A Princess of Mars

"I have been here three days," continued Kantos Kan, "but I have not

yet found where Dejah Thoris is imprisoned. Today I join the Zodangan

navy as an air scout and I hope in this way to win the confidence of

Sab Than, the prince, who is commander of this division of the navy,

and thus learn the whereabouts of Dejah Thoris. I am glad that you are

here, John Carter, for I know your loyalty to my princess and two of us

working together should be able to accomplish much."

The plaza was now commencing to fill with people going and coming upon

the daily activities of their duties. The shops were opening and the

cafes filling with early morning patrons. Kantos Kan led me to one of

these gorgeous eating places where we were served entirely by

mechanical apparatus. No hand touched the food from the time it

entered the building in its raw state until it emerged hot and

delicious upon the tables before the guests, in response to the

touching of tiny buttons to indicate their desires.

After our meal, Kantos Kan took me with him to the headquarters of the

air-scout squadron and introducing me to his superior asked that I be

enrolled as a member of the corps. In accordance with custom an

examination was necessary, but Kantos Kan had told me to have no fear

on this score as he would attend to that part of the matter. He

accomplished this by taking my order for examination to the examining

officer and representing himself as John Carter.

"This ruse will be discovered later," he cheerfully explained, "when

they check up my weights, measurements, and other personal

identification data, but it will be several months before this is done

and our mission should be accomplished or have failed long before that

time."

The next few days were spent by Kantos Kan in teaching me the

intricacies of flying and of repairing the dainty little contrivances

which the Martians use for this purpose. The body of the one-man air

craft is about sixteen feet long, two feet wide and three inches thick,

tapering to a point at each end. The driver sits on top of this plane

upon a seat constructed over the small, noiseless radium engine which

propels it. The medium of buoyancy is contained within the thin metal

walls of the body and consists of the eighth Barsoomian ray, or ray of

propulsion, as it may be termed in view of its properties.

This ray, like the ninth ray, is unknown on Earth, but the Martians

have discovered that it is an inherent property of all light no matter

from what source it emanates. They have learned that it is the solar

eighth ray which propels the light of the sun to the various planets,

and that it is the individual eighth ray of each planet which

"reflects," or propels the light thus obtained out into space once

more. The solar eighth ray would be absorbed by the surface of

Barsoom, but the Barsoomian eighth ray, which tends to propel light

from Mars into space, is constantly streaming out from the planet

constituting a force of repulsion of gravity which when confined is

able to lift enormous weights from the surface of the ground.