The Living Galaxy by Laurence Manning Read online

  Wonder Stories, September, 1934

  Wonder Stories

  2

  The Living Galaxy

  by Laurence Manning

  FOREWORD

  bare green tinted walls, and gaze at the young

  face of the lecturer with awe, for his eyes are

  the most astonishingly intelligent things you

  It is impossible for me, as author, to write this

  have ever seen and they stare out from the

  story so that it is complete in itself; I must ask

  youthful head with all the contrast and force

  you, as reader, to lend a hand to the work.

  of a scream coming out of the dark night. His

  This is what must be done: Close your eyes

  name is History Zeta Nine and you have been

  and picture to yourself a classroom of children

  told by one of your playmates that he is more

  about six years of age. You are one of these

  than 100,000,000 years old. You did not

  children. You have a book open in front of

  believe it until he entered the room. Now you

  you and, as you read it, a lecturer says the

  rather wonder if he can be as young as that!

  words of it out loud, so that the subject matter

  All through the reading, your eyes wander

  is impressed through ear as well as eye. The

  from the page every few minutes to steal a

  date is very far in the future—more than glance at this ancient man—just a glance, for 500,000,000 years, and the sun, Earth, Mars,

  you dread lest those burning eyes might meet

  Venus, and other ancient things have long

  yours.

  since died and become as forgotten and

  Now, if you are ready, we will

  legendary as the Garden of Eden. You, at the

  commence the history lesson:

  age of six, have played with strange toys—

  toys that would puzzle a skilled engineer As human beings, history must start for us today. You look forward to a whole century of

  upon a planet circling a small sun that has

  study, research, sport, amusement, and long since died. This sun was not located in philosophy. This first century is your our present universe, but very far away from childhood and it will end when you go to the

  here in a large cluster of stars known by

  great hospital to be operated upon and made

  courtesy as the “First Universe.” In the Chart

  bodily young once more. After that you are

  of Space it is known as Nebula X23G79 and is

  grown up and set about doing your work in the

  medium sized, slightly smaller than the one in

  world—in whatever world you please, as a

  which our sun and planets happen to be

  matter of fact, for there are billions of planets

  located. It will be the object of this first

  to choose from. You expect to live in this way

  introduction to history to paint a brief picture

  forever, except for the risk of accidents. There

  of the progress of the race through space and

  is no hurry about learning or doing anything—

  to give some hints as to its final limits and

  but at six you are curious and ill-informed and

  their possible nature. When you have

  this is the very first time you have been given

  understood this general picture, we shall be in

  any insight into the history of the human race,

  a position to go into more detail, but this is

  its habitations and its physical limits.

  reserved for future lessons.

  So you look around the room, with its

  The planet on which the race first

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  developed was called “Earth” and it possessed

  difficulties. One planet called “Mercury” was

  by nature a climate and an atmosphere suitable

  so near the sun of that system that it called for

  to human existence without any artificial aids.

  cooling and not until millions of years later

  In all of Space, counting millions upon was this perfected. The ability to reduce the millions of Universes, such a condition has

  heat of a body in isolated space is nowadays a

  been noted only seventy-two times so that it

  mere technical commonplace—yet it involves

  may be considered extra-ordinary. Eight other

  transforming heat into energy and energy into

  planets circled the same sun and two of these

  matter.

  called “Mars” and “Venus” (all ancient

  We have, then, a human race existing

  heavenly bodies were named instead of on the planets of one star. The life of a man numbered) were colonized with great lasted little more than one century. For this difficulty. This would have been the total reason, exploration of other stars came slowly, distribution of humanity but for three pre-for a whole lifetime was used up in the mere

  historic inventions that occurred among the

  trip. Had it not been for the third great

  ancients who inhabited the “Earth” planet. Let

  invention, the human race might still have

  us examine these.

  lived and died in one tiny corner of one

  First came the release of atomic power,

  universe. This invention was the rejuvenating

  the first freeing of humanity from the operation which we all undergo every hundred necessity of using its man-power. The early

  years today. It came slowly and was not

  engines and motors were, presumably, crude

  perfected without accident and many deaths.

