Books Should Be Free Loyal Books Free Public Domain Audiobooks & eBook Downloads |
|
Omega, the Man By: Lowell Howard Morrow |
---|
![]()
[Illustration]
OMEGA, the MAN By LOWELL HOWARD MORROW Illustrated by MOREY
The silver airship cut swiftly through the hot thin air. The noonday sun
blazed down upon it and the desert world below. All about was the solemn
silence of death. No living thing appeared either in the air or on the
drab, gray earth. Only the aircraft itself displayed any signs of life.
The sky, blue as indigo, held not the shadow of a cloud, and on the
horizon the mountains notched into it like the teeth of a giant saw. The airship finally came to a hovering stop, then dropped rapidly toward
the salt encrusted plain. It came to rest at last on the bottom of a
great, bowl shaped hollow situated at the end of a chasm whose gray,
rock strewn sides rose in rugged terraces for miles back into the sky.
In a few moments a panel in the vessel's side rolled noiselessly upward,
disclosing a brilliant light, and from the interior of the airship soon
appeared two figures who paused at the aperture and gazed out over the
parched earth. Then without fear or visible effort although they were
seventy five feet above the ground they emerged from the ship and
floated down to earth. These two humans the sole survivors of all earth's children were man
and wife Omega and Thalma. They were burned a deep cherry by the fierce
rays of the sun. In stature they were above the average man now on
earth. Their legs were slender and almost fleshless, because for many
centuries man had ceased to walk. Their feet were mere toeless
protuberances attached to the ankle bone. Their arms were long and as
spare as their legs, but their hands, although small, were
well proportioned and powerful. Their abdominal regions were very small,
but above them were enormous chests sheltering lungs of tremendous
power, for thus nature had armored man against the rarefaction of the
earth's atmosphere. But the most remarkable parts about this truly
remarkable couple were there massive heads set upon short, slim necks.
The cranial development was extraordinary, their bulging foreheads
denoting great brain power. Their eyes set wide apart were large and
round, dark and luminous with intelligence and their ears were
remarkably large, being attuned to all the music and voices of life.
While their nostrils were large and dilated, their mouths were very
small, though sensuous and full lipped. They were entirely hairless for
even the eyebrows and the eyelashes of man had entirely disappeared ages
before. And when they smiled they betrayed no gleam of teeth, for nature
had long discarded teeth in man's evolution. The great, silver ship of the sky now rested in a deep pocket on the
floor of an ancient sea. Millions of years, under the sucking energy of
the sun and the whip of many winds, had sapped its waters, until only a
shallow, brackish lake remained. Along the shores of this lake, which
covered scarcely more than a hundred acres, a rim of yellowish, green
grass followed the water's edge and struggled against the inevitable,
and here and there among the grasses flowers of faded colors and
attenuated foliage reared their heads bravely in the burning sunshine.
And this lone lake, nestled in the lowest spot among the mountains and
valleys which once floored the Pacific, now held the last of earth's
waters. Barren and lifeless the rest of the world baked under a
merciless sun. Now clasping hands, like children at play, Omega and Thalma approached
the lake. They glided over the ground, merely touching their feet to the
highest points, and finally stopped with their feet in the warm, still
water. Omega ran his cupped hand through the water, then drank eagerly. "It is good," he said in a low, musical voice. "And there is much of it.
Here we may live a long time." Thalma laughed with sheer joy, her large, red rimmed eyes aglow with
mother light and love. "I am glad," she cried. "I know that Alpha will be happy here... Continue reading book >>
|
Genres for this book |
---|
Literature |
Science |
eBook links |
---|
Wikipedia – Lowell Howard Morrow |
Wikipedia – Omega, the Man |
eBook Downloads | |
---|---|
ePUB eBook • iBooks for iPhone and iPad • Nook • Sony Reader |
Kindle eBook • Mobi file format for Kindle |
Read eBook • Load eBook in browser |
Text File eBook • Computers • Windows • Mac |
Review this book |
---|