The War of the Worlds Part 10

Wondering still more at all that I had seen, I pushed on towards Primrose Hill. Far away, through a gap in the trees, I saw a second Martian, as motionless as the first, standing in the park towards the Zoological Gardens, and silent. A little beyond the ruins about the smashed handling-machine I came upon the red weed again, and found the Regent's Ca.n.a.l,he a spongy ma.s.s of dark-red vegetation. a spongy ma.s.s of dark-red vegetation.

As I crossed the bridge, the sound of "Ulla, ulla, ulla, ulla," ceased. It was, as it were, cut off. The silence came like a thunderclap.

The dusky houses about me stood faint and tall and dim; the trees towards the park were growing black. All about me the red weed clambered among the ruins, writhing to get above me in the dimness. Night, the mother of fear and mystery, was coming upon me. But while that voice sounded the solitude, the desolation had been endurable; by virtue of it London had still seemed alive, and the sense of life about me had upheld me. Then suddenly a change, the pa.s.sing of something-I knew not what-and then a stillness that could be felt. Nothing but this gaunt quiet.

London about me gazed at me spectrally. The windows in the white houses were like the eye sockets of skulls. About me my imagination found a thousand noiseless enemies moving. Terror seized me, a horror of my temerity. In front of me the road became pitchy black as though it was tarred, and I saw a contorted shape lying across the pathway. I could not bring myself to go on. I turned down St. John's Wood Road, and ran headlong from this unendurable stillness towards Kilburn. I hid from the night and the silence, until long after midnight, in a cabmen's shelter in Harrow Road. But before the dawn my courage returned, and while the stars were still in the sky I turned once more towards Regent's Park. I missed my way among the streets, and presently saw down a long avenue, in the half-light of the early dawn, the curve of Primrose Hill. On the summit, towering up to the fading stars, was a third Martian, erect and motionless like the others.

An insane resolve possessed me. I would die and end it. And I would save myself even the trouble of killing myself. I marched on recklessly towards this t.i.tan, and then, as I drew nearer and the light grew, I saw that a mult.i.tude of black birds was circling and cl.u.s.tering about the hood. At that my heart gave a bound, and I began running along the road.

I hurried through the red weed that choked St. Edmund's Terrace (I waded breast-high across a torrent of water that was rus.h.i.+ng down from the waterworks towards the Albert Road), and emerged upon the gra.s.s before the rising of the sun. Great mounds had been heaped about the crest of the hill, making a huge redoubt of it-it was the final and largest place the Martians had made-and from behind these heaps there rose a thin smoke against the sky. Against the sky line an eager dog ran and disappeared. The thought that had flashed into my mind grew real, grew credible. I felt no fear, only a wild, trembling exultation as I ran up the hill towards the motionless monster. Out of the hood hung lank shreds of brown, at which the hungry birds pecked and tore.

In another moment I had scrambled up the earthen rampart and stood upon its crest, and the interior of the redoubt was below me. A mighty s.p.a.ce it was, with gigantic machines here and there within it, huge mounds of material and strange shelter places. And scattered about it, some in their overturned war-machines, some in the now rigid handling-machines, and a dozen of them stark and silent and laid in a row, were the Martians-dead!-slain by the putrefactive and disease bacteria against which their systems were unprepared; slain as the red weed was being slain; slain, after all man's devices had failed, by the humblest things that G.o.d, in his wisdom, has put upon this earth.

For so it had come about, as indeed I and many men might have foreseen had not terror and disaster blinded our minds. These germs of disease have taken toll of humanity since the beginning of things-taken toll of our prehuman ancestors since life began here. But by virtue of this natural selection of our kind we have developed resisting power; to no germs do we succ.u.mb without a struggle, and to many-those that cause putrefaction in dead matter, for instance-our living frames are altogether immune. But there are no bacteria in Mars, and directly these invaders arrived, directly they drank and fed, our microscopic allies began to work their overthrow. Already when I watched them they were irrevocably doomed, dying and rotting even as they went to and fro. It was inevitable. By the toll of a billion deaths man has bought his birthright of the earth, and it is his against all comers; it would still be his were the Martians ten times as mighty as they are. For neither do men live nor die in vain.

Here and there they were scattered, nearly fifty altogether, in that great gulf they had made, overtaken by a death that must have seemed to them as incomprehensible as any death could be. To me also at that time this death was incomprehensible. All I knew was that these things that had been alive and so terrible to men were dead. For a moment I believed that the destruction of Sennacheribhf had been repeated, that G.o.d had repented, that the Angel of Death had slain them in the night. had been repeated, that G.o.d had repented, that the Angel of Death had slain them in the night.

I stood staring into the pit, and my heart lightened gloriously, even as the rising sun struck the world to fire about me with his rays. The pit was still in darkness; the mighty engines, so great and wonderful in their power and complexity, so unearthly in their tortuous forms, rose weird and vague and strange out of the shadows towards the light. A mult.i.tude of dogs, I could hear, fought over the bodies that lay darkly in the depth of the pit, far below me. Across the pit on its farther lip, flat and vast and strange, lay the great flying-machine with which they had been experimenting upon our denser atmosphere when decay and death arrested them. Death had come not a day too soon. At the sound of a cawing overhead I looked up at the huge fighting-machine that would fight no more for ever, at the tattered red shreds of flesh that dripped down upon the overturned seats on the summit of Primrose Hill.

I turned and looked down the slope of the hill to where, enhaloed now in birds, stood those other two Martians that I had seen overnight, just as death had overtaken them. The one had died, even as it had been crying to its companions; perhaps it was the last to die, and its voice had gone on perpetually until the force of its machinery was exhausted. They glittered now, harmless tripod towers of s.h.i.+ning metal, in the brightness of the rising sun.

All about the pit, and saved as by a miracle from everlasting destruction, stretched the great Mother of Cities. Those who have only seen London veiled in her sombre robes of smoke can scarcely imagine the naked clearness and beauty of the silent wilderness of houses.

Eastward, over the blackened ruins of the Albert Terrace and the splintered spire of the church, the sun blazed dazzling in a clear sky, and here and there some facet in the great wilderness of roofs caught the light and glared with a white intensity.

Northward were Kilburn and Hampstead, blue and crowded with houses; westward the great city was dimmed; and southward, beyond the Martians, the green waves of Regent's Park, the Langham Hotel, the dome of the Albert Hall, the Imperial Inst.i.tute, and the giant mansions of the Brompton Roadhg came out clear and little in the sunrise, the jagged ruins of Westminster rising hazily beyond. Far away and blue were the Surrey hills, and the towers of the Crystal Palace came out clear and little in the sunrise, the jagged ruins of Westminster rising hazily beyond. Far away and blue were the Surrey hills, and the towers of the Crystal Palacehh glittered like two silver rods. The dome of St. Paul's glittered like two silver rods. The dome of St. Paul's.h.i.+ was dark against the sunrise, and injured, I saw for the first time, by a huge gaping cavity on its western side. was dark against the sunrise, and injured, I saw for the first time, by a huge gaping cavity on its western side.

And as I looked at this wide expanse of houses and factories and churches, silent and abandoned; as I thought of the mult.i.tudinous hopes and efforts, the innumerable hosts of lives that had gone to build this human reef, and of the swift and ruthless destruction that had hung over it all; when I realised that the shadow had been rolled back, and that men might still live in the streets, and this dear vast dead city of mine be once more alive and powerful, I felt a wave of emotion that was near akin to tears.

The torment was over. Even that day the healing would begin. The survivors of the people scattered over the country-leaderless, lawless, foodless, like sheep without a shepherd-the thousands who had fled by sea, would begin to return; the pulse of life, growing stronger and stronger, would beat again in the empty streets and pour across the vacant squares. Whatever destruction was done, the hand of the destroyer was stayed. All the gaunt wrecks, the blackened skeletons of houses that stared so dismally at the sunlit gra.s.s of the hill, would presently be echoing with the hammers of the restorers and ringing with the tapping of their trowels. At the thought I extended my hands towards the sky and began thanking G.o.d. In a year, thought I-in a year ...

With overwhelming force came the thought of myself, of my wife, and the old life of hope and tender helpfulness that had ceased for ever.

Chapter 9.

Wreckage.

AND NOW COMES THE strangest thing in my story. Yet, perhaps, it is not altogether strange. I remember, clearly and coldly and vividly, all that I did that day until the time that I stood weeping and praising G.o.d upon the summit of Primrose Hill. And then I forget.

Of the next three days I know nothing. I have learned since that, so far from my being the first discoverer of the Martian overthrow, several such wanderers as myself had already discovered this on the previous night. One man-the first-had gone to St. Martin's-le-Grand, hj hj and, while I sheltered in the cabmen's hut, had contrived to telegraph to Paris. Thence the joyful news had flashed all over the world; a thousand cities, chilled by ghastly apprehensions, suddenly flashed into frantic illuminations; they knew of it in Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, at the time when I stood upon the verge of the pit. Already men, weeping with joy, as I have heard, shouting and staying their work to shake hands and shout, were making up trains, even as near as Crewe, and, while I sheltered in the cabmen's hut, had contrived to telegraph to Paris. Thence the joyful news had flashed all over the world; a thousand cities, chilled by ghastly apprehensions, suddenly flashed into frantic illuminations; they knew of it in Dublin, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, at the time when I stood upon the verge of the pit. Already men, weeping with joy, as I have heard, shouting and staying their work to shake hands and shout, were making up trains, even as near as Crewe,hk to descend upon London. The church bells that had ceased a fortnight since suddenly caught the news, until all England was bell-ringing. Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair. And for the food! Across the Channel, across the Irish Sea, across the Atlantic, corn, to descend upon London. The church bells that had ceased a fortnight since suddenly caught the news, until all England was bell-ringing. Men on cycles, lean-faced, unkempt, scorched along every country lane shouting of unhoped deliverance, shouting to gaunt, staring figures of despair. And for the food! Across the Channel, across the Irish Sea, across the Atlantic, corn,hl bread, and meat were tearing to our relief. All the s.h.i.+pping in the world seemed going Londonward in those days. But of all this I have no memory. I drifted-a demented man. I found myself in a house of kindly people, who had found me on the third day wandering, weeping, and raving through the streets of St. John's Wood. They have told me since that I was singing some inane doggerel bread, and meat were tearing to our relief. All the s.h.i.+pping in the world seemed going Londonward in those days. But of all this I have no memory. I drifted-a demented man. I found myself in a house of kindly people, who had found me on the third day wandering, weeping, and raving through the streets of St. John's Wood. They have told me since that I was singing some inane doggerelhm about "The Last Man Left Alive! Hurrah! The Last Man Left Alive!" Troubled as they were with their own affairs, these people, whose names, much as I would like to express my grat.i.tude to them, I may not even give here, nevertheless c.u.mbered themselves with me, sheltered me, and protected me from myself. Apparently they had learned something of my story from me during the days of my lapse. about "The Last Man Left Alive! Hurrah! The Last Man Left Alive!" Troubled as they were with their own affairs, these people, whose names, much as I would like to express my grat.i.tude to them, I may not even give here, nevertheless c.u.mbered themselves with me, sheltered me, and protected me from myself. Apparently they had learned something of my story from me during the days of my lapse.

Very gently, when my mind was a.s.sured again, did they break to me what they had learned of the fate of Leatherhead. Two days after I was imprisoned it had been destroyed, with every soul in it, by a Martian. He had swept it out of existence, as it seemed, without any provocation, as a boy might crush an ant hill in the mere wantonness of power.

I was a lonely man, and they were very kind to me. I was a lonely man and a sad one, and they bore with me. I remained with them four days after my recovery. All that time I felt a vague, a growing craving to look once more on whatever remained of the little life that seemed so happy and bright in my past. It was a mere hopeless desire to feast upon my misery. They dissuaded me. They did all they could to divert me from this morbidity. But at last I could resist the impulse no longer, and, promising faithfully to return to them, and parting, as I will confess, from these four-day friends with tears, I went out again into the streets that had lately been so dark and strange and empty.

Already they were busy with returning people; in places even there were shops open, and I saw a drinking fountain running water.

I remember how mockingly bright the day seemed as I went back on my melancholy pilgrimage to the little house at Woking, how busy the streets and vivid the moving life about me. So many people were abroad everywhere, busied in a thousand activities, that it seemed incredible that any great proportion of the population could have been slain. But then I noticed how yellow were the skins of the people I met, how s.h.a.ggy the hair of the men, how large and bright their eyes, and that every other man still wore his dirty rags. Their faces seemed all with one of two expressions-a leaping exultation and energy or a grim resolution. Save for the expression of the faces, London seemed a city of tramps. The vestries were indiscriminately distributing bread sent us by the French government. The ribs of the few horses showed dismally. Haggard special constables with white badges stood at the corners of every street. I saw little of the mischief wrought by the Martians until I reached Wellington Street, and there I saw the red weed clambering over the b.u.t.tresses of Waterloo Bridge.

