I thanked him cordially for the invaluable1 visit he had given me and told him I hoped it might be repeated. He nodded his head in acquiescence2, by which I understood, I might expect him some time again. I went on to congratulate him on the happy home he was returning to and the long agreeable[226] rest that awaited him there after this fatiguing3 journey.
He smiled with his great eyes, and thanked me for my good wishes, but said he was destined4 to no such rest as I wished him.
“From the moment I reach home,” said he, “I shall be as busy as I can be for a week, preparing for my journey to Mars.”
“Your journey to Mars!” I exclaimed, “do you mean to say you go to Mars?”
“I have been there only three times myself; but our people have visited that planet for the last ten thousand years, and there is quite a colony of Lunarians permanently5 settled there looking after our interests.”
“So you have interests on Mars! Well now this is interesting. I wish I had known this before. I would give anything for information about Mars and the Martians.”
“Well it will take me a little time to arrange my car and I can talk to you while I am doing it. You see our folks first went there about 10,000 years ago. They found the planet inhabited by two bitterly hostile races that did little else than hunt each other.”
“They must be like our race then,” I observed.
“Yes,” he said, “in respect to their warlike instincts, but not as to their forms. They are not human nor even vertebrate, but they are built on the radiate plan. In short they are almost exactly like your star fishes, but enormously bigger. I have seen them as large as twelve feet across, though their more common size at maturity6 is[227] six to eight feet. The difference between the two races is that in one there are six spokes7 or limbs radiating from the central body and in the other there are but five. These limbs may be called either legs or arms, for they serve as either and are sometimes one and sometimes the other. There is a fleshy disc that forms the extremity8 of each limb, around which like the petals9 of a flower are the fingers or toes, about like so many thumbs. There are six of these in the six legged race and five in the five legged. This disc with its thumbs forms the foot when the individual walks on land. Two of them are always on the ground when he is standing10, while the other four are free to be used as hands, these thumbs being opposable and able to grasp tolerably well.
“When they move on land it is always in an upright position, and they roll along edgewise like a wheel destitute11 of felloes rolling on the ends of the spokes. The central piece or hub constitutes the body including the stomach, heart, lungs etc., as well as the sense organs, and brain. The shape of the body is like a short stout12 cylinder13 tapering14 to a rounded point at each end from one and a half to two feet in diameter, the legs radiating from the sides. At the center of one end of this body is the mouth, and the brain is located all round it in what we would call the cheeks. There is no neck. There are six eyes immediately around the mouth corresponding with the six legs, and just outside of the eyes are six ear holes with closable lips, but no outside flaps or shells. Outside of these are six breathing or blow holes leading[228] into the lungs. The mouth is round and the lips pucker15 together when closing. There is no up or down to the Martian man, he stands equally well on any pair of his legs and handles equally well with any of his hands, and this is one of his greatest drawbacks. He has a thick horny skin which appears to have been the only skeleton possessed16 by his ancestors, but in addition, he has a light internal skeleton developed later by the practice of standing and running on his limbs, which consists of a lot of plates and hoop17 like ribs18 in the body, and what would pass for thigh19 and leg bones in each limb. These last are hung with ball and socket20 joints21 both at the articulation22 with the body and at the elbow and wrist. The limbs are thus remarkably23 supple24 and when the Martian has a mind to, he can walk extremely well sideways on two legs, that is, the head or mouth going forward. And this is the way he should walk as our people long ago pointed25 out to the Martians. He can walk on the same two feet continuously edgewise as the wheel goes, but to do this he must merely drag the rear foot up to the front one, and then throw the front one forward again, or else sling26 them around past each other alternately in an awkward manner as a cow does, for the reason that they are all on the same plane. They greatly prefer the rolling motion and roll off on their spokes with surprising speed, twenty miles an hour being a common gait on a good road while some of the gigantic twelve footers can if necessary reel off forty or more.
“They are so extremely fond of traveling off[229] in this manner, that it is difficult for them to confine their attention to any sedentary employment. In order to attain27 a high civilization people must be settled, and occupy themselves in some definite and constant modes of employment. We pointed out to them long ago that they could never have well differentiated28 arms and hands, unless they set apart certain of their limbs to be used exclusively as arms, and never allow the hands thus set apart for handling, to be used as feet.
