"Are you all ready, men?" Mortenson inquired suddenly. A murmur of
assent ran along the line. "Remember what I told you ... in event any
of you are wounded in the world which we are now to enter and want
to transfer yourself back here in a hurry, press all three buttons
simultaneously. The vibratory reaction will probably knock you out for
a moment, but it will not harm you. Take note of your surroundings when
we enter the Fifth Dimension so that you can mark the spot for the
return to this laboratory. Now, gentlemen, place your fingers on the
control buttons and press number one. Allow a count of five seconds to
pass, then press number two and repeat the operation until after number
three has been pressed. Ready! Press number one!"
A faint throbbing surged through the ten men as they simultaneously
pressed the first button. The laboratory went aglow with the pale blue
luminosity. Then the throbbing intensified, whirring like the wings of
a honeybee. To an observer the men might have appeared to vanish slowly
from the room in a thin vapor of blue. The electronic current played
around them in a shimmering curtain, the electrodes pressing against
their flesh creating a slight burning sensation. Their muscles seemed
to jerk as the vibrations intensified. As they pressed the third button
the throbbing became a high-pitched whine, rising in tone until it
almost screamed.
Each man felt a sinister dizziness as he left the laboratory. After a
moment of nausea and the sensation of falling into an abysmal pit, they
felt no other reaction to the rapid vibrations of the apparatus. But
the current continued to whine, sending the oscillations throughout
their bodies and weapons with unceasing force. Gradually the weird,
spectral world of the Fifth Dimension unfolded itself before them.
From their eye-instruments shot twin jets of violet light, that seemed
to illuminate a jumbled mass before them. Slowly the terrain of the
Fifth Dimension assumed definite shape. It was a rolling, uneven world,
covered with a tall violet lush and spectral forests of deep blue. No
tall mountains were visible; rather was the Fifth Dimension a place of
undulating hills, rolling and rippling as far as they could see.
Just rimming the horizon stood a ball of violet flame. Mortenson knew
it was the sun, but he was not certain if it was rising or setting. Its
heat made them uncomfortable, for it seemed to bite into them like
acid at first. Gradually, as the strange world became clearly defined,
they grew accustomed to the force of the violet disk and after a few
moments it had risen above the horizon. They had entered the Fifth
Dimension at sun rise! On their own world it was well past noon.
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.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account