Dreams of an astronomer

John Stuart Mill · en
The epoch at which the inhabitants of Mars can communicate with us
has not yet arrived, or perhaps it has already passed away. All
cosmological studies agree in presenting this planet as older than
ours, since it is farther from the Sun, and as having passed through
its phases of astral life more rapidly than we, on account of its
smallness and lightness. We cannot pretend to know the forms which
living beings may have assumed there; but we cannot imagine, on the
other hand, that the forces of nature, being the same as here and
exercised under almost identical conditions (atmosphere, climate,
seasons, water, vapours, etc.), have been sterilised by a perpetual
miracle of annihilation while on Earth the cup of life overflows all
round and the generative force of living beings everywhere surpasses
continual and permanent production. But whatever may be the forms of
Martian humanity, they must be superior to us, for several reasons. The
first of these is that it would be difficult for a human species to be
less intelligent than ours, because we do not know how to behave and
three-quarters of our resources are employed for feeding soldiers.

The second reason is that progress is an absolute law which nothing can
resist. If therefore the inhabitants of Mars have passed their infancy,
the centuries have brought them to an age of reason, and their present
state represents what our race will be in several million years.

A third circumstance is that they are better situated than ourselves
for escaping from the heaviness of matter. A given bulk of water,
earth, or other substance is only seven-tenths of the weight it is
here; 1,000 grammes taken to Mars would only weigh 376 grammes there;
and the woman weighing 8 stone would only weigh 3 stone there.

And, finally, the climatic conditions appear to be much more agreeable
there.

       *       *       *       *       *

Those are all advantages in favour of the Martians. If, therefore, the
idea has occurred to them to make signals to us, it is probably not at
the present time. There is no reason that they should think of it at
the same time as we and should wait for us. Perhaps they tried 200,000
or 300,000 years ago, before the appearance of man, at the time of the
cave-bear or the mammoth. Perhaps they addressed themselves to our
planet at the time of the Iguanodon and the Dinosaurus. Perhaps they
tried again 2,000 or 3,000 years ago. Never having seen any sign of
life, they will have concluded that either there are no inhabitants on
the Earth, or that they are busy with other things besides the study
of the universe and eternal truths. That was true yesterday--and it is
true to-day.





                          VI. THE GIANT WORLD
                              OF JUPITER




                              CHAPTER VI

                      THE GIANT WORLD OF JUPITER