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Chapter 5 — The Journey to the Moon
“Why?”
“Iknewsomeonewhowasratherinterestedinastronomy.Itoccurredtomethatitwouldberatheroddif—myfriend—chancedtobelookingthroughsometelescope.”
“Itwouldneedthemostpowerfultelescopeonearthevennowtoseeusastheminutestspeck.”
ForatimeIstaredinsilenceatthemoon.
“It’saworld,”Isaid;“onefeelsthatinfinitelymorethanoneeverdidonearth.Peopleperhaps—”
“People!”heexclaimed.“No!Banishallthat!Thinkyourselfasortofultra-arcticvoyagerexploringthedesolateplacesofspace.Lookatit!”
Hewavedhishandattheshiningwhitenessbelow.“It’sdead—dead!Vastextinctvolcanoes,lavawildernesses,tumbledwastesofsnow,orfrozencarbonicacid,orfrozenair,andeverywherelandslipseamsandcracksandgulfs.Nothinghappens.Menhavewatchedthisplanetsystematicallywithtelescopesforovertwohundredyears.Howmuchchangedoyouthinktheyhaveseen?”
“None.”
“Theyhavetracedtwoindisputablelandslips,adoubtfulcrack,andoneslightperiodicchangeofcolour,andthat’sall.”
“Ididn’tknowthey’dtracedeventhat.”
“Oh,yes.Butasforpeople—!”
“Bytheway,”Iasked,“howsmallathingwillthebiggesttelescopesshowuponthemoon?”
“Onecouldseeafair-sizedchurch.Onecouldcertainlyseeanytownsorbuildings,oranythinglikethehandiworkofmen.Theremightperhapsbeinsects,somethinginthewayofants,forexample,sothattheycouldhideindeepburrowsfromthelunarlight,orsomenewsortofcreatureshavingnoearthlyparallel.
