“The Creator, Spenser,” replied Sorrel, reverently, “by first of all creating a certain law which, by means of cause and effect, works itself out _ad infinitum_. Without going over the ground again, I will tell you how from every effect giving rise to a later effect, the Creator’s Wonderful Will and Power are worked out. Take this sun; in time the mass will cool to such an extent that the internal heat will not burst through it, and a crust will form; as this becomes thicker, it will, on the outside, turn from white to black till it is almost cold. This coolness will cause these heavy, hot vapours above to condense and the ground will be covered with water, making it a watery world. The heavy, black, grit-laden clouds above will cause general darkness. Then will come a repetition of the creation of Earth, with which I will not trouble you again in its Biblical sense—the clouds will clear by precipitating their solid matter on the water, where it will sink, to form muddy ooze and the like at the bed. This deposit will lighten the clouds and there will be light—the light of a star unlit by a sun. In time, all the solid matter will have left the clouds which, relieved of their weight, will rise and an atmosphere will form below them, and, being in circulation, will cause winds which, in turn, will disperse the deadly gases and cause the water to have motion, which will purify it, and in the mud molluscs will grow, and the deadly gases above will be destroyed by combining, some with air, others with water, and others with land, so that there will be a healthy, breathable atmosphere through which the stars will be seen, and period follows period as I have just stated, till this present sun has become another world, even like Earth.” “And what about the present solar system,—where will it be then?” “Probably revolving round some other sun. There would be a time, long in the past, when each of the planets was in some other part of the universe, each as a sun, the centre of its own system, but as time passed, and the violent energy gave place to the cooler and quieter energy of inhabited worlds, some other world, expending its new-formed energy in visible heat, by a coalescence with one or more others, became this present sun, and, powerful in its youthful and terrible energy, which was more assertive than that of any of the planets near, drew them within the circle of its influence, and itself became the centre and ruler round which these planets must revolve until such times as its energy has no longer the power to retain them, when the next strongest will take up the tale and probably cause new suns and moons to form.” “How could a sun form,—by impact?”