A Large Anthology of Science Fiction

by Jerry

  So much of this metal, which they called delon, was being used, that not many centuries had passed until there was one channel cut all the way around. Several others were cut a large part of the way, in the general direction of the equator; and one or two had progressed quite a long distance in a longitudinal direction. (As you must know, centuries with them were no more regarded than years are with us; for their span of history was infinitely longer than ours, and it was an age-old habit with them to plan for coming generations.)

  By careful measurements it was determined that this core was very nearly a perfect sphere; and that it occupied slightly more than one-third of the interior of the asteroid. From data thus arrived at, scientists ultimately evolved the theory that it was this core, spinning, with its great weight and density, that caused the daily revolutions of their tiny world; and that the lode of magnetized metal near the north pole was acted upon by some unseen body in the far northern heavens; and that this governed and stabilized the direction of the axis. By the same reasoning, it was this central core that had originally been started in flight or its orbit around the sun; and the soil and outer layers of the miniature planet only followed because they adhered to the governing core.

  For ever so many generations no attempt was made to put this theory to any practical use. Then there came a man who was a profound student of the various sciences, but who was too much of a dreamer to make any substantial progress in scientific work. This man finally withdrew from scientific work, and became a fiction writer. His work in this line was very successful, and he soon won fame. His fiction, however, was always semi-scientific in nature; and it was recorded that through his fiction, which was very easy to read, he taught more science, to a larger class of people, than ever the schools did.

  Be that as it may, he at length wrote a very fanciful book, in which he discussed a plan to free the rest of the planet from its governing core, and install mechanism to regulate the length of the days. In this book he argued so convincingly, and all his contentions were so truthfully based on hard facts, that there was no denying the possibility of the scheme.

  Historians came to believe that he only appeared to withdraw from scientific work, in order to present this proposition to his little world; knowing well that if he tried to suggest any such undertaking seriously, he would be laughed at for a lunatic, and forgotten as soon as he was dead.

  His book, however, was so cleverly written, and was such a gem of literature, that it kept on growing in popularity long after he had passed on. His theory, as time progressed, became common knowledge; and without any definite action being taken, it finally came to be accepted as a matter of course that some time this work would be accomplished.

  Meanwhile, the mining had continued under governmental supervision, and large surfaces of metal had been exposed. The writer had pointed out what a great benefit it would be to their race if the days could be lengthened to about 12 or 14 hours, and the nights to about eight; how the increased sunlight would increase agricultural production, and give a more suitable length of time for a day’s work and a night’s rest.

  The plan was to let the world spin rapidly when the ocean side was toward the sun, and Very much more slowly when the land side was toward it. A sort of “sunlight saving” scheme. Finally the preliminary work had progressed so far, and there had been so much discussion, that it was decided to take a vote as to whether or not engineers should be appointed to work out practical plans, and submit estimates of the probable cost of the undertaking.

  A meeting was held at which the people gathered to discuss the project, and the majority voted for the great scheme. Their history records that the work was undertaken, and ultimately carried to completion. In the plan room, we found detailed engineers’ plans of the completed work; a work that required over twenty centuries of almost continuous effort; but which can be described, in a general way, in a very few minutes.

  In the first place, they removed the soil, which was very largely limestone, from the surface of the nickel-iron core; building as they did so a substantial reinforced glass cover or wall, some thirty feet from the core.

  This was the wall we had come upon, when digging with the mole. The huge columns or struts were built of the smelted nickel-iron, or delon, reaching to within a foot or so of the core; and in the ends of these struts were fixed round balls, somewhat after the fashion of a ball-bearing. These could play back and forth for a few inches, thus holding the core in place.

  The core proved to be very nearly a perfect sphere. However, there were a few slight irregularities, and these had to be smoothed out, to provide an even surface for these balls to travel on. And this, to my way of thinking, was the greatest engineering feat of the whole process.

  Think of the infinite care, and the delicacy of instruments that it must have required, to gauge a ball from the outside, nearly a third of a mile in diameter, so accurately that there would not be an error of more than a foot!

  Had we crossed over on one of these struts when we first discovered them, we would have found the bearing; and perhaps recognized that the wall was metal, and this would have helped us to solve the riddle.

  At each pole, a certain area was left unexcavated, until after the governing machinery was installed. This machinery was quite simple, but very ingenious. A huge quantity of magnetized metal was taken from the so-called magnetic pole, to which I have alluded.

  This metal was cast in sections, forming a great ring encircling the equator of the core. These sections were geared to vast bulkheads, made of the same material as the walls. Their name for this material we translated “Concrete glass.” Then huge motors were installed, to raise and lower these magnetic ring sections.

  When the ring came in contact with the core, its magnetism was such that the core was gripped with sufficient force to carry all with it. But when they were withdrawn, the core was free to move without the shell; and the shell remained stationary, or nearly so.

  Then the soil was removed from the region of the Poles. When all was in readiness, the great motors at the equator were set in motion, each having been tested separately to make sure it was capable of raising its section of the ring. And as the space between the magnets and the core slowly widened, the core began to slip by; very slowly at first, but with constantly accelerated motion.

