CHAPTER III. -The Coming Race

In Chapter III of “The Coming Race,” the narrator continues his exploration of the subterranean world with apprehensive yet keen interest. Venturing down a lamplit road, he approaches a strikingly large edifice nestled within a setting that seems both alien and meticulously cultivated. The road appears akin to an Alpine pass, bordered by massive rocky formations, suggesting the narrator is traversing through a linkage of mountains. Below, a vast valley unfolds, startling him with its palpable markers of civilization—fields endowed with bizarre vegetation of dull, leaden hues or vivid golden reds, contrasting sharply with the greenery of the surface world.

Lakes and rivulets, shaped into artificial embankments, glimmer in the light. Some hold crystal clear water, while others shimmer like pools of naphtha, indicating a high level of environmental manipulation and control. To the narrator’s right, artful passes cut through the terrain, lined with vegetation that is both unfamiliar and majestic; towering fern-like trees, palm-like stems with clusters of flowers, and enormous fungiform structures dominate this landscape. This world, devoid of a sun, is illuminated by countless lamps, casting warmth and brightness akin to an Italian noon yet without its oppressiveness.

Signs of habitation are evident across this vista. Distant buildings nestled among the exotic flora and figures moving throughout suggest a vibrant community. Remarkably, the narrator observes a small boat, wing-sailed, swiftly navigating the air before disappearing into a forest’s embrace. Above, instead of a sky, a cavernous expanse ascends into the imperceptible, blurring into a haze with distance, hinting at the expansive nature of this underground realm. Through his detailed observations, the narrator conveys a mix of wonder and bewilderment at the advanced civilization he has stumbled upon, one that exists in harmony within the heart of the earth, yet so vastly different from his known world.