A Journey in Other Worlds: A Romance of the Future

by John Jacob Astor

  CHAPTER VIII.

  CASSANDRA AND COSMOLOGY.

  The water-jug being empty, Ayrault took it up, and, crossing theridge of a small hill, descended to a running-brook. He hadfilled it, and was straightening himself, when the stone on whichhe stood turned, and he might have fallen, had not the bishop, ofwhose presence he had been unaware, stretched out his hand andupheld him.

  "I thought you might need a little help," he said with a smile,"and so walked beside you, though you knew it not. Water isheavy, and you may not yet have become accustomed to itsSaturnian weight."

  "Many thanks, my master," replied Ayrault, retaining his hand."Were it not that I am engaged to the girl I love, and amsometimes haunted by the thought that in my absence she may beforgetting me, I should wish to spend the rest of my natural lifehere, unless I could persuade you to go with me to the earth."

  "By remaining here," replied the spirit, with a sad look, "youwould be losing the most priceless opportunities of doing good.Neither will I go with you; but, as your distress is real, I willtell you of anything happening on earth that you wish to know."

  "Tell me, then, what the person now in my thoughts is doing."

  "She is standing in a window facing west, watering someforget-me-nots with a small silver sprinkler which has a ruby inthe handle."

  "Can you see anything else?"

  "Beneath the jewel is an inscription that runs:

  'By those who in warm July are born A single ruby should be worn; Then will they be exempt and free From love's doubts and anxiety.'"

  "Marvellous! Had I any doubts as to your prescience and power,they would be dispelled now. One thing more let me ask, however:Does she still love me?"

  "In her mind is but one thought, and in her heart is animage--that of the man before me. She loves you with all hersoul."

  "My most eager wish is satisfied, and for the moment my heart isat rest," replied Ayrault, as they turned their steps towardscamp. "Yet, such is my weakness by nature, that, ere twenty-fourhours have passed I shall long to have you tell me again."

  "I have been in love myself," replied the spirit, "and know thefeeling; yet to be of the smallest service to you gives me farmore happiness than it can give you. The mutual love in paradiseexceeds even the lover's love on earth, for it is only those thatloved and can love that are blessed.

  "You can hardly realize," the bishop continued, as they rejoinedBearwarden and Cortlandt, "the joy that a spirit in paradiseexperiences when, on reopening his eyes after passing death,which is but the portal, he finds himself endowed with sight thatenables him to see such distances and with such distinctness.The solar system, with this ringed planet, its swarm ofasteroids, and its intra-Mercurial planets--one of which, Vulcan,you have already discovered--is a beautiful sight. The planetsnearest the sun receive such burning rays that their surfaces arered-hot, and at the equator at perihelion are molten. These arenot seen from the earth, because, rising or setting almostsimultaneously with the sun, they are lost in its rays. Thegreat planet beyond Neptune's orbit is perhaps the mostinteresting. This we call Cassandra, because it would be aprophet of evil to any visitor from the stars who should judgethe solar system by it. This planet is nearly as large asJupiter, being 80,000 miles in diameter, but has a specificgravity lighter than Saturn. Bode's law, you know, says, Writedown 0, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, 96. Add 4 to each, and get 4, 7, 10,16, 28, 52, 100; and this series of numbers represents verynearly the relative distances of the planets from the sun.According to this law, you would expect the planet next beyondNeptune to be about 5,000,000,000 miles from the sun. But it isabout 9,500,000,000, so that there is a gap between Neptune andCassandra, as between Mars and Jupiter, except that inCassandra's case there are no asteroids to show where any planetwas; we must, then, suppose it is an exception to Bode's law, orthat there was a planet that has completely disappeared. AsCassandra would be within the law if there had been anintermediary planet, we have good prima facie reason forbelieving that it existed. Cassandra takes, in round numbers, athousand years to complete its orbit, and from it the sun, thoughbrighter, appears no larger than the earth's evening or morningstar. Cassandra has also three large moons; but these, whenfull, shine with a pale-grey light, like the old moon in the newmoon's arms, in that terrestrial phenomenon when the earth, byreflecting the crescent's light, and that of the sun, makes thedark part visible. The temperature at Cassandra's surface is butlittle above the cold of space, and no water exists in the liquidstate, it being as much a solid as aluminum or glass. There arerivers and lakes, but these consist of liquefied hydrogen andother gases, the heavier liquid collected in deep Places, and thelighter, with less than half the specific gravity of ether,floating upon it without mixing, as oil on water. When theheavier penetrates to a sufficient depth, the interior beingstill warm, it is converted into gas and driven back to thesurface, only to be recondensed on reaching the upper air. Thusit may happen that two rains composed of separate liquids mayfall together. There being but little of any other atmosphere,much of it consists of what you might call the vapour ofhydrogen, and many of the well-known gases and liquids on earthexist only as liquids and solids; so that, were there mortalinhabitants on Cassandra, they might build their houses of blocksof oxygen or chlorine, as you do of limestone or marble, and useice that never melts, in place of glass, for transparence. Theywould also use mercury for bullets in their rifles, just asinhabitants of the intra-Vulcan planets at the other extrememight, if their bodies consisted of asbestos, or were in anyother way non-combustibly constituted, bathe in tin, lead, oreven zinc, which ordinarily exist in the liquid state, as waterand mercury do on the earth.