  It Works!

  AS soon as the operators were convinced that the test was successful, they allowed the ring to drop back into contact, because they were afraid that if the shell was allowed to lose too much of its momentum, it would be impossible to start it again, and serious damage might result. After several trials, it was found that the speed of the shell could be safely accelerated and retarded at will. However, it was found that even if the magnets were raised as far as possible, the shell did not entirely stop but kept on at about a quarter of its normal speed.

  It must be remembered that the surface of the core was not moving at a very rapid rate, as a point on the surface of the asteroid only moved about three miles in seven hours. Whereas a point on the earth’s surface at the equator moves at the terrific rate of one thousand miles an hour.

  So it was proved without mishap that the rotation mechanism was a success. And very soon it dawned upon them that this revolving core embodied practically inexhaustible stores of power, and they made preparations to harness it. A system of friction-drive generators were installed in such a way that when the shell was retarded, the passing of the core drove the generators; furnishing a cheap power for operating all their machinery. They had now mastered the situation.

  By manipulating the rotary controls they were able to produce a day of any desired length. They could make the day on the land side long, and the night short, or vice versa. In this way, as had been prophesied, they could increase their production of food-stuffs to a very large extent. So it was found possible to raise the population limit after a few years, and they accordingly raised it to a hundred adult men, instead of a hundred males of all ages, as he
retofore.

  This increased the population about 40 per cent, but it made more applicable the slogan, The World of a Hundred Men. And they no doubt considered themselves a hundred super-men after this great feat was performed.

  Some parts of the machinery we found intact, and the walls and columns seemed to be quite unbroken, except on the lower side where they were a hopeless mass of wreckage. There is so much of interest in the history and accomplishments of the Vallennians that I will not attempt any comprehensive narrative here. But I cannot refrain from touching briefly on their activities in relation to the history of the earth.

  From our hasty examination of their records and photographs, we are convinced that a great many changes on the earth that have always been shrouded in mystery can now be cleared up. It is very much like an old neighbor, coming in and telling you how your house was built, long years before you were born.

  The earliest photographs of the earth are rather dim and indistinct; the most surprising detail being that so much of the surface is water, and so little is land. Of course, the explanation of this is that in the beginning, when the earth first commenced to cool off, it was naturally in the form of a perfect sphere. Both liquids and gases always assume this shape, when in rapid motion through space. Even rain drops take this familiar form.

  At that early time, the hills and valleys were unformed, and a very little water could cover a large surface. But when the earth’s surface commenced to wrinkle with age, the tops of some of these wrinkles emerged, and the water receded into the sunken areas.

  These earliest photographs show only traces of continents and islands, which meant little to our unaccustomed eyes. The more so, since the earth was not always photographed from the same position.

  This last difficulty was somewhat obviated in the later pictures, since the Vallennians formed the habit of taking them in a series of four at a time, at intervals of about six hours. This gave us an opportunity to compare the same faces, and note the changes.

  Quite early in our researches, we decided to arrange the photographs in long rows, commencing with the latest; so that we were able to trace the changes backward, from the present in a continuous series.

  The latest series showed everything approximately as it was thousands of years ago—corresponding to 5000 B. C. We had an opportunity to observe the continuity of change for a great many centuries.

  The first permanent show of land of any appreciable area seemed to be what afterwards developed into Central Europe; and at about the same time appeared a little island, over to the northwest; probably Scotland and part of Wales. These were evidently on the opposite side of the globe from the first land, because none of the latter showed in these photos.

  These islands gradually became thicker and larger, and finally developed into an almost continuous stretch of land, corresponding in contour to our present range of mountains, known in North America as the Rockies, and in South America as the Andes.

  Previously halfway between these two lands, appeared the eastern portion of North America, or the Appalachian system. And the mountains that now form Spain began to emerge, while new land began to show east of the European nucleus. In due time, the continents of Africa and Australia appeared, and even Greenland was discernible. At this comparatively late date the peaks of the Himalayas began to show above the surface of the sea, and rose very rapidly until they constituted the highest portion of the earth’s surface.

  CHAPTER VII

  What the Pictures Told

  AS time went on, the various land formations began to assume familiar shapes; and at a time about 380,000 years ago, were somewhat as they are now. But to our wonderment, things did not stop there, but went right on changing. Everywhere new land was arising and the ocean receding, until more than two-thirds of the surface was high and dry. All the district north of Europe, now the British Isles and the North and Irish Seas, and the English Channel, was one with Europe. The islands of Japan became part of the mainland; Cuba and all the West Indies grew and merged until they were one with both American continents.

  Asia, Greenland and America also became one in the north. Australia became part of Asia. It was impossible to distinguish Africa from Europe and Asia; while in the Pacific, a great continent rose that included Easter Island, Christmas, the Marquesas, the Low Archipelago, and all that great mass of islands between South America and Australia.

