The Water World Visited.
As I lingered in the region of the constellation of Centaurus I was more
and more profoundly impressed with the magnitude and variety of created
worlds.
Among the eighteen planets that revolve around Alpha Centaurus, only six
are inhabited. One of these is a sinless world, or a world whereon sin
never inaugurated its blighting reign; but I will say nothing of this
orb as I did not have the choice opportunity of visiting it aright. I
saw its beauty only through a glass darkly.
I then fixed my mind on Polaris, commonly called the North Star. In
journeying thither from Centaurus I passed thousands of Solar Systems
scattered in space all around me. As I was thus darting through
immensity I glanced toward our own Solar System and could see nothing
but a flickering star which was our Sun. Not the faintest sign could I
see of our world or of Jupiter.
A strange feeling passed over me when I began to realize how far I was
from home. I sped onward until I reached the North Star. It is a burning
sun, but not inhabited.
Polaris is the center of a magnificent system. If a certain few of its
worlds could be seen through a telescope, they would be picturesque in
the extreme, somewhat resembling our beautiful Saturn. Moons play like
frisky lambs around some of its worlds, and many comets dance through
the length of the whole system in richer confusion than we have ever
beheld in the range of our telescopic vision.
Counting the worlds of larger size only, there are nearly one hundred
that fly through their orbits around Polaris, some with amazing
velocity. Within the bounds of this solar system I spent considerable
time.
The third world I visited I will call Stazza. It is two hundred millions
of miles from Polaris and is four hundred and fifty times as large as
our world.
I was amazed at the new turn of life-manifestation that I found there.
To me it was unusually interesting because its temperature is quite
similar to ours; but the order of life is reversed so completely that
the human beings inhabit the water, and the long narrow strips of earth
are infested with numerous species of land animals. It may seem
incredible that the depths of the ocean should be the seat of
intelligence rivaling our own.
The human creatures of Stazza average a trifle larger in size than we,
but they travel horizontally in water like a large fish. The limbs
support the body in rest, and in traveling are used like the hind legs
of a frog, only more gracefully. The arms closely resemble ours and have
an infinite variety of uses. In addition, there are four fin-like arms
that fold into the body when at rest, but are spread for service when
traveling. In all it must be admitted that these Stazza people are
capable of traveling more rapidly, and covering longer distances with
much less fatigue than are we. They can also carry greater burdens with
more ease. They wear no garments except one or two small pieces made of
a tough species of sea grass.
Five-sixths of Stazza are covered with water and its depth at a few
points is very great. Throughout all the water regions there are many
kinds of animal life, more than can be found in our oceans. Thousands of
human lives have been lost in conflict with the fiercer kinds of these
water animals, with which the people of Stazza entered upon a war of
extermination over one thousand years ago, and while intelligence is
slowly winning the battle, yet the warfare is likely to continue many
centuries to come, owing to the fact that these hostile fish occupy the
soundless depths even as deep as four or five hundred miles according to
our measurement. Horned fish rising from these depths are a horrible
menace to excursion parties or caravans, as well as to settlers on what
we would call the frontier.
The homes of Stazza are made of metallic substances. There are a few
minerals very plentiful, resembling brass, and it is a common sight to
see polished buildings fantastic in their arrangement, shining through
the pellucid water like gold.
The cities are built on gentle inclines in the deeper waters and
present a picturesque scene. They look more like a cluster of giant
fairy abodes than like New York or London. Nothing in all the world of
Stazza resembles a product of our manufacture more than the fine
screening that protects every human dwelling from an invasion of small
water animals. It reminded me of the mosquito netting as a safe-guard
against flies and other insects in our world. But the mosquito baffles
our genius, for he seems to be able to get through as small an opening
as air can. Likewise, the pestiferous water animals seem to invade the
homes of Stazza, notwithstanding all efforts at prevention.
The cities have no continuous streets or lanes. The principal travel is
in the water over the city. The main entrance to the home is on the
housetop. In the center of large buildings there is a shaft running up
and down, through which the people go with greater ease than we can
climb or descend our stairways. It must not be forgotten that water to
them is the same as air to us, and in their domestic life the people
are annoyed by cloudy and muddy currents of water just as we are by
clouds of dust in the air, on the streets, or in our homes.
The wear and tear caused by the chemical action of water on houses and
furniture is not as great as the injury in our world caused by the
chemical action of air, heat and moisture.
The educational systems of Stazza are quite as perfect for that world as
our own systems are for ours. They have an alphabet, covering their
needs in language, consisting of a series of strokes, curves and angles,
somewhat resembling our shorthand systems. This language is identical in
print or script, and is superior to our method of expresssing thought by
handwriting.
The experts of Stazza have learned the art of slicing metallic blocks
into sheets of any desired thickness. These sheets serve the same
purpose for them as paper does for us, and are furnished at an
insignificant cost of labor. We have the very elements in our Earth to
produce these metallic blocks if we knew the combination, which might be
easily found if we had as much need for them as the people of this
water world.
The metallic blocks are used for a great variety of purposes. There are
some high class artists who have immortalized themselves by their
master-pieces, one of which I saw on a five-cornered metallic sheet
measuring about eight feet in diameter.
