PETEThe last Horse in Harness in theStreets of New YorkDied on this SpotJune 19th, 2096 A.D.
PETEThe last Horse in Harness in theStreets of New YorkDied on this SpotJune 19th, 2096 A.D.
"The poor thing," she said, "it looks so pitiful, doesn't it? To think that once the poor dumb animals were made to labor! It is much better nowadays with electricity doing all the work."
Ralph smiled at this very feminine remark. It was like her, he thought tenderly, to feel sympathy for even this former beast of burden.
As they turned to leave the pedestal, the girl made an involuntary shrinking movement toward him. He looked up and saw, advancing toward them on Tele-motor-coasters, a tall dark man, a little younger than himself. The newcomer ignoring Ralph utterly, rolled up to Alice.
"So you are enjoying the sights of New York," he said, with no other greeting, and with a disagreeable smile on his lips.
"Yes," said the girl coldly, "Iwasenjoying them, very much."
He bit his under lip in an annoyed fashion, and a dull flush mounted to his hair. "I told you I'd follow you if you ran away," he said in a lower tone.
Ralph, unable to catch the words, but reading a menace in the fellow's look, stepped forward. Alice turned to him eagerly and put her hand on his arm.
"What is next on our program, Ralph?" she asked in aclear voice, while at the same time she pressed his wrist with her fingers as a signal for him to go on.
As if Fernand had not existed, she moved away, her hand still on Ralph's arm. "Please, please," she murmured as he would have turned back.
"That fellow needs his head punched," muttered Ralph savagely.
"Don't make a scene—I just couldn't bear it," she pleaded. Looking down at her he saw that she was on the verge of tears.
"I'm sorry," he said gently.
"I'm so ashamed," she said pathetically, "what must you think!"
"That I should go back and knock his head off," said Ralph. "But if you ask me not to, I won't. I suppose that was Fernand?"
She looked at him in astonishment. "Doyouknow him?"
"Your father told me."
"Oh," she said, troubled, "father shouldn't have done that. But I suppose he was afraid of a meeting of this sort."
"How long has he been following you around?"
"Oh, for ages, it seems. Really, about a year. I never liked him, but lately he's been perfectly horrid, and acts in such a threatening way—you saw him. I can't see why he should take the trouble to annoy anyone who loathes him as I do. But let's forget it. We have had such a wonderful day that I don't want it spoiled." And then timidly, with downcast eyes: "I called you Ralph. You must have thought me very forward, but I wanted him to think—"
She stopped suddenly, and in confusion. And then, hernatural gaiety coming to her rescue: "Heavens, the more I say, the worse I make it, don't I?"
"It sounded fine to me," said Ralph, falling in with her mood, "I hope you will always call me that."
And laughing together they rolled on.
FOOTNOTES:[2]72° Fahrenheit.
FOOTNOTES:
[2]72° Fahrenheit.
[2]72° Fahrenheit.
5
NEW YORK A.D. 2660
Being much interested in sports, she desired to know presently how the modern New Yorker kept himself in condition and for his answer Ralph stopped at a corner and they entered a tall, flat-roofed building. They took off their coasters, stepped into the electromagnetic elevator and ascended the fifty odd stories in a few seconds. At the top, they found a large expanse on which were stationed dozens of flyers of all sizes. There was a continuous bustle of departing and arriving aerial flyers and of people alighting and departing.
As soon as Ralph and Alice appeared a dozen voices began to call: "Aerocab, sir, Aerocab, this way please!" Ralph, ignoring them, walked over to a two-seated flyer and assisted his companion to the seat; he then seated himself and said briefly to the "driver," "National Playgrounds." The machine, which was very light and operated entirely by electricity, was built of metal throughout; it shot up into the air with terrific speed and then took a northeasterly direction at a rate of ten miles per minute, or 600 miles per hour.
From the great height at which they were flying it was not hard to point out the most interesting structures, towers, bridges, and wonders of construction deemed impossible several centuries ago.
In less than ten minutes they had arrived at the National Playgrounds. They alighted on an immense platform and Ralph, leading Alice to the edge, where they could see the entire playgrounds, said:
"These National Playgrounds were built by the city in 2490, at the extreme eastern end of what used to be Long Island, a few miles from Montauk.[3]An immense area had been fitted up for all kinds of sports, terrestrial and aquatic as well as aerial. These municipal playgrounds are the finest in the world and represent one of New York's greatest achievements. The City Government supplied all the various sport paraphernalia and every citizen has the right to use it, by applying to the lieutenants in charge of the various sections.
"There are playgrounds for the young as well as for the old, grounds for men, grounds for the women, grounds for babies to romp about in. There are hundreds of baseball fields, thousands of tennis courts, and uncounted football fields and golf links. It never rains, it is never too hot, it is never too cold. The grounds are open every day in the year, from seven in the morning till eleven at night. After sunset, the grounds and fields are lighted by thousands of iridium wire spirals, for those who have to work in the daytime.
"As a matter of fact all the great baseball, tennis, and football contests are held after sundown. The reason is apparent. During the daytime, with the sun shining, there is always one team which has an advantage over the other, on account of the light being in their eyes. In the evening, however, with the powerful, stationary lightoverhead, each team has the same conditions and the game can be played more fairly and more accurately."[4]
Ralph and his companion strolled about the immense grounds watching the players and it was not long before he discovered that she, like himself, was enthusiastic about tennis. He asked her if she would care to play a game with him and she acquiesced eagerly.
They walked over to the dressing building where Ralph kept his own sport clothes. Since the girl had no tennis shoes, he secured a pair for her in the Arcade, and they sauntered over to one of the courts.
In the game that followed, Ralph, an expert at tennis, was too engrossed in the girl to watch his game. Consequently, he was beaten from start to finish. He did not see the ball, and scarcely noticed the net. His eyes were constantly on Alice, who, indeed, made a remarkably pretty picture. She flung herself enthusiastically into her game, as she did with everything else that interested her. She was the true sport-lover, caring little whether she won or not, loving the game for the game itself.
Her lovely face was flushed with the exercise, and her hair curled into damp little rings, lying against her neck and cheeks in soft clusters. Her eyes, always bright, shone like stars. Now and again they met Ralph's in gay triumph as she encountered a difficult ball.
He had never imagined that anyone could be so graceful. Her lithe and flexible figure was seen to its best advantage in this game requiring great agility.
