The Two Martians

By T. T. Timayenis

I know in advance that the story I am about to relate will not be believed. It will be pronounced "incredible," "impossible" and "sensational." Many will accuse me of having partaken perhaps of hashish. My friends will declare that I am suffering from mental aberration, and that I am a fit subject for an institution for the insane. For the information of the reader, I will state that I have never tasted hashish, am strictly temperate and, as far as my mental faculties are concerned, they are as strong as ever.

For five years I have kept this story a secret, because I did not care to face the storm of criticism which it was bound to arouse; but as the poet says "There are many events in the womb of time which will be delivered." I have, therefore, decided, after careful thought and deliberation, to give it publicity to abide harsh criticism with equanimity.

It has been a habit of mine to visit Greece once at least every five years. Although an American citizen, and a long resident of this country, I am attached to my native Greece, the fairest spot upon the globe. I love her monuments which speak of her glory. I love her streams, plains and mountains, and her historic past.

It was the 14^th of July, in the year 1905. the heat was wellnigh unbearable. I kept within doors all the forenoon. Early in the afternoon I directed my steps toward the old Phaleron, a romantic spot by the sea, where the good waves, as they washed against the rocks, made the place a most attractive one to visit, especially in a warm day. I stood upon the rocks gazing out over the sea. Everything about me was still. I breathed the refreshing air with pleasure. I was lost in meditation. Turning to the right, I saw two young men seated about forty feet from me upon the rocks. Both were tall, towering more than a head above the average man. I stretched myself upon the ground, lighted a cigar and gave myself up to meditation. Without any fixed idea in mind, I turned my eyes toward the two strangers and noticed that they were gazing upon the stars through a large square piece of what seemed to be unusually bright glass. My eyes could hardly withstand its brilliancy, and as I looked upon it with astonishment, I saw the planet Mars and its whole life unfolded before my eyes as clearly as one sees a performance upon the stage of a theater. I saw the two strangers lifting their fingers and holding conversation with its inhabitants. I saw the people of Mars answer in a sort of a deaf and dumb language. I saw women and girls of surpassing beauty, tall and stately, with forms which still haunt my dreams. I saw birds of beautiful plumage, flitting about and alighting upon the shoulders of maidens. I saw children romping about. I saw maids serving drinks. I saw beautiful parks and luxurious vegetation. I saw lions, tigers and wolves yoked to carriages. I saw charming women throw kisses to the two strangers. One of them held up a baby in her arms, and then the two strangers in Phaleron threw kisses to it, and in return the baby did the same. I saw glasses held high in the air, emptied and deposited upon tables. I heard the melody of ! Greek songs unknown to me, wafted from the planet. I heard the silvery laughter of young girls. I saw one of the most charming of them throw flowers toward the two strangers. In a word, I saw life upon the planet as plainly as one sees it upon the earth here.

The two strangers after a while withdrew their gaze from the planet, and in the twinkling of an eye Mars shone upon the firmament in its accustomed place. For a few moments I was lost in amazement. I knew that I was not sleeping. I was awake. I looked about me in utter bewilderment. I was almost afraid of the two men, who seemed to be unaware of my presence. Who were they? Were they demons? Were they spirits? These thoughts crossed and recrossed my mind in rapid succession. But were they fiends of hells itself? I made up my mind to find out something about them.

Throwing away my cigar, I lighted another and directed my steps slowly toward the two strangers. They now moved for the first time, turning their heads about, and as they saw me they spoke aloud in good Greek, asking if I could spare a light. Approaching them, I offered matches and two cigars, which they accepted with thanks; in return, they asked me to have one of their own cigars, which they declared, in a matter of fact voice, they had bought the day before in Cuba.

"The day before in Cuba, you say! But, my dear sirs, that island is more than 4,000 miles away."

"Yes, it is true, as miles are computed by an inhabitant of your planet, but we come from Mars."

