MAN’S FLIGHT FROM THE EARTH TO VENUS.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 18161, 21 May 1927, Page 6

MAN’S FLIGHT FROM THE EARTH TO VENUS.

SCIENTIST LOOKS AT “ LIFE ” MILLIONS OF YEARS FROM THESE TIMES. , (Special to the “Star.”) LONDON, April 2. A hurried departure of most of the human race to the planet of Venus before the earth becomes uninhabitable is predicted by Mr J. B. S. Haldane, the distinguished Cambridge scientist, in a fantasy of the future which he has written for “ Harper’s Magazine.” Calmly projecting himself some 40,000,000 years into the future, he imagines himself settled on Venus and relating the story of the earth's strange evolution. The trouble, it appears, was all due to the moon. By the year 5,000,000 the human race had reached perfection. Men lived about 3000 years, and could do practically what they liked. The tidal wave energy was now 50 million million horse-power. barge parts of the planet were artificially heated. The continents were remodelled, but human effort was largely devoted to the development of personal relationships and to art and music. Even pain had been abolished and activity was turned to colonising other planets. Two expeditions reached the moon and mapped out its surface, but they could not get back. More unfortunate, however, was the fact that the moon raised large tides on the earth which tended to slow down the earth's rotation. When all coal had been used up and tide-engines were employed for power the braking action became accentuated By the year 17,000,000 or so the earth had so slowed down that the day was as long as a month in 1926. After that the speed at which the moon approached the earth became unbearable, and, after 284 failures, the humans landed on Venus. Secure on Venus, the new colony, having scientifically adapted itself to

the new atmosphere and developed new senses, placidly watched the moon's collapse under the strain:— The moon was now only a fifth of its distance from the earth when history began. It appeared twenty-five times as largo as the sifn, and raised the sealevel by some 500 feet about four times The depression in the moon’s surface facing the earth suddenly opened and emitted a torrent of white-hot lava. . . Within three days the satellite had broken up into a ring of white-hot lava and dust. The last message received from the earth stated that the entire human race had retired underground.