 6. A day or two after leaving the moon we had another adventure with a wandering inhabitant of space which brought us into far greater peril than had our encounter with the meteor. The airships had been partitioned off so that a portion of the interior could be darkened in order to serve as a sleeping chamber, wherein, according to the regulations prescribed by the commander of the squadron, each member of the expedition in his turn passed 8 out of every 24 hours, sleeping if he could, if not meditating, in a more or less dazed way, upon the wonderful things that he was seeing and doing, things far more incredible than the creations of a dream. One morning, if I may call by the name morning the time of my periodical emergence from the darkened chamber, glancing from one of the windows I was startled to see in the black sky a brilliant comet. The adventure with the comet, a thrilling story of an encounter that nearly ended the Great Expedition. No periodical comet, as I knew, was at this time approaching the neighborhood of the sun, and no stranger of that kind had been detected from the observatories making its way sunward before we left the earth. Here, however, was unmistakably a comet rushing toward the sun, flinging out a great gleaming tail behind it, and so close to us that I wondered to see it remaining almost motionless in the sky. This phenomena was soon explained to me, and the explanation was of a most disquieting character. The stranger had already been perceived, not only from the flagship, but from the other members of the squadron, and as I now learned efforts had been made to get out of the neighborhood, but for some reason the electoral apparatus did not work perfectly, some mysterious disturbing force acting upon it, and so it had been found impossible to avoid an encounter with the comet, not an actual coming into contact with it, but a falling into the sphere of its influence. In the wake of the comet, in fact, I was informed that for several hours the squadron had been dragging along in the wake of the comet. Very much as boats are sometimes towed off by a wounded whale. Every effort had been made to so adjust the electric charge upon the ships that they would be repelled from the comedic mass, but owing apparently to eccentric changes continually going on in the electric charge affecting the clashing mass of the meteoric bodies which constituted the head of the comet, we found it impossible to escape from its influence. At one instant the ships would be repelled, immediately afterward they would be attracted again, and thus they were dragged hither and thither, but never able to break from the invisible leash which the comet had cast upon them. The latter was moving with enormous velocity toward the sun, and consequently we were being carried back again, away from the object of our expedition, with a fair prospect of being dissipated in blazing vapors when the comet had dragged us, unwilling prisoners, into the immediate neighborhood of the solar furnace. Even the most cool-headed lost his self-control in this terrible emergency. Every kind of device that experience or the imagination could suggest was tried, but nothing would do. Still on we rushed, with the electrified atoms composing the tail of the comet sweeping to and fro over the members of the squadron as they shifted their position, like the plume of smoke from a gigantic streamer drifting over the sea-birds that follow in its course. Is this the end? Was this to end it all then? Was this the fate that Providence had in store for us? Were the hopes of the earth, thus to perish, was the expedition to be wrecked and its fate to remain forever unknown to the planet from which it had set forth? And was our beloved globe, which had seemed so fair to us when we last looked upon it nearby, and in whose defense we had resolved to spend our last breath to be left helpless and at the mercy of its implacable foe in the sky? At length we gave ourselves up for lost. There seemed to be no possible way to free ourselves from the baleful grip of this terrible and unlooked-for enemy. Giving up all hope, as the comet approached the sun, its electric energy rapidly increased and watching it with telescopes, for we could not withdraw our fascinated eyes from it, we could clearly behold the fearful things that went on in its nucleus. This consisted of an immense number of separate meteors of no very great size individually, but which were in constant motion among one another, darting to and fro, clashing and smashing together, while fountains of blazing metallic particles and hot mineral vapors poured out in every direction. A flying hell, as I watched it, unable to withdraw my eyes, I saw imaginary forms revealing themselves amid the flaming meteors. They seemed like creatures in agony, tossing their arms, bewailing in their attitudes the awful fate that had overtaken them, and fairly chilling my blood with the pantomime of torture which they exhibited. I thought of an old superstition which I had often heard about the earth and exclaimed, yes, surely this is a flying hell. As the electric activity of the comet increased, its continued changes of potential and polarity became more frequent, and the electrical ships darted about with even greater confusion than before. Occasionally, one of them seized with a sudden impulse would spring forward toward the nucleus of the comet, with a sudden access of velocity that would fling every one of its crew from his feet, and all would lie sprawling on the floor of the car while it rushed, as it seemed, to inevitable and instant destruction. Saved unruined spring. Then, either through the frantic efforts of the electrician struggling with the controller, or through another change in the polarity of the comet, the ship would be saved on the very brink of ruin and stagger away out of immediate danger. Thus, the captured squadron was swept, swaying and darting hither and thither, but never able to get sufficiently far from the comet to break the bond of its fatal attraction. The Earth again. So great was our excitement, and so complete our absorption in the fearful peril that we had not noticed the precise direction in which the comet was carrying us. It was enough to know that the goal of the journey was the furnace of the sun, but presently, someone in the flagship recalled us to a more accurate sense of our situation in space by exclaiming, Why there is the Earth? Many adventures crowd each other in the great war upon Mars. And there indeed it was, its great globe rolling under our eyes, with the contrasted colors of the continents and clouds and the watery gleam of the ocean spread beneath us. We are going to strike it, exclaimed somebody. The comet is going to dash into the Earth. Such a collision at first seemed inevitable, for presently it was noticed that the direction of the comet's motion was such that while it might graze the Earth it would not actually strike it. And so, like a swarm of giant insects circling about an electric light from whose magic influence they cannot escape, our ships went on to be whipped against the Earth in passing and then to continue their swift journey to destruction. And aid, thank God this saves us, suddenly cried Mr. Edison, what, what? Why the Earth, of course, do not see that as the comet sweeps close to the great planet the superior attraction of the latter will snatch us from its grasp and that thus we shall be able to escape. And it was indeed as Mr. Edison had predicted. In a blaze of falling meteors the comet swept the outer limits of the Earth's atmosphere and passed on, while the swaying ships, having been instructed by signals what to do, desperately applied their electrical machinery to reverse the attraction and threw themselves into the arms of their Mother Earth over the Atlantic. In another instant we were all free, settling down through the quiet atmosphere with the Atlantic Ocean sparkling in the morning sun far below. We looked at one another in amazement. So this was the end of our voyage. This was the completion of our warlike enterprise. We had started out to conquer a world and we had come back agnomiously dragged in the train of a comet. The Earth, which we were going to defend and protect, had herself turned protector and reaching out her strong arm had snatched her foolish children from the destruction which they had invited. It would be impossible to describe the chagrin of every member of the expedition. A feeling of shame. The electric ships rapidly assembled and hovered high in the air, while their commanders consulted about what should be done. A universal feeling of shame almost drove them to a decision not to land upon the surface of the planet and, if possible, not to let its inhabitants know what had occurred. But it was too late for that. Looking carefully beneath us, we saw that fate had brought us back to our very starting point. The signals displayed in the neighborhood of New York indicated that we had already been recognized. There was nothing for us then but to drop down and explain the situation. I shall not delay my narrative by undertaking to describe the astonishment and the disappointment of the inhabitants of the Earth when, within a fortnight from our departure, they saw us back again, with no laurels of victory crowning our brows. At first they had hoped that we were returning in triumph and we were overwhelmed with questions the moment we had dropped within speaking distance. Have you whipped them? How many are lost? Is there any more danger? Fakes, have you got one of them men from Mars? Theory joicings and their facetiousness were turned into wailing when the truth was imparted. A short stay on the Earth. We made a short story of it, for we had not the heart to go into the details. We told of our unfortunate comrades whom we had buried on the Moon. And there was one gleam of satisfaction when we exhibited the wonderful crystals we had collected in the crater of Aristarchus. Mr. Edison determined to stop only long enough to test the electrical machinery of the cars, which had been more or less seriously deranged during our wild chase after the comet, and then to start straight back from Mars, this time on a through trip. Mysterious lights on Mars. The astronomers who had been watching Mars since our departure with their telescopes reported that mysterious lights continued to be visible, but that nothing indicating the starting of another expedition for the Earth had been seen. Within 24 hours we were ready for our second start. The Moon was now no longer in a position to help us on our way. It had moved out of the line between Mars and the Earth. High above us in the center of the heavens glowed the red planet, which was the goal of our journey. The needed computations of velocity and direction of flight having been repeated, and the ships being all in readiness, we started direct for Mars. Greater preparations made. An enormous charge of electricity was imparted to each member of the squadron, in order that as soon as we had reached the upper limits of the atmosphere, where the ships could move swiftly without danger of being consumed by the heat developed by the friction of their passage through the air, a very great initial velocity could be imparted. Once started off by this tremendous electrical kick, and with no atmosphere to resist our motion, we should be able to retain the same velocity, barring incidental encounters until we arrived near the surface of Mars. When we were free of the atmosphere, and the ships were moving away from the Earth with the highest velocity which we were able to impart to them, observations on the stars were made, in order to determine the rate of our speed. Ten miles a second. This was found to be ten miles in a second, or 864,000 miles in a day. A very much greater speed than that which we had traveled on starting to touch at the Moon. Supposing this velocity to remain uniform, and with no known resistance, it might reasonably be expected to do so. We should arrive at Mars in little less than 42 days, the distance of the planet from the Earth being, at this time, about 36 million miles. Nothing occurred for many days to interrupt our journey. We became