Ralph, under this bombardment of charms, was spellbound. He played mechanically, and, it must be admitted,wretchedly. And he was so thoroughly and abjectly in love that he did not care. To him, but one thing mattered. He knew that unless he could have Alice life itself would not matter to him.
He felt that he would gladly have lost a hundred games when she at last flung down her racket, crying happily: "Oh, I won, I won, didn't I?"
"You certainly did," he cried. "You were wonderful!"
"I'm a little bit afraid you let me win," she pouted. "It really wasn't fair of you."
"You were fine," he declared. "I was hopelessly outclassed from the beginning. You have no idea how beautiful you were," he went on, impulsively. "More beautiful than I ever dreamed anyone could be."
Before his ardent eyes she drew back a little, half pleased, half frightened, and not a little confused.
Sensing her embarrassment he instantly became matter-of-fact.
"Now," he said, "I am going to show you the source of New York's light and power."
A few minutes later, after both had changed their shoes, they were again seated in an aerocab and a twenty minute journey brought them well into the center of what was formerly New York state.
They alighted on an immense plain on which twelve monstrous Meteoro-Towers, each 1,500 feet high, were stationed. These towers formed a hexagon inside of which were the immenseHelio-Dynamophores, or Sun-power-generators.
The entire expanse, twenty kilometers square, was covered with glass. Underneath the heavy plate glass squares were the photo-electric elements which transformed thesolar heatdirectinto electric energy.
The photo-electric elements, of which there were 400 to each square meter, were placed in large movable metal cases, each case containing 1,600 photo-electric units.
Each metal case in turn was movable, and mounted on a kind of large tripod in such a manner that each case from sunrise to sunset presented its glass plate directly to the sun. The rays of the sun, consequently, struck the photo-electric elements always vertically, never obliquely. A small electric motor inside of the tripod moved the metal case so as to keep the plates always facing the sun.
In order that one case might not take away the light from the one directly behind it, all cases were arranged in long rows, each sufficiently far away from the one preceding it. Thus shadows from one row could not fall on the row behind it.
At sunrise, all cases would be almost vertical, but at this time very little current was generated. One hour after sunrise, the plant was working to its full capacity; by noon all cases would be in a horizontal position, and by sunset, they again would be in an almost vertical position, in the opposite direction, however, from that of the morning. The plant would work at its full capacity until one hour before sunset.
Each case generated about one hundred and twenty kilowatts almost as long as the sun was shining, and it is easily understood what an enormous power the entire plant could generate. In fact, this plant supplied all the power, light, and heat for entire New York. One-half of the plant was for day use, while the other half during daytime charged the chemical gas-accumulators for night use.
In 1909 Cove of Massachusetts invented a thermo-electric Sun-power-generator which could deliver ten volts and six amperes, or one-sixtieth kilowatt in a space of twelve square feet. Since that time inventors by the score had busied themselves to perfect solar generators, but it was not until the year 2469 that the Italian 63A 1243 invented the photo-electric cell, which revolutionized the entire electrical industry. This Italian discovered that by derivatives of the Radium-M class, in conjunction with Tellurium and Arcturium, a photo-electric element could be produced which was strongly affected by the sun's ultra-violet rays and in this condition was able to transform heatdirectinto electrical energy, without losses of any kind.
After watching the enormous power plant for a time Alice remarked:
"We, of course, have similar plants across the water but I have never seen anything of such magnitude. It is really colossal. But what gives the sky above such a peculiar black tint?"
"In order not to suffer too great losses from atmospheric disturbances," Ralph explained, "the twelve giant Meteoro-Towers which you notice are working with full power as long as the plant is in operation. Thus a partial vacuum is produced above the plant and the air consequently is very thin. As air ordinarily absorbs an immense amount of heat, it goes without saying that the Helio-Dynamophore plant obtains an immensely greater amount of heat when the air above is very clear and thin. In the morning the towers direct their energy toward the East in order to clear the atmosphere to a certain extent, and in the afternoon their energy is directed toward the Westfor the same purpose. For this reason, this plant furnishes fully thirty per cent more energy than others working in ordinary atmosphere."
As it was growing late they returned to the city, traversing the distance to Ralph's home in less than ten minutes.
Alice's father arrived a few minutes later, and she told him of the delightful time she had had in the company of their distinguished host.
Shortly after they had dined that evening Ralph took his guests down to hisTele-Theater. This large room had a shallow stage at one end, with proscenium arch and curtain, such as had been in use during the whole history of the drama. At the rear of the room were scattered a number of big upholstered chairs.
When they had seated themselves, Ralph gave Alice a directory of the plays and operas that were being presented that night.
"Oh, I see they are playing the French comic opera,La Normande, at the National Opera tonight," she exclaimed. "I have heard and read much of it. I should like to hear it so much."
"With the greatest of pleasure," Ralph replied. "In fact, I have not heard it myself. My laboratory has kept me so busy, that I have missed the Opera several times already. There are only two performances a week now."
He walked over to a large switchboard from which hung numerous cords and plugs. He inserted one of the plugs into a hole labeled "National Opera." He then manipulated several levers and switches and seated himself again with his guests.
In a moment, a gong sounded, and the lights weregradually dimmed. Immediately afterward, the orchestra began the overture.
A great number of loud-speaking telephones were arranged near the stage, and the acoustics were so good that it was hard to realize that the music originated four miles away at the National Opera House.
When the overture was over, the curtain rose on the first act. Directly behind it several hundred especially constructed Telephots were arranged in such a manner as to fill out the entire space of the shallow stage. These telephots were connected in series and were all joined together so cleverly that no break or joint was visible in the rear part of the stage. The result was that all objects on the distant stage of the National Opera were projected full size on the composite Telephot plates on the Tele-Theater stage. The illusion was so perfect in all respects that it was extremely hard to imagine that the actors on the Telephot stage were not real flesh and blood. Each voice could be heard clearly and distinctly, because the transmitters were close to the actors at all times and it was not necessary to strain the ear to catch any passages.
Between the acts Ralph explained that each New York playhouse now had over 200,000 subscribers and it was as easy for the Berlin and Paris subscribers to hear and see the play as for the New York subscriber. On the other hand, he admitted that the Paris and Berlin as well as the London playhouses had a large number of subscribers, local as well as long distance, but New York's subscription list was by far the largest.
"Can you imagine," mused Alice, "how the people in former centuries must have been inconvenienced when they wished to enjoy a play? I was reading only the otherday how they had to prepare themselves for the theater hours ahead of time. They had to get dressed especially for the occasion and even went so far as to have different clothes in which to attend theaters or operas. And then they had to ride or perhaps walk to the playhouse itself. Then the poor things, if they did not happen to like the production, had either to sit all through it or else go home. They probably would have rejoiced at the ease of our Tele-Theaters, where we can switch from one play to another in five seconds, until we find the one that suits us best.
"Nor could their sick people enjoy themselves seeing a play, as we can now. I know when I broke my ankle a year ago, I actually lived in the Tele-Theater. I cannot imagine how I could have dragged through those dreary six weeks in bed without a new play each night. Life must have been dreadful in those days!"
"Yes, you are right," Ralph said. "Neither could they have imagined in their wildest dreams the spectacle I witnessed a few days ago.
"I happened to be passing this room and I heard such uproarious laughter that I decided to see what caused it all. Entering unnoticed, I found my ten-year-old nephew 'entertaining' half-a-dozen of his friends. The little rascal had plugged into a matinee performance of 'Romeo and Juliet' playing at the 'Broadway'—in English of course. He then plugged in at the same time intoDer Spitzbub, a farce playing that evening in Berlin, and to this, for good measure, he addedRigolettoin Italian, playing at the 'Gala' in Milan.
"The effect was of course horrible. Most of the time, nothing but a Babel of voices and music could be heard;but once in a while a single voice broke through the din, followed immediately by another one in a different language. The funniest incident was when, at the 'Broadway,' Juliet called:Romeo, Romeo, where art thou, Romeo?, and a heavy comedian at the Berlin Theatre howled:Mir ist's Wurst, schlagt ihn tot!
"Of course, everything on the stage was blurred most of the time, but once in a while extremely ludicrous combinations resulted between some of the actors at the various theaters, which were greeted with an uproar by the youngsters."
As he concluded the anecdote the curtain rose once more, and the audience of three settled back to enjoy the second act of the opera.
Later, when it was all over, they went down to the street floor at Ralph's suggestion, where they put on their Tele-motor-coasters, preparatory to seeing more of New York—this time by night.
The party proceeded to roll down Broadway, the historic thoroughfare of New York. Despite the fact that it was 11 o'clock at night, the streets were almost as light as at noonday. They were illuminated brilliantly by the iridium spirals, hanging high above the crossings. These spirals gave forth a pure, dazzling-white light of the same quality as sunlight. This light moreover was absolutely cold, as all electrical energy was transformed into light, none being lost in heat. Not a street was dark—not even the smallest alley.
James 212B 422, as well as his daughter, lingered over the superb displays in the various stores and they entered several to make a few purchases. Alice was much impressed with the automatic-electric packing machines.
The clerk making the sale placed the purchased articles on a metal platform. He then pushed several buttons on a small switchboard, which operated the "size" apparatus to obtain the dimensions of the package. After the last button was pressed, the platform rose about two feet, till it disappeared into a large metal, box-like contrivance. In about ten to fifteen seconds it came down again bearing on its surface a neat white box with a handle at the top,all in one piece. The box was not fastened with any strings or tape, but was folded in an ingenious manner so that it could not open of its own accord. Moreover, it was made ofAlohydrolium, which is the lightest of all metals, being one-eighth the weight of aluminum.
The automatic packing machine could pack anything from a small package a few inches square up to a box two feet high by three feet long. It made the box to suit the size of the final package, placed the articles together, packed them into the box which was not yet finished, folded the box after the handle had been stamped out, stenciled the firm's name on two sides and delivered it completely packed, all within ten to fifteen seconds.
The box could either be taken by the purchaser or the clerk would stencil the customer's name and address into the handle, place a triangular packet-post stamp on the box and drop it into a chute beside the counter. It was carried down into thePacket-Post Conveyor, which was from seventy-five to one hundred feet below the level of the street, where it landed on a belt-like arrangement moving at the rate of five miles an hour. The action was entirely automatic and the chute was arranged with an automatic shutter which would only open when there was no package immediately below on the moving belt. Thisprecluded the possibility of packages tumbling on top of each other and in this way blocking the conveyor tube.
When the package had landed on the conveyor belt it traveled to the nearestdistributor office, where the post office clerk would take it from the belt and see if it was franked correctly. The stamp was then machine cancelled and after the clerk had noted the address he routed it to the sub-station nearest to the addressee's home. Next he clamped onto the package an automatic metal "rider" which was of a certain height, irrespective of the size of the package.
The package with its rider was placed on an express conveyor belt traveling at the rate of 25 miles an hour. This express belt, bearing the package, moved at an even speed, and never stopping, passed numerous sub-stations on the way. At the correct sub-station the rider came against a contact device stretching across the belt at right angles, at a certain height. This contact arrangement closed the circuit of a powerful electromagnet placed in the same line with the contact, a few feet away from the express belt. The electromagnet acted immediately on the metal package (Alohydrolium is a magnetic metal), drawing it in a flash into the sub-station from the belt. If there was another package right behind the one so drawn out, it was handled in the same manner.
After the package had arrived at the sub-station it was despatched to its final destination. Another rider was attached to it and the package placed on a local conveyor belt passing by the house to which it was addressed. On arriving at the correct address its rider would strike the contact overhead, which operated the electromagnet, pulling the package into the basement of the house,where it fell on the platform of an electric dumb-waiter. The dumb-waiter started upward automatically and the package was delivered at once.
By this method a package could be delivered in the average space of forty minutes from the time of purchase. Some packages could be delivered in a much shorter time and others which had to travel to the city limits took much longer.
"How wonderful!" Alice exclaimed after Ralph had explained the system. "It must have taken decades to build such a stupendous system."
"No, not quite," was the reply. "It was built gradually by an enormous number of workers. The tubes are even now extended almost daily to keep pace with the growth of the city."
From the stores Ralph took his guests to the roof of an aerocab stand and they boarded a fast flyer.
"Take us about 10,000 feet up," Ralph instructed the driver.
"You haven't much time," the man answered, "at 12 o'clock all cabs must be out of the air."
"Why?"
"Today is the 15th of September, the night of the aerial carnival, and it's against the law to go up over New York until it's all over. You have twenty-five minutes left, however, if you wish to go up."
