Twelve Stories and a Dream

第1章

1。Filmer2。TheMagicShop3。TheValleyofSpiders4。TheTruthAboutPyecraft5。Mr。SkelmersdaleinFairyland6。TheStoryoftheInexperiencedGhost7。JimmyGogglestheGod8。TheNewAccelerator9。Mr。Ledbetter’sVacation10。TheStolenBody11。Mr。Brisher’sTreasure12。MissWinchelsea’sHeart13。ADreamofArmageddon1。FILMER

Intruththemasteryofflyingwastheworkofthousandsofmen——

thismanasuggestionandthatanexperiment，untilatlastonlyonevigorousintellectualeffortwasneededtofinishthework。

Buttheinexorableinjusticeofthepopularmindhasdecidedthatofallthesethousands，oneman，andthatamanwhoneverflew，shouldbechosenasthediscoverer，justasithaschosentohonourWattasthediscovererofsteamandStephensonofthesteam-engine。AndsurelyofallhonourednamesnoneissogrotesquelyandtragicallyhonouredaspoorFilmer’s，thetimid，intellectualcreaturewhosolvedtheproblemoverwhichtheworldhadhungperplexedandalittlefearfulforsomanygenerations，themanwhopressedthebuttonthathaschangedpeaceandwarfareandwell-nigheveryconditionofhumanlifeandhappiness。Neverhasthatrecurringwonderofthelittlenessofthescientificmaninthefaceofthegreatnessofhissciencefoundsuchanamazingexemplification。MuchconcerningFilmeris，andmustremain，profoundlyobscure——FilmersattractnoBoswells——buttheessentialfactsandtheconcludingsceneareclearenough，andthereareletters，andnotes，andcasualallusionstopiecethewholetogether。

Andthisisthestoryonemakes，puttingthisthingwiththat，ofFilmer’slifeanddeath。

ThefirstauthentictraceofFilmeronthepageofhistoryisadocumentinwhichheappliesforadmissionasapaidstudentinphysicstotheGovernmentlaboratoriesatSouthKensington，andthereinhedescribeshimselfasthesonofa“militarybootmaker“

(“cobbler“inthevulgartongue)ofDover，andlistshisvariousexaminationproofsofahighproficiencyinchemistryandmathematics。Withacertainwantofdignityheseekstoenhancetheseattainmentsbyaprofessionofpovertyanddisadvantages，andhewritesofthelaboratoryasthe“gaol“ofhisambitions，aslipwhichreinforceshisclaimtohavedevotedhimselfexclusivelytotheexactsciences。ThedocumentisendorsedinamannerthatshowsFilmerwasadmittedtothiscovetedopportunity；butuntilquiterecentlynotracesofhissuccessintheGovernmentinstitutioncouldbefound。

Ithasnow，however，beenshownthatinspiteofhisprofessedzealforresearch，Filmer，beforehehadheldthisscholarshipayear，wastempted，bythepossibilityofasmallincreaseinhisimmediateincome，toabandonitinordertobecomeoneofthenine-pence-an-hourcomputersemployedbyawell-knownProfessorinhisvicariousconductofthoseextensiveresearchesofhisinsolarphysics——researcheswhicharestillamatterofperplexitytoastronomers。Afterwards，forthespaceofsevenyears，saveforthepasslistsoftheLondonUniversity，inwhichheisseentoclimbslowlytoadoublefirstclassB。Sc。，inmathematicsandchemistry，thereisnoevidenceofhowFilmerpassedhislife。Nooneknowshoworwherehelived，thoughitseemshighlyprobablethathecontinuedtosupporthimselfbyteachingwhileheprosecutedthestudiesnecessaryforthisdistinction。Andthen，oddlyenough，onefindshimmentionedinthecorrespondenceofArthurHicks，thepoet。

“YourememberFilmer，“HickswritestohisfriendVance；“well，HEhasn’talteredabit，thesamehostilemumbleandthenastychin——howCANamancontrivetobealwaysthreedaysfromshaving？——

andasortoffurtiveairofbeingengagedinsneakinginfrontofone；evenhiscoatandthatfrayedcollarofhisshownofurthersignsofthepassingyears。HewaswritinginthelibraryandIsatdownbesidehiminthenameofGod’scharity，whereuponhedeliberatelyinsultedmebycoveringuphismemoranda。Itseemshehassomebrilliantresearchonhandthathesuspectsmeofallpeople——withaBodleyBookleta-printing！——ofstealing。HehastakenremarkablehonoursattheUniversity——hewentthroughthemwithasortofhastyslobber，asthoughhefearedImightinterrupthimbeforehehadtoldmeall——andhespokeoftakinghisD。Sc。asonemightspeakoftakingacab。AndheaskedwhatIwasdoing——withasortofcomparativeaccent，andhisarmwasspreadnervously，positivelyaprotectingarm，overthepaperthathidthepreciousidea——hisonehopefulidea。

