A Thousand Years Hence/Chapter 14
Black had a notable theory, entirely his own, about crossing the electric current.—Author, chap. i.
I have postponed the large subject of science, until I could enter upon it uninterruptedly, after I had taken my reader through our material and general progress, up to the dawn of the twenty-fifth century. With that century, as we have seen, comes so remarkable a change in the world's aspects and conditions, that it constitutes, as I have already said, a great era of division in my thousand years' retrospect. With that century, the world lost its distinctive nationality system, and finally completed its graduation into one great homogeneous society, to the immense advantage of all human progress, and, not least, of that science progress which I am now to record.
The science progress of these past thousand years may be divided into three grand eras, which are, respectively, that of the cross-electric discovery, the discovery of the duplication of the cross, and lastly that of the reduplication. The first came to our help not a very great while after our retrospect opens; the second occurred towards the midway years; while the last, and, for our time, the crowning triumph of all, came off within our own century, and even within the term and recollection of many now living. This last was, in short, the unprecedentedly grand discovery of my most illustrious and venerable friend Black, a discovery which has enabled us to transmit not only our minds in our messages, but also our own material selves into far space, in order to meet and commune personally with other beings out there, and to enjoy the reciprocation of their like personal intercourse.
To go back to describe with any fulness the cross-electric principle, a subject so long ago familiar even to our school-boys, would be unpardonable waste of time at this advanced and busy day. I shall, therefore, merely observe, that its discovery gave us a power to handle the organic as we could previously do the more simply chemical. Thenceforward we entered, with renewed and marvellously increased facilities, upon organic production. When the crowded earth had no longer room for provision-growing in the ordinary and dilatory round-about of old nature, we were ready, by aid of the cross-electric apparatus with which science had armed us, to transfer the food-raising to the much narrower space-requirements as well as time-requirements of the chemical laboratory.
But as I have already alluded to that particular part of our science progress in my earlier chapters, I am disposed to deal here rather with another section, which was even yet more marvellous and striking, namely the conjunction, or say rather the co-aligning of the cross-electric force progression. with the light-vibration, by which we attained that modern wonder of all wonders, the Cross-Electric Light-Speed, a speed which exceeded that of ordinary light in the proportion in which the space between the crests of the light waves exceeds that between the atoms or points of the ether medium. And again, enormous as this new speed was, we could further double it, when we afterwards understood how to transfer the electro-light line of progression to the wider-waved red and heat rays of the less refrangible end of the spectrum, from those of the violet and chemical, with which our great discovery had opened. In short, our electro-light line now, as it were, leapt the space between the light-vibrations in the same time as, while only simple light, it traversed that between the ether points.
Clearly enough then, this enormous accession to our capability of speed must supposably give us a grand power in many ways. We could, for example, overtake ordinary light in its journey into space at its heretofore all-surpassing speed of over one hundred and eighty thousand miles in a second. We could now, in fact, quite easily overtake a comparatively slow-coach speed of that kind; but then, cui bono? as we were fain to complain; for after our new electro-light projection had overtaken some far-back light-wave projection, carrying away into far space the aspect of our earth, say a thousand or a hundred thousand years back, we were confessedly powerless to do anything whatever with the curious and most interesting picture thus overtaken. In short, we had no knowledge as to how such aspect or image was to be brought back into our vision and possession. And thus matters continued in suspense until that grand further discovery of the Duplication of the cross, by which we were enabled to bring back our world of the far past, to communicate with other worlds outside, and to enter that "Higher Life," which, as we are presently, as well as most pleasantly, to record, pervades the surrounding universe, as the result and reward of all this advanced knowledge.