  "Though Cassandra's atmosphere, such as it is, is mostly clear,for the evaporation from the rivers and icy mediterraneans isslight, the brightness of even the highest noon is less than anearthly twilight, and the stars never cease to shine. The darkbase of the rocky cliffs is washed by the frigid tide, but thereis scarcely a sound, for the pebbles cannot be moved by theweightless waves, and an occasional murmur is all that is heard.Great rocks of ice reflect the light of the grey moons, and nevera leaf falls or a bird sings. With the exception of the mournfulripples, the planet is silent as the grave. The animal and plantkingdoms do not exist; only the mineral and spiritual worlds. Isay spiritual, because there are souls upon it; but it is thehome of the condemned in hell. Here dwell the transgressors whodied unrepentant, and those who were not saved by faith. This isthe one instance in which I do not enjoy my developed sight, forI sometimes glance in their direction, and the vision that meetsme, as my eyes focus, distresses my soul. Their senses are likean imperfect mirror, magnifying all that is bad in one another,and distorting anything still partially good when that exists.All those things that might at least distract them are hollow,their misery being the inevitable result of the condition of mindto which they became accustomed on earth and which brought themto Cassandra. But let us turn to something brighter.

  "Though the solar system may seem complex, the sun is but a staramong the millions in the Milky Way, and, compared with theplanetary systems of Sirius, the stars of the Southern Cross, andthe motions of the nebula, it is simplicity itself. Comparedwith the splendour of Sirius, with its diameter of twelve millionmiles, the sun, measuring but eight hundred and forty thousand,becomes insignificant; and this giant's system includes groupsand clusters of planets, many with three times the mass ofJupiter, five and six together, each a different colour,revolving about a common centre, while they swing about theirprimary. Their numerous moons have satellites encircling them,with orbits in some cases at right angles to the plane of theecliptic, so that they shine perpendicularly on what correspondto the arctic and antarctic regions, while their axes are soinclined that the satellites turn a complete somersault at eachrevolution, producing glistening effects of ice and snow at thepoles. Some of the moons are at a red or white heat, and soprevent the chill
of night on the planets, while they shine withmore than reflected light. In addition to the five or six largeplanets in each group, which, however, are many millions of milesapart, there is in some clusters a small planet that swingsbackward and forward across the common centre, like a pendulum,but in nearly a straight line; and while this multiplicity ofmotion goes on, the whole aggregation sweeps majestically aroundSirius, its mighty sun. Our little solar system contains, as weknow, about one thousand planets, satellites, and asteroids largeenough to be dignified by the name of heavenly bodies. Vastnumbers of the stars have a hundred and even a thousand times themass of our sun, and their systems being relatively as complex asours--in some cases even more so--they contain a hundred thousandor a million individual bodies.

  "Over sixty million bright or incandescent stars were visible tothe terrestrial telescopes a hundred years ago, the average sizeof which far exceeds our sun. To the magnificent telescopes ofto-day they are literally countless, and the number can beindefinitely extended as your optical resources grow. Yet thenumber of stars you see is utterly insignificant compared withthe cold and dark ones you cannot see, but concerning which youare constantly learning more, by observing their effect on thebright ones, both by perturbing them and by obscuring their rays.Occasionally, as you know, a star of the twelfth or fifteenthmagnitude, or one that has been invisible, flares up for severalmonths to the fourth or fifth, through a collision with some darkgiant, and then returns to what it was in the beginning, agaseous, filmy nebula. These innumerable hosts of dark monsters,though dead, are centres of systems, like most of the stars youcan see.