  and dangerous but the result of the invention

  In principle, it is simple—being the familiar

  was, nevertheless, to enable power to be used

  law of biology that hybridizing renews the

  to the limit of the raw material available in the

  youth of two aged parent races. The difficulty

  planets. It rendered trips from one planet to

  lay in its practice, for to hybridize the

  another possible on a practical scale, instead

  thousands of different cell types in the human

  of being gigantic adventures that could be

  body called for skill and technique then

  afforded only once a century.

  unknown. The result, historically, was to

  Second, arising out of the first, was

  permit the long trips of exploration and

  atomic synthesis. This was observed as a colonization which in a few million years phenomenon in the exhaust tubes of atomic

  spread mankind over the planets of the “First

  rocket motors and it was found that the Universe” and, subsequently, throughout all product could be controlled if the exhausts

  the universes and galaxies in space.

  were surrounded by heavy induction magnets

  Of late, this steady, peaceful expansion

  turned on and off with very high frequency.

  has slowed down. The reason is that few new

  The “Earth” was now freed of its last need for

  planets remain. In every direction we have

  labor. Food, metals, fabrics could be produced

  sp
read to the very edge of matter and have

  at will by atomic power using any handy raw

  come to a stop. For “space” as we know it is

  material—rock and water being, of course,

  finite and its “curvature” that ancient men so

  most common.

  brilliantly argued has been actually found and

  Now the “Earth” was deserted by studied by us. As the very outermost planets thousands of explorers who settled down on

  grow more thickly populated and as further

  the five remaining planets of the original solar

  studies and observations are reported, we

  system. These were not habitable without shall, perhaps, know more than now. What artificial air and heat, but the two great actually constitutes this end of matter is still a inventions mentioned above had solved all

  mystery. The action of light and electricity is

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  4

  warped and bent there and so far, the only data

  metal. From the center, great rocket tubes

  available is due to the work of Bzonn, the

  flared out to the surface—fifty miles away—

  chief actor in this lesson. His trip beyond

  and the entire planet was in a few centuries

  space occupied a period of fifteen million made into a rocket ship. A mile below the years and since one of the results was to

  surface they made themselves living quarters

  prevent the destruction of the human race and were ready to start. The voyage they before it had spread outside of the stars of the

  planned was, in those days, incredible. So

  “First Universe,” he may be called the most

  much fuel would be needed that only a ship of

  important character in history.

  planetary dimensions could have contained it

  Just at the time when the human race

  and it would have been absurd to construct

  was engrossed in possibilities of new such a vehicle. The whole planet was set exploration in distant galaxies and universes,

  under motion by earth-shaking blasts from the

  with thousands of huge rocket-ships under great rocket chamber and the voyage construction, astronomers reported in alarm a

  commenced. Its purpose was no less than to

  violent “shift to the red” in one area of the

  explore the edge of space and investigate the

  sky. As all of you have had toy spectroscopes,

  force that was driving the stars apart. Consider

  you know what this means. Over an area ten

  this at a time when the longest flight had been

  degrees of arc across, the star background

  less than a thousand years! After the fashion

  seemed to be flying apart at terrific speed—

  of those days of naming everything, the

  hundreds of times faster than anything ever

  planet-ship was named the Humanity.

  observed. As the centuries passed, it was seen

  that a void was being created where once stars

  These twelve immortals and their leader,

  had been. A great black empty area thrust its

  Bzonn, had wasted no time upon preparations.

  way down toward the First Universe which

  As soon as the blast chambers had been

  then contained all the human race. It was like

  excavated by atomic motors in the core of the

  a vast cone, point down, and in it there Humanity, they set off. For what remained to appeared to be nothing—absolutely nothing.

  be done there would be ample time during the

  Beyond it the blank space extended to infinity

  voyage. After continuous firing for thirty

  and not even the most powerful telescopes

  hours, they were traveling at the speed of

  showed any trace of distant stars.

