Perry Rhodan #12, The Rebels of Tuglan (1972)

By Clark Darlton (= German issue #18, Friday 5 January 1962)

Chap. 1, “Of Rebels...”

On the planet Vagabond, a mousebeaver whose mutant intelligence outstrips that of its fellows and does not fade at night stows away on the Stardust II just before lift-off – and begins to “play” just as the ship begins its transition toward Vega.

Thousands of light-years away, the planet Tuglan, eleventh of the blue-giant star Laton, has been an outlying colony of the Arkonide Imperium for six millennia, though visited but seldom. Unbenownst to either race, the reddish-blue-skinned, violet-haired Tuglanians are descended from Arkonide explorers of six thousand years before that. The ruling Lord Alban of Tuglan plots to overthrow the resident Arkonide High Commissioner Rathon, who is typically degenerate and ill with leukemia. Alban is opposed by his brother Daros, who goes so far as to attempt to warn Rathon. His warnings appear to fall on deaf ears, but Rathon does covertly entrust a loyal Tuglanian with an investigative mission.

Chap. 2, “... and Robots”

One night, two Tuglanians are killed while sabotaging the sole Arkonide hyperwave broadcast installation on the outskirts of the capital city, Tugla, but not before they put it out of operation. Before the station goes down, however, the robots who tend it detect a brief hail from an Arkonide battleship that has just appeared in the system. Rathon reports these events to Alban, who sees his plans for Tuglanian independence crashing down around him.

Chap. 3, “The 'Impossible' Stowaway”

Aboard the Stardust II, Perry Rhodan immediately perceives that the transition to Vega has gone wrong. He eliminates the possibility that the telekinetic mutants had shifted the controls. Khrest recognizes the star near which they have appeared as Laton, 36,000 light-years from Vega. The galley reports a stowaway – when Rhodan and Reginald Bell arrive they find the mousebeaver calmly munching away on frozen fruit. When Bell angrily grabs it by the scruff of its neck, he is sent floating to the ceiling and dumped in an unused kettle of water, to the great amusement of his companions. Rhodan dispatches the dripping and discomfited Bell to change and retrieve the telepath John Marshall. Despite himself, Rhodan has already conceived an affection for the “beast” and even thinks of it as “he” rather than “it.” Marshall quickly establishes that this mousebeaver is quite intelligent, with “the makings of an excellent esper” (p. 49). Communication established, Rhodan forbids the mousebeaver, dubbed “Emby,” from further “play” aboard his ship. Nevertheless, within a short time, through a misunderstanding, Emby activates the hyperwave transmitter and gives away the Stardust's presence in the system. Rhodan decides to disguise the humans as Arkonides by means of makeup, white hair dye, and red contact lenses, and to approach Tuglan purporting to be an imperial inspection team.

Chap. 4, “Treachery on Tuglan”

Alban believes that the Arkonide ship is coming to investigate rumors of a revolution. He brazenly outlines his plan to Daros – that he intends to pin the sabotage and rebellion on his brother. Daros realizes that he has no proof against his brother's perfidy.

Entering orbit around Tuglan, Rhodan establishes contact with Alban – and goes along with the Tuglanian's misperception. To enable a telepath to accompany him in dealing with the Tuglanians, he has Marshall hypnotrained in Pankosmo, the galactic lingua franca. Emby is also hypnotrained to allow him to communicate with the humans: “'Teska vyt, jenmen.' And in English [the mousebeaver] translated: 'Good evening, gentlemen. I've also mastered the provincial language'” (p. 60). The Stardust lands at the spaceport outside Tugla.

Chap. 5, “Plots & Counterplots”

Rathon shows the “Arkonides” the destroyed hyperwave installation and reports the conflicting claims of Alban and Daros, as well as his own undercover operative – but when they establish a link to monitor Alban's agent in the palace, they remotely witness his death.

Daros leaves the palace unopposed but realizes that he is under surveillance. Then he finds himself being hailed by a mob of citizens - “Daros! Long live Lord Daros and the freedom of Tuglan! … Down with Lord Alban and his friends the Arkonides! Long live our liberator Daros!” (p. 68). Daros is both bewildered and horrified by this.

Rhodan meets with Alban, who professes disbelief at any notion that his brother could be the perpetrator of a plot against the Arkonides – and Daros plays right into his hands by barging in and accusing Alban publicly. Alban plays a recording of the citizens hailing Daros, and admits that he had been covering for him. Rhodan arrests Daros in the name of Arkon – then as they proceed back to the spaceport they are ambushed by a group of Tuglanians who purport to be freeing Daros. Rhodan and Bell do not resist and are taken prisoner; Rhodan perceives that Daros is as mystified by these developments as are himself and Bell, and he begins to suspect that this is all a show for the Arkonides' benefit. As he predicts, Bell is shortly taken from their place of captivity on a winding trip through the streets of the city – only to be “rescued” by agents of Alban. “[H]ow else will the Arkonides find out that Daros was liberated by his political friends?” Rhodan had predicted (p. 77). In meeting with Alban, Bell himself becomes sure that Alban is the real mastermind of the whole affair. He returns to the Stardust, determined to bring in Marshall to clarify things. He also realizes that Emby is no longer aboard the space sphere.