"I forgot all about this aerial carnival," said Ralph, "but twenty-five minutes will be time enough for us if you speed up your machine."
The aerial flyer rose quickly and silently. The objects below seemed to shrink in size and within three minutes the light became fainter.
In ten minutes an altitude of twelve thousand feet had been reached, and as it became too cold, Ralph motioned to the driver not to rise further.
The spectacle below them was indescribably beautiful. As far as the eye could see was a broad expanse studded with lights, like a carpet embroidered with diamonds. Thousands of aerial craft, their powerful searchlights sweeping the skies, moved silently through the night, and once in a while an immense transatlantic aerial liner would swish by at a tremendous speed.
Most beautiful of all, as well as wonderful, were theSignalizers. Ralph pointed them out to his guests, saying:
"In the first period of aerial navigation large electric lamps forming figures and letters were placed on housetops, and in open fields that the aerial craft above might better find their destinations. To the traffic flying 5,000 feet or higher such signals were wholly inadequate, as they could not be correctly read at such a distance. Hence the signalizers. These are powerful searchlights of the most advanced type, mounted on special buildings. They are trained skyward and shoot a powerful shaft of light directly upward. No aerial craft is allowed to cross these light shafts. Each shaft gives a different signal; thus the signalizer in Herald Square is first white; in ten seconds it changes to red and in another ten seconds it becomes yellow. Even an aerial liner at sea can recognize the signal and steer directly into the Herald Square pier, without being obliged to hover over the city in search of it. Some signalizers have only one color, flashing from time to time. Others more important use two searchlights at one time, like the one at Sandy Hook. This signalizer has two light shafts, one green and one red; these do notchange colors, nor do they light periodically."
From on high Ralph's guests marveled at these signalizers, which pierced the darkness all around them. It was a wonderful sight and the weird beauty of the colored shafts thrilled Alice immeasurably.
"Oh, it is like a Fairyland," she exclaimed. "I could watch it forever."
But presently the aerocab was descending rapidly and in a few minutes the strong light from below had obliterated the light shafts. As the craft drew closer the streets could be seen extending for miles like white ribbons and the brilliantly lighted squares stood out prominently. They landed, at the stroke of twelve, and Ralph found three unoccupied chairs on the top of one of the public buildings and only then did they notice that hundreds of people were seated, watching the sky expectantly.
At the last stroke of twelve, all the lights below went out and simultaneously the light shafts of all the searchlights. Everything was plunged in an utter darkness.
Suddenly overhead at a great height the flag of the United States in immense proportions was seen. It was composed of 6,000 flyers, all together in the same horizontal plane. Each flyer was equipped with very powerful lights on the bottom, some white, some red, others blue. Thus an immense flag in its natural colors was formed and so precisely did the flyers co-operate that, although they all were at least 50 feet from each other, the appearance to those below was that of an unbroken silk flag, illuminated by a searchlight. The immense flag began to move. It passed slowly overhead, describing a large circle, so that the entire population below obtained a perfect view.
Everyone applauded the demonstration. Then as suddenly as it had appeared the flag vanished and all was once more in darkness. Ralph explained to his guests that the lights of each one of the aerial flyers had been shut off simultaneously in preparation for the next spectacle.
All at once there was seen an enormous colored circle which revolved with great rapidity, becoming smaller and smaller, as though it were shrinking. Finally it became a colored disc, whirling rapidly on its axis. In a few seconds, the edge opened and a straight line shot out, the disc unrolling like a tape measure. After a few minutes more, there remained nothing of the disc. It had resolved itself into a perfectly straight many-hued line, miles long. Then the lights went out again. The next spectacle was a demonstration of the solar system. In the center a large sun was seen standing still. Next to the "sun" a small red round globe spun rapidly about it, representing the planet Mercury. Around both the sun and the "planet" Mercury revolved another globe, blue in color; this was Venus. Then followed a white orb, the "Earth" with the moon turning about it. Next came the red planet Mars with its two small moons, then green Jupiter and its moons, and Saturn in yellow. Uranus was orange and lastly came Neptune in pink, all globes and their moons traveling in their proper orbits around the "sun."[5]While the spectacle was in progress a white "comet" with a long tail traveled across the paths of the planets, turned a sharp corner around the "sun," its tail always pointing away from that body, recrossed the orbits of the "planets" again on the other side and lost itself in the darkness.
Several other spectacles were presented, each more superb than the one preceding it. The carnival closed with a light-picture of the Planet Governor. This was exhibited for fully five minutes during which time the applause was continuous.
"We have never seen such a marvelous spectacle," James 212B 422 declared. "You Americans still lead the world. Upon my word, the old saying that 'Nothing is impossible in America,' still holds good."
It was after one when they reached the house, and Ralph suggested a light lunch before they retired for what remained of the night. The others assented and Ralph led the way to theBacillatorium.
The Bacillatorium, invented in 2509 by the Swede 1A 299, was a small room, the walls and bottom of which were composed of lead. On each of the four sides were large vacuum bulbs on pedestals. These tubes, a foot in height and about six inches thick and two feet in diameter, were each equipped with a large concave Radio-arcturium cathode. The glass of the tube in front of the cathode had a double wall, the space between being filled with helium gas.
The rays emanating from the cathode, when the tube was energized with high oscillatory currents, were calledArcturium Raysand would instantly destroy any bacilli exposed to them for a few seconds. Arcturium Rays, like X-rays, pass through solid objects, and when used alone burned the tissue of the human body. It was found, however, that by filtering arcturium rays through helium no burns would result, but any germ or bacillus in or on the body would be killed at once.
The Bacillatorium was prescribed by law and each citizen ordered to use it at least every other day, thus making it impossible for the human body to develop contagious diseases. As late as the 20th century more than half the mortality was directly attributable to diseases communicated by germs or bacilli.
The Bacillatorium eradicated such diseases. The arcturium rays, moreover, had a highly beneficial effect on animal tissue and the enforced use of the Bacillatorium extended the span of human life to between one hundred and twenty and one hundred and forty years, where in former centuries three score and ten was the average.
FOOTNOTES:[3]Since this was written a national playground has actually been created at Montauk, L.I. A rather strange coincidence.[4]At the time this was written, no illuminated, night time sports fields existed.[5]In 1911 the outer planet Pluto had as yet not been discovered.
