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자료 1. ~ 자료 7. 까지 금성인 정찰선 나머지 이고요. 나머지 자료 8. ~ 자료 10. 이 토성인 정찰선 관련 이미지 입니다.
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아래 영어는 George Adamski의 Inside The Space Ships의 영어본 책의 금성인 정찰선과 토성인 정찰선의 내용입니다.
2. INSIDE A VENUSIAN SCOUT SHIP
Shortly after our arrival, Orthon turned and entered the ship, motioning for me to join him. Firkon and Ramu immediately followed. As I have stated, the Scout rested solidly on the ground and only a small step up was required to enter the craft.
Although when we had first reached the waiting Scout
I must have anticipated something of this kind, now that I was actually aboard, my joy can only be imagined. As I took a first quick glance around, I wondered if their purpose was merely to show me what one of these Scouts looked like inside, or — I hardly dared let the hope live — perhaps actually to take me on a journey though space. …?
We went directly into the one-room cabin compartment through a door high enough to permit Ramu, the tall Saturnian, to enter without stooping. As he, the last to go in, placed his foot on the cabin floor, the door silently closed. I was aware of a very slight hum that seemed to come equally from beneath the floor and from a heavy coil that appeared to be built into the top of the circular wall. The moment the hum started, this coil began to glow bright red but emitted no heat. I recalled that I bad noticed just such a bright coil on the Scout of my first contact. But on that occasion it had thrown off various colors—red, blue and green—like a flashing prism in the Sun.
I scarcely knew where to look first. I marveled anew at the unbelievable way in which they were able to fit parts together so that joinings were imperceptible. Just as I had been unable to find any trace of an entrance door into the Scout of my first encounter, now there was no sign of the door that had closed behind us; only what looked like solid wall.
Everything had seemed to take place simultaneously— the door closing, the soft hung as of a swarm of bees, the glow of the upper coil and the increase of light within the craft.
It was all so exciting that I was obliged to take myself firmly in hand in order to concentrate on any one thing. I wanted to leave this ship with a clear picture of everything in order to give a lucid account of what I was seeing.
I estimated the inside diameter of the cabin to be approximately eighteen feet. A pillar about two feet thick extended downward from the very top of the dome to the center of the floor. Later I was told that this was the magnetic pole of the ship, by means of which they drew on Nature’s forces for propulsion purposes, but they did not explain how this was done.
“The top of the pole,” Firkon pointed out, “is normally positive, while the bottom, which you will notice goes down through the floor, is negative. But, when necessary, these poles can be reversed merely by pushing a button.”
I noticed that a good six feet of the central floor was occupied by a clear, round lens through which the magnetic pole was centered. On opposite sides of this huge lens, close to the edge, were two small but comfortable benches curved to follow the circumference. I was invited to sit on one of these and Firkon sat beside me to explain what was going on. Ramu took a place on the opposite bench, while Orthon went to the control panels. These were located’ against the outer wall between the two benches, directly opposite the now invisible door though which we had entered the Scout.
When we were seated, a small flexible bar fell into place across our middles. This bar was either composed of, or merely covered with, a kind of soft rubberized material.
Its purpose was obvious—a simple safety device to prevent falling forward or losing balance.
Firkon explained, “Sometimes, when a ship is thoroughly grounded, a sharp jerk is experienced when breaking contact with Earth. Although this does not very often happen, we are always prepared.” He smiled and added, “The same principle exactly as the safety belts in your own planes.”
It was still difficult to believe that anything so wonderful was actually happening to me. Ever since my first meeting with the Venusian, after he had gone and I was left with an unutterable sense of loss and a longing to go with him, I had hoped and dreamed that one day such a privilege might be mine. Now that it seemed certain we were preparing for a journey into space, I could scarcely contain my joy. Again and again I reminded myself that I must memorize all that I would see and learn, that I might share my experience with others, however inadequately.
“This ship,” Firkon continued, “was built for a two-man crew, or three at the most. But in an emergency a great many more can be safely crowded into it. However, this is not often necessary.
He did not explain further and I wondered if by “emergency” he could mean a rescue mission should another Scout find itself in trouble. So impressed was I by this firsthand viewing of the amazing results of their scientific knowledge that it was almost impossible to visualize failure of any description. I had to remind myself that, after all, they too were human beings and, no matter how far advanced beyond us, must still be subject to error and vicissitude.
I turned my attention to the graphs and charts that covered the walls for about three feet on either side of the door that I could not see, and which stretched from floor to ceiling. They were fascinating, entirely different from anything I had seen on Earth, and I tried to guess their purposes. There were no needles or dials, but flashes of changing colors and intensities. Some of these were like colored lines moving across the face of a particular chart. Some moved up and down, others crisscross, while still others took the forms of different geometric figures.
The meanings and functions were not explained to me, and I doubt if I could have understood it all, but I noticed that all three of my companions were alert to the changes taking place. I received the impression that the instruments indicated, among other things, direction of travel, the approach of any other object, as well as atmospheric or space conditions.
The wall for a distance of about ten feet directly behind the benches on which we sat appeared to be solid and blank, while on those beyond, opposite our point of entry, were other charts somewhat similar, yet differing in certain ways from those I have described. The pilot’s instrument board was unlike anything I could have imagined. The best comparison I can think of is that it looked rather like an organ. But instead of keys and stops there were rows of buttons. Small lights shone directly on these, so placed that each illuminated five buttons at a time. As far as I can remember, there were six rows of these buttons, each row about six feet long.
In front of this board was a pilot’s seat, very similar to the benches on which the rest of us were sitting. Close beside this bench, conveniently placed for easy use by the pilot, was a peculiar instrument connected directly to the central magnetic pole.
Firkon corroborated my unspoken guess as to its use by saying, “Yes, that is a periscope, something like those used on your submarines.”
As I watched the various lights flashing across the faces of the charts and wall graphs, now increasing, now diminishing in intensity, it became quite clear why these translucent ships are so often reported as changing color as they move through our skies. But there are other contributing factors. Many of the color changes and the glowing coronas which often surround the Saucers are the result of differing intensities of energy radiating out into the atmosphere and making it luminous directly surrounding the ships, due to a process somewhat similar to ionization.
Within the craft there was not a single dark corner. I could not make out where the light was coming from. It seemed to permeate every cavity and corner with a soft pleasing glow. There is no way of describing that light exactly. It was not white, nor was it blue, nor was it exactly any other color that I could name. Instead, it seemed to consist of a mellow blend of all colors, though at times I fancied one or another seemed to predominate.
