August 7, 2025 • 9 mins
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter fifteen. The guards at the silver Gateway, What they
were like our reception by them? I make a wonderful
discovery the world's first telephone. Bulgar, and I succeed in
making friends with these strangers. A brief description of the pseudopsies,
that is, make believe eyes or the former folk, that is,
(00:21):
aunt people. How a blind man may read your writing? O,
Great don Fu, Master of all masters, What do I
not owe THEE for having made known unto me the
existence of this wonderful world within a world? Would that
I had been a worker in metal, I would not
have passed the glorious portal at which I had halted,
without having set in deep intaglio upon its silver columns
(00:44):
the full name of the most glorious scholar whom the
world has ever known. Bulgar had warned me that this
gateway was guarded, and therefore I entered it cautiously, taking
care to peer into the dark corners, lest I might
be a target for some invisible enemy to hurl a weapon.
No sooner had I passed the gateway than three curious
little beings of about my own height threw themselves swiftly
(01:07):
and silently across the pathway. They wore short jackets, knee breeches,
and leggings reaching to their ankles, but no hats or shoes,
and their clothes were profusely decorated with beautiful silver buttons.
Their hands and feet and heads seemed much too large
for their little bodies and pipe stemy legs, and gave
them an uncanny and browny look, which was greatly increased
(01:30):
by the staring and glassy expression of their large round eyes.
When I first caught sight of them, they had hold
of hands, but now they stood, each with his pair
stretched out toward Bulgar and me, waving them strangely in
the air and agitating their long fingers as if they
were endeavoring to set a spell upon us. I imagined
(01:51):
that I could feel a sensation of drowsiness creeping over me,
and made haste to call out, Knie. Good people do
not strive to set a spell upon me. I am
the illustrious explorer from the upper world, Sebastian von Trump,
and come to you with most peaceful intent. But they
paid no heed to my words, merely advancing a few
inches and with outstretched hands, continued to beat and claw
(02:13):
the air, pausing only to signal to each other by
touching each other's hands or different parts of each other's bodies.
I was deeply perplexed by their actions, and took a
step or two forward, when instantly they fell back the
same distance. All men are brothers, I exclaimed in a
loud tone, and carry the same shaped hearts in their breasts.
Why do you fear me? You are thrice my number
(02:35):
in your own home. I pray you stand fast and
speak to me. As I was pronouncing these words, they
kept jerking their heads back, as if the sound of
my voice were smiting them in the face. It was
very strange. Suddenly one of them drew from his pocket
a ball of silken cord, and deathly, unrolling it, tossed
one end toward me. It flew directly towards me, for
(02:57):
its end was weighted with a thin disk of polish silver,
as was the end retained in the hand of the thrower.
His next move was to open his jacket and apparently
press his disc against his bare body, right over his heart.
I made haste to do the same with mine, holding
it firmly in place. This done, he retreated a step
or two until the silver cord had been drawn quite taut.
(03:19):
Then he paused and stood for several instants without moving
a muscle, after which he passed the disk to one
of his companions, who, having pressed it against his heart,
in turn passed it to the third of the group.
With the quickness of thought, the truth now burst upon me.
The three brownie like creatures in front of me were
not only blind, but they were deaf and dumb. The
(03:40):
one sense upon which they relied, and which in them
was of most marvelous keenness, was the sense of feeling.
The strange motions of their hands and fingers, so much
like the beating and waving of an insects feelers were
simply to intercept and measure the vibrations of the air
set in motion by the movements of my body. Their
large round eyes too, But the sense of feeling, but
(04:01):
so wondrously acute was it that it was almost like
the power of sight, enabling them, by the vibration of
the air upon the balls, to tell exactly how near
a moving object is to them. Their purpose in throwing
the silken cord and silver dish to me was by
measuring the beating of my heart and comparing it with
their own to determine whether I was human like them.
(04:23):
Judge of my astonishment, dear friends, upon seeing one of
their number point to the silver disk, and by means
of sign language, give me to understand that they wanted
to feel the heart of the living creature in my company.