Chap. 6, “The Mind Reader's Revelation”

“Several things happened simultaneously.” Khrest and Rathon take Marshall to the palace and request audience with Alban. Bell and the “seer” Wuriu Sengu search the city for Rhodan to no avail. Rhodan is transferred to a cell elsewhere in the city from where he had been held. Unbenownst to him, Daros is moved nearby. “Only the fifth event had not been planned for” (p. 83). Emby has left the Stardust to “play” in the streets of Tugla – where he wreaks the predictable havoc. When he is accosted by one of Alban's police, he kills him, whereupon the rebels believe he must be on their side and join up with him, taking him to the rebel leader Karolan. The mousebeaver learns of his new friend Rhodan's plight.

Bell abandons the futile search for Rhodan, but is refused entrance to the palace supposedly on the orders of Khrest. Bell is immediately suspicious. In the meeting between Khrest, Rathon, and Alban, Marshall had quickly perceived the truth. But contrary to the Khrest's expectation the Tuglanian does not submit to the Arkonides' authority when confronted with the truth. He rather has Khrest, Rathon, and Marshall seized and imprisoned with Rhodan – beneath the palace.

Chap. 7, “The Floating Bomb”

Sengu locates Rhodan and the others, including one Bell presumes must be Daros in an adjacent cell. Bell and Sengu escape from the palace back to the Stardust. Bell selects several mutants, including Fellmer Lloyd, to accompany himself and Sengu in an armored tank while Major Derringhouse launches with a force of space-fighters. Unexpectedly, as they approach the palace, the Tuglanian people cheer them on: Lloyd feels their mood and reports, “[T]hey see us as allies. Their preponderant mood is one of hatred and fury,k but not toward us. They're filled with rebellious emotions. All are thinking of Lord Alban, spitefully and maliciously. They want to storm the palace and they believe we've come to help them.” Bell concludes, “The Tuglanians want to restore order. Our coming inspired them with the necessary courage. … They seem, therefore, to have always known that it was Alban and not Daros who wanted to rid them of the Arkonide empire” (p. 104). Sengu searches for the location of Alban.

Meanwile, Karolan, along with Emby, also approaches the palace. The Tuglanian has the mousebeaver telekinetically float a bomb across the gate where it blows a yawning gap though which the rebels pour. Emby sets out in search of Rhodan.

Chap. 8, “The Death of...”

In desperation, Alban announces over loudspeaker that unless the Arkonide attackers back off he will kill Rhodan and Khrest, and heads for the cells to make good his threat. Sengu guides Bell as he races toward that location. Alban arrives first. Rhodan stalls for time as Marshall detects Emby also approaching – then is rewarded when the mousebeaver unleashes his telekinetic force on the Tuglanian. He raises Alban's gun, carrying the Lord of Tuglan with it to the ceiling from which he falls. Although it is not a great height, the way he hits is instantly fatal. When Bell shows up, he is discomfited that that “damned Mickey Mouse” beat him to the rescue (p. 113). They free Daros and install him as the new Lord of Tuglan.

The Stardust leaves Tuglan and heads out toward its interrupted hyperspatial transition to Vega. Rhodan and his companions ponder whether these events might have indeed been another part of the Galactic Riddle. As reward for his part in the resolution of the abortive Tuglanian rebellion – and saving Rhodan – Emby is made a member of Rhodan's crew. He also gains a new name, “Pucky,” bestowed upon him by “a young crewman from Independence, Missouri …. 'Shades of Shakespeare,' Phillip Callen began, 'If Emby doesn't have the personality of Puck! … Puck – from Midsummer Night's Dream. … Pucky!'” “[A] name destined to become famous throughout far expanses of the space-time continuum” (pp. 117-118).

Another synopsis may be found at http://perryrhodan.us/php/displaySummary.php?number=18

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Once again I know of no Gray Morrow cover for the American edition. I am in possession of the second printing which is the same cover as above, from the German issue … #19. Oops. It seems that in the American publication the Johnny Bruck covers for this story and the next were transposed. Which is a pity, considering that these two covers seem each to have been a bit more appropriate to their subject matter than usual. Had the correct covers been used, we could have also had an illustration of an Arkonide tank, complete with the “spiral-shaped barrel of its pulse-ray cannon” (p. 103). And next issue could have had the more iconic image of Perry Rhodan, I presume finally in the presence of The Immortal Unknown. I do notice we have a somewhat accurate-looking image of an Arkonide space sphere, complete with the equatorial bulge or ring, on the present cover.

Remaining on art for a second – sans Gray Morrow cover, this issue nonetheless had Gray Morrow interior art. Here are the illustrations:

page 15

page 36

page 45

page 81

page 116

Unfortunately, it's not Morrow's best work, in my humble opinion not of the same quality as his cover paintings. And most of the images are not readily identifiable as particular characters or objects. Even the one woman, appearing twice, who must be Thora, doesn't look like what I take to be Thora on his various painted covers. 

Original painting for Ace Perry Rhodan #70

 What other woman is there besides a couple of the mutants?

The dedication of the American edition was to the memory of “E. Everett Evans, Galactic Roamer” (p. [4]). Here's the Wikipedia entry, short enough just to quote in full: “Edward Everett Evans (1893-1958) was an American science fiction author and fan. His works included the novels Man of Many Minds (1953), The Planet Mappers (1955), Alien Minds (1955), and the posthumously-published collaboration with E. E. "Doc" Smith Masters of Space (1976); and the collection Food for Demons (1971). A free eBook version of Man of Many Minds is available.”