"Really from Mars? I do not wish to dispute your statement, but you speak the Greek language like natives of Greece."

"It is the language we make use of in Mars, because it is our native speech."

"How strange," I ventured to say.

"Not so strange as it seems perhaps to you."

"Your statements, gentlemen, are novel and fantastic," I answered, nettled by their words, which they answered with perfect calmness.

Noticing that I questioned the truth of their assertions, they proceeded to say:

"Many, many years ago, when your planet, the earth, was in her primeval state – at a time to which the memory of man runneth not, centuries and centuries before the palaeocrystic strata of the earth were formed, the planet Mars enjoyed a civilization to which the earth has not yet reached. We also had our wars, our upheavals, and our epics. Time and again we marched against our Northern neighbours, the ferocious Pelasgians. After many years of strife and incessant warfare, we subdued them, but in a large number fled in their airships and landed in the northwestern part of Greece, in a land known today as Albania. They were the first settlers of your country. The Albanians of today are men of your own flesh and blood. Later they emigrated to other sections, giving the country a measure of civilization which in the course of time made history for this wonderful land.

"Please go on," I said almost breathlessly. "Your information is entirely new to me."

"This explains in a measure the splendid achievements of your race. Aided also by the incomparable climate of your land – because it is well known that climatic influence is a most potent factor in developing man – your people, in the course of time, reached that state of perfection which is called by many ‘The Greek Miracle.’ But do not forget that Greek civilization first came from the planet Mars."

"Science then is all wrong when it states that communication with the planets is a dream – an impossibility," I said, as if communing with myself.

"Decidedly so," continued the Martian. "Your scientists still grope in the dark; as compared with our Martian knowledge you are at least 100,000 years behind us."

"Your words are most astonishing. Think of the millions and millions of miles which separate the earth from your planet."

"Distance has ceased to play any part in our calculations. We travel by a force at least twice as potent and many times more rapid than electricity."

"Be it so," I ventured to say, bewildered by their words, "but how do you keep at your command that mysterious force, seeing the incalculable distance which separates the two planets."

"We do not use, my Greek friends, circuits, conductors or dielectrics. We have discarded dynamos, electric motors and electrodes. The electricity we employ needs no helix. We discovered a mysterious power with which the air is permeated. We call it Amaranthine. It never ceases to act. We mix it with other ingredients known only to a few of us. A pound suffices to drive an airship a million times around the earth. It can carry a load equal to the weight of the continent of Europe."

"As I listen to you, I am almost bereft of my thinking faculties."

"It is because you have not realized the possibilities of the mysterious, powerful and all-pervading force known as electricity," they answered in solemn tones. "But that you may appreciate it, bear in mind that a mere drop of it, no larger than the head of a common pin, if thrown from the clouds, inclosed in some heavy weight, would lay waste France and Germany combined, and kill millions of people, while its detonation would be heard across the Atlantic as far as San Francisco. It is this discovery which has put a stop to wars in our planet."

"To my exact knowledge," answered my companion sitting next to me, "there has not been a war in Mars for at least 200,000 years. Is it not so, Phidias?"

"Exactly as you stated, Telemachus," said Phidias. "I do not remember a war in Mars for at least 200,000 years."

"And how old are you, if I may ask?" I said, with merriment in my eyes. "You appear to me to be both young men."

"I was created," said Telemachus – the word "created made a deep impression on me – "300,000 years ago."

"And when do you expect to die?" I asked laughing, and scratching my head to make sure I was awake and had actually listened to those astonishing statements.

"Men do not die in mars," answered Telemachus.

"But man is mortal, is he not?"

