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Horizons, v. 1, issue 3, April 1940
Page 7
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SPACEWAYS THE TIME SPIRAL "A million years," said Elsie. "Why worry about such a long space of time? If all the sums are cold then, what will it matter to us?" Then she looked around the cozy room and sighed. "I am sleepy, Rem, and hungry. Did you remember to bring any food?" Rem assured her that he had a food supply that would last them many years, if it came to that. Compressed food tablets, stored away in a chest, but he wouldn't expect her to live on them till later. He had canned foods to use at first, until she got used to taking the tablets. He got out the food, and with curtains drawn to shut out the awesome immensity outside, they sat and ate, almost forgetting that they were not in a cozy house back on earth. They ate and talked of common things, the events that had taken place in their lives since their last meeting; and wondering about what Elsie's truculent rather would say when he found them gone. After a time, they both slept for they were tired. And moment by moment, the space ship, with increasing speed, whirled them on in the spiral path which the earth had traveled in its endless trek through space. THE JOURNEY Rem was awake hours before Elsie. A glance at the ship's clock showed him that he had slept over seven hours. He hastily swallowed a couple of food tablets, and went at once to the televisor. He drew a curtain back from over the nearest window, and turned the globe with the western hemisphere toward the televisor. He seated himself before the magnifier, looking directly at the location of or. He seated himself before the magnifier, looking directly at the location of St. Louis. The city took form before his eyes; but he had already travelled so far that he was seeing it as it was twenty years ago. Yet, he did not entirely miss what he waited most to see -- himself, and his two friends, Mel and Chalmers. The knowledge that at that age he had been much more handsome than he had supposed brought a momentary smile to his lips, to be followed quickly by a sigh when he remembered that he was seeing only the pictured likenesses of the two men. The man themselves ceased to live -- only their shadows endured, and even that passed from view all too soon, as the ship passed the place in space where the earth had left the images of its life upon the way. When Elsie awoke, the scenes from the nineteenth century were flitting across the globe, and Rem went to the controls to brake the speed of their flight, in order that the pictures might not pass too quickly. Even then it was impossible for them to take note of all that happened, for they could see only one side of the globe at a time. But it was all marvelously interesting and exciting, so that they both become so absorbed in this pastime that they scarcely took time to eat or sleep, lest they should miss something of importance. After a time, they took turns sleeping and in watching the glass. If they saw some notable thing which had not been recorded in the history books, it was written down. And thus they seemed to be travelling backward in the stream of time; although, as Rem carefully explained, time had not changed. Nor was it possible to go any way in time except toward the future; what they saw was a cinema show of the past, which the earth had left in its wake as it had passed, by reflecting back the sun's light into the etheric lenses, which were gigantic mirrors reflecting and holding the images until aeons of time should have restored the ether to its normal vibration, which it had had before the earth had gone that way. So they went on and on, till they had passed ancient Egypt, witnessed the building of the pyramids. On back to the time of the pre-magnon race, and barbarous tribes for which they know no name. They saw the earth covered with ice, then the floods that had preceded the ice age, and the great civilization that had been wiped out by the floods. And before that, a tropical earth, cloudy and humid, with humanity going backward again to semi-barbarian, then back to when there were no men; then only animals were seen. Later, they too vanished, and
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SPACEWAYS THE TIME SPIRAL "A million years," said Elsie. "Why worry about such a long space of time? If all the sums are cold then, what will it matter to us?" Then she looked around the cozy room and sighed. "I am sleepy, Rem, and hungry. Did you remember to bring any food?" Rem assured her that he had a food supply that would last them many years, if it came to that. Compressed food tablets, stored away in a chest, but he wouldn't expect her to live on them till later. He had canned foods to use at first, until she got used to taking the tablets. He got out the food, and with curtains drawn to shut out the awesome immensity outside, they sat and ate, almost forgetting that they were not in a cozy house back on earth. They ate and talked of common things, the events that had taken place in their lives since their last meeting; and wondering about what Elsie's truculent rather would say when he found them gone. After a time, they both slept for they were tired. And moment by moment, the space ship, with increasing speed, whirled them on in the spiral path which the earth had traveled in its endless trek through space. THE JOURNEY Rem was awake hours before Elsie. A glance at the ship's clock showed him that he had slept over seven hours. He hastily swallowed a couple of food tablets, and went at once to the televisor. He drew a curtain back from over the nearest window, and turned the globe with the western hemisphere toward the televisor. He seated himself before the magnifier, looking directly at the location of or. He seated himself before the magnifier, looking directly at the location of St. Louis. The city took form before his eyes; but he had already travelled so far that he was seeing it as it was twenty years ago. Yet, he did not entirely miss what he waited most to see -- himself, and his two friends, Mel and Chalmers. The knowledge that at that age he had been much more handsome than he had supposed brought a momentary smile to his lips, to be followed quickly by a sigh when he remembered that he was seeing only the pictured likenesses of the two men. The man themselves ceased to live -- only their shadows endured, and even that passed from view all too soon, as the ship passed the place in space where the earth had left the images of its life upon the way. When Elsie awoke, the scenes from the nineteenth century were flitting across the globe, and Rem went to the controls to brake the speed of their flight, in order that the pictures might not pass too quickly. Even then it was impossible for them to take note of all that happened, for they could see only one side of the globe at a time. But it was all marvelously interesting and exciting, so that they both become so absorbed in this pastime that they scarcely took time to eat or sleep, lest they should miss something of importance. After a time, they took turns sleeping and in watching the glass. If they saw some notable thing which had not been recorded in the history books, it was written down. And thus they seemed to be travelling backward in the stream of time; although, as Rem carefully explained, time had not changed. Nor was it possible to go any way in time except toward the future; what they saw was a cinema show of the past, which the earth had left in its wake as it had passed, by reflecting back the sun's light into the etheric lenses, which were gigantic mirrors reflecting and holding the images until aeons of time should have restored the ether to its normal vibration, which it had had before the earth had gone that way. So they went on and on, till they had passed ancient Egypt, witnessed the building of the pyramids. On back to the time of the pre-magnon race, and barbarous tribes for which they know no name. They saw the earth covered with ice, then the floods that had preceded the ice age, and the great civilization that had been wiped out by the floods. And before that, a tropical earth, cloudy and humid, with humanity going backward again to semi-barbarian, then back to when there were no men; then only animals were seen. Later, they too vanished, and
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