Phutra Again
: At The Earth's CoreI HASTENED TO THE CLIFF EDGE ABOVE JA AND helped him to a secure
footing. He would not listen to any thanks for his attempt to save me,
which had come so near miscarrying.
"I had given you up for lost when you tumbled into the Mahar temple,"
he said, "for not even I could save you from their clutches, and you
may imagine my surprise when on seeing a canoe dragged up upon the
beach of the mainland I disco
beside it.
"I immediately set out in search of you, knowing as I did that you must
be entirely unarmed and defenseless against the many dangers which lurk
upon the mainland both in the form of savage beasts and reptiles, and
men as well. I had no difficulty in tracking you to this point. It is
well that I arrived when I did."
"But why did you do it?" I asked, puzzled at this show of friendship on
the part of a man of another world and a different race and color.
"You saved my life," he replied; "from that moment it became my duty to
protect and befriend you. I would have been no true Mezop had I evaded
my plain duty; but it was a pleasure in this instance for I like you.
I wish that you would come and live with me. You shall become a member
of my tribe. Among us there is the best of hunting and fishing, and
you shall have, to choose a mate from, the most beautiful girls of
Pellucidar. Will you come?"
I told him about Perry then, and Dian the Beautiful, and how my duty
was to them first. Afterward I should return and visit him--if I could
ever find his island.
"Oh, that is easy, my friend," he said. "You need merely to come to
the foot of the highest peak of the Mountains of the Clouds. There you
will find a river which flows into the Lural Az. Directly opposite the
mouth of the river you will see three large islands far out, so far
that they are barely discernible, the one to the extreme left as you
face them from the mouth of the river is Anoroc, where I rule the tribe
of Anoroc."
"But how am I to find the Mountains of the Clouds?" I asked. "Men say
that they are visible from half Pellucidar," he replied.
"How large is Pellucidar?" I asked, wondering what sort of theory these
primitive men had concerning the form and substance of their world.
"The Mahars say it is round, like the inside of a tola shell," he
answered, "but that is ridiculous, since, were it true, we should fall
back were we to travel far in any direction, and all the waters of
Pellucidar would run to one spot and drown us. No, Pellucidar is quite
flat and extends no man knows how far in all directions. At the edges,
so my ancestors have reported and handed down to me, is a great wall
that prevents the earth and waters from escaping over into the burning
sea whereon Pellucidar floats; but I never have been so far from Anoroc
as to have seen this wall with my own eyes. However, it is quite
reasonable to believe that this is true, whereas there is no reason at
all in the foolish belief of the Mahars. According to them
Pellucidarians who live upon the opposite side walk always with their
heads pointed downward!" and Ja laughed uproariously at the very
thought.
It was plain to see that the human folk of this inner world had not
advanced far in learning, and the thought that the ugly Mahars had so
outstripped them was a very pathetic one indeed. I wondered how many
ages it would take to lift these people out of their ignorance even
were it given to Perry and me to attempt it. Possibly we would be
killed for our pains as were those men of the outer world who dared
challenge the dense ignorance and superstitions of the earth's younger
days. But it was worth the effort if the opportunity ever presented
itself.
And then it occurred to me that here was an opportunity--that I might
make a small beginning upon Ja, who was my friend, and thus note the
effect of my teaching upon a Pellucidarian.
"Ja," I said, "what would you say were I to tell you that in so far as
the Mahars' theory of the shape of Pellucidar is concerned it is
correct?"
"I would say," he replied, "that either you are a fool, or took me for
one."
"But, Ja," I insisted, "if their theory is incorrect how do you account
for the fact that I was able to pass through the earth from the outer
crust to Pellucidar. If your theory is correct all is a sea of flame
beneath us, where in no peoples could exist, and yet I come from a
great world that is covered with human beings, and beasts, and birds,
and fishes in mighty oceans."
"You live upon the under side of Pellucidar, and walk always with your
head pointed downward?" he scoffed. "And were I to believe that, my
friend, I should indeed be mad."
I attempted to explain the force of gravity to him, and by the means of
the dropped fruit to illustrate how impossible it would be for a body
to fall off the earth under any circumstances. He listened so intently
that I thought I had made an impression, and started the train of
thought that would lead him to a partial understanding of the truth.
But I was mistaken.
