Подорож на Місяць

           Ah!Iseeyouarereckoningthatthemoonisalongwayofffromtheearth,andthatonemustthinktwicebeforemakingtheexperiment.Whatwouldyousay,then,ifweweretalkingofgoingtoNeptune,whichrevolvesatadistanceofmorethantwothousandsevenhundredandtwentymillionsofmilesfromthesun!Andyetwhatisthatcomparedwiththedistanceofthefixedstars,someofwhich,suchasArcturus,arebillionsofmilesdistantfromus?Andthenyoutalkofthedistancewhichseparatestheplanetsfromthesun!Andtherearepeoplewhoaffirmthatsuchathingasdistanceexists.Absurdity,folly,idioticnonsense!WouldyouknowwhatIthinkofourownsolaruniverse?ShallItellyoumytheory?Itisverysimple!Inmyopinionthesolarsystemisasolidhomogeneousbody;theplanetswhichcomposeitareinactualcontactwitheachother;andwhateverspaceexistsbetweenthemisnothingmorethanthespacewhichseparatesthemoleculesofthedensestmetal,suchassilver,iron,orplatinum!Ihavetheright,therefore,toaffirm,andIrepeat,withtheconvictionwhichmustpenetrateallyourminds,‘Distanceisbutanemptyname;distancedoesnotreallyexist!’"

           "Hurrah!"criedonevoice(needitbesaiditwasthatofJ.T.Maston)."Distancedoesnotexist!"Andovercomebytheenergyofhismovements,henearlyfellfromtheplatformtotheground.Hejustescapedaseverefall,whichwouldhaveprovedtohimthatdistancewasbynomeansanemptyname.