“They objected, that, to confine themselves to two legs for walking would reduce their gait to five or six miles an hour. This would be a great drawback in war, and give their undifferentiated enemies the advantage over them. This objection no longer has much weight, since war has entirely29 ceased among them, the five legged race having long since been defeated and practically exterminated30, the few that are left being glad to accept the most obscure positions that will secure them a bare existence.”
“I saw a regiment32 of the six legged men drilling once. They were marshaled on a large plain in two ranks, and rolled backward and forward fast or slow according to command with great precision. They then were commanded to load and advance. Around the body in the spaces between the limbs they had artificial leathern pouches33 in which they carried their ammunition34. When they received the command to load they took out of these pouches six stones one for each hand, and they advanced with them clasped between[230] their stumpy fingers. Then they were commanded to double quick and discharge, upon which they advanced at terrific speed and at a given signal let fly the stones one after another as the hand containing it came to the proper position for the most effective throw. The centrifugal force they acquired from the long revolving35 arms sent them with tremendous force, some going at least a mile. In real war they used cast iron bullets. They have plenty of iron on Mars and our folks taught them how to smelt36 and work it. The regiment then charged up to a hand to hand encounter with an imaginary enemy. In this charge they were armed with a heavy circular iron disc in each hand, the disc having a handle on the back side by which it was held. Then they charged with terrific fury the discs flying around like lightning, chopping into mince37 meat, (in imagination) any enemy that dared stand before them.
“The government is a despotism, the king having about the same authority as the emperor of Russia, although he has a council of state whose advice he listens to, and then does as he pleases. Since the subjugation38 of the five legged race this king is the supreme39 ruler of the whole planet. In some districts the people have made considerable advances in civilization, confining themselves to the use of two legs, and walking sidewise instead of rolling edgewise. But the king does not want all his subjects to adopt these innovations, for he is very proud of his soldiers and thinks them more efficient on six legs then two. Besides, for certain[231] kinds of labor40, especially drawing wagons42 and carriages, the old way is the best.”
“Why don’t they use horses,” I inquired, “or haven’t they any?”
“There are no such animals on Mars, nor in fact any other sort of animals except radiates. There are many genera of these, mostly living in the water and all small, except the dominant43 race, which I call the Martians.
“But there are great differences in the conditions of life amongst the people of this race, some being fairly civilized44 while others are only beasts of burden, and still others take the place of dumb machines. They are specially41 adapted to act as wheels for light carriages. The axles of the carriage are terminated at each end with a six pronged fork, the prongs arranged in a circle or cylinder so that when a man is to play the role of wheel, he is impaled45 on this fork one prong of it fitting snugly46 between each pair of his legs. A vehicle of this kind is specially adapted for soft roads as the broad disc like feet prevent sinking.
“The king has a phaeton mounted on twelve foot specimens47 of these lively wheels, in which he dashes around at a thirty or forty mile gait when the fancy strikes him. He also has a royal barge48 propelled by the same sort of wheels, the legs acting49 as paddles.
“The king is imitated in his fads50 by the nobility and gentry51 as far as they are able, and so one may quite often see these live wheel phaetons, and live-paddle boats moving about.
“On the public roads, vehicles are used having[232] wheels such as you use, and drawn52 by these creatures, yoked53 together in pairs by the pronged shafts54 or axles like those I just described. From 5 to 10 pairs may sometimes be seen tugging55 at one of these heavy freight wagons. They are tremendously strong and their strength counts for vastly more on the planet Mars than it would on the earth, because Mars being so much smaller everything weighs very much less. I have seen some of those big fellows after rolling a few hundred yards with great speed give a leap from the ground and fly whirling through the air for two hundred feet before they lit.”
“They are a wonderful race,” said I, “but it seems difficult to connect intelligence with a tribe of star fishes or to imagine they could ever become highly developed. You know those we have on earth are very low in the scale of existence.”
