THE OMEGA FORCE
We were but three friends. Two of us, in the confidence of the person who contacted me, who was the discoverer of the dreadful force, who, despite our secrecy, was already suspicious of other people.
This simple sage, who we were in the presence of, did not come from any academy and was quite distant from celebrity. He had spent his life in poverty, randomly tinkering with small industrial inventions, from cheap inks and coffee grinders, to machine controllers for trolley tickets.
He never wanted to patent his discoveries, some very ingenious, selling them for little less than nothing to second-rate merchants. Anticipating perhaps something of genius in himself, which he concealed with an almost dull modesty, he had the deepest disdain for those small triumphs. If he talked about them, he would accompany his words with indifference or smile with bitterness.
- "That's so I can eat" - he said simply. He had made me his friend by chance, during a certain conversation pertaining to the occult sciences; since the subject warrants an afflictive piety from the public, those whom it interests tend to disguise their predilections, not discussing it but with their peers.
This was precisely what had happened; and my disregard for what they'll say must have pleased that disdainful individual, since we have been intimate ever since. Our chats on this favorite topic were long. My friend was inspired by treating it with the silent ardor which characterized the enthusiasm which only shone through in the brightness of his eyes.
I still see him walking around his room, sturdy, almost square, with his pale and hairless face, his brown eyes with their singular gaze, his calloused hands of both a cowboy and a chemist.
- "It moves out there, over the earth's ground" - he used to say to me - "there's more than one tremendous force out there whose discovery is approaching. From those interetherial forces, the firmest concepts of science have just been transformed, and justifying the affirmations of occult wisdom depends more and more on human intellect."
"The identification of the mind, with the directed forces of the cosmos" - he concluded on occasion, philosophizing - "is increasingly clear; and the day will come when one will know how to control them without intermediary machines, which in reality are an annoyance. When one thinks that machines are nothing more than accessories with which the human being completes himself, potentially carried within himself, and as he proves when conceiving of and executing them, these devices result in substantial simple modifications, such as a rod, which extends an arm in order to reach fruit. Memory already bypasses two fundamental concepts, the most fundamental in terms of reality, and as obstacles - space and time - by instantly evoking a place which was seen ten years ago and a thousand leagues away; not to mention certain cases of telepathic bilocation, which better demonstrate the theory. If there was truth in this, humanity's efforts should strive towards the abolition of any intermediary between the mind and these peculiar forces, suppressing the material as much as possible, another axiom of occult philosophy; but, for this, it is necessary to put the body through special conditions, activate the mind, accustom it to direct communication with said forces. A case of magic. A case that only the myopic can't perceive in all its luminous simplicity. We were talking about memory. Calculation also demonstrates a direct relationship; well, if by calculation the position of an unknown star is determined at a point in space, it is because there is an agreement between the laws that govern human thought and the universe. There is more still: it is the determination of a material fact by means of an intellectual law. The star has to be there, because that is how my mathematical reason determines it, and this imperative sanction is almost equivalent to creation."
I suspect, God forgive me, that my friend did not limit himself to theorizing about the occult, and that his diet, as well as his severe continence, involved practice; but he was never frank on this point and I was discreet in my turn.
Associated with us, shortly before the events that I am about to narrate, was a young doctor who only lacked his general examinations, and who may never take them as he had devoted himself to philosophy; this was the other confidant who was to hear the revelation.
It was on the way back from a long vacation which had separated us from this discoverer. We found him somewhat more nervous, but radiant with a singular inspiration, and his first sentence was to invite us to a kind of philosophical gathering - such were his words - where he would expose us to the discovery.
In the usual laboratory, which at the same time presented a vague appearance like a machinist shop, and in whose atmosphere a trace of chlorine was floating, the conference began.
With his usual clear voice, his careless appearance, his hands extending about the table as during psychic discourses, our friend enunciated this surprising thing:
- "I've discovered the mechanical power of sound."
- "You know," he added, without much concern about the effect that his revelation had caused, "you know enough about these things to understand that it isn't part of the supernatural. It is a great find, certainly, but not superior to Hertzian waves or Roentgen rays. By the way, I have also given my force a name. And since it is the last in the vibrational synthesis whose other components are heat, light and electricity, I have called it the Omega force." [Translators note: Heinrich Hertz (1857 - 1894), discoverer of electromagnetic waves, Wilhelm Röntgen (1845 - 1923), discoverer of x-rays]
- "But isn't sound a different thing?..." - asked the doctor.
