Under the Knife by H.G. Wells
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as black as_the blackness of a frosty starlight, and at last as black as no blackness I had ever beheld . and first one star, and then many, and at last an innumerable host broke out upon_the sky: more stars than anyone has ever seen from_the face of_the earth . for_the blueness of_the sky in_the light of_the sun and stars sifted and spread abroad blindingly: there_is diffused light even in_the darkest skies of winter, and we_do_not_see the stars by day only because of_the dazzling irradiation of_the sun . but now I_saw things-- I_know not how; assuredly with no mortal eyes-- and_that defect of bedazzlement blinded me no longer . the sun was incredibly strange and wonderful . the body of it_was a disc of blinding white light: not yellowish, as it seems to_those who live upon_the earth, but livid white, all streaked with scarlet streaks and rimmed about with a fringe of writhing tongues of red fire . and shooting half- way across the heavens from either side of it and brighter than_the milky way, were two pinions of silver white, making it look more like those winged globes I_have_seen in Egyptian sculpture than anything else I_can remember upon earth . these I_knew for_the solar Corona, though I had never seen anything of it but a picture during the days of_my earthly life .

when my attention came back to_the earth again, I_saw that_it had fallen very far away from me . field and town were long since indistinguishable, and all the varied hues of_the country were merging into a uniform bright grey, broken only by_the brilliant white of_the clouds that lay scattered in flocculent masses over Ireland and_the west of England . for now I could_see the outlines of_the north of France and Ireland, and all this island of Britain, save where Scotland passed over the horizon to_the north, or where the coast was blurred or obliterated by cloud . the sea was a dull grey, and darker than_the land; and_the whole panorama was rotating slowly towards the east .

all this had happened so swiftly that until i_was some thousand miles or so from_the earth I had no thought for_myself . but now I perceived I had neither hands nor feet, neither parts nor organs, and_that I_felt neither alarm nor pain . all about me I perceived that_the vacancy ( for I had already left the air behind) was cold beyond the imagination of man; but it troubled me not . the sun's rays shot through_the void, powerless to light or heat until they should strike on matter in their course . I_saw things with a serene self- forgetfulness, even as_if I were god . and down below there, rushing away from me,-- countless miles in a second,-- where a little dark spot on_the grey marked the position of London, two doctors were struggling to restore life to_the poor hacked and outworn shell I had abandoned . I_felt then such release, such serenity as I_can compare to no mortal delight I_have ever known .

it_was only after I had perceived all these things that_the meaning of_that headlong rush of_the earth grew into comprehension . yet it_was so simple, so obvious, that i_was amazed at my never anticipating the thing that was happening to_me .I had suddenly been cut adrift from matter: all that was material of me was there upon earth, whirling away through space, held to_the earth by gravitation, partaking of_the earth- inertia, moving in its wreath of epicycles round the sun, and with_the sun and_the planets on their vast march through space . but the immaterial has no inertia, feels nothing of_the pull of matter for matter: where it parts from its garment of flesh, there it remains ( so_far as space concerns it any longer) immovable in space . i_was not leaving the earth: the earth was leaving me_, and not_only the earth but the whole solar system was streaming past . and about me in space, invisible to_me, scattered in_the wake of_the earth upon its journey, there_must_be an innumerable multitude of souls, stripped like myself of_the material, stripped like myself of_the passions of_the individual and_the generous emotions of_the gregarious brute, naked intelligences, things of new- born wonder and thought, marvelling at_the strange release that had suddenly come on them !

