CHAPTER NINETEEN

The Martians up Close

When I awoke, the curate was laying on the other side of the kitchen with his head facing away from me. He was watching the Martians through a small hole in the wall. I quietly went over to him and touched him on the arm. This frightened him so much that he hit his head against the top of the hole and sent a large amount of dirt falling loudly to the ground outside the hole. Luckily, the Martians paid no attention.

Looking out upon them, I could see that the Martians landed directly on top of the first house we had visited. It had completely disappeared now and all of the land around the Martian ship had been violently thrown in all directions. The same was true of the house we were now inside. Except for the kitchen, the rest of the building had been blown away in the explosion. We were now buried under a huge mound of dirt, with the only means of escape being the Martian pit itself.

Within the pit, there were several Martians working here and there. Just outside the entrance to their ship, a large metal machine with five arms was unloading equipment and placing it about the floor of the pit. Inside the machine, controlling its movements, sat one of the Martians. I was impressed by the speed with which the machine went about its work. It almost seemed like a living thing.

Hidden as I was, it was easy for me to get a careful look at the Martians now. They seemed to be nothing more than huge, walking heads. On one side of the head was a face with very large, dark eyes and a soft, bird-like nose. On the other side was a strange, drum-like layer of skin that, much later, when scientists could examine the Martians, proved to be an ear. On both sides of its mouth were eight long arms or "hands" as the scientists later called them.

Scientists reported that the most interesting thing about the Martians was that they did not eat. There was no system inside of them that was designed to take in food; rather, they used a special device to suck the blood from other living beings. The blood was then placed into their own body (or, I should say, "head") using the same device. I actually got an opportunity to see this happen; however, it was so upsetting to watch that I do not think I can go into detail about it here. So, the inside of the Martians was basically only a brain and lungs. Their bodies were simpler versions of the human structure. Again, I say body, when I should say "head", for that is all that they really were. Giant heads. And, if you stop to think about it, it makes quite a lot of sense that their bodies should have disappeared over time. The human body is full of systems that slow us down both physically and mentally. Take the way our bodies process food, for instance. It makes us quite tired and unable to think very clearly. The Martians do not have to deal with this. And when it comes to emotions, the Martians are equally in favor. Humans are only happy when their bodies are feeling healthy and alert. This, as we all know very well, can change from day to day. Martians, on the other hand, being made up almost totally entirely of brain matter, probably have no differences in their feelings, since their "bodies" undergo very few changes.

There were a few other interesting facts that we later learned about these beings. First of all, their bodies never seemed to become tired. They, in fact, did not need sleep, but worked day and night. Secondly, they gave birth without having sex. Much like a plant, young Martians grew out of their parent's body. Without sex, it seems that they did not have the emotional problems from which humans always suffer. Thirdly, it seemed that the Martians did not suffer from the same kinds of diseases and illnesses that humans do. It is possible that Mars either never had the bacteria that causes such illnesses on Earth or perhaps their scientists destroyed them all.

One thing that I noticed, and it is fair to say that I saw the Martians at their work more than any other human did while they were here, was that they occasionally made a kind of "cooing" sound when they breathed out. At first, I thought that this must be their language, and, indeed, it may be a part of it, but it most certainly is not their only means of communication. In fact, I strongly believe that their primary method of communicating is through their thoughts, otherwise known as mental telepathy.

(end of section)