Stooping down, I hastened to gratify their curiosity by applying
it over my dear Bulgar's heart. At once. There was
an expression of most comical amazement depicted on their faces
(04:46):
as they passed the disk from one to the other
and pressed it against different parts of their bodies, now
against their breasts, now against their cheeks, and even against
their closed eyelids. Of course, I knew that their amazement
proceeded from the rapid beating of Bulger's heart, and I
enjoyed their childlike surprise very much. All expression of fear
(05:06):
now vanished from their faces, and I was delighted with
the look of sweet temper and good humor that played
about their features. Slowly and on tiptoe, they drew nearer
to Bulgar and mean, and for several minutes amused themselves
mightily by running their long, flexible fingers hither and thither
over our bodies. It did not take to belong to
discover that I was, to all intents and purposes, a
(05:28):
creature of their own kind. But not so with Bulgar.
Their round faces became seamed and lined with wonder as
they made themselves acquainted with his to them strange build
and ever and anon. As they felt him over would
they pause, and, in lightning like motions of their fingers
on each other's hands and arms and faces, exchanged thoughts
(05:49):
as to the wonderful being which had entered the portal
of their city. No doubt your dying of impatience, dear friends,
to be told something more definite concerning these strange people
among whom I had fallen. Well know then that their
existence had been darkly hinted at in the manuscript of
the great Master Don Fum. I say darkly hinted at.
For you must bear in mind that Don Fum never
(06:10):
visited this world within a world, that his wonderful wisdom
enabled him to reason it all out without seeing it,
just as the great naturalists of our day, upon finding
a single tooth belonging to some gigantic creature which lived
thousands of years ago, are able to draw complete pictures
of him. While these curious beings whose city Bulgar and
(06:31):
I had entered are called by two different names in
Don Fum's Wonderful In some places he speaks of them
as the pseudopsies or make believe eyes, and in others
as the former folk or ant people. Either name was
most appropriate, their large, round, clear eyes being really make
believe ones, for as I have told you, they have
(06:52):
absolutely no sense of sight. While on the other hand,
the fact that they were deaf, dumb, and blind, and
lived in underground homes made them well entitled to the
name of ant people. In a few moments, the three
pseudopsies had succeeded in teaching me the main principles of
their pressure language, so that I was, to their great delight,
enabled to answer a number of their questions. But think not,
(07:14):
dear friends, that these very wise and active little folks,
skilled in so many arts, have no other language than
one consisting of pressures of different degree made by their
fingertips upon each other's bodies. They had a most beautiful language,
so rich that they were able to express the most
difficult thoughts, to give utterance to the most varied emotions.
In short, a language quite equal of ours in all
(07:36):
respects save one. It contained absolutely no word that could
give them the faintest notion what color was. This is
not to be wondered at, for they themselves neither had
nor could have even the faintest conception of what I
meant by color, So that when I attempted to make
them understand that our stars were bright points in the sky,
they asked me if they would prick my finger if
(07:57):
I should press upon one of them. But you, doubtless
are anxious to know how the former folk can possibly
make use of any other language than that of pressures. Well,
I will tell you. Every pseudopsy carried at his girdle
a little blank book, if I may so term it,
the covers being of thin silver plates, variously carved and
chased as the owner's taste may prompt. The leaves of
(08:18):
this book also consist of thin sheets of silver, not
much thicker than our tinfoil. Also fastened to his girdle
by a silken cord, hangs a silver pen, or rather
a stylus. Now, when a pseudopsy wishes to say something
to one of his people, something too difficult to express
by pressures of the finger tips, he simply turns over
a leaf of the silver against the inside of either cover,
(08:41):
both of which are slightly padded, and taking up his stylus,
proceeds to write out what he wishes to say. And
this done, he deftly tears the leaf out and hands
it to his companion, who, taking it and turning it over,
runs the wonderfully sensitive tips of his fingers over the
raised writing, and reads it with the greyest ease. Only orse,
he reads from right to left instead of from left
(09:03):
to right as it was written. So hereafter, when I
repeat my conversations with the form of folk, you will
understand how they were conducted. End of Chapter fifteen.
