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CHAPTER I
FROM THE DEPTHS
Millions of years ago, the scientists tell us, the sun in an extremely angry mood spat out many flaming particles. Most of them were disintegrated by the fury of their own fire. Some of them survived and became planets. Remorseful, the sun lavished upon these survivors its hfe-giving warmth, although one day—the scientists are not sure when or how—it will wipe them out, either by drawing them back to its bosom through the terrific scorching force of its own attraction or by withering them gradually with a freezing indifference.
The
earth was one of those planets. It was not called the earth then
because it was before the time of man. Besides, there was nothing
earthy about it: it was a ball of fire. No one knows how long it took
Time, which is at once the ally and the enemy of all living things, to cool
that ball. But after a while—a geologic "while" covering another few
million years—it did cool and out of the molten mass came rocks that
jutted from water and earth that formed under the vapors.
Now
Time took into partnership Nature to help it carry out the remainder of
the program. Time is ruthless but patient. Nature is beautiful but
calculatingly cruel. She had on her agenda something more than a
lifeless, cold ball whirling in space. She visualized vast and contrary
things.
(1)
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