place, which across its entrance bore the name _Scienticafé_. "This
is one of our best restaurants, and I think you will prefer it to the
old-fashioned masticating places," he told her.
As they entered, a deliciously perfumed, yet invigorating fragrance
greeted them.
They proceeded at once to the _Appetizer_, which was a large room,
hermetically closed, in which sat several hundred people, reading or
talking.
The two sat down on leather-upholstered chairs and looked at a humorous
daily magazine which was projected upon a white wall, the pages of the
magazine changing from time to time.
They had been in the room but a few minutes when Alice exclaimed:
"I am ravenously hungry and I was not hungry at all when we entered.
What kind of a trick is it?"
"This is the Appetizer," Ralph exclaimed laughing, "the air in here is
invigorating, being charged with several harmless gases for the purpose
of giving you an appetite before you eat--hence its name!"
Both then proceeded to the main eating salon, which was beautifully
decorated in white and gold. There were no attendants and no waiters,
and the salon was very quiet except for a muffled, far-off, murmuring
music.
They then sat down at a table on which were mounted complicated silver
boards with odd buttons and pushes and slides. There was such a board
for each patron. From the top of the board a flexible tube hung down
to which one fastened a silver mouthpiece, that one took out of a
disinfecting solution, attached to the board. The bill of fare was
engraved in the board and there was a pointer which one moved up and
down the various food items and stopped in front of the one selected.
The silver mouthpiece was then placed in the mouth and one pressed upon
a red button. The liquid food which one selected would then begin to
flow into the mouth, its rate of speed controlled by the red button.
If spices, salt or pepper were wanted, there was a button for each
one which merely had to be pressed till the food was as palatable as
wanted. Another button controlled the temperature of the food.
Meats, vegetables, and other eatables, were all liquefied and were
prepared with utmost skill to make them palatable. When changing from
one food to another the flexible tube, including the mouthpiece, were
rinsed out with hot water, but the water did not flow out of the
mouthpiece. The opening of the latter closed automatically during the
rinsing and opened as soon as the process was terminated.
While eating they reclined in the comfortably upholstered leather
arm-chair. They did not have to use knife and fork, as was the custom
in former centuries. Eating had become a pleasure.
"Do you know," said Ralph, "it took people a long time to accept the
scientific restaurants.
"At first they did not succeed. Humanity had been masticating for
thousands of years and it was hard to overcome the inherited habit.
"However, people soon found out that scientific foods prepared in a
palatable manner in liquid form were not only far more digestible
and better for the stomach, but they also did away almost entirely
with indigestion, dyspepsia, and other ills, and people began to get
stronger and more vigorous.
"The scientific restaurants furnished only foods which were nourishing
and no dishes hard to digest could be had at all. Therein lay the
success of the new idea.
"People at first did not favor the idea because the new way of eating
did not seem as aesthetic as the old and seemed also at first devoid
of the pleasures of the old way of eating. They regarded it with a
suspicion similar to a 20th century European observing a Chinaman using
his chopsticks. This aversion, however, soon wore off as people became
used to the new mode of eating, and it is thought that the close of the
century will witness the closing of all old-fashioned restaurants.
"You will notice, however, that the liquid scientific foods are not
absolutely liquid. Some of them, especially meats, have been prepared
in such a manner that slight mastication is always necessary. This
naturally does away with the monotony of swallowing liquids all the
time and makes the food more desirable."
After their luncheon Ralph and Alice rolled "uptown," the former
explaining the various sights as they progressed. At Broadway and 389th
street, in a large square, a petrified animal stood upon a pedestal.
The girl, desiring to know what it represented, approached and read
this inscription, hewn in the stone:
PETE
The last Horse in Harness in the
Streets of New York
Died on this Spot
June 19th, 2096 A.D.
"The poor thing," she said, "it looks so pitiful, doesn't it? To think
that once the poor dumb animals were made to labor! It is much better
nowadays with electricity doing all the work."
Ralph smiled at this very feminine remark. It was like her, he thought
tenderly, to feel sympathy for even this former beast of burden.