"No. Many thousand years ago we discovered that in electricity there is perpetual life. Electricity is served to us every morning in jars, the same as you serve milk to your families here on the earth. The secret of its preparation, as an antidote against death, is vested in our demogerontia, our word for government. We drink it down in one swallow. Coffee and tea we never use. We drink water in abundance. The water comes from an arenaceous spring, the famous Arethusa. Intoxicating drinks are strictly forbidden, and the penalties are severe if any one be caught using them. Our beverages, of which we have an abundance, are made of fruits only. The electricity keeps the blood always fresh and in splendid condition. It kills all deleterious matter in the system. It also strengthens the bones and the muscles. If your people, my friend, knew the poisons which intoxicating drinks contain, they would long ago have passed laws forbidding their use. All intoxicating ! drinks are active in doing injury. Fruit beverages have a preservative power. Taken with electricity, in the form in which we prepare it, it has solved the mystery of life. Men die in Mars by accident only when they refuse to take electricity regularly every morning, or when the demogerontia refuses to serve it."

"Then only the well-to-do can afford this luxury?"

"By no means," broke in Telemachus.

Then Phidias said: "The word ‘luxury,’ friend, is well chosen. It describes, in a measure, the qualities of this most extraordinary fluid. It ministers to pleasure, but not to voluptuousness. It alleviates care. It is a balm to the mind. It is a general corrective."

"Yes, to be sure, it has all these good qualities," said Telemachus. "But in appearance it is nothing more nor less than a subtle liquid, charged with purified electricity. How electricity is purified, or why it is purified, I know not. It is the common belief among the inhabitants of Mars that electricity in its purest form enters into the making of this wonderful composition. Besides, the government label upon the jar reads ‘Liquified,’ and this word, as you know, means ‘made like liquid.’"

"But," said Phidias, "various substances are mixed with it. We know but little how it is prepared, because its preparation is a government industry, managed by that august body of men who compose our demogerontia. The blood of the lion, the hyena, the wolf, the brain of the ox, the larynx of the eagle, and various medicinal herbs, such as the bone-set, which grows in a small island about 8,000,000 miles distant from us, and the wonderful oxydecon, a substance found in inaccessible caverns and steep mountains of the moon, where the government laboratories are situated, play an important part in the preparation of this wonderful elixir, which is redolent of the odor of myrtle. Am I right, Telemachus?" asked Phidias.

"As you say, Phidias," answered Telemachus.

"But tell me, if you please, how does this wonderful liquid taste, and what are the effects of taking it?"

"It has no particular taste. It is like the juice of lemon, and as sharp. But after taking it one feels it permeating the alimentary canal. Its influence reaches down to the ankle. It affects also the antihelix or the curved elevation of the cartilage of the ear. It is felt in the abdomen, in the aorta, which is, as you know, the great artery that carries blood from the heart to the body. You are conscious of it in the antiragus, a prominence on the lower posterior portion of the concha of the external ear, opposite the tragus. It impresses itself in the biceps, in the bladder, in all the blood vessels; it acts upon the bones, in the caecum or blind gut, also the canthus."

"What is the canthus, please?" I asked. "I am not versed in anatomy."

"It is the corner," said Telemachus, "where the upper and under eyelids meet on each side of the eye. Then again, you feel it in the cerebellum, the organ of the central nervous system. It caresses the choroids coat, the highly pigmented membrane which lines the coat of the eye. It enters the spine; also the colon, or the large intestine. It creeps into the canal connecting the pharynx with the middle ear. It is felt in the spleen; also in the tibia, the inner one of the two bones that connect the skeleton of the leg below the knee. It tickles the toe and tingles in the tongue. In a word, it reaches every part of the body, not excepting even the most hairlike vein or nerve."

"But," said Phidias, "while its influence over the body is great, greater still is its authority over the mind. It kindles all mental vigor. It imparts the power of perceiving and holding ideas; it strengthens the faculties of the mind by which we think or meditate. It nourishes conception. It lends impetus to genius. It vivifies intellectual power and exalts the faculty for original expression and creation. It calms the instinct. It subdues the unconscious, unreasoning or involuntary impulse to any mode of action. It lends intuition; it ripens judgment, enlarges observation, advances rationality, gives understanding and promotes idealism. In a word, it is…it is, immortality!"

