Nequa; or, The Problem of the Ages

by Alcanoan O. Grigsby; Mary P. Lowe

"Why," I asked, "have you had any intimation of the kind?"

"Not directly from them," said MacNair, "but I have heard this, that Battell and Polaris spend much of their time in the airship factory at Lake Byblis and that they are experimenting with their private airship every day, and that they have succeeded in making some changes in the gearing that enable them to reverse the wings and run backward; also in moving the steering apparatus so they can ascend or descend without the usual spiral motion."

"That is good news," I said, "but I thought that Captain Battell was giving most of his time to the study of the language and customs of the country."

"So he is," said MacNair. "Polaris told me so by telephone, and what is more, she spoke in good clear English. She further said that the work of translating the library was progressing rapidly and that several volumes had been completed and furnished to Norrena, the Continental Commissioner of Education at Orbitello, for distribution to the commissioners of all the grand divisions of the Concave."

"Orbitello! What is Orbitello? A country or a city?" asked Captain Ganoe.

"We have no cities," said MacNair, "but Orbitello is what you would probably call the seat of government. It is the center of business for this continent, the headquarters of all the departments of the public service. The Altrurian Council meets at Orbitello every year, and the World's Parliament every four years. Here the Continental Executive Committee meets every day to transact business in which the whole people are interested. It is located on the Cocytas at the foot of the mountains."

"I would indeed be pleased to visit this center of business and learning," said the Captain.

"We have thought of that," said MacNair, "and as soon as Oqua returns, I think that we had better go. She is our District Commissioner of education and I am deputy and must officiate in her absence. She is attending the Quadrennial Congress of Educators in the mountains of Atlan at Lake Minerva. The sessions seldom last more than thirty days and that time has passed, so we may expect her return from the old world almost any day."

"What's that? The old world!" ejaculated Captain Ganoe. "Am I to understand that you have an old world here, and is this the new, just as we have it in the outer world?"

"Yes, very much the same," said MacNair. "Altruria is often spoken of as the new world because it was originally settled by colonists from the other side of the Ocean. The early history of this country is in a general way very similar to the early history of America. This similarity holds good even to the almost total destruction of a warlike race of red men. The original colonies achieved their independence of kingly rule and established a republican form of government, just as was done by our thirteen original colonies. But here the similarity ends. Altruria now extends all over the continent, and has carried out to their logical sequence, the principles set forth in our own Declaration of Independence; and more than this, these principles have extended over all parts of the inner world. This is why I often speak of the concave as the World of Truth."