The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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." why am I tied ? why have_you tied me hand and foot ? "

"I haven't tied you," he answered ." it's the Selenites ."

the Selenites ! my mind hung on_that for a space . then my memories came back to_me: the snowy desolation, the thawing of_the air, the growth of" the plants, our strange hopping and crawling among_the rocks and vegetation of_the crater . all the distress of_our frantic search for_the sphere returned to_me .. .. finally the opening of_the great lid that covered the pit !

then as I strained to trace our later movements down to our present plight, the pain in my head became intolerable . I_came to an insurmountable barrier, an obstinate blank .

"Cavor ! "

" yes ? "

" where are we ?

" how should I_know ? "

" are we dead ? "

" what nonsense ! "

" they've got us, then ! "

he_made no answer but a grunt . the lingering traces of_the poison seemed to_make him oddly irritable .

" what do_you_mean to_do ? "

" how should I_know what to_do ? "

"Oh, very_well ! " said I, and became silent . presently, i_was roused from a stupor ."O lord ! " I cried; " i_wish you'd stop that buzzing ! "

we lapsed into silence again, listening to_the dull confusion of noises like the muffled sounds of a street or factory that filled our ears . I_could make nothing of it, my mind pursued first one rhythm and then another, and questioned it in vain . but after a long_time I became aware of a new and sharper element, not mingling with_the rest but standing out, as it were, against that cloudy background of sound . it_was a series of relatively very little definite sounds, tappings and rubbings, like a loose spray of ivy against a window or a bird moving about upon a box . we listened and peered about us, but the darkness was a velvet pall . there followed a noise like the subtle movement of_the wards of a well- oiled lock . and then there appeared before me, hanging as it seemed in an immensity of black, a thin bright line .

" look ! " whispered Cavor very softly .

" what_is it ? "

"I don't know ."

we stared .

the thin bright line became a band, and broader and paler . it took upon itself the quality of abluish light falling upon a white- washed wall . it ceased to_be parallel- sided; it developed a deep indentation on one side .I turned to remark this to Cavor, and was amazed to_see his ear in a brilliant illumination - all the rest of him in shadow .I twisted my head round as_well as my bonds would permit ."Cavor," I_said, " it's behind ! "

his ear vanished - gave place to an eye !

suddenly the crack that had_been admitting the light broadened out, and revealed itself as_the space of an opening door . beyond was a sapphire vista, and in_the doorway stood a grotesque outline silhouetted against the glare .

we both made convulsive efforts to_turn, and failing, sat staring over our shoulders at_this . my first impression was of some clumsy quadruped with lowered head . then I perceived it was_the slender pinched body and short and extremely attenuated bandy legs of a selenite, with_his head depressed between his shoulders . he_was without the helmet and body covering they wear upon_the exterior .

he_was a blank, black figure to_us, but instictively our imaginations supplied features to_his very human outline .I, at_least, took it instantly that he_was somewhat hunchbacked, with a high forehead and long features .

he_came forward three steps and paused for a time . his movements seemed absolutely noiseless . then he_came forward again . he walked like a bird, his feet fell one in front of_the other . he stepped out_of_the ray of light that came through_the doorway, and it seemed as_though he vanished altogether in_the shadow .

for a moment my eyes sought him in_the wrong place, and then I perceived him standing facing us both in_the full light . only the human features I had attributed to him were_not there at all !

of_course I ought_to_have expected that, only I didn't . it came to_me as an absolute, for a moment an overwhelming shock . it seemed as_though it wasn't a face, as_though it must needs be a mask, a horror, a deformity, that_would presently be disavowed or explained . there_was no nose, and_the thing had dull bulging eyes at_the side - in_the silhouette I had supposed they were ears . there were no ears .. .. I_have_tried to draw one_of_these heads, but I_cannot . there_was a mouth, downwardly curved, like a human mouth in a face that stares ferociously .. ..

the neck on_which the head was poised was jointed in three places, almost like the short joints in_the leg of a crab . the joints of_the limbs I could_not_see, because of_the puttee- like straps in_which they were swathed, and which formed the only clothing the being wore .

there the thing was, looking at us !

at_the_time my mind was taken up by_the mad impossibility of_the creature .I suppose he also was amazed, and with more reason, perhaps, for amazement than we . only, confound him ! he_did_not show it . we_did at_least know what had brought about_this meeting of incompatible creatures . but conceive how it would seem to decent Londoners, for example, to_come upon a couple of living things, as big as men and absolutely unlike any_other earthly animals, careering about among_the sheep in Hyde park ! it must_have taken him like that .

figure us ! we were bound hand and foot, fagged and filthy; our beards two inches long, our faces scratched and bloody .Cavor you_must imagine in_his knickerbockers (torn in several places by_the bayonet scrub) his Jaegar shirt and old cricket cap, his wiry hair wildly disordered, a tail to every quarter of_the heavens . in_that blue light his face did_not look red but very dark, his lips and_the drying blood upon my hands seemed black . if possible i_was in a worse plight than he, on account of_the yellow fungus into which I had jumped . our jackets were unbuttoned, and_our shoes had_been taken off and lay at our feet . and we were sitting with_our backs to_this queer bluish light, peering at such a monster as Durer might_have invented .

Cavor broke the silence; started to_speak, went hoarse, and cleared his throat . outside began a terrific bellowing, as_if amooncalf were in trouble . it ended in a shriek, and everything was still again .

presently the selenite turned about, flickered into_the shadow, stood for a moment retrospective at_the door, and then closed it on us; and once more we were in_that murmurous mystery of darkness into which we had awakened .

chapter 13

Mr Cavor Makes some Sugestions

for a time neither of us spoke . to focus together all the things we had brought upon ourselves, seemed beyond my mental powers .

