Appearance
Excerpt
Excerpt from At the Earth's Core, by Edgar Rice Burroughs
“It is not the sun of the outer world that we see here. It is another
sun—an entirely different sun—that casts its eternal noonday effulgence
upon the face of the inner world. Look at it now, David—if you can see
it from the doorway of this hut—and you will see that it is still in
the exact center of the heavens. We have been here for many hours—yet
it is still noon.
“And withal it is very simple, David. The earth was once a nebulous
mass. It cooled, and as it cooled it shrank. At length a thin crust of
solid matter formed upon its outer surface—a sort of shell; but within
it was partially molten matter and highly expanded gases. As it
continued to cool, what happened? Centrifugal force hurled the
particles of the nebulous center toward the crust as rapidly as they
approached a solid state. You have seen the same principle practically
applied in the modern cream separator. Presently there was only a small
super-heated core of gaseous matter remaining within a huge vacant
interior left by the contraction of the cooling gases. The equal
attraction of the solid crust from all directions maintained this
luminous core in the exact center of the hollow globe. What remains of
it is the sun you saw today—a relatively tiny thing at the exact center
of the earth. Equally to every part of this inner world it diffuses its
perpetual noonday light and torrid heat.
“This inner world must have cooled sufficiently to support animal life
long ages after life appeared upon the outer crust, but that the same
agencies were at work here is evident from the similar forms of both
animal and vegetable creation which we have already seen. Take the
great beast which attacked us, for example. Unquestionably a
counterpart of the Megatherium of the post-Pliocene period of the outer
crust, whose fossilized skeleton has been found in South America.”
Explanation
Detailed Explanation of the Excerpt from At the Earth’s Core by Edgar Rice Burroughs
Context of the Source
At the Earth’s Core (1914) is a science fiction-adventure novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs, best known as the creator of Tarzan. The story follows David Innes, a wealthy young inventor, and his eccentric scientist mentor, Abner Perry, who build a mechanical mole called the "Iron Mole" to drill into the Earth’s crust. Instead of finding riches, they discover a vast, hollow inner world—Pellucidar—lit by a central sun, inhabited by prehistoric creatures, and ruled by a brutal race of reptilian humanoids called the Mahars.
This excerpt comes early in the novel, after David and Perry have crashed into Pellucidar and are explaining the nature of their strange new environment. The passage is Perry’s scientific (though highly speculative) explanation of how the inner world exists, blending pseudo-science, adventure, and myth-making—hallmarks of Burroughs’ pulp fiction style.
Themes in the Excerpt
The Sublime and the Unknown
- The inner world is a place of wonder and terror, defying the laws of the outer world. The eternal noonday sun is both awe-inspiring and unnatural, reinforcing the idea that Pellucidar is a realm beyond human comprehension.
- The description of the sun as "eternal noonday effulgence" (brilliant radiance) suggests a timeless, unchanging world, contrasting with the cyclical day-night of the surface.
Science vs. Myth
- Perry’s explanation is pseudo-scientific, mixing real geological concepts (nebulous mass, centrifugal force, cooling crust) with wild speculation (a hollow Earth with a miniature sun).
- Burroughs plays with 19th-century scientific theories, including the Hollow Earth hypothesis (popularized by writers like John Cleves Symmes Jr.), which proposed that the Earth was hollow and habitable inside.
- The mention of the Megatherium (a giant prehistoric sloth) ties Pellucidar to lost worlds and deep time, a common theme in adventure fiction (e.g., The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle).
Colonialism and Exploration
- The inner world is framed as a frontier to be conquered, much like the "dark continents" of 19th-century exploration narratives.
- The comparison to fossilized remains suggests that Pellucidar is a living museum of prehistoric life, waiting to be studied (and exploited) by outsiders.
Human Ingenuity vs. Nature’s Mysteries
- Perry’s explanation is confident yet flawed, reflecting Burroughs’ tendency to prioritize adventure over scientific accuracy.
- The cream separator analogy is a humorous attempt to make cosmic forces relatable, underscoring the absurdity yet charm of pulp science fiction.
Literary Devices & Stylistic Choices
Exposition Through Dialogue
- Burroughs uses Perry’s monologue to deliver world-building information naturally, avoiding a dry narrative dump.
- The conversational tone ("It is not the sun of the outer world… Look at it now, David") makes the fantastic seem almost plausible.
Imagery & Sensory Language
- "Eternal noonday effulgence" – The alliteration and grandeur of the phrase emphasize the unearthly brightness of the inner sun.
- "Torrid heat" – Suggests an oppressive, unrelenting environment, reinforcing the danger of Pellucidar.
- "Huge vacant interior" – The word "vacant" is ironic, since the inner world is teeming with life, but it also evokes a cosmic emptiness before life emerged.
Analogies & Similes
- "Like a modern cream separator" – A domestic, mundane comparison for a cosmic process, blending the familiar with the fantastic.
- "Counterpart of the Megatherium" – Links Pellucidar to known prehistory, making the unknown seem recognizable yet alien.
Foreshadowing & Suspense
- The mention of the Megatherium attack hints at the constant danger in Pellucidar, setting up future conflicts.
- The idea that the inner world "cooled sufficiently to support animal life long ages after the outer crust" suggests that Pellucidar is both ancient and primitive, a land where time moves differently.
Pseudo-Scientific Jargon
- Terms like "centrifugal force," "nebulous mass," "super-heated core" give the explanation a veneer of credibility, even though the science is highly speculative.
- This was a common technique in early sci-fi and pulp magazines, where plausibility mattered more than accuracy.
Significance of the Passage
World-Building & Genre Conventions
- This excerpt establishes the rules of Pellucidar, a self-contained ecosystem with its own physics and history.
- It follows the lost world trope, where explorers discover a hidden realm frozen in time (see also Journey to the Center of the Earth, The Land That Time Forgot).
Reflection of Early 20th-Century Science & Culture
- The Hollow Earth theory was a fringe but popular idea in the 19th and early 20th centuries, often tied to myths of advanced inner civilizations (e.g., Agartha, Shambhala).
- Burroughs capitalizes on scientific curiosity while ignoring real geology, showcasing how pulp fiction blended fact and fiction for entertainment.
Characterization of Abner Perry
- Perry is the brilliant but eccentric scientist, a stereotype of the "mad genius" in adventure stories.
- His confident yet flawed reasoning makes him both knowledgeable and fallible, a trait that humanizes him.
Adventure & Escapism
- The passage hooks the reader by presenting a world unlike our own, full of danger, wonder, and discovery.
- The eternal noon symbolizes a world without time, where anything is possible—a fantasy of limitless exploration.
Conclusion: Why This Excerpt Matters
This passage is a microcosm of Burroughs’ storytelling: bold, imaginative, and unapologetically pulpy. It blends pseudo-science with adventure, creating a mythic yet "scientific" explanation for a hidden world. While modern readers might dismiss the science as ludicrous, the excerpt’s sense of wonder, danger, and discovery remains compelling—a testament to why lost world stories continue to fascinate.
Burroughs wasn’t writing hard science fiction; he was crafting myths for the modern age, where exploration, survival, and the unknown took center stage. The inner sun of Pellucidar isn’t just a plot device—it’s a symbol of a universe far stranger than we imagine, waiting just beneath our feet.