FOOTNOTES:
[3]Since this was written a national playground has actually been created at Montauk, L.I. A rather strange coincidence.
[3]Since this was written a national playground has actually been created at Montauk, L.I. A rather strange coincidence.
[4]At the time this was written, no illuminated, night time sports fields existed.
[4]At the time this was written, no illuminated, night time sports fields existed.
[5]In 1911 the outer planet Pluto had as yet not been discovered.
[5]In 1911 the outer planet Pluto had as yet not been discovered.
6
"GIVE US FOOD"
The following day was set aside for a visit to the Accelerated Plant Growing Farms. It had been known for hundreds of years that certain plants, such as mushrooms, could be fully developed in a few days. Plant or vegetables grown under glass and the temperature within kept at a high point, would grow at great speed and be ready for the market long before those grown in the open.
But only recently, as Ralph explained to Alice, had it been possible to do this on a large scale. To be sure, certain vegetables, like asparagus, lettuce, peas, etc., had been produced in hothouses for hundreds of years, but these, after all, were rather luxuries, and could not be classed as essentials.
When, about the year 2600, the population of the planet had increased tremendously and famines due to lack of such essentials as bread and potatoes had broken out in many parts of the world, it was found vitally necessary to produce such necessities on a larger scale and with unfailing regularity. These farms became known under the term of Accelerated Plant Growing Farms and were located in every part of the world. The first (and now obsolete) European and African farms were built along the lines of the old-fashioned hothouses. The European farms were simply horizontal steel-latticed roofs, with ordinaryglass panes, permitting the sunlight to penetrate to the soil beneath. While covering huge acreages, they were not heated artificially, using only the sun's rays to accelerate plant growth. As compared with Nature's single crop of wheat or corn, two could be made to grow in the same season by means of these super hothouses.
Similar farms were used in America until Ralph undertook their study and approached the subject from a scientific angle. One of his first efforts was to obtain greater heat for these huge hothouses. One of these hothouses is about three miles long and the same width. Ralph took the existing hothouses, which were simply oblong steel and glass boxes, and built a second hothouse box covering each of them, thus creating a double-walled, air-locked hothouse. The second glass-paneled wall was about two feet inside the outer one. This left dead air locked between the walls, and as air is a poor heat conductor, the heat in the hothouse was retained longer, particularly during a cold night.
Ralph and Alice left early in the morning, winging their way in an aeroflyer toward northern New York, where there were many Accelerated Plant Growing Farms. When the farms came into view, the entire country below, so far as the eye could see, appeared to be dotted with the glass-covered roofs of the plants, reflecting the sunlight and affording an unusual sight. Alice marveled at their number, for while she had seen some of these farms in Europe, she had never seen so many grouped together of such immensity.
Within a few minutes, they landed near one of the giant hothouses. The manager led them inside of the farm labeled No. D1569.
D1569 was exclusively a wheat growing farm. Where Mother Nature used to grow one crop of wheat a year, Ralph's latest Accelerator made it possible to grow four, and sometimes five crops a year. In the old-fashioned European farms such as Alice knew, only two crops could be grown.
"How is it possible," she asked, "that you can obtain three more crops a year than we do in Europe?"
"In the first place," said Ralph, "it may be taken as an axiom that the more heat you supply to plant growth, the quicker it will grow. Cold and chilly winds retard plant growth. Electricity and certain chemicals increase the ratio of growth, a fact that has been known for many centuries. It is, however, the scientific application of this knowledge that makes it possible to raise five crops a year. The European farms use only the heat of the sun to stimulate plant growth, but during the night, when the temperature drops, growth is practically nil.
"Notice that the top and sides of our hothouses have two walls. In other words, one hothouse is built within another. The air locked between the two hothouses is an excellent heat insulator and even though the sun is low at 4 o'clock, the temperature is practically unchanged in the hothouse, at 8 or 9 o'clock in the evening. Even in the winter, when the sun sets about 4 o'clock and it is cold, we are able to store up enough heat during the day to keep a high temperature as late as 7 and 8 o'clock. If we did nothing between the hours of 8 in the evening and 8 in the morning, the temperature would continue to fall to a point where no plant growth would be possible.
"Here in America we had to have a greater production to supply our huge population. It was a pure case of necessity. So we had to employ artificial heating during the night.
"If we start sinking a shaft into the earth, the heat increases rapidly as we go down—more quickly in some parts of the world than others. On an average, the temperature rises about one degree Fahrenheit each 100 feet of depth. We found it economic, therefore, to use the earth's own heat to heat our farms.
"By means of high speed drills, we can cut a three-foot shaft 3,000 feet deep in the earth in less than a month. We go down until we strike a temperature around 100 to 120 degrees Fahrenheit. Then we lower steel tanks into the cavity and run pipes up to the surface. The tanks are filled with water and two larger pipes run from each tank into the circulating system of pipes, around the lower walls throughout the length and breadth of the farms. The shafts are then closed at the top and we have a circulating system that is both cheap and efficient. The hot water continually rises into the pipes and circulates. As it cools, it flows down again into the tanks, where it is reheated and rises again. Thus the temperature of our farms is uniform all the year around and plant growth is as rapid during the night as during the day.
"Heat alone, however, is not sufficient. We should still get only a normal growth. We wanted five crops a year. I put my research forces to work studying fertilizers. While the old nitrogen fertilizers were excellent, they were not suitable for high pressure, high speed growing methods. We evolved chemicals which were both cheap and easy to apply. We found that small quantities ofTermidon, when mixed with water and sprayed over the field by overhead sprayers, which you will see running alongthe ceiling, would accelerate the growth of the crops enormously.
"This liquid Termidon is sprayed over the entire length and breadth of the field before planting time, so that the soil becomes well soaked. The Termidon immediately turns the soil into a rich, dark strata, the best soil for potatoes, wheat, or corn. No other fertilizer need be used, the Termidon, applied after every growth, giving the soil all the vitality necessary."
They were now in the field, when suddenly Alice asked:
"What is the peculiar tingling in the soles of my feet, I feel as we walk along? You are using some electrical vibrations, I suppose."
