The First Men in the Moon by H.G. Wells
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more like ants on their hind legs than human beings, and who ever got to any sort of understanding with ants ? "

" but these machines and clothing ! no, I don't hold with_you, Bedford . the difference is wide - "

" it's insurmountable ."

" the resemblance must bridge it .I remember reading once a paper by_the late professor Galton on_the possibility of communication between_the planets . unhappily, at_that_time it did_not seem probable that that_would_be of any material benefit to_me, and I_fear I_did_not give it the attention i_should_have done - in view of_this state of affairs . yet .. .. now, let me see !

" his idea was to_begin with those broad truths that_must underlie all conceivable mental existences and establish a basis on those . the great principles of geometry, to_begin with . he proposed to_take some leading proposition of Euclid's, and show by construction that its truth was known to_us, to demonstrate, for example, that_the angles at_the base of an isosceles triangle are equal, and_that if_the equal sides be produced the angles on_the other side of_the base are equal also, or that_the square on_the hypotenuse of a right- angled triangle is equal to_the sum of_the squares on_the two other sides . by demonstrating our knowledge of_these things we_should demonstrate our possession of a reasonable intelligence .. . now, suppose I .. . I_might draw the geometrical figure with a wet finger, or even trace it in_the air .. ."

he fell silent .I sat meditating his words . for a time his wild hope of communication, of interpretation, with_these weird beings held me . then that angry despair that was a part of_my exhaustion and physical misery resumed its sway .I perceived with a sudden novel vividness the extraordinary folly of everything I had ever done ."Ass ! " I_said; "oh, ass, unutterable ass .. .. I seem to exist only to_go about doing preposterous things . why did we ever leave the thing ? .. .Hopping about looking for patents and concessions in_the craters of_the moon ! .. . if only we had had the sense to fasten a handkerchief to a stick to show where we had left the sphere !

I subsided, fuming .

" it_is clear," meditated Cavor, " they_are intelligent . one can hypotheticate certain things . as_they_have not killed us at once, they_must_have ideas of mercy . mercy ! at any rate of restraint . possibly of intercourse . they_may meet us . and this apartment and_the glimpses we had of_its guardian . these fetters ! a high degree of intelligence .. ."

" i_wish to heaven," cried I, "I'd thought even twice ! plunge after plunge . first one fluky start and then another . it_was my confidence in you ! why didn't I stick to my play ? that was what i_was equal to . that was my world and_the life I was_made for . I_could_have finished that play .I'm certain .. . it_was a good play .I had the scenario as good as done . then .. .. conceive it ! leaping to_the moon ! practically I've thrown my life away ! that old woman in_the inn near Canterbury had better sense ."

I looked up, and stopped in mid- sentence . the darkness had given place to_that bluish light again . the door was opening, and several noiseless Selenites were coming into_the chamber .I became quite still, staring at their grotesque faces .

then suddenly my sense of disagreeable strangeness changed to interest .I perceived that_the foremost and second carried bowls . one elemental need at_least our minds could understand in common . they were bowls of some metal that, like our fetters, looked dark in_that bluish light; and each contained a number of whitish fragments . all the cloudy pain and misery that oppressed me rushed together and took the shape of hunger .I eyed these bowls wolfishly, and, though it returned to_me in dreams, at_that_time it seemed a small matter that at_the end of_the arms that lowered one towards me were_not hands, but a sort of flap and thumb, like the end of an elephant's trunk . the stuff in_the bowl was loose in texture, and whitish brown in colour - rather like lumps of some cold souffle, and it smelt faintly like mushrooms . from a partially divided carcass of amooncalf that we presently saw, I_am inclined to_believe it must_have been mooncalf flesh .

my hands were so tightly chained that I_could barely contrive to reach the bowl; but when_they saw the effort I_made, two of_them dexterously released one_of_the turns about_my wrist . their tentacle hands were soft and cold to my skin .I immediately seized a mouthful of_the food . it had the same laxness in texture that all organic structures seem to_have upon_the moon; it tasted rather like agauffre or a damp meringue, but in no way was_it disagreeable . i_took two other mouthfuls ." i_wanted - foo' ! " said I, tearing off a still larger piece .. ..

for a time we ate with an utter absence of selfconsciousness . we ate and presently drank like tramps in a soup kitchen . never before nor since have I been hungry to_the ravenous pitch, and save that I_have_had this very experience I_could never have believed that, a quarter of a million of miles out of_our proper world, in utter perplexity of soul, surrounded, watched, touched by beings more grotesque and inhuman than_the worst creations of a nightmare, it would_be possible for_me to eat in utter forgetfulness of all these things . they stood about us watching us, and ever and again making a slight elusive twittering that stood the suppose, in_the stead of speech . I_did_not even shiver at their touch . and when_the first zeal of_my feeding was over, I_could note that Cavor, too, had_been eating with_the same shameless abandon .

chapter 14

Experiments in intercourse

when at last we had made an end of eating, the Selenites linked our hands closely together again, and then untwisted the chains about our feet and rebound them, so as to_give us a limited freedom of movement . then they unfastened the chains about our waists . to_do all this they had to handle us freely, and ever and again one of_their queer heads came down close to my face, or a soft tentacle- hand touched my head or neck .I don't remember that i_was afraid then or repelled by their proximity . i_think that_our incurable anthropomorphism made us imagine there were human heads inside their masks . the skin, like everything else, looked bluish, but that was on account of_the light; and it_was hard and shiny, quite in_the beetle- wing fashion, not soft, or moist, or hairy, as avertebrated animal's would_be . along the crest of_the head was a low ridge of whitish spines running from back to front, and a much larger ridge curved on either side over the eyes . the selenite who untied me used his mouth to help his hands .