At the corner of the bridge, too, I saw one of the common contrasts of that grotesque time-a sheet of paper flaunting against a thicket of the red weed, transfixed by a stick that kept it in place. It was the placard of the first newspaper to resume publication-the Daily Mail. Daily Mail. I bought a copy for a blackened s.h.i.+lling I found in my pocket. Most of it was in blank, but the solitary compositor I bought a copy for a blackened s.h.i.+lling I found in my pocket. Most of it was in blank, but the solitary compositorhn who did the thing had amused himself by making a grotesque scheme of advertis.e.m.e.nt stereo who did the thing had amused himself by making a grotesque scheme of advertis.e.m.e.nt stereoho on the back page. The matter he printed was emotional; the news organisation had not as yet found its way back. I learned nothing fresh except that already in one week the examination of the Martian mechanisms had yielded astonis.h.i.+ng results. Among other things, the article a.s.sured me what I did not believe at the time, that the "Secret of Flying" was discovered. At Waterloo I found the free trains that were taking people to their homes. The first rush was already over. There were few people in the train, and I was in no mood for casual conversation. I got a compartment to myself, and sat with folded arms, looking greyly at the sunlit devastation that flowed past the windows. And just outside the terminus the train jolted over temporary rails, and on either side of the railway the houses were blackened ruins. To Clapham Junction the face of London was grimy with powder of the Black Smoke, in spite of two days of thunderstorms and rain, and at Clapham Junction the line had been wrecked again; there were hundreds of out-of-work clerks and shopmen working side by side with the customary navvies, and we were jolted over a hasty relaying. on the back page. The matter he printed was emotional; the news organisation had not as yet found its way back. I learned nothing fresh except that already in one week the examination of the Martian mechanisms had yielded astonis.h.i.+ng results. Among other things, the article a.s.sured me what I did not believe at the time, that the "Secret of Flying" was discovered. At Waterloo I found the free trains that were taking people to their homes. The first rush was already over. There were few people in the train, and I was in no mood for casual conversation. I got a compartment to myself, and sat with folded arms, looking greyly at the sunlit devastation that flowed past the windows. And just outside the terminus the train jolted over temporary rails, and on either side of the railway the houses were blackened ruins. To Clapham Junction the face of London was grimy with powder of the Black Smoke, in spite of two days of thunderstorms and rain, and at Clapham Junction the line had been wrecked again; there were hundreds of out-of-work clerks and shopmen working side by side with the customary navvies, and we were jolted over a hasty relaying.

All down the line from there the aspect of the country was gaunt and unfamiliar; Wimbledon particularly had suffered. Walton, by virtue of its unburned pine woods, seemed the least hurt of any place along the line. The Wandle, the Mole, every little stream, was a heaped ma.s.s of red weed, in appearance between butcher's meat and pickled cabbage. The Surrey pine woods were too dry, however, for the festoons of the red climber. Beyond Wimbledon, within sight of the line, in certain nursery grounds, were the heaped ma.s.ses of earth about the sixth cylinder. A number of people were standing about it, and some sappers were busy in the midst of it. Over it flaunted a Union Jack, flapping cheerfully in the morning breeze. The nursery grounds were everywhere crimson with the weed, a wide expanse of livid colour cut with purple shadows, and very painful to the eye. One's gaze went with infinite relief from the scorched greys and sullen reds of the foreground to the blue-green softness of the eastward hills.

The line on the London side of Woking station was still undergoing repair, so I descended at Byfleet station and took the road to Maybury, past the place where I and the artilleryman had talked to the hussars, and on by the spot where the Martian had appeared to me in the thunderstorm. Here, moved by curiosity, I turned aside to find, among a tangle of red fronds, the warped and broken dog cart with the whitened bones of the horse scattered and gnawed. For a time I stood regarding these vestiges....

Then I returned through the pine wood, neck-high with red weed here and there, to find the landlord of the Spotted Dog had already found burial, and so came home past the College Arms. A man standing at an open cottage door greeted me by name as I pa.s.sed.

I looked at my house with a quick flash of hope that faded immediately. The door had been forced; it was unfast and was opening slowly as I approached.

It slammed again. The curtains of my study fluttered out of the open window from which I and the artilleryman had watched the dawn. No one had closed it since. The smashed bushes were just as I had left them nearly four weeks ago. I stumbled into the hall, and the house felt empty. The stair carpet was ruffled and discoloured where I had crouched, soaked to the skin from the thunderstorm the night of the catastrophe. Our muddy footsteps I saw still went up the stairs.

I followed them to my study, and found lying on my writing-table still, with the selenitehp paper weight upon it, the sheet of work I had left on the afternoon of the opening of the cylinder. For a s.p.a.ce I stood reading over my abandoned arguments. It was a paper on the probable development of Moral Ideas with the development of the civilising process; and the last sentence was the opening of a prophecy: "In about two hundred years," I had written, "we may expect-" The sentence ended abruptly. I remembered my inability to fix my mind that morning, scarcely a month gone by, and how I had broken off to get my paper weight upon it, the sheet of work I had left on the afternoon of the opening of the cylinder. For a s.p.a.ce I stood reading over my abandoned arguments. It was a paper on the probable development of Moral Ideas with the development of the civilising process; and the last sentence was the opening of a prophecy: "In about two hundred years," I had written, "we may expect-" The sentence ended abruptly. I remembered my inability to fix my mind that morning, scarcely a month gone by, and how I had broken off to get my Daily Chronicle Daily Chronicle from the newsboy. I remembered how I went down to the garden gate as he came along, and how I had listened to his odd story of "Men from Mars." from the newsboy. I remembered how I went down to the garden gate as he came along, and how I had listened to his odd story of "Men from Mars."

I came down and went into the dining room. There were the mutton and the bread, both far gone now in decay, and a beer bottle overturned, just as I and the artilleryman had left them. My home was desolate. I perceived the folly of the faint hope I had cherished so long. And then a strange thing occurred. "It is no use," said a voice. "The house is deserted. No one has been here these ten days. Do not stay here to torment yourself. No one escaped but you."

I was startled. Had I spoken my thought aloud? I turned, and the French window was open behind me. I made a step to it, and stood looking out.

And there, amazed and afraid, even as I stood amazed and afraid, were my cousin and my wife-my wife white and tearless. She gave a faint cry.

"I came," she said. "I knew-knew-"

She put her hand to her throat-swayed. I made a step forward, and caught her in my arms.

Chapter 10.

The Epilogue.

I CANNOT BUT REGRET, now that I am concluding my story, how little I am able to contribute to the discussion of the many debatable questions which are still unsettled. In one respect I shall certainly provoke criticism. My particular province is speculative philosophy. My knowledge of comparative physiology is confined to a book or two, but it seems to me that Carver'shq suggestions as to the reason of the rapid death of the Martians is so probable as to be regarded almost as a proven conclusion. I have a.s.sumed that in the body of my narrative. suggestions as to the reason of the rapid death of the Martians is so probable as to be regarded almost as a proven conclusion. I have a.s.sumed that in the body of my narrative.