The editorial “From the Captain of the Stardust 4E: Sci-Fi Knowledge Comes to College” notes the change from forty years previous when science fiction was “academically put down” to ca. 1970 when “courses are eagerly taken up in high schools, sought and taught in colleges across the country” (p. 7).

Note: According to Mark Golden's synopsis of this German issue linked above, this was not the original editorial for the American edition. There was a “lost” editorial which announced the winner of the #9, Quest Through Time and Space's “Rename Gucky” contest. Consequently the winner was never formally announced, although Golden reports that Forrest J Ackerman was said to have later mentioned the name of the winner as one Phillip Callen, presumably of Independence, Missouri, who thus found himself immortalized as a “Spaceman First Class” member of Rhodan's crew in this issue.

Golden also notes that the final scene in which “Emby” is renamed “Pucky” is itself written by Ackerman. In the German original, according to the German synopsis at the Perrypedia website, pretty much immediately after discovering the mousebeaver aboard his ship “Rhodan gibt ihm aufgrund seiner treuherzig blickenden Augen den Namen 'Gucky',” which a little massaging of the Google Chrome web-page translator seems to render as “Rhodan gives him the name 'Gucky' because of his ingenuous-looking eyes.” According to http://dictionary.reverso.net/german-english/Guck, Gucker can mean “eyes.” Perhaps someone more knowledgeable in German than myself can explain...? (After using the name “Emby” throughout the book, in the final scene Ackerman felt it necessary to explain that word's derivation. Do I really need to? Hint – it's typically Forry.)  I have wondered from time to time why the Ackermans didn't just rename Gucky as "Mickey," after Mickey Mouse.  Bell refers to him as such at one point (possibly added in translation? I don't know).  Maybe it was that a one-time use of The Mouse's name might fly as a cultural allusion, legally speaking, but formally renaming a continuing character with that name would not.  Even ca. 1970, nobody messed with The Mouse.

“Scientifilm World” celebrates “one of those rarities, the outstanding picture of a believable tomorrow or the decade after or the century after” - Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange (1971). “Unfortunately for a number of you readers, you'll have to wait till sometime between 1975 & 1980, depending on your present age, because this is an 'X' film and not for nadsats under 18. (Nadsat is one of the many strange made-up words in the picture and means teenage ...)” (p. 121).

And of course there was “The Perryscope” letters column.

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And so the German Perry Rhodan series entered its second calendar year of publication. I don't have a whole lot of story commentary this time.

Only Rhodan and Khrest are in the Stardust's Command Center during the transition at the beginning of the story. This is contrary to my own conception of a typically “busy” starship bridge, formed of course by Star Trek, which I must now envision more like sparse, even low-budget sci-fi sets – even (horror) Mission Stardust.

I was struck by Rhodan's slowness in reading the situation on Tuglan. He seems to have a preconceived notion that the people under Arkonide rule must long for freedom and that the rulers are Arkonide puppets. In this case, not so. The ruler is himself the rebel while the “rebels” turn out to be loyal to Arkon. I'm not sure if this is followed up in other instances in the series. But one reason I found this story a bit difficult to summarize was that, as the fifth chapter is entitled, “plots and counterplots” abound. Lord Alban plots against the Arkonides but ultimately framing the rebels; the rebels are in reality plotting against Alban; Daros is kind of caught in the middle.

If telepath John Marshall was hypnotrained to allow him to accompany Rhodan in dealings with the Tuglanians, why is he not there in their meetings from the beginning? Rhodan would then have seen through the plots from the beginning … and we would have had a much shorter story! That's the problem with too powerful characters – the author has to contrive ways to keep them from solving problems too quickly, or just ignore them until it's narratively convenient to bring them in.

Here's the description of the Arkonide robots manning the hyperwave station on Tuglan: “The three robots represented a top product of Arkonide electronics. They were equipped with mechanically working memory storage banks and were powered by a never-failing atomic battery. Their external appearance was that of a typical Arkonide, except for their metallic skin which gave away that they were nothing but machines” (p. 25). Typically, however, robots are depicted as more “robotic” on various cover illustrations, both German and American:

I'm not sure what “mechanically working memory storage banks” are, but apparently not the same as the positronic brain such as at the core of the Stardust as well as, at least I presumed, the robot “Markon” in #9, Quest Through Time and Space.

On p. 57, Pankosmo is identified as “the Esperanto of [the Arkonide] empire.” Forrest J Ackerman was a great proponent of the artificial language Esperanto; at least at one time, there existed “Ackerman's personal page about Esperanto” (per the Wikipedia article on FJA, note 7, which gives a link that on the date of this blog entry is currently dead). On a whim, considering that there is something of a tradition of using Esperanto when one wants to represent a foreign language without going to the trouble of developing a consistent foreign language (Wikipedia, “Esperanto in Popular Culture”), I tried translating the short sample we are given here. It's not Esperanto, however. I do like how Emby/Pucky refers to English as “the provincial language”!

Tuglanian “cars” are interesting, described as having “two wheels and a gravity gyroscope” (p. 64). Sounds kind of like a scaled-up Segway/GM PUMA:

That looks like fun!  Cheers and Ad Astra!