As they turned to leave the pedestal, the girl made an involuntary
shrinking movement toward him. He looked up and saw, advancing toward
them on Tele-motor-coasters, a tall dark man, a little younger than
himself. The newcomer ignoring Ralph utterly, rolled up to Alice.
"So you are enjoying the sights of New York," he said, with no other
greeting, and with a disagreeable smile on his lips.
"Yes," said the girl coldly, "I _was_ enjoying them, very much."
He bit his under lip in an annoyed fashion, and a dull flush mounted
to his hair. "I told you I'd follow you if you ran away," he said in a
lower tone.
Ralph, unable to catch the words, but reading a menace in the fellow's
look, stepped forward. Alice turned to him eagerly and put her hand on
his arm.
"What is next on our program, Ralph?" she asked in a clear voice,
while at the same time she pressed his wrist with her fingers as a
signal for him to go on.
As if Fernand had not existed, she moved away, her hand still on
Ralph's arm. "Please, please," she murmured as he would have turned
back.
"That fellow needs his head punched," muttered Ralph savagely.
"Don't make a scene--I just couldn't bear it," she pleaded. Looking
down at her he saw that she was on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry," he said gently.
"I'm so ashamed," she said pathetically, "what must you think!"
"That I should go back and knock his head off," said Ralph. "But if you
ask me not to, I won't. I suppose that was Fernand?"
She looked at him in astonishment. "Do _you_ know him?"
"Your father told me."
"Oh," she said, troubled, "father shouldn't have done that. But I
suppose he was afraid of a meeting of this sort."
"How long has he been following you around?"
"Oh, for ages, it seems. Really, about a year. I never liked him, but
lately he's been perfectly horrid, and acts in such a threatening
way--you saw him. I can't see why he should take the trouble to annoy
anyone who loathes him as I do. But let's forget it. We have had such
a wonderful day that I don't want it spoiled." And then timidly, with
downcast eyes: "I called you Ralph. You must have thought me very
forward, but I wanted him to think--"
She stopped suddenly, and in confusion. And then, her natural gaiety
coming to her rescue: "Heavens, the more I say, the worse I make it,
don't I?"
"It sounded fine to me," said Ralph, falling in with her mood, "I hope
you will always call me that."
And laughing together they rolled on.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 2: 72° Fahrenheit.]
5
NEW YORK A.D. 2660
Being much interested in sports, she desired to know presently how the
modern New Yorker kept himself in condition and for his answer Ralph
stopped at a corner and they entered a tall, flat-roofed building. They
took off their coasters, stepped into the electromagnetic elevator and
ascended the fifty odd stories in a few seconds. At the top, they found
a large expanse on which were stationed dozens of flyers of all sizes.
There was a continuous bustle of departing and arriving aerial flyers
and of people alighting and departing.
As soon as Ralph and Alice appeared a dozen voices began to call:
"_Aerocab, sir, Aerocab, this way please!_" Ralph, ignoring them,
walked over to a two-seated flyer and assisted his companion to
the seat; he then seated himself and said briefly to the "driver,"
"_National Playgrounds_." The machine, which was very light and
operated entirely by electricity, was built of metal throughout; it
shot up into the air with terrific speed and then took a northeasterly
direction at a rate of ten miles per minute, or 600 miles per hour.
From the great height at which they were flying it was not hard to
point out the most interesting structures, towers, bridges, and wonders
of construction deemed impossible several centuries ago.
In less than ten minutes they had arrived at the National Playgrounds.
They alighted on an immense platform and Ralph, leading Alice to the
edge, where they could see the entire playgrounds, said:
"These National Playgrounds were built by the city in 2490, at the
extreme eastern end of what used to be Long Island, a few miles from
Montauk.[3] An immense area had been fitted up for all kinds of sports,
terrestrial and aquatic as well as aerial. These municipal playgrounds
are the finest in the world and represent one of New York's greatest
achievements. The City Government supplied all the various sport
paraphernalia and every citizen has the right to use it, by applying to
the lieutenants in charge of the various sections.
"There are playgrounds for the young as well as for the old, grounds
for men, grounds for the women, grounds for babies to romp about in.