"Your own illustration," he said finally, "proves the falsity of your
theory." He dropped a fruit from his hand to the ground. "See," he
said, "without support even this tiny fruit falls until it strikes
something that stops it. If Pellucidar were not supported upon the
flaming sea it too would fall as the fruit falls--you have proven it
yourself!" He had me, that time--you could see it in his eye.
It seemed a hopeless job and I gave it up, temporarily at least, for
when I contemplated the necessity explanation of our solar system and
the universe I realized how futile it would be to attempt to picture to
Ja or any other Pellucidarian the sun, the moon, the planets, and the
countless stars. Those born within the inner world could no more
conceive of such things than can we of the outer crust reduce to
factors appreciable to our finite minds such terms as space and
eternity.
"Well, Ja," I laughed, "whether we be walking with our feet up or down,
here we are, and the question of greatest importance is not so much
where we came from as where we are going now. For my part I wish that
you could guide me to Phutra where I may give myself up to the Mahars
once more that my friends and I may work out the plan of escape which
the Sagoths interrupted when they gathered us together and drove us to
the arena to witness the punishment of the slaves who killed the
guardsman. I wish now that I had not left the arena for by this time
my friends and I might have made good our escape, whereas this delay
may mean the wrecking of all our plans, which depended for their
consummation upon the continued sleep of the three Mahars who lay in
the pit beneath the building in which we were confined."
"You would return to captivity?" cried Ja.
"My friends are there," I replied, "the only friends I have in
Pellucidar, except yourself. What else may I do under the
circumstances?"
He thought for a moment in silence. Then he shook his head sorrowfully.
"It is what a brave man and a good friend should do," he said; "yet it
seems most foolish, for the Mahars will most certainly condemn you to
death for running away, and so you will be accomplishing nothing for
your friends by returning. Never in all my life have I heard of a
prisoner returning to the Mahars of his own free will. There are but
few who escape them, though some do, and these would rather die than be
recaptured."
"I see no other way, Ja," I said, "though I can assure you that I would
rather go to Sheol after Perry than to Phutra. However, Perry is much
too pious to make the probability at all great that I should ever be
called upon to rescue him from the former locality."
Ja asked me what Sheol was, and when I explained, as best I could, he
said, "You are speaking of Molop Az, the flaming sea upon which
Pellucidar floats. All the dead who are buried in the ground go there.
Piece by piece they are carried down to Molop Az by the little demons
who dwell there. We know this because when graves are opened we find
that the bodies have been partially or entirely borne off. That is why
we of Anoroc place our dead in high trees where the birds may find them
and bear them bit by bit to the Dead World above the Land of Awful
Shadow. If we kill an enemy we place his body in the ground that it
may go to Molop Az."
As we talked we had been walking up the canyon down which I had come to
the great ocean and the sithic. Ja did his best to dissuade me from
returning to Phutra, but when he saw that I was determined to do so, he
consented to guide me to a point from which I could see the plain where
lay the city. To my surprise the distance was but short from the beach
where I had again met Ja. It was evident that I had spent much time
following the windings of a tortuous canon, while just beyond the ridge
lay the city of Phutra near to which I must have come several times.
As we topped the ridge and saw the granite gate towers dotting the
flowered plain at our feet Ja made a final effort to persuade me to
abandon my mad purpose and return with him to Anoroc, but I was firm in
my resolve, and at last he bid me good-bye, assured in his own mind
that he was looking upon me for the last time.
I was sorry to part with Ja, for I had come to like him very much
indeed. With his hidden city upon the island of Anoroc as a base, and
his savage warriors as escort Perry and I could have accomplished much
in the line of exploration, and I hoped that were we successful in our
effort to escape we might return to Anoroc later.
There was, however, one great thing to be accomplished first--at least
it was the great thing to me--the finding of Dian the Beautiful. I
wanted to make amends for the affront I had put upon her in my
ignorance, and I wanted to--well, I wanted to see her again, and to be
with her.
Down the hillside I made my way into the gorgeous field of flowers, and
then across the rolling land toward the shadowless columns that guard
the ways to buried Phutra. At a quarter-mile from the nearest entrance
I was discovered by the Sagoth guard, and in an instant four of the
gorilla-men were dashing toward me.
Though they brandished their long spears and yelled like wild Comanches
I paid not the slightest attention to them, walking quietly toward them
as though unaware of their existence. My manner had the effect upon
them that I had hoped, and as we came quite near together they ceased
their savage shouting. It was evident that they had expected me to
turn and flee at sight of them, thus presenting that which they most
enjoyed, a moving human target at which to cast their spears.