(Okay, I thought I didn't have a lot of commentary this time....)


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Sentimental note:  This was one of my original copies of a Perry Rhodan book, purchased way back in the 1970s.  (Remember, I have been filling in the gaps of my collection via online booksellers.)  I found a reminder of days-gone-by in it.  When I was a teenager, I worked part-time for my father's business, Hare Engraving Company, making "rubber plates" that were used in printing newspapers and book covers.  My job, besides making pickups and deliveries to our major client, was taking the zinc plates etched by my father (based on a photographic art design via sulfuric acid etching), making a bakelite mold from that zinc plate, then making a rubber plate that was a duplicate of the zinc plate.  The rubber came in big rolls, about a tenth of an inch thick, and was backed by a red or green sheet of thin plastic - which was basically discarded.  Except that it made a perfect bookmark.  I had many of those bookmarks, cut typically to about 1" by 6", and I still occasionally find them in old books.  They always take me back to those days....

Perry Rhodan #11, The Planet of the Dying Sun (1972)

By Kurt Mahr (= German #17, Friday 29 December 1961)

Chap. 1, “Star Stride”

The Stardust II floats in space, location unknown. Only 56 lonely stars are visible in a sea of blackness. Perry Rhodan takes a pursuit ship out for a reconnaissance flight. Fairly quickly, he loses contact with the Stardust, which shines starlike in the void behind him. Turning and racing back toward the ship, he notices an unexplained gravitational flux drawing him off course. He then realizes something that had been nagging at him – given his distance from the space-sphere, with no local sun, he should not be able to see it at all. There is no apparent source for the light reflecting off its hull. As he approaches, the communicator cuts back in and he lands safely. To the mystery of their location is added these new puzzles.

Meanwhile, Khrest has been using the positronic computer brain at the core of the Stardust to analyze their situation and the search for the world of eternal life thus far:

Is it reasonable to proceed step by step on the dangerous search for the civilization which knows the secret of cell conservation? …. The unknown civilization will share its knowledge only with those who prove by selective rules to have superior culture. (85.179% probability.) ….

What is the nature of the selective rules? …. The unknown civilization knows other selective rules besides scientific and technical topics. (100% probability.) ….

Which selective rules will we face on our search? …. All tests (selective rules) of scientific and technical nature have been concluded by the seekers. (52.112% probability.) (p. 19)

During a visionary trance in his cabin, the electromagnetically-sensitive Tanaka Seiko writes out a message in the language of the Unknown Immortal:

IF YOU, WHO DARES, ARE PATIENT AND DO NOT SUCCUMB TO TEMPTATION, WATCH FOR THE WORLD OF HIGHER ORDER. THE LIGHT IS NOT FAR AWAY. (Illegible letters, 91.998% probability for accuracy of translation.) (p. 23)

As he ponders the meaning of this, Rhodan is called to the Command Center, where suddenly the normal view of a star-strewn galaxy has reappeared. They are not in a void at all, but rather had been surrounded by some kind of cloaking field. They are near a small Mars-like planet orbiting a red dwarf star.

Chap. 2, “World of Mystery & Menace”

They land on the planet they call Vagabond. The similarities to Mars extend even to the iron-oxide redness of its sands. Soon after touchdown, strange happenings begin aboard the ship. Equipment moves of its own accord as if by telekinetic manipulation, but none of the mutants are behind it. The brainwave-pattern detecting mutant Fellmer Lloyd canvasses the entire ship but detects no alien mind at work. Another mystery.

Rhodan, Major Derringhouse, and Lieutenant Tanner set off with five-man crews each in three aero-cars to scout the local terrain. Rhodan feels drawn to the low hills about fifty miles from their landing site. But the aero-cars are also bedeviled by strange happenings. At the end of the 21-hour Vagabond day, they pitch camps. Soon after, they observe a group of strange animals nearby, feeding off the sparse vegetation. Their appearance, that of three-foot mice with the tails of beavers, immediately gives rise to the term, “mouse-beavers.” Lloyd detects no intelligence among them. Back in his tent, Rhodan realizes that his portable telecom is missing. He has just left his tent to alert the guard to the apparent intrusion when his tent explodes behind him! A large crater gapes where his tent had stood, but no men are injured. Subsequent investigation indicates it was a simple gunpowder blast. There are found also mysterious knobby tracks leading away from the camp. Rhodan and Derringhouse follow the tracks to where they suddenly end, near where they recover Rhodan's telecom discarded to the side.

Chap. 3, “The Danger Deepens”

Believing that the hills hold the clues they are seeking, Rhodan moves the camp to the center of the hilly area. From that base they start a systematic survey. Rhodan and Derringhouse head south. Their grav-meter detects a weak, variable gravitational source which they investigate. They find a small, glittering sphere floating in the hills - “'Damn it! Do we have light bodies here, too?' Derringhouse cussed” (p. 51). Suddenly their aero-car starts spinning like a top, throwing the two men about inside before it comes to rest nose-down on end in the sand. The assault ended, they set about righting the 'car, a process that almost ends in disaster when some force almost topples it onto Derringhouse. As they race away from the area, Rhodan ponders the occurrence. He believes they were seized by a rotating gravitational field rather than a telekinetic force.