There are hundreds of baseball fields, thousands of tennis courts, and
uncounted football fields and golf links. It never rains, it is never
too hot, it is never too cold. The grounds are open every day in the
year, from seven in the morning till eleven at night. After sunset, the
grounds and fields are lighted by thousands of iridium wire spirals,
for those who have to work in the daytime.
"As a matter of fact all the great baseball, tennis, and football
contests are held after sundown. The reason is apparent. During the
daytime, with the sun shining, there is always one team which has an
advantage over the other, on account of the light being in their eyes.
In the evening, however, with the powerful, stationary light overhead,
each team has the same conditions and the game can be played more
fairly and more accurately."[4]
Ralph and his companion strolled about the immense grounds watching
the players and it was not long before he discovered that she, like
himself, was enthusiastic about tennis. He asked her if she would care
to play a game with him and she acquiesced eagerly.
They walked over to the dressing building where Ralph kept his own
sport clothes. Since the girl had no tennis shoes, he secured a pair
for her in the Arcade, and they sauntered over to one of the courts.
In the game that followed, Ralph, an expert at tennis, was too
engrossed in the girl to watch his game. Consequently, he was beaten
from start to finish. He did not see the ball, and scarcely noticed the
net. His eyes were constantly on Alice, who, indeed, made a remarkably
pretty picture. She flung herself enthusiastically into her game, as
she did with everything else that interested her. She was the true
sport-lover, caring little whether she won or not, loving the game for
the game itself.
Her lovely face was flushed with the exercise, and her hair curled into
damp little rings, lying against her neck and cheeks in soft clusters.
Her eyes, always bright, shone like stars. Now and again they met
Ralph's in gay triumph as she encountered a difficult ball.
He had never imagined that anyone could be so graceful. Her lithe and
flexible figure was seen to its best advantage in this game requiring
great agility.
Ralph, under this bombardment of charms, was spellbound. He played
mechanically, and, it must be admitted, wretchedly. And he was so
thoroughly and abjectly in love that he did not care. To him, but one
thing mattered. He knew that unless he could have Alice life itself
would not matter to him.
He felt that he would gladly have lost a hundred games when she at last
flung down her racket, crying happily: "Oh, I won, I won, didn't I?"
"You certainly did," he cried. "You were wonderful!"
"I'm a little bit afraid you let me win," she pouted. "It really wasn't
fair of you."
"You were fine," he declared. "I was hopelessly outclassed from the
beginning. You have no idea how beautiful you were," he went on,
impulsively. "More beautiful than I ever dreamed anyone could be."
Before his ardent eyes she drew back a little, half pleased, half
frightened, and not a little confused.
Sensing her embarrassment he instantly became matter-of-fact.
"Now," he said, "I am going to show you the source of New York's light
and power."
A few minutes later, after both had changed their shoes, they were
again seated in an aerocab and a twenty minute journey brought them
well into the center of what was formerly New York state.
They alighted on an immense plain on which twelve monstrous
Meteoro-Towers, each 1,500 feet high, were stationed. These towers
formed a hexagon inside of which were the immense _Helio-Dynamophores_,
or Sun-power-generators.
The entire expanse, twenty kilometers square, was covered with glass.
Underneath the heavy plate glass squares were the photo-electric
elements which transformed the solar heat _direct_ into electric
energy.
The photo-electric elements, of which there were 400 to each square
meter, were placed in large movable metal cases, each case containing
1,600 photo-electric units.
Each metal case in turn was movable, and mounted on a kind of large
tripod in such a manner that each case from sunrise to sunset presented
its glass plate directly to the sun. The rays of the sun, consequently,
struck the photo-electric elements always vertically, never obliquely.
A small electric motor inside of the tripod moved the metal case so as
to keep the plates always facing the sun.
In order that one case might not take away the light from the one
directly behind it, all cases were arranged in long rows, each
sufficiently far away from the one preceding it. Thus shadows from one
row could not fall on the row behind it.
At sunrise, all cases would be almost vertical, but at this time
very little current was generated. One hour after sunrise, the plant
was working to its full capacity; by noon all cases would be in a
horizontal position, and by sunset, they again would be in an almost
vertical position, in the opposite direction, however, from that of
the morning. The plant would work at its full capacity until one hour
before sunset.
