"The neutralizer has done it, I tell you!” Blaine shrilled exultantly.
"It broadcasts a damping wave that neutralizes and kills all vibrations in the electromagnetic spectrum from three to eight ten-thousandths of a millimeter in wave-length. That includes the whole range of visible light, and the terrific power of this radite-powered generator casts its vibrations out over a radius of eight billion miles, embracing the whole Solar System.
"There is not one ray of light now in the whole system, on any world, anywhere-neither sunlight or starlight nor artificial light of any kind. Every world and every mile of space in the system has been plunged into utter darkness. And it will remain in darkness as long as the neutralizer is kept on!"
The stupefied Thorn felt Blaine shove something into his hand. It was a small pair of eye-lenses.
"Put those on!” Blaine's voice came in the darkness.
John Thorn put the lenses over his eyes. He cried out in amazement, He could see, through the lenses, by a dusky red light that seemed to permeate everything. The sun blazed crimson and weird in the heavens above the glassite window.
Sual Av and Gunner, and Lana and old Stilicho were also staring wildly up through the lenses the little physicist had given them. Blaine himself wore the lenses on his eyes.
"You are seeing by light normally invisible to your retinas, light above the wave-length of ordinary light,” Blaine told them. “The so-called infra-red vibrations, which are unaffected by my neutralizer, and which are made visible to your eyes by these fluorescent lenses."
"But what good will blacking out the whole solar system do the Alliance navies?” Gunner Welk cried. “The League fleet won't be able to see or maneuver, but neither will our ships!"
"The Alliance ships will be able to see!” Blaine retorted. “Each Alliance cruiser has been furnished with a supply of these fluorescent lenses, during the last year. They were given secretly to each cruiser's captain, without telling him anything except he was to use them in case of sudden darkness in space. They'll use them now, there off Mercury, and—"