"Sageland, previous to the catastrophe," resumed Arletta, "was a small
oblong continent surrounded by what are now known as the Indian and
South Atlantic Oceans. It ran from north-east to southwest. Its extreme
length was nine hundred and twenty-eight miles and its greatest width
was three hundred and ninety-six miles. There were a little over thirty
million inhabitants in the land.
"Unlike the different countries of the present time, there were no large
cities in Sageland. The population was scattered over the entire surface
of the country at intervals and was domiciled in two distinct ways,
namely: the rural form of dwelling, in which a single family occupied a
separate house for its own private use, and the borough settlements,
whereby several thousand persons lived together under one roof.
"The great structures known as borough buildings covered about a square
mile of land each, and were from fifty to eighty stories in height. They
were very artistically designed, most luxuriously furnished and the
sanitary arrangements absolutely perfect. They contained, besides a
private room for each individual, public reception rooms, libraries,
music halls, theatres, gymnasiums, baths, etc. No person was allowed
more than one room for private use, but a family could have a suite of
apartments in proportion to its own number. The reception rooms, music
halls, theatres, libraries, gymnasiums, baths, etc., were entirely
public and all persons were at liberty to come or go as they pleased.
The room in which you are now seated was my own private apartment in a
borough building which was occupied by seven thousand people.
"I have already explained the method whereby we received our sustenance,
the different aeriform substances being piped directly from the
laboratories to the consumers' personal apartments, thus obviating the
necessity for dining halls and kitchens.
"There being no such agency as commerce in Sageland, through which the
necessities of life were bought, sold, exchanged, or stolen, there was,
of course, no need for such establishments as wholesale or retail
stores, banks, etc. Neither were there any jails. Great national work-
shops, laboratories, and store-houses, a national auditorium, art
gallery, museum, and observatory were the only buildings erected besides
the rural and borough dwellings.
"The chief industries of our people were planting, reaping, condensing
and distributing dietary substances; manufacturing such things as
machinery, clothing, paints, musical and scientific instruments, and
building. Railroads, steamships, mail service, the telegraph and
telephone had become obsolete with the Sagemen. In the first place, it
was not necessary for men to travel at all in person, for by the power
of mind sight they were able to see what took place at any particular
place on earth, and also they were capable of communicating with each
other telepathically at any distance just as easily as I am now
conversing with you.
"Great centrifugal and centripetal engines, capable of transplanting any
quantity of material from one place to another, were constructed for
carrying purposes, while automatic transmuting machines, by which one
element could be turned into another, cut down the necessity of
transportation to a minimum. Machinery, directed by the human mind, and
deriving its power from the sun and other forces of nature, did all of
the Sageman's laborious work.
"The Sageman's discovery and partial utilization of the two great forces
of nature, centrifugal and centripetal power, were the causes of his
final destruction, however, for he not only used them advantageously
here, but by that method actually tried to regulate the earth's course
in space to suit himself. And furthermore, he not only contemplated
steering his own world in whatever direction or part of the heavens he
might choose, but his ultimate plans were to visit, inhabit and control
the movements of all the great bodies of the universe.
"These laudable purposes, while no doubt practical, failed by being
undertaken prematurely as forewarned by many of our ablest thinkers,
who, unfortunately, were in the minority when the question of making the
initial trial was voted upon. And by this failure the earth was rent in
a fearful manner, its map considerably altered and Sageland and its
people wiped out of existence entirely.
"Many millions of Apemen who inhabited the balance of the globe at that
time must also have perished from the effects of the awful convulsion
which no doubt shook the earth to its core. And so it was, I presume,
the upset atmospheric conditions of the earth resulting from this
catastrophe, forty-two hundred and thirty years ago, that is responsible
for the legend by which the Apeman blames the Creator for sending a
flood to destroy the inhabitants of the world, good and bad alike.
"But notwithstanding his superior intellectuality the Sageman was far
from being infallible. He often made mistakes as he relentlessly
struggled along in search of knowledge. Natural Law teaches that the
main object of life is to absorb, concentrate and utilize intelligence.