- "No, since electricity and light are now considered matter. Heat is still absent; but the analogy quickly leads us to conjecture about the identity of its nature, and I can see the day near when this postulate, evident to me, is demonstrated: that if bodies dilate when heated, or in other words, if their intermolecular space increases, it is because something has been introduced between them, and this something is heat. Otherwise, one would have to resort to vacuum, abhorred by nature and by reason.
"Sound is matter to me; but this will be more clear from the proper exposition of my discovery.
"The idea, vague but intense to the point of dazzling, came to me - a singular thing - the first time I saw the tuning of a bell. Of course, the precise note of a bell cannot be determined in advance, as casting would change the pitch. Once cast, it is necessary to cut it on the lathe, on which there are two rules; if you want to lower the tone, you have to decrease the middle line called "falsification"; if you raise it, it is necessary to cut the "leg", that is, the edge, and the tuning is practiced by ear, like that of tuning a piano. It can be lowered by one tone, but only raised by a half; because by deeply cutting into the leg, the instrument loses its sonority.
"Thinking that if it loses this, it is not because it stops vibrating, the idea came to me, the basis of this whole invention: sound vibration becomes mechanical force, and for this reason it stops being sound; but the thing was precisely formulated during your vacation, while you were away for the summer, the solitude having increased my concentration.
"I was busy modifying phonograph records and that involuntarily brought me to the subject. I had thought to build a kind of tuning fork to highlight, and therefore directly perceive the harmonics of the human voice, which is not possible except through a piano, but always with great inaccuracy; when suddenly, with such clarity, in two nights work I conceived the entire theory, producing its facts.
"When a tuning fork that is of the same pitch as another is made to vibrate, it also vibrates under an influence after a short time, which proves that the sound wave, or in other words, the agitated air, has sufficient force to set the metal. Given the relationship that exists between the weight, density and toughness of this material with that of the air, that force has to be enormous; and yet it is unable to move a blade of grass that a human's breath would blow away, being itself powerless to make the metal perceptibly vibrate. The sound wave is thus more or less powerful than the breath in our example. It depends on the circumstances; and in the case of tuning forks, the circumstance must be a molecular relationship, as if they are not in unison, the phenomenon will fail. Thus, the sonic force has to be applied to intermolecular phenomena.
"I don't think that the conception of a sonic force needs much ingenuity to understand. Everyone has felt the pulsations of the air in very low sounds, like those produced by the nasard of an organ, for example. It seems that the sixteen vibrations per second generated by a thirty-two foot tube mark the lower limit of perceptible sound, which is no longer a hum. With fewer vibrations, the movement becomes a breath of air; the puff that would move the blade of grass, but would not affect the tuning fork. Those low vibrations, a true melodious wind, are what make the stained glass windows of cathedrals tremble; but they no longer form notes, properly speaking, and only serve to reinforce the immediately higher octaves.
"The louder the sound, the further away it moves from its resemblance to the wind and the more its wavelength decreases; but if it is to be considered as an intermolecular force, it is enormous even in the loudest sounds of instruments; for the piano with the seventh C, which corresponds to a maximum of 4,200 vibrations per second, has a wave of three inches. The flute, which reaches 4,700 vibrations, still sends out a gigantic wave.
"The length of the wave therefore depends on the pitch of the sound, which is no longer musical just beyond the 4,700 vibrations mentioned. Despretz has been able to perceive a C, which would be the tenth, with 32,770 vibrations produced by the rubbing of a bow on a very small fingerboard. I still perceive sound, but without possible musical determination, in the 45,000 vibrations of the tuning fork that I have invented." [Translators note: César-Mansuète Despretz (1791 - 1863), French chemist and physicist]
- "45,000 vibrations!" - I said - "That's extraordinary!"
- "You'll see it soon" - the inventor continued - "Be patient for a moment still."
And after offering us tea, which we refused:
- "The sound vibration becomes almost straight at these very high frequencies, and it also tends to lose its curvilinear shape, becoming more of a zigzag as the sound becomes exasperated. This can be practically experienced in the screeching of a violin. So far we do not leave the known, so much the better that it's not vulgar.
"But I have already said that I had proposed to study sound as force. Here is my theory, which the experiment has confirmed:
"The lower the sound, the more superficial its effects are on bodies. After what we know, this is pretty straightforward. The penetrating force of sound therefore depends on its pitch; and as it corresponds to, as I have said, a lower undulation, it turns out that my sound wave of 45,000 vibrations per second is almost a very slightly wavy arrow. No matter how small this undulation, it is always molecularly excessive; and since my tuning forks cannot be reduced any further, it was necessary to devise another way.