accustomed to our strange surroundings, and many entertainments were provided to while away the time. The astronomers in the expedition found plenty of occupation in studying the aspects of the stars and the other heavenly bodies from their new point of view. Drawing near to Mars, at the expiration of about 35 days, we had drawn so near to Mars that with our telescopes, which, though small, were of immense power, we could discern upon its surface features and details which no one had been able to glimpse from the Earth. As the surface of this world that we were approaching as a tiger hunter draws near the jungle, gradually unfolded itself to our inspection, it was hardly one of us willing to devote to sleep or idleness that prescribed eight hours that had been fixed as the time during which each member of the expedition must remain in the darkened chamber. We were too eager to watch for every new revelation upon Mars. But something was in store that we had not expected. We were to meet the Martians before arriving at the world they dwelt in. Among the stars, which shone in that quarter of the heavens where Mars appeared as the Master Orb, there was one lying directly in our path, which, to our astonishment as we continued on, altered from the aspect of a star, underwent a gradual magnification and soon presented itself in the form of a little planet. The asteroid. It is an asteroid, said somebody. Yes, evidently, but how does it come inside the orbit of Mars? Oh, there are several asteroids, said one of the astronomers, which travel inside the orbit of Mars along a part of their course. And for all we can tell, there may be many which have not yet been caught sight of from the Earth that are nearer to the sun than Mars is. This must be one of them. Manifestly so, as we drew nearer, the mysterious little planet revealed itself to us as a perfectly formed globe, but not more than five miles in diameter. What is that upon it? asked Lord Kelvin, squinting intently at the little world through his glass. As I live, it moves. A Martian appears, the first glimpse of the horrible inhabitants of the red planet. Yes, yes, exclaimed several others. There are inhabitants upon it, but what giants? What monsters? Don't you see, exclaimed and excited Savant? They are the Martians. The startling truth burst upon the minds of all. Here upon this little planetoid were several of the gigantic inhabitants of the world that we were going to attack. There was more than one man in the flagship who recognized them well, and who shuddered at the recognition instinctively recalling the recent terrible experience of the earth. Was this an outpost of the war like Mars? Around these monstrous enemies we saw several of their engines of war. Some of these appeared to have been wrecked, but at least one, as far as we could see, was still in proper condition for use. How had these creatures got there? Why that is easy enough to account for, I said, as a sudden recollection flashed into my mind. Don't you remember the report of the astronomers more than six months ago at the end of the conference in Washington that something would seem to indicate the departure of a new expedition from Mars had been noticed by them? We have heard nothing of that expedition since. We know that it did not reach the earth. It must have fallen foul of this asteroid. Run upon this rock in the ocean of space and been wrecked here. We've got them then, shouted our electric steersman, who had been a workman in Mr. Edison's laboratory and had unlimited confidence in his chief. Preparing to land, the electric ships were immediately instructed by signal to slow down an operation that was easily affected through the electrical repulsion of the asteroid. The nearer we got, the more terrifying was the appearance of the gigantic creatures who were riding upon the little world before us, like castaway sailors upon a block of ice. Like men and yet not like men, combining the human and the beast in their appearance, it required a steady nerve to look at them. If we had not known their malignity and their power to work evil, it would have been different. But in our eyes, their moral character shown through their physical aspect and thus rendered them more terrible than they would otherwise have been. The Martians recognize us. When we first saw them, their appearance was most forlorn and their attitudes indicated only despair and desperation. But as they caught sight of us, their malign power of intellect instantly penetrated the mystery and they recognized us for what we were. Their despair immediately gave place to reawakened malevolence. On the instant they were astir, with such heart-chilling movements as those that characterize venomous serpent preparing to strike. Not imagining that they would be in a position to make serious resistance, we had been somewhat unconscious in approaching. The awful heat ray. Suddenly there was a quicker movement than usual among the Martians, a swift adjustment of that one of their engines of war, which, as already noticed, seemed to be practically uninjured. And then they're darted from it and alighted upon one of the foremost ships, a dazzling lightning stroke, a mile in length, at whose touch the metallic sides of the car curled and withered and licked for a moment by that somewhat lambent flames collapsed into a mere cylinder. Another ship destroyed. The death-dealing Martian strike, a fearful blow at the Earth's warriors. For an instant not a word was spoken, so sudden and unexpected was the blow. We knew that every soul in the stricken car had perished. Back was the signal, instantaneously flashed from the flagship and reversing their polarities, the members of the squadron sprang away from the little planet as rapidly as the electric impulse could drive them. But before we were out of reach, a second flaming tongue of death shot from the fearful engine, and another of our ships with all its crew was destroyed. A discouraging beginning. It was an inauspicious beginning for us. Two of our electrical ships with their entire crews had been wiped out of existence, and this appalling blow had been dealt by a few stranded and disabled enemies floating on an asteroid. What hope would there be for us when we came to encounter the millions of Mars itself on their own ground and prepared for war? However, it would not do to despond. We had been incautious, and we should take good care not to commit the same fault again. Vengeance the first thing. The first thing to do was to avenge the death of our comrades. The question whether we were able to meet these Martians and overcome them might as well be settled right here and now. They had proved what they could do, even when disabled and at a disadvantage. Now it was our turn. End of Chapter 6. Recording by the grumpy old squid of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Chapter 7 of Edison's Conquest of Mars. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. This recording by the grumpy old squid of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Service. Chapter 7. The squadron had been rapidly withdrawn to a very considerable distance from the asteroid. The range of the mysterious artillery employed by the Martians was unknown to us. We did not even know the limit of the effective range of our own disintegrators. If it should prove that the Martians were able to deal their strokes at a distance greater than that we could reach, then they would of course have an insupportable advantage. On the other hand, if it should turn out that our range was greater than theirs, the advantage would be on our side, or which was perhaps more probable, there might be practically no difference in the effective range of the engines. Anyhow, we were going to find out how the case stood and that without delay. Ready with the Disintegrator. Everything being in readiness, the Disintegrators, all in working order, and the men who were able to handle them, most of whom were experienced marksmen chosen from among the officers of the Regular Army of the United States and accustomed to the straight shooting and the short hits of the West standing at their posts, the squadron again advanced. In order to distract the attention of the Martians, the electrical ships had been distributed over a wide space. Some dropped straight down toward the asteroid. Others approached it by flank attack. From this side and that. The flagship moved straight in toward the point where the first disaster occurred. Its intrepid commander felt that his post should be that of the greatest danger, and where the severest blows would be given and received. A strategic advance. The approach of the ships was made with great caution. Watching the Martians with our telescopes, we could clearly see that they were disconcerted by the scattered order of our attack. Even if all of their engines of war had been in proper condition for use, it would have been impossible for them to meet the simultaneous assault of so many enemies dropping down upon them from the sky. But they were made of fighting metal, as we know from old experience. It was no question of surrender. They did not know how to surrender, and we did not know how to demand a surrender. Besides the destruction of the two electrical ships with the 40 men, many of whom bore names widely known upon the earth, had excited a kind of fury among the members of the squadron which called for vengeance. Another attack. Suddenly repetition of the quick movement by the Martians, which had been the forerunner of the former coup, was observed. Again a blinding flash burst from their war engine, and instantaneously a shiver ran through the frame of the flagship. The air within quivered with strange pulsations, and seemed suddenly to have assumed the temperature of the blast furnace. We all gasped for breath. Our throats and lungs seemed scorched in the act of breathing. Some fell unconscious upon the floor. The marksmen, carrying the disintegrators ready for use, staggered, and one of them dropped his instrument. But we had not been destroyed like our comrades before us. In a moment the wave of heat passed. Those who had fallen recovered from their momentary stupor and staggered to their feet. The electrical steersman stood, hesitating at his post. Move on, said Mr. Edison sternly, his feature set with determination and his eyes afire. Let us get closer in order to make sure work when we strike. The ship moved on. One could hear the heartbeats of its inmates. The other members of the squadron, thinking for the moment that disaster had overtaken the flagship, had paused and seemed to be meditating flight. Signal them to move on, said Mr. Edison. The battle commences. The signal was given, and the circle of electrical ships closed in upon the asteroid. In the meantime, Mr. Edison had been donning his airtight suit. Before we could clearly comprehend his intention, he had passed through the double-trapped door, which gave access to the exterior of the car without permitting the loss of air, and was standing upon what served as the deck of the ship. In his hand he carried a disintegrator. With a quick motion he sighted it. As quickly as possible I sprang to his side. I was just in time to note the familiar blue gleam about the instrument, which indicated that its terrific energies were at work. The whirling sound was absent, because here, in open space, where there was no atmosphere, there could be no sound. The disintegrator's power. My eyes were fixed upon the Martian's engine, which just dealt us a staggering, but not fatal blow. And particularly I noticed a polished knob projecting from it, which seemed to have been the focus from which its destructive bolt emanated. A moment later the knob disappeared. The irresistible vibrations darted from the electrical disintegrator, and had fallen upon it, and instantaneously shattered it into atoms. That fixes them, said Mr. Edison, turning to me with a smile. And it did fix them. We had most effectually spiked their gun. It would deal no more death blows. The do-ings of the flagship had been closely watched throughout the squadron. The effect of its blow had been evident to all. And a moment later we saw, on some of the nearer