"There is little waste or spoilage in harvesting and distribution, and very little handling. At harvest time or during emergency industrial shortages of help, we call for volunteers. Even our highest Sun-Rank members volunteer. We invariably get more help than we need.
"We manufacture articles at the source of their raw materials, thus saving labor, transportation, distribution and time."
Pointing to what seemed a small island in the middle of the ocean, he said, "This spot is one of our anchored, ocean way stations which we have every thousand square miles, on all our seas. They are used for supply bases, way stations for planes and ships' repair shops, traveler stop-offs, fish canning and storage, and submarine bases. No, not as you are thinking—battleships; our subs are very large peace freight ships.
"The waters as well as the floors of our seas are very fertile and have, along with fish and shell foods, an inexhaustible supply of all kinds of cereals, vegetables, fruits, plus sea forest; there are also minerals and valuable chemicals for industrial and medical uses and for fertilizing purposes. Our submarines, besides being used for transporting these natural elements of the deep, are also used as dredges, planters, cultivators, harvesters, and sawing mills on the floors of three-quarters of our seas and oceans, where pressure is not so strong. Our sea fruits, vegetables, and cereals which we harvest are not only very tasty, but nutritious; the woods we obtain from the trees are some of our best: hard, pliable and resilient. The waters protect them from fires. No doubt your seas also have an abundant supply of all these."
Far away on the horizon we could see a long shore line, with large buildings at equal distances from each other. "These buildings, which you see," the leader pointed out, "are big dams. They are on all our shores, spaced at one hundred mile intervals, and are about ten times larger than your biggest dam. They are built to withstand the constant battering of the most powerful waves. Natural wave forces also create our electric light power and energy. Large filters, distilling, sterilizing, and refining plants extract from the sea water salt and other ingredients for our use, the water is then fresh and palatable for our consumption. This water is stored in immense reservoirs and pumped into our homes and to our hot water plants. The hot water and steam in turn are pumped wherever needed. We also use for power, heat, and other purposes powerful volcanic steam from wells drilled deep into the crust of our planet. We don't have to entirely depend on precipitation for our fresh water supply, like you Earth people do, during your frequent drought periods, which create famines for your inhabitants, and the destruction of your vegetations. Neither do we have to create cloud rains, as we have more than enough water for all our necessities. We even have secondary large fresh water reservoirs in our former deserts which have become productive. Our powerful pumps and our permanent automatic systems of cold water sprinklers and hot water and air pipes keep all our croplands, orchards, and in fact all our cultivations fully supplied, and thermostatically heat protected against frosts, snow storms, and freeze-ups.
"The waters of all our fresh water lakes, large and small rivers, and springs are carefully guarded against pollution. They are always fit, and safe for human consumption. We also have many dams on our rivers. We use the abundant forces of nature at our command, of more than is sufficient for our needs, even if Mars' population were doubled.
"Mother Nature is very generous in her abundant and unlimited gifts. We have harnessed only a few of them. Every day we discover new and better elements. From time to time our mode of life improves through their adaptation and reconstruction. Thus we are kept busy creating new occupations and abandoning some of the old and useless ones."
We were speedily nearing land. They flew low, circling around to give us a bird's-eye view of a great stretch of suburban and city habitations, I would say ten times larger than New York City and its surroundings.
It was a vast area of both natural and artificial gardens landscaped between two wide crystal-clear water rivers, where a large number of ships of all sizes were sailing. This land between the rivers was divided into equal sections within which were square, circular, and other kinds of geometrically shaped courts enclosed with beautiful buildings of diversified types. Some were similar to our Gothic, French, and Italian renaissance; others similar to our Spanish patios and magnificent oriental constructions but including their own predominating gorgeous designs and architectures. All these were fitted into a design most pleasing to the eye. Strange and beautiful, not like the monotony of our architecture with its few variations.
To my pleasant surprise, I saw no sewer polluted, and unsanitary river waters, no mobile traffic, no autos, busses, trolleys, or other moving vehicles. I saw no signs, electric posts, parking meters, water hydrants, telephone wiring, wash lines or vent pipes. There was a total absence of unsightly billboards which clutter up our highways and boulevards.