briefites were to step upon the sh.o.r.es of our rugged Earth and see the cotton or wool and leather that lies around our feet, it would appear to him as the most ridiculous thing imaginable, and no doubt his shapely feet of ivory cast would be of more than pa.s.sing interest to us.

THEIR RAIMENT.

Their raiment is altogether after new models. Neither the men, women, nor children seem to seek this means for self-beautifying. They seem to think that beauty of character has a radiance more to be desired than the flash of opals or the l.u.s.ter of silks. Their garments partake of the loose flowing order. For instance, a strong fabric of chosen shade is fastened at the neck, hip, knee and ankle, and lies carelessly over the parts between. The females never graduated to the corset degree, and while they do not cut a scientific figure, yet they surely develop a more ruddy waist after the model intended by the Designor of the body.

TRANSPORTATION.

The methods of traveling are so contrary to our conceptions and practices that I almost forbear to attempt any description. Yet I was entertained and instructed as I witnessed the moving of humanity along a street of a busy city. Have you ever noticed how quarters of beef are carried from a car to an elevator or refrigerator on steel rods connected with wheels running in a groove or on a specially prepared track? In a city of Brief, overhead tracks after such an order run along all business streets and certain residence streets. Spare me a detailed description of this peculiar traveling system. Suffice it to say that a person, in lightning rapidity of motion, rushes from a store, springs upon a pa.s.sing seat and is hurled away by the power of an overhead cable system. When an exchange of seats is necessary, it is all done so easily and so quickly that you would wonder why we tolerate trolley cars.

In traveling from city to city, a system is in use that I will call the Toboggan Slide System, although the cars run on wheels. The car is raised in a shaft about one hundred feet and then by gravity it dashes two or more miles according to the lay of the land traversed. Then another rise more or less than one hundred feet is experienced, and then another wild dash. I have no words of praise for this system, although the Briefites can cover considerable territory in an hour. They look upon this gravity system as a wonderful achievement, for it has not been in operation for more than three hundred years.

The power of steam has never been utilized. No genius of all this active world of Brief ever conceived the idea that almost unlimited power lies wrapped up in thin vapory water. But they have discovered what we would call gaseous oil, and have learned to put it to work, so that it is the main force employed in hoisting and all other purposes where power is required.

Nothing like a traveling locomotive has ever been made, although I learned that a bright wizard was experimenting and that he prophesied great changes when his gas-propelled vehicle was perfected.

Think of how much value an ordinary citizen of our world would be to these Briefites, if he could step upon their world and communicate with them concerning the magic wonders of steam and the manner of constructing stationary and movable engines, to say nothing of the hidden wonders of electricity. Quadrupeds that take the place of our horses are used for drayage, although nothing except the two-wheeled cla.s.s of vehicles was ever used until some eighty-seven years ago.

PUBLIC HIGHWAYS.

These interesting people excel us in their style and manner of home-building, fencing and making public highways. We are heathenish in our progress along the line of road making especially. In all my vast journey among the worlds I found only a few, comparatively, whereon the roads were inferior to ours.

In the world of Brief the state prescribes the manner of public highways and each citizen must contribute his share to their creation and maintenance.

These Briefites excel us in more than a score of ways. They are much purer in morals, more refined in manner, more harmonious in government, and unusually bright in mathematics. Very intricate and elaborate problems are solved by these people of a few years. They are inferior to us in a hundred ways. In the broad fields of manufacture and invention they lag a long distance in the rear. This is princ.i.p.ally due to their lack of time.

RELIGIOUS LIFE.

The religious life of the people of Brief is, on an average, of a higher type than is found in our world. Their belief in immortality has run parallel with their existence as a people, and their devotion to their Creator is marked with unusual fervor.

Their Redeemer is wors.h.i.+ped quite separately from G.o.d, and with distinctive adorations. The name of their Redeemer, phonetically rendered, is Kerm-Cher. The most faithful translation of this word into our language would be G.o.d-affluence.

Kerm-Cher, or G.o.d-breath, appeared upon Brief full grown, and p.r.o.nounced his benediction on the race, declaring his origin, and the purpose of his coming. Similar to Christ, he confirmed his ident.i.ty by unanswerable miracles.

Many, however, disbelieved in Kerm-Cher, and held to the old axiomatic truths. Thus creeds were prevalent and they remain until now, only there is much less variety than is found amongst us.

Kerm-Cher set up a new reign, and accepted a temporal throne for a season. He finally announced that his amba.s.sadors.h.i.+p would soon cease and that his followers would lose the throne of civil power, that they would be tested for a season in the valley of humiliation and by the fires of terrible persecution, and that they who would endure unto the end would be glorified.

These religious features are remarkably similar to the system under which the Christian religion of our globe is fostered.

CHAPTER XXI.

The Life on Wings.

As I darted from world to world, I was not then fully conscious of the vast stretches of s.p.a.ce that I had covered. No mortal nor angel tongue can even commence to describe the vastness of created things and the trackless oceans of s.p.a.ce in which the ponderous suns and planets revolve.

According to the cla.s.sification of our astronomers I next found myself in the constellation of Perseus, and was again convinced of the weakness of our most powerful telescopes, for I now saw thousands of immense stars, hitherto invisible to me. Not one of these stars is within a trillion miles of any other.

In this distant system of our universe I saw that the same plan of creation obtained. Around a majority of the stars a group of various sized worlds revolves. On many of these worlds human life abounds in endless degrees of development and in a countless variety of manifestations. I marveled anew as I saw the endlessness of the Infinite Mind, supporting not only the conscious life of this whole constellation, but also of all the constellations of our universe, and of all the universes scattered at large throughout the unending depths of s.p.a.ce.