I was so engrossed in trying to solve this mystery, and at the same time to see and absorb every detail of this amazing little craft that I was quite unaware we had taken off, although I did suddenly register a slight feeling of movement. But there was no sensation of enormous acceleration, nor of changes in pressure and altitude as would be the case in one of our planes going at half the speed. Nor had we experienced any jerk as we broke contact with the ground. I had an impression of tremendous solidity and smoothness, with little more realization of movement than of the unnoticeable journey of the Earth itself as it revolves around the Sun at eighteen and one-half miles per second. Others who have been privileged to ride in these Saucers also have been struck by the same sensation of movement—or rather, the almost total lack of it. But the fact is, with so many wonders crowding my consciousness, it was only later, after I was back on Earth reviewing the night’s experiences in my own mind, that I could begin to sort them out.
My attention was now called to the big lens at my feet. An amazing sight met my eyes! We appeared to be skimming the rooftops of a small town; I could identify objects as though we were no more than a hundred feet above the ground. It was explained to me that actually we were a good two miles up and still rising, but this optical device had such magnifying power that single persons could be picked out and studied, if so desired, even when the craft was many miles high and out of sight.
“The central pillar or magnetic pole serves a double purpose,” explained my bench companion. “Besides providing most of the power for flight, it also serves as a powerful telescope with one end pointing up through the dome to view the sky, and the other pointing down through the floor to inspect the land below. Images are projected through it into the two big lenses in the floor and ceiling, as you can see.”
He did not explain whether this was done electronically or by some other means. Its magnifications could be varied at will, and I suspect that there was more to it than a simple optical system such as we know on Earth.
I looked up into the translucent dome. The stars had always looked near enough to touch in the clear air of my mountain home, but viewed through this ceiling lens they seemed to be actually on top of us. As I alternated between watching the wonders of the sky and the swift Earth flashing beneath us, I noticed four cables which appeared to run through the floor lens (or immediately below it), joining the central pole in the form of a cross.
The Martian, noting my change of interest, explained, “Three of those cables carry power from the magnetic pole to the three balls under the ship which, as you have seen, are sometimes used as landing-gear. These balls are hollow and, although they can be lowered for emergency landing and retracted when in flight, their most important purpose is as condensers for the static electricity sent to them from the magnetic pole. This power is present everywhere in the Universe. One of its natural but concentrated manifestations is seen displayed as lightning.
“The fourth cable,” he continued, “extends from the pole to the two periscope-like instruments, the one beside the pilot’s seat and the other directly behind his seat but close to the edge of the center lens, as you can see. These instruments are really extensions of the main optical system and enable the pilot to see everything that is going on without leaving his seat. They can be switched on and off, or adjusted at will, so that both members of the usual crew can have full use of the telescope without interfering with each other.”
All the machinery was beneath the floor of this compartment, and under the outer flange, as clearly shown in the photograph of this Scout.’ I did not actually see any of it, but I was shown into a very small room which served both as an entrance to the compartment which contained the machinery, and as a workshop for emergency repairs. Here there was a tiny forge and a few storage cupboards in which, I surmised, necessary tools and materials would be kept.
It was while I was looking through the door into this room that our pilot said, “Be prepared for landing. We are near our mother ship.”
I could not believe it. It seemed that only a few minutes had sped by since we had entered the Scout.
Just a moment earlier the wall behind the bench on which we had been sitting had appeared solid. Now a round hole began to appear! I watched in astonishment while it continued to open, rather like the iris of a camera. Shortly, a porthole about eighteen inches wide appeared. This, then, explained the portholes in my Saucer photographs, of which till now I had seen no sign.
Like the door by which we had entered, their coverings fitted so closely as to be undetectable when closed. Recalling what my photos had shown, I reasoned that there must be four portholes on each side, making a total of eight.
“That is correct,” Orthon nodded in corroboration, “and the touch of a button can open them all or singly — and of course they are closed in the same manner.
As the pilot alerted us to our impending landing, the Martian said, “You will be interested to watch this!”
At the prospect of actually landing on a mother ship, my emotion rose to a point impossible to describe. Fighting for composure, my mind framed the question as to where the mother ship was waiting, and in what manner we would make the landing.
Instantly Orthon answered both unspoken questions. “This is the same large mother ship that alerted you and your party on the desert last year at our first meeting. She has been waiting for us up here and is at the moment about forty thousand feet above your Earth. Watch and you will see how these small ships land and enter into their carriers.”
Fascinated, I peered out through the portholes. There, below, I was able to make out a gigantic black shadow motionless beneath us. As we came nearer, its huge bulk seemed to stretch away almost out of sight, and I could see its vast sides curving outward and downward. Slowly, very slowly, we drew nearer until we were almost on top of the great carrier. I was not astonished when my companion told me that she was about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter and close to two thousand feet in length.
The spectacle of that gigantic cigar-shaped carrier ship hanging there motionless in the stratosphere will never dim in my memory.
3. THE VENUSIAN MOTHER SHIP
Our little craft glided down toward the top of the mother ship, very much like an aircraft coming in to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. As I watched, a curved hatch or opening appeared, reminding me of a great gaping whale. Those who have seen the photographs of this ship will recall that it has a blunt nose sloping slightly downward. This hatch was situated at the far end of the main cylindrical body just before the slope of the nose became perceptible. As we touched down, the Scout moved forward into the hatch, tilting downward as it began its journey into the interior of this mighty ship. Here for the first time I had a feeling of dropping in the pit of my stomach. I imagine this was due to the fact that the Saucer was no longer using its own power but was now subject to the gravity of the mother ship.
We traveled on down at not too steep an angle, the flange of the Scout running on two rails slowly and smoothly, its rate of descent controlled by friction and the magnetism in the flange. Orthon had complete control over this, I found, for once I nearly lost my balance and he stopped the craft momentarily while I regained it. Then the slow, smooth glide continued until we had reached what I judged to be the halfway position between the top and the bottom of the mother ship. Here the Scout stopped, and the door instantly slid open.
I saw a man standing outside on a platform about fifteen feet long and six feet wide. He was holding something that looked like a metal clamp attached to a cable. He was not very tall—I should guess about five feet, five inches—and I noticed that he was of a darker complexion than any of the space people I had seen. He was dressed in a brown flying suit similar in color and style to the one worn by Orthon at our first meeting. Black hair showed from under a dark, beret-type cap.
I followed Firkon out of the Scout and Ramu came after me. Orthon was the last to leave. The man in the beret smiled and nodded to each of us as we stepped off the platform, but no words were exchanged.
From this platform a flight of about a dozen steps led down to one of the decks of the huge craft. As I was guided down them, I had time to notice that our Scout had stopped just before reaching a junction in the rails down which we had come. One pair of rails continued through the ship, curving downward out of sight. Between them was a dark space which prevented any view of what lay below. The other pair of rails continued straight on from the junction before which the craft was halted, and ran astern to a huge hangar or storage deck in which I could see several identical Scout ships lined up on the rails.
