Part 1

The Eve of the War

           Noonewouldhavebelievedinthelastyearsofthenineteenthcentury thatthisworldwasbeingwatchedkeenlyandcloselybyintelligences greaterthanman’sandyetasmortalashisown; thatasmenbusiedthemselvesabouttheirvariousconcernstheywerescrutinisedandstudied, perhapsalmostasnarrowlyasamanwithamicroscopemightscrutinisethetransientcreatures thatswarmandmultiplyinadropofwater. Withinfinitecomplacencymenwenttoandfrooverthisglobe abouttheirlittleaffairs,sereneintheirassuranceoftheirempireovermatter. Itispossiblethattheinfusoriaunderthemicroscopedothesame. Noonegaveathoughttotheolderworldsofspaceassourcesofhumandanger, orthoughtofthemonlytodismisstheideaoflifeuponthemasimpossibleorimprobable. Itiscurioustorecallsomeofthementalhabitsofthosedeparteddays. AtmostterrestrialmenfanciedtheremightbeothermenuponMars, perhapsinferiortothemselvesandreadytowelcomeamissionaryenterprise. Yetacrossthegulfofspace,mindsthataretoourmindsasoursaretothoseofthebeaststhatperish,intellectsvastandcoolandunsympathetic,regardedthisearthwithenviouseyes, andslowlyandsurelydrewtheirplansagainstus. Andearlyinthetwentiethcenturycamethegreatdisillusionment. 

           TheplanetMars,Iscarcelyneedremindthereader, revolvesaboutthesunatameandistanceof140,000,000miles, andthelightandheatitreceivesfromthesunisbarelyhalfofthatreceivedbythisworld. Itmustbe,ifthenebularhypothesishasanytruth,olderthanourworld; andlongbeforethisearthceasedtobemolten,lifeuponitssurfacemusthavebegunitscourse. Thefactthatitisscarcelyoneseventhofthevolumeoftheearth musthaveaccelerateditscoolingtothetemperature atwhichlifecouldbegin. Ithasairandwaterandallthatisnecessaryforthesupportofanimatedexistence. 

00:00:00 00:00:00
Настройки
Фон страницы
Размер шрифта
Межстрочный интервал
Фразовые глаголы
Показать / Скрыть меню
Шрифт
Roboto Lora
Уведомления
Страница 1 из 210