"You guessed correctly," Ralph replied. "With all our artifice the speed of the plant growth had not been accelerated sufficiently. I therefore insulated the inside hothouse from the ground. The inside hothouse rests upon glass blocks, and is electrified by high frequency currents. The entire area is sprayed day and night with a high frequency current, in the use of which we found was the real secret of driving plant growth ahead at enormous speed. The theory of course is nothing new, having been known for centuries. What is new, however, is the way it is done. It makes all the difference in the world if the current density is too high or too low, if it is direct or alternating current, and many other details. I found that the quickest way to accelerate plant growth by electricity was to send the current from the growing plant toward the ceiling, and the current must be direct, pulsating, but not alternating."
Ralph asked for a discharge pole from one of the attendants. It was a metal pole about seven and a half feet high. In the middle it had a long glass handle which Ralph grasped. He then set the pole vertically so that its top was about six inches from the glass ceiling. A roar of fine sparks leaped from the steel frame of the ceiling to the top of the pole.
"See," said Ralph, "there is the current we use in accelerating the growth of our plants."
Removing the pole, Ralph continued: "The electrical current density per square foot is not very high and the wheat does not get a very great amount of electricity during the twenty-four hours.The continuance of the force applied is what counts."
After luncheon, during which they ate some of the bread made from wheat grown on the premises, they went to an adjoining farm, also a wheat farm, where harvesting was in full progress. Machinery, suspended from overhead tracks, cut the wheat rapidly with circular scythes. All the wheat being of the same height, the machine cut the wheat almost directly below the heads, dropped them on a conveyor, which carried the real harvest to a central distribution point. Another machine immediately followed the cutter, grasping the stalks that were still standing, unerringlypulled out the straw hulks, roots and all. Thus the roots were entirely removed and the soil loosened, obviating plowing. Within a few hours following cutting, the last stem was out. The field was then sprayed with the liquid Termidon from overhead. Within another three hours, sowing began, also from overhead pipes.
Going to an adjoining plant, they saw a bare field with almost black soil, ready to be sowed. An attendant, at Ralph's request, pulled a switch and immediately Alicewitnessed a seed rain from the overhead pipes.
"The seed," Ralph explained, "is supplied to these tubes by means of compressed air. The tubes are perforated, and when air pressure is applied, the seed, flowing through the tubes is ejected evenly—just so many seeds to a given area. Closing the openings of the pipes automatically as the seeding proceeds, means only a given quantity of seed will fall upon any given square foot of soil. This makes for scientific planting, and we raise just the exact quantity of wheat we want."
Alice watched the seed rain spellbound. Like a wall of rain it slowly receded into the distance until finally it disappeared. "How long does it take to sow this field?" she asked.
"From two to three hours, depending upon the size of the field. This particular field is about eight miles long and three miles wide. The process should be completed within about three and a half hours."
"And when will this crop be ready for the harvest?" Alice wanted to know.
"In about seventy days from now the wheat will be ready to cut."
Alice walked along thoughtfully and then inquired whether the great cost of such an undertaking would not make the growing of the foodstuffs prohibitive.
"Quite the contrary," Ralph replied. "We are now growing wheat, corn, potatoes, and many other foodstuffs, for a much lower price than our ancestors did five or six hundred years ago. You see, it is the installation of the hothouses and machinery that is costly, but these glass and steel buildings will last for centuries with proper care. The frames are made of non-rusting steel which needs nopainting. The glass lasts for hundreds of years. The labor we use in planting and harvesting is a mere fraction of what was used in olden times. Thus, for sowing and harvesting this plant, eight by three miles, we require only twenty people. This is a very much smaller number than was used on a small old-fashioned farm.
"We waste nothing. We have no poor crops, and we get three or four times as much as our ancestors did."
They stepped up to a glass case containing samples of wheat grown for hundreds of years, showing that a head of wheat grown in the year 1900 was about three inches long, while the present year's crop showed a length of more than six inches, or twice as much flour content per stalk. Ralph also pointed out to Alice that the modern wheat stalk was much bigger in circumference than the ancient ones, which, he explained, was attributable to the greater weight of the modern wheat. The old stalks could not possibly have supported such a great weight of grain, so it was necessary to cultivate bigger stalks.
Ralph went on: "As I said before, we waste nothing here. The harvested hulks go to a paper mill, a few miles away, and are converted into a first class paper. A few decades ago an entirely new paper process was invented. Where straw was once used for making so-called strawboard or cardboard, the finest commercial papers are now being made from the straw grown right here. We no longer annihilate our forests, to make paper pulp. Since the invention of the straw paper process, chopping trees for paper purposes has been forbidden and all the paper in this country is now made exclusively of straw chemically treated."
A potato farm was seen the same afternoon. The processes in this and other vegetable growing plants being under somewhat different conditions than the wheat farm.
It was dark when Alice and Ralph returned to wheat farm No. D1569, and found that the manager of the plant had prepared an elaborate supper for the two, informing Alice thateverythingset before her had been grown the same day. The whole wheat bread had been harvested that morning, the grains had been artificially aged by heat, flour had been made, and the bread had just been baked. He said, somewhat proudly, that this was probably a record.
The entire meal consisted of vegetables, all grown in plants in the vicinity. There were fresh peas, fresh asparagus, new potatoes, fresh lettuce, juicy apples, and many delicacies.
For dessert the manager brought in, on a great silver tray, a number of new crossfoods, which as yet had not been seen in the open market. There was, theappear, a cross between an apple and a pear, which had all the good qualities of the apple and all the good qualities of the pear. There was also a delightful combination of plum and cherry, a cantaloupe with a faint taste of orange, and cherries as big as a good-sized plum.
Tea was served from tea leaves grown in one of the farms and harvested the same day. The manager also showed Alice cigarettes and set before Ralph a box of cigars, made from tobacco planted and harvested that day. The leaves had been aged rapidly by dry heat in a partial vacuum.
Both thanked the manager for the novel treat. After dining they walked into the wheat growing farm. It was now dark outside, but in the hothouse, the wheat formiles and miles seemed to be aglow in a light purple haze. A faint half-crackling, half-swishing sound was heard. The points of the wheat seemed to be almost luminous.
"This is the night appearance of the electricity you felt this afternoon," said Ralph. "During the daytime you do not see the faint discharge, but in darkness it becomes luminous. One pole of the high frequency generator is connected with the soil and the other with the steel framework of the hothouse. Without this electric current we would not be able to grow more than two, or at the utmost, three crops a year.
