by E. E. Smith
CHAPTER IX
The Welcome to Norlamin
The _Skylark_ was now days upon her way toward the sixth planet, Seatongave the visiplates and the instrument board his customary carefulscrutiny and rejoined the others.
"Still talking about the human fish, Dottie Dimple?" he asked, as hestoked his villainous pipe. "Peculiar tribe of porpoises, but I'm strongfor 'em. They're the most like our own kind of folks, as far as ideasgo, of anybody we've seen yet--in fact, they're more like us than a lotof human beings we all know."
"I like them immensely----"
"You couldn't like 'em any other way, their size----"
"Terrible, Dick, terrible! Easy as I am, I can't stand for any such jokeas that was going to be. But really, I think they're just perfectlyfine, in spite of their being so funny-looking. Mrs. Carfon is justsimply sweet, even if she does look like a walrus, and that cute littleseal of a baby was just too perfectly cunning for words. That boy Sevenis keen as mustard, too."
"He should be," put in Crane, dryly. "He probably has as muchintelligence now as any one of us."
"Do you think so?" asked Margaret. "He acted like any other boy, but hedid seem to understand things remarkably well."
"He would--they're 'way ahead of us in most things." Seaton glanced atthe two women quizzically and turned to Crane. "And as for their beingbald, this was one time, Mart, when those two phenomenal heads of hairour two little girl-friends are so proud of didn't make any kind of hitat all. They probably regard that black thatch of Peg's and Dot's auburnmop as relics of a barbarous and prehistoric age--about as we wouldregard the hirsute hide of a Neanderthal man."
"That may be so, too," Dorothy replied, unconcernedly, "but we aren'tplanning on living there, so why worry about it? I like them, anyway,and I believe that they like us."
"They acted that way. But say, Mart, if that planet is so old that alltheir land area has been eroded away, how come they've got so much waterleft? And they've got quite an atmosphere, too."
"The air-pressure," said Crane, "while greater than that now obtainingupon Earth, was probably of the order of magnitude of three meters ofmercury, originally. As to the erosion, they might have had more waterto begin with than our Earth had."
"Yeah, that'd account for it, all right," said Dorothy.
"There's one thing I want to ask you two scientists," Margaret said."Everywhere we've gone, except on that one world that Dick thinks is awandering planet, we've found the intelligent life quite remarkably likehuman beings. How do you account for that?"
"There, Mart, is one for the massive old bean to concentrate on,"challenged Seaton: then, as Crane considered the question in silence forsome time he went on: "I'll answer it myself, then, by asking another.Why not? Why shouldn't they be? Remember, man is the highest form ofearthly life--at least, in our own opinion and as far as we know. In ourwanderings, we have picked out planets quite similar to our own in pointof atmosphere and temperature and, within narrow limits, of mass aswell. It stands to reason that under such similarity of conditions,there would be a certain similarity of results. How about it, Mart?Reasonable?"
"It seems plausible, in a way," conceded Crane, "but it probably is notuniversally true."
"Sure not--couldn't be, hardly. No doubt we could find a lot of worldsinhabited by all kinds of intelligent things--freaks that we can't evenbegin to imagine now--but they probably would be occupying planetsentirely different from ours in some essential feature of atmosphere,temperature, or mass."
"But the Fenachrone world is entirely different," Dorothy argued, "andthey're more or less human--they're bipeds, anyway, with recognizablefeatures. I've been studying that record with you, you know, and theirworld has so much more mass than ours that their gravitation is simplyfrightful!"
"That much difference is comparatively slight, not a real fundamentaldifference. I meant a hundred or so times either way--greater or less.And even their gravitation has modified their structure a lot--supposeit had been fifty times as great as it is? What would they have beenlike? Also, their atmosphere is very similar to ours in composition, andtheir temperature is bearable. It is my opinion that atmosphere andtemperature have more to do with evolution than anything else, and thatthe mass of the planet runs a poor third."
"You may be right," admitted Crane, "but it seems to me that you arearguing from insufficient premises."
"Sure I am--almost no premises at all. I would be just about as welljustified in deducing the structure of a range of mountains from asuperficial study of three pebbles picked up in a creek near them.However, we can get an idea some time, when we have a lot of time."
"How?"
"Remember that planet we struck on the first trip, that had anatmosphere composed mostly of gaseous chlorin? In our ignorance weassumed that life there was impossible, and didn't stop. Well, it may bejust as well that we didn't. If we go back there, protected as we arewith our rays and stuff, it wouldn't surprise me a bit to find lifethere, and lots of it--and I've got a hunch that it'll be a form of lifethat'd make your grandfather's whiskers curl right up into a ball!"
"You do get the weirdest ideas, Dick!" protested Dorothy. "I hope youaren't planning on exploring it, just to prove your point?"
