By this time, the visitors had become so accustomed to the transparent material that they felt no uneasiness as the ground receded below them.  Smith, especially, was tremendously impressed with Estra’s declaration that the glass was, except for appearance, nothing more nor less than an extremely strong, steel alloy.

Propelled by the unexplained forces which the two drivers controlled by means of buttons in black cases, the two cars began to thread their way through the great roof-columns; and as they proceeded, the four grew more and more amazed at the great extent of the city.  For miles upon miles that heterogeneous collection of buildings stretched, unbroken and without system, until the eye tired of trying to make out the limits of it.

“What is the name of this city?” asked Billie, secretly hoping that it might bear some resemblance to “New York.”  It struck her fancy to assume that this supermetropolis represented what Gotham, in time, might become.

Estra did not take his attention from what he was doing, but answered as readily as ever.  “I do not blame you for mistaking this for a city.  The fact is, however, that we have no such thing.”

Billie stared at him helplessly.  “You’ve abolished cities, too?”

“Not exactly.  In the same sense that we have abolished nations, yes.  Likewise we have abolished states, also counties.  Neither have we such a thing as ‘the country,’ now.

“My friends, Venus is simply one immense city.”

IX

THE SURVIVAL OF ALL

Somehow all four were unwilling to press this question.  It did not seem possible that Estra was right, or, if he was, that they could possibly understand his explanation, should he give it.  The cars flew side by side for perhaps a hundred miles, while the visitors put in the time in examining the landscape with the never-ending interest of all aeronauts.

Here and there, in that closely-packed surface, a particularly large building was to be noted every half mile or so.  “Factories?” asked Billie of Estra, but he shook his head.

“I’ll show you factories later on,” said he.  “What you see are schools.”  But most observers would have considered the structures severely plain for their purpose.

After a long silence:  “I’m still looking for streams,” said Van Emmon to Myrin.  “Are your rivers as large as ours?”

“We have no rivers,” was the calm reply.  “Rivers are entirely too wasteful of water.  All our drainage is carried off through underground canals.”

“You haven’t done away with your oceans, too, have you?” the geologist asked, rather sarcastically.  But he was scarcely prepared for the reply he got.

“No; we couldn’t get along without them, I am afraid.  However, we did the best we could in their case.”  And without signaling to Estra she dove the machine towards the ground.  Smith looked for the telephone wires to snap, but Estra seemed to know, and instantly followed Myrin’s lead.  The doctor noticed, and wondered all the more.