At any rate, in all the bodies of the Martians that were examined after the war, no bacteria except those already known as terrestrial species were found. That they did not bury any of their dead, and the reckless slaughter they perpetrated, point also to an entire ignorance of the putrefactive process. But probable as this seems, it is by no means a proven conclusion.

Neither is the composition of the Black Smoke known, which the Martians used with such deadly effect, and the generator of the Heat-Rays remains a puzzle. The terrible disasters at the Ealing and South Kensington laboratories have disinclined a.n.a.lysts for further investigations upon the latter. Spectrum a.n.a.lysis of the black powder points unmistakably to the presence of an unknown element with a brilliant group of three lines in the green, and it is possible that it combines with argon to form a compound which acts at once with deadly effect upon some const.i.tuent in the blood. But such unproven speculations will scarcely be of interest to the general reader, to whom this story is addressed. None of the brown sc.u.m that drifted down the Thames after the destruction of Shepperton was examined at the time, and now none is forthcoming.

The results of an anatomical examination of the Martians, so far as the prowling dogs had left such an examination possible, I have already given. But everyone is familiar with the magnificent and almost complete specimen in spirits at the Natural History Museum, and the countless drawings that have been made from it; and beyond that the interest of their physiology and structure is purely scientific.

A question of graver and universal interest is the possibility of another attack from the Martians. I do not think that nearly enough attention is being given to this aspect of the matter. At present the planet Mars is in conjunction,hr but with every return to opposition I, for one, antic.i.p.ate a renewal of their adventure. In any case, we should be prepared. It seems to me that it should be possible to define the position of the gun from which the shots are discharged, to keep a sustained watch upon this part of the planet, and to antic.i.p.ate the arrival of the next attack. but with every return to opposition I, for one, antic.i.p.ate a renewal of their adventure. In any case, we should be prepared. It seems to me that it should be possible to define the position of the gun from which the shots are discharged, to keep a sustained watch upon this part of the planet, and to antic.i.p.ate the arrival of the next attack.

In that case the cylinder might be destroyed with dynamite or artillery before it was sufficiently cool for the Martians to emerge, or they might be butchered by means of guns so soon as the screw opened. It seems to me that they have lost a vast advantage in the failure of their first surprise. Possibly they see it in the same light.

Lessinghs has advanced excellent reasons for supposing that the Martians have actually succeeded in effecting a landing on the planet Venus. Seven months ago now, Venus and Mars were in alignment with the sun; that is to say, Mars was in opposition from the point of view of an observer on Venus. Subsequently a peculiar luminous and sinuous marking appeared on the unillumined half of the inner planet, and almost simultaneously a faint dark mark of a similar sinuous character was detected upon a photograph of the Martian disk. One needs to see the drawings of these appearances in order to appreciate fully their remarkable resemblance in character. has advanced excellent reasons for supposing that the Martians have actually succeeded in effecting a landing on the planet Venus. Seven months ago now, Venus and Mars were in alignment with the sun; that is to say, Mars was in opposition from the point of view of an observer on Venus. Subsequently a peculiar luminous and sinuous marking appeared on the unillumined half of the inner planet, and almost simultaneously a faint dark mark of a similar sinuous character was detected upon a photograph of the Martian disk. One needs to see the drawings of these appearances in order to appreciate fully their remarkable resemblance in character.

At any rate, whether we expect another invasion or not, our views of the human future must be greatly modified by these events. We have learned now that we cannot regard this planet as being fenced in and a secure abiding place for Man; we can never antic.i.p.ate the unseen good or evil that may come upon us suddenly out of s.p.a.ce. It may be that in the larger design of the universe this invasion from Mars is not without its ultimate benefit for men;9 it has robbed us of that serene confidence in the future which is the most fruitful source of decadence, the gifts to human science it has brought are enormous, and it has done much to promote the conception of the commonweal of mankind. It may be that across the immensity of s.p.a.ce the Martians have watched the fate of these pioneers of theirs and learned their lesson, and that on the planet Venus they have found a securer settlement. Be that as it may, for many years yet there will certainly be no relaxation of the eager scrutiny of the Martian disk, and those fiery darts of the sky, the shooting stars, will bring with them as they fall an unavoidable apprehension to all the sons of men. it has robbed us of that serene confidence in the future which is the most fruitful source of decadence, the gifts to human science it has brought are enormous, and it has done much to promote the conception of the commonweal of mankind. It may be that across the immensity of s.p.a.ce the Martians have watched the fate of these pioneers of theirs and learned their lesson, and that on the planet Venus they have found a securer settlement. Be that as it may, for many years yet there will certainly be no relaxation of the eager scrutiny of the Martian disk, and those fiery darts of the sky, the shooting stars, will bring with them as they fall an unavoidable apprehension to all the sons of men.

The broadening of men's views that has resulted can scarcely be exaggerated. Before the cylinder fell there was a general persuasion that through all the deep of s.p.a.ce no life existed beyond the petty surface of our minute sphere. Now we see further. If the Martians can reach Venus, there is no reason to suppose that the thing is impossible for men, and when the slow cooling of the sun makes this earth uninhabitable, 10 10 as at last it must do, it may be that the thread of life that has begun here will have streamed out and caught our sister planet within its toils. as at last it must do, it may be that the thread of life that has begun here will have streamed out and caught our sister planet within its toils.

Dim and wonderful is the vision I have conjured up in my mind of life spreading slowly from this little seed bed of the solar system throughout the inanimate vastness of sidereal s.p.a.ce. But that is a remote dream. It may be, on the other hand, that the destruction of the Martians is only a reprieve. To them, and not to us, perhaps, is the future ordained.

I must confess the stress and danger of the time have left an abiding sense of doubt and insecurity in my mind. I sit in my study writing by lamplight, and suddenly I see again the healing valley below set with writhing flames, and feel the house behind and about me empty and desolate. I go out into the Byfleet Road, and vehicles pa.s.s me, a butcher boy in a cart, a cabful of visitors, a workman on a bicycle, children going to school, and suddenly they become vague and unreal, and I hurry again with the artilleryman through the hot, brooding silence. Of a night I see the black powder darkening the silent streets, and the contorted bodies shrouded in that layer; they rise upon me tattered and dog-bitten. They gibber and grow fiercer, paler, uglier, mad distortions of humanity at last, and I wake, cold and wretched, in the darkness of the night.

I go to London and see the busy mult.i.tudes in Fleet Street and the Strand, and it comes across my mind that they are but the ghosts of the past, haunting the streets that I have seen silent and wretched, going to and fro, phantasms in a dead city, the mockery of life in a galvanised body. And strange, too, it is to stand on Primrose Hill, as I did but a day before writing this last chapter, to see the great province of houses, dim and blue through the haze of the smoke and mist, vanis.h.i.+ng at last into the vague lower sky, to see the people walking to and fro among the flower beds on the hill, to see the sight-seers about the Martian machine that stands there still, to hear the tumult of playing children, and to recall the time when I saw it all bright and clear-cut, hard and silent, under the dawn of that last great day....

