Everyone applauded the demonstration. Then as suddenly as it had appeared the flag vanished and all was once more in darkness. Ralph explained to his guests that the lights of each one of the aerial flyers had been shut off simultaneously in preparation for the next spectacle.
All at once there was seen an enormous colored circle which revolved with great rapidity, becoming smaller and smaller, as though it were shrinking. Finally it became a colored disc, whirling rapidly on its axis. In a few seconds, the edge opened and a straight line shot out, the disc unrolling like a tape measure. After a few minutes more, there remained nothing of the disc. It had resolved itself into a perfectly straight many-hued line, miles long. Then the lights went out again. The next spectacle was a demonstration of the solar system. In the center a large sun was seen standing still. Next to the "sun" a small red round globe spun rapidly about it, representing the planet Mercury. Around both the sun and the "planet" Mercury revolved another globe, blue in color; this was Venus. Then followed a white orb, the "Earth" with the moon turning about it. Next came the red planet Mars with its two small moons, then green Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn in yellow. Uranus was orange and lastly came Neptune in pink, all globes and their moons traveling in their proper orbits around the "sun."[5] While the spectacle was in progress a white "comet" with a long tail traveled across the paths of the planets, turned a sharp corner around the "sun," its tail always pointing away from that body, recrossed the orbits of the "planets" again on the other side and lost itself in the darkness.
Several other spectacles were presented, each more superb than the one preceding it. The carnival closed with a light-picture of the Planet Governor. This was exhibited for fully five minutes during which time the applause was continuous.
"We have never seen such a marvelous spectacle," James 212B 422 declared. "You Americans still lead the world. Upon my word, the old saying that 'Nothing is impossible in America,' still holds good."
It was after one when they reached the house, and Ralph suggested a light lunch before they retired for what remained of the night. The others assented and Ralph led the way to the Bacillatorium.
The Bacillatorium, invented in 2509 by the Swede 1A 299, was a small room, the walls and bottom of which were composed of lead. On each of the four sides were large vacuum bulbs on pedestals. These tubes, a foot in height and about six inches thick and two feet in diameter, were each equipped with a large concave Radio-arcturium cathode. The glass of the tube in front of the cathode had a double wall, the space between being filled with helium gas.
The rays emanating from the cathode, when the tube was energized with high oscillatory currents, were called Arcturium Rays and would instantly destroy any bacilli exposed to them for a few seconds. Arcturium Rays, like X-rays, pass through solid objects, and when used alone burned the tissue of the human body. It was found, however, that by filtering arcturium rays through helium no burns would result, but any germ or bacillus in or on the body would be killed at once.
The Bacillatorium was prescribed by law and each citizen ordered to use it at least every other day, thus making it impossible for the human body to develop contagious diseases. As late as the 20th century more than half the mortality was directly attributable to diseases communicated by germs or bacilli.
The Bacillatorium eradicated such diseases. The arcturium rays, moreover, had a highly beneficial effect on animal tissue and the enforced use of the Bacillatorium extended the span of human life to between one hundred and twenty and one hundred and forty years, where in former centuries three score and ten was the average.