"Do you remember, Phidias, the interpretation which Socrates gave to this eternal force?" asked Telemachus.

"He gave it several. He called it ‘of infinite duration,’ ‘everlastingness,’ ‘eternity,’ ‘deathless,’ ‘imperishable,’ but the word of Demosthenes appeals to me, because he has named it ‘Sempiternal,’ meaning ‘with a beginning, but without end,’"

As I listened to these definitions, I was reminded of Horace’s beautiful line, "Labitur, et labetur, in omne volubilis aevum" – "It flows, and it will flow, rolling on forever."

I was enraptured with their words. They spoke so quietly, there was such a charm in their conversation, that it seemed to me as if I were transported to some other region. I was in a state of mind impossible to express in words. I was happy in their society. My pen is powerless to depict the intense affection which now filled my heart for these two extraordinary beings, as I listened spellbound to their words. For a few minutes we kept silent. I lighted another cigar and the example was followed by my two companions. Then, as I gazed silently upon Mars, I recalled the names "Socrates" and "Demosthenes" which they had mentioned, and I spoke as follows:

"Strange and unearthly as seem to the ordinary man the claims which you advance –"

"What claims have you in mind?" asked Telemachus.

"Why, your ability," I answered in firm tones, "to navigate the air without hindrance or embarrassment; the divine gift which you possess of saving life from decay; the capacity which enables you to muster electricity and sail from ocean to ocean, from planet to planet, with the rapidity of thought; your power to bring within sight objects from a distance, which is positively bewildering."

"Well," queried Telemachus.

"Admitting," I continued, "the truth of your statements, and the superiority of your abilities, I am of the opinion that you have anticipated us by days, years, or posible centuries, in having explored successfully the vast region of science. But great and wonderful as are the scientific secrets which you have brought to light, it seems to me that there are still others which have escaped even your thoughtful investigation."

"It may be as you say," answered Telemachus.

Boundless as was my admiration for these two Martians, I felt it was my duty to uphold a measure, however slight, my own brethren, the inhabitants of the earth, who now seemed so insignificant, as compared with the Martians. I will admit, however, that I did not prove myself a very valiant knight, because to be square, my reader, what would I advance to produce an impression upon these two extraordinary men?

"Has your planet," I asked all of a sudden, as if struck with a sublime thought, "produced a philosopher like Socrates or an orator like Demosthenes?"

Slowly placing the cigar in his mouth, Telemachus answered:

"The men you speak of are not dead."

"Not dead?" I said in astonishment.

"I speak the plain truth ----"

"Which is?" I asked breathlessly.

"That Socrates, the philosopher, and Demosthenes, the orator, are at this moment enjoying the best of health in Mars."

I shall not attempt to describe the peculiar emotions which I experienced as I listened to the Martian. I felt, without knowing why, that he spoke the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. There was candor in his words. Frankness, sincerity and straightforward honesty were manifest in everything he said. For a few moments I was speechless. To have felt as I did, one must be born a Greek.

"Pray, sir," I said with my eyes fixed beseechingly upon him, "explain to me the meaning of your words. I am unable to collect my thoughts or ask any questions ----"

"You make mountains out of mole hills, my friend," continued Telemachus in very good spirits. "We of Mars have a tender regard for Euphrosyne, one of the Graces who presides over the influences that make life cheerful ----"

"Speak on," I said; "I am anxious to know ----"

"To be sure," said Telemachus – "about Socrates and Demosthenes --"

"Yes, please go on," I said again and again, impatient as a child.