"What do you here?" shouted one, and then as he recognized me, "Ho! It
is the slave who claims to be from another world--he who escaped when
the thag ran amuck within the amphitheater. But why do you return,
having once made good your escape?"
"I did not 'escape'," I replied. "I but ran away to avoid the thag, as
did others, and coming into a long passage I became confused and lost
my way in the foothills beyond Phutra. Only now have I found my way
back."
"And you come of your free will back to Phutra!" exclaimed one of the
guardsmen.
"Where else might I go?" I asked. "I am a stranger within Pellucidar
and know no other where than Phutra. Why should I not desire to be in
Phutra? Am I not well fed and well treated? Am I not happy? What
better lot could man desire?"
The Sagoths scratched their heads. This was a new one on them, and so
being stupid brutes they took me to their masters whom they felt would
be better fitted to solve the riddle of my return, for riddle they
still considered it.
I had spoken to the Sagoths as I had for the purpose of throwing them
off the scent of my purposed attempt at escape. If they thought that I
was so satisfied with my lot within Phutra that I would voluntarily
return when I had once had so excellent an opportunity to escape, they
would never for an instant imagine that I could be occupied in
arranging another escape immediately upon my return to the city.
So they led me before a slimy Mahar who clung to a slimy rock within
the large room that was the thing's office. With cold, reptilian eyes
the creature seemed to bore through the thin veneer of my deceit and
read my inmost thoughts. It heeded the story which the Sagoths told of
my return to Phutra, watching the gorilla-men's lips and fingers during
the recital. Then it questioned me through one of the Sagoths.
"You say that you returned to Phutra of your own free will, because you
think yourself better off here than elsewhere--do you not know that you
may be the next chosen to give up your life in the interests of the
wonderful scientific investigations that our learned ones are
continually occupied with?"
I hadn't heard of anything of that nature, but I thought best not to
admit it.
"I could be in no more danger here," I said, "than naked and unarmed in
the savage jungles or upon the lonely plains of Pellucidar. I was
fortunate, I think, to return to Phutra at all. As it was I barely
escaped death within the jaws of a huge sithic. No, I am sure that I
am safer in the hands of intelligent creatures such as rule Phutra. At
least such would be the case in my own world, where human beings like
myself rule supreme. There the higher races of man extend protection
and hospitality to the stranger within their gates, and being a
stranger here I naturally assumed that a like courtesy would be
accorded me."
The Mahar looked at me in silence for some time after I ceased speaking
and the Sagoth had translated my words to his master. The creature
seemed deep in thought. Presently he communicated some message to the
Sagoth. The latter turned, and motioning me to follow him, left the
presence of the reptile. Behind and on either side of me marched the
balance of the guard.
"What are they going to do with me?" I asked the fellow at my right.
"You are to appear before the learned ones who will question you
regarding this strange world from which you say you come."
After a moment's silence he turned to me again.
"Do you happen to know," he asked, "what the Mahars do to slaves who
lie to them?"
"No," I replied, "nor does it interest me, as I have no intention of
lying to the Mahars."
"Then be careful that you don't repeat the impossible tale you told
Sol-to-to just now--another world, indeed, where human beings rule!" he
concluded in fine scorn.
"But it is the truth," I insisted. "From where else then did I come?
I am not of Pellucidar. Anyone with half an eye could see that."
"It is your misfortune then," he remarked dryly, "that you may not be
judged by one with but half an eye."
"What will they do with me," I asked, "if they do not have a mind to
believe me?"
"You may be sentenced to the arena, or go to the pits to be used in
research work by the learned ones," he replied.
"And what will they do with me there?" I persisted.
"No one knows except the Mahars and those who go to the pits with them,
but as the latter never return, their knowledge does them but little
good. It is said that the learned ones cut up their subjects while
they are yet alive, thus learning many useful things. However I should
not imagine that it would prove very useful to him who was being cut
up; but of course this is all but conjecture. The chances are that ere
long you will know much more about it than I," and he grinned as he
spoke. The Sagoths have a well-developed sense of humor.
"And suppose it is the arena," I continued; "what then?"
"You saw the two who met the tarag and the thag the time that you
escaped?" he said.
"Yes."
"Your end in the arena would be similar to what was intended for them,"
he explained, "though of course the same kinds of animals might not be
employed."
"It is sure death in either event?" I asked.
"What becomes of those who go below with the learned ones I do not
know, nor does any other," he replied; "but those who go to the arena
may come out alive and thus regain their liberty, as did the two whom
you saw."
"They gained their liberty? And how?"
"It is the custom of the Mahars to liberate those who remain alive
within the arena after the beasts depart or are killed. Thus it has
happened that several mighty warriors from far distant lands, whom we
have captured on our slave raids, have battled the brutes turned in
upon them and slain them, thereby winning their freedom. In the
instance which you witnessed the beasts killed each other, but the
result was the same--the man and woman were liberated, furnished with
weapons, and started on their homeward journey. Upon the left shoulder
of each a mark was burned--the mark of the Mahars--which will forever
protect these two from slaving parties."
"There is a slender chance for me then if I be sent to the arena, and
none at all if the learned ones drag me to the pits?"
"You are quite right," he replied; "but do not felicitate yourself too
quickly should you be sent to the arena, for there is scarce one in a
thousand who comes out alive."
To my surprise they returned me to the same building in which I had
been confined with Perry and Ghak before my escape. At the doorway I
was turned over to the guards there.
"He will doubtless be called before the investigators shortly," said he
who had brought me back, "so have him in readiness."
The guards in whose hands I now found myself, upon hearing that I had
returned of my own volition to Phutra evidently felt that it would be
safe to give me liberty within the building as had been the custom
before I had escaped, and so I was told to return to whatever duty had
been mine formerly.
My first act was to hunt up Perry; whom I found poring as usual over
the great tomes that he was supposed to be merely dusting and
rearranging upon new shelves.
As I entered the room he glanced up and nodded pleasantly to me, only
to resume his work as though I had never been away at all. I was both
astonished and hurt at his indifference. And to think that I was
risking death to return to him purely from a sense of duty and
affection!
"Why, Perry!" I exclaimed, "haven't you a word for me after my long
absence?"
"Long absence!" he repeated in evident astonishment. "What do you
mean?"
"Are you crazy, Perry? Do you mean to say that you have not missed me
since that time we were separated by the charging thag within the
arena?"
"'That time'," he repeated. "Why man, I have but just returned from
the arena! You reached here almost as soon as I. Had you been much
later I should indeed have been worried, and as it is I had intended
asking you about how you escaped the beast as soon as I had completed
the translation of this most interesting passage."
"Perry, you ARE mad," I exclaimed. "Why, the Lord only knows how long
I have been away. I have been to other lands, discovered a new race of
humans within Pellucidar, seen the Mahars at their worship in their
hidden temple, and barely escaped with my life from them and from a
great labyrinthodon that I met afterward, following my long and tedious
wanderings across an unknown world. I must have been away for months,
Perry, and now you barely look up from your work when I return and
insist that we have been separated but a moment. Is that any way to
treat a friend? I'm surprised at you, Perry, and if I'd thought for a
moment that you cared no more for me than this I should not have
returned to chance death at the hands of the Mahars for your sake."
The old man looked at me for a long time before he spoke. There was a
puzzled expression upon his wrinkled face, and a look of hurt sorrow in
his eyes.
"David, my boy," he said, "how could you for a moment doubt my love for
you? There is something strange here that I cannot understand. I know
that I am not mad, and I am equally sure that you are not; but how in
the world are we to account for the strange hallucinations that each of
us seems to harbor relative to the passage of time since last we saw
each other. You are positive that months have gone by, while to me it
seems equally certain that not more than an hour ago I sat beside you
in the amphitheater. Can it be that both of us are right and at the
same time both are wrong? First tell me what time is, and then maybe I
can solve our problem. Do you catch my meaning?"
I didn't and said so.
"Yes," continued the old man, "we are both right. To me, bent over my
book here, there has been no lapse of time. I have done little or
nothing to waste my energies and so have required neither food nor
sleep, but you, on the contrary, have walked and fought and wasted
strength and tissue which must needs be rebuilt by nutriment and food,
and so, having eaten and slept many times since last you saw me you
naturally measure the lapse of time largely by these acts. As a matter
of fact, David, I am rapidly coming to the conviction that there is no
such thing as time--surely there can be no time here within Pellucidar,
where there are no means for measuring or recording time. Why, the
Mahars themselves take no account of such a thing as time. I find here
in all their literary works but a single tense, the present. There
seems to be neither past nor future with them. Of course it is
impossible for our outer-earthly minds to grasp such a condition, but
our recent experiences seem to demonstrate its existence."
