CHAPTER IV
THE FLEETS START FOR SPACE
Early in the morning of the 12th of May, in the year 2237, the vast space of ground where the interstellar fleet lay drawn up was a scene of great bustle and excitement. The last preparations were being made, for in a few hours they were to dash off into space. The vessels were drawn up in long lines, being arranged in divisions, with the flag-ship of each division in the middle, and the other ships lying on either side of it according to their size and qualities. The flag-ship of the Admiral-in-Chief was floating about a hundred yards in the air, the Union Jack flying from one of its masts, while its upper-deck was crowded with officers and men.
All the ships were built of the light and tensile metal Firmium, which is lighter and much stronger than the metal called Steel, which was so much used by our ancestors. Most of them were cigar-shaped, but others were much flatter, and there were a few that were very long and thin. The largest were about 300 yards in length; the rest varied in proportion down to the torpedo-boats, which were only 15 yards long.
All the ships were built on the same principle. The outside of the hull was surrounded by a thick sheathing of Firmium, and there was a powerful ram at both ends. The inside was divided into a number of decks, according to the size of the vessel. These, again, were divided into compartments by air-tight doors, so that if the hull were pierced by a shot the air would only escape from one compartment, and thus the rest of the crew would not be harmed. Air in the liquid state was stored in reservoirs in the middle of the vessel, and let out as required, while the vitiated air was allowed to escape into space. As the air in the interior was under a pressure of 15 pounds to the square inch, great care had to be taken to prevent it from leaking through the outer sheathing. If a hole happened to be made through the latter, the air rushed out in a second, and the unfortunate men inside died immediately.
The cannon slid in and out through tubes fitted with telescopic joints, which rotated in gimbals, so that they could be worked without allowing air to escape, and the muzzle of the gun was closed by a slide while the shot was introduced at the breech. The torpedoes were worked from torpedo-tubes in the same manner. The cannon varied in size from 200 tons to 10-pounders, the armament of each ship being selected according to the duties which it was expected to perform in an engagement. Besides the holes for the cannon, the hull was pierced in many places by other holes, which were filled up with the transparent metal Lumium, so that the sailors could see what was taking place outside.
The propelling machinery was placed in the centre, and protected by another metal sheathing, while in the centre of all was the captain's room. In the interior of this there was a sphere made of metal a couple of feet in thickness, and varying from 7 to 30 feet in diameter. It was here that were collected together all the handles and wheels for navigating the vessel and sending and receiving messages from other ships, and a number of telephones that communicated with every compartment. There were no windows, but a picture of the exterior was thrown on to a screen which extended right round the wall by the telephotoscope, so that the captain knew exactly what was going on outside.
When an engagement was taking place in space, the captain, accompanied by one or two other officers, entered this sphere and was hermetically sealed up in it. As two or more solid sheets of metal had to be pierced before they could be touched, the commanding officers and the important machinery which they controlled were comparatively safe while the rest of the vessel was being battered to pieces.
The exteriors of the vessels bristled with masses of bars, rods, wheels, and rolled-up torpedo-nets which could be let down to ward off the much-dreaded torpedoes. Besides these there were numerous signal-lights, searchlights, and a few masts to which the ensigns were fastened. There was a kind of deck on the top of the outside, surrounded by a slight railing, to be used only when the ship happened to be in an atmosphere that was fit to breathe. Here there was also an ingenious arrangement consisting of lock-gates and large flexible tubes by which communication could be effected with other vessels when they were in space. These could also be used for letting men, clad in diving dresses, get on to the exterior whenever anything happened to want seeing to there. All round the hull there was the complex network of wires belonging to the antigravitation apparatus, and a system of spiral tubes that formed the Stuberoff apparatus, which effectually insulated the vessel from radiant heat whatever its intensity might be. The use of the latter was to prevent the crew from suffering from the effects of the heat of the sun, which was very intense within the Solar System, and also to enable the vessel to approach the sun or any other luminary for purposes of strategy. As there was no attraction of gravity, a new force was induced equal in intensity to that of gravity at the surface of the earth, and this force acted downwards on to the decks, so that the crew could walk about and work exactly as if they were on the earth. Besides the powerful armament of cannon and torpedoes with which the vessels were provided, each had a powerful apparatus for radiating a force which would annihilate the attraction of cohesion wherever it happened to strike, and with another apparatus which would send destructive waves of the force Ednogen, that could kill any human beings that they might impinge upon. These awful engines of destruction would have been enough, but there was yet another that could paralyze the motor-power of an approaching vessel, and thus leave it helpless and useless. To counteract the influence of any such engines that the enemy might possess, there were receivers that could annihilate these forces should they impinge upon them. The ether of space and a kind of matter that could be made to radiate in elliptical waves were the basis of these terrible forces that were about to be wielded by the two great races for the destruction of one another. However, since neither they nor the interstellar ships had yet been used in actual warfare, the leading authorities expressed considerable doubts as to what really would occur in the heat of a great engagement.
The officers were all trained scientists; for no one could possibly work these flying collections of mechanism and scientific instruments without having spent years in studying the abstrusities of physics. The men who formed the crews had only to move the levers and turn the wheels as they were ordered, so they needed no special education beyond a little practice. The captains and admirals were mostly gray-haired men who were adepts at interstellar tactics, and had grown old in the study of the means of destruction. Some of the largest ships carried as many as three captains under the orders of a chief-captain, so vast was the machine which had to be controlled.
