Free translation of the Official Report of the Imperial Commission of
the Berlin Academy of Science to the Imperial Commissioners of the
German Federated States:
The unprecedented cosmic phenomena which occurred on the 22d and
27th days of the month of July, and which were felt over the entire
surface of the globe, have left a permanent effect of such
magnitude on the position of the earth's axis in space and the
duration of the period of the rotation, that it is impossible to
predict at the present time the ultimate changes or modifications
in the climatic conditions which may follow. This commission has
considered most carefully the possible causes that may have been
responsible for this catastrophe--(_Weltunfall_)--and by
eliminating every hypothesis that was incapable of explaining all
of the various disturbances, is now in a position to present two
theories, either one of which appears to be capable of explaining
the recent disturbances.
The phenomena in question may be briefly summarized as follows;
1. THE YELLOW AURORA. In Northern Europe this appeared suddenly on
the night of July 22d as a broad, faint sheaf--(_Lichtbündel_)--of
clear yellow light in the western sky. Reports from America show
that at Washington it appeared in the north as a narrow shaft of
light, inclined at an angle of about thirty degrees with the
horizon, and shooting off to the east. Near the horizon it was
extremely brilliant, and the spectroscope showed that the light was
due to glowing helium gas.
The Potsdam Observatory reported that the presence of sodium has
been detected in the aurora; but this appears to have been a mistake
due to the faintness of the light and the circumstance that no
comparison spectrum was impressed on the plate. On the photograph
made at the Washington Observatory the helium line is certain, as a
second exposure was made with a sodium flame; and the two lines are
shown distinctly separated.
2. THE NEGATIVE ACCELERATION. This phenomenon was observed
to a greater or less extent all over the globe. It was especially
marked near the equator; but in Northern Europe it was noted by only
a few observers, though many clocks were stopped and other
instruments deranged. There appears to be no doubt that a force of
terrific magnitude was applied in a tangential direction to the
surface of the earth, in such a direction as to oppose its axial
rotation, with the effect that the surface velocity was diminished
by about one part in three hundred, resulting in a lengthening of
the day by five minutes, thirteen and a half seconds.
The application of this brake--(_Bremsekraft_), as we may term
it--caused acceleration phenomena to manifest themselves precisely
as on a railroad train when being brought to a stop. The change in
the surface speed of the earth at the equator has amounted to about
6.4 kilometres an hour; and various observations show that this
change of velocity was brought about by the operation of the unknown
force for a period of time of less than three minutes. The negative
acceleration thus represented would certainly be too small to
produce any marked physiological sensations, and yet the reports
from various places indicate that they were certainly observed. The
sensations felt are usually described as similar to those
experienced in a moving automobile when the brake is very gently
applied.
Moreover, certain destructive actions are reported from localities
near the equator--chimneys fell and tall buildings swayed; while
from New York comes the report that the obelisk in Central Park was
thrown from its pedestal. It appears that these effects were due to
the circumstance that the alteration of velocity was propagated
through the earth as a wave similar to an earthquake wave, and that
the effects were cumulative at certain points--a theory that is
substantiated by reports that at certain localities, even near the
equator, no effects were noted.
3. TIDAL WAVES. These were observed everywhere and were
very destructive in many places. In the Panama Canal, which is near
the equator and which runs nearly east and west, the sweep of the
water was so great that it flowed over the Gatun Lock. On the
eastern coasts of the various continents there was a recession of
the sea, the fall of the tide being from three to five metres below
the low-water mark. On the western coasts there was a corresponding
rise, which in some cases reached a level of over twelve metres.
That the tidal phenomena were not more marked and more destructive
is a matter of great surprise, and has been considered as evidence
that the retarding force was not applied at a single spot on the
earth's surface, but was a distributed force, which acted on the
water as well as on the land, though to a less extent. It is
difficult, however, to conceive of a force capable of acting in such
a way; and Björnson's theory of the magnetic vortex in the ether has
been rejected by this commission.
