The Man from Mars: His Morals, Politics and ReligionSimpson, William
Philosophy
The Man from Mars: His Morals, Politics and Religion
Simpson, William
Social problems; Utopias
It is to be noted, as a coincidence proving the unity of all
intelligence within the universe, that we have designed an architecture
not unlike that of your ancient Greece. Our isolated exteriors, such
as villas and country residences, bear a close resemblance to some of
your ancient styles. In our cities we have been obliged to conform to
the condition of aerial navigation, which has greatly restricted our
elevated ornamentation, and forced upon us a system of curves instead
of angles in our projections.
One of the most notable differences between your construction and ours
is the material and form of our roofs, which are uniformly of solid
glass, and dome shaped. The substance is laid on in a plastic state,
hardens in a short time, is purely transparent, and as difficult to
fracture as stone. The upper story of every house becomes by this
method the chief source of light for its interior, and by ingeniously
formed horizontal curtains can be darkened at will. We believe this to
be one of the most important sanitary arrangements we possess, and to
which may be chiefly ascribed the health and vigor of our bodies. In
these bright upper apartments we bathe ourselves in the sun, and enjoy
the constant bloom and fragrance of flowers.
By a natural adaption, these glass roofs have become inseparably
connected with our religious lives. Our interest in the wonderful
nightly exhibitions which they permit is increased by the general
knowledge we have cultivated of the character and motions of the
heavenly bodies. As a consequence, there are but few among us who
cannot describe the paths and directions of the planets; and it is
quite safe to say that a majority of our people can compute the periods
of opposition and conjunction between them. No other exhibition so
feeds and stimulates our religious impulses, as the grand display of
divine power in the unceasing motions of the spheres. We bring the
spectacle within our households, and dwell with it. It is the altar
upon which we worship the great unseen.
Each block of buildings is surmounted by a single roof of the
transparent character I have described. In this way we have utilized
all the space for dwelling or business purposes, and prevented those
unsightly back yards which disfigure the cities of the Earth and lower
their sanitary condition. Usually there are no partition walls except
in the lower stories, and these lofty upper apartments, especially if
over dwellings, have their flattened dome-shaped roofs supported by a
series of columns and arches artistically wrought and decorated, and
their interiors adorned with growing flower and statuary, so as to
furnish a delightful resort, convenient to the neighborhood and open to
all.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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