Aleriel/Part 3/Chapter 3
CHAPTER III.
TYCHO ISLAND.
ON we flew over the green Delarue Ocean, till at length the white peaks of the ice mountains were lost behind the waves. Soon a blood-red line appeared on the horizon. It grew clearer and clearer. The shores were more and more defined. Then there opened up the long red forests of Tycho Island—the great island of Mars—the largest tract of land enclosed in the green ocean of the southern tropics. It was very glorious and gorgeous. The red forests waved like gigantic poppies or carnations in the breeze. We floated over them. Everything looked unlike what we all had seen on our own fair world, or I on earth. The tints were not the soft pale tints of our sunny home, nor yet the refreshing green or dull browns of the earth, but glowing gorgeous red and orange. The shapes of the trees were such as I cannot describe—quaint and extraordinary—a new phase of creation, and, to us, fresh manifestations of creative power and love. Glorious in form, as in colour, were those ruddy forests of Mars. As yet we could see no trace of intelligent beings; but, after floating in the air for some hours, Ezariel said: "See, there is something like the abode of an intelligence, or of something possessing reason."
It was a massive wall of grey stone in a triangular form under some large red trees. Upon it there was a metal roof, which glittered in the sunlight. This roof was conical in form, and quaintly ornamented. We approached it, and passed by a path through the ruddy cactus-shaped plants. The building looked one constructed to resist pressure from without—massive and strong.
"Surely," said Ezariel, "this must be formed to resist outward pressure, and cast off the winter snows. This is an Arctic clime. The winters must be terrible, and so it would appear the first object of the Martians must be to keep off the snow, and to exclude the cold."
Under the forest shade, as we descended, we saw a figure half human in aspect—erect and dignified—but gigantic in figure. His face was very like a man's and like ourselves, but yet he had a sort of lion look also in his limbs.
We approached him. For a moment he seemed awed and alarmed by us—the natural shrinking of every living being from the creature of another world was manifest on our side and on his. Yet we felt no antipathy. There was a nobleness and a dignity in his presence which, though distinct from the soft lovingness of our nature, was not opposed to it. His manner was rather of astonishment than of fear. He looked at us in silence for a while, and then as we halted at some distance he himself approached us, and waved his hand in the air, keeping still erect, as if in greeting. We made the signs of greeting and sang, as is our wont, the song of welcome to a friend. He listened, as if moved and enthralled, then in deep solemn tones, from his great chest, heaved out some words that we could not understand.
"It seems that where there is intelligence there is speech," said Ezariel. "Perhaps it always follows the gift of reason."
"We have found it so far," I said, "but we may not in other worlds. It seems here reason implies speech."
We followed him towards the house to which he beckoned us. He came to it and touched a boss in the outer wall. A portcullis arose at once, and left an opening. He beckoned to us to enter. We followed him into a domed hall, deeply and closely padded with thick fur-like substances. The door was shaped somewhat like an opening flower, and so were the windows, which were deeply and richly coloured in divers hues. In the centre was a low metal pillar (apparently of brass) supporting a large plate. On this, directly he entered, our guide lighted a fire, over which he made sundry signs and gestures towards us.
"Surely," said Ezariel, "this is their mode of greeting. All seems adapted against cold, and perhaps the lighting of this fire is a symbol of welcome. Let us imitate him."
We did so, and also made signs of greeting close by the fire. He then opened another small door close by, and presently brought with him another Martian, differently attired, but also having a long flowing fur-like robe, with a still greater number of metallic ornaments. Her look was softer and gentler than her dignified husband, and she evidently feared us more—indeed, she shrank back when she saw us; but after some delay she also came to the fire and made signs over it like her husband.
She then retired, and soon brought to us a crystal vase full of fruits. She held them over the fire, and rather timidly presented them to us warm. They were grateful to eat—warm and aromatic.
"You see, still," said Ezariel, "the fire, symbol prevails. They welcome us by warmth. It is evident that in this world cold is counted the greatest of evils."
After we had partaken of the food, we had a short consultation as to what we had better do, Ezariel proposed that he and Arauniel should remain in retirement in that quiet forest district, or in the Ice Island, while I, profiting by my experience on earth, should endeavour to acquire the Martian language, and go among the people. Strange to say, both my companions expressed a great shrinking from the Martians, and as it was understood we were to keep a rigid incognito, we agreed that it was better for me to travel alone, while they studied the almost infinite natural treasures around them.
A venerable and majestic-looking Martian suddenly entered as we were discussing our projects. He was as tall as his comrade, i.e., some nine feet high, but grave and apparently aged. His face was thoughtful, and he had an appearance of authority. Around his neck there hung a large chain, and a silver symbol of two triangles. On the chain I traced some of the well-known letters of the alphabet of the heavens. This cheered me. I at once saw that here was one with whom there might be a basis of communication. After greeting us, which he did solemnly, and with gestures evidently of a religious character, he seemed to welcome us as fellow-creatures called into being by the same Creator.
The thought struck me of a mode of communication. I drew from my vest a tablet, and wrote on it symbols in our hieroglyphic character expressing where I came from. With a little difficulty and some gesticulation, I made him understand our symbols, which expressed the sentence, "We, Aleriel, Arauniel, and Ezariel, come in the ether ship from the beautiful planet near the sun." When he understood what I had written, he said something to the other Martian, who expressed great astonishment and wonder. Then, having paused awhile, as if in thought, he drew from the fold of his robe a box, whence he took a sheet of a cloth-like texture, on which he traced in large and rude characters, in a system of celestial picture-writing, not the same as ours, but sufficiently like it to be intelligible to us:
"Welcome to this our Martian world. Do not reveal who you are, or that you come from the planet near the sun, in the name of God." This confirmed our resolution to keep our incognito. It was evident that there would be danger to others, if not to ourselves, if our nature was revealed. So I symbolised assent, and so did my two comrades.
Then I wrote in hieroglyph, "I want to learn your Martian language." Here a difficulty arose, for their symbol for language was evidently different to ours. But by gesture I showed them what I meant, and he at once wrote:
"Come to my house and I will teach you." He then made some signs to the female, who went out by another door, and soon returned with a robe much smaller than her own (which probably belonged to one of her children). She threw it around me, and drew a fur-like hood over my head.
Evening had now come in. The sunlight ceased to glow through the rich-toned colours of the stained windows. The clear sky was adorned by stars in the same constellations as you know so well—for the sidereal heavens are the same for all the solar system. The distance between us and Neptune is not enough to make serious displacement in a single constellation. There was the Southern Cross and Orion and Sirius, just as on the earth, all glistening in the darkness, and the ruddy trees were now a very dark crimson, or almost black in the more shady places.
We passed along a forest path, with many strange forms looming in the gloom. At length we reached a little hill, covered with rocks, under one of which, nestled in a corner, was a domed house such as we had left. My conductor ushered me in. There was a chamber like the other, adorned with many thousand symbols in picture-writing all over the walls and roof.