Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-13

should my event distort? Why doesn't
life distort? There are laws-like
gravitation-that keep life right IL
up and preserve its proportions. You
can't destroy that equilibrium OF those
proportions"
Il should think you would if any
thing could!" said Van Wrinkle. But
how do you limit your field? How Go
you know how much to condense? How
do you know when you get a complete
record? Carol fired at him swiftly.
TITS rather technical" replied Brain
ard slowly, land it's a new technique,
for which we have no terms. There IS
a unity in action that men have always
recognized dramatically, but which they
never realized was based upon a funda-
mental physical law"
do you, a scientist, call any physical
law. fundamentals" queried Mr. Nor
How do you know you've
reached the fundamental"
ANY law that works without variance
is related to the fundamental" returned
Btainard impatiently. Then he took up
his interrupted thought.
THE unity of action is evidenced in
the handling of any liquid event by
a property l discovered. which is only
comparable to tensile strength in steel,
say. Do you know what tensile strength
is, Carol2"
yes. it's what makes anything hard
to pull apart"
well, tensile strength cohesion
inherent in the unity of the events
what holds it together and causes 1t
all to condenSe when any part OF 1t is
condensed. Like a fish, you can't catch
1t at all without catching the whole OF
it. Does that sound too difficult? AS to
completeness, however, no event Is ever
complete in life, despite its unity.
There's a paradox in that. but it's a
paradox nobody ever seems to mind III
a theater. At the same time it's the
explanation of why nobody is ever quite
satisfied with drama, or fiction, or pic
lures. or any other parody OF life"
There seemed to PHYLLIS to be a
fallacy as we'll as a paradox here. But
her mind was leaping ahead and run
ming into chaos again. But it's going
to create all sorts of abnormal con-
ditions. this invention Of yours, Radley,"
she said, 'intolerable conditions
"Oh, I don't know" he answered.
Why?'
But, Rad. interrupted Carol. "you
say that when you release a scene 1t
all escapes no mater whether we see
it all or not. Do you lose scenes like
that? Can we look only nee at any
one scene?"
Brainard smiled. "You can look as
many times as you like at anything you
like. I have only to set up my vibrator
and condenser again and take the scene
once more into captivity"
"Hah! Does it run away home when
you let go Of it-and then just wait
around to be captured again?" asked
John.
Brainard did not laugh. with the rest.
IT can't make any positive statement
about that" he said slowly. But
what I think Is that I get only a
copy, as I may say, of the original
record each time I compress the air
of its locality. I think the original I'M
preston in the ether remains just where
1t was made. 1t is a sort Of master
record, from which the mere air takes
its e~ver-repeated impressions, like
Photographic prints from a negative Or
like paper from a form OF type in a
printing press"
"Ho!" exclaimed Aunt Relief. Rad
ley, I think your brains are becoming
added. This Is ridiculously plausible!
But you don't expect sane people, TO
swallow 1t all, do you? / admit that
YOU ILtdhC SOtktC PlCOpy NOAAN \A PNS
lures, but If o could show us history,
as you pretend, you'd-turn the world
upside down."
Maybe I SHALL" returned Brainard
quietly. ~
But look here, Mr.. Brainard," said
the Van Wrinkle again. II wish you'd
explain to me another thing. ! don't
know much about liquid air, but /
know that very little of what you con-
dense liquefies and that the nitrogen
in It always evaporates faster than n
W I should think part Of your
LIQUID scene would get away from you
while you condense or while you are
waiting for the other part to melt
down"
"Ho-yes!" cried Carol. "Your lead
ing man might be on doing his Dit
while the star was still N her dressing
room!"
"I'm Indifferent to what happens to
the nitrogen" returned Brainard. my
actors stick to the oxygen-lke all
sensible living creatures" He smiled at
Carol. And what I liquefy always
contains my scene; maybe that's why
1t l~iquefes!" - ...,.
"Nell" he said. 1--WE had all I can
digest for a while, Radley. I'm going
home"
Mrs. Norman also rose. "You make
me dreadfully uneasy. Radley,' sne
told him. Somehow IT doesn't seem
natural-er right. II you aren't foolng
uSi It's so fantastic-almost, farcical-
in its dealing With
I'm not fooling you, and it's all
right, Mrs. Norman" Brainard as
sured her. -
and isn't every unfamiliar thing
lust as fantastic to us at first? Think,
for instance, that iron freezes at some
1900 above zero. and air boils at $50
below. Those are well known. every
day facts to science. but they seem
weird to ordinary folk"
Phyllis fingered behind as the others
moved toward the door. Radley turned
IT thought you'd be glad, Phyl. that
I've succeeded" he said quickly, his
eyes smoldering with anger.
.Radley!" protested the girl. "O1
course I'm glad for anything good that
comes to you! Buff you see any ef-
feet this has or me, you see that I'm
frightened by 1t. That is. I'm fright
ened in the moments when ! believe an
YOU say. Then, like the others, I think
you are playing an elaborate joke on us.
"It,s not a joke"
"It certainly is not a joke to me to
have 1t come between you and me as
it has come lately-is coming now. Is
that frank enough?"
"It's not what I'm doing that is COM
ing between you and me. Phyllis. It's
the same thing that women always
feel: jealousy OF what interferes with
monopoly of the men they love-"
perhaps you're joking. Radley.
Wen overlook that for the moment.
The feeling that is uppermost in me
lust now is that you are tampering
with something that is inconceivably
dangerous. If what you tell me is true.
It's a sort Of upsetting, defying Of nat
ural laws"
Nobody upsets Of defies natural
laws, Phyl, rest assured of that. I'm
merely using some just discovered"
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