What Is In A Name!-the Story Of Merna

: To Mars Via The Moon

Yes, this glorious being was indeed the son whom I had lost on the

earth! It would be utterly impossible for me to describe the pathos and

affection of that meeting with one whom I thought had passed for ever

out of my present life, or the intensity of my emotions and the

overflowing gratitude with which I gazed once more upon the face of my

lost loved one, now so unexpectedly and wonderfully restored to me. Such

emotions as I then experienced are beyond description by any pen or any

tongue.



Whilst I was thus overwhelmed with emotion, my son exhibited the most

dignified calm; yet his words and sympathy were as tender as those of a

mother soothing a suffering child. Having at last brought me into a

calmer state of mind, he said: "Yes, I, who am now called Merna, am

indeed he who was once your son upon the earth; and I am indeed he who

in heart and soul is at this moment as truly and affectionately your

son, though living in another world, possessing another body, and called

by another name!



"Oh, how I have yearned for this meeting, and through what long years

have I studied and striven to bring it about!"



"You have brought it about, my boy!" I cried in amazement. "Why, how was

that?"



"It is too long a story to narrate now," he replied, "for we have a

duty to perform, and must not stay here. We must now show ourselves to

the people outside, who have long waited to greet you! You shall hear

more to-night; but, in the meantime, do not make known my identity to my

old friend, John, until after I have left you. You may tell him then and

prepare him for our meeting to-night."



I noticed when he was speaking that sometimes he lapsed into a phrase or

two of the Martian language, and that his English was spoken as it would

be by a foreigner not fully acquainted with our language.



Before we left the pavilion I asked him to tell me what office was held

by the high personage who had occupied the dais on our arrival, and he

explained that "he was Soranho, the present ruler of Mars!"



"Emperor or King?" I inquired.



"We have neither of those dignitaries here," he answered. "He is the

Chief of the General Council of the entire world of Mars, elected to

that office for a certain term by the whole body of the people. But now

we must not keep the Chief waiting any longer."



So we passed out together to join the Chief of the Council on the dais,

and, standing near it, we saw John and M'Allister, who were gazing

around with intense interest upon the assembled multitude.



The Chief advanced to meet us, and greeted me with even more cordiality

than at first, if that were possible; then he said a few words of

congratulation to Merna, and conducted us to the front of the dais.



The people were now all massed together before the dais in long parallel

lines, or ranks, and, as the Chief brought me forward, there came a

tremendous shout of welcome from the multitude.



The Chief made a brief speech in the Martian language (which of course

neither I nor my two companions understood), in which, as Mark

afterwards explained to me, he gave a short account of how I had arrived

there from the earth with my two colleagues-the first inhabitants of

that world to set foot upon Mars! He told them that my coming was all

owing to the devoted love and influence of Merna, who in a former life

upon the earth had been my son.



What Mark did not tell me was that the Chief had spoken in terms of very

high appreciation of the talents Mark had displayed, and of the success

which had attended his great endeavour to exert his influence over that

immense distance of space which separated the two worlds, and

practically compel me to obey his wishes by undertaking a journey to

Mars.



I learnt this afterwards from others, and found that a similar modesty

and reticence was a general characteristic of the Martians.



The acclamations of the people at the conclusion of the Chief's speech

were almost deafening, and I frequently distinguished the name of

"Merna" amongst their ejaculations. Whatever was the purport of the

Chief's statement, it undoubtedly afforded the most intense satisfaction

to all those who heard it.



The assembly now began to disperse in the most orderly manner, many of

the people gathering round the Areonal, and apparently discussing with

interest its construction and equipment, but none pressed upon our

little party. There was neither rude curiosity nor any embarrassing

attentions bestowed upon us, such as would have been so unpleasantly in

evidence in any similar circumstances upon the earth.



"Merna" asked me to be good enough to excuse him for the present as he

had something to attend to urgently; then he took leave of us for the

time, remarking that we need have no anxiety about the Areonal, for it

would be perfectly safe and well looked after.



The Chief, and some of the officials to whom he now introduced us, then

accompanied us to another pavilion, where we partook of a little light

refreshment. The chief then took his leave, after promising that we

should meet again to-morrow.



One of the officials informed me that a residence was in readiness for

our occupation, and that it was situated within a very short distance

from where we stood. He asked whether we would proceed there in an

electric carriage, or whether we would prefer to walk; and, as we wished

to get accustomed to walking on our new world, we decided to go on foot.