4. ATMOSPHERIC DISTURBANCES. Some time after the appearance
of the yellow aurora a sudden rise in atmospheric pressure, followed
by a gradual fall considerably below the normal pressure, was
recorded over the entire surface of the globe. Calculations based on
the time of arrival of this disturbance at widely separated points
show that it proceeded with the velocity of sound from a point
situated probably in Northern Labrador. The maximum rise of pressure
recorded was registered at Halifax, the self-recording barographs
showing that the pressure rose over six centimetres in less than
five minutes.
5. SHIFT IN DIRECTION OF THE EARTH'S AXIS. The axis of the
earth has been shifted in space by the disturbance and now points
almost exactly toward the double star Delta Ursæ Minoris. This
change appears to have resulted from the circumstance that the force
was applied to the surface of the globe in a direction not quite
parallel to the direction of rotation, the result being the
development of a new axis and a shift in the positions of the poles,
which it will now be necessary to rediscover.
It appears that these most remarkable cosmic phenomena can be
explained in either of two ways: they may have resulted from an
explosive or volcanic discharge from the surface of the earth, or
from the oblique impact of a meteoric stream moving at a very high
velocity. It seems unlikely that sufficient energy to bring about
the observed changes could have been developed by a volcanic
disturbance of the ordinary type; but if radioactive forces are
allowed to come into play the amount of energy available is
practically unlimited.
It is difficult, however, to conceive of any way in which a sudden
liberation of atomic energy could have been brought about by any
terrestrial agency; so that the first theory, though able to account
for the facts, seems to be the less tenable of the two. The meteoric
theory offers no especial difficulty. The energy delivered by a
comparatively small mass of finely divided matter, moving at a
velocity of several hundred kilometres a second--and such a velocity
is by no means unknown--would be amply sufficient to alter the
velocity of rotation by the small amount observed.
Moreover, the impact of such a meteoric stream may have
developed a temperature sufficiently high to bring about
radioactive changes, the effect of which would be to expel
helium and other disintegration products at cathode-ray
velocity--(_Kathoden-Strahlen-Fortpflanzung-Geschwindigkeit_)--from
the surface of the earth; and the recoil exerted by this expulsion
would add itself to the force of the meteoric impact.
The presence of helium makes this latter hypothesis not altogether
improbable, while the atmospheric wave of pressure would result at
once from the disruption of the air by the passage of the meteor
stream through it. Exploration of the region in which it seems
probable that the disturbance took place will undoubtedly furnish
the data necessary for the complete solution of the problem."
[Pp. 17-19.]
V
At ten o'clock one evening, shortly after the occurrences heretofore
described, an extraordinary conference occurred at the White House,
probably the most remarkable ever held there or elsewhere. At the long
table at which the cabinet meetings took place sat six gentlemen in
evening dress, each trying to appear unconcerned, if not amused. At the
head of the table was the President of the United States; next to him
Count von Koenitz, the German Ambassador, representing the Imperial[1]
German Commissioners, who had taken over the reins of the German
Government after the abdication of the Kaiser; and, on the opposite
side, Monsieur Emil Liban, Prince Rostoloff, and Sir John Smith, the
respective ambassadors of France, Russia, and Great Britain. The sixth
person was Thornton, the astronomer.
[Footnote 1: The Germans were unwilling to surrender the use of the
words "Empire" and "Imperial," even after they had adopted a republican
form of government.]
The President had only succeeded in bringing this conference about after
the greatest effort and the most skilful diplomacy--in view of the
extreme importance which, he assured them all, he attached to the
matters which he desired to lay before them. Only for this reason had
the ambassadors of warring nations consented to meet--unofficially as it
were.
"With great respect, your Excellency," said Count von Koenitz, "the
matter is preposterous--as much so as a fairy tale by Grimm! This
wireless operator of whom you speak is lying about these messages. If he
received them at all--a fact which hangs solely upon his word--he
received them _after_ and not _before_ the phenomena recorded."