  This formation of land was joined in some places by narrow isthmuses to the mainland of Australia and Asia; and on the side toward South America was only separated from that continent by narrow straits, perhaps a few miles wide. Indeed, no one would recognize our good old world from these photographs; and it was hard to believe that the land, once so extensive, could have shrunk to the present areas. Here, then, was the long-sought explanation of the indications that the builders of the stone relics in Great Britain and Easter Island, in the middle of the Pacific, were one and the same race.

  There has long been almost conclusive evidence that the people who built Stonehenge and those who erected the Easter Island statues had the same customs and religion. This would also explain why the prehistoric implements found in South America so closely resemble those found in Asia and Africa.

  In fact, it was perfectly plain that at one time there was nothing to prevent either men or beasts from roaming the entire world without crossing any large bodies of water. Of course, something of this sort has long been suspected by our geologists and archeologists. But now there happened something that, so far as I know, no scientist has ever suspected; and which clearly explains the glacier periods, and the great submergence, often believed to be only mythology, and which was the foundation for the legends of Sumeria and the lost Atlantis.

  One very remarkable photograph showed the earth, and in the near distance another planet, about the size of the earth. This new planet must have passed very near to the earth. In the next picture, taken only a few weeks later, the earth is very much altered, while the new planet has disappeared. Where formerly there was only a small white cap at the North Pole, there now showed a great snow and ice field, extending half way to the equator; and at the South Pole, the erstwhile snow-cap had entirely disappeared.

  It was evident that this strange planet had passed so close to the earth that its attraction had altered the inclination of the earth’s axis, turning the north polar regions away from the sun. The pictures show that as time passed, this condition gradually righted itself.

  For the greater part of a century the snow fields receded very slowly, and at length became fixed in about normal position. We know now, there was a tradition among the Vallennians, that the earth had undergone such a change at least once before, but the One Hundred had not seen what caused it. There could be no doubt that these periods were the ice ages, or glacial periods, so well known to geologists.

  When again the strange planet appeared, we had quite a series of pictures; for this was no doubt deemed a very important occasion by the Vallennians. The first picture showed the earth in the foreground, and the other planet in the far distance. (They had, we gathered, discovered the returning planet with the telescope, when it was still far off.)

  In the following pictures, the strange planet, which the One Hundred had long since named the Yudd, appeared to be made up of large areas of land and water, much the same as earth. It approached the earth very closely. And then comes a picture in which the dim outlines of the two planets apparently merged together, were almost obscured, as by a great fog or mist. Then in the last view, the earth is still shrouded in fog, but the Yudd, a little way off, is proceeding on its way, but startlingly changed. The larger portions of its water area have disappeared and in their place the ocean bottom stands out in bare relief.

  Pictures of the earth dated years later show very clearly that the land areas are greatly decreased in size, and that the greater portion of the surface is sunken into the sea. The ice area has widened again, as usual. Here, then, right before our astonished eyes, h
ad taken place a great tragedy.

  The strange planet must have passed so close that its atmosphere came in contact with that of earth, thus generating an intense heat. This heat caused the oceans of the Yudd to evaporate, and assume the form of rain and mist, which we saw in the photographs.

  Then the Yudd, which apparently must have been moving very much faster than the earth, passed on. Most of its water was left behind in the vicinity of the earth. All this water, together with that which had risen from the earth, in due time fell on earth in the form of rain, and practically doubled the ocean area. We know not what dire calamities took place on the drouth-stricken planet Yudd, or whether or not there were any human beings there to be affected.

  But there is ample evidence that primitive man already inhabited a number of widely separated districts on the earth’s surface; and although they left no legibly written records, we can readily imagine the tragedy that must have taken place.

  The Flood

  WHOLE continents were suddenly covered with thousands of fathoms of wafer’; only those on the highest mountains escaping death by drowning. In the terrific rains that must have occurred, all the valleys and lower plateaus must have been submerged to a great depth. And added to this, all the northern country suddenly became frigid. So, for the few survivors, it must have been a time of suffering and privation beyond all human conception.

  Some fragments of the human family no doubt did survive; although they must have lost fevery vestige of the civilization that their early works show they had attained. They certainly continue to inhabit all the continents and major islands to this day.

  Succeeding photos show the altered land areas nearly as small as now. Although the British Isles were still a part of the mainland, and most of the continents were a little larger than now. Again the historic cycle repeated itself; with the ice fields receding, and, after a great many years, the planet Yudd appearing again. This time there was less destruction, owing, perhaps, to the fact that Yudd had less water to lose. A great mist cloud was formed, however, and the visiting planet emerged with still more restricted water areas; and when the earth was again clearly visible, it was easy to discern some changes. Of course, it was to be expected that the snow fields would be spreading from the north. But there were also quite a number of changes in ocean and land areas. For instance, the land in what is now the lower Mississippi valley had been submerged, extending the Gulf of Mexico quite a way inland; and the British Isles were parted from the mainland, and where formerly dense forests grew, were the North Sea, Irish Sea and English Channel.