"Never thought of it before. Can't do it now, anyway--got our hands fullalready. However, after we get this Fenachrone mess cleaned up we'llhave to do just that little thing, won't we, Mart? As that intellectualguy said while he was insisting upon dematerializing us, 'Sciencedemands it.'"
"By all means. We should be in a position to make contributions toscience in fields as yet untouched. Most assuredly we shall investigatethose points."
"Then they'll go alone, won't they, Peggy?"
"Absolutely! We've seen some pretty middling horrible things already,and if these two men of ours call the frightful things we have seennormal, and are planning on deliberately hunting up things that eventhey will consider monstrous, you and I most certainly shall stay athome!"
"Yeah? You say it easy. Bounce back, Peg, you've struck a rubber fence!Rufus, you red-headed little fraud, you know you wouldn't let me go tothe corner store after a can of tobacco without insisting on taggingalong!"
"You're a...." began Dorothy hotly, but broke off in amazement andgasped, "For Heaven's sake, what was that?"
"What was what? It missed me."
"It went right through you! It was a kind of funny little cloud, likesmoke or something. It came right through the ceiling like aflash--went right through you and on down through the floor. There itcomes back again!"
* * * * *
Before their staring eyes a vague, nebulous something moved rapidlyupward through the floor and passed upward through the ceiling. Dorothyleaped to Seaton's side and he put his arm around her reassuringly.
"'Sall right folks--I know what that thing is."
"Well, shoot it, quick!" Dorothy implored.
"It's one of those projections from where we're heading for, trying toget our range; and it's the most welcome sight these weary old eyes haverested upon for full many a long and dreary moon. They've probablylocated us from our power-plant rays. We're an awful long ways off yet,though, and going like a streak of greased lightning, so they're havingtrouble in holding us. They're friendly, we already know that--theyprobably want to talk to us. It'd make it easier for them if we'd shutoff our power and drift at constant velocity, but we'd use up valuabletime and throw our calculations all out of whack. We'll let them try tomatch our acceleration If they can do that, they're good."
The apparition reappeared, oscillating back and forthirregularly--passing through the arenak walls, through the furniture andthe instrument boards, and even through the mighty power-plant itself,as though nothing was there. Eventually, however, it remained stationarya foot or so above the floor of the control-room. Then it began toincrease in density until apparently a man stood before them. His skin,like that of all the inhabitants of the planets of the green suns, wasgreen. He was tall
and well-proportioned when judged by Earthlystandards, except for his head, which was overly large, and which wasparticularly massive above the eyes and backward from the ears. He wasevidently of great age, for what little of his face was visible wasseamed and wrinkled, and his long, thick mane of hair and hissquare-cut, yard-long beard were a dazzling white, only faintly tingedwith green.
While not in any sense transparent, nor even translucent, it was evidentthat the apparition before them was not composed of flesh and blood. Helooked at each of the four Earth-beings intensely for a moment, thenpointed toward the table upon which stood the mechanical educator, andSeaton placed it in front of the peculiar visitor. As Seaton donned aheadset and handed one to the stranger, the latter stared at him,impressing upon his consciousness that he was to be given a knowledge ofEnglish. Seaton pressed the lever, receiving as he did so a sensation ofan unbroken calm, a serenity profound and untroubled, and the projectionspoke.
"Dr. Seaton, Mr. Crane, and ladies--welcome to Norlamin, the planettoward which you are now flying. We have been awaiting you for more thanfive thousand years of your time. It has been a mathematicalcertainty--it has been graven upon the very Sphere itself--that in timesomeone would come to us from without this system, bringing a portion,however small, of Rovolon--of the metal of power, of which there is noteven the most minute trace in our entire solar system. For more thanfive thousand years our instruments have been set to detect thevibrations which would herald the advent of the user of that metal. Nowyou have come, and I perceive that you have vast stores of it. Beingyourselves seekers after truth, you will share it with us gladly as wewill instruct you in many things you wish to know. Allow me to operatethe educator--I would gaze into your minds and reveal my own to yoursight. But first I must tell you that your machine is too rudimentary towork at all well, and with your permission I shall make certain minoralterations."
Seaton nodded permission, and from the eyes and from the hands of thefigure there leaped visible streams of force, which seized thetransformers, coils and tubes, and reformed and reconnected them, underSeaton's bulging eyes, into an entirely different mechanism.
"Oh, I see!" he gasped. "Say, what are you anyway?"
"Pardon me; in my eagerness I became forgetful. I am Orlon, the First ofAstronomy of Norlamin, in my observatory upon the surface of the planet.This that you see is simply my projection, composed of forces for whichyou have no name in your language. You can cut it off, if you wish, withyour ray-screens, which even I can see are of a surprisingly high orderof efficiency. There, this educator will now work very well. Please puton the remodeled headsets, all four of you."
