The streets of Mizora were all paved, even the roads through the
villages were furnished an artificial cover, durable, smooth and
elastic. For this purpose a variety of materials were used. Some had
artificial stone, in the manufacture of which Mizora could surpass
nature's production. Artificial wood they also made and used for
pavements, as well as cement made of fine sand. The latter was the least
durable, but possessed considerable elasticity and made a very fine
driving park. They were experimenting when I came away on sanded glass
for road beds. The difficulty was to overcome its susceptibility to
attrition. After business hours every street was swept by a machine. The
streets and sidewalks, in dry weather, were as free from soil as the
floor of a private-house would be.
Animals and domestic fowls had long been extinct in Mizora. This was one
cause of the weird silence that so impressed me on my first view of
their capital city. Invention had superceded the usefulness of animals
in all departments: in the field and the chemistry of food. Artificial
power was utilized for all vehicles.
The vehicle most popular with the Mizora ladies for shopping and culling
purposes, was a very low carriage, sometimes with two seats, sometimes
with one. They were upholstered with the richest fabrics, were
exceedingly light and graceful in shape, and not above three feet from
the ground. They were strong and durable, though frequently not
exceeding fifty pounds in weight. The wheel was the curious and
ingenious part of the structure, for in its peculiar construction lay
the delight of its motion. The spokes were flat bands of steel, curved
outward to the tire. The carriage had no spring other than these spokes,
yet it moved like a boat gliding down stream with the current. I was
fortunate enough to preserve a drawing of this wheel, which I hope some
day to introduce in my own land. The carriages were propelled by
compressed air or electricity; and sometimes with a mechanism that was
simply pressed with the foot. I liked the compressed air best. It was
most easily managed by me. The Mizora ladies preferred electricity, of
which I was always afraid. They were experimenting with a new propelling
power during my stay that was to be acted upon by light, but it had not
come into general use, although I saw some vehicles that were propelled
by it. They moved with incredible speed, so rapid indeed, that the
upper part of the carriage had to be constructed of glass, and securely
closed while in motion, to protect the occupant. It was destined, I
heard some of their scientists say, to become universal, as it was the
most economical power yet discovered. They patiently tried to explain it
to me, but my faculties were not receptive to such advanced philosophy,
and I had to abandon the hope of ever introducing it into my own
country.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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