Under the desert stars

by Frank Koester

Now a great planet came into view. Carl recognized Saturn, 750 times the size of the earth. Around it traveled a broad concentric ring. It was accompanied by ten moons.

They kept up their wild flight, passing, after some days—according to Carl’s watch, at a great distance, Uranus. In the distance they observed Neptune and realizing that upon reaching it, they would be some three billion miles from home, so they decided to turn homeward. With a great sweep taking several days the “Meteor” shot around Neptune, and again after two weeks they passed Uranus and Saturn. After a while the great planet Jupiter passed them, or rather they passed the planet, although flying at their terrific speed they were unconscious of motion.

In the distance loomed up the Milky Way, comprised as they saw, of billions of stars closely grouped together. Not wishing to encounter any of these stars, Carl swung the plane in a wide detour.

This danger passed, the plane hummed along for a few hours, when Carl, looking downward, saw beneath them the planet Mars. Throttling down their speed they hung suspended above that planet at a few miles height. From their position they could see the great canal systems which brought the waters from the snow and ice clad polar regions to the more temperate zones. These zones, they saw, were covered with large areas of vegetation, nesting among which were what appeared to be cities. Above these cities flew countless airplanes, not so very much different in appearance from those used on earth.

With “Let us land here,” Carl guided the “Meteor” Mars-ward, landing shortly in a field covered with moss and strange plants.

Immediately their plane was surrounded by a host of strange people. In form they were very much like the people of the earth. They were, however, much smaller and had heads large out of all proportion to their bodies. Clothes too, were not to be seen.

Before they left the plane Carl warned Sana to be very careful how she moved about. As Mars is only one tenth the size of the earth in volume, gravitation is likewise less. Carl who, on earth weighed about one hundred and sixty pounds, would weigh but sixty-four or five pounds on Mars. He told Sana, jokingly, that she could easily step over their huge airplane, while a Martian would break his neck if he tried to jump over an ordinary soap box.

To the Martians, Sana and Carl must have appeared quite strange, both as to size and clothing. For a time the crowd stood at a distance as if in awe of these strange beings that had come to them out of the skies. At length, however, one of the group stepped forward and spoke. Much to his surprise Carl realized that he understood him perfectly. And stranger, still, Carl found himself answering in a language that was new to his ears.

Courteously they questioned him as to his desires, and being informed that Carl and Sana had flown through space from the earth, their amazement was without bounds. Would more follow him, they asked, to which Carl was quick to reply that none would come. Realizing their doubt, he assured them that he alone knew the secret of his flight and that no other earth-men could make the journey.

Assured at last, that these two visitors had come without intent to harm, they led Carl and Sana to a great hall, where food and drink were served them. Food and drink such as they had never tasted before! The various dishes of chemical food had the same brown granular appearance, but when placed in the mouth each gave a different taste and had different satisfying qualities. The same applied to the drinks. One could not be distinguished from the other, either in appearance or odor, yet each was distinctly different to the palate.