“This is the storage hangar in which the small craft are carried during interplanetary flight,” explained Firkon, stopping momentarily on the step beside me. “Had we been going on to another planet, our Scout would have stopped at the platform only long enough to let us out. Then it would have passed over the junction and been switched to its place in this large hangar. But because we shall be returning to Earth later, the Scout must be recharged at this platform.”
I glanced back and saw that the man on the platform had already slipped the clamp attached to the cable over the flange of the Scout so that it contacted both the flange and the rail beneath.
I have no idea how this recharging operation was performed; to me the clamp looked much like a machinist’s large clamp used on Earth. Nor could I see to what the other end of the cable was connected. Perhaps contact between clamp and rail was necessary to complete the circuit or for all I know, it may even have fitted into an unseen connection directly below the rim of the Scout. I did not wish to cause further delay by asking.
Although not answering the question in my mind, Firkon did volunteer, “These smaller craft are incapable of generating their own power to any great extent and make only relatively short trips from their carriers before returning for recharge. They are used for a kind of shuttle service between the large ships and any point of contact or observation, and are always dependent on full recharging from the power plant of the mother ship.”
At the bottom of the steps we entered a large control room, rectangular in shape but with rounded corners. This room, I should say, was about thirty-five by forty-five feet, and something like forty feet in height. Except for two door openings, the walls were entirely covered with colored graphs and charts like those in the Scout, but on a larger scale and more numerous.
Extending along all four sides of the room were three tiers of platforms from which the many instruments could be observed and studied. A master telescope stood on the top platform, and another on the bottom platform. From both of these were electronic extensions to many instruments in other parts of the ship, making it possible, I was told, for these two telescopes to be used from many locations on the ship.
Also in this room was a robot instrument which I was cautioned not to describe. I had noticed a miniature version of this robot in the Scout. There were also several pieces of machinery in this control room, none of which, so far as I could see, had any moving parts.
I would have liked to stop in this room for closer observation of all these graphs, charts, colors, machinery and instruments, and to have been permitted to ask questions concerning their operation, but this privilege was not granted. Instead, we went directly through this control room and through a second door which led into the most beautiful living room or lounge that I have ever seen. Its simplicity and splendor took my breath and I gasped as I stood momentarily in the doorway, not only marveling at the richness of its furnishings, but held m the wonderful emanation of harmony that came from it.
I do not know how long it took me to recover from this unexpected experience but eventually I was able to look about me with more interest for detail.
The ceiling, I judged, was about fifteen feet high, and the room could not have been less than forty feet square. A soft, mysterious blue-white light filled it, and yet I saw no lighting fixtures, and nowhere any inequality in brightness.
Then, as I stepped through the doorway into this luxurious lounge, my attention instantly was absorbed by two incredibly lovely young women who arose from one of the divans and came toward us as we entered.
This was indeed a tremendous surprise as, for some reason, I had never visualized women as space travelers. Their very presence and extraordinary beauty, the friendliness that was so apparent as they approached to greet us, together with the luxurious background in the out-of-this-world craft, were overwhelming.
The shorter of the two women touched my hand in the recognized greeting, then immediately turned away to walk over to another part of the room. Then the taller and seemingly younger girl leaned forward and touched my cheek lightly with her lips. The first lovely lady returned holding a small glass of colorless liquid which she held out to me.
Stirred deeply by the warm friendliness of these people, I thanked her and took the glass. The water (for that is what it proved to be) tasted like our own pure spring water. It seemed, however, a little denser, with a consistency something like a very thin oil. As I sipped it, I strove to regain my composure and to impress the images of these gracious and beautiful young women indelibly on my mind.
The one who had brought me the water was about five feet, three inches in height. Her skin was very fair and her golden hair hung in waves to just below her shoulders in a beautiful symmetry. Her eyes, too, were more golden than any other color and held an expression that was both gentle and merry. I had the feeling that she was reading my every thought. Her almost transparent skin was without blemish of any kind, exquisitely delicate, though firm and possessed of a warm radiance. Her features were finely chiseled, the ears small, the white teeth beautifully even. She looked very young. I judged that she could not be much over twenty years of age. Her hands were slender, with long, tapering fingers. I noticed that neither she nor her companion wore make-up of any kind on their faces or fingernails. The lips of both were a natural deep red. They wore no jewelry of any description. Indeed, such adornment would have served only to detract from their own natural beauty.
Both women wore draped garments of a veil-like material which fell to their ankles, and both robes were bound at the waist by a striking girdle of contrasting color, into which jewels seemed actually to be woven.
The garment of the little blonde was of a pure light blue, and her tiny sandals were golden in color. Later, I learned that she was a citizen of the planet we know as Venus. Kalna is the name I shall give her.
Ilmuth, my name for the other woman, was taller and a rich brunette in coloring. She also wore her hair in a cascade that fell to just below her shoulders, and it was a beautiful wavy black with highlights of reddish brown. Her large eyes were black, luminous, with flashes of brown. They held the same merry expression as those of her companion, and I felt that she, too, could read my innermost thoughts. In fact, this is an impression I have received from every person that I have met from worlds beyond our own. The color of this lovely brunette’s robe was a pale, rich green, and her sandals of a copper hue. Ilmuth, like Firkon, was an inhabitant of the planet Mars.
I realize that in trying to describe these ladies from other worlds than ours I am attempting the impossible. Perhaps, using my inadequate description as a stepping stone, the reader will search his own imagination for an image of perfect beauty—and then know that it must certainly fall short of the reality.
As I finished drinking from the small goblet of water, I was asked to be seated, an invitation I gladly accepted.
On the wall exactly opposite the door through which we had entered hung a portrait which I was certain must represent Deity. The emotion which the beauty of the two young women had aroused in me was momentarily forgotten as the wonderful radiance emanating from the portrait enveloped me. It showed the head and shoulders of a Being who could have been eighteen to twenty-five years of age, in whose face was embodied the perfect blended balance of male and female, and whose eyes held a wisdom and compassion beyond description.
I do not know how long I was enrapt by this beauty. There was no interruption until I myself returned to an awareness of my surroundings.
I did not need to ask who this Being was. Kalna broke the silence by saying, “That is our symbol of Ageless Life.
You will find it in every one of our ships as well as in our homes. It is because we keep this symbol always before us that you will find no age amongst our people.”
On one side of the room was a long table surrounded by many chairs. I had the impression that this table was used by the ship’s company for meals, and perhaps also as a council table. I had an idea that the number of crew members ran into three figures, although I had seen only a few on this occasion. I received no verification of this latter impression, but my feeling about the table was substantiated by Firkon. I also learned that the greater part of the room was used as a lounge by the crew and their guests when crew members were not at their various posts during flight. The rest of the salon was casually strewn with divans, settees and chairs of different designs and sizes, very much in the manner of Earth. But in every case these were lower and more comfortable than ours, and more graceful in design and appearance. They were covered in a material of a deep soft nap with a brocade effect. The colors varied and were most attractive to look at—rich, warm and subdued.