ships, men dressed in their air suits, appearing upon the deck, swinging their arms, and sending forth noiseless cheers into empty space. A telling stroke. The stroke that we had dealt was taken by several of the electrical ships as a signal for a common assault. And we saw two of the Martians fall beside the ruin of their engine, their heads having been blown from their bodies. Signal them to stop firing, commanded Mr. Edison. We have got them down, and we are not going to murder them without necessity. Besides, he added, I want to capture some of them alive. The signal was given as he had ordered. The flagship then alone dropped slowly toward the place on the asteroid where the prostrate Martians were. A terrible scene. As we got near them, a terrible scene unfolded itself to our eyes. There had evidently been not more than a half a dozen of the monsters in the beginning. Two of these were stretched headless upon the ground. Three others had suffered horrible injuries where the invisible vibratory beams from the disintegrators had grazed them, and they could not long survive. One only remained apparently uninjured. The gigantic Martian. It is impossible for me to describe the appearance of this creature in terms that would be readily understood. Was he like a man? Yes and no. He possessed many human characteristics, but they were exaggerated and monstrous in scale and in detail. His head was of enormous size, and his huge projecting eyes gleamed with a strange fire of intelligence. His face was like a caricature, but not one to make the beholder laughed. Drawing himself up, he towered to a height of at least 15 feet. Well, let the reader not suppose from this inadequate description that the Martians stirred in the beholder precisely the sensation that would be caused by the sight of a gorilla or other repulsive inhabitant of one of our terrestrial jungles, suddenly confronting him in its native wilds. With all his horrible characteristics and all his suggestions of beast and monster, nevertheless, the Martian produced the impression of being a person and not a mere animal. His frightened aspect. I have already referred to the enormous size of his head and to the fact that his continents were considerable resemblance to that of a man. There was something in his face that sent a shiver through the soul of the beholder. One could feel in looking upon it that here was intellect, intelligence developed to the highest degree, but in the direction of evil instead of good. The sensations of one who had stood face to face with Satan when he was driven from the battlements of heaven by the swords of his fellow archangels and had beheld him transformed from Lucifer, the son of the morning, into the Prince of Night and Hell, might not have been unlike those which we now experienced as we gazed upon this dreadful personage, who seemed to combine the intellectual powers of a man raised to their highest pitch with some of the physical features of a beast and all the moral depravity of a fiend. The Martians rage. The appearance of the Martian was indeed so threatening and repellent that we paused at the height of 50 feet above the ground, hesitating to approach nearer. A grin of rage and hate overspread his face. If he had been a man, I should say he shook his fist at us. What he did was to express an even more telling pantomime, his hatred and defiance, and his determination to grind us to shreds if he could once get us within his clutches. Mr. Edison and I still stood upon the deck of the ship, where several others had gathered around us. The atmosphere of the little asteroid was so rare that it practically amounted to nothing, and we could not possibly have survived if we had not continued to wear our airtight suits. How the Martians contrived to live here was a mystery to us. It was another of their secrets which we were yet to learn. Mr. Edison retained his disintegrator in his hand. Kill him, said someone. He is too terrible to live. If we do not kill him, we shall never be able to land upon the asteroid, said another. Shall we kill him? No, said Mr. Edison. I shall not kill him. We have got another use for him. Tom, he continued, turning to one of his assistants, whom he had brought from his laboratory. Bring me the anesthesizer. This was something entirely new to nearly all of the members of the expedition. Mr. Edison, however, had confided to me before we left Earth the fact that he had invented a little instrument by means of which a bubble, strongly charged with a powerful anesthetic agent, could be driven to a considerable distance into the face of an enemy, where, exploding without other damage, it would instantly put him to sleep. When Tom had placed the instrument in his hands, Mr. Edison ordered the electrical ship to forge slightly ahead and drop a little lower toward the Martian, who, with watchful eyes and threatening gestures, noted our approach in the attitude of a wild beast on the spring. Suddenly, Mr. Edison discharged from the instrument in his hand a little gaseous globe, which glittered like a ball of tangled rainbows in the sunshine and darted with astonishing velocity straight into the upturned face of the Martian. It burst as it touched and the monster fell back senseless upon the ground. One of the bellicose Martians falls into the hands of the world liens. You have killed him, exclaimed all. No, said Mr. Edison, he is not dead, only asleep. Now we shall drop down and bind him tight before he can awake. When we came to bind our prisoner with strong ropes, we were more than ever impressed with his gigantic stretch and strength. Evidently, in single combat with equal weapons, he would have been a match for 20 of us. All that I had read of giants had failed to produce upon my mind the impression of enormous size and tremendous physical energy, which the sleeping body of this immense Martian produced. He had fallen on his back and was in a most profound slumber. All his features were relaxed and yet even in that condition there was a devilishness about him that made the beholders instinctively shudder. The unconscious Martian. So powerful was the effect of the anesthetic which Mr. Edison had discharged into his face that he remained perfectly unconscious while we turned him half over in order more securely to bind his muscular limbs. In the meantime, the other electrical ships approached and several of them made a landing upon the asteroid. Everybody was eager to see this wonderful little world which as I have already remarked was only five miles in diameter. Exploring the planet, several of us from the flagship started out hastily to explore the miniature planet. And now our intention was recalled to an intensely interesting phenomena which had engaged our thoughts not only when we were upon the moon but during our flight through space. This was the almost entire absence of weight. On the moon where the force of gravitation is one sixth as great as upon the earth, we had found ourselves astonishingly light. Five, six of our own weight and of the weight of the airtight suits in which we were encased had magically dropped from us. It was therefore comparatively easy for us and cupboard as we were to make our way about the moon. But when we were far from both the earth and the moon the loss of weight was more astonishing still. Not astonishing because we had not known that it would be so but nevertheless a surprising phenomena in contrast with our lifelong experiences on the earth. Men without weight. In open space we were practically without weight only the mass of the electrical car in which we were enclosed attracted us and inside that we could place ourselves in any position without falling. We would float in the air. There were no up and no down no top and no bottom for us. Stepping outside the car it would have been easy for us to spring away from it and leave it forever. One of the most startling experiences that I have ever had was one day when we were navigating space about halfway between the earth and Mars. I had stepped outside the car with Lord Kelvin both of us of course wearing our airtight suits. We were perfectly well aware what would be the consequence of detaching ourselves from the car as we moved along. We should still retain the forward motion of the car and of course accompany it in its flight. There would be no falling one way or the other. The car would have a tendency to draw us back again by its attraction but this tendency would be very slight and practically inappreciable at a distance. Stepping into space I am going to step off I suddenly said to Lord Kelvin. Of course I shall keep right along with the car and step aboard again when I am ready. Quite right on General Principal's young man replied the great savant but beware in what manner you step off. Remember if you give your body an impulse sufficient to carry it away from the car to any considerable distance you will be unable to get back again unless we can catch you with a boat hook or a fish line. Out there in empty space you will have nothing to kick against and you will be unable to protel yourself in the direction of the car and its attraction is so feeble that we should probably arrive at Mars before it had drawn you back again. All this was of course perfectly self-evident yet I believe that but for the warning word of Lord Kelvin I should have been rash enough to step out into empty space with sufficient force to have separated myself hopelessly from the electric ship. A reckless experiment. As it was I took good care to retain a hold upon a projecting portion of the car. Occasionally cautiously releasing my grip I experienced for a few minutes the delicious indescribable pleasure of being a little planet swinging through space with nothing to hold me up and nothing to interfere with my motion. Mr. Edison happening to come upon the deck of the ship at this time and seeing what we were about at once said, I must provide against this danger. If I do not there is a chance that we shall arrive at Mars with the ships half empty and the crews floating helplessly about us. Edison always prepared. Mr. Edison's way of guarding against the danger was by contriving a little apparatus modeled after that which was the governing force of the electrical ships themselves and which being enclosed in the airtight suits enabled their wearers to manipulate the electrical charge upon them in such a way that they could make excursions from the cars into open space like steam launches from a ship going and returning at their will. These little machines being rapidly manufactured for Mr. Edison had a miniature laboratory aboard were distributed about the squadron and henceforth we had the pleasure of paying and receiving visits among the various members of the fleet. But to return from this digression to our experience of the asteroid, the latter being a body of some mass was of course able to impart to us a measurable degree of weight. Being five miles in diameter on the assumption that its mean density was the same of that of the earth, the weight of bodies on its surface should have borne the same ratio to their weight upon the earth that the radius of the asteroid bore to the radius of the earth. In other words, as one to 1600. Having made this mental calculation, I knew that my weight being 150 pounds on the earth should on this asteroid be an ounce and a half. Curious to see whether fact would bear out theory, I had myself weighed with a spring balance. Mr. Edison, Lord Kelvin and the other distinguished scientists stood by watching the operation with great interest. To our complete surprise, my weight instead of coming out an ounce and a half as it should have done on the supposition that the mean density of the asteroid resembled that of the earth, a very liberal supposition on the side of the asteroid, by the way, actually came out five ounces and a quarter. What in the world makes me so heavy, I asked. Yes indeed, what an elephant you have become, said Mr. Edison. Lord Kelvin screwed his eyeglass into his eye and carefully inspected the balance. Wait, five and a quarter ounces. It's quite right, he said. You do indeed weigh five ounces and a quarter. Too much, altogether too much. You shouldn't