  "A slight consideration of these figures will show that,notwithstanding the number of souls the Creator has given life onearth, each one might in fact have a system to himself; and that,however long the little globe may remain, as it were, a mint, inwhich souls are tried by fire and moulded, and receive theirfinal stamp, they will always have room to circulate, and will beprized according to the impress their faces or hearts must show.But Sirius itself is moving many times faster than the swiftestcannon ball, carrying its system with it; and I see you asking,'To what does all this motion tend?' I will show you. Manyquadrillions of miles away, so far that your most powerfultelescopes have not yet caught a glimmer, rests in its serenegrandeur a star that we call Cosmos, because it is the centre ofthis universe. Its diameter is as great as the diameter ofCassandra's orbit, and notwithstanding its terrific heat, itsspecific gravity, on account of the irresistible pressure at andnear the centre, is as great as that of the planet Mercury. Thisholds all that your eyes or mine can see; and the so-calledmotions of the stars--for we know that Sirius, among others, isreceding--is but the difference in the rate at which thedifferent systems and constellations swing around Cosmos, thoughin doing so they often revolve about other systems or swing roundcommon centres, so that many are satellites of satellites manytimes repeated. The orbits of some are circular, and of otherselliptical, as those of comets, and some revolve about eachother, or, as we have seen, about a common point while theyperform their celestial journey. A star, therefore, recedes oradvances, as Jupiter and Venus with relation to the earth. Theplanet in the smaller orbit moves faster than that in the larger,so that the intervening distances wax and wane, though all aregoing in the same general direction. In the case of the membersof the solar system, astronomical record can tell when even amost distant known planet has been in opposition or conjunction;but the earth has scarcely been habitable since the sun was lastin its present position in its orbit around Cosmos. The curvethat our system follows is of such radius that it would requirethe most precise observations for centuries to show that it wasnot a straight line.

  "We call this the universe because it is all that the clearesteyes or telescopes have been able to see, but it is only asubdivision--in fact, but a system on a vaster scale than that ofthe sun or of Sirius. Far beyond this visible universe, myintuition tells me, are other systems more gigantic than this,and entirely different in many respects. Even the effects ofgravitation are modified by the changed condition; for thesesystems are spread out flat, like the rings of this planet, andthe ether of space is luminous instead of black, as here. Thesesystems are but in a later stage of development than ours; and inthe course of evolution our visible universe will be changed inthe same way, as I can explain.

  "In incalculable ages, the forward motion of the planets andtheir satellites will be checked by the resistance of the etherof space and the meteorites and solid matter they encounter.Meteorites also overtake them, and, by striking them as it werein the rear, propel them, but more are encountered in front--anillustration of which you can have by walking rapidly or ridingon horseback on a rainy day, in which case more drops will strikeyour chest than your back. The same rule applies to bodies inspace, while the meteorites encountered have more effect thanthose following, since in one case it is the speed of the meteorminus that of the planet, and in the other the sum of the twovelocities. With this checking of the forward motion, thecentrifugal force decreases, and the attraction of the centralbody has more effect. When this takes place the planet orsatellite falls slightly towards the body around which itrevolves, thereby increasing its speed till the centrifugal forceagain balances the centripetal. This would seem to make itdescend by fits and starts, but in reality the approach is nearlyconstant, so that the orbits are in fact slightly spiral. Whatis true of the planets and satellites is also true of the starswith reference to Cosmos; though many even of these havesubordinate motions in their great journey. Though thesatellites of the moons revolve about the primaries in orbitsinclined at all kinds of angles to the planes of the ecliptics,and even the moons vary in their paths about the planets, theplanets themselves revolve about the stars, like those of thissystem about the sun, in substantially the same plane; and whatis true of the planets is even more true of the stars in theirorbits about Cosmos, so that when, after incalculable ages, theydo fall, they strike this monster sun at or near its equator, andnot falling perpendicularly, but in a line varying but slightlyfrom a tangent, and at terrific speed, they cause the colossus torotate more and more rapidly on its own axis, till it must becomegreatly flattened at the poles, as the earth is slightly, and asJupiter and Saturn are a good deal. Even though not all thestars are exactly in the plane of Cosmos's equator, as you cansee they are not there are as many above as below it, so that thegeneral average will be there; and as all are moving in the samedirection, it is not necessary for all to strike the same line,those striking nearer the poles, where the circles are smaller,and where the surface is not being carried forward so fast by thegiant's rotation, will have even more effect in increasing itsspeed, since it will be like attaching the driving-rods of alocomotive near the axle instead of near the circumference, andwith enough power will produce even greater results. As Cosmoswaxes greater from the result of these continual accretions, itsattraction for the stars will increase, until those coming fromthe outer regions of its universe will move at such terrificspeed in their spiral orbits that before coming in contact theywill be almost invisible, having already absorbed all solidmatter revolving about themselves. These accessions of movingmatter, continually received at and near its equator, will causeCosmos to spread out like Saturn's rings till it becomes flat,though the balance of forces will be so perfect that it isdoubtful whether an animal or a man placed there would feel muchchange.

