VI. Perpetual Motion (pgs. B76 – B78)
Chapitre 6 Perpetuum Mobile
Capítulo 6 Movimento perpétuo.
Beelzebub, during his conversation with the captain, tells him that the system in which Archangel Hariton’s ships work is nothing more than what they called on planet Earth ‘perpetual motion.’
Then he starts narrating how this idea appeared on planet Earth, that is, that it once happened that somebody got the ‘crazy notion’ into his head that he could invent a ‘mechanism’ that would run forever without requiring any material from the outside; and that this notion so took everyone’s fancy that most of the crackpots of that peculiar planet begun thinking about it and trying to produce this ‘miracle’; and that to invent perpetual motion became the ‘rage’ there. Beelzebub mention that he was once in a town where a large number of ‘models’ and all kinds of ‘descriptions’ of proposed mechanisms for this perpetual motion had been collected; and that he was impressed by the fact that in any single one of these mechanisms there were more ideas and ‘wiseacrings’ than in all the laws of world-creation and world-existence.
He adds that, after the captain’s explanations, he understands very well how the cylinder invented by the Archangel Hariton works; and that it is the very thing those unfortunates dreamed of; and that, indeed, it can be safely said that, given atmosphere alone, this cylinder will work perpetually and without requiring any other outside materials. And since the world cannot exist without planets and hence without atmospheres, it follows that as long as the world does exist, and in consequence atmospheres, the cylinder-barrel invented by the Great Archangel Hariton will always work.
Then, he asks the captain for some clarification about the materials the cylinder-barrel is made of and how long they could last.
A sound like the vibrations of a long minor chord from a far off orchestra of wind instruments resounded through the ship.
With an apology the captain rose, explaining as he did so that he must be needed on urgent business, since everybody knew he was with His Right Reverence, whose ears no one would venture to trouble for anything trifling.