Each case generated about one hundred and twenty kilowatts almost
as long as the sun was shining, and it is easily understood what an
enormous power the entire plant could generate. In fact, this plant
supplied all the power, light, and heat for entire New York. One-half
of the plant was for day use, while the other half during daytime
charged the chemical gas-accumulators for night use.
In 1909 Cove of Massachusetts invented a thermo-electric
Sun-power-generator which could deliver ten volts and six amperes, or
one-sixtieth kilowatt in a space of twelve square feet. Since that
time inventors by the score had busied themselves to perfect solar
generators, but it was not until the year 2469 that the Italian 63A
1243 invented the photo-electric cell, which revolutionized the entire
electrical industry. This Italian discovered that by derivatives of
the Radium-M class, in conjunction with Tellurium and Arcturium, a
photo-electric element could be produced which was strongly affected by
the sun's ultra-violet rays and in this condition was able to transform
heat _direct_ into electrical energy, without losses of any kind.
After watching the enormous power plant for a time Alice remarked:
"We, of course, have similar plants across the water but I have never
seen anything of such magnitude. It is really colossal. But what gives
the sky above such a peculiar black tint?"
"In order not to suffer too great losses from atmospheric
disturbances," Ralph explained, "the twelve giant Meteoro-Towers which
you notice are working with full power as long as the plant is in
operation. Thus a partial vacuum is produced above the plant and the
air consequently is very thin. As air ordinarily absorbs an immense
amount of heat, it goes without saying that the Helio-Dynamophore plant
obtains an immensely greater amount of heat when the air above is very
clear and thin. In the morning the towers direct their energy toward
the East in order to clear the atmosphere to a certain extent, and in
the afternoon their energy is directed toward the West for the same
purpose. For this reason, this plant furnishes fully thirty per cent
more energy than others working in ordinary atmosphere."
As it was growing late they returned to the city, traversing the
distance to Ralph's home in less than ten minutes.
Alice's father arrived a few minutes later, and she told him of the
delightful time she had had in the company of their distinguished host.
Shortly after they had dined that evening Ralph took his guests down
to his _Tele-Theater_. This large room had a shallow stage at one end,
with proscenium arch and curtain, such as had been in use during the
whole history of the drama. At the rear of the room were scattered a
number of big upholstered chairs.
When they had seated themselves, Ralph gave Alice a directory of the
plays and operas that were being presented that night.
"Oh, I see they are playing the French comic opera, _La Normande_, at
the National Opera tonight," she exclaimed. "I have heard and read much
of it. I should like to hear it so much."
"With the greatest of pleasure," Ralph replied. "In fact, I have not
heard it myself. My laboratory has kept me so busy, that I have missed
the Opera several times already. There are only two performances a week
now."
He walked over to a large switchboard from which hung numerous cords
and plugs. He inserted one of the plugs into a hole labeled "National
Opera." He then manipulated several levers and switches and seated
himself again with his guests.
In a moment, a gong sounded, and the lights were gradually dimmed.
Immediately afterward, the orchestra began the overture.
A great number of loud-speaking telephones were arranged near the
stage, and the acoustics were so good that it was hard to realize that
the music originated four miles away at the National Opera House.
When the overture was over, the curtain rose on the first act.
Directly behind it several hundred especially constructed Telephots
were arranged in such a manner as to fill out the entire space of the
shallow stage. These telephots were connected in series and were all
joined together so cleverly that no break or joint was visible in the
rear part of the stage. The result was that all objects on the distant
stage of the National Opera were projected full size on the composite
Telephot plates on the Tele-Theater stage. The illusion was so perfect
in all respects that it was extremely hard to imagine that the actors
on the Telephot stage were not real flesh and blood. Each voice could
be heard clearly and distinctly, because the transmitters were close to
the actors at all times and it was not necessary to strain the ear to
catch any passages.
