第19章 BOOK I.(18)

"We know that Christ,while walking on the waves,did not sink,and that he and Elijah were carried up into heaven.What became of their material bodies we cannot tell,but they were certainly superior to the force of gravitation.We have no reason to believe that in miracles any natural law was broken,or even set aside,but simply that some other law,whose workings we do not understand,became operative and modified the law that otherwise would have had things its own way.In apergy we undoubtedly have the counterpart of gravitation,which must exist,or Nature's system of compensation is broken.May we not believe that in Christ's transfiguration on the mount,and in the appearance of Moses and Elias with him--doubtless in the flesh,since otherwise mortal eyes could not have seen them--apergy came into play and upheld them;that otherwise,and if no other modification had intervened,they would have fallen to the ground;and that apergy was,in other words,the working principle of those miracles?""May we not also believe,"added Cortlandt,"that in the transfiguration Christ's companions took the substance of their material bodies--the oxygen,hydrogen,nitrogen,and carbon--from the air and the moisture it contained;for,though spiritual bodies,be their activity magnetic or any other,could of course pass the absolute cold and void of space without being affected,no mortal body could;and that in the same manner Elijah's body dissolved into air without the usual intervention of decomposition;for we know that,though matter can easily change its form,it can never be destroyed."All assented to this,and Ayrault continued:"If apergy can annul gravitation,I do not see why it should not do more,for to annul it the repulsion of the earth that it produces must be as great as its attraction,unless we suppose gravitation for the time being to be suspended;but whether it is or not,does not affect the result in this case,for,after the apergetic repulsion is brought to the degree at which a body does not fall,any increase in the current's strength will cause it to rise,and in the case of electro-magnets we know that the attraction or repulsion has practically no limit.This will be of great advantage to us,"he continued,"for if a projectile could move away from the earth with no more rapid acceleration than that with which it approaches,it would take too long to reach the nearest planet,but the maximum repulsion being at the start by reason of its proximity to the earth--for apergy,being the counterpart of gravitation,is subject to Newton's and Kepler's laws--the acceleration of a body apergetically charged will be greatest at first.Two inclined planes may have the same fall,but a ball will reach the bottom of one that is steepest near the top in less time than on any other,because the maximum acceleration is at the start.We are all tired of being stuck to this cosmical speck,with its monotonous ocean,leaden sky,and single moon that is useless more than half the time,while its size is so microscopic compared with the universe that we can traverse its great circle in four days.Its possibilities are exhausted;and just as Greece became too small for the civilization of the Greeks,and as reproduction is growth beyond the individual,so it seems to me that the future glory of the human race lies in exploring at least the solar system,without waiting to become shades.""Should you propose to go to Mars or Venus?"asked Cortlandt.

"No,"replied Ayrault,"we know all about Mars;it is but one seventh the size of the earth,and as the axis is inclined more than ours,it would be a less comfortable globe than this;while,as our president here told us in his T.A.S.Company's report,the axis of Venus is inclined to such a degree that it would be almost uninhabitable for us.It would be as if colonists tried to settle Greenland,or had come to North America during its Glacial period.Neither Venus nor Mars would be a good place now.""Where should you propose to go?"asked Stillman.

"To Jupiter,and,if possible,after that to Saturn,"replied Ayrault;"the former's mean distance from the sun is 480,000,000miles;but,as our president showed us,its axis is so nearly straight that I think,with its internal warmth,there will be nothing to fear from cold.Though,on account of the planet's vast size,objects on its surface weigh more than twice as much as here,if I am able to reach it by means of apergy,the same force will enable me to regulate my weight.Will any one go with me?""Splendid!"said Bearwarden."If Mr.Dumby,our vice-president,will temporarily assume my office,nothing will give me greater pleasure.""So will I go,if there is room for me,"said Cortlandt."I will at once resign my place as Government expert,and consider it the grandest event of my life.""If I were not afraid of leaving Stillman here to his own devices,I'd ask for a berth as well,"said Deepwaters.

"I am afraid,"said Stillman,"if you take any more,you will be overcrowded.""Modesty forbids his saying,"said Deepwaters,"that it wouldn't do for the country to have all its eggs in one basket.""Are you not afraid you will find the surface hot,or even molten?"asked Vice-President Dumby."With its eighty-six thousand five hundred mile diameter,the amount of original internal heat must have been terrific.""No,said Cortlandt,"it cannot be molten,or even in the least degree luminous,for,if it were,its satellites would be visible when they enter its shadow,whereas they entirely disappear.""I do not believe Jupiter's surface is even perceptibly warm,"said Bearwarden."We know that Algol,known to the ancients as the 'Demon Star,'and several other variable stars,are accompanied by a dark companion,with which they revolve about a common centre,and which periodically obscures part of their light.Now,some of these non-luminaries are nearly as large as our sun,and,of course,many hundred times the size of Jupiter.