It was too big a subject for me, and I said so, but Perry seemed to
enjoy nothing better than speculating upon it, and after listening with
interest to my account of the adventures through which I had passed he
returned once more to the subject, which he was enlarging upon with
considerable fluency when he was interrupted by the entrance of a
Sagoth.
"Come!" commanded the intruder, beckoning to me. "The investigators
would speak with you."
"Good-bye, Perry!" I said, clasping the old man's hand. "There may be
nothing but the present and no such thing as time, but I feel that I am
about to take a trip into the hereafter from which I shall never
return. If you and Ghak should manage to escape I want you to promise
me that you will find Dian the Beautiful and tell her that with my last
words I asked her forgiveness for the unintentional affront I put upon
her, and that my one wish was to be spared long enough to right the
wrong that I had done her."
Tears came to Perry's eyes.
"I cannot believe but that you will return, David," he said. "It would
be awful to think of living out the balance of my life without you
among these hateful and repulsive creatures. If you are taken away I
shall never escape, for I feel that I am as well off here as I should
be anywhere within this buried world. Good-bye, my boy, good-bye!" and
then his old voice faltered and broke, and as he hid his face in his
hands the Sagoth guardsman grasped me roughly by the shoulder and
hustled me from the chamber.
More
-
On The Arizona Hills
I am a very old man; how old I do not know. Possibly I am a hundred, possibly more; but I cannot tell because I have never aged as other men, nor do I remember any childhood. So far as I can recollect I have always been a man, a man of about thi... On The Kaolian Road
If there be a fate that is sometimes cruel to me, there surely is a kind and merciful Providence which watches over me. As I toppled from the tower into the horrid abyss below I counted myself already dead; and Thurid must have done likewise, fo... On The Ocean Bed
Lower and lower sank the submarine. There was a swirling and foaming of the water as she went down, caused by the air bubbles which the craft carried with her in her descent. Only the top of the conning tower was out of water now, the ocean havin... On The Revolving Ladder
THE mining operations at New Aberfoyle continued to be carried on very successfully. As a matter of course, the engineer, James Starr, as well as Simon Ford, the discoverers of this rich carboniferous region, shared largely in the profits. In t... On The River Iss
In the shadows of the forest that flanks the crimson plain by the side of the Lost Sea of Korus in the Valley Dor, beneath the hurtling moons of Mars, speeding their meteoric way close above the bosom of the dying planet, I crept stealthily along ... On The Road
THE course of James Starr's ideas was abruptly stopped, when he got this second letter contradicting the first. "What does this mean?" said he to himself. He took up the torn envelope, and examined it. Like the other, it bore the Aberfoyle postm... On The Road To Simla
Almost quicker than could have been expected, considering the heavy work imposed upon the telegraph wires, the communication arrived from Berlin that Captain Heideck should, for the time being, do duty in the Russian army, and that it should be le... On The Spaniard's Walk
I paid the man half-a-sovereign. There was a seat near by and Sarakoff deposited himself upon it. I joined him. On those heights the morning air struck chill. London, misty-blue, lay before us. The taxi-man took out his pipe and began to fill it. ... On The Waters A Raft Voyage
On the thirteenth of August we were up betimes. There was no time to be lost. We now had to inaugurate a new kind of locomotion, which would have the advantage of being rapid and not fatiguing. A mast, made of two pieces of wood fastened togethe... On The Wings Of The Wind
Leaving M'Connell and a few other Cambridge men to take charge of the Great Telescope, Marston and Belfast in little more than an hour after the receipt of the exciting dispatch, were scudding down the slopes of Long's Peak by the only possible ro... On Wednesday Evening
"This is my silk dress, grandpa," said Jewel, coming out on the piazza Sunday morning. Mr. Evringham was sitting there reading the paper. He looked up to behold his granddaughter standing expectantly. She had on the cherished frock. Her plump b... One Enemy V Twenty-five Millions Of Friends
The American public took a lively interest in the smallest details of the enterprise of the Gun Club. It followed day by day the discussion of the committee. The most simple preparations for the great experiment, the questions of figures which ... Operation Haystack
It's hard to ferret out a gang of fanatics; it would, obviously, be even harder to spot a genetic line of dedicated men. But the problem Orne had was one step tougher than that! When the Investigation & Adjustment scout cruiser landed on Mar... Opportunity