  "But these universes--or, more accurately, divisions of theuniverse--already planes, though the vast surfaces are not soflat as to preclude beautiful and gently rolling slopes, arespirit-lands, and will be inhabited only by spirits. Then thereare great phosphorescent areas, and the colour of the surfacechanges with every hour of the day, from the most brilliantcrimson to the softest shade of blue, radiant with many coloursthat your eyes cannot now see. There are also myriads of scentedstreams, consisting of hundreds of different and multi-colouredliquids, each with a perfume sweeter than the most delicateflower, and pouring forth the most heavenly mus
ic as they go ontheir way. But be not surprised at the magnitude of the change,for is it not written in Revelation, 'I saw a new heaven and anew earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passedaway'? Nor can we be surprised at vastness, sublimity, andbeauty such as never was conceived of, for do we not find this inHis word, 'Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have enteredinto the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared forthem that love Him'? In this blissful state, those that fearedGod and obeyed their consciences will live on forever; but theirrest can never become stagnation, for evolution is one of themost constant laws, and never ceases, and they must always goonward and upward, unspeakably blessed by the consciences theymade their rule in life, till in purity and power they shallequal or exceed the angels of their Lord in heaven.

  "But you men of finite understanding will ask, as I myself shouldhave asked, How, by the law of hydrostatics, can liquids flow ona plane? Remember that, though these divisions are astronomicalor geometrical planes, their surfaces undulate; but the movingcause is this: At the centre of these planes is a pole, theanalogue, we will say, of the magnetic pole on earth, that has amore effective attraction for a gas than for a liquid. Whenliquids approach the periphery of the circle, the rapid rotationand decreased pressure cause them to break up, whereupon theelementary gases return to the centre in the atmosphere, if nearthe surface, forming a gentle breeze. On nearing the centre, thecause of the separation being removed, the gases reunite to forma liquid, and the centrifugal force again sends this on itsjourney."

  "Is there no way," asked Bearwarden, "by which a man may retrievehimself, if he has lost or misused his opportunities on earth?"

  "The way a man lays up treasures in heaven, when on earth,"replied the spirit, "is by gladly doing something for some oneelse, usually in some form sacrificing self. In hell no one cando anything for any one else, because every one can have thesemblance of anything he wishes by merely concentrating his mindupon it, though, when he has it, it is but a shadow and gives himno pleasure. Thus no one can give any one else anything hecannot obtain himself; and if he could, since it would be nosacrifice on his part, he would derive no great moral comfortfrom it. Neither can any one comfort any one else by putting hisacts or offences in a new light, for every one knows the wholetruth about himself and everybody else, so that nothing can bemade to appear favourably or unfavourably. All this, however, issupposing there is the desire to be kind; but how can spiritsthat were selfish and ill-disposed on earth, where there are somany softening influences, have good inclinations in hell, wherethey loathe one another with constantly increasing strength?