But the protracted interval, until we had attained to this the second grand era, was filled up, none the less, by a wonderful activity, alike of business and of science progress. It would, perhaps, ill become me to dilate, in any vainglorious spirit, upon the prosperous innings which the new food-producing ways gave to that great provision trade which my ancestors had handed down to my family, and of which, as I am justly proud to think, I am myself now one of the conspicuous heads in the world. Of course all the laboratorial attainments of the present day were not jumped into at once, when, some nine centuries ago, the cross-electric power fell to man's disposal. He had to grow by degrees into that ready ease and elegance with which we can now turn out, from our modern Liebigs, as savoury and natural-looking a "joint" as ever came out of the old butcher's shop of the long-past-anddone-with nineteenth century—with which, in short, we can thrust in, at one end of the Liebig machine, the valueless elements of air, earth, and water, gathered up freely for the purpose all about, and bring them out again at the other end as a hunch of bread or good potato, or a prime cut of fresh fish, flesh, fowl or good red herring, of dimensions and quality just according to order and money. The cross-electric power enabled us, as I have said, to fabricate organic structure, much as the simple electric power we were previously possessed of enabled us to fabricate crystallization and other of the simpler chemical processes. But, after all, we cannot yet infuse life into these cross-electrically fabricated organisms—much less, of course, the nervous and mental action. All that, as we are perhaps able, fairly and scientifically, to infer, pertains to steps still further on—might pertain, in short, to that triplication or ter-cross, to which we may or may not hereafter attain.
During no small time before the problem of the Duplication was solved, expectation had been all alive over the world at the supposed near prospect of the grand discovery. There was also another circumstance which contributed an intense and ever increasing interest in the case. Certain phenomena had been observed at occasional intervals, which, from our knowledge of the cross-electric, had impressed some of our more sagacious scientists of that time with the idea of these being nothing less than messages from outside to our earth—messages which, from want of adequate science attainment, in short, from the duplication being still unknown to us, we knew not how to deal with. Repeatedly, in fact, we were aware, from certain effects produced, that a cross-electric bolt from outside had struck one of our many cross-electric conducto-attractors, which were already all over the world for an infinitude of purposes. Indeed one great electrician of those days, who had happened to notice close to him one of these phenomena, had, with more zeal than discretion, incurred a serious shock by trying to ascertain, at once, the strength and quality of the mysterious visitor. But as to all this we remained in powerless ignorance until the grand discovery of the duplication.
How often has it been said that the greatest discoveries are, of all things, the most simple when once they are known! How simple, for instance, is the law of gravitation! The great discovery of the duplication was no exception to this rule, and so soon as its mystery was made known to an eagerly expectant world, there was only universal wonder that a matter so simple and obvious had not sooner suggested itself. But anyway as to this, we had now at last acceded to the power, which, by means of that duplicatory arrangement, now so everyday a matter even to our school-boys, we could not only despatch our messenger into space, but make him also bring back the reply. The Energy-charge, that is to say, could be divided into two distinct forces, in the proportions calculated and desired: the one an outward force, carrying the electro-light charge into space; the other a return force, which, failing any intelligent intervention for other disposal at its turning extremity, brought back the impression which the overtaken light-vibration was conveying, at ordinary light-speed, into far space; or, to speak with stricter accuracy, that which, exactly, was brought back was the reaction, or exact reversal, of what had gone out, and scientifically termed the "Duplication;" so that, for example, the rays of light which quitted our earth, say, ten thousand years ago, could be in effect, by reversal action, brought back so as to restore to us the aspect or picture of the earth as it was at the moment of the long past emanation. Of course, nothing was actually brought back; all was mere counter-vibratory effect—the power of the return or duplicatory force to reverse exactly the outward light-emanations, and to do this at electro-light speed. And also at any arrested intermediate stage of this return, the picture that was being brought back could have been reproduced just as it would have appeared at that particular stage or distance in the original outward light-emanation.
But, not to waste more time over matters now so old and so well known, let me return to my historical record, and glance at the commotion excited by this grand discovery of its time. Further on it will be my privilege to allude to the much later discovery of the Reduplication, so clearly and indisputably achieved by the venerable and immortal Black. But the discovery of the simple duplication is a less clear matter; for, in fact, tens of thousands put in their claims, as they had added fact after fact, each contributive to the great result, until that result seemed at last grasped simultaneously by them all.
No sooner was the new power publicly proclaimed and explained, than multitudes over the entire globe prepared to use it. Subject to the very exact astronomic calculations then attained to, messages began to be sent out in all directions, in order to get back our earth's aspects in past times; and those who were content with the briefer retrospects soon began, in this way, to harvest their due replies, and to exercise themselves in the new trade (afterwards so vast a business) of transferring the light-impress to the prepared surface of the quasi-photographic paper. But all this is rather what occurred in the after leisure of the earlier stages of the discovery; for the earliest excitements and the earliest efforts were directed to communications with our intelligent fellow-beings of outside worlds. This new and grand era, thus opened for our own little world, I must now deal with.