The President shook his head. "That might hold true of the first
message--the one received July 19th," said he, "but the second message,
foretelling the lengthening of July 27th, _was delivered on that day,
and was in my hands before the disturbances occurred_."
Von Koenitz fingered his moustache and shrugged his shoulders. It was
clear that he regarded the whole affair as absurd, undignified.
Monsieur Liban turned impatiently from him.
"Your Excellency," he said, addressing the President, "I cannot share
the views of Count von Koenitz. I regard this affair as of the most
stupendous importance. Messages or no messages, extraordinary natural
phenomena are occurring which may shortly end in the extinction of human
life upon the planet. A power which can control the length of the day
can annihilate the globe."
"You cannot change the facts," remarked Prince Rostoloff sternly to the
German Ambassador. "The earth has changed its orbit. Professor
Vaskofsky, of the Imperial College, has so declared. There is some
cause. Be it God or devil, there is a cause. Are we to sit still and do
nothing while the globe's crust freezes and our armies congeal into
corpses?" He trembled with agitation.
"Calm yourself, _mon cher Prince_!" said Monsieur Liban. "So far we have
gained fifteen minutes and have lost nothing! But, as you say, whether
or not the sender of these messages is responsible, there is a cause,
and we must find it."
"But how? That is the question," exclaimed the President almost
apologetically, for he felt, as did Count von Koenitz, that somehow an
explanation would shortly be forthcoming that would make this conference
seem the height of the ridiculous. "I have already," he added hastily,
"instructed the entire force of the National Academy of Sciences to
direct its energies toward the solution of these phenomena. Undoubtedly
Great Britain, Russia, Germany, and France are doing the same. The
scientists report that the yellow aurora seen in the north, the
earthquakes, the variation of the compass, and the eccentricities of the
barometer are probably all connected more or less directly with the
change in the earth's orbit. But they offer no explanation. They do not
suggest what the aurora is nor why its appearance should have this
effect. It, therefore, seems to me clearly my duty to lay before you all
the facts as far as they are known to me. Among these facts are the
mysterious messages received by wireless at the Naval Observatory
immediately preceding these events."
"_Post hoc, ergo propter hoc!_" half sneered Von Koenitz.
The President smiled wearily.
"What do you wish me to do?" he asked, glancing round the table. "Shall
we remain inactive? Shall we wait and see what may happen?"
"No! No!" shouted Rostoloff, jumping to his feet. "Another week and we
may all be plunged into eternity. It is suicidal not to regard this
matter seriously. We are sick from war. And perhaps Count von Koenitz,
in view of the fall of Berlin, would welcome something of the sort as an
honourable way out of his country's difficulties."
"Sir!" cried the count, leaping to his feet. "Have a care! It has cost
Russia four million men to reach Berlin. When we have taken Paris we
shall recapture Berlin and commence the march of our victorious eagles
toward Moscow and the Winter Palace."
"Gentlemen! Gentlemen! Be seated, I implore you!" exclaimed the
President.
The Russian and German ambassadors somewhat ungraciously resumed their
former places, casting at each other glances of undisguised contempt.
"As I see the matter," continued the President, "there are two distinct
propositions before you: The first relates to how far the extraordinary
events of the past week are of such a character as to demand joint
investigation and action by the Powers. The second involves the cause of
these events and their connection with and relation to the sender of the
messages signed Pax. I shall ask you to signify your opinion as to each
of these questions."
"I believe that some action should be taken, based on the assumption
that they are manifestations of one and the same power or cause," said
Monsieur Liban emphatically.
"I agree with the French Ambassador," growled Rostoloff.
"I am of opinion that the phenomena should be the subject of proper
scientific investigation," remarked Count von Koenitz more calmly. "But
as far as these messages are concerned they are, if I may be pardoned
for saying so, a foolish joke. It is undignified to take any cognizance
of them."
"What do you think, Sir John?" asked the President, turning to the
English Ambassador.
"Before making up my mind," returned the latter quietly, "I should like
to see the operator who received them."
"By all means!" exclaimed Von Koenitz.