“Intelligence,” said the Professor, “does not depend on the form. Any form on which it is possible for the forces of the environment such as light heat contact etc., to make an impression, already has intelligence; the ability to be impressed is intelligence. If any organism can be impressed, then if you give it time enough it can be impressed indefinitely, because each impression differentiates56 it and adds to its sensitiveness, that is, its ability to be further impressed. The reason why inferior races so generally remain inferior is the jealousy57 and hostility58 of the superior. The dominant race is always hostile to any other race that shows any intelligence, and proceeds to kill it off for fear it will become a rival. It is thus[233] that the race of man has no rivals that compare with him in intelligence, no “connecting links” between him and the monkeys. He was jealous of them and exterminated them.
“On the planet Mars there were never any forms of animal superior to the stars so they have received all the development. Their differentiation59 would have advanced further if the planet itself had not been so backward. It has a great deal more water on it in proportion to its size than the earth. It is destitute of high mountains, and very much of its surface is but little raised above the level of the sea. A great deal of it is marshy60. It is only in recent geologic61 times that it has become well suited to life on land. When it became so, the star fishes crawled out, and by degrees became accustomed to that mode of life as well as their aquatic62 mode. If there had been any land animals there to attack them when they first ventured to leave the water, of course they would have been prevented from ever rising. But there were no enemies and they gradually developed lungs by which they were enabled to live continuously out of water. At first they crawled about like spiders with all their feet on the ground at once, but after awhile they learned to raise themselves up on edge and finally to roll from one foot to another, and so gradually adopted a new and wonderfully advanced mode of locomotion63.
“They are still semiaquatic and amphibious, and they have both lungs and gills. They do not bring forth64 their young alive, but the female lays eggs in the water, the wealthy families having little[234] tanks kept at a proper temperature. The females of the poor and rougher classes simply go to the nearest pond and deposit their eggs and leave them to their fate. Nine times out of ten, however, the warmth of the water is sufficient to hatch out the tiny stars which swim around in the water without any care or bother to their parents. They then use only their gills for breathing, but in a few weeks their lungs are developed enough to permit them to crawl out on land and remain awhile. They do this daily and finally are able to remain out continuously. Some of the lowest classes, the savages65 as the are called, never lose their gills, but continue to be amphibious all their lives. They spend their days on shore and mingle66 with the rest, but at night retire to the water in which they sleep and eat, feeding upon a tender and nutritious67 grass that grows in the water and in marshy places. This grass also constitutes a considerable part of the food of the better classes, but they generally cook it. In winter time these savages burrow68 in the mud at the bottom of the ponds and marshes69 and canals and go into a sort of torpid70 condition and remain there till spring. The more advanced classes cannot do this, they remain out of the water continuously after they are fairly weaned from it, and lose the use of their gills so that they cannot breathe under water at all. So there is almost as much difference between different varieties of these strange people so far as civilization is concerned as between men and some of their domestic animals.”
“Professor,” said I, “a moment ago you mentioned[235] the canals. Our astronomers71 have seen these and puzzled themselves greatly in regard to them, now you can tell me all about them I am sure.”
“Yes, I intended to tell you about them, I understand their history well. That’s where we sunk our money, or at least a great part of it.”
“What, in the canals?”
“Yes—that is, in their construction.”
“Do you mean that the Lunarians went and dug those canals on Mars?”
“I will explain. As I said awhile ago when our folks first visited Mars the people were in a very barbarous state, but still seemed to have some idea of bettering their condition. They were much impressed by the superiority of the Lunarians and were anxious to get their advice as to the best way of improving their own situation. The inhabitants then all lived along the shores of the seas while the interior of the continents were uninhabited and for the most part unexplored. The Lunarians by the help of their wings and their repulsio-gravitation cars were in a position to make the exploration and in a short time gained a general knowledge of the topography of the planet. They found high land over both the poles, but all the middle parts are low. There were numerous ponds and lakes of fresh water, with marshy outlets72 to the seas, which are very salty. There were no rivers except a few small ones in the high lands. As the Martians were amphibious and had always been accustomed to salt water, the Lunarians doubted whether they could live in[236] the interior where the water was fresh. But they saw that it would be necessary to scatter73 the people away from the sea shore, divert their thoughts from war by finding peaceful occupations for them, and to create artificial wants for them since their very few natural wants were all bountifully supplied with little or no effort on their part. The climate of Mars is much like that of the temperate74 parts of the earth, but its polar regions are never so cold nor its equatorial regions so hot.
