The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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we pointing ? " I_said ." what_is our direction ? "

" we_are flying away from_the earth at a tangent, and as_the moon is near her third quarter we_are going somewhere towards her . i_will open a blind -"

came a click, and then a window in_the outer case yawned open . the sky outside was as black as_the darkness within_the sphere, but the shape of_the open window was marked by an infinite number of stars .

those who_have only seen the starry sky from_the earth cannot imagine its appearance when_the vague, half luminous veil of_our air has_been withdrawn . the stars we see on earth are the mere scattered survivors that penetrate our misty atmosphere . but now at last I_could realise the meaning of_the hosts of heaven !

stranger things we were presently to_see, but that airless, star- dusted sky ! of all things, i_think that_will_be one_of_the last I_shall forget .

the little window vanished with a click, another beside it snapped open and instantly closed, and then a third, and for a moment I had to close my eyes because of_the blinding splendour of_the waning moon .

for a space I had to stare at Cavor and_the white-lit things about me to season my eyes to light again, before I_could turn them towards that pallid glare .

Four windows were open in_order_that the gravitation of_the moon might act upon all the substances in_our sphere . I_found i_was no longer floating freely in space, but that my feet were resting on_the glass in_the direction of_the moon . the blankets and cases of provisions were also creeping slowly down the glass, and presently came to rest so as_to block out a portion of_the view . it seemed to_me, of_course, that I looked " down" when I looked at_the moon . on earth " down" means earthward, the way things fall, and " up" the reverse direction . now the pull of gravitation was towards the moon, and for all I_knew to_the contrary our earth was overhead . and, of_course, when all the Cavorite blinds were closed, " down" was towards the centre of_our sphere, and " up " towards its outer wall .

it_was curiously unlike earthly experience, too, to_have the light coming up_to one . on earth light falls from above, or comes slanting down sideways, but here it came from beneath our feet, and to_see our shadows we had to look up .

at first it gave_me a sort of vertigo to stand only on thick glass and look down upon_the moon through hundreds of thousands of miles of vacant space; but this sickness passed very speedily . and then - the splendour of_the sight !

the reader may imagine it best if he_will lie on_the ground some warm summer's night and look between his upraised feet at_the moon, but for some reason, probably because the absence of air made it so_much more luminous, the moon seemed already considerably larger than it does from earth . the minutest details of it's surface were acutely clear . and since we_did_not see it through air, its outline was bright and sharp, there_was no glow or halo about_it, and_the star- dust that covered the sky came right to its very margin, and marked the outline of_its unilluminated part . and as I stood and stared at_the moon between my feet, that perception of_the impossible that had_been with me off and on ever_since our start, returned again with tenfold conviction .

"Cavor," I_said, " this takes me queerly . those companies we were going to run, and all that about minerals ? "

" well ? "

"I don't see 'em here ."

" no," said Cavor; " but you'll get over all that ."

"I suppose I'm made to_turn right side up again . still, this - for a moment I_could half believe there never was a world ."

" that copy of Lloyd's News might help_you ."

I stared at_the paper for a moment, then held it above the level of_my face, and found I_could read it quite easily .I struck a column of mean little advertisements ." a gentleman of private means is willing to lend money," I_read . I_knew that gentleman . then somebody eccentric wanted to_sell a cutaway bicycle, " quite new and cost 15 pounds," for five pounds; and a lady in distress wished to dispose of some fish knives and forks, "a wedding present," at a great sacrifice . no_doubt some simple soul was sagely examining these knives and forks, and another triumphantly riding off on_that bicycle, and a third trustfully consulting that benevolent gentleman of means even as I_read .I laughed, and let the paper drift from my hand .

" are we visible from_the earth ? " I asked .

" why ? "

" I_knew some one who was rather interested in astronomy . it occurred to_me that_it would_be rather odd if - my friend - chanced to_be looking through come telescope ."

" it would need the most powerful telescope on earth even now to_see us as_the minutest speck ."

for a time I stared in silence at_the moon .

" it's a world," I_said; " one feels that infinitely more than one ever did on earth . people perhaps - "

" people ! " he exclaimed ." no ! banish all that ! think yourself a sort of ultra- arctic voyager exploring the desolate places of space . look at it ! "

he waved his hand at_the shining whiteness below ." it's dead - dead ! vast extinct volcanoes, lava wildernesses, tumbled wastes of snow, or frozen carbonic acid, or frozen air, and everywhere landslip seams and cracks and gulfs . nothing happens . men have watched this planet systematically with telescopes for over two hundred years . how_much change do_you_think they_have seen ? "

" none ."

" they_have traced two indisputable landslips, a doubtful crack, and one slight periodic change of colour, and_that's all ."

"I didn't know they'd traced even that ."

"Oh, yes . but as for people ! "

" by_the_way," I asked, how small a thing will the biggest telescopes show upon_the moon ? "

" one could_see a fair- sized church . one could certainly see any towns or buildings, or anything like the handiwork of men . there might perhaps be insects, something in_the way of ants, for example, so_that they_could hide in deep burrows from_the lunar light, or some new sort of creatures having no earthly parallel . that_is_the most probable thing, if_we_are to_find life there at all . think of_the difference in conditions ! life must fit itself to a day as long as fourteen earthly days, a cloudless sun- blaze of fourteen days, and then a night of equal length, growing ever colder and colder under these, cold, sharp stars . in_that night there_must_be cold, the ultimate cold, absolute zero, 273 C . below the earthly freezing point . whatever life there_is must hibernate through_that, and rise again each_day ."

he mused ." one can imagine something worm - like," he_said, "taking its air solid as an earth- worm swallows earth, or thick- skinned monsters -"

" by_the bye," I_said, " why didn't we bring a gun ? "

he_did_not answer that question ." no," he concluded, " we just have to_go . we_shall see when we get there ."

