Хребты безумия
VII
Littlebylittletheslowretreatoftheelderracetotheiroriginalantarctichabitatwasbeginning.
ItwascurioustonotefromthepicturedbattlesthatboththeCthulhuspawnandtheMi–GoseemtohavebeencomposedofmattermorewidelydifferentfromthatwhichweknowthanwasthesubstanceoftheOldOnes. Theywereabletoundergotransformationsandreintegrationsimpossiblefortheiradversaries,andseemthereforetohaveoriginallycomefromevenremotergulfsofthecosmicspace. TheOldOnes,butfortheirabnormaltoughnessandpeculiarvitalproperties,werestrictlymaterial,andmusthavehadtheirabsoluteoriginwithintheknownspace-timecontinuum—whereasthefirstsourcesoftheotherbeingscanonlybeguessedatwithbatedbreath. Allthis,ofcourse,assumingthatthenon-terrestriallinkagesandtheanomaliesascribedtotheinvadingfoesarenotpuremythology. Conceivably,theOldOnesmighthaveinventedacosmicframeworktoaccountfortheiroccasionaldefeats,sincehistoricalinterestandprideobviouslyformedtheirchiefpsychologicalelement. Itissignificantthattheirannalsfailedtomentionmanyadvancedandpotentracesofbeingswhosemightyculturesandtoweringcitiesfigurepersistentlyincertainobscurelegends.
Thechangingstateoftheworldthroughlonggeologicagesappearedwithstartlingvividnessinmanyofthesculpturedmapsandscenes. Incertaincasesexistingsciencewillrequirerevision,whileinothercasesitsbolddeductionsaremagnificentlyconfirmed. AsIhavesaid,thehypothesisofTaylor,Wegener,andJolythatallthecontinentsarefragmentsofanoriginalantarcticlandmasswhichcrackedfromcentrifugalforceanddriftedapartoveratechnicallyviscouslowersurface—anhypothesissuggestedbysuchthingsasthecomplementaryoutlinesofAfricaandSouthAmerica,andthewaythegreatmountainchainsarerolledandshovedup—receivesstrikingsupportfromthisuncannysource.