“’Poetry，’hesaid，’Poetry。Andwhatdoyouprofesstoteachinit，Hicks？’

“Thething’saProvincialprofessorlingintheveryactofbudding，andIthanktheLorddevoutlythatbutforthepreciousgiftofindolenceIalsomighthavegonethiswaytoD。Sc。anddestruction……“

AcuriouslittlevignettethatIaminclinedtothinkcaughtFilmerinorneartheverybirthofhisdiscovery。HickswaswronginanticipatingaprovincialprofessorshipforFilmer。Ournextglimpseofhimislecturingon“rubberandrubbersubstitutes，“totheSocietyofArts——hehadbecomemanagertoagreatplastic-substancemanufactory——andatthattime，itisnowknown，hewasamemberoftheAeronauticalSociety，albeithecontributednothingtothediscussionsofthatbody，preferringnodoubttomaturehisgreatconceptionwithoutexternalassistance。AndwithintwoyearsofthatpaperbeforetheSocietyofArtshewashastilytakingoutanumberofpatentsandproclaiminginvariousundignifiedwaysthecompletionofthedivergentinquirieswhichmadehisflyingmachinepossible。ThefirstdefinitestatementtothateffectappearedinahalfpennyeveningpaperthroughtheagencyofamanwholodgedinthesamehousewithFilmer。Hisfinalhasteafterhislonglaborioussecretpatienceseemstohavebeenduetoaneedlesspanic，Bootle，thenotoriousAmericanscientificquack，havingmadeanannouncementthatFilmerinterpretedwronglyasananticipationofhisidea。

NowwhatpreciselywasFilmer’sidea？Reallyaverysimpleone。

Beforehistimethepursuitofaeronauticshadtakentwodivergentlines，andhaddevelopedontheonehandballoons——largeapparatuslighterthanair，easyinascent，andcomparativelysafeindescent，butfloatinghelplesslybeforeanybreezethattookthem；andontheother，flyingmachinesthatflewonlyintheory——vastflatstructuresheavierthanair，propelledandkeptupbyheavyenginesandforthemostpartsmashingatthefirstdescent。But，neglectingthefactthattheinevitablefinalcollapserenderedthemimpossible，theweightoftheflyingmachinesgavethemthistheoreticaladvantage，thattheycouldgothroughtheairagainstawind，anecessaryconditionifaerialnavigationwastohaveanypracticalvalue。ItisFilmer’sparticularmeritthatheperceivedthewayinwhichthecontrastedandhithertoincompatiblemeritsofballoonandheavyflyingmachinemightbecombinedinoneapparatus，whichshouldbeatchoiceeitherheavierorlighterthanair。

Hetookhintsfromthecontractilebladdersoffishandthepneumaticcavitiesofbirds。Hedevisedanarrangementofcontractileandabsolutelyclosedballoonswhichwhenexpandedcouldlifttheactualflyingapparatuswithease，andwhenretractedbythecomplicated“musculature“hewoveaboutthem，werewithdrawnalmostcompletelyintotheframe；andhebuiltthelargeframeworkwhichtheseballoonssustained，ofhollow，rigidtubes，theairinwhich，byaningeniouscontrivance，wasautomaticallypumpedoutastheapparatusfell，andwhichthenremainedexhaustedsolongastheaeronautdesired。Therewerenowingsorpropellerstohismachine，suchastherehadbeentoallpreviousaeroplanes，andtheonlyenginerequiredwasthecompactandpowerfullittleapplianceneededtocontracttheballoons。Heperceivedthatsuchanapparatusashehaddevisedmightrisewithframeexhaustedandballoonsexpandedtoaconsiderableheight，mightthencontractitsballoonsandlettheairintoitsframe，andbyanadjustmentofitsweightsslidedowntheairinanydesireddirection。Asitfellitwouldaccumulatevelocityandatthesametimeloseweight，andthemomentumaccumulatedbyitsdown-rushcouldbeutilisedbymeansofashiftingofitsweightstodriveitupintheairagainastheballoonsexpanded。Thisconception，whichisstillthestructuralconceptionofallsuccessfulflyingmachines，needed，however，avastamountoftoiluponitsdetailsbeforeitcouldactuallyberealised，andsuchtoilFilmer——ashewasaccustomedtotellthenumerousinterviewerswhocrowdeduponhimintheheydayofhisfame——“ungrudginglyandunsparinglygave。“

Hisparticulardifficultywastheelasticliningofthecontractileballoon。Hefoundheneededanewsubstance，andinthediscoveryandmanufactureofthatnewsubstancehehad，asheneverfailedtoimpressupontheinterviewers，“performedafarmorearduousworkthanevenintheactualachievementofmyseeminglygreaterdiscovery。“

