117
SCHOOL, OR LESSON OF THE GODS
say something about the structure of the Universe, comets, and the Earth’s
mass.
Finally, he concluded, “The planet Earth, of course, does move in space
and rotates. But it is indissolubly linked with the solar system and cannot
move toward distant galaxies independently without its solar system. The
Sun gives life to every living thing on Earth. Moving away from the Sun
would mean a significant cooling on Earth and, as a consequence, the
planet’s death. We can all observe what happens even when we move a rel-
atively short way from the Sun. Winter happens….”
The professor suddenly fell silent. The boy speaker was going through his
drawings, distraught, then looking inquiringly at his classmates with whom
he had prepared his speech. But evidently the argument about winter and
cooling was very weighty and understandable to everyone. This argument
destroyed the pretty childish dream of common flight. Suddenly, in the si-
lence that followed, which had already lasted half a minute, the graying pro-
fessor’s voice was heard again.
“Winter…. Life always dies down if the Earth does not have enough solar
energy. Always! No scientific theoretical investigations are needed to see
this … to be convinced. However, it may be that the Earth itself has the same
kind of energy as the Sun, but it just hasn’t shown itself. No one has dis-
covered it yet. Maybe you will one day. Maybe the Earth can be self-suffi-
cient. This energy will manifest itself in something. The Sun’s energy will
manifest on Earth and like solar energy, it will unfold the flowers’ petals.
And then we can travel on Earth through the galaxy. But then—”
The professor broke off and fell silent. A murmur of dissatisfaction arose
in the hall. And it began….
Adults rose from their seats to refute the professor when it came to the
possibility of living without the Sun. They said something about plant pho-
tosynthesis, about the temperature of the environment, about the trajector-
ies of the movement of the planets, which no one planet can exit. The pro-
fessor sat, dropping his graying head lower and lower. His red-headed
daughter turned her head to face each speaker and sometimes rose slightly,
as if she wanted to defend her father from his opponents with her body.