“In summer time these people had no use for clothes, for it was warm enough without them. In winter they had always gone into winter quarters under water remaining in a torpid inactive condition till spring. When they found the Lunarians never did so, they were anxious to imitate them. But they could not stand the cold without clothes and houses artificially heated. So some rude clothing was made of grass, and some huts built under instructions from the Lunarians and the king and some of the better classes undertook to keep alive, as they called it, all winter. They were quick to perceive that they could thus add much time to their lives, for the winters of Mars last some 300 days out of the 687 that constitute his year. At first it was hard to work into the new way, but after one or two generations had been kept from hibernating75 from childhood, it came to be a second nature to their descendants, and now all the better classes have outgrown76 it, only the savages, who are merely beasts of burden continue to go into the torpid state and not all of these. This change of nature in these people, made it essential to have[237] houses and clothes and also to secure food to be kept through the winter thus creating the wants that would compel the people to employ their muscles and brains, and so insure their cultivation77 and development. The chief food of the people consisted of the grass I have mentioned which grows only in water and at that time only in salt water. It grows in thick pulpy78 stems and is very rich in sugar oil and gelatine. This vegetable product was obtainable only along the sea shore in shallow water and in salt-water marshes formed by the sea. The new way of life demanded at least one half more food than the old for each person, and it also led to a rapid increase in the population. These causes made it essential to devise some way of increasing the production of food, the most obvious way being the increase of the area of shallow salt water. This the king undertook to do, but made small progress, for neither he nor his council knew anything about engineering, or the management of such works.
“The Lunarians who had been observing matters and things, and studying the situation very closely and shrewdly, now came forward with a proposition for a very comprehensive scheme of public works—or rather several schemes in one.”
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1
invaluable
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| adj.无价的，非常宝贵的，极为贵重的 | |
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acquiescence
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| n.默许；顺从 | |
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fatiguing
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| a.使人劳累的 | |
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destined
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| adj.命中注定的；(for)以…为目的地的 | |
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permanently
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| adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地 | |
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6
maturity
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| n.成熟；完成；(支票、债券等)到期 | |
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7
spokes
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| n.（车轮的）辐条( spoke的名词复数 )；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 | |
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8
extremity
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| n.末端，尽头；尽力；终极；极度 | |
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petals
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| n.花瓣( petal的名词复数 ) | |
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10
standing
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| n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的 | |
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11
destitute
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| adj.缺乏的；穷困的 | |
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13
cylinder
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| n.圆筒，柱(面)，汽缸 | |
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14
tapering
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| adj.尖端细的 | |
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pucker
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| v.撅起，使起皱；n.（衣服上的）皱纹，褶子 | |
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16
possessed
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| adj.疯狂的；拥有的，占有的 | |
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17
hoop
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| n.（篮球）篮圈，篮 | |
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18
ribs
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| n.肋骨( rib的名词复数 )；（船或屋顶等的）肋拱；肋骨状的东西；（织物的）凸条花纹 | |
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thigh
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| n.大腿；股骨 | |
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socket
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| n.窝，穴，孔，插座，插口 | |
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21
joints
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| 接头( joint的名词复数 )； 关节； 公共场所（尤指价格低廉的饮食和娱乐场所） （非正式）； 一块烤肉 （英式英语） | |
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22
articulation
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| n.（清楚的）发音；清晰度，咬合 | |
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remarkably
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| ad.不同寻常地，相当地 | |
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supple
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| adj.柔软的，易弯的，逢迎的，顺从的，灵活的；vt.使柔软，使柔顺，使顺从；vi.变柔软，变柔顺 | |
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pointed
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| adj.尖的，直截了当的 | |
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sling
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| vt.扔；悬挂；n.挂带；吊索，吊兜；弹弓 | |
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attain
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| vt.达到，获得，完成 | |
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differentiated
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| 区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的过去式和过去分词 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征 | |
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entirely
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| ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地 | |
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exterminated
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| v.消灭，根绝( exterminate的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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warriors
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| 武士，勇士，战士( warrior的名词复数 ) | |
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regiment
