Nequa; or, The Problem of the Ages

by Alcanoan O. Grigsby; Mary P. Lowe

"Certainly," responded MacNair, "I propose to give you a practical demonstration. You discovered that the space between us and the zenith was opaque to your vision. Now, take these glasses and adjust them to your eyes and look through those semi-transparent sections, which are like a lace-work of tubes. The penetrating power of these glasses, you see, can be increased or decreased by moving this slide. They enable you to use the magnetic rays which pass through all substances for the purpose of vision."

We followed his directions and the first glance gave us an ocular demonstration that the surface was concave. "Now," continued MacNair, "in order to get the best idea of the leading geographical outlines of this inner world, I want you to examine with your glasses a zone from the horizon in front of us, through the zenith to the horizon behind us. We are now moving on an airline for your future home in Altruria. Our course is a little south of west and the distance about one thousand miles. We are now very near the center of the Oscan ocean. East of us is the continent of Atlan. So, a zone, extending through the zenith along the line on which we are moving will pass through the equatorial belt, and give you a clear concept of the great centers of population and material improvement. This is the most important part of the world for you to study for the present, and until you learn the language and mingle with the people, you must depend upon your eyes as the chief source of information."

We were now moving at great speed and the sensations were most exhilarating. Looking out over the bow we beheld the horizon of water and raising our glasses as we had been directed, at an elevation of about twenty degrees, the coast line of a continent came into view. And still elevating our glasses, we rapidly passed in review a wonderful panorama of flowing rivers, cultivated fields, tangled wildwood, and lofty mountain chains until at an elevation of about forty-five degrees, we beheld the western coast line of the Altrurian continent. At the zenith, we saw the Umbrian ocean, and further down, and directly opposite to Altruria, the continent of Atlan, suspended, as it were, in the eastern sky like a map. Looking toward the north, and some ten or twelve degrees above the horizon, was the barren island on which we had landed.

We were so engrossed with our observations in a world where we could take a bird's eye view of any part of it, that we did not care to continue the conversation in which we had become so intensely interested. The continent which we were approaching, looked through our glasses like a vast concave picture of a most lovely country suspended above the horizon, and covering almost the entire western sky. But when we looked through our ordinary glasses, the general appearance was not materially different from what it would have been in the outer world. I could but wonder at this marvelous discovery, which had enabled the inventor to construct instruments that converted opaque rays into rays of light, and I could not help thinking, what a restraint the general use of such wonderful optical instruments would be upon evil doers. Nothing could be hidden from those who cared to investigate.

While my thoughts wandered into other channels, my gaze was riveted upon the wonderful panorama presented to our view. I noted that the divisions between land and water were strikingly similar to the physical geography of the outer world, except in this, that the land surface of the inner world on the line of the equator seemed to correspond very closely with the water surface of the outer world, though on a much smaller scale. The clear weather prevailing in the western hemisphere gave us a splendid view of the continent of Altruria. In a few localities dense masses of clouds obscured, but did not entirely shut out the view; and on the whole we got a clear concept of the topography of the country.

A lofty mountain chain extended from the north to the south, and many long rivers flowed from the mountains into the ocean on either side. Large areas of the surface seemed to be highly cultivated, and even in the mountains, palatial buildings were brought into view by the higher powers of our telescopes. Boats plowed along the rivers and on the lakes, and the entire country seemed to be a network of railroads, while airships appeared like specks in the field of our vision, flitting here and there and speeding in every direction.

But the most singular feature which attracted our attention, was, that notwithstanding all the evidences of a highly cultivated country and the most active traffic and trade between the different sections, we nowhere discovered any indications of great cities; and while what appeared to be extensive manufacturing establishments existed in numerous localities, and the harbors along the shore lines were filled with shipping, nowhere did we see vast clouds of smoke such as vitiate the atmosphere in the large cities and manufacturing districts of the outer world.

We were so taken up with what we could see, that we had no inclination to withdraw our attention from this wonderful panorama, to ask for many explanations of minor details. We now had a view of an entire continent and were disposed to make the most of the opportunity. It was doubtless highly civilized, and had its libraries filled with historical, scientific, sociological and ethical works that would, in time, reveal to us all that was worth knowing. As MacNair had said, we must use our eyes as our chief source of information, until we had acquired the language and familiarized ourselves with the daily life and usages of the people.

We were now nearing the continent and MacNair reduced our speed so as to give us time to make our observations more in detail. The general direction of the coast was north and south for some hundreds of miles. Along the mainland, capes and promontories were numerous, while running parallel therewith was a chain of islands, forming a continuous series of bays which in the outer world would have been of inestimable value as harbors.