Читать книгу The Crystal Button - Chauncey Thomas - Страница 16

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"As you see," continued Professor Prosper, "we now stand upon the upper street, or what we call the 'highway,' which is reserved for pedestrians and pleasure vehicles."

"But I see no horses."

"Oh no, we do not allow the use of horses in our cities. With the continued increase of traffic, it was found that they were a leading source of dust, filth, and unpleasant odors, and they also impeded pedestrian travel unnecessarily. At the same time our needs gave rise to a great variety of wheeled vehicles propelled by electricity or compressed air. You have evidently not noticed that, beyond the next row of elms, is a roadway filled with electric vehicles, continually passing. These make no dust, no sound, are easily guided, and, under favorable conditions, their speed far exceeds that of the fleetest horse. In all our cities, horses have been relegated to the training-school and the arena."

"But of course they are still used in the country."

"For pleasure purposes, yes; but not for mere motive power, for they would be too expensive. Electricity and compressed air do all our drudgery."

"You continue to amaze me."

"I understand that, yet you must prepare to be amazed in many other particulars far more important than this. But, as I began to say, this 'highway' is, in fact, a scaffolding, built sometimes of stone, but more often, during late years, of a peculiar preparation of aluminum, which is now the commonest of all metals, and particularly adapted for purposes of construction, owing to its lightness, strength, and freedom from injury by oxidation. It is also beautiful; do you not think so?"

"The iron that we used must certainly give it the palm on that score."

"We of course use aluminum for all our common household utensils."

"But how do yon obtain it?"

"From clay, by the simplest possible mode of reduction. It is one of the mysteries why you failed to discover it."

"It was not because we didn't strain every faculty."

"No; you strained too much. You looked too far. You held the secret in the hand, and forgot to open the hand."

"Very likely," sighed Paul. "The microscope has no doubt given the world more useful hints than the telescope."

"Well, on this 'highway,' as you will notice, are the main entrances to dwellings, hotels, and commercial warehouses, while below are other entrances where all merchandise and bulky articles are received direct from the City Service freight-cars. In the middle of the subway are the transit lines for passengers, separated by broad passages from the freight tracks, and with power elevators that give easy access to the 'highway.' But let us take a trial trip, and you will then see for yourself."

Paul took one parting glance about him before they descended, fascinated by the bright faces of the great throngs of people who passed him.

"You apparently have no beggars in your streets," he said, half questioningly.

"I should hope not. Oh no, beggary is one of the many things of the remote past. It was merely a result of certain unhealthy conditions, including waste, extravagance, avariciousness, crime, and disease, which flourished in your time, and fruited and dropped their natural seed."

"But you cannot have abolished crime by legal enactments."

"No; but we have so reduced, where we have not entirely removed, the chief inducements to crime, including poverty, excess of wealth, injustice, and ambition for undeserved power, inevitably leading to tyranny, that it is now infrequent. While I was recently engaged in consulting newspaper files dating from the nineteenth century, I was painfully struck by the fact that nearly all the news most prominently heralded related to crimes, accidents, and wars or rumors of war. Although the world is now much more densely populated, and the means of communication nearly instantaneous, our daily newspapers seldom make mention of crimes or accidents--simply because they seldom occur; and of course we no longer have our nerves excited, pleasurably or otherwise, by news of war or rebellion, as those are conditions quite impossible under the present regime. In brief, Mr. Prognosis, the news in your day was mainly detective news, while ours nearly all relates to social life, science, art and amusements."

While thus speaking, they had descended the elevator to a broad stone platform skirting the main track. There were four pairs of rails in the central portion of the subway; and on the track next the platform where Paul was standing, he noticed a car at rest, into which persons were entering by side doors and taking seats.

Just at this moment a long train, drawn by some invisible force, flew rapidly by him, on one of the inner tracks, and to its side was attached a small car like that which stood before him, which was speeding forward on the same near track. He watched attentively, expecting to see the two small cars collide. But, just in the nick of time, the small moving car was cast off and came to a standstill, while the other small car was caught up by the train, which never slackened its tremendous speed, and whirled out of sight.

"Beautiful!" cried Paul. "I don't at all understand how it is done so easily, but I see that it is done, and I see that you have settled the question of rapid transit without reference to the number of intermediate stations."

"Exactly so! The small car, as you have observed, acts as a tender, allowing passengers to join the main train and then take their seats in calmness and comfort while it is still running at full speed."

"It is of course dropped in the same manner."

"Yes, it works both ways. Each tender is carried to the next station on the line, and then successively all along the circuit."

"But there must be cross-lines--how are collisions prevented?"

"Easily enough! All the lines in the city are run under one general management, and all precisely on time. In fact, the several trains act like several parts of one vast machine, and the movements of all are as accurately timed as the beats of a clock, which is perfectly practicable under this system."

"But how is it that the people can safely change places while the cars are in such rapid motion, and especially the aged and infirm?"