Back at the camp, they discover that Lloyd has absconded with one of the other aero-cars. Following the mutant's flight path, they find his wrecked vehicle a half hour away. Near it is the dead body of a mouse-beaver. But there is no sign of Lloyd himself, other than tracks disappearing up a nearby hill. Backtracking the mouse-beaver's trail from the point it had been killed, Derringhouse finds a “mouse-hole” - then glimpses a half-buried smashed sphere like had attacked himself and Rhodan. Thee is another trail of round impressions leading away for some distance, only to end just as the other trail they had found.

Searchers find Lloyd after another hour, unharmed but exhausted. Back at camp, he is put to bed. Rhodan converses with Bell aboard the Stardust, who reports than more strange occurrences have taken place. Pondering the events as he waits for Lloyd to recover enough to be interrogated, Rhodan realizes that the alien adversary is slowly getting more skilled in its telekinetic manipulations, learning by trial and error. But some things do not add up. Why the simple gunpowder explosive where there is such proficiency in telekinesis?

When Lloyd comes to, Rhodan meets with him in a storage tent doubling as an infirmary. They have barely begun conversing when Rhodan notices something strange about Lloyd. He reacts quickly and barely avoids being shot by the mutant, being forced to kill him in self-defense. The medic's examination of the body quickly establishes that this is not Lloyd at all, but rather an android duplicate, with only one detail wrong. Rhodan had spotted the absence of a small bald-spot on the back of the head and thus survived the assassination attempt.

Chap. 4, “The Mad Bomb”

Against all their expectations, Lloyd himself (complete with bald-spot) staggers into the camp the next morning. As soon as possible, Rhodan interrogates him. The mutant relates how his aero-car had failed and crashed near the already-dead mouse-beaver, just in time to witness the sphere hovering closely over it to be grabbed by some force that smashed it to the ground. He had fled on foot but something knocked him out from behind. He came to in an underground machine hall. After a time lying helpless on a type of examination table, he witnessed a number of weird, short, multi-armed bipedal robots working all around him. He ultimately managed to escape, find his way to the surface, and back to the camp. He reports two distinct, almost contradictory brainwave-pattern: “[o]ne indicating a fantastic, almost ridiculous urge to play and another revealing such a deep hatred that it makes my had hurt. Hatred against the enemy, hatred against the intruder and hatred against everything that doesn't belong here” (p. 70).

Rhodan summons reinforcements and heads out to find an invade the machine hall. They know they're getting close when some force seizes the lead cars and starts them spinning although they manage to land safely. The men continue afoot toward the hill under which Lloyd is convinced he had been examined. A single gunpowder grenade lands among them, but no one is hurt thanks to their Arkonide combat suits' force fields. Then some force seizes two men and carries them off through the air, ultimately to fall to their deaths some distance away. All the while, Lloyd detects the profound hatred. Suddenly an earthquake strikes. Rhodan seizes the opportunity to dash toward the hill where Lloyd manages to locate the entrance and lead them into the hall as he had described it. But it now appears to be deserted. He can no longer feel the hostile brainwaves. They find fifteen of the stumpy robots collapsed before a damaged apparatus that reminds Rhodan of a cyclotron. Taking the dead robots for study aboard the Stardust, they exit the hall – to find the sun in the wrong part of the sky altogether.

The Stardust's monitors reveal that a convulsion in Vagabond's dwarf-star sun had triggered a shift in the planets very axis, with the resultant earthquake. A similar gravitic shock wave doubtless explained at least the shifting gravity field Rhodan had encountered during his reconnaissance flight.

Rhodan ponders how to proceed as his technicians analyze the robots. Then a dangerous situation develops as an “Arkon Bomb,” the most devastating weapon in existance, able to wipe out a planet, breaks free of its rack and floats through the ship toward an airlock and outside. Rhodan and the mutants Tama Yokida and Tako Kakuta barely manage to intercept and gain control of it, returning it safely to the arsenal. Against the vociferous objections of Khrest and Thora, Rhodan outfits a larger expedition of ten aero-cars loaded with various equipment and weapons. To Bell's inquiry as to what his plan is, Rhodan replied, “We're going to play a little game with the strangers but this time we're going to choose the time and place, where it isn't so hazardous for us” (p. 89).

Chap. 5, “Rhodan's Revelation”

They set up the various equipment, all of which are complicated in their use and should occupy the alien mind for a while, near the camp. Rhodan means “to offer him some entertainment close to home in the hope that he [will] be distracted from the Stardust. If he [can] be lured to play with the gadgets displayed, they might – with luck – be able to capture him” (p. 91). Meanwhile, analysis of Rhodan's telecom reveals that it had been stolen by one of the robots, not an organic being as he had expected. C14 dating has also shown that the robots are tens of thousands of years old. In the night, Lloyd detects the hate-filled brainwaves approaching. Five spheres attack. When psycho-beamers prove useless, disintegrators make short work of them – and as the spheres are picked off Lloyd feels the hatred progressively diminishing. Then, when morning comes, Lloyd feels the playful mental emissions just as the “toys” Rhodan had left start behaving in typically mysterious fashion. One of the sentries detects a mouse-beaver digging up from below the ground in the midst of the equipment. It emerges to examine the various pieces. Then a small refrigeration unit starts to float, apparently at the direction of the animal, which follows it back down the hole. Rhodan and a force of his men follow into an underground tunnel.