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| n.团，多数，管理；v.组织，编成团，统制 | |
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pouches
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| n.（放在衣袋里或连在腰带上的）小袋( pouch的名词复数 )；（袋鼠等的）育儿袋；邮袋；（某些动物贮存食物的）颊袋 | |
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ammunition
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| n.军火，弹药 | |
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revolving
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| adj.旋转的，轮转式的；循环的v.（使）旋转( revolve的现在分词 )；细想 | |
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smelt
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| v.熔解，熔炼；n.银白鱼，胡瓜鱼 | |
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mince
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| n.切碎物；v.切碎，矫揉做作地说 | |
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subjugation
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| n.镇压，平息，征服 | |
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supreme
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| adj.极度的，最重要的；至高的，最高的 | |
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labor
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| n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦 | |
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41
specially
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| adv.特定地；特殊地；明确地 | |
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42
wagons
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| n.四轮的运货马车( wagon的名词复数 )；铁路货车；小手推车 | |
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43
dominant
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| adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因 | |
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44
civilized
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| a.有教养的，文雅的 | |
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45
impaled
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| 钉在尖桩上( impale的过去式和过去分词 ) | |
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46
snugly
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| adv.紧贴地；贴身地；暖和舒适地；安适地 | |
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47
specimens
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| n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人 | |
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48
barge
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| n.平底载货船，驳船 | |
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49
acting
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| n.演戏，行为，假装；adj.代理的，临时的，演出用的 | |
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50
fads
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| n.一时的流行，一时的风尚( fad的名词复数 ) | |
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51
gentry
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| n.绅士阶级，上层阶级 | |
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52
drawn
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| v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的 | |
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53
yoked
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| 结合（yoke的过去式形式） | |
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54
shafts
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| n.轴( shaft的名词复数 )；（箭、高尔夫球棒等的）杆；通风井；一阵（疼痛、害怕等） | |
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55
tugging
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| n.牵引感v.用力拉，使劲拉，猛扯( tug的现在分词 ) | |
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56
differentiates
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| 区分，区别，辨别( differentiate的第三人称单数 )； 区别对待； 表明…间的差别，构成…间差别的特征 | |
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57
jealousy
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| n.妒忌，嫉妒，猜忌 | |
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58
hostility
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| n.敌对，敌意；抵制［pl.］交战，战争 | |
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59
differentiation
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| n.区别，区分 | |
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60
marshy
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| adj.沼泽的 | |
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61
geologic
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| adj.地质的 | |
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62
aquatic
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| adj.水生的，水栖的 | |
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locomotion
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| n.运动，移动 | |
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forth
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| adv.向前；向外，往外 | |
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savages
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| 未开化的人，野蛮人( savage的名词复数 ) | |
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66
mingle
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| vt.使混合，使相混；vi.混合起来；相交往 | |
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nutritious
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| adj.有营养的，营养价值高的 | |
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68
burrow
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| vt.挖掘(洞穴)；钻进；vi.挖洞；翻寻；n.地洞 | |
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69
marshes
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| n.沼泽，湿地( marsh的名词复数 ) | |
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torpid
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| adj.麻痹的，麻木的，迟钝的 | |
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astronomers
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| n.天文学者，天文学家( astronomer的名词复数 ) | |
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72
outlets
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| n.出口( outlet的名词复数 )；经销店；插座；廉价经销店 | |
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scatter
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| vt.撒，驱散，散开；散布/播；vi.分散，消散 | |
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temperate
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| adj.温和的，温带的，自我克制的，不过分的 | |
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hibernating
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| （某些动物）冬眠，蛰伏( hibernate的现在分词 ) | |
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outgrown
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| 长[发展] 得超过（某物）的范围( outgrow的过去分词 )； 长[发展]得不能再要（某物）； 长得比…快； 生长速度超过 | |
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cultivation
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| n.耕作，培养，栽培（法），养成 | |
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pulpy
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| 果肉状的，多汁的，柔软的； 烂糊； 稀烂 | |
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