Our takeoff was so smooth and noiseless that we were unaware of leaving the ground. At an altitude of two thousand feet, the pilots level off and glide for awhile that we may see more of planet Mars, her cities and her countryside.
The surface appearance of Mars is very similar to that of Earth. There are many large mountain ranges with very fertile valleys lying between them. We also saw a flat area corresponding to our plains and many rivers. We have passed over a few fair-sized cities and many hamlets. Now we can see one of the polar caps in the distance. It looks like a very large glacier, but we are not going closer to it for here is where we get on the beam to Venus.
It is odd how they do this. On the instrument panel of the ship is a small screen upon which the light of the planet to which they are going is focused. The details of this instrument we don't know, but the principle is the same as that used by an astronomer when he gets an image in the dead center of the mirror of his telescope. Once the planet is perfectly focused upon the screen, one of the pilots pushes a button and the ship is definitely on the light lane towards its desired destination.
Our host explains that once this is accomplished, no outside interference can cause the ship to change its course for it is actually being pulled forward by the light.
This explanation seemed to us to be in reverse, for we had been taught that planets reflect light, having no light of their own; then the light should be going away from them. Yet he tells us that we are being pulled towards the planet by her light.
Noting our confusion, he continued, "the light does not go away from the planet into space, but rather it comes from out of space towards the planet. It is travelling towards the planet instead of from it. For you see, the sun is in the center of a system and all planets revolve around it in their respective orbits. That which you call light is radiation from the sun and is actually travelling from the sun to the planet. The reflection from the planet is short lived. It doesn't penetrate into space very far. It really becomes dead within the atmosphere of the planet."
"Why does the telescope seem to get the light direct from the planet?" questioned Dr. Johnston.
"That is nothing but an illusion," replied our friend. "All that a telescope does is reflect an image. A planet itself has no source of light, so it cannot give out light; but it is illumined by the sun's radiation which we call light. For this reason the same instrument cannot be used in studying the sun that we use on the planets and stars. The reflected image is a cold or negative light, while the direct radiation is a hot or positive light. However, all light is an electrical force or energy."
"Thus you can understand how the ship is actually being pulled as well as pushed by the light or radiation which is steadily flowing from the sun towards the planet, travelling with the speed of light, as Earth men call it, while we say at the speed of the sun's radiation."
One thousand miles out from Mars we entered a shower of meteors of various sizes. This we have been able to enjoy thoroughly, without fear, for we know the ship is equipped with a repulsing power which extends five hundred miles into space, thus protecting us from a dangerous bombardment.