Life — August 11, 1904 — page 7: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

-LIFE- 143 The Supremacy of the Unimportant. T last the fruit of his life-work and the life-work of bis father and grandfather, of three + generations of astronomers, was within the grasp of the aged stu- dent of the stars. Mars was at the point in its thirteen-year cycle most favorable for Earthly obser- vation and communication. Com- munication with Mars, the dream of centuries, the impossibility of the ages, was his. For the first time in the infinite history of the universe an inhabitant of one world would exchange thoughts with the inhabitant of another, The mysteries of the cosmos would be bared. In all the universe the aged astronomer and the Martian with whom he had established communication would be the joint kings of achievement. ‘The thin violet ray from Mars met, paralleled and mingled with the like violet ray from the instrument under the aged astronomer’s hand. The united ray, fierce with the meas- ureless energy of the mysterious power of light, pulsed and vibrated with the surge of thought-waves from the almost superbumanly-developed minds of the masters of science. So passionately eager was cach to convey his thoughts to the other that there was no order. Each showered the mind of the other with his rush of thought-waves, but neither comprehenged. As the whirling planets rushed on in their mighty sweep the time approached when the violet r: “And your people live so much longer than ours?” “We do not live and die as you do, That which talks to you is the minds of many students mingled into one which has the power of all, which is renewed constantly and never ceases its work.” “Then you bave been looking down to our sphere and studying us and our works for many cycles?" asked he of the Earth. “We have been looking UP to your sphere during many, many revolutions around the great center, and have seen it change and develop with constantly increasing desire to communicate with your fellow-beings.” ‘It must have been that you looked down tous," insisted he of the Earth, ‘for it is upward that I look to you, upward that I am looking now. “No, you look down. Martian, “Do I not know what Iam doing?" indignantly rejoined the he of the Earth. ‘I say that I am looking upward.” “You are a fool,” said the Martian. “I am looking up myself and you are looking downward to me. If all of you are such fools as not to know the difference between up and down, we can learn nothing from talking with you.” And the violet ray from Mars flashed for an instant with an indignant crimson so fierce that the aged astronomer was partially blinded, and then it ceased. Arthur Sperry. Tam looking upward,” said the would no longer mect and mingle in parallel lines, when the period of communication must end for thetime. The Martian checked his thought-waves and made his mind receptive to the rush of thought from his earthly conferee. “Have you watched us and known that there was life and in- telligence here?" asked he of the Earth. Yea, for ages. We have watched your pretty works and see that you will soon, as we have for ages, travel and live in the air.” “Your instruments for seeing must be much more perfect thar ours." “We use no instruments for seeing. What we wish to see we see, whether it be near or distant or whether there be other things between. We see with our minds, as youand I talk now as the result of the long efforts of your fathers to learn to understand our thought- waves.”" PRESIDENTIAL CRADLE SONG, AS SUNG BY THEODORE ROOSEVELT. “sumer, MY LITTLE ONE, SLEEF, MY PRETTY ONE, strer.” comicbooks.com