The President pressed a button and his secretary entered.
"I had anticipated such a desire on the part of all of you," he
announced, "and arranged to have him here. He is waiting outside. Shall
I have him brought in?"
"Yes! Yes!" answered Rostoloff. And the others nodded.
The door opened, and Bill Hood, wearing his best new blue suit and
nervously twisting a faded bicycle cap between his fingers, stumbled
awkwardly into the room. His face was bright red with embarrassment and
one of his cheeks exhibited a marked protuberance. He blinked in the
glare of the electric light.
"Mr. Hood," the President addressed him courteously, "I have sent for
you to explain to these gentlemen, who are the ambassadors of the great
European Powers, the circumstances under which you received the wireless
messages from the unknown person describing himself as 'Pax.'"
Hood shifted from his right to his left foot and pressed his lips
together. Von Koenitz fingered the waxed ends of his moustache and
regarded the operator whimsically.
"In the first place," went on the President, "we desire to know whether
the messages which you have reported were received under ordinary or
under unusual conditions. In a word, could you form any opinion as to
the whereabouts of the sender?"
Hood scratched the side of his nose in a manner politely doubtful.
"Sure thing, your Honour," he answered at last. "Sure the conditions was
unusual. That feller has some juice and no mistake."
"Juice?" inquired Von Koenitz.
"Yare--current. Whines like a steel top. Fifty kilowatts sure, and maybe
more! And a twelve-thousand-metre wave."
"I do not fully understand," interjected Rostoloff. "Please explain,
sir."
"Ain't nothin' to explain," returned Hood. "He's just got a hell of a
wave length, that's all. Biggest on earth. We're only tuned for a
three-thousand-metre wave. At first I could hardly take him at all. I
had to throw in our new Henderson ballast coils before I could hear
properly. I reckon there ain't another station in Christendom can get
him."
"Ah," remarked Von Koenitz. "One of your millionaire amateurs, I
suppose."
"Yare," agreed Hood. "I thought sure he was a nut."
"A what?" interrupted Sir John Smith.
"A nut," answered Hood. "A crank, so to speak."
"Ah, 'krank'!" nodded the German. "Exactly--a lunatic! That is precisely
what I say!"
"But I don't think it's no nut now," countered Hood valiantly. "If he is
a bug he's the biggest bug in all creation, that's all I can say. He's
got the goods, that's what he's got. He'll do some damage before he gets
through."
"Are these messages addressed to anybody in particular?" inquired Sir
John, who was studying Hood intently.
"Well, they are and they ain't. Pax--that's what he calls
himself--signals NAA, our number, you understand, and then says what he
has to say to the whole world, care of the United States. The first
message I thought was a joke and stuck it in a book I was reading,
'_Silas Snooks_'----"
"What?" ejaculated Von Koenitz impatiently.
"Snooks--man's name--feller in the book--nothing to do with this
business," explained the operator. "I forgot all about it. But after the
earthquake and all the rest of the fuss I dug it out and gave it to Mr.
Thornton. Then on the 27th came the next one, saying that Pax was
getting tired of waiting for us and was going to start something. That
came at one o'clock in the afternoon, and the fun began at three sharp.
The whole observatory went on the blink. Say, there ain't any doubt in
your minds that it's _him_, is there?"
Von Koenitz looked cynically round the room.
"There is not!" exclaimed Rostoloff and Liban in the same breath.
The German laughed.
"Speak for yourselves, Excellencies," he sneered. His tone nettled the
wireless representative of the sovereign American people.
"Do you think I'm a liar?" he demanded, clenching his jaw and glaring at
Von Koenitz.
The German Ambassador shrugged his shoulders again. Such things were
impossible in a civilized country--at Potsdam--but what could you
expect----
"Steady, Hood!" whispered Thornton.
"Remember, Mr. Hood, that you are here to answer our questions," said
the President sternly. "You must not address his Excellency, Baron von
Koenitz, in this fashion."
