Previous to this destructive event, this valley was one of the most desirable spots on this portion of the planet. Sheltered as it is by the mountain, its mean temperature is considerably higher than that of other regions of the same latitude, and being thoroughly cultivated it produced certain grains, fruits and vegetables in unusual abundance. Nature, left to her own devices, has perpetuated some grains, fruits and vegetables, but the harvests are gathered by wild creatures, who, being undisturbed, have increased prodigiously. The air is vocal with the notes of many birds, some of gay, others of modest plumage, and trees and undergrowth are alive with small animals, whose chatterings are to you unfamiliar.
Underlying the valley and the outlying region are coal fields, reservoirs of naphtha, and deposits of various kinds, exactly corresponding with those of our Planet, and in this mountain range are immense stores of gold, silver and other minerals. Elsewhere these minerals are mined or otherwise procured, but this locality will remain undisturbed for as long as occasional slight seismic disturbances occur or those ruins serve as reminders of the terrible catastrophe which destroyed Pētûsa̤a̤ Tylû.
To the Entoans life is the chiefest consideration, and no inducement is strong enough to tempt them to risk losing it. Could our daring Earth men voyage between our Planet and Ento, how quickly would this solitude be overrun with a gold mad multitude. Come here, they some time may, but, heigh-ho, they will then care not at all for all the gold in the universe.
Medium—Do the peoples of Ento and of other Planets consider gold and silver more precious than other metals?
De L'Ester—We have visited many Planets peopled by humans, and wherever we have found them sufficiently evolved to be able to distinguish the qualities of things, we also have found gold and silver taking precedence of all other metals. The Ento name of gold is Vybo, which in your language might mean either glittering, shining or brilliant. On this Planet gold is almost the only currency, and you will have an opportunity for observing that it is coined in flat, oblong pieces of varying weights. On the largest coin is what may be termed the national emblem, a hand holding a full blown Rodel. On other pieces are characters or symbols denoting their values. The Ento name for silver is Rytza̤, and as currency, it relatively holds about the same value as copper holds in the estimation of your nation. Indeed, with the Entoans, copper is little less valuable than silver, but for ornamentation and the finer uses they prefer gold and silver to any other metals.
Repeatedly you have been told that the components of all Planets are the same. From unquestionable sources the truth has come to us that the formulas of the Divine Chemist never vary. Thus Ento, Earth and other planets, in proportion with their bulk and density, contain a due amount of each universal component. On this Planet during past ages, attrition and disintegration have been releasing the precious metals so that they are easily procurable, and this has led to their application to common uses.
You say that you find it difficult to adjust yourself to a belief in or, rather, to a realization of the homogeneity of matter. That is not to be wondered at. Old beliefs which, as a rule, are old superstitions, cling to one with great tenacity. Nevertheless, it is a fact, and a comprehension of it will enable you to adjust yourself to other facts, one of which is that the Infinite Intelligent Energy compels each and every atom to assume its orderly relation to all other atoms. Further, that indeed, atoms are embryotic universes, each atom containing within itself all the properties which anywhere exist, and any one atom may form the nucleus about which other atoms may congregate, until a world is in process of formation. But such was not the formative process which brought this Planet and our distant World into recognition as members of our Solar System.
To reply intelligibly to your questions is one thing, to do so satisfactorily is another affair. At least I may hope that I have not shocked you. No! Then on some other occasion I may feel emboldened to recur to this subject. Now, one more look at the tranquil lake still mirroring in its limpid water fleecy clouds and sapphire sky. One more look at this lovely valley so luxuriantly clothed with grasses, flowering plants, shrubs, trees and blossoming vines, and we will flit to yonder distant mountain peak. Allow me the pleasure of aiding you. Ah, what a pleasing view! Madame, you will kindly attempt a description of it.
Medium—To the best of my poor descriptive ability I shall try to meet your wishes. Extending westward are plains reaching further than my sense of vision. From the base of the mountain, southward, the surface of the land is broken into shallow, valley-like depressions, covered with luxuriant vegetation. To the left is a forest of gigantic trees, and in the distance and toward the south I see houses and cultivated lands and some animals grazing. Thanks, George, I do not care to approach them more nearly, I see them quite distinctly, and they closely resemble one of the animals already described. I mean the one so like a horse, but they are smaller, and they are altogether white, excepting their black, short, erect manes and long black tails.