Chapter fifteen. The guards at the silver Gateway, What they
were like our reception by them? I make a wonderful
discovery the world's first telephone. Bulgar, and I succeed in
making friends with these strangers. A brief description of the pseudopsies,
that is, make believe eyes or the former folk, that is,
(00:21):
aunt people. How a blind man may read your writing? O,
Great don Fu, Master of all masters, What do I
not owe THEE for having made known unto me the
existence of this wonderful world within a world? Would that
I had been a worker in metal, I would not
have passed the glorious portal at which I had halted,
without having set in deep intaglio upon its silver columns
(00:44):
the full name of the most glorious scholar whom the
world has ever known. Bulgar had warned me that this
gateway was guarded, and therefore I entered it cautiously, taking
care to peer into the dark corners, lest I might
be a target for some invisible enemy to hurl a weapon.
No sooner had I passed the gateway than three curious
little beings of about my own height threw themselves swiftly
(01:07):
and silently across the pathway. They wore short jackets, knee breeches,
and leggings reaching to their ankles, but no hats or shoes,
and their clothes were profusely decorated with beautiful silver buttons.
Their hands and feet and heads seemed much too large
for their little bodies and pipe stemy legs, and gave
them an uncanny and browny look, which was greatly increased
(01:30):
by the staring and glassy expression of their large round eyes.
When I first caught sight of them, they had hold
of hands, but now they stood, each with his pair
stretched out toward Bulgar and me, waving them strangely in
the air and agitating their long fingers as if they
were endeavoring to set a spell upon us. I imagined
(01:51):
that I could feel a sensation of drowsiness creeping over me,
and made haste to call out, Knie. Good people do
not strive to set a spell upon me. I am
the illustrious explorer from the upper world, Sebastian von Trump,
and come to you with most peaceful intent. But they
paid no heed to my words, merely advancing a few
inches and with outstretched hands, continued to beat and claw
(02:13):
the air, pausing only to signal to each other by
touching each other's hands or different parts of each other's bodies.
I was deeply perplexed by their actions, and took a
step or two forward, when instantly they fell back the
same distance. All men are brothers, I exclaimed in a
loud tone, and carry the same shaped hearts in their breasts.
Why do you fear me? You are thrice my number
(02:35):
in your own home. I pray you stand fast and
speak to me. As I was pronouncing these words, they
kept jerking their heads back, as if the sound of
my voice were smiting them in the face. It was
very strange. Suddenly one of them drew from his pocket
a ball of silken cord, and deathly, unrolling it, tossed
one end toward me. It flew directly towards me, for
(02:57):
its end was weighted with a thin disk of polish silver,
as was the end retained in the hand of the thrower.
His next move was to open his jacket and apparently
press his disc against his bare body, right over his heart.
I made haste to do the same with mine, holding
it firmly in place. This done, he retreated a step
or two until the silver cord had been drawn quite taut.
(03:19):
Then he paused and stood for several instants without moving
a muscle, after which he passed the disk to one
of his companions, who, having pressed it against his heart,
in turn passed it to the third of the group.
With the quickness of thought, the truth now burst upon me.
The three brownie like creatures in front of me were
not only blind, but they were deaf and dumb. The
(03:40):
one sense upon which they relied, and which in them
was of most marvelous keenness, was the sense of feeling.
The strange motions of their hands and fingers, so much
like the beating and waving of an insects feelers were
simply to intercept and measure the vibrations of the air
set in motion by the movements of my body. Their
large round eyes too, But the sense of feeling, but
(04:01):
so wondrously acute was it that it was almost like
the power of sight, enabling them, by the vibration of
the air upon the balls, to tell exactly how near
a moving object is to them. Their purpose in throwing
the silken cord and silver dish to me was by
measuring the beating of my heart and comparing it with
their own to determine whether I was human like them.
(04:23):
Judge of my astonishment, dear friends, upon seeing one of
their number point to the silver disk, and by means
of sign language, give me to understand that they wanted
to feel the heart of the living creature in my company.