Soon after, Bell contacts Tanner who had remained at the camp:

“The technicians have disassembled and examined the robots. Although their bodies are mechanical structures, their brains are of organic growth with infinitely lasting life. The mental processes of the robots are, therefore, on a par with other organic beings.

“By any comparison they excel in a complicated memory bank. We have so far succeeded in deciphering two items.

“First: robots received orders to attack immediately any alien invading this world and to annihilate same by any and all means.

“Second: there exists a total of twenty robots on this world. The last data about organically grown beings go back forty thousand Vagabond years, corresponding to thirty-five thousand Terrestrial years” (p. 99).

Tanner passes this on to Rhodan, who is not at all surprised.

Over the course of several hours, Rhodan and his men crawl several miles underground, eventually emerging in a cavern at the center of which is suspended a brightly shining disc. It is a model of the Milky Way Galaxy, which Rhodan's men record before it dissolves. The cavern is shrouded in darkness, but now a number of exits upward can be seen, visible through which is the dim light of the stars in Vagabond's night sky. Examination of the cavern itself reveals it to be the lair of a band of mouse-beavers which are currently outside feeding. Rhodan and his men climb out of the cavern, which they find to lie under one of the many broad, low hills that dot this area of Vagabond.

Back aboard the Stardust, Rhodan sums up their findings. Their challenge here on Vagabond had been to determine that there were indeed two intelligences, and which of them held the key to their continuing the quest. Rather than a single intelligence with conflicting emotions, there was the hostile, hate-filled robots with organic brains, left by a dying race to guard the remains of their civilization. The spheres were some kind of transportation for them, but they could themselves both walk (hence the knobby tracks) and fly a short distance (hence the disappearance of the tracks). And there was the mouse-beavers – which exhibit only intermittent intelligence that appeared only during the hours of daylight, along with parapsychological, telekinetic abilities. The fifteen “dead” robots are simply powerless due to the destruction of their power generator during the earthquake. The remaining five must have been powered by a separate source. They were as willing to use “simple” technology such as gunpowder as well as more complex robotic impersonation to try to accomplish their destructive imperative. Second, study of the three-dimensional galactic map found in the mouse-beaver cavern has revealed not only their own location, a “mere” 2,400 light-years from Sol and Vega, but also the location of what Rhodan believes to be the World of Eternal Life.

Ten days later, the Stardust launches to continue its quest, first heading toward Vega to report in. As they leave, Rhodan is still puzzled by two mysteries going back to his reconnaissance flight: What caused his telecom to fail? Why could he not see the sun of Vagabond directly but could clearly perceive its light reflected off the hull of the Stardust?

Another synopsis may be found at http://perryrhodan.us/php/displaySummary.php?number=17

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As far as I've been able to find, there was never a Gray Morrow cover for the American edition. I am in possession of the second printing (1974) which retains Johnny Bruck's art from the German original. If someone knows otherwise, please let me know. All of the alien landscapes so far, I believe, look more like the moon than anything else, don't they?

On the contents page, a mysterious title “Rohan - ?!” appears in the place the Preface should have been listed. I have no idea what that's all about.  Maybe somebody had been reading The Lord of the Rings....

The Preface “From the Captain of the Stardust 4E” is really entitled “Stardust Meloday” … Forrest J Ackerman then has to explain his own neologism/pun: “A 'meloday' is a good day, a mellow one” (p. 7). Even were that somewhat clever, having to explain your own wit is never a good sign. As far as substance goes, the preface is basically a report of the grateful letters received since Rhodan and his pals have returned, focusing on one from as far away as Buenos Aires, by one Hector Pessina.

The column “Scientifilm World” promotes a new film that Ackerman has seen that will be released soon – Silent Running (1972). I've only ever seen this once that I recall, on television sometime in the early to mid 1970s. I recall not liking it at all, but I might have been too young to appreciate it.

“The Perryscope” proclaims that “The mailman on Spaceborn Drive just quit” (p. 121) after tipping the scales to over a hundred pounds a day of fan mail by adding his own letter to the pile. Ackerman proposed as a solution to provide the hapless mailman with an antigravity belt. Then follows a sampling of the mail, including one missive that castigates the Ackermans – Forrest J for his bad puns as well as the general adolescent (the letter-writer's term) tone of the books, and Wendayne for a bad translation job and writing style. Not unpredictably, Ackerman devoted a great deal of space – about a page and a half – to refuting the criticisms. He concentrates on justifying his wife's credentials, but I get the feeling that it was the criticism of the general tone that really struck a nerve. In my opinion, that is indeed the more valid aspect of the criticisms, which are not (if what Ackerman printed is representative) put forward in the most diplomatic terms. I don't find the writing itself that bad – in general. It must be remembered that this is based on German pulp fiction – written quickly, considered disposable. But although I will always be grateful to Forrest J Ackerman as the driving force in giving me and so many others the opportunity to at least taste the greatness that is Perry Rhodan (witness my dedication at the top of this page), believe you me that the puns and childishness do get a bit tiresome. It's easy to understand why many readers never could get past them and thus dismissed the series out of hand. And in fact – and here there is of course no way for me to know for sure – I suspect that some of the worse aspects of the writing itself are owed to FJA himself more so than to his wife. I don't think I'm alone in that assessment.

