The First Men in the Moon Page #2

And if the sheet of Cavorite

hadn't been loose, the air would

have...

fountained into space,

on and on and on.

It would have whipped the air

off the world as one peels a banana.

It would have been the end

of all life on this planet.

And that would have been awful.

Really?

Really.

At any rate, I've worked through

all those little problems.

It's not bananas we're concerned

with now, though, it's apples.

Look here, Cavor, are you serious?

Sir Isaac Newton taught us why

An apple falls down from the sky

And from that fact it's very plain

All other objects do the same

A brick, a bar, a boat, a cup

Invariably fall down, not up.

My dear Cavor...

This is incredible!

It's fantastic!

You really think so?

Well, of course it is.

Think of the practical applications.

Oh, practical applications.

Are there such things?

My God, don't you see?

It's a miracle. A revolution!

If you wanted to lift a weight,

however enormous,

you'd only have to put

a sheet of your Cavorite under it

and you could lift it with a straw.

A child could lift a dreadnought.

Heavens! I-I hadn't thought.

The possibilities are boundless.

Ironclads and weapons

and shipping and architecture.

One stupendous Cavorite company...

Oh, my dear Cavor,

you...we...are on to the biggest

thing that has ever been invented.

We are? Yes!

Yes! Well, I suppose we are!

Oh!

What about your play?

My play? My play.

Ugh, it's vanished.

Good heavens,

don't you see what we've got?

I hadn't thought beyond pure

research. Perhaps a fellowship

of the Royal Society.

How can you think so small?

Here is a substance that

no...no home,

no factory, no fortress, no ship

can dare to be without.

It's more universally applicable

than a patent medicine.

There isn't one solitary aspect

of it, not one of its

that will not make us rich, Cavor,

beyond the dreams of avarice.

Yes, I begin to see.

It's extraordinary how one gets new

points of view from talking things

over.

And as it happens,

you have talked to the right man.

I have very considerable

business experience.

You do?

Oh, yes.

'I did not, of course, tell him

'that I was an undischarged bankrupt

at the time.'

That's it!

That settles it.

A sort of roller blind.

A sort of what? Space. Anywhere.

The moon.

The moon? What do you mean?

Mean? Why, it must be a sphere,

that's what I mean.

Cavor, I don't know... Imagine

a sphere, or a sort of polygon,

large enough to hold two people

and their luggage, what have you.

It would be made of metal,

lined with thick glass. Probably.

A sphere?

To carry us to the moon.

But how would we breathe?

Oh, that's the least of it.

A simple filtration system.

I worked out something years ago

for a submersible.

Then the exterior of the sphere

would be enamelled.

With Cavorite?

With Cavorite.

One could screw oneself in

while the stuff was warm.

And as soon as it was cooled...

It'd become impervious to gravity

and... Whoosh!

Yes, whoosh!

Off one would go in a straight line.

Ah, but what's to stop one going off

in a straight line into space for

ever?

Roller blinds.

Roller blinds?

Mm. The inner sphere would be

airtight and continuous,

except for a manhole.

To get in and out.

Yes. But the exterior

could be made in sections,

each section capable of rolling up

after the fashion of a blind.

When they're all shut -

no light, no heat, no gravitation,

no radiant energy of any kind

would get inside the sphere.

But open the blind

and any heavenly body which

happened to be in the vicinity

would attract us.

Oh, I see!

Then it would be possible to tack

about in space like a little boat.

Tack, tack, tack.

The blinds would roll in upon

themselves, thus counteracting

the Cavorite effect

when not required.

HUMS:

I shall begin the calculations

at once.

But hang it all, Cavor, the moon?

Shouldn't we start with something

smaller?

You were the one who told me

to think bigger, Bedford.

Why not go into space?

It's not much worse

than a polar expedition.

Shackleton is on one now. Probably.

Men go on polar expeditions.

Not businessmen.

We would be just firing ourselves

off the world for nothing.

Think of what we would find there.

What? Knowledge!

Well, er, call it prospecting, then.

I have no doubt

there will be minerals.

Oh? Mm. Sulphur, ores,

possibly new elements. Diamonds.

Diamonds?

I see no reason why not.

Is there air up there?

There... There may be.

But the moon! It's hundreds

of thousands of miles away!

A quarter of a million, actually.

Cavorite liners.

Fleets of them.

And prospecting rights.

Planetary prospecting rights.

What did you say?

Er, nothing, nothing.

Oh, but this is the thing, Cavor.

This is...

..imperial.

Yes!

But there isn't any air on the moon.

Everyone knows that.

Do pay attention,

there's a good lad.

The summer passed,

then autumn,

and all the while,

we worked like Trojans.

It was like labouring in Hades.

Why? Because to keep

the Cavorite inactive,

we had to maintain the room

at a constant temperature.

A very warm temperature.

Will you take that with you? Hm?

The, er, kinematograph.

Um, yes, yes, I suppose so.

We'll have to have proof

of our journey.

Everything all right, old man?

I say, Cavor, we shall be able

to get back, shan't we?

Yes, of course! I don't see why not.

Probably.

How's the, er, furnace?

Oh. Er, yes, yes, fine.

Hm. We're very close, Bedford.

Exceedingly.

We have almost enough Cavorite.

Look here, Cavor...

After all, what's it all for?

For?

For?! The thing now is to go! Yes.

But the moon! I thought...

I thought it was a dead world.

What do you expect to find?

Well, we're going to see, aren't we?

Are we? Are we really?

You're tired, Bedford.

Why don't you go for a stroll?

It's a lovely evening.

The thing's too mad! What?

I'm not going with you.

It's... It's too mad.

But you must! We've planned

the whole thing together.

I can't. I'm sorry.

It's nothing, merely jumping

off the world. Remember the apple?

Yes, I do remember. It was

smashed to bits against the ceiling.

Bedford!

Who'd want to leave the world

on a night like this?

Can I get you something, dear?

You look parched!

Oh, um...

Ah...

A drop of cider on the house?

Oh, thank you very much.

You're very kind.

You come far?

Oh, just from Apuldram.

I, um, needed some air.

You going far?

That's rather a moot point.

I suppose I might go back to London.

Hmm, London.

You know it?

No, don't hold with it. No?

No. All them folk pressed together

like barrels on a dray?

Chichester's furthest I ever got.

My late husband and me,

we went to see one of them shows.

Oh, yes? In a theatre!

And what did you make of it?

Well, there was a fella and a girl,

just the two of 'em, yarning.

Weren't even a true story,

it were just made up.

Didn't see the point of it myself.

Not been anywhere else?

No. I'm not the gadabout sort.

What would you say

to a trip to the moon?

Oh, never did hold with them

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