do it, you know. Perhaps the fault is in the asteroid, suggested Professor Sylvanas P. Thompson. Quite so, exclaimed Lord Kelvin, a look of sudden comprehension overspreading his features. No doubt it is the internal constitution of the asteroid, which is the cause of the anomaly. We must look into that. Let me see, this gentleman's weight is three and one half times as great as it ought to be. What element is there whose density exceeds the mean density of the earth and about that proportion? Gold exclaimed one of the party. The golden asteroid. For a moment we were startled beyond expression. The truth had flashed upon us. This must be a golden planet, this little asteroid. If it were not composed internally of gold, it could never have made me weigh three times more than I ought to weigh. But where is the gold, cried one. Covered up, of course, said Lord Kelvin. Buried in stardust, this asteroid could not have continued to travel for millions of years throughout regions of space strewn with meteorotic particles without becoming covered with the inevitable dust and grime of such a journey. We must dig down, and then doubtless, we shall find the metal. This hint was instantly acted upon. Something that would serve at four spade was seized by one of the men, and in a few minutes a hole had been dug in the comparatively light soil of the asteroid. The precious metal discovered. I shall never forget the sight, nor the exclamations of wonder that broke forth from all of us standing around when the yellow gleam of the precious metal appeared under the stardust. Collected in huge masses, it reflected the light of the sun from its hiding place. Evidently, the planet was not a solid ball of gold formed like a bullet run in a mold, but was comprised of nuggets of various sizes which had come together here under the influence of their mutual gravitation and formed a little metallic planet. Judging by the test of the weight which we had already tried, and which had led to the discovery of the gold, the composition of the asteroid must be the same to its very center. An incredible phenomena. In an assemblage of famous scientific men, such as this, the discovery of course immediately led to questions as to the origin of this incredible phenomena. How did these masses of gold come together? How did it chance that with the exception of the thin crust of the asteroid, nearly all its substance was composed of the precious metal? One asserted that it was quite impossible that there should be so much gold at so great a distance from the sun. It is the general law, he said, that the planets increase in density toward the sun. There is every reason to think that the inner planets possess the greater amount of dense elements, while the outer ones are comparatively light. Whence came the treasure? But another referred to the old theory that there was once in this part of the solar system a planet which had been burst in pieces by some mysterious explosion, the fragments forming what we know as the asteroids. In his opinion, this planet might have contained a large quantity of gold, and in the course of ages the gold having in consequence of its superior atomic weight not being so widely scattered by the explosion as some of the other elements of the planet had collected itself together in this body. But I observed that Lord Kelvin and the other more distinguished men of science said nothing during this discussion. The truly learned man is the truly wise man. They were not going to set up theories without sufficient facts to sustain them. The one fact that the gold was here was all they had at present. Until they could learn more, they were not prepared to theorize as to how the gold got there. And in truth it must be confessed, the greater number of us really cared less for the explanation of the wonderful fact than we did for the fact itself. Gold is a thing which may make its appearance anywhere and at any time without offering any excuses or explanations. Visions of mighty fortunes. Phew, won't we be rich, exclaimed a voice. How are we going to dig it and get it back to earth, asked another. Carry it in your pocket, said one. No need of staking claims here, remarked another. There is enough for everybody. Mr. Edison suddenly turned the current of talk. What do you suppose those Martians were doing here? Why, they were wrecked here. Not a bit of it, said Mr. Edison. According to your own showing, they could not have been wrecked here. This planet hasn't gravitation enough to wreck them by a fall. And besides, I've been looking at their machines and I know there has been a fight. A fight, exclaimed several, picking up their ears. Yes, said Mr. Edison. Those machines bear the marks of the lightning of the Martians. They have been disabled, but they are made of some metal or some alloy of metals unknown to me. And consequently, they have withstood the destructive force applied to them. As our electric ships were unable to withstand it, it is perfectly plain to me that they have been disabled by a battle. The Martians must have been fighting among themselves. A Martian civil war. About the gold, exclaimed one. Of course, what else was there to fight about? At this instant, one of our men came running from a considerable distance, waving his arms excitedly, but unable to give voice to his story. In the inappreciable atmosphere of the asteroid until he had come up and made telephonic connection with us. There is a lot of dead Martians over there, he said. They've been cleaning one another out. That's it, said Mr. Edison. I knew it when I saw the condition of those machines. Then this is not a wrecked expedition directed against the earth. Not at all. This must be the great gold mine of Mars, said the president of an Australian mining company, opening both his eyes and his mouth as he spoke. Yes, evidently that's it. Here's where they came to get their wealth. And this, I said, must be their harvest time. You notice that this asteroid, being several million miles nearer to the sun than Mars is, must have an appreciably shorter period of revolution. When it is in conjunction with Mars, or nearly so, as it is at present, the distance between the two is not very great. Whereas when it is in the opposite part of its orbit, they are separated by an enormous gap of space and the sun is between them. Manifestly, in the latter case, it would be perilous if not entirely impossible for the Martians to visit the golden asteroid. But when it is near Mars, as it is at present, and as it must be periodically for several years at a time, then is their opportunity. With their projectile cars set forth with the aid of the mysterious explosives which they possess, it is easy for them under such circumstances to make visits to the asteroid. Having obtained all the gold they need or all that they can carry, a comparatively slight impulse given to their car, the direction of which is carefully calculated, will carry them back again to Mars. If that so exclaimed a voice, we had better look out for ourselves. We have got into a very hornet's nest. If this is the place where the Martians come to dig gold, and if this is the height of their season, as you say, they are not likely to leave us here long undisturbed. These fellows must have been pirates that they had the fight with, said another. But what's become of the regulars then? Gone back to Mars for help, probably, and they'll be here again pretty quick, I am afraid. Considerable alarm was caused by this view of the case, and orders were sent to several of the electoral ships to cruise out to a safe distance in the direction of Mars and keep a sharp lookout for the approach of enemies. Discovery that the asteroid is a solid mass of gold. Meanwhile, our prisoner awoke. He turned his eyes upon those standing about him, without any appearance of fear, but rather with a look of contempt, like that which Gulliver must have felt for the Lilapushians who had bound him under similar circumstances. There was both hatred and defiance in his glance. He attempted to free himself, and the rope strained with the tremendous pressure that he put upon them, but he could not break loose. The Martians safely bound. Satisfied that the Martian was safely bound, we left him where he lay, and while awaiting news from the ships, which had been sent to Reconoiter, continued the exploration of the little planet. At a point nearly opposite to that where we had landed, we came upon the mine, which the Martians had been working. Some of it was so solidly packed that the strokes of the instruments, by means of which they had detached it, were visible like the streaks left by a knife cutting cheese. Reason for astonishment. The more we saw of this golden planet, the greater became our astonishment. What the Martians had removed was a mere nothing in comparison with the entire bulk of the asteroid. Had the celestial mine been easier to reach, perhaps they would have removed more, or possibly their political economists perfectly understood the necessity of properly controlling the amount of precious metal in circulation. Very likely we thought the mining operations were under government control in Mars, and it might be that the majority of people there knew nothing of this store of wealth floating in the firmament. That would account for the battle with the supposed pirates, who no doubt had organized a secret expedition to the asteroid and been caught red-handed at the mine. Richer than the Klondike. There were many detached masses of gold scattered about, and some of the men, on picking them up, exclaimed with astonishment at their lack of weight, forgetting for the moment that the same law which caused their own bodies to waste so little must necessarily affect everything else in like degree. A mass of gold that on the earth no man would have been able to lift could here be tossed about like a hollow rubber ball. While we were examining the mine, one of the men left to guard the Martian came running to inform us that the latter evidently wished to make some communication. Mr. Edison and others hurried to the side of the prisoner. He still lay on his back, from which position he was not able to move, notwithstanding all his efforts. But by the motion of his eyes aided by a pantomime with his fingers, he made us understand that there was something in a metallic box fastened at his side which he wished to reach. The Martian's treasure box. With some difficulty we succeeded in opening the box, and in it there appeared a number of bright red pellets as large as an ordinary egg. When the Martians saw these in our hands, he gave us to understand by the motion of his lips the mysterious pellets. While trying to communicate his wishes to us the prisoner had seemed to be in no little distress. He exhibited spasmatic movements which led some of the bystanders to think that he was on the point of dying. But with a few seconds after he had swallowed the pellet he appeared to be completely restored. All evidence of distress vanished, and a look of content came over his ugly face. It must be powerful medicine said one of the bystanders. I wonder what it is. I will explain to you my notion, said Professor Moyzen, the great French chemist. I think it was a pill of air which he has taken. What do you mean by that? Artificial atmosphere. My meaning is said Professor Moyzen that the Martian must have for that he may live the nitrogen and the oxygen. These he cannot obtain here where there is not the atmosphere. Therefore must he get them in some other manner. This has he managed to do by combining in these pills the oxygen and the nitrogen and the repositions which make atmospheric air. Doubtless upon Mars there are the very great chemists. They have discovered how this may be done. When the Martian has swallowed his little pill the oxygen and the nitrogen are rendered to his blood as if he had breathed them. And so he can live with that air which he has been distributed to him with aid of his stomach in the place of his lungs. If Monsieur Moyzen's explanation was not correct at any rate it seemed the only one that would fit the facts before us. Certainly the Martian could not breathe where there was practically no air. Yet just as certainly after he had swallowed his pill he seemed as comfortable as any of us. Signals from a ship. Suddenly while we were gathered around the prisoner and interested in this fresh evidence of the wonderful ingenuity of the Martians and of their control over the processes of nature one of the electrical ships that had been sent off in the direction of Mars was seen rapidly returning and displaying signals. The Martians are coming. It reported that the Martians were coming. End of chapter seven. This recording by the grumpy old squid of Hampton Roads, Virginia. Chapter eight of Edison's Conquest of Mars. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org. Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Service. Chapter eight. The alarm was spread instantly among those upon the planet and through the remainder of the fleet. One of the men from the returning electrical ship dropped down upon the asteroid and gave a more detailed account of what they had seen. His ship had been the one which had gone to the greatest distance in the direction of Mars. While cruising there with all eyes intent they had suddenly perceived a glittering object moving from the direction of the Rudy planet and manifestly approaching them. A little inspection with the telescope had shown that it was one of the projectile cars used by the Martians. Our ship had ventured so far from the asteroid that for a moment it seemed doubtful whether it would be able to return in time to give warning because the electrical influence of the asteroid was comparatively slight at such a distance and after they had reversed their polarity and applied their intensity fire so as to make that influence effective their motion was at first exceedingly slow. Fortunately after a time they got underway with sufficient velocity to bring them back to us before the approaching Martians could overtake them. The latter were not moving with great velocity having evidently projected themselves from Mars with only just sufficient force to throw them within the feeble sphere of gravitation of the asteroid so that they would very gently land upon its surface. Indeed, looking out behind the electrical ship which had brought us the warning we immediately saw the projectile of the Martians approaching. It sparked like a star in the black sky as the sunlight fell upon it. The ready for the enemy. The ships of the squadron whose crews had not landed upon the planet were signaled to prepare for action while those who were upon the asteroid made ready for battle there. A number of disintegrators were trained upon the approaching Martians but Mr. Edison gave strict orders that no attempt should be made to discharge the Vibratory Force at random. They do not know that we are here, he said. And I am convinced that they are unable to control their motions as we can do with our electrical ships. They depend simply upon the force of gravitation. Having passed the limit of the attraction of Mars they have now fallen within the attraction of the asteroid and they must slowly sink to its surface. The Martians cannot stop. Having as I am convinced no means of producing or controlling electrical attraction and repulsion they cannot stop themselves but must come down upon the asteroid. Having got here they could never get away again except as we know the survivors got away from Earth by propelling their projectile against gravitation with the aid of an explosive. Therefore to a certain extent they will be at our mercy. Let us allow them quietly to land upon the planet and then I think if it becomes necessary we can master them. Notwithstanding Mr. Edison's reassuring words and manner the company upon the asteroid experienced a dreadful suspense while the projectile which seemed very formidable as it drew near thanked with a slow and graceful motion towards the surface of the ground. Evidently it was about to land very near the spot where we stood awaiting it. Its inmates had apparently just caught sight of us. They invianced signs of astonishment and seemed at loss exactly what to do. We could see projecting from the far part of their car at least two of the Polish knobs whose fearful use and power we well comprehended. Several of our men cried out to Mr. Edison in an extremity of terror. Why do you not destroy them? Be quick or we shall all perish. No, said Mr. Edison. There is no danger. You can see that they are not prepared. They will not attempt to attack us until they have made their landing. The Martians land. And Mr. Edison was right. With gradually accelerated velocity and yet very, very slowly, in comparison with the speed they would have exhibited in falling upon such a planet as the Earth, the Martians and their car came down to the ground. We stood at a distance of perhaps 300 feet from the point where they touched the asteroid. Instantly a dozen of giants sprang from their car and gazed about for a moment with a look of intense surprise. At first it was doubtful whether they meant to attack us at all. We stood on our guard, several carrying disintegrators in our hands while a score more of these terrible engines were turned upon the Martians from the electrical ships which hovered near. A speech from their leader. Suddenly he who seemed to be the leader of the Martians began to speak to them in pantomime using his fingers after the manner in which they are used for conversation by deaf and dumb people. Of course we didn't know what he was saying but his meaning became perfectly evident a minute later. Clearly they did not comprehend the powers of the insignificant looking strangers with whom they had to deal. Instead of turning their destructive engines upon us they advanced on a run with the evident purpose of making us prisoners or crushing us by main force. Aved by the disintegrator. The soft viewer of the disintegrator in the hands of Mr. Edison, standing near me came to my ears through the telephonic wire. He quickly swept the concentrating mirror a little up and down and instantly the four most Martians vanished. Part of some metallic dress that he wore fell upon the ground where he had stood. Its vibratory rate not having been included in the range imparted to the disintegrator. His followers paused for a moment, amazed, stared about as if looking for their leader and then hurried back to their projectile and disappeared within it. Now we've got business in our hands, said Mr. Edison. Look out for yourselves. As he spoke I saw the death dealing knob with the war engine contained in the car of the Martians moving around toward us. In another instant it would have launched its destroying bolt. Before that could occur, however, it had been dissipated into space by a vibratory stream from a disintegrator. But we were not to get the victory quite so easily. There was another of the war engines in the car and before we could concentrate our fire upon it its awful flesh shot forth and a dozen of our comrades perished before our eyes. Quick, quick, shouted Mr. Edison to one of his electrical experts standing near. There is something the matter with this disintegrator and I cannot make it work. Aim at the knob and don't mess it. Martians and Terrestrians fight a terrible battle. But the aim was not well taken and the vibratory force fell upon a portion of the car at considerable distance from the knob making a great breach but leaving the engine uninjured. A section of the side of the car had been destroyed and the vibratory energy had spread no further. To have attempted to sweep the car from end to end would have been futile because the period of action of the disintegrators during each discharge did not exceed one second and distributing the energy over so great a space would have seriously weakened its power to shatter apart the atoms of the resisting substance. So disintegrators were like firearms in that after each discharge they must be readjusted before they could be used again. The Martians are desperate. Through the breach we saw the Martians inside making desperate efforts to train their engine upon us for after their first disastrous stroke we had rapidly shifted our position. Swiftly the polished knob which gleamed like an evil eye moved round to sweep over us. Instinctively, though unconsciously, we had collected in a group. A single discharge would sweep us all into eternity. A ticklish position. Will no one fire upon them? exclaimed Mr. Edison, struggling with the disintegrator in his hands which still refused to work. At this fearful moment I glanced around upon our company and was astonished at the spectacle. In the presence of the danger many of them had lost all self-command. A half dozen had dropped their disintegrators upon the ground. Others stood as if frozen fast in their tracks. The expert electrician whose poor aim had had such disastrous results held in his hand an instrument which was in perfect condition, yet with mouth agape he stood trembling like a captured bird. The electricians lose their heads. It was a disgraceful exhibition. Mr. Edison, however, had not lost his head. Again and again he cited at the dreadful knob with his disintegrator but the vibratory force refused to respond. The means of safety were in our hands and yet through a combination of ill luck and paralyzing terror we seemed unable to use them. In a second more it would be all over with us. The suspense in reality lasted only during the twinkling of an eye though it seemed ages long. Unable to endure it I sharply struck the shoulder of the paralyzed electrician. To have attempted to seize the disintegrator from his hands would have been a fatal waste of time. Luckily the blow either rose him from his stupor or caused an instinctive movement of his hand that sets a little engine in operation. I'm sure he took no aim but providentially the vibratory force fell upon the desired point and the knob disappeared. Saved. We were saved. Instantly half a dozen rushed towards the car of the Martians. We bitterly repented their haste. They did not live to repent. Unknown to us the Martians carried hand engines capable of launching bolts of death of the same character as those which emanated from the knobs of their larger machines. With these they fired so to speak through the bridge in their car and four of our men who were rushing upon them fell in heaps of cinders. The effect of the terrible fire was like that which the most powerful strokes of lightning occasionally produced on earth. The destruction of the threatening knob had instantaneously relieved the pressure upon the terror-sticken nerves of our company and they had all regained their composure and self-command. But this new and unexpected disaster following so close upon the fear which had recently overpowered them produced a second panic the effect of which was not to stiffen them in their tracks as before but to send them scurrying in every direction in search of hiding places. A curious effect. And now our most curious effect of the smallness of the planet we were on began to play a conspicuous part in our adventures. Standing on a globe only five miles in diameter was like being on the summit of a mountain whose side sloped rapidly off in every direction disappearing in the black sky on all sides as if it were some stupendous peak rising out of an unfathomable abyss. In consequence of the quick rounding off of the sides of this globe the line of the horizon was closed at hand and by running a distance of less than 250 yards the fugitives disappeared down the sides of the asteroid and behind the horizon. Even from the elevation of about 15 feet from which the Martians were able to watch them. From our side they disappeared much sooner. The slight attraction of the planet and their consequent almost entire lack of weight enabled the men to run with immense speed. The result as I subsequently learned was that after they had disappeared from our view they acquitted the planet entirely the force being sufficient to partially free them from its gravitation. So that they sailed out into space whirling helplessly end over end until the elliptical orbits in which they traveled eventually brought them back again to the planet on the side nearly opposite to that from which they had departed. Hunting