Life in a Thousand WorldsHarris, W. S. (William Shuler)
Science
Life in a Thousand Worlds
Harris, W. S. (William Shuler)
Utopias
If it is a mystery to you, it is also a mystery to me. I cannot describe
the pinions that carried me, nor tell whence came the strength that
moved my wings, any more than I can explain by what process I was
preserved alive in worlds of fire, in worlds of ice, and in worlds
without air. But the sight of all these things was as real to me as the
dreams of the night, and it must be admitted that dreams are often as
realistic as the acts of our wakeful moments.
For many years I looked outward toward the starry firmament, and at
times a deep yearning possessed me to speed away to converse with the
inhabitants of other spheres.
This hope I cherished so strongly that my thoughts completely
overpowered me, and ere I knew it I was living at the mercy of
indescribable emotions. All this continued during many revolutions of
the Earth on its axis. I felt as Columbus must have felt when he was
moving over strange waters. Then occurred the most notable event of my
life. In the twinkling of an eye I was caught away from the Earth and,
without any effort of my own, I was darting through space faster than a
sunbeam.
CHAPTER II.
A Visit to the Moon.
I was not prepared for the quick transit to our satellite, nor for the
views thrust upon me so suddenly. Before I could well collect my
thoughts I found myself in the immediate vicinity of the Moon and,
strange as it may seem, I was conscious of my surroundings and knew that
I had power to transport myself instantly to any place I might wish to
go.
To see the Moon face to face gives a charming satisfaction which can
never be realized two hundred and forty thousand miles away. I was
conscious of my privilege and was determined to take all possible
advantage of it.
Now how differently everything appeared from the views I had snatched
through the telescope while yet on the Earth. I could not see the "Man
in the Moon," whose grinning face had so often looked down upon me, but
from my first point of observation everything looked as if life had
never existed there and, consequently, I was about to conclude that no
human beings inhabit the Moon. This theory soon vanished, for after I
had traveled over a hundred miles I came to a thriving center of
population, the largest city on the sphere, inhabited by more than sixty
thousand rational beings.
These creatures resemble us most strongly in their mental capacities,
though their bodies are out of harmony with ours, having three eyes and
no nose. The third eye is situated in the center of the forehead, and
the other two more toward the sides of the head.
Life is not sustained by breathing a gaseous air as we do, so that the
sense of smell is performed by the protruded upper lip. At the voluntary
effort to catch scent the upper lip noticeably rolls upward into a
partial scroll.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account