And strangest of all is it to hold my wife's hand again, and to think that I have counted her, and that she has counted me, among the dead.

Endnotes

Epigraph: But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be inhabited? ... Are we or they Lords of the World? But who shall dwell in these worlds if they be inhabited? ... Are we or they Lords of the World? ... ... And how are all things made for man?: And how are all things made for man?: In his book In his book The Anatomy of Melancholy The Anatomy of Melancholy ( 1621-1651 ), Robert Burton elaborates on the thoughts of astronomer Johannes Kepler ( 1571-1630). In "The Second Part.i.tion: The Cure of Melancholy," section 2, Digression of Air, Burton writes: "But who shall dwell in these vast bodies, Earths, Worlds, if they be inhabited? Rational creatures? as Kepler demands, or have they souls to be saved? or do they inhabit a better part of the World than we do? Are we or they Lords of the World? And how are all things made for man? It is a difficult knot to untie: 'tis hard to determine; this only he proves, that we are in the best place, best world, nearest the heart of the Sun." ( 1621-1651 ), Robert Burton elaborates on the thoughts of astronomer Johannes Kepler ( 1571-1630). In "The Second Part.i.tion: The Cure of Melancholy," section 2, Digression of Air, Burton writes: "But who shall dwell in these vast bodies, Earths, Worlds, if they be inhabited? Rational creatures? as Kepler demands, or have they souls to be saved? or do they inhabit a better part of the World than we do? Are we or they Lords of the World? And how are all things made for man? It is a difficult knot to untie: 'tis hard to determine; this only he proves, that we are in the best place, best world, nearest the heart of the Sun."

Book One 1 (p. 9) (p. 9) intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own: intelligences greater than man's and yet as mortal as his own: Wells signals the reader here that Earth will not be conquered by the invading Martians, who, despite their intellectual, scientific, and technological superiority, are not immortal. Wells signals the reader here that Earth will not be conquered by the invading Martians, who, despite their intellectual, scientific, and technological superiority, are not immortal.

2 (p. 9) (p. 9) No one gave a thought to the older worlds of s.p.a.ce: No one gave a thought to the older worlds of s.p.a.ce: Wells's narrator concludes that the outer planets cooled sooner than Earth, that life started there earlier, and that, therefore, the Martians are older than humans and inhabit an older planet. Wells's narrator concludes that the outer planets cooled sooner than Earth, that life started there earlier, and that, therefore, the Martians are older than humans and inhabit an older planet.

3 (p. 9) (p. 9) The planet Mars: The planet Mars: The fourth planet from the sun and red in appearance, Mars is named for the Greco-Roman G.o.d of war. Its mean distance, or mid-point between furthest and closest distance from the sun, is approximately 141 million miles. The Martian year, the time it takes Mars to rotate around the sun, is approximately 687 days. When Mars, Earth, and the sun are in alignment (in opposition), Mars is at its closest to the sun (the perihelion). At that time, which recurs every 15 to 17 years, Mars is about 35 million miles from Earth. When Mars is farthest from the sun, it is about 63 million miles from Earth. Mars's diameter (4,200 miles) is about half that of Earth; its ma.s.s is 11 percent that of Earth's. In 1877 Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( 1835-1910) discovered the lines on Mars's surface, which he called ca.n.a.ls. American astronomer Percival Lowell ( 1855-1916) propagated the notion that the ca.n.a.ls were water-carrying aqueducts and that Mars was inhabited. The fourth planet from the sun and red in appearance, Mars is named for the Greco-Roman G.o.d of war. Its mean distance, or mid-point between furthest and closest distance from the sun, is approximately 141 million miles. The Martian year, the time it takes Mars to rotate around the sun, is approximately 687 days. When Mars, Earth, and the sun are in alignment (in opposition), Mars is at its closest to the sun (the perihelion). At that time, which recurs every 15 to 17 years, Mars is about 35 million miles from Earth. When Mars is farthest from the sun, it is about 63 million miles from Earth. Mars's diameter (4,200 miles) is about half that of Earth; its ma.s.s is 11 percent that of Earth's. In 1877 Giovanni Virginio Schiaparelli ( 1835-1910) discovered the lines on Mars's surface, which he called ca.n.a.ls. American astronomer Percival Lowell ( 1855-1916) propagated the notion that the ca.n.a.ls were water-carrying aqueducts and that Mars was inhabited.

4 (p. 9) (p. 9) if the nebular hypothesis has any truth: if the nebular hypothesis has any truth: The nebular hypothesis is a theory regarding the origin of the planets in the solar system. First enunciated by Immanuel Kant ( 1724-1804), it was restated in scientific terms by Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827), who proposed that the solar system initially was a nebula composed of a hot, rotating ma.s.s of matter that slowly cooled and shrank. As the volume grew smaller, the speed of rotation increased, eventually transforming the nebula into a flat disk. Later, when the centrifugal force pulling matter away from the center or equator was equal to the force of gravity at the center, an outer ring of gaseous matter detached itself from the disk. This took place again and again, each ring eventually forming a planet. The center became the sun. Many objections to this theory have been raised, but its importance to Wells's story is immense : Mars is older than Earth; its inhabitants are, therefore, much further evolved mentally and socially than the inhabitants of Earth; and their planet is dying, obliging the Martians to look to our planet as a safe haven. Readers of Wells's The nebular hypothesis is a theory regarding the origin of the planets in the solar system. First enunciated by Immanuel Kant ( 1724-1804), it was restated in scientific terms by Pierre-Simon Laplace (1749-1827), who proposed that the solar system initially was a nebula composed of a hot, rotating ma.s.s of matter that slowly cooled and shrank. As the volume grew smaller, the speed of rotation increased, eventually transforming the nebula into a flat disk. Later, when the centrifugal force pulling matter away from the center or equator was equal to the force of gravity at the center, an outer ring of gaseous matter detached itself from the disk. This took place again and again, each ring eventually forming a planet. The center became the sun. Many objections to this theory have been raised, but its importance to Wells's story is immense : Mars is older than Earth; its inhabitants are, therefore, much further evolved mentally and socially than the inhabitants of Earth; and their planet is dying, obliging the Martians to look to our planet as a safe haven. Readers of Wells's The Time Machine The Time Machine will recall that the Time Traveller goes millions of years into the future and finds a dying planet barely warmed by a fading sun. Wells and his generation believed in entropy-that any system, including the solar system, eventually loses energy and dies. will recall that the Time Traveller goes millions of years into the future and finds a dying planet barely warmed by a fading sun. Wells and his generation believed in entropy-that any system, including the solar system, eventually loses energy and dies.