for the enemy. But several of us with Mr. Edison stood fast watching for an opportunity to get the Martians within range of the disintegrators. Luckily we were enabled by shifting our position a little to the left to get out of the line of sight of our enemies consued in the car. If we cannot catch sight of them said Mr. Edison we shall have to riddle the car on the chance of hitting them. It will be like firing into a bush to kill a hidden bear said one of the party. But hope came from a quarter which was unexpected to us although it should not have been so. Several of the electrical ships had been hovering above us during the fight. There are commanders being apparently uncertain how to act fearful perhaps of injuring us in the attempt to smite our enemy. But now the situation apparently lightened for them. They saw that we were at an immense disadvantage and several of them immediately turned their batteries upon the car of the Martians. They riddled it far more quickly and effectively than we could have done. Every stroke of the vibratory emanation made a gap in the side of the car and we could perceive from the commotion within that our enemies were being rapidly massacred in their fortification. So overwhelming was the force and the advantage of the ships that in a little while it was all over. Mr. Edison signaled them to stop firing because it was plain that all resistance had ceased and probably not one of the Martians remained alive. We now approach the car which had been transposed in every direction and whose remaining portions were glowing with heat in consequence of the spreading of the atomic vibrations. Immediately we discovered that all our anticipations were correct and that all of our enemies had perished. The effect of the disintegrators upon them had been awful. Too repulsive indeed to be described in detail. Some of the bodies had evidently entirely vanished, only certain metal articles which they had worn remaining, as in the case of the first Martian killed, to indicate that such beings had ever existed. The nature of the metal composing these articles was unknown to us. Evidently its vibratory rhythm did not correspond with any, included in the ordinary range of the disintegrators. The disintegrators' awful effect. Some of the giants had been only partially destroyed. The vibratory current having graced them in such a manner that the shattering andulations had not acted upon the entire body. One thing that lends a peculiar horror to a terrestrial battlefield was absent. There was no bloodshed. The vibratory energy not only completely destroyed whatever it fell upon, but it seared the veins and arteries of the dismembered bodies, so that there was no sanguinary exhibition connected with its murderous work. All this time the shackled Martian had lain on his back where we had left him bound. What his feelings must have been may be imagined, at times ecotic limbs of his eyes, wildly rolling and exhibiting, when he saw that the victory was in our hands, the first indications of fear and terror shaking his soul that had yet appeared. That fellow is afraid at last, I said to Mr. Edison. Well, I should think he ought to be afraid, was the reply. So he ought, but if I am not mistaken, this fear of his may be the beginning of a new discovery for us. How so, asked Mr. Edison. In this way, when once he fears our power and perceives that there would be no hope of contending against us, even if you were at liberty, he will respect us. This change in his mental attitude may tend to make him communicative. I do not see why we should despair of learning his language from him, and having done that, he will serve as our guide and interpreter and will be of incalculable advantage to us when we have arrived at Mars. Capital, capital, said Mr. Edison, we must concentrate the linguistic genius of our company upon that problem at once. The deserters return. In the meantime, some of the scokers whose flight I have referred to began to return. Chuck Fallon, but rejoicing in the disappearance of the danger. Several of them, I am ashamed to say, had been army officers. Yet possibly some excuse could be made for the terror by which they had been overcome. No man has the right to hold his fellow beings to account for the line of conduct they may pursue under circumstances which are not only entirely unexampled in their experience, but almost beyond the power of the imagination to picture. Paralyzing terror had evidently seized them with a sudden comprehension of the unprecedented singularity of their situation. Millions of miles away from the Earth, confronted on an asteroid by those, diabolical monsters from a maleficient planet who were on the point of destroying them with a strange torment of death. Perhaps it was really more than human nature, deprived of the support of human surroundings could have been expected to be here. Those who as already described had run with so great speed that they were projected, all unwilling into space, rising in elliptical orbits from the surface of the planet, describing great curves in what might be denominated its sky, and then coming back again to the little globe on another side, were so filled with the wonders of their remarkable adventure that they had almost forgotten the terror which had inspired it. There was nothing surprising in what had occurred to them the moment one considered the loss of gravitation on the asteroid. But their stories arose an intense interest among all who listened to them. Lord Kelvin was particularly interested, and while Mr. Edison was hastening preparations to quit the asteroid and resume our voyage to Mars, Lord Kelvin and a number of other scientific men instituted a series of remarkable experiments, jumping into empty space. It was one of the most lovable things imaginable to see Lord Kelvin dressed in his airtight suit, making tremendous jumps into empty space. It reminded me forcibly of what Lord Kelvin, the plain William Thompson and Professor Blackburn had done when spending a summer vacation at the seaside, while they were undergraduates of Cambridge University. They had spent all their time to the surprise of onlookers in spinning rounded stones on the beach, their object being to obtain a practical solution of the mathematical problem of precession. Immediately Lord Kelvin was imitated by a dozen others. With what seemed very slight effort, they projected themselves straight upward, rising to a height of 400 feet or more, and then slowly setting back again to the surface of the asteroid. The time of rise and fall combined with between three and four minutes. On this little planet, the acceleration of gravity or the velocity acquired by a falling body in one second was only four-fifths of an inch. A body required an entire minute to fall a distance of only 120 feet. Consequently, it was more like gradually settling than falling. The figures of these men of science, rising and sinking in this manner, appeared like so many gigantic marionettes bobbing up and down in a pneumatic bottle. Let us try that, said Mr. Edison, very much interested in the experiments. A delightful experience. Both of us jumped together. At first with great swiftness, but gradually losing speed, we rose to an immense height straight from the ground. When we had reached the utmost limit of our flight, we seemed to come to rest for a moment, and then began slowly but with accelerated velocity to sink back again to the planet. It was not only a peculiar but a delicious sensation, and but for strict orders, which were issued such electrical ships should be immediately prepared for departure. Our entire company might have remained for an indefinite period, enjoying this new kind of athletic exercise. In a world where gravitation had become so humble that it could be travelled with. While the final preparations for departure were being made, Lord Kelvin instituted other experiments that were no less unique in their results. The experience of those who had taken unpremediated flights in elliptical orbits when they had run from the vicinity of the Martians suggested the throwing of solid objects in various directions from the surface of the planet in order to determine the distance that they would go and the curve they would describe in returning. Mars, the death-dealing planet at length at hand. For these experiments, there was nothing more convenient or abundant than chunks of gold from the Martians' mine. These accordingly were hurled in various directions and with every degree of velocity. A little calculation had shown that an initial velocity of 30 feet per second imparted to one of these chunks, moving at right angles to the radius of the asteroid would, if the resistance of an almost inexpressible atmosphere were neglected, suffice to turn the piece of gold into a little satellite that would describe an orbit around the asteroid and continue to do so forever or at least until the slight atmospheric resistance should eventually bring you down to the surface. But at less velocities than 30 feet per second would cause the golden missile to fly only partway around while a greater velocity would give it an elliptical instead of a circular orbit. And in this ellipse, it would continue to revolve around the asteroid in the character of satellite. If the direction of the original impulse were at more than the right angle to the radius of the asteroid, then the flying body would pass out to a greater or less distance in space in an elliptical orbit, eventually coming back again and falling upon the asteroid, but not at the same spot from which it had departed. Interesting experiments. So many took part in these singular experiments which assumed rather the appearance of outdoor sports than of scientific demonstrations that in a short time we had provided the asteroid with a very large number of little moons or satellites of gold which revolved around it in orbits of various degrees of ellipticity, taking on the average about three quarters of an hour to complete a circuit. Since on completing a revolution they must necessarily pass through the point from which they started. They kept us constantly on the quiver to avoid being knocked over by them as they swept around in their orbits. Finally the signal was given for all to embark and with great regret the savants quitted their scientific games and prepared to return to the electric ships. Just on the moment of departure the fact was announced by one who had been making a little calculation in a bit of paper that the velocity with which a body must be thrown in order to escape forever the attraction of the asteroid and to pass on to an infinite distance in any direction was only about 42 feet in a second. Manifestly it would be quite easy to impart such a speed as that to the chunks of gold that we held in our hands. A message to the Earth. Hurrah exclaimed one let's send some of this back to the Earth. Where is the Earth? asked another. Being appealed to several astronomers turned their eyes in the direction of the sun where the black firmament was ablaze with stars and in a moment recognized the Earth star shining there with the moon attending close at hand. There said one, is the Earth? Can you throw straight enough to hit it? We'll try with the reply and immediately several through with huge golden nuggets in the direction of our far away world endeavoring to impart to them at least the required velocity 42 feet in a second which would ensure their passing beyond the attraction of the asteroid and if there should be no disturbance on the way and the aim were accurate there eventual arrival upon the Earth. Here's for you old Earth said one of the throwers good luck and more gold to you. If these precious missiles ever reached the Earth we knew that they would plunge into the atmosphere like meteors and that probably the heat developed by their passage would melt and dissipate them in golden vapors before they could touch the ground. Yet there was a chance that some of them if the aim were true might survive the theory passage through the atmosphere and fall upon the surface of our planet where perhaps they would afterward be picked up by a prospector and lead him to believe that he