  "Inasmuch as both the good and the bad continue on the lines onwhich they started when on earth, we are continually drawingnearer to God, while they are departing. The gulf may be onlyone of feeling, but that is enough. It follows, then, that withGod as our limit, which we of course can never reach, theirlimit, in the geometrical sense, must be total separation fromHim. Though all spirits, we are told, live forever, it occurs tome that in God's mercy there may be a gradual end; for though tothe happy souls in heaven a thousand years may seem as nothing,existence in hell must drag along with leaden limbs, and a singlehour seem like a lifetime of regret. Since it is dreadful tothink that such unsoothed anguish should continue forever, I haveoften pondered whether it might not be that, by a form ofinvolution and reversal of the past law, the spirit that came tolife evolved from the, mineral, plant, and animal worlds, maymercifully retrace its steps one by one, till finally the soulshall penetrate the solid rock and hide itself by becoming partof the planet. Many people in my day believed that after deaththeir souls would enter stately trees, and spread abroad greatbranches, dropping dead leaves over the places on which they hadstood while on earth. This might be the last step in the awfultragedy of the fall and involution of a human soul. In this way,those who had wasted the priceless opportunities given them byGod might be mercifully obliterated, for it seems as if theywould not be needed in the economy of the universe. The Bible,however, mentions no such end, and says unmistakably that hellwill last forever; so that in this supposition, as in manyothers, the wish is probably father of the thought."

  "But," persisted Bearwarden, "how about death-bed repentances?"

  "Those," replied the spirit, "are few and far between. The painsof death at the last hour leave but little room for aught butvain regret. A man dies suddenly, or may be unconscious sometime before the end. But they do occur. The question is, Howmuch credit is it to be good when you can do no more harm? Thetime to resist evil and do that which is right is while thetemptation is on and in its strength. While life lasts there ishope, but the books are sealed by death. The tree must fall toone side or the other-- there is no middle ground--and as thetree falleth, so it lieth.

  "This, however, is a gloomy subject, and one that in your heartof hearts you understand. I would rather tell you more of thebeauties and splendours of space--of the orange, red, and bluestars, and of the tremendous cyclonic movements going on withinthem, which are even more violent than the storms that rage inthe sun. The clouds, as the spectroscope has already shown,consist of iron, gold, and platinum in the form of vapour, whilethe openings revealed by sun-spots, or rather star-spots, are sotremendous that a comparatively small one would contain manydozen such globes as the earth. I could tell you also of themysteries of the great dark companions of some of the stars, andof the stars that are themselves dark and cold, with naught butthe faraway constellations to cheer them, on which night reignseternally, and that far outnumber the stars you can see. Also ofthe multiplicity of sex and extraordinary forms of life thatexist there, though on none of them are there mortal men likethose on the earth.

  "Nature, in the process of evolution, has in all these cases goneoff on an entirely different course, the most intelligent andhighly developed species being in the form of marvellouslycomplex reptiles, winged serpents that sing most beautifully, butwhose blood is cold, being prevented from freezing in the upperregions of the atmosphere by the presence of salt and chemicals,and which are so intelligent that they have practically subduedmany of these dark stars to themselves. On others, the mosthighly developed species have hollow, bell-shaped tentacles, intowhich they inject two or more opposing gases from opposite sidesof their bodies, which, in combination, produce a strongexplosion. This provides them with an easy and rapid locomotion,since the explosions find a sufficient resistance in thesurrounding air to propel the monsters much faster than birds.These can at pleasure make their breath so poisonous that thelungs of any creatures except themselves inhaling it are at onceturned to parchment. Others can give their enemies or their preyan electric shock, sending a bolt through the heart, or canparalyze the mind physically by an effort of their wills, causingthe brain to decompose while the victim is still alive. Othershave the same power that snakes have, though vastly intensified,mesmerizing their victims from afar.

  "Still others have such delicate senses that in a way theycommune with spirits, though they have no souls themselves; forin no part or corner of the universe except on earth are thereanimals that have souls. Yet they know the meaning of the word,and often bewail their hard lot in that no part of them can livewhen the heart has ceased to beat.

  "Ah, my friends, if we had no souls--if, like the aestheticreptilia, we knew that when our dust dissolved our existencewould be over--we should realize the preciousness of what we holdso lightly now. Man and the spirits and angels are the onlybeings with souls, and in no place except on earth are new soulsbeing created. This gives you the greatest and grandest idea ofthe dignity of life and its inestimable value. But it is asdifficult to describe the higher wonders of the stellar worlds toyou as to picture the glories of sunset to a blind man, for youhave experienced nothing with which to compare them. Instead ofseeing all that really is, you see but a small part."