The aspect presented by the whole fleet was magnificent in the extreme. The great shining hulls bristling with guns and covered with men, moving about like ants, glittered in the sun. Here and there towered the largest vessels, which had as many as seven or eight decks, and carried over 400 guns. The river Thames wound its way down the middle of the fleet, and huge flexible pipes ran from it to many of the vessels which were still engaged in taking in water. Flags were waving from every mast, while numberless flat-shaped tenders were conveying officers and crews to their respective ships. The ground was covered with spectators, and the air round the outskirts of the fleet was thick with air-vessels which had come to watch the departure of the fleet. But as the time fixed for the departure drew near, order began to be evolved out of disorder. The Admiral-in-Chief arrived, accompanied by a crowd of officers, scientists, and professors who were going to travel with him in the flag-ship.
One hour more before they started. Lieutenant Alec Brandon stood on the ground close to the Lightning talking to Flora Houghton, whose tear-stained eyes and pale face made her look yet more beautiful. He held one of her small hands in his, and was telling her how, when he returned, he would be made a captain, and then he could marry her. But she shook her head sadly as she thought of the dangers of the fearful campaign upon which he was about to enter. He laughed gaily at her fears, and talked lightly of the power of the people of Kairet, although his voice trembled just a little as he looked at the mouths of the gleaming cannon that bristled around him. Her father was up above on the deck chatting with the captain about some new device which had lately been discovered for preventing the radiation of heat from interstellar vessels. James Tarrant was walking along the ground a little way off, with the usual absent-minded look on his face, while his thin lips curled slightly as he looked at the great leviathans which lay around him. But no one noticed the pair of lovers, for every man that belonged to the fleet was either engaged in his duties or in taking leave of his friends. The great flag-ship of the Admiral-in-Chief was floating high in the air above, casting a cold shadow on the fleet as it moved along.
At last the signal came to haul up the gangways. Alec pressed Flora to his breast while his lips met hers in one last kiss. Then he handed her over to her father and leapt on to the gangway just as it was being drawn up. He ran nimbly up the side of the Lightning, and then clung on to one of the projecting cannon, eager to speak a few last words to her. But a minute later there was a blinding flash from the flag-ship above, followed by a deafening report. It was the signal to start. Hundreds of captains saw the flash as they stood at their posts within their metal spheres, and they laid their hands on the levers before them. The engineers obeyed the call and let loose the pent-up power. The whole fleet undulated and rocked like the waves of a sea as the propellers whirled round, while jets of white vapour escaped from the sides. As the speed increased, a stiff breeze, that was created by the propellers, blew over the spectators. The vessels rose higher and higher, proceeding by divisions, each division being led by its flag-ship. Flora watched the Lightning with straining eyes and aching heart as it mounted into the air. The sky was darkened for miles around by the vast concourse of vessels. Higher and higher they ascended, shaking the air with the beating of their propellers, plunging upward into the awful abysses of space, rejoicing in the pride of their strength. The upper-decks were covered with officers in full uniform, and with sailors clustering like bees along the railings, taking what would be to many of them a last breath of the air of the earth. Upwards and upwards, higher and higher they mounted, the vessels looking like small specks against the sky.
Flora's eyes were blinded with tears. Dr. Houghton gently drew her arm within his own and led her away to a carriage that was waiting for them. As they drove along they passed by James Tarrant, who was walking along as if in a dream, with his head bent towards the ground. He looked up as they passed, and a slight smile passed over his pale, tired face as he raised his hat to Flora and nodded slightly to the doctor.
'Clever man that—clever man!' muttered Dr. Houghton half aloud, half to himself. 'Will do great things some day.'
Meanwhile the fleet was fast vanishing out of sight. High up in the sky the ships were shining like bright dust in the sunlight. When evening came they had vanished; but as soon as it was quite dark the signal-lights could be seen flashing out in all directions. The lights got fainter every minute. Soon they formed a misty haze like a nebula, and then they vanished altogether. The huge fleet, with its hundreds of thousands of brave men, had gone.
Many thoughts filled the minds of the people of England when their great fleet had departed. Some thought only of the glories of war, of fresh conquests and new mines of wealth; but others were thinking of husbands, brothers, and sons whom they might see no more. Many secretly wished that the national ambition had been more restrained, and that they had been contented with their own planet, and not crossed the oceans of space in search of fresh lands and fresh enemies. But everyone assumed an air of confidence, so the public spirit rose from day to day. The dockyards continued to work day and night, making another fleet that was to be despatched to invade Kairet as soon as it was ready. The workshops resounded with the thumping of hammers, the crunch of rolling-mills, and the hissing of metal as it was liquefied under the new process. The vast forms of new interstellar ships were rising and taking shape under covered sheds, while all round them was the rattle of machinery, boring, cutting, planing, and bending. Huge guns were being turned out at the arsenals every day, and hundreds of tons of the most terrible explosives. Fresh levies of sailors were called out and drilled, more officers were appointed: for cost what it might, Kairet must be subdued.
A little more than a month after the fleet had left the earth a telegraphic message was received from Neptune, stating that it had arrived safely at that planet, and had plunged into the abysses of space beyond. Then days, weeks, and months passed by without anything being heard. The usual transport vessels kept on leaving the earth for the planets as if nothing unusual had occurred. As time went on and no message was received from the fleet, everyone began to feel disquieted. Months passed by, but no news came. Intense anxiety began to be felt everywhere. What had happened to the fleet? Where was it? What was it doing? Had it reached Kairet? Was it victorious? Such were the questions that were asked everywhere and from morning to night. At last, about eighteen months after the fleet had departed, an answer came. It was flashed from planet to planet until it reached the earth, where it sent a thrill of horror and desolation through the length and breadth of the land.