They did so, and the rays of force moved levers, switches, and dials aspositively as human hands could have moved them, and with infinitelygreater speed and precision. As the dials moved, each brain receivedclearly and plainly a knowledge of the customs, language, and manners ofthe inhabitants of Norlamin. Each mind became suffused with a vast,immeasurable peace, calm power, and a depth and breadth of mental visiontheretofore undreamed of. Looking deep into his mind they sensed aquiet, placid certainty, beheld power and knowledge to them illimitable,perceived depths of wisdom to them unfathomable.
Then from his mind into theirs there flowed smoothly a mighty stream ofcomprehension of cosmic phenomena. They hazily saw infinitely smallunits grouped into planetary formations to form practicallydimensionless particles. These particles in turn grouped to formslightly larger ones, and after a long succession of such grouping theyknew that the comparatively gigantic aggregates which then held theirattention were in reality electrons and protons, the smallest unitsrecognized by Earthly science. They clearly understood the combinationof these electrons and protons into atoms. They perceived plainly theway in which atoms build up molecules, and comprehended the molecularstructure of matter. In mathematical thoughts, only dimly grasped evenby Seaton and Crane, were laid before them the fundamental laws ofphysics, of electricity, of gravitation, and of chemistry. They sawglobular aggregations of matter, the suns and their planets, comprisingsolar systems; saw solar systems, in accordance with those immutablelaws, grouped into galaxies, galaxies in turn--here the flow wassuddenly shut off as though a valve had been closed, and the astronomerspoke.
"Pardon me. Your brains should be stored only with the material youdesire most and can use to the best advantage, for your mental capacityis even more limited than my own. Please understand that I speak in noderogatory sense; it is only that your race has many thousands ofgenerations to go before your minds should be stored with knowledgeindiscriminately. We ourselves have not yet reached that stage, and weare perhaps millions of years older than you. And yet," he continuedmusingly, "I envy you. Knowledge is, of course, relative, and I canknow _so_ little! Time and space have yielded not an iota of theirmystery to our most penetrant minds. And whether we delve baffled intothe unknown smallness of the small, or whether we peer, blind andhelpless, into the unknown largeness of the large, it is thesame--infinity is comprehensible only to the Infinite One: theall-shaping Force directing and controlling the Universe and theunknowable Sphere. The more we know, the vaster the virgin fields ofinvestigation open to us, and the more infinitesimal becomes ourknowledge. But I am perhaps keeping you from more important activities.As you approach Norlamin more nearly, I shall guide you to myobservatory. I am glad indeed that it is in my lifetime that you havecome to us, and I await anxiously the opportunity of greeting you in theflesh. The years remaining to me of this cycle of existence are few, andI had almost ceased hoping to witness your coming."
* * * * *
The projection vanished instantaneously, and the four stared at eachother in an incredulous daze of astonishment. Seaton finally broke thestunned silence. "Well, I'll be kicked to death by little red spiders!"he ejaculated. "Mart, did you see what I saw, or did I get tight onsomething without knowing it? That sure burned me up--it breaks me rightoff at the ankles, just to think of it!"
Crane walked to the educator in silence. He examined it, felt thechanged coils and transformers, and gently shook the new insulating baseof the great power-tube. Still in silence he turned his back, walkedaround the instrument board, read the meters, then went back and againinspected the educator.
"It was real, and not a higher development of hypnotism, as at first Ithought it must be," he reported seriously. "Hypnotism, if sufficientlyadvanced, might have affected us in that fashion, even to teaching usall a strange language, but by no possibility could it have had such aneffect upon copper, steel, bakelite, and glass. It was certainly real,and while I cannot begin to understand it, I will say that yourimagination has certainly vindicated itself. A race of beings, who cando such things as that, can do almost anything--you have been right,from the start."
"Then you can beat those horrible Fenachrone, after all!" cried Dorothy,and threw herself into her husband's arms.
"Do you remember, Dick, that I hailed you once as Columbus at SanSalvador?" asked Margaret unsteadily from Crane's encircling arm. "Whatcould a man be called who from the sheer depths of his imaginationcalled forth the means of saving from destruction all the civilizationof millions of entire worlds?"
"Don't talk that way, please, folks," Seaton was plainly veryuncomfortable. He blushed intensely, the burning red tide rising inwaves up to his hair as he wriggled in embarrassment, like anyschoolboy. "Mart's done most of it, anyway, you know; and even at that,we ain't out of the woods yet, by forty-seven rows of apple trees."
"You will admit, will you not, that we can see our way out of the woods,at least, and that you yourself feel rather relieved?" asked Crane.