as I receded faster and faster from_the strange white sun in_the black heavens, and from_the broad and shining earth upon_which my being had begun, I seemed to grow in some incredible manner vast: vast as regards this world I had left, vast as regards the moments and periods of a human life . very_soon I_saw the full circle of_the earth, slightly gibbous, like the moon when she nears her full, but very large; and_the silvery shape of America was now in_the noonday blaze wherein ( as it seemed) little England had_been basking but a few_minutes_ago . at first the earth was large, and shone in_the heavens, filling a great part of_them; but every moment she grew smaller and more distant . as she shrank, the broad moon in its third quarter crept into view over the rim of her disc .I looked for_the constellations . only that part of Aries directly behind the sun and_the lion, which the earth covered, were hidden .I recognised the tortuous, tattered band of_the milky way with Vega very bright between sun and earth; and Sirius and orion shone splendid against the unfathomable blackness in_the opposite quarter of_the heavens . the pole star was overhead, and_the great bear hung over the circle of_the earth . and away beneath and beyond the shining Corona of_the sun were strange groupings of stars I had never seen in my life--notably a dagger- shaped group that I_knew for_the southern cross . all these were no larger than when_they had shone on earth, but the little stars that one scarce sees shone now against the setting of black vacancy as brightly as_the first-magnitudes had done, while the larger worlds were points of indescribable glory and colour .Aldebaran was a spot of blood- red fire, and Sirius condensed to one point the light of innumerable sapphires . and_they shone steadily: they_did_not scintillate, they were calmly glorious . my impressions had an adamantine hardness and brightness: there_was no blurring softness, no atmosphere, nothing but infinite darkness set with_the myriads of_these acute and brilliant points and specks of light . presently, when I looked again, the little earth seemed no bigger than_the sun, and it dwindled and turned as I looked, until in a second's space ( as it seemed to_me), it_was halved; and so it went on swiftly dwindling . far away in_the opposite direction, a little pinkish pin's head of light, shining steadily, was_the planet Mars .I swam motionless in vacancy, and, without a trace of terror or astonishment, watched the speck of cosmic dust we call the world fall away from me .

presently it dawned upon me that my sense of duration had changed; that my mind was moving not faster but infinitely slower, that between each separate impression there_was a period of many days . the moon spun once round the earth as I noted this; and I perceived clearly the motion of Mars in_his orbit . moreover, it appeared as if_the time between thought and thought grew steadily greater, until at last a thousand years was but a moment in my perception .

at first the constellations had shone motionless against the black background of infinite space; but presently it seemed as_though the group of stars about Hercules and_the scorpion was contracting, while orion and Aldebaran and their neighbours were scattering apart .Flashing suddenly out_of_the darkness there came aflying multitude of particles of rock, glittering like dust-specks in a sunbeam, and encompassed in a faintly luminous cloud . they swirled all about me, and vanished again in atwinkling far behind . and then I_saw that a bright spot of light, that shone a little to one side of_my path, was growing very rapidly larger, and perceived that_it_was the planet Saturn rushing towards me . larger and larger it grew, swallowing up the heavens behind it, and hiding every moment a fresh multitude, of stars .I perceived its flattened, whirling body, its disc- like belt, and seven of_its little satellites . it grew and grew, till it towered enormous; and then I plunged amid astreaming multitude of clashing stones and dancing dust-particles and gas-eddies, and saw for a moment the mighty triple belt like three concentric arches of moonlight above me, its shadow black on_the boiling tumult below . these things happened in one-tenth of_the time it takes to_tell them . the planet went by like a flash of lightning; for a few seconds it blotted out the sun, and there and then became amere black, dwindling, winged patch against the light . the earth, the mother mote of_my being, I_could no longer see .

so with a stately swiftness, in_the profoundest silence, the solar system fell from me as it had_been a garment, until the sun was amere star amid the multitude of stars, with its eddy of planet-specks lost in_the confused glittering of_the remoter light . i_was no longer a denizen of_the solar system: I had come to_the outer universe, I seemed to grasp and comprehend the whole world of matter . ever more swiftly the stars closed in about_the spot where Antares and Vega had vanished in aphosphorescent haze, until that part of_the sky had the semblance of awhirling mass of nebulae, and ever before me yawned vaster gaps of vacant blackness, and_the stars shone fewer and fewer . it seemed as_if I moved towards a point between orion's belt and sword; and_the void about_that region opened vaster and vaster every second, an incredible gulf of nothingness into which i_was falling . faster and ever faster the universe rushed by, a hurry of whirling motes at last, speeding silently into_the void .Stars glowing brighter and brighter, with their circling planets catching the light in a ghostly fashion as I neared them, shone out and vanished again into inexistence; faint comets, clusters of meteorites, winking specks of matter, eddying light-points, whizzed past, some perhaps a hundred millions of miles or so from me at most, few nearer, travelling with unimaginable rapidity, shooting constellations, momentary darts of fire, through_that black, enormous night . more than anything else it_was like a dusty draught, sunbeam-lit . broader and wider and deeper grew the starless space, the vacant beyond, into which i_was being drawn . at last a quarter of_the heavens was black and blank, and_the whole headlong rush of stellar universe closed in behind me like a veil of light that_is gathered together . it drove away from me like a monstrous jack-o'- lantern driven by_the wind .I had come out into_the wilderness of space . ever the vacant blackness grew broader, until the hosts of_the stars seemed only like a swarm of fiery specks hurrying away from me, inconceivably remote, and_the darkness, the nothingness and emptiness, was about me on every side . soon the little universe of matter, the cage of points in_which I had begun to_be, was dwindling, now to awhirling disc of luminous glittering, and now to one minute disc of hazy light . in a little while it would shrink to a point, and at last would vanish altogether .