* * *

Here we see introduced the “Arkon Bomb!” “Weapons which had the capacity to cause an unextinguishable atomic conflagration of all elements above the atomic number 10 and of any other chosen element by setting the trigger of the bomb for the specific selection.” I get that they were wanting to ratchet up the sense of threat when one is seized by the mysterious force (wow! They felt the need to?), but doesn't "all elements above the atomic number 10" make the very next paragraph redundant? - “The bomb triggers in arsenal Deck E were set for 26. Atomic number 26 – iron. There was more iron present in the Stardust than in a steel mill! The ship was doomed if the bomb exploded!” (pp. 82-83) Anyway, I well remember this horrific weapon of mass destruction, the image of unstoppable atomic fire devouring a planet. It's one of the things that stuck with me from my original reading. If I recall correctly, Rhodan and company made pretty free use of them.... But about that name: “Arkon Bomb”? It has to be a Terran term. I mean, if it had been developed by humans would we have called it an “Earth Bomb”? Or maybe the Arkonides were that arrogant.

I think the interior artist, one Sandy Huffaker (perhaps this Sandy Huffaker, early in what would be a distinguished career as a political cartoonist? http://www.huffakerart.com/ [note:  an email exchange has confirmed that this is indeed the artist - 26 May 2011 - isn't the internet great!]) took the prose description of the stumpy robots a bit too literally. From the second, slightly better, descripion: “They consisted mainly of a bulky midsection in the form of an ellipsoid and were made of a gray metallic substance. Below the ellipsoid extended two short stumps of legs without feet. The upper end had a rotating ring with short arms. The contraption was about twenty inches high, standing up...” (p. 78).

(p. 69)

Really?

Do we ever get a good explanation for what compelled Fellmer Lloyd to commandeer the aero-car and strike out on his own? All I know of is the “Lloyd-bot's” testimony that he felt he could accomplish his task of finding the alien intelligence better by getting away on his own. When the real Lloyd starts telling his story, he starts with his aero-car experiencing trouble and going down.


Next up:  The Rebels of Tuglan by Clark Darlton.

Cheers, and Ad Astra!

Perry Rhodan #10, The Ghosts of Gol (1971)

By Kurt Mahr (= German issue #16, Friday 22 December 1961)

Chap. 1, “Spooky Phenomena”

Eight auxiliary space spheres, nicknamed “Guppies,” launch from the Stardust II to distribute themselves throughout the Vega System with space-time structural sensors scanning for disturbances. Meanwhile, Perry Rhodan has to deal yet again with the Arkonides' timidity. He gives Khrest and Thora a choice – accompany him continuing the quest for the secret of eternal life or not, but they must decide! Guppy #5, near the fifteenth planet, starts experiencing spatial oscillations that set the very hull to droning and blows out the structural sensor. They did manage to get a lock on the source, however – the fourteenth planet of Vega.

As Thora and Khrest prepare to give Rhodan their decision, the three are interrupted by the metal cartridge retrieved from the distant past of Ferrol gives off a blazing light and basically evaporates before their eyes. In quick succession, Rhodan gets the report from Commander Chaney of Guppy #5 as well as the electromagnetically sensitive mutant Tanaka Seiko's report of the message he perceived at the same time: “You shall come now. … Remember the warning! Continue your search where the disturbance occurs. … Do not come without the higher knowledge! Nobody will help you, only the mountain will pulsate for you” (pp. 20-21). Rhodan orders an almost immediate launch for planet fourteen – then remembers Khrest and Thora. Khrest laughs and says they had decided to accompany him.

Chap. 2, “Perils of Gol”

Vega 14 is a monstrous gas giant three times the diameter of Jupiter but with an enormous density, and therefore an even more monstrously enormous gravity and atmospheric pressure at its surface – 916 g's and 50,000 atmospheres under its own 12,000-mile thick atmosphere. Only the Stardust has the power to withstand the strain by means of its engines and gravity generators working in tandem to negate the terrific gravitational force, so the auxiliary ships are sent back to Ferrol. Rhodan orders surface exploration vehicles to be outfitted to withstand the grueling conditions.

Bell christens the planet “Gol,” “after an abominable ogre in some old legend” (p. 26). As the Stardust II descends into the planet's atmosphere, the first of what becomes a series of regularly recurring sixteen-second structural disturbances is detected. Seiko detects no message, however. Rhodan heads for the coordinates from which the disturbances originate, which turns out to be a twelve-mile high mountain unsuitable for landing. A more suitable landing area is about 120 miles away. Rhodan manages to set the ship down in what turns out to be a sea of thirty- to sixty-foot deep liquid methane, the same compound as the atmosphere. Actually, “[t]he gravity neutralizers together with the engines kept the Stardust in a weightless state even after the landing. The support legs had found solid ground but did not depend on it” (p. 33).

After testing a remote-controlled caterpillar-track exploration vehicle, Rhodan, Major Derringhouse, and Seiko set forth for their first survey of the utterly alien landscape, heading for the foothills beyond which is the mountain range that contains their goal. An infrared search beam provides their only “light” so deep in the thick atmosphere. But then, mysteriously, as they come to a sheer rock wall, that searchlight dies.

Chap. 3, “Glowing – Beings?”