"I think we'll be able to pull their corks now, all right, after we getsome dope. It's a cinch they've either got the stuff we need or know howto get it--and if that zone is impenetrable, I'll bet they'll be able todope out something just as good. Relieved? That doesn't half tell it,guy--I feel as if I had just pitched off the Old Man of the Sea who'sbeen sitting on my neck! What say you girls get y
our fiddle and guitarand we'll sing us a little song? I feel kind of relieved--they had meworried some--it's the first time I've felt like singing since we cutthat warship up."
Dorothy brought out her "fiddle"--the magnificent Stradivarius, formerlyCrane's, which he had given her--Margaret her guitar, and they sang onerollicking number after another. Though by no means a Metropolitan Operaquartette, their voices were all better than mediocre, and they had sungtogether so much that they harmonized readily.
"Why don't you play us some real music, Dottie?" asked Margaret, after atime. "You haven't practiced for ages."
"I haven't felt like playing lately, but I do now," and Dorothy stood upand swept the bow over the strings. Doctor of Music in violin, anaccomplished musician, playing upon one of the finest instruments theworld has ever known, she was lifted out of herself by relief from thedread of the Fenachrone invasion and that splendid violin expressedevery subtle nuance of her thought.
She played rhapsodies and paeans, and solos by the great masters. Sheplayed vivacious dances, then "Traumerei" and "Liebestraum." At last sheswept into the immortal "Meditation," and as the last note died awaySeaton held out his arms.
"You're a blinding flash and a deafening report, Dottie Dimple, and Ilove you," he declared--and his eyes and his arms spoke volumes that hislight utterance had left unsaid.
* * * * *
Norlamin close enough so that its image almost filled number sixvisiplate, the four wanderers studied it with interest. Partiallyobscured by clouds and with its polar regions two glaring caps ofsnow--they would be green in a few months, when the planet would swinginside the orbit of its sun around the vast central luminary of thatcomplex solar system--it made a magnificent picture. They saw sparklingblue oceans and huge green continents of unfamiliar outlines. Soterrific was the velocity of the space-cruiser, that the image grewlarger as they watched it, and soon the field of vision could notcontain the image of the whole disk.
"Well, I expect Orlon'll be showing up pretty quick now," remarkedSeaton; and it was not long until the projection appeared in the air ofthe control room.
"Hail, Terrestrials!" he greeted them. "With your permission, I shalldirect your flight."
Permission granted, the figure floated across the room to the board andthe rays of force centered the visiplate, changed the direction of thebar a trifle, decreased slightly their negative acceleration, anddirected a stream of force upon the steering mechanism.
"We shall alight upon the grounds of my observatory upon Norlamin inseven thousand four hundred twenty-eight seconds," he announcedpresently. "The observatory will be upon the dark side of Norlamin whenwe arrive, but I have a force operating upon the steering mechanismwhich will guide the vessel along the required curved path. I shallremain with you until we land, and we may converse upon any topic ofmost interest to you."
"We've got a topic of interest, all right. That's what we came out herefor. But it would take too long to tell you about it--I'll show you!"
He brought out the magnetic brain record, threaded it into the machineand handed the astronomer a head-set. Orlon put it on, touched thelever, and for an hour there was unbroken silence as the monstrous brainof the menace was studied by the equally capable intellect of theNorlaminian scientist. There was no pause in the motion of the magnetictape, no repetition--Orlon's brain absorbed the information as fast asit could be sent, and understood that frightful mind in everyparticular.
As the end of the tape was reached and the awful record ended, a shadowpassed over Orlon's face.
"Truly a depraved evolution--it is sad to contemplate such a perversionof a really excellent brain. They have power, even as you have, and theyhave the will to destroy, which is a thing that I cannot understand.However, if it is graven upon the Sphere that we are to pass, it meansonly that upon the next plane we shall continue our searches--let ushope with better tools and with greater understanding than we nowpossess."
"'Smatter?" snapped Seaton gravely. "Going to take it lying down,without putting up any fight at all?"
"What can we do? Violence is contrary to our very natures. No man ofNorlamin could offer any but passive resistance."
"You can do a lot if you will. Put on that headset again and get myplan, offering any suggestions your far abler brain may suggest."
As the human scientist poured his plan of battle into the brain of theastronomer, Orlon's face cleared.
"It is graven upon the Sphere that the Fenachrone shall pass," he saidfinally. "What you ask of us we can do. I have only a general knowledgeof rays, as they are not in the province of the Orlon family; but thestudent Rovol, of the family Rovol of Rays, has all present knowledge ofsuch phenomena. Tomorrow I will bring you together, and I have littledoubt that he will be able, with the help of your metal of power, tosolve your problem."
"I don't quite understand what you said about a whole family studyingone subject, and yet having only one student in it," said Dorothy, inperplexity.