We saw around us in every direction large numbers of flying machines of

all descriptions, also electric and other motors, which had conveyed the

people to our landing-place. Most of the motors were very light and

elegant in appearance, and those intended for conveying only a single

person were but little larger than our motor tricycles. There was not

the slightest noise from the machinery, nor any fumes emitted like those

we had found so great a nuisance on the earth. The Martians had

evidently overcome all such difficulties, if they had ever experienced

them; and their methods were doubtless far in advance of the use of

evil-smelling petrol.



We noticed that very many of the people were walking in a manner which

suggested that they had a long journey before them; and, on mentioning

this to the official in attendance, he told us that walking was so easy

on Mars, both on account of the small gravitation and the generally

level surface of the country, that most Martians preferred walking

unless much pressed for time, or the distance to be traversed was very

great.



Though the sun was shining brilliantly the heat was not at all

oppressive. As we passed along we noticed that the buildings all stood

separate from each other, open spaces or trees, flowers or shrubs being

around each of them.



We saw no evidence of overcrowding of buildings on small areas of land

like there was in the world we had left. Plenty of air and open space

seemed to be the general rule, at least upon this part of Mars.



After a very short walk we arrived at our dwelling, an elegant little

building of white stone, and only two storeys in height. There was such

a general appearance of comfort and homeliness about it, both inside and

out, that M'Allister exclaimed: "Professor, I never thought coming to

Mars meant a reception like this. I rather expected to have had a fight

when we landed!"



John, too, expressed his delight at the kind manner in which we had been

received, then asked me, "Who was that splendid young fellow who came

out of the pavilion with me, and stood by my side on the dais?"



"I'll tell you presently, John," I replied, "after we have had some

solid refreshment, and are quite alone."



"One would think there was some mystery about him, Professor, by the way

you speak," he answered.



"Perhaps there is a little more mystery in the whole affair than you

dream of," I remarked.



"Anyhow," said John, "you seem very pleased over it, whatever it may be,

Professor; for I never saw you so delighted in your life as you have

appeared during the last hour."



"Yes, John, I am indeed pleased," I replied, "and so will you be when

you know what I know."



"You quite arouse my curiosity," he said; "still, I suppose I must wait

a little longer to be enlightened; but we came to Mars to find out

secrets."



Just then we had to cease our conversation, for we were conducted into a

room where we found a most tempting looking repast ready for our

delectation, and the attendants showed us to our respective seats.



All the comestibles were fruits, nuts, or vegetables of various kinds,

and I saw nothing there in the nature of flesh meat. Some of the fruits

and nuts resembled the products of our own world, especially some of our

eastern products; but most of them were entirely unknown to us, though

they all looked tempting and good.



We certainly did full justice to them, and were particularly attracted

by some large bunches of what were evidently Martian grapes, each grape

being as large as one of our egg-plums. We tried some of these, and

found them most delicious, as indeed were all the other eatables we

consumed.



Though used to a meat diet, we found this meal most satisfying; the

fruits being so refreshing that we had neither desire nor need for

drink, though it stood there ready for us if we wished to take it. The

attendants waited upon us assiduously, bringing us the various dishes

in what was apparently their regular order of courses.



Both John and M'Allister appeared to enjoy their first Martian meal as

much as I did, and when we adjourned to another room at its conclusion,

were loud in their expressions of appreciation.



When this topic had died down, I thought the time had arrived to make

the important disclosure of the first results of our visit to the red

planet.



They listened to my story in amazement, and with many exclamations of

surprise; whilst, as for John, he was almost beside himself with delight

on learning that he would once more meet his long-lost friend, and he

rose and shook hands with me, at the same time warmly congratulating me

on my wonderful reunion with my son.



"Professor," said M'Allister, also rising and shaking my hand, "I'm as

glad for your sake as if I had found a son of my own!"



I thanked them both very heartily for their kind congratulations. Then

John said to me-



"Professor, it is, without exception, the most extraordinary thing I

ever heard of in my life; but what strikes me as most singular about it

is the strange coincidence connected with your son's name!"



I did not understand this allusion to Mark, so asked what was the

strange coincidence to which he referred.



"Well, Professor," he said, "excuse me if I answer your question by

asking another one. How was it you gave your son the name of Mark, and

what was the particular reason for your doing so?"



"No particular reason, John, so far as I am aware," I replied, "except

that it always seemed to me a good, plain, and honest sort of a name."



"Do you know the meaning of the name?" he then asked.



"Well, yes, I think so; for one thing, I believe it means 'polite,'" I

said; "and another meaning I have read is a 'hammer.' But really, John,

I had no thought of meanings at all when I chose that name for him."



"That only makes it all the more strange," John answered. "I have seen

those meanings you mention as attached to the name; but you seem to have

quite missed the most important one of all, for I can tell you,

Professor, that the name 'Mark' means 'Son of Mars!' Now don't you see

the coincidence, when you find that he really has become a son of Mars!"



