Of the development of World-Weariness in Hesperos; and of the second
attempt to cross the Equatorial Tornado—How the Forlorn Hope
succeeded, and discovered a City of the Dead—How the terrible
mystery of Evanescence was explained; and how the crew set out on
their return.
But, notwithstanding the signal success which had attended their
labours, there can be no doubt that during the next thousand years a
general feeling of gloom and despondence gradually settled down over the
Hesperian race. That the brilliant discoveries of the astronomers had
failed to throw the faintest glimmer of light on the question of
questions—Who was their Maker?—was a fact which could not be disguised.
An answer to this was as far off as ever—further off, indeed. They had
learned the enormous extent of the universe, and, as a consequence, that
the Hesperians, so far from exhausting its contents, were no more than
insignificant specks in its unfathomed deeps. In the vast profusion of
worlds they felt themselves lost. If their Maker had charge of that vast
universe, he might well have forgotten them altogether. Why, then,
should they not depart from life? The door of exit was always open. A
fall down the nearest precipice was always easy, and the instantaneous
dissolution of the body was an unfailing remedy for every ill.
This feeling of discontent with life, or general world-weariness,
reached a climax in the concluding years of this period; and its
existence in the mind of a small band of practical engineers was
certainly the main cause which led to the terrible discovery that placed
an indelible line of distinction between the ancient and modern
Hesperian histories.
Although the northern hemisphere only was accessible for exploration, it
was by this time perfectly well known that the planet is a sphere. Hence
they considered it not at all improbable that, to the calms of the
north, a similar condition in the south might correspond; and that the
chronic hurricane which had hitherto barred the passage to the southern
ocean might prove to be confined to a zone not exceeding a few hundred
miles in width. Should this be the case, it might perhaps be passed, and
a southern continent discovered. This would greatly develop astronomical
science; nothing less than a hemisphere of unseen stars might be brought
into vision. Moreover, a transit of Mercury across the face of the sun
would take place in a few years; and, in order to utilise this, a place
of observation in the southern hemisphere was essential.
It occurred to one of these engineers that, though no ship floating on
the surface of the ocean could possibly live in the equatorial tornado,
it might be practicable to devise a submarine vessel which, by sinking
to a very great depth below the surface, could traverse the four or five
hundred miles of raging cataracts, and then, emerging from the depths,
might find a smoother sea.
It was plain, however, that whoever ventured on such service must be
content to incur imminent risk of utter destruction. No one could
venture to guess how far downwards the seemingly preternatural
disturbance might reach; or what horrors fatal to every form of life
might be met in those frightful abysses. So, except for that feeling of
weariness of life which was fast growing through the world, it is not at
all likely that a body of volunteers, sufficiently numerous, could have
been found for a service of such exceeding peril. In one respect,
indeed, but only in one, this new enterprise had not as terrible an
aspect as that which had been undertaken by the earlier and unsuccessful
voyagers to the south. These earlier voyagers had actually ventured on
the Infinite, for they had no clue to the shape or extent of their
world; but, thanks to the astronomers, it was now well known that the
planet is, at all events, bounded in every direction.
The engineer communicated his plan to some of his comrades, and, after
trying a great many experiments in submarine navigation on a small
scale, they succeeded in constructing a model boat, which promised well
for success. Their next step was to collect a sufficient number of
volunteers; they considered that fifty would suffice. Owing to the
desponding feeling then prevalent, the fifty, a forlorn hope, were soon
found. They then applied to the world-parliament for the funds necessary
for building and fitting out the ship, which would be a very costly
undertaking, in consequence of the enormous strength which would be
requisite to resist the water pressure at the great depths to which they
would be constrained to descend. But, in the interest of scientific
discovery, the funds were readily supplied; the works were commenced
without any delay; and, in about two years, the ship was complete. It
was lavishly supplied with stores of food, and force, and every
requisite that could be conceived; and the fifty embarked and started
for the south; none of them expecting, or indeed much wishing, ever to
return.
All of them were excellent engineers, and practised astronomers; indeed
the hope of extending the field of the latter science had certainly some
influence in stirring them up to their expedition. They continued on the
surface of the water till they approached the stormy region. Into this
they penetrated, still keeping on the surface, till the violence of the
waves became so great that it was no longer possible to steer the ship.
They then stopped the propelling engines, and opening the valves which
admitted water into the tanks, sank slowly into the deep. At the depth
of five hundred feet they found the sea quite still, and they started
the propellers again. But, a few miles farther on they had to go five
hundred feet lower. As they approached the line of the equator itself
they were obliged by degrees to go lower and lower, till at last an
immersion of two thousand feet was reached; and, at this depth they
forced their way for about two hundred miles.
The ship behaved admirably. Notwithstanding a pressure exceeding a
thousand pounds on the square inch, not a trace of a leak could be
discovered. At last they thought they might venture to rise a little;
so, by altering the inclination of the propellers they gradually
ascended about a thousand feet without any unpleasant result. At this
height, signs of water disturbance rendered it inexpedient to continue
their upward progress till they had made another fifty miles of their
voyage. They then ascended five hundred feet more; at that depth the
water was rough, but practicable. Fifty miles further, they ventured to
force the water out of the tanks, and rise to the surface. This they did
very slowly and cautiously, and on emerging they found that the zone of
tornadoes was passed. The sea was still exceedingly rough; but looking
back towards the north, it was easy to see, from the much greater
violence of the waves in that quarter, that they had left the equatorial
hurricanes behind them.