had struck a new bonanza. But until we returned to the Earth it would be impossible for us to tell what had become of the golden gifts which we had launched into space for our mother planet. End of chapter 8 Chapter 9 of Edison's Conquest of Mars This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer please visit LibriVox.org Recording by Christine Edison's Conquest of Mars by Garrett P. Service Chapter 9 All aboard for Mars All aboard was the signal and the squadron having assembled under the lead of the flagship we started again for Mars. This time as it proved there was to be no further interruption and when next we pause it was in the presence of the world inhabited by our enemies and facing their throning batteries. Difficulty in starting We did not find it so easy to start from the asteroid as it had been to start from the Earth. That is to say we could not so readily generate a very high velocity in consequence of the comparatively small size of the asteroid. Its electric influence was very much less than that of the Earth and not withstanding the appliances which we possessed for intensifying the electrical effect it was not possible to produce a sufficient repulsion to start us off for Mars with anything like the impulse which we had received from the Earth on our original departure. The utmost velocity that we could generate did not exceed 3 miles in a second and to get this required our utmost efforts. In fact, it had not seen possible that we should attain even so great a speed as that. It was far more than we could have expected and even Mr Edison was surprised as well as greatly gratified when he found that we were moving with the velocities that I have named. Mars, 6 million miles away. We were still about 6 million miles from Mars so that, travelling 3 miles in a second we should require at least 23 days to reach the immediate neighborhood of the planet. Meanwhile, we had plenty of occupation to make the time pass quickly. Our prisoner was transported along with us and we now began our attempts to ascertain what his language was and if possible to master it ourselves. Before quitting the asteroid we had found that it was necessary for him to swallow one of his air pills as Professor Moyes-San called them at least three times in the course of every 24 hours. One of us supplied him regularly and I thought that I could detect evidences of a certain degree of gratitude in his expression. This was encouraging because it gave additional promise of the possibility of our being able to communicate with him in some more effective way than by mere signs. But once inside the car where we had a supply of air kept at the ordinary pressure experienced on the earth he could breathe like the rest of us. Learning the Martian's language The best linguists in the expedition as Mr. Edison had suggested were now assembled in the flagship where the prisoner was and they set to work to devise some means of ascertaining the manner in which he was accustomed to express his thoughts. We had not heard him speak because until we carried him into our car there was no atmosphere capable of conveying any sounds he might attempt to utter. It seemed a fair assumption that the language of the Martians would be scientific in its structure. We had so much evidence of the practical bent of their minds and of the immense progress which they had made in the direction of the scientific conquest of nature that it was not to be supposed their medium of communication with one another would be lacking in clearness or would possess one of the puzzling and unnecessary ambiguities that characterized the languages spoken on the earth. We shall not find them making he's and she's of stones, sticks and other ineminent objects said one of the American linguists. They must certainly have gotten rid of all that nonsense long ago. Ah, said a French professor from the Sorborn. One of the makers of the newer to be finished dictionary. It will be like the language of my country transparent, similar to the diamond and sparkling as is the fountain, the Walla Puck of Mars. I think said the German enthusiast said it will be a universal language, the Walla Puck of Mars, spoken by all the inhabitants of that planet. But all these speculations broke in Mr. Addison. Do not help you much. Why not begin in a practical manner by finding out what the Martian calls himself, for instance. This seemed a good suggestion and accordingly several of the bystanders began an expressive pantomime intended to indicate to the giant who was following all their emotions with his eyes, that they wished to know by what name he called himself. Pointing their fingers to their own breasts, they repeated one after the other the word man. If our prisoner had been a stupid savage, of course, any such attempt as this to make him understand would have been idle. But it must be remembered that we were dealing with a personage who had presumably inherited from hundreds of generations the results of a civilization and an intellectual advance measured by the constant progress of millions of years. Accordingly, we were not very much astonished when, after a few repetitions of the experiment, the Martian, one of whose arms had been partially released from its bones in order to give him a little freedom of motion, imitated the action of his interrogators by pressing his finger over his heart. The Martian speaks. Then, opening his mouth, he gave utterance to a sound which shook the air of the car like the horse-rower of our lion. He seemed himself surprised by the noise he made, for he had not been used to speak in so dense an atmosphere. Our ears were deafened and confused and we were called in astonishment not to say half in terror. With an ugly grin distorting his face as if he enjoyed our discomforture, the Martian repeated its motion and the sound. It was not articulate to our ears and not to be represented by any combination of letters. Face exclaimed a Dublin University professor, if that's what they call themselves, how shall we ever translate their names when we come to write the history of the conquest? Oh, Eastmon, replied the professor from the University of Aberdeen, let us whip the curaviging villains first, and then we can describe them by any intitulation that may suit our disposition. The beginning of our linguistic conquest was certainly not promising, at least if measured by our acquirement of words, but from another point of view it was very gratifying in as much as it was plain that the Martian understood what we were trying to do and was, for the present at least, disposed to aid us. These efforts to learn the language of Mars were renewed and repeated every few hours, all the experience learning and genius of the squadron being concentrated upon the work, and the result was that in the course of a few days we had actually succeeded in learning a dozen or more of the Martian's words and were able to make him understand us when we pronounced them, as well as to understand him when our ears had become accustomed to the growling of his voice. Finally one day the prisoner, who seemed to be in an unusual cheerful frame of mind, indicated that he carried in his breast some object which he wished us to see. The Martian book. With our assistance he pulled out a book. Actually it was a book, not very unlike the books which we have upon the earth, but printed of course in characters that were entirely strange and unknown to us. Yet these characters evidently gave expression to a highly intellectual language. All those who were standing by at the moment uttered a shout of wonder and of delight. And the cry, a book, a book, ran around the circle and the good news was even promptly communicated to some of the neighboring electric ships of the squadron. Several other learned men were summoned in haste from them to examine our new treasure. The Martian, whose good nature had manifestly been growing day after day, watched our inspection of his book with evidences of great interest, not unmingled with amusement. Finally he beacons the holder of the book to his side and placing his broad finger upon one of the huge letters, if letters they were, for they more nearly resembled the characters employed by the Chinese printer. He uttered a sound which we of course took to be a word, but which was different from any we had yet heard. Then he pointed to one after another of us standing around. Ah, explained everybody, the Jews being apparent. That is the word by which the Martians designate us. They have a name, then, for the inhabitants of the earth. Or perhaps it is rather the name for the earth itself, said one. But this could not, of course, be at once determined. Anyhow the word, whatever its precise meaning might be, had now been added to our vocabulary, although as yet our organs of speech proved unable to reproduce it in a recognizable form. This promising and unexpected discovery of the Martians book lent added enthusiasm to those who were engaged in the work of trying to master the language of our prisoner, and the progress that they made in the course of the next few days was truly astonishing. If the prisoner had been unwilling to aid them, of course, it would have been impossible to proceed. But fortunately for us he seemed more and more to enter into the spirit of the undertaking, and actually to enjoy himself. So bright and quick was his understanding that he was even able to indicate to us methods of mastering his language that would otherwise probably never have occurred to our minds. The prisoner teaches. In fact in a very short time he had turned teacher and all these learned men pressing around him with eager attention had become his pupils. I cannot undertake to say precisely how much of the Martian language had been acquired by the chief linguist of the expedition before the time when we arrived so near to Mars that it became necessary for most of us to abandon our studies in order to make ready for the more serious business which now confronted us. But at any rate the acquisition was so considerable as to allow of the intercharge of ordinary ideas with our prisoner, and there was no longer any doubt that he would be able to give us much information when we landed on his native planet. At the end of 23 days as measured by terrestrial time since our departure from the asteroid we arrived in the sky of Mars. For a long time the rudy planet had been growing larger and more formidable gradually turning from a huge star into a great red moon and then expanding more and more until it began to shut out from sight the constellations behind it. The curious markings on its surface which from the earth can only be dimly glimpsed with a powerful telescope began to reveal themselves clearly to our naked eyes. I have related how even before we had reached the asteroid Mars began to present a most imposing appearance as we saw it with our telescopes. Now however that it was close at hand the naked eye view of the planet was more wonderful than anything we had been able to see with telescopes when at a greater distance. Mars in sight. We were approaching the southern hemisphere of Mars in about latitude 45 degrees south. It was near the time of the vernal aquinox in that hemisphere of the planet and under the stimulating influence of the spring sun rising higher and higher every day some such awakening of life and activity upon its surface as a curse on the earth and our similar circumstances was evidently going on. Around the south pole were spread immense fields of snow and ice gleaming with great brilliance cutting deep into the borders of these ice fields we could see broad channels of open water indicating the rapid breaking of the grip of the frost. Almost directly beneath us was a broad oval region light red in color to which terrestrial astronomers had evened the name of Hellas. Towards the south between Hellas and the borders of the polar ice was a great belt of darkness that astronomers had always been inclined to regard as a sea. Looking towards the north we could perceive the immense red expenses of the continents of Mars with the long chord line of the 30th major or the hourglass sea sweeping through the midst of them towards the north until