"But the man was making a monkey of me!" muttered Hood. "All I say is,
look out. This Pax is on his job and means business. I just got another
call before I came over here--at nine o'clock."
"What was its purport?" inquired the President.
"Why, it said Pax was getting tired of nothing being done and wanted
action of some sort. Said that men were dying like flies, and he
proposed to put an end to it at any cost. And--and----"
"Yes! Yes!" ejaculated Liban breathlessly.
"And he would give further evidence of his control over the forces of
nature to-night."
"Ha! Ha!" Von Koenitz leaned back in amusement. "My friend," he
chuckled, "you--are--the 'nut'!"
What form Hood's resentment might have taken is problematical; but as
the German's words left his mouth the electric lights suddenly went out
and the windows rattled ominously. At the same moment each occupant of
the room felt himself sway slightly toward the east wall, on which
appeared a bright yellow glow. Instinctively they all turned to the
window which faced the north. The whole sky was flooded with an
orange-yellow aurora that rivalled the sunlight in intensity.
"What'd I tell you?" mumbled Hood.
The Executive Mansion quivered, and even in that yellow light the faces
of the ambassadors seemed pale with fear. And then as the glow slowly
faded in the north there floated down across the aperture of the window
something soft and fluffy like feathers. Thicker and faster it came
until the lawn of the White House was covered with it. The air in the
room turned cold. Through the window a large flake circled and lit on
the back of Rostoloff's head.
"Snow!" he cried. "A snowstorm--in August!"
The President arose and closed the window. Almost immediately the
electric lights burned up again.
"Now are you satisfied?" cried Liban to the German.
"Satisfied?" growled Von Koenitz. "I have seen plenty of snowstorms in
August. They have them daily in the Alps. You ask me if I am satisfied.
Of what? That earthquakes, the aurora borealis, electrical disturbances,
snowstorms exist--yes. That a mysterious bugaboo is responsible for
these things--no!"
"What, then, do you require?" gasped Liban.
"More than a snowstorm!" retorted the German. "When I was a boy at the
gymnasium we had a thunderstorm with fishes in it. They were everywhere
one stepped, all over the ground. But we did not conclude that Jonah was
giving us a demonstration of his power over the whale."
He faced the others defiantly; in his voice was mockery.
"You may retire, Mr. Hood," said the President. "But you will kindly
wait outside."
"That is an honest man if ever I saw one, Mr. President," announced Sir
John, after the operator had gone out. "I am satisfied that we are in
communication with a human being of practically supernatural powers."
"What, then, shall be done?" inquired Rostoloff anxiously. "The world
will be annihilated!"
"Your Excellencies"--Von Koenitz arose and took up a graceful position
at the end of the table--"I must protest against what seems to me to be
an extraordinary credulity upon the part of all of you. I speak to you
as a rational human being, not as an ambassador. Something has occurred
to affect the earth's orbit. It may result in a calamity. None can
foretell. This planet may be drawn off into space by the attraction of
some wandering world that has not yet come within observation. But one
thing we know: No power on or of the earth can possibly derange its
relation to the other celestial bodies. That would be, as you say here,
'lifting one's self by one's own boot-straps.' I do not doubt the
accuracy of your clocks and scientific instruments. Those of my own
country are in harmony with yours. But to say that the cause of all this
is a _man_ is preposterous. If the mysterious Pax makes the heavens
fall, they will tumble on his own head. Is he going to send himself to
eternity along with the rest of us? Hardly! This Hood is a monstrous
liar or a dangerous lunatic. Even if he has received these messages,
they are the emanations of a crank, as, he says, he himself first
suspected. Let us master this hysteria born of the strain of constant
war. In a word, let us go to bed."
"Count von Koenitz," replied Sir John after a pause, "you speak
forcefully, even persuasively. But your argument is based upon a
proposition that is scientifically fallacious. An atom of gunpowder can
disintegrate itself, 'lift itself by its own boot-straps!' Why not the
earth? Have we as yet begun to solve all the mysteries of nature? Is it
inconceivable that there should be an undiscovered explosive capable of
disrupting the globe? We have earthquakes. Is it beyond imagination that
the forces which produce them can be controlled?"