"There was also another drawback. The curves of sound waves are related to their propagation, in such a way that its amplification progresses with a great speed until it is annulled as sound, at the same time making it impossible to develop it as a force; but both this inconvenience, and the one that results from the undulation itself, would disappear by multiplying the speed of translation. It depends on the wave not losing its rectitude, which like every curve, occurs at the beginning, and a scientific law had been concurred upon to achieve this purpose.
"Fourier, the famous French mathematician, has enunciated a principle applicable to simple waves - those of my problem - can be vulgarly translated as follows:[Translators note: Joseph Fourier (1768-1830). Hermann von Helmholtz (1821-1894) had likewise conducted similar research and formulated similar acoustic laws, particularly in his 1863 landmark work "On the Sensations of Tone as a Physiological Basis for the Theory of Music"]
"Any waveform can be made up of a number of simple waves of different lengths.
"This being the case, if I could successively generate any number of waves in proportional progression, the speed of the first would be the sum of the speeds of all of them together; the proportion between the undulations of the former and its translation was advantageously broken, and thus releasing the mechanical power of sound.
"My device is going to show you that all this can be done; but I have not yet told you what I intend to do.
"I consider sound to be matter, detached into infinitesimal particles from the sonic body, and dynamized in such a way that it gives the sensation of sound, just as odoriferous particles give the sensation of smell. This matter is released in wave form, proven by science and that I propose to modify, generating a wave through the air that is recognized by us; in the same way that the undulation of an eel under water is repeated on its surface.
"When the double wave collides with a body, the aerial part is reflected against its surface; the air penetrates, producing vibration from the body and without any other consequences, since the ether of the supposed body is dynamized in harmony with that of the wave, diffused in it; and this is an explanation, given for the first time, of vibrations in unison.
"Once the relationship between the undulations and their propagation is broken, the sound ether does not diffuse into the mass of the body, but pierces it, already completely, already to a certain depth. And here comes the very explanation of the phenomena that I've developed.
"Each body has a center formed by the gravitation of molecules that constitutes its cohesion, and that represents the total weight of these molecules. I don't need to note that this center can be found anywhere in the body. The molecules here represent that of planetary masses in space.
"Of course, the slightest displacement of the center in question will instantly cause the disintegration of the body; but it is no less true that to have that effect, overcoming molecular cohesion, an enormous force would be needed, something of which current mechanics has no idea, and which I have discovered, nevertheless.
"Tyndall has said in a graphic example that the force of a handful of snow in a child's hand would be enough to blow a mountain to pieces. Calculate what it will take to overcome that force. And I can disintegrate cubic meter granite blocks..." [Translators note: John Tyndall (1820 - 1893), Irish physicist]
He said that simply, as the most natural thing, without caring about our acquiescence. We, although vaguely, were troubled by the imminence of this great revelation; but accustomed to the authoritarian tone of our friend, we did not reply. Our eyes, yes, carelessly searched the workshop for the mysterious devices. Except for a very solid axled wheel, there was nothing that was not familiar to us.
"We have come" - continued the discoverer - "to the end of the exhibition. I had said that I needed sound waves capable of being generated in proportional progression, and after many trials, which need not be described, I have found them.
"They were the do, fa, sol, do, which according to ancient tradition constituted the lyre of Orpheus and which contains the most important intervals of the declamation, that is, the musical secret of the human voice. The ratio of these waves is mathematically 1, 4/3, 3/2, 2; and plucked from nature, without an addition or deformation to alter them, they are also an original force. You can see that the logic of the facts were parallel to that of this theory.
"I then proceeded to build my apparatus; but, to get to the one you see here" - he said, taking out of his pocket a disk that was very similar to a nickel watch - "I tried various machines."
"First," continued the other, smiling at our perplexity, "I thought of complicated things, analogous to Koenig's sirens. Then I simplified according to my ideas about the deficiency of the machines, until I arrived at this, which is nothing but a temporary solution. [Translators note: Rudolph Koenig's (1832 - 1901) "double siren", described in his 1865 acoustic catalog, which in turn built upon the previous work of Helmholtz.]
"The delicateness of the device does not allow it to be opened at all times; but you must realize this" - he added, unscrewing the cap from it.
"It contains four tuning forks, slightly less fine than bristles, set at unequal intervals on a wooden diaphragm that forms the bottom of the box. A very subtle wire, extended and distended, brushing up against them, under the action of the protruding button; and the mouthpiece I spoke of earlier is a microphone horn.