suddenly feeling came back to_me--feeling in_the shape of overwhelming terror; such a dread of_those dark vastitudes as no words can describe, a passionate resurgence of sympathy and social desire . were there other souls, invisible to_me as I to_them, about me in_the blackness ? or was I indeed, even as I_felt, alone ? had I passed out of being into something that was neither being nor not- being ? the covering of_the body, the covering of matter, had_been torn from me, and_the hallucinations of companionship and security . everything was black and silent .I had ceased to_be . i_was nothing . there_was nothing, save only that infinitesimal dot of light that dwindled in_the gulf .I strained myself to hear and_see, and for a while there_was naught but infinite silence, intolerable darkness, horror, and despair .

then I_saw that about_the spot of light into which the whole world of matter had shrunk there_was a faint glow . and in a band on either side of that_the darkness was not absolute .I watched it for ages, as it seemed to_me, and through_the long waiting the haze grew imperceptibly more distinct . and then about_the band appeared an irregular cloud of_the faintest, palest brown . I_felt a passionate impatience; but the things grew brighter so slowly that_they scarce seemed to_change . what_was unfolding itself ? what_was this strange reddish dawn in_the interminable night of space ?

the cloud's shape was grotesque . it seemed to_be looped along its lower side into four projecting masses, and, above, it ended in a straight line . what phantom was_it ? I_felt assured I had seen that figure before; but I_could_not think what, nor where, nor when it_was . then the realisation rushed upon me . it_was aclenched hand . i_was alone in space, alone with_this huge, shadowy hand, upon_which the whole universe of matter lay like an unconsidered speck of dust . it seemed as_though I watched it through vast periods of_time . on_the forefinger glittered a ring; and_the universe from_which I had come was but a spot of light upon_the ring's curvature . and_the thing that_the hand gripped had the likeness of a black rod . through a long eternity I watched this hand, with_the ring and_the rod, marvelling and fearing and waiting helplessly on what might follow . it seemed as_though nothing could follow: that i_should watch for ever, seeing only the hand and_the thing it held, and understanding nothing of_its import . was_the whole universe but arefracting speck upon some greater being ? were our worlds but the atoms of another universe, and those again of another, and so on through an endless progression ? and what_was I ? was I indeed immaterial ? a vague persuasion of a body gathering about me came into my suspense . the abysmal darkness about_the hand filled with impalpable suggestions, with uncertain, fluctuating shapes .

then, suddenly, came a sound, like the sound of atolling bell: faint, as_if infinitely far; muffled, as_though heard through thick swathings of darkness: a deep, vibrating resonance, with vast gulfs of silence between each stroke . and_the hand appeared to tighten on_the rod . and I_saw far above the hand, towards the apex of_the darkness, a circle of dim phosphorescence, a ghostly sphere whence these sounds came throbbing; and at_the last stroke the hand vanished, for_the hour had come, and I heard a noise of many waters . but the black rod remained as a great band across the sky . and then a voice, which seemed to run to_the uttermost parts of space, spoke, saying, " there_will_be no more pain ."

at_that an almost intolerable gladness and radiance rushed in upon me, and I_saw the circle shining white and bright, and_the rod black and shining, and many things else distinct and clear . and_the circle was_the face of_the clock, and_the rod the rail of_my bed .Haddon was standing at_the foot, against the rail, with a small pair of scissors on_his fingers; and_the hands of_my clock on_the mantel over his shoulder were clasped together over the hour of twelve .Mowbray was washing something in a basin at_the octagonal table, and at my side I_felt a subdued feeling that could scarce be spoken of as pain .

the operation had_not killed me . and I perceived, suddenly, that_the dull melancholy of half a year was lifted from my mind .

Section [1 | 2]