"This story is so simple that it can be told in a few words," continued Telemachus. "We of Mars, from a time reaching back beyond memory, have taken a keen interest in the affairs of your globe. Among all men that the earth has produced Socrates, the mastermind, has been held in deep veneration by us. He sowed truths broadcast, the force of which exercises to this day a potent influence in the intellectual life of man. His teachings, I may say, cover all philosophic truths. His philosophy removes from the human mind any and all doubts which might lead to erroneous judgment, and discloses the ultimate aim of pure reason. He gives us full insight into the nature of the faculty which we call understanding. He gives us pure discursive logic; also intuition, or esthetic clearness, supported by examples or other modes of illustration, all in perfect harmony. Philosophy has not advanced one step since Socrates, and thus, to all appearance, it has reached its comple! tion. His conception of God, and of the simple nature of the soul, has not been surpassed. He bequeathed to posterity God, freedom and immortality. He demonstrated that the hope of a future life arises from the feeling, planted in the breast of every man, that the temporal is inadequate to meet and satisfy the demands of his nature. He prepared the way for the coming of Christ. You may imagine, therefore, the excitement, the agitation, the ferment which seized upon all the inhabitants of Mars when our newspapers published the reports of his trial, and how this godlike man had been condemned to drink the hemlock, a poisonous biennial herb. Delirium seized upon our people, and the newspapers only increased their intense mental suffering, comparable only to the wrestlers in the games. The inhabitants of Mars were in condition of excitement verging on delirium. Day and night vast crowds of men and women, of all classes and conditions, went about the streets shouting ‘Socrates must be sav! ed.’"

"Glory to the inhabitants of Mars – I love them," I said with enthusiasm.

"The demogerontia having taken into account the prevailing disquiet, advised self-restraint, and asked the citizens to preserve an even temper. The feelings of the people were quickly brought under the yoke of reason. They even ceased to have care about Socrates, when the demogerontia announced in all the newspapers throughout Mars that they would take care of Socrates."

"Please go on," I said, impatient to hear the end.

"They ordered the ‘Astrape,’ or Lightning, one of the best airships we have, because she is roomy and comfortable, to sail at once to Athens. Phidias and I were ordered to bring Socrates to Mars, all details being left to our care and judgment. The order given us meant either to bring Socrates alive, or to obliterate Athens and all her inhabitants from the face of the earth. We had our orders, and were bound to carry them out. We traversed the space separating the planet Mars from the earth in exactly nine hours and fifty minutes, which included considerable time spent in carefully reconnoitering the ground on which we were to alight. We landed unnoticed near the prison of Socrates. We concealed our airship, which we took to pieces, in a secluded spot hard by the monument of Theseus, and not far distant from the famous walk of the Muses. We stationed there our crew of six Martians to watch over the precious airship. Each man had in his keeping one of the pie! ces, or joints of the ship, which were exactly six in all. They planted a tent at the foot of a certain elevation, and there awaited our future orders.

"We two mingled with the crowd. We were acquainted with Socrates, and a number of his disciples. Plato was glad to see us, and so was Critias, both of whom were sorry unto death and would not be consoled. They asked us to persuade Socrates to escape. The philosopher was obdurate, and in calm voice explained the disgrace which would attach to such an act. Next day we called upon him. He gave us a hearty greeting. In the meantime we had formed our plans. We ordered our men to put the airship together, and to be ready to fly at a preconcerted signal. Late at night, when the disciples of Socrates had all gone, promising to return early the next day, we returned to the prison and asked the old jailer to allow us to have a word with the philosopher. This he at first refused to do, but a few drachmas which we surreptitiously slipped into his hand had the desired effect. He brought us face to face with Socrates, whom we found stretched upon the ground. He paid no at! tention to our coming, because he was communing with his ‘daimon.’ ‘Socrates,’ we said. ‘one of our men has been grievously wounded, because he took your part in an encounter, asserting that it was a blot upon the city to condemn such a man as you to death. He has but a few hours to live, and he asks piteously to see you.’ ‘This is against the law,’ said the jailer; ‘you have not said anything about it,’ but a handful of coins which Telemachus passed slowly into his extended hand made the jailer even anxious to have Socrates visit the wounded sailor. ‘Go, Socrates,’ he said; ‘I can trust you with these good men;’ and out went the outstretched hand which Telemachus took care to fill with drachmas. ‘Be back as soon as you can, ere the first cock crows,’ the jailer said. The philosopher with alacrity jumped to his feet because he declared his ‘daimon’ advised him to go. The rest is easily told. We lifted Socrates into the boat, bound his hands and feet, to prevent him from any attempt! to jump overboard, stifled his voice, and soared upward, sweeping the air like an eagle, and steering straight for Mars, which we reached in exactly seven hours and thirty-two seconds.

