Classic Audiobook Collection - Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fezandie ~ Full Audiobook [scifi]

Starting point is 00:00:00 Dr. Hackensaw Secrets by Clement Fizandi, the secret of artificial reproduction. Author's note, this first sketch is scarcely a story. It is merely a statement of what we shall see accomplished in the course of a very few years. Scientists now are able to fertilize the ova of the lower animals and raise the embryos to maturity in glitaphys. glass jars. We shall undoubtedly soon be able to do the same for the higher animals. Is this Dr. Cuttenback? Not quite. I am Dr. Hackensaw. Well, you're the man I want, I reckon. My name is Silas Rocket, and I'm a reporter for the New York Morning Growl. Our editor learned that you have just made an important scientific discovery, and I was sent to

Starting point is 00:01:00 interview you. I'm very glad to see you, Mr. Rocket, for although my experiments are not yet completed, I have met with sufficient success to justify me in claiming to have made one of the greatest discoveries of the century, a discovery that from a financial point alone will bring in enough wealth to pay off the entire cost of the late world war. Is it possible? Why, from what I heard, all that you had discovered was the secret of artificial reproduction. Yes, Mr. Rocket, but it is evident you do not realize the value of the discovery. Let me first show you my methods, and I shall afterwards explain to you what a fortune they represent. The doctor led the way to a series of test tubes ranged in order in one corner of the

Starting point is 00:01:55 room, and pointed proudly to them. "'There, Mr. Rocket,' said he, "'are my billions!' The reporter's face fell as he cast a disappointed glance at the insignificant row of test tubes of different sizes. The doctor noticed the look and smiled. "'Kindly give me your attention for a moment, and I will demonstrate.

Starting point is 00:02:23 You will, first week, second week, third week, etc., The notice that this series of test tubes is labeled tubes being larger for each succeeding week. To make you clearly understand the process, I shall start from the very beginning. Dr. Hackensaw picked up a wide-mouth jar in which was immersed a peculiar substance floating in a greenish liquid. This, explained the doctor, is a living and growing ovary taken from a living, taken from a dog immediately after death. You may perhaps be aware of the fact that when an animal dies, it is some hours before the internal organs die.

Starting point is 00:03:10 When a steer is slaughtered, its heart if cut out immediately after death, and immersed in a non-coagulable blood solution, may be kept beating for days. In these tubes, I have a specially prepared culture fluid of my own in which any living organ may be kept alive indefinitely. This ovary you see floating in this jar was taken from a female dog

Starting point is 00:03:36 and contains a number of what the scientists call ova, or eggs, that somewhat resemble the frog's eggs you find in a ponds in spring. These are really eggs, or egg cells as they are called, and when matured and properly fertilized, each has the power of growing in the world, of growing into a living puppy. Nine weeks is the time required

Starting point is 00:03:59 for the growth of the fertilized egg cell of a dog into a puppy ready to be born. Only nine weeks? Yes, for a dog. For a cow or a human being, the period of gestation is nine to ten months. Well, in this first test tube, half full of my culture fluid,

Starting point is 00:04:20 I place one ripe ovum, or egg cell, and then I add a very small quantity of sperm cells from a male dog. One single spermatozoan or sperm cell will suffice to fertilize the egg, but I add a number of them to make sure. Will all these tubes produce dogs? All on this table, yes. On the next table are my kittens. Beyond this, guinea pigs,

Starting point is 00:04:52 and on the fourth table contains the embryos of rats. What's the use of producing more rats artificially? We've got enough of them as it is. Cats and dogs, too? We can get them by the cartload if we want them. Of course, these are just for experimental purposes. You can see here every step in the growth of the embryo. In the early ones, you see a sperm cell and an egg cell uniting.

Starting point is 00:05:20 In the other tubes you see the fertilized cell growing larger and splitting into two new cells. There is a tube where you see the puppy at the end of the week. I place it by the side of a weak-old kitten embryo, and you cannot perceive any difference between them. It takes an expert to tell whether this weak-old embryo will develop into a dog, a horse, a chicken, or even a baby. Do you mean to tell me? cried Silas Rocket, that you could grow human babies just as easily as you can these puppies? Just as easily, there is no difference in the process,

Starting point is 00:06:01 save that it takes nine or ten months to grow a human baby from the egg cell, whereas the prenatal period of the dog is only nine weeks. After all, though, soliloquized Silas, What is the use of producing more babies? We have enough, and more than enough already, and can get plenty more when we want them. Perhaps so, although I think that under some circumstances, as for instance in France at the present moment,

Starting point is 00:06:35 there would be a demand for extra babies to replace the soldiers killed in the war. Yes, I understand that, cried Silas Rocket, but I confess, I don't know. yet see how you expect to make a fortune out of your discovery. Who is going to pay you for all the artificially raised cats and dogs and cats and babies? When any one can get all of them he wants as a free gift! At this moment there came a knock on the door. Come in, cried the doctor. The door opened and in-stepped Samuel Lyons, the genial head of the lion's conglomerated menageries.

Starting point is 00:07:16 "'How do you do, doctor?' said he as entered. "'Have you got those half-dozen trick-ponies you promised me?' "'They're all ready for you,' replied the doctor. "'If you step this way, you can take a look at them. I just took them out of the jars yesterday. They are now in the stable, with their foster-mothers.' So saying, he led the way into an adjoining stable where eight beautifully marked colts,

Starting point is 00:07:46 scarcely a day old, were lying in a box stall on the straw. "'They're beauties, doctor!' cried the circus proprietor enthusiastically. "'And I'll send you that fifty thousand dollar check I promised you tomorrow. I must go now to see about arranging to send for them.' "'Well, Mr. Rocket,' said Dr. Hackensaw, after Mr. Lyons had left, Do you understand now where the profits for my invention come from? I can't say that I do.

Starting point is 00:08:20 Where is the advantage of raising these colts in glass jars instead of raising them in the ordinary manner? In the ordinary manner, replied the doctor, one mare raises one colt a year. Now a mare's ovaries contain hundreds of egg cells, many more than she could ever raise cults if she lived to be as old as Methusela, these egg cells ripen quickly in my culture fluid.

Starting point is 00:08:46 So by buying prize stock, stallions, mares, bowls and cows worth tens of thousands of dollars apiece, I can raise hundreds of valuable animals from each pair in a year instead of having to wait hundreds of years for them, as would be the case if I followed the natural method, to say nothing of the risk of losing the parents by death or after, accident. What about the expense? The expense is not so great as you might think. My culture fluid is manufactured principally from odds and ends from the slaughterhouses, which I boil

Starting point is 00:09:24 into a kind of rich boyon. When I begin making it in large quantities, the cost will be very reasonable. Even at the present cost, I find I can manufacture a leather very profitably. "'Leather?' exclaimed Silas Rocket. "'Yes, you are no doubt aware that the leather from unborn calves "'is very valuable and is much used where a very high grade of leather is desired. "'Well, in my laboratory, here I can manufacture unborn calves "'by the thousand at a very handsome profit. "'Fers, too, will be very remunerative.

Starting point is 00:10:04 There is no limit to the number of seals, minks, ermine, and other valuable fur-bearing animals that I can raise by my method from a single pair of parents. From hides and furs alone, I can easily make a billion dollars net profit within a couple of years. Dr. Hackensaw paused a moment, as if in doubt, and then added, I shall now show you something rather curious. I do not expect any financial returns from it, but it is interesting as a scientific curiosity. It is what I call a dog a cat. And with these words, the doctor went to a covered cage

Starting point is 00:10:46 and drew there, from a curious creature, half cat, half dog. It had the head of a dog, but the body and claws of a cat and arched its back with pleasure as the doctor patted it. You see, explained Dr. Hackensaw. This creature is a cross between a dog and a cat.

Starting point is 00:11:07 With my method of artificial reproduction, it is the easiest matter in the world to cross two animals that are not too far apart in the scale of nature. For instance, my dog cat was made by the union of the egg cell of a female dog with the sperm cell from a tomcat. You will observe that certain characteristics of one animal seem more powerful than those of the other parent. Thus, the head of the dog is here prepotent over that of the cat,

Starting point is 00:11:39 while the body of the cat is prepotent over that of the dog. Returning the animal to its cage, the doctor proceeded to a table where were racks of test tubes and rows of glass jars of different sizes. You will observe, continued the doctor, that most of my mind. experiments are made in vitro, that is to say in glass containers. This table contains hybrids of all kinds. There is my favorite corner in the laboratory, for while most of my

Starting point is 00:12:15 experiments have been unsuccessful, I have succeeded in making some crosses that not only have never been made before, but that it would be impossible to make otherwise. There, for example, is a cross between a rat and a pig. You see, the union has been partially successful, for my embryo rat pig is a week old, but it is dying, and the creature will never be fully formed. I have made numerous attempts to cross a dog or other quadruped with a chicken, but so far have been altogether unsuccessful.

Starting point is 00:12:53 Although in one or two cases the egg cell and sperm cells seemed to unite and grow a little. In spite of this failure, I tried even wilder experiments. I tried to cross a dog with an oyster, and a cat with a rose. With a rose, exclaimed Silas Rocket. Why, I didn't know that flowers had any sex. Yes, indeed. Almost all flowers are hermaphrodites. That is to say, they bear male and female organs in the same flower. The yellow dust or pothed are half. The yellow dust or pollen in a rose is the male element that I endeavored to cross with the egg cell of a cat. Then, too, I tried to fertilize the ovules or egg cells of the rose with sperm cells from a cat, but without the slightest success.

Starting point is 00:13:44 What good would it do if you could cross a cat with a rose? That is a thing no one can know. We can be sure of one thing, however, that some crosses will one day be made that will give mankind new species of animals or plants or plant animals that will be of the highest value. I myself hope to succeed in producing a plant more useful than wheat, corn, or the potato, and an animal more useful than any of our domestic animals. I believe that someday we shall have a horse that will give milk like a cow, bear wool, like a shawl, like a shrew, sheep. Lay eggs like a chicken, bark like a dog, and be as good to eat as a hog. There's a combination

Starting point is 00:14:36 that's worth trying for. A farmer can have all his domestic animals united into one, and have but a single individual to feed and attend to. But, of course, years of experience will be required before we can hope to achieve any such result. Yet, there is no limit. to what we may hope to affect by judicious crossing and careful selection. Well, doctor, thank you very much. I have had a most enjoyable visit and have secured material enough for a first-class article. I shall now have to go. One moment, said the doctor,

Starting point is 00:15:19 I have still something of interest to show you in the stable. You haven't seen my cows yet. Silas Rocket hesitated and looked at his watch, but there was something in Dr. Hackensaw's face that promised new wonders. Very well, doctor, said he. Let us go and see the cows. I haven't many cows, observed the doctor apologetically, and they're all scrubs,

Starting point is 00:15:50 but for my purpose there is no use in paying high prices for pure, bread cattle. Any strong, healthy cow does as well as the most expensive registered stock. I don't understand you, said Silas Rocket, puzzled. I thought you raised only the very best pedigreed stock. So I do. That is, I obtain my egg cells and sperm cells from the very best stock in the United States or Europe, but often, after the fertilization, of the ovum is complete in my test tube, I introduced the egg into one of these cows, with the result that I obtain a purebred calf from a scrub cow. This calf, you see here,

Starting point is 00:16:38 is worth $10,000. It comes from a celebrated bull and a prize cow. Yet the egg grew and developed, and the calf was born in this scrub cow, you see here, which I bought for only $50. A $10,000 calf from a $50 cow is what I secure by my method. But is the calf as good as if it had been born by its purebred mother? Precisely as good. Once the egg is fertilized, the characteristics of the calf are fixed, and the nourishment it receives in the cow will no more change it than you could change a horse into a dog by feeding him on meat.

Starting point is 00:17:23 To prove it, you need only look into the next stall where you will see another cow with her young. Silas Rocket peered into the stall long and earnestly. There is nothing there, said he, except a young puppy. Yes, said Dr. Hackensaw. That's a full-blooded St. Bernard, and yet the cow you see there was his mother. Impossible Yes, or rather the cow was his foster mother The pup's real father and mother

Starting point is 00:17:59 Were thoroughbred St. Bernard dogs But after fertilizing the egg cells in my test tubes I introduced the egg into this cow So the pup was really born from a cow But how can a dog that lives on meat Grow inside a cow that lives on grass? Just as easily as a puppy can be raised on cow's milk. What worried me was not the question of food, but the difference in the

Starting point is 00:18:27 period of gestation. A calf lives nine months inside its mother, while a puppy lives only nine weeks, but the cows solved the problem by giving birth to the pup after nine weeks. And now, Mr. Rocket, continued the doctor, if you will kindly step into the house, I will show you the result of my latest experiment in this line. So saying the worthy doctor led the way into a sun-parlour, and gently drawing aside the curtain from a crib, he displayed to the astonished gaze of the visitor the countenance of a three-week-old girl-baby.

Starting point is 00:19:11 There, Mr. Rocket, said he, there is a baby that was born from one of my cows, and yet you couldn't tell her from any other baby, except that she is more perfect in every respect. I wish to adopt a child, but I resolved to have one that would be as near perfection as possible. So I hunted through the United States and Europe until I found just what I wanted,

Starting point is 00:19:39 a young man who was an almost perfect specimen of physical manhood, with a fine intellect as well as a healthy body. He is the father of my little girl here. The mother was a beautiful and refined young girl, with a figure that would make a sculptor rave. The father and mother have never seen each other. He never left the United States, and she never left Europe. I hesitated long whether to raise the egg cell in one of my glass jars

Starting point is 00:20:11 or in a cow, but finally decided on the cow, and here is the result, a baby girl that promises to be perfection itself when she grows up. Yes, Mr. Rocket, I have solved our eugenic problem. By means of my discovery, the human race could be perfected in the course of a very few years. By selecting the finest types of manhood and womanhood for parents, I could be perfected. I could grow artificially hundreds of thousands of almost perfect children, and in a few generations, mankind would scarcely recognize itself. End of Section 1. Section 2 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets.

Starting point is 00:21:02 This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org, read by Daniela Gura. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondier, The Secret of the Atom. Author's Note It is certain that at no distant day men will have discovered means of magnified. small objects to an extent at present and dreamed of. As light and sound are both vibrations,

Starting point is 00:21:46 it would seem as though the audience, which now magnifies sound to any magnitude desired, should also, with certain modifications, be able to magnify the light vibrations. A series of audience should thus serve as a microscope, which will bring into our range of vision objects now invisible in our most powerful instruments. that day the secret of the atom will be solved.

Starting point is 00:22:16 Well, Dr. Hackensaw, here I am again. The speaker was Mr. Silas Rocket, reporter for the New York Daily Growl. Glad to see you, Mr. Rocket. What can I do for you today? Well, our readers were so pleased with the first interview I had with you that our chief has sent me to see if you have any new invention. to make public.

Starting point is 00:22:42 You come just at the right time, Mr. Rocket, for I have just perfected an instrument which I regard as one of the greatest discoveries of our time. This instrument will open up new worlds for man to conquer and will lay bare many of the secrets of nature. And yet it is so simple, and my share in the invention is so small that I am afraid I shall never be given any.

Starting point is 00:23:10 credit for it. And what is your invention, may I ask? My invention, said the doctor, is what I call a super microscope. Is that all? exclaimed Silas Rocket in a disappointed tone. Just an improved microscope? Yes, returned the doctor, smiling. That is all.

Starting point is 00:23:37 My invention is nothing but an improved microscope. microscope, and yet it is destined to revolutionize every branch of science and give an impetus to our arts and manufacturers that will throw all past achievements in the shade. But let me first show you my instrument. Dr. Hakensoll led the way into an adjoining room, which was bare of furniture, and which seemed to contain nothing but four microscopes, a camera, and some moving pictures. machines. These, explained the doctor, are my first experiments before I struck the right path. What I wanted to find was a microscope capable of enlarging a minute object to any size desired, an instrument that would be as far superior to our best microscopes of today as these are to the

Starting point is 00:24:33 human eye. Indeed. Yes, and the problem seems to me a very simple, If one microscope can magnify an object 100 diameters, it seems to me that by catching the magnified image and viewing it through another microscope of like power, the image should then be 10,000 times the diameter of the original object. And by continuing this process, I could secure any degree of magnification desired. And did you succeed? Within certain limits, yes. You will readily understand. understand my method from the apparatus here.

Starting point is 00:25:13 I first make a microphotograph of some microscopic object. This first photograph, made on a moving picture film, is about 100 times the diameter of the object photographed. By throwing this image on a screen, by means of a moving picture lantern, I enlarge it again a hundred times. You will note, however, that my screen, instead of hanging like a curtain,

Starting point is 00:25:39 as in a movie theater, lays flat on the floor like a carpet. In fact, the screen is of celluloid and forms the surface of the floor. The image caught on the floor is thus 10,000 times the size of the original object. Upon any desired point of this image, I place a second microscope

Starting point is 00:26:02 through which I make a new microphotograph of the object 100 times the size of the magnified image. This second film, I project again upon the floor in a new place, thus magnifying the image again a hundred times. The image is now 10,000 times, 10,000 times the diameter of the original. Or, in other words, I have magnified the object 100 million times, and yet have used only two microscope,

Starting point is 00:26:39 and two screens. By using two more of each, I can obtain a magnification of ten quadrillion diameters. Phew, ejaculated the reporter. Surely that ought to satisfy you. If you can do that with only four microscopes and four moving picture machines, you ought to be satisfied.

Starting point is 00:27:05 I don't wonder you call it a super-escopes. microscope. Yes, returned Dr. Hackensel. But the trouble is, these methods are so clumsy that the picture loses in distinctness at each enlargement. The first trouble is the illumination. I am able to throw an intense illumination upon the object to be enlarged.

Starting point is 00:27:31 By first, filtering out the heat and chemical rays that might injure my specimen. Then, too, I use an intense light in my movie projector, and in lighting the screens for subsequent photographs. When then does your trouble come in? Well, one of the greatest troubles is that with these tremendous enlargements, any defect is correspondingly magnified. A speck of dust upon the apparatus will clear. cloud the picture, so nothing can be seen. So with an invisible flaw in the lens.

Starting point is 00:28:16 With these high powers, too, the very materials that compose the glass of the lens and the celluloid of the films become so greatly magnified that their molecules blew the picture of the object I'm studying. Just say nothing of the grosser imperfections of the surface of the glass, and which the greatest care in the process of manufacture does not suffice to overcome.

Starting point is 00:28:46 Even the chromatic distortions produced by the lenses give trouble, though I have partially succeeded in overcoming these. Then the method is a failure? Not altogether. I made some valuable discoveries by means of these instruments, but I finally reached a point where I could make no further progress. I was like a heavy automobile stuck in the mud, and my wheels turned around every time I tried to advance.

Starting point is 00:29:20 And then, just as I was in the depths of despair, the idea came to me that solved all my difficulties as though by magic. Do you know what an Audion is? Yes, I have seen the Audion bulb, used in wireless telegraphy. Then you will readily understand me. You see, the audience has proved very useful in magnifying sounds, and a series of several audience can increase a minute sound

Starting point is 00:29:52 into a very loud one that can be heard a great distance away. Now it occurs to me that as light, like sound, was nothing but a series of vibrations, the same audience that magnifies sound waves could also be made to magnify the waves of light. This was a revelation to me. I at once set to work in this new direction, and in less than three months I had perfected an audience that would magnify a small object as well as a microscope could. And with a series of such audience, I have built a super microscope which has already revealed to me a number of nature's secrets,

Starting point is 00:30:35 and which before long will reveal many others. The secret of the atom is to me a secret no longer. Nay more, I am at work now ferreting out the secret of life, and I hope soon to succeed in solving it. And will you allow me to look through your super microscope? asked Silas Rocket eagerly. Certainly, if you will step into my histological laboratory, you can satisfy yourself of the truth of what I have been telling you. The histological laboratory was devoted to the study of animal and vegetable tissues.

Starting point is 00:31:19 On a large table in the center of the room, where a dozen large audient bulbs, so connected that a switch enabled the operator to throw one or more of them into circuit at will. You see, explained Dr. Hecansaw, it is almost always necessary to explore a specimen first with a small magnifying power in order to be able to get the best position when the high powers are to be used. I first switch on one audience, then another and another, until I get just the magnification I desire. I see. Here you perceive is the glass slide upon which I place the specimen to be examined. This light, which can at will be made as intense or feeble as I require, is a cold light, freed from heat rays and chemical rays, so as not to injure the specimen.

Starting point is 00:32:22 And what is that complicated instrument near the object glass? asked Silas Rocket. That is what I call a micro-lance. You see, it would be impossible to make the delicate adjustments necessary in the specimen without some special apparatus for cutting it or moving it minute distances. This micro-lance is a series of levers of the finest workmanship, and so arranged that a large motion of my hand moves the microscopic e-eshoe. ends of the lever only a minute fraction of an inch. By the use of this instrument,

Starting point is 00:33:09 I can snip a piece from a specimen only one millionth of an inch in diameter with the greatest ease. What object will you show me first, doctor? asked Silas Rocket, who is becoming impatient to see some actual results. I think my first specimen will be a drop of a rainwater, replied the doctor. So saying, he dipped a needle into a jar of water and placed one drop of the fluid upon the object glass. Then he switched on the first audience. There, said he, just seat yourself in this chair.

Starting point is 00:33:55 and look at this polished metal mirror on the table. Silas Rocket fixed his gaze as directed and was rewarded by the sight of a wriggling mass of animicules of various shapes and sizes. That, said the doctor, is practically what you would see through an ordinary microscope. Now I'll switch on the second audience. and suiting the action to the word, he moved the lever one space to the right.

Starting point is 00:34:31 The drop of water was thus magnified to 100,000 diameters. And now, the image, instead of showing a mass of wriggling animicules, showed only one fierce-looking creature unlike anything the reporter had ever seen. He's a pretty monster, isn't he? Observe Dr. Hackensoe. Then he added, One great advantage of these audience over my first system of microscopes and photographs

Starting point is 00:35:06 is that I get a moving picture without the necessity of taking hundreds of photographs. Whenever I wish photographs, however, for careful study at leisure, I can take one or more at any magnification I wish, by switching on the proper audience and photographing the image that is reflected upon this table. There is practically no distortion, and the details are clear and distinct. Will you switch on to the third power now, please, doctor?

Starting point is 00:35:41 begged the reporter. Certainly, replied the doctor, and after much careful adjustment of the instrument, Silas Rocket was treated to the sight of one of the creature's hairs through which the coursing of the blood, or rather vital fluid, could be plainly seen. And so it went on. The pictures were becoming more and more indistinct now, but still it was possible to form a tolerably good idea of what was thrown on the mirror. Finally, Dr. Hakensoe exclaimed, Here is the last audience but one turned on. What can you see now? I see what looks like the earth with several moons circling around it,

Starting point is 00:36:37 exclaimed Silas, puzzled. What in the world can those be? Those are molecules, replied the doctor. molecules of water. And when I turn on my last switch and get the highest power I have yet succeeded in obtaining, you will see what no man

Starting point is 00:37:00 has ever seen before. You will see the atoms of hydrogen and oxygen that compose this molecule of water. Silas Rocket gazed long and earnestly at this last image. It's quix. Great, he cried.

Starting point is 00:37:20 I could look at it for hours. Yes, and it would well repay your study. I am most anxious to perfect my instrument and add a few more audience so I can test the correctness of my theories regarding the atom. Are your theories different from the current ones regarding the electrons? I haven't got as far as they, electrons, returned the doctor. My theory only goes as far as the atoms. My idea is, and careful study of

Starting point is 00:37:58 these microscopic enlargements convince me of the truth of my views, my idea is that there is only one element considerably lighter than hydrogen, and that all the other elements are composed of two or more atoms of this original element. And what is that element? I don't know. I call it proton, because it is the first or original element. Every element known to man is a compound of several or many atoms of this proton

Starting point is 00:38:38 and the atomic weight of any of our elements shows how many atoms of proton it contains. Thus, hydrogen, whose atomic weight is low, contains very few atoms of proton, while radium, whose atomic weight is high, contains many atoms of proton crowded into each atom of radium. And how do you explain the valence of an element. My theory is that each atom of proton, like every magnetic substance we know of, is bipolar.

Starting point is 00:39:23 That is to say, it has a positive and a negative pole. By these two poles, it can hold on to any other atom of proton, or several atoms can hold together in the same manner. The positive pole of one holding on to the next. negative pole of another. When the equilibrium is stable, the proton atoms hold each other in a chain. Chemical change is impossible until the chain separates at some point, thus leaving a free positive and negative pole to which the atoms of proton in some other compound can attach themselves. If the chain breaks in only one spot, the element is a element is.

Starting point is 00:40:12 univaleant if in four spots it is quad evalent as in carbon that at least is my theory and i hope to test it soon i have even hopes of some day seeing the ultimate electrons That would be a triumph indeed. But would any practical good result from it? Practical good! exclaimed the doctor. Why, man, it would revolutionize all our industries if we thoroughly understood the working of the atoms. I am not speaking now of the subject of obtaining energy, though that alone would be of inestimable,

Starting point is 00:41:02 benefit to mankind. If we understood the atoms thoroughly, we should at once solve a problem which has puzzled all our scientists. The problem of obtaining electricity direct from coal. We should do more. We should be on the road to obtaining power directly. from the atomic forces.

Starting point is 00:41:35 Immense quantities of energy are stored up in the atoms and molecules which we could unlock at pleasure if we only had the key. Automobiles, boats, and aeroplanes would go at many times their present speed if, instead of fuel that is heavy to transport and difficult to convert to energy,

Starting point is 00:42:02 we could utilize the power latent in the atoms. Why, even the problem of perpetual motion might be solved. Perpetual motion? You surely don't mean that. Indeed, I do. One of our celebrated philosophers, I think it was Clerk Maxwell, put forth the Red Devil theory of, perpetual Martian.

Starting point is 00:42:34 The Red Devil Theory. I never heard of it. Well, as you know, according to our theories, the atoms in a body are in continual motion in all directions, keeping up a constant bombardment. Now, if we could conceive

Starting point is 00:42:55 of a little red devil with a door which he could open and close at will, so as to allow all the atoms traveling in one direction to pass through. But stopping the passage of all atoms traveling in other directions, we should have a source of energy, which bears no relation whatever to the force exerted by the red devil in moving his door. Hence, we should have a source of perpetual energy. But, as I said before, aside from the question of energy, we should make enormous strides in every department of organic and inorganic chemistry once we had mastered the secret of the atom.

Starting point is 00:43:50 All the chemicals that we manufacture now, we could make with far less expense and trouble, while thousands of new compounds would be revealed to us. Once we could see the atoms in an alloy, we would understand how a small amount of tungsten so wonderfully improves the quality of steel, and we would readily discover other substances that would answer the purpose far better. The problem of a good storage battery

Starting point is 00:44:29 would also be soon solved, and we should obtain a light and powerful battery that would drive the gasoline engine off of the market. All diseases, properly so-called, are caused by minute animal and vegetable parasites called microbes. Many of these bacteria and baseli are known to us. But there are still a number of diseases, like cancer, for instance, whose microbes have eluded all our best microscopes. With my instrument, the specific microbe that causes cancer will soon be located. I thought the modern theory was that cancer was not caused by a germ. "'Poh!' snorted the doctor. "'That is merely because cancer is of such slow growth

Starting point is 00:45:35 "'that it requires many years "'for an inoculation of the disease to take and spread. "'With my super microscope, the real culprit, "'the cancer microbe, can hide itself no longer.' Dr. Harkinsaw, will you not give me a diagram of the improved audience with which you accomplish these wonders so I can publish it for the benefit of our readers? No, indeed, replied Dr. Hackensoe, shaking his head. That is one of my secrets that I am not yet ready to give to the world. The mastery of the atom is a tremendous power, and I cannot consent to put this power into the hands of people who might make a bad use of it until I have acquired sufficient knowledge to foil any such attempt at mischief. End of Section 2

Starting point is 00:46:44 Section 3 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. all Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi The Secret of Suspended Animation Author's Note It is beyond question that in the course of a very few years

Starting point is 00:47:17 we shall find means of putting a man to sleep for a period of one or more years and of awakening him again whenever we wish to do so. Without putting any credence in the tales of suspended animation told of the Hindu fakirs, we have but to consider the well-authenticated cases of hibernation familiar to all of us. When we see that a warm-blooded animal like a bear can sleep through the winter months, living on its own fat, there is no reason why a man, under proper conditions, could not accomplish the same feat. And if the conditions in which we were placed were such as to reduce his,

Starting point is 00:47:52 expenditure of energy to a minimum, there is no reason why this sleep of hibernation could not be considerably prolonged. I have endeavored to show in this story what practical advantages this suspended animation might possess. No, Mr. Rocket, said Dr. Hackensaw, shaking his head, no, I do not place the slightest faith in these tales of suspended animation that are related of the Hindu fakirs. But, Doctor, there are a number of such cases on record, and some of them seem pretty well authenticated, remarked Silas Rocket, who, in his quality of reporter for the New York Daily Growl, had called to have another interview with the worthy doctor.

Starting point is 00:48:31 I remember one case in particular, continued Silas, where the experiment was conducted in the presence of a French army officer and his men. They saw a Hindu native put into a trance, his nose, mouth, and ears plugged with wax. He was kept in this state for six months or a year, and then restored to life again, none the worst for his long sleep. What have you to say? say to that. Nothing, except that I don't believe it, returned the doctor. I have had people tell me they saw a conjurer take a man's watch, crush it to pieces under his foot, cram the fragments into a pistol, and shoot them at a target where the pieces reunited to form the original watch again, and hung suspended from the center of a target. Yes, but that was

Starting point is 00:49:11 a vowedly a trick. True, and it depends on substituting a duplicate watch for the original one. So I believe from the accounts I have read the Hindu fakir substitutes a dummy for the man put into the trance. Then you do not believe in suspended animation? On the contrary, I am a firm believer in it. There are too many really authenticated cases of suspended animation in nature for a scientist to doubt the facts for an instant. Among the lower invertebrates, including the microbes, there are many well-known cases of individuals remaining in a state of total inactivity for months and even for years. yet coming to life again when external conditions are favorable. Among higher animals, hibernation is also frequent,

Starting point is 00:49:54 and even a warm-blooded animal, such as the bear, sleeps through the winter months and comes forth hungry from his den in the spring. Then why is it impossible that a man should do the same thing? It is so far from being impossible that I have accomplished the result myself, but I claim to be the first man who ever succeeded. I do not believe the Hindus ever did anything of the kind. You mean to say, doctor? I mean to say, Mr. Rocket, that I have not only succeeded in putting animals like the cat, dog, horse, and cow to sleep for several months at a time, but I have also done the same thing with human beings.

Starting point is 00:50:28 In fact, if you will step across the way with me, you can see some of the subjects for yourself. So saying, Dr. Hackensaw led the way into a long, low building around whose sides were ranged tier upon tier of glass coffins. Some empty, but most of them containing either one or more animals or a human being in a state of commons. complete coma. Silas Rocket gazed about him in amazement, scarcely believing his eyes, but Dr. Hackensaw continued as calmly as if he were delivering a lecture in his clinic. It has always been a matter of surprise to me, he said, that our scientists have not long ago solved this problem of suspended animation, whose solution has been almost within our grasp. The problem really consists of four simple ones. One, how to put the patient to sleep.

Starting point is 00:51:13 Two, to find the best conditions of temperature, humidity, and ventilation. Three, the best method of feeding the subject artificially if the catalepsy is to be of prolonged duration. Four, the best method of awakening the individual at will. As you see, not one of these presents any special difficulties. As regards the first point, we may allow the patient to fall asleep in a normal manner, just as an animal does when it hibernates. The second problem is merely a question of experiment. The normal temperature of the body is what I have found to be the best, and just sufficient humidity to prevent the drying up of the tissues.

Starting point is 00:51:50 By keeping my subjects in these hermetically sealed glass coffins, I have no difficulty in achieving these ends. As regards feeding the subject, this is only necessary in rare cases. With the living activities reduced to a minimum, the patient can live for months on his own fat. As to awaken the individual when the experiment has been carried as far as I wish, I find no difficulty at all. For most practical purposes, only a short trance is required. What do you mean by practical purposes? asked the reporter in surprise. You surely do not mean to say

Starting point is 00:52:22 that you can turn this suspended animation to any practical use. Indeed I do, Mr. Rocket. In fact, this very day, I am shipping off to Europe 10,000 thoroughbred cattle of the highest quality to replace those destroyed during the war. And you slip these cattle into a trance? Say rather in a state of suspended animation. To transport 10,000 live cattle across the Atlantic is a difficult and expensive matter, but I simplify it considerably by putting the cattle to sleep for the term of the voyage. I first drive the cattle into a large room, which I fell with carbon dioxide until the animals lose consciousness. Then I drive off the gas and my men load the unconscious beasts into airtight chambers on the ship, which are also kept full of carbon dioxide during the whole term of the voyage.

Starting point is 00:53:05 On the vessel's arrival in France, the animals are placed in pure oxygen, and by the combined use of a pull motor, electric currents, and heart massage, we have no trouble in starting the action of the heart and bringing the beast back to life again, not a whit the worst for their experience. I see, said Silas Rocket, nodding his head. I begin to understand how your discovery can be very valuable in transporting livestock. You can save space, labor, and food for the animals during the passage. But in what way could your success?

Starting point is 00:53:35 suspended animation be of any practical utility in the case of human beings. I have already found several use cases for it, returned the doctor, and new ones will continue to arise in the future. To begin with, there is the case of would-be suicides. I advertise in the papers offering to put them to sleep for a term of years. When they awake under the changed conditions, they are pretty sure to have lost all desire to kill themselves. Then, too, I use the method for superfluous babies. I have already prevented several cases. of infanticide. A young girl whose life will be ruined by her baby comes to me and I put the infant to sleep until the mother is ready to take it again. So too with parents who have more children

Starting point is 00:54:16 than they can support and who would be driven to advertise one or more for adoption. I keep the child asleep until the parents are able to support it. But it is especially in the case of criminals that my invention proves of use. Criminals? Yes. Our judges now need not condemn a man to prison for a term of years. They condemn him to sleep for that period. They thus save all the expenses of prisoners, jailers, food, etc., and they avoid the contact in her jails, which makes a novice who enters prison come out a finished criminal. But the prisoner has no chance to reform. When he comes out from his long sleep, he will find conditions have changed. His old pals will not be there to tempt him, and he can begin life anew. As regards capital punishment, my invention

Starting point is 00:55:03 will do away with it altogether. Instead of executing a man, we will put him to sleep for 50 or 100 years and trust that the new generation will know better how to deal with him. Gentlemen to see you, doctor, interrupted the office boy coming in at this juncture. Dr. Hackensaw glanced at the card, tendered him.

Starting point is 00:55:22 Cyrus McAndrews, curator of the Knickerbocker University, he read. I can't say I ever heard of the gentleman, he mused, but show him in. The door opened in a portly, gentleman appeared. Glad to see you, Dr. Hackensaw, said he, I've got a little job for you, and he chuckled gleefully as if tickled by a good joke. Happy to meet you, Mr. McAndrews, said the doctor, extending his hand. What is it I can do for you? You look as if you wanted to use one of my coffins

Starting point is 00:55:49 for three months as a winter resort. Ha ha ha, ha, laughed the curator gleefully. Ah, doctor, I've heard of how you pickle patients who are sufferers from the hay fever, grip, pneumonia, and other such diseases. Instead of making them travel for the season during which their disease is prevalent, you merely put them to sleep for a month or two, and so save them the considerable expense. By the by, how does the scheme work? Admorably, returned Dr. Hackensaw. The patients not only pass through the bad season without danger, but the sterilizing processes I make them undergo not only check the action of their body microbes during the long sleep, but actually destroy many of the disease germs, and so

Starting point is 00:56:28 prove highly beneficial. Well, said McAndrews, I haven't come today for a three-month trance. When I do come to you to be put to sleep, it will be for a few hundred years. I will put $1,000 at interest in the savings bank first, and asked to be awakened only when this sum, at compound interest, amounts to a million. But joking aside, doctor, continued the curator, I have come today on an errand, stranger perhaps than any you have yet known. I suppose you have seen in the newspapers that I have just returned from an

Starting point is 00:56:58 exploring expedition to the polar regions. I may say that I have been exceedingly successful and am bringing back with me scientific material of the highest value. Indeed, said Dr. Hackensaw. Yes, said Mr. McAndrews, but what I regard as far and away the most valuable result of my search is a specimen that I found completely embedded in the ice near the northern coast of Siberia. It is in such a perfect state of preservation that I'm going to ask you to try to resuscitate it.

Starting point is 00:57:26 Is the specimen still in the same? Embedded in the cake of ice? asked the doctor. Yes, indeed. Under no consideration what I have attempted to thaw it out. I have the creature in the Bronx now, still embedded in the original block of ice. And what kind of animal is it? inquired the doctor. The curator hesitated an instant. It is a teradactyl, he said. A teradactal, echoed the doctor.

Starting point is 00:57:49 You don't mean to say it is one of those flying reptiles with bony, leathery wings like a bat. Precisely. And my specimen is perfect to the doctor. the very tips of its wings and claws. But man alive, explained the doctor in excitement. Don't you know that the pterodactyl is an antediluvian monster that has been extinct for hundreds of thousands of years? Certainly, but this specimen, caught in the ice, has been marvelously preserved and

Starting point is 00:58:15 appears as fresh now as if it's still alive. And that is the reason why, hearing of your successes in cases of suspended animation, I decided to ask you to try to resuscitate this monster for me. If you can bring your apparatus up to my house tomorrow morning, that will give me time to have the creature thawed out slowly so that it will be all ready for you. The following morning dawned bright and clear, and before 10 o'clock, Dr. Hackensaw, with Silas Rocket and Cyrus McAndrew, might have been seen in a vacant lot in the Bronx, busily engaged upon the task of resuscitating this primitive antediluvian monster, half bird, half reptile, that marked the dividing line between those two great classes of vertebrates. The ungainly creature had been slowly thawed out of its block of ice and brought back to normal temperature,

Starting point is 00:59:03 and it now lay stretched lifeless on the ground. It was a perfect specimen in every respect, not a single flaw could be detected anywhere. Dr. Hackensaw scrutinized the animal with the greatest curiosity, and he shook his head as he gazed at the fierce crocodile-shaped jaws with the rows of sharp shining teeth. He looks like a tough customer, Mr. McAndrews, said he, have you got some good strong rope to tie him with? Yes, my chauffeur has gone to the house to get them. He'll be back in a minute, so we needn't wait.

Starting point is 00:59:33 It will take some time to revive the creature. Dr. Hackensaw was trembling with excitement. The experiment he was about to try was one which would mark an epic and scientific anales. Yet he was strongly sanguine of success, where the creature appeared as fresh as if just killed, and its tissues had the softness and elasticity of rubber. The animal is in such a perfect state of preservation, remarked the doctor, that I do not think I shall need to introduce new blood into the creature's arteries.

Starting point is 01:00:01 By the use of the pole motor, with pure oxygen and a series of well-timed electric shocks, we ought to be able to start the heart beating again. A little manual massage of the heart may be necessary, but I doubt it. However, it won't do any harm. So saying, the worthy doctor dropped onto his knees, and after adjusting his instruments to his satisfaction, began slowly kneading the chest and abdomen of the reptile with his two hands. After 15 minutes of this work, a shiver went through the reptiles' frame.

Starting point is 01:00:30 It lives, cried Cyrus McAndrew in delight. What a triumph this will be for science! My name will go down to posterity as the first man who ever possessed a live pterodactyl. And the curator's face gleamed with pleasure, while Dr. Hackensaw continued his massage treatment with ever-growing success. The reptile opened its eyes and made a feeble attempt to move its wings. Where the devil is James? cried the curator in excitement. I'll bet anything he stopped to flirt with the cook.

Starting point is 01:00:58 Hi, James, he called. Hurry up with those ropes. I'm coming, sir, cried a voice. Dr. Hackensaw was rapidly increasing his needing motions, and under his hands he felt the creature's heart pulsating faster and faster as the beats became more nearly normal. Its wings began to move slowly and its head to turn slightly. Dr. Hackensaw ceased his massage treatment and disconnected the electrical apparatus.

Starting point is 01:01:23 The pterodactyl rolled its eyes and turned over on its belly. At this moment, James came out of the house bearing an arm full of ropes. Hurry up! Hurry up! cried the curator. The creature is getting on its feet. It's going to try to fly. Sure enough, the animal rose up on its paws and flapped its powerful wings. Cyrus McAndrews, fearing to lose his prize, rashly darted forward to seize his cherished specimen by the leg. But the brute, with a snap of its great jaws, seized the poor curator by his coat and sent him rolling in the mud. Poor Cyrus's hat flew off, and his bald head glistened in the sunlight. Dr. Hackensaw, deeming discretion the better part of valor, retired to a safe distance, while James came running forward with a loop at the end of one of his ropes, with the intention of lassoing the beast.

Starting point is 01:02:09 But the pterodactyl was very much alive now. After flapping its wings a few times to make sure nothing was the matter with them, the uncouth antediluvian creature, with a loud snort, stretched out its bat-like wings, and soared away over the tops of the houses. Great heavens, cried the poor curator, with difficulty regaining his feet. Where in the world is the creature going, and how shall I ever catch him? If I lose him, there's a hundred thousand dollars gone. Quick, James, run out to my airplane.

Starting point is 01:02:37 I'll follow the creature in the air. He flies slowly, and we'll soon catch him. By the time James and his master had risen from the ground, the wing reptile was but a mere spec in the direction of Coney Island. They'll have a free show there today, said James Grimley as he opened her up. And now the curator's hopes began to rise, for this machine could make speed of nearly a hundred miles an hour, while the pterodactyl flew but slowly. And then the unexpected happened.

Starting point is 01:03:05 The creature was now flying over the Atlantic Ocean and was some distance from shore, but the airplane was gaining rapidly upon it. The animal, frightened by the roaring noise behind it, endeavored to increase its speed, but something went wrong. Its heart seemed to snap, and the ungainly reptile paused the moment in its flight, and then fell headlong into the depths below. It sank like a bullet, and by the time the airplane had reached the spot, no trace of the brute was visible.

Starting point is 01:03:33 End of Section 3, read by 65 tucks, Roswell, Georgia, January, 2023. Section 4 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Liebervox recording. All Liebervox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit livervox.org. Read by Ben Tucker. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fassandier.

Starting point is 01:04:07 Section 4. The Super Nose Authors note, If there has been one branch of science more neglected than any other, it is the science of smells. We have microscopes to help the site, and microphones and audions to help the hearing. But nothing is yet to help the sense of smell. In this story I have endeavored to show some of the important uses to which a smell intensifier could be put, for I am convinced that when men realize what valuable services such an instrument could render, the instrument will not be long and forthcoming.

Starting point is 01:04:41 What do you say you call that instrument, Dr. Hackensaw? This Mr. Rocket is what I call a supernose, answered the doctor. A supernose? echoed Silas Rocket. What in the world is that? It's an instrument for intensifying smell. The reporters snorted. Good night, Doctor, said he.

Starting point is 01:05:01 Keep your super nose for those that want it. I live in New York City in a flat where somebody cooks cabbage almost every day, and Limburger cheese flourishes on Sundays. I find the smells plenty strong enough as it is. If you start to intensify them, you can transform the city into a desert inside of a week. Purshaugh, exclaimed Dr. Hackensaw. And even the pleasant odors, continued Silas Rocket. even they become oppressive if too powerful.

Starting point is 01:05:29 I worked for one week in a vanilla factory, and I found that even the delicate odor of vanilla becomes sickening when too strong. True, replied Dr. Hackensaw. But have you ever seen a dog annoyed by a strong smell? And yet you will admit that the dog's nose is far superior to yours. A manure heap that would make you sick would to him be a pleasant odor. So with my instrument, I have been surprised to find that odors, which are intensely disagreeable, often, when highly magnified, become more pleasing.

Starting point is 01:05:59 But that's neither here nor there. Tell me, Doctor, how you came to think of such an instrument. Well, I was reflecting upon the conquests which man has made over nature. At the present day, man is superior to the brutes in every respect but one. In his automobile, he can run faster than the swiftest horse. In his airplane, he can fly faster than any bird. In his submarine, he can swim more rapidly than any force. fish. With his telescope he can see further, and with his microscope he can see better than the

Starting point is 01:06:29 animal with the keenest vision, and with his microphone and audion he can hear better than any known animal. It is only in the sense of smell that he is still inferior to the lower animals. The scent of a dog is far superior to that of a man, while we have good evidence to show that certain moths can scent their mates at the distance of a mile or so. I see. So you decided to secure from mankind a scent as keen as that of the dog, but how did you set about it? My first attempt, explained Dr. Hackensaw, was made with a nose trumpet. I thought that just as an ear trumpet collected more waves of sound, so to a nose trumpet would collect more of the odor, and so intensify the smell.

Starting point is 01:07:14 But a few experiments soon convinced me I was on the wrong track. The magnification of the smell was too small to be of any real value. Well? The next thing I tried was improving my nose. Under the microscope, I carefully dissected the scent glands of the dog and the antennae of the moth, hoping but in vain to learn the secret of their power. Next, I tried grafting the lining of a dog's nostrils into the nose of one of my assistants, who, for the sake of science, consented to the operation.

Starting point is 01:07:44 I tried it on myself, too, but with very slight success. Good gracious! Then I tried condensing smells. I placed one drop of scent in a room and left it until it had become imperceptible. Then I gathered the air of the room into a cylinder, liquefied this air, filtered out the inert liquid, and thus obtained a concentrated solution of the odor. This method was much more successful. By its use, I can detect the passage of a man several hours after he has passed.

Starting point is 01:08:12 The method is, however, too clumsy and cumbersome for practical use. Finally, however, I hit upon the real solution of the problem. and what was that? Have you ever heard of the corpuscular theory of light? Yes, I know that Newton believed that light consists of minute particles of matter, which are hurled off from the illuminating body and travel at a rate of 186,000 miles per second. But there are such valid objections to this theory that modern scientists have adopted the ether theory instead. Dr. Hackensaw snorted again.

Starting point is 01:08:48 Yes, said he. The corpuscular theory of light does present difficulties. But on the other hand, the ether theory doesn't explain anything, for it is no explanation to found a theory on an impossible substance like ether, which is unlike anything known to man, and of whose existence there is not the slightest proof. It was invented solely for the purpose of supporting the vibration theory. The discovery of radium, however, will lead us back to the corpuscular theory.

Starting point is 01:09:17 This theory is supported by biology, for our senses of sight, hearing, smell, and taste are all of all from our sense of touch. The lowest forms of animal life show these gradations, and to a thinking biologist it is inconceivable. That the senses of sight and hearing should be caused by vibrations, and the sense of smell be entirely different, and be caused by contact of minute particles of matter. All three senses are closely related, and the corpuscular theory of light and sound is the only one that properly combined. the three. Well, but what has all this got to do with your smelling machine?

Starting point is 01:09:55 Ask Silas Rocket, who is beginning to fidget at the length of this lecture. Simply this, that since sound, light, and odors are corpuscular emanations, anything that will intensify one of them may, if the proper means, be employed, be made to intensify the others also. Now you are aware that the audion will intensify sounds to a high degree. I have modified the audion so that it will likewise serve as a microscope and intensify vision. And finally, I have succeeded in making an audion that will intensify smells. But the use of a bank of audions, I can raise an imperceptible odor to a smell of 100 skunk power.

Starting point is 01:10:38 What? Yes, and my whole instrument is so compact it will fit in an ordinary suitcase. so saying the doctor took from a closet what appeared to be an ordinary cowhide bag. There, said he, that is my super nose. It really consists of three instruments combined into one. First of all, it is a smellometer. It measures the intensity of any smell in terms of microscunks. I use for my unit of measure the odor of one drop of pure skunk fluid at a distance of one kilometer,

Starting point is 01:11:12 and still air at 70 degrees Fahrenheit. This unit I call one skunk. One million microscunks make one skunk. I see, said Silas Rocket. Secondly, my suitcase contains an olfacto-graph. That is to say, an instrument for recording smells on a reel of celluloid for a future reference. As a phonograph records sounds or a movie camera records sights. Third and most important of all, my instrument is a micrador skirm.

Starting point is 01:11:42 or smell intensifier. By its aid, I can magnify any smell from two to several million times its original strength. I understand all that, said the puzzled reporter, but what I don't see is what practical use there is for such an instrument. Dr. Hackensaw smiled. I have made many valuable inventions, said he, but I consider this super nose as the most valuable I have ever made,

Starting point is 01:12:08 at least for a commercial point of view. There is not a, single art or manufacturer which could not use it to great advantage for detecting adulterations. No tedious chemical, qualitative, and quantitative analyses are required. One sniff with my supernose at once tells one whether an article is adulterated and the amount and kind of adulteration. But suppose the adulteration is odorless. There is no such thing as an odorless substance, retorted the doctor, any more than there is any perfectly transparent substance.

Starting point is 01:12:42 such things do not exist. Well, what else can you do with the instrument? asked the reporter. It is invaluable in the kitchen. My supernose enables the cook to combine her ingredients in proper quantities, and to tell her when her viands are properly cooked. She doesn't need to open the oven to tell if her roast or cakes are cooked, one sniff is enough. The chemist uses the instrument in like manner in making mixtures.

Starting point is 01:13:10 Waits and measures cannot give him anything, like the accuracy, which he can obtain by smelling the mixture through my instrument. He is sure of securing uniform products. You cannot weigh or measure the particle that carries an odor, but your nose can readily detect it. But I won't wear you with the technical uses for the instrument. They're too numerous. From the chicken razor who tests its eggs by smell to the sea captain

Starting point is 01:13:35 who can tell his latitude and longitude by the smell of the ocean, the uses are too varied to even touch on. teas coffees and other such things are no longer tested by taste but by smell milk and meat are inspected by smell also but i cannot pass over and silence the immense value of the instrument to the physician and diagnosing disease surely doctor you're joking not in the least every disease has its own characteristic odor any experienced physician will tell you that in fovis there is a pronounced mousy smell and rheumatism a certain acidity and pyemia The breath is nauseous. In scurvy, there is an offensive and putrid smell, and scruffula. There is a scent as of sour beer. The odor of ammonia and simple fever, and of new bread and intermittent fever.

Starting point is 01:14:25 In female hysteria, there is often a scent as of violets and pineapple. And in peritonitis, there is an easily recognizable scent of musk. These are all well known in the hospitals, but my super nose enables me to detect any disease by a simple whiff at the patient. I merely walk through a hospital, and one sniff at a patient tells me what disease or complication of diseases he is suffering from. More than that, I can tell the condition of each organ, whether his heart is working properly, whether his lungs or injured, what stage of digestion the food has reached in his stomach, etc., etc. Why, doctor, it doesn't seem possible. Yes, and not only can I diagnose these diseases, but you or any other man can do it. I have an olfactograph record strip containing the odors of 1,000 of the commonest diseases.

Starting point is 01:15:14 All you need to do is sniff at the patient, and then sniff at these thousand odors in turn until you find the one that corresponds, and then you can read off the name of the disease. That is a remarkable achievement indeed. Yes, and its greatest value lies in the fact that parents can recognize disease in their children in the incipient stage when they are easy to cure. But don't you see, doctor, that you will drive physicians and hospital systems? out of business if you nip all diseases and a bud? Well, that doesn't worry me any more than the fact that our undertakers are having a hard time of it, because every time a man is about to die,

Starting point is 01:15:48 I put him to sleep for a term of years until doctors have learned some means of curing his ailment. My super nose helps me in ascertaining when death is near, and serves as a signal for putting the patient into his long sleep. Well, is there anything else your instrument will do? Certainly, I've scarcely begun to enumerate. its uses. Personally, I find it of great advantage as an aid to memory. I have a very poor memory for faces, and many of my friends feel badly because I do not remember them after an absence of months. But if I get one sniff at them through my smellometer, I will remember them, even if I knew them

Starting point is 01:16:25 as children, and meet them grown up and changed by a beard. For purposes of identification, the smell is much superior to the fingerprint. If you keep a record on the olfactorgraph of the smell of a criminal, you can recognize him at once in any disguise when you pass him. With a fingerprint you might never suspect him, and would have to secure another fingerprint to confirm your suspicions. But he cannot disguise

Starting point is 01:16:47 his odor. Then, too, my instrument helps me in reading a person's mind. No, it is not possible, cried Silas Rocket incredulously. I bet you can't read my mind. But so, exclaimed the doctor, you're thinking of that 18-year-old girl you were dancing

Starting point is 01:17:03 with this lunchtime. Silas Rocket gazed at the doctor in fear and amazement. How did you know I danced with the young girl today? Were you in the lunchroom? No, I haven't left my office here, but my super nose tells me that you had an omelette and coffee for your breakfast this morning, and a glass of hooch to wash it down. Where in the world did you get the whiskey? You put on a clean shirt, but otherwise made no change in your linen.

Starting point is 01:17:30 You rode down to your office in the subway, and sat between a fat woman on your left and a sailor on your right. You took lunch at the Don Sont and danced three dances there, one with a young girl about 18, another with a married woman of 40, and a third with a dashing young widow of 35, who danced with one arm around your neck and her cheek against yours. She

Starting point is 01:17:48 Stop, stop! cried Silas, turning red as a beat. I'll never dare to come down here again if yours smellameter tells you every blame thing I've done during the day. You'll lose all your friends, doctor. Before you're a year older, if you let them know you possess

Starting point is 01:18:04 such an instrument. But how in the world do you do it? Simple enough, replied the doctor. Every person or thing that touches you leaves minute particles adhering to you. From the odors of these particles I can tell the age and sex of the person, or the kind of object of a thing. It is lucky for my friends that I am not a gossip. When I make a call, I can tell without any trouble what callers have been there before me. If strangers, I can usually tell their occupation and nationality. Oh yes, different nationalities have their characteristics scent, just as unmistakable as its other physical characteristics. In a crowd, I can always tell whether any of my friends are present or not.

Starting point is 01:18:41 At Ashbury Park one day, I lost my pocketbook, and found myself stranded without a cent. I went on the boardwalk, took one sniff at the crowd, and discovered that no less than seven of my friends were present in that mass of humanity. I had no trouble in borrowing the money I needed. In all kinds of odd places, I come across tokens of my friends. and not only have I thus been enabled to meet many persons I should otherwise have missed, but have learned many of their doings, which they thought they had kept secret. My instrument, too, has often enabled me to help a mother find her lost child in a crowd.

Starting point is 01:19:16 One sniff at the mother's dress, where the child touched it, gives me the scent, and five minutes chase usually leads me to the child itself. Why don't you apply for a job in Central Park? Ask Silas Rocket, jocosely. You could get a steady job on Sundays, hunting for lost children. In addition, continued Dr. Heckensaw, my smell intensifier and olfactorgraph

Starting point is 01:19:41 have opened up an entirely new form of art, smells, as you may perhaps know, appeal more strongly to one's emotions than colors or even musical sounds. I have carefully studied the harmonies of odors and have combined different scents, not only perfumes, but odors of all kinds, so as to form pleasing combinations.

Starting point is 01:19:59 I have thus opened up an entirely new aesthetic field with wonderful possibilities for the future. And a stronger appeal to humanity than either painting or music. I've composed some garlic symphonies that would bring tears to the eyes of any Italian. I had no idea there were so many uses to which your instrument could be put, observed the reporter, laughing. I haven't begun to tell you if it's uses yet, continued Dr. Hackensaw. My supernows at the present moment informs me that you're carrying a lot of bills in your right-hand hip pocket. the information might be useful if I wish to borrow money.

Starting point is 01:20:34 Last Sunday, while walking through the woods, in the country, I smelt honey, and was led to a tree in which a wild swarm of bees had made their hive. I secured 25 pounds of delicious honey. My super nose was also useful last week, and enabled me to detect a forgery in a wheel case, because the ink used by the forger had a different smell from that of the rest of the document. The signature was perfect the eye, but the nose detected the fraud. In autopsies, a single sniff will often reveal to me,

Starting point is 01:21:02 facts overlooked by the coroner. If I were a revenue officer, I should never travel without a super nose. Many a time has my instrument revealed to me concealed hooch, carefully hidden in the false bottom of a wagon or other hiding place. When I go into a store, I can tell it one sniff, just what wears the proprietor has for sale. And I often astonish him. By letting him see I know just what stock he has on hand, and on what shelf it is kept. But what is the use of continuing this enumeration, it would be endless. My instrument enables me to do almost anything, even, as I showed you a minute ago, to read a man's thoughts. It is no exaggeration to say that a man's thoughts are revealed by the emanations of his body. Every emotion he experiences, quickens or

Starting point is 01:21:46 retards the vital processes, and the amount of perspiration that exudes from the pores is altered. In my instrument, these changes are very perceptible, and I can recommend it once when a man is lying when he is afraid, when angry, etc. Doctor, interrupted Silas Rocket. You're just the man I want. I am commissioned to write up the burglary of the safe in the office of the firm of wealthy and rich. The police are non-plussed and haven't the slightest clue. Bring your instrument along and show us the powers in the detective line.

Starting point is 01:22:18 All right, said Dr. Hackensaw with a smile, I'll go. An hour later, the doctor was carefully examining the safe by means of an extensible tube that could be pulled out from the front of the suitcase that contained his super nose, the doctor explored every cranny of the safe. The doctor was provided with a hollow walking stick which fitted into a socket in the top of the suitcase, and seemed to carry the scent to his nose. By this means he could follow a trail in the street without attracting undue attention. After a thorough exploration of the safe, the doctor followed a trail to the letter files,

Starting point is 01:22:51 opened them, and removed a certain letter, and after sniffing it put it into his pocket. Then he went back to the safe and followed a second trail which led him down to the cellar. Then he looked up with a puzzled look. Where is the night watchman? he asked with the porter who had accompanied him. I don't know, sir, replied the man. He wasn't here this morning. Either he ran away or the burglars killed him and carried off his body.

Starting point is 01:23:16 What is below this grating here? That's the sub-basement, but it hasn't been used for years. Well, get some hell. help and open it. You will find the watchman there, tied hand and foot. The burglars lowered him there. Sure enough, the poor man was found unconscious and delirious, and could give no explanation of what had happened to him. Come with me, Silas, said Keane. Inhaling a taxi, he was soon speeding up town. Dismissing the driver, he climbed the steps of a fashionable residence and rang the bell.

Starting point is 01:23:45 Please ask Mrs. Harkness if she will see me for a few minutes, he said to the maid, and shortly afterward the lady entered the parlor. "'Madame,' said the doctor, "'will you kindly tell us why you and your two brothers last night "'broke into the safe of Monsieur's wealthy and rich?' "'The lady turned white to the lips, and for a moment appeared about to faint. "'Then with an effort she recovered herself. "'What do you mean, sir?' she cried.

Starting point is 01:24:12 "'There is no use denying the matter,' said the doctor. "'I have proof positive that you and your two brothers did the deed "'and that you removed some letters from the safe.' "'I think you will find it to your day.' advantage to tell me all about the matter rather than the police. The lady hesitated for a moment and then burst forth. You are right, doctor, said she. Wealth and rich are nothing but a firm of blackmailers.

Starting point is 01:24:37 In some way they got hold of some letters of mine, written to a dear friend. There's nothing really bad in the letters, but my husband would be wildly jealous if he should ever see them. Now these blackmailers have been extorting money for me for months and making my life miserable and so, and so you got your brothers to help you get the letters back, and I see the ashes in your grate here. But do you know, madam, who is at the bottom of the whole blackmailing scheme? It is your husband.

Starting point is 01:25:04 It was he who found the letters, and who conceived the fiendish scheme of punishing you for your innocent affair by delivering you into the hands of these blackmailers. If you don't believe me, read this letter of his address to them, in which I secured from their letter file. Yes, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, The two left the house. A dog is all very well in his way for following a scent.

Starting point is 01:25:26 But a dog lacks the intelligence and means of communicating with us. A dog lacks knowledge, too. A detective provided with my supernose can accomplish things no dog could attempt. When I recognized Mrs. Harkness sent on both packets of letters in the safe that touched the missing packet, I followed the sent to her letters in the letter file. And there I found the telltale letter from her husband. No dog could have done. that.

Starting point is 01:25:56 End of section four. Section 5 of Dr. Hakenso's Secrets. This is the Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fesandi. The Secret of Invisibility. Authors note.

Starting point is 01:26:32 The invisible cloak of the fairy tales is as old as the heels. Yet it is not impossible that science may someday find means of making men invisible. In fact, to a certain extent, the thing has been done already. At Coney Island and in the circus sight shows, there has been exhibited the living head, a woman's head and bust being in plain sight, the rest of her body being invisible, concealed by mirrors. So perfect is the illusion that it takes a keen eye several minutes to detect the angle formed by the two mirrors used. It is but a step from this to a cloak of unbreakable glass mirrors,

Starting point is 01:27:16 so constructed as to render the wearer invisible when viewed from any side, and yet allow him freedom to move from place to place. Of course, invisibility must not be confused with intangibility. Confound that flivor, cried Silas Rocket. The reporter was off on a summer vacation, chugging along in an antiquated car, made somewhere around their year 1492, but so dilapidated that it was held together only by a few strings. One of these pieces of twine had just broken, bringing the car to a stop on the bank of a pretty little country lake.

Starting point is 01:27:58 Silas hunted around until he found an ever. tin tomato can and some twine, and with the aid of these he soon managed to repair the damage to the car. Scarcely had he completed the work when he was surprised to hear a loud splash in the middle of the lake. And looking intently in the direction of the sound, he was amazed to see emerge from the water, an object that seemed for all the world like the bust of a young woman outlined with dripping spray. but as he gazed the form vanished and naught was left but a moving furrow in the water as if an invisible boat were passing through the liquid that must be a tremendous fish a fish it is exclaimed silas and he hastened toward the inlet of the lake whither the monster seemed to be travelling hiding in the bushes there he carefully watched the trail made by the animal in the water but was astonished beyond measure to see that though the track was so plainly marked,

Starting point is 01:29:01 the creature that made it was absolutely invisible. The animal by this time had reached the shallow water of the inlet, and now arose out of the water, the spray dripping from the invisible body. And then, to add to the reporter's astonishment, a small footprint appeared in the mud, followed by another, and then Silas heard a light silvery laugh. Now, the reporter was a brave man and not prone to believe in the supernatural.

Starting point is 01:29:32 He resolved, therefore, to solve this mystery at once, and accordingly sprang from his concealment and threw his arm courageously around the invisible body. A cry escaped from the creature, and Silas felt himself struck and kicked, but he held on with grim determination, and his hands meeting with a full, of some sort. In the outer protecting armor of the animal, he wrenched hard at it with his hands

Starting point is 01:29:58 and succeeded in pulling it apart. Instantly he heard a feminine shriek, and before his eyes appeared a wonderful vision of a beautiful young girl, spitting away in confusion to the shelter of the woods, while the reporter found he held in his hands a most peculiar rubber cloak, covered on the outside with a number of small mirrors, so cunningly arranged that the wearer of the wearer of the cloak was completely invisible. Now Silas Rocket was a modest man and he began to regret the curiosity which had led to the confusion of the young mermaid. Come back young lady and get your cloak, he cried. I'll leave the coat here and when you hear me chug away in my auto you will know the coast is clear. So saying the discreet man started for the spot where his machine was

Starting point is 01:30:49 waiting for him but he had not gone half the distance when he heard shrieks of distress, followed by a woman's cry for help. With a bound he turned around and rushed into the woods, just in time to see a stout young fellow chasing the girl. Silas' arrival was most opportune, for the villain had just succeeded in clutching the girl by the arm. Silas was a muscular man, and with the blow of his fist, he sent the fellow sprawling,

Starting point is 01:31:17 then taking off his own chauffeur's duster, he threw it around a trembling girl. Did the brute hurt you? he asked. No, but only because he arrived in the nick of time. But look out, he's running off with my invisible cloak. It was too true. The fellow had profited by the moment when Silas was attending to the young lady, and the rogue was now invisible, having thrown the lady's cloak around him.

Starting point is 01:31:46 Silas grabbed the stick, and using this as a club, beat the air all about him, following in the direction. he imagined the fellow must have taken. But his stick encountered no resistance, and by the time he bethought himself to stop and listen for a crackling twig or watch for the pressing down of the grass by the fellow's feet, it was too late. He was startled by hearing the unmistakable chug-chug of his auto

Starting point is 01:32:11 and saw it apparently going off by itself with no one at the steering wheel. For a moment, Silas was on the point of rushing to the nearest telephone station to notify the police, but a glimpse of the young lady, shivering in his linear duster, reminded him that he had a more pressing duty to attend to. So he smuggled her quietly into the hotel and borrowed the arraignment necessary to get her home. Dr. Hakensoe was staying in the hotel at the time, and to him Silas imparted a full account of the affair, giving the doctor a full description of the cloak of invisibility. I know all about it, Silas, observed the doctor with a smile.

Starting point is 01:32:55 In fact, that cloak is my invention, and it was I who lent it to Miss Gloria Mundi. I'm sorry she lost it, not on account of the value of the cloak, because in my factories I can make them by the hundred. But what worries me is the mischief that Scamp can do with it. An invisible cloak is a dangerous weapon to put into the hands of a rogue. Is it possible, doctor, that you are the inventor of this marvel? If I had not seen it efficacy with my own eyes, I should never have believed such a thing possible. Tut-tot said the doctor,

Starting point is 01:33:33 you must know from your own experience, Silas. How easily a man can be fooled by a highly polished mirror. It is practically invisible. All I had to invent was a few minor details. A mirror of ordinary glass would have a mirror. been too heavy and brittle for the purpose. I was obliged to use the modern unbreakable glass and employ hundreds of small mirrors set on a rubber cloak, the glass being as thin as possible, and the mirrors arrange in such a fashion as to

Starting point is 01:34:06 avoid the scintillating reflection of the sunlight that would have betrayed their presence. I was also obliged to coat the glass with a waterproof compound, as otherwise any drops of mist or water, condensing on them, would have made the mirrors visible. But my most difficult problem was to arrange the reflectors that a person standing on any side would apparently see through the invisible cloak, as though there were nothing at all in the way. In a word, the cloak is in reality a number of periscopes,

Starting point is 01:34:40 for a man in front of the invisible person literally sees right through him, all the objects behind him. This adds immensely to the illusion. Could you not make the men intangible as well? Dr. Hackensaw shook his head, no, said he, that is beyond my powers. Putting on the cloak merrily renders him invisible, but he retains his weight and can be felt and struck the same as if he were not invisible. You must have noticed that in Gloria Mundy's case. I don't see how people can avoid feeling the presence of an invisible man,

Starting point is 01:35:17 especially in a room, observed the reporter. They do usually feel his presence. They can smell him, they can hear him move, and they can feel the draft of air as he walks from place to place. But the cloak, to a great extent, prevents the scent from being noticed. And if the man is careful in his motions, he need not betray himself. After all, it is in our eyesight that we trust the most.

Starting point is 01:35:45 I suppose there are many uses to use. which such a cloak could be put? A great many. Unfortunately, it is better adapted for criminal than for legitimate purposes. For a thief, it would be invaluable. For a smuggler, likewise. A man with an invisible coat could get all the hooch he wanted. My invention would also allow a man to leave rent-free in the heart of New York City. He could set up a portable house with invisible exterior in any vacant lot and lived there undetected for months. And at the first sign of danger moved to some other location. Invisible policemen and detectives and an invisible watchman for buildings would be of the greatest value. And by their aid, our worst gangs of criminals

Starting point is 01:36:36 could be broken up unless the latter got hold of some of the cloaks. An invisible man can travel free on the railroads and steamboats or on the running. board of automobiles and could help himself to whatever food he desired from the pantry. There are a host of other purposes too, to which the invention might be applied. During the following week, the course of the criminal who had escaped with the invisible cloak could be easily followed in the newspapers. Great excitement was caused by the appearance of the supernatural runaway automobile, which without any chauffeur chugged its way over the country road. sounding its horn like mad to make people jump out of the way.

Starting point is 01:37:21 To add to its weirdness, the appearance of the auto would change completely every once in a while, at times being a mere fleaver and at others being a high-powered motor car of the finest workmanship. Then other and darker stories were added to these first ones. Burglaries in broad daylight, a thing unknown before, became a common occurrence. pocketbooks and jewelry left lying around mysteriously disappeared. A lady would take off her jewels for a moment and lay them on a table, and would find them gone when she turned around. Yet not a soul but herself had been in the room.

Starting point is 01:38:02 Hysteria Johnson, the colored servant at the millionaire's mansion on the hill, swore that she saw all the silverware in the basket rise up into the air and fly slowly out through the door. But as Hysteria was not a very very very, to a glass of tangible spirits once in a while, little heed was paid to her tale. Stories of ghostly footsteps and mysterious sneezes also became common, with an occasional tale of a grasp by a clammy hand

Starting point is 01:38:31 or commands from a bodiless voice. All the women folks lived in constant terror. Even sedate businessmen were upset. Money and securities vanished in broad daylight. The banks too suffered. suffered. Stocks, bonds, and banknotes disappeared from the tables on which they were laid during business hours, though no stranger had been seen to enter the place, and although trusted clerks were present at all times. Finally, matters became so bad that Dr. Hakensoll, resolved to put a stop

Starting point is 01:39:04 to these doings. I am the man to blame, said he to Silas Rocket, and it's up to me to catch this fellow. I know who he is. He's known as Plug Connors, and not long ago he was making hot love to Gloria Mundy. She was on the point of accepting him, so to undeceive her, I lend her the invisible cloak, so she could convince herself with her own eyes that the fellow was a scamp. Twenty-four hours were enough to show her what an unprincipled wretch he was, and how near she had come to ruining her life. having the cloak

Starting point is 01:39:45 she profited by it to bathe in the mansion lake where all bathing is forbidden in some way Gloria must have let the fellow get an inkling of the properties of the coat for he is the man who ran off with it and now my job is to stop him

Starting point is 01:40:01 but how will you do it by the aid of my super nose or smell intensifier I can easily pick up his trail at the last bank he robbed and unless I'm very much mistaken, Plog Connors will be behind prison bars in a week. Chapter 2. Yes, Silas, I've caught the fellow, said Dr. Hakensoe a week later, as he sat conversing

Starting point is 01:40:28 with the reporter. I had meant to send him to jail, but I learned that he had never stolen before. It was the possibilities of the invisible cloak that tempted him. So, when he offered to restore all his plunder, I let him go. He can't do much without the cloak, and I'll keep an eye on him anyway. But enough of this. What is the latest news of the war? Bad news, Doctor. The Bolsheviks advanced squadron of airplanes had captured New York City by a surprise attack, and we have well-authenticated reports that they are preparing an immense fleet of airplanes as well as naval fleet,

Starting point is 01:41:09 and hope to overrun our entire country before we are ready to protect ourselves. So I heard, remarked Dr. Hackensaw. In fact, the authorities have commissioned me to do what I can for the defense of the country. My factories have already turned out over a thousand of the invisible cloaks. These have proved of the greatest assistance, for they enable our spies to pass behind the enemy's lines at all times. We are thus enabled to procure all the information we want. We can keep constantly posted as to the exact location of the enemy's forces in New York, the emplacement of the hangars and airplane fields and the positions of guns and ammunition dumps.

Starting point is 01:41:55 Moreover, our invisible men are often able to inflict much damage. A well-placed bomb or fuse will often blow up an arsenal or ammunition dump, or a little gasoline in a match can set fire to 100 airplanes or airships. Then, too, our spies can remove or conceal small but important portions of the mechanism of the cannons, as well as instruments difficult to replace. Yes, a thousand invisible men in the enemy's camp can do no end of damage, observed Silas. Then, too, an attack by a few invisible men enables us to capture and destroy any person of the enemy's line that gives us trouble. A squad of our men yesterday entered their arsenal, in the heart of the city, captured the guard, blew up the building, and escaped on her.

Starting point is 01:42:48 Another time, one of our invisible men came across the dead body of a Bolshevik general. One doe boy first got all the information required for his purpose, then hid his invisible cloak, put on the general's uniform, and led the regiment of the enemy into an ambush we had prepared. Unfortunately, the victory cost us dear, for the young fellow's invisible cloak was discovered, and now the enemy are manufacturing them, and will soon have their invisible spies in our camp. Is there no way to detect their presence? Oh, yes, there is.

Starting point is 01:43:26 And that's where we shall have the advantage of them. My supernose, or smell intensifier, as you know, magnifies any scent to many times its original strength. All our pickets will be provided with these instruments and can thus detect at once the approach of the invisible spies of the enemy by their odor. That's all very well for land warfare. But what can you do against the enemy's immense fleet and its 50,000 airplanes? Your invisible men will be of no avail against these. Well, remarked Dr. Hakensoe. The government is placed at my decision.

Starting point is 01:44:06 disposal, 100 extra rapid airplanes, capable of going over 200 miles an hour. Silas Rocket leaned back and laughed. And I suppose, said he, that with your hundred planes you expect to capture the enemy's 50,000 planes, to say nothing of its fleet of battleships. Who knows, Rocket, observed the doctor enigmatically. You remember the fable of the NAD that killed the lion? That same afternoon, aside that, but for its sinister import, would have been one of rare beauty, was visible from the decks of such ships as were plowing through the ocean near the coast of New Jersey. A fleet of a thousand Bolshevik airplanes and several squadrons were gracefully wending their way toward New York City. Suddenly, a commotion was observed on one of the

Starting point is 01:45:02 largest of the battleplanes. The watchers from below saw the propeller of the airplane shiver into a thousand fragments, and the pilot, taken unawares, had all he could do to vulpane safely to the surface of the ocean. Before he reached the water, the same thing happened to two more of the battleplanes, and then one after another, the propellers of the airships broke, and the machines came gliding down to the water. Inside of 10 minutes, over a hundred of the enemy planes were floating helpless on the water. And still, they continued falling. Of the thousand splendid airplanes in the fleet,

Starting point is 01:45:45 only a few of the most rapid of the scout ships managed to reach New York to tell the tale. The Bolsheviki at once sent out airplanes from New York City to pick up the survivors, but the propellers of these machines too fell a prey to the epidemic prevailing. The Bolshevik warships sailed in separate squadrons, each with its own flagship. Admiral Machbloski, the Bolshevik Admiral-in-chief, was stationed on the finest vessel of the lot. He received by wireless the news of the destruction of the flotilla of airplanes. Hum, said he, to the captain of the ship. That's evidently spies' work.

Starting point is 01:46:29 The propellers of our airplanes must have been tempted with. with in some way, or they would not all have broken like this." Then, after a moment he added, "'It's singular how sleepy I feel. I can scarcely keep my eyes open.' "'Well, I feel just the same way,' replied the captain. "'There is something oppressive in the air. And look, it's the same with all the men on board.

Starting point is 01:46:55 I wonder.' But before he could finish the sentence, his head had sunk on his breast, and he fell unconsciously. unconscious to the deck, as did also the admiral. Take off your invisible cloak, boys, and drop on board, cried Dr. Hackensaw, as it clumbered out of his invisible and noiseless airplane. Keep your gas masks on till you get these fellows all tied up. Here, Jim, you take the rudder while I find a signal book.

Starting point is 01:47:24 With the proper signals, I can lead the whole fleet anywhere I want it, and so have time to overpower each vessel in turn, as we did with this one, with our superific gas. New York City will be hours again before 24 hours have passed. You see, Silas, observed Dr. Hackensaw that evening. I wasn't for a moment afraid of any fleet of battleships or a ray of planes that the enemy might bring against us. With my hundred extra-rapid, invisibles, and silent airplanes,

Starting point is 01:47:57 I knew I was master of the situation. We had no trouble in getting behind the enemy planes and thrusting a specially prepared steel rod into the wings of their propellers, snapping them off in a jiffy and putting the plane hard to come by. The same invisible airplanes enabled us to hover over the enemy's ships and put the crews to sleep with our soporific gas. End of Section 5. Section 6 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets

Starting point is 01:48:38 This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visitlibervox.org. Read by Kristen Hand. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi. The Secret of Tell Automation. Author's note, Tell automata, that is to say, mechanisms which can be worked at a distance by radio, have been successfully constructed in recent years. It is possible to explode mines from a distance or to direct the course of boats and torpedoes. There is no reason why it should be impossible to construct a teleautomatic girl, like the one mentioned in this story, and control her actions from a distant building by means of radio apparatus. Chapter 1 the reporter took his pencil and notebook from his pocket and proceeded to business. I understand, said he, that you have been doing something lately with Tel Automata,

Starting point is 01:49:49 operated by radio, that is to say, automatic devices which can guide torpedoes and other things from a distance. You are right, Silas, I have been experimenting with such apparatus, and not for war purposes only, but for the far more important acts of peace. I see no reason why mankind should not be relieved of all its drudgery and also of its dangerous and unhealthy occupations. Every time I see a factory worker condemned to breathe unhealthy gases or a farmer perspiring in the hot sun, I wonder how it is that our scientists have not yet devised machines that could be operated at a distance by wireless and relieve human beings of all such toil. What do you mean? I mean that it is a shame to see women have to scrub floors, wash clothes,

Starting point is 01:50:36 etc, when automatic machines could just as well do the work. It is likewise a shame that a farmer should have to clean out stables, plow fields, dig ditches, weed his garden patch, or pick his berries in a broiling sun, when he could do the work just as well lying comfortably in the shade of a tree and working a radio apparatus that would control the machines that are doing the work for him. But doctor, that is a pipe dream.

Starting point is 01:51:02 No scientist that ever lived could construct such a machine. Indeed, observed Dr. Hackensaw, with a peculiar smile. Perhaps you would be interested in seeing a demonstration by one of Mitel automata. They say that every inventor has his pet inventions, and I must confess that mine are Mytel automatic devices, for they are bound to relieve human labor of its worst drudgery, but ocular proof will tell you more than words. So saying, the doctor placed himself at a peculiar keyboard,

Starting point is 01:51:33 somewhat resembling that of a typewriter, and pressed down certain of keys. A moment later, a large St. Bernard dog entered the room, wagging his tail, and looked up into his master's face. That's a fine animal you have there, Dr. Hackensaw, remarked Silas Rocket. Is he pure St. Bernard?

Starting point is 01:51:52 His hide is? replied the doctor. His hide? What do you mean? asked Silas, puzzled. I mean that that animal you see here is composed principally of rubber and steel, and the only genuine part of him is the hide, including the head. You will admit, however, that he looks very lifelike. You mean to say that dog isn't alive? cried the reporter in astonishment. It doesn't

Starting point is 01:52:16 seem possible. It is true, I notice something peculiar in the animal's style of walking, and now that you speak of it, I see something queer about his eyes, though the eyelids move every once in a while. Cootie is the result of some of my earliest experiments with Tell Atomata. remarked Dr. Hackensaw, but I am very fond of him, and he differs from most dogs in this, that I can absolutely depend upon his doing what I wish him to do. It seems impossible, said Silas, that merely pressing those keys should make this dog walk,

Starting point is 01:52:49 wag his tail, or move his head at will. Here, let me show you, cried the doctor. Cudy beg, he commanded, the dog sat up on his haunches. Now bark. The dog barked as requested. Now howl three times. The animal howled. "'Now whine.' The creature whined.

Starting point is 01:53:08 "'Now roll over twice and bark again. "'The dog obediently performed the motions ordered "'and then regained its feet.' "'Well, Silas, are you convinced?' asked Dr. Hackensaw gaily, "'as he ceased manipulating the keys of his machine "'and turned to the incredulous reporter. "'I can't even believe my eyes!' exclaimed Silas. "'Why, this is real magic.

Starting point is 01:53:29 "'I never imagined such a thing could be possible. "'How in the world do you accomplish it, Doctor?' It is simplicity itself. You probably know that all the actions of the body, however complicated they may see, are performed solely by contraction and relaxation of the muscles. The body of an animal contains hundreds of these muscles, but there was no need of encumbering my automation with all of these. A few of the most important were all I needed.

Starting point is 01:53:55 These muscles are worked by wireless, each muscle being arranged to receive its proper impulse only when a certain key of my keyboard is depressed. When I release the key, the muscle relax. Pressed down this key and the dog opens its mouth, closing it when you release the key. To simplify matters, the dog's head is pivoted and can be partially rotated. For running, I have a small motor installed in the animal. As the motor revolves, the legs are lifted and lowered in turn and performed the act of running. A gyroscope keeps the animal properly balanced.

Starting point is 01:54:26 But how about the barking? That too is very simple. I have a small photograph inside the dog. The record is a role of film constituting a phonograph of the various sounds of dog makes. I have also added a few phrases such as how do you do? Yes, no, etc. I will show you.

Starting point is 01:54:45 Turning to the dog, Dr. Hackensaw commanded, shake hands with a gentleman, Cudy. Cudy obediently approached the reporter, sat down on his haunches and presented to Paul, saying as he did so, how do you do? Pretty well, thank you, Cudy, replied the reporter without thinking,

Starting point is 01:55:01 and then he burst into a laugh. That one's on me, Doctor, he cried. I was taken in that time. The word sounded so natural I didn't perceive anything out of the way in hearing a dog speak. Can you say anything else, Cootie? asked Silas. Yes, replied Cootie, wagging his tail. What else can you say?

Starting point is 01:55:22 Give me a piece of sugar, said Cootie, ending up with a joyful bark. That's a really wonderful, doctor, exclaimed Silas. The photographic records are, of course, interchangeable, explained Dr. Hackensaw, so I can vary Kudy's vocabulary as I please. Make him speak, French or Chinese, tell funny stories, sing, whistle, imitate musical instruments, and the like. A dog like that would be worth a fortune in vaudeville, observed the reporter. I may exhibit Kudy sometime, replied the doctor, but I am not quite ready for publicity yet. The existence of Kudy is still a secret, and I will tell you

Starting point is 01:55:59 confidence, Silas, that I have another automatic figure just completed that will throw all the performances of this dog in the shade. But even to you, I don't dare to breathe a hint of this marvel, as I am afraid somebody else might get wind of it and steal my laurels. Chapter 2 Three months had elapsed since the events chronicled in the last chapter, and Dr. Hackensaw was seated in his study, gazing into an open wood fire and demusing. A bitter disappointment had come to him. The tele-automatic figure of which he had vaguely spoken to Silas Rocket had been stolen from him. One of his assistants, a master mechanic familiarly called Dope Peters, had one day

Starting point is 01:56:39 mysteriously disappeared, taking with him the apparatus and the keyboard that controlled it. Then a month later, Silas Rocket had been sent abroad to report to his newspaper on a series of daring daylight robberies that were astounding all Europe. The most marvelous tales were told about the criminal or gang of criminals. Their leaders seemed to be a beautiful, veiled lady, always dressed in the height of fashion. Their specialty seemed to be jewelers' windows. In broad daylight, in the most crowded thoroughfares, she would suddenly plunge her fist through a jeweler's plate glass window, rapidly snatch up the most expensive articles on display, and run off with them. The most fantastic stories were afloat about this mysterious lady. It was said that she possessed the strength of 10 ordinary men,

Starting point is 01:57:23 and if anyone attempted to hold her, a single blow from her fist sent him sprawling. She was also gifted with the speed of a deer. It was reported that once on a boulevard she was chased by a police auto going 60 miles an hour, but she ran so fast that the police could not keep up with her. One man even declared that one night he had seen her stand by a house, then suddenly elongate herself until she stood as high as a second-story window, then gradually pull her elongated body in through the window. Her last, exploit had been to make off with a tube of radium valued at 100,000 francs. Since then, nothing more had been heard from her for over a week, and people were wondering in what city her next exploit

Starting point is 01:58:04 would be chronicled. Dr. Hackensaw was reading these accounts with a grim of frown, when the door of his office opened and in-burst Silas rocket, deeply tanned from his ocean voyage. Why, Silas, I'm glad to see you back, cried Dr. Hackensal heartily. I suppose you caught your mysterious lady thief? No, said Silas, I didn't get a glimpse of her, and as luck would have it, the theft stopped before my steamer reached France. She must have heard of your coming, exclaimed Dr. Hackensall, jocularly. She ran away because she was afraid you might catch her. I think you're half right, Doc, said Silas, so my firm belief the girl has left Paris to come to New York. Have you read in this morning's paper about the panic in the Knickerbocker Opera House last

Starting point is 01:58:48 night? No, I haven't seen the papers yet. From all accounts, there was a special all-star performance last night, and society, with a big S, was out in full fig, and not very much more than the traditional fig leaf either if you leave out the diamond tiaras and necklaces. Well, it appears that some clever crook thought an opera house was a better place to steal jewels from than a jeweler's window or safe. At any rate, at the most exciting moment of the performance, a dense smoke arose from the main tier of boxes. Instantly there was a panic and shouts of fire.

Starting point is 01:59:24 You know what a theater panic is, Dr. Suave Kepi is the cry. Women are hustled and trampled on. Well, someone sees the opportunity to make a rich hall of jewelry. Dozens of wealthy women had their diamond, necklaces, and other jewelry snatched away.

Starting point is 01:59:40 But in the uproar and confusion, they could do nothing. From all their accounts, it appears that jewels were taken by a mysterious, veiled lady. probably a man in disguise, for she was more muscular than the average man, and knocked over several men who tried to grasp her. She carried an electric lantern with her to help her in her work, and it is my private opinion that this woman and the mysterious jewel thief of Paris are one in the same person, whether a man or woman I don't know, but I propose to find out, and I want you to help me, doctor. Me? Yes, I don't forget the clever work you did with your apparatus for intensifying smells, and I want you and your smell.

Starting point is 02:00:18 melemeter to help me out in this case. Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. The case is more complex than you imagine, Silas, he said. I know all about this mysterious lady. In fact, I may say that I have known her since her birth. You have? cried Silas Rocket, hugely surprised. Who is she then?

Starting point is 02:00:38 Dr. Hagenau paused a moment, then said, The mysterious veiled lady who plundered the Paris Jewelers and who started the panic at the opera house last night and made off with the jewels is. Here, he hesitated. Go on, doctor, please, begged Silas. Who is this mysterious personage? The doctor's eyes twinkled.

Starting point is 02:01:00 She is known, said he, only under the name of Varyola Hackensaw. Varyola Hackensaw, repeated the reporter, gazing earnestly at the doctor to see if he had gone crazy. What do you mean? I mean that this veiled lady is not a real girl at all.

Starting point is 02:01:17 She's a mechanical girl I constructed in my workshop, and she has worked by wireless just as my dog was. She is my telautomatic girl, and the real criminal is Dope Peters, the man who formerly worked for me, and who stole this automatic lady from me. It was he who had nicknamed her Varyola Hackensaw. Is it possible? Yes. When I first heard of these diamond robberies in Paris, and especially when I heard of the speed of the mysterious lady and her extensible arms and legs, I knew that Fariola must be at the bottom of the mischief. She too is knife-proof and bulletproof, and she alone could pass through dense smoke unharmed,

Starting point is 02:01:54 since she does not breathe. I knew that she was back in town last night, for I caught on my radio set certain signals that were used only in the machine I made for controlling her motions. Unfortunately, I had no apparatus left that would inform me what she was doing. The thief, of course, took the controlling mechanism when he took the girl.

Starting point is 02:02:13 But, Doctor, you don't mean to be to tell me that all these thefts were accomplished by a mechanical girl who walks the streets like an ordinary woman, but whose movements are really controlled by a master criminal who sits at a typewriter and moves her artificial muscles by wireless waves? Precisely, you have hit the nail on the head. This girl whom I had designed to help mankind has been used by dope Peters to plunder men and women. I'd made the girl with extensible arms and legs so she could scrub a ceiling or paint a house without having to climb a ladder. I gave her a speed of 100 miles an hour and the strength of 20 horses so she could plow a field or draw a carriage at will, yet so delicate is her mechanism that she can

Starting point is 02:02:53 walk a baby in her arms all night and sing it to sleep. But doctor, how can dope Peters know how to steer her unless he is walking beside her? The girl has six eyes and the same number of ears, explained to the doctor. You see, the operator working at a distance of a mile or more, must know everything that is taking place in front of the girl, behind her and on each side, as well as above and below her. Hence she has an eye and an ear on top of her hat, one below her knee in front of her, and four others around her waist. By radio telephone and television apparatus, the operator sees and hears all that is taking place around the girl, and hence knows how to steer her properly. Then this telautomatic girl, as you call her, has everything but brains.

Starting point is 02:03:41 She has brains, too, replied the doctor. In fact, she had very good ones when first constructed. She had mine. Now she has only dope Peter's brains to work her. You say she sings? Yes, and speaks too. Like my telautomatic dog, she is provided with a photographic record containing short phrases such as, excuse me, certainly, thank you, etc.

Starting point is 02:04:04 And a few songs. A touch of the proper key and the controlling instrument makes her say the phrase desired. then she is an improvement on the everyday flapper. Yes, because her talking is extremely limited. In other respects, she is absolutely noiseless, even when running at full speed. But come, we have no time to lose if we hope to catch the girl. Call a taxi. A few minutes later, Silas and the doctor descended from the cab at a vacant store in Union Square.

Starting point is 02:04:32 Why in the world have you come here? asked Silas. Because Dope Peters worked his apparatus from here last night. My one hope is that he has not yet left town, and yet I should not like to find him here now, as he would not hesitate an instant to put a bullet into me. So saying, Dr. Hackensaw inserted a bent wire into the lock of the door and had it open in a jiffy. How did you manage to learn the fellow's address? asked Silas. I located him by means of his wireless signals. I have very delicate instruments for determining the direction and distance from its origin of any wireless wave.

