Fantasy fiction; Utopian fiction; Utopias -- Fiction
"You will not tire us. Pray go on; I, for one, am most anxious to know
more of this wonderful discovery of yours," quickly returned Craft.
"I also can listen for hours to your words," answered Hathaway.
"Then, I will explain to you my researches in this direction;" and
Cobb arose and entered his little back room, soon returning with a
good-sized box, which he laid upon the table.
Craft and Hathaway watched him with an earnestness which gave evidence
of the interest they took in the strange theories which he had
advanced. Indeed, it was a most strange, not to say terrible, power for
a man to possess--that of holding the soul of man within its fleshly
portals during his pleasure.
After Cobb had placed the box upon the table, he opened the roll of
papers which he had before him at the time he got the bottle of ozone.
Referring to one of the pages, he looked toward Hathaway and said:
"Can you tell me how many cubic feet of air the average man requires
in every twenty-four hours?"
Hathaway, taken by surprise, hesitated, blushed, and admitted that he
had forgotten the exact amount.
"Well," continued the other, quickly, "it is not to be supposed that
you should remember the answer to such a question, so I will tell you.
A healthy man, in action, consumes about 686,000 cubic inches in every
twenty-four hours. Now, what I wish to have you understand by that,
is this: that the average man requires about 137,200 cubic inches of
oxygen in every twenty-four hours. This is the accepted way of putting
it; in reality, he needs the ozone contained in that amount of oxygen.
I do not desire that you should receive the impression that the oxygen
is not needed for the man, but that the ozone only is required for the
continuance of life where there is no action. I may surprise you when
I say that each of you draws into your lungs, every day, over seven
pounds of oxygen gas, but such is the case. Now, in those seven pounds
of oxygen there are just two grains of pure ozone. Do not interrupt
me," as Craft attempted to speak; "I know what you would say--that that
is contrary to the accepted opinion on the subject, and that the amount
is much greater--but let me tell you that my researches have found it
entirely different: two grains only, to seven pounds of oxygen, or
thirty-five pounds of common air. You will perceive by the above that
each of you requires nearly two grains of ozone per day, or about 700
grains per year. Now, if by any freak of nature you could remain in a
perfectly passive state, doing nothing, exercising no action at all,
this amount of 700 grains would fall to about 400 grains; that is,
the blood would require that amount to continue to perform its vital
functions. Thus you see that you would require for the maintenance
of life for a hundred years, 40,000 grains. This is equivalent to
nearly seven pounds of ozone. Ozone, as you have already ascertained,
cannot be taken into the system through the nostrils without serious
consequences.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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