Beside the chairs were low glass or crystal-topped tables with interesting decorative centerpieces. But I saw nothing the least like an ash tray. I suppose I knew instinctively that these people were not addicted to the nicotine habit and I left my cigarettes in my pocket. Once, however, through sheer force of habit, I reached for them. Observing this, the little lady from Venus smiled and said, “You may smoke if you like. I will get you a receptacle for your ashes. You see, only Earth people indulge in that odd habit!”
I thanked her and returned the package to my pocket without taking a cigarette.
To continue with my description—the whole floor was covered by a single luxurious rug which reached to the walls. Medium brown and perfectly plain, with a deep, soft nap, it was delightful to walk upon.
When we were asked to sit down, I found myself on one of the longer divans between Firkon and Ramu. Directly opposite, at a comfortable conversational distance, was another divan of the same shape and size. Here the two ladies seated themselves with Orthon between them. I still held the empty water glass in my hand, and now set it down on the low table in front of us.
The material of this goblet interested me. It was crystal-clear, without etching of any kind. It did not feel like our glass, nor like plastic. I had no idea of what material it was made, but I received the definite impression that it was unbreakable.
After noting the most outstanding features of the furnishings, I let my eyes roam around the walls. To my right, I noticed a large and beautiful door, slightly ajar, with no knob or lock that I could see. Kalna told me that this led into a storage room, adding, “Our ship often is long absent from our home planet as we travel and study space. Nor do we always stop on other planets during such trips. Consequently, large storage facilities are needed for supplies and equipment.
“The door you see over there in the opposite wall, like the one serving the supply room, leads into a kitchen.”
This door gave onto the portion of the room I supposed was used for dining purposes. I was not taken into either of these rooms.
I studied with interest a large picture near the door on the wall to my right. It showed a city which at first glance seemed little different from those on our Earth, except that it was laid out in circular form instead of the series of hard rectangles usual with us. But the architecture was very different. I hardly know how to describe it, for not one of our many architectural styles approximates it in any way. Here was perfection of the graceful lightness and delicacy for which many of our better modern architects are striving but have never quite achieved. It was the kind of city of which men dream, but never see on our Earth. I had guessed, before I was told, that the city depicted here was on Venus, this ship’s home planet.
On the other side of the door was yet another painting, a pastoral scene of bills and mountains with a stream running through the farmland. This might have passed even more easily for an earthly scene except that the farmhouses were not scattered around the countryside, but also followed a circular plan. I was told that this arrangement had been found more practical in enabling these farm groups to become small, self-sufficient communities, containing everything necessary to supply all essential commodities for the country folk. On Venus there is true equality in all respects, including allocation of commodities. Trips to the cities, then, need be undertaken only for pleasure or for personal reasons.
On the opposite wall, behind the long table, I noticed a picture of a large mother ship, and I wondered whether it represented the one we were in. But as this thought passed through my mind, the little lady from Venus corrected it by saying, “No, our ship is really very small in comparison. That one is more like a traveling city than a ship, since its length is several miles, while ours is only two thousand feet.”
I realize that my readers are likely to consider such dimensions incredible, and I readily admit that I myself was unprepared for anything so fantastic. However, it is necessary to remember that, once we have learned to harness the great natural energies instead of depending on mechanical force, it should be no more difficult to build cities within the walls of gigantic ships than on the ground. London and Los Angeles are cities nearly forty miles wide which were built largely by crude machines and manpower—a prodigious achievement in itself. Once gravity is mastered, cities in the air for us, too, can be4 come a reality.
“Many such ships have been built,” Kalna explained, “not only on Venus but also on Mars and Saturn and many other planets. However, they are not intended for the exclusive use of any particular planet, but for the purpose of contributing to the education and pleasure of all citizens in the whole brotherhood of the Universe. People naturally are great explorers. Therefore, travel in our worlds is not the privilege of the few, but of all. Every three months a fourth of the inhabitants of our planets embark on these gigantic ships and set out for a cruise through space, stopping at other planets just as your cruise liners stop at foreign ports. In this way our people learn about the mighty Universe and are enabled to see, firsthand, a little more of the ‘many mansions’ in the Father’s house to which your Bible refers.
“In the temples of wisdom on our planets we have many mechanical devices by means of which our citizens also can study conditions in other worlds and systems, and space itself. But with us as with you, nothing can quite take the place of actual experience. So we have built fleets of gigantic ships like the one you see pictured there, which might also be described literally as small artificial planets. They contain everything necessary for the welfare and pleasure of thousands of people over a three-month period. Apart from size, the main difference is that planets are spherical in shape, are divinely made, and move in elliptical orbits around a central Sun, while these little man-made planets are cylindrical and can move through space at will.”
An ever-increasing concept of our star-studded heavens unfolded before my mind’s eye as I contemplated the information just given me. I wondered to what “other planets” Kalna referred.
Replying to my mental question, Orthon volunteered, “Our ships have not only visited all other planets in our system, but those in systems close to ours. However, there still are planets without number in the infinite systems within the Universe which we have not yet reached.”
Here again a wondering thought slipped in as I mentally questioned what they had found on the “other planets” they had visited.
The Venusian’s eyes sparkled and a tiny smile flitted across his mouth as he caught my thought. He continued without interruption. “With the sole exception of inhabitants on Earth, we have found the peoples of other worlds to be very friendly. They, too, have gigantic space cruisers for the pleasure and education of their fellowmen. As we visit their planets and are welcomed, they also visit ours as friends. It is to the Earth alone that these passenger cruisers never approach. Nor will they be permitted to do so until your people have a greater understanding of fellowship as well as of the Universe beyond the limiting confines of your own little planet.
“During flights of this kind, those on the cruise have much leisure time, as well as definite hours devoted to learning. When they land on other planets mutually interesting social gatherings are held. In short,” and he made this very clear, “peoples of other worlds are not strangers to one another, but all are friends and are welcomed wherever they go.
“We consider planets throughout the Universe as being in one vast sea of life. The far distant planets by the billions which we have not yet visited will be explored when we have further improved our space ships. There are some planets so far out from any in our system that it would take us two or three years to reach them. Whereas, within our system, the distance between planets can be covered within a few hours to a few days.”
Reviewing our concept of distance, I exclaimed, “That is staggering to me! How fast do you travel that you can cover such vast distances in so short a time?”
“Speed to us,” was the reply, “does not mean what it does to you. For once a ship is launched into outer space, the speed of the ship is equal to the activity in space! Instead of being artificially propelled, as are your planes, ours travel on the currents of space.”
I derived some small hope for our eventual progress on Earth when they freely admitted that, in the earliest attempts to conquer space, the inhabitants of Venus and those of other worlds had been faced with exactly the same problems as those that are holding us back today. Once again they stressed that gravity must be overcome as a first principle on the way to space travel.