"Our people, of course, knew what we were about. They saw Socrates lifted into the boat, and deafening cheers and applause resounded throughout the planet. Men and women flocked en masso to shore. They were perched upon trees, stood upon rocks, mounted upon tables and chairs, and watched the precious ship as with lightning-like rapidity she made her way home.

"In the meantime, the demogerontia, followed by the presidents of our universities, prominent journalists, reporters, public and private teachers; in fact, by the whole artistic, political and literary life of Mars, awaited the arrival of Socrates upon the principal landing. Speeches of welcome were delivered, to which Socrates duly responded, thinking that he was still in his beloved Athens. He looked about in amazement for the Aeropolis, and called his disciples by name. Tears streamed down the cheeks of the old philosopher as the truth finally dawned upon him. Isocrates, a distinguished orator, then spoke in the following words:

"’Calm yourself, Socrates, and know that the Martians have always looked upon you as their teacher. They could not suffer to have you put to an ignominious death. Live and live forever for the good of the world.’"

"Excellent, Isocrates," I involuntarily said.

"It took several days to accustom Socrates to the inevitable. He is now happy, and not once did he mention the name of Xantippe. He has advanced mental thought among us. He goes about as he used to in old Athens. All seasons are alike to him. He teaches our youth. Life in Mars is better, nobler and purer because he is there. he never commits anything to writing himself, but his disciples in Mars do that. His essay entitled ‘The Pursuit of Happiness’ and his treatise upon "Virtue" are the most popular books on our planet."

"And Demosthenes?"

"We found him discouraged and bent upon taking poison. We brought him to Mars without much difficulty. He has established the ‘Demosthenian," Mars’s famous institution for the teaching of oratory."

"But it’s getting late," said Phidias, "and we are due in Mars tomorrow. Yonder lies our ship. She is not much different, as you can see, from the type of boats common along the coast of the Black Sea. If it please you, spend the night with us, and partake of our frugal repast. You can leave us on the third hour after midnight, because we sail exactly eight minutes past that hour."

I accepted their invitation with alacrity, because I was thirsty for more knowledge.

PART II

The sound of a shrill whistle from Telemachus was answered from the boat by two stalwart men, who immediately jumped into the water, which I knew to be not less than sixty feet deep in that particular locality. They wore about their feet long protruding skates of bright yellow metal, strapped with stout wire. I was told that these were composed of a metal known only to the department of the navy in Mars. It enabled the Martians to glide with safety upon the water. The power to do work was stamped upon their features. There was force in all their movements. I noticed that their hands were of impenetrable hardness when one took hold of me and carried me under his arm as if I were a mere boy. Atlaslike, they lifted upon their necks my two companions, and in a few minutes we were on shipboard. Four men stood at attention as we entered. There was an aerostat or balloon suspended from one of the two masts. Phidias explained how pirates from a distant planet have o! ften attempted to invade Mars, and these aerostats were for the purpose of observation. The dimensions of the ship, which was constructed of aluminium, but coated with a substance that made her look like any ordinary vessel., were about 250 feet in length by 60 in width. There were accommodations for only eight passengers in all, besides the crew of six men and two officers. The two masts of the ship were rigged differently. There was a powerful machine, built like a ship, within it, with masts, sails and runners for sailing over ice. There were kites in abundance within the hold; also six hot-air balloons and fourteen small pilot balloons, intended to be sent up to show the direction and velocity of the wind. These, by a peculiar mechanism, flew even faster than the airship, which was so constructed as to sail equally well in any direction. There were within it a number of vehicles on runners; ten spuds or sharp spades for digging up large-rooted weeds; eight stretchers for car! rying injured persons, and two-wheeled carriages constructed of aluminium and welded together by brass and copper, a secret known only to Martians. Everywhere were tubes running in all directions. Strong boxes stood upon the deck, the contents of which were not revealed to me. one of the sailors stood upon the bow and passed a box below, which moved up and down propelled by some unseen force. Phidias explained to me that the box caught the air, because, he said, while they had the means of producing it on board, they had stored enough to last them for the trip. "There are certain elevations," he said, "at which air is much needed."