"It is also necessary to vary the strength of the current during the day. With full sunshine and maximum heat we do not need as much current as we use during the night. Several hundred years ago when using somewhat similar methods that had not as yet been perfected, it was necessary to use artificial light during the night, as plants need light for growth. We found, however, that the electric current with the soft light which you see glowing now, is sufficient for the purpose and the plant does not require any other light."
Alice stood for many minutes silently watching the beautiful sight of the glowing purple field, listening to the faint crackling discharge of the electric current as it leaped from the points of the wheat into the air. They finally left and flew back to New York.
The next day, Ralph took Alice to one of the city's Synthetic Food Laboratories. While flying toward it, Ralph explained that while the farms which they had looked over yesterday were for the purpose of raising real foodstuffs, there were many commodities that could not be soraised, such as sugar, milk, and many others, which were now made synthetically. As chemists had known for many hundreds of years, sugar was nothing but a simple carbohydrate, whereas milk was composed of an emulsified mixture of casein, lactic acid, butter, water and minor constituents.
As the population increased, it was neither possible, nor profitable to obtain these foods by natural means, and it was found necessary to resort to the chemist.
They alighted at one of these chemical laboratories which manufactured sugar, milk, cooking fats, butter and cheese.
There was really not much to see, save large boiler-like chemical retorts, large white enameled vats, and a lot of pumps and electric motors. The manager explained that sugar was made out of sawdust and acids. The sawdust, he explained, was digested in the huge white enameled steel vats by means of certain acids. After the digesting process was completed other chemicals were added, the ensuing syrup then being run through retorts and finally emerging as a stream of white liquid sugar.
The manager handed Alice a piece of clear, transparent sugar, as well as several specimens of crystallized sugar, which she ate delightedly, exclaiming laughingly that "it was the best sawdust she had ever eaten."
They next visited the synthetic milk section, where hundreds of thousands of gallons of milk were produced every day. This being a recent discovery the manager explained it in detail.
"Milk," he said, "has been known since the dawn of humanity, but only when man became somewhat civilized did he learn how to obtain milk from animals, such as thegoat and the cow. It took thousands of years to domesticate these animals, and it is not known at what period man first began to milk these domestic animals for his own supply of milk.
"Men of an inquisitive nature must have asked themselves the question for thousands of years, 'Why grow grass, let the cow eat the grass, digest it, and finally turn it into milk? Why not eliminate the cow entirely?' The thought, while elementary, had no actual basis or foundation for centuries, because the chemical processes of the intermediate stages between the grass and the final milk were too complicated and were not at all well understood. Only during the last few years has the problem been solved satisfactorily.
"Now we grow the fresh grass, which we put into these large retorts, where the grass is digested just the same as if it were in the stomach of the cow. By the addition of salts and chemicals we imitate this digestive process, and by eliminating solids and the liquids, we finally get a milk that is not only better than the original cow or goat milk, but has many qualities not possessed by cow's milk.
"Try this glass of artificial milk," he said to Alice, handing her a glass of rather unappetizing-looking liquid of a slightly pale green color, not too clean looking and somewhat thick. Alice tasted it, however, and found that it tasted exactly like a good rich cow's milk. The manager asked Alice to close her eyes and take a good drink. She did so, and exclaimed in surprise that it tasted exactly like rich, creamy milk.
The manager then explained that synthetic milk was free from the bacteria which give milk its white color. Moreover, the fat content was much higher than cow'smilk, and, there being a greater percentage of sugar present, the milk tasted sweeter. Certain added salts gave it a distinguishing taste.
From this milk, he further explained, any sort of fat could be extracted, and the usual array of milk products, such as butter, all sorts of cheeses, etc., could be made much better than from cow's milk, which never ran uniform.
After inspecting the laboratory, Alice and Ralph sampled a number of products, all of which tasted excellent—better, if anything, than the natural products. The manager added "You will find our synthetic products are far easier to digest, and are more wholesome than the natural product. The reason is that we have eliminated all of the disease-carrying microbes and bacteria, retaining only the beneficial ones, which we can control very easily in our plants, more than the cow or goat can do."
7
THE END OF MONEY
A few days later, Alice, while rolling along one of the elevated streets of the city with Ralph, inquired how the present monetary system had been evolved: "You know," she confided, "I know very little of economics."
"Well," said Ralph, "all monetary systems of the past or present are based on one principle—the exchange of one thing for another. At first it was simply a bartering or swapping of such things as a goat for a pig, or a string of beads for a piece of cloth. Only much later did money evolve. Before we had coins, certain rare shells were used as tokens. Still later, precious metal was exchanged for goods, using the weight of the metal as a basis. Later on, coins were developed, and still later on, paper money replaced part of the coins. Where the shells, the precious metals, and, later the metal coins, had intrinsic value, the paper money had no such value. The public accepted with faith and confidence a piece of paper across which was printed the guarantee that the bearer of it would receive so many metal dollars in exchange for the piece of paper. The paper money was built upon confidence that the people had in the government issuing the paper money.
"Very few people ever thought of going to a bank or tothe government's treasury to exchange the paper money for gold or silver coins. Instead, they freely circulated this paper money among themselves, and after people became accustomed to it, they accepted the paper money to the practical exclusion of gold and silver. Particularly in the former United States did this system reach a high development, more so than in old Europe, where paper money was used in conjunction with gold or silver coins.
"In the United States, however, nothing but paper money was eventually used, even to the exclusion of the smallest coins. Whereas up to a certain period the dollar bill was the smallest paper money unit used, this was later split into the former coins of fifty cents, twenty-five cents, ten cents, five cents, and one cent. It was found that small paper bills the size of former postage stamps were not very practical when issued in separate pieces, so the printed tape coins, which we have today, came into extensive use.
"The small metal box you carry, and from which you unroll your printed perforated tape, still represents the old paper money. When you, therefore, make a purchase today and you unroll fifty cents in ten cent denominations on your perforated roll, you are using a portion of the old system.
"But the real monetary system is built upon confidence. It could not be otherwise today because we have no more precious metals. When, about 95 years ago, the Frenchman P865 + finished the transmutation of all the precious metals, the death-knell of the old monetary system was sounded. Everybody could make gold and silver for less than iron used to cost in the old days. Consequently, if you had a one hundred dollar bill that said on its facethat you could exchange it for one hundred dollars' worth of gold, you could have gone to the treasury and received five twenty dollar gold pieces, which, however, were not worth more, perhaps, than one or two cents. So of what use was the one hundred dollar bill?[6]
"When P865 + made his announcement, it caused neither panic nor confusion. Several centuries prior there would have been panic, but the world had been progressing in knowledge, and understood that commerce and economics are stabilized by confidence.