Which world, or which worlds, were we to begin with? The nearest, of course, was our moon. But our telescopes and spectroscopes had sufficiently assured us, by this time, that no intelligent life, at any rate no human life, was there, although we did afterwards, in our own later days, upon personal visitation find there certain low-class organic existence. Turning then sorrowfully from this nearest neighbour, there lay next, on the one side of us, Venus, on the other side, Mars. The former was nearest; she was, besides, about our own size; and our science could already estimate for us that her greater dimensions than Mars, and especially her considerably greater heat and light supply, had probably placed her in decided advance, physically and mentally, of that other planet. In short, we were already guessing at what proved to be the case, namely, that Venus had, while Mars had not yet, attained to the duplication, and possibly (as proved to be true) not yet even to the simple cross-electric.
But then again, the fiery little planet lay far more temptingly exposed before us than the ever cloud-concealed sister on our other side. No doubt we had, by this time, quite ascertained, by repeated signs and glimpses, that Venus was indeed inhabited; but, as to dear little Mars, our telescopes and all our advanced photography of the time had perfectly familiarized us with all the varied surface, and with the towns and other constructions and works of all his busy people. As by one unanimous impulse, therefore, our first communications were directed there. Fortunately the planet, just at the time, was nearly in the best conjunction for the purpose, and having made due mathematical calculation, we were soon busy projecting our electro-light lines, so as to drop them upon the planet's surface.
In our first comparatively rude efforts, many of our bolts, as we had to reckon, must whirr helplessly past the planet, while others would strike the seas or unpeopled spaces, and thus be quite unnoticed, even granting that the people had, in science progress, attained to the duplication. We had therefore to involve ourselves in a very considerable energy expenditure, in these our opening exercises, and we had by no means then that prompt and cheap energy-supply which we can so well boast of now. It was whilst we were all busy over these first efforts with Mars, all of them, of course, quite futile as to results, that, upon one memorable day, a cry was raised, and at once reverberated over the world, of a message to the earth from outside space. The fact is, that, in recollection of those previously inexplicable cross-electrical phenomena I have alluded to, which were now more strongly than ever suspected to have been such outside communication, the strictest watch had been everywhere set for them, we being now perfectly assured of our ability to deal with them. The electrical connections were therefore everywhere in readiness, and all the precise forms of procedure made generally known for all observers, volunteers and professionals.
The missive bolt, in this case, as soon as seen, was happily at once secured in electric connection; and now, in presence of countless observers, its behaviour was watched with breathless interest. Almost on the instant of the connection being linked, there appeared a play of bright light at the extremity of the "pointer." While all were wistfully gazing at this phenomenon, a voice suddenly electrified the assembly with the suggestion that this play of light was no other than the energy-waste of transmitted speech, which we were as yet unable to deal with. The suggestion proved to be correct. We were unable, just then, to transfer the ether vibration to the air, and thus to hear the transmitted sounds.
But, first of all, we must ascertain whence the voice had come, and this was happily quite within our power. Alike by the direction, and by the time interval of our response signal, we could not doubt that the message was from Venus, that planet being then comparatively near to us, and situated in her orbit just opposite to where the message line had struck our earth, showing, in this latter fact, a wonderful and doubtless long-practised precision of calculated aim. We were quite aware that our act of response to the Venus message would at once indicate to the Venus people the fact of our having attained to the scientific stage of the duplication. We were already, in fact, in electro-light line connection with that world, and it was now for us to wait upon, and learn from, our confessed superior. We were soon indeed aware, from the changed behaviour of the pointer, that our responsive action had been duly apprehended; for, at once, there began that small but steady and uniform energy stream, which would prove the easiest of transfer from ether to air. We were not altogether unprepared for this transfer operation, but of course we had never dealt, in that respect, with an outside message. But, after half an hour's various blundering, we were at length aware of success, by a Venus voice pouring into our ears, just as though the speaker were close alongside of us. It was a low and monotonous chant, suited to the purpose aforesaid. We replied in the like strain, in token of our common understanding; and thus the two worlds were in established communication, while on Venus' part those educatory steps were at once begun, which were to graduate us into the language of that Higher Life, into which, as we were afterwards more fully to learn, we had now entered.
But having now conducted my record up to the discovery of the duplication, and described the commotion which that discovery gave rise to over our earth, I must reserve, for another chapter, some account of the new and vast world of knowledge, which this grand progress had opened to us.