"The intervals between tuning fork and fingerboard, as well as the space necessary for playing the string which brushes them, imposed this minimum size on the apparatus. When they sound, the quadruple wave, transformed into one, comes out of the microphone horn like a true ethereal projectile. The discharge is repeated as many times as I press the button, the waves being able to come out without an appreciable solution of continuity, that is, much closer together than the bullets of a machine gun, and form a true dynamic jet of ether whose power is incalculable.
"If the wave goes to the molecular center of the body, it disintegrates into impalpable particles. If not, it pierces it with an entirely imperceptible hole. As for the tangential friction, you are going to see its effects on that wheel..."
- "...What does it weigh...?" I interrupted.
- "Three hundred kilograms."
The button began to perform with an intermittent and dry noise, before our still incredulous curiosity; and since the silence was great, we had barely perceived a sharp shrillness, analogous to the buzzing of an insect.
It did not take long for the mass to set in motion, and it accelerated in such a way that the whole house soon vibrated like the force from a hurricane. The massive wheel was but a vague shadow, like the wing of a hovering hummingbird, and the air displaced by it caused a whirlwind inside the room.
The discoverer soon discontinued the effects of his apparatus, as no axis would have endured such work for long. We looked at each other in suspense, with a mixture of admiration and dread, very soon turning into excessive curiosity.
The doctor wanted to repeat the experiment; but no matter how much he pushed the box towards the wheel, he achieved nothing. I tried the same with equal misfortune.
We already believed it was a joke from our friend, when he said, becoming so serious that was almost sinister in nature:
- "It is that here is the mystery of my strength. No one but me can use it. And I myself don't know how it happens.
"I define, yes, that what passes through me, as a power analogous to marksmanship. Without seeing it, without perceiving it in any material way, I know where the center of the body is that I wish to disintegrate, in the same way that I had projected my ether against the wheel before.
"Try as much as you want. Maybe finally ..."
It was all in vain. The ethereal wave uselessly dispersed. Instead of, under the direction of its master, let's call him that, when it performed wonders.
A cobblestone that wedged the rebellious door disintegrated in sight, turning with a slight jerk into a heap of impalpable dust. Several pieces of iron suffered the same fate. And the transformation of matter was truly a magical effect, without a perceptible effort, without a noise, except for the slight stridency that any whisper drowned out.
The doctor, excited, wanted to write an article.
- "No" - said our friend-; "I hate the notoriety, although I have not been able to avoid it completely, because the neighbors have begun to find out. Furthermore, I fear the damage that this could cause..."
- "Indeed" - I said-; "as a weapon it would be frightening."
- "You haven't tried it on some animal?" - asked the doctor.
- "You know" - our friend answered with grave meekness - "that I never cause pain to any living being."
And with this the session ended.
Subsequent days elapsed between wonders; and I remember one particularly notable being the disintegration of a glass of water, which suddenly disappeared, covering the whole room with dew.
- "The glass remains" - explained the wise man - "because it does not form a block with the water, because there is no perfect adherence between it and the glass. The same would happen if it were hermetically sealed. The liquid, converted into ethereal particles, would be projected through the pores of the crystal..."
Thus we marched from astonishment to astonishment; but the secret could not be prolonged, and it is impossible to assess what was lost in the sad event which concludes this story.
The truth is - why entertain oneself with sad things - that one of those mornings we found our friend, dead, with his head resting on the back of his chair.
It is easy to imagine our consternation. The marvelous apparatus was before him and nothing abnormal was noticeable in the laboratory.
We were looking in surprise, without even remotely conjecturing the cause of this disaster, when I suddenly noticed that the wall where the dead man's head almost touched was covered with a greasy layer, a kind of butter.
Almost at the same time my companion noticed it too, and scratching his finger on that mixture, he exclaimed in surprise:
- "This is brain matter!"
The autopsy confirmed his statement, certifying a new wonder of the marvelous device. Indeed, our poor friend's head was empty, without an atom of brains, the ethereal projectile, who knows for what odd direction or for what carelessness, had disintegrated his brain, projecting it in an atomic explosion through the pores of his skull. Not a trace of the exterior indicated the catastrophe, and that phenomenon, with all its horror, was, in my belief, the most stupendous of all that we had witnessed.
On my work table, right here, as I finish this story, the device in question shines, one would say sinisterly, at my fingertips. It works perfectly; but the formidable ether, the prodigious and murderous substance of which I have, alas, such an unfortunate proof, is lost aimlessly in space, despite all my vain attempts. At the institute Lutz and Schultz have also tried unsuccessfully.
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