"There is only one thing in this world that has a real value, and that is man's work. You can replace almost everything else with something else, but you can not replace labor. The modern economic structure is, therefore, reared entirely upon man's work.
"When the check came into use, in the 19th century the monetary system underwent a great change. Instead of people paying what they owed by means of coins or banknotes, they took to paying each other by means of a written piece of paper—the check. Billions upon billions of dollars and cents changed hands, simply by signing a check to some one else, the check clearing through the bank. While one account was credited, another was debited. There was little actual money that changed hands, either between the man who wrote the check and the man who received it, or even between the banks who cleared the checks. In other words, this entire check system was based upon credit. You received a check for one hundred dollars from a man who owed you one hundred dollars. You took this check in good faith because you knew thathe must have the one hundred dollars in the bank—otherwise he probably would not make out the check. You sent the check to your bank, which, in turn, collected it from the bank in which your debtor had his account. In all these transactions no real money ever changed hands. It was credit, pure and simple, all the way through.
"So when P865 + demonstrated his synthetic metals, the situation did not change at all. The people appreciated the fact that the government, in one way or another, must be good, and that although the money reserves as figured in metal dollars and cents had become valueless, every one knew that the country was not founded and based upon valueless metals alone. Incidentally, no government, the entire world over, could have redeemed in gold or silver coin all of its outstanding obligations.
"Therefore, when gold and silver became practically valueless, nothing happened, because actual coins were no longer used, and every one used checks, so that even banknotes had become obsolete.
"But, with the devaluation of the so-called 'precious' metals the governments substituted other values. This was done at first by setting fixed values on property, such as real estate, buildings, manufacturing plants, etc. Valuations of these were made several times a year, and whoever owned such properties was given a 'State-value certificate.' A building, valued at $50,000, was appraised by the state three or four times or more, a year, and a certificate was given to you which you took to your bank, the latter immediately crediting you with part of the $50,000. If you wanted to sell your property to a friend for $50,000 or more, you would take his check and then, demand from your bank the return of the original deed,which in turn would be transferred to your friend. In that case your bank would credit you with the $50,000 check of your friend, while he would have the property.
"Of course the illustration which I gave is not exactly accurate, for the reason that you could not get from your bank the exact amount of the valuation of whatever realty changed hands. The bank advanced about seventy percent of the appraised value, with certain exceptions. This also was in no wise different from the way our ancestors were accustomed to do, because in the old days such a transaction would simply have been called a mortgage. The important difference, however, later on, was that the valuation was made by the state and such valuation was final. This tended to stabilize real estate and property valuations.
"Merchandise, today, is bought and sold the same as it was bought and sold centuries ago, and that is by check. So is everything else, including labor. Every workman is, of course, paid by check, which check he can use either in his own bank account or for buying merchandise from his grocer or tailor, getting the difference in a check or otherwise in fractional paper tape coin.
"These government paper tape coins and banknotes—the few that are being used—instead of being covered by gold and silver bullion, are now covered by real estate bonds or other tangible property."
"But," Alice asked, "suppose there were a panic, as described in some of the ancient books, and everybody ran to the bank at once to get his money, what would happen?"
"Nothing," said Ralph. "Absolutely nothing. Suppose there was a 'panic,' as you call it. In the first place, whyshould there be one? There is no reason for it and no one nowadays would think of running to the bank and getting his or her 'money.' There is no 'money,' as you call it.
"Remember, the banks are all under government control, and if a bank should fail, which no bank has done for the last four hundred years, the government would be obliged to make good the shortage out of its own resources. If everybody ran simultaneously to every bank throughout the country, a bank would simply make out a check for each total balance, and pass out a check for the amount. Then the next morning, as the people could not eat their checks for breakfast, they would have to do one of two things: either take the check back to the bank and redeposit it, or exchange the check for commodities.
"That means that within twenty-four hours all the checks would have found their way back to the banks and things would be just exactly where they had left off before the 'run' on the bank. As banks are no longer under the necessity of paying in coin or banknotes, but under the law can pay by check, there is no reason why any one should wish to make a 'run' on the bank, simply to get a check."
"But," Alice persisted, "suppose you draw out more than you have to your credit? Suppose you write out a check for more than you have in the bank? What happens then?"
"You probably can answer that just as well as I can," replied Ralph. "To do so is a prison offense, and again, it would do you no good, because following the first offense you would get a warning from the government, and at the second such offense you would get a still stronger warning, and on the third, you would go to jail, becausethe first two offenses could perhaps be mistakes, but the third could not. On top of this, your account would be withdrawn from all banks and you would not be able to open another account again for ten years, because all checks as you know, are identified with fingerprints in addition to the signature. The fingerprint experts of the government would prevent you from opening another account in any bank anywhere in the country. So no one abuses his checking privilege and writes out checks when there are no funds to his credit."
A few days later Ralph took Alice to one of the great industrial artificial cloth works. They flew to Pennsylvania, where the great artificial silk, cotton, and wool mills were located. Ralph explained that during the 20th century silk had finally been made artificially from wood and chemicals. This was then known as artificial silk. But only during the last century had it been possible to manufacture artificial cotton and artificial wool, synthetically from wood and other chemicals. Moreover, they wore better than real cotton and real wool.
In the enormous plant were immense tanks in which the raw materials were first cooked and then treated by chemicals until the fibers issued in fine microscopic streams from nozzles under hydraulic pressure, the threads were then wound on huge reels. From here the hanks were sent to the spinneries and cloth-weaving mills.
Of particular interest was the new kind of cloth, which was much fighter than wool or cotton, and, at the same time, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. This material was made from cork, which was first pulverized and then afterwards digested by means of chemicals. Under hydraulic pressure, a somewhat thick thread was obtained,which had all the good properties of cork, but none of its poor ones. This cork thread, when woven into cloth, made a texture both light and durable, had a velvety touch to the fingers, and being a poor heat conductor, protected the wearer from heat in the summer and cold in the winter.
A number of combinations were made whereby cork thread and silk thread were spun together, giving an entirely new product, with all the virtues of silk as well as those of cork.