I remembered something ." of_course, there's my minerals, anyhow," I_said; " whatever the conditions may_be ."

presently he_told me he_wished to alter our course a little by letting the earth tug at us for a moment . he_was going to open one earthward blind for thirty seconds . he warned me that_it would make my head swim, and advised me to extend my hands against the glass to break my fall . I_did as he directed, and thrust my feet against the bales of food cases and air cylinders to_prevent their falling upon me . then with a click the window flew open .I fell clumsily upon hands and face, and saw for a moment between my black extended fingers our mother earth - a planet in a downward sky .

we were still very near - Cavor told me the distance was perhaps eight hundred miles and_the huge terrestrial disc filled all heaven . but already it_was plain to_see that_the world was a globe . the land below us was in twilight and vague, but westward the vast gray stretches of_the Atlantic shone like molten silver under the receding day . i_think I recognised the cloud- dimmed coast-lines of France and Spain and_the south of England, and then, with a click, the shutter closed again, and I_found myself in a state of extraordinary confusion sliding slowly over the smooth glass .

when at last things settled themselves in my mind again, it seemed quite beyond question that_the moon was " down" and under my feet, and_that the earth was somewhere away on_the level of_the horizon - the earth that had_been " down" to_me and my kindred since_the beginning of things .

so slight were the exertions required of us, so easy did the practical annihilation of_our weight make all we had to_do, that_the necessity for taking refreshment did_not occur to_us for nearly six hours ( by Cavor's chronometer) after our start . i_was amazed at_that lapse of_time . even then i_was satisfied with very little .Cavor examined the apparatus for absorbing carbonic acid and water, and pronounced it to_be in satisfactory order, our consumption of oxygen having been extraordinarily slight . and_our talk ' being exhausted for_the_time, and there being nothing further for_us to_do, we gave way to a curious drowsiness that had come upon us, and spreading our blankets on_the bottom of_the sphere in_such_a_manner as_to shut out most of_the moonlight, wished each_other good- night, and almost immediately fell asleep .

and so, sleeping, and sometimes talking and reading a little, and at times eating, although without any keenness of appetite,3 but for_the most part in a sort of quiescence that was neither waking nor slumber, we fell through a space of_time that had neither night nor day in_it, silently, softly, and swiftly down towards the moon .

it_is a curious thing, that while we were in_the sphere we_felt not the slightest desire for food, nor did we_feel the want of it when we abstained . at first we forced our appetites, but afterwards we fasted completely . altogether we_did_not consume one- hundredth part of_the compressed provisions we had brought with_us . the amount of carbonic acid we breathed was also unnaturally low, but why this_was, I_am quite unable to explain .

chapter 6

the Landing on_the moon

I REMEBER how one day Cavor suddenly opened six of_our shutters and blinded me so_that I cried aloud at him . the whole area was moon, a stupendous scimitar of white dawn with its edge hacked out by notches of darkness, the crescent shore of an ebbing tide of darkness, out of_which peaks and pinnacles came glittering into_the blaze of_the sun .I take it reader has seen pictures or photographs of_the moon and_that I_need not describe the broader features of_that landscape, those spacious ringlike ranges vaster than any terrestrial mountains, their summits shining in_the day, their shadows harsh and deep, the gray disordered plains, the ridges, hills, and craterlets, all passing at last from ablazing illumination into a common mystery of black . athwart this world we were flying scarcely a hundred miles above its crests and pinnacles . and now we could_see, what no eye on earth will ever see, that under the blaze of_the day the harsh outlines of_the rocks and ravines of_the plains and crater floor grew gray and indistinct under athickening haze, that_the white of_their lit surfaces broke into lumps and patches, and broke again and shrank and vanished, and_that here and there strange tints of brown and olive grew and spread .

but little time we had for watching then . for now we had come to_the real danger of_our journey . we had to drop ever closer to_the moon as_we spun about_it, to slacken our pace and watch our chance, until at last we_could dare to drop upon its surface .

for Cavor that was a time of intense exertion; for_me it_was an anxious inactivity .I seemed perpetually to_be getting out of_his way . he leapt about_the sphere from point to point with an agility that_would_have been impossible on earth . he_was perpetually opening and closing the Cavorite windows, making calculations, consulting his chronometer by_means of_the glow lamp during those last eventful hours . for_a_long_time we had all our windows closed and hung silently in darkness hurling through space .

then he_was feeling for_the shutter studs, and suddenly four windows were open .I staggered and covered my eyes, drenched and scorched and blinded by_the unaccustomed splendour of_the sun beneath my feet . then again the shutters snapped, leaving my brain spinning in a darkness that pressed against the eyes . and after_that I floated in another vast, black silence .

then Cavor switched on_the electric light, and told me he proposed to bind all our luggage together with_the blankets about_it, against the concussion of_our descent . we_did this with_our windows closed, because in_that way our goods arranged themselves naturally at_the centre of_the sphere . that too was a strange business; we two men floating loose in_that spherical space, and packing and pulling ropes . imagine it if_you_can ! no up nor down, and every effort resulting in unexpected movements . now i_would_be pressed against the glass with_the full force of Cavor's thrust, now i_would_be kicking helplessly in a void . now the star of_the electric light would_be overhead, now under foot . now Cavor's feet would float up before my eyes, and now we_would_be crossways to each_other . but at last our goods were safely bound together in a big soft bale, all except two blankets with head holes that we were to wrap about ourselves .

then for a flash Cavor opened a window moonward, and we saw

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