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아래 영어는 George Adamski의 Inside The Space Ships의 영어본 책의 금성인 정찰선과 토성인 정찰선의 내용입니다.
2. INSIDE A VENUSIAN SCOUT SHIP
Shortly after our arrival, Orthon turned and entered the ship, motioning for me to join him. Firkon and Ramu immediately followed. As I have stated, the Scout rested solidly on the ground and only a small step up was required to enter the craft.
Although when we had first reached the waiting Scout
I must have anticipated something of this kind, now that I was actually aboard, my joy can only be imagined. As I took a first quick glance around, I wondered if their purpose was merely to show me what one of these Scouts looked like inside, or — I hardly dared let the hope live — perhaps actually to take me on a journey though space. …?
We went directly into the one-room cabin compartment through a door high enough to permit Ramu, the tall Saturnian, to enter without stooping. As he, the last to go in, placed his foot on the cabin floor, the door silently closed. I was aware of a very slight hum that seemed to come equally from beneath the floor and from a heavy coil that appeared to be built into the top of the circular wall. The moment the hum started, this coil began to glow bright red but emitted no heat. I recalled that I bad noticed just such a bright coil on the Scout of my first contact. But on that occasion it had thrown off various colors—red, blue and green—like a flashing prism in the Sun.
I scarcely knew where to look first. I marveled anew at the unbelievable way in which they were able to fit parts together so that joinings were imperceptible. Just as I had been unable to find any trace of an entrance door into the Scout of my first encounter, now there was no sign of the door that had closed behind us; only what looked like solid wall.
Everything had seemed to take place simultaneously— the door closing, the soft hung as of a swarm of bees, the glow of the upper coil and the increase of light within the craft.
It was all so exciting that I was obliged to take myself firmly in hand in order to concentrate on any one thing. I wanted to leave this ship with a clear picture of everything in order to give a lucid account of what I was seeing.
I estimated the inside diameter of the cabin to be approximately eighteen feet. A pillar about two feet thick extended downward from the very top of the dome to the center of the floor. Later I was told that this was the magnetic pole of the ship, by means of which they drew on Nature’s forces for propulsion purposes, but they did not explain how this was done.
“The top of the pole,” Firkon pointed out, “is normally positive, while the bottom, which you will notice goes down through the floor, is negative. But, when necessary, these poles can be reversed merely by pushing a button.”
I noticed that a good six feet of the central floor was occupied by a clear, round lens through which the magnetic pole was centered. On opposite sides of this huge lens, close to the edge, were two small but comfortable benches curved to follow the circumference. I was invited to sit on one of these and Firkon sat beside me to explain what was going on. Ramu took a place on the opposite bench, while Orthon went to the control panels. These were located’ against the outer wall between the two benches, directly opposite the now invisible door though which we had entered the Scout.
When we were seated, a small flexible bar fell into place across our middles. This bar was either composed of, or merely covered with, a kind of soft rubberized material.
Its purpose was obvious—a simple safety device to prevent falling forward or losing balance.
Firkon explained, “Sometimes, when a ship is thoroughly grounded, a sharp jerk is experienced when breaking contact with Earth. Although this does not very often happen, we are always prepared.” He smiled and added, “The same principle exactly as the safety belts in your own planes.”
It was still difficult to believe that anything so wonderful was actually happening to me. Ever since my first meeting with the Venusian, after he had gone and I was left with an unutterable sense of loss and a longing to go with him, I had hoped and dreamed that one day such a privilege might be mine. Now that it seemed certain we were preparing for a journey into space, I could scarcely contain my joy. Again and again I reminded myself that I must memorize all that I would see and learn, that I might share my experience with others, however inadequately.
“This ship,” Firkon continued, “was built for a two-man crew, or three at the most. But in an emergency a great many more can be safely crowded into it. However, this is not often necessary.
He did not explain further and I wondered if by “emergency” he could mean a rescue mission should another Scout find itself in trouble. So impressed was I by this firsthand viewing of the amazing results of their scientific knowledge that it was almost impossible to visualize failure of any description. I had to remind myself that, after all, they too were human beings and, no matter how far advanced beyond us, must still be subject to error and vicissitude.
I turned my attention to the graphs and charts that covered the walls for about three feet on either side of the door that I could not see, and which stretched from floor to ceiling. They were fascinating, entirely different from anything I had seen on Earth, and I tried to guess their purposes. There were no needles or dials, but flashes of changing colors and intensities. Some of these were like colored lines moving across the face of a particular chart. Some moved up and down, others crisscross, while still others took the forms of different geometric figures.
The meanings and functions were not explained to me, and I doubt if I could have understood it all, but I noticed that all three of my companions were alert to the changes taking place. I received the impression that the instruments indicated, among other things, direction of travel, the approach of any other object, as well as atmospheric or space conditions.
The wall for a distance of about ten feet directly behind the benches on which we sat appeared to be solid and blank, while on those beyond, opposite our point of entry, were other charts somewhat similar, yet differing in certain ways from those I have described. The pilot’s instrument board was unlike anything I could have imagined. The best comparison I can think of is that it looked rather like an organ. But instead of keys and stops there were rows of buttons. Small lights shone directly on these, so placed that each illuminated five buttons at a time. As far as I can remember, there were six rows of these buttons, each row about six feet long.
In front of this board was a pilot’s seat, very similar to the benches on which the rest of us were sitting. Close beside this bench, conveniently placed for easy use by the pilot, was a peculiar instrument connected directly to the central magnetic pole.
Firkon corroborated my unspoken guess as to its use by saying, “Yes, that is a periscope, something like those used on your submarines.”
As I watched the various lights flashing across the faces of the charts and wall graphs, now increasing, now diminishing in intensity, it became quite clear why these translucent ships are so often reported as changing color as they move through our skies. But there are other contributing factors. Many of the color changes and the glowing coronas which often surround the Saucers are the result of differing intensities of energy radiating out into the atmosphere and making it luminous directly surrounding the ships, due to a process somewhat similar to ionization.
Within the craft there was not a single dark corner. I could not make out where the light was coming from. It seemed to permeate every cavity and corner with a soft pleasing glow. There is no way of describing that light exactly. It was not white, nor was it blue, nor was it exactly any other color that I could name. Instead, it seemed to consist of a mellow blend of all colors, though at times I fancied one or another seemed to predominate.
I was so engrossed in trying to solve this mystery, and at the same time to see and absorb every detail of this amazing little craft that I was quite unaware we had taken off, although I did suddenly register a slight feeling of movement. But there was no sensation of enormous acceleration, nor of changes in pressure and altitude as would be the case in one of our planes going at half the speed. Nor had we experienced any jerk as we broke contact with the ground. I had an impression of tremendous solidity and smoothness, with little more realization of movement than of the unnoticeable journey of the Earth itself as it revolves around the Sun at eighteen and one-half miles per second. Others who have been privileged to ride in these Saucers also have been struck by the same sensation of movement—or rather, the almost total lack of it. But the fact is, with so many wonders crowding my consciousness, it was only later, after I was back on Earth reviewing the night’s experiences in my own mind, that I could begin to sort them out.