ButitmustnotbeimaginedthattheseinterviewsfollowedharduponFilmer’sproclamationofhisinvention。Anintervalofnearlyfiveyearselapsedduringwhichhetimidlyremainedathisrubberfactory——heseemstohavebeenentirelydependentonhissmallincomefromthissource——makingmisdirectedattemptstoassureaquiteindifferentpublicthathereallyHADinventedwhathehadinvented。Heoccupiedthegreaterpartofhisleisureinthecompositionofletterstothescientificanddailypress，andsoforth，statingpreciselythenetresultofhiscontrivances，anddemandingfinancialaid。Thatalonewouldhavesufficedforthesuppressionofhisletters。Hespentsuchholidaysashecouldarrangeinunsatisfactoryinterviewswiththedoor-keepersofleadingLondonpapers——hewassingularlynotadaptedforinspiringhall-porterswithconfidence——andhepositivelyattemptedtoinducetheWarOfficetotakeuphisworkwithhim。ThereremainsaconfidentialletterfromMajor-GeneralVolleyfiretotheEarlofFrogs。

“Theman’sacrankandaboundertoboot，“saystheMajor-Generalinhisbluff，sensible，armyway，andsoleftitopenfortheJapanesetosecure，astheysubsequentlydid，thepriorityinthissideofwarfare——aprioritytheystilltoourgreatdiscomfortretain。

AndthenbyastrokeofluckthemembraneFilmerhadinventedforhiscontractileballoonwasdiscoveredtobeusefulforthevalvesofanewoil-engine，andheobtainedthemeansformakingatrialmodelofhisinvention。Hethrewuphisrubberfactoryappointment，desistedfromallfurtherwriting，and，withacertainsecrecythatseemstohavebeenaninseparablecharacteristicofallhisproceedings，settoworkupontheapparatus。HeseemstohavedirectedthemakingofitspartsandcollectedmostofitinaroominShoreditch，butitsfinalputtingtogetherwasdoneatDymchurch，inKent。Hedidnotmaketheaffairlargeenoughtocarryaman，buthemadeanextremelyingenioususeofwhatwerethencalledtheMarconiraystocontrolitsflight。ThefirstflightofthisfirstpracticableflyingmachinetookplaceoversomefieldsnearBurfordBridge，nearHythe，inKent，andFilmerfollowedandcontrolleditsflightuponaspeciallyconstructedmotortricycle。

Theflightwas，consideringallthings，anamazingsuccess。

TheapparatuswasbroughtinacartfromDymchurchtoBurfordBridge，ascendedtheretoaheightofnearlythreehundredfeet，swoopedthenceverynearlybacktoDymchurch，cameaboutinitssweep，roseagain，circled，andfinallysankuninjuredinafieldbehindtheBurfordBridgeInn。Atitsdescentacuriousthinghappened。

Filmergotoffhistricycle，scrambledovertheinterveningdyke，advancedperhapstwentyyardstowardshistriumph，threwouthisarmsinastrangegesticulation，andfelldowninadeadfaint。

Everyonecouldthenrecalltheghastlinessofhisfeaturesandalltheevidencesofextremeexcitementtheyhadobservedthroughoutthetrial，thingstheymightotherwisehaveforgotten。Afterwardsintheinnhehadanunaccountablegustofhystericalweeping。

Altogethertherewerenottwentywitnessesofthisaffair，andthoseforthemostpartuneducatedmen。TheNewRomneydoctorsawtheascentbutnotthedescent，hishorsebeingfrightenedbytheelectricalapparatusonFilmer’stricycleandgivinghimanastyspill。TwomembersoftheKentconstabularywatchedtheaffairfromacartinanunofficialspirit，andagrocercallingroundtheMarshforordersandtwoladycyclistsseemalmosttocompletethelistofeducatedpeople。Thereweretworeporterspresent，onerepresentingaFolkestonepaperandtheotherbeingafourth-classinterviewerand“symposium“journalist，whoseexpensesdown，Filmer，anxiousaseverforadequateadvertisement——andnowquiterealisingthewayinwhichadequateadvertisementmaybeobtained——hadpaid。Thelatterwasoneofthosewriterswhocanthrowaconvincingairofunrealityoverthemostcredibleevents，andhishalf-facetiousaccountoftheaffairappearedinthemagazinepageofapopularjournal。But，happilyforFilmer，thisperson’scolloquialmethodsweremoreconvincing。HewenttooffersomefurtherscreeduponthesubjecttoBanghurst，theproprietoroftheNewPaper，andoneoftheablestandmostunscrupulousmeninLondonjournalism，andBanghurstinstantlyseizeduponthesituation。Theinterviewervanishesfromthenarrative，nodoubtverydoubtfullyremunerated，andBanghurst，Banghursthimself，doublechin，greytwillsuit，abdomen，voice，gesturesandall，appearsatDymchurch，followinghislarge，unrivalledjournalisticnose。