"Edmond Hamilton - Captain Future's Worlds of Tomorrow 17 - Futuria" - читать интересную книгу автора (Hamilton Edmond)

HE planet created by the Futuremen is the only one in
the System that contains a place where normal hu-
manoid beings are accustomed to walk upside down. The
Institute of Pure and Applied Gravitation, covering several
square miles of ground, has for years conducted experi-
ments on the effect of variable gravity on plant life, and
one of its Rare Plant Departments is maintained under re-
verse gravity.
T
Once inside, of course, a visitor soon becomes accus-
tomed to seeing top and bottom interchanged, and soon
loses any idea that he is walking on his head. But as seen
from the outside, the entire group of buildings and green-
houses presents a weird appearance.
Only the plant life bears its familiar aspect -- and this
is the one thing that is really abnormal. Grown under
natural gravity, it has been transplanted here in the usual
Earth fashion, and then subjected to reversed gravity.
Plants Grow Huge
The appearance of the plants is thus affected amazingly.
With gravity pulling them upwards, they grow to many
times their usual height. These experiments have already
led to valuable discoveries of hitherto unsuspect functions
of plant cells.
The Upside-Down Institute, as it is called, is but one of
the many wonders of Futurian life. The transportation
system is another.
Futuria is the one planet that maintains practically free
lateral and vertical transportation for all inhabitants. The
costs are paid by taxes on special magnetic clothing sold
only by the government. A man wearing this clothing need
only step into the proper lane, at certain designated station,
and be whisked away at a speed close to a hundred miles
an hour.
As seen from below, he has all the appearance of flying,
and the Futurian skies, full of soaring men, women, and
children, never fail to intrigue visitors.
Eases Land Shortage
The new planet has had a great effect on System
economic life. Five years after completion of its core, it
was ready to receive immigrants.
But even before that, the news of its creation had spread
panic among land speculators, and eased the land shortage.
The Interplanetary Government could complete its
landscaping at leisure, while the Futuremen went on to
other tasks.
Futuria's orbit is an ellipse, averaging about
160,000,000 miles from the sun. By treating the planet as a
huge space-vessel, and giving it the proper acceleration
from time to time, its motion can be easily controlled.