My attention was now called to the big lens at my feet. An amazing sight met my eyes! We appeared to be skimming the rooftops of a small town; I could identify objects as though we were no more than a hundred feet above the ground. It was explained to me that actually we were a good two miles up and still rising, but this optical device had such magnifying power that single persons could be picked out and studied, if so desired, even when the craft was many miles high and out of sight.
“The central pillar or magnetic pole serves a double purpose,” explained my bench companion. “Besides providing most of the power for flight, it also serves as a powerful telescope with one end pointing up through the dome to view the sky, and the other pointing down through the floor to inspect the land below. Images are projected through it into the two big lenses in the floor and ceiling, as you can see.”
He did not explain whether this was done electronically or by some other means. Its magnifications could be varied at will, and I suspect that there was more to it than a simple optical system such as we know on Earth.
I looked up into the translucent dome. The stars had always looked near enough to touch in the clear air of my mountain home, but viewed through this ceiling lens they seemed to be actually on top of us. As I alternated between watching the wonders of the sky and the swift Earth flashing beneath us, I noticed four cables which appeared to run through the floor lens (or immediately below it), joining the central pole in the form of a cross.
The Martian, noting my change of interest, explained, “Three of those cables carry power from the magnetic pole to the three balls under the ship which, as you have seen, are sometimes used as landing-gear. These balls are hollow and, although they can be lowered for emergency landing and retracted when in flight, their most important purpose is as condensers for the static electricity sent to them from the magnetic pole. This power is present everywhere in the Universe. One of its natural but concentrated manifestations is seen displayed as lightning.
“The fourth cable,” he continued, “extends from the pole to the two periscope-like instruments, the one beside the pilot’s seat and the other directly behind his seat but close to the edge of the center lens, as you can see. These instruments are really extensions of the main optical system and enable the pilot to see everything that is going on without leaving his seat. They can be switched on and off, or adjusted at will, so that both members of the usual crew can have full use of the telescope without interfering with each other.”
All the machinery was beneath the floor of this compartment, and under the outer flange, as clearly shown in the photograph of this Scout.’ I did not actually see any of it, but I was shown into a very small room which served both as an entrance to the compartment which contained the machinery, and as a workshop for emergency repairs. Here there was a tiny forge and a few storage cupboards in which, I surmised, necessary tools and materials would be kept.
It was while I was looking through the door into this room that our pilot said, “Be prepared for landing. We are near our mother ship.”
I could not believe it. It seemed that only a few minutes had sped by since we had entered the Scout.
Just a moment earlier the wall behind the bench on which we had been sitting had appeared solid. Now a round hole began to appear! I watched in astonishment while it continued to open, rather like the iris of a camera. Shortly, a porthole about eighteen inches wide appeared. This, then, explained the portholes in my Saucer photographs, of which till now I had seen no sign.
Like the door by which we had entered, their coverings fitted so closely as to be undetectable when closed. Recalling what my photos had shown, I reasoned that there must be four portholes on each side, making a total of eight.
“That is correct,” Orthon nodded in corroboration, “and the touch of a button can open them all or singly — and of course they are closed in the same manner.
As the pilot alerted us to our impending landing, the Martian said, “You will be interested to watch this!”
At the prospect of actually landing on a mother ship, my emotion rose to a point impossible to describe. Fighting for composure, my mind framed the question as to where the mother ship was waiting, and in what manner we would make the landing.
Instantly Orthon answered both unspoken questions. “This is the same large mother ship that alerted you and your party on the desert last year at our first meeting. She has been waiting for us up here and is at the moment about forty thousand feet above your Earth. Watch and you will see how these small ships land and enter into their carriers.”
Fascinated, I peered out through the portholes. There, below, I was able to make out a gigantic black shadow motionless beneath us. As we came nearer, its huge bulk seemed to stretch away almost out of sight, and I could see its vast sides curving outward and downward. Slowly, very slowly, we drew nearer until we were almost on top of the great carrier. I was not astonished when my companion told me that she was about one hundred and fifty feet in diameter and close to two thousand feet in length.
The spectacle of that gigantic cigar-shaped carrier ship hanging there motionless in the stratosphere will never dim in my memory.
3. THE VENUSIAN MOTHER SHIP
Our little craft glided down toward the top of the mother ship, very much like an aircraft coming in to land on the deck of an aircraft carrier. As I watched, a curved hatch or opening appeared, reminding me of a great gaping whale. Those who have seen the photographs of this ship will recall that it has a blunt nose sloping slightly downward. This hatch was situated at the far end of the main cylindrical body just before the slope of the nose became perceptible. As we touched down, the Scout moved forward into the hatch, tilting downward as it began its journey into the interior of this mighty ship. Here for the first time I had a feeling of dropping in the pit of my stomach. I imagine this was due to the fact that the Saucer was no longer using its own power but was now subject to the gravity of the mother ship.
We traveled on down at not too steep an angle, the flange of the Scout running on two rails slowly and smoothly, its rate of descent controlled by friction and the magnetism in the flange. Orthon had complete control over this, I found, for once I nearly lost my balance and he stopped the craft momentarily while I regained it. Then the slow, smooth glide continued until we had reached what I judged to be the halfway position between the top and the bottom of the mother ship. Here the Scout stopped, and the door instantly slid open.
I saw a man standing outside on a platform about fifteen feet long and six feet wide. He was holding something that looked like a metal clamp attached to a cable. He was not very tall—I should guess about five feet, five inches—and I noticed that he was of a darker complexion than any of the space people I had seen. He was dressed in a brown flying suit similar in color and style to the one worn by Orthon at our first meeting. Black hair showed from under a dark, beret-type cap.
I followed Firkon out of the Scout and Ramu came after me. Orthon was the last to leave. The man in the beret smiled and nodded to each of us as we stepped off the platform, but no words were exchanged.
From this platform a flight of about a dozen steps led down to one of the decks of the huge craft. As I was guided down them, I had time to notice that our Scout had stopped just before reaching a junction in the rails down which we had come. One pair of rails continued through the ship, curving downward out of sight. Between them was a dark space which prevented any view of what lay below. The other pair of rails continued straight on from the junction before which the craft was halted, and ran astern to a huge hangar or storage deck in which I could see several identical Scout ships lined up on the rails.
“This is the storage hangar in which the small craft are carried during interplanetary flight,” explained Firkon, stopping momentarily on the step beside me. “Had we been going on to another planet, our Scout would have stopped at the platform only long enough to let us out. Then it would have passed over the junction and been switched to its place in this large hangar. But because we shall be returning to Earth later, the Scout must be recharged at this platform.”
