countless drawings that have been made from it; and beyond that the
interest of their physiology and structure is purely scientific.
A question of graver and universal interest is the possibility of
another attack from the Martians. I do not think that nearly enough
attention is being given to this aspect of the matter. At present the
planet Mars is in conjunction, but with every return to opposition I,
for one, anticipate a renewal of their adventure. In any case, we
should be prepared. It seems to me that it should be possible to define
the position of the gun from which the shots are discharged, to keep a
sustained watch upon this part of the planet, and to anticipate the
arrival of the next attack.
In that case the cylinder might be destroyed with dynamite or artillery
before it was sufficiently cool for the Martians to emerge, or they
might be butchered by means of guns so soon as the screw opened. It
seems to me that they have lost a vast advantage in the failure of
their first surprise. Possibly they see it in the same light.
Lessing has advanced excellent reasons for supposing that the Martians
have actually succeeded in effecting a landing on the planet Venus.
Seven months ago now, Venus and Mars were in alignment with the sun;
that is to say, Mars was in opposition from the point of view of an
observer on Venus. Subsequently a peculiar luminous and sinuous marking
appeared on the unillumined half of the inner planet, and almost
simultaneously a faint dark mark of a similar sinuous character was
detected upon a photograph of the Martian disk. One needs to see the
drawings of these appearances in order to appreciate fully their
remarkable resemblance in character.
At any rate, whether we expect another invasion or not, our views of
the human future must be greatly modified by these events. We have
learned now that we cannot regard this planet as being fenced in and a
secure abiding place for Man; we can never anticipate the unseen good
or evil that may come upon us suddenly out of space. It may be that in
the larger design of the universe this invasion from Mars is not
without its ultimate benefit for men; it has robbed us of that serene
confidence in the future which is the most fruitful source of
decadence, the gifts to human science it has brought are enormous, and
it has done much to promote the conception of the commonweal of
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