Starting point is 02:05:07 with these and with an accurate real estate map of New York City, I can locate the spot from which any wireless call proceeds. This apparatus, scientists call the radio compass. Dope Peters worked his apparatus from here. The two men cautiously made their way through the vacant building and ascended to the third story. Here another locked door face them, which the doctor carefully opened as before. Then he uttered a cry of joy. No one was present in the room, but in one point, corner reposed the coffin-like box in which the tel-automatic girl was kept, and near it on a table was the

Starting point is 02:05:43 wireless apparatus with a keyboard that controlled the motions of the automaton. Hurrah! cried Dr. Hackensaw, and, sitting down at the instrument, he pressed one of the keys. As he did so, the cover of the box slowly opened and outstepped what appeared, like a beautiful young lady, richly but modestly dressed, a veil over her face completely concealing that it was of tinted rubber, not of flesh and blood. Silas, cried the doctor, let me introduce you to Varyola Hackensaw. However, as we haven't a moment to spare, I'll proceed to business at once. I want to give dope Peters a taste of his own medicine, so I'll station the girl in the store downstairs to meet him when he returns.

Starting point is 02:06:24 Uttering these words, the doctor played a tune on the keyboard, the girl responding promptly to every touch of the keys. She walked slowly across the room, put out her hand at the proper moment, turned the knob, open the door, and a moment later her steps could be heard descending the stairs. Dr. Hackensaw and Silas, by looking in the six mirrors attached to the machine, each receiving impulses by wireless from one of the girl's six eyes, could see every object around her, while the six ears transmitted any sounds. The doctor steered the girl into a dark corner of the store, and then the ears transmitted by wireless amplifier the sound of the turning of a key in the lock.

Starting point is 02:07:02 There's our man, Silas, whispered the doctor. we've arrived just in time. A moment's pause ensued as the two men watched in the mirrors the entrance of dope Peters into the store. The doctor worked feverishly at the keys of the instrument for a moment and then jumping from the instrument bounded downstairs, crying. Come along, Silas, quick. She's got him. The two men hastened downstairs and as they arrived in the store, an astonishing sight met their eyes. The teleautomatic lady was holding dope Peters clasped in her arms as tightly as if held in a vice. He was a powerful man and was struggling desperately, but he was no match for the girl

Starting point is 02:07:39 who was squeezing him with a deadly grip. By the time Dr. Hackensaw managed to press the button that released the girl's grasp, the villain fell from her arms to the floor unconscious. Now, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, I have one more job to finish. I know you will condemn me for letting the fellow go, but if, as he promised, he gives up all his booty, the amount is so enormous that its restitution is worth something. Besides, I shall keep an eye on the fellow and see that he earns an honest living hereafter. As for you, Varyola, he continued, turning to the tele-automatic figure, I am sorry to say there is too much risk in leaving you in existence. When I think of what an unscrupulous criminal might make you do in the way of committing

Starting point is 02:08:20 murders, incendiarism, bomb outrages, and thefts, I cannot consent to let you live for a single hour. you are more dangerous than a carload of dynamite or even than a really truly flesh and blood girl. And seizing a fireman's axe that hung on the wall, the doctor chopped off the head of the TEL automatic lady and then proceeded to dismember the body. Five minutes later, the wonderful piece of mechanism over which he had toiled for years was but a mass of broken springs, wires, and splinters. End of Section 6. Section 7 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secret

Starting point is 02:09:02 This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Lurie Wilson. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fesendi. The Secret of Life Authors Note Our chemists today are able to produce many organic substances

Starting point is 02:09:30 synthetically. Is it too much to expect that in the not very remote future, we shall find the means of endowing this organic matter with life, and producing the one-celled animals and plants that are the lowest forms of life known? And once we have produced these unicellular types, what is it to prevent us from going further and grouping these into more and more complex forms until we are at last able to reproduce forms similar to those of our higher animals, which are, after all, but a collection of organs and tissues built up out of the simple cells. Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw impressively, I am going to show you today the greatest invention that has ever been made by man.

Starting point is 02:10:21 A good, gracious doctor, cried Silas, Rocket. What in the world can it possibly be? Silas, continued the doctor solemnly, "'I have invented life!' "'Invented life?' echoed Silas, puzzled. "'I suppose it would have been better to say that I have discovered life, though that would scarcely express the idea. I have discovered the secret of life

Starting point is 02:10:49 and have invented means for infusing life into inert organic matter. You mean that you have discovered spontaneous generation? You may call it that if you wish. If you recollect, it was Pasteur's attempts to produce spontaneous generation that led him to the study of ferments and of hydrophobia, but he never succeeded in producing life. And I have. Is it possible?

Starting point is 02:11:21 Yes. I began with the laws for, forms of life, the ones settled animals and plants that are so much alike that scientists are not yet agreed which to call animals and which to call plants. It is here that life evidently originated on our planet, and from these low forms it split up into the two great kingdoms, one branch evolved into plants, the other into animals. From the very start I realized that I was faced with three problems, not one. First, I must analyze protoplasm, and after learning its chemical constituents, I must learn to manufacture inert protoplasm. Second, I must learn how to confer on this inert

Starting point is 02:12:06 protoplasm, the properties of irritability and contraction which constitute life. What? cried Silas Rocket in amazement. Is life nothing but the irritability of our cells and their power of contracting? Practically, yes. Herbert Spencer has given a long definition of life, which you will find in the dictionaries, but as a matter of fact, the basis of life is the irritability of the cells and their power of contraction. Of course, for growth, it is necessary that the cells should feed, that is, that they should absorb and assimilate nourishment. They must also reproduce themselves. One cell must grow larger than split into two or more cells. This is the way all increase takes place in plants and animals. Well, what about the third problem? The third problem

Starting point is 02:13:05 after producing living cells is to build them up into complex tissues and organs, in other words, to produce higher forms of life from the lore. And you have succeeded? Yes, but only after years of experimenting. Of course I did not wait to solve the first problem before I tried the others. I carried on all three sets of experiments at once, and curiously enough I solved the third and most complex problem first. And here too, contrary to my expectations, I found it easier to work with animal substances than with plants.

Starting point is 02:13:46 The sap in plants is less complex than the blood of animals. animals. But the protoplasm in the plant is surrounded by woody cells that make my work more difficult. From simple unicellular animals, I was soon able to build up tissues and organs to suit me, and to make reptiles and animals of any pattern I desired, long before I discovered how to produce protoplasm or to give it life. Starch is the basis of both animal and vegetable life, and must be converted into sugar before it can be utilized. I will not worry you with an account of my experiments. My failures would fill volumes, but at last I succeeded in producing chemically a protoplasm that was capable of receiving life.

Starting point is 02:14:33 Meanwhile, I was experimenting on the problem of giving life to inert protoplasm. How could you do that when you had no inert protoplasm to work on? Simple enough. I experimented with protoplasm taken from, from plants and animals. By various means, I would stop life in this protoplasm, and then try to start it going again. In every way possible, I tried to discover what was the basis of the irritability of the protoplasm and its power of contraction, and what would stop it or increase it. Success finally crowned my efforts. If you will step into the next room, I will show you some samples. What? Do you really have some living specimens here? cried the reporter eagerly.

Starting point is 02:15:24 Dr. Hackensaw smiled a peculiar smile. Certainly, said he, if you will look through this microscope, you will see some of my work. Silas Rocket took a long look through the instrument and then turned to the doctor with a disappointed air. Is that all you have produced? He exclaimed contempt. Why, that's nothing but slime, since as you will find in any kitchen sink. You have struck the nail on the head, Silas, replied the doctor. This, the life I have produced is what is known as the amoeba or slime mold. It may seem nothing to you to be able to produce this mold, but to me it meant victory. The power of manufacturing these little spots of slime gave me the key to creating life

Starting point is 02:16:14 in any form I please. Of course, much patient work was needed, and many difficult problems had to be solved, constant experiments made, and obstacles overcome. I met with numberless failures, but today I am triumphant. I can form at will out of my chemicals practically any form of plant or animal that I wish. Silas Rocket looked puzzled. I under my under my chemicals. I under my understand you, doctor, said he. But what I do not comprehend is how you can manage to produce from the same substance animals as different as a fish, a chicken, or a cow. Dr. Hackensaw gave a snort of contempt. I can do that, said he, just as easily as an architect from a given pile of bricks can build either a chimney, a house, or a palace. Nature does what I do

Starting point is 02:17:14 every day. Take a glass of milk. If you drink it, it will manufacture human tissue. If a puppy drinks it, it will manufacture dog meat. Besides, there is not so much difference as you might imagine between a fish, a chicken, and a cow. The scales of a fish, the feathers of a chicken, and the hairs of a cow are really one and the same thing. The feathers and the hair are nothing but transformed scale. Once I had learned how to cause my artificial tissues to form external skin, I had no trouble whatever to produce scales, feathers, or fur at will. So with the bones. Each bone, as you may perhaps know, is manufactured by what is known as its periosteum or outer skin.

Starting point is 02:18:04 When a surgeon is obliged to cut off a portion of a bone, he is always careful to first turn back the periosteum, so as to be able to use the flap to cover the excited. portion and grow new bone. By using living periostium taken from animals, I found it easy to produce bones of any size and shape I desired for my creations, so that when I succeeded in artificially making the periosteum from cells, from living cells first, and afterwards from my artificial cells, I had no trouble whatever. But I see I weary you with all this philosophical dissertation. My method was simply to go one step at a time and a very small step at that.

Starting point is 02:18:48 If you will come into my nursery, I will show you some living specimens of my work, such as you never in your life expected to see. "'Some trees you have produced artificially?' said Silas, inquiringly. "'Hah ha, not exactly,' laughed Dr. Hackensaw. "'This is a different kind of nursery. I want to show you my little girl, Hoochie. You saw her already when she was a baby. What?

Starting point is 02:19:16 The little baby that was born from a cow? Precisely. She is now eight years old, and the dearest little girl in the world. You call her hoochie. What a queer name. I call her that, because she is the most precious thing I have.

Starting point is 02:19:35 I hunted through Europe and America to find perfect parents for her, and if she is not perfection, she is very close to it. As he said the words, the doctor opened the door at the nursery quietly and motioned to Silas to look in. There sat Hoochie on a low chair

Starting point is 02:19:52 surrounded by living toys of the most wonderful kind. In her lap she held a miniature elephant the size of a kitten. By the side of her chair stood a three-headed dragon, coming like a dog to be patted by its mistress. On her shoulder stood a fairy queen, while a boy fairy was flying toward her through the air. In a glass globe on the table was a living mermaid,

Starting point is 02:20:16 while nearby stood a miniature centaur making eyes at the tiny creature. There were several potted plants in the room of most curious shape. In one of them the flowers were living butterflies, and another they were hummingbirds, and still another each flower was a perfect hippocampus or sea-horse, while one flower pot bore a plant with a single flower. at the centre of which on a stalk grew a living human baby of tiny size silas rocket could not repress an exclamation of delight and astonishment at the sight and a noise caused hoochie to look up at sight of dr hackensaw she gave a glad cry and came and threw herself into his arms well dearie said the doctor how are ethel and methel this morning then turning toward silas he added

Starting point is 02:21:08 ethel and methel are the two fairies ethel is the girl and methel the boy by the way how do you like my handiwork these living toys are wonderful doctor i cannot bring myself to believe that they are not real animals they are real animals returned dr hackensaw they are real living creatures in only one respect do they differ from other animals And what is that, prey? They lack a soul. I had the power to create any form of animal life that I wish. I can make living cells from inert mineral matter, combinations of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. I can construct of these cells living creatures of fantastic shapes and kinds,

Starting point is 02:21:57 such as were never before dreamt of. I can create a monster or a creature of exquisite beauty at will. But so far, I have been. not yet succeeded in creating a soul. Just what do you mean? I mean that these creatures, never having had any parents, cannot have any inherited instincts. A baby, when it comes into the world, possesses a host of instincts. Inherited from ancestors from thousands of generations back.

Starting point is 02:22:28 A baby can cry when it needs anything. The young of all mammals know how to obtain nourishment from their mother and so forth. But Ethel and Methyl knew absolutely nothing when first made. I had to feed them artificially while teaching them to suck milk from their bottles. They do not yet know how to cry. I never taught them that. Instead, when they wish anything, they tinkle a small bell attached to their dress. They are very slow in learning, even the most elementary things.

Starting point is 02:22:58 Their vocabulary is limited to about a dozen words. They are backward mentally, then? Not at all. They are really bright children, but until I had this proof before me, I did not realize how much we are indebted to our inherited instincts. The reason an ordinary child can learn so much and so short a time is due to the fact that its parents have used their brains and transmits some of the power to their children. Take two babies, one the descendant of well-to-do and educated persons for several generations back. and the other the child of illiterate parents for several generations, and you will find that the former, if placed in favorable conditions, will rapidly outstrip the latter, though placed in the same conditions.

Starting point is 02:23:49 Eredity doesn't. Now my creations have no instincts, no inherited cravings or traits. You might think this an advantage, and it is in a way, but it makes things very hard for me. My artificial animals have no safeguards to keep them out of danger. They need constant watching, for they are as helpless as babies. They would step out of a seventh-story window without the slightest hesitation, or walk out into deep water and be drowned. Teaching them is no sin a cure, believe me. Then, too, they possessed no inherited immunity to disease. When I first began my

Starting point is 02:24:29 experiments, I could not understand how it was that all my animals would sicken and die without apparent cause. It was only when I sterilized the air of my laboratory and made everything germ-proof that I could succeed in keeping my animals alive. And even then, a short trip out of doors was fatal to them. You see, the bodies of men and animals are provided by nature with a wonderful arsenal for fighting diseases. There are first the phagocytes which devour the disease germs that enter the body. Then there are the opsonins which help the phagocytes by dissolving the tissue of the harmful bacteria. There are also the agglutinins which tie up the bacteria into masses and so hinder their free passage through our bodies and the antitoxins which destroy the poisons produced by the bacteria.

Starting point is 02:25:21 And the list does not end there. Well, I started out to produce. these antibodies, as they are called, but found the test so complex and difficult that I was in despair until a bright idea struck me. I resolved to improve upon nature. Instead of using a number of inefficient agents to fight disease, why not use one really effective agent and carry an ample supply of it at all times? By patient experimenting, I found that a weak solution of carbolic acid added to the blood, was sufficient to destroy any disease germs, and yet would not harm the body cells or tissues. To keep the body supplied with this special carbolic acid solution, I constructed a special organ composed of phenol-producing glands, and I placed one of these organs near the heart

Starting point is 02:26:11 of each of the animals I manufacture. My creatures are therefore more immune to disease than any animals formed by nature. Is it possible? By talking about glands, how about the other glands of the body? I found little trouble in making these. What gave me the most trouble were the special organs of sense, and the higher animals, an organ like the eye or ear, is so highly specialized that there was no hope of manufacturing either artificially. Then, what do you do? I use what I may call buds of eyes and ears, which buds I take from a fetus raised artificially in a glass jar. These buds, taken from a fetus a few days old, I insert in the proper position in the creature I am forming. There they grow into perfect eyes and ears. I can stunt or stimulate the growth

Starting point is 02:27:04 of these organs until I get them to the exact size and shape I desire. I see, doctor. But now, frankly speaking, will you please tell me whether you are in invention has any practical use or not. It is too early yet to say. Besides, we never know what the future of an invention will be. The first man who found that a bit of rubbed amber would attract small objects, could not foresee that this electricity would someday prove one of the greatest powers in the world. So with my creation of life.

Starting point is 02:27:41 Although I believe it has untold possibilities before it, so far I have scarcely attempted turning it to a practical use. Still, I have experimented in manufacturing meat and vegetables artificially. When done on a large scale, the process should be cheaper as well as more rapid than our present methods. In medicine and surgery too, I can secure wonderful results, beautifying faces, replacing lost or diseased organs, etc. Then there are special uses. Here, for instance, is a Marconogram from a European monarch asking me how soon and at what price I could furnish him an army of artificial soldiers. I have refused the order, although I could produce excellent soldiers without any bad habits and who would

Starting point is 02:28:31 obey every command implicitly. But possibly the most curious use I have yet made of my power has been the production of a life-size seven-headed dragon for Mr. Lyons, the circus manager whom you once met here. He wanted a dragon that would belch forth fire and smoke. He wished to use the creature in his circus for exhibition purposes. I drew the line at the fire, though I made a dragon for him that would breathe out smoke. But I expressly stipulated that I would only rent it to him for one week. He is to return it today, and if I am not mistaken, I hear Mr. Lyons' step in the hall now. Dr. Hackensaw was right, for the door burst open and in shot Mr. Lyons like a bomb. "'Dr. Hackinsaw!' he cried in great excitement.

Starting point is 02:29:21 "'The dragon! The seven-headed dragon!' "'Well?' "'Well, he got away from me and must now be ravaging the country. "'I don't know what to do, doctor. "'But can't you do something?' Dr. Hackensaw quietly drew his watch from his pocket and looked at the time. "'Calm yourself, Mr. Lyons,' said he. "'Everything is all right.

Starting point is 02:29:48 I don't believe the dragon did any damage, but if so it will do no more. It has been dead now for five minutes. Dead? Yes, my experience with my till automatic lady made me resolve never again to run the risk of turning a dangerous monster loose in the world. For this reason, I would not sell you the dragon, but only rent it to you for a week. Moreover, to guard against accidents, I resolved to limit the animal's life. One week and three hours after it left my hands, it was to die. To this end, I placed a small alarm clock inside the monster

Starting point is 02:30:26 near its heart. At the proper moment, the unwinding of the alarm would explode a small cartridge that would kill the heart instantly without injuring either the skeleton or skin of the dragon. As I thought you might wish these to exhibit in your circus. At the present moment, your dragon must be lying dead somewhere. Buy an evening paper and you will learn where the body lies. End of Section 7. Section 8 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Liprovox recording. All Libervox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Kristen Hand. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fassandi. The Secret of Electrical Transmission. Authors note, the problem of sending bodies from one place to another by electricity

Starting point is 02:31:27 is one that is certain to be solved at no distant date. We can at present send by bodies a few feet in this manner, for, in the process of silver plating, the ions or particles of silver travel several feet through the electrolytic liquid. The atomic or ionic slowness of their progress is too great for a long journey. But some future genius will undoubtedly find electrolytes offering less resistance to the quick passage of the particles. To send the particles by wireless is a much more difficult problem. Undirected wireless would, of course, be out of the question, as the particles would be scattered in all directions. But why might not the ions be transmitted by directed wireless?

Starting point is 02:32:10 If we admit the corpuscular theory of light, and in my opinion this is the only real theory offered, there seems no possibility in our being able someday to send a solid body from one spot to another by wireless. Well, doctor, what new invention are you working on now? asked Silas Rocket as he entered the laboratory one fine spring morning. Dr. Hackensaw removed his spectacles and carefully wiped them as he answered. I am working upon one of the most important of the electrical problems that still remains to be solved,

Starting point is 02:32:47 the electrical transmission of bodies. You mean the sending of objects from one place to another by electricity? Precisely. Ever since, as a boy, I read Faraday's account of his electrical researches, I became convinced that the conveyance of bodies from place to place by means of the electrical current was not only a possibility, but had even been accomplished already. What? Certainly. When we silver plate an object, we put the object to be plated at one end of a tub and a bar of silver at the other end.

Starting point is 02:33:20 The electrical current carries the particles of silver from one end of the tub to the other. In other words, we have an actual transmission of matter from place to place by electricity. It was Faraday who suggested the name of ions for the particles that are thus carried. Yes, but in silver plating, the silver particles have only a few feet to travel. Electrical transmission would be useless unless you could send bodies a considerable distance. True, but the question is only one of degree. Hertz sent wireless waves a few feet, and Marconi, who came afterward, had little trouble in sending them thousands of miles.

Starting point is 02:34:00 My problem was similar to Marconi's. The first step was already made. I had merely to increase the distance the ions should travel. I realized at once the importance of the subject for transportation charges form an important item in the price of almost every article of merchandise, and anything that would cheapen transportation would help reduce prices. But is not electrical transmission expensive? Not if we use the waves of the ocean for generating our electrical power. We have there a practically inexhaustible source of energy. Besides, some goods are wanted in a hurry and think of the time that would be saved in sending an object from New York to San Francisco by telegraph instead of train.

Starting point is 02:34:46 My first attempts, however, were not directed towards sending solid bodies by wire. I chose a simpler problem, namely that of sending electrical impulse. You know how the stock ticker works. One man sends a message, and it is printed simultaneously in all the stock tickers in the city. Now, it struck me as curious that no one had ever yet realized how easy it would be to save transportation charges and valuable time by having newspapers and books printed in a like manner. I accordingly made arrangements with a newspaper syndicate.

Starting point is 02:35:21 A linotype operator here in New York sets up his type, but his motions are duplicated by telegraph in various cities throughout the United States, where duplicate linotype machines automatically set up the type in unison. The newspaper is thus set up in many cities at once, and copies may be run off distant presses at the same time as in New York, saving much valuable time and heavy transportation expenses. Books and magazines may of course be printed in a like manner. From this came the idea of printing one copy of the paper in New York in special ink. By placing this copy on a machine here using Edison's tell autograph, the original will reproduce thousands of copies at once in different cities. In Edison's machine, a single stylus travels across the page and makes

Starting point is 02:36:07 connection when it passes over the ink, which is a conductor of electricity. I have improved on the machine by using a comb containing several hundred independent stylises, which pass over the paper, so that an entire newspaper page may be printed in a second or less, the result being not one copy, but thousands of copies, one at each instrument in the circuit. My next step was to extend the process to manufacturing merchandise in quantities. It is foolish to have a workman spend an hour making a pair of shoes or assembling the parts of a watch when electricity can be made to repeat his motions in thousands of different places at once. This time I was obliged to use, as in the Linotype machine, the principle of a telotograph,

Starting point is 02:36:52 Gray's instrument, which unlike Edison's causes a motion at one, end of the instrument to be repeated at the other end. At each station, the various parts of a watch are fed automatically to an assembling machine, just as matrices are in the linotype machine. An expert in New York works his machine, and when he is through, has assembled not only his own watch, but a thousand other watches in different cities, and so with all other manufacturers. A hundred thousand duplicates can be made at the same time as the original. Even artwork can be thus duplicated. An artist paints one picture and his motions transmitted by the electrical current can produce as many duplicates as desired. For sculpture, I followed a different plan,

Starting point is 02:37:36 and one which I afterward found very useful for all kinds of manufactured goods. I took a finished statue, and by making a metal finger travel around its contours, and transmitting the motion to a carving tool traveling over a block of marble at another place, this block is cut to the exact size and shape of the original model, or, if desired, could be automatically enlarged or reduced. Hundreds of statues may thus be carved at the same time in different shops. So with other objects. I place a coupling in the sending apparatus, and at the receiving stations a hundred thousand similar couplings are reproduced automatically. My success was phenomenal and induced me to attack the real problem, the transmission of solid bodies by electricity.

Starting point is 02:38:24 Dr. Hackensaw paused a moment and then continued. I suppose you know what an electrolyte is? Not guilty, cried Silas Rocket with a laugh. Never mind. You know at least that when an electrical current is sent through water with salt or acid in solution, it decomposes some of the water and sends the oxygen atoms to one pole and the hydrogen atoms to another. These traveling particles of matter are called ions, and my problem was to arrange matters so that after decomposing the water or other object in one spot, I could make both the positive and the negative ions travel to some other spot and there combine again.

Starting point is 02:39:05 The problem looked very simple, but it took years of experimenting to solve it. Evidently two wires would be necessary since ions travel in opposite direction, but these two wires could easily be brought together to again when the oxygen and hydrogen were to be reunited. Here is a rough diagram of the wires. Of course, I used hollow wires at first, and in the wires kept an acidulated solution through which the ions could pass. By this method, when I had discovered an electrolyte or solution that would offer but slight resistance to the passage of the ions, I was able to silver plate an object several miles away. In other words, I sent particles

Starting point is 02:39:47 of silver several miles by means of the electrical current. Then I turned my attention to sending the bodies by wireless. Undirected wireless would, of course, be out of the question for the particles of silver, would be scattered in all directions, and only an infinitesimal portion would reach the desired spot. The wireless waves must evidently be directed. To accomplish this, I first use a wire for directing the radio waves, wired wireless, as it is called, and you may imagine my gratification when I sent my first object, a metal coin through the air to a receiving instrument a mile away, and had it arrive in perfect condition.

Starting point is 02:40:28 Later I was able to do away with the wire altogether, having found means of directing my wireless waves, and now I can transmit practically any body whatever from one of my stations to any other. Have you put your invention to any practical use? Yes, indeed. I have my machines installed in a number of mines, copper and iron mines, especially, and I transmit thousands of tons of metal daily by wireless. Isn't that rather expensive? It is less expensive than freight, for my electrical power derived from the waves of the Atlantic, cost me very little.

Starting point is 02:41:04 But I do not confine myself to mining operations. I am now able to send plants by wireless and even living animals. Surely, Doctor, you are joking. How could you transport the particles of an animal from one point to another without destroying the animal? simply enough. The trip requires but a small fraction of a second. I first make the animal unconscious so that in its struggles it will not displace any of its organs. The current itself does not injure any of the tissues, but transmits each particle instantaneously in its proper position. The animal hasn't time to know it is dead before it has arrived at its destination,

Starting point is 02:41:42 and there a suitable electric shock brings it to life again. The entire process only occupies a few seconds, and you probably know Silas that your heart could cease beating for a few seconds and then be restarted again without any trouble. Silas Rocket was nonplussed. I believe you, doctor, said he, but could you not give me a practical demonstration? Certainly, with pleasure and on yourself, too. The reporter backed off precipitately. No, said he, I'd rather see the experiment performed on some less valuable animal. Very well, and I will show you at the same time some of the improvements I have introduced into my process, for I am no longer satisfied to transmit objects in their original shapes, but have found means of altering the shape at will. By using suitable molds at the receiving station,

Starting point is 02:42:34 or by having an artist move the electrodes, I can transmit my metals in the form of blocks, statues, vases, all instead of their natural shape. I am experimenting now on animals, seeking to change their shape as they travel through the air from place to place. So far, I have only been partially successful. I find I can make minor changes, but any great change renders it impossible to start life again after the animal has reached its destination. But I find to my joy that I shall be able to make changes that will have considerable practical value. For example, I can transmit by wireless a child with deformed arms and legs and have it arrive at the other end with normal limbs. I can also take a homely girl, start her from this end, and have her appear at the receiving station

Starting point is 02:43:21 a perfect beauty. Then, too, I am using my method for the cure of disease. I noticed that a body after transmission was almost always in better health than before. I attribute this to the effect of the electrical current in killing some of the disease germs. So by using suitable methods, I am able to place a sick person at one end of the room, transmit him to the other end, and have him arrive there full of health and vigor. What do you say to that, Silas? It is too good to be true, replied Silas. At this juncture the door opened and the servant ushered in a young man about thirty. Well, doctor, cried the young man as he bustled into the room. Have you any news yet of that scoundrel for me? Not much, I confess, replied the doctor,

Starting point is 02:44:06 but enough to lead me to believe that Marty Moor Cash is coming to New York today. But allow me to present you to Mr. Silas Rocket, reporter for the New York Daily Growl. Silas, this gentleman is Mr. Chess Bixby, and he has asked me to find his fiancée for him, the young lady having been kidnapped by an unprincipled fellow named Moore Cash. I know the man, for he was formerly foreman in an important copper mine, and he ran away with a large sum of the firm's money and several of my transmission apparatus. The police are after him, but he always manages to escape them by means of the apparatus. He has at least three stations, one in San Francisco, one in Chicago, and one in New York. And whenever the police are too close upon his heels, he sends his body by wireless from one station

Starting point is 02:44:54 to the other, and so escapes them. Here, the young man interrupted impatiently. That's all very well, doctor, said he, but what about the girl? Have you any news of Elma West? Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. No, said he. I have no news of her, but I caught Marty Morcash's signals this morning as he aimed his wireless transmission wave toward New York. I think it likely that he is about to transmit his body to New York. If so, I have a little surprise in store for him. But listen, there goes my alarm now. Come, boys, and I'll show you something interesting.

Starting point is 02:45:28 I have found means of deflecting Marty's waves and bringing them here. It may be only some stolen property that the fellow is sending here by radio, but even so, I can promise you that you will see something that you never saw before. So saying, the doctor hastily tuned up his instrument, little dreaming what it was that was on its way through the ether. All three men gazed intently at the receiving terminal, which was entirely encased in glass so as to prevent the slightest current of air that might prevent the proper reuniting of the ions with the transmitted body. As they peered intensely at the immense vacuum tube that served as a receiver, a dim mist could be seen. Gradually this mist came denser in spots

Starting point is 02:46:11 and little by little began to assume a definite form. Great heavens, exclaimed Dr. Hecensaw, as he gazed open-mouthed at the object which was gradually taking shape in the receiver. Great heavens is a human leg that's coming over by wireless. It was a human leg, and the delicacy of the tissue showed without doubt that it belonged to one of the fair sex

Starting point is 02:46:33 and a very young person at that. This was further confirmed by the beautiful silk hose and the delicate Venetian point lace that encircled the limb. Gradually, before the astonished eyes of the spectators, the trunk and arms appeared, and finally the head, the face, being that of a beautiful young girl of twenty. There was no need of asking Chess Bixby if this was his fiancée, Elma West. The thing was patent at a glance. Chess was leaning breathless over the instrument, watching dazedly as the young girl was created

Starting point is 02:47:07 before their eyes, apparently out of nothing. When the instrument ceased working, the maiden lay extended before them, as in a trance, perfect in every respect, clothing, and all. Dr. Hackensaw disconnected the vacuum tube and inserted a new one in its place. Then he set about resuscitating the girl. The glass tube was opened, and electric current passed through the girl, and she awoke with a start. At this moment all were startled by a cry from Silas Rocket. Look, look, he cried, there is something else coming over the wire.

Starting point is 02:47:38 surely enough, while the trio had been busy resuscitating the girl, a new object had come into the receiving instrument. Great snakes, cried Silas. If it isn't a man's leg this time, I'll eat my hat. Yes, it's Marty Morcash's leg that's coming over this time, said Checks Bixby, gritting his teeth, and when I'm done with him, there won't be much left of Marty or that Czech suit of his. And then something happened. When the body was about half over, a shrewd his.

Starting point is 02:48:08 short circuit must have occurred somewhere, for there was a violent explosion, the vacuum tube was shivered into fragments, and the almost completed body it contained was disrupted and sent flying in the air in all directions. Marty Morcash would never more trouble anyone with his villainous schemes. End of Section 8. Section 9 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org. Read by Kristen Hand. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi, the secret of television. Authors note, one of the inventions of the near future is the telephotograph or television apparatus, which attached to the telephone will enable us to see the sender of a message at the same time that we hear him,

Starting point is 02:49:13 or will enable us to view a theatrical performance at home. Something has already been done in this line, but nothing satisfactory will probably be accomplished until we discard the selenium cell and use some radically different method. Well, doctor, busy as usual, I see. Dr. Heckensaw looked up from the peculiar instrument he was adjusting as he answered.

Starting point is 02:49:38 Yes, indeed, Silas. Busier than usual, in fact, if such a thing were possible. What's that new device you have there? I don't remember ever seeing it before. No, Silas, I haven't made it public yet, though I expect to do so very shortly, for I have the instrument pretty well perfected. What is it for? asked Silas Rocket, gazing at the instrument with unfained curiosity. For every visit he made to the doctor's laboratory, seemed to disclose some unique invention. This is a television apparatus. It does, for

Starting point is 02:50:12 images what the telephone does for sounds, carries them hundreds of miles and even further if desired. By means of electrical waves, the image of an object in Chicago or even in San Francisco is brought to me here in my laboratory in New York. Nor is it a motionless photograph in black and white that I receive. The object in motion, in its natural colors, is thrown upon this screen here enlarged to any size I desire. I really have a moving picture in colors of whatever scene is thrown upon the receiver of the apparatus at the sending station. You will perceive, by the way, that my screen, instead of being the usual impervious screen used in the movies, is a large plate glass mirror, thus ensuring a perfect reproduction. Sit down in this chair and you will see for yourself.

Starting point is 02:51:01 To begin with, here is an oriental dance being given at this moment at the Knickerbocker theater by the pupils of a celebrated dancer. See how perfectly every graceful movement and every harmony of color is reflected in the mirror. I get a better view of the performance here than if I were sitting in the orchestra behind some ladies' tall coiffure. The reporter gazed at the picture on the screen with interest. He had seen movies in color, either hand-painted negatives or photographs taken by the three-color process, but never had he seen any reproduction so perfect as this. The images were as lifelike as if the dancers were in the very room, and he were looking at their reflection in the mirror. By means of a telephone amplifier, the sound of the music could

Starting point is 02:51:45 be heard at the same time, thus adding greatly to the effect of the rhythmic movements. When the dance ceased, the applause of the audience in the theater was distinctly heard. It's wonderful, Doctor. Really wonderful, cried Silas enthusiastically. Shah! exclaimed Dr. Hackensaw, this is nothing. The idea of transmitting images by telegraph is not new by any manner of means. I am not speaking now of the tell autograph for transmitting pictures. Both Gray and Edison perfected practical forms of the tell autograph. In Edison's machine, a picture drawn in special ink will reproduce itself at the other end of the telegraph. In Gray's machine, the artist draws the picture at one end of the line, and the stylus at the other end traces the

Starting point is 02:52:29 same picture, but neither of these is real television. But, objected Silas, it seems to me that I have seen accounts of real television apparatus? Yes, replied Dr. Hackensaw contemptuously. But all those that you have seen depend upon the action of selenium cells, and selenium will never give the real solution of the problem. Light and sound are both vibrations, and as soon as the telephone was invented for transmitting sound vibrations, it was patent to every thinker that an instrument for transmitting images in the same way was also a possibility. Many men have worked on the problem.

Starting point is 02:53:07 but they have chosen the wrong road. By the use of selenium cells, they have succeeded in transmitting the photograph of an object point by point, and in black and white, but this is not what is wanted. Selenium cells will never send the continuous image of a moving object

Starting point is 02:53:23 in its natural colors, or at least will never do so satisfactorily. The real solution is to be sought in another direction. Indeed? Yes, and it seemed to me that the solution was simple. light and sound being both vibrations and differing also in the number of vibrations per second. I saw at once that all I required was a perfected telephone, a telephone of extreme delicacy which would transmit the light waves without too much distortion.

Starting point is 02:53:53 Our telephones now transmit sounds very clearly, but something far more delicate would be required for transmitting the light waves. I saw at once that I must discard the clumsy microphone at both the receiving and sending end of the line, and use something less mechanical. And you found a satisfactory substitute? Yes, I suppose you have heard of the telegraphone? Vaguely? Well, the telegraphone is a phonograph in which sounds are recorded by magnetizing an iron wire.

Starting point is 02:54:24 This is a far more delicate method for making records than a wax sheet and a cutting stylus. Now, it struck me that I could use the same method in my television apparatus. Instead of a microphone transmitter and receiver, I use a traveling wire at each end. Speak into one end, and the sound waves magnetize the wire as it passes, and the wire in the receiver is magnetized in like manner, and the sound heard there far more clearly than with the usual telephone. The message is also recorded and can be reproduced at will.

Starting point is 02:54:56 Having accomplished this for sounds, I was ready to return my attention to the transmission of images. Many experiments were necessary before I accomplished anything, and I was obliged to invent a new form of Audion for amplifying the light waves before I achieved any real results. You can judge of my success by the dance you yourself have just seen, and please remember that I not only received the pictures transmitted from a distance, but that my traveling wires carry a permanent record of the picture in the varying magnetization of the different parts of the wire. I can hence throw a picture over and over on the screen, just as a phonograph record can be played a number of times. Better yet, I can combine the phonographic and the chromographic records on the same wire,

Starting point is 02:55:42 thus solving the problem of having motion pictures in their natural colors, either of past events or of occurrences taking place at the present moment in some distant place. And remember, please, that these pictures are continuous. In the movies, you have only about 16 distinct pictures of an object in a second. The pictures are not and cannot be continuous. But in my apparatus, you see a continuous picture of an object just as you would see it in a mirror. Every phase of the motion is there, and we can slow up the reproduction to any degree desired, and still obtain an absolutely correct picture.

Starting point is 02:56:16 This feature alone is invaluable and will enable us to solve many scientific problems, especially in physiology and pathology. True, said Silas, but how about the freak movie? these will be impossible if the pictures are continuous. They depend on the intermission between the pictures, which enabled the photographer to show people run over by automobiles, carriages with their occupants hurled down precipices, etc. Dr. Hackensaw smiled. The freak motion pictures are the least of my worries, he said. Besides, means will always be found for making them. Is your instrument now ready to be put on the market? Well, yes in a way. And yet, would you believe it?

Starting point is 02:56:59 I am not yet altogether satisfied with it. What? Cried Silas. Isn't it enough for you to be able to send images in color from place to place and make permanent records of them that can be used over and over again? No, replied the doctor. It is not enough, and I did not stop there. If I could send to these pictures by wire,

Starting point is 02:57:20 there was no reason why I should not transmit them by wireless, and experiment showed that I was right. I began by using wired wireless, so as to be better able to study the new problems involved, and then I discarded the wire altogether using wireless waves, either directed waves if I wished the picture to go in one direction only, or undirected waves if I wished to broadcast the picture to different receiving stations. Here, Dr. Hackensaw paused a minute, then continued. You would imagine, Silas, that this last triumph would satisfy me, but not a bit of a bit of, of it. It only wedded my appetite for fresh conquests. I resolved to carry the thing one step

Starting point is 02:58:03 further and do away with the sending station altogether. When we look at an object with one eye, or when we take a photograph of it, we do not need a sending station to send the image to us, even though the object is a star millions of miles away. Now, if the image of a star comes millions of miles to the retina of my eye without the need of an operator to send it, why could not my television apparatus is do as much. Here was a new problem, far more difficult than those which had preceded it, and many times I was tempted to give up work in despair. But step by step, I overcame the obstacles, and you can imagine my joy when one day I found

Starting point is 02:58:42 I could see objects in the next room through the walls, even though that room contained no apparatus or operator. The natural, ever-present electrical waves that accompanied light were there, and they did their own transmitting. Now I can receive images of objects many miles away without any sending station at the other end of the wire. My receiver is provided with adjustable diaphragms and micrometer screws, and by turning it in the desired direction and tuning it to receive the waves at the desired distance, I can receive on my mirror here the image of any object I desire to see, even though it may be miles away, and even though houses and other obstacles intervene.

Starting point is 02:59:22 In order to help me in focusing the instrument for the desired point, I used special finders, similar to those used on large telescopes. They aid in finding the object desired because they cover a larger area of vision. But, objected Silas, perplexed, it seems to me you took a lot of trouble just for the sake of saving the cost of an operator at the other end of the line. Dr. Hackensaw looked at the reporter with scorn. Why, man alive, said he. Don't you realize what a marvelous achievement my invention really is? What almost supernatural power it gives me?

Starting point is 02:59:57 It is not the saving of an operator's salary that is important. It is the power I have obtained of seeing anything I wish within a radius of 100 miles or more, even if the object is inside of a house, or even under the ground. For my teleopticon, as I call my television apparatus, will show me, things several thousand feet below the surface of the earth. How can it do that when there is no light under the earth? asked Silas more and more perplexed. True, said the doctor, there are no light waves, but there are electrical waves, and these suffice. You know that photographs can be taken with x-rays without light. It is less commonly known that

Starting point is 03:00:36 photographs may also be taken by heat rays in the dark. Even ordinary photographs depend more upon the invisible actinic rays than on the light rays. Every substance existing is traversed by electrical waves, and it is these waves that I amplify and catch with my apparatus, even though the object itself be in absolute darkness. Then, said Silas, you mean to say that not only you can, from your laboratory here, look into the rooms of all the people in the city, see who is present, what they are doing, and...

Starting point is 03:01:09 Shah, interrupted the doctor. I could do that if it were worthwhile, but I did not spend years in perfecting this apparatus merely to satisfy an idle curiosity by prying into my neighbor's affairs. I have confined my researches to practical purposes. And of what practical use is your invention? To begin with, there is the location of mines. Gold mines? When you speak to the average man of a profitable mine, he always thinks of a gold mine. When, as a rule, a gold mine is not the real gold producer. However, I've located all kinds of mines with my apparatus, gold, silver, copper, tin, lead, etc., to say nothing of coal mines. But I have given

Starting point is 03:01:53 special attention to locating petroleum deposits, for oil wells are in great demand nowadays with the increasing consumption of gasoline in automobiles, aeroplanes, etc. But I see I weary you. Sit down in front of the screen here, I mean the mirror, and I will take you for a stroll through New York City. It will be the old fairy tale of The Beauty and the Beast come true. You remember the beauty could look into the magic mirror and see all that was taking place at home. Yes, assented Silas, and the Hindu Fakirs can spread ink on a boy's hand and see reflected there not only what is taking place elsewhere, but also what took place in the past and what will take place in the future. Dr. Hackensaw laughed. I haven't got so far as that yet, said he,

Starting point is 03:02:37 but I think I can show you a few views of New York that will interest you. First of all, I shall show you Broadway near Fulton Street. See, I adjust my instrument, and there you are. Forty years ago, in the crowds that passed this point, you would have seen only men. You might have stood on this busy corner all day without seeing a single woman pass, but the invention of the typewriter has changed all that. Now, as you see, there are nearly as many girls, and pretty girls, too, let me add, as there are men. Next, I switch my apparatus to the Brooklyn Bridge.

Starting point is 03:03:11 You can see the cars and the automobiles passing. Next, here is the Statue of Liberty in the bay. Now we shall take a peep into the Bronx Park and look at the wild animals. Then into the Metropolitan Museum of Art and see some of the pictures. That is Rosabon Hoor's Horse Fair, and here is the little psyche. Then I switch down to the battery and show you the fish in the aquarium. Now we switch to Park Place nearer to the Hudson River, and there? Why, yes, there is Mr. H. Gernsbeck himself in his private office busy editing science

Starting point is 03:03:43 and invention. And here are his able assistants. You can see them one after the other as I turn the machine. Now we shall try the theaters. There is the matinee crowd at the Metropolitan Opera House, and here is the sage. You see they are playing Faust, but I could go on all day. Let me instead show you one of my optographic records. Here is one that I am sure will interest you. Taking a spool of wire from a cabinet, the doctor placed the spool in his instrument, and as the wire unwound from the spool, the variations in magnetism, imprisoned in the steel thread, reproduced the original light vibrations that had caused them, and there appeared in the mirror a moving picture in natural colors.

Starting point is 03:04:24 Good gracious, cried Silas, rocket, gazing at the mirror in wonder. Why, that's my own dining room, and there I am myself coming in at the door. Now I sit down at the table and take up the news, paper while awaiting breakfast. When did you take this picture, Doctor? I took it this morning, my boy, for your special benefit. Now I've finished breakfast, continued Silas. Here I am in the street. I'm stopping at a flower stand and buying a bunch of roses. Silas stopped and blushed furiously. That's not fair, doctor, said he. You have no business following me around in my private life with an instrument that will look through walls into a man's room and see all his most secret actions.

Starting point is 03:05:06 If people knew that you possessed this power, you would be mobbed. Don't get angry, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw with a laugh. When I saw you by the roses, I switched off the instrument. I knew you were going to give them to your invisible mermaid Gloria Mundy, and I thought you would rather not have me see the meeting between you and the young lady. Could I have a look at Gloria now? asked Silas Rockets eagerly. Dr. Hackensaw laughed. Perhaps, said he.

Starting point is 03:05:35 But I must take a peep first, to make sure that the young lady wouldn't object to your looking in on her. Oh, it's all right. She is only washing her hair, so I don't think she would much mind you're having a look. But I must be careful not to allow my instruments to fall into improper hands. A criminal could use them not only for blackmailing purposes, but to ascertain the disposition of the rooms of a house and the whereabouts of the owners and the exact location of valuables in bureau drawers, safes, etc. The best hiding places would be of no avail against him. But look, Silas, there goes my alarm bell. Watch now, and you will see how my instrument

Starting point is 03:06:10 can be used to prevent crimes. I have had my eye on a jealous young fellow for some time, as I fear he is meditating mischief. A selenium cell attached to the apparatus serves as an alarm to warn me when the door of his room opens. See, there he is coming out. And look at that loaded revolver he has put into his pocket. Quick, I must find a telephone. Dr. Hackensaw switched around the finder of his apparatus, until he located a drugstore in the streets the young man had entered. And a few words to the druggist explained the situation. The porter of the drugstore, with a volunteer to assist him, followed the jealous man to his lady loves door,

Starting point is 03:06:46 just in time to see him enter and to hear a woman's shrieks. The men arrived barely in time to prevent a tragedy, but one of them tripped up the fellow and the bullet from the weapon crashed through the window pane. To disarm the young man was the work of an instant, and he was securely tied up until the police could be summoned. You see Silas, said the doctor, it is just the old story of two men and a girl. But what do you think of my instrument? Do you begin to realize its immense practical value as a crime

Starting point is 03:07:15 preventer? Silas Rocket shook his head. It's a wonderful instrument, doctor, said he. I'll grant you that. And it may prove very useful. But remember, when I am married to Gloria Monday, I'll never forgive you if you allow her to look into that instrument to see what I am doing. End of Section 9. Section 10 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit

Starting point is 03:07:52 Libravox.org. Read by Kristen Hand. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi. The Sacred of Tel Hypnotism Authors note, The Problem of the Freedom of the Will is very old one. The modern biological theory is, however, that man is an automation and that each of our actions is caused by some stimulus, either external or internal. Such being the case, the man who

Starting point is 03:08:20 should learn how to use the proper stimuli could compel all other men to do as he pleased, and so would become ruler of the world. Surely, Doctor, you don't mean to say that you believe in hypnotism? Well, yes and no. I have no faith in the public performances of hipnotes. hypnotism. All those I have seen were obviously frauds. As to the books on hypnotism that I have read, I am convinced that the authors were sincere, but that they were cleverly duped by their subjects. Of course, everything depends on what you call hypnotism. If we use the word to express the influence which one mind exerts over another, everyone must admit that the thing exists. For we have daily proof that a weak mind can be controlled by a stronger one, when a father calls to his boy to

Starting point is 03:09:06 cease his play and come in and do his chores, the boy comes reluctantly against his will. The will of the parent here controls the will of the child. Yes, but through the medium of language. Not necessarily. A looker gesture may suffice. All our acts are the automatic results of external or internal stimuli, and often inanimate objects act as the stimulus, as we see in the case of the alarm clock, whose ring causes the sleepy and unwilling workmen to get up against his will. Not against his will, because he set the alarm himself the previous night. True, he made up his mind beforehand to rise early, and this predisposition acts as the stimulus.

Starting point is 03:09:50 But since we are on the subject of hypnotism, I will let you into one of my secrets which I had resolved never to reveal to any living man. Silas, I have discovered the secret of tell hypnotism. Tell hypnotism. What in the world is that? hypnotizing at a distance. I have found the means of hypnotizing people miles away and compelling them to do what I wish. What impossible? Dr. Hackensaw smiled. Yes, said he, I enjoy accomplishing of possibilities. You are doubtless aware that for many years learned men wrangled over the question of the freedom of the will, whether we have any choice in our acts or whether they are determined by external causes, just as oppressed digitator forces us to select a certain card in the

Starting point is 03:10:36 when we believe we are choosing one for ourselves. The modern biological theory is that man is an automaton and that all our acts are the result of external or internal stimuli. We see, smell, or hear something, and we respond to the stimulus excited in our senses. I suppose so, but the reactions are very complex. Yes, in civilized men, in savages they are much more simple. Well, Silas, while experimenting with electrical waves of very high frequency,

Starting point is 03:11:05 I found that these waves could act as stimuli on human beings, and after a long series of observations, I have succeeded in making an instrument which I call a tell hypnotizer, for want of a better name. By properly tuning and directing the waves from this instrument, I can compel anyone within a range of five or ten miles to perform practically any action I wish. Prove it to me, Doctor, and I will believe you, said Silas Rocket with a grin. Very well, I will prove it on yourself. sometime today I shall send you a hypnotic wave and compel you to perform my bidding. That there may be no mistake, I shall write down and seal in this envelope the order I have given you.

Starting point is 03:11:45 Open it at 11 o'clock tonight and you will find that you have carried out my orders. Will that convince you? Perfectly, so long as the action is not one that I perform every day, such as eat my dinner, or something of that kind. No, indeed. Take my word for it. The action is one you have never before, performed in your life. By the way, how is Miss Gloria Mundy, the charming young lady you met during your summer vacation? She is quite well, and more charming than usual. I suppose you have told her so, and asked her to marry you? Well, no, I've never yet mustered up courage enough to do so. I'm afraid my answer might be no, and I prefer not to risk anything yet. You are wrong, Silas.

Starting point is 03:12:27 Remember the old adage. Faint heart, ne'er one fair lady. Think over it. Well, good Bye. After the reporter's departure, Dr. Hackensaw sat down before his tel-hypnotizing machine, while he consulted a rather long list he held in his hands. The fact was that the doctor, having perfected his apparatus for hypnotizing people at a distance, was not content unless he used that power for the good of the subjects themselves, as well as for the good of mankind in general. My power is limited, thought the doctor. I cannot change a person's nature, but I can prevent him from committing a bad action and can force him to do a good one. Let's see. The first on my list is a lazy man who allows his wife to slave at the washboard

Starting point is 03:13:10 while he sits with boon companions smoking his pipe. I will make him do one good day's work anyway. So saying, the doctor pressed the keys of his instrument for a few minutes and then turned to the second case. Number two, said he, is a swindler who has robbed a poor widow of her savings. I will compel him to return the money to her. Again, the keys worked, and the turn of the third case came. This happened to be a woman who was believed to possess vital information in a murder case, but who refused to make it known. As Dr. Hackensaw believed the suspected murderer to be innocent, he worked the keys of his instrument and compelled the woman to come to him. She had been left at liberty by the police in the hope that her actions would afford them some clue to the real

Starting point is 03:13:56 murderer. When the doctor had the woman before him, he compelled, her to make a full statement of the affair, and with the knowledge obtained, was able to secure the acquittal of an innocent man. And so the doctor proceeded with his list. Brutal parents, he forced to sign papers releasing all claim to their children. Corrupt judges and other officials signed and sent in their resignations at his bidding. He forced politicians to appoint good men to office, and in a word he endeavored to use the boundless power he possessed for the welfare of his fellow men. True, he did indulge in one joke. He compelled to be. He compelled to, he I called Silas to put a dozen raw potatoes in a handsome box and send them to his lady love.

Starting point is 03:14:35 The doctor chuckled as he thought of Gloria Mundy's face when she opened the box, but was recalled to himself by the unwelcome attentions of a fly who persisted in using the doctor's head and face as a walking track. I must really perfect my tel hypnotizer, cried the doctor aloud. If I could only hypnotize animals as well as people, I could compel every fly and mosquito in the room to commit suicide by flying into the water pitcher. and barking dogs and yowling cats at night could be quieted in a jiffy. Come at once urgent, Hackensaw. Such was the message received by Silas Rocket several weeks after his last visit to the doctor's laboratory, and he hastened to obey the summons.

Starting point is 03:15:15 He found the place in confusion, the assistance all excited, for the doctor had locked himself in his private office for a couple of days, and refused to stir from it or see anyone, and received his food by means of a basket let down from a window. When Silence's presence was announced, however, the door of the private office opened, and the doctor's familiar voice bade him come in. Here he received a fresh surprise, for Dr. Hackensaw had barred himself inside a strong iron cage, which was a closely woven metallic netting, which completely surrounded him. Silas was tempted to laugh, but something in the doctor's expression restrained him. You think I'm crazy, don't you?

Starting point is 03:15:54 Were the doctor's first words. While I am not. stepped out of this cage for a minute my life wouldn't be worth a straw. Why, what's the matter? The matter is that my tel hypnotizer has been stolen and the villain now wants to murder me, so as to remain the sole possessor of the secret. Have you any idea who the fellow is? Yes, it is dope Peters, the man who ran off with my tell automatic girl, and that you helped me to catch. I was a fool to let him go free. When he was in my employ here, he must have pride around and learned of the existence of my tel hypnotizer, and last Saturday night he broke in here and carried the

Starting point is 03:16:30 instrument off in a high-powered automobile. Luckily for me, he didn't quite understand how to work the machine or I should be a dead man by this time. As it was, I had time to enclose myself in this wire netting which protects me from the hypnotic electrical waves. As, however, he could hypnotize my assistance and make them break the netting. I've taken the further precaution of getting inside an iron barred cage. There, I am safe for a while. But my hypnotizer is so safe. simple that the villain will soon be able to work it as well as I can. Simple, exclaimed the reporter, how can you make an instrument be simple that enables you to make people do any one of a million

Starting point is 03:17:07 different things? Easily enough, replied the doctor. You see, the natural instincts that govern a man's actions are comparatively few. Our usual motives are fear, curiosity, envy, jealousy, hate, the sexual instinct, despair, sympathy, cupidity, etc. The list of important ones is not very long. My tel hypnotizer must first induce the subject to walk in any desired direction and stop in any desired spot.

Starting point is 03:17:35 To achieve this, after tuning up the instrument to accord with the position and mentality of the subject, the needle of the dial is turned in the direction you wish the person to take, and the start or stop button is pressed. As soon as the subject has gone to the spot indicated, you press the cupidity button if you wish him to steal, the sympathy button if you wish him to render assistance, and the the jealousy or despair button if you wish him to commit murder or suicide. With the 25 keys of the apparatus pressed down one at a time or two or more together, hundreds of thousands of combinations are possible. Now, Dope Peters has already mastered the most important of the combinations and has

Starting point is 03:18:13 been using his new power in a way that will soon make him master of the world unless I could find some means of checking him. And yet I dare not leave this cage, where I am none too secure as it is, for he can, if he thinks of it, direct the captain of a company of soldiers to come here with his men and shoot me. Here are some things he has already done. First, in order to secure wealth, he ordered a wealthy woman to bring her money and jewels to some specified spot where he can secure them. He also makes her steal the jewelry of her friends and thus saves himself the trouble of tuning up the instrument several times and also the danger of having several women to deal with. Then he has ordered the clerks in charge of his police records to destroy them,

Starting point is 03:18:53 and has compelled the witnesses of his crimes to commit suicide. In this way, he hopes to secure immunity and be able to enjoy his new wealth in peace. Then, he is designing to make a pretty girl he has seen fall in love with him. Luckily, however, he has not yet found the love combination on the machine, for she is a beautiful girl, belonging to one of our best families, and it would be a shame to have her life ruined. Then, too, the fellow seems to be getting ambitious. I can see that he wants to secure power, and it will be easy for,

Starting point is 03:19:23 him to secure any position he desires, and become either president or a power that is even greater than president, a political boss. With his hypnotizer and his money, there is no goal he cannot reach. But suppose a foreign nation should step in and try to stop him. Poo! He would simply hypnotize their generals and have the armies surrendered or turned back. He would hypnotize the admirals and obtain mastery of the fleets, and the same for the airplanes. Nothing can stop him once he has thoroughly learned how to use the machine. Then what is it you expect me to do, doctor? How am I to get at him if he has power to make me do anything he pleases?

Starting point is 03:20:01 How can I accomplish more than an army of a hundred thousand men? Remember, Silas, that a flea can get in where a lion can't go. Thanks for the comparison, but what am I to do? Listen, Silas, here is the address of the place where Peters is staying tonight. Take a good look at the place in my television apparatus so that you can find the spot without trouble. take this small box with you and place it in Peter's room in the top drawer of his bureau. I'll keep an eye on him. He's not at home now. Telephone me just before entering the house and I'll let you know if the coast is clear. But doctor, not another word. Go. And remember that the lives and happiness of all the rest of the world depend on you doing your part well.

Starting point is 03:20:46 From the day dope Peters had stolen the doctor's machine for hypnotizing persons at a distance, New York City had been startled by a serious. of the most sensational robberies that had ever been perpetrated. In the most selected gatherings, jewels and other valuables disappeared when there was no one present to whom any suspicion could be attached. Private detectives were set to work and were astounded to find that the thieves were persons of rank and wealth for whom money had no temptation whatever. Evidently, there was an epidemic of kleptomania raging. Women who tried to save their jewels by placing them in safe deposit vaults and wearing

Starting point is 03:21:22 imitations were no more fortunate. They came back a day or two later, took out the valuables again, and lost them. And they told strange tales of the fierce temptation that assailed them to get the real gems again, and the wild desire to go to lonely spots and their throw-away necklaces and bracelets that had cost thousands of dollars. And in every case, when the obsession left them and they returned to the spot, it was only to find that the jewels had disappeared. In another case, over a million dollars worth of jewels were stolen in one night from one of the best patronized of the safe deposit vaults. The precautions taken by the firm were so great that the collusion of over twenty different trusted employees was necessary, men who had held their positions for years

Starting point is 03:22:06 and whose integrity was above suspicion. Yet the jewels or other valuables had vanished, and the tales told by the guilty guardians were passing strange, tales of irresistible temptation coming suddenly to them and overcoming all their principles. Yet none of the employees had received a reward of any kind for his assistance in performing the theft. Dope Peters was jubilant when he returned home that night. He was literally rolling in wealth. As yet, he had not tried to dispose of any of the jewels or securities. The amount of cash he had secured was far more than sufficient for his present needs. He feared no detectives. If any got on his track, he would simply hypnotize them and send them off on the wrong scent. Only two things worried him. The first was that he could not find the

Starting point is 03:22:53 love combination of the machine, and the second was his fear of Dr. Hackensaw. He knew the doctor's wonderful powers of invention, and he felt that his only safety lay in the physician's death. But the doctor in his wire-meshed cage was proof against the electrical hypnotizing waves. Still, Dr. Hackensaw was mortal. It's got to be done, cried Peters aloud, and the suit sooner the better. I'll hypnotize the man who prepares his food and have it poisoned. So saying, he sat down in front of the telhypnotizer and pressed down one of the keys. But at the first touch of the instrument, there was a tremendous explosion. Peters himself was blown to atoms, and nothing remained of the telhypnotizer but a mass of

Starting point is 03:23:35 shapeless bits of iron. Dope Peters had been master of the world, but his reign was a short one. You did your work well, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw. Yes, it was an explosive that I had in the can I gave you. It was arranged so as to go off, the first time the telhypentizer's keys started the electrical waves going. It had to be done, and the world is better off without dope peters. But how about your apparatus? Well, the world is better off without that, too.

Starting point is 03:24:06 I should have had to destroy it anyway. No man is fit to be trusted with the power of hypnotizing his fellow beings at will. How about the stolen valuables? They are all safe, except the few dollars Peter spent. I watched the fellow through my television apparatus, and I know all his hiding places. The jewels can be easily recovered. You are a wonder, doctor, cried Silas in admiration, and I'm sorry you lost your instrument. I am not, said the doctor quietly.

Starting point is 03:24:33 I was often tempted to use my power for questionable ends. I might someday have succumbed to the temptation if, for example, I had fallen in love with a girl who loved another. I might have hypnotized her and commanded her to love me instead. I should have given a great deal yesterday for such a power, said Silas, but today I shouldn't care a fig for it. Ah, then Gloria accepted you, did she? Silas Rocket looked at the doctor in amazement. Are you a mind-reader, doctor?

Starting point is 03:25:03 He cried. Not quite, but I know you proposed to her today because I hypnotized you and ordered you to do so. If you will look at the sealed memorandum I gave you, you will look at the sealed memorandum I gave you, you will find my order written out. I saw you were hesitating to propose, and I felt sure Gloria Monday would accept you, so I thought I would hasten matters a little. No thanks, please, Silas. Don't thank me until you have been married ten years. Then you will know whether you will want to thank me or murder me. End of Section 10. Section 11 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information,

Starting point is 03:25:47 or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizzandi. Journey to the Year 2025. Authors note, Science is, in reality, nothing but the prediction of the future. The astronomer, from his knowledge of the past, can predict the positions of planets for hundreds of years to come.

Starting point is 03:26:15 The chemist knows in advance what substance will result. from combining a certain acid with a certain base, and the engineer, in his blueprints, shows what the appearance of his new machine will be. To forecast what the progress of humanity will be in the next hundred years is too complex a problem to be solved with any degree of accuracy, but certain inventions and discoveries may be readily foreshadowed. You're a smart man, Dr. Hackensaw, remarked Silas Rocket.

Starting point is 03:26:42 But I'll bet there's one thing you can't do. Indeed. And what does that prey? asked the doctor smiling. Is it to make Gloria Mundy fall in love with you? Silas Rocket blushed. No, said he. I don't need any help in that direction.

Starting point is 03:26:57 What I should like would be to take a trip a hundred years forward into the future. Is that all? cried the doctor, Galey. Why, that's easy enough. I'll take you there any time. Silas Rocket's face fell. You don't understand me, he said. I don't want you to put me to sleep for a hundred years,

Starting point is 03:27:16 pickled in carbon dioxide the way you do with other men, no thanks. What I want is just to take a short run to the year 2025, and then come back to the present time again. If such a thing were only possible, I should come back a rich man. How so? Why, I'd simply take note of some of the greatest inventions that had been made during the century, and patent them now. I'd soon be the richest man in the United States. The smile on Dr. Hackensaw's face broadened into the a sardonic grin. I'll gladly do what you want, Silas. The thing is simple enough. But as to making your fortune, I fear you will be sadly disappointed. Do you imagine for a moment that if Ben Franklin had been allowed to spend a few days in our century, and had then gone back to the year 1776, he could have accomplished much? He would know how to make a locomotive, a telephone, a dynamo, an automobile, an aeroplane, and a radio apparatus. but of what use would they be? He would have no capital with which to put his machines on the market.

Starting point is 03:28:22 No facilities for mining and transporting the coal required. No gasoline for his automobiles and airplanes. No business that would warrant the installation of telephones and wireless. No, Silas, a new invention cannot be successfully launched until the world is ready for it. Human progress is necessarily slow. People in 1776, even more than at present day, were opposed to all innovations, and Franklin would have been long dead before the simplest of these devices would have been adopted. Every great invention requires a host of preliminary steps,

Starting point is 03:28:57 and then there is the arduous work of educating the public up to it. But that's neither here nor there. If you want to make a short trip to the year 2025, I'll send you there at months, and guarantee you a safe return, too. But how will you manage it, doctor? asked Silas, surprised. simply enough, I will merely give you an opiate, and by leading your thoughts to the future as you fall asleep, you will almost certainly dream of the year 2025. Silas Rocket made a wry face. What use would that be to me, said he? In my dream I should learn nothing new, because a man can dream of nothing he doesn't already know. Indeed, returned Dr. Hackensaw. You forget that the human brain is a wonderful organ, especially when under the influence of a stimulant.

Starting point is 03:29:45 I will promise you an interesting and instructive trip, and you will certainly see many new inventions, though I doubt if, on your return, you can make any profit out of them. At any rate, you will be back in an hour, so you risk nothing. Here, swallow down this potion, and while it is taking effect, I will lead your mind in the right direction, by speaking of some of the things you are likely to see.

Starting point is 03:30:09 "'Where am I?' cried Silas Rocket, opening his eyes and gazing about him in wonderment. "'I hope you are not hurt, sir,' said a soft feminine voice in his ear. Silas Rocket looked up and found he was supported in the arms of a young girl about twenty, who was looking at him anxiously to ascertain if he were wounded. "'Where am I?' asked Silas again, his bewilderment increasing. "'And who are you, pray?' "'My name is Radia Sparks, and here is my identification button.' FN-N-1728-N-Y.

Starting point is 03:30:43 I suppose you flew here and met with an accident. By the way, you've lost your identification button. My identification button? What's that? Is it possible you don't know? I see from your clothing and speech that you are a stranger, but I thought everyone in the world today had to wear an identification button. What place is this? asked Silas. This is New York City, returned the maiden.

Starting point is 03:31:07 If you feel well enough to fly, I'll take you to my home, where you'll feel more comfortable. Have you your pocket wings with you? My pocket wings? Yes, to fly with. But I see you haven't them. Luckily, mine are strong enough to support the two of us. So saying, the young lady drew a roll from beneath her dress, unfolded it, and in a moment a small flying machine with a propeller underneath was ready for action. Where is the engine? asked Silas in surprise. There is none. The power comes by wireless impulses from the earth that set the propeller spinning.

Starting point is 03:31:43 If we sit close together, the two of us can fit in the machine. See, I turn this knob, and up we go. And as she said the words, the plane ascended in the air. It was soon evident, however, that the weight of the two persons was too much for the machine. We shall have to land, observed the young lady. Luckily, we are over at the travelling walks. A moment later, the two found themselves on the roofs of the houses were three traveling sidewalks, if sidewalks they could be called, going at different rates of speed were in constant motion in one direction, while three others were traveling in the reverse direction. Silas and his fair companion moved from the slowest to the most rapid walk, and there sat down in comfortable armchairs. Set your chair dial for number one two seven two,

Starting point is 03:32:30 said Radia, and she showed Silas how to turn the dials. You see, she explained, the chair is now set, so it will travel straight to my house without further attention. Is all travelling done on the roofs of the houses, asked Silas? Yes, the streets below are for the vehicular traffic. Here on the roof we have the gardens. And, as you see, at every street corner, our chairs cross from one block to the next on the moving bridges. And are all the houses of the same height? Practically so in all important centres in New York.

Starting point is 03:33:02 Each house occupies a whole block and surrounds a central garden. roadways lead to this garden for pleasure vehicles. All deliveries of goods are, however, made at the front door on the streets. Visitors either make use of the back doors in the garden, or enter from the travelling walks by doors in the roof, but they generally fly in through one of the windows. I see, said Silas, by the way, what do you do when it rains? I suppose you have a glass roof to raise over the sidewalk so you won't get wet.

Starting point is 03:33:31 Radiot turned and looked at him in surprise and then laughed merrily. "'Why, what an idea!' she cried. "'No, of course we have no glass roofs. "'Doh, I believe there are such things in some out-of-the-way countries. "'But we don't allow rain in the cities. "'You don't allow it?' "'No, the weather-makers have orders never to make it rain in New York, "'except on special occasions.

Starting point is 03:33:54 "'And then a week's notice must be given, "'so people can remain at home during the shower. "'I see, your weather is made to order. You have the rain for the farmer and fine weather for the city man. But how do you satisfy everybody? We don't. But we have local option. Every month the people of each locality decide by vote what weather they want for each day of the coming month.

Starting point is 03:34:20 Heat, cold, rain, or shine. And they get what they want within certain reasonable limits and provided the expense is not too great. The expense? Why, yes, it costs money to control the weather. It takes a large amount of power, in the form of heat or electricity, to bring down a shower, keep it off, or move it to some other locality. Of course, power is cheap. We get it from the waves, the tides, the heat of the sun, wind, and the internal heat of the earth.

Starting point is 03:34:48 But such large quantities are required for weather purposes, that the cost is considerable. But here we are at home. See, our chairs have stopped. Silas looked all around him on the roof, but he could perceive no sign of a door. Radia noticed his puzzled look and gave a light silvery laugh. Wait until I opened the door, she cried. And then slowly and distinctly, she pronounced the words.

Starting point is 03:35:12 Open, Sesame! At the sound of her voice, a door in the roof noiselessly opened, and the armchairs on which they sat automatically continued their journey. Was it the sound of your voice that opened the door? asked Silas puzzled. Why certainly, replied the young lady. almost all our locks are phonographic. We first make the record by speaking into the phonograph, and after that the lock will only open when the same voice repeats the same words.

Starting point is 03:35:41 For unless the needle travels in the same groove, the electrical contact is not made and the door will not open. But how do you manage when several persons are to use the same lock? Each person makes his own phonogram, and the lock will then open to any one of a dozen different voices, each repeating its own special words. When strangers are expected, we use a broader needle in making the records. Then the lock will open for anyone who pronounces the given words,

Starting point is 03:36:09 or else we speak through a special horn that changes the voice, so that the lock is not set for an individual voice. But doesn't your own voice change somewhat at times? Yes, indeed. Once I came home so hoarse that my voice wouldn't work the lock, in another case I had an attack of malaria, and was shivering so hard I couldn't articulate the words. In both cases, I had to hire a room downstairs until my family returned.

Starting point is 03:36:37 But here we are in my room. And as you must be hungry, we might as well have some dinner. Silas Rocket looked about him in surprise. The room was absolutely empty. In shape it was square. There were no corners, no moldings or panels to accumulate the dust. For ease in cleaning, the corners of the room were all round. There was no fireplace or mantelpiece and no carpet.

Starting point is 03:37:02 Not even a door was visible. The armchairs that had brought them had vanished, and the opening had closed again. Not a chair, table, or other article of furniture was in sight. To Silas, it appeared more like an empty room in a hospital than anything else. You have sanitary rooms all right, said he, and they must be easy to keep clean. Yes, indeed, replied Radia. The rooms scrubbed themselves clean every day,

Starting point is 03:37:27 automatically. I see. But you speak of dinner, and yet there doesn't seem to be the ghost of a table, chair, or stove present. And what is more important than all, there doesn't seem to be anything to eat. Radia laughed again, and her laugh was so infectious that Silas found himself joining in, though he hadn't the faintest idea what he was laughing at. Before I attend dinner, said Radia, what kind of air will you have? Air, echoed Silas in perplexity. Yes, do you want ocean breezes brought in from 500 miles out in the Atlantic? Or do you want mountain breezes from the Adirondacks? Oh, I see, said Silas. You bring your air to the houses in pipes. Yes, returned Radia. Our houses are dust-proof, and we only use filtered air. And you can have it warm or cool

Starting point is 03:38:16 any temperature you wish. I'll try the ocean air, said Silas. The young lady held herself erect, and in a clear, distinct voice, she uttered the command. Sea breeze! Immediately the room was filled from an unseen source by the bracing salt breezes of the Atlantic. You have good servants, observed Silas. Servants? Oh, that was no servant that turned on the breeze. It was simply another phonographic lock. We have no servants but use phonographic locks instead. I can order any one of a thousand things by merely shouting the proper word. You see, this is my bedroom, dining room, parlor, library, music room, etc. The furniture is all of the folding variety and appears or disappears at

Starting point is 03:39:04 command. It is stored behind the walls of the room. I shall now order the table and chairs to appear. Dining table for two, she called. At the words, the wall noiselessly opened and a small table with two chairs moved into the center of the room. Now, said Radia, what will you have to eat? That round spot in the center of the table is a phonograph transmitter. Press the by the in front of you to connect the instrument with the restaurant, and then order anything you want. It will be served immediately. I prefer that you should give the order, said Silas, diffidently. Radia smiled in order to delicious dinner such as Silas in all his life had never tasted

Starting point is 03:39:44 before. Each dish, as ordered, descended from the ceiling piping hot, and the young couple made a hearty meal. Now then, said Radia, after the last mouthful had been eaten, perhaps you would like to take a trip around the city. I have an extra pair of pocket wings that you can use. To Silas, that afternoon was spent in visiting the shops and factories, was a revelation. He saw displays of goods such as he had never dreamt before, and machines that possessed almost human intelligence, so complex and delicate were the operations performed.

Starting point is 03:40:19 Mankind, he found, had changed but little in the hundred years, but mechanical inventions had multiplied to an enormous extent, and marvel after marvel appeared before his delighted eyes. The clothing worn by the men and women especially interested him. It was soft like silk, and yet between the outer and inner airtight tissue there was a vacuum, which served to keep out the heat in summer and the cold in winter. He visited the schools, saw lessons in geography and history taught by speaking movies in natural colors, In physiology, too, the movies were used to show the functioning of each organ.

Starting point is 03:40:58 The lectures that accompanied the movies were up-to-the-minute talks by the most celebrated scientists. The walls of houses were all built with a vacuum, and this acted as a silencer as well as a preservative against changes of temperature. A man could sing at the top of his voice or run his phonograph at midnight in his room, and no sound would be perceptible to his neighbor in the next room. He saw people walking across the Hudson River with their feet encased in weighted floating shoes, what you might call water skates. He saw other persons walk head downward from a ceiling like flies, special suckers on their shoes enabling them to walk up the side walls and cling to the ceiling. He greatly admired the lighting arrangements in the houses, for at the command, light,

Starting point is 03:41:42 the room would be flooded with daylight from some invisible source. He flew to the suburbs with Radia and watched how the farmers, passed the soil of their farms through sterilizing machines that killed all the weed seeds and disease germs. Then, pure cultures of beneficial microbes and properly prepared hummus and fertilizer were added, and the soil, when planted, needed no weeding. But it would be impossible to detail one one hundredth of the things he saw. His head was in a perfect whirl as they turned to leave the farm. Ah, Radia, said he, I don't know how to thank you for this wonderful day. Then, seeing that she was having some trouble with adjusting her flying gear, he added,

Starting point is 03:42:24 Here, let me fasten your wings for you. Radia looked superbly beautiful as she bent down to allow him to fasten the clasps of the aeroplane to her shoulders. And it is no wonder if the poor man completely lost his head. Radia, said he with his soul in his eyes, Radia, will you allow me to kiss you? No, indeed, she replied blushing. Kissing is against the law. On account of sanitary reasons, no one is allowed to kiss. Then she added, more gently,

Starting point is 03:42:54 I have read about kissing in books, and I have often wondered what it must feel like to have a man's lips touch yours. I'll show you, Radia, cried Silas. Beside himself and seizing her in his arms, he gave her a long, ardent kiss. The young girl blushed crimson, and breaking from his embrace, darted up into the air. In an instant Silas had buckled on his own flying machine and had followed her. But he had been too excited to fasten the clamps carefully. Something slipped,

Starting point is 03:43:23 and he felt himself falling, falling. Well, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, you've been gone just one hour. I hope you've brought back enough ideas for inventions to make your fortune. But what in the world did you mean by crying out? Oh, Radia, Radia, just one more kiss, please! And Dr. Hackensaw smiled sarcastically. Silas rocket blushed Scarlet. Doctor, said he, if you ever tell Gloria Mundy about Radia, I'll never forgive you. Women are such jealous creatures. She wouldn't understand that Radia was only a girl 100 years in the future, and a dream girl at that. End of Section 11. Section 12 of Dr. Hackenstah's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 03:44:19 For more information or to volunteer, please, visit librivox.org. Read by Emily N. Bova. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi. The Secret of the Philosopher's Stone. Authors note, Our most advanced chemists nowadays believe that the large majority of our so-called elements,

Starting point is 03:44:45 if not all of them, are really compounds of simpler entities, and that the time is not far distant when we shall be able to change any element into any other. The fact that the sun and stars contain very few elementary substances seems to show that if we could obtain sufficient heat, we could decompose any of our present elements into the primitive particles of which it is composed.

Starting point is 03:45:14 Hist, shrimp, this is the place. Here's where the old geyser makes the stuff, and it ought to be an easy job for us to cut off a whole load of it. Why, the windows aren't even fastened. As he said the words, Dago Jake, with the deafness that we took in long experience, noiselessly pushed up the sash, and a moment later the two burglars had entered the room.

Starting point is 03:45:39 It can't be real gold then, whispered the young fellow called Shrimp. You can bet your life the window wouldn't be left open if this was the real stuff. It's gold-or-right shrimp. I know, because I got hold of some of it and had it tested. Old Doc Hackensaw makes it himself, and as he can make it by the cartload, he doesn't think it worthwhile to have it watched.

Starting point is 03:46:05 Besides, he thinks that no one outside of his own men knows the secrets. He doesn't know that some of the fellers have blabbed. But hush, I hear somebody coming. Let's slip behind these. boxes in the corner. The two rogues had scarcely time to conceal themselves before the door opened, and Silas Rocket and Dr. Hackensaw entered the room. Yes, Silas, said the doctor, continuing the conversation he had already begun. I have found it. I have found the philosopher's stone, that the old elkinists vainly sought, the secret of making gold, and better yet, the secret of

Starting point is 03:46:47 transforming any element into any other. whew, whistled the reporter. That is a discovery, and no mistake. If I understand you, you have found means of changing the common metals into gold? Dr. Hackensaw's lips curled contemptuously. Yes, said he, but that is only a minor part of my discovery. Personally, I wouldn't give a snap of the fingers for a hundred

Starting point is 03:47:17 tons of gold. This room we are in is chuck full of gold that I made from lead, and yet I am going to change it back into lead again. What? Yes, continued the doctor, purposefully misunderstanding his companion. An atom of gold is nothing but an atom of lead, with two helium atoms knocked out of it. Or, as another man states it, if you expel one alpha particle from lead, you, you'll you get mercury, and if you expel a beta particle from mercury, you get thallium, then expel another alpha particle from thallium, and you get gold. Well, I have accomplished the change. This room contains several million dollars worth of gold. But, as I said before, I'm going to change it all back into lead again. What in the world are you going to do that for? asked Silas in surprise.

Starting point is 03:48:17 simply because this gold would do more harm than good if I tried to make use of it. A little of it would do me a lot of good, remarked Silas, whose pocketbook was always empty. Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw solemnly, I am now able to manufacture gold in any quantity I desire at the cost of a few dollars per ton, and yet I am not going to make any more of it. because it would be a bad thing for the world if gold were produced in large quantities. Gold is now very valuable as currency, or as a means of exchange between nations. If made in quantities, it would be useless for this purpose,

Starting point is 03:49:05 and its value for other purposes would by no means compensate for this loss. Cheap silver would be very useful for the manufacture of electric wires, because silver is a better conductor of electricity than copper. But gold, though it would be useful as a lining for kitchen utensils and other purposes of the sort, would be of small use in the arts, no matter how low the price. The benefits derived from an unlimited supply of gold would not begin to make up, for mankind, the loss of gold as money or a means of exchange. Then, two, the manufacture of gold on a large.

Starting point is 03:49:45 large scale would bring about a financial crisis such as the world has never before experienced. The present financial conditions in Austria, in Germany, will give you some idea of what would happen. Why I had not sold a million dollars worth of my synthetic gold before I was visited by confidential agents from the different governments of the world, begging me to desist unless I wish to be the ruin of hundreds of thousands of families. I can't say that I understand you, Doctor. Is it possible? Why, you see, all our banknotes are on a gold basis,

Starting point is 03:50:26 and all bonds, loans, rentals, contracts, etc., are made either on the basis of banknotes or of gold. Now gold at present is worth nearly $21 an ounce. If I manufactured it at 25 cents per pound, it would be worth only one one thousandth of what it is at present. In other words, a man having a thousand dollars in banknotes, bonds, money in the bank, or other credit, would find he could buy only one dollars worth of goods with it. The contractor would have to fill his contracts at a cost a thousand times greater than he had figured on.

Starting point is 03:51:08 Creditors would lose practically all the money owed them, while all debtors would benefit by having the greater portion of their debt cancelled. In that case, remarked Silas, it would seem to me that it might not be a bad thing for humanity at large. The rich would be lose, but the poor would gain. Dr. Hackensaw gave him a pitying look. Yes, said he, that is the socialistic argument.

Starting point is 03:51:38 Take the capital away from those who have it, and distribute it, among those who lack it. This is a comparatively easy thing to do, but the fallacy is that the capital, thus divided, would be soon dissipated. At the same time, the incentive to form new capital would be destroyed, and the world would revert to a condition little better than savagery. It is capital that makes civilization possible. But enough of this lecture, of course I agreed at once to stop making gold, and to change all I had in stock back into lead again. And you really possess the power of changing one element into another in this way?

Starting point is 03:52:23 Yes, I have been working on the problem for the past 30 years, and had solved it theoretically years ago. The decomposition of the elements is merely a question of obtaining sufficient heat. Heat is the real philosopher's stone. The reporter looked incredulous. Yes, continued the doctor. The spectroscope shows us that the sun and the stars, which are at a very high temperature, possess elementary substances very rare on the earth. As our earth at one time formed part of the sun, the inference is plain. Many of our common elements must have been changed into some other form in the sun.

Starting point is 03:53:07 In a word, the heat must have decomposed them into simple earth. elements. And analogy would lead us to believe that a still greater heat would decompose those elements still existing in the sun. I don't see how mere heat can make such a change, hazarded the reporter. The heat forces the particles of the atom further apart, and thus sets them free to form new combinations. When the electrical furnace was invented, I thought my problem was solved, but the temperatures obtained are far inferior to those needed. Of late, methods have been found for obtaining an exceedingly high temperature for a duration of a second or so. But of course, such explosions of heat, if I may so call them, are unsatisfactory for practical purposes. What I required was a continuous heat at a hitherto undreamt of temperature, and I obtained it. Here, Dr. Hackenstaw paused, then continued after a moment. The tremendous amount of energy required made coal too expensive as a source of power.

Starting point is 03:54:19 I accordingly used wave power transformed into electricity. This electricity, I step up or boost to inconceivable voltages or amperages as I desire, and then change this electricity into heat of temperatures so high that the figures would mean nothing to you. A special form of Audion that I have devised forms part of my apparatus and aids in intensifying heat, just as the ordinary Audion amplifies sound for heat, like sound, is nothing but a vibration. To change my electrical current into heat, I use, as a resistance, the vapor of the element that is to be decomposed. Thus, if I am decomposing lead, I first vaporize the lead, and then pass the

Starting point is 03:55:10 electric current through this vapor, the vapor forming the resistance. The tremendous heat obtained separates the atoms of lead into atoms of simpler elements, and by removing those that are not desired, and bringing together in their nascent state, those which I wish to combine, I am able to manufacture any elements out of very cheap materials. For instance, gold, as I have told you, is merely lead with two atoms of helium removed. Hence, after raising my lead to a temperature sufficient to decompose the atoms, I remove the helium and the remaining gases, when cold, combined to form gold. It is still easier to change the gold back into lead again, for I merely add the right quantity of helium vapor to the gold.

Starting point is 03:56:00 vapor, then heat both together and when cold I have lead instead of gold. Silas made a grimace. The idea of changing lead into gold evidently did not appeal to him. Dr. Hackenstaw continued. At first, I used temperatures much higher than were really necessary. I have found that under certain conditions, the atoms will disassociate or decompose at much lower temperatures than others. A high frequency current, for example, seems to set the elementary particles of the atoms vibrating at greater speeds. At any rate, it enables me to dissociate the atoms at greatly reduced temperatures. Ultraviolet rays also help.

Starting point is 03:56:45 And combination is also sometimes useful, that is to say, the joining of another gas to the one I wish to decompose. But doctor, objected Silas, what will be the use of your apparatus if you cannot make gold. Dr. Hackensau smiled. Silas, said he, I'm going to make the most precious element that exists, one that has an intrinsic as well as an artificial value. And what is that?

Starting point is 03:57:17 Radium, replied the doctor. All this worthless gold here will be transformed into radium. And what will you do with all that radium? It won't be worth anything if you make too much of it. You think so, but you forget the energy stored up in radium. A gram of radium gives off 36 billion helium atoms per second. If you don't believe me, you can count them for yourself. In doing this, it liberates a large amount of energy.

Starting point is 03:57:48 It has been calculated that a gram of radium, in turning into lead, as radium naturally does in time, gives out some 3 million horsepower hours of energy. In other words, if it takes 20 years for the radium to throw off enough helium particles and become lead, and I have found means of hastening this natural change, 6 grams of radium will be sufficient to run a 100-horsepower automobile continuously, day and night, during the whole 20 years. But I do not use the radium only for running automobiles. It is useful for all purposes where a motive power is required.

Starting point is 03:58:30 Like electricity, it is a source of energy, and there is practically no limit in the uses to which it may be put, and may be used to produce heat, light, or power at will. It is compact and easy to carry. The six grams can be put in your coat pock, even allowing for the bulk of the special radium-proof containers I have invented. Your automobile may be as light as a buggy, because it requires no engine. You place your six grams of radium in the machine. Turn a lever and off you go. There is no noise, no smoke, no jerking, no smell of gasoline. Off you go in your auto or airplane. And if you want a meal on the road, your radium will cook it for you.

Starting point is 03:59:19 It will keep you warm in winter and cool in summer. It will furnish light for your car and run an electric fan to keep flies and mosquitoes away. You can even have an ice box in your car, for the radium will evaporate ammonia and enable you to manufacture ice. I have also invented means for inserting small amounts of radium in the weaving of cloth so that your clothing will keep you warm in winter or cool in summer, the temperature being under perfect control. But why continue the items of this enumeration? There is practically no limit to the uses to which rations. radium may be put. It is also foolproof, for the container is strong and cannot be opened unless you

Starting point is 04:00:05 smash it open on purpose. A very simple mechanism prevents the emanations from escaping, except when the can of radium is placed in the proper position in the machine which it is desired to run. A lever turns on or shuts off the emanations at will. I am already arranging from public automobiles, or rather radio dials, as I shall call them, stationed in every street. All of my subscribers will be furnished with a six gram can of radium. Whenever they wish to ride, they have merely to pop this into the first auto they find and ride to their destination. My radium, as I told you, may also be used for lighting purposes. Either by transforming the energy into electricity by means of a dynamo, or by using it for the softer forms of glow light, less trying to the eyes.

Starting point is 04:01:00 But here, I am keeping you up to all hours of the night, and you must be tired. I'll give you further explanations some other time. Only, let me tell you one thing. That metal door in front of you leads to a radium-proof room in which there is so much radium ready for the market that at present prices, all the gold in the world would not be sufficient. to buy it. Phew! whispered Daggo Drake to his companion.

Starting point is 04:01:30 That was an awful long-winded yard, wasn't it? But I'm glad to know the radium is worth more than gold. It's easier to carry, too. Here's the metal door the doctor spoke of. This one marked Keep Out, danger. Great snakes! The door isn't even locked.

Starting point is 04:01:51 This is luck and no mistake. A moment later, the two rose, were in the radium-proof chamber in surveying a pile of closed boxes of different sizes. This is the stuff, cried Dagger Jake, seizing one of the largest boxes labeled radium, three pounds. You can have it, said shrimp contemptuously. Me for the gold. All right, but these three pounds of radium are worth more than all the gold you could carry. Is that so? Let's see the blame stuff. I can't. The darn box doesn't open.

Starting point is 04:02:29 I'll open it, cried Shrimp, and seizing a fire axe from the wall, with a few lusty blows, he succeeded in breaking open the case, in which the pure metal was contained. Then he gave a cry, but only one, and he and his companion fell senseless on the floor. Dr. Hackenstall was saying goodbye to Silas Rocket, when he was startled by the violent ringing of his radium alarm. An ingenious device he had installed to give him warning when any particles of radium

Starting point is 04:02:59 happened to get loose on the premises. With the greatest haste, the doctor donned a radium-proof suit, and giving another to Silas, he rushed back to the storeroom to see what was the matter. He pushed open the metal door to the radium chamber, and a single glance told him the whole story. The two charred bodies were beyond any earthly help, so the doctor turned his attention to the loose radium. With Silas' help, he had soon imprisoned it in a new container, and then, by means of a special vacuum, suction apparatus, he removed the radium emanations from the air

Starting point is 04:03:36 and the machine had soon condensed them into metallic form again. By the time this was effected, all that remained of the two thieves was a small heap of calcined bones. End of Section 12. of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visitlibrovox.org. Read by Chris Fong

Starting point is 04:04:15 Dr. Hackensaw Secrets by Clement Fizandi The Secret of the Artificial Gills. Author's note, A fish breathes underwater by means of its gills, which extract the air imprisoned in the water. It should be a comparatively simple process to devise a machine that would do the work of the gills, and so enable a man to live indefinitely underwater, like a fish. Well, Silas, what do you say to a little trip in the Hudson River today? In the river?

Starting point is 04:04:53 Echoed Silas, Rocket. You mean on the river? don't you? I said in the river, and I generally mean what I say. Come along with me, and I'll show you my latest invention. What is it? It's what you might call a set of mechanical gills. You know, of course, that although a fish lives in the water, it cannot exist without breathing air. This air, it obtains from the water itself, for a large amount of air is imprisoned in the water of brooks, rivers, and even in the ocean. Place a fish in water from which all the air has been removed,

Starting point is 04:05:31 and the fish will drown, that is to say, it will suffocate for lack of air. But every stream or pond contains air. In the stagnant ponds, the air is brought down by the aquatic vegetation. In the running stream, the water is aerated as it splashes through the atmosphere. A fish's gills are designed to remove the air from the water, and so allow the fish to breathe. Now, the idea struck me that there was no good reason for allowing the fish a monopoly of the ocean. A fish's gills are by no means a complicated piece of mechanism, and I saw no reason why they should not be artificially imitated. Artificial gills, cried the reporter. You mean gills that would

Starting point is 04:06:16 enable men to live and breathe underwater? Why, that would be like a fairy tale. Dr. Hackensaw curled his lip contemptuously. Yes, said he, it is like a fairy tale, but all the fairy tales of the olden times are becoming the facts of the present day. You read of the magic carpet that carried its owner through the air,

Starting point is 04:06:39 wherever he wished to go. One aeroplane does the same thing today. The old fairy tale speak too of a magic telescope, an ear trumpet that enabled its owner to see and hear what was happening at a distance. Our telephone does the latter, and our television apparatus will, before long, do the former, on a scale undreamt of, even in the old stories. In the Arabian nights, you will likewise read of a race of men and women who could live and breathe underwater.

