H G Wells

The War of the Worlds Annotated Book Science Solutions H G Wells

The unnamed narrator from Woking, England, begins by comparing the unsuspecting human population to the contents of a slide on a microscope, those contents as unaware of the beings observing them as the Earthlings are of the Martians with "intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic" who watch them as they go about their daily activities. He claims Mars is older than Earth and wonders why man-"so blinded by his vanity"-has failed to recognize for so long the probability of the existence of intelligent life on its neighboring planet. He observes that just as Mars is cooling as it ages and its inhabitants long for a younger, verdant world, so too must humanity face the same fate. Foreshadowing the destruction the aliens will bring, the narrator reminds readers of the cruelty that humans have also brought on their fellow beings, as when native Tasmanians were wiped out by British colonialists off the coast of Australia. The narrator speculates on the superior intelligence of the Martians and claims astronomers, including Schiaparelli, have seen clues proving their existence. One such astronomer is Ogilvy, whom the narrator recalls invited him to an observatory to study Mars after another astronomer reported a dramatic explosion of gas on the surface of the planet, which seems to be directed toward Earth. The narrator observed a similar explosion as he watched through the telescope. Ogilvy doubted the existence of life on Mars and speculated the phenomenon may be related to meteorites or volcanoes. Many other people witnessed the phenomenon, which repeated itself at midnight over a total of 10 days. The narrator marvels at how unconcerned the population was about the celestial events, including himself at the time, busying himself with his philosophical writing and learning to ride a bike. He pointed out Mars to his wife as they took an evening walk; all was "so safe and tranquil."