From where Dick Barrow sat, hundreds of men were visible, occupying benches in every manner of position. Some stretched at full length, sleeping in the morning sun after a night in the park. Others sat with heads hanging; thinking thoughts of thei... Ordination
St. Thomas, Tuesday, 23 July 2571 About mid-afternoon, Shannon was leaning back in his desk chair, planning the March raid that would supposedly mark the beginning of the Brotherhood's real push against the Kingdoms, when he sensed a use of ... Orographic Details
The course taken by the projectile, as we have before remarked, was bearing it toward the moon's northern hemisphere. The travelers were far from the central point which they would have struck, had their course not been subject to an irremediable... Ostrog
Graham could now take a clearer view of his position. For a long time yet he wandered, but after the talk of the old man his discovery of this Ostrog was clear in his mind as the final inevitable decision. One thing was evident, those who were a... Ostrog's Point Of View
Graham found Ostrog waiting to give a formal account of his day's stewardship. On previous occasions he had passed over this ceremony as speedily as possible, in order to resume his aerial experiences, but now he began to ask quick short questio... Our First View Of The Earth From Mars-a Martian Courtship
Within a few days we had our first glimpse of the earth from Mars. It appeared only as a very thin but bright crescent of light, as the lighted portion was less than one-twelfth part of the whole diameter of the disc, and it was only visible ... Our Flight
I got out of bed and began to examine my clothes. They were strewn about the floor and on chairs. The colour of them seemed peculiar to my senses. My frock coat, of heavy black material, with curious braiding and buttons, fascinated me. I counted ... Our Route Reversed
Here ends what I call "My Journal" of our voyage on board the raft, which journal was happily saved from the wreck. I proceed with my narrative as I did before I commenced my daily notes. What happened when the terrible shock took place, when th... Our Start We Meet With Adventures By The Way
The weather was overcast but settled, when we commenced our adventurous and perilous journey. We had neither to fear fatiguing heat nor drenching rain. It was, in fact, real tourist weather. As there was nothing I liked better than horse exercis... Our Voyage To Iceland
The hour of departure came at last. The night before, the worthy Mr. Thompson brought us the most cordial letters of introduction for Baron Trampe, Governor of Iceland, for M. Pictursson, coadjutor to the bishop, and for M. Finsen, mayor of the to... Out Around Rigel
[An astounding chronicle of two Lunarians' conquest of time and interstellar space.] The sun had dropped behind the Grimaldi plateau, although for a day twilight would linger over the Oceanus Procellarum. The sky was a hazy blue, and out... Out To Sea
The following morning an advertisement appeared in the papers, under the heading of help wanted: woman. It was the same address on Morgan Avenue. His heart sank! The man was advertising for a wife! Now Barrow knew he was in for a tough streak of l... Outside The Law
Such was the letter addressed to the government of the United States. As to the person who had placed it in the mail-box of the police, no one had seen him. The sidewalk in front of our offices had probably not been once vacant during the e... Outward Bound
HOW, trembling lest we should be discovered, we left Eastbourne by train two hours later--Kouaga joining the train at Polegate so as to avoid notice--how the Grand Vizier of Mo purchased our travelling necessities in London; how we travelled to Li... Oxenford's Daughter
Constans had now spent nearly a fortnight in the valley of the Swiftwater, and, while he had been hospitably received and entertained, he made but small progress in his mission; it seemed as though this second propaganda were also doomed to failur... Panawe
The husband got up to meet his wife and their guest. He was clothed in white. He had a beardless face, with breve and poigns. His skin, on face and body alike, was so white, fresh, and soft, that it scarcely looked skin at all--it rather resembled a... Pandemic
BY J. F. BONE Generally, human beings don't do totally useless things consistently and widely. So maybe there is something to it "We call it Thurston's Disease for two perfectly good reason... Parallel Planetary Life
I was sleeping soundly on my deliciously soft heap of downy pillows, when in the early morning I was awakened by a pounding on the door of the ante-chamber. As one always wakens from a sound sleep with his most familiar language upon his tongue, I... Pepper
I was seated in my chair, back again in this old study. My glance wandered 'round the room. For a minute, it had a strange, quivery appearance--unreal and unsubstantial. This disappeared, and I saw that nothing was altered in any way. I looked towar... Perfidy
On the morning that Bulan set out with his three monsters from the deserted long-house in which they had spent the night, Professor Maxon's party was speeding up the river, constantly buoyed with hope by the repeated reports of natives that the wh... Permissive Limits Of Ignorance And Belief In The United States
