Naturally, perhaps, my mind attempted, as it so often had done, to urge
objections to his statements, and at first it occurred to me that I did
not experience the peculiar sinking away sensation in the chest that I
remembered follows, on earth, the downward motion of a person falling
from a great height, or moving rapidly in a swing, and I questioned him
on the absence of that phenomenon.
"The explanation is simple," he said; "on the surface of the earth a
sudden motion, either upward or downward, disturbs the equilibrium of
the organs of respiration, and of the heart, and interferes with the
circulation of the blood. This produces a change in blood pressure
within the brain, and the 'sinking' sensation in the chest, or the
dizziness of the head of a person moving rapidly, or it may even result
in unconsciousness, and complete suspension of respiration, effects
which sometimes follow rapid movements, as in a person falling from a
considerable height. Here circumstances are entirely different. The
heart is quiet, the lungs in a comatose condition, and the blood
stagnant. Mental sensations, therefore, that result from a disturbed
condition of these organs are wanting, and, although we are experiencing
rapid motion, we are in the full possession of our physical selves, and
maintain our mental faculties unimpaired."
Again I interposed an objection:
"If, as you say, we are really passing through an attenuated atmosphere
with increasing velocity, according to the law that governs falling
bodies that are acted upon by gravity which continually accelerates
their motion, the friction between ourselves and the air will ultimately
become so intense as to wear away our bodies."
"Upon the contrary," said he, "this attenuated atmosphere is decreasing
in density more rapidly than our velocity increases, and before long it
will have altogether disappeared. You can perceive that the wind, as you
call it, is blowing less violently than formerly; soon it will entirely
cease, as I have already predicted, and at that period, regardless of
our motion, we will appear to be stationary."
Pondering over the final result of this strange experience I became
again alarmed, for accepting the facts to be as he stated, such motion
would ultimately carry us against the opposite crust of the earth, and
without a doubt the shock would end our existence. I inquired about
this, to me, self-evident fact, and he replied:
"Long before we reach the opposite crust of the earth, our motion will
be arrested."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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