Life in a Thousand Worlds Part 3

Similar troubles continued to arise in the valley, but the rich always succeeded in quieting the people before they rose to determined action.

Then the rich decided to put an end to these agitations among the toilers. Accordingly they cut off all communication from valley to valley, either by epistle or person, and refused longer to permit any poor toiler, or his children, to pursue any study whatever. By this method, in the course of a few hundred years, the valley dwellers lapsed into ignorant slaves, not knowing, except by tradition, that there were other people in other parts of Mars. Thus the rich continued to flourish on all the highlands, for they had extended this same policy until the toilers of the whole planet were practically galley slaves, each consigned to his own narrow canon.

After witnessing the wide extent of this slavery system, I appeared in visible form to a rich dignitary on one of the most refined highlands.

He was alone and, upon raising his eyes and seeing me before him, he was greatly amazed. To see a little man with a hairy face and with the kind of clothing I wore, was all too odd for him to take in at once. He acted as if I were some unheard-of animal, but when I addressed him in his own tongue and manifested a becomingly meek disposition, he accepted me as a deformed creature afflicted with a mild form of lunacy. Then he proceeded to examine my clothing and especially my knees, trying to solve by what freak of nature I was cursed since I had no lower arms such as he had. My small face, smooth forehead, and the short straight hair on my head aroused in him no little wonder and merriment, so that, all in all, I was the oddest freak he had ever seen. He soon showed by his manner how thankful he was that gracious nature had formed him so much more kindly than me.

His questions soon poured out upon me and I answered as briefly and intelligently as I could. He pressed me so hard as to the place of my birth that I finally informed him that I came from another world, whereat he was a.s.sured of my insanity and proceeded to fasten me by force until he might summon certain of his friends. Knowing that all the people of Mars could do me no ultimate harm and wis.h.i.+ng to see what might be their intentions, I offered very feeble resistance to his course.

In a very short time there was grouped around me a curious set of people, all of whom seemed to me so horribly ugly that I felt well satisfied that I had been born on the Earth. Among the company were some eminent scholars who did no more than peer at one another and walk about me, while they were waiting for some learned professors to arrive from a distance. A long, tedious period ensued ere the company of judges or examiners were gathered from several adjoining highlands.

They took me into a large room where followed an indescribable examination during which I purposely remained silent.

The b.u.t.ton and b.u.t.ton holes of my clothing attracted as much attention as my unnaturally shaped head. My collar and necktie were conundrums.

Not one of the learned scholars was able to advance a theory as to the probable use of such a stiff piece under my head. I could not conceal my smiles as I heard the flying theories as to the use of my cuffs. One specialist decided that inasmuch as I had only two arms, I wore these to make them appear larger. This was accepted as the most plausible explanation.

Several times they urged me to speak. The man to whom I had first appeared had told them that I was expert in their language. But I would not utter a word, being anxious to learn all I could by listening to their conjectures.

Some of my examiners were sure I belonged to a species of their animal creation, who, in some unaccountable manner, had received the gift of intelligence. But this opinion did not gain ground, as no one could account for the manner of my clothing and especially for my pocket knife and other accompaniments. No one believed that I came from another world, and yet no one could see how or where I had originated on Mars.

Finally one of the company struck upon a popular theory. He argued that I belonged to a tribe of creatures that had developed far away in one of their almost unending forests, and that I was the first of my kind that had ever ventured so far from home.

"But how did he learn our language?" queried one.

"Any intelligent creature would by nature alone come to our language,"

was the conceited explanation of another.

Another gave a better theory which was at length accepted. He said that no doubt I belonged to a company that had emigrated long, long ago from one of the valleys.

After all their pains I satisfied their ruling desire by speaking. They knew not what to say as I gave them a general description of the world from which I came.

Purposely I used their most cultured forms of expression. At once I rose to a high level in their estimation and they gradually accepted my words as true. With absorbing interest they listened to every syllable and, when I paused, their questions fell upon me in wild profusion. On my account the schools were abandoned, all the leading teachers of five elevations became my astonished auditors, and after every period of sleep I was confronted by still other cla.s.ses of specialists, some from more distant elevations.

Finally, feigning ignorance, I asked where they obtained their sustenance, as I had not seen one field in cultivation. They told me the whole history of the toilers in the valley as already recounted, and how the curtain magnates received their tributes which were sufficient to feed all the people of the elevations.

"What right," I asked, "has any one to form a monopoly on sunlight or rain which are free bounties from above?"

"There can be nothing wrong about that," came the positive answer. "Any man who was wise enough to think of such a splendid system of valley-covers surely deserves all the benefit that can be secured from it."

"How did you succeed in getting the people to submit to such a system?"

"It all came by force. At first they were unwilling enough, but we withdrew their education and kept them isolated. With ignorance you can conquer any people. Now they are our perfect servants, and in a short time we need not use the curtains any more. A few masters can control the whole valley. All we need to give them will be enough to eat, and the remainder of their products we can send to the elevations."

I was struck with horror at this revolting scheme, and expressed myself in strong terms. I thought of the conditions of our world and felt thankful that it had not gone so far that the laboring cla.s.ses were galley slaves to the rich; and I breathed my prayer that it might never be so.

My investigations on this planet were long extended. The educated people gave me many new ideas, although they are ignorant of many advantages which we enjoy. Their means of transportation are miserable compared with ours, and when I was explaining to the Marsmen our methods of travel they were surprised beyond measure. However their knowledge of nature and forms of animal life is far superior to ours. There I solved some of the complex questions of Biology which had long puzzled my mind during my stay on the Earth.

In their religion they wors.h.i.+p the Source of Life, and look upon the Sun as the place to which the spirit goes at death. In brief, the Sun is their Heaven. They believe that the Sun's heat will be no barrier to the spirit's complete happiness when liberated from the body. Phonetically p.r.o.nounced, they call the Sun Then-ka.

