History of a World of Immortals without a God / Translated from an unpublished manuscript in the library of a continental university

by Unknown

Hence it would seem that the land supply is greatly in excess of the needs of the population. But there are such extraordinary differences in the eligibility of particular sites as places for residence, that great competition invariably arose for those spots which are specially favoured by nature. These disputes were much aggravated by the conviction that the successful candidate had acquired a real, bona fide, and by no means fictitious perpetuity in the coveted abode. Thus these bitter feuds only too frequently resulted in the eviction of the occupier by one or other of the well-known processes by which evanescence was brought about; either that of mortal lesion, which was commonly effected by somebody lying in wait for the envied tenant in some lonely place; or by the slow method of the metronomic balance, carried out by imposing on the victim a sort of social ostracism, refusing to hold any intercourse with him, or indeed supply him with the necessaries of life.

Matters at length proceeded to such extremities, that the governing bodies, in alarm at the depopulating process, passed a very stringent land law, limiting the tenure of any holding to the period of the Life Cycle, which, as we have already seen, averages one hundred years. At the end of that period the estate was disposed of by lot, but there was no rule to prevent the incoming tenant from coming to terms with the outgoer. It must be distinctly understood, however, that, as the extent in area of each holding was strictly limited by law, there was abundance of land for everyone, and the dispossessed occupiers were merely transferred to another part of the country.

Permanence of individual life again is the cause of a marked difference in Hesperos from anything we experience on Earth, with respect to the tenures of the various occupations, trades, or professions, by the persons who exercise them. With us life is so short, and art so long, that when a man has once acquired the skill which is needful for his calling, he has but small opportunity, after having exercised it for a time, of ever learning another. But eternal tailoring or shoe-making, or even eternal writing of poetry, or painting, or playing on the fiddle, could not be thought of. Any attempt to carry out such a permanence of occupation would quickly terminate in the evanescence of the patient by the operation of the metronomic law.

So here again the life cycle is usually adhered to; and on its completion the subject almost invariably adopts a new calling. Hence a strange state of affairs now in Hesperos—every man, and woman also, is not only Jack, but master, or mistress, of all trades. A friend told me that, during the last seven centuries of the ancient period, he had successively occupied the positions of miner, lamp-maker, cathedral-organist, confectioner, marine engineer, barrister-at-law, and maker of sun-pictures.

CHAPTER VI.

Of the Universal Language—Of the Universal Empire and first measures of the World-Parliament—Of the great progress of the Hesperians in all Physical Science; and of their fruitless craving after the Unknown God.

It has been already mentioned that the land surface of Hesperos consists of an immense polar continent, bordered with a very considerable number of islands, which vary greatly both in magnitude and configuration. The island populations naturally lived for a long period in complete separation from each other, and the hesperographical peculiarities of the continent, such as extensive chains of impassable mountains, produced a similar effect on the mainland. Hence, just as on earth, different nationalities came into existence; and also, as on earth, each of these different nationalities had its own special language. But, as time went on, ships were invented, and communication between the islands and the continent became frequent. Commerce soon assumed extensive proportions; for in Hesperos, as in the earth, different regions abound in different products. Engineering operations also had been organized on a large scale, and these required much transportation of minerals and other materials of construction.

In the sixth millenary period, counting from the rational creation, a most important improvement was originated by the Hesperians; an improvement which brought still more notable changes in its wake. This was the adoption of one universal language for the globe, in room of the many which had sprung up in the different states. By this time they had fully realized their positions as permanent denizens of the planet, and the advantages of a universal medium of communication were too obvious to need discussion. For this reason all the independent governments united in an international convention, and appointed a large committee of the most eminent philologists to consider the whole question. Pursuant to the report of this committee, a universal language was adopted; and the whole Hesperian world set to work, resolutely, at its study. In a very short time the polyglot system came to an end, and the language still spoken over the whole planet was an established fact.

The adoption of this universal language prepared the way for the union of all the separate states into one vast empire. Thanks to the reckless use of the two methods of evanescence, the original population of one hundred millions had, in the lapse of ages, dwindled down to little more than eighty millions, and eighty millions were not considered to be too large a number for a single administration. It is true they were scattered over an exceedingly wide area; but, even at the time I speak of, an admirable system of communication had been organized. The sciences of mechanics and chemistry had made astonishing progress, and natural forces had been discovered and utilised for the purpose of locomotion. Of these, however, a fuller account will be given further on.

Here it will suffice to mention that, in the year 5784, the whole northern hemisphere was finally united under one central administration, chosen by the suffrage of the whole Hesperian population, male and female alike. For it should be noticed that, as a consequence of the female sex being exempt from the cares of maternity, they take a much larger share in the pursuits of the other sex than would be at all desirable, or even possible, with us.