"A little explanation is perhaps necessary," replied Orlon. "First, youmust know that every man of Norlamin is a student, and most of us arestudents of science. With us, 'labor' means mental effort, that is,study. We perform no physical or manual labor save for exercise, as allour mechanical work is done by forces. This state of things havingendured for many thousands of years, it long ago became evident thatspecialization was necessary in order to avoid duplication of effort andto insure complete coverage of the field. Soon afterward, it wasdiscovered that very little progress was being made in any branch,because so much was known that it took practically a lifetime to reviewthat which had already been accomplished, even in a narrow and highlyspecialized field. Many points were studied for years before it wasdiscovered that the identical work had been done before, and eitherforgotten or overlooked. To remedy this condition the mechanicaleducator had to be developed. Once it was perfected a new system wasbegun. One man was assigned to each small subdivision of scientificendeavor, to study it intensively. When he became old, each man chose asuccessor--usually a son--and transferred his own knowledge to theyounger student. He also made a complete record of his own brain, inmuch the same way as you have recorded the brain of the Fenachrone uponyour metallic tape. These records are all stored in a great centrallibrary, as permanent references.
"All these things being true, now a young person may need only finish anelementary education--just enough to learn to think, which takes onlyabout twenty-five or thirty years--and then he is ready to begin actualwork. When that time comes, he receives in one day all the knowledge ofhis specialty which has been accumulated by his predecessors during manythousands of years of intensive study."
"Whew!" Seaton whistled, "no wonder you folks know something! With thatstart, I believe I might know something myself! As an astronomer, youmay be interested in this star-chart and stuff--or do you know all aboutthat already?"
"No, the Fenachrone are far ahead of us in that subject, because oftheir observatories out in open space and because of their giganticreflectors, which cannot be used through any atmosphere. We are furtherhampered in having darkness for only a few hours at a time and only inthe winter, when our planet is outside the orbit of our sun around thegreat central sun of our entire system. However, with the Rovolon youhave brought us, we shall have real observatories far out in space; andfor that I personally will be indebted to you more than I can everexpress. As for the chart, I hope to have the pleasure of examining itwhile you are conferring with Rovol of Rays."
"How many families are working on rays--just one?"
"One upon each kind of ray. That is, each of the ray families knows agreat deal about all kinds of vibrations of the ether, but isspecializing upon one narrow field. Take, for instance, the rays you aremost interested in; those able to penetrate a zone of force. From my ownvery slight and general knowledge I know that it would of necessity be aray of the fifth order. These rays are very new--they have been underinvestigation only a few hundred years--and the R
ovol is the onlystudent who would be at all well informed upon them. Shall I explain theorders of rays more fully than I did by means of the educator?"
"Please. You assumed that we knew more than we do, so a littleexplanation would help."
"All ordinary vibrations--that is, all molecular and material ones, suchas light, heat, electricity, radio, and the like--were arbitrarilycalled waves of the first order; in order to distinguish them from wavesof the second order, which are given off by particles of the secondorder, which you know as protons and electrons, in their combination toform atoms. Your scientist Millikan discovered these rays for you, andin your language they are known as Millikan, or Cosmic, rays.
* * * * *
"Some time later, when sub-electrons were identified the rays given offby their combination into electrons, or by the disruption of electrons,were called rays of the third order. These rays are most interesting andmost useful; in fact, they do all our mechanical work. They as a classare called protelectricity, and bear the same relation to ordinaryelectricity that electricity does to torque--both are pure energy, andthey are inter-convertible. Unlike electricity, however, it may beconverted into many different forms by fields of force, in a waycomparable to that in which white light is resolved into colors by aprism--or rather, more like the way alternating current is changed todirect current by a motor-generator set, with attendant changes inproperties. There is a complete spectrum of more than five hundredfactors, each as different from the others as red is different fromgreen.
"Continuing farther, particles of the fourth order give rays of thefourth order; those of the fifth, rays of the fifth order. Fourth-orderrays have been investigated quite thoroughly, but only mathematicallyand theoretically, as they are of excessively short wave-length and arecapable of being generated only by the breaking down of matter itselfinto the corresponding particles. However, it has been shown that theyare quite similar to protelectricity in their general behavior. Thus,the power that propels your space-vessel, your attractors, yourrepellers, your object-compass, your zone of force--all these things aresimply a few of the many hundreds of wave-bands of the fourth order, allof which you doubtless would have worked out for yourselves in time.Very little is known, even in theory, of the rays of the fifth order,although they have been shown to exist."
"For a man having no knowledge, you seem to know a lot about rays. Howabout the fifth order--is that as far as they go?"
"My knowledge is slight and very general; only such as I must have inorder to understand my own subject. The fifth order certainly is not theend--it is probably scarcely a beginning. We think now that the ordersextend to infinite smallness, just as the galaxies are grouped intolarger aggregations, which are probably in their turn only tiny units ina scheme infinitely large.
"Over six thousand years ago the last third order rays were worked out;and certain peculiarities in their behavior led the then Rovol tosuspect the existence of the fourth order. Successive generations of theRovol proved their existence, determined the conditions of theirliberation, and found that this metal of power was the only catalystable to decompose matter and thus liberate the rays. This metal, whichwas called Rovolon after the Rovol, was first described upon theoreticalgrounds and later was found, by spectroscopy, in certain stars, notablyin one star only eight light-years away, but not even the mostinfinitesimal trace of it exists in our entire solar system. Since thesediscoveries, the many Rovol have been perfecting the theory of thefourth order, beginning that of the fifth, and waiting for your coming.The present Rovol, like myself and many others whose work is almost at astandstill, is waiting with all-consuming interest to greet you, as soonas the _Skylark_ can be landed upon our planet."
"Neither your rocket-ships nor your projections could get you anyRovolon?"
"No. Every hundred years or so someone develops a new type of rocketthat he thinks may stand a slight chance of making the journey, but notone of these venturesome youths has as yet returned. Either that sun hasno planets or else the rocket-ships have failed. Our projections areuseless, as they can be driven only a very short distance upon ourpresent carrier wave. With a carrier of the fifth order we could drive aprojection to any point in the galaxy, since its velocity would bemillions of times that of light and the power necessary reducedaccordingly--but as I have said before, such waves cannot be generatedwithout metal Rovolon."
"I hate to break this up--I'd like to listen to you talk for a week--butwe're going to land pretty quick, and it looks as though we were goingto land pretty hard."
"We will land soon, but not hard," replied Orlon confidently, and thelanding was as he had foretold. The _Skylark_ was falling with anever-decreasing velocity, but so fast was the descent that it seemed tothe watchers as though they must crash through the roof of the hugebrilliantly lighted building upon which they were dropping and burythemselves many feet in the ground beneath it. But they did not strikethe observatory. So incredibly accurate were the calculations of theNorlaminian astronomer and so inhumanly precise were the controls he hadset upon their bar, that, as they touched the ground after barelyclearing the domed roof and he shut off their power, the passengers feltonly a sudden decrease in acceleration, like that following the comingto rest of a rapidly moving elevator, after it has completed a downwardjourney.
"I shall join you in person very shortly," Orlon said, and theprojection vanished.
"Well, we're here, folks, on another new world. Not quite as thrillingas the first one was, is it?" and Seaton stepped toward the door.
"How about the air composition, density, gravity, temperature, and soon?" asked Crane. "Perhaps we should make a few tests."
"Didn't you get that on the educator? Thought you did. Gravity a littleless than seven-tenths. Air composition, same as Osnome and Dasor.Pressure, half-way between Earth and Osnome. Temperature, like Osnomemost of the time, but fairly comfortable in the winter. Snow now at thepoles, but this observatory is only ten degrees from the equator. Theydon't wear clothes enough to flag a hand-car with here, either, exceptwhen they have to. Let's go!"
He opened the door and the four travelers stepped out upon aclose-cropped lawn--a turf whose blue-green softness would shame anOriental rug. The landscape was illuminated by a soft and mellow, yetintense green light which emanated from no visible source. As theypaused and glanced about them, they saw that the _Skylark_ had alightedin the exact center of a circular enclosure a hundred yards in diameter,walled by row upon row of shrubbery, statuary, and fountains, all bathedin ever-changing billows of light. At only one point was the circlebroken. There the walls did not come together, but continued on toborder a lane leading up to the massive structure of cream-and-greenmarble, topped by its enormous, glassy dome--the observatory of Orlon.
"Welcome to Norlamin, Terrestrials," the deep, calm voice of theastronomer greeted them, and Orlon in the flesh shook hands cordially inthe American fashion with each of them in turn, and placed around eachneck a crystal chain from which depended a small Norlaminianchronometer-radiophone. Behind him there stood four other old men.
"These men are already acquainted with each of you, but you do not asyet know them. I present Fodan, Chief of the Five of Norlamin. Rovol,about whom you know. Astron, the First of Energy. Satrazon, the First ofChemistry."
Orlon fell in beside Seaton and the party turned toward the observatory.As they walked along the Earth-people stared, held by the unearthlybeauty of the grounds. The hedge of shrubbery, from ten to twenty feethigh, and which shut out all sight of everything outside it, was onemass of vivid green and flaring crimson leaves; each leaf and twiggroomed meticulously into its precise place in a fantastic geometricalscheme. Just inside this boundary there stood a ring of statues ofheroic size. Some of them were single figures of men and women; somewere busts; some were groups in natural or allegorical poses--all weredone with consummate skill and feeling. Between the statues there werefountains, magnificent bronze and glass groups of the strange aquaticdenizens of thi
s strange planet, bathed in geometrically shaped sprays,screens, and columns of water. Winding around between the statues andthe fountains there was a moving, scintillating wall, and upon thewaters and upon the wall there played torrents of color, cataracts ofharmoniously blended light. Reds, blues, yellows, greens--every color oftheir peculiar green spectrum and every conceivable combination of thosecolors writhed and flamed in ineffable splendor upon those deep andliving screens of falling water and upon that shimmering wall.