Starting point is 04:07:12 Well, with my artificial gills, I can enable any man or woman to do the same thing. Is it possible? That is indeed a marvelous invention, Doctor. And yet I must say, I fail to see what advantage your apparatus can have over a submarine. A submarine would seem to me far more practical and useful. The water is too cold for a man to live in it long. Then, too, there are dangers of all kinds. A submarine is a protection. It can be heated and a man can remain in it for days in comfort.

Starting point is 04:07:47 while, if he were obliged to live under water, like a fish, he would have enough of the life at the end of a couple of hours. There is some truth in what you say, Silas, replied the doctor, but come along with me and you can test the matter for yourself. Here we are on board of my steam yacht, observed Dr. Heckensaw. You will readily understand that in New York City I could not go openly into the water with my artificial gills, without attracting a crowd. Hence, I have constructed a special chamber in the hold of my yacht,

Starting point is 04:08:24 from which I can enter the water at will. If you will come down with me, you shall have your first experience as a fish. Silas Rocket grinned rather sheepishly, but he was a good sport, and followed close to his conductor, who led him down several handsome stairways, and at last brought him into the special watertight compartment, from which the start was to be made. You spoke about the cold, Silas, so I'll show you how I managed to keep warm underwater. All warm-blooded marine animals, like the seal, the whale, etc., are protected from the cold by a thick layer of blubber or fat.

Starting point is 04:09:06 Instead of this, I use a vacuum suit, which answers the same purpose. The loss of heat is so slight that I could remain underwater for days without experiencing the slightest discomfort from this source. There is nothing like a vacuum for preventing heat from passing. You will perceive that these suits are light, yet strong, and so flexible that one's movements are unimpeded. They are, in fact, more like some of the flexible chain armors used in the ancient days than like our modern stiff diving suits.

Starting point is 04:09:42 And the clumsy helmet is replaced by a very light hood. Where are the gills? asked Silas. They are in the souls of the shoes, replied the doctor. You see, he explained, in order to walk upright underwater, the shoes must be the heaviest portion of the suit. Hence, I enclose in one, the motor that works the artificial gills, and in the other the motor

Starting point is 04:10:09 that runs the propeller, which enables me to swim through the water more rapidly than a fish. How about the engine to run the dynamo? I use no engine. My power is received by wireless from New York power stations. I have also made diving suits provided with a buoy that floats on the surface of the ocean and the action of the waves on the buoy runs my machinery. In case of emergency, I can work both the gills and the propeller simultaneously by means of petals like bicycle pedals. I can use either arm or legs or both for the work. This, of course, is for use only in case of an accident or for special work during war times. You can use the machine for what purposes? Certainly, indeed, it is a most valuable adjunct to either the army or navy. A river now, a river now,

Starting point is 04:11:05 is quite an obstacle to the advance of an army. But when I can send an army of men underwater to blow up the enemy's bridges, boats, etc., or to excavate tunnels underwater for the purpose of planting mines under the enemy's works, I have a great advantage. But the enemy can use nets, as they do with submarines. Not at all. A net in the river above their entrenchments, one below, and a connecting net between the two will suffice against a submarine

Starting point is 04:11:37 because the submarine is blind. But the diver underwater can see the nets and avoid or force a passage through them. Then, too, the enemy can use bombs effectively against a dozen submarines. But it is an entirely different matter to bomb an army of a thousand men or more crossing the river underwater at different places.

Starting point is 04:12:00 How does the diver return to the surface when he wishes to. I have followed the example of a fish. As you probably know, the lungs of a man are nothing but the developed bladder of a fish. This is one of the curious facts, so common in nature of an organ originally designed for one purpose, being altered to serve for an entirely different purpose. The function of a fish's bladder is to enable it to rise or sink in the water at will, By expanding the bladder, the fish occupies more space in the water, hence is more buoyant and rises to the surface. By expelling the air from the bladder, the fish becomes less buoyant and sinks. I have used the same principle in my diving suit.

Starting point is 04:12:49 My suit is provided with an elastic reservoir into which I can, at will, admit, under pressure, the air produced by the gills. When the reservoir is expanded, I rise. When contracted, I sink. I can thus float or swim in the water at any desired depth. Similar reservoirs attached to the legs of my suit enable me to assume a horizontal or oblique position at will. For rapid travel, I find an almost horizontal position is the best, and with my propeller going at full speed, I can make remarkable progress and easily outstrip any ordinary vessel, but enough of this talk. Put on your suit and we'll take a submarine stroll together and explore the bottom of the Hudson River. With considerable misgivings, Silas Rocket donned the strange diving suit. The doctor closed the watertight compartment and opened a faucet that soon filled the chamber with water. Then the doctor turned a handle and opened a slide in the side of the vessel, thus affording an entrance into the river. By means of a weighted rope ladder let down from the ship, the two men had soon descended to the bottom of the Hudson and started walking down with the current,

Starting point is 04:14:06 which, however, was very slight. Ew, growled Silas. Pretty tough walking, this. He did not expect any answer, but Dr. Hackensaw had had the forethought of providing his diving suits with telephones, so his answer came clear, and strong. Yes, Silas, said he, the walking is rough, but if you press button B, your air reservoir will fill and then we can try swimming for a change. A moment later, Silas perceived that the doctor had assumed a horizontal position, and with his propeller going, was making rapid progress through the water. It did not take Silas long to follow suit, and he was surprised to find that he experienced

Starting point is 04:14:51 no difficulty whatever in breathing. For, while a warm-blooded animal, like a man, requires a great deal more air than a cold-blooded fish, yet the mechanical gills worked so much more rapidly than the natural gills of the fish that the air supply was always ample. You're a wizard, doctor, cried Silas. And not the least wonderful part of your invention is this wireless telephone with invisible apparatus. Dr. Hackensall laughed. My wireless telephone, said he, is nothing but a modification of a child's toy telephone made of two tin cans connected by a string.

Starting point is 04:15:33 When you speak, a metal plate on the exterior of your diving suit is set vibrating, and the vibrations are carried by the water to a receiving plate in my suit. Water is a better conductor of sound than air, and you see the device works perfectly. But now, if you will turn on your searchlight, you will see that we are at the dock of one of the ocean liners, and you will understand how easy it would be to place a torpedo here and blow it to atoms. Well, it would be just as easy to blow up a dreadnought. Nets and other devices would be powerless against me, for I can see them and guard against them.

Starting point is 04:16:13 My approach can be noiseless, for I can lay in a supply of compressed air and stopping my propeller, I can walk or swim underwater to the enemy's ship, which would be at my mercy. Unlike a submarine, I can remain for days or weeks underwater, drinks and provisions for a week I can easily carry in a special knapsack on my back, or even in the suit itself. In the case of need, I could eat oyster and shellfish, which would, at a pinch, satisfy the cravings of both hunger and thirst. As for heat, there is a practical vacuum between the outer and inner linings of my suit,

Starting point is 04:16:53 so that my bodily heat suffices to keep me comfortable. Strong braces between the two linings enable me to go down to great depths without my suit being crushed in. It was a wonderful experience for the reporter as the two menfish went shooting along through the water at a rapid pace, under the harbor traffic, and were soon out in the ocean. Now Silas, said the doctor, I'm going to let you into a secret. There's a sunken vessel here, buried deep in the mud, and it must have been here over a hundred years. My impression is that it must have been a pirate vessel that sunk here after a successful cruise in the Spanish seas. I will show you what leads me to this belief.

Starting point is 04:17:38 So saying, the doctor steered downward and led the way to an old Hulk lying on the ocean bottom, and there revealed to the astonished reporter a chest green with seaweed and deeply encrusted with marine growths. The chest had already been forced open, and there were displayed to view a large number of gold and silver coins, tarnished with age, together with rings, bracelets, and other jewels. There, Silas, said the doctor, I don't know the laws about treasure trove, but there is certainly a small fortune there for someone. "'Doctor, have you seen the news in today's paper?' cried Silas rocket, bursting into the doctor's sanctum one morning.

Starting point is 04:18:24 "'Three ocean liners sunk yesterday, all of them close to the shore, one of them in New York Harbor, just as it was leaving port.' "'Yes, Silas,' said Dr. Hackensaw gravely. "'I know all about it. In fact, I knew beforehand that something of the sort was bound to happen when I found out that three of my diving suits with artificial gills were missing. The inference is only too plain that they must have been taken by a gang of criminals to further some nefarious scheme. Then you believe!

Starting point is 04:18:56 I believe that whenever an ocean liner leaves port, and there is a probability of its containing a quantity of gold buoyant or other such valuables on board, one of the villains, encased in one of my special diving suits, attaches himself in some way to the hull of the vessel, underwater, and when he judges the time ripe, he explodes a number of small torpedoes that send the ship to the bottom. Luckily the loss of life is small,

Starting point is 04:19:26 as the rogues merely wish to get the treasure. But cannot something be done to stop it? I hope so, for though my artificial gills would have been a great boon to mankind, if properly used, they become a terrible menace in the hands of criminals. These men are more dangerous to shipping than the greatest pirates that ever lived. But come along with me, Silas, and you can help me catch the ringleader. What are you going to do? That would be telling, and I don't want to breathe a word of my plans to a living soul.

Starting point is 04:19:59 But come with me and see for yourself. Dr. Hackensaw led the way to his hangar, where we're half. a number of aeroplanes of different styles and sizes. He seated himself in a closed machine of the oddest shape and placed Silas on the seat behind him. Ah, said Silas, I understand. You're going to hunt for the fellow with an aeroplane. I suppose you expect to find him at the wreck in New York Harbor. Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. No, said he. The gold from the ship has already been taken away, so I have had to put new bait in the trap. What do you mean?

Starting point is 04:20:40 I mean that I have arranged that another large liner, loaded with gold, shall sail from New York today. If the fellow snaps at the bait, I shall have him. How so? This machine, as you see, is closed and is a submarine as well as an aeroplane. It can travel twice as fast underwater as the man can. Then I have here two of my diving suits with artificial gills, with which we can follow him anywhere. A moment later they had come in sight of the ocean liner, which was steaming out of the harbor.

Starting point is 04:21:16 Dr. Hackensaw stopped his engine, volplane to the water, and then started the propeller revolving again, the wings of the aeroplane folding up out of the way. The machine was now a submarine, with artificial gills working to renew the air supply. A gyroscopic compass enabled the doctor to keep his course underwater, and a special magnetic device enabled him to follow the transatlantic vessel with ease. He maneuvered to get ahead of the vessel and then stopped. Next, both he and Silas hastily donned the diving suits and waited. A moment later, the ocean liner passed over their heads,

Starting point is 04:21:55 and there, sure enough, clinging to the hall, was a man in one of the doctor's suits, busily engaged, fastening a torpedo to the bottom of the boat. With a shout to Silas, the doctor was upon him, and though the villain struggled, he was soon at their mercy, for the doctor, with an instrument he had brought along, had perforated the diving suit, and the fellow was soon suffocated into helplessness. And when Silas and the doctor had finished removing the torpedoes from the ship, and returned to the spot, the man was drowned beyond hope of recovery. That same night, Dr. Hackensall learned that two more members of the gang had been captured in the same way,

Starting point is 04:22:38 and thus the three stolen diving suits were recovered. But after that, the doctor destroyed all but a dozen of the suits, and these he kept in a safe deposit vault when not in use. It is astonishing, cried the doctor, how every attempt to improve the condition of mankind seems to bring added dangers. Even the railroad, the machinery in a factory, and the automobile are all juggernauts, and all demand the sacrifice of human life. End of Section 13. Section 14 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org.

Starting point is 04:23:32 Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizandi. The Secret of the Motorless Airplane Author's note At the present moment, the French and German are giving considerable attention to the construction of gliders. At Wassercupa in Germany, Herr Hansen recently made a record flight of over three hours' duration in a motorless airplane. He traveled distance of 25 kilometers and reached an altitude of 360 meters.

Starting point is 04:24:00 The French have made similar records. The future of such machines. is a very bright one. In the following story, I give a suggestion for a combined balloon and glider, a combination that seems feasible and that would, under certain circumstances, possess certain advantages over both the airplane and the balloon, as well as over the simple glider. Have you got anything new on hand today, Doctor?

Starting point is 04:24:23 asked Silas Rocket as he entered the laboratory and dropped into a vacant chair. Nothing much, Silas, returned Dr. Hackensaw. Things are quiet just at present. Here's a letter, though, that may interest you. It's from a party that wants me to furnish them with 100,000 sperm whales. What? Yes, sperm whales. The order is somewhat unusual, isn't it?

Starting point is 04:24:43 Even though it is only baby whales that are wanted. What in the world do you mean? Dr. Hackensaw smiled. I thought you would be astonished, Silas, said he. But the explanation is really a simple one. You may perhaps know that the Sea of Japan was in former days one of the finest hunting grounds for the sperm whale or cashelot, as it is called. These whales will be found there in large schools. With modern methods of whaling, however, these valuable animals are becoming extinct,

Starting point is 04:25:11 and one of the Oriental governments has decided to restock the Japan Sea with whales, hence this letter. This government wishes me to go to Japan for a few months. They agree to furnish me with sufficient supply of living egg cells and sperm cells taken from the cash lots killed by their whalers. Then comes my task. I am to fertilize the ova and incubate them in a suitable culture fluid, in glass jars until the baby whales reached the stage at which they would normally be born. Good gracious! And that's not all, Silas.

Starting point is 04:25:42 Whales, as you probably know, are mammals. That is to say, the mother whale feeds her young on her own milk. So to feed these hundred thousand prospective baby whales until they are able to take care of themselves, I am to send to Japan several shiploads of condensed milk. What do you think of that for an order? It beats anything I ever heard of. Are you going to accept? I don't know yet. Perhaps I'll take a run over and get things started for them. I haven't much at hand at present except my motorless airplane that I'm going to test out this afternoon. If it proves successful, I may take it along with me and use it for the whaling purposes.

Starting point is 04:26:18 A motorless airplane? You never mentioned that before. Do you mean a glider? Well, yes, it is a glider, and yet, in my opinion, it is far superior to the ordinary glider. You have probably seen in the papers that both the French and the German governments are devoting content. considerable attention to the manufacturer of airplanes without engines. The results have been most promising, some of the flight lasting three hours and a quarter without a motor of any kind. Shorter flights have also been made with a passenger on board as well as the pilot. But how can an airplane travel without a motor? The wind raises it, the same wind which raises an ordinary kite.

Starting point is 04:26:54 The difference is that the glider needs no string to hold it in the proper position against the wind. the pilot, on board the machine, by means of his steering apparatus, keeps the wings facing the wind, and so is able to rise at any desired height, that is, of course, so long as conditions remain favorable. The disadvantages of these gliders is at present constructed, is that the equilibrium is not automatically regulated. It requires an expert pilot to run them, and the steering is very fatiguing. Then, too, the starting is difficult. It is not every hill that can serve as a starting point, and the wind must be able to run. be just right. To obviate this difficulty, the French are trying hard to devise a glider in which

Starting point is 04:27:34 the pilot can assist himself by a kind of bicycle treadle, which enables him to work a propeller. This would be of material assistance in starting. And your machine? My machine is really a combination of an airplane and a balloon, but why waste time describing it? Come along with me and you can see it for yourself. The man from Missouri who wants to be shown is the man who will learn. A short ride on one of the doctor's automobiles brought the pair to the hangar where the motorless airplane was stored. You see, Silas, observed Dr. Hackensaw, one great advantage of my machine is I did not require a large space to start in because I rise vertically instead of horizontally. Here's the machine. Now tell me frankly, what do you think of it?

Starting point is 04:28:19 The reporter cast a disappointed look at the airplane. Save that it had no propeller and no motor, it was very much like any other flying machine, except for the one fact that, Instead of being a monoplane or a biplane, this machine had no less than four planes. This gave it a rather clumsy appearance. I see you don't like the looks of my quadruplane, remarked the doctor, noticing the reporter's air of disapproval. Well, I don't blame you. I haven't sought beauty yet. I'm just seeking practical results. But the machine is only a glider, cried Silas. It has no motor, nothing to make it go. It looks so, doesn't it? Chuckled the doctor.

Starting point is 04:28:57 But she'll go all right. Then turning to the man in charge, he added, Run her out to the starting place, James. That is, if she's in good order. She do be that, sir, returned the man. She hasn't lost a foot of gas since last night. Gas, exclaimed Silas, rocket. Where is there any gas?

Starting point is 04:29:16 Why, Silas, didn't I tell you that my machine was a combination glider and balloon? And did you ever hear of a balloon without any gas? Where in the world is the gas? In the wings, my boy. You will notice that the wings of my machine are considerably larger and thicker than those of the ordinary airplane. The space between the upper and lower portion of each wing is filled with helium gas. In a word, each wing is a little balloon, and the combined balloons are sufficient to raise the machine into the air. I see.

Starting point is 04:29:47 When I first set out to build this machine, I looked at the problem in this way. If I could only find some simple means of raising a glider to a height, I could do away with a motor altogether, for I could volplane or dive. down in any direction I pleased and at a high rate of speed. In fact, by utilizing the wind, I could do all that the glider does now and far more, for my acquired velocity in descending would enable me to make better use of the wind power. I could tack, somewhat as a sailing vessel tax, and so profit to the utmost by whatever breezes there happened to be. Hence, I could travel a long distance before having to rise again. Silas Rockett's face showed plainly his poor opinion

Starting point is 04:30:26 of the machine. It doesn't strike me as being practical, said he at length. Your invention is nothing but a balloon with wings added for coasting down. But each time you go up, you have to fill it with fresh gas, and each time you come down, you have to let the gas escape. The advantage over an ordinary balloon seems to me very slight. You're right, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw approvingly. Or at least you would be right, if I were foolish enough to waste my gas at each descent.

Starting point is 04:30:52 But I do no such thing. How do you manage then? In the first place, I use helium gas so as to avoid all danger of fire. Then, if you will notice, I have a specially constructed heating apparatus here. I use kerosene for fuel. When I heat the helium gas, it expands, and consequently the wings of my machine bulge out and occupy more space. The machine, thus becoming lighter. Finally, it becomes light enough to rise from the ground, and I can control its rate of ascent by means of temperature.

Starting point is 04:31:23 I see. When I have reached a sufficient height and wish to coast down, I turn off the heat. The cold air of the heights, acting on the enormous wing service, cools the gas almost instantly, especially as the cooling is assisted by rotary fans, worked by the motions of the airplane, in which I can start or stop at will. The helium gas contracts, my machine becomes heavier than air, like an ordinary glider, and down I coast in any direction and at any speed I please, turning on the heat when I wish to rise again.

Starting point is 04:31:54 You have an answer for everything, Doctor, remarked Silas. You must have given the subject a great deal of study. I should say so. I began my experiments 40 years ago. I first experimented by fastening men to kites of various kinds and sending them up in the air. I tried the ordinary kite with a tail, the tailless kite, and the box kite. But the weight of the kite string that had to be lifted was the great drawback. I used for the purpose of very light yet strong clothesline.

Starting point is 04:32:21 but my kites could not lift very much of it. Then, too, the wind would change, and my kites with their human freight, would drop to the ground. My passengers were always provided with parachutes, but when one man broke a leg in falling, I gave up the attempt. Then the airplane was invented, and now the gliding machines are doing such remarkable work

Starting point is 04:32:40 that I decided to take up the subject again on these new lines. And here's the result. If you will take your place in the machine, I'll be the pilot, and we can take a trial spin. What? "'Yes, I want you to come for a little ride with me around New York Harbor. But—' "'Surely you're not afraid, Silas.'

Starting point is 04:32:57 "'No,' replied the reporter dubiously. "'But are you sure the machine's all right?' "'I'll answer for it, sir,' said the mechanic reassuringly. "'Me and Bill was out in it yesterday, and she worked like a charm.' "'Too much preoccupied to notice the discrepancy in the pronouns. Silas took his seat, though not without some hesitation. He didn't like the idea of being made the subject of an experience. That's right, Silas, cried Dr. Hackensaw, encouragingly. A brave man can only die once.

Starting point is 04:33:28 But poor Silas did not feel disposed at the moment to die even once. Dr. Hackensaw stepped into the pilot seat and turned on the heat. Almost instantly, the wings of the machine began to swell to several times her original size, and the machine slowly rose and began tugging at the ropes that held it down. Now, Silas, cried the doctor, before we start, take a good look at your parachute. In case of any accident, grasp that and it will break your fall. We're all ready, James. Let her go. A moment later, the release machine rose slowly from the ground. The wings themselves were so designed as to tilt upward, thus facilitating the rise, but the seats of the passenger always remained horizontal, whatever the position of the car.

Starting point is 04:34:11 A special telephone in the car enabled the two passengers to converse as easily as if in a quiet parlor. Dr. Hackensau was jubilant. You see, Silas, he observed, We have none of the noise and fuss here of an ordinary airplane. We are rising quietly and steadily. That's one great advantage over the flying machine, the ease of starting. We do not require a special aviation field.

Starting point is 04:34:33 I can rise or land most anywhere, because my ascent is practically vertical. Then, too, the start and the landing are affected as slowly as I wish, thus eliminating two of the greatest dangers of the airplane, which must start or land at a high rate of speed. For war purposes, too, this faculty of hovering is very useful. For example, we are now directly above the Woolworth building. See how easy it would be to drop a bomb on it from here?

Starting point is 04:34:59 Much easier than from a balloon, where a balloon is at the mercy of the wind, while I can remain in the same relative position by descending in a spiral toward the building. Silas looked down and was forced to admit the truth of his companion's remarks. Don't you see, cried the doctor exultingly? that my machine combines the advantages of both the balloon and of the airplane. I can travel in any direction I please like an airplane,

Starting point is 04:35:22 and yet haven't the heavy and finicky motor to bother with, nor the expense of the gasoline. Traveling is cheap for me. What does it matter if I do not travel quite so fast? I can attain any speed I please in my descent. Neither do I waste my helium gas, as the ordinary balloon does, because I do not allow the gas to escape. The machine was now well up in the air,

Starting point is 04:35:42 and the doctor decided to make his first downward dive. He accordingly turned off the heat. The rotary fans began to revolve. The wings collapsed to a fraction of their former thickness, and the car began to glide downward through the air at a rapidly increasing speed. When the motion became too swift, Dr. Hackensaw, with a dexterous swerve of the tail,

Starting point is 04:36:02 would start the machine rising again. Look, Silas, cried the doctor gleefully. Here we are over Coney Island. If you look sharp, you will see some distance beyond the bathing place, a basket floating out in the ocean. We'll suppose that's a sperm whale, and I'll show you how easy it would be to harpoon it, with a buoy attached to the harpoon,

Starting point is 04:36:20 and then follow the buoy in our machine without any of the dangers we should run in a whaleboat. Why, doctor, I didn't know you were such an expert, claimed Silas admiringly, as he saw the ease with which his companion handled the machine. Scarcely were the words out of his mouth, however, when he was startled by a cracking sound. The steering wheel broke,

Starting point is 04:36:40 and the machine no longer under control, began a series of headlong dives. Quick, Silas, cried the doctor. Take to your parachute, man. Quick, I tell you, or you'll be in the ocean. Suiting the action to the word, Dr. Hackensaw chose an opportune moment and jumped clear of the falling machine.

Starting point is 04:36:57 His parachute opened beautifully and down he came lightly among the gaping crowd of bathers on Coney Island Beach. Poor Silas, however, was not so fortunate. It took him some time to understand how matters stood, and then his parachute stuck and refused to come free from the falling airplane. When he did finally succeed in making his leap, he was some distance out over the water,

Starting point is 04:37:17 and down he went deep into the briny waves. He emerged gasping and sputtering and was quickly rescued by one of the boats. As he reached the shore, dripping wet in a pitiable condition, it did not add to his peace of mind to see the doctor genially shaking hands with the pretty girl bathers who had surrounded him. Well, Silas, explained the doctor gaily, how goes it? Silas gazed ruefully at his newly bought suit of clothing, now reduced to tatters by the jagged framework of the machine, but he said nothing. Never mind, Silas, cried the doctor cheerily.

Starting point is 04:37:51 Christmas is coming soon, and I prophesy that Santa will bring you a complete wardrobe of clothing, far superior to any you have ever had. Now mark my words, because I pride myself that I am something of a prophet. Now smile and look pleasant because there are some movie men here, and they want to get a close-up of you. You will go down to posterity as a pioneer of the motorless airplane, for although this first experiment has failed, I feel confident that my machine will eventually open up a new era in the history of flying. End of Section 14. Read by 65 Tux, Roswell, Georgia, January, 2023.

Starting point is 04:38:34 Section 15 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets This is a Libravox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizzendi. Number 15, The Secret of the Sixth Sense. Author's note, sound waves, light waves, and radio waves are all produced by vibrations, but between the slow vibrations of sound and the rapid vibrations of the ultra-red waves,

Starting point is 04:39:14 perceptible to us as heat, there is a wide gap which we have no means of perceiving. Similarly, between the ultra-violent or actinic waves which affect a photographic plate and the radio waves of wireless telegraphy, there are still other gaps. At the present day, we are able to transform the radio waves into sounds, and it is highly probable that in a few years we shall find means of doing the same for the unknown waves. But we may go even a step further and devise instruments that will give us new senses. In other words,

Starting point is 04:39:49 that will enable us to perceive the unknown waves directly without first changing them into light waves or sound waves. Ah, Miss Gloria! Glad to see you. And how are you, Silas? I see you've brought your fiancé along with you today. Evidently you hope to worm some more of my secrets out of me. Will you come at just the right time?

Starting point is 04:40:15 I have made many inventions, but I think I have today one of the greatest inventions ever made by man. By the way, Miss Gloria, what would you call the greatest invention ever made? I should say, um, kissing, replied the young lady with a rosy blush and a sidelong glance at Silas. Dr. Hackensaw leaned back on his chair and laughed heartily, "'Ha, ha, ha, you've got me there, Miss Gloria,' he chival.

Starting point is 04:40:42 I always forget that the greatest inventions of all were the fundamental ones made ages ago. I verily believe that most young ladies would rather do without all the inventions of the 19th century than give up that of kissing. My new invention, of course, cannot compare with that, but I am nevertheless quite proud of my achievement, for I have discovered the means of giving man a six cents. A six cents? echoed the young lady. Do you mean to say that besides touch, taste, smell, hearing, and seeing there is a sixth way in which we may perceive objects? That is precisely my meaning.

Starting point is 04:41:25 If I wish to carp on words, I should say that we possess at least seven distinct senses at present. For what we call the sense of feeling is in reality at least three different senses. We can feel temperature, heat, and cold. We can feel temperature, heat, and cold. We can feel. We can feel pain, and thirdly, we can feel the form of bodies by touching them. These three kinds of feeling are entirely distinct senses, though it is convenient to lump them together. But, interrupted Silas, you say you have discovered a new sense? Is it altogether different from any of our present senses? Yes, entirely different, replied the doctor. What is it like, inquired the young lady? It's not like

Starting point is 04:42:09 anything, returned the doctor. It is altogether different from anything you have ever experienced. And for that reason it is impossible for me to describe it to you. How would you give a man who had been born blind any idea of the gorgeous colors of a glorious sunset? How could you tell a man-born death what the ravishing melodies of the bird music and sea creed sounded like? And to a man who had neither taste nor smell, how could you describe the fragrance of a rose? It would be utterly impossible. All that you could tell them would be that it was harmony, delicious harmony. And so all I can tell you about this new sense of mine is that it reveals new harmonies, divine harmonies, and as different from sense, sights, or sounds as these are from each other. But I had better

Starting point is 04:43:04 begin at the beginning, if I am to make my invention clear to you. To begin with, I will state that all our senses, in the last analysis, consist in the perception of vibrations. Some people will deny this of the senses of smell, taste, and feeling, but as all our senses are evolved from the sense of feeling, I am convinced they are all fundamentally alike, and all explainable by the corpuscular theory of light. I have no use for the ether theory of light. I have no use for the ether theory of that presupposes an ether so attenuated that it can penetrate and find a path between the atoms of bodies and be at the same time a million times denser than lead. The thing is an absurdity, and no scientist at the present day would dare to propose such a theory.

Starting point is 04:43:52 But I am digressing. Sound waves consist of merely a few vibrations per second, while light waves consist of many thousand vibrations per second. between the highest sound our ears can perceive and the ultra-red or heat rays of the spectrum, there is a considerable interval which is altogether unknown to us. Next come the light rays ranging from the slower red rays to the more rapid violet rays,

Starting point is 04:44:21 seen when light is decomposed as in a rainbow. Beyond the violet rays, we come to the so-called invisible actinic rays. These we cannot perceive with any of our senses. Though Sir John Lubbock's experiments seem to show that ants can feel them, for the ants always remove their eggs when these rays are thrown upon them. Next to these invisible actinic rays, which, by the way, are the rays used in photography, there come other unknown intervals until we come to the wireless waves used in radio work. Here Dr. Hackensaw paused.

Starting point is 04:45:00 and then after a moment resumed. My first problem was to find some means of making these unknown waves perceptible to us in some way. As you may perhaps know, Gloria, the Audion practically considered transforms the excessively rapid vibrations of the wireless waves into the lower vibrations perceptible to us as sounds. This being the case, there was no reason why an Audion, if properly constructed, could not be made to do the same thing for the unknown waves, or indeed for waves with any number of vibrations per second. In other words, an audience could be built that would change either actinic waves, light waves, heat waves, or other waves, whatever into sounds. Experiments prove the correctness

Starting point is 04:45:52 of my theory. I began by transforming light waves into sound waves by means of a specially designed audience. I have here an instrument by means of which I can hear light. And the sounds produced by blue light differ from those produced by green light, red light, or any other colored light. By means of this instrument, a blind man can be taught to name the different colors in a painting by listening to the light waves that emanate from it. He does not, of course, visualize the colors blue, yellow, and red, etc. But my instrument enables him to realize the shapes of the figures in the painting, the persons, trees, houses, etc. For the sense of touch has already taught him to understand shapes. To him, therefore, all pictures appear as if they were in black and white.

Starting point is 04:46:49 The instrument also enables him to read our books as well as enjoy the pictures in them. I don't quite understand how sounds can produce shapes, interrupted Silas. The idea of shape is produced by the fact that the sound waves arise from different parts of the picture. Just as we obtain the impression of the forms in a picture because the light waves arise from different points, so by the use of my apparatus can we obtain the same impressions of form because the different sound waves come from different points. A blind man can therefore soon learn to hear a picture correctly, but you can test the instrument for yourselves.

Starting point is 04:47:32 Just place these phones on your ear, Miss Gloria. All I hear is a curious rumbling, said she, something like a confused buzzing in a telephone. That's because you haven't learned to understand the sounds. A baby has to learn how to hear and how to see, and likewise an adult must learn how to use this instrument before he can properly interpret the sounds. What you just listen to is a reproduction in colors of one of Raphael's celebrated paintings. My instrument here can be tuned to change any vibration whatever into sound waves.

Starting point is 04:48:12 I merely move this slide along the coil of wire until the proper spot is really. reached. This much accomplished, I next sought to reverse the process which I solve successfully. Put on these spectacles and you will find that you can see sounds. With these words, the doctor passed the young lady an instrument that looked more like odd-shaped opera glasses than spectacles, and which was connected by a flexible wire cord to another electrical apparatus. In the first experiment, continued the doctor, I shall have the music played in the next room. Here he pressed a signal button, and then turning to Gloria, asked,

Starting point is 04:48:57 Now, what do you see? I see all kinds of flashing things and funny colors, responded Miss Gloria. Very well. What you saw was a tune played on the violin by one of my assistants in the next room. I shall now ask him to step in here so that you can hear the tune he plays at the same time that you see it. It was a most peculiar sensation the young lady experienced, and as she looked through the instrument and perceived the colors and the forms varying with the varying sounds of the instrument, all this was but the first step in my investigation,

Starting point is 04:49:41 resumed the doctor. To enable a man to see with his ears or hear with his eyes was nothing but the preliminary stage. I wish to go further and give him at least one new sense, perhaps several. But, interposed Silas, I thought you said your instrument would enable him to perceive any number of vibrations per second at will. So it does. but it translates these known or unknown waves into either sights or sounds.

Starting point is 04:50:16 This instrument, therefore, does not furnish us a new sense, but merely enables us to perceive hitherto unknown waves with our old senses. Dr. Hackensaw smiled then continued. Well, as I was saying, I was not satisfied with a mere translation. I was seeking for a new sense, and I had. have found it. Here he paused for a moment impressively and then continued. As I told you before, it is impossible for me to give you any idea of what this new sense is like, but the instrument is here and you can try it for yourself. For my part, I can sit here for hours and enjoy the new

Starting point is 04:51:09 sensations in a state of perfect rapture. You will find that a new world has opened for you, and I prophesy that from now on, you will both be daily visitors here, until I make you a present of an instrument for yourselves. Before I turn on the current, however, I must tell you a little more about the steps I followed in making the invention. I followed the well-established principle of proceeding from the known to the unknown. I know. I knew something about sight and hearing, so my first efforts were made to enable us to really hear with the eyes and see with the ears. But, objected Silas, that is just what your instrument does.

Starting point is 04:51:55 No, Silas. The instrument you have tried simply translate sights into sounds or sounds into sights. It enables us to see sounds with our eyes or hear pictures with our ears. It does not enable us to hear sounds with our eyes or see pictures with our ears. And this is what I was seeking. I soon realized that this would be impossible. The eye in the air are too highly specialized to be used for other purposes. The crystalline lens in the retina of the eye are not adapted for receiving sounds.

Starting point is 04:52:34 And the tympanum, or drum, and the bones of the ear are not adapted for photographing images. Even the auditory nerve and the optic nerve are too highly specialized to be interchangeable, and I convince myself by experiments. My only hope, therefore, lay with the sense of feeling, our fundamental and least specialized sense. All our special senses,

Starting point is 04:53:04 sight, hearing, smell, and taste were all evolved from the sense of feeling. Hence the nerves of feeling must contain to a certain degree the power to transmit sound waves and light waves to the brain. The clam has no eyes but can perceive shadows. The ordinary earthworm has no eyes but can perceive light. These facts gave me hope. As the fingertips are the most sensitive portions of the body,

Starting point is 04:53:37 It is these I use as my receivers. I shall not weary you with an account of my experiments. Let me show you the result. I have here a small instrument made somewhat on the plan of a human eye with its adjustable lens, its humors, and its retina. Instead of the rods and cones of the eye and the visual purple, I use a chemical preparation which does the retina's work of receiving the image for the human retina is but a photographic plate where images are received.

Starting point is 04:54:13 In the real eye, the image lasts but a moment, so I pad to find chemicals which would likewise be changed for a single moment and then resume their original state again, ready to receive new images. A careful study of the visual purple in the eyes of animals enable me to do this. There is my artificial eye. it is as you see fashion to one of the fingertips of a glove. Please put on the glove, Miss Gloria, then point the finger at one of the paintings on the wall and close your eyes.

Starting point is 04:54:50 Why, I can see almost as well as with my eyes open, cried the young lady in astonishment. I can see all the colors and all the figures. Silas tried it in turn and was delighted with the instrument. then Dr. Hackensaw dived down and produced from his desk a second glove with a peculiarly shaped appendage to one of the fingertips. This, said he, is an artificial ear and is used in the same manner as the eye. Put this on your hand and stop up your ears. Miss Gloria obediently did as she was bid, and Dr. Hackensaw sat down, at the piano and played a lively jazz tune. The young lady found that every modulation of sound

Starting point is 04:55:40 reached her through her fingertips almost as well as through her ears. When she used both the instrument and her ears at the same time, the sounds were practically doubled in intensity. This is an amplifying device of my own invention, observed the doctor smiling, with an ear on each fingertip of a pair of gloves, I can increase a sound to ten times its original intensity. With an eye on each fingertip, I can intensify light in the same way. I can see better in the dark than a cat can, and I can save nine-tenths of my electric light bills. Doctor, cried Silas, if you had been born in the Middle Ages, you would have been burned as a sorcerer. Well, resumed the doctor, I won't weary you by going into further details.

Starting point is 04:56:38 Suffice it to say that I have an artificial nose by which I can smell with my fingertips, and an artificial finger palette by which I can taste food without eating it. I find this useful in detecting chemicals which I should not dare to put into my mouth. My next step was my hardest. So far I had been held by the knowledge I possessed of human organs. Up to this point, I had a guide in constructing artificial eyes, ears, nose, and palate. But I had no such help to guide me in making my sixth sense. Photography, it is true, gave me an inkling of how to make the actinic rays perceptible, and the fluorescent screen gave me the clue as to how to proceed for the radioactive waves. But it took me months of laborious experiment before I succeeded in creating my

Starting point is 04:57:31 six cents, which I have christened the radioactine sense. There is the instrument. Place it on your finger, Miss Gloria, and see what you think of it. Gloria Monday took the glove-like contraption handed to her and drew it on her hand. For a moment she stood in expectation, and then a of wonder and delight came into her eyes, and she felt a sense of ecstasy, such as she had never before experienced in her life. Well, how do you like the sixth sense? asked Dr. Hackensaw, beaming with pleasure. It's marvelous, doctor. I never knew anything like it. Why did you stop the harmony? Please go on with it. What was it, anyhow?

Starting point is 04:58:22 These are radioactive waves that you perceive, explained the doctor, and you perceive them neither as flavor, sense, sounds, or visions, but in an entirely new and hitherto undreamt of manner. What you have been listening to is a radioactive harmony of my own composition, not music understand, but a harmony of radioactive waves. End of Section 15, read by K.A. Moulton, Anthem, July 1, 2022. Section 16 of Dr. Hakenso's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Haritha Ramalingam.

Starting point is 04:59:29 Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizzandi, the secret of the earthquake. Authors note, Man has made one conquest after another over nature. So far, he has been unable to control her volcanoes or prevent her earthquakes. There is no reason, however, why he should not someday be able to bring both of these under his dominion. Hello, Silas, what in the world are you doing here? The speaker was Dr. Hackensaw, who is standing on the upper deck of a French steamer about to sail from its pier in New York. I just came to see a friend off, but you, doctor, you're surely not sailing for Europe. I am, that Silas, returned the doctor. I happen to have a little free time on my hands, so I'm off to Italy to tame Vesuvius.

Starting point is 05:00:19 To tame Vesuvius, what in the world do you mean? I you see, Silas, man has been winning victory after victory over nature. We have harnessed up her waterfalls to run our dynamos and to fight her laws of gravitation with our airplanes. Our submarines have even invaded the ocean depths she had appointed to the fishes. But so far, we have made no attempt to conquer her volcanoes or subdue her earthquakes. Why, I understood that there was an observatory established on Vesuvius to make seismological records and study the eruptions. I was even told that they are making

Starting point is 05:00:58 spectroscopic observations of the flames. That's true enough, Silas, but that is only the first step. The scientific records that are being made will someday enable us to predict with accuracy when an eruption or volcano is menacing and whether it would be great or small, but from that to controlling the internal forces at will

Starting point is 05:01:19 is quite another matter. And you think you can accomplish that? I can at least try, and even if I fail in this, I may nevertheless succeed in the simpler task of harnessing up Vesuvius, and making it of use to mankind. In what way? Simply this. Inside of Vesuvius, and near the surface, there must be a mass of red-hot lava, capable of producing heat, light, and power in practically inexhaustible quantities. A few miles away lies Naples. A few miles away lies Naples, a city that spends large suns importing coal to run its trolleys and trains, work its factories, and furnish its light and heat. Now, why not make Vesuvius do the work,

Starting point is 05:02:06 and so afford the volcano an outlet for the tremendous energies pent up with it? The idea seems good, but how would you set it up? At first, I intended to be satisfied with supplying Naples with hot water. This would be the simplest scheme. At Sulphatera, just a few miles away, there already exists a natural boiling spring. Artificial ones can be made in the same way. My plan was to lay pipes through the hot lava beds near the center and have the water heated as it passes through. I should, of course, have to choose spots where the heat was constantly renewed. Wouldn't your pipes melt? The pipes would be of tile or some other refractory substance. My idea was to make them of cool lava and have a volcano itself mold the pipes for me.

Starting point is 05:02:58 The molds would be prepared and at a given signal the molten knob from the crater will be allowed to run into them. I had some preliminary experiments made in this small and easily accessible crater at Solfatera and found the scheme quite feasible. These pipes could be a large diameter and well insulated so as to preserve their heat. I suppose the water supply in Vesuvius is ample, Hazarded Silas, your scheme would require a tremendous amount of water. There is no water in Vesuvius, but the Mediterranean Sea, or at least the portion of it called the Bay of Naples, lies at its feet and could furnish an inexhaustible supply of water.

Starting point is 05:03:41 But the seawater is salt. I should distill the water. The volcano would furnish me, free of charge. all the heat I should need for the distillation and from the salt left as a residue I could contain sodium potassium, other elements and possibly gold in greater or less quantities

Starting point is 05:04:02 but you couldn't make the water run uphill to the volcano why not I should pump it up at the start I should have to use coal to pump up the first supply but as soon as this was converted to seam I could use it in a steam engine to pump up more water to make more steam, etc. I see. Perpetual motion? Not quite. You forget that I have stored up the energy of the red-hot lava to replace all the power I use in pumping, and enough to spare to run all the runways, street cars, and factories in Naples.

Starting point is 05:04:43 for heating the houses in winter, cooling them in the summer, and, hold on a bit, interrupted Silas, pleased to think he had caught the doctor napping. How could use heat to cool a house? But Dr. Hackensaw merely smiled as he answered, All our large refrigerating plants use the ammonia process for cooling purposes, and though it may appear paradoxical to you, It is the heat that produces the cold. The heat evaporates the ammonia, and the ammonia in evaporating produces cold.

Starting point is 05:05:22 I plan to make the heat of Asuvius serve to keep the houses and streets of Naples cool, even on the sweltering hot days of their hottest summer weather. Nor shall I stop at Naples. Rome is not far off to benefit. So far, I have only spoken of you of hot water, but my main reliance will be on electricity. I intend to build huge power stations on Vesuvius, run my dynamos by steam produced by the internal heat of the volcano, and transmit this electricity by wire to the various Italian cities. By using high potential, there will be no difficulty in furnishing Rome, as well as Naples with heat, light, power, and refrigeration.

Starting point is 05:06:10 Every house can have an unlimited supply of current at a trifling cost. You're a lucky dog, doctor. To be able to make a trip like this, I wish I were going along with you. What? And leave Gloria Mundy here in New York to pine for you during your absence? Silas rocket blushed. The fact is, said he, Gloria is the friend I came here to see.

Starting point is 05:06:37 She is sailing on this boat today. She's going through Paris to Venice and Rome. Then, Silas, why don't you come along too? I wish I could, but I can't. I've got my work to do for the New York Daily Growl. Oh, a reporter can always manage. He ought to be able to travel with a toothpick. But I haven't even got a toothpick.

Starting point is 05:07:00 Never mind, just tell the phone. I'll buy your ticket and you can have a spare birth in my stateroom. As for the clothing, I'll get you a set of sailors' togs from the ship's slop chest. How would that suit? And Dr. Hackensel leaned against the boats railed and Gaffaud. A few weeks later, Dr. Hackensaw was installed upon Vesuvius, superintending operations, and busy as a bee. My first step, he explained to Silas, must be to discern the exact location of the liquid lava inside of the mountain.

Starting point is 05:07:36 For this purpose, I have had a number of preliminary borings made. I must be careful not to drill these holes too deep, or I should tap the red-hot lava, but the temperature in the bore gives me ample warning. Why do you need a map of liquid lava? asked Silas, so that I may know the best place to lay my pipes. You see, my object is not so much to get free heat and power for Naples, as it is to tame Vesuvius and prevent future, eruptions and earthquakes. How can you prevent them? By affording a free outlet to the internal

Starting point is 05:08:14 forces. Earthquakes are due to one of two causes, either the imprisoned gases in the volcano cause an explosion and set the earth trembling, or else the lava injected from the volcano leaves hollow spaces underground and the crust of the earth falls in. Now, if I succeed in carrying away the heat from the interior, as fast as it is formed, the gases will cool and not explode. The lava will not be ejected, and no vacant spaces will be formed. I shall thus prevent both the eruption and the earthquake. I see. Of course, I must be careful to leave free outlets for the gases and lava.

Starting point is 05:08:57 If I should cool the lava and outlet itself, I might block up the safety valve, and the result would be that the imprisoned gases would cause an explosion such as a crater has never been before experienced. The day following this conversation, Silas Rocket was sitting in a hotel cafe in Naples with Miss Gloria Mundy when Dr. Hackensaw appeared. The doctor's face was grave. What's the matter, Doc? asked Silas cheerily for the fact that he was paid by his paper for spinning around with this pretty girl on a tour through Europe, made him see everything through rosy spectacles. Is there any hitch in your operation? Hitch is no name for it, returned the doctor, gloomy. It looks as if my whole scheme would fall through. I've just been up to the observatory

Starting point is 05:09:52 of Vesuvius and had a long talk with one of the staff there. He showed me the spectroscopic views of the flames and the graphs made of the perturbations in the volcano. He also informed me that the scientists there are convinced that there is another eruption of a volcano imminent. It might come in three months' time, or it might be delayed for a year or two, and then occur with greater violence. But come it surely will within months' time. What if it does? Don't you see that it will upset all my plans? An eruption with his accompanying earthquakes is sure to destroy the greater part of my world.

Starting point is 05:10:33 work. I see. And all the money you put into the enterprise would be lost? Bosch, step the doctor. I should be willing to put ten to twenty million dollars into the venture, even if I were certain of getting none of it back. But I don't want to just throw the money away. All settled, Silas. I've ordered the eruption for noon two weeks from today. What? cried Silas in mock astonishment. You're going to let the volcano shoot after all? Didn't I tell you to stop the eruption? You did, Silas, but I found the contract was a little too much for me to handle, so I've made a compromise. The eruption was bound to come, so I thought it better to make it come at a definite date and limit the extent and

Starting point is 05:11:29 direction of the lava flow. My borings have enabled me to locate the spot where the pent-up forces are at work, and special instruments have helped me to assert the internal conditions. After careful study, I decided to create a weak spot in the crater, so that when the explosion comes, the lava will flow off in a direction secure from danger of doing harm. I don't want to run the risk of covering up Pompeii again or of destroying any other city. My work wouldn't have been busy creating this weak spot, and now all is ready for the eruption. Pugh! Of course, I have not made public the fact that it is I who am creating this explosion. I have notified the public through the newspapers that an eruption and earthquake are due at noon time,

Starting point is 05:12:18 two weeks from today. To avoid all possibility of accident, the police will clear the people from the surrounding villages on the day of the eruption, and all persons will be warned to seek open spaces so that no one will be. injured in case the earth tremors are strong enough to knock down any buildings. How are you going to start the volcano going? asked Silas. I have made borings and placed correct amount of explosives in the critical spot. At the right moment, I shall fire them. An outlet will be formed for the pent-up internal forces, and there will be a magnificent eruption. A number of movie men are going to be on hand with their cameras, and the world at large. will thus be thus able to witness this spectacle at second hand.

Starting point is 05:13:11 The two weeks drags slowly by, but the eventful day dawned at last. Every precaution had been taken to prevent accidents. At noon, on this appointed day, Dr. Hackensaw led Miss Gloria Mundy to the wireless instrument in Naples, from which the ethereal wave was to be sent that would explode the TNT and start the eruption. The spot faced the bay and the smoking volcano could be clearly seen on the other side of the water. In the very focus of the movie cameras, Miss Gory was more beautiful than ever, and trembling a little at the importance of the role she was about to play, pressed down the control switch, just at the stroke,

Starting point is 05:14:00 of 12. Instantly, a cloud of flame and smoke was belched up from a volcano, huge blocks of lava being hurled up high into the air. It was only several seconds later that the report could be heard for sound travels far more slowly than the light. The earth shook violently and several ramshack and leave buildings fell. Some window panes were broken, although people have been warned to leave the windows open to avoid such breakage. The deed was done, Basuvius, for the first time in its life, had found a master.

Starting point is 05:14:38 It was some months later before the doctor was able to carry out his initial project, and he never completed it fully, but he did eventually succeed in furnishing the people in Naples' light, heat, and power at ridiculously

Starting point is 05:14:54 low prices. End of section. 17 of Dr. Hakensaugh's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Brent Nasworthy. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondier.

Starting point is 05:15:28 The Secret of the Walking Radio Bill. Author's Note The automobile has accomplished wonders, both for the transportation of passengers and merchandise. It's one great drawback, however, is that it requires good roads. Isn't it about time that our inventors should turn their attention to giving us an auto that could climb over fences and travel through rough fields? Are you all ready, Silas?

Starting point is 05:15:57 We ought to start in about an hour. How are you going? By the train? No, I'm going in my walking radiobile. A walking radiobeel? What in the world is that? That's my latest invention. It's an automobile that walks. I confess I'm no wiser than before, Doctor, said Silas. Dr. Hackensaw shrugged his shoulders.

Starting point is 05:16:26 The fact is, Silas, said he, that I've made a new automobile, which I think is destined to be of the greatest value, both in peace and in war. I, of course, realize fully how much we are indebted to our present autos, but they all have one very serious defect. They require good roads. Now the majority of roads are bad, and it takes time and money to improve them. What we need, therefore, is an automobile that can travel the poorest road, cut across fields, climb over fences and wade through small streams.

Starting point is 05:17:05 Won't a tractor do that? Yes, but a tractor is too slow, too heavy, and too clumsy. Besides, it destroys everything in its path. Now it struck me that a light automobile with four legs would fill a long-felt want. For it could walk over the roughest ground, climb steep mountains, and even step over a high fence with ease. As you're going to ride out to Michigan with me to inspect the timberlands there that I'm about to purchase, you will have a chance to see for yourself how the thing works. Why do you call it a radio bill?

Starting point is 05:17:43 Because it is run by radium. I've already spoken to you about my radio engine, but you haven't seen it yet. As I told you not long ago, I can manufacture radium in large quantities and very cheaply. Radium is an unstable substance, continually giving off powerful emanations, and eventually disintegrating into lead. One gram of radium in turning into lead gives out some three million horsepower hours of energy. Under ordinary circumstances, it would take about 2,000 years for the radium to change into lead. In other words, one gram of radium could furnish one sixth of one horsepower continuously day and night for 2,000 years.

Starting point is 05:18:28 But I have found that by heating the radium, I can greatly hasten the decency. integration. In my radiobile here, I apply heat at will to the tube of radium that runs the machine. And by means of the heat alone, I can regulate the speed of the machine. If not used at all, my radium lasts 2,000 years. If I use it to run a 20-horsepower machine six hours per day, the machine would run for over 75 years, which is about all that any reasonable man could ask. You told me that you use the ocean waves to get the heat required for making the radium. Yes, you understand, of course, that since a gram of radium in turning into lead gives off 3 million horsepower hours of energy, I cannot change a gram of lead into radium without using up at least 3 million horsepower hours of energy.

Starting point is 05:19:23 As a matter of fact, it takes 15 million horsepower hours to make a gram of radium. but I consider this very little, as the ocean waves furnish the practically unlimited power. Only 20% efficiency, exclaimed Silas. That seems very little. On the contrary, it is a remarkable showing when you consider the losses of heat that occur at the incredibly high temperature I'm obliged to use to decompose the lead. I have to use all kinds of devices to prevent loss of heat, and I make the cool cooling gases impart their heat to the new gases, whose temperature is to be raised.

Starting point is 05:20:04 What material do you use to resist these high temperatures? asked Silas. Ah, that was indeed a difficult problem to solve, replied the doctor. Given a heat sufficiently high to decompose any substance, I had to find sub-substance that would not be decomposed by the heat. Why, that's another impossibility, cried Silas. It would seem so. said Dr. Hackensaw, chuckling. Nevertheless, I solved the problem,

Starting point is 05:20:34 and it isn't the first impossible problem that has been solved by any manner of means. But what in the world did you do? My solution was really a very simple one. I made use of a portion of the very gas I was decomposing to serve as a container for the portion that was being decomposed. For example, in decomposing lead,

Starting point is 05:20:56 I first vaporized the lead. and then gradually heat this lead vapor. At the final stage of the process, this vapor passes in a slow stream between the two electrodes that carry the electrical current. The resistance to the current, offered by the gas, raises the central portion of the stream of vapor to a temperature high enough to decompose it,

Starting point is 05:21:19 but the outer portion of the stream is not decomposed. The decomposed portion, owing to its lightness, rises very rapidly and can thus be separated from the other portion, which is lead back and fed through the electrode with the new lead vapors. But don't the electrodes themselves melt? No, the heat there is not so intense. Besides, I use special means to refrigerate them, utilizing the heat itself for the purpose of cooling them.

Starting point is 05:21:50 By the ammonia process? No. The evaporation of ammonia to produce cold is too clumsy a method for use in my furnace. I produce cold electrically. You probably know that by heating two dissimilar metals, you can produce electricity. It is also possible to produce cold

Starting point is 05:22:08 by passing an electrical current through two such metals, but to return to what I was saying. In these experiments of mine, I struck anew and altogether unlooked-for obstacle. I had not reckoned on the isomeric and allotropic forms of my products. What do you mean by isomeric and allotropic? It often happens, especially in organic compounds like the sugars and alcohols, that two entirely dissimilar substances have nevertheless exactly the same chemical composition.

Starting point is 05:22:41 They are made up of the same elements, in the same percentages or relative amounts. The arrangement of the elements and the molecule appears to be what causes the difference in the compounds. Such compounds are called isomeric. Allotropy is precisely the same thing, but applies to our so-called elements. Thus, the diamond, graphite, what you call the lead in your lead pencil, and charcoal, are all nothing but different forms of carbon. As what we call elements are really compounds. The inference is that here, too, the arrangement of the entities that compose the element differs in some way. Well? Well, to return to what I was saying,

Starting point is 05:23:25 after I had decomposed some substance, say carbon, by subjecting it to a heat so intense, that after changing it first into carbon dioxide and then forcing the atoms of carbon and of oxygen to separate and finally be decomposed, I found that my carbon, when it recombined, sometimes cooled in the form of graphite, sometimes as diamonds, sometimes as charcoal,

Starting point is 05:23:49 almost always the latter. And I discovered in this way, many knew hitherto altogether unsuspected allotropic forms of the elements. It was only after much experimenting that I learned how to produce the form I sought. How do you accomplish it? It would take too long to explain in detail, but I depend principally on catalysis. Catalysis? What's that? In chemical experiments, we often find, two substances which, when placed together, have no effect on each other.

Starting point is 05:24:25 If, however, we introduce a third substance into the mixture, chemical combination takes place, and yet the third substance is unchanged at the end of the operation. This is called catalysis. Sometimes the third substance acts mechanically. In all true catalysis, however, the third substance is really decomposed and recomposed a number of times. It takes something from one of the two substances and gives it up to the other. By the introduction of such catalyzers into my cooling carbon, I found that I could force the entities that composed the atoms

Starting point is 05:25:01 to cool in the form of diamonds, of graphite, or of carbon, whichever I wished. I have some specimens of diamonds that I shall show you obtained in this manner, that are larger than ostrich eggs, and yet perfect in every respect. Is it possible? cried Silas with dilated eyes. To me, continued Dr. Hackensaw simply, these diamonds are interesting merely from a chemical point of view. My interest is chiefly centered on my radium.

Starting point is 05:25:34 I find I can manufacture my radiobile engines at very low cost. The one-sixth horsepower size, that is a tube containing one gram of radium, is useful for ordinary household work. running a sewing machine or phonograph, etc. If a higher horsepower is wanted, for a vacuum cleaner or for cooking and lighting purposes, the heater attached to the tube must be used.

Starting point is 05:25:59 I have a patent device by means of which the radium may be made to heat itself. Heat itself? To be sure, in my earlier experiments, I used an acetylene burner to heat my radium whenever I wished to increase the horsepower. Then it occurred to me, that it was foolish not to use the energy of the radium itself for the purpose. The stream of radium emanations could be easily reflected back upon the tube

Starting point is 05:26:25 and produce the degree of heat required. This leaves my radium engine so compact that it can be carried in my vest pocket. There is one that I always carry around with me, and which fits any of my automobile or airplanes, my motorboat, my drills and other machines, my electric lighting and heating arrangements, In fact, these six grams of radium are really a hundred horses that I carry around in my pocket,

Starting point is 05:26:53 ready for use at any moment. Silas Rocket took the small metal tube, handed for his inspection, and surveyed it gingerly. Isn't it rather dangerous to use? He asked at length. No, it is foolproof. The tube is made of a metal absolutely impervious to the emanations. It can only be opened by a specky. special key which fits into this keyhole. I never manufacture a loose key, but always have

Starting point is 05:27:23 the key cast in the automobile or other apparatus which the engine is to run, as an integral part of it. Consequently, the tube can only be opened by placing it in the proper socket in the automobile, and then giving it a turn. This turn locks the tube into the automobile at the same time that it releases the emanations. But these find themselves shut in by a valve, in the auto, which the driver opens or closes at will, to let on or shut off the power. The driver has also control of the heating attachment, and can, with a 6 gram engine, obtain any range of power, from nothing to 100 horsepower at will, and can use this power not only to run the car, but to heat and light it, or even work an electric fan to keep the flies off the baby.

Starting point is 05:28:12 No gasoline, no spark plugs, no cranking, no batteries, no noise, no fuses. The machine is so quiet that I fear I shall have to attach sleigh bells to it to warn people of its coming. In wartime, however, a quiet airplane will be a great advantage. By the way, speaking of war reminds me that I'm taking along with me some new gas bombs to test out. Gas bombs will certainly be used in future warfare, and it seemed to me that a humane gas could be found, which would incapacitate the enemy for the time being, yet cause none of the atrocious sufferings or injurious after-effects of the chlorine and other war gases. My snap-on gas masks, too, are a great improvement on the ordinary masks. They can be snapped on in one second.

Starting point is 05:29:10 It's a great pity, doctor, said the landlord of the end. Tonight the white caps are going to tar and feather that young couple that's just come here. They're believed to be the ones who set fire to Smith's house. But to tell you the truth, I think they're innocent. Why doesn't the sheriff prevent them? Him? Why, the white-livered skunk knowing there'd be trouble, has gone to the next township so as to wash his hands of any responsibility.

Starting point is 05:29:43 You can see the fire in the woods from here. They're melting the tar and getting thing ready. Come along, Silas, cried the doctor. Jump into the Radiobiel. We too have got to take a hand in this business. The Radiobiel was a somewhat clumsy-looking machine. The body resembled that of an airplane. The wheels were light like bicycle wheels

Starting point is 05:30:09 and could fold up under the car when the legs were used. The legs were long and joined at the knee. They resembled the trestlework of a bridge, and were built of triangular units, the triangle being the strongest unit possible for such work. A square unit can be pulled or pushed into the shape of a rhombus, but a triangle will give in no direction. In order to avoid danger from the radium emanations, they were changed into helium gas before being allowed to escape from the machine, and hence could not harm anyone. In fact, the helium gas, owing to its lightness, rose high in the air as soon as released.

Starting point is 05:30:51 There was no trouble in finding the spot where the mob were assembled. In the dusk, the fire was visible several miles away. The spot chosen was an open field near some large woods. A crowd had already collected, and automobiles, carriages, motorcycles, and bike, bicycles were visible in large numbers. You've undertaken a pretty big contract, doctor, said Silas, setting his teeth together. If, as I imagine, your intention is to save the young couple, you'll have no easy job.

Starting point is 05:31:28 Besides, we could never escape from those autos and motorcycles. The doctor made no reply. He pressed down the lever that let down the four legs of the machine, and that simultaneously folded the wheels flat under the car. The Radiobile now walked at a rapid rate, its legs being lifted alternately by revolving eccentrics. The machine left the road and approached the fence that bounded the woods. A quick shift of a lever transferred a weight to the rear of the car,

Starting point is 05:32:00 lifted the front legs of the machine over the fence. Another shift and down they came on the other side. A reverse operation brought the hind legs over. The machine had stepped over the fence with the greatest ease, and was now climbing a very steep hill. For the four hollow rubber balls, which had previously served as feet, were pushed aside to make room for sharp points, which dug into the turf, and would have pulled the machine up an incline of more than 45 degrees. Now, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, we'll leave the machine here on the edge of the woods. Take two gas masks with you and two bombs. Get as close to the girl as you can.

Starting point is 05:32:42 I will attend to the man. When I give the signal, throw your two gas bombs into the crowd, and I will do the same. Then get the gas masks on yourself and the girl as quickly as you can, and meet me at the car. As the pair approached the mob, it was evident that the young couple had just been given a mock trial while the tar was being heated. A young ruffian had been chosen for the judge. And he now pronounced sentence. Guilty! Both of them! I sentenced the man to three dozen lashes on his bare back,

Starting point is 05:33:17 and then we'll hang him to the nearest tree. As for the girl, we'll only give her ten lashes, and then we'll tar and feather her and ride her out of the township on a rail. At the words, a great shout went up from the mob, and a dozen willing hands tore off the man's coat and shirt, and shirt. The girl, too, was stripped to the waist in a twinkling. Dr. Hackensaw's blood boiled. He saw there was no time to lose, and pushing forward he shouted to Silas, Now! The four gas bombs exploded with a single deafening report. The crowd fell back in alarm

Starting point is 05:33:56 except one tattooed brute, who was holding the struggling girl. But Silas sent the fellow sprawling with a well-directed blow of his fist. By the time the crowd, sneezing and sputtering, realized what was happening. Silas and the doctor, with the rescued pair, had reached the radiobiel, and were hastening along the lumber road in the woods to the main road a mile distant. They had not gone far, however, before a chugging of autos warned them that pursuit was at hand. Luckily, they reached the crossroad before their pursuers, so the chase was behind them. Escape seemed possible for a time, and then it became evident that some of the pursuers were catching up.

Starting point is 05:34:36 At the same time, a dozen autos appeared in front of them and blocked the road. It's no use, Doctor. We're done for, cried Silas. We're hemmed in, in front and behind. I'm afraid that's the end, sir, observed the man. It was kind of you to try and save us, and I swear to you we are both innocent. Mitzie and I will get out of the machine, and you two gentlemen may then be able to escape. "'Sit right where you are,' cried the doctor. "'We're not lost yet.'

Starting point is 05:35:11 With the words he pulled a lever, and some concealed wings opened out like a fan, and a propeller appeared as if by magic at the back of the car. The machine was really a combined auto and airplane. They rose rapidly from the earth, and a few shots that went wide of the mark showed how narrow had been their escape. But even now the danger was not at an end.

Starting point is 05:35:38 Three or four of the lynching party owned airplanes, and a few minutes later, three of the machines could be seen in pursuit. And what was worse, the pursuers were gaining upon the doctor's party. Dr. Hackensaw's face clouded. Then suddenly he gave a cry of joy. Look, Silas, he exclaimed, There's Lake Michigan, we're saved! And sailing out over the lake,

Starting point is 05:36:02 the doctor pressed two levers in rapid succession. Instantly the car closed hermetically and dived down into the water. For the doctor's radiobile was not only a walking automobile and an airplane, it was also a submarine, fitted with automatic gills for obtaining air underwater. The machine was now beyond the reach of its pursuers, when, after an underwater voyage of a hundred miles it came to the surface, not a pursuer was in sight. The wings were again called into requisition, and the whole party soon reached a hotel in a large city, safe from the lawless mobs, whose only useful function seems to be to remind us how little man has really evolved above the level of the savage.

Starting point is 05:36:51 End of Section 17. Section 18 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secret. This is a Leverovox recording. All Leverovacs recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit levervox.org. Read by Wallace Morgan. Dr. Hackensaw's Secret by Clement Thessandy. The Secret of the Talking Ape.

Starting point is 05:37:24 Authors note. Parrots can be taught to utter a few phrases, but their intelligence is too limited to admit of their understanding much. If anything of what they say, dogs have considerable intelligence, but lack the proper vocal organs for speech. Apes, however, especially such species as the orangutang and the chimpanzee possess vocal organs similar to those of man and have an intelligence probably superior to that of a dog. There would seem no reason, therefore, why an intelligent ape of one of these species

Starting point is 05:38:01 might not be taught to understand and to speak a few simple sentences. It is an experiment that would be well worth trying, and I have outlined here the method to be followed and giving such instruction. There is a trained ape on exhibition here in Vienna. Now, who performs the exhibition tricks mentioned in the story, and in addition has four distinct cries, any one of which he makes at the command of his trainer. The story, therefore, has a good basis of fact.

Starting point is 05:38:36 Well, Doctor, cried Silas Rocket gaily, as he burst into Dr. Hackensaw's private office one fine spring morning. What new marvel have you got to show me today? I suppose some day you will be learning to understand the language of animals. Perhaps so, replied Dr. Hackensaw, smiling. But at present, I am engaged in the opposite test. I am teaching an animal to understand human language. I thought most domestic animals did that to a certain extent already.

Starting point is 05:39:11 A dog, for example, understands a great deal of what is said to him. True. Though the understanding is much less than most people are apt to imagine. When we witness the performance of trained dogs at a vaudeville show, we are too ready to believe that the dog understands the role it is playing. When, as a rule, the dog is merely repeating mechanically a series of actions that have been taught it,

Starting point is 05:39:41 and yet that mean nothing to it. But today, I am going to show you something that has never been attempted before. Some years ago, with the greatest misgivings, I undertook the task of teaching an ape to speak. I have succeeded beyond my wildest hopes, and today I'm going to introduce, you to chimp, my talking ape. What do you mean? I mean what I say. I'm going to show you

Starting point is 05:40:09 an ape that can talk and can understand when spoken to. True. Its vocabulary is limited, but it compares favorably with that of some savage tribes who are said to use only about 300 words. Silas Rocket looked puzzled. I don't understand you, doctor, said he. Of course, I know that most animals have a language of their own. A dog can bark, how, yelp, wine, groan, bay, growl, snarl, etc. And another dog will understand him. I know, too, that Professor Gardner believed the chatter of monkeys to be a real language, and he even attempted to learn it.

Starting point is 05:40:52 Do I understand that you succeeded where he fell and that you are able to understand the chatter of monkeys? No, replied Dr. Hackensaw, laughing. I haven't mastered the monkey language yet, and I very much doubt if it is any more extensive than that of a dog. To the best of my belief, it is our own stupid domestic borniard chicken that has the largest vocabulary of any animal. A chicken understands about 27 distinct cries made by other chickens. These cries are really something.

Starting point is 05:41:29 sentences. Everyone is familiar with the cockadoodle do of the rooster, the cut, cut, cut, cut, cutta of the hen, the cluck of the mother hen calling her brood. Her particular clucking when she has discovered a tid-bit and the wild peep of the baby chick that has lost its mother. Then what in the world is it that you have done? Silas, I have taught an ape to speak English. Oh, understand me. I mean that I have taught him to articulate and to comprehend a few simple phrases in the English language. You don't mean it. I do. My first problem was to find a proper subject from my experiment. I hesitated, long, whether to choose an orangutan or a chimpanzee. Both are highly intelligent and teachable. Both have been trained to perform remarkable feats. I finally

Starting point is 05:42:29 decided on the chimpanzee, and I have never regretted my choice. Of course, I must begin young. In fact, I resolved to raise my own monkeys from the egg, are more properly speaking, the ovum. I chose for the parents too well-trained and highly intelligent chimpanzees. I secured a number of ova from the female, fertilized these with sperm cells from the male, and raised these fertilized egg cells in vitro, that is to say, in glass jars containing a suitable culture fluid. My monkeys were thus born without seeing others of their species, and I could therefore train them from the very start. My first care was to secure a professional monkey trainer. I obtained a list of the farmost men in the business, and finally selected the one who seemed to have obtained the

Starting point is 05:43:22 greatest success in training his animals. I even used some of his monkeys themselves to assist me in training my pets. You used monkeys to train other monkeys? Certainly. All animal trainers find their work greatly simplified when they have a trained animal to serve as an example to the novices. The pupils learn by imitation. Monkeys, with their natural facility for imitation, profit even more than dogs by having a trained animal as a model. Then came the task of selecting the brightest of my pets. The work was too arduous to admit of our training more than one monkey. But how to make sure of picking out the best one was a problem. I don't see how you could possibly tell with such young animals. I followed the method mentioned by Darwin as being the one

Starting point is 05:44:17 used by a successful animal trainer. He always chose the animals that pay closest attention to him when being taught. An animal that is attentive and imitative is sure to make a good pupil. It is by this test that I selected Chimp from among a dozen of his twin brothers, and we could thereafter give him our undivided attention. He soon learned all the tricks of his pupil teacher. He could eat properly at a table, could pour liquids from a bottle into a glass, and drink from the glass, could strike a match, and light a candle. Could skate on roller skates, could ride a bicycle, mounting and dismounting from it, unaided, with the greatest of ease. And he could ride it in and out through a row of bottles without upsetting a single bottle. He could even undress himself and get into bed. In short, he could

Starting point is 05:45:14 perform all the exhibition tricks of the best trained apes of Europe and America, for I secured the services of these as instructors. What was the use of teaching him all these tricks? asked Silas. Puzzled. As you merely wished your pet to learn to speak English and didn't intend for him, for exhibition purposes, what on earth was the sense of teaching him all these useless things? Ah, Silas, there you make a common mistake.

Starting point is 05:45:46 It is to the greatest advantage for a teacher to have a docile pupil. accustomed to obey. Chimp learned from these early lessons that some task was expected of him and that different signals had different meanings. It was a pleasure for him to imitate the trained apes. He enjoyed bicycle riding immensely and would often accompany me for a ride around Central Park where we naturally attracted considerable attention.

Starting point is 05:46:14 These apparently useless lessons proved of the greatest value. What? I don't understand. said Silas. And what specifically interest me is how you taught him human language. Your trained monkeys couldn't speak and could therefore be of no use to you. You are mistaken, Silas. One of my train apes prove useful, even in this respect. Monkeys, as you may have noticed, possessed a number of different cries.

Starting point is 05:46:44 This ape's trainer had noticed four distinct cries possessed by his pupil. One of these was a kind of short. a goutreel sound, a third was a chatter, and the fourth was a sort of vowel utterance. He had taught his pupil to utter any one of these four sounds at a given signal. Chimp soon learned these four sounds by imitating this ape's cries, and he also learned to make each at the proper signal. It was his first lesson in language. But his cries were monkey sounds, and didn't mean.

Starting point is 05:47:20 mean anything. Of course not. To give them a meaning was my next task. I must associate each of these cries with some object, and the object should be one that should possess interest for a monkey. Chimp was very fond of aerobatic feats, and in his cage were a trapeze, a swinging rope, and a ladder. I accordingly decided that his shriek should mean ladder. His guttural sound should mean trapeze. His chatter should mean rope and his vowel sound should mean peanut. Ladder, rope, and trapeas were removable for easy cleaning. I took them all out of the cage, then ordered him to make the guttural sound and brought him the trapeze. Next I had him make the vowel sound and brought him a peanut. Each time that we brought him the object, we repeated

Starting point is 05:48:13 the appropriate sound so as to impress on his mind the association between the sound and the thing. The work required infinite patience, but my trainer and his assistants were capable men, and the chimp soon learned that when he made a certain sound, a certain object was brought to him, he thus learned to associate an object with a certain sound and to know that different sounds had different meanings. This was an immense step in advance. He had not only acquired a vocabulary of four words, but he had learned that there is such a thing as language, a means of communicating different ideas by different sounds. At the same time that we were doing this, we taught him to understand the cries when we made them. And he learned to bring us the trapeze,

Starting point is 05:49:08 our rope, our ladder, when we made the proper sound. But how could you imitate an apes chatter? I secured the services of a professional animal imitator. He was soon able to imitate chimps for cries, and he succeeded in teaching me and the trainer to make passable imitations. Besides this, we made phonographic records of the cries. The records being made by Chimp himself, and any of our assistants was then able to make the proper cry by means of the phonograph. That was clever, but as I understand you, these four words were nothing but monkey chatter.

Starting point is 05:49:49 I thought you said you had taught your chimpanzee to speak English. So I did. The thing seems impossible. You have accomplished many marvels. Doctor, but if you taught a monkey to speak English words, you have beaten all your other inventions to a frazzle. How could you possibly do it? The problem was not so difficult as you might imagine Silas. Have you ever met a deaf mute? I can't say I ever had the pleasure. Well, a deaf mute is a man born deaf, not being able to hear. In former days he remained dumb all his life.

Starting point is 05:50:26 But of late years, it has been found possible to teach these deaf mutes to speak. The teacher slowly and distinctly articulates the sound or word he wishes his pupil to make. The pupil sees the lips, mouth, and tongue move, and tries to imitate the most. The teacher assists by touching the pupil's throat or lips to show him which of the vocal organs to move. In this way, the unfortunate deaf man is taught to speak, as he is handicapped by the fact that he never hears his teacher's voice or the sounds he makes himself. There is always something peculiar about his speech. I see, the idea struck me that an ape could be taught in the same manner I accordingly visit at several deaf-mute institutions and succeeded in finding an experienced and capable

Starting point is 05:51:19 young teacher who was eager to try the experiment of teaching a monkey to speak. So the lessons began. Very simple sounds must be used at first. As a baby's first words are ma and pa. I chose these as the first to teach chimp. I used ma for the word man. It represented for chip any of his attendance. One of us always came to him whenever he made the word. The word pa was used for banana, as he was very fond of this fruit, wa for water, was soon added. In this way, he learned to articulate and use three words that, while scarcely English, were yet not monkey chatter. I won't weary you with all the details of the work. Great patience is required to teach a baby to speak, greater patience was required for one word, but we persevered relaying each other. The first few

Starting point is 05:52:17 words were the most difficult to teach. After that, as he began to realize the value of language for making his wants known, the task became easier, and one word after another was added to his vocabulary. The first words taught were all nouns. Then a few words were added, such as sit, stand, ride, being, etc. The processed used was very much like that used in teaching a baby, with the added difficulty of manipulating

Starting point is 05:52:48 the ape's vocal organs so as to get a sound approximating human speech. Even now there is something guttural in Chimp's speech, and it is only those familiar with his accent who can readily understand what he says.

Starting point is 05:53:04 But perhaps you would like to meet Chimp in person. If, If so, I will call him. So saying, Dr. Hakensaw took up his telephone. Hoochie, said he, please bring Chimp here. A moment later, an eight-year-old girl appeared, followed by a large chimpanzee. Hoochie was Dr. Hackensaw's pride and delight. Like Chimp, he had raised her from an egg, or more properly speaking, an ovum.

Starting point is 05:53:34 She was a dear girl, an almost perfect specimen of what such a child should be. Chimp was dressed like a gentleman. The doctor, not fancying the costumes in which trained apes usually appear on the stage, the ape bowed gravely to Silas and extended a paw, which the reporter shook. Good morning, articulated the ape in guttural accents and in a slow, precise fashion. Good morning, Chimp, said Silas. What do you want, Chimp? asked the doctor. Peanuts, replied the ape, who had months before learned.

Starting point is 05:54:09 to use the word peanuts in place of the earlier learned word pa. Dr. Hackensaw laughed and drew a handful of these from his pocket and handed them to the ape, who began eating them with great gusto. To say Silas Rocket was amazed would be to put the matter mildly. Of course, Chimp's vocabulary was strictly limited and could not compare with that of a child of four, but he could understand and use intelligently a number of words of the English language, Dr. Hackensaw had certainly accomplished a miracle. It was about this time that Dr. Hackensaw was obliged to make a three months trip to Europe,

Starting point is 05:54:49 and during his absence, Chimp disappeared mysteriously, and no trace of him could be found, though large rewards were offered for his return. For four months nothing was heard of the intelligent animal, but one morning Hucci was awakened by a hairy paw laid upon her, and was overjoyed to find a young man. that the lost ape had returned. He was sick and in poor condition,

Starting point is 05:55:13 and a broken chain fastened to a metal band around his waist, showed that he had been kept a close prisoner. What had happened to him during his absence was never entirely known, but the following facts were gleaned. The leader of a gang of criminals had learned about chimp, and realizing that such an animal would be of great use to him and his profession had decided to steal him. but how? His business had taught him the power of the eternal feminine. He hired a female baboon,

Starting point is 05:55:46 and with her aid he lured champ away and made him a prisoner. The ape was well fed and well treated, but was kept in closed confinement while he was taught the trade of burglary. Evidently, he made a valuable ally. There was not a house he couldn't scale by means of the rain pipes or window moldings. He was taught to push aside the catches of a window by means of a knife, so as to gain access to the interior. He was taught how to rummage through drawers for jewels and other valuables, though it must be confessed his plunder often contained worthless articles, his ability to speak and understand, made him a valuable auxiliary to this work. Sometimes he hauled up and fastened a rope ladder, so his new master could follow him. And this,

Starting point is 05:56:37 This way many houses were plundered, and as the thieves took away the rope ladder with them, the modus operandi of these burglaries was a great mystery. Many a time Chimp had wished to return to his first master, but every attempt to escape was frustrated. But one day, a link of his chain happened to give way, and Chimp profited by the occasion to return home. Dr. Hakensoll, back from Europe, was delighted to see him again. and then came Chimp's last exploit.

Starting point is 05:57:10 Within a week after his return home, Dr. Hackensaw's house caught fire one night, when the doctor chanced to be out. It was never definitely known how the fire occurred, but it was suspected to be the work of the gang in an effort to either recapture Chimp or to kill him in order to prevent his betraying them by leading the doctor to their haunts.

Starting point is 05:57:35 Whatever they cause, When the doctor returned home at midnight, he found the place in a blaze. For some reason, the fire engines had not yet arrived. Dr. Hackensaw's first agonized thought was for his eight-year-old little girl, Hoochie, fast asleep in the burning building. It was impossible to reach her without a ladder, and no ladder was in sight. At this juncture, Chimp appeared at one of the windows and clamored dicks terrously to the ground by means of the rainpipe. he too had been asleep, but the smoke had awakened him.

Starting point is 05:58:09 The doctor's face lighted up at the sight of the ape. Here was his one ray of hope. Chimp, bring baby, he cried. Baby in bed. Bring baby. Baby being the name by which chimp knew Hoochie. The intelligent animal understood it once what was wanted. With a bound, he was back to the leader pipe, clambering up it and across the window moldings,

Starting point is 05:58:32 till he had reached Hoochie's window. Many a time had he made the ascent before to awaken his little mistress, who always slept with the window open. Now, however, the room was filled with flames and smoke, but the courageous ape plunged through the fire and grasping Hoochie, who lay insensible on the bed. Half suffocated by the smoke, he carried her to the window, and carefully, holding his precious burden, began the perilous descent. Fortunately, the leader pipe was strong. It stood the double burden it had to be. to bear. The heroic animal reached the ground and safety, but was so badly burned that it died of its injuries the following day. Dr. Hackensaw was inconsolable, and Hoochie deeply mourned the pet that had saved her life. In after years, whenever the doctor told the story of Chimp's heroic

Starting point is 05:59:23 devotion, he invariably added, I have always been deeply thankful that the idea occurred to me to teach this ape to speak and understand English. I was able thus to make. Chimp understand where Huchy was and what I wished him to do. Without his knowledge of language, I should have lost this dear girl the most precious of all my treasures. End of Section 18. Section 19 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libervox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Bissande.

Starting point is 06:00:15 Number 19. The Secret of the Super Telescope Authors note Shall we ever be able to make telescopes sufficiently powerful to reveal living beings on the moon if any such exist? Unquestionably yes, and in my opinion, the thing would not be impossible at the present day by successive magnification, using due care to reduce distortions to a minimum,

Starting point is 06:00:38 and illuminating each successive image to make up for the loss of light at each illumination. The fact that we have found neither air nor water on the moon is by no means proof that living beings of some sort do not dwell there. Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw impressively, I am going to reveal to you another of my secrets today, one that may have far-reaching consequences, and prove of greater importance than any of my other inventions. I am going to let you have a look through my super telescope. You have invented an improved telescope? Yes and no to that question. In reality, I have devised a new instrument to take the place of the

Starting point is 06:01:20 telescope, and far superior to the latter in its power of magnifying bodies without detracting from their clearness. I spent many years trying to improve our present telescope, but only with partial success. I began by offering fabulous sums to a celebrated firm of opticians, if they would produce for me, a telescope far superior to any before made. The result was almost nil, a big bill to pay, and nothing to show for it. Not a single new discovery of any consequence resulted. I then decided to take matters into my own hands, break loose from tradition, and start on a new tack. A telescope is nothing but a magnifying instrument, and there seemed to me no reason why the image of a star or planet could

Starting point is 06:02:05 not be received on a mirror and then magnified to any desired extent. Several problems to solve. Of course, there are several problems to solve. One, as each magnification diminishes the light, there must be means of increasing the original light received from the star or planet itself. Two, every refraction, and hence every magnification, produces a certain amount of distortion in the image. The distortion, of course, increasing with each increase of size. This distortion must be reduced to a minimum, or my telescope would be worthless.

Starting point is 06:02:42 3. Refraction is not the same for light of different colors. Hence, at each magnification, there is a tendency for the light to separate into all the colors of the rainbow. This is known as chromatic aberration and must be guarded against. 4. Any imperfection in the lenses themselves, or any impurities in the Earth's atmosphere

Starting point is 06:03:04 will be greatly magnified. These are the four principal troubles. Telescope image enlarged in successive stages. I accordingly used the following method. I received the first magnified image of the moon on a mirror. This mirror, I illuminated by a powerful electric light, and then threw a magnified image from this on a screen, which was, in reality, a second mirror.

Starting point is 06:03:29 The enlarged image was thus as well illuminated, as the first one. In the same way, I was able to select a portion of this second image and throw it, enlarged, upon a third mirror, and so on. The illumination always remaining the same, or even being increased if I wished. That settled the light problem, in order to avoid distortion and chromatic aberration as much as possible. I made use of only the very center of each image. The center of the image is always very much less distorted than the edges. I am thus able to receive very clear images. even though highly magnified. As to troubles due to imperfection in the lenses, I have reduced these to a minimum. And to avoid those caused by impurities in the atmosphere, I have installed the telescope on the top of a high mountain. The results exceeded my wildest hopes,

Starting point is 06:04:18 but the distance of the telescope from my laboratory here rendered it inconvenient of access. So I tried another tack, and improved my television apparatus. You have seen the instrument. As I explained to you, every object in the universe is radioactive, that is to say, it is continually emitting ether waves. Now my television apparatus is so constructed that I can tune it to receive any of these waves that I wish.

Starting point is 06:04:44 I cannot only tune the instrument to receive waves of any given length, but I can direct it so as to receive only waves coming from an object in a certain direction and a certain distance away. By means of amplifiers, I can then increase the intensity of these waves, and by means of special audience, I can transform these radio waves back into light waves again, and so obtain an image of the subject. Up to this time, I had been content to use my television apparatus to view objects on the earth, gradually increasing the power until I could see objects across the Atlantic, and even as far as China, 12,000 miles away. Now the moon is only some 240,000 miles from the earth. Many men have traveled that distance, and it occurred to me that was some

Starting point is 06:05:30 improvements, my television apparatus could be used for viewing objects on the moon. If so, I could set at rest once and for all, many problems that puzzle our astronomers. It's a pity, remarked Silas, that you couldn't make your instrument powerful enough to show us the surface of Venus and Mars, so that we could see whether human beings exist there, or only animals and plants. The moon is certainly a cold, dead body without either air or water. I have looked at it through a telescope. The surface is only a series of extinct volcanoes, and no life of any kind could exist there. Dr. Hackensaw chuckled.

Starting point is 06:06:08 Don't be too cock sure of that silas, said he. In the first place, the so-called volcanoes are not extinct craters as is popularly believed. Of course, it is natural to imagine that, as conditions on Venus and Mars closely approximate those on the Earth, the life there must be somewhat like our own. On the other hand, as we can perceive little or no air or water on the moon, it seems to us that no life can exist there. So, to a savage, living in the tropics, it would seem impossible that men could live in the polar regions. And yet, the Eskimo managed to live there. And remember, the Eskimo, adaptation to his surroundings, is what you might call artificial.

Starting point is 06:06:48 In the moon, the adaptation may be due to a natural evolution that has lasted hundreds of thousands of years. "'At any rate,' said Silas, "'even admitting that life exists on the moon, "'it must be a very low form "'because the moon is much newer than the Earth.' "'Moon's life older than ours.' "'I don't know how it is that people get that idea,' "'replied Dr. Hackensaw.

Starting point is 06:07:12 "'The converse is the case. "'The moon is older than the Earth, "'using the phrase in the popular sense, "'for, of course, both Moon and Earth "'are of the same age, "'since they both originally foreign part of the Sun. According to the nebular hypothesis, the sun with its planets, including the Earth, was formerly one immense body of incandescent matter, extending far beyond the present orbit of Neptune. As this fiery mass cooled and contracted, Neptune was first formed, and so is the oldest of the planets, then Uranus, Saturn, Jupiter, and Mars, and then came the Earth. The Earth and Moon were then combined in one mass, but as the Earth cooled, its outer portion was thrown. off and formed the moon. And the moon, being already the coolest portion, and cooling more rapidly

Starting point is 06:07:59 than the earth, owing to its smaller size, must have been cool enough to support life hundreds of thousands of years before the earth was in a condition to do so. Hence, we may truly say that the moon is older than the earth. Life has had a start there of perhaps countless thousands of years, and evolution was probably more rapid there than with us, since the moon is already cold. If intelligent beings were born on the moon, they have had time and opportunity to obtain knowledge and wisdom undreamt of on earth. Doctor, asked Silas eagerly, do you believe that there are living men and women like us on the moon? Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. No, Silas, he replied, the chances are as infinity to one against it.

Starting point is 06:08:44 I spoke of intelligent beings, not human beings. What are your reasons for believing there are no human beings on the moon? asked the reporter. How plant life originated. To understand that, Silas, you must understand how life originated on the earth. Evidently, there was no life of any kind present, while the earth was in its incandescent state,

Starting point is 06:09:07 at least we have no reason for believing so. But as this surface became cold, minerals formed either crystals or amorphous masses, chemical changes occurred, and as a result of these, the first specks of live matter must have appeared, probably in the form of one-celled plants like the amoeba or slime that is found in our kitchen sinks. These amoeba are mere specks of protoplasm, and their life consists simply of the power to feel and to contract.

Starting point is 06:09:34 Touch a bit of protoplasm with the pin. It feels the touch, and it contracts. That is life in its simplest form. The amoeba also possesses the power of absorbing food, and of growing and splitting up into two or more specks of protoplasm, each with a life of its own. that is the way life must have originated on this earth. Whether all living beings have descended from one single speck of protoplasm, or whether a number of these specks were formed at the same time, is an open question. It is even possible that the process of spontaneous generation is going on at the present day. To me, however, the probability seemed to be that all our animals and plants have descended from one original species of plants cell.

Starting point is 06:10:14 There was too much unity in animals and plants to allow of a different belief. In that case, cried Silas triumphantly, the chances are that life in the moon must have started from the same kind of cell, and consequently must have followed the same road and culminated by evolving into man as it did on the earth. I am willing to admit your premise, Silas, but not your conclusions. I believe, as you say, that life on the moon probably began, if it ever began at all, by evolution from the same amoeba-like form, from which it originated on the earth. of course other origins of life are possible and we may even imagine living beings unlike either animals or plants but the probabilities are that the start of life was the same on our satellite as here the moon and the earth were similar in composition and conditions were not very much unlike

Starting point is 06:11:04 then cried silas triumphantly if the start were the same and conditions were alike the result should be the same you forget silas retorted the doctor that even here on the earth where conditions are approximately the same the original forms have branched out into endless species of animals and plants millions of different forms from one original plant forms as diverse as the elephant the oyster and the oak tree on the moon even if conditions were almost identical with those here, millions of other forms must have existed, and yet the chances are great that among the millions, except in the very earliest forms, no two should be alike, save superficially, as the moth resembles the hummingbird, or the bat resembles the sparrow. Hence, the chances are infinitesimal, that anything that we should call a human being exists upon the moon. You must remember, too, that the lunar day consists of fourteen of our days, and as there is little or no atmosphere to temper the rays of the sun, the temperature must be blistering hot,

Starting point is 06:12:08 then follows a night of 14 days. With no atmosphere to hold it, the heat is radiated off into space, and a cold weekend scarcely dream of follows. Conditions so different as these must have produced an entirely different kind of life on the moon. Moon's Gravitation, one sixth, that of Earth's. Another thing that has probably exerted some influence is the difference in gravitation. The moon is smaller than the Earth, and its attraction therefore less. Gravity on the Moon is measured by an acceleration of 2.65 feet per second, instead of 16.09 feet per second, as on the Earth. In other words, the attraction is one-sixth, that of the Earth. A hundred and fifty-pound man would weigh only 25 pounds on the Moon. If animals or plants

Starting point is 06:12:56 live on the Moon at the present day, they must certainly be far different from ours. I am convinced that the lowest forms, like our own, have a skeleton, but that the higher forms have some kind of skeleton or framework, either a shell like the clam, or an external or internal framework, somewhat like the skeleton of an animal. I think it more likely, however, that this skeleton should radiate in different directions, as in a starfish, for example, than extend in a single line. Some of these animals and plants, like ours, must be rooted to one spot.

Starting point is 06:13:29 Others probably possess powers of locomotion. As to their organs, they must possess means of capturing and assimilating their food. Whether they breathe or not depends on the kind of life they possess. Our plants take carbon dioxide from the air and split it up into carbon and oxygen. Our animals take oxygen from the air and breathe it out combined with carbon as carbon dioxide. On the moon, a fourth kingdom of matter may exist which depends for its energy on a different chemical combination. How about sex on the moon? To understand that, you must first understand the evolution of sex on the earth.

Starting point is 06:14:07 The lowest forms of animals and plants are asexual, that is, they have no sex. They reproduce by growing larger and splitting up into two or more living cells. At the next stage, two living one-celled animals unite to form a single one-celled individual. At a still higher stage, two distinct animals each throw off one cell, and the two cells unite into one. There is still no such thing as sex. The two parents are like, and the two cells that join together are alike. But now sex begins to appear.

Starting point is 06:14:41 The parent forms begin to differ and evolve into male and female, and the cells thrown off likewise differ and become sperm cells and egg cells, respectively. The male and female parent may be separate individuals, or both may form that part of the same individual, as in most of our flowering plants. As it is an advantage for the sperm cells and egg cells of different individuals to unite, cross-fertilization is evolved, the wind or the insects carrying the pollen from one flower to another.

Starting point is 06:15:11 In animals, the same result is obtained by the evolution of the act of pairing. At first sight, it would seem impossible that the union of the two sexes could have resulted by slow steps. Either the egg cell must be completely fertilized, or it will not grow at all. no partial step seems possible but the intermediate links still exist at the present day as we can see in the fish in certain species of fish the female lays the eggs and the male fertilized them after they are laid gradually the males learn to follow the females and finally attach themselves to the females and fertilize the eggs as they were laid from this is was but a step to fertilize the eggs before they were laid and by slow stages the act of pairing as it exist and our mammals was evolved. The eggs being fertilized several months before the young are hatched. Now, how about sex on the moon? Evidently, the lowest forms of life like ours are asexual,

Starting point is 06:16:10 but cross-fertilization is such a great advantage that some form of sex has probably been evolved. But I think it extremely probable that on the moon, more than two sexes may have been evolved. I think it likely that three or more different parents may be necessary for each birth, or that the egg must pass from the body of one parent into the body of several other parents at different stages of its growth. This, however, is all mere hypothesis. Reproduction on the moon may be entirely different from anything we know of on Earth. The new generation may even be produced synthetically from chemicals for aught we know. Silas looks into the super telescope.

Starting point is 06:16:51 But I am wandering off into flight of fancy. if you will just step into my laboratory here for a few minutes, you will have some facts. I want you to take a look at the moon through my instrument, and then I will tell you of a plan I have formed, a plan which, if successful, will throw all my other achievements into the shade. Silas somewhat skeptically took a seat before the television screen, and waited while Dr. Hockensah adjusted his instruments, and then a reporter gave a cry of surprise, for there appeared on the screen a picture unlike anything he had ever imagined. that explained the doctor is a small portion of the moon's surface it is somewhat hazy and distorted due to the tremendous magnifying power used but it is sufficient to give you a tolerably clear idea of conditions on the moon life on the moon what funny plants cried silas in amazement and how is it they are not green they appear to be all the colors of the rainbow and as for shape we have no plants at all like them unless perhaps some of our marine growths

Starting point is 06:17:53 There's a golden plant that looks a little like a bunch of coral, and there are some that look more like roots than plants. And what are those things that are moving about, and those others that are jumping so high? Are they animals? They are either animals or else plants that possess the power of locomotion. How queer they all look, and all the queerer, because they are upside down. Everything looks as if it were hanging from the moon and would soon drop off. What puzzles me, said Dr. Hackensaw, is whether these creatures possess intelligence or not. Of course, it is difficult to conceive of intelligent plants, but the thing is not impossible. I am convinced that the fixed forms we see possess life.

Starting point is 06:18:37 I have watched some of them grow from small seedlings into very large plants. It is not a mere crystallization such as we see in minerals, but a real growth. But on earth, some species of medusay or jellyfish. do the same thing. In the jellyfish stage, they swim about, but their eggs take root and grow into a fixed stock, which, at maturity, breaks up into a number of new and free jellyfish. The communist creature up there, remarked Silas, looks just like the jackstones that children play with. Surely those things cannot have intelligence, and notice how they roll about from place to place, instead of walking, they roll around on four of their six spokes.

Starting point is 06:19:18 Silas sees strange machine on moon. Dr. Hackinson now turned the instrument in a new direction, and the screen showed, in natural colors, as before, a large and most peculiar metal structure on the moon. It was evidently not a house, but some kind of machine, proportions of it were in motion. Well, silence, he cried triumphantly, what do you think of that?

Starting point is 06:19:44 If that isn't a machine of some kind, I'll eat my hat. and if the Selenites are able to construct machinery, they must surely possess intelligence, no matter how peculiar their shape. But what is the use of that machine? It doesn't look like anything we have here on Earth. I'm not even sure it's made of metal. Probably it is made of some composition we know nothing of. Remember, the Selenites machines must be at least as far advanced,

Starting point is 06:20:12 as those men will possess several hundred thousand years from now. He would be a rash man who would venture to prophecy what they would be. Think of the possible inventions during the next thousand years, and then try to imagine those of the next hundred thousand years. At any rate, one thing is certain. There are intelligent living beings on the moon, and I should not be surprised if this machine were designed to store up the heat during the lunar days, and give it forth at night,

Starting point is 06:20:41 thus making the moon more comfortable to live on. But what its object is? I hope to find out. How so? The doctor, to communicate with the moon. I am going to attempt to communicate with these intelligent creatures in the moon. By wireless? Possibly later.

Starting point is 06:21:00 At present, however, my purpose is to send a car to the moon with a message for the Selenites. Send a car with a message, echoed Silas. Do you happen to know their language? Or do you expect them to understand English? He added sarcastically. "'Neither,' replied the doctor, tranquilly. "'I shall use a more universal language. To begin with, I shall send paintings of objects in their natural colors.

Starting point is 06:21:26 There is not a savage tribe on earth that cannot understand a picture, at least to a certain extent. But these creatures on the moon don't seem to have any eyes. How can they understand a picture if they are unable to see it?' In addition to the pictures, continued the doctor imperturbably, I shall send life-sized models of men, women, and children, dressed in modern clothing, and also models or real specimens of our animals and plants, our houses, machines, etc. Perhaps our lunar friends will send me in return some models of things on the moon. What a triumph it would be to receive some of their machines, or to analyze some of their chemical productions.

Starting point is 06:22:05 Think of the possibility of my learning in a few years, what it has taken these creatures hundreds of thousands of years to discover. Why, the prospect is dazzling. All that I am afraid of is that my intelligence is too limited to enable me to understand their machines. I shall be as unable to make heads or tails out of them as Christopher Columbus would have been if he had found an electric motor with the storage battery attached.

Starting point is 06:22:30 He would see that the armature revolved, but could form no idea as to what made the thing work. Similarly, if the moon people send me, a machine worked by atomic force. It may teach me no more than the motor would teach Columbus. Silas rocket sneered contemptuously. It's my opinion, said he, that you might as well send your specimens off to a school of fish. They would be just as likely to understand them as these creatures in the moon, of whom you seem to have so high an opinion. Besides, I see one slight objection to your scheme. What is it? How are you going to send your specimens to the moon?

Starting point is 06:23:08 and as he uttered the words Silas gave a delighted chuckle, for he thought he had caught the doctor napping. But Dr. Hackensaw smiled complacently. True, he said, the sending of a car or projectile to the moon is by no means an easy thing to do, but I have solved many tough problems in my life, and I think I can solve this one. In fact, I may say that I believe I have solved it already, but that's another story. Section 20 of Dr. Hakensaas Secrets. This is a Levervox recording. All LibraVox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 06:23:51 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi. A car for the moon. Author's note, Will man ever be able to travel to the moon or to the nearest planets? The problem is one of perennial interest, and many fiction writers have attempted to solve it. Numerous fantastic schemes have been proposed, but I have endeavored to show in the following story

Starting point is 06:24:21 that the sending of a passenger to the moon is by no means an impossibility. Doctor, said Silas Rocket. Did I understand you to say that you intended to send a car to the moon? You certainly did, Silas, replied Dr. Hackensaw. The moon was in a condition to support life hundreds of thousands of years before the Earth. Hence, there may be intelligent creatures on the moon with inventions far in advance of our wildest speculations. Think what it would mean to open communication with them, and learning what it would otherwise take us a hundred thousand years or more to learn. It would be a triumph such as no man has ever achieved before me. I understand that, said Silas, but what I don't see is how you

Starting point is 06:25:02 are going to send your car of specimens to the moon. Many fiction writers have tackled the problem of communication with other worlds, but I confess that none of the methods I have read about seems to me to have any scientific basis. But tell me first, straight out, whether you really believe it is possible, at the present day, to send a car of any sort to the moon. Not only do I believe it possible, Silas replied Dr. Hackensaw, but my conviction is so strong that for the past few years I have been secretly at work on the preparation necessary for sending a car full of specimens to the moon. What? cried Silas in amazement? You have already started making preparations for the trip? Is it possible that you have discovered some new force, some new means of locomotion?

Starting point is 06:25:49 No, Silas, the forces I shall use are all well known. But how in the world will you accomplish it? None of the schemes I have read about seems to offer the slightest possibility of being put into practice. What schemes have you read of? Silas and the doctor discuss various schemes. First of all, there was the idea of being carried to the moon by birds. If I remember correctly, it was Cyrano de Bergerac who made the journey in that way. Such a method is, of course, impossible. True, no bird could fly to the moon, I'll admit that. Next, Edgar Allan Poe sent hands fall to the moon in a balloon.

Starting point is 06:26:26 That too was impossible. I am ready to admit that also. Understand me. I am not a believer in the ether theory of light. Consequently, I do not believe the heavens are filled with the so-called ether. Nor do I believe there is an actual vacuum in space. My idea would be rather that there is a highly rarefied atmosphere between us and the planets. But regardless of the question as to whether space is a vacuum, or is filled with ether or with highly rarefied air or other gas,

Starting point is 06:26:56 no balloon could ascend very high in it as the density diminishes as we ascend. Hydrogen, the lightest gas known, would not carry us very far. Even if we were able to make a vacuum balloon, with concentric envelopes strong enough to resist crushing from the atmosphere, and if we dropped off one shell after another as we ascend, this balloon would have to be so large to rise even a few hundred miles, that it would be impracticable to build it. Why so? A balloon with no gas inside ought to be very light. True, but at a height of 100,000 miles above the earth,

Starting point is 06:27:30 our atmosphere must be so rarefied that it would probably take thousands of cubic miles of it to weigh a pound. Consequently, the problem would be to build a balloon thousands of miles long and weighing less than one pound. This would be a manifest absurdity. So we may dismiss the idea of a balloon as a means of traveling to the moon or to the planets. What is your opinion about the possibility of screening a body from the effects of gravitation? H.G. Wells uses this method for sending his first men to the moon. He places them in a car that is surrounded by shutters, which, when closed, are impervious to the attraction.

Starting point is 06:28:06 By opening the shutter in the direction in which he wishes to go, the passenger lets in the attraction of the earth or the moon, and the car starts off in the desired direction. When his speed becomes too great, he lets in a little counter-attraction from the opposite side, and so can regulate his speed and direction at will. What do you say to that idea? The idea is certainly ingenious, observed Dr. Hackensot with a smile,

Starting point is 06:28:31 but it is open to the objection that we have as yet found no means of shutting off gravitation. Nor have we any data to lead us to believe that gravitation can be shut off. Of course, as yet, we do not know what gravitation is. Several unsatisfactory metaphysical theories have been advanced, but none of them satisfies me. As for myself, I cannot even make up my mind as to whether attraction is, as commonly believed, a pull between two bodies, or what appears to me more probable, a push exerted on the two bodies from outer space. forcing them closer together. Analogy, however, would lead me to believe that gravitation, like heat, light, sound, electricity, etc., is merely a mode of motion, as the physicist call it.

Starting point is 06:29:17 In other words, a vibration. The whole subject is as yet in complete darkness, but as I observed at the beginning, I have discovered no new force and no new method of controlling the forces already known to man. I am relying entirely on old and well-known forces to carry me to the moon. Silas Rocket was puzzled. He had apparently exhausted his entire arsenal. He tried one more shot, however. Is it possible that you were thinking of using atomic force? Dr. Hackensaw shook his head.

Starting point is 06:29:48 No, said he, I shall not use atomic forces. Nor radioactive force? You will not propel your car by means of wireless waves. No, indeed. Our electrical knowledge at the present day is insufficient for any such schemes. Then I give it up, said Silas. I have read somewhere that if the earth were 24 times its present diameter, bodies at the equator would be travelling seven miles per second,

Starting point is 06:30:13 and hence would be hurled off into space. Have you found means of swelling out the earth to 24 times its present size? Dr. Hackensaw gave vent to a hearty peal of laughter. No, said he, I shan't attempt to give the poor old earth the fit of the dropsy. Nor shall I attempt to build a mountain or a tower at the equator of the required height. Let me see. The radius of the earth is 4,000 miles. So my mountain would have to be 96,000 miles high. I'm afraid I couldn't find a contractor willing to undertake the work. Nor would there be materials enough to complete it. But you are learning, Silas, you are getting nearer and nearer to the correct

Starting point is 06:30:52 solution. It is centrifugal force that I shall use, but not the central fuguel force of the earth itself. What then? Dr. Hackensaw explains his scheme. Well, Silas, the problem is this. I must find means of giving my car a speed of about seven miles per second, and yet I must start the car gradually in order not to harm the passengers. Evidently, the solution is to start the car slowly and keep it going more and more rapidly until it has acquired the necessary velocity, and then launch it off into space. In this way my passengers will suffer scarcely any inconvenience. There will be no shock at starting. I begin to see.

Starting point is 06:31:36 Yes, the solution is obvious. What I need is a large revolving wheel like a ferris wheel, with the car fastened to the end of one of the spokes. The wheel can be started very slowly, and its speed gradually increased until the required velocity is attained. And then, at the proper moment, the car can be released and shot off into space. In this way there will not be the slightest shock for the passengers.

Starting point is 06:32:02 But why am I chabbering away here? I have kept the affair secret so far, but I am soon to make it public. Come along with me and you can see the machine for yourself. It is all completed, save for a few final tests to make sure that everything is in good working order. Luna City was the name which Dr. Hackensaw had given to the secluded spot, which he had chosen as a launching place for his car to the moon. For miles before arriving at the place, Silas Rocket was eagerly scanning the horizon for the gigantic wheel which he firmly expected to see.

Starting point is 06:32:35 His disappointment may be imagined, therefore, when on arriving at the spot, he found that the apparatus was no larger than an ordinary ferris wheel. Centrifugal force from spinning wheel hurl's car moonward. What, he cried in a tone of disgust? Isn't that little toy wheel that's going to shoot your car to the moon? Yes, Silas, at least if my calculations are correct. Please notice the framework, which supports the wheel, has its foundations in the solid granite beneath.

Starting point is 06:33:05 In fact, holes have been drilled deep into the rock, and the whole framework has been solidly tied down by means of powerful chains. This is not only to prevent wobbling, but to ensure that the wheel itself will not be carried away as well as the car. But that wheel seems only 30 feet in diameter, said Silas. each revolution would be only about 100 feet. To get a speed of seven miles per second,

Starting point is 06:33:31 your wheel must revolve 350 times per second. You surely cannot obtain such a speed as that. Certainly I can. It is just a matter of gearing. Many small wheels in machinery travel more than 350 revolutions per second, but I have a plan that will enable me to run this wheel at a much lower speed. Do you notice the wheel itself revolves over? a very deep excavation. Yes, I was wondering what that deep hole was for. That is to enable me to

Starting point is 06:34:00 increase the diameter of the wheel without increasing it. What? Cried Saan this puzzled? To be plain, there are serious objections to having the wheel too large, as it would tend to fly apart at the high speed of revolution. On the other hand, it must not be too small, or the dizzy whirling motion might kill the passengers. So I have devised the following method. I have a very long, and very strong chain wound on a windlass anchored to the rock itself. The free end of this chain passes through the axle of my Ferris wheel, up through a hollow spoke, and is there attached to the bottom of the car. This chain, therefore, encased in a swiveled tubing, to avoid twisting, can be gradually led out as the wheel increases in speed. The centrifugal force makes the car move away from

Starting point is 06:34:49 the wheel, but it is held by the chain. Gradually, As I let the chain out, the car describes larger and larger circles. In this manner, with a small wheel revolving at a moderate speed, I can obtain the same effect as with a large wheel, and without the attending disadvantages. I use electricity for my mode of power, and use some ball bearings, but wherever possible, in order to reduce friction,

Starting point is 06:35:15 I use a stream of compressed air for the bearings, a little invention of my own. I suppose you have to aim your car ahead of, the moon, replied Silas. Seven factors to conjure with. The problem is by no means so simple as that, retorted the doctor. As a matter of fact, I don't aim anywhere near the moon. Seven factors have to be taken into consideration in aiming the car.

Starting point is 06:35:39 First, there is the rotation of the earth. The earth revolves on its axis every day. A body at the equator, if shot off from the earth, would have this centrifugal speed of 1,000 miles per hour, in a straight line tangent to the earth. But I see you don't understand. Here's a diagram that will help you. When a body which is revolving in a circle

Starting point is 06:36:00 is suddenly allowed to fly off, it flies off at a tangent. Thus, in the diagram, a body released at either A, B, C, or D will fly off in the direction of the arrow. For the same reason, the direction my car will take will depend largely on the time of day

Starting point is 06:36:17 at which it is released. If released at noon, this speed of 1,000 miles per hour, will be in exactly the opposite direction to what it would be if the car were released at midnight. The second factor is similar, and depends upon the speed of the Earth in its revolution around the sun.

Starting point is 06:36:35 Here, too, a car will fly off at a tangent to the orbit, at a speed of nine miles per second, the direction depending on the day of the year and the time of the day. The third factor, of course, depends on my revolving wheel. From this, too, the car will fly off at a tangent, tangent, its direction depending upon its position on the wheel when released.

Starting point is 06:36:55 But doctor asked Silas puzzled, how can a body travel in three different directions at once? These three tangents are all straight lines. When a body is acted upon by three such forces, it takes a diagonal course, the average of the three. That is what is known as the law of the composition of forces. The next three factors are the attraction exerted on the car by the earth, by the moon and by the sun. These attractions change as the car moves. Hence these forces would each move the car along a curved line. When all six forces are combined,

Starting point is 06:37:31 the path of the car will also be a curve. The seventh and last important factor to consider is the resistance of the air. The car's flight will be greatly retarded when passing through our atmosphere. Hence, this too must be allowed for in aiming the car. How long will it take your car to reach the moon? The distance is about 240,000 miles.

Starting point is 06:37:55 At 7 miles per second, the speed would be about 25,000 miles per hour. In other words, we should reach the moon in less than 10 hours if this speed were maintained. As, however, the speed continually decreases owing to the Earth's pull backwards, until the car has reached the neutral spot between the Earth and the Moon, and there slowly increases again owing to the increasing attraction. of the moon. The calculation of the time required for the trip is rather complicated. I allow for four days, which ought to be more than sufficient. I am running no chances, however, but am taking enough provisions and liquid air to last me for a month. The moon car.

Starting point is 06:38:36 Doctor, said Silas, I notice that your car has accommodation for two passengers. May I ask whom you are sending? I am sending no one. You, yourself, are going then? But how will you get back from the moon? I don't know. The probabilities are that I shall never get back. But I have a wireless apparatus on board capable of sending radio messages from the moon. I have over a month's supply of air, water, and provisions. Even if I pay for the trip with my life, I hope to be able to send home descriptions of inventions I see there, and that will far outbalance any scientific research work I could accomplish on the earth. When do you start? I start on Thursday, of next week. Dr. cried Silas excitedly. I am going with you. I thought as much, replied Dr.

Starting point is 06:39:24 Hackensaw, shaking the reporter warmly by the hand. And thus these two men, as much for the interests of science as for the love of adventure, coolly resolved to risk their lives in one of the most novel and exciting enterprises ever undertaken by man. End of Section 20. Section 21 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fisande. Dr. Hackensaw's trip to the moon. Authors note, in my story last month I called attention to a fact which seems to have been overlooked by all previous chronicles of interplanetary trips, namely that the direction and velocity of the

Starting point is 06:40:23 projectile depend more upon the rotation of the earth on its axis, and the speed and position of the earth in its revolution around the sun, then it does upon the initial force of seven miles per second, with which the car is shot off into space. In the present story, I call attention to another overlooked fact, namely that the passenger in the car during the entire trip would be apparently freed from the attraction of gravitation. Beg pardon, Mr. Fassandi, as to the latter statement. See Baron Munchausen's Scientific Adventures by H. Gernsback, July 1915, issue, Electrical Experimenter, the editor.

Starting point is 06:41:02 Is everything ready for the start? Yes, Doctor, the last touches have been given, and I'll take my oath that everything is in apple pie order. The wheel will start turning in ten minutes, and the car will be released for its flight to the moon at precisely 27 minutes, 31 and 73 100 seconds past 3 o'clock. The release will be made automatically when the chronometer reaches this point. That's good. An error of the smallest fraction of a second would mean that my car would miss the moon, and go wandering off into space. But what in the world

Starting point is 06:41:36 can be delaying Silas Rocket? He was to have come with me. Ah, here he is. As Dr. Hackensaw said these words, the reporter came up breathlessly. Doctor, he said, I'm awfully sorry, but I can't go with you as I expected. My fiancé, Gloria Mundy, won't let me. She's afraid to let a handsome man like me run loose among the lunar beauties. Besides, she doesn't believe I'd ever get back, and she has no use for a sweetheart 240,000 miles away. Dr. Hackensaw's face fell.

Starting point is 06:42:08 For the idea of making the trip alone was by no means a pleasant one. "'Never mind, Silas,' he said genially. "'It's too bad you can't come, "'because if the inhabitants of the moon chants to be cannibals, "'I'm afraid there won't be enough of me alone "'to make a meal for the royal palace, or pallets. "'But never mind. I'll do the best I can without you.' "'He spoke cheerfully, but it was with a heavy heart

Starting point is 06:42:30 "'that he entered the car that was to bear him on his strange journey. "'Everything seemed in order. "'Oxygen tanks, provisions, "'and an ample water supply. "'Each article was securely fast. although the internal car was pivoted in an external shell, so as to always remain upright while the car was whirled around at the frightful speed necessary for the start. Two beds, or rather two couches, had been prepared for the passengers. These were designed for the comfort of the travellers in starting. Dr. Hackensaw absent-mindedly opened the wrong couch, the one intended for the reporter. Imagine his amazement when out jumped a young girl of about twenty, who laughingly held out a hand to him. "'How do you do, doctor?' said she. "'I'm glad to meet a fellow passenger.'

Starting point is 06:43:14 "'My dear young lady,' cried the startled doctor. "'Who are you, and what in the world are you doing here? "'Quick, you must get out of this, for the car will start immediately.' "'My name is Pepita Perkins,' replied the young girl, "'but of course all my friends call me pep. "'I'm a reporter for the New York Daily Growl. "'I heard that Silas Rocket wasn't coming with you, "'so I thought I'd take his place.'

Starting point is 06:43:36 "'But I can't possibly allow you to come to the moon with me, cried the doctor aghast. Quick, let me open the door, or better still, I'll sound the alarm to warn my foreman not to start the car. No, you don't, cried the young lady, throwing herself between him and the door. I'm stronger than you are, Doc, so force would be useless. I'm here, and here I'm going to stay. Ah, here, we're starting. It's too late now. You know yourself that if there's the slightest delay now, all your work will be wasted.

Starting point is 06:44:05 For your ferris wheel would no longer be aimed in the right direction, and a new one would have to be built. "'It was but too true, as Dr. Hackensaw well knew. "'Still, he tried one more appeal. "'My dear young lady,' he pleaded, "'don't you realize the danger? "'The chances are that we won't reach the moon alive, "'and even if we do reach it, "'we shall probably never come back.

Starting point is 06:44:26 "'And think of your reputation. "'Think of the scandal that will be attached to your name, "'for having come alone with me on this wild trip. "'It will make a dandy sensational story "'for the daily growl,' replied the young lady "'with a toss of her pretty head. "'G, it'll be the scoop of the season!' Dr. Hackensaw perceived that it would be useless to reason with this obstinate young girl.

Starting point is 06:44:47 Pep Perkins was evidently determined to go along with him, and he must make the best of the matter. The car by this time was revolving with some speed, as the Ferris wheel to which it was attached was gaining velocity at each revolution. Both parties were obliged to hold tight to special handles arranged along the car. "'Miss Pepita,' began the doctor, "'Call me, Pepp, please,' interrupted the young lady. "'Well, Miss Pepp, you don't seem to realize that we shall soon be whirling around in a circle

Starting point is 06:45:15 "'at a rate of seven miles per second, and barely time to secure ourselves in the couches. "'It would be utterly impossible to hold on to these straps. "'Besides, in order to avoid the bad effects of dizziness, "'I'm going to take ether and you must take some two. "'We shall thus be asleep when the car is rotating at its greatest speed. "'Then you consent to take me along with you,' cried the young girl, overjoyed, and she impulsively threw both arms around the doctor's neck and kissed him enthusiastically. Dr. Hackensaw's face softened, and he looked at her with a fatherly gaze as he muttered to himself.

Starting point is 06:45:50 "'Poor girl, she is only a child yet. If we ever get back from this trip—' But he didn't finish his sentence. Time was too precious. "'Get into your couch, quick,' he said. "'And I'll turn your ether supply on for you. there is just the right amount to keep you asleep until we are shot off. The young girl obeyed. A moment later the doctor locked himself in his own couch

Starting point is 06:46:11 and turned on his personal supply of ether. Then he lost consciousness. Meanwhile, the speed of the wheel to which the car was fastened had been gradually increased until it had attained its maximum. And now the chain which held the car to the wheel was gradually allowed to unwind from its windlass so that the car gradually ascended beyond the circumference of the wheel, thus revolving in ever-increasing circles.

Starting point is 06:46:35 You have seen a boy whirling a weight around at the end of a string, and gradually letting out the string so that the weight turns in larger and larger circles. This was precisely the same thing, but on a greater scale. Finally, the car had attained the requisite velocity of seven miles per second, and made two or three revolutions at this frightful speed. Then came the decisive moment for which the alarm was set. At the very instant when the chronometer indicated the 73rd, of the second, for which the start was scheduled, the car was automatically released from the chain

Starting point is 06:47:07 that held it to the earth, and went shooting off into space. The spectators who watched it gave an awe of astonishment and dismay as they saw the metal of the external shell become red-hot, owing to the friction of the air as the car passed to the earth's atmosphere. For the car was traveling so fast that although the start was made in the rarefied air of a high mountain, the resistance of this air was enormous during the first second of flight, and not only retarded the velocity of the car considerably, but produced an intense heat. Luckily, the doctor had provided for this, by means of refrigerating agents in the walls, and by others that played on the outer shell. Otherwise, serious damage would have been done both to the car and its occupants. After the first few seconds of flight,

Starting point is 06:47:54 however, the air became so rarefied as to be negligible. In a very short time, the car itself was out of sight. But astronomers followed the new meteorite with their telescopes, for even after it lost its heat, it still shone in the heavens as a planet shines by reflecting the light of the sun. The newspapers reported its progress hour by hour, and that night the New York Daily Growl issued an extra with the wireless message from the occupants of the car. The article was headed, Lady Passenger in the car for the moon. It was the scoop of the season, and the circulation of the paper rose to an unprecedented height. Meanwhile, what was happening in the car?

Starting point is 06:48:32 Pep was the first of the two passengers to awaken. She opened the top of her couch and looked out. In spite of the doctor's precautions, she felt dizzy and nauseated from the rapid spinning she had undergone. After a few moments, however, she felt a little better, and grasped a handle to pull herself to a sitting position. Luckily, she held fast to the handle, for, to her surprise, her body kept rising.

Starting point is 06:48:55 And soon her feet were in the air in her head downward, while she clung frantically to the birth. It was not difficult, however, to pull herself down again. Gee, she cried, that's funny. I must have slept two or three days, and we're now at the spot between the earth and the moon where there's no gravitation. I must wake up the doctor. As she said these words, the cover of the doctor's couch slowly opened, and that worthy looked out. He, being older, had suffered even more from the dizziness than the young lady. It took him some minutes to recover from his days. Then he attempted to rise from his couch, but he neglected to hold on to the handle, and up he shot to the top of the car, spinning around

Starting point is 06:49:32 in a circle as he rose. For the life of her, Pep could not help laughing as she watched these strange antics, and saw the poor doctor strike the top of the car and then bounced down again like a rubber ball. Twice up and twice down he went, before Pep was able to catch hold of him, to stop his flight, and then, inadvertently relaxing her own grip on the handle, she was carried up with him on the rebound. Round and round went the pair clinging to each other and revolving as they rose. These acrobatics would have continued for quite a while, had not Pep been dexterous enough to catch hold of a handle at the third trip, and thus brought them both to a stop. Gee, said she, that's queer. I had no idea things would act like this when they had no weight.

Starting point is 06:50:13 Where are we now, Doc? Dr. Hackensaw had finally managed to gather his wits together and replied, I can't see the telemeter from here. This is the instrument that tells our distance from the earth. But I think, if you move carefully, you can swim up slowly through the air and take a look at the dial. I'm too giddy to try it myself. Pep tried the experiment and found that by relying only upon the movements of her hands, without any initial push, it was easy to swim through the air in any direction, though her arms at first went like windmills for the speed of each motion now that her body had no weight, was about sixteen times as great as it would have been under normal conditions.

Starting point is 06:50:50 However, by slowing down her effort she avoided this. and reported that the dial indicated 5,987 miles from the earth. How does this instrument work, she asked. I had my choice of several methods, replied the doctor, but selected this as the simplest. An automatic wireless signal is sent me from my laboratory every second. Each signal is alike in strength, but as my distance from the earth increases,

Starting point is 06:51:16 the signal is weaker and weaker when it reaches me, hence moves the needle of the dial a lesser distance. This tells me my distance from Earth. An automatic counter subtracts the distance the preceding second from the last distance, and hence gives the speed per second, or more strictly speaking, the speed during the last second. I see. I am now going to open the shutters and take a look at the sky. As he said the words, the doctor threw open a slide and Pemp put her eye to the end of a telescope.

Starting point is 06:51:47 This was by no means easy to do, for of course she could not stand, her body floating in the air as it would float in water. When she did finally manage to look through the instrument, however, she gave a cry of surprise. Why, it's already night-time, she exclaimed. That gets my goat. I thought we left the earth only a few minutes ago. But it's dark as pitch outside, and the stars are out and they're turning around in the sky, as if all the hooch in New York had been set up there. And what in the world is that immense light over there like an enormous moon? Why, it must be the earth. See those dark spots? that must be North America. Gee, how quickly it's moving. The whole Earth is out of sight now.

Starting point is 06:52:28 What in the world is the matter? I think I can explain, said Dr. Hackensaw quietly. Our diffused daylight on Earth is due to our atmosphere. Here in the car, or even on the moon. When we reach it, the sky will be black, even in the daytime. The sun will be a very brilliant circle of light, but the rest of the sky will be black. It will appear to us like perpetual night. "'Here comes the earth back again,' cried Pep. "'What makes it act that way?' "'It is our car that is spinning around,' explained the doctor. "'Every time we pull one of the straps on the side of the car,

Starting point is 06:53:01 "'we set the whole car spinning around, "'just as a squirrel does in a rotary cage. "'My internal car, as I told you, is free to revolve inside an outer shell, "'but the act of opening the slide to the telescope "'joins the two shells, "'so the two shells revolved together, "'otherwise we couldn't use the telescope at all. "'However, we can slow,

Starting point is 06:53:20 up the revolution of the car, but pulling a strap in the opposite direction. But now, Miss Pepp, don't you think we'd better attend to the Department of the Interior? Aren't you hungry? Pep was always ready for eats, and was gratified when the doctor took from a fireless cooker, a meal that would have sufficed for a half a dozen persons. What shall we do with the garbage dock, she asked, after the meal was finished? Holding up a paper bag containing the bones, etc. left from the feast? Shall I throw them overboard? Dr. Hackensaw has a moment, then said, very well, I'll open the window for just a second, so as not to allow too much air to escape. Be ready and throw the bag out quickly. Suiting the action to the word, he opened the

Starting point is 06:54:03 casement and the young girl hurled the paper package forth with all her might. Away it sped as if shot from a cannon, and, lighted up by the sun's rays, it looked for all the world like a shooting star, until a new revolution of the car hid it from sight. It reappeared again in a moment or two as the car came around, but fainter and further away. Gee, cried the astonished girl, I knew I was a good pitcher all right, but I didn't know I could throw anything so fast or so far. That bag must be a couple of miles away now. And it isn't falling to the earth either. I suppose it's because it hasn't any weight that I can throw it so far. Precisely, replied the doctor, the same force will move a body

Starting point is 06:54:44 16 times as fast when it has no weight, as it would move it against the attraction of the earth, and the body will keep on moving forever, unless stopped by some resistance. That is why all our motions in the car are so violent. One's muscles retain their accustomed power, but there is no weight to be moved, merely the force required to move the mass of matter that composes our arms and legs, for mass and weight are no longer identical here. But how is it that objects in the car have no weight, if we're only 6,000 miles away from the Earth. The attraction of the Earth and the Moon cannot be equal yet. No, indeed.

Starting point is 06:55:22 The Earth's attraction is about 100 times that of the Moon. So the halfway place, if I may call it so, is very near the Moon. But the reason bodies in the car have no weight is that they are traveling at the same speed as the car, hence their relative positions are not affected by gravitation. Shoot two bullets at the Moon with the same speed, and the second will not catch up with the first speed. first. We ourselves are one bullet, and the car is the other. We are traveling now at the same

Starting point is 06:55:49 speed, and if we hung in mid-air in the car, we should remain there during our whole trip. The condition is exactly the same as if a car with a passenger were allowed to fall from one part of the earth to the antibodies, through a tunnel board through the center of the earth. Objects in the car, then, as in the present instance, would appear to have lost all their weight. The package of rubbish you threw from the car shows the same thing. It, too, was travelling at the speed of the car, and will never return to Earth again. As a matter of fact, it will reach the moon, but several hundred miles away from the point where we shall land. You will have thrown it really more than a thousand miles.

Starting point is 06:56:29 Gee, cried Pep delighted, then I've broken all records for pitching. If you had been awake when the car started, continued Dr. Hackensaw, you would have noticed another curious fact. owing to the tremendous resistance of the air during the first few seconds of our flight, the car was considerably retarded, while we, had we been suspended in the air inside, were not so retarded. The effect would have been the same as if we had weighed thousands of pounds, instead of nothing as we do at present. At what speed did we start? asked Pep. The centrifugal wheel gave us a speed of seven miles per second in one direction.

Starting point is 06:57:07 The revolution of the earth around the sun gave us a speed of nine miles, per second in another direction, and the rotation of the Earth on its axis gave us a speed of nearly one-third of a mile per second in a third direction. By aiming the car so as to reach the moon when the lines from the Earth to the Sun, and from the Earth to the Moon made a right angle at the Earth, I could have attained a speed of nine miles per second toward the moon. By aiming my Ferris wheel in the same direction, I could get seven miles per second extra, or a total speed of 16 miles per second at the start. by aiming the wheel in the opposite direction, my speed would be only two miles per second.

Starting point is 06:57:46 Combining either of these speeds with that obtained from the rotation of the earth, on its axis I could leave the earth at any speed I desired, between about one and two-thirds miles per second to about 16 and one-third miles per second. And of course you made this an express train at the quickest speed. Not at all, there is no hurry. And two greatest speed would be dangerous, not only in passing through the atmosphere, but also when we reach the moon. If aimed straight at the moon, we should hit it too hard. While, if aimed to one side of the moon, two greatest speed would

Starting point is 06:58:20 carry us beyond the lunar attraction. By this time, the air in the car began to become rather close, so Dr. Hackensaw proceeded to open one of the oxygen tanks. As he did so, he gave a cry of dismay. What's the matter? asked Pep. Miss Pepp, he said solemnly, are you a good sport? Can you stand it to learn that we are in great danger? Try me and see, replied the young girl bravely. I just love to shiver. Well, by some infernal mistake, tanks of nitrogen instead of oxygen have been put in the car. There is only one oxygen tank in the lot besides the one on tap. And that means? And that means that we have air for one day less than our trip will require. It means that we have air for one day less than our trip will require. It means that we

Starting point is 06:59:07 We must live a whole day without breathing. And Dr. Hackensaw looked grim. It was nothing to him to face death, but the idea of being the innocent cause of this young lady's death unmanned him. But PEP was game. Only a more rapid coming and going of her breath showed that she was affected by the news. Is there nothing we can do, she asked? I see nothing, replied the doctor.

Starting point is 06:59:30 Unless— Suddenly his face brightened. I have it, he cried. I think we can save ourselves yet. how so a sleeping person requires less air than one who is awake we must sleep during the remainder of the journey there is not a moment to lose i shall prepare a sleeping potion at once A few minutes later, the doctor handed the young lady a tumbler half full of rose-tinted liquid. Drink this, said he, and then fasten yourself in your couch. I have calculated the dose, so it will keep us asleep until a couple of hours before we land on the moon.

Starting point is 07:00:05 I must be wide awake then, at all hazards. Will the landing on the moon be dangerous? asked Peppa innocently, as she raised the glass to her lips and drained its contents, while the doctor quaffed his potion at the same time. "'Dangerous,' echoed the doctor as he stepped into his couch. "'My dear young lady, it is possible that you don't realize that the car is bound to strike the moon with considerable force. "'It is true the moon is smaller than the earth and less dense. "'Hence its attractive power is smaller.

Starting point is 07:00:35 "'But on the other hand, it has no atmosphere to retard our fall. "'The chances are that we shall fall with such velocity "'that we shall reach the moon as flat as pancakes, "'and pretty badly hurt pancakes at that. End of Section 21. Section 22 of Dr. Hakensaugh's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 07:01:05 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizandi. What Dr. Hackensaw found on the moon. On sped the car through space. and still Dr. Hackensaw and Pepita Perkins lay unconscious in their respective couches. It was not until the car was nearly at the end of its journey that the doctor's automatic devices awakened him. From his profound sleep, Pepita too, or Pep, as she insisted on being called, awakened at the same time.

Starting point is 07:01:42 In three hours, Miss Pepp, observed the doctor, we shall land on the moon. Yes, and in the form of burnt pancakes, you told me that already. Why did you wake me up? because we must be prepared for any emergency. There was one chance in a thousand of our reaching the moon alive, and we must be prepared to grasp that chance. I have done all that was humanly possible to break the fall. Instead of shooting the car straight at the moon,

Starting point is 07:02:08 I shot it so as to pass a little beyond the moon, thence to be pulled back by the lunar attraction to the side of the moon opposite to the earth. The car has thus a much shorter distance to fall. I also arranged that the moon should be sped, beating away from the car. Hence the rapidity of the car's fall will be still further diminished, since it will be the difference between its own speed and the speed at which the moon is departing from it. Then, too, the attraction of the moon is considerably less than that on the

Starting point is 07:02:35 earth. I have also arranged special devices for retarding the car at the proper moment. The front of the car, that is, the side turn towards the moon, is made in a series of compartments, each containing an explosive. Whenever I wish to decrease six, speed, I shall ignite the explosive in this front compartment. The compartment is shot off towards the moon, and its reaction shoots the car backwards a little, or, to speak more accurately, retards the car's speed. Each compartment can be exploded in turn. In fact, here goes the first. But I shall fill this room with mattresses to deaden the shock for us. Preparing to land on the moon. So saying, the doctor pressed a button. The walls of the room opened, pivoted around,

Starting point is 07:03:21 and Pep and the doctor found themselves each snugly ensconced in a thick cushion of spring mattresses that filled the apartment. Then the doctor pressed a second button. A violent detonation followed. The front of the car shot off toward the moon like a cannonball, and the doctor was pleased to observe that the speedometer showed an appreciable reduction. Of course, the concussion was great, but the mattresses prevented the doctor and Pep from injury. Finally, the last explosive was fired. The speed of the car was, however, was now terrific, and the doctor was expecting the final crash to be fatal, when, to his astonishment, the speed gradually diminished. Objects in the car regained their normal weight, and the car landed as softly on the moon as if it were a feather. Dr. Hackensaw was hugely

Starting point is 07:04:09 astonished at this unexpected turn of affairs. I did not learn until later that he was indebted to the Selenites or inhabitants of the moon, for checking the speed of his fall and thus saving his life and that of his companion. Moon's lack of atmosphere. The doctor, however, lost no time. Calling Miss Pepp, the two soon arrayed themselves in the special suits prepared for exploring the moon. These suits were an absolute necessity.

Starting point is 07:04:35 There being little or no air on the moon, a supply of compressed air had to be taken along. The absence of air also implied the absence of air pressure. If the body were left unprotected, serious injury to the internal organs would result. Also, there being no atmosphere, the heat and light of the sun were not diffused. And the glare and heat would be intolerable. Protection from both was necessary. You see, Miss Pepp explained the doctor,

Starting point is 07:05:01 the moon's days and nights are not like ours. One day and one night make a month here. The sun shines here for fourteen days at a stretch, with an unbearable heat and glare, though the sky is dark in all other directions, and the stars shine brilliantly. Then follow fourteen days of night, and the cold is intense. Without our suits, we could not live an instant here,

Starting point is 07:05:23 and without our goggles we should lose our eyesight. Their first view of a lunar landscape. By this time, the pair had emerged from the car and were viewing the new world. To Papp, who had looked at the moon through a telescope, the idea of a lunar landscape was a series of dead volcanic cones. But there was, in fact, luxuriant vegetation. Although there were some green plants among the number, if they could be truly called plain, the other colors of the rainbow seemed to predominate. As to the shapes, there were the most fantastic imaginable. Animals, too, of the most peculiar sort, could be seen playing about among the plants. Pep was especially interested in one curious creature that had legs

Starting point is 07:06:07 radiating from its body in six different directions, and could roll in any direction by using four of these legs like the spokes of a wheel. Pep called these creatures the jacks, from their resemblance to the metal jackstones that children play with. There were also balloon-shaped creatures that floated about in the rare atmosphere, directing their course by means of paddles or fins. Another peculiar animal progressed by prodigious bounds in the air. Doc and Pep find they weigh about 20 pounds on the moon. At the very first step, the pair made on the moon,

Starting point is 07:06:40 Pep too found herself bounding high in the air. It was almost like the journey in the car when objects had no way at all. There, bodies had some weight, but much less than on Earth. You see, Miss Pep, explained the doctor, the moon is smaller than the Earth and less dense, hence its attraction is less. On the other hand, bodies on the moon are nearer the center of attraction than bodies on the Earth. This compensates to some degree for the lesser attraction. But all told, bodies on the moon weigh only about one-sixth what they do on Earth. You, for example, weigh 120 pounds on Earth. You, for example, weigh 120 pounds on earth, but only 20 pounds here. Similarly, if you can lift a hundred pounds on earth,

Starting point is 07:07:23 you could lift six hundred pounds here with the same effort. Gee, is that so? Let me see, cried Pep. And irreverently picking up the doctor, she threw him up into the air. Up he went, twisting around and sputtering, his dignity even more upset than his person. He fell lightly, however, and in retaliation threw Pep into the air in the same manner. At this instant, however, the doctor caught sight of one of the lunar machines and instantly bounded towards it. Here at last the dream of his life was to be realized. He was viewing a machine such as mankind will not invent for hundreds of thousands of years to come. The machine was not of metal, nor yet of wood nor of flesh. It resembled no substance known to the doctor. The main part of the machine consisted of a series of spheres rotating about each other.

Starting point is 07:08:17 They were not connected together in any way, but rotated somewhat as the planets rotate about the sun. Dr. Hackensel was overjoyed. It must be a gravitation machine, he cried belieffully. The selenites have discovered the secret of gravitation, and can work their machines without gears, connections, or bearings. Oh, if I could only discover the secret! Close by, the main machine was an auxiliary part. This bore some resemblance to a steam radiator with balls ascending, and descending in spiral lines around the pipes. Long and closely did the doctor scrutinized the two machines,

Starting point is 07:08:54 without being able to understand either how they worked or what object they accomplished. Then he felt himself pulled away by some invisible force, and as he turned, he found that his companion was sobbing. Why, what's the matter, Pep, he exclaimed. You're surely not crying. I felt all along that your gaiety was unnatural. Tell me, what is the trouble? Is it the fear that that we shall never get back to Earth again? No, no, no, cried the young girl in agony. I never want to get back to Earth again, Dr. Hackensaw, she added. I'll tell you all.

Starting point is 07:09:28 You were surprised to see me in the car, but the fact is I had to get away from the earth. In plain words, I am accused of murder, and there's a warrant out now for my arrest. But, Doctor, I swear that I am innocent. I confess that many a time I've wanted to kill the man who ruined my life, but I never had the courage to do the deed. It was probably some other victim of his that did it, but she used a knife that belonged to me, and I was known to have threatened him.

Starting point is 07:09:56 Luckily, I learned of my danger in time to make my escape. I knew I should not be safe on Earth, so I decided to accompany you to the moon, and here I am. Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. You ought to have stayed at home and trusted to finding proofs of your innocence. You certainly won't find them here on the moon.

Starting point is 07:10:14 A rather rash statement, however, as the sequel was to prove. In spite of the rarefied atmosphere on the moon, which rendered all sounds almost inaudible, this conversation was carried on, with ease by means of a special instrument, a miniature radio phone which the doctor had provided in the suits. Otherwise, talking would have been out of the question. In fact, dead silence reigned all around them. The pair walked on in silence for a while, and then Dr. Hackensaw suddenly stopped, for before him beyond a large opening in the moon's surface,

Starting point is 07:10:49 an enormous well into whose depths he peered without being able to see the bottom. They board a mysterious elevator. Miss Pipp, said he, this must be the entrance to the habitations of the intelligent beings on the moon. And see, here is one of their elevators with the doors open waiting to take passengers down. It's curious that we happen just to strike this place. but I felt a kind of leading in this direction, some invisible force pulling me here. However, let's get into the car and wait. Passengers are certain to come, sooner or later.

Starting point is 07:11:22 Pep followed the doctor into the car and then gave a little cry. Look, she cried. The seats in the car are just like armchairs. There must be men here in the moon. Perhaps we're not the first people who have come to the moon. Dr. Hackensaw was puzzled. The armchairs certainly seemed to indicate the presence of man. and yet to believe that man was involved independently on the earth and on the moon was against all the laws of probability. If men were here, they must have come from the earth at some previous period. Perhaps the Chinese, the Hindus, or some other early civilized race had found means in bolegon ages to send men to the moon. In no other way could he account for their presence.

Starting point is 07:12:02 Intelligent creatures, yes, but men know. Intelligence like wings, could be involved by natural selection from different organs. Pep and the doctor seated themselves on the chairs, prepared for a long wait, but scarcely were they settled in their places when the doors closed automatically, and the car, leaving the ground, started to fly down into the well. Hello, cried Dr. Hackensaw in amazement. It appears that we are the passengers expected. Our arrival has been seen and prepared for.

Starting point is 07:12:32 Unquestionably, the Selenites are intelligent beings. It would have been a little more courteous of them to have sent somebody to bid us welcome. It may be a good sign, though, that they are not too anxious for our arrival. If they had meant to harm us, they would certainly have sent an escort to meet us. The car in which they found themselves was not provided with wings or visible apparatus of any sort, and yet it was descending rapidly into the bowels of the moon, as though endowed with intelligence. It touched neither wall, but descended as if in flight, straight down the center of the passage. After fifteen minutes of this rapid descent, it changed

Starting point is 07:13:08 its course and followed a horizontal passage. But here also it did not touch the ground, but flew a few feet above it. To the doctor's surprise, although they were now several miles below the surface of the moon, passages were all illuminated by a diffused light, very much like the daylight on our earth. A moment later the car stopped, the doors opened, and Dr. Hackensaw and Pep felt themselves impelled, as if by some stronger will than their own, to leave the car and enter an apartment, where they found the most peculiar set of living creatures they had ever set eyes upon. Some bore a faint resemblance to our earthly mammals or to plants, but most of them bore a greater resemblance to our invertebrates, or to the microscopic forms of life with which we are

Starting point is 07:13:53 familiar. To his great surprise and joy, however, the doctor found that the entire assembly was dominated by a human being, a wonderfully beautiful white woman with a kind, though majestic, look on her countenance. She seemed to possess the ability to read what was going on in the minds of her two visitors. More wonderful still, she was able to answer their thoughts in such a way that they understood her perfectly, though she did not know any earthly language. The conversation, if such it might be called, translated into English, was somewhat as follows. The lunar queen evidently knew all about the pair. Yes, she said, seeing their surprise, we keep track here of all that goes on in the other planets. Consequently, we knew from the very start all about Dr. Hackensaw's plans for visiting

Starting point is 07:14:40 the moon. In fact, we hesitated whether or not to let him arrive here. However, we concluded that no harm could come of your visit, so we not only allowed you to come, but even prevented your car from dashing to pieces. No, we are not afraid of mankind, though perhaps we are wrong in our confidence, for inferior your organisms are often a great menace to higher ones. But the lunar beings are so superior to mankind, having had several million more years for their evolution, that we fear you no more than you would fear so many fleas. We have progressed far beyond the stage reached by you on earth. Tell me, interrupted Pep, not in words, but in thought. Are there men as well as women here on the moon? No sex question on the moon. No, replied the queen, as a matter of fact, we have neither

Starting point is 07:15:30 men nor women here. We abolished sex completely thousands of years ago. Sex is nothing but a cause of endless trouble and worry, as you must know, for all your habits, customs and daily thoughts. Your whole life, in fact, is shaped by marriage and the relations between the sexes. We have found it much more satisfactory to create our children synthetically from the chemical elements that compose them. We are then sure of getting what we want. But you yourself, cried Pep, are a woman. No, indeed. In truth, we Selenites can scarcely be said to possess a definite shape, but we have the power of changing our appearance at will. I thought it would be pleasanter for you if I received you in the form of a woman, and I wish to be pleasant for I have a disagreeable

Starting point is 07:16:16 communication to make to you. A disagreeable communication? Yes, we Selenites do not like the idea of your visiting the moon. We believe that others of your race of savages may come over, and that nothing but trouble will arise from their visits. Race of savages, cried the doctor. Do you mean to say that you regard mankind as savages? The Queen smiled contemptuously, and taking something apparently from the air, she handed it to the doctor.

Starting point is 07:16:45 It was a copy of that morning's issue of a New York Daily newspaper. Pep glanced at it eagerly and saw that it was full of comments on the message she had wireless from the car. There, said the Queen, look at that newspaper. one of your best dailies, yet full of accounts of murders, thefts, strikes, wars, and all such things. Could any but a nation of savages tolerate things of that sort? And not only tolerate them, but gloat over them. Do you wonder that we do not wish to run the risk of being contaminated by your presence among us?

Starting point is 07:17:18 Not that we are afraid of you, but we might be forced in self-defense to exterminate your race. Why do not some of the Selenites come to earth to teach us better, Dr. Hackensaw. For the same reason that you do not attempt to teach your microbes' civilization, the task would be hopeless. It is the work of millions of years and countless generations of slowly progressing individuals. As for colonizing the Earth, we may possibly do that someday, but it will mean the extermination of the race of man. Reassure yourselves, however, if such a thing ever happens, it will not be for thousands of years to come.

Starting point is 07:17:55 But now for the point in hand, you must both both. of you return at once to the earth. But how can we return? I will attend to that. You will be back in less than an hour. But how about me? asked Pep, on the verge of tears. I am accused of committing a murder, and although perfectly innocent, I have no means of proving my innocence.

Starting point is 07:18:16 I will attend to that, too, replied the queen. Take this box. In it you will find proofs that will convince the most skeptical. Pep tore off the cover of the box and perceived a role of movie film. "'Looner Movies of Earthly Happenings' "'Yes,' explained the Queen. "'It is a moving picture of the murder as it really occurred. "'Look in this mirror on the wall,

Starting point is 07:18:38 "'and you will see the whole scene depicted. "'Sure enough, a mirror appeared on the wall as if by magic. "'And in it the whole tragedy was enacted in natural colors. "'It was, as Pep had surmised, "'one of the murdered man's victims had shot him in a fit of desperation. "'How did you get this film?' inquired the doctor, curiously. I had it sent from one of the nearest dead stars, replied the queen. As you know, light travels only 186,000 miles per second.

Starting point is 07:19:07 Hence the light that left the earth at the time of the murder, had not yet reached the star when they received my message. They therefore made this moving picture of the murder as soon as the light rays reached them. Dr. Hackensaw was perplexed. How can you send a message and receive a film faster than light can travel? Because light is not the fastest thing in the universe, replied the queen. Queen. Gravitation travels much faster than light. To you on Earth, gravitation seems to act instantaneously. As a matter of fact, it is really slow, but it travels from the Earth to

Starting point is 07:19:40 Sirius in less than one second, a speed immensely superior to that of light. I sent a wireless message by gravitation, and received the film here almost instantaneously by the same means. Here is an older film which shows the Earth as it appeared before the advent of man. As she said the words, there appeared on the mirror, a prehistoric landscape, with the brontosaurus and other paleolithic monsters browsing in the permeable forests, while the ichthyosaurus and pleesiosaurus sported in the waters, and the pterodactyl flew overhead. Dr. Hackensaw gazed at the pictures with interest and then asked, How about the planetary machine that we saw on our way here? What is its object?

Starting point is 07:20:24 Its function is to utilize the sun's heat, explained the queen. Half of the moon is always brightly illuminated by the sun. The heat thus received is stored up automatically in the body of the moon. From here, it works the planetary machine which sends wireless waves wherever we happen to need power. The radiator-like instrument serves as the regulator. Would you allow me to have a description of the machine so I can construct one like it? No, indeed. Your knowledge is insufficient, and you would be sure to kill yourself in the attempt to control these forces.

Starting point is 07:20:56 besides, too much knowledge would make you miserable. The world has no use for a man who is too far ahead of his time. But enough of this. You can have dinner here, and then you must go. What do you eat, inquired the doctor curiously. Lunar beings do not eat. We selenites do not eat at all. We breathe in the carbon, oxygen, and hydrogen that are necessary for life. We see to it that our atmosphere contains these elements in the proper proportions.

Starting point is 07:21:25 but carbon is a solid, exclaimed Pepp in surprise. You cannot breathe charcoal. Carbon is a gas in the form of carbon dioxide, and we are able to utilize it in our bodies in this form, decomposing it into its carbon and oxygen. But here is your meal, she continued, as a table appeared loaded with all sorts of delicacies. Pep, who had been expecting a meal of carbon oxygen and hydrogen,

Starting point is 07:21:51 gave a squeal of delight when she saw the wonderful meal that was served. there were soups, meats, vegetables, fruits, pastry, and sweets of the kind she liked the best. The pair ate heartily, but some narcotic must have been in the food, for scarcely was the last mouthful eaten when they both felt themselves overpowered by a heavy sleep. Back to Mother Earth.

Starting point is 07:22:13 When they awoke, they found themselves back in the couches in the car. Dr. Hackensaw threw open the door of the vehicle and gave a cry. And well he might cry out, here he was back again on earth in his own New Jersey estate. The Queen had kept her word. The return journey to the earth had lasted less than one hour. End of Section 22. Section 23 of Dr. Hackensaw Secrets. This is a Librivox recording. All Librivox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librivox.org.

Starting point is 07:22:53 Read by Nathan Myers. Dr. Hackensaw Secrets by Clement Fesandhi. the secret of the memory obliterator. Authors note. The fabled Waters of Leithy possessed a curious power. Anyone who drank of the water at once lost all memory of his former life. Nature, too, has her waters of Leithy. As we grow old, the memories of recent events fade from our mind, only those of our earlier years remaining with any degree of clearness.

Starting point is 07:23:23 Diseases of the brain, too, can blot out the memories of our past years. Some day, when our scientists understand better what memory is, we may hope to find the means of thus blotting out certain of our recollections artificially. In this story, I have endeavored to show how this power of obliterating memories might be made use of in the Reformation of Criminals. Dr. Hackensaw, cried Pepita Perkins, gaily. Why don't you invent some means of preventing people from spitting in the streetcars? Couldn't you make some contrivance that would wrap the spitter on the head? or blow a strong puff of wind in his face when he tries to spit. Dr. Hackensaw laughed.

Starting point is 07:24:03 I have already invented such a device, Miss Pepp, said he. Moreover, my invention is simple, inexpensive, and I will guarantee it. It is nothing more than to hang up the following sign in the streetcars. Only hogs spit on the floor. When a man disregards the sign and expectorates, his neighbor will naturally look at the sign and laugh. The most hardened spitter could not stand such ridicule. He will leave the car at the first opportunity, and, it is safe to say, the lesson will never have to be repeated.

Starting point is 07:24:37 Understand me, Miss Pep, I am not as a rule in favor of ridicule as a means of education. In fact, I believe ridicule is used far too much already by both parents and teachers, especially in Europe, but it is a powerful weapon, and there are times when its use is justified. Is it to make people look ridiculous that you use these horrid mirrors on the wall? They make me look like a fright. They're worse than any of those at Coney Island. Those, said Dr. Hackensaw, smiling, are my distorting mirrors, and I am very proud of them.

Starting point is 07:25:11 You must know, Miss Pepp, that at present I am engaged on the problem of reforming criminals, and before reforming a man, I must know something about him. These mirrors tell me what I want to know. they enable me to read a man's soul. What? cried Pep, thinking the doctor must be jesting. Sit down, please, and I will explain myself. Of course, you will understand that the words crime and criminal are very elastic and often apply to things that in reality have nothing criminal about them.

Starting point is 07:25:44 However, you will understand me when I say that my efforts are directed toward nullifying the vicious tendencies in men and strengthening the good ones. But in order to accomplish anything, I must be able to read a man's character accurately. And a man's face is an index to his character. Not always, interrupted Pep. I've known some scoundrels that looked like honest men and some honest men that looked like villains. True, but that is because you did not use scientific methods. Science demands instruments of precision, not mere guesswork.

Starting point is 07:26:20 I don't suppose you know, Miss Pepp, that don't. Darwin made a careful study of the expression of the emotions in man and in animals, and showed that the same emotion is expressed in the same way by animals of the same species. Any man familiar with dogs knows that a dog's tail can express a variety of different emotions. Watch the meeting of two strange dogs. At sight of each other, their tails remain stationary. Mute, they are on the alert. Then one dog wags his tail tentatively and the other animals.

Starting point is 07:26:53 answers. Friendship is declared. Then along comes the master of one of the animals, and the dog slinks away with his tail between his legs. Could any language be plainer? No, but they're only dogs. Man, too, continued the doctor didactically, expresses his emotions by means of gestures, but principally by the expression of his features. I am safe in saying that every emotion a man experiences, whether fear, anger, hate, jealousy, sensuality, or joy, is expressed to a certain degree in his face. Of course, he has learned to school himself and keep his features more or less under control, but the expression is in his face, however imperceptible it may be, to a casual observer. Well, the wrinkles that appear in our faces with age are the result of such expressions

Starting point is 07:27:48 of emotion, often repeated. A man who continually frowns, or who is stern and cold, will have wrinkles that betray him. An experienced observer can often tell at a glance a man who is cruel, vindictive, envious, lascivious, or dangerous, merely by the expression of his face. We all of us express these passions by much the same play of features, and every such emotion leaves its trace, barely perceptible, but each repetition strengthens it. A man's character is thus indelibly stamped upon his face. The difficulty consists in reading it correctly. It is for the purpose of reading this facial expression that I use these distorting mirrors that you see here. By means of these, I can read any man's character without a mistake. Of course, in a boy or girl, the character is not so

Starting point is 07:28:42 deeply impressed on the face as in an adult, but it is there all the same, and I can read a person as if you were a book. I see you magnify the features. Not exactly. Magnifying the features helps a little, but not much. I get my best results by distorting the features, that is to say, by magnifying the one trait I am examining, whether anger, jealousy, or some other passion. In a word, these mirrors produce caricatures. One is designed to a way. One is designed to a intensify a man's looks of envy, another, his sensuality, etc. I sit a man in the middle of this room and look into each of these mirrors in turn, and after these observations, I know the man better than he knows himself. Gee, cried Pep, you ought to turn for knowledge as doctor,

Starting point is 07:29:31 give a man a chart of his character, and tell him what vocation he is best fitted for. Or you could examine candidates for office and accept or reject them at a glance, without need of a written examination. Yes, replied the doctor gravely. There are many uses to which these distorting mirrors may be put, but the greatest one is undoubtedly that of reforming criminals. At this moment, the pair were interrupted by the entrance of the office boy. Inspector Fox is below, Dr. Hackensaw and wishes to see you. Come along with me, Miss Pepp, said the doctor. I am going with Inspector Fox to visit Six-Fingered Pete, one of my subjects. Come along, and

Starting point is 07:30:12 and you will see some of the practical results I have obtained. Six-Fingered Pete, so-called because he was born with six fingers on one hand, was, at the time, under sentence of death for murder. He was a criminal of the worst type, having been, so to speak, born to crime. His father had been a burglar, and his mother a thief and drunkard of the lowest class. Pete himself had been reared in the slums amid all that was vilest and foulest of New York, in what was at the time known as Mulberry Bend. This plague spot has fortunately been abolished, a park now occupying its place.

Starting point is 07:30:47 It was the haunt of the thief and the prostitute, and stories were current that, for the modest sum of $30, you could hire any one of a dozen men to rid you of a troublesome rival, or, for a few more dollars, have a policeman killed. Naturally enough, in this foul place, Pete soon grew to be a rogue. In fact, he rapidly outstripped his fellows. At ten, he was a clever pickpocket, and, and even assisted the local gangs of crooks in their burglaries, his small size rendering him valuable for entering houses through transoms

Starting point is 07:31:16 and unlocking the door for the older members of the gang. As he grew older and bolder, he became himself a leader, starting a gang of his own, which was a terror to the neighborhood. He was suspected of several murders, but nothing could be proved against him. Finally, however, he was caught red-handed after murdering a member of his own gang. The fellow had turned traitor, and his testimony had sent Pete to prison for a term of years. Pete had sworn vengeance and had obtained it immediately upon his release. This was the man whom Dr. Hackensaw was about to visit.

Starting point is 07:31:49 You see, Miss Pep, explained the doctor, it's no sinecure I've undertaken. If I can succeed in reforming Pete, it's a proof that my method is a good one. Eugene Sue in one of his books recommended blinding criminals to reform them. The loss of their eyesight would render them powerless to commit new crimes. My method is, It is more humane, however, and more efficient. Six-Fingered Pete was not a pleasant personage to look at. A coarse, brutal, sensual face told its story without need of the doctor's distorting mirrors, a dangerous man, evidently, with the large muscular body that made him look strangely menacing.

Starting point is 07:32:28 "'There, Miss Pep,' said the doctor. "'That is the man whom I have undertaken to reform. He is condemned to death, but I have succeeded in obtaining a promise of his pardon, if I can really succeed in reforming him. The fellow has consented to let me try my hand. It is his last hope, and besides, he imagines he will be able to hoodwink me. Do you think you can cure him? He looks like a pretty bad case.

Starting point is 07:32:54 He is a hard case. In fact, he is a resume of the three classes of criminals, those who receive their criminal instincts through inheritance, those who acquire them through evil training in their youth, and those who, through some physical cause that affects the brain, acquire a partial insanity, or have their moral faculties warped. Gee, doctor, observed Pep, smiling. If you cure all the criminals, you'll spoil my job as a reporter.

Starting point is 07:33:20 Our newspapers would be pretty tame if everybody were good. Not only the newspapers, Pep, replied Dr. Hackensaw, laughing. But all our books, plays, and movies. What would a movie be without a villain? We owe more to the criminals than we're, are apt to imagine. The world would be somewhat monotonous without them, but I guess it will be some time before we get rid of the last of them. How do you set to the work of reform, Doctor? It all depends. If I can get hold of a baby, I can do a great deal to eliminate undesirable

Starting point is 07:33:53 inherited instincts. Oliver Wendell Holmes declared that early training would accomplish wonders, provided you began early enough. He added, however, that you might have to begin several thousand years before the baby was born. Personally, I believe that inherited instincts are of minor importance. Physical, mental, and moral inheritance can be controlled by proper means. Education is the important thing. Place the child of respectable parents in criminal surroundings, and he will almost certainly grow up a criminal.

Starting point is 07:34:25 Take, on the other hand, the baby of criminal parents, give him into the custody of proper guardians, and he will become a virtuous man. The criminal is the product of poor education and poor conditions. Of course, physical defects play their part. Vicious cravings and appetites arise from morbid conditions. Disease of the brain may also lead to crime. To cure a criminal, you must first cure his body, including, of course, his brain. Then you must counteract his early vicious training.

Starting point is 07:34:57 How can you do that? Well, our knowledge of the brain is as yet at a rudimentary stage, Certain indications lead us to believe that each part of the brain has some definite function. Touch a certain portion of an animal's brain, and the animal will move its right leg. Touch another portion, and it will move its right arm. The same thing seems to be true of the mental and moral faculties. Certain areas of the brain seem to be the seat of memory, others of the reasoning power, others of the willpower. Of course, I am aware that these regional controls, as they are called, are far from proved.

Starting point is 07:35:33 In fact, modern experiments seem to show that if one portion of the brain is cut out, some other portion after a time is able to take up the functions of the portion removed. But normally, we may assume that each area of the brain has some special function, and injury to that area will disturb the function. Taking this as my starting point, I began my experiments. If, as I believe, it is a man's early training that is the principal cause of his going wrong, then if we could blot out that early training and start afresh, we ought to be able to make a new man of him. In a word, I became convinced that all criminals could be cured if we could erase from their minds

Starting point is 07:36:14 the memories they had acquired during their early life, the bad habits they had formed, and all knowledge of their vicious companions. Of course, all of us have memories we should wish to destroy, memories of things done or left undone, or of ridiculous situations in which we have been placed, or superstitions we have acquired in youth. Unfortunately, I have not yet found means of destroying separate memories. The task is far beyond my powers. I am obliged to obliterate practically everything that is in the mind

Starting point is 07:36:45 and start again from the very beginning. This I accomplish by means of my memory obliterator, a device that enables me to make a fallen woman forget her old life and begin anew, and that makes a criminal forget his crimes and his associates, and leaves him free to start afresh. I can even make a drunkard forget his craving for drink. How does your machine work? You must know, Miss Pepp, that memory is a most peculiar thing.

Starting point is 07:37:13 In fact, every part of the body seems to possess a memory of its own. What we call habit is a sort of memory of the body. Take, for example, the stenographer working the keys of her typewriter. Her fingers seem to know just what distance to go to strike a certain key. She could work blindfold. This is the result of practice. Every action, often repeated, becomes a habit, and these habits constitute a kind of memory.

Starting point is 07:37:39 A very strange fact is the persistence of memory. If you learned how to skate or how to ride a bicycle 20 years ago and have never practiced since, you will be surprised to find that you have not forgotten the trick. In all probability, every particle that composes your body has changed in those 20 years, but the habit remains. To explain this, we must assume that the new particles in some way inherit the memories or habits of the old ones.

Starting point is 07:38:06 The brain, as you may perhaps know, contains millions of microscopic neurons connected irregularly with each other by filaments. My theory was that these connections between the neurons must explain the association of ideas, which is the basis of memory, one idea calling up the other ideas associated with it by means of the connecting filaments. Working on this theory, I made experiments on the effect of x-rays, radium emanations, and wireless waves on these filaments. I struck the right method and found means of destroying the associations between the neurons without injuring them. In this way, I am able to destroy past memories, and so leave a clean page for the formation of new ones. It is this method that I am about to apply to the reformation of six-fingered peat. As the doctor finished speaking, Inspector Fox entered the room.

Starting point is 07:39:01 Speed is all ready for the operation, said he. Pep and the doctor entered the operating room, where the patient was stretched motionless under the powerful electrical machine that was to destroy his memories of a life of crime and make a new man of him. An anesthetic had been administered and all was in readiness. Dr. Hackensaw rapidly divested himself of his coat and carefully adjusted the micrometer screws that regulated his memory obliterator. "'Now then, Miss Pep,' said he.

Starting point is 07:39:28 "'Just turn that switch. In less than an hour, Pete's mind will be a blank. He will have completely forgotten every incident of his past life, and will be ready to start afresh and become an honest man.' Three years had passed since the date on which Dr. Hackensaw had performed the marvelous operation on the brain of six-fingered Pete. The operation had been entirely successful. Pete had awakened none the worse physically, but his mind had become a complete blank.

Starting point is 07:39:57 It was curious to watch him as he tried to rise from his bed. He was more helpless than a babe, for his muscles had lost all power of coordination. Walking was, of course, out of the question, for he had forgotten how to balance himself. He had forgotten how to talk, and he had even forgotten how to see. Like a newborn babe,

Starting point is 07:40:16 he was unconscious of what was going on around him. Everything had to be learned over again, just as a baby has to learn. He had this advantage, however, that his brain and his muscles were fully developed, and some vague remnants of memory remained. His progress was therefore extremely rapid. What it takes a child ten years to learn, Pete was able to master in a few months. He was naturally bright and energetic, but his training was rendered difficult by the fact that he was a strong man instead of a helpless baby, and hence not so easy to control. Dr. Hackensaw was obliged to keep him in a padded room with six strong attendants,

Starting point is 07:40:53 continually on the alert. Otherwise, he would have walked out of the window or into a fire just as a baby would have done. As new memories were formed, however, and he learned to take care of himself, he was allowed more liberty, and finally the day came when he could go about as he pleased. His cure seemed complete, for he gave no evidence of any of the criminal traits which had formerly rendered him a menace to society. His pardon had been secured, and Dr. Hackensaw kept him at his New Jersey Cottage, where he was employed on the farm. Dr. Hackensaw, on his return from a trip to the moon, had kept his promise to Miss Pepp Perkins. The proofs of her innocence were so complete that the warrant for her arrest was never served.

Starting point is 07:41:34 She was a frequent visitor at the doctor's summer cottage, and one hot Sunday she started out for a stroll through the woods, and unfortunately chose a shortcut through a pasture where some cattle were feeding. Pepp was not aware of the fact that a vicious bull was pastured with the herd, and it happened that this bull, on that particular day, was wild from a tussle with a hornet's nest, an encounter in which the bull was not victorious. While smarting from the pain of his stings, what should the bull see but a young lady coming tripping through the pasture? It was a direct challenge. The bull lowered his head and came rushing at her with a threatening bellow. Pepp was no country girl, but she was a good sprinter and turned to run. But she could not have made good her escape had not a third actor appeared on the scene.

Starting point is 07:42:23 This was six-fingered Pete, who had come to drive the cattle to the barn. He took in the situation at a glance and rushed to head off the bull. Now, in Spanish bull fights, the Toriodor seems to have an easy task dodging the excited beasts. But in the arena, the bull is first tired out by the piccadores or men on horseback. Moreover, the Toriodor has helpers to divert the attention of the bull, and there are aisles of safety as retreats. In a country pasture, the thing is not so easy. Pete had no jacket to wave at the bull, but he did what was probably the best thing under the circumstances. He picked up a double handful of earth and threw it in the eyes of the infuriated animal, just as the latter was on the point of Goring Pep. Half-blinded, the bull swerved from his course, and Pep was saved. But the animal can't.

Starting point is 07:43:12 came straight for Pete, and the poor man was thrown to the ground and gored unmercifully. By the time the farmhands, armed with bitchforks had rescued him, he was past all help. The life that Dr. Hackensaw had saved was thus sacrificed before the results of the experiments with the memory obliterator could be fully realized. But to Dr. Hackensaw, the proof was convincing that the reformation of criminals was a possibility if their minds could only be washed clean of all their criminal memories and a fresh start made. End of Section 23. Section 24.

Starting point is 07:43:56 Of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libervox recording. All Liberbox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibraVox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Vasande, the secret of the submarine city. Man has conquered the earth and the air. There still remains, however, the vast unexplored regions at the bottom of the ocean that have so far eluded his dominion. Yet they must contain untold treasures and mineral wealth, coal and petroleum.

Starting point is 07:44:28 This story of a submarine city, which seems a wild fantasy today, will be a cold fact in the not distant future. Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw impressively, I am going to initiate you today into one of my greatest secrets, one that I have so far revealed only to those whose cooperation was necessary to carry out my plans. Silas, I am a king. What? cried the reporter, gazing at the doctor in amazement, and wondering if he had suddenly gone mad. What did you say? I said, I was a king, and it is true.

Starting point is 07:45:04 I am the supreme ruler of a large country. In fact, I am really monarch of a domain larger than all the other kingdoms on earth put together. What in the name of the seven wonders do you mean? asked Silas perplexed. Have you discovered a new continent in the polar region? No, replied the doctor, but I have found the means of conquering and bringing under my dominion, immense unexplored regions in the ocean's depths. For years, it has seemed to me foolish that man, overcrowded as he is on land, should allow the enormous tracts underwater to remain unused.

Starting point is 07:45:38 Do you realize, Silas, that the ocean covers far more land than all our four? continents put together? It is this land that I have sought to make use of. These submerged tracks that so far have been allowed to remain idle, and that are yet capable of producing immense wealth, and of supporting a population, greater than that now in existence. I have no competitors. My secret has been well kept, and I am absolute monarch of my own dominions. I make my own laws, and I enforce them myself. Silas' rocket looked puzzled. Please explain yourself, doctor, said he, I gather your idea in a vague way, but not very clearly. I suppose you have explored a portion of the ocean's depths with submarines, but how you can make any real use of this submerged land

Starting point is 07:46:23 is more than I can fathom. The only thing I see that might be made useful are the fish. The fish, of course, returned Dr. Hackensaw, are of great importance. I have my submarine fisheries and my submarine flocks, if I may so call the immense schools of fish and marine animals that I keep penned up. The returns are highly profitable. I learn that fish's habit and their habitats. I place immense traps at the proper places, bait them carefully, and secure thousands of tons of fish with very little trouble.

Starting point is 07:46:53 My canning factories run night and day. The fish are cleaned, cooked, and packed by machinery while absolutely fresh, and so have a flavor unequaled by the ordinary commercial grades. You have flocks of fish, too? Submarine Farms Yes, domestic herds. I hatch fish from the spawn and keep them penned in suitable places. Then, too, I have my submarine farms.

Starting point is 07:47:17 You probably know that many submarine animal and vegetable growths have a real commercial value. Iodine and bromine exist in quantities and certain seaweeds, and can be extracted with profit. Then I have whole acres planted with sponges of the finest quality. My oyster farms cover miles of surface, and I even raise the pearl oysters and can produce pearls of the largest size, a most wonderful luster. You see, I have scoured the world to secure the best stock. But who attends to these submarine farms? I have no lack of help. My submarine cities have a large population, not only self-supporting, but every member certain of becoming wealthy in the course of a very few years. Submarine cities, cried Silas, more and more perplexed. Am I to

Starting point is 07:48:02 understand that you have found means of enabling men to live and work in the ocean depths? and that you have found men willing to so live? Yes, to both questions, Silas. Yes, I have found means of enabling men to live indefinitely underwater in perfect comfort, and I have had no trouble in finding men and women willing to work for me. Unfortunately, there is still a great deal of misery in the world, and men and women gladly come to me to escape from it. Then there are enthusiastic young people in search of adventure,

Starting point is 07:48:31 and they form the elite of my workers. The inducements I offer are great, for I guarantee. to all my workers who remain a few years with me, a comfortable pension for the rest of their lives. But if you are to understand the matter, I would better begin my story at the beginning. What first gave me my idea of a submarine city was the study of the gasoline problem. How the doctor started. Gasoline? echoed Silas Rocket. Yes, with the increasing use of gasoline fuel, oil for automobiles, airplanes, and ships, the supply of petroleum is certainly very soon to become inadequate.

Starting point is 07:49:08 The consequence will be a great rise in the price of gasoline and the need of some substitute. During the World War, a number of substitutes were tried with more or less success. Alcohol gives good results and can be made in large quantities. Hydrogen gas was tried, the automobile carrying a balloon of this gas. But the scheme was not found very practical. Liquefied hydrogen in tanks might answer better. Electricity will someday supersede gasoline. but not for some time yet.

Starting point is 07:49:35 I resolved to turn my attention first to increasingly available supply of gasoline. Gasoline, as you know, is made from petroleum, and the petroleum is found deep underground. In fact, petroleum is a byproduct in the natural formation of coal. The liquid sinks from the coal beds

Starting point is 07:49:51 deep into the ground, forming underground pools. These are often under pressure, and when tapped, will spout up above ground like artesian wells. Such being the case, and England possessing very rich, coal mines. How was it that England had no oil wells? Petroleum must exist in Great Britain

Starting point is 07:50:09 in large quantities. Why was it not made use of? I found the answer in a London museum, where I was shown samples of petroleum obtained by borings made in different parts of England, but this petroleum, probably owing to the chalky nature of the soil, was deep underground, and could not be profitably utilized at present. Oil Beneath the Sea I consulted several distinguished geologists, carefully. studied the geological maps and became convinced that there must exist large deposits of petroleum below the bottom of the North Sea. The question then arose as how to dig an oil well underwater. The answer was obvious. We must sink one or more caissons and work from these. There was nothing

Starting point is 07:50:51 new in the method. It is used daily in building bridges. I began by sinking two caissons and joined these together by a tunnel, which I excavated deep under the sea bottom. This tunnel was gradually enlarged in spots to form large chambers. One of these served for the drilling operations, and the others formed storerooms and sleeping rooms. The great trouble was to keep matter's secret. To achieve this, I bought an English power plant, conducted the electrical power to the work by cables. The air supply is obtained from above by means of extensible conduits. A ship of my own on watch informs me of the approach of strange vessels, and my air pipes are then pulled down below the surface, and compressed air, stored in reservoirs, is used until the stranger has passed.

Starting point is 07:51:33 I obtained my water supply, as on shipboard, by distilling the seawater. I expect soon, however, to obtain an ample supply of fresh water by means of artesian wells. But what's the use of talking? You have a month's vacation. I am sailing for England tomorrow. Come along with me for a visit to my submarine city, and I promise you that you will be well repaid for your trouble. And that is how, some days later, Silas Rock and, found himself with Dr. Hackensaw in England, about to embark in one of the doctor's hydro aeroplanes for a visit to the secret underwater city. The aeroplane was in good condition, and a 30-minute flight,

Starting point is 07:52:10 brought the two men out over the North Sea. We are now somewhere near Submarina, as I call the city, said the doctor, so I will wireless the radio station to notify them of our arrival. Sitting down to his machine, he sent off a brief message and received the answer. All right, he said he. They say they will pine. us to our destination. See? The compass is turning to point the way. Silas looked at the instrument indicated. It was different from any compass he had ever seen. It was a needle suspended on a universal joint, and it was surrounded by a number of electromagnets, each designed to be rendered active

Starting point is 07:52:45 only by a radio wave of a special length. The operator in Submarina could thus turn the compass needle on the aeroplane in any direction he desired. The needle had now assumed a sloping direction, and the pilot of the aeroplane turned the machine in the same direction. We shall soon be in port now, remarked Dr. Hackensaw. But what's the use of this guiding instrument? asked Silas. To Submarina. This arrangement is absolutely necessary at present, replied the doctor, because, as I told you, I am keeping the existence of this submarine city a complete secret.

Starting point is 07:53:20 I myself could scarcely hope to find it in this waste of water, without some guide. five minutes later the hydroplane had alighted on the surface of the ocean then it came to a complete stop and a large yawning metal mouth came up out of the depths of the water and closed over it then it was dragged down into the ocean by means of a cable again there was a halt followed by a click we are now in one of the receiving compartments explained dr hackensaw this receiving chamber has closed over us and we must wait until the water has been pumped out before we can emerge the pumping out did not take long. The metal mouth that enclosed them opened, and they found themselves in a small closed chamber. A door in this chamber immediately opened, and gave access into a street of Submarina. You see, Silas, remarked Dr. Hackinson, we're pretty safe here. Even if an enemy discovered our hiding place, he would find it difficult to injure us. We could easily protect ourselves against attacks from submarines, and I doubt if even depth bombs could do as much damage. In fact,

Starting point is 07:54:23 the whole city like a ship is built in airtight compartments. If one is damaged, we can take refuge in another. The central city is some distance away. In fact, we must take the electric trolley car to get there. What? cried the reporter, amazed. A trolley car here, under the ocean? Of course. You don't suppose I'm going to give my men any more work than is necessary.

Starting point is 07:54:48 Every labor-saving device I can think of is installed here. The sub-sea city. it did not take silas long to realize that he had come to a real city the streets lighted by diffused electric light were as bright as if the sun were shining overhead they bore names and numbers and were kept spotlessly clean the air was pure and sweet a regular ocean breeze pervading how is it the air here is not under pressure asked silas i understood that the air pressure on the earth is about fifteen pounds to the square inch every thirty-two feet depth of water added to the water adds 15 pounds more. Hence, half a mile under water, the pressure should be 1,252 and one-half pounds per square inch. You are right about the water pressure, Silas, but my air taken from the sea level has barely little more weight than normal air. Half a mile more of air in the column does not greatly increase the weight. But how do your receiving chambers and the roof of your city

Starting point is 07:55:48 stand the enormous water pressure. My receiving chambers and my entrance wells have thick walls of the strongest metals I can obtain. The city itself is excavated so far underground that there is little danger. You will notice that the car is going down a rather steep incline. To say that Silas was amazed would be to put the matter mildly. He could scarcely believe his eyes, as he went from one surprise to another. The streets were filled, not only with laborers, but with clerks, stenographers, and other professional people and even with children. Theaters, moving picture shows, restaurants, and

Starting point is 07:56:23 ballrooms advertised their various attractions. There was a bank, and there were even stores, but as the doctor explained to Silas, all the stores and recreation centers were under his own management and were run at cost. The stores would furnish anything wanted, sending to England for it if necessary. Only two things were noticeably different from the ordinary city. Here, there were not automobiles and no horses. Both were tabooed. Silas was deeply impressed. I wondered how it was, said he, that you were able to get help in your submarine city. But now that I have seen it, I am not surprised. Your workmen have all the comforts of home here. Yes, we receive all the principal books, newspapers, and magazines,

Starting point is 07:57:07 and we even publish a journal of our own, the submarine daily swash. We have telephones and electric lights and all modern conveniences in every house, even including radio receiving sets to receive the broadcasts from England. But here we are at the oil wells. Let's get out and visit them. The oil wells. How do you dispose of your crude oil? I have a secret pipeline which carries it to an English refinery I have started. We also refine oil from Europe, though our greatest supply comes from here. I furnish gasoline to England and France cheaper than anyone else can supply it. My only doubt is whether or not I am benefiting the world by doing so. I don't understand. I don't understand. I don't What I mean to say is that I am a firm believer in the conservation of natural resources.

Starting point is 07:57:54 It has taken nature millions of years to store up her supplies of coal and petroleum, and there is not hope of them being renewed. It seems a wanton waste to use these up for pleasure trips and automobiles. We ought to make use of alcohol or air or water power, or some other such inexhaustible source of energy, instead of consuming these invaluable natural hydrocarbons. My only consolation is that chemistry is making such rapid strides at the present day, that the time is bound to come when we can make the petroleum products synthetically,

Starting point is 07:58:25 from carbon dioxide and water. Have you a coal mine here? Yes, and a very rich one. We are working it now. As soon as I perfect my devices for burning the coal without smoke, I shall generate all my own power here, and shall then send electrical power by cable to England. Turn about is fair play.

Starting point is 07:58:43 up to date I have placed the coal as mined, and large, buoyant steel vessels, hermetically closed, allowed them to float to the surface, and then towed them to some convenient spot, where the water is smooth, where the coal can be transferred to ships. Your city ought to be useful as a submarine basin more time, suggested Silas. Yes, indeed, especially as its existence is not suspected. I don't see how you can keep it secret. All my help are under contract to remain here five years. Only those I know I can trust are allowed to attend getting supplies and provisions.

Starting point is 07:59:18 Of course, Submarina could, in a pinch, furnish all her own food, as fish, oysters, and seaweeds of many kinds abound, but I find it easier to import meat, flour, and vegetables, rather than attempt to raise them here. How could you raise wheat here without sunlight? The Museum I think it could be done by means of artificial light, but until I manufacture my own electricity, I shall not do any experimenting in this line. But here we are at the museum. Come in with me, and I'll show you some of the curiosities we have discovered in the ocean's

Starting point is 07:59:50 depths. Here are perfect specimens of all kinds of marine plants and animals, specimens such as you will not find in any museum on earth. For my men, go out in diving suits and select only the finest specimens. My workers are free to move about as they use my artificial gills to furnish them air for breathing. Then here are relics from sunken ships. These coins and jewels came from a Roman galley that sank here hundreds of years ago, and was deeply embedded in the silt. We come across very curious things here. The journey was continued, and Silas was shown one new marvel after another.

Starting point is 08:00:26 Nothing that might lend to comfort or recreation of the inhabitant was neglected. The pair stopped at a restaurant and had an excellent dinner, and then took rooms in the hotel, for a hotel had been found a convenience for many, especially those engaged in the transportation of supplies. But in the middle of the night, Silas Rocket was awakened by the loud ringing of an alarm. An instant later, Dr. Hackensaw and his nightshirt was at the door. Grab your clothes, quick, he cried, and come with me, Submarina has sprung a leak. Silas Rocket lost no time.

Starting point is 08:00:59 He made one gram for his clothing, and then followed the doctor out into the street, where they found numbers of lightly clad men, women, and children, splashing through a small stream of that had suddenly made its appearance. Among the number was a woman with a baby in her arms, the first child born in Submarina. "'Follow the water,' cried the doctor, and Silas obeyed. He realized only too well what had happened. The enormous pressure exerted by the ocean above had caused the earth that formed the roof of the city to cave in at some spot, and it was evidently but a matter of minutes before the flying people would all be drowned like rats in a trap.

Starting point is 08:01:36 "'Good-bye, Doctor!' cried Silas. but the doctor did not hear him. Meanwhile, the stream had rapidly risen, and the water now reached their knees. "'Grab a life-preserver!' cried the doctor. Silas now noticed that life-preservers in large numbers were hanging within reach on the sides of the houses. Evidently, an emergency like the present one had been foreseen and prepared for, and the reporter's spirits rose. The fleeing crowd were all busily engaged in putting on their life-preservers, and Silas and the doctor were not a moment too soon in adjusting theirs. Evidently a new portion of the roof had given way, for the water came pouring in, and the

Starting point is 08:02:13 stream became so rapid they were borne along at a terrific pace. To safety. Put on your helmet, commanded the doctor. To each life-preserver, a helmet containing a reservoir of compressed air was fastened. Provision had, of course, been made, so that the air would be reduced to normal atmospheric pressure before being inhaled. Silas lost no time in adjusting his headpiece, and, before he got it on, he realized the to this protection, for the air in the street, compressed by the inflowing water, attained a pressure

Starting point is 08:02:43 which made breathing difficult. It is a sudden change of pressure like this that in underwater caissons gives workmen attacks of the bends. At this moment, a shriek from the woman with the baby called their attention to the fact that the mother burdened with a child had been unable to provide herself with life-preservers or helmets. It was only with the greatest difficulty that Silas and the doctor managed to secure helmets for the two and get the parasit. safely protected. By this time the water was so high that everyone was afloat, borne rapidly forward by the swift current. Luckily, their journey was nearly finished, for they came suddenly to the end of the passage where about a thousand persons were floating about, awaiting their turn to

Starting point is 08:03:23 pass through a revolving door somewhat similar to those used in department stores. The purpose of these doors was soon evident. Dr. Hackensaw, in planning Submarina, had foreseen the possibility of a catastrophe like the present one, and had built his city in water-tube-time. tight compartments, like our modern transatlantic liners. The ocean might burst its way into one of these compartments, but the inhabitants could take refuge in the others. Communication between the compartments was made by means of revolving doors. On each side of the door was a completely enclosed platform, hermetically tight, which held 100 persons. Revolving this platform halfway brought it safely to the next unfleded portion of the city. The small amount of water in which the persons

Starting point is 08:04:06 floated was of course carried with them, but was of no consequence. While Silas and the doctor were waiting for their turn to pass through the door, the doctor showed the reporter an iron grating through which the ocean water was descending into an unused mine shaft. You see, he explained, I constructed my door here, an order that the current of water, flowing down into this shaft, should carry all refugees safely to this spot, the only place where safety lies. Silas admired the ingenuity of the scheme, but he was shivering with the cold and glad to get somewhere where he could obtain dry clothing. But he had had enough of submarine cities, and when the doctor suggested returning to London, he acquiesced with alacrity. Submarine cities are very interesting, said he, and they offer some level experiences.

Starting point is 08:04:55 But as for me, give me the sunlight and the open air. End of Section 24. Section 25 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Read by Corny Dweeb. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizandi.

Starting point is 08:05:32 The Secret of Perpetual Youth. Author's note. The average duration of human life. has about doubled in the last hundred years. Before the next century has passed, it is quite possible that the average life of a man may be raised to 80 or 100 years. The remote future may see this increase extended to a thousand years or more. Scientists have only begun to study the causes of old age, and much may be hoped for from systematic research along the path already opened by Mechnikov and others.

Starting point is 08:06:06 Is it possible, Dr. Hackensaw, that you have discovered the secret of perpetual life? The speaker was a somewhat decrepit old lady of 85, Mrs. Linda Young, by name, who had hobbled into the doctor's office on hearing rumors that the doctor was seeking the elixir of life,

Starting point is 08:06:27 that will of the wisp that had been sought for centuries by the old alchemists. Dr. Hackensaw smiled. No, Mrs. Young, said he, I should hardly call it perpetual life, but I have discovered what biologists would call reversible metabolism. I suppose you know what animalism and catabolism are?

Starting point is 08:06:48 There's some newfangled varieties of socialism, aren't they? No, nothing of the sort. They are terms used in physiology. Anabolism is the growth of any tissue, and catabolism is the decay and death of the tissue. Metabolism is life, and consists in the continual growth and decay of tissue. Then what is it that you have discovered? I have discovered reverse.

Starting point is 08:07:12 metabolism. I have discovered how to make the body cells remove the old decayed portions of the tissue, and so restore to them their freshness and youth. The reason a man grows old and dies is that the tissues of one or more of his organs grow old. That is to say, the tissues either decay or harden, or through the accumulation of foreign matter, the organ becomes unable to perform its functions properly. The hardening of the walls of the blood vessels is, according to Metacob, the chief cause of senility, that is to say, of old age. There are, of course, many other contributing causes, as I have discovered when I began my researches on the subject. Method of Research

Starting point is 08:07:56 I started out with the knowledge that life is practically immortal, or, to put the phrase more correctly, every animal alive today is nothing but a continuation of the splitting up of the original speck of protoplasm, from which all animals and plants have descended. Every man's ancestry must go back in an unbroken line to this primordial speck. Now, an individual whose tissues are already old and decaying can still produce sperm cells or OVA capable of starting not only one new life, but a perpetual succession of new lives. In other words, a life that may last hundreds of thousands of years

Starting point is 08:08:34 until all life on this earth is extinct. I spent years in my researches. I first studied old age in plants. Why does a tree die? Certain olive trees are said to be 2,000 years old. Why should they not live forever? But the study of plants did not help me much. A tree dies because the new wood forms on the outside of the old trunk,

Starting point is 08:08:58 while the inner wood decays leaving the center hollow. The conditions with human beings are totally different. Old age may be due to the improper digestion of the food, to troubles with the lungs or the other organs of respiration, or to troubles with the circulation of the blood or the nervous system. But doctor, interrupted Mrs. Young, yawning. I'm afraid I'm too stupid to understand all your scientific terms, and I want to get home in time to attend the metabolism of my family,

Starting point is 08:09:27 my children, and grandchildren. I want the dinner to be especially nice today, because I am expecting Mr. Trimble. Mr. Trimble is a widower of 45, and to tell you the truth, doctor, I have fallen in love with him. Now I learned that you. You have discovered the elixir of youth, and I came to see if you wouldn't consent to make me young again. I am a rich woman, Dr. Hackensaw.

Starting point is 08:09:49 My husband was a multi-millionaire, and he left me the bulk of his property. I am 85 years old now, and I will gladly pay you a million dollars if you succeed in making me young again. And if I fail? If you fail, I lose nothing. I have been suffering lately from a general debility, and the doctors tell me I have only three months more to live. probably three months of pain and suffering. I will most willingly risk losing these three months on that chance of being restored to youth again.

Starting point is 08:10:19 Dr. Hackensaw hesitated. My experiments so far, said he, have all been on animals. I can take a tough old rooster or a cow old enough to make boarding-house steak and restore them to their pristine youth. I make a business of taking old and worn-out thoroughbred horses and after making them young again selling them at a hen-house.

Starting point is 08:10:39 some profit. Especially am I interested in the finest pedigreed stock whose owners are willing to pay fancy prices for the rejuvenation of a full-blooded bull or stallion. But my experiments on human tissue have been comparatively few, and only on amputated arms and legs, never on an integral human being. Besides, while I have succeeded in making animals grow younger, I have not yet discovered the means of checking this process of reversible metabolism. In other words, even if I should succeed, you would continue growing younger and younger, unless I have the good luck of discovering some antidote. I will take all risks and assume all the responsibility. I will have my lawyer draw up a paper absolving you from all blame.

Starting point is 08:11:22 As I said before, I have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Very well, madam, said the doctor. Make your will, set your affairs in order, and come back next Monday morning. I shall have everything ready for you by that time. Ready for the operation. Will the operation be very painful, doctor? asked Mrs. Young as she took her seat on the operating chair. No more than an ordinary vaccination, replied Dr. Hackensaw. Had you come to me a year ago, I should have had to put you under an anesthetic while I cut one of your arteries and inserted a tee-piece provided with a stopcock at the cut,

Starting point is 08:11:59 so as to be able to remove old blood or inject new ingredients. In fact, in my early experiments, I made Siamese twins of my subjects. I attached a young animal to the old one I wished to rejuvenate, and would daily remove a small amount of the old blood. It was thus fresh young blood that coursed through both bodies, and the older animal profited to a great extent by the vitality of the young one. But the process was clumsy, and I found that new blood would not completely restore the hardened or decayed tissues. It would only partially soften the hardened walls of a blood vessel, and it would not remove from the bones the deposits of lime, that the years leave and that change the soft cartilaginous bones of the infant into the brittle bones of the old man. It was not until I discovered my new microbe that I was able to secure real results. Your new microbe? Yes, the basilis hackens savvy. While experimenting with a new

Starting point is 08:12:58 stain for staining microbes, I came upon an altogether unknown species of basilis, possessed of the most wonderful properties. Instead of attacking healthy tissue, like the disease germs, This one seems only to attack old and decayed tissue. Such, being gradually removed, the body can replace the old tissue with fresh new cells. But can an old body produce young and fresh cells? Yes, indeed. All new cells, when first produced, are young and new and capable of indefinite growth. Now, if you will kindly bear your arm, I shall proceed to make the inoculation.

Starting point is 08:13:33 Without a tremor, Mrs. Young drew up her sleeve, and Dr. Hackensaw deftly made a sloth incision with his lancet. He then withdrew a few drops of blood, which he wished to have as a control, and he replaced them in a test tube filled with Carroll's solution. Then he injected into the arm a small amount of the pure culture of the new microbe. There, madam, said Dr. Hackensaw. It's all over. Is it possible? Is that all? Well, doctor, if that little scratch is going to make me young again, you will have earned your million dollars pretty easily. Madam, replied doctor. I'll guarantee that, barring accidents, you will soon begin to regain your youth, but as I told you, I cannot promise to stop the process, as I have as yet found no way of

Starting point is 08:14:19 checking the action of the microbe. Never mind, cried the old lady gaily. I feel younger already. You'd needn't be in any hurry about hunting for the antidote. A week later, Mrs. Young again repaired to the doctor's office. I'm afraid something has gone wrong, doctor, she said. Not only do I not feel any younger than I was, but I feel somewhat older and weaker." Dr. Hackensaw's face grew troubled, but after carefully examining the arm, his countenance cleared. "'It's all right, Mrs. Young,' said he. "'The microbes I injected are multiplying fast, but there are not yet enough of them to do much good work. You really are a week older than when you came here last.

Starting point is 08:15:04 But the baselye I injected will keep on increasing at a geometrical ratio, and you will soon begin to feel their effects. I hope so. But, Doctor, what would the insurance and other companies do if people could buy life annuities or pensions and then go on living forever? Dr. Hackensaw laughed. I guess the companies would find means of stopping the payments after 100 years or so, he observed. Operation Successful

Starting point is 08:15:30 The doctor was correct. A month later, the old lady was perceptibly better, and after three months she could hold herself erect and walked into the office with a firm tread. Doctor, said she, with a laugh, the charm is working I feel ever so much younger. Dr. Hackensaw carefully felt her pulse and listened to her breathing. Madam, said he, allow me to congratulate you. You are really ten years younger than you were when I performed the operation. Indeed, that makes me seventy-five.

Starting point is 08:16:04 When I get back to forty, I shall marry John Trimble, meanwhile here is part of the fee i promised you and the remainder you'll have on my wedding day a couple of months passed when one day a lady apparently about forty years old and remarkably pretty for her age was ushered into the doctor's sanctum you wish to see me madam asked that worthy the lady laughed a rich warm laugh you do not recognize me then i am mrs linda young have i changed so much dr hackensaw gazed at her in a stop astonishment. You? Mrs. Young, he exclaimed, gazing at the luxuriant black hair that had replaced her white locks, and noting her firm elastic tread and the fire of youth that burned in her eye. Yes, doctor, your experiment has been successful beyond my wildest dreams, and I have come to invite you to my wedding with Mr. John Trimble. I shall now have two families, for John has a son called Jack, and Jack, who is also a widower, has a little boy named James. But my changed appearance

Starting point is 08:17:05 is causing me many complications. The trouble first began at the banks. My new strong signature did not tally with my old feeble one, so I had to learn to forge my own signature, imitating my old scrawl. And when the cashier sent for me, personally, my youthful appearance made him very suspicious. I have been obliged to sell all my real estate, and I must keep changing my banks and my safe deposit vaults. All my fortune is now invested in coupon bonds, payable to bearer, so that I need not be identified when I want money. All this has cost me a pretty penny, but you can't pay too high a price for youth.

Starting point is 08:17:40 Would you believe it, Doctor? I am now taking dancing lessons, and can fox trot and shimmy like a giddy young flapper. But I have been obliged to leave my own family on the pretext of a trip abroad. Just think of it. I am now younger than my own son. And still, it works.

Starting point is 08:17:58 Another three months elapsed. And then one day Dr. Hackensaw was electrified by a vision, of fairy-like loveliness that swept into his office. An exquisite young girl, looking not more than eighteen, and clad in the daintiest of ball-dresses, entered the doctor's office one night, and astonished that gentleman by throwing her arms around his neck and kissing him affectionately.

Starting point is 08:18:21 "'Doctor!' she cried. "'How can I ever repay you for what you've done for me?' "'Excuse me, miss,' said the doctor nonplussed, "'but you have the advantage of me. There is something familiar about your face, but it must be years since I saw you last, for I should never have forgotten such a charming young lady. Why, doctor, don't you recognize me? I am Linda Young. Mrs. Linda Young? Your elixir of youth is still working in my veins and seems more potent every day,

Starting point is 08:18:50 for I keep growing younger and younger. You have certainly found the fabled fountain of youth that Ponce de Leon sought for in vein in Florida. Is it possible? cried Dr. Hackensaw, astonished. You're not really Mrs. Young, the feeble 85-year-old woman who hobbled into my office less than a year ago. There's no mistake about it, Doctor, and I'm on my way to a ball now with my fiancé, Jack Trimble. When I found I was still growing younger, I decided that John was too old for me, so I broke the engagement, disappeared for a while, and have now returned as a different young lady and have won Jack's heart. But I want you to keep me at my present age, because if I keep getting younger at this rate, I don't know what I shall do.

Starting point is 08:19:30 I don't want to have to go back to school again. But my dear madam, exclaimed the doctor in dismay, I have not yet succeeded in finding the antidote. I am no more able to keep you from getting younger than mankind was able before my time to keep you from getting older. Don't call me, madam, please, interrupted the young girl. It would seem so strange if anyone should hear you. Please do your very best for me.

Starting point is 08:19:55 Meanwhile, I want to ask permission to come and live with you as your niece. people are very suspicious of a young girl of 18 who lives all by herself and has difficulty in furnishing references. I also want you to have free access to my safe deposit vault, for I experience more and more trouble in doing business with the banks. By the way, doctor, why don't you try some of your own elixir? You must have been a handsome man when you were young. Perhaps I might marry you instead of Jack. Tut-tut, young lady, don't talk so. I shall be only too glad to have you as my niece, and to take charge of your affairs, but I am afraid you will

Starting point is 08:20:28 prove something of a handful to the man who marries you. Besides, I haven't yet found the antidote that will check your growing younger, and I have no desire to go back to babyhood with you. Matters were accordingly arranged, and next day Dr. Hackensaw's niece, Linda, came to live with him. But alas, she kept growing younger and younger at such a rapid rate that she was soon obliged to go away and return as her own younger sister. But even this subterfuge was not sufficient. The doctor was obliged to have two apartments and keep moving from one to the other as a series of new nieces, each younger than the last, came to visit him. Mrs. Linda Young was now a little girl of eight, but curiously enough she still retained the memories she had possessed before her

Starting point is 08:21:15 rejuvenation. Just as in old age, memories of our youth cling to us, so in her return to youth her adult memories remained, though somewhat obscured. Linda's great dread was that she would have to sent back to school again. Fancy, a woman of 85, and a married woman at that, having to go back to school as a girl of eight. Retaining, as she did all the memories of a lifetime, think of having to sit all day at a desk surrounded by children studying their first reader. The thought was maddening. She had no desire of passing as an infant prodigy, and she begged the doctor to hasten his experiments. "'Unless you make haste, she cried, I shall be a baby again before you know it.' Necessity urges.

Starting point is 08:22:02 The poor doctor needed no urging. He saw the troubles ahead as plainly as she did. The microbes were, of course, multiplying now with lightning-like rapidity. The increase was in geometric progression. At the start, there had been only the few microbes injected in Mrs. Young's arm. These had grown and split into double the number. The third generation had doubled again, and so the increase went on. Now the change was so rapid that the doctor was obliged to keep Linda confined in her room and attend to all her wants himself.

Starting point is 08:22:35 He had no longer the resource of hiring a new servant every day, for even in one day the change was perceptible. Day and night did he work, using Linda's room as a laboratory, seeking for the much-wished-for antidote. Surely there must be some means of checking or destroying these new microbes without injuring the body tissues. But the days passed by, and the doctor found. nothing. When Linda reached the age of four, the doctor resolved on heroic measures. No longer satisfied with experimenting on animals, he determined to experiment on the child herself. He tried everything he could think of, even to the transfusion of blood from an elderly person. But in spite of these efforts, Linda became a babbling eight-month-old baby, incapable of making her once known,

Starting point is 08:23:21 except by simple gestures. She could, however, answer Dr. Hackensaw's questions by a first or negative gestures, so by calling off the letters of the alphabet in turn, he could learn any of her wishes. She retained her liking for cigarettes and cocktails, and it was curious to see this eight-month-old baby attempting to smoke a cigarette or sucking a cocktail from her milk bottle. One day, she asked to see her children and grandchildren, wishing to be held by each in turn, and she took a malicious pleasure in striking them and scratching their faces to make up for the many times they had done the same to her when they were babies. And still, she grew younger. Dr. Hackensaw would spend hours pacing the floor with his baby widow in his arms reading her the

Starting point is 08:24:05 newspaper or passages from Milton's Paradise Lost. Meanwhile, his powerful brain was striving hard to devise some means to check the fatal catastrophe that seemed about to terminate the experiment which had begun so favorably. When the baby was only five days old, Dr. Hackensaw prepared a baby incubator, and by the time she was minus one day old, she was duly installed in her new dwelling. Her rate of rejuvenation had now decreased, and she went back through the prenatal ages at about the same rate as she had originally come through them 85 years previously. When the fetus was about seven months old, Dr. Hackensaw transferred it to a glass jar full of a suitable culture fluid,

Starting point is 08:24:53 and watched with growing anxiety as she reverted to the tadpole stage with a well-developed tail and gill slits. It was evident that Mrs. Young would soon be nothing more than the original egg cell from which she had started. And then what would happen?

Starting point is 08:25:08 Would she vanish into nothingness? Dr. Hackensaw determined on one final effort. He had carefully preserved the few drops of blood he had originally taken from the lady's arm. The fetus was now so minute it could only contain a relatively small number of the microbes of youth. The doctor resolved to risk everything in one final attempt.

Starting point is 08:25:31 By the use of an anesthetic, he endeavored to stop the activities of the microbes and then introduced into the fetus the drops of blood he had preserved. And then, he waited. Anxiously, he watched. To his joy, he saw that the process of growing younger had ceased. two three days passed and then the fetus began to grow again in the normal manner nine months later mrs young was a normal baby again but her rate of growth now was that of an ordinary child and she was obliged to pass through all the phases of childhood and youth and finally At the age of 20, or rather when 105 years old, married James Trimble, the grandson of the man to whom she had been originally engaged.

Starting point is 08:26:22 But Dr. Hackensaw gave up his search for the secret of perpetual youth. Of course, to a scientist, it would be a great advantage to remain alive and young for a thousand years or more. On the other hand, think what a disadvantage it would be to the human race if all men had an indefinite, tenure of life. Progress would be greatly checked, for old ideas and habits are difficult to eradicate. It is the new generations freed from the prejudices of their parents that carry the race forward. Then, too, the physical and mental powers of the race would remain stationary. It is by the survival of the fittest in the past ages, that man has obtained his wonderful intellectual powers, and it is only by the survival of the fittest in coming generations.

Starting point is 08:27:10 that he can hope to increase them. End of Section 25. Section 26 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Jen Broda.

Starting point is 08:27:44 Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi. The Secret of the Mermaid. Author's note, For many years, our surgeons have been able to perform astonishing feats in grafting one part of the body upon another, and even one animal upon another, a live rat having been grafted upon the back of a cat, the pair living in harmony together.

Starting point is 08:28:10 Of recent years, still more wonderful feats have been accomplished. Dr. Alexis Carell, of the Rockefeller Institute, Institute of Research, having succeeded in keeping detached portions of the body alive for months in suitable solutions. Dr. Correll was also very successful in transplanting organs from one animal to another. He even received the Nobel Prize for his method of suturing the blood vessels of the parts together. It is therefore safe to say that operations, such as the one I have mentioned in this story, will at no distant date be matters of everyday routine. and will seem as commonplace as the fact that we can now converse by telephone with friends hundreds of miles away.

Starting point is 08:28:56 Prologue The circus performance was at its height. The trained seals had performed their wonderful feats of catching and balancing balls, and now it was the turn of the high diver, Miss Ola Podrida, as she was called on the bills. Her real name was Olive Bird. But Olive had been changed to Ola. And Ola Podrida, literally the Spanish for A Little of Everything, had struck the manager as making an attractive stage name for the young girl.

Starting point is 08:29:28 Dr. Hakensaw had brought his little girl, Hoochie, to witness the performance, and the pair sat in a box in the front row close to the arena. Hoochie enjoyed the trained animals and the funny clowns, but when she saw Miss Ola Podrida climbed the ladder to a great height and prepare for her much-advertised diving feet, Ho Chi closed her eyes to shut out the fearful sight. And then, the unexpected happened. For months, Ola had performed her act successfully,

Starting point is 08:30:00 but today something was wrong. Either she was not feeling altogether well, or something was wrong with the diving platform, for her foot slipped just as she was making the plunge, and it was apparent to all that she was falling so wildly that she would inevitably fall some distance away from the tank. A gasp of horror went up from the spectators at the sight. The poor girl did not altogether lose her head.

Starting point is 08:30:27 Her acrobatic training had prepared her for emergencies, so she managed to turn in the air so as to strike the ground feet foremost. But the height was too great, and her crushed and senseless body lay bruised upon the ground. Dr. Hackensaw was over the railing in a moment, and was the first man to reach her. He immediately took command of things and had the girl carried on a litter to his house,

Starting point is 08:30:52 which was fortunately close at hand. Here he had all the instruments necessary for a major operation. A quick examination convinced the doctor that the girl's injuries need not necessarily prove fatal. Her success in landing feet foremost had saved her from serious internal injuries. But both her legs were badly crushed and must be amputated without delay.

Starting point is 08:31:17 Fetch me the man who owns the trained seals, cried Dr. Hackensaw to his servant, and bring with you the largest seal, the only hope of saving the girl's life lies in my having one of the seals at once. I must buy the animal from the owner at any price. Half an hour later, in operation was performed on the unconscious girl, in operation the like of which had never before been attempted in scientific annals.

Starting point is 08:31:43 1. Mr. Percy Fitzmaurice was taking a stroll in the country one fine spring afternoon, and was enjoying the odors of the flowers and the songs of the birds, when suddenly, far sweeter than the song of any bird, came the tones of a soprano voice singing divinely. Percy was enchanted. He was a lover of music, and there was something wonderfully clear and melodious in the tones. Evidently, it was the voice of some young girl whose blood had been sent coursing through her veins by the advent of spring. For the song of a young girl, like that of the birds, is nothing but a love

Starting point is 08:32:24 call to some unknown mate. If I were living in the old days, thought Percy, I would feel sure that this was the song of a siren and was intended to lead me to my destruction. Here in New Jersey, however, in the 20th century, no such explanation as possible. I'm bound, however, to have a peep at that young lady, even if I die for it. It was not an easy matter, however, to get a peep, for the road was bordered by a long high wall that enclosed some wealthy man's estate, and the voice came from behind the wall. This place must belong to some exclusive millionaire, was Percy's inward comment. It must be his daughter who is singing. Well, perhaps I'll be Prince Charming and win the fair maid in half her father's kingdom. Percy glanced up and down the road and chanced to spy a painter's ladder

Starting point is 08:33:18 standing against a barn, not far distant. Without asking for leave, the adventurous young man grabbed the ladder, scaled the wall, and then placing the ladder on the opposite side, climbed down into the private grounds. This part of the enclosure was very wild, many trees and shrubs forming a dense wood. Into this thicket, Percy cautiously advanced in the direction of the voice, and soon came within sight of a small lake. But what was his astonishment to behold, in the middle of the lake, a beautiful young lady of about 18, swimming about gracefully in the water, but occasionally pausing with her breast and arms well out of the water, and her long hair flowing loose about her shoulders. It didn't seem possible that a human girl could remain so far out

Starting point is 08:34:07 of the water, and again Percy found himself involuntarily thinking of the sirens and the mermaids of bygone days. And to add to this belief, every once in a while, he would perceive what certainly looked like a mermaid's tail thrashing up out of the water. In silent wonderment, Percy gazed, and then all his doubts were set at rest. The creature swam to a rock by the side of the lake and clambered out in full sight, only ten yards away from the spot where the young man stood, and once more from her throat thrilled forth the wonderful melody that had so entranced the young man. There was no longer any possible doubt. Percy rubbed his eyes again and again, but there could be no questioning of the fact that this was a genuine mermaid. The upper part of the creature was the

Starting point is 08:34:58 finely molded body of a beautiful young woman, but instead of lakes, she had an evident tail, a tail exactly resembling that of a seal. Percy stood riveted to the spot, until the song began and then forgetting everything, he came forward to the border of the lake. But at the sight of him, the girl uttered a wild shriek and dive down into the water below. Percy rushed to the spot and looked down into the clear depths, but no sign of the creature could he see. She had vanished mysteriously, and though he waited an hour, not a trace of her could he find. As dusk was coming on, he unwillingly climbed the wall again and returned to his hotel. He said nothing of his adventure, but at table that evening, he inquired of pep

Starting point is 08:35:49 Perkins, who happened to be staying at the same hotel, who the owner of the villa was. Oh, that, cried Pep, why that's old Doc Hackensaw's place. The country people, all around here, are afraid to go anywhere near that stone wall. They tell all kinds of queer stories about the mysteries to be found on the doctor's place. But he's a good friend of mine, and I know he wouldn't harm a fly. Do you really know him? cried Percy eagerly. Could you get me an introduction to him? Know him why I should smile. The old doc eats out of my hand. Sure, I'll introduce you. I'm invited to dinner there tomorrow, and I'll take you along as an escort. I'll be glad to have you, because the dock has invited a rich young fellow, and I want you to keep the dock busy and give me a chance to get the

Starting point is 08:36:44 young fellow to myself. Two. Glad to meet you, Mr. Fitzmores, said Dr. Hackensaw. Any friend of Miss Pepps is a friend of mine. I am at work just now on some experiments in grafting, the grafting of animals, you understand, not of plants. The subject has always had an extreme fascination for me. The subject of grafting is closely related to that of the regeneration of lost parts.

Starting point is 08:37:12 In fact, it was the study of the study of the last. ladder that first led me to take up grafting in real earnest. I'm afraid I don't exactly understand what you mean by the regeneration of lost parts, said Percy diffidently. I mean simply this, that many plants and most of the lower animals possess the power of growing a new part to replace a part that has been cut off. For example, a florist will cut off a slip from a geranium and plant it, an entire new geranium plant will grow from the slip. Sometimes it is sufficient to plant a small bit of geranium leaf. This sends forth roots and grows into a complete plant. Theoretically, a single cell of the plant ought to be enough for a start. Now, in the like manner, the lower animals also possess the power

Starting point is 08:38:04 of growing new parts. When a lobster breaks off one of his claws, a new claw immediately starts to grow in its place. When a lizard is caught by a snake, it escapes by breaking off its tail. It then grows a new tail in order to be ready for the next snake. The salamander can likewise grow a new leg, and certain low forms of animal life can even grow a new eye if they lose the old one. In warm-blooded animals and in man, this power of replacing a lost organ is very limited. No bird or mammal has the power of replacing even the end joint of a toe. if it's lost. Their power of regeneration is confined to the reuniting of a broken bone or the replacement of the flesh in a wound that is not too deep. Evidently, this regeneration of parts is merely a question of

Starting point is 08:38:56 growth. When you cut off a lizard's tail, why does not a new leg grow on the spot instead of a new tail? And why does it grow to the same size as the old one? These are problems that are not yet solved. Scientists say that when the organ has grown to the proper size and shape, further growth is checked by inhibition. Inhibition? What's that? The body, like any other organization, has headquarters from which orders are sent out for the purpose of coordinating all the parts and making each do its proper share of the work at the proper time. When, for instance, the stomach has digested a meal, the flow of digestive juices is automatically stopped or inhibited. Now it is believed, at least by certain scientists, that in like manner, when the lizard's

Starting point is 08:39:49 new tail has grown to the proper size, the growth is automatically checked in much the same way. To me, there seems absolutely no reason why a man should not be able to grow a new arm or leg when the old one is cut off. Why should he be inferior in this respect to the lobster? and the salamander. The power of growth and multiplication of a cell is practically unlimited. Talk of immortality. As a matter of fact, every animal or plant alive today is but the continuous outgrowth from the primitive cell that formed the amoeba from which every living being has sprung. Every man's life has really been continuous for millions of years. Were you successful in your experiments, Doctor?

Starting point is 08:40:35 Unfortunately, no. All of my attempts to cause a new limb to grow failed. I followed in the footsteps of Dr. Alexis Corell. You have probably heard of his experiments. He succeeded in preparing a solution in which an amputated arm or leg may be kept alive for months. Other tissues, when placed in the solution, will not only live, but grow. I became convinced that here was the key I was seeking, and that if I could only hit on the correct treatment, I could place a guinea pig with an amputated leg in the solution and cause new leg tissue to grow until the damage was completely repaired. So far I have met with no success.

Starting point is 08:41:19 I find the bones, especially, a great stumbling block, for the growth of bone is not easily coordinated with the growth of tissue. Someday I hope to succeed. There is no reason why new cartilaginous bone and tissue should not be formed at the same speed as they are in the fetus or unborn animal. But my results were so unsatisfactory that I had to turn my attention to a more promising field, namely grafting. Every gardener knows how to graft one plant on another. The grafting of a part of one animal on another animal has also been successfully accomplished. In fact, the art was

Starting point is 08:41:58 successfully practiced many years ago. The so-called rhinoceros rat is a rat with the end of the tail of another rat grafted on its head and growing there. In the old-time German student duels, when a man's nose happened to be sliced off, a new nose was grown by making an incision in the man's arm, placing the nose in this incision, and tying the arm in place until the nose and arm had united. when a new nose was carved out of the tissue of the arm. The modern method is to cut a flap of skin from the forehead and bend it down and grafted on the mutilated stump of the nose. Of recent years, far more wonderful results have been obtained.

Starting point is 08:42:43 Dr. Alexis Corell, for example, has succeeded in grafting the leg of one dog in place of the amputated leg of another. He even succeeded in the much more difficult task of transplanting the kidneys of one animal to another. His success was largely due to his having found the means of making an almost perfect union of the veins and arteries of the individual with those of the other. He, however, failed completely when he tried to transplant the kidneys of a dog to a cat, or those of a cat to a dog. An important fact is that the younger the animal, the more easily

Starting point is 08:43:21 is the graft made. In the prenatal or embryotic stage, Practically any amount of grafting can be performed. Jaffaixir once wrote a book on monstrosities. If you want the wildest kind of a nightmare, you need only look at the pictures of the human monstrosities which have resulted from the natural union of two unborn babies in the womb. Everyone has heard of the Siamese twins,

Starting point is 08:43:47 which were thus united by a ligament. Caves with two heads and chickens with four legs are not uncommon. Evidently, two egg cells, in developing, have thus grown together to form one individual. But enough of this talk, Mr. Fitzmores. If you will accompany me, I will show you some of my practical results. Dr. Hackensaw led the way, and Percy obediently followed. Pen after pen of monstrosities were exhibited. Freaks such as a circus would have given a fortune to possess. Among other things was an animal with the horns of a cow, the head of a horse, the body of an ostrich, and the legs and arms of a monkey, while the tail was a snake's body without the head.

Starting point is 08:44:35 To enumerate the creatures would be impossible. Large and small animals were there, vertebrates and invertebrates. It was a collection such as would make a man think he was back in the old days when there was no prohibition. To see a dog's body, with three living heads of cats grafted on it, gave Percy quite a shock, and yet it was only one of the least of the curiosities exhibited. Are you able to graft a warm-blooded animal with a cold-blooded one? asked Percy. Yes, replied the doctor, but in such cases I have to use an intermediate graft. For instance, I couldn't graft a dog and a codfish together,

Starting point is 08:45:18 but by grafting the dog on a marsupial, that is to say, on an opossum or a kangaroo, and the opossum on a reptile, I can then graft the reptile on the fish. Of course, each graft must be allowed to unite properly before the new one is made. I have even succeeded in grafting animals on plants by using as intermediate graphs, such low forms of invertebrates as the sponges. "'Dr.' asked Percy, coming at last to the point which was uppermost in his mind. "'Haven't you any human beings grafted in this manner?' "'Dr. Hackensaw frowned.

Starting point is 08:45:57 "'I don't perform my experiments with humans,' he answered shortly. "'Only in cases of absolute necessity would I resort to such a step. "'I'm sorry I haven't time to show you any more today, but I must get to work.' "'Rebuffed in this direction, Percy nevertheless did not. give up hope. He determined to climb over the wall again and try to get another glimpse of the mermaid. But though he came every afternoon for a week, he neither heard her song nor did see her in the lake. His first appearance had evidently frightened her. But Percy was persistent. Perhaps I'd better try at nighttime, he thought. I may have better luck then. So stepping into his fliver, Percy started off

Starting point is 08:46:43 for the doctor's villa. Not wishing to run the risk of frightening the girl by the sound of his machine, Percy stopped the car some distance away from the spot where he had before clambered over the stone wall. And then, to his surprise, he heard a voice cry out. I've got her, Bill. Crank up, quick! This was followed by a girl's piercing shriek, muffled at once by a heavy hand over her mouth. Hurry up there, Bill! Get away from here before anyone comes! The auto began chugging, and then came thundering toward Percy at a terrific rate. What could Percy do? He pressed his starter and had a wild impulse to place his car in the middle of the road

Starting point is 08:47:23 in order to block the villains. But this might mean instant death to the girl as well as to himself. Then an inspiration came to him, and seizing his spotlight, he turned the glare full in the eyes of the approaching chauffeur. The result was instantaneous. The driver blinded, at once slowed up. speed, but unable to see the road, had not gone 50 feet when the machine dashed out of the roadway and went crashing against the stone wall. The windshield shivered into fragments, and the chauffeur,

Starting point is 08:47:56 thrown against his steering wheel, was lucky to escape with no damage except a couple of broken ribs. As for the other villain, Percy was upon him in an instant, and with one blow knocked him senseless. Then he turned to the released girl in the auto, who was screeed. mean at the top of her lungs. The young man lost no time. He grabbed her in his arms, and then to his surprise, he realized that this was no ordinary girl. It was the mermaid whom he had seen in the pond. Wild with delight, Percy carried her to his own car, and then started off at full speed for the entrance to Dr. Hackensaw's grounds. Dr. Hackensaw was reading in his library, but at the sound of the violent honking of the auto, he came out to see what was

Starting point is 08:48:43 the matter. Percy, carrying the girl in his arms, unceremoniously entered the house, and depositing his burden on a sofa, explained matters in a few words. Dr. Hackensaw thanked him warmly, and then proceeded to explain matters in his turn. You see, Percy, he said, when you asked me last week whether I had ever made any human grafts, I refused to answer you. That was because I did not wish the existence of this young lady known. Let me introduce you. This is Miss Ola Podrida, one of the acrobats of Mr. Lyon's circus. Some months ago, Ola, while performing a high dive at the circus, unfortunately slipped and had a bad fall crushing both her legs. I happened to be in the audience, and I saw at once that there was no hope in saving either of her limbs. On the other hand,

Starting point is 08:49:36 if I cut them off, her entire future would be ruined. Think of what life would be to a young girl with both legs cut off close to her body. Then I happened to think of the trained seals that had just been performing. Here was a chance to perform a human graft, for the seal is a warm-blooded animal. Accordingly, I was careful to amputate the girl's legs in such a fashion that it was easy to graft to them the tail of one of the seals. I was greatly pleased. is to find that the graph succeeded admirably. And this explains how it is that Ola is now a mermaid instead of an ordinary girl. She was always very fond of the water and enjoys nothing so much as a swim in the lake. Unfortunately, she has a beautiful voice and she will insist on singing. I don't know who these

Starting point is 08:50:27 villains can be who tried to kidnap her. I presume they heard her singing and climbed over the fence. When they saw Ola, they probably thought they could sell her to some circus for a good round sum. I shall try to have them arrested, so they will not be a menace in the future. My servants are attending to that now. And dismiss Ola to remain a mermaid all her life? As Percy glancing at the young girl, who had covered herself with a shawl, and who now glanced shyly back at him. No, thank heaven, I was just keeping her in that form until her two new legs are

Starting point is 08:51:02 ready. Her two new legs? echoed Percy in surprise. Yes, I am growing two new legs to fit her. For many years I have been working on this problem, and I knew that someday I should need something of the sort. So, from fertilized ova, I have grown a varied assortment of pairs of legs and arms of different sizes to be used when occasion requires. At the time of the accident, I had none on hand that were quite ready. There is, however, a suitable pair of legs that will be ready next week. I shall then cut off her seals tail and graft legs in its stead. In a few months, she will be able to run about and even dance as well as ever, in fact, better, for I warrant the new legs will be an improvement on the old ones. And now, Percy, as the operation will require Miss Ola to be confined to her room for some weeks

Starting point is 08:51:56 to come, and as the time will hang heavy on her hands, I hope you will call often to cheer her up. I certainly will, cried the young man, and the young lady rewarded him with a smile as she renewed her thanks to him for what he had done for her. The grafting of the new legs was a success from the very start, but it was fully three months before the young lady regained complete control of her limbs. When she did, she did not return to the circus. however, for by that time Percy had persuaded her to change her name from Olipodreda to Mrs. Percy Fitzmores

Starting point is 08:52:35 End of Section 26 Section 27 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org read by Greg Rolland. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi, the secret of size. Authors note, what causes size? Why in a normal family will a dwarf occasionally be born,

Starting point is 08:53:13 while in another normal family a giant will suddenly appear? What causes these exceptions? Every abnormal growth, every monstrosity has its reason for being, and the function of science is to discover these causes. Once known, we may prevent these growths, Or, if we so desire, we may produce giants and dwarfs at will. Here I am again, Dr. cried Silas Rocket, gaily entering the laboratory. My newspaper, The New York Daily Growl, wants some particulars in regard to your giant rabbits. What particulars do you want? In the first place, is it true that you have live rabbits the size of an ox?

Starting point is 08:53:56 Yes, it's perfectly true. Next, my editor wants to know how you produce. these creatures. Ah, Silas, it was no easy job, simple as the matter really is, but I got started on the wrong track. For years I have been seeking to discover why it is that an occasional giant or dwarf is born, but it was only after long research that I discovered the secret of size. Still, I finally solved the problems, and I have some specimens of my work at my country place in New Jersey that I am sure will interest you. The secret of size, echoed Silas, what is the secret?

Starting point is 08:54:34 Dr. Hackensaw smiled. That's a thing that has puzzled many a scientist, and all kinds of theories have been advanced to account for abnormally large or small growths. Still, in general, scientific men believe the cause of the occasional production of giants and dwarfs to lie in metabolism. They consider it the effect of animalism and catabolism.

Starting point is 08:54:58 What? Metabolism. To speak more simply, they consider the question one of nutrition or food. Animalism is the building up of tissue and catabolism is its destruction. If an animal or plant gets a great deal of food and can assimilate it, it grows to giant size. On the other hand, if it is starved, it remains small. It is dwarfed. Nonsense, cried Silas Rocket.

Starting point is 08:55:26 Do you mean to tell me that if I fed a baby rabbit and a baby elephant the same amount of grass, the rabbit would grow to the size of the elephant? A question of assimilation. Yes, if it could properly assimilate the food, otherwise you would merely kill it. The theory of metabolism is the true one, but I did not find it of much assistance. True, we see examples of it every day. The weeds around a manure heap, for instance, grow taller and rancor than normal. In fact, I have seen such plants grow to three or four times the usual size.

Starting point is 08:56:05 A man three or four times the normal size would be a giant 18 to 20 feet high. In the case mentioned, the amount of food seems of itself to be sufficient to produce the excess of growth. On the other hand, there are also well-authenticated cases with regard to dwarfed plants. The Japanese, for instance, achieved considerable success in producing dwarf trees. They produce dwarf apple trees about one foot high, perfectly formed in every respect, and bearing real apples. These miniature trees are produced, I'm told, by giving the young plant barely food and moisture enough to keep it alive. It thus grows for years and years and yet remains diminutive in size. How about alcohol?

Starting point is 08:56:53 I thought animals were stunted by giving them alcohol. Yes, the case is somewhat similar. Formerly, it was a common practice to keep pet dogs small by administering suitable doses of alcohol. This seemed to check the proper assimilation of food and therefore the growth of tissue. Certain scientists have claimed that the pineal gland in the brain determined the size of the animal,

Starting point is 08:57:15 but this theory may be disregarded. Very little is known about the peniolent so that it makes a very convenient nucleus to hang any theory on, and all sorts of powers have been attributed to it. Here Dr. Hackensaw paused for a moment, and then continued. I had not carried on my experience long before I became convinced that the question of size was one of nutrition, and yet not quite in the way ordinarily imagined. An experiment I made with dogs led me to view the matter in the proper light.

Starting point is 08:57:47 You have probably seen the pet dogs the ladies are so fond of, the toy Pomeranians, small enough to be cuddled in one hen? Well, it struck me that here among dogs, where we have giants like great Danes and St. Bernard's and dwarfs like the Pomeranian, there was a fruitful field for research work. I accordingly took a fertilized ovum of a toy Pomeranian and one of a collie and introduced both of those into the womb of an ordinary-sized dog. When she gave birth to the puppies there were, as I had anticipated, a Pomeranian and a cocky, The former remained small. The latter grew to normal size. Both had received the same nourishment in the mother. Evidently, difference extended further back. It extended as far back as the fertilized egg. Here, on the very verge of success, I was nonplussed and I got off on the wrong track. If, thought I, I could change every one of an animal's cells to double or triple their normal size, the animal itself should be two or three times its regular size. And if, on the other hand, I could reduce the size of each cell, the animal itself would

Starting point is 08:58:59 be dwarfed. The theory was very plausible, but it led me nowhere. All my experiments in this direction failed. At this juncture, I chanced to read the result of some of the experiments made by Dr. Dries on fish eggs and by Jacques Loeb on the eggs of the sea urchin. Dr. Dries cut a fish's egg in two and succeeded in growing a complete fish from each half-egg, one egg thus producing two fish. Jacques Loeb carried the experiment a step further. He took a sea urchin's egg, raised it until it had reached the 16 cell stage, and then cut it into 16 pieces. He raised each of these cells separately, and thus succeeded in raising 16 sea urchins from a single egg that would normally have produced only one animal. But, and here was the ray that threw light on my problem,

Starting point is 08:59:54 the sea urchins, when mature, were smaller than the normal size. They had not had enough capital to start with, and had remained dwarfs. Size is evidently a question of nutrition, but the problem has to be referred back to the egg stage. Dwarfs also. Science has also succeeded in doing the very reverse. Experiments have taken two separate eggs, joined them together into one, and hatched a single individual out of this double egg. And this individual, as might have been expected, was larger than the normal. Ample capital at the start had given it an advantage in the race for life. My problem was solved.

Starting point is 09:00:38 You mean to say that you can produce dwarf or giant animals and plants at will? Precisely. To produce a miniature size. St. Bernard dog, for instance, I take a fertilized egg cell from an ordinary female dog of the species. I grow this ovum in a test tube in a suitable culture fluid and keep separating the new cells as they form. In this manner, I can, from a single egg cell, produce a hundred or more dwarf dogs. If I want a giant dog, I reverse the process. I take a number of fertilized egg cells, join them all into one single large cell,

Starting point is 09:01:17 grow this to maturity. Is it as simple as all that? Simple. It is exceedingly complex and many curious problems are involved. For example, I can produce a dozen giant dogs from a single egg. I grow this egg to the 16 cell stage, then unite these 16 cells into one large cell and grow this to the 16 cell stage and so continue indefinitely. This I find most useful when breeding thoroughbred stock. From a single egg from the most perfect animals, I can produce a hundred young the same size as the parents, or larger or smaller if desired. I can also produce freak animals. I can join an egg cell that would ordinarily produce a male with a cell that would produce a female and thus combine the two different cells into a single egg.

Starting point is 09:02:12 Again, this method enables me to make marvelous crosses and produce hybrids impossible in nature. I can join the egg cell of an elephant with that of a mouse and get a freak animal any size I desire. I can combine a dozen different animals together in this way. In fact, I have hybrids of the whale, the rhinoceros, the dog, the cat, the ostrich, and the salmon. all joined together into a single animal. It makes the most wonderful combination. But to return to the subject in hand, I would say that I have completely mastered the question of size. I am now able to produce chickens as large as ostriches, pigs as large as rhinoceroses, and cows as large as some of the extinct antediluvian monsters.

Starting point is 09:03:03 There is no danger now of our supply ever running short. A ham will last a family for a month, A hen's egg will feed a dinner party, while one cow will give enough milk to supply a dairy. How do you milk your giant cows? asked the reporter. Some problems. Dr. Hackensaw smiled reminiscently. That, Silas, was no easy problem, said he. My hired help were all afraid to go near the huge creatures that could crush them to a pulp by inadvertently stepping on them, and whose 24-foot-long tail could swish them over like not.

Starting point is 09:03:40 pins. Just think of having to milk a bronosaurus twice a day. Ordinary methods of milking would of course be impossible. I have to use a milking machine somewhat like that used in large dairies. I had even to devise special stalls for the beast so that men could attend to them without danger from their horns, hoofs, or tail. What about your other giant productions? My gigantic productions are especially useful for furnishing a plentiful supply of tidbits. For instance, my quail are so large that a single individual will supply quail on toast sufficient for a banquet. My frog legs weigh several pounds a piece. The liver from a single goose will make 1,728 times as much paté de foie gras

Starting point is 09:04:31 as that of an ordinary goose, and so on. 1,728, echoed Silas, isn't that pretty close figuring, yes, but you see, I find it convenient as a rule to make my products on the scale of a foot to the inch. Consequently, an animal is 12 times the usual length, and its cubical dimensions and weight are 1,728 times the normal ones. For my insects, I increased this proportion considerably, as I wished large specimens for the purpose of study. A giant fly, a giant mosquito and a giant spider afforded to be much valuable information. Unfortunately, the spider got away one day and found its way into an old maid's meeting. They called themselves the ClickClick Society on account of the busyness of their knitting needles,

Starting point is 09:05:24 but Knits dubbed them the Clack Clack Society, or even the Cluck Cluck Society, claiming their tongues wagged faster than their needles. Well, my giant spider got in among those elderly. spinsters and broke up the meeting. Reliable eyewitnesses declared that the display of hosery and lingerie on that occasion was more wonderful than any ever before seen in town. As for my earthworms, well, my chauffeur Pat came across a bunch of these Wrigley giants one day and declared he had never seen anything like it, at least not since prohibition came into effect. Giant Plants How about your giant plants? asked Scythe.

Starting point is 09:06:10 The plants gave me considerable trouble. The seeds had the habit of getting scattered around, and as they grew into giant plants, this naturally gave the farmer considerable trouble. My most valuable results were obtained with wheat. In this instance, I exceeded my 12-1 limit, for my grains of wheat are about the size of musk melons. A single grain will furnish a good-sized family bread for several days. My giant fruits, too, are remarkably handy for the kitchen. My huckleberries and currants are the size of small melons, which makes it easy to extract the pits. My cherries are as large as pumpkins?

Starting point is 09:06:52 It doesn't take long to pick them, but you've got to be careful, as one of them falling on your head would make you see more stars than are shown by an ordinary telescope. All in all, my fruits are a wonderful success, and you must taste some of them. I meant to start canning them, but have too many demands for the natural fruit. You mustn't believe, however, that I was satisfied with merely increasing the size of our ordinary articles of food. I wanted to go further. I wanted to experiment with those animals and plants which are now too small to be of any value to man, yet which might prove valuable of increased in size. But why am I chattering away here?

Starting point is 09:07:32 Just step into my airplane, and at less than half an hour we shall be at my time. Jersey farm and there in five minutes you will get a better idea of my giants and dwarfs than you would from a whole volumes of talk the menagerie was indeed an interesting place some 30 miles from New York City dr. Hackensaw had started a Brobdenagian farm trees but a few years old were there yet they towered higher than the gigantic California redwood trees the grass of the pasture was the height of ordinary corn Giant animals and plants of many varieties were present. There were numerous outlandish-looking species, which the reporter did not recognize, they being enlargements of insects and microscopic animicules.

Starting point is 09:08:20 Here, too, was an aquarium with sardines as large as salmon, and salmon as large as small whales, while, on the other hand, a diminutive sperm whale was about the size of a minnow. Microves. What in the world are those? asked Silas, pointing to a row of tanks in which certain nondescript species were floating in a peculiar fluid. Dr. Hackensaw chuckled. Those are my pets. Those are giant bacteria and bacilli. I have here the disease germs of cholera, malaria, yellow fever, and of many other illnesses.

Starting point is 09:08:55 I can study them much better than I could through a microscope and learn their life history and the effects of remedial agencies. Many of fact have I learned that will be of the great greatest use in medicine as well as in the arts. For you must know the microbes play a most important role in the industrial arts. In fact, life itself would not be possible without them. I am gradually accumulating giant specimens of the most important species, and I confidently expect to revolutionize many branches of science by the knowledge I thus gain. Then, too, since each part of the animal is increased in proper proportion, I am unable to study the anatomy of the various works. The red blood corpuscles and the phagocytes that attack the disease germs, the various tissues, the glands in their secretions, and the poisons and antitoxins, and the serums. I can likewise study the changes produced by disease. In short, an entirely new world is open up to scientific investigation. How about your dwarfs?

Starting point is 09:09:57 They are not so useful, and I have made comparatively few of them. That four-year-old baby giant you see over there is looking at it. is looking at his own twin brother, a four-year-old dwarf held in the palm of his nurse's hand, yet both were grown from the same egg. Quite a contrast between the two, isn't there? The first child, 15 feet high and his twin brother about five inches in height. If I had made him a little smaller, I could carry him around in my pocket and pass him through a keyhole whenever I wanted to know what was in a locked room.

Starting point is 09:10:31 He would be an invaluable assistant for a gang of criminal. Behind him you will see a bull moose, small enough to fit into a coffee cup, but just as savage as if he were full-size. See how he comes budding at my shoe? And with the words, the doctor stooped down and picked up the frantic animal in his hand and exhibited it, kicking and struggling, before he set it down again. A dream. Last night, Silas continued the doctor, I had a most peculiar dream. I dreamt that I had succeeded in making a human midget the size of a microbe. I had a hard job teaching him to speak, but managed it in this way.

Starting point is 09:11:11 He spoke to me through a loud talker, while I answered him through a special instrument I invented to reduce sounds. Then I encased him in a microscopic submarine and ejected him into the blood of a rabbit, with instructions to observe and report to me all that he saw on his trip. Of course, in his submarine, he could pass unharmed. through the circulation and visit the different organs of the body in turn. I especially wished him to study the digestion and the action of disease germs and the antibodies. I followed his course and by means of an x-ray apparatus and after a week's trip I removed him

Starting point is 09:11:48 from the rabbit's body and was gloating in anticipation over the wonderful account I was about to receive when I was taken aback by the yowling of a cat on the back fence. Wouldn't that jar you? The day following the one on which the above conversation took place, the New York Daily growl appeared with the following glaring headlines. Menagerie of giant beasts let loose, escape of Dr. Hackensaw's gigantic animals. Cow, the size of brontosaurus, running wild in Harlem. The fact of the matter was that the giant cow had broken loose and had butted down the wall of the enclosure, and giant rabbits, chickens, dogs, and whatnot had made their escape and wild.

Starting point is 09:12:29 were terrifying women and children in the suburbs. Men with shotguns and pitchforks chased the intruders and the police too took a hand. But it was not till a regiment of soldiers organized a systemic hunt for these fugitives that the last of the giant beast was slain. Dr. Hackensohn saw cheerfully paid all the damages, but he was inconsolable with the loss of his cherished menagerie, the result of many years of patient work. End of Section 27. Read by Greg Rolan. Section number 28 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets.

Starting point is 09:13:11 This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Russell Packer. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizandi. Around the World in 80 Hours Prologue Yes, Mr. Sharp,

Starting point is 09:13:37 I'll guarantee these new airplanes of mine to make an average speed of over 300 miles per hour and to run more than 10 hours without need of making a stop. The speaker was Dr. Hackensaw and the person addressed was a blazay-looking young man whose high position in the government must have been due to strong political poll as the man was evidently utterly unfit for the position he occupied.

Starting point is 09:14:03 Here was Dr. Hackensaw, offering to construct for the government a number of aircraft possessing a speed far greater than that of any machines hitherto constructed, and yet this self-satisfied young fellow was refusing to listen to the proposal. Finally, the worthy doctor lost his temper. Don't you realize, man, said he, that what I am offering you is an opportunity to make our country the greatest military power in the world? I understand your offer all right, returned the young man, laughing. But I strongly doubt your ability to deliver the goods.

Starting point is 09:14:43 In other words, I don't believe your machine will do what you claim for it, and the country has no money to throw away on experiments. If that's all, cried Dr. Hackensaw eagerly, I'll give you any demonstration you want, and prove to you that my new airplanes will make 300 miles an hour or more. Yes, returned the young fellow grinning. Perhaps they will for a few seconds, or a few minutes, with the machine a complete wreck at the end of the experiment.

Starting point is 09:15:15 No, indeed, retorted the doctor, warmly. But tell me plainly, what test would you require? I'll agree to any test you ask. all right replied the young man his grin growing broader you say your machine will travel three hundred miles per hour the distance around the earth is about twenty-five thousand miles hence your machine ought to make the trip in eighty hours when you have made the tour of the world in eighty hours i'll agree to order five hundred of the machines for the government the only stipulation i make is that you make the experiment within the next hundred years years or so. As I am afraid, I may not be on the job longer than that, and the young fellow gaffod at his own wit. Very well, Mr. Sharp, replied Dr. Hackensaw quickly.

Starting point is 09:16:09 I will accept your conditions, and instead of asking you a hundred years, I will agree to make the trip in a fortnight. I am not too old yet to vie with Jules Verne's Phineas Fogg, and to accomplish in 80 hours what took him 80 days, and what took Nellie Blye almost as long. Chapter 1. Doctor! What's this I hear? cried Pep Perkins, bursting into Dr. Hackensaw's sanctum, unannounced, as was her want. Is it true that you're going to make a trip all around the world in three days?

Starting point is 09:16:47 Author's note. When Jules Verne wrote his tour of the world in 80 days, the feat was impossible. Progress has been so rapid, however, that unless this story is published at once, the journey around the world in 80 hours may be an accomplished fact before the story appears. As regards to special phonograph mentioned in the story, it should not be more difficult to make a phonographic record than will produce sounds unlike any known on earth than it is for an artist to draw a picture of things that never existed.

Starting point is 09:17:24 A little more than three days, corrected the doctor, in eighty hours to be more exact. Gee, that will be dandy. Take me along with you, Doc. I'm just dying for some sort of excitement, and a trip around the world like that will bring all the shudder-shooters around me, just as they follow Charlie Chaplin and Mary Pickford around. I'm sorry, Pep, but I can't take you along, replied the doctor. But the young girl, well aware of her power over the worthy man, pretended not to hear their refusal.

Starting point is 09:17:55 How many places will we stop at on the way? She asked. I shall try to make only seven stops, or eight, if you count our landing here in New York on the return. I shall try to arrange a stop every 3,000 miles or so. I expect my first stop to be in Paris, the next possibly Cairo, the third in India,

Starting point is 09:18:16 the fourth in western China, the fifth in Japan, the sixth in Hawaii, the seventh in San Francisco, and the last back here in Lillo, New York. Of course, in each place I shall only stop long enough to get a fresh machine with supplies, for there will be no time to lose. Moreover, to guard against accidents and emergencies, I shall have extra machines waiting for me every 500 miles of the course,

Starting point is 09:18:45 even on the ocean, where the machines will be waiting for me on board ships whose exact location I can ascertain, by wireless. Unknown sounds. What's that funny phonograph you're working on now? asked Pep. Has that got anything to do with the trip? No, nothing whatever, replied the doctor. Little dreaming the service the phonograph was destined to render him.

Starting point is 09:19:10 This is just a new invention of mine. I am making some experiments at present with artificial phonograph records. What do you mean by artificial records? records, asked Pep. Well, you see, an ordinary phonograph reproduces real sounds. My new phonograph produces sounds that have not been made and that have never existed. How do you manage it? Simply enough, an artist draws pictures of things that exist only in his own imagination.

Starting point is 09:19:42 I do the same thing for sounds. Cut out the Josh, doctor, and tell me straight. I don't understand what you mean. all right pep you know of course that when you speak into a phonograph in making a record the needle or stylus as it is called cuts a groove into the wax it is the shape and size of this groove that regulates the sounds that the phonograph afterwards reproduces now it struck me that it would be possible to make phonographic records by merely cutting the proper grooves without having to make the sounds what would be the use of that even if you could do it asked the young lady taking the chewing-gum out of her mouth and fastening it beneath the seat of her chair it would have a great number of uses replied the doctor to begin with it would enable us to repair records many remarkable records by famous persons are spoiled in the taking by some slight accident and are worthless A slight repair to the injured portion would give us many wonderful records. My invention will also enable me to produce records that could not possibly be obtained otherwise.

Starting point is 09:20:55 For example, the best soprano cannot sing above a certain key. I can, however, cut records that will produce clear musical notes, octaves above any yet sung. But the grooves on the phonograph record are so small, objected Pip. Mechanics of it True, there were certainly mechanical difficulties, but I have solved most of them. In order to cut accurate grooves, all that was necessary was to cut them on a large scale and then reduce them. Of course, I had first to take an ordinary record, magnify it to many times its original size, and get an expert engraver to copy the enlarged grooves on a hard rubber block.

Starting point is 09:21:40 Then, by means of a reducing pantograph, these enlarged grooves were cut into a wax disc at the original size, and this engraved record made a very good copy of the original. I soon realized, however, that I must find a mechanical means for making the enlargement as well as the reduction, and I found the pantograph would serve the same purpose. To the short arm of the pantograph I attached a reproducer, and to the long arm a recorder. When the reproducer needle traveled in the grooves of the original record, the recording needle cut grooves many times a size on an immense wax disc. Before this, I had tried enlarging the grooves by using a loudspeaker,

Starting point is 09:22:24 but I soon found that the depth of a groove made by a loud noise is very little more than that of one made by a low sound. The next step, of course, was to engrave a large record without any model. To obtain satisfactory results, it was not. necessary to analyze ordinary records in order to discover what connection existed between the grooves and the sounds produced. To do this, I hired a man with very clear articulation to make an ordinary phonograph record of every vowel and consonant sound in the language. I enlarge these records, and thus found what shape of groove would produce each letter. My engraver could then produce any

Starting point is 09:23:04 sentence I desired by combining the grooves in the proper order to make the sounds. I studied pitch in the same way. A record would be made of a couple of octaves either sung or played on a musical instrument, and a study of the enlarged record showed me what modifications in the shape of the groove produced pitch. Similar studies were necessary to obtain the proper quality and overtones. My first results were promising but very crude. It was only when I used chemical engraving instead of mechanical engraving that I obtained real satisfaction. Chemical engraving?

Starting point is 09:23:44 Yes, what are called photo plates. For example, to reduce my large engravings to the proper size, I photographed them on a metal disc coated with sensitized film. On developing, the parts which received the highlights retain the thinnest coating, and when etched with acid produce the deepest grooves. In other words, my negative is reversed, and if played on the phonograph, would give sounds utterly unlike the original. It is therefore necessary to make a positive by repeating the process from the negative.

Starting point is 09:24:20 The grooves, thus reversed back again, will now produce the proper sound. I am now able to make records that will produce any imaginable or unimaginable sounds. When I want a thunderstorm or a roar of artillery, I don't have to wait for nature or man to supply me. My engraver cuts the grooves we have found will give the proper sounds, and the process is quiet and easy. But I'm wasting time. If you're bound on coming with me, I suppose you'll come, but you've only got two weeks to get ready in. Only two weeks to collect a supply of face powder sufficient for the 80-hour trip. Pep laughed and began at once to pack up.

Starting point is 09:25:03 And not content with face powder, she prepared a whole trunk full of evening dresses in order to be ready for any emergency. As she remarked, you never know what will happen when you travel with Dr. Hackensaw. He's a philosopher, and a philosopher is a man who can take care of the whole world, but can't be trusted to look after his own collar buttons. Chapter 2 Well, Pep, are you all ready? Yes, I'm ready.

Starting point is 09:25:34 Then jump on board and we'll start off for our tour around the world. Mr. Sharp, it is now five minutes to ten, and the date is August 15th. We have a fine morning for the start, so I shall leave here at the stroke of ten. If you will kindly sign your name in my book here, I will have your agents at the different stopping places sign too, so that you can know there is no fake but that I have really traveled all around the earth. Otherwise, you might imagine I had just flown to the nearest Hooch station and back again. Well, goodbye. I'll be back for the weekend.

Starting point is 09:26:13 So saying, Dr. Hackensaw followed Pepp into the airplane that was waiting for them, the Hoochie, as it was named, after his little girl. The Hoochie was a large and very peculiar-looking craft. It looked more like an arrow than it did like an airplane, for its wings were quite narrow for the size of the machine. And in addition to the horizontal wings, there were two vertical ones, one on top and one below, like the fins of a fish, and designed to keep the plane from wobbling in its flight. The machine had eight propellers, two in the rear, two in the front, one on each side, and two on top that could serve as helicopters when desired, to hold the machine's

Starting point is 09:26:57 stationary, for they could be swung through an angle of 90 degrees from a vertical or horizontal position. Four engines of 500 horsepower each ran the propellers and could be switched to any or all of the propellers by an ingenious gear shift worked by pressing electric buttons. The entire tunnel, including the pilot seat, was enclosed in a glass body protected by an outer metallic casing. Any portion of the metal casing could be opened at will, thus allowing the passengers to view objects outside, no matter where these happened to be situated. An external platform made repair work handy,

Starting point is 09:27:38 and facilitated entering and leaving the car. This was also convenient for observations when the car was hovering over one spot. At the stroke of ten, the doctor, snugly ensconced in the car with his fair companion, gave the signal and away shot the car, hurled by its projector. Meanwhile, the engines had been chugging away, but almost noiselessly, as they were provided with silencers.

Starting point is 09:28:04 Now, however, the propellers were thrown into gear, and forward darted the machine, climbing diagonally up into the sky. What are those two other planes that are following us? asked Pep, looking out through the glass window and noticing that two other machines very similar in build had followed them into the air. Those are our escort, explained Dr. Hackensaw. They will follow us across the Atlantic in order to be ready to help us in case of emergency. It would be too dangerous otherwise, for the slightest accident to our machine, would mean death if there was no one at hand to pick us up.

Starting point is 09:28:44 Relay System Will they follow us all around the earth? No, indeed. They will leave us at Paris, and there three extra planes are waiting for us to carry us on to Cairo, where a new relay will be in readiness. I had about 50 planes ready to sail to the government, so I sent half of these ahead on this route to wait for us, and the other half I sent in the opposite direction over the Pacific to establish relays in San Francisco, Hawaii, Japan, and China. The Hoochee and her consort soon reached a speed of 100 miles per hour, then 200, and finally climbed up to 300. A wireless telephone had been installed on all the machines so the occupants could talk together sociably.

Starting point is 09:29:30 Everything went along swimmingly, but, as Dr. Hackensaw was wont to remark, there is only one sure thing in this world, and that is trouble. In order to attain a greater speed, the Dr. Edrisen, higher and higher, and now his instruments indicated that he had reached an altitude of ten miles, about double the height of the highest mountain. There was a great advantage in doing so, for at high speeds, the resistance of the air is considerable. As the doctor explained to PEP, the resistance of the air increases as the square of our velocity, while the power of our propellers in the rarefied air only diminishes as the density of the air. Consequently, there's a great advantage in

Starting point is 09:30:17 flying high. But, objected Pep, you have to climb ten miles up and ten miles down every time you land. True, but as we land only eight times, this makes only 160 miles extra to go. Not even that, because we rise and descend on the diagonal. It would pay us to travel at an altitude of 20, 25 miles, and I'm going to try it. Even this rate was too much, for scarcely had the instruments in the Hoochee registered 2,000 miles traveled from New York, when an alarm signal came from one of the attendant planes, and this was followed by a message. Something has gone wrong. We are falling.

Starting point is 09:31:01 Dr. Hackensaw at once ordered the second plane to turn back and fish up the occupants in the crippled plane. Then he added, When you have saved the men, don't bother about the plane. It will probably float. Follow straight after me as I may need help before I reach Paris. We can send someone back from there to save or destroy the wreck. To PEP, the trip was somewhat monotonous.

Starting point is 09:31:26 At a 10-mile altitude there was nothing to see. Not even a cloud in the heavens. All was inky black sky and bright sunlight. An hour or so later, the attendant plane, caught up with them again, hearing the occupants of the number three car whom they had literally fished up from their falling plane. The rescuers had hovered over the wrecked plane as it descended and had let down a rope ladder provided for just such emergencies. The wrecked man, encased in helmets to protect him in the rarefied air, had climbed up to safety one after the other, long before

Starting point is 09:32:01 the wrecked plane had fallen a single mile of the ten miles to the ocean level. The rescuer had then put on an extra burst of speed in order to catch up with the doctor. About 8 o'clock p.m. by the doctor's watch. Both machines landed at the aviation field in Paris. Here a few minutes' stop was made to take on fresh supplies of gasoline and oxygen and to make a careful inspection of the machinery of the Hoochie. Everything seemed in such good condition that the doctor decided to keep the same machine for the next stage of the journey.

Starting point is 09:32:35 He also kept the rescuing plane and the three new planes he found waiting for him, where experience had shown him that a single accident would deprive him of his escort. With four attendant planes, he could continue his route even if two accidents occurred, a rescuing plane being left behind in each case. From Paris to Cairo, the journey was made mostly during the morning hours, as noon on the trip occurred several hours earlier than noon in New York. At the Cairo landing, the doctor in his pajamas turned out of his birth, made of rapid inspection of the machinery, and decided that the Hoochie was good for another lap.

Starting point is 09:33:16 Three new planes were awaiting him here, and these, with the best of the other planes, made a good escort of four. A glance at the instruments showed that the average speed made during the last lap was very nearly four hundred miles per hour. If the trip continued in this fashion, the tour would really be too easy. But Dr. Hackensaw well knew by experience that the average speed made during the last hour was to be no exception to the rule. That morning the doctor and Pep had remained late on their couches.

Starting point is 09:33:52 Even so the day was long, though they tried to while away the time by playing cards and dominoes. When they reached their stopping point in India, a dilemma arose. The Hoochie, which had so far behaved beautifully, began to show signs of the strain. Either the machine must be abandoned or a stop must be made to overhaul it. The doctor was now two hours ahead of his schedule, and he was so desirous of making the entire trip in the same car that he decided on the second alternative. He compromised matters as follows.

Starting point is 09:34:27 Three new planes were waiting for him here, and in one of these he sent Pep on ahead, with instructions to wait one hour for him at the next stop, which was in China. And Casey failed to appear she was to complete the tour alone. Two good planes would accompany her, and two would remain with the doctor. Pep was delighted with the arrangement, and inwardly hoped the doctor would be delayed. What a triumph it would be to be the first person who had circumnavigated the earth in an airplane. The accident The plan seemed a wise one, as it doubled the chances of success.

Starting point is 09:35:05 Unfortunately, however, PEP was young and enterprising and not over-obedient. She had strict orders not to exceed a speed of 300 miles per hour, and for the first two hours she allowed the pilot to keep very close to this figure. Then she gradually increased the speed until the 400-mile limit was reached. Even that didn't satisfy her. After a couple of hours at this speed, she demanded even more power. And the pilot, a young fellow, nothing loathe, to show off the capabilities of his machine to this pretty young girl, put the speed up to the highest notch, obtaining a record of over 450 miles per hour.

Starting point is 09:35:48 But the natural result followed. Something gave way, and the machine started to fall to the earth. There was nothing for it but to vol plane down and make a landing to ascertain. what the trouble was. With 10 miles to descend, it was an easy matter to select a good landing place. Pep tried to telephone to the doctor, but the instrument didn't work, so she hastily scribbled a message and attached it to one of the special buoy balloons provided for such emergencies. These were balloons about 10 feet in diameter that could be distended until they would exactly float in the air outside. This was accomplished by a simple, though ingenious system. A stop-caught,

Starting point is 09:36:28 on the descending apparatus admitted the outside air whose pressure automatically cut off the admission of gas when the balloon was properly inflated an electric lantern in the balloon was arranged by clockwork so as to be switched on automatically at night at 10 miles height with no clouds or air currents of any strength the balloon would float in the same spot for hours and could be seen miles away there was therefore no danger of dr. Hackensoff failing to see the buoy and as a red balloon signified that a letter was attached, the doctor would certainly receive the message. And so he did. The repairs to the hoochie only occupied an hour, and then putting on full speed,

Starting point is 09:37:11 he set off to overtake his fair companion. Perceiving the red balloon, he slowed up, captured it with its message, and then followed the trail of smaller balloons left by pep to indicate the direction taken. The pilot of the first plane had landed close to a pagoda, so Dr. Hackensaw ordered his own pilot to land alongside. A large crowd of excited and jabbering Chinese had gathered around the two machines, which they regarded with hostile eyes. Dr. Hackensaw vainly made Pacific signs. The anger of the people only increased.

Starting point is 09:37:45 Finally, they pushed one of their number forward as an interpreter. To Dr. Hackensaw's joy, this was a white man, and he spoke English. Phonograph valuable Gentlemen, he said, You don't know how glad I am to see you, though I'm afraid you're going to have a hard time of it. Some of the Chinese have gone to notify the Mandarin, and he will decide what is to be done with you.

Starting point is 09:38:11 It will be a couple of hours before he gets here, and meanwhile you will be kept prisoners here. My name is Christopher Lamb. I came here as a missionary. At the start, nothing was too good for me. One of the mandarin's even allowed me to sleep in his own coffin, which is the highest courtesy that can be shown a man. Sleep in his coffin?

Starting point is 09:38:32 Interposed, Pep. What do you mean? Why, every rich Chinaman buys his coffin during his lifetime and keeps it in his parlor as an ornament. To allow a stranger to sleep in it is a mark of high honor, and I appreciated it. But, of late, things have been different, and for the past year I've been kept in prison,

Starting point is 09:38:52 because the authorities don't like my preaching. If you are allowed to go, I hope you'll take me with you. Even as the man spoke, the natives surrounded the two airplanes and fastened them by cords to stakes driven into the ground. In vain Dr. Hackensaw protested. All remonstrance was useless. It's no use, sir, said the interpreter. I know the Mandarin.

Starting point is 09:39:16 He's not a man that will listen to reason. It would take a miraculous intervention from Buddha himself, to set you free." What? cried Dr. Hackensaw, struck with a sudden idea. If their God here told them to release us, would they do it? Of course they would. Immediately.

Starting point is 09:39:34 All right then. Just step into the airplane with me, Mr. Lamb. For the time being, you are to act the part of Buddha. I want you to make a phonograph record in Chinese. I have here some wax blanks, and when Buddha's commands are uttered through a loudspeaker, I feel sure these poor Chinese will be convinced it is their God who is talking to them. What shall I tell them? I'll coach you.

Starting point is 09:40:01 And as Dr. Hackensaw spoke the words, Mr. Lamb translated them into Chinese, and enunciated them slowly and distinctly into the instrument. The rest was but child's play. Dr. Hackensaw had with him already engraved some records with artificial thunder, the roar of cannon and musketry and all kinds of unearthly noises. For convenience in experimenting, his phonograph could take several discs at once, each with its own needle, and by shifting a lever, any one of the records could be switched on in place of the other.

Starting point is 09:40:37 This was to facilitate the study of the combination of different sounds, and so analyzing the engraved grooves on the record. Everything being in readiness, Dr. Hackensaw, through his interpreter, informed the natives that he was under the special protection of their God, Buddha, and that Buddha himself would confirm this. Buddha speaks. A hush of awe fell over the hundreds of spectators by this time assembled. Then Dr. Hackensaw adjusted his loud talker and set the phonograph going.

Starting point is 09:41:11 The record opened with loud claps of thunder and the roar of artillery, accompanied by hideous noises of all kinds. Then came a loud, gruff voice apparently from the heavens above. People of China, listen to me. These strangers are men from the sky. They are special friends of mine, and anyone who harms a hair of their heads will be cursed. He will perish miserably with all his family, and their graves will be defiled. Let these men go in peace, or I will destroy. this whole town with thunder and lightning. I have spoken. Then came another burst of thunder and artillery, and all was quiet again.

Starting point is 09:41:58 The effect of the speech was magical. A hundred eager men came forward to loosen the ropes, and as the disabled plane had by this time been put in order again, the airplanes soared aloft. Dr. Hackensaw, however, had taken PEP on board with him, so as to prevent future trouble. Needless to say, Mr. Lamb went with them. They had to make another stop in China for their supplies

Starting point is 09:42:25 and still another in Japan before starting for the long flight over the Pacific. They had reached Japan at noon by the doctor's watch, but in reality, in the early morning by Japanese time, after an all-night ride, they had to put on extra speed to make up for lost time, and on three occasions one of the escort planes had to be left behind, for repairs, with a rescuing plane to attend to it. Hawaii was reached at about 10 o'clock p.m. by the doctor's watch, and San Francisco the next morning. Fortunately, the doctor's plane, the Hoochie, his latest and best model, stood the trip well,

Starting point is 09:43:02 and a brisk overhauling put it into proper condition for the final lap. Some slight delays ensued, but by running the machine at full speed, the Hoochie reached the landing place in New York, a few seconds. before 6 p.m. the scheduled time they had made the trip in exactly 80 hours. By traveling eastward they had been four days and eight hours on the trip but the days day and night included were only 18 hours long. Had they traveled Westford instead the trip would have lasted only two days and eight hours but the days would have been 36 hours long. 18 tedious hours of daylight followed by an

Starting point is 09:43:43 18-hour night. In either case, of course, the total time would have been 80 hours. Mr. Sharp was at the landing place waiting for them, and he held in his hand a signed government order for 50 of the new airplanes as a sample. Well, Pep, cried Dr. Hackensaw gaily, we've made the tour of the world in exactly 79 hours, 59 minutes, and 37 and 3 tenth seconds. We had nearly 23 seconds to spare. It's a pity we didn't make use of this spare time to see a little more of the countries we pass through. Yes, answered Pep, disconsolately. It was a great waste of time.

Starting point is 09:44:26 Just think of it. Here I've been all around the world and have come home without having had a single proposal. Not even from a Chinese Mandarin. End of Section 28. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Jen Broda. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Vizandi. The Secret of the Flying Horse. Author's note, For centuries, man has dreamed of flying, from the days of icarus.

Starting point is 09:45:19 who flew too near the sun, and from the days of the fabled flying horse Pegasus, literature is full of such flying creatures, griffins, dragons, fairies, and whatnot. The primitive idea, of course, was naturally that of using bird-like wings for the flying. When the airplane was invented, however, the propeller was found far more practical than wings. But flying machines with flapping wings are a possibility, and while they cannot hope to compete with airplanes in most matters, they would still fill a niche of their own. As a substitute for cavalry in war,

Starting point is 09:46:00 they would possess certain advantages. Barbed wire constructions and trenches would offer no obstacles to their passage. Prologue. You say you seen it, Joe? That's what I said. I saw that flying horse as plainly as I see you. "'What had you been drinking, some of your own apple jack?' A roar of laughter from the loungers in the country tavern greeted this sally,

Starting point is 09:46:27 but Joe continued undaunted. "'No, sir, I hadn't touched a drop of Jersey lightning. Are you sure it wasn't some new kind of flying machine? Flying machine you were granny. Ain't I lived in the country long enough to know a horse when I see him?' This was a sure enough horse, with hide and tail and teeth and everything, and wings to boot. I seen it, too, fellers, chimed in a second man, familiarly known as Dave. I seen it down by the river, standing quietly in the pasture, and though it was much bigger than an ordinary horse,

Starting point is 09:47:04 I thought I'd try to catch it, so I went up close to it, and when I got within twenty feet of it, It saw me, and reared up on its hind legs and shouted to me, Go back, go back. Must have been a guinea hen, suggested the man who had first spoken. They always say, go back, go back. At this, a fresh laugh went up, and Dave looked sheepish. For the horse's remark had really been, Go back, you fool, go back.

Starting point is 09:47:35 But Dave had thought it advisable to present an expurgated addition. "'That's some horse!' cried a fourth man. "'A horse that can fly and talk is a horse worth seeing.' "'I didn't hear the horse talk,' interrupted a new speaker, who answered to the name of Cooney. But I heard him snort and nay, and I saw what I never expected to see in this life. The horse, when I saw him, was flying up into the air,

Starting point is 09:48:04 and he had an angel astride on his back. and while I was looking, the angel spread her wings and flew up and around the horse, and then came down again and stood on tiptoe on its back, like the girls does in the circus. At this fresh addition to the story, a shout of derision went up from the crowd, who were convinced that Cooney's edition two, and apparent cooperation of, the story, were intended as a satire on the tales of his predecessors. But Cooney vehemently maintained his statement as fact. Say Cooney, cried a young fellow with a sandy goatee.

Starting point is 09:48:45 Do you know what's the difference between you and a liar? No. Well, neither do I, but I'll bet there ain't much difference. And I'll say the same of Dave and Joe. And I'll say one thing more. If the angel had wings, what the tarnation did she meet a flying horse for? Why didn't she use her own wings? Chapter 1

Starting point is 09:49:09 A Human Flying Machine Some three months before the conversation above recorded, Miss Pep Perkins, while rummaging through the garret of Dr. Hackensaw's country house, came across a large wooden chest and tried to open it, but it was locked. At the first opportunity, she inquired of the doctor what the contents might be. Dr. Hackensaw laughed. That, said he, is one of my earlier attempts at a flying machine. That was long before the days of the Wright brothers,

Starting point is 09:49:44 and, of course, my idea of a flying machine then was one with wings that would flap up and down, so I built that one. Oh, show it to me, please, begged Pep, and the doctor obligingly opened the case and showed her the machine. Pepp was delighted with it, for it was a gem, a real work of art. The wings were made of real bird's feathers, and were pure white, and of the softest and finest texture. What a beauty, cried Pep, delighted.

Starting point is 09:50:20 It's a regular peach. Haven't you ever tried to make it fly? What's the use? A propeller is far more efficient motor than wings. to make a winged flying machine would be just a step backwards. But could you make a winged machine if you wanted to? persisted Pep. Certainly, replied the doctor. There would be no difficulty about it. Man has already beaten nature in the field of aviation. A man can now fly faster than any

Starting point is 09:50:50 winged creature that exists. It would be but child play to beat nature again by making a mechanical bird, depending solely on its wings for flight, yet larger than any bird that evolution has yet been able to produce. Dr. Hackensaw, begged Pep, I want you to do me a great favor, and she coaxingly put an arm around the doctor's neck. I want you to fix these lovely wings so they can be attached to my shoulders. You could arrange them so they could be worked by a light motor. I want to be able to fly like a bird, and I also want a winged horse, one that can both gallop and fly.

Starting point is 09:51:33 Dr. Hackensaw shook his head, but in spite of all his inventions, the worthy man had not yet invented any means of circumventing a woman with a fixed idea in her head. So Pep finally carried the day, and the doctor constructed the two machines she desired. The winged horse presented no special difficulties. Dr. Hackensaw had already perfected a mechanical horse for the use of farmers, one that worked by gasoline, and that could be harnessed to a plow or cart or carriage at will, thus taking the place of an ordinary horse. One of these he had constructed with a radium motor,

Starting point is 09:52:12 and made in the exact shape of the animal, covering it with the height of a giant Percheron horse. The body was so large, that a man could comfortably lie down inside. This horse could walk, trot, or gallop at will. To enable it to fly, the doctor adapted large wings to its shoulders, and the flapping of these enabled the animal to rise from the ground and soar like a bird of prey. The wings were worked by a train of revolving gear wheels, so they could vibrate if desired, with the speed of the wings of an insect. The speed could be regulated by the use of gear shifts. The head of the horse was hollow, of India rubber, inside the skin of the head of the real horse. By means of a tank of compressed air

Starting point is 09:53:01 kept filled by the engine, the animal could be given the most lifelike movements, lifting its legs, turning or shaking its head, rolling its glass eyes, and opening its mouth. A special gnawing and snorting whistle had been attached, and Pep had insisted on a concealed horn opening into the animal's mouth. The horn was arranged so as to disguise her voice and change it into a deep base. I want a horse voice, said Pep, emphasizing the pun. I want the people to think that it is really the beast that is speaking. As to the wings for her own use, these gave the doctor more trouble. In these two, he used his radium motor, the energy being furnished by the disintegration of radium into lead. By a special heating device, one gram of radium could be made to disintegrate

Starting point is 09:53:57 rapidly enough to produce sufficient power to work the wings and enable the young lady to fly. A gasoline motor would have been too cumbersome. Gee, I'll make a peach of an angel, cried Pep delightedly as she fastened the beautiful white wings, made of real bird feathers, to her shoulders, and surveyed herself complacently in the looking glass. I'll have to have a special costume made when I really fly. It may be well to state here that the wings were fastened, not directly to the young lady's arms, but to lugs that formed part of a light but strong metallic framework, a metal combination garment worn under her clothing.

Starting point is 09:54:42 This garment was rather snug fitting and encircled her thighs and bust. To put it on, she stepped into the two leg openings and then buckled the garment over her shoulders and around her waist. In this way, her whole weight when flying was borne by the framework, which, of course, was padded to prevent chafing her skin. Learning to control the machine was no easy task, but Pep could already drive an automobile, and she was young and determined, so she had soon mastered control of the horse. After that, it was not very difficult for her to learn to fly with her own

Starting point is 09:55:20 angel wings, as she called them. Dr. Hackensaw had ordered her not to fly beyond the bounds of his large country estate, and to fly only at night when she was less likely to excite comment. But as Pep mastered the control of her flying steed and gained confidence, she became somewhat reckless and flew beyond the boundary set. And that is how it happened that the three farmers had been able to catch sight of her. Nor did Pep try to hide from them. On the contrary, she took a malicious pleasure in mystifying them. Miss Pepp, although 18 years old, was still a child. Pep was especially delighted with her angel wings. These fastened at her shoulders to lugs on the middle framework, the lugs projecting through openings at the back of her dress. The machinery was entirely concealed,

Starting point is 09:56:15 so that PEP, when flying, looked exactly like the conventional pictures of angels. Of course, great speed was not possible. Both she and the horse flew with what the Italians call a slow slowness. But this moderate pace had. had the advantage that no unsightly helmet was necessary as on an aeroplane. You could fly with your face uncovered and enjoy the beauties of the scenes below you. There is, of course, an exhilaration in an airplane traveling at from 100 to 200 miles per hour, but it is entirely different from the satisfaction of gliding quietly along through the air at angel speed. It was like the difference between running a race and taking a stroll. Each has an interest of

Starting point is 09:57:08 its own. Chapter 2. A Trip to Africa Pep, said Dr. Hackensaw, I'm going to take a short trip to Africa. Do you want to come along with me? Do I? Well, I just guess. But what African bulls are? I'm going to take a short trip to Africa? Do you want to come along with me? Do I? Well, I just guess. But what African bug is biting you? I'm going to study a big problem, whether it is possible to flood the desert of the Sahara by letting in the Mediterranean Sea. Some people claim that the thing is possible, others that it is not, that most of the desert is at a higher elevation than the sea, and hence the best that could be done would be to create a few lakes in the desert. However, even then.

Starting point is 09:57:51 that might be worth doing, and if by irrigation I can bring fertility to large areas of this great waste of land, I will gladly undertake the work. When do we start? asked Pep. The steamer sails Tuesday. Can you be ready in time? Sure, Mike, responded Pep gleefully. And what's more, I'll take my flying horse along. I want to see the desert of Sahara and go for a lion or an elephant hunt on my winged steed. Chapter 3.

Starting point is 09:58:25 The Elephant Hunt. Now, Pep, said Dr. Hackensaw. Tomorrow we are going to have a grand hunt. The guy tells me there is a troop of wild elephants within a couple of miles from here, and a troop of lions not far off. You can have all the sport you want, but do promise to be careful. On your flying horse, there is no danger, so long as the mechanism works properly, and so long as you are not reckless. I have carefully overhauled the machine.

Starting point is 09:58:58 It is in perfect condition, and your own wings can help you in an emergency. But do be careful. All right, Pop, answered Pep flippantly, for it must be confessed that she was youthfully disrespectful toward the worthy doctor. Dr. Hackensaw sighed, but said nothing further. The morning dawned, and fair, and the doctor, accompanied by a couple of Arab servants and a troop of negro beaters, started out for the spot where the elephants had been sighted. As for Pep, she mounted her flying steed, Pegasus, and started ahead on her own account. She soon outdistanced the hunters, and came in sight of the elephants. At the side of the flying horse, the elephant leader gave a trumpet of alarm, and the troop gathered together in a bunch, wondering whether to fly or to

Starting point is 09:59:52 hold their ground. Not wishing to spoil the sport of her companions, Pep gave the animals a wide berth and circled around to see if she could spy the lions. She did not see them, but she spied something else, another camp of men, of whose proximity the doctor was unaware. Curiosity prompted Pep to come nearer, at the risk of being shot at. She slowed up as she approached, but her presence was not noticed, for these men too were on a lion hunt and had just caught sight of several of the animals in a neighboring thicket and were endeavoring to surround them. And then Pepp saw a sight that made her blood run cold. A large male lion was creeping unperceived behind one of the hunters who was kneeling by a tree. His eyes glued in the...

Starting point is 10:00:44 the opposite direction. Before the startled girl could utter a single cry of warning, the lion had pounced on its prey as a cat pounces on a mouse and carried him off in its jaws. Pep almost fell from her horse at the sight, for she had seen the man was a white man, some traveler or explorer in those wild regions. Pep had a rifle slung to her saddle and two revolvers in her belt, but she dared not shoot, her aim from the flying horse being too uncertain. Reckless of all danger, Pep directed her course straight for the lion, and as she passed, clubbed him over the head with her rifle. The animal scarcely felt the blow, but he was startled and dropped his prey while he turned around to see what foe had assailed him. The sight of the flying horse, however,

Starting point is 10:01:35 was not to his liking, so the beast turned and, picking up the senseless man again, made for a thick jungle. But Pep was now desperate. She knew that if the beast once got into the tangled underbrush, she could do nothing. She must head him off at all costs. Pulling out her revolver, she shot the lion in his hindquarters, and then, flying over his head, landed between him in the jungle, ready for a second shot. snarling with pain and rage, the lion once more dropped his senseless burden and came at her with a roar of anger.

Starting point is 10:02:16 Poor Pep was half frightened to death, but she was a girl of spirit, and seeing she now had a good chance for a shot, she placed two bullets in the animal's head just as the infuriated animal made a leap for her horse. Down came horse, lion, and rider in one heap. But luckily, one of the shots had to be a shot. it hit a vital spot. The beast gave one convulsive roll on the ground and died, while Pep fainted away. Pep's shots had been heard, and when the rescuers arrived on the scene, Pep was quickly revived and found to be unhurt except for a few bruises and scratches. As to the man whose life she had so miraculously saved, he had sustained no vital injuries, though his left arm was broken. He begged to be allowed to go with Dr. Hackensaw's party, and Pep played the role of untrained nurse to the wounded

Starting point is 10:03:12 man, who in return delighted her with the present of a lively young lion cub. Poor Pegasus, the flying horse, had been put out of commission, so Pep had to ride a camel and was dreadfully seasick from the motion of the beast. She understood that the term ship of the desert applied to the camel is no mere metaphor. But when Dr. Hackensaw pleafily joked her about having gone out for a lion hunt and captured a man, she replied seriously, No, doctor, I don't want to marry yet. I don't mind flirting a little. You used to scold me every day on the ship for flirting with the officers. But a husband isn't much fun. All I've captured on this trip is a lion's skin that will make a handsome rug. Dr. Hackensaw himself was not fortunate.

Starting point is 10:04:08 He returned to New York, his problem unsolved. End of Section 29. Section 30 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Harkinson's Secrets by Clement Fesandier. The Secret of the Dream Machine This is one of the best stories from the pen of Clement Fisandier that we have ever published.

Starting point is 10:04:48 It holds a big moral, for all of us. We are all so much engrossed in our everyday work that we cannot look ahead even 25 years. When you look through the pages of this magazine, you no doubt scoff at our advanced ideas and our so-called dreams of the future. In fairness to yourself, It will do you good to read this story.

Starting point is 10:05:08 It will no doubt open your eyes. The editor. Author's note, Many people imagine that our dreams are warnings or the foreshadowing of future events. They are nothing of the kind. There are mere jumbles of ideas we've received during our waking hours,

Starting point is 10:05:25 modified to a certain extent by physical sensations felt during sleep. There is, therefore, no reason why we should not order our dreams as we order our dinners. Perhaps within the next hundred years or so, dream machines like the one mentioned in this story may be available for all of us and nightmares be forever banished from the earth. Chapter 1

Starting point is 10:05:47 Doctor What Causes Dreams? asked Silas Rocket one day as he briskly entered the doctor's sanctum. Dr. Hackensaw looked up from his work with a smile. Dreams, said he, are but chance associations of ideas which already exist in. our minds. Any event which has strongly impressed us during the day is apt to influence our dreams. But do not dreams sometimes come true? Certainly, very often. But in all such cases, there are mere coincidences. A number of my own dreams have come true occasionally in a most remarkable manner. During the World War, many a mother must have dreamt her boy was killed in battle, and alas, the prophecy must have been fulfilled in a number of cases. Such cases, of course,

Starting point is 10:06:32 are mathematically certain to occur. As to other most unlikely coincidences, you must remember that, as some great philosopher, I think it was Aristotle, once said, it's one of the probabilities that many improbable things will happen, but whence comes your special interest in dreams? Because, last night I had a most extraordinary dream, I dreamt I was the man who had first invented kissing, and that I had taken out a patent on my invention and charged a royalty of one cent for every kiss. Well, the money came pouring in hand over fist, coins, bills, checks, etc., until our richest multimillionaires were beggars compared to me. And then the trouble began. A whole army of women, sweethearts and mothers with babies in their arms, came at me brandishing all kinds of

Starting point is 10:07:22 weapons, calling me all kinds of hard names, claiming that I had beggared them. What they would have done to me, I don't know. Luckily, I awoke just then. Now, doctor, can you tell me, me what caused that nightmare? I think so. If I were Sherlock Holmes, I should deduce that you must have called on your fiancé, Miss Gloria Monday last night. Yes, I did, but how in the world did you guess that? A deduction. Dr. Hackensot chuckled. Isn't it wonderful, said he, that merely calling on your sweetheart should make you think of unlimited kisses? Some associations of ideas are so recondite that you wonder what could ever have started them, and the doctor fairly cackled at his own wit. "'Shah!' exclaimed Silas, blushing.

Starting point is 10:08:07 "'Can't a man kiss his own lady love without being laughed at for it?' "'Certainly, Silas, returned the doctor. "'I was merely interpreting your dream for you. "'But talking of dreams, you may perhaps be interested in my latest invention. "'A dream machine.' "'A dream machine? What's that?' "'It's a machine that causes dreams, and enables you to order any kind of dream you want, just as you would order your dinner.

Starting point is 10:08:33 Why? How in the world does it do that? Because, Silas, as I told you, our dreams have two causes. First, there are a jumble of ideas already existing in our mind. Secondly, there are the result of the physical sensations which reach us during sleep. For years, I made it a practice to note down my dreams immediately on awakening, and I was surprised to find how often I could trace the origin of the dream to something I'd seen or read the day before, and also, often to some picture I'd seen. I found the same thing true for physical sensations. If you dream of freezing, you're likely to awake and find that a breeze is blowing into the room or that your blankets have fallen off. If you dream that you're flying in the air, you may confidently attribute this to a too-copious

Starting point is 10:09:17 dinner, for it is a curious fact that a full stomach will produce during sleep a feeling of lightness. Sometimes, the most absurd dreams have rational interpretation when you analyze them. For example, I one night dreamed that I emptied out a large lake by peeling off the water in layers, lifting off one layer of water after the other. On awakening, however, I remembered that the day before I had counted several hundred sheets of tissue paper, and the lifting of one sheet of tissue paper after the other had in my dream been changed to lifting off one layer of water after another. I might prolong the list indefinitely, but what's the use?

Starting point is 10:09:53 My dream machine is in the next room, and I will give you a practical demonstration that will be worth more than any amount of talk. The dream machine was indeed a most peculiar-looking contraption. Imagine a bed surrounded by all kinds of tubes, rods, stop-cocks, and electric wires, and with dials of various sizes to serve as meters. A small phonograph also stood by the head of the bed. The entire apparatus was enclosed in a large, airtight globe, thus enabling the operator to condense or rarify the air, increase its humidity or modify it in other ways. You see, explained the doctor, as our dreams are based on ideas and on sensations,

Starting point is 10:10:34 my machine must have two parts, one to produce ideas and the other to produce sensations. The first part is just an ordinary phonograph, as I've found it best to instill the desired ideas before the subject drops off to sleep. The phonograph, provided with the proper record, is set going before the subject loses consciousness. I have prepared a number of dream records to suit all tastes. The young girl, of course, wants to dream of her wedding and honeymoon. The lad of spirit wants to dream of adventures, of trips into the jungle, of flying machines and war, of rescuing beautiful maidens from the hands of black-bearded villains. In fact, every man can have his dreams made to order, for special phonograph records can be made at very

Starting point is 10:11:18 slight expense. The phonograph records as a rule consist merely of a few words repeated at intervals to turn the mind in the desired direction. For example, the three words, love, sweetheart, kiss, repeated several times to the ear of the maiden as she falls asleep, will usually be sufficient to produce the desired dream. Sensation I don't see why you need any. any second part to the machine, said Silas. Words alone ought to be able to suggest any idea desired. True, but the other part is sometimes useful. Here's a stopcock, for example, that lets in perfumes

Starting point is 10:11:56 of different sorts at will. Another blows breezes on the patient. Effects of heat and cold are produced by still others. If I wish the subject to dream of a feast, I have merely to press this key, which injects a drop of aromatic liquid into his mouth. Rubber fingers are arranged which can be set to touch the sleeping man's hands or feet in different manners, according as you wish him to run, walk, climb, grasp an object, shoot a gun, etc. In order to time the different portions of the dream properly, I use a sort of piano player. The piano player records have holes punched in them,

Starting point is 10:12:33 which cause the proper keys to be pressed in the order desired, and so automatically cause the sequence of ideas which you wish the dream to follow. But isn't your machine expensive, objected Silas? Yes. There is the cost of the phonograph and the piano player and the bed with its various attachments, but every person who has a phonograph can buy dream records to use at home for ordinary dreams.

Starting point is 10:12:59 If he wants something special, he must go to one of my dream hotels where the beds are provided with my machines. But now, Silas, as you've seen my machine, I want you to try it for yourself. What would you like to dream of? "'Dr,' replied Silas, "'you once sent me 100 years into the future to the year 2025.

Starting point is 10:13:19 "'I wish now that you would send me into the past, "'back to the year 1776. "'I think I could show our state-old ancestors a thing or two. "'George Washington and Benjamin Franklin "'would have to bow down to my superior knowledge. "'And as to patent royalties, "'why I should be master of all the marvelous inventions "'made during the past 140,

Starting point is 10:13:42 odd years, from the steam engine to the airplane. Why, I should be a multimillionaire in no time, and the biggest bug in the bunch. Dr. Hackensaw laughed heartily. All right, Silas, said he, I'll send you back to the year 1776, but I know, by hard personal experience, that the life of an inventor, who tries to market his inventions, is by no means all rose color. In fact, I'll bet you a thousand dollars against one dollar that you won't succeed in having a single one of our modern improvements adopted. I'll take you up, doctor, cried the reporter gaily, and he extended himself on the couch and tried to compose himself to sleep, while Dr. Hackensop prepared a suitable phonograph record. Then the record was placed in the machine, and as Silas dropped off to sleep, he was conscious of

Starting point is 10:14:32 these words, buzzing slowly into his ear. 1776. Benjamin, Frank. Franklin, steam engine, railroad, telephone, electric light, automobile, airplane. Chapter 2. How is the feeling now, friend? Silas started up in a daze and found that he'd been lying on the ground while a pretty Quaker girl in the conventional costume was bathing his temples from a nearby spring. "'Where am I?' he cried, sitting up and gazing in astonishment at the rural landscape about him. "'The is here, in the town of Philadelphia,' answered the girl soothingly. "'Philadelphia?' echoed Silas in surprise. "'Where are the houses? There's not a single building in sight.'

Starting point is 10:15:25 Then his brain cleared, and he asked, "'What year are we, pray?' "'We are in the year of our Lord, 1776. "'The Continental Congress has just met and signed the Declaration of Independence "'Ah!' cried Silas, springing to his feet. "'I haven't any time to lose. "'I must go to Washington at once and speak to the congressman.' "'And he began fumbling in his pockets, but his face fell. "'Not a cent,' he cried.

Starting point is 10:15:51 "'I don't know what I'm going to do.' "'He forgot that his money would have been worthless even if he had had any. "'The current coin consisted of pounds, shillings, and pence, "'when it did not consist of tobacco or some other commodity. "'Congress is in session. here, replied the maiden, but General Washington is not in Philadelphia at present, yet if thee will follow me, I'm sure my father will be glad to have thee as a guest. Silas followed the young girl rather sheepishly. Here was he, planning to revolutionize the world

Starting point is 10:16:22 of 1776, and yet with all his knowledge unable to secure a meal, but dependent on others to provide it for him. Still, he could make ample compensation soon. What should he turn his hand to first? That was the question. Should it be the automobile? No. That was too complicated and required material not easy to obtain in this ancient civilization. And when he looked at the mud and ruts in the road and reflected that this was Philadelphia, he realized at once that even if he had an automobile with him, it would be absolutely useless. You can't run an auto in mud a foot deep. An airplane was evidently preferable. It was easier to build and required no roads. The great problem was to find petroleum to run. To run. but he knew there was plenty of oil in Pennsylvania waiting to be tapped. But to get the oil, he would need capital. His first problem then was to make money. Surely with his head full of the countless inventions made during the 19th century, he should have no trouble in becoming rich. Many simple inventions had made fortunes for the promoters. But as he questioned Ruth and her father, he found that his task was by no means easy. The main industries seemed to be the fur trade,

Starting point is 10:17:33 lumber trade, that is to say, the shipping of masts and other lumber abroad. This trade, of course, now prevented by the war, and the growing of tobacco. How could his boasted knowledge help him with these? And his wealth, even when acquired, would consist mainly in bales of tobacco and packs of furs, not a very handy capital with which to start a 20th century factory. Only two practical ideas occurred to Silas. The first was a percussion cap, breech-loading magazine rifle, to replace the old flintlock, muzzle loaders that missed fire half the time, and that left the owner helpless after each shot

Starting point is 10:18:10 until a new charge could be rammed home. The second idea was the manufacture of matches, and these he determined to make at once, as they seemed the easiest thing to manufacture with his limited resources. The first invention. Accordingly, after a dinner of venison and cornbread at the house of his Quakeress, whose name, by the way, he learned was Ruth Friend. Silas hunted all through the town to find a chemist's shop. With great difficulty, he was able to secure a small amount of sulfur and phosphorus,

Starting point is 10:18:40 and such other chemicals as he judged would be most useful, leaving his watch as a deposit. Then he started in to manufacture some matches. His success was not very great, but he finally produced a dozen large clumsy matches, which would answer his samples. These he triumphantly exhibited to Ruth's father, "'There, Mr. Friend, what do you think of those?' he asked,

Starting point is 10:19:03 when, after repeated efforts, he had succeeded in lighting one of his matches and starting a fire. Friend Silas answered the Quaker, "'That thing looks and smells like an invention of the devil. "'Moreover, of what use is it?' "'Of what use?' echoed Silas. "'Why, it will take the place of your old Flint and steel.' "'Indeed! Well, friend, I would not trade my trusty Flint and Steel for many thousand of such matches, as they calls them,

Starting point is 10:19:30 I can light a fire more quickly with my flint and steel than thee can with thy matches. And it costs me nothing, and requires no work, while to make matches such as thine requires chemicals and labour. They are worse than useless. And so it was, with all the other inventions with which Silas sought to amaze the good people of Philadelphia. He had a large circle of listeners' evenings, for his stories appealed to them like fairy tales, but when he insisted on being taken seriously, his listeners shook their heads and thought his mind was a trifle deranged.

Starting point is 10:20:03 It was when they talked among themselves about his wild tales that they gave free vent to their minds. Just imagine, said one. He said he would one day show us how he could catch a man's image on a piece of glass, and the image would not only remain there permanently, but could be printed off on paper many times. He called it photography. He spoke to me of something even more extraordinary. than that chimed in another. He said that he would someday take a sheet of wax and let us talk and sing to it,

Starting point is 10:20:32 and that the wax would remember every word, and would repeat the songs and speeches without a mistake over and over again, and even weeks later, if we wished, and he said this phonograph, that's what he called it, would even imitate the very tones of each man's voice. Surely the fellow must be a fool. And to me, said a third, he said that he knew how to make a machine that would enable him to look right into a man's body. He said it would be possible to see a bullet,

Starting point is 10:20:59 even though hidden in a man's chest. That's nothing, interrupted a fourth. He told me he was going to try to get capital enough to make some stagecoaches and some boats that would run by steam. He said that with steam he could run a dozen heavily loaded wagons at a speed of 60 miles, an hour or more. How's that for a wild dream? Not content with that, he said he knew how to build flying machines that would go 200 miles an hour. No bird can fly that fast, and it stands to reason that even if a flying machine is ever made, it'll be so heavy and clumsy that it cannot fly even as fast as the slowest bird. Talk about electricity. Then, too, you ought to hear him talk about electricity. Ben Franklin knows a lot about electricity, but you ought to hear this fellow talk. He says you can

Starting point is 10:21:47 make electricity out of running water, and it'll do all our work for us. He must have forgotten that he had just said that steam would do it. He said electricity would run our stagecoaches, work our machinery, plow our fields, sweep the floors of our houses, and even furnish us a better light than a good wax candle would give. What do you think of that? He told me something else, spoke up a chemist who happened to be present, obviously the best educated person among them. He wanted me to trust him for some chemicals, and he told me he knew how to build a machine that would enable him to talk from here in Philadelphia to a man in England. But I tripped him up neatly. I happened to know that sound only travels 1,080 feet per second, and as the distance to England

Starting point is 10:22:32 is some 3,000 miles, it would take the word spoken here over three hours to reach England, and three hours to come back, six hours to get an answer to a question. He's such an ignoramus he thought you could get an answer right away. Note, it may be well to state, for the benefit of some of my younger readers, that in the telephone it is not the sound that travels, but the electric current. The speech is therefore transmitted thousands of miles in the fractional part of a second. See Fisantier. End of note. And so the conversation continued. Some thought that Silas might have sold himself to the devil, but the more advanced leaned to the belief that the reporter was crazy. A visit to Franklin. All Silas is

Starting point is 10:23:20 efforts to secure financial help for his schemes failed, and he saw that he must earn his first capital by making and marketing some simple invention. He thought of a toy, the handball with an elastic, which is set to have made its inventor, a millionaire, but he had no rubber, and the children of 1776 had no money for toys. Then he thought of the safety pin and the crimped hairpin. With great difficulty, he managed to obtain some stiff wire and made a few pins of each kind, but the wire was too soft and the ladies were too unprogressive to use these devices even when given to them free. His one hope now lay in seeing Benjamin Franklin. That great philosopher and statesman was a scientist and a man of advanced ideas.

Starting point is 10:24:05 Franklin was in Philadelphia at the time and received the reporter genially. Silas, with some copper sulfate, zinc, and acid, had managed to make a simple gravity cell, and as this was 24 years before Volta invented his famous Volta, Voltaic cell, Franklin was delighted at thus finding that an electric current was a possibility. So far, all electricity was of the static kind produced by an electrical machine. By the use of his cell and a bit of wire, Silas soon demonstrated to the great philosopher the possibility of a simple telegraph with dots and dashes. Franklin acknowledged the practicability of the invention, but looked upon it as a mere scientific

Starting point is 10:24:46 toy. The device that he is highly ingenious, but it would be of no real value. What need is there of this telegraph, as you call it? If the news is good, it will keep, and if bad, we shall hear it soon enough. Silas tried to explain the advantage it would afford the colonials by giving them advance information in regard to the movements of the British troops. But, objected Franklin, what would prevent the enemy from cutting the wires. Besides, think of the cost, and the British would soon learn to make the device themselves. Then Silas tried to explain about a wireless, but here Franklin could not follow him. So Silas tried another tack and explained the principle of the dynamo. He insulated his wires by dipping them in beeswax and by coiling them to form simple electromagnets. He showed

Starting point is 10:25:36 how it was possible to change mechanical force into electricity. Here, too, Franklin was delighted with the idea, though he failed to see that the invention had any practical value. Just think what a waste of power there would be with such a machine, said he. Here you are using a one-man power to produce a very small current. You say that we could use our water-wheels to produce the electricity, but this would be most wasteful. Why not have the water-wheels do the work directly, themselves, as they do now in our mills, grinding our flour and sawing our lumber?

Starting point is 10:26:10 Yes, admitted Silas. But with electricity you could transport your power anywhere you wanted it, even into your houses, and make it spin your flax, weave your cloth, or sweep your floors. Franklin's face grew stern. As for the housework, said he, we want nothing that we'll tend to make our women lazy and shiftless. Work is good for everyone, and spinning and weaving is the women's share. The philosopher is skeptical.

Starting point is 10:26:37 Then Silas tried to explain the advantages of the electric light. he explained how, by joining a number of voltaic cells together, he could heat a wire red-hot, and so produce a substitute for candles. But the great 18th-century philosopher showed no enthusiasm. Of course electricity will produce light, said he. We all know that, because lightning is nothing but electricity. I will say nothing of the danger of using a flash of lightning instead of a candle to light up our homes.

Starting point is 10:27:07 I will suppose it could be made perfectly safe and that the light would be brighter and cheaper than candles. Even so, I would oppose the innovation. Daylight is better than any artificial light, and the man who rises at dawn and does a good day's work is ready for bed at dusk. The people who want artificial light are the gadabouts who lie in bed until noon and then turn night into day with their chandeliers that hold scores of candles. Silas returned home completely discouraged,

Starting point is 10:27:36 but his visit brought fruit. Franklin introduced him to several promulses. prominent people, and Silas at last found means of earning money by giving dancing lessons to some of the ladies and gentlemen of the well-to-do families. Poor Silas, after all his dreams of reigning as a king, to be obliged to teach the minuet. He was now dressed in colonial costume for Franklin had advanced him sufficient credit to obtain the necessary wigs, etc. If I only had a good live newspaper, thought Silas, I could make things hum. I could teach the people here, about advertising and wake them up. Silas had dabbled a little in prestidigitation when young,

Starting point is 10:28:16 and resolved to give a few exhibitions to increase his income. Accordingly, with the first money he earned as a dancing teacher, he prepared a few simple conjuring tricks and secured a confederate to help him in giving Robert Houdini's second sight trick. He hired a hall and advertised the performance by printed notices, posted up at the principal crossroads of what was then Philadelphia. The hall was well filled, and though the receipts were not wonderful, they were satisfactory. The performance, though very mediocre, had a remarkable success, too great, in fact. His audience were convinced that he had sold himself to the devil. Otherwise, how could he perform such black magic, read what was written in sealed envelopes,

Starting point is 10:29:00 or make luminous hands appear in the dark? At the third performance, the hall was filled to overflowing, and there was a hooting crowd outside. In the very middle of the performance, at a given signal, the crowd forced its way to the stage, seized him, and carried him off to the nearest horse pond where he was repeatedly ducked. In vain he shrieked for help and tried to break away from his captors. He was gasping for breath and thought his last moment had come when his eyes opened, and he awoke to find Dr. Hackensaw bending anxiously over him. You seem to be having a nightmare, Silas, observed the doctor. So I thought it better to awaken you.

Starting point is 10:29:39 I suppose you were having trouble. It must have made many people envious to see you as leading man in the colonies. Silas Rocket bit his lip. I have learned a thing or two, doctor, said he. I have especially learned that an inventor has no easy time of it, and his troubles only begin after his invention is made and perfect it. There was I, master of thousands of valuable inventions such as no man had ever had at command before, and yet I was unable to have a single one adopted, not even the most trifling, and he proceeded

Starting point is 10:30:14 to relate his experiences. I sympathize with you, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, but don't imagine that an inventor finds it much easier nowadays to market a valuable improvement. If he lets another man exploit his invention, he gets practically nothing for it, while he rarely has capital enough to put it on the market himself, and if he does, his lack of business. business training is apt to result in his losing what little cash he had. Then another man comes in and profits by his failure. Well, doctor, you've won the bet, said Silas, and I owe you a dollar. On the contrary, Silas, it is you who have won, and here are your thousand dollars. Didn't you tell me that you taught some of the ladies the fox trot, and that you got them to humming some of our latest jazz

Starting point is 10:31:04 music. If you had remained a little longer, you might have had the state old colonial dames doing the barefoot oriental or dancing the shimmy. End of Section 30, read by Sandra near Montreal, 2023. Section 31 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit liverbox.org. read by Matthew Francis Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fezondi The Secret of the Gravitation Screen

Starting point is 10:31:44 Authors note Man is able to reflect sound, heat, and light All analogy leads us to believe that gravitation is a form of energy closely allied to sound, heat, light, and electricity. Hence it should be possible to find some means of screening it off so as to preserve bodies from the attraction of gravitation.

Starting point is 10:32:07 Such a screen or reflector could be made of use in many ways. Chapter 1. Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, I've got something to show you today that, in certain respects, beats anything I have yet accomplished. In fact, it opens up entirely new fields for investigation, and there is no telling to what it may lead us. Silas, I have found the means of reflecting gravitation. Silas Rockette's face fell. Oh, is that all? he exclaimed in a tone of contempt.

Starting point is 10:32:41 "'Dah, Silas,' returned the doctor, "'I see you don't realize the transcendental value of the discovery, but its practical bearings are simply immense. To take but a single example, all our methods of transportation would be revolutionized, since we can deprive objects of their weight it will, and blow them around to their destination by suitable air-currents. Just think, every man can carry around his own airplane

Starting point is 10:33:06 in the form of umbrella made of, Radalumium. That, by the way, is the name of my new metal. When the umbrella is opened, you will rise in the air, and a propeller, worked by bicycle pedals, will carry you wherever you wish to go. Why, man, the air will be crowded with these aerial bicycles, and the traffic policemen will have their hands full attending to them. You mustn't believe that my investigation was an easy one. I attacked the problem from many different points before I finally met with success. You, obviously, perhaps aware of the scientist Magirana, from the result of certain pendulum experiments, concluded that a mass of lead surrounded by mercury exerted less gravitational force than were

Starting point is 10:33:48 not so surrounded. This seemed a clue, but after hundreds of experiments with lead and mercury, I was no nearer my goal than before. Next, I tried interference. As you probably know, two sounds by interference may be made to destroy each other and produce silence. Two lights me likewise extinguish each other and produce darkness. It seemed logical to believe that two attractions could likewise be made to interfere and neutralize each other. Unfortunately, I had no attractive force at hand with which to neutralize that of the earth. Then I thought of magnetism. Magnetism and gravitation must be fundamentally alike. If I could find the means of reflecting magnetism, the same substance would probably screen off gravitation. Metal lighter than air.

Starting point is 10:34:37 Now, as you know, I have discovered hundreds of new chemical combinations, alloys, allotropic forms of matter, and even new elements. Among these was a new metal, lighter than air, which I had called radolumium, because radium and aluminum entered into its composition. I had made only about one gram of this metal, but had been astonished at its lightness, for it floated above the air in the retort, and when released, flew up to the ceiling in the laboratory. So I turned my attention to manufacturing this radolumium on a large scale. Luckily, my first experiments were cautiously made, else I shouldn't be here to tell the tale. For a ball of the new metal, as it rose, broke the glass retort, and shooting like a bullet,

Starting point is 10:35:20 passed through the ceiling and up into the sky. That made me more cautious. I saw I must produce this metal in small particles, and afterwards fuse these particles together with proper precautions. I won't bore you with the details of my experience. Suffice it to say, I discovered that I must cast my gravitation screen in thin sheets in the form of wheels with plenty of vacant space between the metal spokes, as in the diagram shown. By placing a heavy weight on these sheets, they could be kept from flying up into the sky.

Starting point is 10:35:52 By using several of these sheets, one on top of the other, and revolving them so as to shut off more or less to Earth's gravitation, I could regulate at will the weight of the substance above the screen. When all gravitation was screened off, the whole apparatus would rise up into the air, if properly ballasted below, so as to remain horizontal in the ascent. That stuff would make a dandy car for traveling off to the planets, suggested Silas, shut off the Earth's attraction and let in that of the sun or any other heavenly body you wish to visit, and away you'd go. Indeed, said Dr. Hackensaw, smiling,

Starting point is 10:36:26 you seem to forget that attraction ferries inversely as the square of the distance. To us here, the moon's attraction is green. greater than that of any other heavenly body. But even that would be almost imperceptible. Gravity on the surface of the moon is 2.65. That is to say, a body falling near the surface of the moon would have its velocity increased 2.65 feet each second. As the moon is only some 2,000 miles in diameter, such a body would be only 1,000 miles away from the center of attraction, while the Earth is 240,000 miles away. In other words, the greatest pull we could obtain for a car from any heavenly body would be S squared over R squared equals 2.65 over X, in which S is the distance

Starting point is 10:37:10 of the moon from the Earth, R the radius of the moon, and X the required attraction of the moon on the car. Work it out, and you will find that the pull of the moon on the car would be such a small fraction of an inch the first second that the slightest resistance would prevent the car from ever starting at all. And if it did start, it would take hours to go the first few miles. But you could give the car a push to start it, suggested Silas. True, but that would not be necessary, as you will see for yourself when you try in my anti-gravitation shoes. Chapter 2. The Anti-Gravitation Shoes Dr. Hackensaw led Silas into the center of a large open field. There stood a table

Starting point is 10:37:51 firmly tied down to the solid rock beneath by heavy chains. Clamped to the top of the table were a pair of clumsy-looking shoes resting on their sides. There, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw. Those are my anti-gravitation shoes. Just lie down on the table and I'll fasten them to your feet. Why can I stand up to put them on? asked Silas. Because the time for you to fly up to the heaven as an angel hasn't arrived yet. Be a good boy, and do as you're told.

Starting point is 10:38:18 With a groan, the reporter lay down on the table and Dr. Hackensaw fasted around Silas's body, a metal framework held by a strong chain wound on a wind. Then the doctor securely buckled the shoes on Silas' feet, and after placing himself in a cage, anchored to the ground, he called out, are you already? Yes, replied the reporter, somewhat dubiously. With a chuckle, Dr. Hackensaw pressed the lever, and the table tilted so as to bring Silas standing on his feet. At the same moment, the clamps that held the shoes to the table were released. Then came a terrific blast of wind, and Silas found himself jerked off his feet and carried high up into the table.

Starting point is 10:38:56 the air, suspended head downwards in his flight. The chain on the windlass unwound until about thirty feet were out and stopped. Hi, pull me down, quick, cried Silas. I can't stand this. All the blood's rushing to my head. All right, replied the doctor, and a pull on a second lever started the windlass at winding up the chain, pulling Silas to the ground and clamping the shoes down to the table again. Who, cried Silas, as he wiped the beads of perspiration from his brow, and smooth his ruffled clothing and still more ruffled temper as he thought of the ridiculous position in which he had been placed. Why didn't warn me of what was coming?

Starting point is 10:39:35 It's a blameful invention anyway. There's no money in it. All you could do with it would be to use it in some Coney Island amusement resort. That's about the only place where you could find people willing to pay out good money for an experience like mine. Don't take it to heart, Silas, said Dr. Hackensaw, soothingly. It was even worse for me the first time I tried it. luckily I had taken all my precautions.

Starting point is 10:39:56 But what in the world started me off so? demanded Silas. You said the moon wouldn't pull me up. It wasn't the moon, explained the doctor. It was the wind. The wind? What do you mean? Gravity runs railroad. Why our atmosphere weighs 15 pounds to the square inch. In the sole of each of these shoes is a very thin sheet of radolum.

Starting point is 10:40:19 So long as this metal was vertical, it created almost no disturbance in the atmosphere. But as soon as the soles of the shoes were horizontal, they cut off the earth's attraction from the entire column of air above them. The pressure of the surrounding air forced this column up, and the new air, losing weight in its turn, a strong wind arose which would have carried you up into the sky if you had not been securely held down by the chain. Silas, this invention of mine is going to revolutionize transportation. I'll show you how simply people and cars can climb over mountains at practically no expense.

Starting point is 10:40:51 So saying, the doctor drew his notebook from his pocket and made a rough sketch. There, he said, is a track going up one side of a mountain and down on the other side. P is a passenger or a car held to the track by a rod, C. A double wheeled, W at the lower end of the chain, is free to roll along the track. The whole being grew so as to run on the rail. The passenger has on his shoulders a knapsack containing the anti-gravitation metal. A knob outside the knapsack enables him to shut off as much. of the Earth's attraction as he desires.

Starting point is 10:41:23 When he turns the knob, he becomes lighter, and up he soars following the track to the top of the mountain. There he reverses the knob, letting in more of the attraction, and as he becomes heavier, he slides down to the other side. Not a cent to pay for fuel or power of any kind. Gravitation does all the work. Merchandise can be transported for practically nothing, for, of course, a car can be carried as easily as a passenger.

Starting point is 10:41:49 No more shall we be obliged to make a car. our roads level. A road with ups and downs will be far preferable. Silas, you've no idea what marvels this new invention of mine will lead to. It will absolutely revolutionize commerce and industry. Long before I discovered my gravitation screen, I experimented with such a railroad, using a balloon as a motive power, letting out ballast on the downhill slope. I even used kites, a special device enabling me to increase or decrease the surface exposed by the kite according as to whether I was ascending or descending the hill. My acquired velocity, of course, carried me over the neutral point at the top of the hill.

Starting point is 10:42:25 How easy to raise a sunken ship with all its cargo by letting sheets of this anti-gravitation metal down into the water edgewise and then sliding them beneath the sunken vessel. And what need of steamers anyway? Load up your ship with a full cargo. Screen off enough gravitation so the ship will rise a mile above the ocean and pull it to its destination by means of one or more airplanes hardest to it.

Starting point is 10:42:47 If you wish greater power, you can have the aerial ship drawn by a steam tug. The tug has the resistance of the water to serve as an abutment, but the ship in the air has only the resistance of the air to drive against. Then, too, think of the advantage of my gravitation screen on architects and others. You can carry a house from one city to another through the air. The house truss can manufacture houses by the thousands in one spot, using efficiency methods and quantity production. Then it will deliver the finished house on a man's own lot.

Starting point is 10:43:17 and houses will not be solidly fixed to the earth. When you want to go off for a summer vacation with your family, you will take your whole house with you. One of the greatest obstructions to the progress of a city is the out-of-date dwellings it contains. How easy would it be to improve a city if we could cart away to the country or the rickety old houses of the slums

Starting point is 10:43:36 and lay out the city with wide streets of up-to-day buildings? As to the use of my invention for war purposes, they are practically unlimited. Think of the advantage of being able to fly over the mountain, with heavy artillery or with the regiments of soldiers and ammunition and provisions of all sorts. Think of what you could do with a flying fort. You can land your fort right in the middle of your enemy's chief city or on his line of railroad and cut off his supplies.

Starting point is 10:44:02 You could very easily cause whole armies to surrender without the loss of a man. But now, Silas, I'm going to show you the jewel of my collection. I'm going to show you my Air Express, capable of carrying merchandise from one part of the earth to another at the rate of one thousand miles per hour. Chapter 3. Dr. Hackensaw's Air Express. I think I have solved the problem of cheap and rapid transportation, Silas, continued the doctor, as he led him into a large hangar in the center of which was a large cylindrical car, from the bottom of which projected a smaller cylinder.

Starting point is 10:44:36 Here, my boy, is my air express, observed Dr. Hackensaw, impressively. Here is a car that can defy the laws of gravitation and travel. 1,000 miles per hour, without the need of a propeller or motor of any kind. Gravitation and anti-gravitation do the whole work. The only power required can be supplied by a 15-year-old boy, yet this car can reach a place 12,000 miles away in 12 hours. What do you think of that? I confess, I don't understand it, replied Silas.

Starting point is 10:45:07 Does it work the same way as your mountain-climbing car? No, indeed. The principle is entirely different. This car takes advantage of the rotary speed of the Earth on its axis, for, as you know, the Earth turns 1,000 miles every hour. When you were a boy, Silas, you must have wondered why people who took a 12-hour balloon ride did not find themselves at the antipodes when they landed. The reason is, of course, that our atmosphere spins around with the Earth, the lag being

Starting point is 10:45:36 very slight. If, however, we could get a car up above the air and screamed from the attraction of the Earth. It could wait there while the Earth spun around, and when the car came down 12 hours later, it would find Australia waiting for it at the spot where it had left New York. In a word, the car would not have traveled to Australia, but Australia would have traveled to the car. That is the principle on which my Air Express works. This cylinder that you see here is my car. It is loaded with merchandise for Australia, and I intend to send it off this week. But, objected Silas, Didn't you once tell me that if a car left the earth, it would shoot off in a straight line at a thousand miles an hour in the same direction in which the earth was turning?

Starting point is 10:46:18 I did, Silas. I see I shall need another diagram. This circle is the earth, and the arrow shows the direction of rotation, Y1, is the position of New York at the time the car is shot off, and A1 is the position of Australia at the same time. C1 is the position of the car when it starts off on the straight tangent, and C2, C3, and C3. are its position at intervals of six hours since the car receives an impulse of 1,000 miles per hour from the rotation of the earth. At the end of six hours, the car has traveled 6,000 miles, and will be at C2, while New York would be at Y2, and the end of 12 hours the car would be at C3, and New York would be at A1, while Australia would be at Y1, the point being from which the car was shot. Of course, long before this time, the passenger would let in the earth's attraction,

Starting point is 10:47:09 so as to be pulled back to some new point X where the car would meet Australia. In fact, I should never let the car get more than about a thousand miles from the Earth as I believe the atmosphere there would be sufficiently rarefied. But you told me the car would also fly off at a tangent to the Earth's orbit around the sun. True, but the tangent of the orbit itself

Starting point is 10:47:29 would differ so slightly that it could easily make up for the difference by letting in a trifle more attraction from the Earth. What is the object of that cylinder below the car? Well, that holds ballast to keep the car upright during the trip, for it is important that the screen should always be parallel to the earth's surface. Have you found anyone to send as a passenger? Yes, I'm going to send my 15-year-old office boy, Miggs, or I suppose I should say, Tintagelie Smith. Chapter 4. Tintagelie Smith was Dr. Hackensaw's 15-year-old office boy.

Starting point is 10:48:04 His father, plain John Smith, decided that his son should have a distinctive name. He succeeded, for there's probably no other Tintagli's smith in existence. Tintagli's was born a scientist. At the age of 12, he learned that yellow and blue combined to make green, so he took two small boys, chalked the nose of one with blue crayon and the other with yellow crayon, then compelled the boys to rub noses together until a beautiful green resulted. At 13, Titagli's found a position, and with the first money he saved, he bought a revolver and started for the Wild West to fight the Indians.

Starting point is 10:48:38 His father caught him, however, before he had gone 15 miles, and after a spiritual saunce in the woodshed, Titagli's found standing more comfortable than sitting for a couple of days afterwards. Finally, at 15, Dr. Hackensaw, hearing this story, decided that a lad with sufficient ambition and enterprise to emulate Buffalo Bill would make a valuable assistant, and accordingly took him to his employ. He knew he had chosen wisely when he learned later that Tintagelies had paid a public stenographer to write him some love letters addressed to the office, which letters the boy would apparently, by accident, display to his fellow clerks,

Starting point is 10:49:14 so that the words, My Own precious darling, or loads of kisses from your own little tootsy-wutzy-Maddle, would drive them wild with envy. Now, it was a sign of culture to be able to pronounce the name Tintagelis correctly. It rhymes with sneeze, and the accent is on the second syllable, and the G is soft. As the office boys were not over-anxious to show off their culture, they nicknamed him Miggs, a most inappropriate name, for he looked as if his name was Titageles.

Starting point is 10:49:43 Miggs had begged hard to be allowed to accompany the doctor on his trip to the moon. Dr. Hackensaw, on refusing, had promised to take him next time, and so it happened that Miggs was chosen to pilot the negative gravity car on its trip to Australia. On the day appointed for the start, Miggs appeared sharp on time, already for the trip, as was evidenced by a copy of the Nickel Library and a pamphlet, How to become a detective, peeping from his pocket. Aren't you afraid to go alone on such a trip as this, my boy? asked Silasiccette patronizingly.

Starting point is 10:50:16 Nope, responded the lad monosyllibically with a curl of the lip. Without another word, he entered the car through a door in the top, closing the opening behind him. In order to avoid all chance of accidents, the machine was timed by clockwork to start and return automatically. The boy, however, having been taught how to modify his speed in case of necessity, by opening or closing the anti-gravitation screens. At the pointed time, the screens began automatically closing,

Starting point is 10:50:43 and as they did so, the air above becoming lighter, the car was gradually sucked up until was high in the air, the speed of the vehicle gradually increasing, as more and more the Earth's attraction was shut off. I hope no harm comes to the boy, said Silas, with some emotion, as he clambered down from the platform followed by the doctor. Dr. Hackensaw heartily echoed the wish. Chapter 5

Starting point is 10:51:07 The Flight Miggs was delighted as the car arose in the air and he felt the peculiar sensation of lightness due to the cutting off of some of the earth's attraction Although cautioned by the doctor not to fool with the instruments His first care would about 25 miles from the ground was to close off the screen completely cutting off all attraction from the earth

Starting point is 10:51:28 This was delightful Away he shot at a speed of about 1,000 miles per hour but to his surprise he was pushed against the western side of the car for the atmosphere though extremely rarefied at this height offered an appreciable resistance to the car's progress while there was no resistance to his own however he soon got beyond the limits where the air had any appreciable effect on the car's flight then the last vestige of his weight left him and he found he could swim about in the air or somersault around in the car in a way that would have made a circus acrobat green with envy to a surprise the sun and the stars so still, there would no longer be any morning, noon, or evening for him, for the rotation of the

Starting point is 10:52:08 earth no longer affected him. He, like the sun and stars, was now a heavenly body, and viewed from the earth would seem to be revolving around it once every 24 hours, rising in the east and setting in the west. For one hour, Miggs allowed the car to rush through the heavens, and then gradually checked its speed by letting in more and more of the earth's attraction, until after a journey of about a thousand miles, he brought the car to a complete stop. and then allowed it to fall towards the Earth, its velocity increasing about 32 feet each second of the fall. When the Spenometer indicated a speed of 100 miles per hour towards the Earth,

Starting point is 10:52:44 Miggs regretfully shut off the gravitation again, allowing the car to continue downward by its acquired velocity. When he reached within a few miles of the Earth's surface, the atmosphere became dense enough to retard the car considerably, and he was obliged to let in a little more attraction in order to get up speed again. Unfortunately, his interference with Dr. Hackensaw, nicely regulated adjustments resulted in upsetting the doctor's calculations for the car landed in India instead of Australia and Dr. Hakensaw anxiously waiting for news of the car in its cargo

Starting point is 10:53:14 received the following characteristics dispatch by wireless. Mistake somewhere. Landed here in India instead of Australia. Car lost. Some fresh kids fooling with it closed the screens and the car went up like a flash. It must be near the moon now. One of the Hindu kids went up with it. Please send good wad of money by cable. Mail a bunch of detective stories to San Francisco so I can have something to read on my way home. Miggs. End of section 31. Section number 32 of Dr. Hakensaugh's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visitlibrovox.org. Read by Matthew Francis. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fezondi. The Secret

Starting point is 10:54:08 of the microscopic world. Authors note, this somewhat fantastic story of a microscopic world of men and women is written for the purpose of giving, in palatable form, some interesting

Starting point is 10:54:19 and not commonly known facts in regards to bees, especially in regard to the manner in which the bees contrive to hatch out males or females at will. My facts are taken from some of the best authorities

Starting point is 10:54:31 and hence may be relied upon. As to my speculations concerning the formation of a class of human neuters in the not-distant future, this is less a matter of theory than a matter of fact. Even at the present day, families are very small and are continually growing smaller, while the number of bachelors and maids is increasing yearly, forming what is really a class of neuters in the human race.

Starting point is 10:54:55 "'You've come just in time, Silas,' said Dr. Hagensohn, "'I've got something to show you today that is, in its way, more wonderful than anything you have yet seen. I myself will not believe it if I hadn't seen it with my own eyes. truly Shakespeare was right when he said, There are more things in heaven and earth Horatio than are dreamt of in thy philosophy. Don't keep me on pins and needles, doctor. Tell me at once what this new wonder is that you're going to show me,

Starting point is 10:55:21 said the reporter with a smile. Silas, continued the doctor impressively. It's a common failing of mankind to believe that all the greatest discoveries have already been made. In the last hundred years, we have seen all the marvels accomplished by steam, electricity, and radioactivity. Yet still we doubt that the future has similar great surprises in store for us. Of course, we are ready to admit if some of the planets, like Mars or Venus, may have new wonders to show us,

Starting point is 10:55:47 but as to the Earth itself, we think we know it pretty well. As a matter of fact, we know very little about it, especially the microscopic world. Well, Silas, I once showed you my super microscope. Evidently discoveries of the greatest importance await us in the world of the infinitely small, and I spared neither time nor money in perfecting my instrument. I have made many discoveries in regard to the constitution of matter, the life histories of disease germs and other bacteria, and have solved the number of the problems relating to life itself.

Starting point is 10:56:16 But recently, I had the good fortune of stumbling upon a microscopic world such as I had never dreamt of. Silas, if I were to tell you that I had found, on the speck of earth no larger than the size of a pinpoint, a world of microscopic men and women with their cities and farms, their commerce and industries, you would laugh at me and think I had lost my reason. But the fact remains that I have found just such a world. How I ever came to hit on it is a mystery, for there seems only one such world. I have searched the surrounding particles in vain for anything like it,

Starting point is 10:56:47 though even if another existed, the chances are great I could never find it. The search would be far more difficult than the traditional one of looking for a needle in a haystack, but the microscopic world seems unique. Silas Rockett's incredulity showed on his face, but he was too polite to say what he thought. I see you don't believe me, Silas, and I don't blame you. I, myself, couldn't believe my own eyes when I found this microcosm. Excuse me, I mean this small world, in the field of my microscope. The thing, however, is not so impossible as it seems at first sight.

Starting point is 10:57:19 You understand the laws of evolution or the survival of the fittest, as Herbert Spencer called it. As a rule, the large animals have an advantage over the small ones, and hence evolution is usually from the one-celled animal or plant to the larger mammals. But size is not always an advantage. The large animal requires more food and is more readily found by his enemies. Natural selection has produced the microbe as well as the elephant and the whale. In fact, above a certain limit, size seems a decided disadvantage, for all the large antediluvian monsters have perished from the face of the earth.

Starting point is 10:57:52 Such giants as the brontosaurus, the 80-foot-long diplodocus, and the hundred-foot-long gigantosaurus have all vanished. They were too large and could not compete with the smaller species. They succumbed in the Battle of Life because their enemies found them an easy prey. Now size is a very variable quality in animals, as we see in the dog and the horse. The form are ranges in size from the toy dog you can hold in your hand

Starting point is 10:58:16 to the gigantic mastiffs. The horse varies from the small Shetland pony to the immense percheron, and in ancient times horses existed that were no larger than small dogs. Similarly with plants, the scrub oak and the scrub pine are low forms closely related to the giant oaks and pines of our forests.

Starting point is 10:58:34 Well, that's true, assented Silas. Size is a mere matter of relativity, Einstein to the doctor. Nature can produce a minute insect as easily as an antediluvian monster. And as the small animal can more rapidly escape extinction, it is the most natural thing in the world that a race of men and women should have gradually become smaller and smaller until finally they attained microscopic size. In Africa, there are tribes of dwarves less than three feet high.

Starting point is 10:59:01 among the monkeys there are some very small species. Under certain conditions, we can easily conceive how the microscopic world evolved. However, be the reason what it may, such a race of diminutive men and women exists, and I'm going to show it to you right now. You will be the first person, besides myself, who has seen it. Come with me to my microscope rooms. Microscope rooms, echoed Silas. Have you more than one microscope?

Starting point is 10:59:27 Yes, indeed. My super microscope is in fact nothing but a microscope. combination of several microscopes, each one enlarging the image it receives and passing it on to the next. Here is microscope number one, continued the doctor, opening the door that led to a peculiarly constructed room containing an immense instrument. The lenses were several feet in diameter, and the instrument itself was some 20 feet high. All the adjustments had be made by machinery. There appeared to mean nothing on the object glass, but in reality there was an almost invisible speck of Earth, illuminated by most powerful electric lights, whose beams, however, first

Starting point is 11:00:02 passed through suitable solutions that filtered out the heat rays that would otherwise have destroyed the microscopic world in an instant. That's a fine instrument, said Silas, but it must have cost a pretty penny. It did, but it's worth every cent of it, and this is only one of the microscopes. Come now, to the second room. The second room contained microscope number two. You see, explained Dr. Hackensaw, the great problem, obtaining successive enlargements is to find some means of illuminating each enlargement you obtain.

Starting point is 11:00:32 Otherwise, the light soon becomes insufficient. To achieve this result, the images in my first microscope are photographed by a moving picture camera, which takes about a hundred snapshots per second, developing the plate at the same time. I study this film carefully, and a special device enables me to pass the film through the second microscope in such a way that the particular spot I have chosen will be the one magnified as the film passes through. Of course, as you understand, there is not the slightest difficulty in illuminating the film or negative as highly as I wish. As the records being permanent, I can go back at will and magnify other portions of the original film. As a rule, however, I magnify the central portion of the picture, and there is, of course,

Starting point is 11:01:13 less distortion of the image by doing so. Each succeeding microscope merely repeats the process. It takes some one central spot on each of the image of the previous films and enlarges this again. Finally, for convenience, the last negatives, which, like the others, are taken in natural colors by the process of my own, are projected on an ordinary movie screen and give me a slow-up of the scene actually occurring in the microscopic world. By means of audions and the loudspeaker, I can at the same time hear the sounds made by the creatures as you will proceed for yourself. So saying, Dr. Hagen saw pressed a button, and the room was in total darkness. Instead of a sheet, the screen was a mirror, and as the projector began to automatically throw the images on the screen, Silas beheld a vision that filled him with delight. It was a real city, which was depicted here, with houses of magnificent architecture, but altogether different from our modern ugly buildings.

Starting point is 11:02:07 They were more in the oriental style of the Hindus. The costumes, too, were different from ours, simple but very attractive, both men and women having bare arms and legs. They were very much like humans, too, but more refined in features, and the figures spoke to each other, though Silas was unable to understand a word that they said. Why, they have a language all their own, he cried. Yes, answered Dr. Hackensaw triumphantly. They speak the language from which our Sanskrit must have originally evolved, for it possesses many Sanskrit roots. Believe me, it was some job to understand their speech, but by catching the conversations on phonographic records and giving them to some of our best Sanskrit roots, scholars to decipher, I have been enabled to understand what they say, and the fact that these

Starting point is 11:02:52 men speak a Sanskrit language bears out my theory that these people are descended from normal-sized men and women. Then they are really men and women like us? queried the reporter. Not exactly. Wait until you have seen the queen. And Dr. Hackensaw adjusted a few thumbscrews, bringing a different role of film on the machine. And now there appeared on the screen a wonderful picture of a beautiful woman, reclining in a sort of hammock, bare-legged and bare-armed like the others, but considerably larger than her sisters. Isn't she a beauty? cried Dr. Hackensaw, enthusiastically. I call her Ionia, because an ion is the smallest thing known.

Starting point is 11:03:30 She is a dear girl, and I confess I have fallen in love with her. But how is it that she is so much larger than the others? I will tell you my explanation, Silas, and I think it is the true one. I believe Ionia is a queen in the same sense as the country. Queen Bee and a hive, in a word that she is the mother of all her subjects. Good gracious. To the large extent of people, Silas, the relation between sexes is looked upon as something halfway between a sin and a joke. They do not realize that the evolution of sex is one of the most marvelous achievements of nature, that it is sex which has produced the higher animals and raised

Starting point is 11:04:05 man to his present supreme position. It is sex that laid the base for social life and made civilization possible. The primitive animals and plants that possess no sex have been left far behind in the race, and yet strange to say, there now seems to be a reaction among the highly socialized community of animals, such as the ants and the bees. There has been evolved a sexless form, neuters or workers, as they are called. The ants show a transition stage. There are a number of males and females in the ant hill, but the majority are neuters, either workers or soldiers. In the bees, there is only one real female and the hive, the queen, and workers are undeveloped females. The drones, or males, are kept on

Starting point is 11:04:46 tolerance and killed off at the approach of winter. Only one drone is really necessary, but it is desirable to keep a number, so that when the queen leaves the hive seeking a lover, she shall not have to travel far before she finds him. Only one drone out of thousands of the hive is made happy, and he pays for the privilege with his life, for he dies in the act of mating. Now, I am convinced that this microscopic world we have before us, the conditions are very much the same as with bees. I am convinced these smaller, undeveloped women are really neuters, and that the queen is the only true female. In fact, if I am not mistaken, she lays eggs like a bee, instead of bringing forth her young alive. It must be so, for as you will see, her house contains cells of two sizes

Starting point is 11:05:30 exactly, as is the case with bees. Do bees make cells of two different sizes? Yes, the drone cells and the worker sales. In fact, they make a third and still larger size when they want the new queen. The bees are ahead of us in one way. They have the power of determining which of their young shall be males and which shall be females. Is it possible? The fact is undeniable, and for years the true explanation eluded our entomologists. But at last the solution has been found. What is the explanation? It was a pretty problem, continued the doctor. Of course, it has long been known that the workers constructed two sizes of cells, and that the eggs laid in the large cells

Starting point is 11:06:09 always hatched out as drones, while the eggs in the small cells hatched out as workers. But there seemed three possible explanations. First, the Queen Bee might possess the power of laying a male or female egg at will, and was always careful to lay a male egg in the drone cell and a female egg in the worker cell. Second, the Queen might know in some way

Starting point is 11:06:30 whether her next egg was to be male or female, and so be able to lay it in the right cell. Third, the eggs might all be alike, but the sex be determined by the food furnished by the workers to the growing larvae. As a matter of fact, none of these three theories was the correct one, though the true explanation was only discovered comparatively recently by careful observations under the microscope. And what is the secret? Simply this. The Queen Bee has in her abdomen what is known as a sperm sack. During her wedding flight, the sack is filled full of sperm by the drone, who then dies. The Queen B then returns to the hive with this small sack full of sperm, and this must serve her afterwards to fertilize her eggs during the remainder of her life, that is to say, for several years.

Starting point is 11:07:14 But that doesn't explain the sex of the young. Yes, it does. When the queen lays an egg in a small cell, that is to say, a worker cell, the tip of her abdomen is compressed, and a drop of sperm is forced out of the sperm sack and fertilizes the egg. When, on the other hand, the queen lays an egg in a large cell, a drone cell, her abdomen is not compressed, and the egg laid is unfertilized. The fertilized eggs produce females. The unfertilized eggs always produce males.

Starting point is 11:07:41 This explains, too, how it is that when, as occasionally happens, a worker bee develops sufficiently to lay eggs. These produce drones, since the eggs have not been fertilized. But, doctor, do you mean to tell me that you consider it an advantage for ants and bees to have a sex of neuters? Not only is it advantageous for ants and bees, Silas, but it seems to be advantageous for mankind as well. We too live in large social communities, and we two are rapidly evolving a race of neuters. You will hear a great deal of bosh about race suicide. As a matter of fact, evolution as a rule is inevitably accompanied by a diminution in the birth rate. Animals or plants low in the scale produce eggs or seeds in countless numbers.

Starting point is 11:08:24 A cherry tree will produce about a million cherries during its lifetime, each capable of growing into a new tree. A salmon, likewise, will lay a million eggs, each of which could produce a salmon. Competition kills off all but one of the offspring on an average, so that the total number of cherry trees or salmon remains about the same. Among the higher animals, there are fewer births, but also fewer deaths. In other words, there is less waste. You have heard of the law of Malthus, the law that led Darwin to his theory of natural selection. According to the Malthus, population in a new country doubles every 16 years. Hence, unless there were some natural check, there would soon be no room for the new men and women. But as population increases, the birth rate

Starting point is 11:09:07 diminishes until, as in France, a point is reached where the birth rate and death rate become equal, and population remains stationary. Many men and women marry late, or never marry at all, and the couples produce few children, or are even completely sterile. In a word, man too has already evolved a third sex, a sex of neuters. But all this is beside the point. Here are these microscopic men and women with their neuters distinct in appearance from either males or females. Here, too, are the cells in which the young grow from the egg. watch. Here are some nurses attending to a baby that has just emerged from his cell.

Starting point is 11:09:41 We're in luck, because the number of births is very few. These people seeming to have a life as long as our own. Hence, only a small annual birth rate is required to keep up the population. You say these beings have a spoken language? Yes, and in that too they differ from bees. How do you know that bees haven't spoken language? Pierre-Ubert, prove that by a clever and conclusive experiment. You are perhaps aware that bees have only one queen in a hive.

Starting point is 11:10:08 If anything happens to her, however, they at once set to work, hatching a new one from the worker egg. The way they do this is to make one large cell so as to give the larva a plenty of space in which they develop completely. Ubert took advantage of this fact. He opened a hive of bees and placed a fine meshed wire netting down the center, thus confining half the bees on one side of the hive and half on the other. Instantly the whole hive was in commotion, but after a few minutes everything returned to. its normal conditions. The bees on the side where there was no queen had evidently learned in some way from their friends that the queen was safe. Then Pierre-Roubert opened the hive again

Starting point is 11:10:45 and placed a second netting alongside the first, parallel to it, but an inch away. If the bees communicated with each other by sounds, a distance of an inch should be no obstacle. If, however, they communicated by touching each other, the partition would prevent them from giving their friends news that the queen was safe. The experiment proved the correctness of the theory. The The same commotion as before started in the hive, but on the side where the queen was, the disturbance soon subsided, as the bees learned that the queen was safe. On the other side of the hive, however, the news was not received, for these bees at once set about rearing a new queen.

Starting point is 11:11:18 Hence it was evident that the language of bees is one of touch and not of sound. You say you can understand the speech of your microscopic men and women? What do they speak about? They seem to be very primitive. The language is simple, like that of a savage, and their sentences are short consisting of only a few words. They seem to have no art, literature, or science, and their industries are undeveloped. Their houses are transparent, being made of a sort of wax-like substance. They make their own clothing, but it consists of the skins of animals, and is little more than a breech cloth.

Starting point is 11:11:50 They feed on flesh and on vegetables, and also prepare a kind of honey which they store up. They make a cordage of vegetable fibers, as you will see if you carefully examine the hammock in which Ionia is lying. They even have horses, or shall I call them unicorns. See, there is a neuter riding one now. Notice how the horn of the unicorn is gracefully twisted. Evidently, this animal evolved from dwarf horses of ancient times. Have these creatures no weapons? Yes, they are bows, arrows, and lances.

Starting point is 11:12:19 Wait till I turn the film and you can see a mammoth hunt. There. See how these tiny creatures, with their primitive weapons, bravely attack this monster, which, though microscopic to us, is gigantic to them. See how the unicorns help in the attack. It is really a wonderful sight. Do these creatures use fire? Not to my knowledge.

Starting point is 11:12:39 They seem to have stood still at the primitive age while we were making progress. I can only explain it on the theory that their small size gave them immunity from their enemies and made it easier for them to procure food. It is the struggle for existence that produces progress and evolution, where there are no competitors to fight against the life of ease renders people indolent and retrogression sets in. These people in their microscopic world seem to have few enemies, And yet, Dr. Hackensaw paused.

Starting point is 11:13:06 And yet, repeated Silas interrogatively, seeing that the doctor was holding something back. And yet there is part of their country which they seem to shun, and with good reason, for it seems to contain monsters in the most frightful kind, microscopic to us, of course, but gigantic to these little people. You will understand better, however, if I change the film.

Starting point is 11:13:28 Silas waited impatiently while the doctor, consulting a memorandum he had made, carefully turned several micrometer screens on his instruments. Even then, he was obliged to use a finder, similar to the finders used with large telescopes, before he could find the exact spot he was seeking. "'There, Silas!' he said. "'Now look!' The reporter gazed in surprise.

Starting point is 11:13:49 There, among a luxuriant tropical vegetation of palm-like cycats, tree ferns, and tropical cone-bearing trees, there was an enormous brontosaurus, quietly grazing, as if we may use the word grazing, were no grass or flowering plants. grew. You see Silas, explained Dr. Hackensaw. We are before us the Mesozoic landscape with its Mesozoic animals and plants. Grasses and flowers were unknown

Starting point is 11:14:13 at that period of the world's history, and the reptiles were the highest animals evolved. In some way, the creatures have survived in this reduced form, but have not progressed. But look, quick, see that ugly carnivorous dinosaur. That's a tyrannosaurus, I'll bet. What a frightful monster! See him

Starting point is 11:14:29 pounce on the Brontosaurus, though the latter is many times his size. Now he He's sucking his life-blood. Ooh! I can't stand this. I must turn the instrument in some other direction. I want another look at Hyonia. Again, the doctor shifted the thumbscrew,

Starting point is 11:14:43 and it soon brought the beautiful queen again upon the screen. But now she was out for a gallop on her unicorn through the shady woods. But horror of horror, another flesh-eating dinosaur, asleep in the forest, was awakened by the tramp of the unicorn's hoofs, and with one pounce had knocked over the horse and seized the fair rider in its reptilian jaws. quick doctor quick for mercy's sake save her cried silas but what can i do i'm perfectly helpless cried the doctor i could no more interfere than i could if this were taking place on the moon and then an idea came to him by an ingenious arrangement the last microscope and the first one were in the same room side by side this was for the purpose of enabling the doctor to shift the object glass at will there happened to be a small bottle of sulphuric acid on the table seizing this the doctor quickly poured some of the powerful acid into the object glasses. Instantly, the whole picture vanished, woods, city reptiles, and Ionia with them.

Starting point is 11:15:40 To the people on the microscopic world, it was as if some cataclysm had subtly blotted them out of existence. I'm sorry, I had to do it, Silas, remarked Dr. Hackensaw, almost sobbing. But I couldn't stand by and see Ionia torn to pieces by that cruel monster. It's a pity to have had to destroy this whole world of interesting creatures. But curiously enough, I had no. power to change anything in their world without destroying it completely. It is much the same in our human world. One man has very little power in improving it, but his powers of destruction

Starting point is 11:16:15 are practically unlimited. End of Section 32. Section 33 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Read by Matthew Francis. Dr. Hakensaugh's Secrets by Clement Fezondi. The Secret of Perpetual Motion. Authors note, Is perpetual motion possible?

Starting point is 11:16:54 The encyclopedias and the physicists answer, No. They claim that a machine accomplishes work and hence uses up energy, and that since new energy must be supplied to replace the amount consumed, a perpetual motion machine is an impossibility. To the author, however, it seems rash to make any such assertion until we know more about gravitation and molecular and atomic forces. Fifty years ago, both encyclopedias and scientists declared the philosopher's stone

Starting point is 11:17:22 an impossibility. But the discovery of radium changed matters entirely, and the transmutation of the metals may now be regarded as an assured fact. doctor, asked Pep Perkins, bouncing into the room where Dr. Hackensaw was examining with interest, would appear to be a child's ferris wheel. Is perpetual motion possible? Dr. Hackensaw smiled. Not only is perpetual motion possible, Miss Pipp, he said, but no other kind of motion is possible.

Starting point is 11:17:55 All motion is perpetual. As a matter of fact, the universe is based on two fundamental laws, known as, first, the law of the conservation of matter, and second, the law of the conservation of energy. I don't understand. In simple words, all matter is perpetual, and all motion is perpetual. Man cannot create or destroy a single particle of matter, nor can he create or destroy any energy. His power is limited to transforming one kind of matter or energy into another.

Starting point is 11:18:25 Here, for example, is a book weighing one pound. No matter what I do to the book, I can make it weigh no more and no less than one pound. Suppose I cut the book into a thousand pieces. The pieces would still weigh a pound. Yes, but if you burn the book, it would weigh less, cried Pep, delighted at having caught the doctor napping. Not a bit of it, retorted the latter. If I burned the book and carefully weighed the ashes and the gases and smoke that arose, I should find that they weighed much more than one pound,

Starting point is 11:18:56 because when the book burned, its carbon would have combined with some of the oxygen in the air to form carbon dioxide. Dutting the oxygen thus added, I would find that the ashes and the product together would weigh exactly one pound. Not the smallest fraction of an ounce would be destroyed. This universal law is what is known as the law of conservation of matter. Not a particle of matter can be either created or destroyed. It doesn't seem possible, objected Pep, but Dr. Hackensaw quietly continued. Similarly, with motion, if I slam my fist down on the table, the motion is not stopped. It is merely transformed into wind and heat.

Starting point is 11:19:37 And wind and heat are merely motions of another kind. The total amount of energy produced would be exactly equivalent to the energy consumed. Yes, cried Pep triumphantly. But you yourself created the energy that moved your arm. Nothing of the kind, returned the doctor. The energy that moved my arm was derived from my food. It was stored up in the meat or vegetables I had eaten. Plants stored up the energy of the sun in the form of carbon.

Starting point is 11:20:04 Animals eat the plants and can then use this energy that has been stored up in the form of starch, sugar or other carbon compound. Every time you move, Miss Pep, every time you think, every time you feel an emotion, the power that moves your muscles, that works your brain, or that quickens your pulse, is nothing but stored up sunlight bottled up in the green tissues of plants. It is the sunlight of bygone ages stored up in the coal or petroleum that runs our trains, our steamers and our automobiles, and that heats and lights our houses today. Even the power from our waterfalls and windmills is nothing but the sun's energy in another form.

Starting point is 11:20:43 Is that what you mean by saying that all motion is perpetual? Yes, everything in this universe is constantly in motion. The stars and the skies are all moving. The earth, with everything on it, has a three-fold rotation. It revolves daily around its axis, yearly around the sun, and with the sun it journeys through the unknown portions of the heavens. Nor is this all. Chemistry teaches us that the atoms and molecules of every grain of sand are also in rapid movement.

Starting point is 11:21:13 In a word, motion is perpetual, everywhere. Nothing is ever at rest. Then why is it, question, Pep, that people say that perpetual motion is impossible? They refer to what are known as perpetual motion machines. That is to say, machines that once given us, start would keep on running forever. In a machine there is always friction, and friction changes a portion of the energy into heat, which although not lost, is dissipated into space and hence lost to the machine. We may by new inventions greatly reduce the losses by friction,

Starting point is 11:21:49 but we can never entirely eliminate them. Besides, this loss by friction, there is also another loss. Every useful machine does work, and in performing this work, a portion of the energy is is also transformed to deheat or sound or other useless vibrations. For example, in sawing a log there is not only the loss by friction in the working parts of the machine itself, but there is the added loss caused by the friction of the saw as it makes its way through the timber. Then if I understand you, perpetual motion is possible, but a perpetual motion machine is impossible.

Starting point is 11:22:25 I didn't say that. The statement must be qualified. Of course, I am not speaking now to the host of perpetual motion cranks, who believe that by a suitable arrangement of magnets or floats on a wheel, the wheel may be made to revolve forever. These geniuses seem to forget that the power required to move the float or the magnet is greater than the power obtained, and hence there is always loss of energy. We see this in the dynamo, which is nothing but a series of shifting magnets on a wheel.

Starting point is 11:22:55 But the dynamo, in spite of its high efficiency, consumes more energy than it gives out. When I was a boy of ten, I invented the perpetual motion machine that every bright boy invents. I had two basins of water, and I proposed by means of one siphon to siphon the water from one basin to the other, and by means of a second siphon to make the water flow back into the first vessel again. If I had succeeded, I should have had a real perpetual motion machine, with the water constantly flowing. Wouldn't the thing work? No, for the simple reason that you can only siphon off water from the higher level to the lower one, and both basins cannot be lower at the same time.

Starting point is 11:23:37 Yes, but you keep raising the full basin. Precisely, and in doing so you use more energy than the water can give in descending again. That's where the flaw lies. Here's a very similar scheme a man proposed to me this morning. So saying, Dr. Hackensaw drew from among his papers a diagram. The water in the upper closed chamber falls through the pipe B on the wheel W, causing the wheel to revolve and the water then flows back into the lower reservoir. As the water empties from B, a vacuum is formed in the upper reservoir and atmospheric pressure

Starting point is 11:24:09 on the water in the lower reservoir is supposed to force it up into the vacuum, and so the stream will keep on flowing and turning the wheel forever. Simple, isn't it? All the work you want done at no expense. It looks as if it would work, said Pep. Where's the flaw? Simply in the fact that the water wouldn't run out of B. It would run back through the long leg A instead.

Starting point is 11:24:33 The scheme is ingenious, but so are many of those proposed. In fact, a number of perpetual motion machines slip into the patent office undetected, in spite of the efforts made to keep them out. But a water wheel or windmill will keep on forever. Yes, but the force here is constantly renewed. It is the sun that furnishes the energy of the wind or the falling water. But the sun only does so at the expense of its own heat. The supply of energy must be constantly renewed and will result in the sun's ultimately

Starting point is 11:25:04 becoming a cold dead mass. The same objection lies to self-winding clocks. There are clocks made which wind themselves daily through the change of temperature between the daytime and the nighttime. Here too, it is the sun's heat that supplies the loss of energy. I might class in the same category the following attractive perpetual motion scheme, which some genius sent to the White House during President Cleveland's administration. The idea was to establish a business for utilizing the fur of cats.

Starting point is 11:25:34 The cats were to be fed on rats, and the rats were to be fed on the dead bodies of the cats after the hides had been removed. In order to compensate for the matter removed in the skins and for other losses, the rats were to be kept in a large enclosure in the open air and the weeds that would grow spontaneously, would supply the rodents with more than enough food to make up for any deficiency. The business could run itself almost automatically, at practically no expense. There seemed millions in it, but, to the best of my belief, the president declined the tempting offer. The joke of the matter is, however, that there is absolutely nothing impossible in the

Starting point is 11:26:12 scheme. It would be merely doing on a small scale what nature does on a large scale, for all animals feed on plants or on other animals, while the plants feed on the waste of animals. It is one perpetual round, the same as in the case of the water wheel or the windmill, and all losses are, in this case, also, compensated for, by energy derived from the sun's heat, the energy, in this case, being stored up in the growing plant.

Starting point is 11:26:40 Gee, doctor, cried Pep, that's a dandy scheme, all right. But it seems to me that all you say shows that a perpetual motion machine, is impossible. Not at all, but our inventors are seeking it in the wrong direction. No wheel or magnets or floats will ever bring them what they are hunting for. The gist of the matter is this. A machine that does work transforms energy into heat. In order to secure perpetual motion, we must prevent the heat from escaping and change it back into energy again. There is a problem in a nutshell. And have you succeeded in doing it? Only to a very very

Starting point is 11:27:17 limited extent. But while making my experiments, the idea occurred to me that we might find perpetual motion in atomic or molecular forces, of which heat is, of course, one manifestation. Here too, however, my efforts have so far proved vain, although, of course, until we know something more about the atoms and molecules, we cannot predict what surprises there may be in store for us. And then all at once, my thoughts turned to gravitation. was a source of energy which seemed inexhaustible, for we have no reason whatever for believing

Starting point is 11:27:50 that the earth in attracting another body uses up any of its energy. Its attractive power seems just as great afterwards as before. Here, if anywhere, was the place to seek perpetual motion. But I won't tire you with an account of my experiment. For some months past I have had an experimental machine under construction up in the Adirondacks. I have just received word from my foreman that the machine is now finished. ready for the start. I'm going to fly there this afternoon in my airplane, and if you want to come along, you can yourself press the button that will start the machine going.

Starting point is 11:28:26 Chapter 2. It was rather late at night when Dr. Hackensaw and Pepp reached the mountain where the perpetual motion machine had been erected. Pepp was disappointed. She'd expected to see some huge contrivance, but all she saw was a closed metallic cylinder, about 20 feet in diameter and ten feet high, arranged so it could slide up and down in a tall, strong framework. There! exclaimed Dr. Hackensaw triumphantly. That's the machine. Once the button is pressed, that cylinder, or car, as I call it, will begin to rise and fall in these guides, and its reciprocating motion will by suitable gears turn this dynamo, you see. But how does the thing work? asked Pep.

Starting point is 11:29:09 It works by means of a gravitation screen at the bottom of the car. I told you some of months ago that there was no more reason why we shouldn't find means to shut off gravitation than to shut off heat or light or sound. I found the means of constructing a gravitation screen and sent Miggs off on a trip to India. Well, curiously enough, I didn't realize at the time that I had discovered perpetual motion, but the idea struck me all at once, and the result is this machine that you see here. Dr. Hackensaw paused here for a moment, and then continued impressively. At the bottom of this heavy cylinder that you see here is a gravitation screen that may be opened or closed at will. When closed, the attractive force of the earth is partially

Starting point is 11:29:52 or wholly shut off. The air above the car loses its weight and atmospheric pressure from below will force the car upward with the pressure that can reach as high as 15 pounds to the square inch. On a surface 20 feet in diameter, you can readily understand that the machine will lift tons upon tons of weight. When the car reaches a certain height, the gravitation screen automatically opens and the car descends by its own weight. By means of these gears, work is done both during the ascent and the descent. As the car descends, the screen automatically closes and the car rises again. And so the machine will keep on working forever.

Starting point is 11:30:29 We have here real perpetual motion, for we perform work without the expenditure of any energy. Yes, assented pep. The same as a windmill or water wheel. No, indeed, returned the doctor. In a windmill or water wheel, we obtain energy from the heat of the sun. The sun has lost that energy. But in the case of my machine, no energy has been lost. Gravitation has done the work, and we have no reason for believing that the Earth has lost any of its power of attraction.

Starting point is 11:31:00 I could build thousands of these machines, manufactured heat, light, and power enough for all the needs of the Earth, and yet the power of attraction of the Earth would not be reduced one. particle. In the case of heat emanating from the sun, the heat is not replaced. The sun must grow cold someday, but this power I obtained from gravitation is power I obtained for nothing. In a word, it is true perpetual motion. This machine, Pep, will revolutionize all industry and all transportation. I have solved the problem of getting something for nothing. But, objected Pep, it must take some power to open and close the gravitation screens. Almost nothing. If you pounds, pressure suffices, and I have tons of power at my disposal. This invention is bound to be the most

Starting point is 11:31:46 profitable of the many profitable inventions I have made. It will bring me in not millions of dollars, but billions of dollars. There will be no more use for coal or petroleum, because I can obtain unlimited electrical power at a trifling expense. Well, doctor, shall I press the button and set the machine going? Not tonight. It is too late. Better wait until morning. Chapter 3 In the middle of the night Pep was suddenly awakened by a roughed hand placed over her mouth while a hoarse voice whispered in her ear

Starting point is 11:32:19 If you make the least noise kid I'll slash your throat as I did Dr. Hackensaws And to Pep's inexpressible terror As the man turned on his flashlight She saw that the villain was masked And that both his hands were covered with blood As a rule she did not lack courage As she had shown on more than one occasion

Starting point is 11:32:38 but now she was so terrified that she offered no resistance as the man gagged her and tied her hands behind her back. Now, kiddo, said the burglar, lead me to the place where Dr. Hackensaw left his bag. I know he brought a bag full of greenbacks with him to pay off his men here, and I happen to need the money more than he does. As the fellow said the words, Pep remembered that the doctor had deposited his satchel inside the anti-gravitation car, and she accordingly obediently led the way. thither, followed by the burglar.

Starting point is 11:33:12 Oh, it's in there, is it? said the man, as he came to the perpetual motion machine and threw open the door. Yes, I see it! And he climbed into the car. Then PEP recovered her wanted energy. With one kick of her bare feet, she slammed the door closed, and then, with the skill of a ballet dancer, she pressed down the starting switch with her toe, although the switch was at a higher level than her head. Instantly, the machinery began to work, and Pep felt a strong current of air, as the car, slowly losing its gravity, began slowly to ascend in the guides, until it reached a certain point, and then descend it again. This up-and-down motion continuing, while Pep vainly struggled to free her hands or get the gag out of her mouth. Failing in both these objects, she started to run back

Starting point is 11:34:00 to the house to alarm someone when suddenly she heard a large crash and saw the car ascend to the very top of the guides, where something gave way and the car shot up into space. The villain, in his desperate efforts to escape, had evidently completely closed the gravitation screen, and then the screen must have automatically opened again. For a few seconds later, the car fell to Earth with a crash and broke open, revealing the crushed and lifeless body of the villain. No, indeed, Pip! said Dr. Hackensaw, genially.

Starting point is 11:34:34 The fellow didn't even try to harm me. I see he searched through my room, and not finding my satchel there. He thought he could frighten you by showing you a pair of bloody hands and telling you that he had cut my throat. You can see that it was imitation blood he used. Not a bad idea,

Starting point is 11:34:49 because it impresses a woman and keeps her from screaming. I would rather have lost a few thousand dollars, though, than to have him ruin my machine. It will take me months to build another one. But you were a brave girl, Pep, and I'm glad you outwitted him, because he might have taken it into his head to kill you in order to make sure of getting off safely with the cash. As for Pep, once she was assured of the doctor's safety, she was jubilant,

Starting point is 11:35:14 and she was never tired of recounting to her friends her adventure with the burglar. Poor Dr. Hackensaw got very tired after a while of listening to these endless repetitions, and he even went off so far as to remark one day to Silas Rockett, Do you know, Silas, I verily believe the nearest approach to perpetual motion in this world is a woman's tongue. End of Section 33. Section 34 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 11:35:54 For more information or to volunteer, please visitlibrovox.org. Read by Ben Tucker. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi. The Secret of the Extinct Microb Author's note History is preserved for us Some account of the horrible plagues That in former times occasionally

Starting point is 11:36:13 Overspread the earth Even in recent times Epidemics of cholera Infantile paralysis etc. Have visited us And there's no telling When a more violent attack Than any yet known may make its appearance

Starting point is 11:36:24 The one enemy that exists The most dangerous to mankind Is the microbe And unless we mobilize properly for the combat these microscopic creatures may sweep mankind from the planet. Luckily, scientists recognize the danger. The Lister Institute of London has now some 1,500 species of microbes under cultivation and adds a new species to its list almost every day.

Starting point is 11:36:48 They make a study not only of the disease germs, but also of the microbes beneficial to humanity, those without whose aid human life would be impossible on the earth. For microbes are at one and the same time our worst enemies, our best friends. Chapter 1. Pep, said Dr. Hackensaw, do you really want to come for another short trip to Africa with me? Sure I do, Pop, replied Pep Perkins with alacrity, for she was always ready for a trip anywhere at any time. But what's up now? Are you going on a hunt? Yes, Pep, a hunt for animals, more dangerous than lions and tigers. I'm going on a microbe hunt. Jerusalem, cried Pep, surprised. Can't you find any microbes here in New York? I read somewhere that every dollar bill was covered,

Starting point is 11:37:32 covered with billions of them. Can't you get a dollar bill without going to Africa for it? Dr. Hackensaw laughed. To tell you the truth, Pep, said he. I'm jealous. I have, as you know, a fine collection of microbes in my bacteriological laboratory, more than a thousand species. But there's a society in England that's got more species than I have. Now I am sure that the Orient must contain thousands of unknown species, and I mean to bag some of them. "'Moreover, I have been offered a bargain "'and some very ancient Egyptian mummies. "'Hence I have decided to start tomorrow

Starting point is 11:38:04 "'for the pyramids in my aeroplane, the Hooche. "'If you are ready in time, you can go with me.' "'Doctor?' said Pep. "'I saw in the paper last week "'that a fly in the dining room was more dangerous "'than a Bengal tiger. "'Well, I bet that if the man that wrote it "'was given his choice of two dining rooms,

Starting point is 11:38:20 "'one with a live tiger in it "'and the other one with ten thousand or more flies, "'I know which room he'd choose, "'and he wouldn't hesitate much either.' Dr. Hackensaw laughed again. You're right in one way, Pep, said he, and yet a dangerous microbe is capable of doing far more damage than any tiger. This English society that I've been speaking of

Starting point is 11:38:38 sends specimen microbes to other investigators for study, but some species are so dangerous they cannot allow them to leave their hands. For example, the basilis tularens was so virulent that no ordinary bacteriologists could be trusted to handle it. In fact, its culture was discontinued, though the disease it causes, a sort of blood poisoning, is seldom fatal to man. "'Pop?' said Pep. "'Didn't you once tell me that if a needle were dipped into the blood of a disease tissue,

Starting point is 11:39:07 it would hold on its point millions of microbes of different species?' "'I did.' "'Then how in the world can you separate them and pick out the one microbe you want out of the bunch? "'Suppose there are a thousand different species and a thousand germs of each kind. "'How can you possibly fish out the one you want?' Dr. Hackensaw smiled. The problem was by no means an easy one to solve, he explained. It was a far more difficult task than the one set to the princesses and the old fairy tales.

Starting point is 11:39:33 If you remember, the wicked stepmother spills on the ground a bushel of millet and rapeseed well mixed together and requires the princess to separate them. The young lady always succeeds, but she has to get the help of the ants. Even the ants would be powerless to help the bacteriologist, for a microbe is infinitely smaller than a rape seed. But how does he manage? Persisted Pep. Well, a modern businessman would find no difficulty in separating ripe from millet seeds. He would either use sieves or a blast of air to blow the lighter grain away from the heavier one,

Starting point is 11:40:04 or centrifugal power, or something similar. But the biologist has no such resource. He holds on the point of his needle some millions of invisible germs of different species, and he is required to separate from the invisible cluster one single microbe. Let us say the germ of muzzle. malaria from which he wishes to obtain a pure culture. The job seems hopeless, remarked Pepp. Yes, and yet in reality it is very simple when you know how to set about it.

Starting point is 11:40:33 The bacteriologist has but to take a quantity of distilled water heated to make sure that every germ it contains is killed, and then with proper precautions introduce his drop of blood. He now shakes the flask until the microbes and the drop of blood are well scattered through the liquid. Each drop of the water will now contain only about a million microbes. He then takes on a clean needle a single drop of this water and introduces it into another flask of distilled water. After shaking the flask, each drop of water will now contain, let us say, only 1,000 germs. By continuing the process, a point is at last reached

Starting point is 11:41:06 when only one drop of water in 100 contains any germ at all, and then usually only a single microbe, occasionally two or three that clean together. The biologist's task is now almost over. He lays out a large sheet of sterilized blotting paper, and in sterilized air he lets the water fall on the paper, drop by drop, each drop some distance from its neighbors. What happens? The drops that contain no microbes remain unchanged. Those that contain only one microbe will grow and form a pure culture of that species. In those drops that contain two or three microbes, the culture will be impure and must be discarded. This, of course, is only a broad outline of the process followed, but you will understand. that the experimenter has no trouble in picking out his culture of pure malarial germs from the

Starting point is 11:41:52 others on the paper. "'Say, that's great,' cried Pep. "'And yet so simple, after all. Well, I'll go and get ready. Shall I take any money along? A lot of money?' "'Yes,' said Dr. Hackensaw. In fact, judging from past experience, I would advise you to take more than that.'

Starting point is 11:42:09 "'Chapter two.' "'Well, Pep, what do you think of the land of Egypt?' asked Dr. Hackensaw some days later as he surveyed the pyramids from his biological laboratory for his assistants had hired a house for him in Cairo. And he found the establishment in full swing when he arrived with Pep in his aeroplane. Gee, it's fierce, replied Pep. There's not a single handsome young fellow at the hotel, not even a homely single young man. They're all married.

Starting point is 11:42:35 I hope you'll finish your microbe hunt soon so we can get home again. My assistants here have found a number of new species already, but come and look at my mummies. The guide assures me that some of those I've just bought are among the oldest ever found here. I've just been examining them, and I have seen evidences that people 5,000 years ago suffered from many of the same diseases we have now,

Starting point is 11:42:56 for their bones and tissues still show traces of the disease. Chronic arthritis, which is a rheumatic disease of the joints, existed then, as did also some infectious diseases of the teeth and tubercular disease of the spine. I wish some of the old-time bacteria had survived, so I could compare them with the modern ones. It is no easy job to examine the hard and brittle mummified tissues and organs. But the late Sir Mark Armand Ruffer proved by the microscope that bacteria existed in ancient times

Starting point is 11:43:27 and that the old Egyptians were subject to kidney disease. All the evidence goes to show that pneumonia, plague, malaria, and possibly even smallpox existed 3,000 or more years ago. The mummies had been removed from their wrappings and were stretched on a table in the center of the room. Several of the tissues had been cut off and were soaking in a solution. to soften them for examination. By the way, doctor, exclaimed the young assistant, we found a strange thing wrapped up with one of the mummies.

Starting point is 11:43:55 A small, highly decorated earthenware jar, but hermetically sealed. Here it is. What do you suppose it can contain? Dr. Hackensaw picked up the object with interest. It was a small vase and was decorated with taste. It, moreover, bore some hieroglyphics, which, however, conveyed no meaning to the doctor.

Starting point is 11:44:12 I've read, Pep, said he, that seeds found in Egyptian mummies were so well preserved, that they have germinated after several thousand years. I never put any faith in the stories, though there is no inherent reason why the thing should be impossible. For a microbe to retain its life so long, however, would seem an impossibility, for even in the spore stage,

Starting point is 11:44:31 few microbes retain their vitality long. I wonder what we shall find in here, something interesting, no doubt. Why don't you open it and see? Ask Pep, prosaically. A very good idea, assented the doctor, and with a great precaution, he dug out the resinous substance that closed the mouth of the bottle, and disclosed,

Starting point is 11:44:49 a dried-up human heart. "'Nothing very interesting here,' said the doctor. "'Probably the heart of a king or some other high personage. "'I wonder if the resin that formed the stopper may not be more interesting. "'I have a great mind to examine it to see if, by any possibility, "'it might contain some living spore from bygone days. "'It will do no harm to try.' "'In leaving Pep to flirt with the young assistant,

Starting point is 11:45:12 the doctor took the piece of amber-like substance into the laboratory and proceeded to cut a small piece from the center and dissolve it slowly in a suitable liquid. For two or three weeks he continued the work, then one day triumphantly called to Pep. Eureka! he cried, I have found it. I have found a prehistoric microbe unlike anything that has been found so far. The species must be extinct, but some of the spores became embedded in this resin and have retained their life for three or four thousand years. If you will look at my cultures under the microscope, you will see that the species is somewhat triangular, but with the points blunt, making the figure really secited. My assistants have succeeded wonderfully, and I have now an amount of the culture sufficient to begin my new experiments. I call my new microbe the basilis tentagelis.

Starting point is 11:45:59 I named it after miggs for the reason that with a boy, as with a microbe, you never know what's going to happen. I inoculated some of the germs into a dog this morning, but unfortunately the dog ran away after the operation. I sincerely hope that if my microbe does produce disease, the disease will not prove a contagious one, or all the dogs of Cairo may fall victims to it. Unfortunately, the disease was contagious, and contagious to an extraordinary degree. Before a week had passed, there was an outbreak of distemper among the Egyptian dogs. Peculiar eruptions appeared on their bodies, accompanied by a violent fever. Worse still, the plague soon spread to human beings, and men, women, and children fell victims to it. Luckily, it was not fatal, but it brought them down to death's door,

Starting point is 11:46:43 and the convalescence was very slow. By a miracle, Dr. Hackensaw escaped, although he toiled night and day with the new microbe, studying its life history and its effects on man and animals. The epidemic spread far and wide, and its ravages resembled those of the plagues of ancient days. Pep was constantly at the doctor's side ready to run his errands for him, and to her he unbosomed himself. There must exist some remedy for this disease, said. said he, and it's my job to find it, since I am the author of the mischief. But I seem to have tried every method known to science for fighting disease, and none seems to answer. Drugs seem powerless. Of course, antiseptics such as carbolic acid, bichloride, mercury, etc.,

Starting point is 11:47:24 will kill the isolated germ, just as they will any other disease germ, but they do not seem able to reach the microbic spores when they are snugly embedded in the tissues. Why not try inoculation? asked Pep. I have. Of course it would be dangerous to inoculate living germs, but scientists have found that the inoculation of dead microbes will often answer. A living germ grows and spreads, and so gives the very disease it is a desired to avoid. Jenner, with his cowpox, used a milder germ than that of the smallpox he fought. Pesture weakened his germs by exposing them to the air. He found that in rabies, which is the scientific name for hydrophobia, if the disease spinal cord, are hung up in the air for a day or two, the germs will become weak, and only a mild attack of hydrophobia will result when they are inoculated. By beginning with these weak germs and gradually using

Starting point is 11:48:17 stronger and stronger ones, he could make a rabbit or dog immune even to the most virulent germs. In fact, he found means of increasing the normal virulence of the germs, for he found that when he passed the disease from one dog to another, the microbe was more virulent in the second dog than in the first one. You must know, Pep, that when a microbe at a healthy person, the body fights might and main to protect itself. It puts forth all its efforts to localize the disease. Pimples and other such eruptions are prisons, which nature has provided for microbes that she has no other means of getting rid of. Then there are the phagocytes or white corpuscles of the blood, which attack the invading microbes and eat them up. The phagocytes are helped by the

Starting point is 11:49:00 opacens which soften the microbes and make them easier to absorb, and also by the agglutinins, which glue the microbes into bunches and so hinder their free passage in the blood vessels. Then there are also the antitoxins whose business it is to destroy the poisons excreted by the microbes. Now, microbes are comparatively new to science. Practically nothing was known about them before Pasteur's experiments on hydrophobia. But nature knew about them hundreds of thousands of years ago, and has used her antitoxins, etc., against them from time immemorial. In fact, nature must know many similar things which we shall not.

Starting point is 11:49:36 not learn of for thousands of years to come. From all this, you will readily understand that when a microbe enters the body, the alarm is at once given, and all the arsenal of antibodies attack the intruder. Now it has been found that even a dead microbe introduced into the body produces these reactions, from which we may safely infer that the action is mechanical or chemical, probably the latter. These dead germs are therefore excellent for inoculation purposes, and perfectly safe, for they can cause no disease. But, in this new plague they seem of no use. The body has been so long free from this particular species of germ that it no longer reacts to them in the early stages, and the disease therefore

Starting point is 11:50:17 spreads through all the tissues unhindered. I have only one last hope left, that is. The doctor paused. There was a great shouting outside, for a mob of Arabs had gathered in front of the building. They'd learned in some way that the doctor was responsible for the present outbreak, and the mob was now stoning the windows and clamoring for vengeance. We must get out of this pep at once, cried Dr. Hackensaw. Quick, borrow your maid's Arab dress in her heaviest veil, and I will get an Arab costume from my valet. We've got to get out the backway and get to the hangar.

Starting point is 11:50:48 Once in our aeroplane, the hoochy, we can get to some quiet spot where I can continue my researches. Luckily, the Arab dress is ample enough to conceal almost anything. I can carry my flask and test tubes with me, and no one will be any of the wiser for it. Gee, cried Pep, Won't that be great? I'll go barefoot and wear those heavy Arab anklets I bought. I can easily color my legs brown.

Starting point is 11:51:10 This will be the first real fun of the trip. Dr. Hackensaw hesitated a moment as to whether to disguise himself as an Arab woman or man. The heavy veil would, of course, be a protection. But to go as a woman would necessitate sacrificing his beard. So he finally decided to go as a man. If you carry a basket of green figs on your head, Pep, and I take a water jug in my hands I can stop and, hide my face by appearing to take a drink if I see any danger of being recognized. Under the

Starting point is 11:51:36 fig and in the jug I can pack some of my paraphernalia. The pair managed to slip out by the back way unnoticed, and once in the street mingled with the throng, there was little fear of detection. It would have taken a keen observer to detect that they were not real Arabs. They reached the hangar without trouble, and as the hoochie was in readiness for flight, they were soon miles away from the howling mob. It was not until Malta was reached that the doctor halted. Here he hired rooms and continued his researches with unabated zeal. For years he had experimented seeking to produce artificial antitoxins and other antibodies chemically by imitating the natural products found in the human body. All such efforts had so far proved unsuccessful, and there was no time now to

Starting point is 11:52:17 prosecute such researches. Even a serum is out of the question, Pep, he explained to her one day. What's a serum? A serum is what you might call a vaccination made to an animal instead of to yourself. you do not run any of the danger, and yet you profit by the result. The animal is inoculated with the disease, and it once begins manufacturing antitoxins, etc. The antibodies appear in the serum of its blood, and by injecting the serum into your body, you profit by it just as though you had manufactured it yourself. The only disadvantage is that the supply does not continue. You have to keep on injecting new serum.

Starting point is 11:52:53 On the other hand, you run no risks. Then why not try to make a serum? I have tried it, but the animals. won't react to this microbe any more than man does. I have only one hope left. This terrible microbe existed on the earth thousands of years ago and yet became extinct. What destroyed it?

Starting point is 11:53:10 Evidently, some enemy. Almost certainly some other species of microbe. If so, the probabilities are great that the sealed jar still contains some specimens of the enemy form. I must hunt for them. This clue was too promising a one to be overlooked, so the doctor began making cultures of every species of microbe he could find in the old jar,

Starting point is 11:53:29 and each species in turn he placed with some living specimens of the basilis tentagelis, and finally he was successful. PEP! he shouted, I've got it! I found the antidote to the disease! I found the microbe that put the tentagelis out of existence some thousands of years ago. Victory! I can now undo all the harm I've caused. My, but it was a close shave. It shows again how one man can easily do more harm in the world than a thousand men can repair. Even a scientist, with the best of intentions, may let loose a power for evil. I can sympathize now with the old-time monarch. I think it was Alfred the Great when he rebuked a chemist who offered him an explosive more powerful than gunpowder and paid the fellow to keep the

Starting point is 11:54:10 discovery secret. For the next week or two, Dr. Hackensaw was a busy man, for he had to propagate the basilis papita, as he called the new microbe on a gigantic scale. Luckily microbes, like yeast, propagate with tremendous rapidity, and under favorable conditions could cover the earth in a few weeks. Large quantities of the new species were shipped to Egypt where their presence at once made itself felt. As if by magic the epidemic was checked, and then those who had suffered from the strange disease began rapidly to recover. The basilis Papita had again vanquished the plague as it had once before in prehistoric days. "'Pep, my dear girl,' said Dr. Hackensaw, "'I can't tell you how pleased I am at the turn

Starting point is 11:54:50 things have taken. The experience shows, though, how necessary it is that we should at once began the thorough classification and study of the different species of microbes. Unfortunately, while our governments find billions for war, they grudge the few millions necessary for such scientific research work. Of course, the study of the bacteria will, curiously enough, lead to the invention of new diseases. For doubtless, many species of disease germs are harmless today because conditions are not favorable for their spread.

Starting point is 11:55:17 Nevertheless, we must run the risks, for the microbes are the one dangerous enemy left for mankind to conquer. No large animal now in existence, no lion, tiger, or other wild beast has any chance of ever supplanting man. But almost any species of microbe under favorable conditions could multiply in such numbers as to destroy man's food or kill off the last man alive by some dread epidemic worse than any that has ever yet appeared on Earth. Our only safety lies in knowledge. An army of militia would be powerless. What we need is an army of competent bacteriologists. of Section 34.

Starting point is 11:56:00 Section 35 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Christine Rucker. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondi. A Journey to the Year 3,000.

Starting point is 11:56:25 Authors note, It would be a wise man who could tell in advance all that he will do in the next 24 hours. How much more difficult to predict the condition of the world a thousand years hence, except in broad general lines? Pep, said Dr. Hackensaw, do you want to take a little trip with me? Sure I do, pop, replied Pep enthusiastically. I'm always dying to be on the go.

Starting point is 11:56:55 Where are you bound this time? I'm going on a little journey to the year 3000, and I thought you might like to come along. Quit your kid in pop and tell me what you mean. I'm not joking, Pep. I'm in dead earnest. You know my dream machine? Yep, you're a machine for making people dream whatever you want them to. Precisely. Well, you and I are going to visit the year 3000 in a dream.

Starting point is 11:57:26 Pepp's face fell. Aw, that won't be any fun, she said. Won't it? Well, you just try it and see. The dream will last only an hour anyway, so you won't lose much. Besides, you'd be doing me a great favor. I've been experimenting lately in making two people dream the same thing at the same time, that is to say, combining both in the same dream.

Starting point is 11:57:56 It is by no means an easy trick, for our individual brains differ so much that the same word will suggest an entirely different train of thought to each. For example, I am experimenting now with two lovers who have been separated for the summer. I try to give them both the same dream every night by means of the same suggestive words on a phonograph. record. For example, the words like Lake Moonlight, Canoe, Upset, Save Her, will certainly make both the lovers dream at the same time of a canoe ride ending in an upset, which he saves her from drowning. The details may and certainly will differ, but I can elaborate these as far as I think desirable, so that when the pair write to each other, they will be convinced they have indeed met in dreamland. The experiment has been so successful

Starting point is 11:59:04 that I now wish to try to take you along with me in a dream. All right, said Pep resignedly. If it will give you any pleasure, I am willing to spare you an hour. Thank you. I don't think you'll regret it. I have the phonograph records already, so if you will step into the glass, chamber, I will set the temperature, air blast, and other attachments, so they will work automatically by clockwork according to the graphs I have prepared. I shall then join you, and we can start at once. Please lie on the couch near the wall, and I will lie on the other couch. That's right, are you ready? So am I. Then I'll press the button for you. for the start. One, two, three, go. And at the word, the doctor pressed the button that was to hurl them

Starting point is 12:00:04 one thousand years into the future. As he did so, a soporific gas stole gradually into the closed glass chamber and soon caused the pair lying on the couches to fall into a deep slumber. Then an air blast swept out these gases and nothing was heard but the phonograph, which had already begun and which kept on repeating in a mournful drone the words meant to reach the sleeping senses of the dreamers and make them dream of the year 3000 with all its inventions and improvements. Chapter 2. Here we are, Pep, cried Dr. Hackensaw. We must be in the year 3,000, and I suppose we are still in New York City, though I don't see any houses or any people. Ah, here comes, someone. I'm here with you, Pop, cried Pep. But what a funny guy that is. Why he hasn't got

Starting point is 12:01:03 any hair on his head. He's as bald as a billiard ball. Say, Rube, she called out tauntingly. What made you shave your head? The cows won't know you when you get home. The person addressed, turned around, and looked at them in amazement, and with a special wonder at their hair. And at Dr. Hackensaw's beard. Why, who are you? What are you? cried the newcomer in great surprise. We're strangers and we've come to visit you. What's your number? My number's 8.2.Y. 325. What does that mean? asked Pep. It means that I was born in the year 2892 in New York City and that my birth was the 325th recorded in New York that year. The odd number shows that I am a girl.

Starting point is 12:01:55 The even numbers are given to boys. When we marry, we add an M to the number. You don't mean to say you're a girl, cried Pep. A girl without any hair, that's terrible. No one in New York has any hair. You are the first people I ever saw with hair on the face or on the heads. But I've heard of the hairy savages that lived a thousand years ago. Harry savages, cried Pep, drawing herself up proudly.

Starting point is 12:02:27 Are you speaking of us? Certainly, but I'm forgetting that I ought to put you in touch with the newspaper. For an ordinary news item, they only pay $100, but you ought to be worth from $500 to $1,000. Wait till I see first if you've already been signaled. So saying she took from her pocket a gold ring attached to the pocket by a long, thread and slipped the ring on her finger. Hurrah, she cried after a moment of intent listening. Your presence here isn't known to the paper yet. It's a scoop for me. Just listen and you can hear the account yourself. Here's a ring for each of you and a microphone to slip into your ear.

Starting point is 12:03:13 Dr. Hackensaw and Pep obediently placed the rings on their fingers and the microphones in their ears, and then waited to see what would happen. Nothing happened for a minute or two, and then suddenly they heard a shout, Two hairy creatures of ancient times visit New York. One a man and one a woman. They wear outlandish garments and speak an almost unintelligible old English. This was followed by a picture of themselves, which in some unaccountable manner they found in their mind's eye, evidently through vibrations of the microphone carried through the auditory nerve to some central ganglion and from there transmitted to the optic nerve. A pause ensued and then came a different voice addressed directly to them. New York Daily broadcaster will pay you $100,000 for a full account of yourselves.

Starting point is 12:04:11 Start at once. Dr. Hackensaw hesitated, but PEP, to whom a hundred thousand dollars, was a fortune began at once giving a rapid summary of their lives. At the conclusion of her speech, the voice said, Thank you, the $100,000 has been placed to your credit at the store. You're in luck, cried the 30th century made. One dollar means one day's food and lodging and clothing of the simplest sort. So $100,000 means you can live all your lifelong in luxury without doing any work.

Starting point is 12:04:47 My name is Electra, and I received $1,000 for reporting you because you're a scoop. That's good, Miss Electra, said Dr. Hackensaw, but I must ask for some explanations. In the first place, where can I get a newspaper? What do you mean? You just got the news. In fact, you were the news. But haven't you any printed newspaper? Yes, a few thousand copies are printed to keep on file in the library. and for the use of deaf people, but you'd have to order a copy in advance if you want one.

Starting point is 12:05:23 But what use would it be to you? I could read it. What's the use of that? That was all very well in the year 1900 when the Indian Chief Tammany ruled New York, but nowadays, what? cried Dr. Hackensaw, interrupting her. Oh, I see. I'm afraid your historians

Starting point is 12:05:42 have got their facts about old New York slightly twisted. However, it doesn't. doesn't matter. But nowadays, continued Elektra, we carry our telephotophones with us in our pockets and get the latest news direct from the newspaper. When you listen in, you hear all the important happening since the last time you used the instrument. The newspaper will also furnish you old news if you ask for it. For books, you would have to apply to the library. Tell them what you want, and one of the readers will read you the most up-to-date facts on the subject and send on the illustrations as well. They will also read you a few chapters from any novel you choose.

Starting point is 12:06:28 But haven't people any books at home? Oh yes, there are microscopic books, but they are not much used, as you can hear from the library quicker than you can pick up your book. What are microscopic books? They are books photographed down to a very small size and can only be read by the use of a microscope. A thousand years ago, people had enormous books four to six inches long and almost as wide. A small library of 100,000 volumes would fill a house, and the books were awkward to handle. A million of our books would not occupy more space than a thousand of the old ones. The pictures are in natural colors photographed from nature.

Starting point is 12:07:12 and the book can be either read or listened to on the phonograph. A great advantage when there is dialect or music mentioned in the book. Each page has the phonographic record as well as the print, the amplifier and microphotoscope for hearing and reading. The book occupies small compass and are carried in the pocket. How is it you having any hair on your head? asked Dr. Hackensaw. Hair is unsanitary. It is a breeding place for germs of all sort.

Starting point is 12:07:45 Besides, people were growing bald earlier and earlier in life. So the physicians finally decided to do away with hair altogether. It is no longer of any use to mankind. It is just a relic of the days when we were wild animals and required hair to protect us from the weather. So nowadays, whenever a child is born, all the hairs are destroyed at the roots, and we therefore no longer have hair of any kind, neither hair nor beards. Our teeth too are destroyed at birth in the bud before they begin to plague us. You cannot imagine how strange it seemed to me to see both of you with teeth.

Starting point is 12:08:26 Not stranger than it did to us to see that you had no teeth. The lack of teeth makes a person look awful, cried Pep. Does it? Well, if you listen to the newspaper account, you'll see that then thing that struck the public as most frightful about you was not your heariness, but your ferocious-looking teeth that make you look like cannibals. We destroy them, not only to avoid future pain, but because teeth furnish breeding places for microbes. Our gums become somewhat hardened, and as we use only soft food, and it is predigested, we no longer need teeth. Only

Starting point is 12:09:06 animals that tear or chew their food require teeth, but excuse me a minute, there's a man I should like you to meet. She left then, but returned a couple minutes later. It's all right, she said. I've invited him to take an air ride with me this afternoon. He's a friend of yours, asked Pep. No, I never met him before, but I liked his appearance, so I looked at his identification button to see his number, and I telephoned to the newspaper and got full particulars of about him. As they were satisfactory, I went up to him and invited him. He telephoned to the paper for particulars about me, and they must have been okay, or he wouldn't have accepted my invitation. Gee, cried Pep, I wish I had the nerve to go up to every handsome man I see and ask him to

Starting point is 12:09:56 take me on a joyride. I knew there was no fear of his refusing. My father's head of the microbe factory. What? Yes, he manufactures microbes by the ton and ships them to every part of the world. Of course, only a small proportion of these are health microbes for fighting disease. Most of them are for industrial purposes, agricultural microbes for securing the proper fertilization of the soil, chemical microbes for aiding the different chemical processes, dairy microbes for butter and cheese making, fermentation microbes for producing alcohol, etc., etc. He manufactures thousands of varieties and immense quantities of each. His factory is on Manhattan Isle,

Starting point is 12:10:46 all that is left of what once was the whole of New York City. Why, what happened to Manhattan Island? It has gradually sunk and been covered by the sea. It is now a part of New York Bay. Excuse me for changing the subject, said Pep. But what must we do to get the $100,000 the daily broadcaster promised us? It has already been placed to your credit at the store. We don't use money anymore.

Starting point is 12:11:15 Everything is done by credit. Money was filthy and served to carry around disease germs. Besides, money led to theft. Credit is much safer. If a store has reason to doubt your solvency, it telephones to the central store to know if your credit is good for the amount. Your thumbprint is your signature. It cannot be counterfeited, for it is made in the presence of the clerk.

Starting point is 12:11:41 Nor can your credit be counterfeited. One thing that strikes me as peculiar, said Dr. Hackensaw, is that I see no advertisements. I expected to see advertisements everywhere, recommending Pitts, pills, or Susie's soap. Advertising isn't allowed, replied Electra. Or at least it is restricted within certain very narrow limits. At one time, about the year 2000, advertising had become an unendurable nuisance. The walls of the houses, the streets, the pavements, the vehicles, and even the sky were covered at all times with glaring and changeable advertisements.

Starting point is 12:12:24 At nighttime, it was even worse than in the daytime. for the signs consisted of myriads of constantly changing electric lights of different colors. Even the x-rays were used and advertisements projected through the walls of your house into your very bedroom. As if that were not enough, loud speakers constantly dinned into your ears, the merits of birch's buttons or Peter's pants, till people were driven wild and stringent laws were passed to regulate advertising. confining it to books and periodicals. All publications were given away free to the public. The advertisers were paying all expenses.

Starting point is 12:13:08 You could choose a library of whatever books you wanted, and they would be sent you free, with thanks for accepting them, and the publishers were very particular about the advertising they accepted. For they found that the more particular they were to publish only advertising of the first class, the more eager the advertisers were in applying for space, even though they paid all the expenses of publication.

Starting point is 12:13:35 And then the end of all advertising came about in the very simplest way by the formation of the general purchasing agency, which those all are buying for us. If you want anything from a pin to a house, from a rhinoceros to a wife, a postage stamp, or a theater ticket, You stop in at the company's nearest office. They have one on every block and place your orders.

Starting point is 12:14:03 You are sure of getting the object best suited for your purpose that can be obtained anywhere for the price you are willing to pay. They sell cheap qualities but no shoddy, and they even deal in second-hand goods, taking any objects you wish to get rid of at fair valuation. That killed advertising. It was no longer necessary for men to persuade you that Pinch's pills were the best by dinning it into your ears or flashing it

Starting point is 12:14:31 into your eyes by brilliant lights or moving pictures thrown on the clouds. In the year 1900, advertising was a highly useful form of education, for it was necessary to hypnotize the people by constant reiteration to impress a fact on their minds and teach them about new products. But it was most expensive and annoying, and was getting so bad something had to be done to stop it. A man would have to pay nearly double the price for goods if we had to go back to the old system. The agency will hunt up for us any article we wish or will manufacture one for us if unable to find it. If you let them know what things you are interested in, what kinds of plays or books you like, they will send you full information about anything new

Starting point is 12:15:23 that comes up in that line. They make a specialty of preparing individual programs of entertainment for home enjoyment, sending you by telephote portions of the best acts on the boards at the time, selecting them to suit your taste, which they soon learn to know. You thus see the very best of the novelties and don't have to sit through any chasers. How long Electra would have continued in this strain it is difficult to say, but she suddenly interrupted herself with a cry. Good gracious, she cried.

Starting point is 12:15:57 There's the police plane coming for us. The police plane? cried Pep. What do they want with us? I suppose they only want to disinfect you, nothing more. You're almost certain to carry microbes in that long hair of yours and you might easily start an epidemic in the city. As she spoke, a small airplane with no one on board descended gracefully out of the heaven. and alighted at their feet was scarcely a flutter.

Starting point is 12:16:26 You must get on board, said Electra, and the plane will automatically take you to the police station. There's really very little danger of an epidemic, because in entering or leaving a house, we have to pass through a disinfecting chamber that squirts gaseous ozanol into our clothing and kills all the germs we may have about us, but you will have to see the health officer.

Starting point is 12:16:50 Won't you come with us? asked Pep. I can't. I have to go get my stomach that I left last week to be repaired and overhauled. What? Yes, my stomach pained me and didn't work well. So I had it cut out and sent to the hospital to be cleaned up and fixed, and I had another stomach put in to use in the meantime. But I prefer my own. I'm used to it. So I'm going to get it today. My liver too needs attention, but I'll wait till next month before I leave that to be cleaned. Making Electra for her kindness, the pair stepped into the police plane and pressed the starting button.

Starting point is 12:17:28 Instantly, the machine rose from the ground, and soon they were flying over the roofs of the beautiful city that looked like a fairy garden beneath them. For the roofs were all on the same level and covered with growing flowers and shrubs. Gee, cried Pep, this is fine. Since we've got to go to the police station, I'm going to have a little fun on the way and learn to steer this machine. It looks easier to guide than any machine I ever piloted. In vain Dr. Hackensaw begged her not to meddle with the levers. The willful girl who had chosen the pilot seat seized the steering level and was delighted to find that the machine obeyed her slightest motion. It was both wonderful and exhilarating.

Starting point is 12:18:13 And the inevitable happened, not knowing the laws of the road, Pep got into the wrong lane, and when a squadron of a hundred air-played, plane suddenly crossed her path, she lost her head, swerved her machine quickly, and ran headlong into one of the planes whose presence she hadn't noticed. Both planes were badly disabled and fell to the ground. Fortunately, neither the doctor nor Pep were injured, but the occupant of the other plane was not so fortunate for his arm was broken by the fall. Dr. Hackensaw was examining the poor fellow when a Boy Scout came up to him and said,

Starting point is 12:18:52 You are wanted at once at police headquarters, sir, and stepping into the police plane he motioned them to follow. Dr. Hackensaw hesitated, but he saw the boy was evidently an official, so he and Pep took their places, and a few minutes later the pair were ushered into the presence of the justice of the peace, to whom Pep at once began a voluble explanation of what had happened. Wait a minute, said the judge. Before you begin, as the room is somewhat chilly, I must ask the attendant to put another pebble in the crucible. They used atomic heat in those days, obtained by the disintegration of the atoms of stones into lighter elements.

Starting point is 12:19:36 As for you, he continued turning to pep. You must take your seat in the chair of truth. So saying, he pressed a button, and as he did so, a peculiar-looking armchair came walking into the room on its own. own four legs, automatically moved by some invisible mechanism. All kinds of thermometers, dials, and instruments of every sort were attached to the chair. Sit there, said the judge. Let your hands rest on the arms of the chair and tell me how the accident happened. If you prevaricate, exaggerate, or hold anything back, or tell an untruth, I shall know it immediately. for along with the phonographic record of your statement will be the graph of your every heartbeat and the dilation and contraction of your blood vessels and the nervous switches induced in you by the various emotions of anger, fear, etc. that govern you while you speak.

Starting point is 12:20:36 In a word, I shall read your mind and know exactly how much confidence I can place in your statements. PEP, somewhat frightened, sat down as she was bid and began her story again, but she had not spoken a dozen sentences before the magistrate interrupted her. It is no use going on, said he. The electric light has turned green, and the heart dial marks 33 degrees by Chubbs Gage. You may not think you are lying, but you are prevaricating at a great rate. Now begin over again and tell the full time. truth, or I shall have to hypnotize you and get the full confession while you are in the hypnotic

Starting point is 12:21:19 trance. Thus admonished, Pep began over again, and this time she gave the exact facts. When she had finished, the judge merely remarked, guilty, and sentenced to pay the penalty. But, sobbed for Pet, I didn't mean to do any harm. No, but you were reckless, and your recklessness caused the damage. You must make it good. Here Dr. Heckensaw interposed. I will pay for the broken arm, he said. We have a credit of $100,000 here. Money cannot pay for the suffering of a broken arm, returned the judge. If the girl had been a thief and had merely stolen money, we should allow her to make restitution with an added fine to pay police expenses and to add to the fund from which restitution is made to robbed persons when the thief cannot be caught.

Starting point is 12:22:17 In the present case, the girl must make restitution. How can we make restitution for a broken arm? Asked Dr. Hackensaw puzzled. You don't mean that Miss Pepita's arm must be broken because she was unfortunate enough to break this man's arm. No, indeed. That would be as foolish as to condemn a murderer to death because he has killed a man. We force the murderer to make restitution to society for the life he has taken, and as he cannot resuscitate his victim, we condemn him to save 100 lives in place of the one he has taken.

Starting point is 12:22:56 You mean make him a lifesaver on the coast? Asked Dr. Hackensaw more and more puzzled. No, there is no trouble in hiring all the lifesavers we want. Besides, few of them can hope to save 100 persons from drowning. No, the murderer must not only risk his life, but risk suffering and disease as well. In a word, we require him to submit to undergo experiments by competent medical men who are studying cures for various diseases. He must allow himself to be inoculated with disease germs or in some manner aid in the progress of science. In this way, and in this way only, can he pay his debt to society.

Starting point is 12:23:41 For while he saves only 100 lives of the present generation, the experiment may be the means of saving countless lives in future generations. Of course, it is impossible to evaluate how many lives are saved by any one experiment, but our physicians are generous in making the estimate, especially when the experiment entails considerable suffering. The patient, as a rule, is glad to feel that he, he is making a real restitution that will rehabilitate him. We always give him the option of being put to sleep for 50 or 100 years instead of submitting to the operation, but only in one or two

Starting point is 12:24:25 cases has the alternative been accepted. Now, this young lady, through her recklessness, has broken a man's arm. She must pay him money damages, but at the same time, she must submit to have some mild pathological experiments tried upon her by our physicians. But Judge, began Pep, there is no appeal from the sentence. The operating room adjoins this one, and your sentence can be carried out at once. And the terrified girl was pushed into the next room, where half a dozen physicians and nurses were waiting for her. She was forced into a chair and was held down while one of the men sterilized a lancet,

Starting point is 12:25:09 and proceeded to make an incision in her arm, and then, and then she awoke. Gee, she cried, I woke up just in time. Another minute and they would have shot me full of germs. Wake up, pop! She called out shaking Dr. Hackensaw by the arm. The doctor slowly opened his eyes. Papp, said he, you had a narrow escape, but let this be a lesson to you, whenever you are tempted to drive reckless. in your auto. Think what it would mean if you had to make good whatever damage you caused, to give a leg for one of your victim's legs, an arm for an arm, or your life for his. End of Section 35.

Starting point is 12:26:01 Section 36 of Dr. Hakensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Read by Jeff Pierpont, Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fezandi. The Mystery of the Z-Ray Spectacles. In Dr. Hackensaw's employ, there was a bright boy of 15 named Tintagelis Smith. The name is pronounced Tintagelies, but as most people would not take the trouble to pronounce it correctly, they called him Miggs for short. One night, Tintagelies had an adventure.

Starting point is 12:26:39 Dr. Hackensaw had given him a ticket for the theater, and at the end of the performance, the boy had started off to walk home, when a high-class automobile drew up to the sidewalk alongside of him, and a beautiful young lady in evening dress and glittering with diamonds leaned forth from the car and beckoned to him. "'Jump in!' she said. "'I want to speak to you.' Tintagelis turned around to see whom she was addressing, but there was no one else near. "'It's you, I want,' insisted the lady.

Starting point is 12:27:08 "'Jump in!' Our young hero was convinced that the lady was mistaking him. him for someone else. But he was always ready for an adventure, so he jumped in and took his seat beside his fair interlocutor. "'My name,' said the lady, "'is Miss Muriel Gold. You may possibly have read about me in the society notes of the papers. Your name, if I am not mistaken, is Tintagely Smith.' To say that Miggs was surprised to find that he was really the person wanted, and that the young lady even knew his name would be to put the matter mildly, he was flabbergat.

Starting point is 12:27:43 but he managed to answer, Yes, that's my name, but my friends all call me Miggs. Very well, Miggs, returned the young lady smiling. I understand that you work in Dr. Hackensaw's laboratory? Yes, ma'am. And I am told that you have the makings of a fine detective in you? Tintagelies blushed. This was taking him on his weakest side.

Starting point is 12:28:08 From boyhood up, he had hesitated as to whether he would be president of the United States. states, or a detective, but finally, the fascination of a detective's life carried the day. The lady's words accordingly touched him in a tender spot. I have so much faith in your abilities as a detective, continued the lady, that I have decided to make use of you in unraveling a most difficult case. But first, let me ask you something. I am informed that Dr. Hackensaw has invented a wonderful pair of spectacles, x-ray spectacles, I believe they are called, by means of which the wearer can see right through people, or even see through the walls of a house what is going on inside. Is that true?

Starting point is 12:28:52 Yes, ma'am, only he calls them Z-ray spectacles because it is not the X-ray that he uses. Have you ever worn the spectacles? Do you know how they work? No, ma'am, but I heard the doctor say that they were so simple that anyone could use them. Do you think the doctor would lend you a pair for a few weeks? I don't want him to know that they are for me. You must ask them for yourself. I think I could get a pair, replied Miggs, noncommittally. Very well.

Starting point is 12:29:22 Now here's what I should like you to do, and remember, there is a handsome reward offered. In fact, I will give you $1,000 in case of success. Miggs' eyes gleamed. All right, said he, I'll succeed. What is it you want me to do? The lady glanced at her watch. It's a long story, she said, and I haven't time to go into particulars tonight, but come to this spot tomorrow night at ten o'clock and bring the spectacles with you. I shall be here with the auto

Starting point is 12:29:53 and bring you home with me, and then I'll give you full details. Or au revoir till then. Chapter 2. No, Miggs, said Dr. Hackensaw. I can't lend you a pair of my magic spectacles. Haven't made the invention public yet, because I don't dare to let these spectacles go out of my possession. I am afraid they might be used for mischievous purposes, but I have no objection to letting you look through them. Here is a pair. The spectacles, of course, fit over your eyes. As you see, the wires that connect with the ear pieces that support the spectacles pass down under the back of your coat, and then through a hole in the pocket to the radium battery

Starting point is 12:30:36 and audions which are contained in a small case that fits in your pocket. The adjusting screws are on the outside of this case. The large knob controls the distance to which the ray goes before it is reflected. Here, put the spectacles on your eyes and the case in your pocket. Now, take off your coat while I make the connections. All ready. Put on your coat again. Connect the spectacles with the wire and look at the wall. Good gracious!

Starting point is 12:31:06 cried Miggs. I can see right through the wall into the office where the clerks are. Yes, assented Dr. Hackensaw dryly. I sometimes look at them myself, and I must say I don't often see you working, Miggs. Perhaps it's on account of some trouble with the spectacles. Now, if you want to see what you look like, just turn the adjusting screw to the left, and look at yourself. You can get a pretty good view of your ribs, your heart, lungs, stomach, and other organs. These spectacles are invaluable to a physician in diagnosing the condition of the condition of

Starting point is 12:31:41 of each organ of his patient. In fact, there are a thousand uses to which they may be put. What is the principle on which they work? asked Tentagelis. Their construction cost me many a sleepless night, replied the doctor. Yet the problem seemed simple, since I had the penetrating X-ray to start with. But the progress of invention is always very slow. Man must have been familiar with his own shadow long before he noticed his reflection in a pool of water. and water was his only mirror until a few hundred years ago he succeeded in making metal mirrors and then glass mirrors.

Starting point is 12:32:19 The use of lenses to refract light came long after the use of mirrors. Finally came the X-ray, which is still in its primitive stage, the stage in which it can merely throw a shadow. Attempts to reflect and refract these rays were only partially successful. Then I took the matter in hand. The analogy of the X-ray to the heat and light rays is so great. that I knew there must be some way of utilizing them for the spectacles I dreamed of, spectacles that would enable us to look either through or into solid bodies at will. My starting point was the discovery made by Frederick Lawa in 1912,

Starting point is 12:32:56 that X-rays could be reflected by special crystalline surfaces. In a mixed fascicle of X-rays of different wavelengths, he found that the surface would reflect those rays whose wavelengths correspond with its own molecular structure. So far, however, this discovery has only been used in an attempt to determine the real arrangement of atoms in space. Finding myself unable to make any headway with the x-rays, I turned my attention to some of the other rays. To begin with migs, I must tell you that there are a large number of different kinds of rays. Radium, for instance, throws off three kinds of rays known as the alpha, beta, and gamma ray, respectively.

Starting point is 12:33:38 The X-ray, which is analogous to the alpha ray, travels only 8,000 to 16,000 kilometers per second. The beta rays vary from half the speed of light rays to approximately the speed of light rays. Some particles traveling slowly and some fast, for both the alpha and beta rays are corpuscular and can be deviated by means of a magnet. The gamma rays, however, do not seem to be influenced by magnets. In my experiments I chanced to discover a new ray, which I called the Z ray, and which, like ordinary light rays and like the x-ray and the beta ray, has a wide variation in wavelength. My problem was to separate this ray into a number of homogeneous rays of a uniform wavelength.

Starting point is 12:34:24 To accomplish this, I used crystalline surfaces like those used by Lawa. I found that the rays with different wavelengths penetrated to different depths into the body viewed before the light was reflected. By using one length of wave, I would get a reflection of a flat surface inside of the body, a sectional view. An adjusting screw enabled me to view a section at any desired depth in the body. A flexible diaphragm that can be made to assume any curvature at will enables me to view a curved surface, such, for example, as the outer surface of the heart instead of a plain section through the heart. With a very little practice, anyone can adjust this diaphragm and the distance micrometer screw so as to see any portion of a man's organs

Starting point is 12:35:07 that he wishes to examine. I have also a special attachment which enables me to read the letters in a man's pocket. Put on the spectacles again, Miggs, and see if you can read the address on the letter I have in my coat pocket. Miggs adjusted the spectacles once more and then gave a cry of astonishment. Gee! he exclaimed, why I can look right into your insides, and I can see your skeleton and your heart and stomach and everything, and all in natural colors, not in black and white like an x-ray picture, and I can see all you've got in your pockets, too. I can see the bills and coins in your pocketbook, and I can read what's on your railroad ticket. Say, doctor, can't you lend me a pair of these spectacles only for one week?

Starting point is 12:35:50 No, indeed, replied the doctor. Think what harm might arise if a bad use were made of them. They would be invaluable to a pickpocket, for instance. He could see at a glance how much money each man was carrying in his pocketbook, and could know which ones were worth robbing. The doctor remained obdurate, but alas, the locks in the office were of the most primitive kind. With the aid of a button-hook, Miggs was able to pick the lock of the closet, and that night at ten o'clock he was at the appointed Tristing Place, and a pair of the magic spectacles were in his pocket.

Starting point is 12:36:25 Chapter 3 Miss Muriel Gold was the tool of a gang of professional yegg men. Poor girl, she was not innately wicked, but she had succumbed to the wiles of a professional burglar, and after he had ruined her and taken her from her home, he had gradually forced her to help him and his pals in their nefarious schemes. The gang was well-organized and very successful with spies everywhere to report where good halls were to be made. One of these spies was in Dr. Hackensaw's employ. In some way this fellow had heard of the Z-ray spectacles, and the chief of the Yegman on learning of the existence of this wonderful device, resolved to obtain a pair of the spectacles at any cost. Evidently the simplest way was to use

Starting point is 12:37:06 Muriel Gold as a lure, and she, much as she disliked the task, dared not refuse. She was wholly in the power of the gang. Hence it was that she had waited for Miggs at the theater, and hence it was that she met him the second time to bring him in her auto to one of the layers of the gang. Miggs did not have long to wait for her. Scarcely had he stationed himself in front of the theater when the young lady made her appearance in her auto. Have you got the spectacles, Miggs? She asked eagerly. For an answer, Miggs slapped his bulging pocket.

Starting point is 12:37:39 Then jump in quickly and come to my house, and I will explain to you what I wish you to do. It will be the chance of your lifetime to make your name as a detective. A half-hour's ride brought the pair to a house in an unfrequented part of the city. Here the young lady descended and followed by Miggs entered the house. Muriel conducted him. into a parlor and was delighted with the spectacles whose operation Miggs carefully explained to her. "'Now, Miggs,' said the young lady, "'I will explain what I wish you to do. But as I shall need you for a couple of weeks,

Starting point is 12:38:11 you'd better write a word to Dr. Hackensaw to tell him you are called to the bedside of a dying relative in Chicago, and that you will be gone for some time. Then we shall have lunch, and you can start on your career as a detective immediately afterwards.' Miggs cheerfully wrote the letter, and then refreshments were served, but the drinks served to our hero was drugged, and it was not long before he felt the drowsiness steal over him, and was soon sound asleep. It was hours before he awoke again, and when he did he found himself a prisoner in a small but comfortable cell, but with iron bars on the windows, and the magic spectacles had disappeared. Chapter 4

Starting point is 12:38:50 From that day on, New York City was startled by a series of astonishing stories of astonishing safe robberies. How the burglars obtained their information was a marvel, for their robberies were time to occur on the very night when there happened to be important sums in the safes. It seemed certain that there must be collusion between the burglars and some trusted employees, but in many cases the employee had served faithfully for years. The thing was apparently inexplicable, yet the explanation was simple. Muriel Gold could have thrown considerable light on the matter, for it was usually she who visited the different banks or business houses, and by means of the magic spectacles looked through the walls of the safes to see if they contained anything worth

Starting point is 12:39:30 taking. She also, when visiting her friends in the fashionable world, looked through the spectacles into their bureau drawers to see if there were any pearl necklaces or other jewels worth stealing. No hiding place was secure against her piercing eyes, and for many a rich hall was the gang indebted to these Z-ray spectacles. Meanwhile, Dr. Hackensaw had not not miss the spectacles. He had received Miggs note, so was not worried about the boy, but it so happened that the doctor was asked to rewrite a magazine article about the value of these new Z-ray spectacles. He had accordingly begun by setting forth their value to the police. A detective equipped with these spectacles could spot at once a revolver in a man's hip pocket,

Starting point is 12:40:11 a razor concealed in his boot, or a set of burglar tools in his valise. They could look through the walls of a counterfeiter's den and see the men at work. They could secure evidence against gambling houses in the same way, and could detect loaded dice or faked roulette wheels at a glance. The smuggling of hooch would be a thing of the past, when a single look through these spectacles would reveal its hiding place in an automobile or coffin. Custom house officials would no longer need to turn the contents of travelers' trunks topsy-turvy, a glance into the closed trunk through the Z-ray spectacles, would reveal smuggled goods without trouble. Passengers would be saved the indignity of a personal search, as the spectacles would reveal at

Starting point is 12:40:51 once any forbidden goods concealed on their persons. Prisoners could no longer hope to bring concealed files or saws with them into their cells. To physicians, the spectacles would be invaluable. It would enable them to watch the working of every organ inside their patients. The slightest derangement would be manifest. Chemists could detect adulterations in their drugs, and manufacturers detect flaws in their castings. Mechanics could perceive internal crystallizations in their machines at a glance. A chauffeur could locate his troubles without having to take his car apart. In a word, the uses of these spectacles were manifold. There was scarcely a branch of art or science which they would not materially benefit. As he wrote, the doctor bethought him that he wished to locate some

Starting point is 12:41:37 trouble he had with one of his new machines, so putting down his pen he sought in his desk for the Z-ray spectacles he had shown migs. They were gone. Instantly they flashed into his mind the boys' request for a loan of the spectacles. The inference was obvious, Miggs must have taken them without leave. "'What a lad!' exclaimed the doctor. "'I'll bet he's up to some mischief.' And then subconsciously there arose in his mind the series of safe robberies that had taken place in the last two weeks, and the connection between the two events struck him forcibly. "'Some gang of burglars have got hold of the spectacles,' he cried. that explains the whole thing. That explains how they are able to tell which safes contain money.

Starting point is 12:42:24 I must get those spectacles back at any cost. Luckily, I can locate them easily. There are no other Z-rays in existence but those that I have produced. My special detector can locate them if they're anywhere within a thousand miles of here. In five minutes I shall know exactly where they are. It was but a moment's work to switch on the detector, and after carefully insulating his other Z-ray spectacles, he watched the indicating compass needle as it swung quivering around on the dial. The needle points almost due north, he soliloquized. And the strength of the Z waves indicates a distance of about five miles. The spectacles must at the present moment be somewhere in Van Cortland. PEP! he called aloud. Do you want a chance to distinguish yourself by catching a gang of

Starting point is 12:43:15 Burglers? Peppy to Perkins stopped her typewriting with a jerk. What? She cried aghast. If you want to make a little pocket money, Pep, there are big rewards offered for the capture of this gang of Yegmen and the recovery of the stolen goods. I'll send Spaghetti Joe with you and two or three other stout men to help him, while you can go along with another pair of my magic spectacles and boss the whole affair. The preparations took but a very few minutes. minutes. Spaghetti Joe was a reformed safe breaker whom Dr. Hackensaw had taken into his employ. A full set of burglar tools was put into an automobile, for it might be necessary to break into a house or open a safe, and Joe was the man who knew how to do it.

Starting point is 12:44:00 The men were also provided with special gas throwers designed to throw a soporific gas that would overpower the burglars and render them incapable of resistance. The detector was also taken along to guide them to the exact spot. The five miles to Van Cortland were covered in no time, and the automobiles soon brought them near a lonely house not far from Van Cortland Park. Here they descended from the machine and circled around the house, and to their gratification, the needle of the indicating compass turned so as to point always directly toward the house. There was no doubting the evidence, the Z-ray spectacles must be somewhere within that building. Pepp therefore took her second pair of spectacles out of its insulated case, and creeping quietly up to the house, peered through the walls. In one room she saw a dozen men smoking, drinking, and playing cards, evidently the gang. In another room, a beautiful young lady was lying on a couch reading. This was Muriel. In still another room was a boy, locked in and vainly seeking some means of escape. Pep's heart gave a jump as she recognized Miggs. Without a word, Pep handed the spectacles to Spaghetti Joe. who had followed her. It's too dead easy, cried Joe.

Starting point is 12:45:10 They're all bunched in one room and half drunk. We can get them without any trouble. To open a window and climb into the house was the work of an instant. Pep, Joe, and the three men put on their gas masks, and then placing the nozzle of the gas-throwing instrument into the keyhole of the room where the villains were assembled, shot the odorless but powerful, soporific gas into the room.

Starting point is 12:45:32 A minute later, every member of the gang was unconscious, and before they recovered their senses, they were strongly handcuffed. One of the villains who was not in the room at the time gave them a little trouble, but Spaghetti Joe dexterously tripped him up and held him while Pepp adjusted the handcuffs. As for Muriel, she made no resistance. Miggs was delighted at regaining his freedom, and taking the stolen spectacles, he and Pep explored the house thoroughly for the hidden booty. It was concealed in several ingenious hiding places,

Starting point is 12:46:01 some in panels in the wall, others in secret recesses and chairs and cupboards, but the greater portion was buried under the ash heap in the cellar. There were watches and jewelry of all kinds, heaps of banknotes and negotiable securities. In all, there were over $500,000 worth of valuables that the thieves could have cashed. No hiding place, however, was secure against the magic spectacles. The Z-rays penetrated through the walls or through the floor and revealed the treasure beneath. It was more work to secure the valuables than to discover them, but at last all were loaded in the automobile, and with the fettered burglars piled in, the car started on its homeward trip, but it was past midnight when Dr. Hackensaw's house was reached. The burglars all received long terms of imprisonment,

Starting point is 12:46:47 but Dr. Hackensaw would not allow Muriel to be even arrested. She was only a tool. The kind-hearted doctor gave her a position in his office, and she proved worthy of the trust he placed in her. handsome reward was paid for the recovery of the stolen property, and Pep was delighted by the receipt of $2,000 in cash in a beautiful pearl necklace as her share. Even Miggs received a thousand dollars and a fine gold watch, but Dr. Hackensaw thereafter kept his Z-ray spectacles locked up in one of his strongest safes. Every great invention, said he, is a power, and a power may be used either for good purposes or for bad ones. These magic spectacles are too dangerous to be put into the hands of the general public.

Starting point is 12:47:36 End of Section 36. Section 37 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Ben Tucker. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fassandi. Number 37

Starting point is 12:48:02 The Mystery of the Walking Skeleton Dr. I. Hackensaw was, first of all, an inventor, and an inventor is a man who, when absorbed in some great idea, is utterly oblivious to the external world. It is related that Sir Isaac Newton once started to boil an egg, but boiled his watch instead, holding the egg in his hand for a timepiece. Dr. Hackensaw, however, could have given Sir Isaac a double discount.

Starting point is 12:48:30 one day that he had cooked himself an omelet in his laboratory he was seen to throw the omelet into the stove misticking it for a shovel full of coal. On another occasion, his newspaper not having come one morning, he hastily dressed and went to the corner newsstand for a copy. He noticed that people stared at him, but it was not until he was safely home again, that he discovered he had forgotten a somewhat necessary article of his wearing apparel, namely his trousers. As this was in New York City, the omission might have led to unbursed. pleasant consequences had a policeman chance to see him. Dr. Hockensaw was wealthy for while not a businessman, he had made so many inventions of worldwide application and had increased the wealth of the country by so many billions of dollars that a few millions couldn't help clinging to him. The consequence

Starting point is 12:49:20 was that the doctor had a number of laboratories for his research work and employed several hundred assistants. Among these assistants was an 18-year-old young lady called Pepita Perkins, or more familiarly, Pep Perkins. Dr. Hackensaw looked upon her and as an adopted daughter, and she reciprocated by calling him Pop. It was one night when Miss Pepita Perkins was returning home at midnight from a fancy dress ball that she first saw the walking skeleton. Now Pep was a brave girl. On many a previous occasion, she had showed that she, by no means, lacked courage, but the sight of a ghostly form walking the earth at midnight is enough to strike terror in the bravest heart. and Pep might well be excused for losing her head.

Starting point is 12:50:05 The trouble all began with a stalled automobile. The gentleman who was taking Pep home in his car chanced a stall within a few rods of Dr. Hackensaw's summer cottage in New Jersey. Pep, too impatient to wait, left her escort tinkering with his machine while she took a shortcut home through the country graveyard. Not the slightest fear did she experience, and it was without a tremor that she passed through the churchyard without even deigning to cast a look behind her.

Starting point is 12:50:32 Dr. Hackensaw's grounds lay just beyond, and were surrounded by a long, high stone wall, for the worthy doctor had always many inventions in hand that he was not yet ready to make known to the general public. Bitter experience had taught him the inadvisibility of taking the public into his confidence until an invention was completed and thoroughly tested. Pept Perkins reached the massive gates that gave entrance to the grounds,

Starting point is 12:50:58 was admitted by the last. lodgekeeper, and was walking briskly toward the house when, at a sudden turn in the road, she saw it. It appeared suddenly, apparently, coming out of nowhere. It appeared first as a greenish light, without any definite form. But as she gazed at it, startled, it slowly assumed the figure of the skeleton of a man. Every bone glowing with a strange fire. Nor was the skeleton standing still. It was slowly walking directly toward her. Pep's heart jumped into her. Pepp's heart jumped into, to her throat, and when the skeleton opened its bony jaws, and with clattering teeth gave vent to a sepricle laugh, and then in mournful tones droned out the words,

Starting point is 12:51:39 hollow, hollow, hollow, the poor girl almost fainted from terror. With one wild shriek, however, she tore past the ghostly vision and rushed for the house, where with fumbling hands she had difficulty in opening the door with her latchkey. To her relief, the light was still burning in Dr. Hackensaw's library, showing that he had not yet gone to bed. So she rushed in, wild-eyed, and breathless. Pop, she cried. Do you believe in ghosts?

Starting point is 12:52:08 Scarcely, Pep. Though I must humbly confess that, as in all men, however much advanced, there lingers something in the back of my mind, some hereditary influence from our remote ancestors that produces a slight nervousness, occasionally in the dark. But I am always ready and even anxious to investigate any ghostly phenomena that come to my notice. "'Then your wish is granted,' retorted Pep. "'If you will go to the gate, you will find a walking skeleton that chased me home "'because I was foolish enough to pass through the graveyard at midnight.'

Starting point is 12:52:39 "'Dr. Hackensaw leaned back in his chair and laughed hardly. "'I'm afraid I'm the guilty one, Pep,' said he, "'and I must ask your pardon if I frightened you. "'I wasn't expecting you home so soon as you usually don't return from a dance "'until the wee small hours of the morning. "'It was really my skeleton you saw.' "'Your skeleton?' Well, the words are ambiguous, I know, but you will understand the whole affair if you will listen to me.

Starting point is 12:53:05 All right, start your explanation. As I won't get a wink of sleep tonight, I'll keep you up as long as I can talking to me and reassuring me. I was never so upset in my life. I've got the creeps in the very marrow of my bones. To begin with, said Dr. Hackensaw, I must inform you that the existence of this walking skeleton is a profound secret. You are not to speak of it to anyone. I cannot even tell you the purpose for which it is intended as I have promised absolute secrecy, but I will tell you what I can.

Starting point is 12:53:35 To begin with, do you know anything about radium? Yes, I know that a pinch of it costs a fortune, and that it is continually shooting off particles and changing into lead. Precisely, the half-period of radium, that is to say, the time required for half a given weight of radium to disintegrate, has been calculated as about 1690 years. In other words, unless new radium, is forming, there must have been twice as much radium on Earth 1,690 years ago, as there is at present,

Starting point is 12:54:05 four times as much as 3,380 years ago, and so on. By making the calculation, we find that 100,000 years ago or less, the whole Earth must have been one solid mass of radium. This, of course, is an impossibility for our geologists have proved that 100,000 years ago the Earth was pretty much as it is now. Consequently, the inference is that the new radium must be produced continually to replace the old one that is used up. Scientists argued that if radium was being produced at present, the substance from which it was produced must be found close to the radium in every locality where radium was found, and always in the same proportion. Such a substance is uranium. Uranium is much more common than radium, and always exists with it, and the

Starting point is 12:54:53 proportion present is constant. In all radium ores, there is about three million times as much uranium as radium. Hence, it is evident that uranium is disintegrating into lead, though no direct proof of the fact has yet been had. The fact is that the half-period of uranium is five billion years, and consequently many years must elapse before a perceptible amount of product can be obtained. Professor Saadi tried the experiment some years ago. The uranium itself is soon decomposed. It throws off helium gas, one atom of helium being given off by each atom of uranium. The product is called uranium X, and although Dr. Sadi started the experiment in 1912, seven years later in 1919, he was unable to detect the formation of any radium.

Starting point is 12:55:40 Just think of it. Seven years of experimenting. Yet the experiment continues, and the triumph of science will be great on the day that the presence of radium in his tube shows that the actual transformation of uranium into radium shall be made manifest. Dr. Sadi calculated that if he continues the experiment 60,000 years, he will produce about one cents worth of radium. Not a very satisfactory financial result, but scientists are seldom good financiers. Pep Perkins yawned and wished that she had remained at the ball.

Starting point is 12:56:14 This lecture on radium was as bad in its way as the side of the phosphorescent walking skeleton, and she determined to make a diversion. "'Pop,' said she, "'it's too late tonight for all that Josh about radium. "'All I want to know is what that skeleton was that I saw near the park gate.' "'Well, that was just what I was explaining to you,' returned Dr. Hackensaw patiently. "'Uranium is the heaviest metal known, having an atomic weight of 238. "'It is continually disintegrating very slowly into other substances,

Starting point is 12:56:44 "'finely producing uranium X with an atomic weight of 234. "'This is really Urivate. uranium with a helium atom, atomic weight four, thrown off. This uranium X doesn't live two minutes, but also disintegrates finally producing ionium, and this in turn produces radium whose atomic weight is 226, thus showing that radium is nothing but uranium with three atoms of helium expelled from each atom of radium. Now the radium itself disintegrates. It begins by, Good night, cried Pep, stamping her foot impatiently. Do you think I'm going to stand here at one o'clock in the morning listening to a lecture, I'm going to bed.

Starting point is 12:57:22 All right, Pep, assented the doctor mildly. And by the by, if you want more particulars about the walking skeleton, you can get them if you come with me tomorrow. I'm starting tomorrow for a month's trip to Africa, and Sam, which is the name I have given the skeleton, comes along with me. Chapter 2. Isn't this glorious, cried Dr. Hackensaw's, has expressed plain the arrow, skimmed gracefully through the azure sky while the deeper blue billowing waves of the Atlantic played below them.

Starting point is 12:57:54 Yes, it's dandy, echoed Pepp. And now that we're on our way, perhaps you will condescend, to give me some explanation as to where we are going and what we are going to do, and what skeleton Sam, as you call him, has to do in the matter. All right, Pep, there's no reason why I should keep the matter secret any longer. Did you ever hear of Robert Houdin? Yes, he was a famous conjurer, wasn't he? precisely. Well, though he has been dead many years, he is responsible for the fix in which I find myself today.

Starting point is 12:58:25 You must know that Robert Houdin in his memoirs tells about a trip he made to Algeria on behalf of the French government. There was a plot on foot for an uprising of the natives, and the French decided wisely to send a prostitigator like Robert Houdine to the affected provinces would impress them far more than the finest army they could organize. The course of events showed the wisdom of their act. Houdin's feats of magic convinced the natives that the whites were powerful magicians, and all idea of revolt was nipped in the bud. To see Robert Houdin allow one of their chiefs to load a pistol with a marked bullet and shoot at him, and then see Houdin catch the marked bullet in his teeth, convinced them that the French were invulnerable.

Starting point is 12:59:07 Note. To perform this trick, Robert Houdin used a special ramrod. And the gun was a loose tube into which the powder and marked bullet were rammed. The ramrod fitted tightly into this tube, so when it was a small rod, Houdin pulled out the ramrod, the bullet came with it, and he was able to place it in his mouth unperceived. And when Robert Houdin shot the same bullet at a white wall and drew blood from the wall, a wax bullet filled with blood was used, their astonishment knew no bounds. Then to cap the climax, Houdine asked that the strongest man in the audience should come forth and offered to take away

Starting point is 12:59:38 all his strength and leave him weaker than a woman. The challenge was accepted by a husky fellow who had a well-earned reputation for strength. He came forward smiling, and when Robert Houdin asked him if he could lift a 50-pound iron chest, the fellow scornfully put out his left hand and lifted the box with ease. Very well, said Houdine, now I'm going to take all your strength away from you and leave you weaker than a woman. He made a few passes with his hands before the man's face, and then said, Now try to lift that box. The fellow would still greater scorn than before put for the hand, but the box resisted.

Starting point is 13:00:14 A maze the man clasped the box with both hands and bracing himself exerted every particle of strength of which he was capable. His muscles stood out from his body like sinewy cords, and the perspiration dripped in streams from his body. But he was unable to budge the box an inch. Then the poor fellow fell on his knees and begged Houdin to give him back his strength, and of course the clever Frenchman did so. A few reverse passes, and the man was again able to lift the box with ease. That was clever, said Pep. How was the trick managed?

Starting point is 13:00:47 Simple enough, the iron casket rested on a powerful electromagnet. When there was no current, the box was easy to lift. When the current was turned on, however, the powerful current caused the box to adhere to the floor so firmly that it was very difficult to move. Well, Miss Pepp, you may perhaps know that there has been a recent uprising in the African possessions of one of the European powers. By chance to meet the ambassador of this power in remembering Robert Houdin's security. excess, I thoughtlessly boasted that I could put down the revolt alone, and without any bloodshed. He took me up at once, and the result is that you and I, Pep, are now traveling together to Africa, and that we, too, are expected to nip in the bud this uprising of thousands of Arabs and Negroes.

Starting point is 13:01:30 Gee! exclaimed Pep, much impressed. You didn't tell me I was going to war. You'll have to appoint me General and Chief. Well, I'm ready now to hear about the radium. I suppose you're going to use that walking skeleton to frighten the natives. Precisely, the figure is really solid, not a skeleton at all, but the metal surface is so brightly polished that it is practically invisible, except the ribs and other bones, which are painted with a

Starting point is 13:01:53 composition of my own invention. I could have used phosphorescent paint, but I concluded I could get better results with radium emanation. I suppose you know what radium emanation is? Not exactly. If you dissolve some radium chloride and water, the radium will be found to have

Starting point is 13:02:09 lost most of its radioactivity, and will not regain it for a month, the time required to produce a new stock of emination. The emanation is really in the water and can be obtained in the form of a gas. It is this gas, this radium emanation, and not the radium itself, that produces the principal effects attributed to radium. The life of this emanation is short, however, for in four days it has lost half its activity. For my purpose, however, this shortness of life is of no consequence. My skeleton, as you have probably surmised, is an automatic figure.

Starting point is 13:02:41 which I can control from a distance by radio. Different lengths of waves will cause different portions of the figure to move. I can make it walk, dance, gesticulate, and even talk by means of a phonograph inside. As you probably know, radium emanations to become phosphorescent must be thrown on a screen. Originally it was a platino cyanide of barium that was used for the fluorescent screen. But I used a special powder of my own, which I mixed with the gas. that is the radium emanation, and I blow the two together through suitable openings in the body of the skeleton, utilizing the force of the compressed gas for the jet.

Starting point is 13:03:20 This enables me to make the skeleton luminous or dark at will, so that the skeleton seems to vanish and reappear. By using different powders with the emanation, I can produce fluorescence of different colors. But what is the use of explaining? Tomorrow night, you will get a practical demonstration. Chapter 3 In the rebel camp, there was great activity. for the morrow was to see the first real battle between the Arab and Negro troops and the enemy's soldiery. General Blank, at the head of the government army, had received orders to try conciliation,

Starting point is 13:03:50 and under no circumstances to commence or provoke hostilities. But he realized full well that the rebels were massing their forces, and that the morrow would see the first real hostilities. He had only scorn for Dr. Hackensaw's project of frightening the natives, but he placed all facilities at the doctor's disposal. And that night about midnight, the walking skeleton made its first time, appearance in front of the rebel camp. The sentinels suddenly saw appear before them a giant skeleton with luminous bones shining with a baleful greenish fire. The skeleton uplifted its hands

Starting point is 13:04:20 and came forward its jaws working, as by means of an amplifying device it thundered forth the words, baleck, baleck, baleck, baleck, the Arabic equivalent of beware, beware, beware. The sentinel shot at the figure and it suddenly vanished from their sight with a loud, mocking laugh, and then reappeared some distance away and repeated its cry again. The whole camp was now up in alarm, and they all saw with terror the figure appear a third time. Then it vanished and was seen no more that night. That was a clever performance of yours last night, Dr. Heckenau,

Starting point is 13:04:54 remarked General Blank next morning. But as I told you, it has no effect. The rebels are continuing their preparations. My spies tell me, however, that there is some demoralization among the troops. The exhibition may have been of some use. I'll give them a second dose tonight, said Dr. Hackensaw. Accordingly, sharp at midnight, the skeleton appeared again. This time, however, it was mounted on a skeleton horse with wings,

Starting point is 13:05:18 and this time the luminous emanation shot forth from all parts of the figure in jets of colored fire, like the coronal streamers of the sun, and this time the phonograph sent forth peals of reverberating thunder, while lightning flashed at intervals from the figure. And as it circled over the rebel camp, it discharged upon them, gases with a fearful stench. A combination of Asafutida, skunk fluid, and Limburger cheese

Starting point is 13:05:43 would have been like a tar of roses compared to the horrible smell emitted by the figure, while the words Mahout, my out, came from the skeletons moving jaws, the Arabic equivalent of death, death, death. The natives in terror

Starting point is 13:05:59 all fell upon their knees, and at once sent messengers to General Blank, tindering their submission. As a result, the following night, there appeared a flying cherub over their camp, and scattered fragrant jessamines among the natives, a flower of which the Arabs are very fond. The uprising was at an end. Dr. Hackensaw, in two days at a trifling expense, had accomplished without bloodshed results such as a large army could not have accomplished in months, and then only at the expense of many thousands of lives and millions upon millions of dollars.

Starting point is 13:06:29 End of Section 37. Section 38 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizondier, The Mystery of the Radio Cipher Machine. Is this Dr. Hackensaw?

Starting point is 13:07:04 That's my name. What can I do for you today, sir? My name is Julius McMasher, and I am head clerk in the Constantinople office of a large New York electrical firm. Dr. Hackensaw glanced at the handsome young man who stood before him. In spite of a slight touch of effeminacy, the young fellow with his black mustache and dashing air looked like a veritable Don Juan, and the doctor mentally decided that the young man was appropriately named. He, however, said nothing, and McMasher continued. i have spent ten years in constantinople and speak turkish like a native but as affairs over there seemed to be looking pretty squally at present i wish to take some precaution i especially wish to be able to communicate secretly by wireless with friends i have in athens and in malta

Starting point is 13:07:52 i was told that you had invented a device that was not very expensive and that could be attached to any wireless set and would absolutely ensure the secrecy of any message sent yes that is true replied the doctor i was also told that the device was such that it could be used with a hundred or more different correspondence and yet that each of them could only catch the messages intended for him but was utterly powerless to read the messages sent to the other correspondence the thing doesn't seem possible but that's what i heard the thing is true nevertheless my instrument is so constructed that no one can receive the message unless you wish him to and yet he can switch in to at a moment's notice when you wish him to, at least if he's provided with my device. May I see the machine? I will show it to you with pleasure. Walk this way, please. So saying, the doctor led the young fellow into an adjoining room, devoted exclusively to wireless apparatus, and taking from a stand a small wheel, he exhibited it to his visitor. The device consists of a broad-rimmed wheel revolving vertically. On the broad rim of the wheel are twenty-rength.

Starting point is 13:09:03 rows of 10 keys in each row. Each key, when pressed down, pushes down a brush similar to the brushes used on dynamos. The operator, when sending a message, uses 10 different wavelengths. The idea is to rapidly change the wavelength used 20 times at each revolution of the wheel. To accomplish this, the operator presses down one key in each of the 20 rows. As the wheel revolves, each brush, pressed down, comes in turn in contact with one of ten contacts, connected each with a separate wire, each of the ten wires leading from different points of the transmitting coil, so as to send its own wavelength. Your correspondent has a similar wheel, which revolves synchronously with yours. If he presses down the same twenty keys that you do, his wavelength will change

Starting point is 13:09:51 exactly as yours does, being always in tune, while no outsider can possibly catch the message. There, cried Dr. Hackensaw, pointing triumphantly to the machine. Did you ever see anything neater or more compact? It can be switched on or off to the wireless set in an instant, and we'll send a message that my correspondent can hear with the greatest ease, but that's absolutely inaudible for anyone else. How does it work? asked young McMasher, interested. As you will see, the device consists of a wheel with a broad rim,

Starting point is 13:10:24 through suitable holes in the rim there pass 20 rows of 10 keys each the keys in each row bearing the numbers 1 to 10 My sending set is arranged to send any one of 10 different wavelengths and the pressing down of the proper keys decides which wavelength will be transmitted

Starting point is 13:10:41 The idea of the machine is to rapidly change my wavelength as I am sending the message thus making it impossible for anyone to listen in unless he has a wheel just like this one and revolving synchronously with it, and unless he has the same key pressed down in each row. Let us suppose, for instance, that you and I have decided on the following 20 numbers, 9, 27, 3, 4, 0, 6, 5, 8, 1, 258, 3,0, 0,061. I pressed down key 9 in the first row, key 2 in the second row, key 7 in the third row, and so on,

Starting point is 13:11:22 until I have all 20 rows properly placed. You do the same on your wheel, and we start both wheels turning together at the same speed. Then I start sending and speak my message into the instrument. The wavelength keeps changing, but as your wavelength is always the same as mine, you hear every word easily, while an outsider finds it impossible to tune in.

Starting point is 13:11:43 He hears nothing at all, but occasionally meaningless sounds. Why can't he try different combinations until he gets the right one? Dr. Hackensaw smiled. With 20 rows of keys and 10 keys in each row, he would have to try 10 to the 20th different combinations before he struck the right one. Or in other words, 100 million billion different combinations. Now, to try these 100 quadrillion different combinations would take him more than one lifetime. Besides, I recommend changing the combination each time just before sending the message. You and your correspondent can have a code word for each number, so by telephoning 20 words,

Starting point is 13:12:22 can change his keys in a minute, and the order of the wavelength will be completely changed. As you see, the apparatus is simplicity itself. I've furnished it to several broadcast stations who wish to charge for their entertainments. Only their customers are provided with the code numbers, and hence no one else can listen in to their program. This may seem rather hard on the general public, but will really improve the quality of the broadcasting. For the entertainers who receive pay for their productions, can afford to give their customers first class performances. There would be the same difference as between a free show and a good theatrical performance that you have to pay for. Doctor, it's great, cried the young man enthusiastically.

Starting point is 13:13:04 I'll take a dozen of these instruments right away, and you can count on some big orders from me if they work all right in practice. They'll work all right, never fear, replied Dr. Hackensaw confidently. Chapter 2. Julius McMasher was back in Constantinople and was busily engaged setting up a wireless set when the door of the showroom opened and a richly dressed, though heavily veiled Turkish lady, accompanied by an attendant, came in, and asked to see the various styles of wireless apparatus. Here, Julius, cried the manager, this lady looks like one of the big bugs. As you're the handsomest man here, I'll let you try to make the sale. She's certainly one of the 500. Julius all bows and smiles, stepped forward to meet the lady and understanding that she wished a

Starting point is 13:13:50 wireless set, he showed her all the latest models and explained the method of working them. Then, seeing that her glance had fallen on one of Dr. Hackensaw's wireless cipher machines, he explained to her how this device could be used to send secret messages. As he spoke, the young woman became intensely excited and threw back her veil in order to get a better view of the apparatus. Julius looked up at her and was amazed to perceive one of the most beautiful women he'd ever set eyes on. For a moment their glances met, and then the young lady carefully readjusted. rest at her veil again. But she had smiled at him, and Julius saw the smile with a thrill of pleasure.

Starting point is 13:14:26 He took the greatest pains to explain to her in detail the working of the cipher machine, and as she ordered two sets, he gave her a practical lesson then and there, making her change the combinations and work the set herself so as to be sure that she understood his directions. She made one stipulation. It was that Julius should call her up every day at noon and speak a few words to her in order to ensure that the apparatus was working property. It is needless to say that young McMasher, always ready for an adventure, readily gave the required promise. He had explained to her about the tuning in.

Starting point is 13:14:58 In Dr. Hackensaw's first experiment, it was necessary before sending a message to tune in each of the ten different wavelengths separately in order to be sure that each wavelength of the receiving set would correspond exactly with the corresponding wavelength of the sending set. In his improved apparatus, however, the machines were so accurately made that one single tuning suffice to bring all ten wavelengths in perfect accord with the ten of the other set. For a week or so regularly, every day at noon, Julius exchanged secret messages with this beautiful client. At first the messages related principally to the working of the apparatus, but it soon

Starting point is 13:15:35 drifted into conversations on general topics. It must be confessed that Julius flirted outrageously with the lady, yet she didn't seem to mind, but answered his loan messages with peals of silvery laughter. And then one day came a message that made Julian's heart beat high. She told him her set was not working very well, and she would like him to come and fix it. As men were not allowed to come into the harem, he was to meet her attendant at the mosque of St. Sophia, and the attendant would seat conducting him to the lady's palace and smuggling him in. Above all, things be very prudent, she said, and then she switched off, while he vainly tried to obtain further particulars. Sharp at the appointed time, young McMasher, pound himself at the door of the mosque.

Starting point is 13:16:20 The attendant was waiting, yet appeared not to notice him, but as she walked past him, she whispered, Follow me quietly, at a distance. The affair was beginning to assume all the appearance of the Regulation Oriental intrigue, but Julius was ripe for any adventure. He waited until the messenger had gone some distance and then followed her unobtrusively. It was not a very long journey. Julius saw his guide enter the door of a very fine mansion, and as the door was left open, he followed in, and found the attendant waiting for him.

Starting point is 13:16:51 She led him, through one apartment after another, furnished with true oriental splendor, and at last introduced him into the chamber where the wireless apparatus was installed. Your excellency, said the servant, here is the gentleman. Evidently Julius's fair customer was a lady, of the highest rank. This time she was unveiled, and as she rose from the divan to greet him,

Starting point is 13:17:12 Julius perceived that she was even more beautiful than he'd imagined. Never before had he seen such a hurry. To avoid showing his embarrassment, Julius approached the wireless set to examine it, but she hastily plucked him by the sleeve and drew him back. Ash, she said, you must not make any noise or my father may hear you. He has returned unexpectedly, and is in his room. Perhaps, however, you can discover, the trouble without switching on the current. If not, you must return tomorrow. Julius leaned over and examined the instrument, but everything appeared in perfect condition. The young lady stood beside him, and insensibly Julius's arm began stealing gently around her waist. She did not appear

Starting point is 13:17:55 to notice it, so Julius, growing bolder, pressed her to him. Their eyes met, and she yielded gracefully. Her lips and his met in one long, sweet kiss, and then she allowed her head to sink upon him. his shoulder. They were disturbed by a sudden noise, and looking up Aisa, for that was the young lady's name, or Ayesha, as it is usually anglicized, perceived her father, glaring at her with a glare of 110 Othello power voltage. "'Ha!' cried he, so, so, my fine young fellow, "'do you imagine you can come into a man's house like this and make love to his daughter, and then escapes God-free? Not if I know myself. "'Hey, guards, come here.

Starting point is 13:18:39 "'Sease me this dog of an unbeliever, and I'll make an example of him.' "'Quick! Julius!' cried the girl. "'I will try to hold my father while you escape by the other door. "'He won't hurt me, but he would kill you if he got hold of you now.' "'There was no time to lose, so Julius, with a bound, flung open the rear door, and scrambled downstairs. He heard voices behind him, and his pursuers were so close upon him that in his hurry, he went down one flight too many, and found himself in the cellars. There was no possibility of repairing the error, and it seemed hopeless to seek a hiding place

Starting point is 13:19:12 here. Nevertheless, it was his only hope. So he entered one of the cellars, and perceiving a trap-door in the floor, he lifted it up, and was delighted to see a sheet of water a few feet below him. The boss for us, he cried gleefully, I'm saved, for I understood at once that this must be the famous sheet of water that washes the walls of the residences of many of the wealthy inhabitants of Constantinople. Julius was a good swimmer, and escape seemed now assured, for it would be mere child's play to swim in the dark to some boat or to some deserted part of the city. Without a moment's hesitation, therefore he plunged into the water, pulling down the trapdoor behind him. He then started out swimming, but had not gone ten feet when he came to an obstruction. A row of piles

Starting point is 13:19:57 planted close together so as to form a wall. Nothing daunted. Julius swam along this wall, but imagine his consternation when he found himself back at his starting point without having found a single opening in the wall. He was, in fact, in a submerged prison, and strange tales came back to his mind, tales of gay wives of sultans who would lure their sweethearts

Starting point is 13:20:19 to visit them in their palace, and when tired of them, would guard against indiscretions by throwing the unfortunate men into just such a flooded prison as this one, when drowned, the bodies could be thrown into the bosphorus, and the men would appear to have met a natural death by drowning. A second tour of the chamber convinced Julius of the fact that there was no outlet, and by diving he found the depth of the water to be between ten and fifteen feet. On the other hand, it was impossible to reach the trap-door to open it again. He tried several times to spring up from the water, but the trap-door was far beyond his reach. He seemed destined to drown

Starting point is 13:20:53 here like a rat in a trap. He could swim around for a few hours, but after that, he shuddered as he thought of the eventuality. Just as he'd given up all hope, the trap-door was stealthily opened and a face appeared through. Jolias, is that you? came the sweet voice of Aisa in a whisper. Yes, darling, he cried, overtoyed. Can you get a piece of rope to help me out? There's no time, she replied, but take hold of the end of my hike. It is very strong and will do as well as a rope? With the words she took off the garment and letting down one end so Julius could grasp it, she passed the other end round the hinge of the trapdoor for support. Julius, with this aid, was easily able to lift himself far enough to grasp the sides of the trapdoor opening.

Starting point is 13:21:39 So busily were the pair engaged that they neither of them noticed that the girl's father had appeared in the doorway and was eagerly watching the scene. Just at the critical moment, however, when Julius was trying to swing himself up, the young folks were startled by a girl. cry of fierce rage. Aisa shrieked and turned to fall on her knees before her stern parent, but with an oath he caught her by the hair and hurled her down the hole, right on top of her lover. Then he slammed the trap-door down, and the sound of a key turning in the lock informed Julius that the trap-door was padlocked and that all hope of escape in this direction was cut off. Julius, thrown back into the water, had some difficulty in disengaging himself from the girl who

Starting point is 13:22:21 had clung to him in a fright. Luckily, her hike was still hanging from the trap door, so Julius made her cling to it, while he made a third tour of exploration round his prison. For the first time in his life, Julius wished he'd never seen a wireless apparatus,

Starting point is 13:22:37 and he cursed himself for a fool, for ever having tried to send secret messages by wireless. But his was not a nature to give up, tamely. Perhaps some outlet existed under the water. This, however, proved a vain hope, but as Julius felt inch by inch around the walls of his prison,

Starting point is 13:22:55 he came to a corner where one of the wooden piles appeared to have rotted at the top. Young McMasher was a muscular fellow, and clearing away the rotten wood with his fingers and aiding himself with his jackknife, he with considerable trouble succeeded in making an opening large enough to barely allow the passage of his body. Then he returned for Aisa, who was pretty nearly exhausted. By great good luck, the passage made, led into, to the open Bosphorus, and Julius had no trouble in swimming with the girl to a safe spot for landing.

Starting point is 13:23:27 It would take too long to recount how Julius smuggled the girl on board an ocean liner, but when the steamer sailed that afternoon, it carried with it a pair of loving hearts, thankful for having escaped from all the many dangers that menaced them, but neither Julius nor his charming wife has ever made use of the wireless cipher machine since. End of Section 38, read by Sandra. Section 39 of Dr. Hakenso's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 13:24:07 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Jen Broda. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizandi The Mystery of Atomic Energy Extract from Frederick Soddy's book interpretation of radium. The discovery of radium has led to new conceptions of our ideas of matter. The old philosophers had already conceived the idea that atoms of a body formed planetary systems of their own, but the knowledge that a cobblestone contains sufficient energy to blow up

Starting point is 13:24:47 an entire city is a modern concept. Physicists now are endeavoring to find means of utilizing this latent energy. Let us hope they will not find it until mankind can be trusted to make proper use of the tremendous powers stored up all around us. PEP, cried Dr. Hackensaw jubilantly. I have found it. What have you found now? As Miss Papeda Perkins, lazily looking up from the novel she was reading, I've just made one of the greatest inventions that has ever been made. It seems to me I've heard you say that before. Every one of your inventions seems to be the greatest ever made. Dr. Hackensaw laughed. Yes, he assented. I suppose it's the same with any inventor as with a mother. Her last baby always seems to be the finest. Well, what is it that you've invented this time?

Starting point is 13:25:46 I've discovered the means of releasing atomic energy. Pep looked blank. What's that? She is asked. Good gracious, haven't you ever heard of atomic energy? Then perhaps I'd better explain from the beginning so that you will understand things clearly. To begin with, it has long been known that certain substances possessed a store of latent energy which they could release under given conditions. A lump of coal, for instance, seems inert, yet when we set fire to it, it can give forth power enough to run our railroads and our steamships. But it was only with the discovery of radium that we began to understand that every substance possesses a tremendous amount of this latent power. If only we knew how, we could get far more work out of the cobblestone than we can at present out of a lump of coal of

Starting point is 13:26:45 the same size. Both seem equally inert and harmless, but the power resides there just the same. Uranium disintegrates very slowly into radium, and radium disintegrates into lead, and in the transformation, a large amount of energy is set free. Here, the disintegration occurs naturally. We know of no means of hastening or retarding it. Now, scientists are certain that any element in disintegrating into a lower one must likewise give out energy, and it is believed that the disintegration, like that of uranium, is very slow, so slow as to be imperceptible. The thing to find was means to hasten it. If a log of wood is allowed to decay, it give out as much heat in the process as it would if burnt, but the decomposition requires years instead of hours. To get the heat or energy immediately, we must set fire to the log. In the same way, to get the energy from the coal, we must start the disintegration by setting fire to the coal.

Starting point is 13:27:58 Once lighted, a coal fire can keep itself up indefinitely. It needs merely to be started. The same must be true in getting atomic energy from stone. All we need is to find means of starting the dissoning. of kindling the atomic fire, so to speak. Once started, the disintegration itself will release enough heat to continue the process. It is this that I have discovered the means of starting the molecules and atomic disintegration in stones, or more properly speaking, in sand. For I found the stones were too large and too dangerous to handle. Sand is much easier to work with,

Starting point is 13:28:43 and can easily be obtained anywhere. "'Hugh!' exclaimed Pep. "'For a long time I hesitated as to whether to make my discovery public or not. Mankind's moral progress is so slow compared to his scientific progress that it is dangerous to put too much power in his hands. Our new inventions, the steamship, automobile, and airplane are all utilized as war machines for killing off other men, and all new explosives are used as much for war purposes as for digging canals and other useful work.

Starting point is 13:29:19 To give mankind the secret of atomic energy, by means of which a wheelbarrow full of sand would suffice to blow up all New York City, would be like putting a razor or a bombshell in the hands of a two-year-old baby. He would be almost certain to kill himself and would very likely do great damage to others. Hence, I have kept my invention very quiet so far, but meanwhile I have quietly made arrangements for utilizing their energy for a number of different purposes that I think will result in immense benefit to mankind. I have chosen men whom I knew I could trust to act as my agents, and to none of them have I confided the real secret, the method of starting the disintegration, nor the equally important method of stopping it, or rather of limiting its ravages. For so far, I have no means of

Starting point is 13:30:16 stopping it. I can only isolate the portion that is burning and let it go out of itself when the disintegration is complete. I use the term burning, you understand, because it is convenient, though the process has little analogy to real combustion, save that it releases energy, and this energy may be turned into heat, light, sound, or electricity, the same as any other form of energy. How do you isolate it? asked Pep. Ah, my lass, that was a hard problem to solve, but it had to be solved at the very start. Otherwise, if I once started the disintegrating a small amount of earth, if I may call it so, would spread to the surrounding earth and stones, rocks and all would begin to disintegrate in their turn, and the whole terrestrial globe would be consumed.

Starting point is 13:31:11 It would be as if the earth were a ball of coal, and a coal fire were started anywhere on its surface. The fire would spread and spread until the layer of ashes was thick enough to keep away the air and prevent further combustion. There are coal fires and mines that have gone on for years. But enough of this talk. I start tomorrow by airplane to visit some of my atomic energy enterprises. And if you wish to come along, I shall be glad to take you. Our first stop will be at my plantations at the South Pole. Here I started the sand burning some three months ago, so we ought to find some tangible results. Chapter 2. Polar Regions made tropical. Here we are, Pep, cried Dr. Hackensaw gaily as he steered his airplane down near a grove of tall palm trees.

Starting point is 13:32:05 What do you think of my success in growing palm trees in the polar region? Pep could scarcely believe her eyes. Here was a real tropical landscape with dates, bananas, oranges, and coconuts growing, with prairies of grass and vegetables, and flowers of many varieties in full bloom. And yet, circling it all, not five miles away, was the interminable field of polar ice. Gee, she cried. How did you ever do it, Doc? Simply enough, all that is needed to change the poles into tropics is heat, and any form of energy can be transformed into heat. We are here on the Antarctic continent, and of course there is Earth enough to furnish me all the atomic energy needed for thousands of years to come.

Starting point is 13:32:58 Of course I brought with me a small amount of pulverized sand with which to start operating. for I had first to melt the field of ice to get down to the solid earth. After that, I could pulverize and screen the earth itself for my fuel. I use the word screen, just as I use the word fuel, because the proper word does not yet exist. No screen made would powder my earth to the necessary degree of fineness. It is an almost impalpable dust that I need, in order to keep my atomic energy under control, and even this dust I must dilute with a great deal of inert gas, or I would blow my engines to pieces. But didn't you tell me that you only started work here three months ago? Yes. Yet here you have palm trees over 50 years old, growing and bearing fruit. Yes, Pep,

Starting point is 13:33:54 I thought you knew that full-grown trees are nowadays transplanted as easily as small ones. Some genius discovered that successful transplantation depended on the number of roots preserved. So, horticulturists nowadays spend years in preparing trees for transplanting. They cut back the roots of the growing tree, forcing new roots to sprout close to the tree. In a few years, all the roots are in one clump, close to the trunk, instead of spreading out some 200 feet in all directions. The full-grown tree, with all its roots, can be transplanted with ease, and a millionaire who builds himself a house in a desert can surround his mansion with a grove of secular trees in the course of a month, instead of having to wait 50 years for them to grow. I found these trees ready, prepared, and had a special airplane truck constructed to bring them here as soon as my ground was ready to receive them.

Starting point is 13:34:53 How do you like my Antarctic farm? I have here all the productions of the tropics, of the temperature climbs, and the poles. I can have torrid summer weather here, and a five-mile ride will bring me to perpetual ice and snow, where I can skate or sleigh-ride or hunt polar bears and seals at pleasure. My air here at present, almost free from germs, though, of course, it will not long continue so. When you have admired everything enough, just jump into the plane again, and I will. take you to the desert of Sahara and show you what I have accomplished there by means of this same atomic energy. You will begin to realize the value of my invention when you see how it

Starting point is 13:35:39 enables me to make every portion of our planet habitable by man. Chapter 3 A Canal Through Desert of Sahara Here we are at Tunis, Pep, and here you will see the beginning of my canal through the desert of Sahara. The canal extends all the way across the desert to Timbuktu. Some job, let me tell you, to dig this ditch through hundreds of miles of desert and let in the waters of the Mediterranean. Even with the aid of atomic energy, it was no light task. You see, in this case, it was explosive energy and not mere heat that I needed. and there were two drawbacks to using the explosive force of grains of sand.

Starting point is 13:36:26 The first was that the explosions would destroy the insulators, and thus the disintegration would spread unchecked to the whole desert, and the second was that each explosion would throw the neighboring grains of sand to a distance, and so stopped the work until a new start could be made. By using my sand in a very fine powder, I was able to guard against the first danger. For while the powder disintegrated readily, it did not produce energy enough to start disintegration in an ordinary grain of sand. I thus need not bother about insulators. All I needed to do was to reduce the explosion to such a degree that I could

Starting point is 13:37:08 use a suitable instrument carried in an automobile and by means of a hose feed the dust slowly in a stream of inert gas. The dust exploding as it touched the ground. This was slow work, but the only alternative was to change the energy into heat and utilize the heat to run a dredging machine to dig the canal. This would have been even slower yet. Now, shall we fly along the banks of the canal to Timbuktu? You can already see for yourself the advantages of this new stream in the desert. For all along its course, there are Arab encampment.

Starting point is 13:37:47 And at the places where I have created small lakes, whole villages have sprung up. But, objected Pep, I thought the water of the Mediterranean was salt. So it is, but by distillation, it can easily be rendered fit for drinking purposes. In fact, driven wells wills will furnish enough fresh water. This saltwater is all right for irrigation, as the salt can be filtered out, as the water percolates through the soil. Dr. Hackensaw's joy was great to perceive that several vessels were already in the canal making their preliminary trip. It won't be long, said he, before a railroad, too, follows the line of the canal.

Starting point is 13:38:35 Timbuktu was reached in the course of about four hours of flying, and the night was spent there. And now, said Dr. Hackensaw to the young girl, I am going to show you. you another of the conquests which the mastery of atomic energy has permitted. You saw at the South Pole how easy it will be to reclaim the Arctic regions. Here you see how I can reclaim this immense desert larger an area than the whole United States. Next, I shall show you how I can conquer the ocean itself, a transcendental discovery, because the surface of the earth contains several times as great an area of water as of land. We are now about to start for what will soon be a new

Starting point is 13:39:23 continent, for in the very midst of the Pacific Ocean, I have started creating a new land. What? Yes, Pep, there will soon be a new Pacific continent to add to the map. You are probably aware that at intervals in the past, new lands have emerged and all continents have been submerged through the agency of earthquakes. The idea occurred to me that I might create an artificial earthquake by means of atomic energy, and so produce a new continent for my own use. Columbus discovered America, but I shall go him one better. I shall create my Pacific continent. I have already started work. I chose an elevated portion of the sea bottom, probably a spot where a continent existed at some remote age, and after long planning, by means of

Starting point is 13:40:21 special submarine boats adapted to descend to great depths, I started releasing atomic energy under the bed of the ocean so as to upheave it quietly, as it is sometimes upheaved slowly by natural causes. To save work, I have upheaved this land in a circle so that my island is really a ring with a central lagoon. Then I can elevate the center, and so complete my island. Up to date, I have only raised one small island as an experiment. To this, I shall add others, and finally join them all together into one land. To Pep, the airplane trip to the New Island was very tedious, though she relieved the monotony of the journey somewhat by taking an occasional trick at the steering wheel.

Starting point is 13:41:11 And when they did at last cite the island, it was a disappointment, being nothing but a kind of mudbank with no vegetation except some dead and offensive seaweeds and fish and marine monsters in various stages of decomposition. Oh, don't let's land here, she cried. The place is too horrible. All right, assented Dr. Hackensaw, whose nostrils too were offended. I'll wait till it's been cleared off and planted, and I'll wager that then you'll be delighted to come with me. And mark my words, it won't be long before I have a whole large continent here. Then I shall build an isthmus to connect it to China on the one hand

Starting point is 13:41:57 and to the United States on the other so that we can have a trans-Pacific railroad. And on my new continent, I shall manufacture atomic energy and sell it in the form of light, heat, and power to all the nation's of the world to run their boats, their trains, their factories, and all of their machinery. And now, for home. Chapter 4. A rival inventor. Say pop, cried Pep Perkins. You're not the only man who has invented atomic energy. Here's another one. And with the words, she handed the doctor a newspaper and pointed to an

Starting point is 13:42:40 advertisement in the personal columns. Atomic Energy The undersigned hereby informs the governments of the whole world that he has discovered the secret of atomic energy and the means of utilizing it. In other words, he has discovered a force which will enable any nation to easily annihilate its enemies. I offer my secret to the government

Starting point is 13:43:08 that makes the highest bid all bids to be made in this personal column. As a sample of the power of this atomic energy, I shall, on Saturday next, at 5 p.m., blow up the land on which the carousel in Central Park now stands. The authorities are asked to take proper precautions to prevent the loss of life. I.N. Venter Dr. Hackensaw read the announcement with a frown. Philanthropist as he was.

Starting point is 13:43:41 It was a blow to his pride to think that another inventor had stolen a march on him. Then, an idea struck him, and with a roar he jumped for the safe where he had stored some of his prepared tapes. For convenience and safety in handling his explosive, he had prepared long rolls of tape, similar to that use for telegraphing stock quotations. On this roll, the finely pulverized dust he obtained by crushing grains of sand was glued with certain chemical substances between the particles. In this way, he was able to control the atomic energy released. Pep! he cried, half joyfully, half sorrowfully.

Starting point is 13:44:23 That fellow is a villain. He hasn't invented anything. He has only stolen a lot of my prepared tapes. And yes, he has stolen one of my prepared tapes. And yes, he has stolen one of my radio machines to start the disintegration. I must look into this at once, because there is no knowing what damage the fellow will do handling this stuff that he doesn't know anything about. Chapter 5

Starting point is 13:44:48 Saturday had come, and the neighborhood of the carousel in Central Park was thronged with spectators eager to see what was going to happen. At a quarter to five, a small boy warmed his way through, the crowd and handed the head of police a slip of paper bearing these words. On account of the crowd, I shall blow up the rocks on the ball ground instead of the carousel. I. N. Venter. A loudspeaker had been installed for the occasion, and through this, the chief of police made the announcement of the change in program. All eyes now turned toward these rocks, well known to every New Yorker.

Starting point is 13:45:31 Generations of children had slid and down those rocks, and if you had asked what caused the polished surface of the rock, the large majority would have answered that it was caused by the seats of the trousers of the boys who had slid down. As a matter of fact, this polish was hundreds of thousands of years old, and like the scratches on the surface of the rock, were due to glacial action at the time when the ice was digging the chain of great lakes and the smaller lakes that honeycombed the states of Maine and New York. At the stroke of five,

Starting point is 13:46:05 there was a perceptible tremor of the earth. This gradually increased, and a number of people were thrown down. Then, the enormous mass of rocks at the southern extremity of the ball field was seen to slowly rise in the air. There were a series of loud cracking sounds, as the huge rock broke into fragments, and then with one terrific explosion, large masses were hurled in all directions. For five minutes, the disturbance continued, though what was happening could not be seen because of the cloud of dust that enveloped everything and covered the spectators themselves. The performance was over. Chapter 6.

Starting point is 13:46:51 It's all right, Pep, cried Dr. Hackensaw the next day. The rogue has met with his desserts, and the country is saved. How did it happen? Was he blown up in the explosion? No, he met a more prosaic end. He had come to the park in an automobile. In this way, his radio apparatus for starting the explosion could be completely concealed. But he was in such a hurry to get away that he collided with another auto, and as luck would have it, he was killed instantaneously. I read of the account in the papers and the description of the radio apparatus and the rolls of purple tape found in the damaged auto told me the tale at once. The police imagine it was just an everyday auto accident, so I had no

Starting point is 13:47:46 trouble in getting possession of my tapes again. And in future, I shall keep these powerful engines of destruction, safely stored in the strongest vaults of some safe deposit company. They are too dangerous to leave exposed to ordinary sneak thieves. As a matter of fact, I begin to fear that I may have to give up all my schemes for the utilization of this atomic energy. I am beginning to see the wisdom of a well-known English king. I think it was Alfred the Great. A chemist came to him one day, and it explained that he had discovered a new explosive far more powerful than gunpowder. King Alfred rewarded him generously, but on the express condition that he would keep his discovery

Starting point is 13:48:36 secret as men already possessed sufficient means of destroying each other. It is the same today, Pep. The world is not far enough advance yet to make proper use of atomic energy. Our wars and our strikes would become far more destructive than they are at present, and humanity, in its foolishness, might wipe itself completely from the face of the earth. End of Section 39. Section 40 of Dr. Hakensaugh's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording.

Starting point is 13:49:19 All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. by Krista Zaleski Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizonday A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Part 1 Chapter 1 Pep, cried Dr. Hackensaw, do you want to take a trip with me? Sure, Pop, answered Miss Pepita Perkins gaily.

Starting point is 13:49:45 Where, too? To the South Pole first, and from there possibly on to the center of the earth. What? Yes, Pep, I have decided to penetrate nature's greatest mystery, and discover what lies at the center of our earth. Up to date, nobody has the faintest idea of what is to be found there. For many years, the center of the earth was supposed to be a liquid mass of white-hot molten matter on the top of which floated the cooled upper crust, about 100 miles in thickness. This belief was strengthened by the fact that in our minds, the temperature increases slowly

Starting point is 13:50:18 as the depth increases. It would follow that the center must be a white-hot mass. The existence of volcanoes would lend support to the belief. But of late years this view has been gradually abandoned. If the center of the earth were a liquid sea of fire, this sea would be attracted by the sun and the moon, and our volcanoes would have daily high tides and low tides, the same as our oceans of water. Other circumstances, too, lead to the belief

Starting point is 13:50:45 that our earth is not fluid at the center, but is as rigid as steel. However, nothing really definite was known until I, a few years ago, said about exploring the nature of the center of the earth by means of radio waves. Radio waves, what do you mean? I mean to say that radio waves in their passage through a medium are modified to a certain extent by the medium through which they are passing. I have accordingly spent a great deal of time in studying just what modifications are produced

Starting point is 13:51:17 by passing these waves through different thicknesses of rock, sand, clay, gravel, and various metallic ores. Of course, I was obliged to use directed waves, for if the wave passed around the obstacle instead of through it, it would tell me nothing. After I had carefully tabulated the results of my experiment, I sent out several radio expeditions to test conditions at the center of the Earth. These expeditions were in pairs. Each pair was at opposite poles or points on the Earth's surface. Vents to send and receive radio waves of pre-arranged strengths and frequencies directed right to, through the center of the earth. The vessels carrying the radio apparatus were, of course, time to be at the same moment at opposite points. Following the same great circle of the earth in the same direction, they were always opposite each other, and could arrange to stop every hundred miles

Starting point is 13:52:10 on their course and exchange new waves. By comparing the result from all these expeditions and eliminating all the differences, I could tell just what resistance was offered by the central portion of the earth, and could thus form some idea as to whether it were a mass of molten matter or solid rock. This was supplemented by the work of some other expeditions, which instead of following a great circle followed small circles of latitude or longitude. In this case, the radio waves exchange did not pass through the center of the earth, but through the cord of a sliced off portion in this diagram. Dr. Hackensaw here showed Pep a simple sketch of a section of the earth. This work served to control the other observations because in this case the wave did not pass

Starting point is 13:52:56 through the center of the earth. Well, did you find what the earth is made of? asked Pep. Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. The results are most puzzling and I don't dare to publish them. They are so wild and so much at variance with the current scientific theories. Consequently, I am determined to make an attempt to penetrate. the center of the earth in order to verify or disprove my theories. Gee, cried Pep, that's some job you're undertaking. How are you going to dig your way down? I'm going to make use of atomic energy to dig the tunnel. You were with me when we watched the blowing up of the rock in Central Park, so you have some faint idea of what my atomic force can do.

Starting point is 13:53:38 Well, I have invented a digging machine for digging deep shafts into the earth by means of this same energy. I understand, said Pep. What's your idea in starting from the South Pole? Why not start from here? There are several reasons, replied the doctor. In the first place, we should be tormented here by reporters and curiosity seekers. But my main reason is that, as the Earth is flattened at the poles, I shall save several miles of digging. Besides, I have just received word from the agent of my colony at the South Pole, that he has now discovered a pit or extinct crater that seems to be about five miles deep. Of course, five miles is very little on a total of four thousand miles. Yet every little bit helps. But I am wasting time. Now that you know my plans, are you still willing to come along with me?

Starting point is 13:54:30 Sure, Pop. I wouldn't miss it for a circus. Chapter 2 Here we are exactly at the South Pole, Pep. And I bet you can't. tell me in what direction we are flying. I bet I can. We're going due south. We haven't changed our direction. Dr. Hackensaw's eyes twinkled. You're wrong, Pep, said he. We're going due north. A person standing exactly at the south pole can travel neither east nor west nor south. No matter in what direction he goes, he will be traveling due north. Similarly to a person at the north pole, all directions are due south. How is it that?

Starting point is 13:55:10 the compass isn't vertical here, asked Pep. For the reason that the magnetic poles do not coincide with the poles of the Earth. Scientists are not yet agreed as to the cause of the Earth magnetism, but it is believed to be due to electric currents that circulate around the surface of the Earth. It is not the Earth itself that attracts the compass, but the needle is acted on by these electric currents, and the currents are probably caused by the heat of the Sun, striking the Earth further and further to the West,

Starting point is 13:55:38 as the sun apparently travels from east to west between sunrise and sunset. Here we are over my polar plantations that we visited once before. We shall not stop there today, but push right on for our goal, 50 miles further on. A few minutes brought the airplane to the spot, and the doctor in Peppa lighted to confer with the doctor's agent, who had received orders to make all necessary preparations for starting work. By means of atomic energy, the snow and ice had been cleared away from most of the territory, with the exception of a collection of ice huts, which had previously been constructed

Starting point is 13:56:13 by a very rapid method, having been made in a mould into which water had been poured and allowed to freeze. On upending the mould, the ice-house slid out all ready for occupation. Mr. Sam, the agent, was delighted to see our travellers, and was especially interested in the doctor's electric aeroplane, the dart. Where are the storage batteries, queried Mr. Sam? There are no batteries, replied the doctor. I thought you said it was electrical. So it is, at least as much as storage batteries are electrical. A storage battery, of course, does not really store up electricity. It stores up chemical energy. Electricity is no more stored than it would be if we use the current to decompose water into hydrogen and oxygen, and then burned the gases and used the heat to run a dynamo and produce new

Starting point is 13:56:59 electricity. In my airplane, it is atomic energy that is converted into electricity and runs the propellers. but we have no time to lose. Have you cleared out the bottom of the pit so we can begin our digging? Everything is ready for the start, said Mr. Sam. The pit is cleared out and the diamond drill has started. How does the diamond drill work? asked the doctor. First rate, but it seems a pity to use those immense diamonds worth hundreds of thousands of dollars for the purpose of digging through rocks. Don't let that worry, you replied the doctor. I have found the means of producing large diamonds as cheaply as we can produce graphite. They are nothing but charcoal in another form, but their hardness makes them ideal for drilling work like this. If you'll just jump aboard the dart, I'll take you down to the bottom of the pit so we can see how things are progressing. By the way, observed Mr. Sam, I am convinced that this pit must continue

Starting point is 13:57:52 much further down. It seemed to be blocked up by a fault in the geological strata. This fault completely closes the bottom of the pit. But unless I am very much mistaken, when we dig a little deeper we shall find that the pit extends considerably further. In that case, remarked Dr. Hackensaw, there would be danger of the drilling tool and the workmen dropping right through into the hall below. I have guarded against that, explained Mr. Sam modestly. I have placed the workman and the drill on a movable platform, and this platform is supported by chain securely fastened above. In fact, I have gone even further. I have enclosed the entire platform hermetically in a kind of large metal bell, closed at the body.

Starting point is 13:58:34 the drill projecting through a stuffing box. What was your object in doing that? I had two reasons. In the first place, I wished to protect a workman in case carbon monoxide or other poisonous gases should be present. And secondly, to avoid danger in case there should be a partial vacuum below that might suck down the men. You acted very wisely, said Dr. Hackensaw, who made a careful examination of the machinery. All right, said he. Everything seems okay, Mr. Sam, and you can start the drill going again.

Starting point is 13:59:04 Mr. Sam pressed a switch, and the enormous diamond-pointed auger began cutting its way down through the hard rock as though it had been cheese. Chapter 3 Did you say this pit was five miles deep, as Dr. Hackensaw of his agent? Yes, replied Mr. Sam. That is the approximate depth. I didn't measure it exactly. I merely let a bomb fall into the pit from above, and I found that 60 seconds elapsed from the time the bomb left my hand, to the time I heard the explosion. hence this pit must be nearly five miles deep.

Starting point is 13:59:37 How do you figure that? asked Pep. Dr. Hackensaw explained. You see, Pep, said he, a body near the surface of the earth falls 16 feet the first second, 48 feet the second second, 18 feet the third, and so on. As a physicist would say, the total distance fallen equals G times T squared divided by two, in which G stands for the attraction of gravitation.

Starting point is 14:00:03 In other words, the acceleration of 32 feet per second of a body near the earth's surface. If the distance fallen were great, this figure would be too large, as the portion of the earth passed through would pull the body backwards. It is sufficiently accurate, however, for the present purpose. To fall five miles, therefore, the body would take 16 t-squared seconds. As a mile contains 5,280 feet, T-squared equals 5 times 5,280. divided by 16, or 1,650 seconds. Therefore, the time is the square root of 1650, or it trifle over

Starting point is 14:00:42 40 seconds for the bomb to fall the five miles. But, objected Pep, he said it took the bomb 60 seconds to fall. No, he said that it was 60 seconds before he heard the noise of the explosion. It takes sound to trifle over four seconds to travel a mile, so it would take 20 seconds for the sound of the explosion to travel the five miles. In other words, it took the sound one-third as long to travel back as it took the stone to fall. Had the pit been a little deeper, the stone would have traveled faster than the sound. But as you see, 40 seconds to fall and 20 seconds for the sound to travel back, show that the pit is just five miles deep. This will save us quite a little digging. How long will it take for the drill to go a mile? asked Pep. I hope we won't have to wait an age here.

Starting point is 14:01:32 We'd have to wait pretty long if I had only the diamond drill to depend on. But I am using that just to get a start. Tomorrow I shall take out the diamond drill and put my atomic drill in its place. Will the atomic drill go faster? A great deal faster. In fact, there is no comparison between the two. Atomic energy is a wonderful power. And I have fortunately succeeded in harnessing it up in such a way as to avoid all danger.

Starting point is 14:02:00 How does the atomic drill work? Well, it's not exactly a drill. I call it that merely for convenience. It is, in reality, more in the nature of a torch. There is the machine ready to be put in its place. To understand it's working, you need only think of a gasoline torch melting a hole through the ice on a skating pond. Swing the torch around in a circle, and it will soon dig deep into the ice.

Starting point is 14:02:27 My atomic energy torch acts in much the same way. instead of gasoline, my fuel, if I may call it so, consists of finely pulverized sand which I place in the reservoir of the drill or torch. By means of the ignition device, as I call it, that you see near the torch, I am enabled to obtain undreamt of voltage, and am thus enabled to start the disintegration of this dust. As the pulverized sand disintegrates, the liberated energy not only accomplishes work, but causes the disintegration of more of the sand. By feeding the dust slowly to the tip of the torch, or the burner, as I call it, the disintegration will continue as long as any sand is left in the reservoir. The heat generated in the process is enormous and melts the rocks and earth as if they were so much light snow.

Starting point is 14:03:16 How is it that the rocks and the earth do not disintegrate? asked Pep. For two reasons. First, they are not so finely pulverized as the dust I use. And secondly, I am careful not to bring my torch too near. I keep it far enough away, so it will melt the rocks without getting them to disintegrate, if I may use the expression. How do you get rid of the molten rocks? The molten material is carried up by endless chains of buckets. The work will be done automatically, so there will be no risk of the workman being injured.

Starting point is 14:03:48 How is it that your torch and your buckets do not melt? They are kept cool by electricity. I haven't time to explain the process now, but it has long been known that the electric current can be used for cooling as well as heating. Electricity is a wonderful power. There is almost nothing that it is unable to accomplish if properly directed.

Starting point is 14:04:09 But enough of this lecture. The men are stopping the diamond drill now and will soon disconnect it and set up the atomic torch in its place. Then you will see the sparks fly. I have arranged an x-ray machine so that we can witness the effect of the atomic torch as it digs its way downward through the rocks. Several hours were required to make the change,

Starting point is 14:04:31 but Dr. Hackensaw and Pep waited to see the torch well set up in place and started an operation. It was interesting to see the rapidity with which the rock melted under the impact of the white-hot ionized particles, and the stream of fluid lava was blown into buckets by a stream of helium gas. Luckily, it was not necessary to carry the molten lava to the surface of the earth. There was a deep side channel, a short distance up, the pit, and into this the molten rock was poured. The buckets, the drill, and the closed chamber in which the operator stood were all protected from the heat by electrical refrigerating devices. A supply of air in the workroom was furnished from tanks, as the noxious gases generated by the heat would have

Starting point is 14:05:13 been irresperable. A microphone of special construction with a series of amplifying devices carried to the doctor and his assistants the faintest sounds. It was provided with a sort of tuning device which enabled them to listen at will, either to the sound of the revolving torch, to that of the seething lava, or cutting both of these out, it enabled them to listen to whatever other faint or sounds there might be. This precaution was necessary, as the doctor had no idea how deep the fault might extend, and to cut completely through into the pit below would have been exceedingly dangerous. That cavity existed below was certain.

Starting point is 14:05:51 There was a hollow cavernous sound produced by the reverberations of the rock through which they were cutting, sounds analogous to those of a drum when rubbed. Down, deeper down, went the torch into the earth's entrails, until finally the reverberations became so great that Dr. Hackensaw gave orders to halt the atomic energy torch. It sounds as if there couldn't be more than a foot of solid rock below, said he, and then we shall strike the open pit again. We'd better install the diamond drill once more,

Starting point is 14:06:20 or rather a two-inch drill, so as to cut a small hole into the pit. No sooner said than the work started. The torch was disconnected, and after cooling the rock, the small diamond drill began boring down through the last few inches of the fault. The work progressed rapidly when suddenly there was a tremendous suction of air, and with a whistling sound, the drill was sucked right into the opening it was making, and was only held back by the chuck. Good gracious, cried Dr. Hackensaw. There's a partial vacuum down below there. before we can do anything more we must make an airlock outside of this working chamber. Then, by exhausting the air in the airlock, it will be possible to draw out the drill and drop a bomb down into the pit to ascertain its depth.

Starting point is 14:07:04 This work occupied several days, but finally all was in readiness. The drill was withdrawn and at a sign from the doctor. Pep touched a button that allowed a small bomb to drop into the hole. They all waited anxiously. One whole minute passed, then it not. than a third, and the minutes slowly succeeded each other, until finally, just as the doctor was about to remarked that the bomb must have failed to ignite, the sound of the explosion was plainly heard through the loud talker. Good gracious, exclaimed the doctor again. Allowing for the time it took

Starting point is 14:07:37 that sound to travel back to us, it is certain that the pit below us is over a hundred miles deep. To be continued. End of A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Part 1. End of Section 40. Section 41 of Dr. Hakensaas Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All LibraVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski.

Starting point is 14:08:13 Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fezandi. A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Part 2. Chapter 4 "'Jurusalem!' exclaimed Dr. Hackinsaw. "'This hundred-mile pit will save us a lot of digging, "'but it forces us to change our plans immediately. "'Evidently a partial vacuum exists in this pit, "'and our first step must be to ascertain

Starting point is 14:08:37 "'exactly what degree of vacuum exists. "'Luckily, this will be easy, "'as I have a couple of special geisler tubes with me, "'so constructed that air may be admitted or pumped out at will. "'One of these tubes I shall open and let down into the pit. the rarefied atmosphere of the pit and that in the tube will soon equalize. By passing an electric current through the tube and comparing the fluorescence with that of the second tube, into which I can admit more or less air, until the two tubes emit an equal amount of light,

Starting point is 14:09:06 I shall know that the vacuum in the pit is exactly equal to that in the second tube. The experiment was tried, but when the results became known, Dr. Hackensaw shook his head. The air density in the pit is really very slight, he exclaimed, in one way, of course this is an advantage, for it will relieve us of the danger of encountering an enormous air pressure down below. But on the other hand, it will make the start difficult. Couldn't you let in more air, asked Pep? Certainly, and I should unhesitatingly do so, if I were convinced that the pit were only a hundred miles deep. I believe it to be much deeper, however. But you said the bomb exploded 100 miles below the surface? So it did. But it may have

Starting point is 14:09:49 struck the side of the pit, or it may even have been set off by the compression of the air in front of it. However, to save time, we'll do a little exploring. The electric airplane, the dart, is provisioned for six months, and has an oxygen supply sufficient for three months. Accordingly, if we are prudent, we will have little to fear. What I shall do will be to provide some 25 or more miles of light but strong chain, fasten them to the rear of the airplane, and let the car slowly down so we can examine the pit a little. To aid in this work, I shall have some suits made in the style of light diving suits. These will be provided with suction boots made on the principle of a fly's feet, the suction enabling me to walk down the sides of the pit, without danger of falling,

Starting point is 14:10:32 just as a fly walks head downwards on a ceiling. Gee, cried Pep, make a pair of those boots for me, too. But won't it be tiresome to hold our body stiff? No, I shall have a metal framework made to wear under our clothing. The whole weight of our bodies will thus be borne by the metal frame, and not by our muscles. Of course, we shall not be able to use these suction boots, so long as the air in the pit is so rarefied. It requires normal atmospheric pressure to make sufficient suction. We can only use the boots in case the pressure is greater down below, or in case I let air from above, into the pit. Chapter 5. Several weeks were required for the necessary preparations, and Pep was becoming very impatient, when one fine day,

Starting point is 14:11:15 Dr. Hackensaw called to her. Pack your bag at once, Pep. We start at noon. An hour later, the two, accompanied by Miggs, who was to act as pilot for the airplane, had descended into the closed chamber, ready for the start down into the apparently bottomless pit. At sight of the dart, however, both Miggs and PEP uttered a cry, for the compact spindle-shaped airplane they were familiar with, now resembled one of the giant squids or octopuses familiar to all movie fans. fastened to the rear of the airplane were several long tentacles or arms resembling huge metal springs set in a circle. It was, in fact, almost an exact imitation of an octopus. Below was a second set resembling the first. What in the world are those arms for? asked Pepp in surprise. Those are to serve as brakes,

Starting point is 14:12:03 explained Dr. Hackensaw. As there is practically no air in this portion of the pit, our car would fall down at frightful speed if allowed to drop in. but I thought the car was to be held back by a chain. So it is for a short distance, but we cannot place much dependence on the chain, and must soon cast loose from it anyway. Now, I have ascertained that the pit is reeling a narrow well in the solid rock. As we descend, I shall force these metal arms against the sides of the well, and so be able to check our descent, or stop completely, at will.

Starting point is 14:12:35 An electric equalizer will automatically keep the pressure equally in each arm, so that our descent will be steady and uniform. Electric refrigerating devices will keep the ends of the arms from melting through the heat produced by friction against the rock. Should one of the arms become worn or injured, a new arm from below will automatically replace it. I can set the device so that the springs will press against the walls with any degree of pressure I desire. But we can't stand here talking. We must get inside the car for we have a long way to travel, and I don't dare to get up too much speed. This will not be a joy ride by explorers.

Starting point is 14:13:09 I have an excellent searchlight on the car, which will reveal our path for a mile or more ahead of us, but it would not pay it to be imprudent. One moment, Doctor, objected Miggs. You say these brakes are needed to hold us back. Couldn't you reverse the propeller and hold the car back that way? Certainly I could if there were normal air at atmospheric pressure in the pit, but there is so little air here that the propeller would have nothing to work against. You cannot push the car backwards unless you've got air or something else to push against. "'All right,' said Miggs.

Starting point is 14:13:40 "'I understand that, and I see that without the brakes we would just drop down into the pit. "'With the help of the brakes, we shall get down all right. "'But if we can't use the propeller, how in the world are we ever going to get up again?' "'Chapter Six. Dr. Hackensha smiled at the boy's question. "'Don't be afraid, Miggs,' said he. "'I am not any more anxious than you are to be left down at the bottom of this hundred-mile hole, "'without any means of climbing up again. "'You know the old Latin proverb.

Starting point is 14:14:08 It means that it's easy enough to go down, but not so easy to come up. I didn't find it so easy as all that to go down, but in our case it won't be very difficult to come up again. How will you manage it? Simple enough. The cause of our trouble is that there is almost no air in this pit. The remedy is self-evident. We must let some air in from above, when we wish to return. I have arranged with Mr. Sam, the agent, to let air in by degrees on our return trip. If possible, I shall signal to him by radio just when to send in the air. In case anything goes wrong with our radio apparatus, however, he is to let in air enough so that our car shall always be in an atmosphere of about 15 pounds to the square inch when we return. In such an atmosphere, our propeller can easily raise the car, and we can fly back without trouble. If he let in too much air, the pressure down below here would be too great and might cause trouble. How can Mr. Sam know where the car is and what pressure it exerts? The car itself is a large permanent magnet, and by means of an ingenious amplifying device,

Starting point is 14:15:12 its distance from the surface of the earth is indicated on an extra-sensitive galvanometer in Mr. Sam's office. But to leave theory and come down to practical matters, there are only three of us in the car, so we must take turns as pilots. Each of us will take a trick of two hours at the controls, and then have four hours rest. There is very little for the pilot to do, as everything is arranged to work automatically as much as possible. Yet it is only prudent to have someone constantly on guard. Our searchlight shows the way for more than a mile ahead. There is a smoked glass window for the pilot to look through without being blinded by the rapid flashing by of the illuminated walls. My dependence, however, is not on the pilot. I have other devices to ensure our safety. In front of the car

Starting point is 14:15:57 is an electric gong, which will ring continuously during our descent. This will be a great protection. What in the world will be the use of a gong? asked Miggs, puzzled. You surely don't expect to meet another car coming up. No, but I do fear to find some obstruction in the path, or to find a sudden turn in the pit, or even to find the pit completely closed. But what use will the gong be? By means of a parabolic reflector,

Starting point is 14:16:22 I shoot the sound straight in front of the car. If there is no obstruction in front of us, there will be no echo. If, however, there is anything in the way, some of the sound waves will be reflected back to us and warn us of our danger. Not only will these waves sound an alarm, but they will automatically work a relay that will work the brakes and check the speed of the car. To make assurance doubly sure, I also shoot forth an ultraviolet ray in front of the car which acts in the same manner.

Starting point is 14:16:49 When this ray strikes an obstruction, it is reflected back and acts on a photoelectric cell in the car, also sounding an alarm and putting on the brakes. This device is more delicate than the other, but it has the advantage of speed, for the light waves travel much faster than the sound waves. But we're wasting time. Everything is ready now for the start. I'll take the first trick at the wheels, you can watch me and see how things work. As you would feel a peculiar sensation when we acquire speed, a sensation similar to that experience on a rapidly descending elevator, you will find it advisable to lie down on the adjustable couches. These couches are provided with a universal joint, so they can be adjusted to any position desired. As you see, there is a similar one provided for the pilot. Now then, are you all ready? Yes? Then I press the button, and down we go.

Starting point is 14:17:39 Chapter 7. The car trembled for an instant, and then slowly began its descent into the bottomless pit, the chain that held it gradually unwinding as the car descended. By slow degrees, the doctor increased speed. The brakes had already been tested out on several previous short trial trips, but so much depended upon their proper working that the doctor now put them to a series of more strenuous tests. He would allow the car to drop suddenly a short distance, and then apply the brakes with a jerk. He was overjoyed to find that they checked the descent of the car at once, and without showing any signs of strain. The passengers suffered more than the brakes, and Pep, off her guard, was even once thrown off her birth to the ground. But she picked herself up, laughing, and accused the doctor of doing it on purpose.

Starting point is 14:18:24 Satisfied that everything was in perfect order, Dr. Hackensaw gradually increased speed, and soon the car, or the squid, as Miggs persisted in calling it, was falling downward at a uniform rate of 40 miles an hour. At the end of a couple hours, the instruments indicated that a depth of 80 miles had been reached, and that the vacuum in the pit was not quite so great as at the start. You've got to look out now, said Miggs, as the pit is only 100 miles deep. We'll strike the bottom in another half hour. No danger of that, replied the doctor. The pit must extend several hundred miles further.

Starting point is 14:18:59 What makes you think that? Didn't you tell us that the bomb which dropped down exploded a hundred miles below the surface? So it did. But the explosion was in all probability caused by the speed of its fall. It didn't go down quietly the way we did, at 40 miles an hour, but fell at a constantly increasing speed. The compression of the air in front probably suffice to force the back of the detonator

Starting point is 14:19:21 that causes the explosion of the bomb. But what makes you think we are not near the bottom of the pit? Because the air, which is getting slightly denser, doesn't seem to be reflected back to us. If the bottom of the pit were a few miles away, we ought to feel a stronger back pressure or breeze than the instruments show.

Starting point is 14:19:38 I am so sure of the fact that the bottom is a long way off that I am going to increase our speed to 100 miles per hour. hour. All right, but go slow, said Pep, who didn't want another fall. The speed was gradually increased, and now our friends found that their bodies, as before, seemed to trifle lighter as the velocity increased. An acceleration of 32 feet per second would have caused them to lose all their weight and float in the air. Of course, their speed only increased a very small fraction of this, so the loss in weight, while perceptible, was perceived more as an uncomfortable feeling than as a sensation of lightness. Now Pepp, said Dr. Hacken

Starting point is 14:20:14 as we have a long and probably monotonous journey before us. Suppose you hook up the radio set and see if you can catch some good music from one of the broadcast stations. Chapter 8. The start had been made at 8 o'clock in the morning in order to give a long day for the exploration, though of course there was no distinction between day and night in the pit, and the party could turn the electric lights in the car on and off at will. The music broke up the monotony of the trip, and cards and checkers and letter writing, the messages to be sent by radio helped to pass the time. Pep had resolved to send to her special friends

Starting point is 14:20:48 Mrs. from the center of the earth if she should ever reach the spot. As time passed, the three friends found that their weight was becoming perceptibly lighter. Pep, who weighed 120 pounds normally, found when she suspended herself from a spring scale in the car, that she now weighed only a hundred pounds, and her lightness increased every hour. Another sign that they were approaching the center of the earth was that the tension of the brakes against the walls of the pit, as indicated by a gauge in the car,

Starting point is 14:21:16 became gradually less. Meggs inquired the cause of this from the doctor. You see, Meggs explained Dr. Hackensaw, I have set the speed of the car to remain automatically 100 miles per hour, this being the highest speed at which it is prudent to travel. When we go faster than this, the brakes automatically press tighter against the walls of the pit, and so retired our speed. On the other hand, when we go less than 100 miles per hour, the brakes automatically relax a trifle, allowing us to fall faster. But why should we slow up as we near the center of the earth? I always thought the velocity would keep on increasing until the center of the earth was reached, and only begin decreasing after we had passed the center.

Starting point is 14:21:58 So it would, migs, if our car were falling freely in a tube deprived of air. The acceleration of speed would each second become smaller and smaller, but would be added. added to the previous speed, so that when we reach the center we should be traveling at a terrific rate. But as the brakes keep the car at a uniform speed of 100 miles per hour, and the pull of gravitation becomes smaller each second, the car would gradually slow up and stop unless I eased up on the brakes. Another thing that retards us is that the air is getting denser. It is now six o'clock, dinner time, by the way, and we have been falling for ten hours. Of course, we went slowly at the start, but we have fallen nearly 900 miles now. If you look at the air gauge,

Starting point is 14:22:40 you will see that the air in the pit is perceptibly denser. Not yet the normal atmospheric pressure of 15 pounds to the square inch, but approaching it. Miggs looked at the simple gauge that indicated this pressure. It was nothing but a diaphragm, a valve allowed air from the pit to enter one side of the diaphragm, and air from the car was admitted by another valve to the other side. A rod fastened to the diaphragm was thus pushed forward or back,

Starting point is 14:23:03 indicating the pressure by pushing a needle pivoted on a dial. The trio sat down to a hearty meal, taking short tricks of five minutes each on the pilot seat so that all might enjoy the meal together. Care had to be taken in moving around, for their bodies had lost so much weight that a too brisk movement would cause them to jump high in the air. In fact, once poor Pep accidentally jumped so high

Starting point is 14:23:26 that she kicked Dr. Hackensaw on the head, knocking him down. Luckily, his lightweight prevented him from hurting himself. if we were falling freely, and there was a perfect vacuum in the tube, explained the doctor, we should have had no weight at all during the entire trip, for we should ourselves have been attracted no faster than the car, even if we were in mid-air. As things are, however, we shall not lose our weight completely, unless we stop at the center of the earth. At present, our weight is governed by three factors. One, the speed of the car.

Starting point is 14:23:58 two, the acceleration produced by gravitation at the spot we have reached, and three, the density of the air in the pit. How does the density of the air in the pit affect our weight, inquired Miggs? It retards the car, but does not retard our bodies. Hence, it increases our weight on the spring scale, or at least it would increase it if the car were falling freely in the pit. After dinner, Dr. Hackensaw examined the instruments again, and then started to make some calculations. The results seemed to puzzle him. thinking he had made some error, he started all over again, but seemingly with no better result. What's the matter? asked Pep. I don't know, but something's wrong. We are now twelve hundred

Starting point is 14:24:38 miles below the surface of the earth, but our weights are much less than they ought to be at the spot. Something is wrong somewhere. Unless, he hesitated an instant, then a gleam of excitement came into his eyes. I have it, he cried. I understand everything now. I understand why our weight is almost nothing at present. I understand, too, what puzzled me so much in the radio observations we made before starting, by sending directed waves to the center of the earth from service to surface. But if my hypothesis is correct, the center of the earth must be an even more marvelous place than anyone had ever suspected it to be. End of Section 41. Section 42 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Librevox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information,

Starting point is 14:25:32 or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Krista Zaleski. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi. A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Part 3. Chapter 9 Down, down went the car on its journey toward the center of the earth. And now the automatic brakes no longer pressed against the sides of the well to check the speed of their descent.

Starting point is 14:25:57 Instead of this, the doctor had started the propeller working backwards, for the air in the pit had now reached more than normal density, and the propeller was easily able to check any increase in speed, or even to stop the car completely. Dr. Hackensaw assured himself by a test that such was the fact, and was overjoyed to find that the propeller could now even pull the car upwards. Consequently, the tentacular brakes became useless, and were withdrawn until they should be needed again. Miggs was very much interested in the engine, which was electrical in the sense that it made use of atomic energy as a motor power. The mechanism was as simple as it was efficient. The power was obtained by disintegrating molecules of sand. The sand was first pulverized to an

Starting point is 14:26:40 incredible fineness, as this fine dust hung suspended in the air. A sticky thread whose composition Dr. Hackensaw kept a profound secret, was drawn rapidly through a room filled with it, and passed over heating surfaces which dried it and the dried thread was wound on spools like ordinary sewing cotton. Dr. Hackensaw had made all these preparations in New York, and had brought with him a number of spools of this prepared thread, which was to serve as mode of power as well as for producing heat, cold, light, etc. The disintegration of the dust particles imprisoned in the thread was started by an electric current at an undreamt of potential. Once started, the disintegration proceeded automatically from one dust particle to the next, the thread being fed forward as fast as consumed. In principle it was like a gas jet, which requires to be lighted at the start, but once started the flame keeps igniting the new gas as it streams forth from the burner. The doctor had started the disintegration process before leaving the surface of the earth, where he had facilities for producing the high potential required.

Starting point is 14:27:43 This greatly simplified the equipment in the car, which consisted merely of the connections required for turning the propeller. Dr. Hackensaw kept an eye on the odometer, and also on a weight suspended to the spring scale. Finally he uttered an ejaculation and cried out, "'Pep, do you want to see what it feels like to have no weight at all?' "'Sure, Pop,' replied the young girl, and Miggs echoed her wish. "'Very well. Then I shall stop the car here, for unless I am greatly mistaken, we have reached a spot where we shall have no weight at all.' "'How can that be?' asked Pep.

Starting point is 14:28:17 The odometer says we have only gone fifteen hundred miles. And you told me that the centre of the earth was four thousand miles from the surface. We can't be anywhere near it yet. True, assented Dr. Hackensaw. That's a puzzle, the solution of which you will soon learn for yourself. In the meantime, we shall make a short halt for amusement. The car, which had been descending at a uniform speed of 100 miles per hour, was now gradually slowed up until it came to a complete stop.

Starting point is 14:28:45 Long before this point had been reached, the three friends had found their weight gradually diminishing, and they were obliged to hold on to specially prepared handles arranged in the car. in order that a slight movement might not send them spinning in all directions. The lightness was especially emphasized by the rapidity of their motions, their muscular force being unimpaired, and their arms and legs having lost all weight, any exertion would move an arm or legs sixteen times as fast as when opposed by gravity

Starting point is 14:29:13 on the surface of the earth. The result was comical in the extreme. As soon as the car stopped, Miggs, anxious to convince himself that he had indeed lost all weight, made a jump for the ceiling. The result was a complete surprise to him. Instead of going straight up, he began turning a rapid series of somersaults in the air, and was shot up against the ceiling with a bump, and then bounced up and down again until Pep, clinging with one hand to a couch,

Starting point is 14:29:40 securely fastened to the frame of the car, as was every other object in it, caught him with the other hand. A book that Pep had been reading and had carelessly laid down on the table was started off by the slight shock when the car stopped, or perhaps by a slight breeze made by the motions of the passengers, and ascended slowly to the ceiling. To catch the book, Peb swam slowly upward through the air. Although she tried to make her movements very deliberate, her arms worked faster than if she were swimming in water. After she caught the book, she thoughtlessly put out her hand to keep her head from striking the top of the car. But she pushed

Starting point is 14:30:15 too hard, and she too went somersaulting around the room, though more slowly. Her push being diagonal, she found that instead of going straight up and down, she bounced from the ceiling to the wall on one side, then to the floor, then to the opposite wall, and then to the ceiling again, traveling around in a sort of circle, and all the while spinning somersolence in a graceful but most unladylike manner. Dr. Hackensaw, laughing as he watched her, in an unguarded moment, released his hold, and he too performed a series of grotesque acrobatic contortions as he circled through the air. Finally, Pep caught the doctor on the fly, and holding him by one. one leg finally managed to catch hold of a couch, and so checked their breathless flight.

Starting point is 14:30:57 It's lucky we didn't break any of the glass instruments in our gymnastics panted Dr. Hackensaw. Why, how could we break them? asked Miggs. As we have no weight, we couldn't break them, no matter how hard we hit them. You would be like trying to break them by throwing a feather at them. Don't you believe it, Miggs, replied Dr. Hackensaw. If you had hit one of those instruments, it would have smashed into little pieces. Momentum is a question of mass and velocity. A feather has very little weight and very little mass, and hence cannot acquire much momentum. But you, although you have no weight, have just as much mass as you had on the surface of the earth. And I tremble to think what would have happened if one of us had hit those instruments. I see you're rubbing your head,

Starting point is 14:31:38 so you have had practical proof that even though you have no weight, you can give and receive hard bumps when you butt into an object. Chapter 10. Ladies and gentlemen, cried Pep, just keep your eyes on me for a minute, and I'll give you a sample of the latest dance, the aerial whirl. With these words, she swam slowly and carefully to a point in the center of the car, midway between floor and ceiling, and after having carefully checked her impetus, she performed a series of the most graceful evolutions, slowly gyrating as her hands and feet went through the motions of an oriental dance. A moment she would be upright, a moment later she would be horizontal, then head downwards, but her feet and hands kept going as she imitated the pose.

Starting point is 14:32:21 of the ancient Egyptian and other oriental dancers, while she accompanied herself with a song. Gradually her motions became more rapid, faster and faster she spun around, until she was whirling around with a terrific speed like a windmill. Finally she stopped, breathless, but even then the gyrations continued until she checked them by motions in the opposite direction.

Starting point is 14:32:43 Gee, that was great, she cried joyfully. It's a dance of my own invention, but it beats anything I've ever seen. As soon as the dance ended, Dr. Hackensaw made a few observations to convince himself that the car was now really at the center of attraction. Then he started the propeller going again and continued the journey. No longer were the brakes needed. On the contrary, the propeller had to do all the work, for the car was no longer falling, and as Miles succeeded Mile, the propeller had to work faster to keep the speed unchecked,

Starting point is 14:33:14 for the car was now being pulled backwards by the attraction of gravitation. The weight of bodies was still so slight that Pepp and Miggs amused themselves with all kinds of queer antics. Once Miggs knocked Pepp down, and in retaliation she seized him by one foot, swung him around her head, and hurled him at the roof of the car. He bumped against the ceiling and bounced around the car several times before he could stop himself. Dr. Hackensaw then explained that if there were no air in the car, and the car were stationary at the center of the earth, no exertion made by a passenger suspended in mid-air would enable him to reach top-bottom or sides of the car. He could spin around at will, but could not displace his center of gravity in any way,

Starting point is 14:33:56 as there was nothing against which he could push. Action is impossible, unless there is an equal reaction. If Miggs were up in the air with you, explained the doctor, you could push him and the push would send him to one side of the car and you to the other. Otherwise, you would die of starvation, even if food were plentiful in the cupboard here. You couldn't reach it. Of course, air in the car offers a certain amount of resistance, and so enables you to swim easily from one point to another,

Starting point is 14:34:22 as the acquired speed keeps your velocity increasing until the resistance of the air equals the acceleration. I bet I could reach the side of the car, said Miggs. How would you do it? I'd take off my jacket and throw it in the direction opposite to the one I wanted to go. The jacket would reach one wall, and I would be pushed backward and reach the other. Bravo, Miggs, cried the doctor, that's a very clever idea, and would certainly succeed.

Starting point is 14:34:45 if your jacket weighs five pounds and you weigh 100 pounds, the jacket would travel 20 times as fast as you would. But you would eventually reach the other side, unless the resistance of the air stopped you. If it did, I'd shoot off my pants the same way, exclaimed Miggs, and at this heroic measure, both the doctor and Pep laughed heartily. And now, the weight of bodies in the car kept getting heavier and heavier. The speed of the car had been gradually increased until the speedometer indicated 100 miles per hour. The air pressure in the pit at the center of attraction had been over 50 pounds to the square, more than triple the normal atmospheric pressure. But now the air gauge showed that the pressure was diminishing again.

Starting point is 14:35:27 Dr. Hackensau called Pep's attention to this matter, and showed her how it confirmed the indications of the spring balance. Everything goes to show, said he, that we reached the center of attraction when we were only 1,500 miles below the surface of the earth. There, bodies lost all their weight and the air was densest because, under greater pressure. The air above and below were both pressing towards the center of the traction. In that case, said Pep, the earth can only be 3,000 miles in diameter from pole to pole. No, the earth is 8,000 miles in diameter. There is no possible question about that. Men have

Starting point is 14:36:02 circumnavigated the earth, and scientists have accurately measured the length of a degree of longitude. Other observations confirm these results. There is no doubt of the accuracy of the figure 8,000 miles as the diameter of the earth. Then how do you explain that bodies 1500 miles down had lost all weight? I see only one explanation. The center of the earth must be hollow. The earth must be a hollow sphere within a crust or shell 3,000 miles thick. This would explain everything, and tallies with the radio observations that I had made before

Starting point is 14:36:34 starting. As I told you, I sent ships to circumnavigate the globe, one ship in each pair, following the other around on a great circle, always keeping exactly opposite to its twin, that is to say, 180 degrees from the companion ship. These ships sent directed radial waves straight through the center of the earth to each other. The result of these observations, when summed up, convinced me that there must exist an enormous hollow at the center of the earth, filled possibly with air or gas. I am now, more than ever confirmed in this belief, but if the pit we are in extends to the center hollow, as it seems to, we shall in the course of a day or so know the truth. But, objected Pepp,

Starting point is 14:37:16 even if the earth is hollow at the center, it seems to me that bodies ought to keep weighing more and more as we go down. Not at all, replied the doctor. Then with some difficulty he took his notebook from his pocket, and drew the following rough diagram. Here is the gist of the proof given by Sir Isaac Newton in his Principia, to show that a body situated at any point within a hollow sphere will not be attracted in any direction by the shell, or rather that the opposing attractions will neutralize each other. Let's C be the body inside the shallow sphere, and consider the piece of the shell A that attracts the body in one direction. There will be, opposed to this force, a pull from the portion B of the shell opposite to A. The attractions A and B are proportional to the areas A and B and inversely proportional to the squares of their distances from the object C.

Starting point is 14:38:06 but the areas A and B are to each other as the squares of any homologous lines, hence they are to each other as the squares of their distances from C. Hence the two opposite pulls are exactly equal and neutralize each other. If my supposition is correct, and if the earth is really a hollow shell, we shall find when we reach this hollow space that no matter what the position of the car in the central hollow, we shall have no weight. You will there be able to dance aerial whirl as easy as you did now. But enough of this lecture. I wish now to send a radio message to Mr. Sam, telling him all that has happened to us so far. When I have finished, we can listen in and receive the latest broadcast news and hear a little jazz music to liven us up. Chapter 11. Pop, said Pep, after the radio concert was over, I find now that I weigh only five pounds on the spring scales. Before we get any heavier, I want to do a little circus stunt with you and Miggs. Don't say no, because I may never get another chance. What do you want to do? I want to do a little balancing act. I want to hold you and Miggs in one hand. Come, Miggs, there's a good boy. Let me lift you up. Now, just stand on my hand and

Starting point is 14:39:20 hold on to me while I lift the doctor up. Then you're to grab him, stand him up on your right hand, and balance him there. And then, when you're ready, you can let go of me, and stand upright in my hand so that I'll be balancing the two of you at once. Gee, won't it be fun? Dr. Hackensaw somewhat reluctantly consented to the experiment, and a moment later he was perched upright in Miggs's hand, while Miggs in turn stood on PEP's open palm. The young lady found she could easily balance them in this position, the two of them together weighing only about ten pounds. Not satisfied, however, with this success. She decided to try to balance the two of them on her nose. Poor Dr. Hackensaw obediently allowed himself to be placed on the tip of Mr. Miggs's nose, while Pep

Starting point is 14:40:05 stood Miggs on the end of her own, Pep's dainty nose, which flattened out somewhat under the ten-pound weight. Everything went on swimmingly for a minute or two, and then Pept tripped on the foot of the table that was fastened to the floor, and down fell the human tower in an inglorious heap. Fortunately, the travellers weighed so little that no one was seriously hurt. And so the time wore on, hour succeeding hour, each one bringing an increase of weight. Then suddenly the electric alarm bell rang. Good gracious, cried the doctor. there must be some obstruction in the path. Your capers, Pep, have made me neglect keeping as sharp a watch as prudence demanded.

Starting point is 14:40:43 Long and earnestly the doctor peered forth down the shaft, but he was unable to see any obstruction, and yet the alarm kept on ringing. I don't understand it, cried the doctor. The selenium cell alarm should ring only if there is some obstruction in the path that reflects back the rays of our search light, yet the pit seems as open as ever. Perhaps there's a short circuit in the cell. Our gymnastics in the car may have shaken the wires around a little. I'll shut off the searchlight for a minute to see.

Starting point is 14:41:12 Accordingly, the doctor switched off the light, but the alarm continued ringing just the same. Get an examination of the cell showed no visible short circuit. I don't see what the matter can be, he cried, but I'll slow up a little, for it wouldn't do to have an incident down here, over 2,900 miles below the surface of the earth. Our friends would have some trouble in getting our body out. The necessary precautions taken, the journey continued at a slightly reduced speed, the doctor in

Starting point is 14:41:39 the pilot box keeping a sharp watch ahead, with hand ready to switch off the propeller and the other to apply the tentacle-like brakes. But time passed, and yet no obstruction appeared, though the alarm rang louder and louder. Dr. Hackensaw, more and more puzzled, took a telescope from among the miscellaneous instruments in the cupboard, and gazed long and earnestly down into the pit. Suddenly he gave a cry. There's a light ahead of us, he exclaimed. Papp and Miggs each took a turn at the instrument. Sure enough, miles ahead of them at the bottom of the pit, there appeared a faint greenish phosphorescent light. And now, as they advanced, the light became stronger and stronger, and an hour later, the car emerged from the pit into an enormous cavern, lit up with a sort of diffused phosphorescent light.

Starting point is 14:42:27 Dr. Hackensaw, with a dexterous turn of the rudder, brought the car around so as to coast along the nearest wall of the cavern. PEP, said the doctor impressively, I was right. The earth is evidently hollow at the center. And here we are in the hollow center. But see, even here there are animals and plants of some kind, though like nothing with which we are familiar. Everything seems phosphorescent.

Starting point is 14:42:51 See those strange shapes fastened to the rock resembling plants? Yet some of them like animals. See those others sprawling and crawling and emitting electrical flashes from time to time? and see those curious creatures flying in the air over there. Some with six feet, some with no feet at all. Some with wings and others with fins or bladder-light balloons to propel them by ejecting air backwards.

Starting point is 14:43:15 Truly, we see before us one of the most marvelous sights ever witnessed by man. End of Section 42. Section 43 of Dr. Hakensau's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Librevox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit Librevox.org. Read by Krista Zoleski.

Starting point is 14:43:43 Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fazzandi. A Journey to the Center of the Earth, Part 4. Well, Papp, cried Dr. Hackensaw. You see, I was right. Here we are at the center of the earth, and we find there is nothing here but an immense hollow filled with air. My experiments in sending directed radio currents from the surface of the earth, at different points through the center to the antipodes,

Starting point is 14:44:06 has led me to this belief, but it seemed so wild that I could not accept it at first. It seems utterly at variance with all that science has taught us. Calculations show that the average density of the earth must be about five and one-half times that of water. And as it is less than this at the surface, we know that it must be greater than this down below. Then, too, the earth acts like a rigid body. No, I can scarcely believe my own senses. Pepp was not listening. She was gazing earnestly at this wonderful new world that was spread before them.

Starting point is 14:44:40 Please switch off the light, she said. I want to see what this looks like in the dark. Dr. Hackensaw obediently turned off the searchlight, and the new underground world was revealed in all the beauty of its own phosphorescence. It was an extraordinary sight. Every animal or plant of this grotesque world of creatures seemed to shine by its own light, like a gigantic firefly or glowworm. And yet, colors of the phosphorescence varied in each species,

Starting point is 14:45:08 every color of the spectrum being represented, from red through green and yellow to blue and violet, and the forms were marvelous, altogether different from anything our friends had ever seen before. Plants and animals there were of many varieties, and, strange to say, some of the stationary forms appeared to be animals, while some of the movable ones appeared to be plaited. plants, capable of flying around in the air from spot to spot, but with seemingly no mouth, eyes, or other definite organs except their wings. Animals, too, there were, that could walk around from spot to spot, evidently by means of suction pumps on their feet, similar to those that enable flies to walk along a ceiling without falling. Had it not been for these specialized feet,

Starting point is 14:45:53 life would have been very difficult for these subterranean creatures, as the muscular exertion of their movements, here where bodies had no weight, would have shot them up into the air there to perish miserably from hunger and thirst. Other creatures there were, but these were provided with wings. A few were quadrupeds, but most of them had six feet. Some were beautiful to look at, others grotesque and uncouth. There was one flying creature with two long trunks, resembling an elephant's trunk where its eyes should have been, and an eye at the point which its mouth should have occupied. It seemed to have six mouths, one at the extremity of each foot. The snake-like wrigglers through the air have

Starting point is 14:46:34 already been mentioned. These did not seem to be provided with wings of any kind, but appeared to glide through the air, much as a snake glides through the water. Pop, cried Pep, can't we land here? I'd like to see these creatures from nearby. Dr. Hackensaw hesitated, for in the distance he had caught sight of some huge, unearthly-looking monsters, half hidden in the peculiar vegetation. However, he was as anxious as Pep was to get a nearer view of the flora and fauna of this strange land. And so he assented, and with a turn of the rudder brought the car right up to the rocks. Here, a peculiar problem presented itself. How was he to moor the car to the rocks?

Starting point is 14:47:16 As objects now possess no weight, the slightest wind might blow the car away beyond reach. It is something of a problem, remarked the doctor, but only a secondary one. I can fasten the car to some of this vegetable growth, though I haven't much faith in this strength of those stems. I could, at a pinch, fasten the car to one of these moving animals. The only drawback would be that the frightened beast would be likely to plunge into the jungle, dragging us after him. A third solution seems to be much more feasible, but before I do anything at all, I must ascertain whether this air is fit for us to breathe. It must be, replied, Pep, because both animals and plants live here, and animals cannot live without air.

Starting point is 14:47:59 Nor plants either, replied the doctor, at least not our terrestrial ones. All animals and plants require some source of energy, and obtain that energy from the chemical union of oxygen with some element. Hence, they require air. Warm-blooded animals require more oxygen than cold-blooded ones. I have myself kept a sleeping snake underwater for 24 hours. As a snake cannot breathe underwater, he could not obtain any fresh oxygen during that time, and hence his consumption of the element, while asleep, must have been very slight.

Starting point is 14:48:31 Plants require still less oxygen, but a delicate thermometer will show an increase of temperature during certain periods of flowering, showing that the vital processes, even in plants, require oxygen. But plants with green leaves manufacture much more oxygen than they consume. parasitic plants that live on the juices of other plants, and saprophites, as the botanists call the mushrooms and other plants that live on organic matter formed by other plants and animals, do not manufacture their own oxygen. Some of the bacteria, as a matter of fact, are anaerobic, that is to say, they cannot live in air. Well, cried Pep triumphantly, that means that I am right, and that the air here must contain oxygen. Not necessarily. Conditions here may be,

Starting point is 14:49:16 and certainly are, entirely different from those on the surface of the earth. All our terrestrial animals and plants owe their oxygen to the direct action of the sun. It is only in the sunlight that the chlorophyll, or green coloring matter of the leaves, can split up the carbon dioxide of the air into carbon and oxygen, and so furnish the energy necessary for animal and plant life. Animals and plants obtain their energy by the recombination of this carbon and oxygen into carbon dioxide again. It is the sun's heat that furnishes the energy.

Starting point is 14:49:46 energy used by plants and animals. Even man, with all his boasted inventions, has not yet succeeded in producing food, except by means of the direct heat of the sun. If the sun's rays were suddenly cut off from the earth, we should starve and suffocate as soon as the existing supply of food and oxygen was consumed. Energy exists in coal and other mineral products, the storage products of past ages of the sun's heat. But man has not yet found the key that would enable him to fully utilize these treasures. We shall certainly find it someday. Chemistry is making rapid strides every year, but so far we have not met with success. Nature, however, may have forestalled us. There is no reason why she should not have evolved animals and plants that do not require oxygen in any form.

Starting point is 14:50:33 They would, of course, require energy, but energy may be obtained from chemical combinations into which no oxygen enters. In fact, I am inclined to believe that these animals and plants that we are dependent for their energy upon some sort of electrical action. Due, of course, to chemical action of some sort in their bodies. I imagine these creatures are really nothing but a kind of dry cell. Their phosphorescence is different from that with which we are familiar in glowworms and fireflies. This looks more like the discharge witnessed in a geisler tube. And you will notice occasional sparks and hear crackling noises. Evidently many, if not all, of these animals are highly electrified, probably, like the electric eon, they possess the power of producing this electricity

Starting point is 14:51:17 at will. But, however that may be, my first step must be to admit a little of the outside air into the car, and test it thoroughly. No sooner sad than done, the air was admitted, and on test was found to be sufficiently oxygenized to render a landing possible without the use of the clumsy diving suits. How the air became oxygenized with no sunlight to furnish energy and no green plants to split up the carbon dioxide, the doctor was unable to determine. All he saw was that the air was respirable, so he proceeded to make the car fast to the rocks.

Starting point is 14:51:53 This was accomplished in the following curious but ingenious manner. The doctor had brought along with him several pairs of suction boots designed to enable the wearer to walk up and down the perpendicular walls of the pit. These boots have already been described. A steel framework or basket was worn by the climber under his clothing. This framework was rigidly attached to the boots and supported the wear comfortably, enabling him without fatigue to walk up a perfectly vertical wall, his own body being horizontal.

Starting point is 14:52:21 It was Dr. Hackensaw's plan to use a pair of these suction boots as anchors for the car. This was accomplished in a trice, and when the air was exhausted from the boots, the car was moored to them and thus held securely. Meanwhile, our friends had each donned a pair of the suction boots, after removing the body framework, which was, of course, unnecessary in the present case. Then they cautiously landed on the rocks, and prepared to explore this wonderful new land that they had discovered. Fresh marvels greeted them on every side. Here was one peculiar creature that looked very much like an erect fan on three

Starting point is 14:52:56 legs. Another one had what looked like a dog's head, with three prehensile tails dangling behind. The creature used these for climbing over the peculiar tree-like stationary animals, curling their tails around the boughs or limbs. The nose of the creature was like an open funnel. It would be impossible even to attempt to describe the strange plants and creatures presented to view. Most of them were decidedly grotesque, but some were exceedingly beautiful, among others a wonderful flying creature that looked like a large soap bubble, with a beautiful iridescence that flashed all the colors of the rainbow. Three gauze-like wings, the third vertical on top of the body, enabled the creature to fly with ease.

Starting point is 14:53:38 Huge monsters there were, too. Large, ungainly reptiles that fortunately kept at a distance. These all seemed to have six feet, and some of them strangely suggested terrestrial insects in their general aspect. One of these creatures with a long-pointed bill, armed with sharp teeth, looked angrily at our adventurers, and uttered a sound halfway between a bellow and a roar. For an instant, it looked as if he were going to attack them,

Starting point is 14:54:04 but then he thought better of it and turned around and moved slowly away. Meanwhile, Miggs had caught hold of one of the immovable animals that were rooted to the ground, and he got a violent electric shock for his pains. Gee, said he, as he rubbed his shoulder, that's some voltage there, you bet. I'd like to use this animal plant to run my wireless set. No fear of not having enough juice. Dr. Hackensel was specifically interested in noticing the various means,

Starting point is 14:54:30 means by which the different species of animals and plants counteracted the lack of gravitation. Objects having no weight, the slightest movement of an animal was liable to shoot it off into the air, where it must perish miserably from hunger and thirst, unless enabled in some way to get back to land again. Nature had provided some with wings, others were suction feet resembling those of flies, others still were rooted to the ground like plants, while still others were provided with a slimy substance like bird lime. They glued them to the ground and yet allowed them to move about at will. But some of the creatures appeared to have no means at all of adhering to the rocks. These lived in burrows and seemed to depend entirely on the friction of their bodies in the burrow to keep them from flying off.

Starting point is 14:55:15 This seemed evident from the fact that some of their dead bodies were floating around in the air, while others were evidently dying, having through some accident loosed their hold of the earth and been carried up into the air and being unable to get back again. Pep took pity on these poor creatures. I'm going to catch them and putting the back on the rock again, she cried. And, suiting the action to the word, she suddenly let the air into the vacuum chamber of her section boots, at the same time springing upward with all her might.

Starting point is 14:55:44 Her experience in the car ought to have taught her better. There being no attraction of gravitation here, the result could have been readily foreseen. The impetus of Pep's leap sent her flying high up in the end. air, turning a series of rapid somersaults as she went spinning. Up, up, up higher and higher she went, for she had got a good start, and Miggs and the doctor gazed at her in open-mouthed astonishment as she ascended. Gee, cried Miggs, she'll be dizzy all right. That beats anything that happened in the car.

Starting point is 14:56:14 I bet she'll go a mile before she stops. She didn't go a mile, but she went up quite a distance before the resistance of the air finally brought her to a complete stop. There, faint from busyness, she remained motionless a few moments, and then started swimming slowly down through the air. But several of the beasts had noticed her flight, and one monster more venturesome than the others, decided that she might be good to eat. This was a ferocious-looking creature with crocodile-like jaws, a horn on the middle of his forehead, a pair of bony wings, and a crested back. Poor Peps' heart sunk as she saw the monster fly toward her. Dr. Hackensaw and Miggs gazed helplessly at the sight, and then the doctor,

Starting point is 14:56:54 suddenly remembering that he had some atomic energy pistols in the car, clambered up the ladder and emerged a few moments later carrying a pistol in each hand. These were peculiar-looking weapons. They hurled a bullet not much larger than a BB shot. But the bullets were so constructed that, on striking an object, there ensued a release of atomic force which exploded the missile with undreamt of violence. Dr. Hackensaw was too late, however. The monster was already so close to the girl that the doctor dared not fire.

Starting point is 14:57:24 And now a fresh actor appeared upon the scene. Among the grotesque creatures in this strange land was one who bore a head that somewhat suggested the head of a man. Instead of arms, the man had four tentacles like those of an octopus. He had no wings, but he had two peculiar tales that curled up in a comical fashion. This creature appeared to possess intelligence. He too had watched Peps' flight through the air, and his eyes followed her greedily. But it was evident he wanted her for a mate,

Starting point is 14:57:54 not for a dinner. When he saw the winged crocodile start, his own mind was made up in an instant. He jumped on the back of a creature that slightly resembled a dragonfly, and using two of his tentacles to drive the creature he started off in hot pursuit. Though he had no wings of his own, he had intelligence enough to use the wings of other creatures. As usual, mind triumphed over matter. The light dragonfly, even though encumbered with a rider, was far swifter than the heavier reptile, and reached the crocodile just as the ladder had opened his enormous jaws to swallow down poor Pep. The rider had no weapons, but he seized the reptile with two of his tentacles and switched on his electric current. The shock must have been something frightful, for the monster gave a wild jump and then remained motionless, absolutely paralyzed.

Starting point is 14:58:43 The man, if so we may call the rider, grabbed Pep with his two free tentacles, and then started his steed for land. vainly Pep tried to disengage herself from this new monster's grasp. She had escaped one danger only to meet another worse one. Dr. Hackensaw looked vainly on, but dared not fire. Meanwhile, the crocodile had slowly recovered from the stunning blow it had received, and perceiving that his enemy had not yet landed, it started in pursuit. Possibly it knew that the foe, having discharged its thunder, was powerless for a while. At any rate, on came the reptile, and, traveling,

Starting point is 14:59:20 faster than the dragonfly with its double burden, reached the ladder just as the man was about to land, and seizing him by the hindquarters crushed them in its powerful jaws. But now Dr. Hackensaw saw his chance. He raised his pistol and shot straight for the crocodile's tail. A tremendous explosion was heard, and the rear end of the crocodile's body was hurled skyward in infinitesimal fragments. The doctor then seized Peb, who, frightened but unheard, had extricated herself from the loosened tentacles of the wounded man, and unwilling to remain longer in this dangerous region, he regained the car. The rest of the journey is soon told. Dr. Hackensaw resolved to push on at once to the very center of the earth, and carried this resolution into effect. But he found nothing of

Starting point is 15:00:07 special interest. It was merely one enormous sea of air, with islands of various sizes floating in it. These islands were particles of the solid rock, which had become broken off and hurled upward. Most were barren, but some of them contained animal and plant life. The largest of these islands was about two miles in diameter. Here the party landed, and Pepp was surprised to find that even on this large island, the attraction of gravitation was inappreciable. But Dr. Hackensaw explained the matter as follows. Newton's law, said he, is that the attraction varies as the mass of the attracting body, and inversely as the square of the distance from the center of attraction. Our earth has a radius of 4,000 miles. This island has a radius of one mile. The masses are as the cubes of the

Starting point is 15:00:54 radii. Hence, the mass of the earth exerts a pull 64 billion times that of the island. But this figure of 64 billion is partially offset by the fact that here we are only one mile from the center of attraction, while on the earth we are 4,000 miles away. Hence, the pull due to nearness is 16 million times as great here. Taking both these factors into consideration, the attraction on this island is only one-fourthousth of what it is on the earth. Miggs, who weighs, I believe, 100 pounds, would weigh here only one-fourteenth of a pound, say one-third of an ounce. Now, if Miggs were on the earth's surface and weighed only one-third of an ounce, he would shoot up into the air, not like a balloon, but like a skyrocket. His buoyancy would be greater than that of a cork in water.

Starting point is 15:01:44 and by no possible exertions of his own could he swim down to earth again. Here, however, it is somewhat different. The buoyancy of our air at the earth's surface is due to its weight. Here the air has no weight, or a weight so small that it is inappreciable. Hence the island does pull us to it, though we scarcely feel the pull, as it is so light. When the party reached the entrance of the pit on the homeward journey, they found several of the ungainly monsters prepared to dispute their passage. A few bullets from the atomic energy pistol, however, soon put the creatures to flight, and the

Starting point is 15:02:18 ascent of the car began. This was much slower than the descent, for stops had to be made occasionally, and the car fastened to the walls of the well, while radio messages were sent up to ask that more air be allowed to enter the shaft. But all things have an end, and one fine day our party finally emerged from the pit, and found that a splendid reception was awaiting them at the South Pole, and they well deserved it. It was no mean achievement they had accomplished, the exploration of the center of the earth. As for Miggs, he drew a long breath and remarked to PEP,

Starting point is 15:02:52 Gee, I suppose Dr. Hackensaw will be wanting to civilize those guys down there at the center of the earth, but I never want to see them again. Me, for the sunlight and a place where you can jump up without going a mile and spinning around like a cartwheel as you go up. End of Section 43. 44 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 15:03:24 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fisandi. Some minor inventions. Dr. Hackensaw has his secrets, but most of our readers make no secret of the fact that they appreciate the doctor's work. The author has the knack, or perhaps we should call it the quality of helping the doctor present the most extraordinary, wonderful things in such a manner as to make them appear both plausible and possible.

Starting point is 15:03:57 Here this ingenious inventor explains to us some of his comparatively simple inventions, giving us a machine with which to can bread, another to do away with the human typist, and even translator, entirely, etc., all useful machines. Still, he is dissatisfied, so he always goes ahead, ever seeking new improvements. Usually he succeeds. Here is food for thought and experimentation, even if the story is humorously told. It is full of interest and new ideas. What are you doing there, Pop?

Starting point is 15:04:32 Ask Peck Perkins, bursting into Dr. Hackensaw's sanctum and finding him busily working a peculiar-looking machine. Dr. Hackensaw looked up with a smile. I'm spending five minutes spare time in writing a few thousand autographs for that class of people of whom one is born every minute, if not oftener. But what's that queer machine you're using? This pep is one of my minor inventions, a little device designed to save the time of authors, movie stars, and other celebrities. As you see, the machine is simplicity itself. It consists of 100 stylographic pens connected in 10 rows of 10 pens each. rigidly held in a framework. I write my autograph with an extra pen, a master pen,

Starting point is 15:05:18 which is attached to the framework, thus causing each of the other pens to make the same motions. By writing my name once with the master pen on a sheet of cardboard on the table, I get 100 signatures on the cardboard, which is then cut by machine into a hundred separate visiting cards, each bearing my autograph. I can thus write a thousand autographs in the time it would take another man to write 10. "'that I have made some lifelong friends among actors and other celebrities, "'and even among businessmen and government officials who have numerous documents to sign, "'by making them a present of one of these machines. "'Many of these people are so grateful that they would be willing to do anything for me.

Starting point is 15:06:01 "'You must have made a lot of inventions in your lifetime,' observed Pep. "'Yes, hundreds of them returned the doctor. "'As I happen to have some spare time now, I can sure. you a few if you care to see them. The first one you see is what I call a dictation typewriter. A what? A dictation typewriter. It's a substitute for the gum-chewing, face-powdering, flirting stenographer, and typewritist. This machine is warranted never to have a fit of the sulks. That's great. How did you do it? Of course I understand that you can do away with a stenographer by dictating into a phonograph.

Starting point is 15:06:43 But how can you do away with the person who hammers the keys? The problem is not as difficult as it seems. My object was to do away entirely with the young lady. An employer is often obliged to let his stenographer see letters, which he would prefer to keep confidential. Then, too, think of the sums spent yearly for stenographers and typists, go into any large business house and you will see a room full of girls busily typewriting, when the work could be automatically done by machinery.

Starting point is 15:07:14 How so? I will explain. My first idea was merely to simplify the work of the typewriters. At present, her delicate hands have to hammer at the keys all day, and she's subject to the malady known as typewriter's cramp. It struck me that the work could be made much less fatiguing by pressing the keys by electricity instead of by the fingers. I found that by dipping the tips of my fingers in a solution of copper, I could make sufficient contact by touching a typewriter key

Starting point is 15:07:43 to switch on an electric current that would press down the desired letter. The keys, you understand, remain stationary. It was only the type that moved. There was no time or energy lost in pushing down the keys and letting them rise again. A dexterous person would write several times as fast as with the most rapid present-day typewriter. Every touch meant a letter. As the keys were motionless, they could be crowded close together, separated only by insulating material. I saved so much space that even using separate keys for the capitals and shift letters,

Starting point is 15:08:16 my keyboard was smaller than the standard size. The typewriter itself was greatly simplified as all moving parts were done away with, except the few simple ones necessary to turn the type wheel, which contained the letter on its rim. Each touch released a plunger that forced the wheel against the paper, writing the character desired. So compact was my machine, and so simple, that I found it desirable to duplicate the letters most often used. For example, there are five E's on my keyboard at different convenient places, so there's always one at hand when desired. This increased speed so much that the typist could take dictation as fast as a stenographer. Of course, with electricity it was a simple matter to connect all five keys to the letter E on the wheel,

Starting point is 15:09:01 in such a way that making the contact on any one of the keys would close the circuit. If I place my finger, coated with metallic copper, on any one of the five keys, the circuit is closed and the letter E is struck. But, objected Pep, no girl would be willing to copper plate her fingers like that? No, that was just my first rough idea. My next improvement was to do away with any touch at all. I wanted a vocal typewriter, one that could be worked entirely by the voice. The mere articulation of each letter must be sufficient to close the proper circuit and print the letter.

Starting point is 15:09:38 Would that be possible? Entirely so. My first model consisted of a series of gas jets, so constructed that each flame flared up as soon as some particular letter was spoken. This flaring up closed an electric circuit and the letter was typed. In practice, however, such a machine was too delicate for general use. the great difficulty being keeping the gas jets properly adjusted in spite of differences of temperature. But I finally devised a machine that worked with a phonograph. When the letter was spoken, the vibration of the diaphragm would turn on the proper current to strike the letter.

Starting point is 15:10:15 How about capital letters? In dictating, it is necessary to use the prefix cap, when you wish the next letter to be a capital. Thus, if you were dictating the name Dickens, you would have to say cap, D-I-C-K-E-E. and the machine would write the word properly with the capital D. Flushed with my success, I decided to go further and write whole syllables instead of letters. By using the phonograph, there was no limit to the number of different keys I would use, hence I could have separate keys for thousands of syllables, although the typewriter itself needed but 26 letters. How did you manage that? Each syllable key was so arranged that when depressed, it switched on in turn all the letters which spelt the syllable.

Starting point is 15:11:01 Thus, when I spoke the syllable B, the key tuned to work when this sound was uttered, received the electric current, and in descending, it switched a second electric current onto the letters B and E in turn, so that these two letters were written on the paper. A man could then dictate his letters to the machine, just as he would to a stenographer. How about syllables that sound alike, but are spelled differently like paw in paper and pay? Ah, that was the stumbling block. To avoid it, I made my first machine to write Italian, as in that language words are spelt as they are pronounced. But I found that even in English there were not so many syllables that sound alike and are spelled differently, and I realized it would be a very easy matter for the dictator to learn to pronounce some slightly different.

Starting point is 15:11:50 Thus the syllables Doe, do, and do could be pronounced somewhat as they are spelled. A man could learn the proper pronunciation in an hour, and the machine would then spell each property. Then you succeeded. Perfectly. My first machine had to be tuned to suit the voice of the dictator,

Starting point is 15:12:12 but experience soon taught me to leave enough play so that the machine would answer to any voice. Try it yourself and see how it works. Don't shout, just stop. speak quietly into the mouthpiece, just as you would at a telephone. Pep accordingly took up the mouthpiece and spoke a few sentences, with some coaching from the doctor as to the proper pronunciation, and was delighted to see that the machine type rode from her dictation without a single error.

Starting point is 15:12:38 That's great, cried Pep. Isn't it? I was so delighted with my success that I didn't stop there. It was an easy matter to make a phonographic record that would repeat the dictation automatically as often as required, and thus make a thousand typewritten copies from dictation if desired. Even this didn't satisfy me. I resolved to go a step further and build a typewriter that would translate my dictation automatically into several different languages. I dictated in English, and the machine at my dictation typewrote copies in English, French, German, and whatever other language I desired. But, objected Pep, that's impossible.

Starting point is 15:13:20 You can't make a machine think. You can't translate without thinking, and no steel springs or electric currents can ever be made to think. Dr. Hackenzel laughed. That isn't the first impossible thing that I've made possible, Pep, said he. As a matter of fact, a thing is simple in theory, though it is complex in practice. If it were sufficient to translate word for word,

Starting point is 15:13:43 the problem would be easy. Say there are 100,000 words in use in the English language. It would only be necessary to have. have 100,000 keys to spell the corresponding word in the foreign language. It would be no more difficult than my dictation typewriter, though it would require more keys. But the problem is far more complex. Words spelled alike in English such as row, a line, and row, the verb, would have to be translated differently into German or French. It is therefore necessary to make these similar words different when dictating. I accomplish this by saying row one, row two, row three,

Starting point is 15:14:21 according to the meaning of the word I use. The proper German equivalent is then released. Of course this means that the dictator must spend months in learning to dictate, but he need no only English, and his dictation will be automatically translated into any language desired. How about idioms, special phrases, proverbs, and so on? Each idiom must, of course, have a key of its own. This is a word. This is a word. This necessarily multiplies the number of keys. All the keys you see in this room are parts of my machine for translating into French. My inversion keys will give you some idea of the many problems I had to meet and solve. In French, every noun is either masculine or feminine, and its adjectives must agree with the noun in gender.

Starting point is 15:15:05 For example, horse is masculine and table is feminine, so a good horse must be translated on bon chaval, and a good table in bon table. In French, too, most adjectives follow the noun instead of preceding it, as in English. A Frenchman does not say a black horse, he says, A cheval noir, that is, a horse black. Also, French verbs must agree with their subject. Then, as you remarked, there are a large number of idiomatic phrases. All these difficulties, however, I overcome by an arrangement by which no typewriting is done before a complete sentence is dictated.

Starting point is 15:15:40 automatic inversion keys enable me to get the proper construction of words and their proper terminations. I don't understand you. I will explain. The adjective black in French may be either noir, noir, noir, or noir, according to the gender and number of the noun that follows. My key for the adjective black can write any one of these four words. If the first noun key that follows is masculine, plural, it is provided with a finger that turns around the key black so as to write the word noir. As the adjective black must always follow the noun, the key black is also provided with an inversion device that prevents it from typewriting its word until the noun that follows it is typewritten, so that if I dictate the words, black horses, the machine will write automatically

Starting point is 15:16:32 chevot noir. Isn't that awfully complicated? Yes, but not as complicated as it seems. However, this machine you see here is only useful for commercial purposes. All my French business letters are dictated to it in English, and the French translations it makes are wonderfully good. Someday, when I have time, I shall construct a translating machine that will make really literary translations. But I cannot, at present, spare either the patience or the time, and money required. Besides, there would be little demand for such a machine.

Starting point is 15:17:06 These commercial machines, however, fill a real need. "'Every large business house needs one. "'The expense is not prohibitive "'as business letters require only simple sentences "'and stop phrases that keep recurring all the time. "'My machine can translate business letters "'and simple phrases like, "'have you the parrot of your grandmother's cousin?

Starting point is 15:17:24 "'That's about the highest limit of real literature "'that my machine will translate.' "'Pep laughed. "'Your idea seems good,' said she. "'But this machine is too complicated. "'Couldn't your efficiency experts simplify it a little?' At the words efficiency expert, Dr. Hackensaw snorted. Don't talk to me of efficiency experts, Pep, said he,

Starting point is 15:17:47 unless you want to drive me crazy, I have no use for them. Understand me, I believe in organization. Organization is necessary for everything, even for a college yell. And I highly honor the efficiency expert who organizes a business so that the article to be manufactured enters at one door, passes in turn to each of the men who have to work at it, and goes out to the delivery wagon without traveling a single unnecessary foot. I also honor the man who lowers the cost of goods without sacrificing quality.

Starting point is 15:18:18 But the efficiency expert who spends his time seeking to save one screw on a machine or a button or a stitch on a garment is a menace to society. In making any machine, engineers allow for what is called the factor of safety. They know that every machine at times will be called on to sustain undue strains or stresses, and they allow a margin of strength to meet these unusual demands. The efficiency expert, however, spends his time paring down this factor of safety, cutting out a screw here, a nail there, and producing an article that will give way at the least unusual strain,

Starting point is 15:18:51 leaving the owner in the lurch at a time when the idle machine means a loss to him many thousands of times the cost of the extra screw. Such experts are the bane of my existence. Only once in my life did I ever have occasion to bless an efficiency expert. When was that? When I was a young man, Pep, I fell in love with a pretty girl, and I bought a new suit of clothes on the day when I decided to propose to her. But the tailor I bought it from was an efficiency expert,

Starting point is 15:19:20 who had found means of saving three stitches on every pair of trousers he made, and thus increasing his gains one-tenth of a cent on each pair. The consequence was that when I got down on my knees to propose to the idol of my heart, there was a ripping and tearing sound heard as the trousers gave way at the scene, "'Burning with shame and confusion, I jumped up "'and backed out of the room in as much haste as was possible "'under the circumstances, and I never dared go near the young lady again. "'Well, I understand now why you don't like the efficiency experts.

Starting point is 15:19:53 "'Not at all. "'At the time I felt like strangling the fellow, "'but afterwards I would have done anything for him. "'The girl married another man and I remained free all my life.' "'Peep laughed, and Dr. Hackensaw continued. There's one field where efficiency experts could do useful work, and that is in the standardizing of the parts of different machinery. At the present day, we have standard sizes of screws, nails, bolts, etc., and this standardization has proved a great blessing. It would, however, be possible

Starting point is 15:20:23 to extend it to a great many castings and other parts of machinery. Certain parts of one automobile, for example, should be capable of use on others, or on airplanes or other machinery. Very slight changes in the patterns would often make this possible and lower the cost of production, while at the same time it will facilitate repairs. What is that next machine you have there? asked PEP. That's a simple little attachment to prevent the theft of automobiles. When you leave your car, press a hidden switch. The burglar comes, starts the auto without trouble, and makes off. But as soon as the car begins to move, a sign appears at the back. This car is stolen. The sign disappears as soon as the car stops. But you will have no trouble tracing your car, for a crowd will gather, and the driver,

Starting point is 15:21:07 seeing how much attention he's getting, will take the first opportunity to escape. Yet he won't know what caused the excitement as the sign has already vanished. Next to that machine, you'll see another. Canning bread. Canning bread? echoed Pep. Yes, while traveling abroad, I often found it difficult to obtain nice fresh rolls, and to attempt to carry a supply was out of the question as they became stale in a few hours. Travelers in the wilderness are obliged to carry flour and bake their own bread frequently or else consent to live on hard tack and crackers. They would willingly pay the small additional

Starting point is 15:21:44 cost for canned rolls or canned sandwiches. If they were put up in tins filled with nitrogen instead of ordinary air, the rolls will keep perfectly for years. If properly sterilized and sufficiently moist when packed, they will be as fresh when opened as when first sealed. and that very peculiar machine next to the sandwich canning machine asked Pep. That, replied Dr. Hackensaw proudly, is one of my greatest triumphs in inventing. That is an automatic judge. Our courts are now all overcrowded with cases. This machine will automatically listen to the pleadings of the contending parties and give a just decision.

Starting point is 15:22:27 In fact, I'll guarantee the decisions of the machine to be equituary. in 99 cases out of a thousand, which is a larger proportion than any judge I ever heard of can boast. How ridiculous, retorted Pepp, whoever heard of an automatic judge. Why, such a thing is impossible. A machine can't possibly think, or have judgment. Dr. Hackensaw chuckled. It would seem so, Pep, said he.

Starting point is 15:22:55 But I assure you, I'm perfectly serious when I say the machine will do what I claim for it. It seems impossible, but, as in the case of the translating machine, this is only one of many impossible things made possible. But how does it work? I'll tell you. For the basic principle is extremely simple. I have had a great deal of experience in the courts, and I have noticed that the man who is in the wrong always secures the best lawyer.

Starting point is 15:23:21 The man who knows he is right will be satisfied with a poor lawyer, trusting to the justice of his cause to persuade the jury. His opponent, however, knows his only hope is to secure a best. better lawyer than his adversary and will spare no pains or expense to secure it. Consequently, if I were a judge, I would let both lawyers talk five minutes each and then decide the case in favor of the poorer lawyer. But in that case, why do you need a machine? The machine is useful as an aid to tell which lawyer is really the cleverer. It registers their brain capacity, their intelligence, their energy, etc. But, objected Pep, it seems to me that

Starting point is 15:23:59 people would soon learn your system, and then both sides would try to engage the poorest lawyers they could find. Precisely, to avoid that, I must keep my methods secret. My machine does the real judging, but I should hire cheap men to listen quietly to the cases, and at the end they would secretly draw a slip from the machine, which would tell them what verdict to give. And as I said, I would guarantee the judgment to be equitable in 99 cases out of a thousand. What's that little instrument, it looks like a match, asked Pep. That's a gyniometer. That's an instrument for measuring a woman's age. A gynaometer. Yes, that's Greek and means the measure of a woman's age. Great Scott. How does it work? I got the idea from an author who wrote under the pen name of Diogenes Tub, who some 40 years ago wrote the story of an

Starting point is 15:24:54 inventor, Mr. P. Q. Jones, of an instrument for ascertaining a woman's age. At that time, about 1885, the ladies all wore long skirts. Well, this Mr. P. Q. Jones was a philosopher. He'd often stood on the street corner on a muddy day, and he noticed that the ladies in crossing always raised their skirts a little in order to keep them out of the mud. Well, there's nothing very extraordinary in that. No, but Mr. Jones noticed the remarkable fact that the extent to which the skirt was raised varied with the age of the woman. In fact, he found that the amount of stocking displayed was directly proportional to the woman's age. The older the woman was, the higher she raised her skirts. It was another instance of the law of compensation, making up in

Starting point is 15:25:39 quantity for what was lacking in quality. Mr. Pete Jones used this fact as the basis for an instrument which he called a gyneiometer, and which he used for measuring the ages of the ladies he met. In this match-like instrument on the table, you see an improvement of mine on Mr. Jones's idea, a very simple means for ascertaining the age of your mother-in-law or any other of your female friends. As you see, my device was simplicity itself. It consisted merely of a dial on which was a fixed needle and a movable needle. On a muddy day, you could stand exactly 10 feet away from the curb and place the instrument so the fixed needle is perfectly horizontal, three feet from the ground. Then you wait for the lady to come along, and when she raises her skirt, you move the

Starting point is 15:26:24 movable needle until it points directly at the highest visible portion of her stocking, and you could at once read her exact age on the dial in years, months, and days. Good heavens! But the thing wouldn't work nowadays, and we all wear short skirts? No, the fashions changed, and I was obliged to modify my instrument. As a person's arteries hardened with age, I tried to make one that would work according to the degree of hardness of the artery, but I failed. When the Audion was invented, however, I succeeded by making a gyniometer that worked by electricity. Every human being is an electrical machine, continually generating electrical currents.

Starting point is 15:27:04 Careful study showed me that these currents vary with age. By the use of an Audion, I could amplify these currents and I constructed the rather complicated machine you see here, which enables me to tell a lady's exact age in an instant. I expected to make a fortune from my device, but would you believe it, the thing has brought me nothing but trouble in vexation. Like Mr. Jones, I've lost all my lady friends and have become estranged from my female relatives because I claim to know their ages

Starting point is 15:27:31 better than they did themselves. No, Pep, there are some things that doesn't pay to monkey with. One of them is the buzzsaw. Another is a woman's age. End of Section 44, read by Sandra near Montreal. Section 45 of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets. This is a Libravox recording. All Libravox recordings are in the public domain.

Starting point is 15:28:04 For more information or to volunteer, please visit Libravox.org. Read by Chuck Williamson, Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets, by Clement Fazzandi. The Secret of the Invisible Girl Chapter 1, A Strange Offer Dr. Hackensaw, I'm looking for a place. I'm sorry, my friend, but we have no vacancy at present. My name is Vesenden Keen. Although I left school at the age of 15,

Starting point is 15:28:42 I have studied at home and have the equivalent of a college education. I am very anxious to study inventing, and having heard a great deal about your marvelous inventions, I should like very much to work for you. I'm sorry, but, as I said before, there is no vacancy at present. In fact, this is the dull season, and I have more men on hand now than I know what to do with. Fezendenkeen smiled. I know, said he, that you have no vacancy for an ordinary man, but I am sure you have one for me.

Starting point is 15:29:20 Dr. Hackensaw looked up in surprise at this conceited statement. and was about to make an angry reply. But a look at the clear-cut, intelligent features of the young man before him caused him to hold his tongue. The young fellow evidently had a strong will, for he continued, I know my value better than you know it. I am so sure that you will have a vacancy for me, that I am willing to come to work for you, for nothing.

Starting point is 15:29:49 Thank you, replied Dr. Hackensaw coldly. but I desire to pay my assistance for their work. Besides, as I said before, there is no work for you to do. I'll find work, replied the young man confidently, and plenty of it. Besides, I am willing to do all the dirtiest and most disagreeable work on the place. I will black the boots, clean out the spittoons or the drains, attend to the furnace, shovel snow, and so on. I will be your porter and carry heavy bundles for you to any part of the city. Miss Pep speaks. Give him a trial, Pop, whispered Miss Pep Perkins, who, seated at her typewriter,

Starting point is 15:30:39 had overheard the conversation and was pleased with the young man's looks. How can you live if I don't pay you any salary? asked Dr. Hackensaw of the young man. I have a couple of hundred dollars laid by that I saved penny by penny from my wages on a ranch, where I worked for a while. I can make that last me for a year, and I know that long before that time, I can convince you that my services are invaluable. And if I am not convinced,

Starting point is 15:31:12 in that case, I won't ask for anything. Very well, I'll engage you on your own, terms. You are to do the hardest and most disagreeable work on the place, and are not to receive a cent in return. Thank you. When will you begin? Right away. I see the windows in the next room haven't been washed for a month. I'll begin by cleaning those. And five minutes later, provided a pail of water and a rag, the young man was industriously polishing away at the windows, which soon shone as they had never shown before. Well, Pep, asked the doctor,

Starting point is 15:31:56 what do you think of that young fellow and his proposition? I don't know what to think, but I like his looks. So do I. But for all that, he may be a burglar, and may be choosing this means to learn where all the valuables on the place are kept. I have millions of them. of dollars worth of unpatented ideas that an intelligent chap like him could steal. He looks like an honest fellow. Looks don't count for much. The only other explanation I can see for

Starting point is 15:32:32 his offer is that he has fallen in love with you, Pep, and has chosen this way of coming near you. And Dr. Hackensaw smiled mischievously. Nonsense, cried Pep, blushing, but seemingly not a all displeased with the idea. Whatever the reason, young Kean soon made his services veritably invaluable. He came early and stayed late and worked industriously all the time. One of his first jobs was to make a grand house cleaning. Room by room he went over the whole establishment, opening every neglected cupboard and cleaning it thoroughly. He timed his work so well and did it so neatly as never to occasion discomfort to anyone. He did more. He made a card catalog of every document and every object in the place with a hieroglyph to indicate where the thing was found. It was soon learned that if

Starting point is 15:33:32 anyone wanted some particular thing, there was no sense in hunting for it, for Keene could lay his hands on it in a minute. Chapter 2 The Z-ray photograph. Dr. Hackensaw. I've got something peculiar to show you. The speaker was Fezenden Keen, bronzed from sunburn, and just returned from a trip to Africa, where he had been sent on a confidential mission by the doctor. Keen was now Dr. Hackensaw's right-hand man. His declaration that he would make himself indispensable was no vain boast.

Starting point is 15:34:12 Before he had been in the doctor's services a week, it was evident that he was a man of extraordinary abilities and energy. Dr. Hackensaw, however, in order to make the test thorough, kept him at work a whole month without any salary. At the end of that time, he made him a princely offer for his services. And needless to say, the boot-placking and spatoon cleaning ceased immediately. The man was too valuable to be allowed to spend his time in such duties. Finally, the doctor, needing a confidential man to send to Africa, had entrusted Keene with this mission.

Starting point is 15:34:52 Poor Pet Perkins was broken-hearted at his departure, because her admiration for this unique specimen of a man was unbounded. She had at last found a man who made her heart go tick-tack. Kean was now back from Africa, and it was after his business report that he exclaimed, Dr. Hackensaw, I've got something peculiar to show you. What is it? It's a little memento I brought back for my African trip. As you know, I had with me some of the special cameras you invented for taking photographs at night without the need of flashlights.

Starting point is 15:35:32 Yes, said Dr. Hackensaw. I gave you photographic plates of two kinds. I gave you plates that were sensitive to electric imitations, so that you could take photos of the aura that surrounds living beings. Precisely, said Silas, what you call the Z-ray plates. Well, the curious thing I have to show you is one of the Z-ray photographs I took near Mongala. I think you will find it rather curious. So saying, Fezenden Kean took from his pocket a photograph, which he handed to the doctor,

Starting point is 15:36:09 and Pep left cleaning her typewriter in order to get a little. a better view. A young girl in her aura. The photograph represented what appeared to be a beautiful young girl in a state of nature, but surrounded by an aura of electric immanations. Well, what is there peculiar about this? asked the doctor. It's just an ordinary photograph of a young lady taken on a special plate in order to show the aura. No, it's. It's just an ordinary photograph of a young lady, taken on a special plate in order to show the aura. No, indeed, replied Kean. I took that snapshot in bright sunlight,

Starting point is 15:36:48 and not a trace of the girl could I see. It was a bird I was photographing, and I hadn't the faintest idea there was a girl anywhere near me. Dr. Hackensaw, do you believe there are such things as invisible creatures? Well, yes, there are. In the water there are certain animals like jellyfishes that are so transparent that they are practically invisible.

Starting point is 15:37:16 Among the animalcules, too, there are many whose small size renders them invisible. And there are some that are so transparent that we cannot see them until they are stained, even with a microscope. That is what makes it so difficult to discover the specific microbe that causes a disease, We must find some stain that will make the microbe visible, and this isn't always easy. The celebrated Earhart had to try no less than 606 different stains before he found one that could color the microbes that cause syphilis. Once he found the proper stain, however, he was able to incorporate drugs with it and was thus unable to have his drugs carried into the bodies of the microbes.

Starting point is 15:38:06 But, while in the same, visible beings are common in the microscopic world. We know of no such large invisible animals. Then the original of this photograph is the first one, said Keene, and I wish to ask your permission to return to Africa and try to capture her. Why didn't you try while you were over there? I unfortunately didn't develop the negative until after my return to the United States. Well, assented the doctor, a search for an invisible girl is worse than a search for a needle in a haystack. But the thing is so curious that we ought to make the attempt. I'll order my rapid aeroplane, and Pep and I will go with you.

Starting point is 15:38:56 Chapter 3. Bunches of bananas for bait. Here we are, doctor, exclaimed Feasant and Keen. This is the very spot where I took the snapshot, as you can see, see by comparing it with the photograph. Even now, said Pep, I don't see how we can ever hope to find the invisible girl. Pep spoke of its being as hard as looking for a needle in a haystack, but it seems to me much harder. Yes, assented the doctor. But to a scientist, there would be no difficulty in finding a needle in a haystack. He would merely spread out the hay and pass a strong electromagnet over it, and in a few minutes the needle would be found clinging to the magnet.

Starting point is 15:39:43 Perhaps so, said Pep, but at least you can see the needle when you find it. Here we can't see the girl, and even if she were right in front of us and we took a snapshot of her with the Z-rays, she would probably be gone by the time the negative was developed. Dr. Hackensaw smiled. You forget, Pep, said he. that we have other senses beside the sense of sight. Besides, there are ways of making the invisible visible. Don't imagine for an instant that I have come unprepared. I have, in fact, several strings to my bow.

Starting point is 15:40:23 You will remember that we stopped a while in Mongala, and I heard news there that will be of use to us. Hunting parties out after lions or elephants have noticed the mysterious disappearance of their provisions. Bunches of bananas disappear, and also the strips of hippopotamus meat that they hang up to dry. This knowledge will be very useful to us. The girl evidently has no way of obtaining provisions except by stealing them.

Starting point is 15:40:55 Hence a bunch of fine bananas would make a tempting bait. Oh! exclaimed Pep. That's the reason you loaded it. up the aeroplane with such quantities of bunches of bananas. Precisely, our first job is to locate the girl. To do this, we will hang up small bunches of bananas at likely spots near the White Nile, where she must go for water. And when tomorrow we find one or two of the bunches missing,

Starting point is 15:41:27 we may strongly suspect one invisible girl of being the culprit. It was no easy task tramping through the wilds, for caution was necessary, as lions, leopards, and elephants abounded in the region, and even the crocodiles were dangerous. The post-boat captain, having informed our adventurers, that he had had two of his men devoured by crocodiles the past year, the animal's dread of man. Fortunately, most of the wild animals had acquired a real wholesome dread of man. Even a herd of elephants would fly from a single person. It is a curious sight to see a herd of these huge monsters quietly feeding

Starting point is 15:42:11 when a single man comes to windward of them. First one trunk goes up into the air as the man's scent is wafted to the herd, then another and another trunk is raised, and moves about until the direction of the scent is located. Then the whole herd marches briskly away at a rate no ordinary hunter can attain. When all the bait was hung up, carefully suspended out of the reach of elephants, the party returned to their airplane to Mongala to spend the night. The next morning, they returned to examine the bait,

Starting point is 15:42:48 and to their joy they found several of the bunches of bananas missing. In most of the places, no tracks could be found in the hard earth, but near one of the trees, a small footprint could be plainly discerned in the sand. There's our young lady, cried the doctor, and I propose we name her Lilyfoot. It will be handy to have some name to know her by. Yes, when we catch her, muttered Pep to herself. Now, the prince. problem is, shall we try to trap her here, or shall we follow her to her din? For she must have a

Starting point is 15:43:30 layer somewhere, save from the wild beasts. How could you follow her? asked Keane. It would be easy enough if we had a good dog, but you can get nothing of the kind here. I have something better than a dog, answered Dr. Hackensaw. I have my trusty old supernose, or smell amplifier. It is really nothing but a series of half a dozen specially constructed audions, designed to amplify smells instead of sounds. Calling one of his newbie and servants, Dr. Hackensaw took from one of the bags a small case, which we fastened like a knapsack on his back. Two tubes projected from the instrument, one somewhat rigid with a flaring end, which the doctor held over the scent.

Starting point is 15:44:25 The other tube ended in a small mask, which fitted over the doctor's nose. Thus he quipped, Dr. Hackensaw could follow a scent better than the very best hunting dog. Nearing the quarry. Starting at the footprint, the doctor had no difficulty in picking up the trail, and started along it, followed by his friends and the Negro porters. For several miles he pursued his quarry in this manner, when he came to a tall tree, and then paused and looked up into the branches. Nothing was visible.

Starting point is 15:45:03 She climbed up here, said the doctor. And is here yet, unless she came down on the other side, he made a rapid tour of the tree and then returned. She is still up in the tree. All we've got to do now is to catch her. Yes, that's all, returned Keen sarcastically. But how are you going to catch a girl you can't see? I brought a lariat with me.

Starting point is 15:45:32 But how are you going to lasso a girl unless you can see her? I have an answer for that, returned Dr. Hackensaw. For I have brought with me several pairs of specially constructed, electrical spectacles. What are they? They are spectacles so constructed that they make electrical emanations visible. This invisible girl is, as we know by her photograph, surrounded by an aura. These spectacles will make that aura visible to us, and it will be our fault if we do not catch the girl. A moment later, the doctor, Pep, and Keen were each equest. equipped with the unique spectacles and were gazing intently up the tree.

Starting point is 15:46:20 But the girl was well concealed in the leaves, and they could see nothing. Never mind. I'll climb up with my lariat, and if I see her, we'll soon have her. I've lassoed plenty of wild cattle out on the ranches out west. A moment later, the young fellow with his slip-nose and his hands, was ascending the tree, while Pep and the doctor looked eagerly from below. I see her, cried Kean, and as he shouted the words, a rustling in the leaves was heard. I see her too, cried Pep, or rather I see what looks like the shadow of a girl. She's coming down the tree, letting herself drop from branch to branch, like a monkey.

Starting point is 15:47:13 It was a most peculiar sight. the aura of this invisible girl as she rapidly descended, but she was no match for a western cowboy like Keene. He watched her descent, bracing himself against the trunk of the tree, and seizing his opportunity, shot the loop of his lariat over her shoulders, and pulled it tight.

Starting point is 15:47:36 The girl made a spring, but hung dangling helpless from the rope. I've got her, cried Keene. I'll let her down to you, carefully, but I recommend you tie her tightly until we can get her into the cage we brought for her. She looks like a slippery customer. Chapter 4. Conclusion. Here we are, back in New York again, cried Dr. Hackensaw gaily, five days later, as his swift aeroplane entered its hangar. Our first job now will be to teach Aura to speak. Arra was the name that had finally been decided,

Starting point is 15:48:17 upon for the invisible girl. Lilyfoot did not seem very satisfactory. The girl evidently possessed a language of her own, and a few Arabic and shalook words that she had evidently overheard the natives use, but otherwise she knew nothing and owned nothing. As Miggs expressed it when they found her, she didn't even have a pagoda on. He evidently meant kimono. Miggs had been the airplane pilot on their expedition. Dr. Hackensaw, with his usual foresight, had realized that if they caught the girl, they would have to have some means of making her visible. Accordingly, he had brought along a trousseau for her.

Starting point is 15:49:06 It didn't fit well, but was more suitable than the electric aura, which had been her sole garment previously. To render her face visible, he had also brought along a vanity case, and when her cheeks were powdered and her lips painted, and she was attired in modern costume, you couldn't have told her from an ordinary girl except for the absence of visible eyes. A pair of spectacles, however, concealed this defect. Feasant and Keen fell in love with Aura at first sight, and poor Pepp was madly jealous, for in this whole-souled, breezy westerner, she had at last found a man who won her heart, but she was a good girl, and managed to conceal her feelings. She was very good indeed to

Starting point is 15:49:58 her rival, who evidently returned Kean's affections. Kean spent hours teaching Aura how to speak, and also training her in the elements of civilization, for she knew less than a child. She knew, Unfortunately, the climate of New York did not agree with her. She, who in the tropics, could stand a dry heat of 120 degrees Fahrenheit, suffered under a damp heat of 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and three months after her arrival in the United States, she became ill, and in spite of Dr. Hackensaw's strenuous efforts to save her, died. Keene was inconsolable for a long time, but some years later he married Pepp,

Starting point is 15:50:50 and the pair were very happy together. Miggs heart almost broke at the time, for he was devoted to Pep. But he finally consoled himself with a peroxide blonde. As for Dr. Hackensaw, he is still alive and still continues making his wonderful inventions. The end. End of Section 45. End of Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets by Clement Fizzandi.

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