"Really, John," I answered, "I assure you that I never heard of that

before; the coincidence is, as you say, most singular and extraordinary;

but, taking all things into consideration, I am inclined to think there

must be something more than coincidence when they work out like this.

You know your Shakespeare, John, and he says most truly: 'There's a

divinity that shapes our ends, rough-hew them how we will.' I will not

repeat the hackneyed phrase about 'more things in heaven and earth--'"



Just then Merna (as I suppose I must now call him, though he will always

be "Mark" to me) arrived amongst us, and I at once introduced him to

John and M'Allister.



The meeting between the two old friends was delightful to witness, for

both seemed over-joyed; and they had so much to say to each other-so

many questions to ask.



When the excitement had passed I asked Mark-you see I cannot help

calling him by his old name-if he could now furnish me with the further

information he had promised, for I was longing to hear all he had to

tell.



"Yes," he replied, "I am quite ready, sir;" and then he proceeded to

give us details of his life upon Mars. It is too long a story to tell

exactly as he told it-and sometimes he was at a loss to express himself

appropriately in English-but, shortly, it was as follows:-



His birth upon Mars, as we found from a comparison of dates, must have

followed almost immediately after his passing from the earth; and he

said he thought that his two previous seizures were probably abortive

attempts of his spirit to depart earlier.



His Martian father was the brother of Soranho, the present Chief of the

Council; both his father and mother, however, had died when Merna was

quite a child, and the Chief had since brought him up like his own son,

and was very much attached to him.



When Merna was still very young he was extremely fond of looking at the

stars in the clear Martian skies, being especially attracted by the

earth, which was a very brilliant star in those skies when the planet

was in the most favourable position for viewing it. He used to watch the

earth pass through its various phases, the same as we see Venus; and as

time went on he had a strong feeling or intuition that, at some unknown

period, he had been upon, or in some way connected with, the earth!



This feeling became more and more intense, so that his thoughts were

constantly directed towards our world, and ultimately he became firmly

convinced that he had once lived upon the earth.



He told us, amongst other things, that the Martians possess senses and

powers which we do not possess, and know nothing of. For instance, he

said that any Martian of ordinary intelligence always knew what was in

the mind of any one with whom he was speaking; therefore any attempt to

prevaricate or mislead was folly and useless. In some cases this power

extended over a long distance, and the thoughts of others could be read

as easily as when they were close at hand. So for this reason, and not

only because it is considered wrong, prevarication is never practised on

Mars.



Again, a Martian can transmit his thoughts over any distance upon the

planet, and influence thereby any one whom he could influence in

ordinary conversation.



Some, who had given especial attention to the training and development

of this faculty, could even transmit their thoughts to other worlds; but

the influence exercised in such cases depended entirely upon whether the

inhabitants of other worlds had attained not only a sufficient degree of

intelligence, but also the power to assimilate and make use of such

outside influences, either consciously or unconsciously.



Having become convinced that he had once lived upon the earth, his

interest in it was greatly intensified, and he felt a consuming desire

to know more. He therefore used his utmost endeavours to train and

develop his faculties, with a view to finding out something more

definite. His uncle was informed of his desires in this respect, as well

as of his reasons for them; and he placed Merna under the tuition of

two Martians who had developed these special faculties to the highest

degree then possible.



After pursuing this course of instruction and training for some time,

Merna found that he was gradually becoming more and more acquainted with

details of his former life, and was also gradually relearning the

language he had spoken upon the earth.



Soon he was able to recall from his sub-consciousness the names of

persons, and also of places and things, with which he had been

acquainted in his previous life; and what he thus learnt he imparted to

his uncle, his two teachers, and to a few other Martians.



The knowledge thus very slowly acquired and gradually built up led to a

thirst for still further knowledge; so he then tried to transmit his

thoughts to the earth, and, if possible, to influence me, his father,

whom he felt certain was still living.



He paused in his statement, and then asked me to tell him "When I first

thought of making a trip to Mars, and also whether I had not, long

before then, constantly been in the habit of thinking about the planet?"



I told him the date when I first made the suggestion of our trip to

John, and added that he was quite right in supposing I had long

previously been occupied with thoughts about Mars.



"Yes," he replied, "the date you give is quite correct. I had for years

been trying to influence you to take a deep interest in this planet, and

after that to influence you to build a vessel which would bring you

here; and, on the very day you mention, I felt quite certain I had

succeeded."