I glanced back and saw that the man on the platform had already slipped the clamp attached to the cable over the flange of the Scout so that it contacted both the flange and the rail beneath.
I have no idea how this recharging operation was performed; to me the clamp looked much like a machinist’s large clamp used on Earth. Nor could I see to what the other end of the cable was connected. Perhaps contact between clamp and rail was necessary to complete the circuit or for all I know, it may even have fitted into an unseen connection directly below the rim of the Scout. I did not wish to cause further delay by asking.
Although not answering the question in my mind, Firkon did volunteer, “These smaller craft are incapable of generating their own power to any great extent and make only relatively short trips from their carriers before returning for recharge. They are used for a kind of shuttle service between the large ships and any point of contact or observation, and are always dependent on full recharging from the power plant of the mother ship.”
At the bottom of the steps we entered a large control room, rectangular in shape but with rounded corners. This room, I should say, was about thirty-five by forty-five feet, and something like forty feet in height. Except for two door openings, the walls were entirely covered with colored graphs and charts like those in the Scout, but on a larger scale and more numerous.
Extending along all four sides of the room were three tiers of platforms from which the many instruments could be observed and studied. A master telescope stood on the top platform, and another on the bottom platform. From both of these were electronic extensions to many instruments in other parts of the ship, making it possible, I was told, for these two telescopes to be used from many locations on the ship.
Also in this room was a robot instrument which I was cautioned not to describe. I had noticed a miniature version of this robot in the Scout. There were also several pieces of machinery in this control room, none of which, so far as I could see, had any moving parts.
I would have liked to stop in this room for closer observation of all these graphs, charts, colors, machinery and instruments, and to have been permitted to ask questions concerning their operation, but this privilege was not granted. Instead, we went directly through this control room and through a second door which led into the most beautiful living room or lounge that I have ever seen. Its simplicity and splendor took my breath and I gasped as I stood momentarily in the doorway, not only marveling at the richness of its furnishings, but held m the wonderful emanation of harmony that came from it.
I do not know how long it took me to recover from this unexpected experience but eventually I was able to look about me with more interest for detail.
The ceiling, I judged, was about fifteen feet high, and the room could not have been less than forty feet square. A soft, mysterious blue-white light filled it, and yet I saw no lighting fixtures, and nowhere any inequality in brightness.
Then, as I stepped through the doorway into this luxurious lounge, my attention instantly was absorbed by two incredibly lovely young women who arose from one of the divans and came toward us as we entered.
This was indeed a tremendous surprise as, for some reason, I had never visualized women as space travelers. Their very presence and extraordinary beauty, the friendliness that was so apparent as they approached to greet us, together with the luxurious background in the out-of-this-world craft, were overwhelming.
The shorter of the two women touched my hand in the recognized greeting, then immediately turned away to walk over to another part of the room. Then the taller and seemingly younger girl leaned forward and touched my cheek lightly with her lips. The first lovely lady returned holding a small glass of colorless liquid which she held out to me.
Stirred deeply by the warm friendliness of these people, I thanked her and took the glass. The water (for that is what it proved to be) tasted like our own pure spring water. It seemed, however, a little denser, with a consistency something like a very thin oil. As I sipped it, I strove to regain my composure and to impress the images of these gracious and beautiful young women indelibly on my mind.
The one who had brought me the water was about five feet, three inches in height. Her skin was very fair and her golden hair hung in waves to just below her shoulders in a beautiful symmetry. Her eyes, too, were more golden than any other color and held an expression that was both gentle and merry. I had the feeling that she was reading my every thought. Her almost transparent skin was without blemish of any kind, exquisitely delicate, though firm and possessed of a warm radiance. Her features were finely chiseled, the ears small, the white teeth beautifully even. She looked very young. I judged that she could not be much over twenty years of age. Her hands were slender, with long, tapering fingers. I noticed that neither she nor her companion wore make-up of any kind on their faces or fingernails. The lips of both were a natural deep red. They wore no jewelry of any description. Indeed, such adornment would have served only to detract from their own natural beauty.
Both women wore draped garments of a veil-like material which fell to their ankles, and both robes were bound at the waist by a striking girdle of contrasting color, into which jewels seemed actually to be woven.
The garment of the little blonde was of a pure light blue, and her tiny sandals were golden in color. Later, I learned that she was a citizen of the planet we know as Venus. Kalna is the name I shall give her.
Ilmuth, my name for the other woman, was taller and a rich brunette in coloring. She also wore her hair in a cascade that fell to just below her shoulders, and it was a beautiful wavy black with highlights of reddish brown. Her large eyes were black, luminous, with flashes of brown. They held the same merry expression as those of her companion, and I felt that she, too, could read my innermost thoughts. In fact, this is an impression I have received from every person that I have met from worlds beyond our own. The color of this lovely brunette’s robe was a pale, rich green, and her sandals of a copper hue. Ilmuth, like Firkon, was an inhabitant of the planet Mars.
I realize that in trying to describe these ladies from other worlds than ours I am attempting the impossible. Perhaps, using my inadequate description as a stepping stone, the reader will search his own imagination for an image of perfect beauty—and then know that it must certainly fall short of the reality.
As I finished drinking from the small goblet of water, I was asked to be seated, an invitation I gladly accepted.
On the wall exactly opposite the door through which we had entered hung a portrait which I was certain must represent Deity. The emotion which the beauty of the two young women had aroused in me was momentarily forgotten as the wonderful radiance emanating from the portrait enveloped me. It showed the head and shoulders of a Being who could have been eighteen to twenty-five years of age, in whose face was embodied the perfect blended balance of male and female, and whose eyes held a wisdom and compassion beyond description.
I do not know how long I was enrapt by this beauty. There was no interruption until I myself returned to an awareness of my surroundings.
I did not need to ask who this Being was. Kalna broke the silence by saying, “That is our symbol of Ageless Life.
You will find it in every one of our ships as well as in our homes. It is because we keep this symbol always before us that you will find no age amongst our people.”
On one side of the room was a long table surrounded by many chairs. I had the impression that this table was used by the ship’s company for meals, and perhaps also as a council table. I had an idea that the number of crew members ran into three figures, although I had seen only a few on this occasion. I received no verification of this latter impression, but my feeling about the table was substantiated by Firkon. I also learned that the greater part of the room was used as a lounge by the crew and their guests when crew members were not at their various posts during flight. The rest of the salon was casually strewn with divans, settees and chairs of different designs and sizes, very much in the manner of Earth. But in every case these were lower and more comfortable than ours, and more graceful in design and appearance. They were covered in a material of a deep soft nap with a brocade effect. The colors varied and were most attractive to look at—rich, warm and subdued.
