The System of Archangel Hariton

“So, your Right Reverence, if this cylinder-barrel is filled with atmosphere, air, or any other such substance, then from the action of the walls of this peculiar cylinder-barrel, these substances expand to such an extent that the interior becomes too small to hold them.

“Striving to find an outlet from this, for them constricted, interior, they naturally press also against the lid of the cylinder-barrel, and thanks to the said hinges the lid opens and, having allowed these expanded substances to escape, immediately closes again. And as in general Nature abhors a vacuum, then simultaneously with the release of the expanded gaseous substances the cylinder-barrel is again filled with fresh substances from outside, with which in their turn the same proceeds as before, and so on without end.

“Thus the substances are always being changed, and the lid of the cylinder-barrel alternately opens and shuts.

“To this same lid there is fixed a very simple lever which moves with the movement of the lid and in turn sets in motion certain also very simple ‘cogwheels’ which again in their turn revolve the fans attached to the sides and stern of the ship itself.

“Thus, your Right Reverence, in spaces where there is no resistance, contemporary ships like ours simply fall towards the nearest ‘stability’; but in spaces where there are any cosmic substances which offer resistance, these substances, whatever their density, with the aid of this cylinder enable the ship to move in any desired direction.

“It is interesting to remark that the denser the substance is in any given part of the Universe, the better and more strongly the charging and discharging of this cylinder-barrel proceed, and in consequence of course, the force of the movement of the levers is also changed.

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