Intelligence rules the universe. The Sageman considered it his duty to
first control himself, then the earth, and finally the universe. But he
became impatient, and wanted to explore the heavens before he had
assimilated all terrestrial life, and concentrated sufficient power to
insure success. He was anxious to control new worlds before he had put
his own into the best order. Had he waited until the Apeman and other
living particles could have reached the same state of intelligence as
himself, and then concentrated and utilized the combined mental strength
of the whole to solve the great problem, no doubt he would have been
more successful in his first attempt at universal navigation.
"However, he tried and failed, and by that failure thoroughly
demonstrated the futility of one part of humanity trying to rush ahead
of the whole, and the absolute necessity for all mankind to work
unitedly and harmoniously, and go forward as a unit to accomplish the
greatest results within its power."
"But," inquired I, "what law or chance was it that destroyed all of your
countrymen, and still preserved you through all these ages?"
"That is the most remarkable circumstance of the whole affair," answered
Arletta, as she cast a loving glance in the direction of the leader of
the band, and then, reverently pointing toward him, she continued, "he
was the foremost man of his day, and it was generally conceded by all of
our people that he was the greatest man the earth ever produced. Like
Sage, the founder of our government, he lived entirely fox others. His
sole aim in life was to make better the conditions of all living things;
to make hardship, sorrow, suffering or misery an impossibility on earth.
In order to be of the greatest service to others, he knew that he must
not only be unselfish, but also build up his body, brain and character
to the very highest degree of efficiency and perfection. And he did so.
He built himself up from a physical, mental, and moral standpoint, until
it seemed to others that he was the personification of intelligence,
love, virtue, and magnificence. While possessing the greatest brain
power, still he was the most humble man in Sageland. Although a giant in
physical strength, yet he was as gentle as a lamb. He was the greatest
thinker of all time, but there was no room in his brain for an impure
thought. Notwithstanding he was still a young man, being but fifty years
of age, nevertheless he had attained distinct success and fame as a
musician, composer, scientist, inventor, architect, and athlete. He
endeavored to unravel all the mysteries of nature which attracted his
attention. One of the many occult forces he experimented with was human
magnetism. It was his belief that man could preserve himself
indefinitely, either in a state of animation or suspended vitality, by
the strength of his own will power. He often said that, barring
accidents, he would live to be a thousand years old. In order that he
might thoroughly study the subject and discover, if possible, the exact
forces that caused life and death, he often used me as an example for
his experiments. Many times he had caused me to lie in a trance for
several months' duration without the slightest change in my appearance
showing itself. While my aid was necessary to suspend animation, yet
when once under the influence of the strange forces by which it was
accomplished, my senses departed entirely, and I had no power to revive
myself, but had to depend upon him to restore consciousness. Ten days
prior to the date set for the first trial whereby man was to navigate
the earth in space, I allowed him to put me under the spell of these
influences, and although it seems like yesterday that it happened, still
over forty-two centuries have since passed by. Uncounted billions of
human beings have lived, suffered and died since that time, but the same
soul which guided the magnificent being who put me into that trance, has
lived through it all, and by a mysterious power, has finally returned to
release my soul from its incarceration. It was a natural law which
caused me to sleep peacefully through all those centuries, and likewise
it was according to nature's principle that you were brought back here
to awaken me.
"The seed of united labor sown by the immortal Sage, which proved so
prolific in love and progress to the Sagemen, was not entirely destroyed
by the great catastrophe, but lay smouldering in this tomb during the
dark ages of superstition, ignorance and cruel civilization, that have
since elapsed, and must now be replanted in the soil of human hearts,
and its benevolent results spread throughout the earth, offering peace
and good will to all living things.
"And you, who are guided by the soul of my final consort," said Arletta,
as the full rays of her luminous eyes were fastened upon me, "I entreat
you to go forth as a messenger of truth and justice and teach the
principles of Natural Law to all of your species."