We sat upon the deck and partook of grapes and cold chicken. Prayer was offered by Telemachus to the Pantocreator, meaning the Powerful One. The two Martians ate sparingly. Then, as we lighted our cigars, I spoke to them as follows:

"Do you visit our earth often?"

"Not very often," they said. "Our newspapers are well filled with all the important news from your planet."

"And what has prompted you to visit our earth?" I asked. "Excuse my curiosity," I continued, "but everything I have seen and heard is so novel and so astonishing that I yearn for more light."

"We came to visit Edison," Phidias answered. "He knows more about us than any other man upon your planet."

"Do you mean Edison, the famous inventor?"

"Yes," Phidias said, and as if forgetting himself, he continued: "We shall meet again before long, and then we will explain to you our form of government, or social life, and the reasons which stand in the way of our mutual intercourse. Our demogerontia has decided that the times are not propitious for fraternization."

"But what of Edison?" I asked.

"We are much interested in certain investigations upon which he is now engaged. He looks for war between England nd Germany. He has told us that it will be a war the like of which the world has not yet seen. Millions of men will be killed. Commerce will suffer. Industries will be paralyzed. Hard times will visit your earth as never before. Edison blames Germany for it. His heart goes out to England. He means to help her. This war, he sid, will be the last ever fought upon the earth."

"And what is this wonderful invention of his?" I queried.

"He calls it pyrofagea. It is really a new element. He has allowed no man to go into the room which shelters his wonderful secret. He works day and night. He works in silence and alone. He means to make good, and he will," said Phidias with earnestness.

"His invention," observed Telemachus, "interests the Martians because electricity does not enter into it. It is a new force which he means to inclose in barrels lined with a substance which costs more than diamonds. He communicated recently with the British government, and Lord Beresford has been so impressed by it that he assured him the wealth of England, if need be, would be at his disposal to perfect the invention. There is but one thing lacking to his success, and that is the secret known to us. The question now foremost in our minds is, will our demogerontia import the Edison secret he is after, and which thus far has baffled his strenuous efforts to discover?"

"What is this secret?" I asked.

"It is Edison’s plan to sink the barrels containing his destructive element into the sea. As soon as they touch cold water they ignite, and the sea in a short time boils. The ocean for miles and miles is enveloped in flames, and the heat given out is so intense that no sailing craft can escape destruction, while life becomes impossible."

"How awful," I said.

"Yes," answered Phidias, "but it will once and for all put a stop to war. We now have to report to the demogerontia what we have learned of Edison’s invention, ad perhaps we may be able to persuade our government to impart to him the secret he is after. He has actually discovered the destructive element, but not as yet how to ignite it when it comes in contact with the sea."

I was about to ask a question when one of the sailors approached Telemachus and whispered a few words to him. "The planet Venus is burning," said Telemachus, "and we must start at once. Sorry to cut our conversation short. Ajax," he said, "carry the gentleman to the shore."

I bade my companions farewell in a voice almost choked with emotion. Ajax picked me up with one hand and in a few seconds I was landed on the shore. When I turned to look there was no ship in sight.