Stooping down, I hastened to gratify their curiosity by applying
it over my dear Bulgar's heart. At once. There was
an expression of most comical amazement depicted on their faces
(04:46):
as they passed the disk from one to the other
and pressed it against different parts of their bodies, now
against their breasts, now against their cheeks, and even against
their closed eyelids. Of course, I knew that their amazement
proceeded from the rapid beating of Bulger's heart, and I
enjoyed their childlike surprise very much. All expression of fear
(05:06):
now vanished from their faces, and I was delighted with
the look of sweet temper and good humor that played
about their features. Slowly and on tiptoe, they drew nearer
to Bulgar and mean, and for several minutes amused themselves
mightily by running their long, flexible fingers hither and thither
over our bodies. It did not take to belong to
discover that I was, to all intents and purposes, a
(05:28):
creature of their own kind. But not so with Bulgar.
Their round faces became seamed and lined with wonder as
they made themselves acquainted with his to them strange build
and ever and anon. As they felt him over would
they pause, and, in lightning like motions of their fingers
on each other's hands and arms and faces, exchanged thoughts
(05:49):
as to the wonderful being which had entered the portal
of their city. No doubt your dying of impatience, dear friends,
to be told something more definite concerning these strange people
among whom I had fallen. Well know then that their
existence had been darkly hinted at in the manuscript of
the great Master Don Fum. I say darkly hinted at.
For you must bear in mind that Don Fum never
(06:10):
visited this world within a world, that his wonderful wisdom
enabled him to reason it all out without seeing it,
just as the great naturalists of our day, upon finding
a single tooth belonging to some gigantic creature which lived
thousands of years ago, are able to draw complete pictures
of him. While these curious beings whose city Bulgar and
(06:31):
I had entered are called by two different names in
Don Fum's Wonderful In some places he speaks of them
as the pseudopsies or make believe eyes, and in others
as the former folk or ant people. Either name was
most appropriate, their large, round, clear eyes being really make
believe ones, for as I have told you, they have
(06:52):
absolutely no sense of sight. While on the other hand,
the fact that they were deaf, dumb, and blind, and
lived in underground homes made them well entitled to the
name of ant people. In a few moments, the three
pseudopsies had succeeded in teaching me the main principles of
their pressure language, so that I was, to their great delight,
enabled to answer a number of their questions. But think not,
(07:14):
dear friends, that these very wise and active little folks,
skilled in so many arts, have no other language than
one consisting of pressures of different degree made by their
fingertips upon each other's bodies. They had a most beautiful language,
so rich that they were able to express the most
difficult thoughts, to give utterance to the most varied emotions.
In short, a language quite equal of ours in all
(07:36):
respects save one. It contained absolutely no word that could
give them the faintest notion what color was. This is
not to be wondered at, for they themselves neither had
nor could have even the faintest conception of what I
meant by color, So that when I attempted to make
them understand that our stars were bright points in the sky,
they asked me if they would prick my finger if
(07:57):
I should press upon one of them. But you, doubtless
are anxious to know how the former folk can possibly
make use of any other language than that of pressures. Well,
I will tell you. Every pseudopsy carried at his girdle
a little blank book, if I may so term it,
the covers being of thin silver plates, variously carved and
chased as the owner's taste may prompt. The leaves of
(08:18):
this book also consist of thin sheets of silver, not
much thicker than our tinfoil. Also fastened to his girdle
by a silken cord, hangs a silver pen, or rather
a stylus. Now, when a pseudopsy wishes to say something
to one of his people, something too difficult to express
by pressures of the finger tips, he simply turns over
a leaf of the silver against the inside of either cover,
(08:41):
both of which are slightly padded, and taking up his stylus,
proceeds to write out what he wishes to say. And
this done, he deftly tears the leaf out and hands
it to his companion, who, taking it and turning it over,
runs the wonderfully sensitive tips of his fingers over the
raised writing, and reads it with the greyest ease. Only orse,
he reads from right to left instead of from left
(09:03):
to right as it was written. So hereafter, when I
repeat my conversations with the form of folk, you will
understand how they were conducted. End of Chapter fifteen.
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