I paused at a star of variable magnitude in the Milky Way, but took only a pa.s.sing glance at the physical wonders of this great sun, compared with which our own Sun is a mere pigmy. Onward I hastened to one of the larger worlds of this solar system which, for my convenience, I will call Swift.

Here new wonders opened wide to my view. Human beings, charmingly beautiful, moved over the face of the planet or on wings through the air at pleasure and with great ease. These creatures are about three-fourths of our size, and are most gracefully formed. Their whole physical appearance is more similar to a bird than to a human being of our Earth.

They are relatively much lighter than we, and are covered with nothing akin to feathers.

If you were to see them standing in their erect posture and walking with man-like dignity, you would at once feel that they are the lords of the creation on their world, and so indeed they are.

These ethereal creatures have the loveliest eyes of any human beings I ever beheld in any world. They sparkle with the brilliancy of a diamond and move with the quickness of electricity. The head is small but symmetrical and all physical proportions are most harmoniously adapted even to a nicety that would be pleasing to the most refined tastes of our world.

At first I could not understand how these people of Swift could travel so conveniently in the air, for their wings are very small and the exertion when flying is very limited. But the lightness of the body, the heaviness of the air, and the unusual strength of the Swift.i.tes, each conduces its share to the fortunate result.

In my thoughtlessness I envied these gifted people and wished that when I would return to my world, I could enjoy such privileges of flight. I soon checked this rising covetousness, and again contentment flung over me its white mantle.

The bodies of these Swift.i.tes are covered by nature with a clean growth of soft, silken hair. They change their garments with the seasons, but at all times dress very sparingly and neatly. They are so easily clothed that all their apparel occasions them no more trouble than the more seasonable covering of the head gives to our women.

The average length of life is nearly four hundred years of our time.

There are very few worlds in s.p.a.ce where the general health of its inhabitants is as perfect as is found on this beautiful planet. There are but few doctors because there is but little demand for them. Those who are engaged are under government service, and all persons who are unfortunate enough to become ill receive at least all medicine and professional attention free.

We are quite an exceptional world in our medical system. In all my journey I saw comparatively only a few worlds that have the private system of medical treatment. Have we not noted the laboring husband bending at his toil for eight or ten hours to pay the physician who calls for a few minutes? In some cases this program is continued for weeks, until the honest toiler finds himself confronted with a doctor's bill and medicine bill to haunt him until the debt is either forgiven or paid at great sacrifice.

On the world of Swift and in the vast majority of civilized worlds in s.p.a.ce, the community or government furnishes a salaried physician within reasonable reach of every home. The doctors of Swift are not expected to work night and day. They have s.h.i.+fts to divide the toil equally.

In architecture this distant planet excels us by far. I improved the opportunity and went to witness a magnificent temple of wors.h.i.+p which has been in process of erection for over two hundred years. Any conceit that I previously had on account of the large structures of my own world quickly vanished at the sight of this imposing edifice. During my visit the winged workers were laboring on the upper stories and I watched them with great wonderment as they descended from the clouds to carry materials to the higher stories. Can you imagine the picture of workmen flying in all directions with tools, each one busily employed? It is promised that the present generation of employees will live to see the completion of this notable structure.

This vast building is the national religious center of the Swift.i.tes.

Each government has such a central station, and from it all temples of wors.h.i.+p are controlled. Here the church and the state are yet married, and the state maintains its religious departments with careful scrutiny.

The chief ambition of each government has always been to outs.h.i.+ne the others in the glory and magnificence of its central temple which, of course, is fire proof and almost time proof.

One may wonder as he gazes upon this extensive structure why there are seventy thousand sleeping rooms and dining halls built after such extensive plans as to entertain, at one time, twenty-five thousand guests. All this is to accommodate the vast throngs that take their sacred pilgrimage once in a year under an arrangement by which one tenth of the able-bodied go each thirty-nine days, which corresponds to our month.

The most notable feature of this central temple is the main service room, built at fabulous cost and capable of accommodating one hundred thousand pilgrims at one time. The most costly sections of this one room are guarded night and day by armed government soldiers.

The religion of these Swift.i.tes is of a very pure kind. The ministers of this national church are fully equipped before entering upon their office. The training schools for ministers attracted my closest attention. Fortunately, these people have no language complications as we have, so that a prospective minister can spend some of his time studying the Book of G.o.d's Revelation instead of spending a great portion of his training period in learning the languages in which the book had once been written.

A minister's training consists as much in voice culture and the many branches of elocution as it does in acquiring a correct knowledge of G.o.d. But in ill.u.s.trative teaching Swift leads us by far. I was profitably entertained in the main temple as I listened to one of the famous orators discoursing to an audience of eighty thousand. Not only did his canary-like voice penetrate to all parts of the large room, but his objective ill.u.s.trations clinched the truth remarkably well.

A series of special services is held at the close of each month. The most wonderful of all these exercises, or renditions, is called "The Mediator Service." This is one of the most spectacular and impressive exercises outside of Heaven. Even the famous Pa.s.sion Play of Oberammergau (our world) with the less glorious exhibitions at Horitz and Selzach, all dwindle into insignificance compared with "The Mediator Service" on the world of Swift.

During my visit I witnessed the full program of this sublime rendition.

The music was inexpressibly grand as rendered by the vested Mediator Choir. Naturally the Swift.i.tes have sweet, bird-like voices. Can you conceive the effect of a triple choir of these human warblers all trained in perfect harmony and unison?

When you consider that nearly the whole population witnesses these special exhibitions at least once a year, you can the better understand why the spiritual condition of the people has reached a high very level.