Between the acts Ralph explained that each New York playhouse now had
over 200,000 subscribers and it was as easy for the Berlin and Paris
subscribers to hear and see the play as for the New York subscriber. On
the other hand, he admitted that the Paris and Berlin as well as the
London playhouses had a large number of subscribers, local as well as
long distance, but New York's subscription list was by far the largest.
"Can you imagine," mused Alice, "how the people in former centuries
must have been inconvenienced when they wished to enjoy a play? I was
reading only the other day how they had to prepare themselves for the
theater hours ahead of time. They had to get dressed especially for the
occasion and even went so far as to have different clothes in which to
attend theaters or operas. And then they had to ride or perhaps walk to
the playhouse itself. Then the poor things, if they did not happen to
like the production, had either to sit all through it or else go home.
They probably would have rejoiced at the ease of our Tele-Theaters,
where we can switch from one play to another in five seconds, until we
find the one that suits us best.
"Nor could their sick people enjoy themselves seeing a play, as we can
now. I know when I broke my ankle a year ago, I actually lived in the
Tele-Theater. I cannot imagine how I could have dragged through those
dreary six weeks in bed without a new play each night. Life must have
been dreadful in those days!"
"Yes, you are right," Ralph said. "Neither could they have imagined in
their wildest dreams the spectacle I witnessed a few days ago.
"I happened to be passing this room and I heard such uproarious
laughter that I decided to see what caused it all. Entering unnoticed,
I found my ten-year-old nephew 'entertaining' half-a-dozen of his
friends. The little rascal had plugged into a matinee performance of
'Romeo and Juliet' playing at the 'Broadway'--in English of course.
He then plugged in at the same time into _Der Spitzbub_, a farce
playing that evening in Berlin, and to this, for good measure, he added
_Rigoletto_ in Italian, playing at the 'Gala' in Milan.
"The effect was of course horrible. Most of the time, nothing but a
Babel of voices and music could be heard; but once in a while a single
voice broke through the din, followed immediately by another one in a
different language. The funniest incident was when, at the 'Broadway,'
Juliet called: _Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?_, and a heavy
comedian at the Berlin Theatre howled: _Mir ist's Wurst, schlagt ihn
tot!_
"Of course, everything on the stage was blurred most of the time, but
once in a while extremely ludicrous combinations resulted between some
of the actors at the various theaters, which were greeted with an
uproar by the youngsters."
As he concluded the anecdote the curtain rose once more, and the
audience of three settled back to enjoy the second act of the opera.
Later, when it was all over, they went down to the street floor at
Ralph's suggestion, where they put on their Tele-motor-coasters,
preparatory to seeing more of New York--this time by night.
The party proceeded to roll down Broadway, the historic thoroughfare of
New York. Despite the fact that it was 11 o'clock at night, the streets
were almost as light as at noonday. They were illuminated brilliantly
by the iridium spirals, hanging high above the crossings. These
spirals gave forth a pure, dazzling-white light of the same quality as
sunlight. This light moreover was absolutely cold, as all electrical
energy was transformed into light, none being lost in heat. Not a
street was dark--not even the smallest alley.
James 212B 422, as well as his daughter, lingered over the superb
displays in the various stores and they entered several to make a few
purchases. Alice was much impressed with the automatic-electric packing
machines.
The clerk making the sale placed the purchased articles on a metal
platform. He then pushed several buttons on a small switchboard, which
operated the "size" apparatus to obtain the dimensions of the package.
After the last button was pressed, the platform rose about two feet,
till it disappeared into a large metal, box-like contrivance. In about
ten to fifteen seconds it came down again bearing on its surface a neat
white box with a handle at the top, _all in one piece_. The box was
not fastened with any strings or tape, but was folded in an ingenious
manner so that it could not open of its own accord. Moreover, it was
made of _Alohydrolium_, which is the lightest of all metals, being
one-eighth the weight of aluminum.
The automatic packing machine could pack anything from a small package
a few inches square up to a box two feet high by three feet long. It
made the box to suit the size of the final package, placed the articles
together, packed them into the box which was not yet finished, folded
the box after the handle had been stamped out, stenciled the firm's
name on two sides and delivered it completely packed, all within ten to
fifteen seconds.