In France a greater change had taken place. The one-time French race had completely extinguished itself generations before. The land was now overrun with a polyglot race of Russians and Germans, who were more phlegmatic than ever.
Germany and the other countries of Europe, too, were changed to such an extent that there was no comparison between the order now in existence and the order that had passed.
In all Europe laws of equality of man had been established, so that now all men were equally rich, or rather equally poor. Equally poor, because, there was no longer any incentive or inducement to strive to gain. The people had become drones to an extreme degree. There was no reward for labor, so none labored. No man tried to outdo his neighbor, for in the end, his neighbor had as much as he. Hence progress had ceased long ago. There was no industry worthy of the name. Civilization, as Carl and Sana knew it, was, too, a thing of the past.
To all appearances, the people existed only because they did not die. Nothing mattered to them but food, and as eating was a necessary evil, they procured their food, individually, with as little exertion as was possible. Too lazy, in most instances, to even cook the fish and game they caught, they ate it raw, and having filled their bellies, would lie down beside their mates to sleep until they were hungry again.
Landing in North Africa, both Carl and Sana were astounded at the changes that had taken place. The once barren wastes of the desert country had been converted, as if by the wave of a magic wand, into a great agricultural country. The terrific heat of the days and the freezing cold of the nights had gone and in their place was a mild climate, similar to that of the central United States. With this great change had come prosperity; prosperity of such magnitude as to even surpass that of Carl’s own country at the time he and Sana had taken flight from the earth.
The flooding of the lower desert areas, while inundating tremendous territory, had caused the surrounding lands to become fertile, rich in nitrates and plant values. The people of the new, for such it was, land, were the descendants of the one-time semi-savage races. Now they numbered some two hundred millions and in truth had become a mighty race, rich in power and wealth.
On every hand, Carl and Sana saw bodies of soldiers in training. On inquiring as to this, they were informed that ages ago France had taught them the military arts. Today these people believed the entire world was in fear of them. In fact they were bragging of the great military strength and boasted of the fact that for centuries no nation had even so much as dared try to exploit them.
Sana pointed out to Carl that these people were not as dark of skin as they were when the land was still a desert. On hearing her remark, a native man, of apparent great learning, and who was acting as a sort of self-appointed guide to the couple, explained, saying:
“Ages ago, that is, some two thousand years ago, France used our people to fight her wars against other nations of white peoples. France realized that if she had more of us available to fight her battles, she could soon gain control of the entire world. To this end she established this great African country of ours, believing at the time that the people of this great land would always remain subject to her rule and would always be at her call to aid her against the world.
“In this she was partly right. If she could always control the colonies of black peoples, she could defy any nation on the earth.”