  100,000 miles a second. The bulk of their ship

  As the years passed, it was seen that

  had been reduced by one quarter, in spite of

  the cone’s point would at its present rate touch

  the well-known efficiency of atomic power.

  the First Universe in a few more millions of

  For two hundred years they tore through the

  years. Yet what action could be taken? Most

  First Universe at this speed, often averting

  scientists were resigned to the role of mere

  collisions by furious application of rocket

  observers. Not so Bzonn!

  power at the last second. During this time, the

  He gathered together a dozen tiny planet-ship had been converted into the scientists—twelve men and women whose most enormous power-plant known to names are now unknown. They settled upon

  mankind. Its surface was gleaming with a

  an uninhabited planetoid circling a small silver tracery of beams and girders housing sun—a tiny planet not quite one hundred miles

  every known appliance for the use of power in

  in diameter—and busied themselves in secret

  attack and defense. It is said that a tenth of the

  preparations. Atomic motors of huge size were

  weight of the Humanity could be converted

  constructed and the entire core of the planet

  into energy in one second—a greater

  scooped out and its stone transformed into

  outpouring of force than possessed by many of

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  5

  our stars. When the grey stretches of inter-

  hundred and seventy times in the last three

  galactic space were reached, a course was set

  million years of the voyage. Twice during this

  to avoid all stars and the pace was speeded up

  period, the Humanity was deserted for a new

  to 150,000 miles a second, relative to its planet and fresh and improved machines and starting speed, in its orbit which was, of equipment were set up, the name and purpose course, unknown in the absolute. Four million

  in each case being transferred to the new

  years were to elapse in this monotonous planet-ship, and the old one left with the journey and, there being four females among

  current quota of colonists in the quickly

  the dozen scientists, a few hundred new deserted universe that then held them.

  humans were bred and educated during the

  All dimensions, no matter how gigantic have a

  first two or three centuries and the Humanity

  definite end and the time came at last when,

  turned into a research laboratory in physics

  search as they might, no light of any sort

  and related subjects. Several important could be seen beyond the edges of the last inventions were given to the human race as a

  universe they had visited. Always before,

  result, which you will learn about later in

  though it might be a million years to the next

  more technical courses. The only one I shall

  star, the sky had shown dusty gray with distant

  mention is the theory of gravitation diseases—

  pin-points. This sky now showed blankly

  that inexplicable effect upon stars and planets

  black—dead black—the unseeable darkness

  of Bzonn’s “delayed” or static vortex. We

  where light simply does not exist in any form,

  now know that this effect on a minute scale is

  color, hue, or strength. They had arrived at the

  responsible for our atomic power. When end of Matter and, by theory, also at the end applied to a sun, the result, after a delay of a

  of space itself. But of this latter point they


  century or two, is sudden expansion and were not yet certain, for though they saw this deterioration until nothing remains but a vast

  blank area, they had not yet reached it. At full

  cloud of bright gas. Since suns are rarely

  speed they proceeded in its direction guided

  found outside of thickly starred systems, the

  by the near stars. But before they passed these,

  net result is that several dozen suns are fresh stars swung into view from the left or the destroyed before the reaction is complete. The

  right and seemed to move into the space

  sending apparatus is extremely complicated

  ahead. This, Bzonn decided, must be caused

  and the power required to set up such a vortex

  by the curvature of space which seemed to be

  is enormous.

  greatly magnified at its edges. To overcome

  It must not be thought that the this deceptive effect was impossible by opportunity for charting the galaxies was physical means, for light waves and even neglected. A small mountain of photographs

  motion itself were all equally distorted. A

  was prepared during the four million years.

  thousand years were spent in study and a

  Progress was made in every phase of art and

  corrective curve drawn painstakingly from

  science. It is regrettable that the colonization

  empiric tests. For its solution it was necessary

  idea was not thought of until a million years

  to solve the problem of three forces—three

  had elapsed. This consisted of breeding a inpinging curves, each of three dimensions, hundred humans and thoroughly educating and this tedious mathematical task had to them, stopping the Humanity in her course,

  await the breeding and educating of a

  entering a galaxy and finding a planet, and

  thousand new humans and the construction of

  then leaving the hundred colonists on it to

  countless elaborate calculating machines.

  multiply and explore their new universe. This

  When at length it was finished and a course

  was done, Bzonn reports, more than one could be set, it seemed so startling and

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  6

  disastrous in its implications that the work

  museums under the title of “The Living

  must needs be gone over again painstakingly.