5 (p. 10) The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts: (p. 10) The immediate pressure of necessity has brightened their intellects, enlarged their powers, and hardened their hearts: This pa.s.sage relates to Wells's belief that world government, universal education, and a globalized economy are necessary to overcome our past differences, transcend nationalism, and ensure universal progress. This pa.s.sage relates to Wells's belief that world government, universal education, and a globalized economy are necessary to overcome our past differences, transcend nationalism, and ensure universal progress.

6 (p. 10) (p. 10) stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas: stretches of populous country and narrow, navy-crowded seas: Wells knows that three-fourths of Earth's surface is covered by oceans; what he alludes to here is the arms race of the late nineteenth century that saw ma.s.sive buildups of naval power in England, Germany, and j.a.pan. Wells knows that three-fourths of Earth's surface is covered by oceans; what he alludes to here is the arms race of the late nineteenth century that saw ma.s.sive buildups of naval power in England, Germany, and j.a.pan.

7 (p. 11) (p. 11) life is an incessant struggle for existence: life is an incessant struggle for existence: English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) proposed a theory of evolution which hypothesized that survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changes in its environment. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), sociologist and philosopher, proposed the idea of "social Darwinism," which became a rationalization for notions such as racial superiority and colonial conquest. "Survival of the fittest" became the motto of technologically advanced people in the late nineteenth century and was used to justify their efforts to control the lives and resources of pre-industrial peoples. English naturalist Charles Darwin (1809-1882) proposed a theory of evolution which hypothesized that survival of a species depends on its ability to adapt to changes in its environment. Herbert Spencer (1820-1903), sociologist and philosopher, proposed the idea of "social Darwinism," which became a rationalization for notions such as racial superiority and colonial conquest. "Survival of the fittest" became the motto of technologically advanced people in the late nineteenth century and was used to justify their efforts to control the lives and resources of pre-industrial peoples.

8 (p. 12) (p. 12) During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen: During the opposition of 1894 a great light was seen: Here, and in subsequent paragraphs, Wells combines fact and fiction. An article published in Here, and in subsequent paragraphs, Wells combines fact and fiction. An article published in Nature Nature in 1894 did report a mysterious flash of light on Mars's surface; however, the astronomer in the next paragraph-"Lavelle of Java"-is a fiction. The in 1894 did report a mysterious flash of light on Mars's surface; however, the astronomer in the next paragraph-"Lavelle of Java"-is a fiction. The Daily Telegraph Daily Telegraph is a real newspaper, but the astronomer Ogilvy is an invention. Taking a cue from Jules Verne (1828-1905), Wells transforms the mysterious light reported in is a real newspaper, but the astronomer Ogilvy is an invention. Taking a cue from Jules Verne (1828-1905), Wells transforms the mysterious light reported in Nature Nature into a vast metal-casting operation carried out by the Martians. Their s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps are projectiles fired by a colossal cannon. So the Martians fabricate their gun in 1894 and fire their invasion s.h.i.+ps at Earth in 1900, when Earth and Mars are closest to each other. The narrator notes, "The storm burst upon us six years ago now," so he is "writing" in 1906, eight or nine years in the future for the first readers of the novel, which appeared as a serial in 1897 and as a book in 1898. into a vast metal-casting operation carried out by the Martians. Their s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps are projectiles fired by a colossal cannon. So the Martians fabricate their gun in 1894 and fire their invasion s.h.i.+ps at Earth in 1900, when Earth and Mars are closest to each other. The narrator notes, "The storm burst upon us six years ago now," so he is "writing" in 1906, eight or nine years in the future for the first readers of the novel, which appeared as a serial in 1897 and as a book in 1898.

9 (p. 25) (p. 25) "It's "It's a a movin' ": movin' ": Wells imitates the way common people speak, as did novelist Charles d.i.c.kens. This use of lower-cla.s.s speech enhances the realism of the scene. Wells imitates the way common people speak, as did novelist Charles d.i.c.kens. This use of lower-cla.s.s speech enhances the realism of the scene.

10 (p. 26) (p. 26) I think everyone expected to see a- man emerge: I think everyone expected to see a- man emerge: Wells stresses the physical differences between the Martians and human beings in order to mark the clash of outmoded and modern ways of thinking. The Martians represent a new social order based on practical needs, not a society like that of England in 1900, which still had vestiges of medieval culture: a royal family and lords of the manor (p. 23). Wells stresses the physical differences between the Martians and human beings in order to mark the clash of outmoded and modern ways of thinking. The Martians represent a new social order based on practical needs, not a society like that of England in 1900, which still had vestiges of medieval culture: a royal family and lords of the manor (p. 23).

11 (p. 43) (p. 43) sticking into the skin of our old planet Earth like a poisoned dart: sticking into the skin of our old planet Earth like a poisoned dart: The Martians invade Earth like a poison injected into a body: Their s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps are bullets fired from a huge cannon; their presence is like a venom about to spread through a body. The Martians invade Earth like a poison injected into a body: Their s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps are bullets fired from a huge cannon; their presence is like a venom about to spread through a body.

12 (p. 43) (p. 43) the Martians were hammering and stirring, sleepless, indefatigable: the Martians were hammering and stirring, sleepless, indefatigable: Wells gives the Martians more nonhuman traits: They never sleep, and they never tire. Wells gives the Martians more nonhuman traits: They never sleep, and they never tire.

13 (p. 49) (p. 49) Then I remembered her cousins at Leatherhead: Then I remembered her cousins at Leatherhead: Leatherhead is a town southwest of London, less than 20 miles east of Woking. In this pa.s.sage the narrator refers to these relatives as his wife's cousins, but in chapter 10 (p. 52) he refers to them as "my cousins," an apparent confusion on Wells's part. Leatherhead is a town southwest of London, less than 20 miles east of Woking. In this pa.s.sage the narrator refers to these relatives as his wife's cousins, but in chapter 10 (p. 52) he refers to them as "my cousins," an apparent confusion on Wells's part.

14 (p. 49) (p. 49) I knew the landlord had a horse and dog cart: I knew the landlord had a horse and dog cart: A dog cart is a light, two-wheeled carriage (named because the driver sits at the rear of the coach, on top of the box originally intended to hold a dog). By this point in the story, the narrator begins to feel the "immediate pressure of necessity" (p. 10) that he had imagined prompted the Martian invasion. He realizes that to get his wife and their servant to safety, he will need a vehicle and pays an exorbitant fee to the greedy owner of the public house. This subtle but telling scene reflects the reality that, in emergencies, we are apt to sacrifice morality for survival. A dog cart is a light, two-wheeled carriage (named because the driver sits at the rear of the coach, on top of the box originally intended to hold a dog). By this point in the story, the narrator begins to feel the "immediate pressure of necessity" (p. 10) that he had imagined prompted the Martian invasion. He realizes that to get his wife and their servant to safety, he will need a vehicle and pays an exorbitant fee to the greedy owner of the public house. This subtle but telling scene reflects the reality that, in emergencies, we are apt to sacrifice morality for survival.