" they seem_to_be releasing us," said Cavor ." remember we_are on_the moon ! make no sudden movements ! "

" are_you going to_try that geometry ? "

" if I get a chance . but, of_course, they_may make an advance first ."

we remained passive, and_the Selenites, having finished their arrangements, stood back from_us, and seemed to_be looking at us . I_say seemed to_be, because as their eyes were at_the side and not in front, one had the same difficulty in determining the direction in_which they were looking as one has in_the case of ahen or a fish . they conversed with one another in their reedy tones, that seemed to_me impossible to imitate or define . the door behind us opened wider, and, glancing over my shoulder, I_saw a vague large space beyond, in_which quite a little crowd of Selenites were standing . they seemed a curiously miscellaneous rabble .

" do they_want us to imitate those sounds ? " I asked Cavor .

"I don't think so," he_said .

" it seems to_me that_they_are trying to_make us understand something ."

" I_can't make anything of_their gestures . do_you notice this_one, who_is worrying with_his head like a man with an uncomfortable collar ? "

" let_us shake our heads at him ."

we_did that, and finding it ineffectual, attempted an imitation of_the Selenites' movements . that seemed to interest them . at any rate they all set up the same movement . but as_that seemed to lead to nothing, we desisted at last and so did they, and fell into apiping argument among themselves . then one_of_them, shorter and very_much thicker than_the others, and with a particularly wide mouth, squatted down suddenly beside Cavor, and put his hands and feet in_the same posture as Cavor's were bound, and then by a dexterous movement stood up .

"Cavor," I shouted, " they_want us to_get up ! "

he stared open- mouthed ." that's it ! " he_said .

and with much heaving and grunting, because our hands were tied together, we contrived to struggle to our feet . the Selenites made way for_our elephantine heavings, and seemed to twitter more volubly . as_soon_as we were on_our feet the thick- set selenite came and patted each of_our faces with_his tentacles, and walked towards the open doorway . that also was plain enough, and we followed him . we saw that four of_the Selenites standing in_the doorway were much taller than_the others, and clothed in_the same manner as_those we had seen in_the crater, namely, with spiked round helmets and cylindrical body-cases, and_that each of_the four carried a goad with spike and guard made of_that same dull- looking metal as_the bowls . these four closed about us, one on either side of each of us, as_we emerged from_our chamber into_the cavern from_which the light had come .

we_did_not get our impression of_that cavern all at once . our attention was taken up by_the movements and attitudes of_the Selenites immediately about us, and by_the necessity of controlling our motion, lest we_should startle and alarm them and ourselves by some excessive stride . in front of us was_the short, thick- set being who had solved the problem of asking us to_get up, moving with gestures that seemed, almost all of_them, intelligible to_us, inviting us to_follow him . his spout- like face turned from one of us to_the other with a quickness that was clearly interrogative . for a time, I_say, we were taken up with_these things .

but at last the great place that formed a background to our movements asserted itself . it became apparent that_the source of much, at_least, of_the tumult of sounds which had filled our ears ever_since we had recovered from_the stupefaction of_the fungus was a vast mass of machinery in active movement, whose flying and whirling parts were visible indistinctly over the heads and between_the bodies of_the Selenites who walked about us . and not_only did the web of sounds that filled the air proceed from_this mechanism, but also the peculiar blue light that irradiated the whole place . we had taken it as a natural thing that a subterranean cavern should_be artificially lit, and even now, though the fact was patent to my eyes, I_did_not really grasp its import until presently the darkness came . the meaning and structure of_this huge apparatus we saw I_cannot explain, because we neither of us learnt what it_was for or how it worked . one after another, big shafts of metal flung out and up from its centre, their heads travelling in what seemed to_me to_be a parabolic path; each dropped a sort of dangling arm as it rose towards the apex of_its flight and plunged down into a vertical cylinder, forcing this down before it . about_it moved the shapes of tenders, little figures that seemed vaguely different from_the beings about us . as each of_the three dangling arms of_the machine plunged down, there_was a clank and then aroaring, and out_of_the top of_the vertical cylinder came pouring this incandescent substance that lit the place, and ran over as milk runs over aboiling pot, and dripped luminously into a tank of light below . it_was a cold blue light, a sort of phosphorescent glow but infinitely brighter, and from_the tanks into which it fell it ran in conduits athwart the cavern .

thud, thud, thud, thud, came the sweeping arms of_this unintelligible apparatus, and_the light substance hissed and poured . at first the thing seemed only reasonably large and near to_us, and then I_saw how exceedingly little the Selenites upon it seemed, and I realised the full immensity of cavern and machine .I looked from_this tremendous affair to_the faces of_the Selenites with a new respect .I stopped, and Cavor stopped, and stared at_this thunderous engine .

" but this_is stupendous ! " I_said ." what can it be for ? "

Cavor's blue-lit face was full of an intelligent respect ." I_can't dream ! surely these beings - men could_not make a thing like that ! look at those arms, are they on connecting rods ? "

the thick- set selenite had gone some paces unheeded . he_came back and stood between_us and_the great machine .I avoided seeing him, because I guessed somehow that his idea was to beckon us onward . he walked away in_the direction he_wished us to_go, and turned and came back, and flicked our faces to attract our attention .

Cavor and I looked at one another .

"Cannot we show him we_are interested in_the machine ? " I_said .

" yes," said Cavor ." we'll try that ." he turned to our guide and smiled, and pointed to_the machine, and pointed again, and then to_his head, and then to_the machine . by some defect of reasoning he_seemed to imagine that broken English might help these gestures

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