"My dear Sir John," returned Von Koenitz courteously, "my ultimate
answer is that we have no adequate reason to connect the phenomena which
have disturbed the earth's rotation with any human agency."
"That," interposed the President, "is something upon which individuals
may well differ. I suppose that under other conditions you would be open
to conviction?"
"Assuredly," answered Von Koenitz. "Should the sender of these messages
prophesy the performance of some miracle that could not be explained by
natural causes, I would be forced to admit my error."
Monsieur Liban had also arisen and was walking nervously up and down the
room. Suddenly he turned to Von Koenitz and in a voice shaking with
emotion cried: "Let us then invite Pax to give us a sign that will
satisfy you."
"Monsieur Liban," replied Von Koenitz stiffly, "I refuse to place myself
in the position of communicating with a lunatic."
"Very well," shouted the Frenchman, "I will take the responsibility of
making myself ridiculous. I will request the President of the United
States to act as the agent of France for this purpose."
He drew a notebook and a fountain pen from his pocket and carefully
wrote out a message which he handed to the President. The latter read it
aloud:
"_Pax_: The Ambassador of the French Republic requests me to
communicate to you the fact that he desires some further evidence
of your power to control the movements of the earth and the
destinies of mankind, such phenomena to be preferably of a harmless
character, but inexplicable by any theory of natural causation. I
await your reply.
"THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES."
"Send for Hood," ordered the President to the secretary who answered the
bell. "Gentlemen, I suggest that we ourselves go to Georgetown and
superintend the sending of this message."
Half an hour later Bill Hood sat in his customary chair in the wireless
operating room surrounded by the President of the United States, the
ambassadors of France, Germany, Great Britain, and Russia, and Professor
Thornton. The faces of all wore expressions of the utmost seriousness,
except that of Von Koenitz, who looked as if he were participating in an
elaborate hoax. Several of these distinguished gentlemen had never seen
a wireless apparatus before, and showed some excitement as Hood made
ready to send the most famous message ever transmitted through the
ether. At last he threw over his rheostat and the hum of the rotary
spark rose into its staccato song. Hood sent out a few V's and then
began calling:
"PAX--PAX--PAX."
Breathlessly the group waited while he listened for a reply. Again he
called:
"PAX--PAX--PAX."
He had already thrown in his Henderson ballast coils and was ready for
the now familiar wave. He closed his eyes, waiting for that sharp
metallic cry that came no one knew whence. The others in the group also
listened intently, as if by so doing they, too, might hear the answer if
any there should be. Suddenly Hood stiffened.
"There he is!" he whispered. The President handed him the message, and
Hood's fingers played over the key while the spark sent its singing note
through the ether.
"Such phenomena to be preferably of a harmless character, but
inexplicable by any theory of natural causation," he concluded.
An uncanny dread seized on Thornton, who had withdrawn himself into the
background. What was this strange communion? Who was this mysterious
Pax? Were these real men or creatures of a grotesque dream? Was he not
drowsing over his eyepiece in the meridian-circle room? Then a
simultaneous movement upon the part of those gathered round the operator
convinced him of the reality of what was taking place. Hood was
laboriously writing upon a sheet of yellow pad paper, and the
ambassadors were unceremoniously crowding each other in their eagerness
to read.
"To the President of the United States," wrote Hood: "In reply to your
message requesting further evidence of my power to compel the cessation
of hostilities within twenty-four hours, I"--there was a pause for
nearly a minute, during which the ticking of the big clock sounded to
Thornton like revolver shots--"I will excavate a channel through the
Atlas Mountains and divert the Mediterranean into the Sahara Desert.
PAX."
Silence followed the final transcription of the message from the
unknown--a silence broken only by Bill Hood's tremulous, half-whispered:
"He'll do it all right!"
Then the German Ambassador laughed.
"And thus save your ingenious nation a vast amount of trouble, Monsieur
Liban," said he.