McGinnis peered myopically at the huge scene pictured on the wall. It showed several large cone-shaped creatures with long legs and arms, similar to those of a human. In place of heads, they had stalks on which a single eye rested, while, underneath, gaped what appeared to be a mouth. The Cones were standing near a wall which was in front of a city of fantastically complex architecture--yet, breath-takingly beautiful! The surrounding landscape was a jungle of weird, luxuriant foliage; trees and plants alike, towering hundreds of feet into the air--almost as high as the city itself. In, and around the picture’s foreground, several Blotting Pads were shown lying on, and hovering over the tall grass. The wall in the drawing had the same picture on it as the actual one McGinnis and the others were staring at. Underneath the scene, were several rows of complex hen-scratchings. “From the hieroglyphics and picture,” Grisby said, “one must conclude that this was the height of Martian culture. Hereafter, as we walk along, you’ll notice, not only the physical and cultural characteristics changing, but the sharp delineation of the murals themselves becoming vague and incomprehensible.” They walked down the long expanse of the first wall in silence; McGinnis with his note book, Potterboy, his cigar, and Grisby, his shattered dreams of turning the sandy grave of Mars into the once fertile paradise depicted in the first mural. * * * * * Each scene showed an increasing number of Blotting Pads, and a decreasing amount of foliage. Whole gardens were shown withering away; and huge cities being deserted, as the Pads increased, and the greenery and water disappeared. The last scene on the wall showed the fantastically beautiful city of the first mural, crumbling to dust with Blotting Pads resting on the sandy waste they had created around it. The second wall showed the elongated legs and arms of the Cones, shrivelling and withering. Later, the stalk with eye and mouth vanished. Then the Cones began to shrink until they were only an eighth their original size. The final, comprehensible scene showed the Cones buried in sand with Blotting Pads all around them. Strange dotted and wavering lines--telepathic symbols--connected the apex of each Cone with that of its neighbor. After that, the remaining scenes fell sharply off into incomprehensibility, leaving the later portion of the wall completely blank. As the three men reached the second wall’s end, several Cones came into view, being grouped more closely than the thousands of others scattered willy-nilly over the planet. McGinnis stopped short. “So these are what they atrophied into from lack of water,” he said, sadly. Shifting his gaze, he glared bitterly at the Blotting Pads, covering most of the desert as far as the eye could see.