Many weeks after Ransom’s arrival, the hrossa become excited about news of a shark-like animal called a hnakra in the lake near their village. Oyarsa is the mouthpiece of the ultimate gods of the universe, known as the Old One and Maleldil the Young. Hyoi also gives Ransom an introduction to hross religion, which includes spirits called “eldila” who due the bidding of the head eldil, Oyarsa. Ransom is especially struck by the lack of any conflict between the hrossa, the sorns, and another species called the pfifltriggi, as well as the hrossa’s happy acceptance of death as the natural end of a life well lived. The hrossa are experts with boats and love to create poetry and songs, making Ransom reassess his judgement of the hrossa as a primitive society. Ransom lives among the hrossa for weeks, learning their language and finding out about their peaceful culture from Hyoi. The creature introduces itself as a “hross” named Hyoi and takes Ransom back to his village. Ransom decides this creature must be intelligent and goes to meet it. Ransom is again overcome by fear until he hears the creature make noises that seem like speech. He stops at a pond to take a drink, and then sees a large, seal-like, black creature also drinking from the pond.
Ransom rests for the night, then continues to walk on the next morning. He flees through the alien forest behind the settlement. He assumes these must be the sorns, and runs from Weston and Devine in terror. As they unpack their supplies, Ransom sees three long, ghostly figures walk across the lake. They land at a settlement site on the shore of a gorgeous lake. After a month’s flight, the ship begins its descent to the planet of Malacandra, and Ransom’s fear returns despite the stunning landscape of Malacandra. Ransom tries to worry about his fate on Malacandra, but can’t help but spend the journey in awe of the bright vitality of the heavens – he can’t bring himself to call this expanse “space” now that he has seen how beautiful it is. He overhears Weston and Devine say that they have kidnapped him to be a sacrifice to a mysterious people called the sorns on a planet called Malacandra. When he wakes, Ransom finds himself in a spaceship.
The drink turns out to be drugged, and Ransom has a strange dream of meeting aliens while under its influence. Ransom convinces Weston and Devine to let the boy go home and goes into Weston’s house for a drink. Devine, struggling to capture a young boy. The gate is locked, but Ransom hears a commotion and sneaks in through a hedge. Ransom looks for a place to stay for the night, eventually coming to a large estate. Elwin Ransom walking through the English countryside during a year off from his work as a professor of language at Cambridge University.
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