are virtually the same thing,” the Amazon explained, “and they are states which apply to the whole universe and not to one particular world; therefore, the law is applicable to this planet as any other. Entropy means the running down of the universe, the state of increasing disorganization which must ultimately end in every trace of disorganization having been accomplished, when the death of the universe will take place.”
Mexone and his father gazed in silence, completely lost. Abna gave a grin and glanced toward the Amazon.
“Your lecture-hall method doesn’t fit the case,” he told her. “Put it in simple language.”
The Amazon sighed. “Very well, but it isn’t going to be easy. Imagine a deck of playing cards—or let us say a deck of cards with each one marked with a higher number. Card one is obviously ‘one,’ and so we go through the deck until we come to card number 100. Now to begin with, your cards are neatly stacked, with the ‘one’ on top and ‘100’ at the bottom. That represents the point at which the universe began, when there was perfect order. But, from the moment of that beginning entropy—or disorganization—set in. The movement of energies, the interchange of forces, caused the perfect order to get more and more out of sequence. Our theoretical cards are no longer neat. We might have card 100 in the middle; card one at the bottom, and card 50 at the top. Clear, so far?”
“If you go carefully,” Mexone replied, pondering.
“Finally, in any state of matter, there must come a time when every possible interchange of energy and so forth has been made. In other words, every possible exchange of cards—and that runs into tens of millions—has been accomplished and no more are possible. At that stage, the matter concerned is said to have reached thermodynamic equilibrium, which means that death has come. Total cessation of molecular movement, which is the basis of material life. The universe is more disordered today than it was yesterday, and this shuffling and reshuffling will continue throughout the untold centuries until eventually no more shuffling or reshuffling will be possible. When that stage is reached there will descend what is called ‘heat death.’ In plain language, that means that with the stoppage of molecular movement, heat and life will cease. It is only the activity of molecules and the energy interchange which keeps matter living.”
“An interesting theory,” Mexone admitted, “even if it does mean that the entire universe is hurrying onwards to doom, same as everything material. But how does it particularly apply to this planet of ours?”
“Expert scientists,’ the Amazon replied, “could produce a localized thermodynamic equilibrium if they wished. I could do it myself in any laboratory. By forces which you do not understand in your present development, the molecules of any matter can be slowed to a standstill, bringing equilibrium and paralysis.”
“Yes, I suppose that is possible, too,” Mexone admitted, “but it is still only a theory, if I may say so. There’s no proof that you are right.”
“On the contrary.” The Amazon leaned forward in her chair. “There is one more point regarding thermo-equilibrium which I must still explain. It is this: when that totally motionless state has been reached, it can be destroyed by the introduction of what is called a ‘random element’.”
“Random element?” Cesnon repeated vaguely.
“For the sake of our scientific illustration,” the Amazon continued, “let us imagine the whole universe has reached the state of thermo-equilibrium and is dead, motionless. Now, from some source outside the known universe there comes either a radiation, a drift of matter, or a force of some kind. What happens? It would mean that disorganization would start up again, and life would gradually return to matter, because this new element would need to be shuffled and reshuffled through endless epochs until the balance was again restored.…
“Our ship,” she continued, “represented a random element introduced into a state of thermo-equilibrium. My husband, daughter, and I left the ship and walked through motionless dust to your store. The existing state of equilibrium was rapidly destroyed.”
Silence. Then Abna spoke: “Since it is fundamentally impossible for one world to reach thermo-equilibrium while the rest of the universe remains normal, it seems to suggest that your world was deliberately put into that condition by scientific forces under intelligent control. The controllers of these scientific forces did not foresee the possibility of a random element in the shape of our advent. Unwittingly, we have undone all the work they built up.”
“And,” Viona put in, “there is one more point which supports the thermo-equilibrium theory. We found everything intensely cold, as far as actual matter was concerned. The air was warm, but that must have been caused by residual warmth remaining from the moment when the paralysis became complete—or even perhaps the air had still not quite succumbed to the general molecular slowdown.”
“The latter theory is the more probable,” Abna murmured.
It seemed quite an effort for Mexone to bring himself back to the realities of the moment after listening to such an airing of super-scientific knowledge. When he did finally find his voice, it was to ask a question.
“To all intents and purposes, everybody died. How did they come back to life and take up the thread just as they dropped it?”
The Amazon shook her head. “You did not die, my friend. None of you did. You suffered a form of suspended animation in which everything dropped to zero. But that has nothing to do with our immediate problem.”
“Which seems to be to discover who produced such a disastrous state of affairs, and why?” Cesnon asked.
“Exactly.”
“I still have no idea,” Mexone sighed. “Unless, as you have suggested, one of our neighbor worlds might be responsible. To make sure it would be necessary for you, in your marvelous machine, to visit each one of them. As you have said, each one of them might, however, be in the condition that ours was until you came.”
“My interest,” the Amazon replied, “still centers on a smaller independent world near to your sun, which apparently you know nothing of.”
Mexone looked surprised. “Is there one?”
“Definitely, and with a reasonable-looking civilization. There might even be science there of a high order. As to why your world and maybe the neighboring worlds have been subjected to such treatment, we don’t know—but we can try to find out.”
“Immediately?” Viona asked, and for some reason it sounded as though there was a sharp edge of disappointment in her voice.
“Well, of course!” The Amazon looked at her in surprise. “I see nothing to be gained by delaying.”
“Somehow,” Cesnon remarked. “I cannot feel that it is right that you should have to endanger yourselves on our behalf—yet on the other hand, our science is of such a poor order that we are powerless to help ourselves. Naturally, it goes without saying that we’re extremely grateful to you.”
“Our governing body ought to know what is intended,” Mexone put in. “So far everything has been confined to us, and we’re only ordinary citizens when all comes to be said.”
The Amazon shook her head briefly and got to her feet. “That, to my mind, would cause a lot of delay, together with endless explanations. There just isn’t the time. I think you’d better do all the explaining yourselves.”
“It
