“Does this condition extend even to the fish of the sea?” inquired the doctor.
“Even to the fish of the sea,” answered the Martian.
“Now that you discover,” he continued, “what improvement has been wrought in the lower animals, you can understand that their comfort is an object of our solicitude, and that we take great pleasure in knowing that they are relieved from all hard labor.”
“But you haven’t told us,” said I, “what is the source of the power that does all your work.”
“Let me ask,” replied Thorwald, “if you have begun to use electricity yet?”
“Yes,” I answered, “we are trying to harness it, but it is still far from obedient to us.”
“I perceive,” said our friend, “from this and other things you have told me, that your development is going on in about the order which has prevailed on Mars. Do not be discouraged in your efforts to bring that mysterious and wonderful agent, electricity, into complete subjection. You will find it your most useful servant, and in connection with aluminum it will enable you to solve numerous problems and remove many difficulties from your path of progress.
“Here we have made full use of both of these valuable helps. Electricity enters into every department of life.
“It runs our errands, takes us from place to place, builds our houses, cooks our food, and even is applied to the growth of our food when we are in haste for any article. Its laws are so well understood that there is no fear of personal injury from its use, and I will show you how familiar an aid it is to us. Here,” he continued, taking from his pocket a brightly polished case of metal, “is a compact storage battery, containing, not electricity itself, of course, but elements so prepared that a simple touch will start into motion a powerful current, able to perform almost any task I may ask of it. This case, you see, is so small and light that it is no burden, and yet it contains power enough to serve me for many days. Of course, all our work of a fixed character has appliances with the power permanently attached, and these portable reservoirs are carried about with us only for detached and unexpected tasks.”
To my experienced eye the doctor’s face looked a little skeptical at this last remark, and he said: