Chapter VIII
As evening approaches we reach the airport where the last final details of checking the ship before taking off have been completed. From all appearances this is a new ship and much larger than the one which brought us here from the Moon. In response to our admiration, our host tells us this is to be its maiden voyage. Upon entering, we find it to be a luxurious palace within which is also a fully equipped scientific laboratory.
This ship has been built in line with the latest Martonian developments. It too is of the triple body structure, has a spear-type nose and is equipped with an air system which automatically maintains the air within the ship at a pressure and temperature most comfortable to the occupants.
Two other scientists besides our host are accompanying us on this trip to Venus. The ship's personnel numbers sixty, including these two scientists.
The prospects of this trip fill us with thrilling excitement for on it we are venturing still farther into space, to a planet that Earth men had proclaimed as probably uninhabitable since they had never been able to penetrate its surrounding atmosphere.
Many dignitaries are at the airport to wish us good luck on the trip.
Our takeoff was so smooth and noiseless that we were unaware of leaving the ground. At an altitude of two thousand feet, the pilots level off and glide for awhile that we may see more of planet Mars, her cities and her countryside.
The surface appearance of Mars is very similar to that of Earth. There are many large mountain ranges with very fertile valleys lying between them. We also saw a flat area corresponding to our plains and many rivers. We have passed over a few fair-sized cities and many hamlets. Now we can see one of the polar caps in the distance. It looks like a very large glacier, but we are not going closer to it for here is where we get on the beam to Venus.
It is odd how they do this. On the instrument panel of the ship is a small screen upon which the light of the planet to which they are going is focused. The details of this instrument we don't know, but the principle is the same as that used by an astronomer when he gets an image in the dead center of the mirror of his telescope. Once the planet is perfectly focused upon the screen, one of the pilots pushes a button and the ship is definitely on the light lane towards its desired destination.
Our host explains that once this is accomplished, no outside interference can cause the ship to change its course for it is actually being pulled forward by the light.
This explanation seemed to us to be in reverse, for we had been taught that planets reflect light, having no light of their own; then the light should be going away from them. Yet he tells us that we are being pulled towards the planet by her light.
Noting our confusion, he continued, "the light does not go away from the planet into space, but rather it comes from out of space towards the planet. It is travelling towards the planet instead of from it. For you see, the sun is in the center of a system and all planets revolve around it in their respective orbits. That which you call light is radiation from the sun and is actually travelling from the sun to the planet. The reflection from the planet is short lived. It doesn't penetrate into space very far. It really becomes dead within the atmosphere of the planet."
"Why does the telescope seem to get the light direct from the planet?" questioned Dr. Johnston.
"That is nothing but an illusion," replied our friend. "All that a telescope does is reflect an image. A planet itself has no source of light, so it cannot give out light; but it is illumined by the sun's radiation which we call light. For this reason the same instrument cannot be used in studying the sun that we use on the planets and stars. The reflected image is a cold or negative light, while the direct radiation is a hot or positive light. However, all light is an electrical force or energy."
"Thus you can understand how the ship is actually being pulled as well as pushed by the light or radiation which is steadily flowing from the sun towards the planet, travelling with the speed of light, as Earth men call it, while we say at the speed of the sun's radiation."
One thousand miles out from Mars we entered a shower of meteors of various sizes. This we have been able to enjoy thoroughly, without fear, for we know the ship is equipped with a repulsing power which extends five hundred miles into space, thus protecting us from a dangerous bombardment.
But five hundred miles is a long way, so Bob wanted to know why it was necessary for the power to extend that far from the ship.
One of the ship's scientists answered Bob's question. "Meteors travel so fast that were they not deflected so far from the ship, they would be upon us before we knew it. Even so, there are some very large meteors which are able to penetrate this outer wall of protection. During the entire time of passing through these showers we observe our screen closely so when we see a meteor continuing towards us, we have time to throw our heavier power of protection into operation, which is the middle wall of the ship. Its influence extends only two hundred fifty miles into space but is so strong that no meteor yet has ever been able to penetrate it. When we first attempted interplanetary travelling our ships were built with only a single wall, but then we lost many of them due to the heavy meteoric bombardment. Even then the ships of other planets were constructed with three bodies and used the law of repulsion for safe travelling. Since we learned this and built our ships accordingly, we too have enjoyed safe travelling to Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter. There are rather heavy meteoric showers between the Earth and the Moon, and the Moon and Mars, but between Mars and the other planets they are much heavier, with far larger meteors."
"Speaking of meteors, in our House of Records we have an account of a meteor falling through space and getting caught in the magnetic field of an almost neutral zone where it went whirling in a circle just outside the borderline of the gravitational powers. Becoming so hot through continuous action, it became a sun and is still serving as a sun in one of our present solar systems. The records shows that this took place three hundred million years ago. During this time, around this particular meteor known today as a sun, a solar system has been built upon which human life is just beginning."
"Since this has become known, scientists on other planets are beginning to wonder if others of our suns have not come into being just that way."
"With the type of telescope your men on Earth have, they cannot see this system, but with our telescope we can see it. Its distance is one billion sextillion light years from Mars."
We are now half way to Venus and encountering so many meteors that they almost illuminate our path. These are of various colors and look much like different types of fireworks. Some appear to be cold as we see them by the light of others. On this screen which we have been watching, we can see meteors of different sizes, some would easily weigh twenty to fifty tons. These large ones must call for a tremendous repulsing power to turn them away from the ship. We wonder how strong it really is.
Sensing the question in our minds, the scientist explains that it doesn't take much power since it operates on what we would call a down force. Once a meteor hits the repulsing wall it begins to fall, so to speak, instead of continuing on its forward path. But we noticed that when the fifty ton meteor was sighted they threw in the second repulsing wall, probably just as a precaution. It really looked just like a big ball of fire.
He is telling us that, "some meteors have fallen on Mars weighing around fifteen million tons. Since all meteors are largely composed of iron as well as other minerals, we Martonians have an electro-magnet so powerful that we can pull them right out of the ground and then cut them open to study their composition. Some of these meteors have contained crystals so hard within their centers that we had nothing which could cut them. One time an exceptionally large meteor hit our planet which, because of its immense size and the force with which it hit, we did not try to remove from the ground for twenty years. Even after that length of time, when we pulled it out and cut it open, it was still tremendously hot in the center. In cutting this one we were lucky for we missed the pocket of crystals, otherwise we would never have been able to cut it in half."
We have passed through the gap between Mars and Venus which was nine million miles in width, but riding in this ship is so very smooth that we didn't know we had entered it until we were told.
"Now we are within twenty million miles of Venus and are about to enter the heavy atmosphere surrounding this planet. This is a sort of cloud bank made up mostly of particles of dust. We have to use the repulsing power on this too because travelling at the speed we are, those particles would really sandblast our ship," explains the scientist. "This cloud is produced mostly by satellites of Venus which are not like the Earth's moon. They have terrific dust storms blowing over them constantly which produce a dust belt around the planet half a million miles in width. It is not a belt in the sense you use this word, meaning a band which girds only a certain portion. We speak of it as a belt because of its thickness, but it entirely envelopes the planet, acting as a protective casing and shielding her from the intense heat of the sun's bombardment, since she is so close to the sun."
We are now through the cloud and can see Venus as a planet perfectly. The air from here it seems to be very clear but quite moist. The instruments indicate an appreciable amount of moisture. They also had indicated the presence of much moisture through the entire width of the dust cloud. It seemed to us more like fog than dust. We thought the presence of fog or moisture that far from a planet was quite a distance, but the scientist says it is not, that planets in other solar systems have similar conditions out that far and farther, but planet Venus and planet Mercury are the only ones in our system having such protective shields, but these two are of different consistency.
We are nearing Venus and the instruments continue to show the presence of a great deal of moisture. The countryside has a lush green covering, proving there is a lot of water on this planet, while the city we are circling a thousand feet above seems more of a fantasy than a reality. Our Martonian host tells us this is the capital of Venus and the largest city on the planet, but to us it looks more like castles built on clouds. The pilots have been circling to enable us to enjoy this beauty to the utmost. Just as they were preparing to land, rain began falling, a regular downpour, and we received a signal from the ground to delay landing for a short time. Such rains seem to be a regular occurrence for we are told by the scientist that they get these downpours here about three times a day during certain seasons of the year, but they are of very short duration.
Now the rain has stopped and we are signalled to land. Many large ships are on the ground here at the airfield, all Venetian with the exception of two: one of these has the insignia of planet Jupiter, while the other has planet Saturn pictured on it.
There are many people at the airport to welcome us, the first Earth men to set foot upon Venus in many centuries. They are cheering as the doors of the ship are opened. Our Martonian host is leading us out. At the door of the ship he is met by a Venetian scientist with whom he shakes hands in greeting and then introduces us.
When Dr. Johnston is introduced as an Earth scientist, he is handed a large bouquet of flowers, a gift from the scientists of Venus. Their fragrance is exhilarating and their texture is as fragile as iridescent webs.
Breathing at first was somewhat difficult since the air is so light but we were able to quickly adjust ourselves so that we can now breathe easily.
Our attention is turned to the people about us who are as beautiful and fine in their form as the flowers in their kingdom. We feel as though they are looking right through us and can actually read our minds. We have been told they are experts in the field of mental telepathy, so we will have to watch our thoughts carefully.
The women are so ethereal that there are not words to describe their beauty and the men seem radiant with mental and physical alertness. The children are joyous and free and remind us of cherubs. We seem to be engulfed with a feeling of kindness and relaxation that comes from these people.
The whole atmosphere is permeated with a prismatic radiation of color that even the buildings reflect.
A magnificent conveyance is coming towards us and as it stops three men step out to greet us. Our Martonian host introduces them to us as the leaders of Venus, Saturn and Jupiter, adding, "Each of these planets, as on Mars, knows no divisions as states or nations. Each planet has one chosen leader who is assisted by a council of representatives of the people. And here too, the leader recognizes his position as an honor and a privilege to serve the people according to the will of the Creator."
The cordial welcome of these men makes us feel that we are not strangers but more as though we have always known them.
Upon invitation, we enter the vehicle and find it luxurious and comfortable. It seems to operate much the same as the ones on Mars. An attendant opens a back compartment and serves us each a drink. Dr. Johnston proposes a toast "to the health of the Earth." It is appropriate, for if Earth men could experience the wonderful things that we have witnessed, it would seem very worth while.
The aroma of this drink is like fragrant roses, the taste like mint. It is as clear as water and we are told that it is exhilarating but not intoxicating.
When our drinks are finished, the head of Venus says they have come to take us to their Council Building.
It is warm, for the recent rain combined with the heat which is about eighty, makes the atmosphere stifling; but we are the only ones who seem to notice it. As we ride through the streets towards our destination, the buildings and the layout of the city resemble a fairyland description of beauty and perfection. Everything is so spotlessly clean that it seems to sparkle.
The foliage of the trees and shrubs is of lacy pattern, while those that have blossoms are draped with garlands of flowers. There are different varieties but they are all of lace-like structure.
The buildings glow with a soft iridescence. Along the wide boulevards are statues of exquisite workmanship which act as illuminating standards.
Our conveyance has stopped and we are in front of the Council Building. It is dazzling to our sight for its rails and doors seem to be made of gold.
Immediately in answer to our thought came the reply, "It is gold, what you men of Earth call gold. Here on Venus gold and silver are more abundant than any other metal. Since gold does not tarnish it is used for ornamentation and many purposes. Because of their abundance, these metals are used for pipe lines to carry water and utilities to homes and buildings. They are alloyed with more scarce metals for hardening. Should these ever become scarce in natural resources, we can easily manufacture them."
To enter the building we ascend four wide stone terraces. On the first is the symbol of the Earth; the Moon is on the second terrace; the third symbolizes Mars, while the top terrace is of Venus. We now stand upon a large veranda that seems to be made of Mother-of-Pearl, but it is cushioned when we stop upon it. On either side of the massive gold doors are pillars of alabaster while above the doors are symbols of Saturn and Jupiter. Above these and to either side are symbols which we cannot read.
Entering the building, we find ourselves in a round room of vast size. There must be about ten thousand people seated in this room. In the center of the room is a large round table at which we are seated. From the center of this table extends a torch-like pedestal from which brilliant lights go forth in four directions, focused upon statues of the Deity like we saw on Mars. One is to the north, another to the south, a third is to the east and the other to the west. In the center of the torch is a ray shooting directly upward to a portrait of the Deity beautifully painted at the top of the immense dome of gold and silver inlay. About this figure are murals representing the vastness of the universe with its many solar systems, with each solar system having a mural of one of its planet's inhabitants.
The tables are set with gold service trimmed in intricately designed silver. The napkins are embroidered with silver on cloth finer than linen. A steaming hot fish on a large golden platter is placed in front of each one. Chalices filled with a liquid that looks like wine, yet doesn't smell like it, are being served. A fluffy bread of a rich yellow color is placed upon the table, also a green vegetable. It looks like there is more here than we will be able to eat.
The head spiritual leader has arisen to say grace. He is saying, "the fish in front of each one represents symbolically the eternal quality of purity, for its birth is given by the life-giving fluids known as water, of which eighty percent or more, of all form-life is composed. It is the purest of all liquids and without it no form could be."
"We give thanks unto the Great Creator of all creations for the privilege and the honor bestowed upon us, the people of Venus, to come face to face with our brothers from another Mansion of Thy planetary House, known as Earth. This is the first time this privilege has been granted since the race of wisdom known as the Triton race was on Earth. The liquids which flow through the veins of every form in each Mansion of the many within Thy House is the same in all, for it flows out of the heart of the Creator into its creations. We are now gathered to feast as one, to partake of the good things which the Creator has given unto us, that our bodies and our minds shall be quickened to the wisdom and the guidance that is yet to come."
We feel so still that we are hardly aware that those about us have started to eat. As we regain our senses, we partake of the food as though in a dream.
The fish is very tasty, white in color, light and fluffy in texture and quite different from any that we have ever eaten. The bread is more like cake, not sweet but not dull as Earth bread. The greens and fruit are excellent. The drink that we thought might be wine, really is not but it takes the place of tea or coffee. It is made from a bean that grows on a tree and has the quality of replenishing the blood corpuscles, keeping them up to a standard at all times. It tastes more like an apple than anything else.
The feasting is finished and quiet fills the room as the head of Venus rises to his feet to speak. On each side of him are seated the other two leaders, the one from Saturn and the other from Jupiter. We are seated opposite to them.
And this is what the speaker is saying:
"My brothers, you have journeyed a long way to visit our beloved homeland which has been given unto us by the same Creator that has given yours unto you. We, within our hearts and within every fiber of our beings, rejoice in the name of the Universal Father for making it possible to bring our distant brothers so near to us, that as forms we may touch each other. For we are forbidden to venture out into lower realms, while thou art privileged to rise from planet to planet, as thou hast been given the birthright of thy Father's total Kingdom. For each step that thou hast taken in the vast expanse of thy Father's Kingdom are of strength and wisdom, growing as the lily in the field, and thou, if thou continue, shall become as beautiful as the many beautiful things in the Creator's allness. But thine people of Earth, to know the greatness of their Father as we do here, must mend their ways before they be given the right to venture into the eternal palace. For when thou cast the precious fluid of thine brother upon the earth upon which thou trod, thou then walketh upon the fluid that has flowed unto thine brother from the heart of thine Father. When thou despiseth thine brother, thou too despiseth thine Father, for it is thine Father's breath that thine brother eateth daily. But when thou learneth the ways of our Father, when once thou proceedeth to dwell with all thine brothers that thou hast met on the way, as thou dost dwell with thineself, thou shalt not be long journeying to His Palace, as it did not take thee long to come unto us."
"We all have gathered here at this time, have gathered in the greatest humbleness, and yet with a joy unexpressible, because of the journey which thou have made. May thine brothers of Earth, when thou hast returned to them, open their minds and their hearts that the knowledge that thou will give unto them of the things that thou hast been privileged to see and to know, may be a feast of strength and faith, and beyond all, love unto all as unto thineself, of a pure heart and a pure mind, as thou thineself hast partaken upon this table."
Now the Saturn man has risen.
"My brothers, I cannot express the joy within my being for your presence here. As you by now do know, I have made the journey to the planet of Councils, the planet of love for all creations, only to be with you. For as you know, I am from the planet known to you as Saturn, largely misunderstood by the Earth men, for some upon your Earth say that we are, because of the name, satanic. Yes, to some we may be so, for we are as just as justice could ever be. We mete out influence of justice to all of the system, and since the Earth men have been disobeying all laws of thine Infinite Father, we have according to justice, given them what they asked for, which has not been pleasant, once they have received it. But when they have awakened through these unpleasant conditions, they will realize the justice of ours. Then the greater blessings from the Central Throne of the Creator will begin to flow unto them and their advancement unto us will become steady. For that reason I came to this planet to speak unto you, for you are forbidden to enter ours until you have proven yourselves to be like all the rest of us. For the advancement in many things is far beyond the dream of Earthly men, which we on planet Saturn have. And should they once learn of these things from us by viewing them, Earth men, in their present state of mind would use it for no good purpose. That is the reason you brothers have not been allowed to enter our ship when it reached the Moon, for there are many things that you could have used for no good purpose. But when you become ready, by living as the Father intended you to live, all these things and more shall be revealed unto you. May the knowledge and the wisdom that you learn on this journey be of writing for the people of Earth. And we shall be waiting for all the Earth people to visit us at some future day, as we have always waited for that time to come."
Now the Jupiter leader gets up.
"I, too, have come to see you, for distance to us is none, for totality is our home in our system in which thine home lies too. We are the Creator's interpreters of law, for from His Throne flows the knowledge and the wisdom unto us that we may in turn give unto those who hunger for it. We are ready at all times to become servants unto the Earthly ones, guiding them if they but let us, to joys and happiness undreamt of by men on Earth. But the unification of thine household must come first. Thine right for servants must be earned. We too have much to give, but what we have, through lack of knowledge and wisdom, can be to the detriment of the children of Earth. But when they have proven themselves worthy, all of the golden gates of thy Father's Heavenly Kingdom shall be opened unto them and the blessings which they shall not be able to count shall be bestowed upon them. But until such a time, we shall wait until man of Earth is ready to be served. May the wisdom and the knowledge that thou hast learned to know in this House of many Mansions be of renewal of the spirit of the Earthly man. For nine times now he has been, through his own conditions, an outcast of the House."
And with this the three of them came around the table and placed their hands upon us and blessed us. We could feel the power go right through each one of us.
Then the whole of the people within the building rise to their feet as one and in unison say, "Brothers of Earth, awaken unto thyself, awaken unto thy Father that thou may come and make His House as one. For up till now the House is complete for all the Mansions within it, with the exception of one, are united unto the Father's will, except thine Mansion of Earth."
And they seat themselves again.
Now the head of Venus has risen once again and says:
"My brothers, we have gathered in the Temple of Councils, which is the House of all thine Houses within which Mansions brothers dwell. For here we have gathered for ages to consult one another in the knowledge received from our Father of His Infinite Kingdom and this is the first time whereby we have sat at the Council Table with a representative of one of the Mansions known as Earth planet. And so therefore, we will open the Book of Secrets within this Planet of Councils to the degree of the understanding nature that ye brethren are endowed with. We, as a House of many Mansions are but just one House of the vast Kingdom within which are countless Houses, each greater than the other. And as the knowledge has been given unto us by the great messenger from thy Father's Throne, that the Kingdom within which are many Houses and within them the many Mansions, is one for His children to know continuous happiness by advancing from one unto the other, which is done by the guidance of His Will and not the will of the form. The will of the form was given unto the form, only to will its will unto the Will that gives it breath, and by so doing become a channel for the Father's expression throughout His vast Kingdom. And the rewards for becoming such a channel, no form can conceive, for they surpass all that a form-will can imagine, for they bring forth the absolute certainty of eternity and the needs for such a manifestation as each moment of eternal time passes. A form that serveth the Will of the Father never knows any sorrows or any wants of any nature, for it is glorified every moment of its being by the Father Himself. This is the purpose of the form-life known as man and the purpose of all form life known in lesser names. What a foolish form they be, acknowledging the Father that gives them birth and eyes to see, and yet provisions for it to be He did not make, as men on Earth today do say. And because all this absolute truth not within him be, he strives for self and supports himself by the law he so made, the survival of the fittest, the only law he can see. And because of this, darkness is where light should be. When asked if he believes in Divinity, by all means, he says, I do. Yet this is not true, for if it was so, he long ago one with us would have been. For we throughout this House do His Will and as one we have come to be, with the exception of the Earth's humanity, where we wish he, the truth did see, that the Will of Divinity was his way. The House would have been complete with lasting happiness among them, instead of conquest and defeat. And this, my brethren, we reveal unto thee in the Temple of Councils, that the whole Infinite Kingdom may someday rejoice when our long lost brothers will mend their ways and forever be allowed to council with us as now."
After finishing this saying he opens a large book lying before him and as he opens it he says, "here is the record of the Earthly men from which they must repent."
And as he said that, the man of Saturn read the page that he turned and he said, "when he does, this is what he will earn," and there on that page promises so great that our human minds could not conceive.
But one thing we did realize that on Earth sorrow would be no more, but happiness everlasting born upon the human kind, coming forth directly from the Hands of the Divine. But this must be earned by faith so firm in the giver Divine that no longer would man say 'this is mine, but what is mine is also thine'.
And with this another page is turned and the Jupiter one speaks.
"This vast Kingdom of our Father Divine is for all and not yours and mine, for great you may say we here at present be, but we just have begun to serve Divinity. For billions of Earthly years are just but a fleeting moment in the eternal span, which realization awaits the Earthly man. And his mind at the present date, is nothing but in a slumbering state, which accounts for no faith in the Giver of life for all his needs each day. And when the Earthly brethren have learned this well, and serve as all the rest within the House do serve, they will no longer be the two, but all as one, for one is all there is. For we as forms could not be, without His Holy Breath be given unto you and me."
And with this the book was closed.
We ask if we can say something. We really didn't ask. We thought we would like to ask and the privilege has been granted without us saying a word, for the answer from them came as the question was in our own minds.
"How come in the gatherings so far we have been given the philosophy of life, some more deep than others?"
The Jupiter man is answering our question, saying that unless we learn these ways and do them as they are done throughout the Kingdom of the Infinite Father, we too are doomed to go as other civilizations that preceded us have gone. That the "advancement in mechanical instruments which are mostly used for destructive purposes on Earth is no advancement toward eternity but rather the satisfaction of egotistical men who are trying, and in some cases have done so, exalting themselves even above the Creator's consciousness. They are living by the law of conquest rather than the law of faith, not trusting to the Divine Father who gives them birth for their daily needs, but rather providing for themselves, making that way sure that they would have, while not sure that the Father would provide. Having the inherited birthright within their being of the Infinite Father which is above all things, yet not understanding what the feeling actually is, they are trying to exalt themselves above their fellow man, one over another, and thereby enslaving one another unto their will."
"That is the reason for us giving you the philosophy of the House of our Father by which all its inhabitants do live. If thou art to become one of us, thou too must live this philosophy."
There is no clapping nor noise making here at the completion of these speeches, but rather an intense feeling of joy and reverence and oneness.
Now all at our table have risen and we are leaving this Temple of Councils. We have stopped just outside the building to admire the beauties we are able to see from here.
We must say that we have seen some beautiful and magnificent things up to this point and we have used the word indescribable before, but how we can describe what we are seeing here is puzzling us right now, for the beauty of this city and its inhabitants excels anything and everything we have thus far seen.
The people here seem to know what we are about to say before we say it. If one doesn't want them to know what he is thinking, he had better quit thinking, that is if he can do it. That is all we can say. They not only know the human mind, but they are able to commune with all other forms as well. They seem to be living by a feeling. That is correct, for in response to our thought one of the men explains that feeling is the universal language. This we have acknowledged before.
"This is the way it works," he tells us, which we can easily understand. "Before you can express a thought, you must feel it first. And let me explain this word 'feeling' just a little better, what it might be like. It is sort of an alertness of what the thought represents. For an example: you conceive a thought. That thought is actually felt by you in the full representation of what it might be. Then you give utterance to it, which is thought expressed of your own language. And that is the way our people here are schooled. We feel your thought as you feel it, the moment that you conceive it. In that way we can commune with any and all forms, and distance as space is not a barrier to it. For you see, a conscious thought travels fifty times faster than light travels. In this way we don't have to do much sound talking since we get each other's thought in the virgin state when it is first conceived. This is why our city and everything about it, including all of our people are beyond your power of word description. For these are all a representation, more, they are all a virgin thought, and since thought is felt, our expressing through the feeling channel of which you men from Earth have such little understanding, makes you feel that the buildings, the statues, in fact all of man's creations on this planet are endowed with a feeling, almost as if they were humans. In other words they are endowed with life that seems to be emanating from them to you. This is easily understood since the thought was a feeling and created as a feeling in creating that thought into form."
Here we are shown by one of the ladies, we would say around nineteen years of age, how this form of communication works, for she walked up to a beautiful flower growing here in front of this building and had the flower, through thought feeling, turn completely around in a circle and then made it bow and even went so far as to command its petals to close for us. On Earth we would call this magic. Here it is a natural field of expression, a communion with all forms of creation.
She tells us that, "if you on Earth would develop that inherent quality within you and had full faith in it, you could have a communication with us or with others in any part of the universe at will. People here use this method of communication throughout the system as well as among ourselves. If we want to meet someone someplace or tell him something, where you Earthly people use telephones, we use our minds and it never fails. We even use this same channel of feeling to the extent that we listen to the beautiful symphonies on other planets in any part of the universe and there are many other powers that we exercise which are a natural inheritance of man, of which you Earth men as yet have no knowledge."
These people on Venus are very remarkable people. They seem to look right through us. They know us from the very minute part of us and no matter how bad they find us to be, due to our method of bringing up, they still look upon us in a very loving manner. They don't seem to hold anything against us regardless of our lower thoughts, and we know that they know what we are thinking by this time. Also we know that once in a while a thought creeps into our minds that is not of their standard. And realizing what they know makes us kind of feel ashamed of ourselves, but they don't show any recognition of it.
We learn that the unity of living and serving among all inhabitants is pretty much the same as we found on Mars and even on the Moon.
The life span here is one thousand to fifteen hundred years and they tell us that some have lived longer than that. Aging begins around eight hundred years yet their aging would be our youth on Earth.
The mothers look no different regardless of the size of their families, than a young lady does. They always maintain their beautiful forms.
There is no kind of sickness nor unhappiness on this planet any more than on any of the others. They really don't know the words 'bad health'. Neither do they know anything of such words as 'envy', 'jealousy', 'hate' or 'greed'.
Now we are getting into the vehicle of transportation in which we were brought to this building and we are going for a tour of the city.
The city, homes, playgrounds and even their amusements are beyond imagination of men on Earth. You will have to see it to believe it, but they really do appear like a fairyland in the clouds.
The whole utility system of the planet is operated by light energy, we are told.
In the city and in the homes they dress with gorgeous, gown-like effects but very light, almost transparent. The people themselves are almost that.
They are all remarkable singers, voices like we have never heard anywhere and they sing a lot. The most beautiful part of it is that when they sing the whole nature seems to join them, for here in the park right now there must be five thousand voices singing for us and all the birds are in on it too, just as if they were trained.
There seems to be about six different races of people on this planet but we are told that there are twelve. No race predominates over the other. The forms, you might say, are a perfect geometrical pattern. The complexion of the white people is not the kind of dirty white we have on Earth, but pure white with a rose cast to it, like on their cheeks, just as if they were painted. Most of the white people have light sandy hair, very fine at that and all seem to be wavy.
One of the other races is somewhat like our complexion, a little darker than the real whites are. On Earth we would call it a ruddy complexion.
Then there is a brown race. This brown race is slightly shorter in height than the whites and their coloring is almost of a bronze color.
There is another race we see around here. These people are reddish color, almost copper, tall, firmly built.
And we are told that up in the southern part there are some whites but mostly they are darker people, almost black, and that their eyes slant a little, while the eyes of the people here are very much like our own.
From what we have seen thus far on Mars and here, as well as on the Moon, it seems that the geometrical pattern of the human form is universal, the only variations is in height, taller or shorter. Birds and animals too are pretty much of a universal pattern. These vary in color and size sometimes quite a bit from those on Earth.
Right here on Venus they seem to have more singing birds than we have on Earth or than we have seen anywhere else so far.
We asked if there are any wild beasts of any kind?
They ask, "what do you mean, primitive animals?" And then replied that there were many of them.
So we asked if they ever harm anybody?
They said, "no, there has never been anyone harmed by anything yet." They added that a Divine creation harms nothing if it is not ignored.
Then we asked if they ever do any hunting or anything like that?
They didn't know what that was even, that is they didn't know what the word meant, but they did get our thought and said, "by hunting you mean killing. We don't do such things here. What we must eat we get and no more, but every time we do, we thank the Creator for the gift in the form it gives itself unto us."
We haven't seen any large manufacturing plants of any kind or anything that would suggest it, but they tell us there are many, but the manufacturing places, we would call them factories, are built just as beautiful as homes or business buildings, so we couldn't tell them apart.
They tell us they have nine oceans, many lakes and rivers, majestic, towering mountains and very beautiful woodlands. On their oceans they have very large ships. For overland transportation they have a system similar to our railways but since they use light for energy, they need no rails for their cars as we do. The power engine pulls thirty to forty cars, what we would call cars, yet they don't look like any that we have. They seem to be gliding right over the surface of the ground. In other words they have all the modern conveniences so far ahead of us that we haven't even begun.
The atmosphere here is very, very pleasant. This day, according to our own thermometer which we have with us, the temperature registers ninety-seven degrees. At first, as we mentioned, it was a little stuffy because of the heat and the rain that had come just before we landed here. The humidity is around ten on the average but at times it goes up to eighty. That is when it is really stifling, yet they don't mind at all.
In other words, everything is so beautiful here that we begin to think this might be heaven.
But again our thoughts are read for they tell us that there are billions of solar system beyond this one, and each solar system is greater than the one preceding it, so that when man goes through all the phases of our system and learns what he is supposed to learn in our system, he goes on to the next one and forever keeps on going that way eternally, from system to system.
They tell us that many great souls of Earth have been reborn on one or the other planets, depending on what they have learned while they were on Earth in reference to the universal life.
We are now taken to one of their art galleries. In an outer room quite a number of artists are at work but they are so engrossed in their creations that they don't even know we are present. And the art seems to be something out of any world, for remember planet Mars is also a world. A sculptor or a painter seems to put his whole life into whatever he is doing. Art seems to be their favorite occupation. There is no honorship given in any field of endeavor whether it be art or anything else. The main object of art seems to be the service that is rendered unto the people in a steady advancement.
The structural pattern of their pictures and statues do not vary from those of Earth or any other planet within our system. The difference lies in their method of living, for they feel and portray living feeling in all that they create. Their unit life of service to all is the reason for their great advancement beyond that of the Earth's inhabitants.
We enter a large domed gallery. Around the walls are paintings so real that we think we must be looking through windows to vast panoramas beyond. In the center of the room are statues that appear to be made of marble, but they are radiant with life animation. Here is a young mother holding an infant child in her arms. At one knee stands a small child and upon her lap is an open book. Across the top of the pages is embossed "The Universal Life." Her lips are parted and her eyes cast upon the book. The young child portrays the simplicity of love and adoration.
Now we stand before a statue of a young male child. It resembles in features the portrayals of the Deity that we have seen; here is innocence and purity combined with wisdom.
There is a figure made of gold, of a workman fashioning tools. Even this form seems alive and gives the feeling of moulding the foundation structure of the Universe.
Every phase of human expression is represented here, dancing, music, literature and drama. This is not a gallery of statues: it is an exposition of life's natural functioning.
Even their worshipping is superior to all worshipping by man on Earth.
The slight difference of atmospheric conditions which we have found here would not be a barrier to any of the Earth's people, should they be allowed to enter and stay. It might call for a little time of adjustment, but that could be made quite easily.
As we have stated before, the form pattern seems to be universal. And that is not only in the human form, but we speak of all forms, except that as we view these planets finding each one ahead of the other in advancement, so each is ahead of the other in the quality of form structure, which seems to have a tendency towards perfection, making towards its ultimate beauty, which is incomprehensible.
We are now returning to the airport where we are to be taken up in one of their ships to fly over some of their territory. We have reached the airport and are going to the ship we are to fly in. It is much smaller than the Martonian ship we came here in. This Venetian ship is a cruiser type and built purposely for this kind of cruising. We are entering it now and find in here the most luxuriously comfortable seats. This is more of an observation type ship since it is all glass, or some material like glass, where we can see below us and to the sides and above us.
The takeoff of this ship too was so smooth that we didn't know we were moving except as we saw the ground moving away from beneath us, and as with all these ships, there was absolutely no noise. We are now cruising very slowly, viewing the city from five hundred feet above it and let us say again that it actually appears as though it was so many castles floating on a cloud, very neat and clean, actually spotless.
We have turned and are now heading for one of the oceans. We have reached it and are flying along its shore. There are many people on the beach enjoying their outing. This beach seems to be of very white sand which looks like salt and is very beautiful. Accommodations for bathers and outers, or what we might call picnickers are all along the shore. These are beautifully crowned with a magnificent display of flowers of different colors as well as different kinds of shrubs.
"We will now show you some of our planet's majestic mountains. That which you see in the distance is snow and the temperature gets as low as eighty degrees below zero in that region." There are many beautiful valleys between these mountains, all very fertile.
The rural life, like that of their farmers is a settlement of a hamlet-like nature where schools and everything are within this settlement. Here they have all the conveniences of any large city, yet they are not crowded. The pattern of the land in layout is a circle formation and in each section like this, we are told, there are from fifty to one hundred families. Each family possesses its own parcel of land and home. The back yard, as we may say here, is the beginning of their acreage. The acreage is uniform, consisting of what would be twenty-five Earthly acres. By this method, the inhabitants are just as well off as anyone in the city could be. In fact better in some cases since they have a lot more territory on which to live.
The farm houses, as we might call them, are built around the hub of business or where the stores and shops are that carry all their needs. Also here are schools and places of worship as well as scientific laboratories, plus their exchange warehouses, parks and places of amusement. Let us give you some idea how it is built. You picture a wagon wheel. The hub represents the business section. A short distance from the hub is a circling row of homes of the so-called farmers. Back of their homes toward the rim of the wheel is their land, equivalent to twenty-five acres each. The spokes in the wheel represents a division of land.
During the season of sowing or harvesting they work as a unit helping one another. This sort of a layout, we are told, keeps their producing community close together enabling the people of the community to enjoy the things of life as the people in the city do. At the same time this plan makes the maintenance of utilities practically nil, due to its concentration at one point, whereas in scattered farming communities the utilities such as these are impossible to have, and yet if had, much time and material are wasted. On Earth it is costly.
In this little valley over which we are flying there are eight such communities. In other valleys there are communities much larger than these. They are all closely concentrated yet not crowded. The purpose is that they may all enjoy life equally. And we learn that not only on Venus but pretty much the same system operates on Mars and other planets, some a little more in advancement than others as they are each ahead of the other.
We are now flying over a section of very level land not far out from the city. Here there are twenty-five such units operating.
We have asked the question now in reference to the population of planet Venus. There are two and a half billion people, including all races, while Saturn has four and a half billion and Jupiter has five billion.
Now we are swinging out a little farther over the mountains. This is in the southern part of Venus. Here are some majestic mountains covered with beautiful foliage and much timber. We see a large waterfall coming out of one of the crevices where two mountains join in a V-like shape. At the widest part of the V is a very nice settlement. We are told it is an outing place, what we would call on Earth, a resort. It seems to be made up of materials gathered from these mountains, very artistic. In the distance not far from this resort, we would say about half a mile, there is a beautiful blue lake. There seem to be some people around, a good many of them and they seem to be fishing.
As we swing back towards the city, from this height we see another settlement. It looks like a city but we are told it is what we would call a small town in the Earth language, and there is a river close by.
We are now over the city again travelling over a very large and beautiful park. We are returning to the airport and are about to come in for a landing. We have landed.
We haven't spoken all this time in reference to the time we have been in Venus. We have been so taken up with the beautiful things here that we forgot to mention this. We have been here three days and three nights but now it is the morning of the fourth day and we are leaving soon on our return trip to Mars.
The first night we rested very peacefully.
The second night we were entertained at a big banquet with a dance afterward. Here all such entertainment is open to the citizenry as a whole, so many of the citizens were enjoying themselves at what we would call a dance, except the dancing on this planet is of an art nature. Each movement of the dance has a meaning of life in it and it is very graceful. If such were to take place on Earth it could be seen only in amusement houses like theatres.
The afternoon of the third day we spent with a gathering of Venetian scientists where many things have been talked about, and especially the purpose of life, like that of human and the billions upon billions of systems through which the humans now on the different planets in our system will pass. And that each system varies slightly from all the others, just as each planet in each system varies from all other planets, in that system. It was brought out that no where in the vast universe that they have thus far penetrated have they found an exact duplication. There is much similarity but infinite variety. It seems that the whole thing sums up into one, and that is like a vast university of endless numbers of grades.
And they really did give us a laugh in a good natured way of course, when they told us that we are so far back and that we have become so egotistical through that unenlightened mind of ours that we believe our planet to be the only one inhabited by human form in the whole unlimited universe which is made up of an eternal number of systems.
One of the scientists spoke up and said, "if you knew your Creator as well at heart as you speak of Him with your lips, you would not belittle Him such as that, that He would create such a vast kingdom and yet place His children in the darkest corner of it, leaving the greatest and most beautiful part of it vacant. It is just as if an Earthly man would build a castle of one thousand rooms only to keep it standing empty while his children would be kept living in a deteriorating dwelling. No, my brothers, the Creator is wiser than the Earthly man gives Him credit for being."
This discussion with these wise men had lasted for many hours and much was talked about that gave us increasingly greater revelations of ourselves and all forms as merely channels of service through which the Creator is able to express Himself to the degree in which we, the keepers of our forms, keep the channel open for His expressing. So much of this was given through feeling, somewhat like an awakening, that we are unable to put it down in words, but our hosts informed us that as we thought along these lines, words would be given us that we may pass our revelations on to our brothers on Earth after we had returned to them. Also that as our brothers thought along these lines, with a sincere desire in their hearts to know and to serve their Father, revelations of beauty beyond words would be given to each that he too might grow and travel throughout the Father's vast kingdom.
Finally the meeting with the scientists came to an end. From this meeting we were taken to our dwelling to rest up a little and then to be the guests of the head of Venus for the evening. He was giving an open banquet in our honor as in the morning we were departing for Mars.
So here is early morning. We are taking what little luggage we had with us and are being taken to the airport.
The head of Venus, the man from Saturn and the one from Jupiter, along with two of the leading scientists of Venus are escorting us to the ship. We have now arrived at the ship and are being wished the best of journeys back to Earth by all of these men. They tell us that as one, they sincerely hope we will be able to do some good with the little philosophy of our neighbors that we have been given throughout our trip and that the people of Earth will apply it so that they can become one with the rest of the system as a harmonious unit of the House, towards progress. For the fulfilling of the purpose of life cannot be made without this philosophy, even though there be progress made in the opposite direction.
They all bid us well and said that they will be in contact with us, though we may not know it, and watching the best they know how over us to see that we will successfully return to Earth.
"The only token that you will take from us is what you have learned of us. But the most outstanding of all, which shall make your return journey still a greater success, is that which you have learned of the kind of ship that it will take to bring you here without the help of the Martonians or anyone else. And we do hope that you alter your ways and come here as one of us, for any planet in the House is as much yours as it is ours, without conquest, for it is all the Divine Father's and we are all His children."
Then they shook our hands and we entered the ship. The doors of the ship are closed and we are taking off on the start of our return trip to planet Mars.