The immediate result of Barbicane's proposition was to place upon the orders of the day all the astronomical facts relative to the Queen of the Night. Everybody set to work to study assiduously. One would have thought that the moon had just appea... Personal Reminiscences Why We Decided On The Voyage
My name is Wilfrid Poynders, and during the greater part of my lifetime of more than sixty-three years astronomy has been my favourite study. For the last thirty years the planet Mars has been an object of special interest to me, and I have d... Phoebe At The Peacock Inn
While Copernicus Droop was acquiring fame and fortune as a photographer, Rebecca and Phoebe were leading a quiet life in the city. Phoebe was perfectly happy. For her this was the natural continuation of a visit which her father, Isaac Burton, h... Phutra Again
I HASTENED TO THE CLIFF EDGE ABOVE JA AND helped him to a secure footing. He would not listen to any thanks for his attempt to save me, which had come so near miscarrying. "I had given you up for lost when you tumbled into the Mahar temple," h... Pickaxe And Trowel
The same evening Barbicane and his companions returned to Tampa Town; and Murchison, the engineer, re-embarked on board the Tampico for New Orleans. His object was to enlist an army of workmen, and to collect together the greater part of the mate... Pinpoint In Space
Tom knew now that it was the right thing to do. There was no question, after the Major's story, of what Dad had been doing out in the Belt at the time he had been killed. He had been doing a job that was more important to him than asteroid mining ... Pirates Of Space
Apparently motionless to her passengers and crew, the Interplanetary liner Hyperion bored serenely onward through space at normal acceleration. In the railed-off sanctum in one corner of the control room a bell tinkled, a smothered whirr was heard... Points Of View
The light grew stronger as we advanced. In a little time it was nearly as strong as the phosphorescence on Cavor's legs. Our tunnel was expanding into a cavern, and this new light was at the farther end of it. I perceived something that set my hopes... Polecrab
The morning slowly passed. Maskull made some convulsive movements, and opened his eyes. He sat up, blinking. All was night-like and silent in the forest. The strange light had gone, the music had ceased, Dreamsinter had vanished. He fingered his bea... Postmark Ganymede
Consider the poor mailman of the future. To "sleet and snow and dead of night"--things that must not keep him from his appointed rounds--will be added, sub-zero void, meteors, and planets th... Prelude John Carter Comes To Earth
Shea had just beaten me at chess, as usual, and, also as usual, I had gleaned what questionable satisfaction I might by twitting him with this indication of failing mentality by calling his attention to the nth time to that theory, propounded by cer... Preparations For War
The months that followed were the busiest, I think, of my life. I began by a complete reorganization of this government of which I found myself the head. For the doddering old councilors of the late king I substituted men whom I selected from amon... Preparing For Action
The next day was a busy one, not only for Lennard himself but for others whose help he had come to enlist in the working out of the Great Experiment. He turned up at Bowcock's house on the stroke of seven, got into his pit clothes, and was drop... President Barbicane's Communication
On the 5th of October, at eight p.m., a dense crowd pressed toward the saloons of the Gun Club at No. 21 Union Square. All the members of the association resident in Baltimore attended the invitation of their president. As regards the correspondi... President Winthrop 1999
The Secretary of State closed the door. "Well?" he asked. President Winthrop looked up from the desk and blinked. "Hello, Art," he said. "Sit down." "Sorry I'm late," the Secretary told him. "I came as soon as I got the call." "It doesn... Prisoners
Wherever they were planning to take them, the captors took great pains to make sure that their two prisoners did not escape before they were underway. Greg and Johnny were strapped down securely into accelleration cots. Two burly guards were assig... Pro And Con
At the period when these events took place, I had just returned from a scientific research in the disagreeable territory of Nebraska, in the United States. In virtue of my office as Assistant Professor in the Museum of Natural History in Paris, the... Problem
The letter came down the slot too early that morning to be the regular mail run. Pete Greenwood eyed the New Philly photocancel with a dreadful premonition. The letter said: PETER: Can you come East chop-chop, urgent? Grdznth pro... Project Mastodon
The chief of protocol said, "Mr. Hudson of--ah--Mastodonia." The secretary of state held out his hand. "I'm glad to see you, Mr. Hudson. I understand you've been here several times." "That's right," said Hudson. "I had a hard time making your pe... Prologue