As they entered the lane, Seaton saw with amazement that what he hadsupposed a wall, now close at hand, was not a wall at all. It wascomposed of myriads of individual sparkling jewels, of every knowncolor, for the most part self-luminous; and each gem, apparentlyentirely unsupported, was dashing in and out and along among itsfellows, weaving and darting here and there, flying at headlong speedalong an extremely tortuous, but evidently carefully calculated course.
"What can that be, anyway, Dick?" whispered Dorothy, and Seaton turnedto his guide.
"Pardon my curiosity, Orlon, but would you mind explaining the why ofthat moving wall? We don't get it."
"Not at all. This garden has been the private retreat of the family ofOrlon for many thousands of years, and women of our house have beenbeautifying it since its inception. You may have observed that thestatuary is very old. No such work has been done for ages. Modern arthas developed along the lines of color and motion, hence the lightingeffects and the tapestry wall. Each gem is held upon the end of a minutepencil of force, and all the pencils are controlled by a machine whichhas a key for every jewel in the wall."
Crane, the methodical, stared at the innumerable flashing jewels andasked, "It must have taken a prodigious amount of time to complete suchan undertaking?"
"It is far from complete; in fact, it is scarcely begun. It was startedonly about four hundred years ago."
"_Four hundred years!_" exclaimed Dorothy. "Do you live that long? Howlong will it take to finish it, and what will it be like when it isdone?"
"No, none of us live longer than about one hundred and sixty years--atabout that age most of us decide to pass. When this tapestry wall isfinished, it will not be simply form and color, as it is now. It will bea portrayal of the history of Norlamin from the first cooling of theplanet. It will, in all probability, require thousands of years for itscompletion. You see, time is of little importance to us, and workmanshipis everything. My companion will continue working upon it until wedecide to pass; my son's companion may continue it. In any event, manygenerations of the women of the Orlon will work upon it until it iscomplete. When it is done, it will be a thing of beauty as long asNorlamin shall endure."
"But suppose that your son's wife isn't that kind of an artist? Supposeshe should want to do music or painting or something else?" askedDorothy, curiously.
"That is quite possible; for, fortunately, our art is not yet entirelyintellectual, as is our music. There are many unfinished artisticprojects in the house of Orlon, and if the companion of my son shouldnot find one to her liking, she will be at liberty to continue anythingelse she may have begun, or to start an entirely new project of herown."
"You have a family, then?" asked Margaret, "I'm afraid I didn'tunderstand things very well when you gave them to us over the educator."
"I sent things too fast for you, not knowing that your educator was newto you; a thing with which you were not thoroughly familiar. I willtherefore explain some things in language, since you are not familiarwith the mechanism of thought transference. The Five, aself-perpetuating body, do what governing is necessary for the entireplanet. Their decrees are founded upon self-evident truth, and aretherefore the law. Population is regulated according to the needs of theplanet, and since much work is now in progress, an increase inpopulation was recommended by the Five. My companion and I therefore hadthree children, instead of the customary two. By lot it fell to us tohave two boys and one girl. One of the boys will assume my duties when Ipass; the other will take over a part of some branch of science that hasgrown too complex for one man to handle as a specialist should. In fact,he has already chosen his specialty and been accepted for it--he is tobe the nine hundred and sixty-seventh of Chemistry, the student of theasymmetric carbon atom, which will thus be his specialty from this timehenceforth.
"It was learned long ago that the most perfect children were born ofparents in the full prime of mental life, that is, at one hundred yearsof age. Therefore, with us each generation covers one hundred years. Thefirst twenty-five years of a child's life are spent at home with hisparents, during which time he acquires his elementary education in thecommon schools. Then boys and girls alike move to the Country of Youth,where they spend another twenty-five years. There they develop theirbrains and initiative by conducting any researches they choose. Most ofus, at that age, solve all the riddles of the Universe, only to discoverlater that our solutions have been fallacious. However, much reallyexcellent work is done in the Country of Youth, primarily because of thenew and unprejudiced viewpoints of the virgin minds there at work. Inthat country also each finds his life's companion, the one necessary toround out mere existence into a perfection of living that no person, manor woman, can ever know alone. I need not speak to you of the wonders oflove or of the completion and fullness of life that it brings, for allfour of you, children though you are, know love in full measure.
