With that done he left the office, returning to the shaft by which
he descended. A girl was walking ahead of him, and they both reached
the lift almost at the same moment. She was dressed exactly as Kuila
Rei, and on her shoulder he descried insignia the same as he wore, the
insignia of the astronomers.
The suits of the Earthlings were made of a material that transmitted no
heat, holding the normal body heat of the wearer. It was in two pieces,
blouse and trousers. The trousers almost skin-tight fitted snugly at
the hips. They were designed so as to contain the feet; and under the
feet were sewn heavy pieces of felt that fitted the foot. The blouse
was loose to give free movement to the torso. It fell straight from
the shoulder half-way to the thighs and was caught tightly at the waist
with a girdle. The sleeves hung rather full from shoulder to wrist
and were buckled tightly; while the collar, rather high, fitted the
neck closely. From the shoulders hung a hood that could be pulled over
the head and fitted tightly about the face and chin. From it a mask
could be drawn over the face to protect it in cases of extreme cold
and to the mask were fastened small tubes for nose and mouth. These
could be attached to an oxygen tank that the wearer would carry on his
shoulders. Gloves were carried in one of the slit pockets of the blouse.
Kuila followed the girl into the elevator and they came face to face.
He was struck by the exquisite beauty of her clear features, a beauty
that was striking even among a people who were all beautiful. Her skin
was a warm olive, a complexion that had been evolved from the admixture
of the five original races upon Earth. Her eyes were clear hazel, her
lips a deep red. Each feature was as perfect as though hand-chiseled,
from the little square chin to the fine sensitive eyebrows and smooth
white temples. And framing it all was the hair of a rich blackness.
Once human hair entailed the constant need of trimming, but Science had
easily done away with that inconvenience by the simple means of the
T-Ray. When the T-Ray was trained on the hair and beard by means of a
cap-shaped helmet it not only halted the natural growth of the roots
but at the same time treated them so that in a life-time not a single
hair could fall from the scalp.
In response to his smile the girl smiled back brightly. "I suppose we
are both ascending to the roof?" she queried in a low well-modulated
voice that was strangely thrilling to a man who had not heard a
woman's voice in over ten years. He nodded, and she touched the lever
that should carry them upward.
The lift traveled fast, but in the thousand foot ascent there was still
time for Kuila Rei to learn that the girl was Ramo Rei; that she had
returned from Mount 47 whereupon was set an observatory like the one
he had just left; that she had been associated only with two woman and
two men, all of whom had already passed the third cycle (150 years of
age); and so therefore, she had taken no companion (mate) and was, like
himself, quite alone in the new world they were to enter.
They were not immediately aware that the elevator had stopped. Only
when the steady murmur of voices came to them from without did they
suddenly realize they had reached the roof. Kuila managed to elbow
his way through the crowd and found for them an unoccupied spot in a
secluded part of the parapet.
It was now almost time for rising of the sun. Once, the annals of
history showed, the Earth had known approximately twelve hours of
day-light. But gradually, through the ages, the periods of day had
grown shorter until now at the present time there was scarcely one
short hour of light. This was due to the fact that the Sun was no
longer a ball of fire, that only two spots still burned on its wide
expanses. A month since the smaller of the two spots had burned out,
and now it was but a question of hours before the other spot would give
its last flicker.
A stillness pervaded the towering roofs and here and there a few groups
could be seen whispering. On the left was the building now occupied by
the twenty-seven thousand children who had been brought from the City
of Children and their sweet fresh voices could be heard in song as
they greeted the wan light. Almost a billion years ago the ancestors
of these children had sung in the same manner to the sun to give them
light and keep them in health.
In their corner Ramo and Kuila were speaking in subdued tones. There
was much for them to tell each other, and the affinity which had drawn
them together was strengthened as they learned that they had many
interests in common. She, too, had gathered books of the past, and they
both longed to see a sun in all its wonder and to feel its warmth surge
through their veins.
"I contend," said Kuila, "that we make a mistake in descending to
the Earth's core. It would be far better that we migrate to another
Universe which has a sun that is still young!"
He saw the light that came into her eyes at his words. She nodded her
head in approbation. "I, too, Kuila Rei, have had such dreams. At
night when I was alone at the sky-eyes I studied the various planets
and Universes for the possibility of transferring ourselves to another
world. Buik Rei, head astronomer of Mount 47, and I have studied the
proposition from all angles and he agrees it is feasible. Only we
are not yet equipped for such an expedition. Long ago we might have
profited by the knowledge of our forefathers and traversed Space at
will. Now, instead, we must begin all over again to learn what they had
so gladly prepared for us."
"Then you do believe there is a possibility?"
"Is anything impossible?"
Further discussion was halted at that moment by the cry that had gone
up from the five hundred-thousand Earthlings gathered on the roof-tops.
There had been a change in the somber darkness enclosing them; a pale
grayish light was now visible in the Eastern sky!
"The Sun, the blessed Sun!" cried the voices.
Gradually the light became brighter, and then on the Eastern horizon
appeared the sun, but Oh! so different from the old bright sun.
Once it had been globe-shape, dazzling bright, so that the eyes could
not look upon it. Now, all that remained of the old fire was one
strange, ragged streak of light that ran vertically up the surface of
the globe, and so weak and feeble was that single streak that it looked
wan and livid. There was no rosy haze to accompany this dawn. All was
gray, stark, nude.
The hour was passing--and, as they watched, the onlookers could see
that the white streak that was the sun was gradually turning on its
axis so that the single burning spot would soon be hidden from sight of
those on Earth. And it would be many, many hours before the Earthlings
would catch sight of it again. The grayness was gradually fading into
darkness again. The myriad of stars overhead continued to gleam,
sparkling in all their splendor, twinkling like the eyes of a man
overcome by laughter--laughing at the plight of a doomed world.
With sighs and low murmurings the crowds dispersed from the rooms.
Ramo and Kuila did not leave yet. The Earth may grow senile, but youth
tells the same old story. And the two had much to tell each other.
Astronomers both, they spoke the same language, had the same hopes and
desires. And then, they were young.
Two hours later they agreed to descend from the roof. As they had just
arrived in the city neither had taken up new quarters as yet, and they
went down to the office where they would be assigned quarters. They had
but to speak their name, number, and rating into a machine like the one
to which they had already reported, and in answer came a small piece
of circular metal having upon it, in the strange numerical writing of
that day, their new address.
Each giant building was a city in itself. Each had its auditorium
where gathered for general announcements, amusements, lectures
and discussions, the tenants of the building. There were large
conservatories where was planted what verdure and vegetation had been
preserved through the centuries. A few birds and smaller animals had
been kept alive in the same manner. Canned sunlight, the light of the
sun that had been gathered by scientists many years before and stored
in giant vats, took the place of the ineffectual sun. Here people spent
much of their time.
* * * * *