"You must give me a moment," said the old man, leaning back. Percy resettled himself in his chair and waited, chin on hand. It was a very silent room in which the three men sat, furnished with the extreme common sense of the period. It had nei... Prologue
IN THE FIRST PLACE PLEASE BEAR IN MIND THAT I do not expect you to believe this story. Nor could you wonder had you witnessed a recent experience of mine when, in the armor of blissful and stupendous ignorance, I gaily narrated the gist of it to ... Prologue
Several years had elapsed since I had found the opportunity to do any big-game hunting; for at last I had my plans almost perfected for a return to my old stamping-grounds in northern Africa, where in other days I had had excellent sport in pursuit ... Prologue A Race For A Woman
In Clifden, the chief coast town of Connemara, there is a house at the end of a triangle which the two streets of the town form, the front windows of which look straight down the beautiful harbour and bay, whose waters stretch out beyond the islan... Prologue The Rocket Satellite
In the depths of space, some twenty thousand miles from the earth, the body of Professor Jameson within its rocket container cruised upon an endless journey, circling the gigantic sphere. The rocket was a satellite of the huge, revolving world aro... Prominent People
The state apartments of the Wind Vane Keeper would have seemed astonishingly intricate to Graham had he entered them fresh from his nineteenth century life, but already he was growing accustomed to the scale of the new time. They can scarcely be... Prospecting Begins
We ceased to gaze. We turned to each other, the same thought, the same question in our eyes. For these plants to grow, there must be some air, however attenuated, air that we also should be able to breathe. "The manhole?" I said. "Yes!" said Ca... Pursuit
FOR AN INSTANT I STOOD THERE THINKING OF HER, and then, with a sigh, I tucked the book in the thong that supported my loin cloth, and turned to leave the apartment. At the bottom of the corridor which leads aloft from the lower chambers I whistle... Pushbutton War
In one place, a descendant of the Vikings rode a ship such as Lief never dreamed of; from another, one of the descendants of the Caesars, and here an Apache rode a steed such as never roamed the plains. But they w... Puzzling Questions
It was not until the Projectile had passed a little beyond Tycho's immense concavity that Barbican and his friends had a good opportunity for observing the brilliant streaks sent so wonderfully flying in all directions from this celebrated mountai... Question And Answer
On the 4th of December, when the travelers awoke after fifty-four hours' journey, the chronometer marked five o'clock of the terrestrial morning. In time it was just over five hours and forty minutes, half of that assigned to their sojourn in th... Racing For Life
At last the sea subsided, and we were able to get a better view of the armada of small boats in our wake. There must have been two hundred of them. Juag said that he had never seen so many boats before in all his life. Where had they come from? J... Raid
Wednesday, 25 March 2572 The next morning, when Powell offered to help her into lightweight Enforcement body armor, Blackfeather accepted gladly. She'd found out the previous evening, at the same time she'd found out what the term 'unity' ... Raid Master
St. Thomas, Wednesday, 19 June 2571 "The goddamned Bitch is still alive, Raidmaster." Lawrence Shannon looked up from the shabby table he was using as a desk, smiling as one of his doubles threw a newspaper down in front of him. "Yes, e... Rebecca's Trump Card
When Rebecca set out for the Panchronicon from London Bridge, she knew that she had a long walk in prospect, and settled down to the work with dogged resolution. Her trip was quite uneventful until she neared the village of Newington, and then she... Recalled To Life
As Professor Jameson came to, he became aware of a strange feeling. He was sick. The doctors had not expected him to live; they had frankly told him so--but he had cared little in view of the long, happy years stretched out behind him. Perhaps he ... Recovered From The Sea
The spot where the projectile sank under the waves was exactly known; but the machinery to grasp it and bring it to the surface of the ocean was still wanting. It must first be invented, then made. American engineers could not be troubled with ... Redwood's Two Days
I. So soon as Caterham knew the moment for grasping his nettle had come, he took the law into his own hands and sent to arrest Cossar and Redwood. Redwood was there for the taking. He had been undergoing an operation in the side, and the doct... Relating How The Beautiful Picnic Progressed
Shortly before six o'clock all arose. The Doctor and his wife, at her earnest solicitation, ascended to the observatory to witness the sunrise. Mattie had manifested symptoms of vertigo that morning on first looking out, and decided not to go up w... Release
I She opened the front door without knocking, and came straight into my sitting-room. "'E's not 'ere," she said in a manner that left it doubtful whether she made an assertion or asked a question. "Your son?" I said. I had risen when she c...