15 (p. 52) (p. 52) war fever that occasionally runs through a civilised community: war fever that occasionally runs through a civilised community: Here Wells begins to transform his narrator from accidental witness to intentional reporter. After driving his wife and servant to Leatherhead, he returns to be "in at the death," thinking the army will annihilate the sluggish Martians. His return gives him-and Wells-the opportunity to give a firsthand account of the Martian invasion. Here Wells begins to transform his narrator from accidental witness to intentional reporter. After driving his wife and servant to Leatherhead, he returns to be "in at the death," thinking the army will annihilate the sluggish Martians. His return gives him-and Wells-the opportunity to give a firsthand account of the Martian invasion.

16 (p. 54) (p. 54) like the working of a gigantic electric machine: like the working of a gigantic electric machine: As early as 1880, James Wimshurst (1832-1903) developed an electrostatic induction generator, and Wells probably saw it work in the London Science Museum. Electricity itself was not widely used in late-nineteenth-century England, and either gas or oil lamps provided domestic light in much of London. As early as 1880, James Wimshurst (1832-1903) developed an electrostatic induction generator, and Wells probably saw it work in the London Science Museum. Electricity itself was not widely used in late-nineteenth-century England, and either gas or oil lamps provided domestic light in much of London.

17 (p. 54) (p. 54) And this Thing I saw! How can I describe it?: And this Thing I saw! How can I describe it?: The Martian fighting machine stands in contrast to the Martians themselves. The narrator describes the Martians in minute detail on pp. 146-152. They do not need sleep and wear no clothes; they can barely hear on Earth and communicate by telepathy; and they live on human blood. But while Wells makes the Martians nonhuman, squid-like creatures, their three-legged machines are caricatures of the human body. At the same time, the idea of Martians riding around Surrey on three-legged machines recalls Wells's interest in bicycling-where a man rides on top of a machine he propels (in 1896 Wells published a seriocomic novel, The Martian fighting machine stands in contrast to the Martians themselves. The narrator describes the Martians in minute detail on pp. 146-152. They do not need sleep and wear no clothes; they can barely hear on Earth and communicate by telepathy; and they live on human blood. But while Wells makes the Martians nonhuman, squid-like creatures, their three-legged machines are caricatures of the human body. At the same time, the idea of Martians riding around Surrey on three-legged machines recalls Wells's interest in bicycling-where a man rides on top of a machine he propels (in 1896 Wells published a seriocomic novel, The Wheels of Chance, The Wheels of Chance, about the bicycling craze). Wells wants to make the Martians radically different from humans but at the same time to show them as a possible evolutionary future for mankind. about the bicycling craze). Wells wants to make the Martians radically different from humans but at the same time to show them as a possible evolutionary future for mankind.

18 (p. 57) (p. 57) to rejoin my wife at Leatherhead: to rejoin my wife at Leatherhead: Wells adds yet another nuance to the narrator: Here he realizes he should be with his wife but says he is too wet and tired to retrace his steps. Fear replaces the "war fever" he feels on p. 52. Curiosity will soon displace both fear and loyalty to his wife. Wells adds yet another nuance to the narrator: Here he realizes he should be with his wife but says he is too wet and tired to retrace his steps. Fear replaces the "war fever" he feels on p. 52. Curiosity will soon displace both fear and loyalty to his wife.

19 (p. 57) (p. 57) It was the landlord of the Spotted Dog: It was the landlord of the Spotted Dog: Wells establishes a parallel between the dead horse (p. 55) with a broken neck and the dead landlord, whose neck is also broken. The horse represents outmoded technology unable to withstand the Martian attack, while the landlord represents a humanity concerned only with its own interests and unable to see larger issues, especially the need to organize in order to survive. Both the horse and the landlord are random victims as well, so it is as if the narrator were exempted because of their deaths so he can tell his story. Wells establishes a parallel between the dead horse (p. 55) with a broken neck and the dead landlord, whose neck is also broken. The horse represents outmoded technology unable to withstand the Martian attack, while the landlord represents a humanity concerned only with its own interests and unable to see larger issues, especially the need to organize in order to survive. Both the horse and the landlord are random victims as well, so it is as if the narrator were exempted because of their deaths so he can tell his story.

20 (p. 60) (p. 60) Then I perceived this was a wrecked train: In Antic.i.p.ations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought Then I perceived this was a wrecked train: In Antic.i.p.ations of the Reaction of Mechanical and Scientific Progress upon Human Life and Thought (1902), Wells states: "The nineteenth century, when it takes its place with the other centuries in the chronological charts of the future, will, if it needs a symbol, almost inevitably have as that symbol a steam engine running upon a railway." The Martians strike terror in the humans in part by demolis.h.i.+ng what Wells considers humanity's crowning technological achievement of the nineteenth century. (1902), Wells states: "The nineteenth century, when it takes its place with the other centuries in the chronological charts of the future, will, if it needs a symbol, almost inevitably have as that symbol a steam engine running upon a railway." The Martians strike terror in the humans in part by demolis.h.i.+ng what Wells considers humanity's crowning technological achievement of the nineteenth century.

21 (p. 64) (p. 64) ever and again: ever and again: Note Wells's occasional sloppiness, the unnecessary repet.i.tion of this phrase, which he uses three paragraphs above. Note Wells's occasional sloppiness, the unnecessary repet.i.tion of this phrase, which he uses three paragraphs above.

22 (p. 72) (p. 72) but I was not too terrified for thought: but I was not too terrified for thought: Earlier the narrator was saved by chance or luck. Now he is adapting to circ.u.mstance in order to survive. When a chance sh.e.l.l hits one of the Martians' fighting machines-the only defensive success in the war-it is simply another case of luck. In fact, it will be sheer luck that saves humanity-the Martians' inability to cope with earthly bacteria. Earlier the narrator was saved by chance or luck. Now he is adapting to circ.u.mstance in order to survive. When a chance sh.e.l.l hits one of the Martians' fighting machines-the only defensive success in the war-it is simply another case of luck. In fact, it will be sheer luck that saves humanity-the Martians' inability to cope with earthly bacteria.

23 (p. 73) (p. 73) the camera that fired the Heat-Ray: the camera that fired the Heat-Ray: It is not clear whether Wells is comparing the projector of the heat-ray weapon to a photographic camera or is referring to the little chamber where the heat is generated. A photographic camera receives light, while the Martian weapon projects heat. It is not clear whether Wells is comparing the projector of the heat-ray weapon to a photographic camera or is referring to the little chamber where the heat is generated. A photographic camera receives light, while the Martian weapon projects heat.