" they've got us," I_said at last .

" it was_that fungus ."

" well - if I hadn't taken it we_should_have fainted and starved ."

" we_might_have found the sphere ."

I lost my temper at his persistence, and swore to myself . for a time we hated one another in silence .I drummed with my fingers on_the floor between my knees, and gritted the links of_my fetters together . presently i_was forced to_talk again .

" what do_you make of it, anyhow ? " I asked humbly .

" they_are reasonable creatures - they_can make things and do things . those lights we saw .. ."

he stopped . it_was clear he_could make nothing of it .

when he spoke again it_was to confess, " after all, they_are more human than we had a right to expect .I suppose -"

he stopped irritatingly .

" yes ? "

"I suppose, anyhow - on any planet where there_is an intelligent animal - it_will carry its brain case upward, and_have hands, and walk erect ."

presently he broke away in another direction .

" we_are some way in," he_said ."I mean - perhaps a couple of thousand feet or more ."

" why ? "

" it's cooler . and_our voices are so_much louder . that faded quality - it has altogether gone . and_the feeling in one's ears and throat ."

I had_not noted that, but I_did now .

" the air is denser . we_must_be some depths - a mile even, we_may_be - inside the moon ."

" we never thought of a world inside the moon ."

" no ."

" how could we ? "

" we_might_have done . only_one gets into habits of mind ."

he thought for a time .

" now," he_said, " it seems such an obvious thing ."

" of_course ! the moon must_be enormously cavernous, with an atmosphere within, and at_the centre of_its caverns a sea .

" one knew that_the moon had a lower specific gravity than_the earth, one knew that_it had little air or water outside, one knew, too, that_it_was sister planet to_the earth, and that_it_was unaccountable that_it should_be different in composition . the inference that_it_was hollowed out was as clear as day . and yet one never saw it as a fact .Kepler, of_course -"

his voice had the interest now of a man who has discerned a pretty sequence of reasoning .

" yes," he_said, "Kepler with_his sub-volvani was right after all ."

" i_wish you had taken the trouble to_find that out before we came," I_said .

he answered nothing, buzzing to himself softly, as he pursued his thoughts . my temper was going .

" what do_you_think has become of_the sphere, anyhow ? " I asked .

" lost," he_said, like a man who answers an uninteresting question .

" among those plants ? "

" unless they find it ."

" and then ? "

" how can I tell ? "

"Cavor," I_said, with a sort of hysterical bitterness, " things look bright for_my company .. ."

he_made no answer .

" good lord ! " I exclaimed ." just think of all the trouble we took to_get into_this pickle ! what did we come for ? what_are we after ? what_was the moon to_us or we to_the moon ? we wanted too_much, we_tried too_much . we ought_to_have started the little things first . it_was you proposed the moon ! those Cavorite spring blinds ! I_am certain we_could_have worked them for terrestrial purposes . certain ! did you really understand what I proposed ? a steel cylinder - "

" rubbish ! " said Cavor .

we ceased to converse .

for a time Cavor kept up a broken monologue without much help from me .

" if_they find it," he began, " if_they find it .. . what_will they_do with it ? well, that's a question . it may_be that's the question . they won't understand it, anyhow . if_they understood that sort of thing they_would_have come long since to_the earth . would they ? why shouldn't they ? but they_would_have sent something - they couldn't keep their hands off such a possibility . no ! but they_will examine it . clearly they_are intelligent and inquisitive . they_will examine it - get inside it - trifle with_the studs . off ! .. that_would mean the moon for_us for all the rest of_our lives . strange creatures, strange knowledge .. ."

" as for strange knowledge - " said I, and language failed me .

" look here, Bedford," said Cavor, " you came on_this expedition of your own free will ."

" you said to_me, ' call it prospecting' ."

" there's always risks in prospecting ."

" especially when_you do_it unarmed and without thinking out every possibility ."

" i_was so taken up with_the sphere . the thing rushed on us, and carried us away ."

"Rushed on me, you mean ."

"Rushed on me just as_much . how was I to_know when I set to work on molecular physics that_the business would bring me here - of all places ? "

" it's this accursed science," I cried ." it's the very devil . the medieval priests and persecutors were right and_the Moderns are all wrong . you tamper with it - and it offers you gifts . and directly you take them it knocks you to pieces in some unexpected way . old passions and new weapons - now it upsets your religion, now it upsets your social ideas, now it whirls you off to desolation and misery ! "

"Anyhow, it's no use your quarrelling with me now . these creatures - these Selenites, or whatever we choose to_call them - have got us tied hand and foot . whatever temper you choose to_go through with it in, you_will_have to_go through with it .. .. we_have experiences before_us that_will need all our coolness ."

he paused as_if he required my assent . but I sat sulking ." confound your science ! " I_said .

" the problem is communication .Gestures, I_fear, will_be different .Pointing, for example . no creatures but men and monkeys point ."

that was too obviously wrong for_me ." pretty nearly every animal," I cried, "points with its eyes or nose ."

Cavor meditated over that ." yes," he_said at last, " and we don't . there's such differences - such differences ! "

" one might .. .. but how can I tell ? there_is speech . the sounds they make, a sort of fluting and piping .I don't see how we_are to imitate that . is_it their speech, that sort of thing ? they may_have different senses, different means of communication . of_course they_are minds and we_are minds; there_must_be something in common . who knows how far we_may not get to an understanding ? "

" the things are outside us," I_said ." they're more different from_us than_the strangest animals on earth . they_are a different clay . what_is the good of talking like this ? "

Cavor thought ."I don't see that . where there_are minds they_will_have something similar - even though they_have been evolved on different planets . of_course if_it_was a question of instincts, if_we or they_are no more than animals "

" well, are they ? they're much more

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