it disappeared under the horizon. Crossing and recrossing the red continents in every direction were the canals of Schiaferelli. Mars reached at last thrilling adventures. Plentyfully sprinkled over the surface we could see brilliant points some of dazzling brightness outshining the daylight. There was also an astonishing variety in the colors of the broad expenses venice. Activity, vivacity and beauty such as we were utterly unprepared to behold expressed their presence on all sides. The excitement on the flagship and among the other members of the squadron was immense. It was certainly a thrilling scene. Here right under our feet lays the world we had come to do battle with. Its appearances while recalling in some of their broader aspects those which it had presented when viewed from our observatories were far more strange, complex and wonderful than any astronomer had ever dreamed of. Suppose all of our anticipation spot Mars should prove to have been wrong after all. There could be no longer any question that it was a world which, if not absolutely teeming with inhabitants, like a gigantic anthill at any rate bore on every side the marks of their presence and of their incredible undertakings and achievements. Here and there clouds of smoke arose and spread slowly through the atmosphere venice. Floating higher above the surface of the planet were clouds of vapor, assuming the familiar forms of stratus and cumulus with which we were acquainted upon the earth. Dense clouds appear. These clouds, however, seemed upon the whole to be much less dense than those to which we were accustomed at home. They had too a peculiar iridescent beauty, as if there was something in their composition or their texture which split up the chromatic elements of the sunlight and thus produced internal rainbow effects that caused some of the heavier cloud masses to resemble immense collections of opals alive with the play of ever-changing colors and magically suspended above the planet. As we continued to study the phenomena that was gradually unfolded beneath us, we thought that we could detect in many places evidences of the existence of strong fortifications. The planet of war appeared to be prepared for the attacks of enemies. Since, as our own experience had shown, it sometimes waged war with distant planets. It was but natural that it should be found prepared to resist foes who might be disposed to revenge themselves for injuries suffered at its hands. As had been expected, our prisoner now proved to be of very great assistance to us. Apparently he took a certain pride in exhibiting to strangers from a distant world the beauties and wonders of his own planet. The Martian is understood. We could not understand by any means all that he said, but we could readily comprehend from his gestures and from the manner in which his features lighted up at the recognition of familiar scenes and objects, what his sentiments in regard to them were, and, in a general way, what parts they played in the life of the planet. He confirmed our opinion that certain of the works which we saw beneath us were fortifications intended for the protection of the planet against invaders from outer space. A cunning and almost diabolical look came into his eyes as he pointed to one of these strong holds, cause for anxiety. His confidence and his mocking looks were not reassuring to us. He knew what his planet was capable of, and we did not. He had seen on the asteroid the extent of our power, and while its display served to intimidate him there, yet now that he and we together were facing the world of his birth, his fear had evidently fallen from him, and he had the manner of one who feels that the shield of an all-powerful protector had been extended over him. But it could not be long now before we should ascertain by the irrevocable test of actual experience, whether the Martians possessed the power to annihilate us or not. How shall I describe our feelings as we gazed at the scenes spread beneath us? They were not quite the same as those of the discovery of new lands upon the earth. This was a whole new world that we had discovered, and it was filled as we could see with inhabitants. But that was not all. We had not come with peaceful intentions. We were to make war on this new world. Deducting our losses we had not more than 940 men left. With these we were to undertake the conquest of a world, containing we could not say how many millions. A hard task ahead. Our enemies, instead of being below us in the scale of intelligence, where we had every reason to believe, greatly our superiors, they had proved that they possessed a command over the powers of nature, such as we, up to the time when Mr. Edison made his inventions, had not even dreamed that it was possible for us to obtain. It was true that at present we appear to have the advantage, both in our electrical ships and in our means of offense. The disintegrator was at least as powerful an engine of destruction as any that the Martians had yet shown that they possessed. It did not seem that in that respect they could possibly excel us. During the brief war with the Martians upon the earth it had been gunpowder against a mysterious force, as much stronger than gunpowder, as the latter was superior to the bows and arrows that preceded it. There had been no comparison, whatever, between the offensive means employed by the two parties in the struggle on the earth. But the genius of one man had suddenly put us on the level of our enemies in regard to fighting capacity. Then, too, our electrical ships were far more effective for their purpose than the projectile cores used by the Martians. In fact, the principle upon which they were based was, at button, so simple that it seemed astonishing the Martians had not hit upon it. Mr. Edison himself was never tired of saying in reference to this matter. The Martians are mystery. I cannot understand why the Martians did not invent these things. They have given ample proof that they understand electricity better than we do. Why should they have resorted to the comparatively awkward and bungling means of getting from one planet to another, that they have employed when they might have ridden through the solar system in such conveniences as ours with perfect ease? And besides, Mr. Edison would add, I cannot understand why they did not employ the principle of harmonic vibrations in the construction of their engines of war. The lightning-like strokes that they deal from their machines are no doubt equally powerful, but I think the range of destruction covered by the disintegrators is greater. However, these questions must remain open until we could affect a landing on Mars and learn something of the condition of things there. The things that gave us the most uneasiness was the fact that we did not yet know what powers the Martians might have in reserve. It was but natural to suppose that here, on their own ground, they would possess means of defense even more effective than the offensive engines they had employed in attacking enemies so many millions of miles from home. It was important that we should waste no time, and it was equally important that we should select the most vulnerable point for attack. It was self-evident, therefore, that our first duty would be to reconnoiter the surface of the planet and determine its weakest point of defense. At first Mr. Edison contemplated sending the various ships in different directions around the planet in order that the work of exploration might be quickly accomplished, but upon second thought it seemed wiser to keep this quadrant together, thus diminishing the chains of disaster. Besides, the commander wished to see with his own eyes the exact situation of the various parts of the planet, where it might appear advisable for us to begin our assault. Thus far we had remained suspended at so great a height above the planet that we had hardly entered into a perceptible limits of its atmosphere, and there was no evidence that we had been seen by the inhabitants of Mars. But before starting on our voyage of exploration, it was determined to drop down closer to the surface in order that we might the more certainly identify the localities or which we passed. This manure nearly got us into serious trouble. A huge airship. When we had arrived within a distance of three miles from the surface of Mars, we suddenly perceived approaching from the eastward a large airship which was navigating the Martian atmosphere at a height of perhaps half a mile above the ground. More stirring adventures of our barriers against Mars. This airship moved rapidly on to a point nearly beneath us, when it suddenly pulsed, reversed its course, and evidently made signals, the purpose of which was not at first evident to us. But in a short time their meaning became perfectly plain, when we found ourselves surrounded by at least 20 similar aerostats approaching swiftly from different sides. It was a great mystery to us where so many airships had been concealed previous to their sudden appearance in answer to the signals. But the mystery was quickly solved when we saw detaching itself from the surface of the planet beneath us, where, while it remained immovable, its color had blended with that of the soil, so as to render it invisible, another of the mysterious ships. Then our startled eyes beheld on all sides these formidable looking enemies rising from the ground beneath us, like so many gigantic insects, disturbed by a sudden alarm. In a short time the atmosphere a mile or two below us, and to a distance of perhaps 20 miles around in every direction, was alive with airships of various sizes, and some of most extraordinary forms, exchanging signals, rushing to and fro, but all finally concentrating beneath the place where our squadron was suspended. We had poked the hornet's nest with a vengeance, as yet there had been no sting, but we might quickly expect to feel it if we did not get out of range. ESCAPING DANGER Quickly instructions were flashed throughout the squadron to instantly reverse polarities, and rise as swiftly as possible to a great height. It was evident that this manor would save us from danger, if it were quickly affected. Because the airships of the Martians were simply airships and nothing more, they could only float in the atmosphere, and had no means of rising above it, or of navigating empty space. To have turned our disintegrators upon them, and to have begun a battle then and there, would have been folly. They overwhelmingly outnumbered us. The majority of them were yet at a considerable distance, and we could not have done battle, even with our entire squadron acting together, with more than one quarter of them simultaneously. In the meantime, the others would have surrounded and might have destroyed us. We must first get some idea of the planet's means of defence, before we ventured to assail it. Having risen rapidly to a height of 25 or 30 miles, so that we could feel confident that our ships had vanished, at least, from the naked eye view of our enemies, beneath, a brief consultation was held. It was determined to adhere to our original programme, and to circumnavigate Mars in every direction, before proceeding to open the war. Intimidated by the enemy The overwhelming forces shown by the enemy had intimidated even some of the most courageous of all men. But still it was universally felt that it would not do to retreat without a bloodstruck. The more we saw of the power of the Martians, the more we became convinced that there would be no hope for the earth, if these enemies ever again affected a landing upon its surface. The more especially, since our squadron contained nearly all of the earth's force that would be effective in such a contest. Was Mr. Edison and the other men of science away? They would not be able at home to construct such engines as we possessed, or to manage them even if they were constructed. Our planet had staked everything on a single throw. These considerations against tealed our hearts, and made us bear up as bravely as possible in the face of the terrible odds that confronted us. Turning the noses of our electrical ships towards the west, we began our circumnavigation. End of chapter 9