Out of the Silent Planet

Weston informs Ransom that they are in outer space, about 85,000 miles from Earth, on their way to a planet called Malacandra. Malacandra has a more familiar name “invented by terrestrial astronomers” (28), but Weston refuses to reveal it. He will only tell Ransom that Malacandra is inhabited. When Ransom asks why Weston and Devine are so cruel to him, Weston chides that one life, or a million lives, are insignificant compared to what space travel offers: the ability to access “infinity, and therefore perhaps eternity” (29). Ransom vehemently disagrees and again demands to know what he has to do with the entire situation. Weston shrugs and says that he and Devine are just acting on the orders of the inhabitants of Malacandra, adding that he feels justified in doing anything to advance the progress and lifespan of humanity. He gives Ransom a weighted belt to counteract the reduced gravity of space.

Ransom is surprised by the constant heat and brightness within the ship, which goes against his perception of space as dark and cold. To his surprise, he feels alert and well, even brave. He begins to wonder aloud what will happen later in the day as the heat increases, but he soon realizes that the only time in space is “the changeless noon which had filled for centuries beyond history so many million cubic miles” (31).