24 (p. 77) (p. 77) earthquake that destroyed Lisbon a century ago: earthquake that destroyed Lisbon a century ago: The Lisbon earthquake took place in 1775, so it was more than a century earlier than 1906, when the narrator is writing. The point, however, is not chronological precision but the parallel between the Martian invasion and the eighteenth-century cataclysm, which contradicted the naive optimism of those who believed, like philosopher G. W. Leibniz ( 1646-1716), that mankind lives in "the best of all possible worlds"-that is, since G.o.d could choose among myriad possibilities, He must have chosen the best. Wells believes that reality can never be a utopia. The Lisbon earthquake took place in 1775, so it was more than a century earlier than 1906, when the narrator is writing. The point, however, is not chronological precision but the parallel between the Martian invasion and the eighteenth-century cataclysm, which contradicted the naive optimism of those who believed, like philosopher G. W. Leibniz ( 1646-1716), that mankind lives in "the best of all possible worlds"-that is, since G.o.d could choose among myriad possibilities, He must have chosen the best. Wells believes that reality can never be a utopia.

25 (p. 80) (p. 80) What does it mean? ... What do these things mean?: What does it mean? ... What do these things mean?: The delirious curate is often taken as a symbol of Wells's anticlerical att.i.tude. In a situation where he should be the very man to answer his own questions, the curate is impotent. With the dead horse and the lord of the manor, the curate is a vestige of a past culture that can no longer cope with the problems of the present. When the curate asks, "What are these Martians?" the narrator replies, "What are we?" The question of a divine plan or a teleological principle in history manifests itself here. Wells seems to suggest that a great cataclysm-the invasion from Mars-may be a stimulus that will bring about a new social, political, and scientific order. The curate's physical resemblance to the subhuman Eloi, which the protagonist of The delirious curate is often taken as a symbol of Wells's anticlerical att.i.tude. In a situation where he should be the very man to answer his own questions, the curate is impotent. With the dead horse and the lord of the manor, the curate is a vestige of a past culture that can no longer cope with the problems of the present. When the curate asks, "What are these Martians?" the narrator replies, "What are we?" The question of a divine plan or a teleological principle in history manifests itself here. Wells seems to suggest that a great cataclysm-the invasion from Mars-may be a stimulus that will bring about a new social, political, and scientific order. The curate's physical resemblance to the subhuman Eloi, which the protagonist of The Time Machine The Time Machine finds in the future, is no coincidence. The curate embraces both despair (he quotes the Bible's Book of Revelation, on p. 81, as if to confirm that G.o.d's judgment has finally condemned humanity) and the past-the idea that mankind has no future except in its most ancient traditions. The narrator's response is one of hope, that humans may yet save themselves. finds in the future, is no coincidence. The curate embraces both despair (he quotes the Bible's Book of Revelation, on p. 81, as if to confirm that G.o.d's judgment has finally condemned humanity) and the past-the idea that mankind has no future except in its most ancient traditions. The narrator's response is one of hope, that humans may yet save themselves.

26 (p. 82) (p. 82) He is not an insurance agent: He is not an insurance agent: This is Wells's second reference to insurance (the first is in chapter 9, p. 45) and the irony of a plan for preservation of valuables in case of accident in a situation in which survival is the only thing of real value. The narrator's idea that G.o.d plays no favorites is not theologically sound-mortals must accept that G.o.d's ways are not their ways-but socially important: The disaster is universal, making all people realize their common humanity and their need to act together. This is Wells's second reference to insurance (the first is in chapter 9, p. 45) and the irony of a plan for preservation of valuables in case of accident in a situation in which survival is the only thing of real value. The narrator's idea that G.o.d plays no favorites is not theologically sound-mortals must accept that G.o.d's ways are not their ways-but socially important: The disaster is universal, making all people realize their common humanity and their need to act together.

27 (p. 98) (p. 98) how much they understood of us: how much they understood of us: The narrator wonders if the Martians imagine humans as anything but mindless insects. Wells uses this opportunity to introduce the issue of the Martians' food. Since blood is their food, it seems unlikely they will exterminate humanity. The narrator wonders if the Martians imagine humans as anything but mindless insects. Wells uses this opportunity to introduce the issue of the Martians' food. Since blood is their food, it seems unlikely they will exterminate humanity.

28 (p. 98) (p. 98) I so far forgot my personal safety: I so far forgot my personal safety: The narrator is now possessed by curiosity, so much so that he risks his life to witness the firing of the black-smoke projectiles by the Martians. This same curiosity will cause him to follow the invasion to its final moments. But the fact that he is a witness does not make him a leader. He may have insights into what must be done, but the future task of galvanizing humanity into a force like that of the Martians will belong to others. In this sense, he is like Wells, who visualizes the need to unify humanity politically and economically but is not himself the leader who can bring this about. The narrator is now possessed by curiosity, so much so that he risks his life to witness the firing of the black-smoke projectiles by the Martians. This same curiosity will cause him to follow the invasion to its final moments. But the fact that he is a witness does not make him a leader. He may have insights into what must be done, but the future task of galvanizing humanity into a force like that of the Martians will belong to others. In this sense, he is like Wells, who visualizes the need to unify humanity politically and economically but is not himself the leader who can bring this about.

29 (p. 115) (p. 115) a bearded, eagle-faced man... lay limp and dead: a bearded, eagle-faced man... lay limp and dead: Wells's anti-Semitism, typical of the times, makes him include this grotesque picture of a man so greedy he dies trying to save his money rather than leaving it behind to save his life. Wells's anti-Semitism, typical of the times, makes him include this grotesque picture of a man so greedy he dies trying to save his money rather than leaving it behind to save his life.

30 (p. 121) (p. 121) Committee of Public Supply, seized the pony as provisions: The pony Committee of Public Supply, seized the pony as provisions: The pony is to be eaten. Private property ceases to exist in the face of universal crisis, and the needs of the many-food, in this case-supersede those of the individual. is to be eaten. Private property ceases to exist in the face of universal crisis, and the needs of the many-food, in this case-supersede those of the individual.

Book Two 1 (p. 131) (p. 131) In the first book I have wandered: In the first book I have wandered: The narrator picks up the thread of his own story, taking us back to his situation in book one, chapter 15. The narrator picks up the thread of his own story, taking us back to his situation in book one, chapter 15.

2 (p. 141) (p. 141) imperfect descriptions of such eye-witnesses as myself to go upon: imperfect descriptions of such eye-witnesses as myself to go upon: A standard device in fantastic fiction is the notion "you had to be there"-that is, language is inad