Beside the chairs were low glass or crystal-topped tables with interesting decorative centerpieces. But I saw nothing the least like an ash tray. I suppose I knew instinctively that these people were not addicted to the nicotine habit and I left my cigarettes in my pocket. Once, however, through sheer force of habit, I reached for them. Observing this, the little lady from Venus smiled and said, “You may smoke if you like. I will get you a receptacle for your ashes. You see, only Earth people indulge in that odd habit!”
I thanked her and returned the package to my pocket without taking a cigarette.
To continue with my description—the whole floor was covered by a single luxurious rug which reached to the walls. Medium brown and perfectly plain, with a deep, soft nap, it was delightful to walk upon.
When we were asked to sit down, I found myself on one of the longer divans between Firkon and Ramu. Directly opposite, at a comfortable conversational distance, was another divan of the same shape and size. Here the two ladies seated themselves with Orthon between them. I still held the empty water glass in my hand, and now set it down on the low table in front of us.
The material of this goblet interested me. It was crystal-clear, without etching of any kind. It did not feel like our glass, nor like plastic. I had no idea of what material it was made, but I received the definite impression that it was unbreakable.
After noting the most outstanding features of the furnishings, I let my eyes roam around the walls. To my right, I noticed a large and beautiful door, slightly ajar, with no knob or lock that I could see. Kalna told me that this led into a storage room, adding, “Our ship often is long absent from our home planet as we travel and study space. Nor do we always stop on other planets during such trips. Consequently, large storage facilities are needed for supplies and equipment.
“The door you see over there in the opposite wall, like the one serving the supply room, leads into a kitchen.”
This door gave onto the portion of the room I supposed was used for dining purposes. I was not taken into either of these rooms.
I studied with interest a large picture near the door on the wall to my right. It showed a city which at first glance seemed little different from those on our Earth, except that it was laid out in circular form instead of the series of hard rectangles usual with us. But the architecture was very different. I hardly know how to describe it, for not one of our many architectural styles approximates it in any way. Here was perfection of the graceful lightness and delicacy for which many of our better modern architects are striving but have never quite achieved. It was the kind of city of which men dream, but never see on our Earth. I had guessed, before I was told, that the city depicted here was on Venus, this ship’s home planet.
On the other side of the door was yet another painting, a pastoral scene of bills and mountains with a stream running through the farmland. This might have passed even more easily for an earthly scene except that the farmhouses were not scattered around the countryside, but also followed a circular plan. I was told that this arrangement had been found more practical in enabling these farm groups to become small, self-sufficient communities, containing everything necessary to supply all essential commodities for the country folk. On Venus there is true equality in all respects, including allocation of commodities. Trips to the cities, then, need be undertaken only for pleasure or for personal reasons.
On the opposite wall, behind the long table, I noticed a picture of a large mother ship, and I wondered whether it represented the one we were in. But as this thought passed through my mind, the little lady from Venus corrected it by saying, “No, our ship is really very small in comparison. That one is more like a traveling city than a ship, since its length is several miles, while ours is only two thousand feet.”
I realize that my readers are likely to consider such dimensions incredible, and I readily admit that I myself was unprepared for anything so fantastic. However, it is necessary to remember that, once we have learned to harness the great natural energies instead of depending on mechanical force, it should be no more difficult to build cities within the walls of gigantic ships than on the ground. London and Los Angeles are cities nearly forty miles wide which were built largely by crude machines and manpower—a prodigious achievement in itself. Once gravity is mastered, cities in the air for us, too, can be4 come a reality.
“Many such ships have been built,” Kalna explained, “not only on Venus but also on Mars and Saturn and many other planets. However, they are not intended for the exclusive use of any particular planet, but for the purpose of contributing to the education and pleasure of all citizens in the whole brotherhood of the Universe. People naturally are great explorers. Therefore, travel in our worlds is not the privilege of the few, but of all. Every three months a fourth of the inhabitants of our planets embark on these gigantic ships and set out for a cruise through space, stopping at other planets just as your cruise liners stop at foreign ports. In this way our people learn about the mighty Universe and are enabled to see, firsthand, a little more of the ‘many mansions’ in the Father’s house to which your Bible refers.
“In the temples of wisdom on our planets we have many mechanical devices by means of which our citizens also can study conditions in other worlds and systems, and space itself. But with us as with you, nothing can quite take the place of actual experience. So we have built fleets of gigantic ships like the one you see pictured there, which might also be described literally as small artificial planets. They contain everything necessary for the welfare and pleasure of thousands of people over a three-month period. Apart from size, the main difference is that planets are spherical in shape, are divinely made, and move in elliptical orbits around a central Sun, while these little man-made planets are cylindrical and can move through space at will.”
An ever-increasing concept of our star-studded heavens unfolded before my mind’s eye as I contemplated the information just given me. I wondered to what “other planets” Kalna referred.
Replying to my mental question, Orthon volunteered, “Our ships have not only visited all other planets in our system, but those in systems close to ours. However, there still are planets without number in the infinite systems within the Universe which we have not yet reached.”
Here again a wondering thought slipped in as I mentally questioned what they had found on the “other planets” they had visited.
The Venusian’s eyes sparkled and a tiny smile flitted across his mouth as he caught my thought. He continued without interruption. “With the sole exception of inhabitants on Earth, we have found the peoples of other worlds to be very friendly. They, too, have gigantic space cruisers for the pleasure and education of their fellowmen. As we visit their planets and are welcomed, they also visit ours as friends. It is to the Earth alone that these passenger cruisers never approach. Nor will they be permitted to do so until your people have a greater understanding of fellowship as well as of the Universe beyond the limiting confines of your own little planet.
“During flights of this kind, those on the cruise have much leisure time, as well as definite hours devoted to learning. When they land on other planets mutually interesting social gatherings are held. In short,” and he made this very clear, “peoples of other worlds are not strangers to one another, but all are friends and are welcomed wherever they go.
“We consider planets throughout the Universe as being in one vast sea of life. The far distant planets by the billions which we have not yet visited will be explored when we have further improved our space ships. There are some planets so far out from any in our system that it would take us two or three years to reach them. Whereas, within our system, the distance between planets can be covered within a few hours to a few days.”
Reviewing our concept of distance, I exclaimed, “That is staggering to me! How fast do you travel that you can cover such vast distances in so short a time?”
“Speed to us,” was the reply, “does not mean what it does to you. For once a ship is launched into outer space, the speed of the ship is equal to the activity in space! Instead of being artificially propelled, as are your planes, ours travel on the currents of space.”
I derived some small hope for our eventual progress on Earth when they freely admitted that, in the earliest attempts to conquer space, the inhabitants of Venus and those of other worlds had been faced with exactly the same problems as those that are holding us back today. Once again they stressed that gravity must be overcome as a first principle on the way to space travel.
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