"At fifty years of age the man, now mentally mature, is recalled to hisfamily home, as his father's brain is now losing some of its vigor andkeenness. The father then turns over his work to the son by means of theeducator--and when the weight of the accumulated knowledge of a hundredthousand generations of research is impressed upon the son's brain, hisplay is over."
"What does the father do then?"
"Having made his brain record, about which I have told you, he and hiscompanion--for she has in similar fashion turned over her work to hersuccessor--retire to the Country of Age, where they rest and relax aftertheir century of effort. They do whatever they care to do, for as longas they please to do it. Finally, after assuring themselves that all iswell with the children, they decide that they are ready for the Change.Then, side by side as they have labored, they pass."
Now at the door of the observatory, Dorothy paused and shrank backagainst Seaton, her eyes widening as she stared at Orlon.
"No, daughter, why should we fear the Change?" he answered her unspokenquestion, calm serenity in every inflection of his quiet voice. "Thelife-principle is unknowable to the finite mind, as is theAll-Controlling Force. But even though we know nothing of the sublimegoal toward which it is tending, any person ripe for the Change can, andof course does, liberate the life-principle so that its progress may beunimpeded."
* * * * *
In a spacious room of the observatory, in which the Terrestrials andtheir Norlaminian hosts had been long engaged in study and discussion,Seaton finally rose and extended a hand toward his wife.
"Well, that's that, then, Orlon, I guess. We've been thirty hourswithout sleep, and for us that's a long time. I'm getting so dopey Ican't think a lick. We'd better go back to the _Skylark_ and turn in,and after we've slept nine hours or so I'll go over to Rovol'slaboratory and Crane'll come back here to you."
"You need not return to your vessel," said Orlon. "I know that itssomewhat cramped quarters have become irksome. Apartments have beenprepared here for you. We shall have a meal here together, and then weshall retire, to meet again tomorrow."
As he spoke, a tray laden with appetizing dishes appeared in the air infront of each person. As Seaton resumed his seat the tray followed him,remaining always in the most convenient position.
Crane glanced at Seaton questioningly, and Satrazon, the First ofChemistry, answered his thought before he could voice it.
"The food before you, unlike that which is before us of Norlamin, iswholesome for you. It contains no copper, no arsenic, no heavymetals--in short, nothing in the least harmful to your chemistry. It isbalanced as to carboh
ydrates, proteins, fats and sugars, and containsthe due proportion of each of the various accessory nutritional factors.You will also find the flavors are agreeable to each of you."
"Synthetic, eh? You've got us analyzed," Seaton stated, rather thanasked, as with knife and fork he attacked the thick, rare, andbeautifully broiled steak which, with its mushrooms and other delicatetrimmings, lay upon his rigid although unsupported tray--noticing as hedid so that the Norlaminians ate with tools entirely different fromthose they had supplied to their Earthly guests.
"Entirely synthetic," Satrazon made answer, "except for the sodiumchloride necessary. As you already know, sodium and chlorin are veryrare throughout our system, therefore the force upon the food-supplytook from your vessel the amount of salt required for the formula. Wehave been unable to synthesize atoms, for the same reason that thelabors of so many others have been hindered--because of the lack ofRovolon. Now, however, my science shall progress as it should; and forthat I join with my fellow scientists in giving you thanks for theservice you have rendered us."
"We thank you instead," replied Seaton, "for the service we have beenable to do you is slight indeed compared to what you are giving us inreturn. But it seems that you speak quite impersonally of the force uponthe food supply. Did you yourself direct the preparation of these meatsand vegetables?"
"Oh, no. I merely analyzed your tissues, surveyed the food-supplies youcarried, discovered your individual preferences, and set up thenecessary integrals in the mechanism. The forces did the rest, and willcontinue to do so as long as you remain upon this planet."
"Fruit salad always my favorite dish," Dorothy said, after a couple ofbites, "and this one is just too perfectly divine! It doesn't taste likeany other fruit I ever ate, either--I think it must be the same ambrosiathat the old pagan gods used to eat."
"If all you did was to set up the integrals, how do you know what youare going to have for the next meal?" asked Crane.
"We have no idea what the form, flavor, or consistency of any dish willbe," was the surprising answer. "We know only that the flavor will beagreeable and that it will agree with the form and consistency of thesubstance, and that the composition will be well-balanced chemically.You see, all the details of flavor, form, texture, and so on arecontrolled by a device something like one of your kaleidoscopes. Theintegrals render impossible any unwholesome, unpleasant, or unbalancedcombination of any nature, and everything else is left to the mechanism,which operates upon pure chance."
"Some system, I'd rise to remark," and Seaton, with the others, resumedhis vigorous attack upon the long-delayed supper.
The meal over, the Earthly visitors were shown to their rooms, and fellinto a deep, dreamless sleep.