"There is little motion, as you will soon see, for the road-beds as well as the cars are perfectly constructed. There is no difficulty about that. But see for yourself. Here is a tender awaiting us. And here comes the train--and here we are aboard the train--and the tender dropped, and another at our side! Did you ever see anything easier than that?"

"Never! And now--if you please, Professor, I would like to know something about this new motive force of which you have spoken. I presume it is used on these trains, is it not?"

"Yes. Well, it is based on a very simple but peculiar application of compressed air. I should need diagrams to fully explain it. But I can now say that this compressed air is conveyed to all parts of the city by pipes, the source of supply being a short distance out of town. To-morrow, if you like, with Marco as a guide, you can visit the central works; and, if I am not mistaken, you will see something worth your while."

"I have no doubt of it. The only fear I have is, that you may show me so many wonders that I shall lose my wits. You see, a nineteenth century brain has to expand itself considerably to house the realities of your present."

"True enough. Yet you will find that we do all things in such an orderly manner that we also do them easily as well as rapidly; and you will soon learn to do the same. Life is much easier now than with you. You, as I understand it, were always in a driving hurry, and rather proud of the fact than otherwise. When any one nowadays is seen in a hurry, we know that he is either correcting an error, or that he lacks order and system in his plans. You wasted time, just as you wasted everything else. We value time as our first of all boons--it is our life--and we count every day another opportunity freighted with duties that we take pleasure in performing."

"But doesn't this make life a rather dull treadmill?"

"Not at all, because we include all possible pleasures that are not harmful in any way, as part of the duties of life. Dull treadmill, indeed! And that phrase in the mouth of a nineteenth century man! You must excuse me for smiling, please. Why, life nowadays is one round of pleasures."

"But how about your work? Does anybody find work a pleasure?"

"Of course. Why not? The difference between work and play is slighter than you think. Action is the source of all enjoyment. Work is forced action, excessive action, or action to which one's powers are not adapted. Play is willing action in ways that are best adapted to one's powers. We choose our workers and set them to work on this principle. Whatever a man can really do well, he can usually do easily, and he usually likes to do it. If he doesn't, then we hold out attractions in the way of higher ambitions, that stimulate him by the drawing process more effectually than any whiplash of want or fear could possibly push him."

"Well, I certainly approve the theory and the principle, but I shouldn't think it would work in practical life."

"I can only say that, under proper guidance and training through many generations, it has come to work very satisfactorily. If founded on truth, it must work, Mr. Prognosis, just as soon as we give it a full opportunity to work. A correct theory is merely an unrealized truth. Isn't that so?"

"I suppose so; but really, Professor, your remarks suggest to my mind so many problems, and from such a novel point of view, that I don't feel fully competent to pass verdict on all of them. I simply accept your statement that work can be converted into play without the happy victim knowing or caring whether it's one or the other. The statement interests me, and therefore pleases me."

"And you thereby illustrate the very point of my argument. You thereby convert the hard work of investigation into a recreation. To use an expression from your own day, you therefore 'change your stage-coach into a gentleman's four-in-hand.'"

"I gladly plead guilty."

"And I, as gladly, suspend sentence."

"May it please the judge to listen to another inquiry?"

"Certainly."

"Do you use reciprocating engines for your condensed air?"

"No. The air-wheel is by far preferable. I am aware of the efforts of inventors in your day to produce a useful steam-engine on the rotary plan, and their lack of success; but with compressed air there is much less difficulty. We have no heat to contend with; and soft leather packing, so arranged that it is made tight by pressure, reduces the friction to a minimum. The present engine is exceedingly simple. I will show you plans that I have at home."

"But are these tender-cars started by the same plan?"

"Not exactly. In that case a simple cylinder and piston are placed in an upright position, and at the proper moment the piston is forced up. This rotates the toothed wheel which you see here. Watch the tender we are now approaching, and you will see more than I can explain."

Paul watched as directed. He saw one tender cast off just in time to come to rest at the right point, with its forward end just over a great wheel. Under the tender in waiting a similar propulsion wheel began to revolve, slowly at first, but gradually increasing its revolutions until the departing tender left it at full speed, ranged itself alongside the train, and was promptly hooked on.

"Excuse me, Professor, but I did not see you pay our fares as we entered. Do we do that upon leaving the station?"

"Fares? Oh, there are no fares. All is perfectly free."

"But how are the companies compensated?"

"There are no companies. The Government runs and operates all lines of transportation for either passengers or freight, as well as all other means of communication, by road, wire, or tube, including mail carriage, telegraphs, telephones, and pneumatic-tube service. And all are free--perfectly free. In your time you had started in this direction by making many of your highways and bridges free to the public, and mail-matter nearly so. As the people supply the labor that supports all the public conveniences I have mentioned, they are certainly entitled to their use. Please understand that the people and the Government are one--they are synonymous terms."