"My two friends then joined me in transmitting further influences to

enable you to conceive the proper kind of vessel and machinery, and how

it should be constructed. These latter influences seem, from what you

have told me, to have been assimilated by John to a larger extent than

by yourself; and this, no doubt, was owing to his higher development of

engineering and mechanical genius. The result, however, has been most

satisfactory. You, whom I had so long yearned to see, were brought to

embark upon this long voyage through space; I knew when you had done so,

and also that John and another accompanied you. I also knew exactly when

you would arrive here, for mentally I saw your chart and knew many of

your thoughts."



"But," interposed John at this stage, "was it not rather a risky and

dangerous experiment to influence inhabitants of another world to make

what was practically an invasion of Mars? Even if it were possible, we

should be afraid to do such a thing upon our earth, for fear of

disastrous developments later on."



"There was no danger at all," he replied. "I think you found you could

not land here just where you pleased!"



"Ah, that we did," said M'Allister; "and we were never so mystified in

our lives."



"So, Mark," I said, laughing as I spoke, "that was your work, was it?"



"I certainly helped in doing it," he replied smilingly. "We have the

means of electrifying a very large area of space anywhere, either upon

our planet or at any required height above it, in such a manner as to

neutralise the power of any vessel that could possibly come here, and

thus stop its progress entirely when we so desired. We let you go on a

short distance and then stopped you, again and again; and when we

stopped you, we took care to arrange the forces so that you could not in

any event fall to the planet even if the whole of your machinery failed

to act. You were, as you know, compelled to descend exactly where we

wished you to; and, in fact, exactly where we had previously decided you

should land!"



"Well," exclaimed M'Allister excitedly, "if this doesn't beat all I ever

experienced! To think now that all our movements and impulses have been

engineered and controlled from Mars; not only just recently, but for

months and years past. Mon, it's marvellous!"



"Marvellous to you, no doubt," said Merna, "but only a commonplace

happening here. It is very satisfactory to us that our endeavours to

influence you to come to this planet have proved successful in the main

essentials. The influence does not, however, appear to have been quite

effective as regards your steering to the landing-place we had decided

upon. We had hoped there would have been no necessity for interfering

with your movements by means of the electrical waves."



"Well, Merna," I answered, "you certainly succeeded in imbuing me with a

desire to land at Sirapion, but my two companions were more attracted by

the 'Gordian Knot'; and it was only because I subordinated my own

inclinations to theirs that you were compelled to use force to make us

proceed in the right direction. However, it has resulted in our having

one of the most exciting and mystifying experiences of our lives; and,

now all has ended happily, I do not think any one of us regrets that the

incident occurred."



"Certainly I do not," John remarked.



"Neither do I," said M'Allister; "although I must confess I never felt

so entirely beaten in my life."



"Well, now you understand that it had to be done," said Merna. "As I

remarked, there was no danger to us in your coming here; for, if we had

desired it, we could have utterly destroyed your vessel before it

reached the planet, just as easily as we stopped your progress; or we

could have destroyed it with equal ease and without any risk to

ourselves after you had landed."



"My word," said M'Allister, "I'm right glad we did not come here as

enemies!"



"Yes," replied Merna; "it was just as well you did not. We do not make

war, but we have full means of protecting ourselves against attack if it

should ever be necessary to do so. So you will understand that no

invasion of Mars from outer space is possible."



I then turned to Merna and said, "There is one question I should like to

ask you before we part this evening: Can you tell me the meaning of the

word 'Tetarta,' which Soranho, your chief, told me was the name by which

your world is known to its inhabitants?"



"Oh yes, sir," he answered; "'Tetarta' means 'the fourth world,' and

thus indicates our position in the solar system. Sometimes, however, the

name 'Tetartoecumene' is used; but this does not find general

acceptance amongst us, as it means 'the fourth inhabited world,' and

therefore assumes rather too much.



"We know the earth is inhabited, and have some reason to believe that

Venus is also; but with regard to Mercury we have no knowledge at all

upon this point. Mercury, as seen from Mars, is always too close to the

sun for us to learn much about it by optical investigation; and we have

never been certain that we have either received influences from there or

been able to transmit influences to the planet."



"Thank you, Merna," I replied, "that clears up the matter; and it seems

to me that your names are much more appropriate than the one by which

your world is known to us on the earth; for, on account of its red

colour, we have, as you are aware, named it 'Mars,' after our mythical

god of war. I gather from what you have told us that war is now quite

unknown upon your planet, so our name is quite inappropriate."



"Yes, that is so, sir," he answered; "and, later on, I hope you will

learn much more concerning our social conditions, and that you will find

we are a fairly developed and civilised people."



He then took leave of us, promising to see us again in the morning for

the purpose of showing us about our new world.



It was now rather late, so, after discussing for a while the events of

this most exciting day, we retired to rest. My thoughts, however, were

so many and so tumultuous that it is scarcely a matter of wonder that a

very long time elapsed before sleep came to me.