Perhaps the most surprising feature of the educational advancement of
these water spirits is their knowledge of astronomy. To them, under the
water, the stars have always looked beautiful, and from an early date in
their history a study of them has engaged the attention of their
scholars. No one could tell the style of their telescopes if he should
go to guessing for a week. Let me give you a brief description of one.
They build a metallic pipe about ten feet in diameter and from a point
some two hundred feet below the surface of the water. The pipe is built
until it extends a few feet above water. Inside of this pipe is a series
of transparent ovals of various sizes. These ovals are so arranged that
the upper one throws its light to the lower one, down through the
immense cylinder. Around each oval is built a series of fin protectors,
which is the only part about the telescope I could not fully understand.
They seemed to counteract the refraction of the water, and yet the water
must be in the pipe to obtain proper results.
Imagine an astronomer at the base of this huge metallic structure,
having at his finger's ends a dozen wire strings intricately connected
with the oval system, and by the proper use of which he can increase or
decrease the magnifying power of the ponderous telescope. The highest
magnifying power of a telescope of this size is so great that the Milky
Way is penetrated and its solar systems revealed. What an accomplishment
it would be if a telescope of this magnitude could be mounted, a thing
that these creatures never attempted to do. But they have built
telescopes of various inclinations, all stationary. You can form an idea
of the patience and endurance of these people when you learn that it
required over fifty years of our time for them to perfect one of these
large instruments.
Give human brains to any animal under water or over water, and it will
grasp for larger views of its Creator and of the things He made. These
people are thoroughly convinced that intelligent life can be found in
any world where there is enough water to sustain it.
In the waters of Stazza there are many under-currents similar to our
Gulf Stream. These are used by the inhabitants for transportation. They
construct little hammock cars so that when they are filled with human
freight they float in the water. A simple device which we might call a
fin propeller is used to force the car in one direction or another as
necessity may require. It is possible to enter one of these
under-streams and thus travel over two thousand miles; then, by rowing
only five miles, enter the return current and move homeward. A car of
special design is furnished by each community in which each bridal pair
spends the Wedlock Ride, or the Honey-Moon, as we would call it.
[Illustration: Fishing for Land Animals on a Planet of the Pole Star.]
There is nothing more interesting about this race of beings than the
manner in which they pluck land fruit and catch land animals, and yet
when you compare this with our world, it is the same to them as fishing
is to us.
In all my inter-stellar journeys perhaps there was nothing so amusing to
me as to see a company of these water creatures fishing for land
animals. They would creep up near shore and throw out their wire lines
with various kinds of bait, according to what they wished to catch. Then
followed the inevitable waiting until some innocent Jullep or Petzel
would grasp the tempting morsel on the hook. A skillful jerk fastened
the victim, and instead of pulling him in the water, the fisherman held
his breath and rushed out of the water to get his prize. This has been
found to be a safer method than trying to pull the prize into the water.
These water dwellers relish certain land animals more than we do fish.
Of course the land strips are not inhabited by human beings, but
vegetation is abundant, similar to that found in our tropical regions.
Many kinds of fruit, growing on the land, are sought after by the
masters of the water. In the season when certain fruits are ripe whole
expeditions go out to gather them. But how can they live away from the
great body of water while plucking these fruits? Let me tell you how
they manage it. They have what we would call water-wagons, very wide and
short, and equipped with buckets. At the rear of one of these strangely
shaped carriages stand four or six men abreast immersing their heads in
the water of the wagon for a fresh breath as often as necessity
requires. Thus they are enabled to travel over land to any desired
locality, always being careful to keep near enough the water to cover
any emergency.
When they arrive at the fruit each man takes his bucket of water and
proceeds to work. He plucks fruit or berries for about thirty seconds
and then ducks his head into his bucket of water for a fresh breath.
Then he proceeds as before. When the water is no longer fit for
breathing, he carries his fruit and water bucket to the wagon. Here he
unloads his fruit and refills his bucket from the wagon, proceeding as
before. At intervals the wagon must be refilled with water. During a day
a few men can gather a large quantity of fruit in this manner, and it
can be preserved for over four seasons.
On Stazza there has been developed a fine variety of water flowers, and
no gardens are more beautiful than those that can be seen there. The
higher classes of these people live a very refined life and have their
homes surrounded with an endless variety of water grasses and flowers.
You would scarcely believe your eyes if you could direct your gaze to a
few of these homes.
In their religious life these Stazzans are eminently devoted. They have
no bunch of creeds from which to take their choice, but follow the
teachings of "The Great Interpreter," a man who once lived and reigned
amongst them and who wrote his laws in what we would call, by
interpretation, "The Book of Gold." The leaves of this book are made
from an element costly and rare, more precious to them than gold is to
us. From this book all their sacred books are copied. The civil powers
also accept this book as their authority, and enforce its teachings.
Sin there, as here, is the withering blast of the planet, the destroyer
of the harvest fields of purity and truth. An invisible spirit of evil
holds his force in disciplined command, and the man who wishes to have a
pure heart on Stazza must reach it through conflicts long and sharp. The
path to moral and spiritual purity is quite the same throughout the
whole universe.