I was indeed surprised at the simplicity of their devotions to their unseen G.o.d. Even the untutored toilers of the valleys talk to the Source of Life and are constantly looking forward to the time when their hard lot will be over that they may enter the Then-ka life. I could not help but think that their chances of Heaven were better than those of the highland caste; but I will not judge lest I might err. Who can understand the universal plans of Jehovah?

Before I left the Marsmen I informed them that certain enthusiasts of my world had been signaling to them for some time, and urged them to improve their astronomical apparatus so that they might be able to discern these signals and reply to them.

On account of my thoughtlessness I made an error, for I failed, while I was yet on Mars, to arrange a code of signals; hence I fear that there will be considerable experimenting before we can hope to establish communication with our neighbor world.

CHAPTER IV.

A Glimpse of Jupiter.

The next world I visited was Jupiter, the greatest orb in the solar system, almost fourteen hundred times as large as our Earth. I found it whirling on its axis so rapidly that it makes an entire revolution in about ten hours of our time.

This voluminous sphere is in great contrast to both the Moon and Mars.

Its physical const.i.tuency resembles a liquid more than a solid, and it is quite hot but not luminous. It has cooled sufficiently to admit human forms, although certain parts of the giant planet are void of all life, owing to the more intense heat in those sections.

The atmosphere is charged with thick clouds, never at rest and continually forming into immense scrolls close to the surface of the planet.

The human life of Jupiter is found in certain belts where the crust of the planet has been hardened for several thousand years. The people have risen from rude, primitive conditions to a state of splendid civilization. In size they are colossal giants, averaging twenty-five feet in height. Their two powerful arms extend from what we would call the hips, and no one would imagine with what facility these giants use them. After extended observation, I was almost tempted to wonder why our arms were placed so high on the body. These Jupiterites are more handsome than the people on the Moon or Mars, and their faces s.h.i.+ne with a superior intelligence. Instead of hair on the head, they have something unknown to our world, quite similar in appearance to wool.

Their two eyes blaze like b.a.l.l.s of fire, making one of the giants appear like a fiersome though not repulsive monster. The most unusual feature about the face is the peculiarity of the chin and forehead. Each is covered with convolutions of an insensible, rubber-like membrane.

The people of Jupiter excel in mechanical skill. They build houses, but not by long, tedious days of painstaking labor. Such things as plaster and paint are unknown. A Jupiterite can purchase, from one of the mammoth structural factories, house sides, house ends, house floors or part.i.tions, after any general design he wishes, and have them trimmed in any style his fancy suggests. The materials used are non-combustible and water-proof, and will wear indefinitely.

These houses can be put together in a few days and the tr.i.m.m.i.n.gs adjusted in less than two weeks, unless the structure is very elaborate.

Nearly all of their house furniture is also non-combustible, and no one has ever conceived the idea of forming a fire insurance company, simply because there is no need for one.

As the people are so much larger than we, so are all things relatively larger than we see them in our world. Wagons and carriages and cars appear as if they were made for mastodons.

I saw one of their largest bridges spanning a molten lake. Aside of it the East River bridge would be a dwarf, either in height or length. It is certainly thrilling to step into a world where all things are so gigantic. At times a feeling of insignificance crept over me, but I took courage when I thought that a man's greatness consists in his mental powers and not in his physical bulk, for it is true that the fifty ounces of brain in the skull of a Newton have accomplished more marvels than the ten pounds of brain-matter found in the most cultured Jupiterite.

We must give the people of Jupiter credit for exercising a large amount of common sense. In many ways they are more practical than we, and this is quite as noticeable in their language as in any other respect. They have one simple language for the whole globe and in its use they are all agreed. Their vocabulary is small because they have not yet branched out into the infinite varieties of manufacture and invention.

Their words have a marvelous correspondence with the thought or the action expressed, the manner of emphasizing syllables going a great distance toward expressing the shade of emotion desired.

I admired especially one thing on this bulky planet. They have but one authority for language. Hence there is no Century, Webster, Worcester or Standard, each rivaling the others for supremacy, to confuse the honest student with diverse spellings and p.r.o.nunciations.

The words of the language of Jupiter are all embodied in one unique dictionary which is revised at intervals by a board of official educators; to this board all suggestions for inserting new words and changing the cla.s.sification of old ones must be given for their consideration.

This dictionary is printed by the government, and a copy of it is furnished free to all public places and to each private family. When a revision is made, a copy of all the changes is furnished to each dictionary holder. The authority of this dictionary is final, and no one is permitted to publish a conflicting work.

The Jupiterites have displayed their highest genius in their astronomical advancements. They know all about the Solar System, and have made discoveries inside of Neptune's...o...b..t which our astronomers have never observed. I was thrilled with delight when I saw their telescopes with the marvelous lenses that opened the locked doors of the Milky Way. No wonder the astronomers of Jupiter have a more comprehensive view of the universe than we have. Their lenses are so powerful that they have seen the outlines of our rugged mountains, and have discovered on our world unmistakable signs of human life. During my visit thither the experts were working on a much larger lens, and it is claimed that when this is finished human forms can be discerned on the Earth and can be seen with more accuracy on Mars.

The five moons that revolve around Jupiter have been studied with marked interest. Two of these moons have displayed definite signs of human life. It is promised also that the coming lens will unlock the doors of the several moons and permit the astronomers of Jupiter to pry into the secrets of their celestial neighbors.

During the past one thousand years, the Jupiterites have made numberless attempts to establish communication between these moons and their planet, but all their efforts have failed. Either the Moonites are too stupid, or the Jupiterites are not expert enough in throwing out signals or in building air s.h.i.+ps.