They were now in the southern hemisphere, and, as well as they could
compute, about two hundred and fifty miles south of the equator. The
total width of the belt of storms, at the place where they had crossed
it, they estimated at five hundred miles. As they proceeded towards the
south, the sea became smoother and smoother, till they reached a region
of nearly perfect calm. They resolved to hold on their course, due
south, till they either reached land or the South Pole itself.
On the ninth day after their emergence they sighted land. The country
was evidently mountainous; overhead, the cloudy screen continued
unbroken, and seemingly at the same elevation as in the north. Soon the
ship was near enough to the shore for the crew to be able to discern
unmistakable signs of life; and, on rounding a headland, a city of
moderate size came into view. The style of the buildings was in no way
different from that which was familiar to them at home. As they cast
anchor a few hundred yards from the shore, they could see that the pier
was densely crowded with people, who had been evidently attracted by the
strangely-shaped vessel.
Presently one of the crew, taking up a spy-glass, leaned on the handrail
and took a steady look at the people on the pier. He had not gazed for
more than a few seconds when he suddenly turned as white as a sheet,
staggered back a couple of steps, and, gasping for breath, handed the
glass to the man beside him. The captain asked him what was the
matter—‘It is a City of the Dead,’ he stammered, in a voice all but
inarticulate with terror.
A like expression of horror came over the second man’s face, as he also
looked through the telescope. And no wonder at it. The people who were
standing on the pier had lived with them in the north, and were believed
to have vanished from life for ever. A feeling like that which arises on
earth in the presence of a ghostly visitor came over the crew. They were
plainly face to face with some terrible mystery, which was now to be
cleared up.
Meanwhile a boat with several rowers pushed off from the pier and came
swiftly towards the ship. As she approached, several of the engineers
recognized in the steerer the man who had perished on the awful
precipice which leads up to the great observatory of the north. When the
boat came within hail, this man shouted, ‘We have been expecting you for
some time, and we congratulate you on your submarine passage.’ So it was
plain that these mysterious people knew all about the expedition. They
saw the consternation of the engineers, but evidently did not
reciprocate their confusion. On the other hand, all seemed highly
delighted at the arrival of their old friends. More boats came out to
the ship, and the crew were speedily landed. The citizens received them
with great kindness; took them hospitably into their houses, and, when
the astonished guests had rested, and recovered a little from their
state of utter stupefaction, the supposed ghosts communicated to them
the history of their adventures in the southern hemisphere.
The substance of what they learned was as follows:—The phenomenon of
evanescence, hitherto supposed to be the final destruction of the
subject in which it takes place, is only the first step in a much more
complicated process. The evanescence itself consists in a sudden
disintegration of the molecules which compose the body. But these
disintegrated, and therefore invisible, molecules are really endowed
with an affinity or attraction which tends to the south pole of the
planet. Just as on earth, the magnetic needle turns into the magnetic
meridian, so on Hesperos those organized molecules which enter into the
structure of a rational animal, when freed by disintegration,
instantaneously seek the South Pole, the transmission taking place with
the exact velocity of light. On reaching the pole, reintegration is
equally instantaneous; so that in Hesperos we may say that the death,
decomposition, and resurrection of the body form three consecutive steps
in one connected series of events, the whole of which is accomplished in
a single instant.
Evanescence, then, in the northern hemisphere, and indeed in the
southern also, is nothing more nor less than instantaneous transference
to the South Pole. The reintegrated body is, with one most important
exception, an exact reproduction of the disintegrated original. The
exception is this: any bodily organ which has suffered a lesion of any
kind is restored in its primitive healthy condition. Had this not been
the case, many a man would have been doomed to the shocking fate of
languishing in a maimed and mutilated state for evermore. The two laws
of evanescence which have been observed in the north are equally valid
in the south; but it should be remembered that the transference is
always to the _South_ Pole, no matter in which hemisphere evanescence
occurs.
Hence it is obvious that, before the arrival of the submarine boat, the
conditions of population in the north and in the south respectively were
directly contrasted. In the former there was a constantly diminishing
number which could not be increased; in the latter a constantly
increasing number which could not be diminished. But it was quite plain
that, assuming the return voyage of the submarine ship to be
practicable, equilibrium would soon be restored.
Such were the main facts communicated that evening to the astonished
engineers. They all retired to rest in their new quarters half petrified
with amazement and horror. The gate of exit from life was shut and
barred—or rather, none such had ever existed. What was supposed to have
been one had no such real significance; and if there was one anywhere it
had still to be found.
To their question, How had the southerners become aware of their
projected submarine voyage? their hosts replied that one of the
northerners who had been evanesced by an accident while the ship was
building had, on arrival at the pole, communicated the plan. Indeed, in
this way, by the frequent arrivals from the north, the southerners were
kept well posted up as to everything which took place at the other side
of the equator, and had learned all the grand results of the new
astronomy.
The engineers resolved to lose no time in making the return voyage; and
they offered to take with them, as passengers, any, to the number of
fifty, who chose to revisit their former habitations; more than fifty
they could not easily accommodate. The offer was gladly accepted. Among
those who returned they brought the oldest inhabitant of the south, the
victim of the Hesperian Cain, whose untimely extinction, just 9997 years
before, had led to the discovery of the first law of evanescence. He was
now, to all appearance, in the twenty-fifth year of his age. Also three
of the crew of that ill-fated ship which perished in the abortive
attempt to cross the surface of the equatorial sea accompanied them.