Khrest has gotten nowhere in analyzing the continuing intermittent structural disturbances for any message that might be encoded in their modulation. Suddenly the Stardust lists to one side. Momentarily two of the gravity generators had run idle then resumed normal operation. Reginald Bell easily rights the ship, but is upset by his inability to find an explanation. A glowing shape appears in the murk outside. Khrest speculates that it is a random electrical discharge. Receiving a report of the caterpillar's dead searchlight, Bell orders a radio beacon deployed to guide Rhodan back. Making its way gingerly through the treacherous landscape, the caterpillar encounters a similarly glowing shape, whereupon Seiko is stricken by an intense roaring “sound” that only his mutant abilities can “hear,” and an intense headache. Rhodan is unable to catch up to the flitting light and finally, slowly, makes his way back to the Stardust.

Rhodan meets with his people and reveals that he roaring that Seiko perceived in conjunction with the appearance of the light was indeed hyper-radiation. He also believes that the searchlight was intentionally put out of commission. Perhaps the lights are living beings. With Khrest's help, Rhodan sets out to devise a way to convert the structural sensor in the a modulation receiver – he is still convinced the structural disturbances contain a message. His efforts pay off. Through the medium of the new device, Seiko is able to “read”: “Even though you have perceived this, you must follow the way to the mountain. Only there is the light hidden. Do not wait long. The mighty ones of [Gol] will overpower you if you hesitate too long. Do not come without the higher knowledge!” (pp. 54-55).

Chap. 4, “The Valley of the Phantoms”

Three caterpillars set out from the Stardust. Rhodan drives one, accompanied by his previous crew plus telekineticist Anne Sloane; Bell is accompanied by the young telepath/telekineticist Betty Toufry, teleoptician Ralf Marten, and Major Nyssen; and Khrest is telekineticist Tama Yokida, teleporter Ishi Matsu, and Captain Klein. Rhodan attempts to use catapulted “oxygen-bombs” (oxygen and methan are an explosive combination) to blast his way through the rock wall encountered previously, but the first such blast attracts a small light sphere which seems to absorb the second – and swells from twenty inches diameter to fifteen feet. He then resorts to disintegrator cannon to blast a hole big enough to drive through. The three caterpillars emerge into a broad smooth plain and continue on toward the mountain. The glowing ball follows them but slowly diminishes in size. At Bell's urging, they try disintegrator fire against it, only to find that it “feeds off” that as well. Seiko continues to be plagued by a headache.

Receiving a report from Thora aboard the Stardust that more glowing balls have surrounded the ship and that the intermittent failures of gravity generators are increasing, Rhodan feels pressured to reach their goal as quickly as possible. The expedition passes through a natural fissure in another rock wall, but emerge atop a sheer precipice overlooking a deep valley filled with many of the glowing forms. Derringhouse dubs it the “Valley of the Phantoms.” They manage to follow a descending ledge along the cliff face down to the valley floor. But then a report back to the Stardust goes unanswered.

Chap. 5, “Encounter with the Ghosts”

Thora had been listening to the progress of the caterpillars until the point where they entered the valley – whereupon clanging alarms shattered the calm aboard the Stardust. All gravity neutralizing screens are down and only the ship's engines are supporting them. Thora finds herself at a loss as to how to proceed, finding herself longing for Perry Rhodan's presence of mind and cursing his absence at the same time. But she rallies herself and uses Wurio Sengu's power of “seeing” through matter to determine that the glowing spheres outside the Stardust react to energy fire just like the one dogging Rhodan's expedition. As engine power begins to decline, Gol's massive gravity seeps through, subjecting the crew of the Stardust to mounting g-forces. Thora attempts to launch the ship, but the engines fail altogether. They are only saved by the resumption of the structural modulation, which seems to drive the sphere's away.

Thora reestablishes contact with Rhodan, who orders her to launch and maintain a safe altitude beyond the range of the spheres, about a thousand miles up, and to fly the Stardust to a position above the valley. Rhodan and the caterpillars proceed forward – the light of the massed spheres is sufficient for them to turn off their search beams, which removes the caterpillars' attraction at least for the time being. But as they penetrate deeper and deeper into the valley, the spheres get denser and denser and harder to avoid. Knowing they are about to be detected, Rhodan tries a diversion. All three caterpillars fire at a single point well away from their own position, and the spheres take the bait, flocking away from the caterpillars toward a much richer feast of energy. The caterpillars continue forward and ultimately leave the field of phantom lights, coming safely to the base of the mountain.

Chap. 6, “A Message from the Unknown”

The caterpillars start ascending the lower slopes. Rhodan has concluded that the lights, higher-dimensional beings though they be, are unintelligent and driven solely by instinct. Moreover, he believes he has a way to repel them. He orders Thora to descend from its hovering position and use his remodeled structural sensor as a transmitter, as well as to flood the area with infrared light so they can see. The light spheres scatter from the Stardust's broadcast as when the sixteen-second modulation had resumed. The massive space-sphere is able to land unmolested in the valley.

But Seiko now “hears” what seems to be the buzzing of a swarm of angry hornets. As a precaution, Rhodan sends Bell's and Khrest's caterpillars back to the Stardust. They are to help Thora in case of another attack, but also to build a second structural disturbance transmitter. Major Nyssen is then to bring that transmitter to Rhodan, who continues on. Bell and Khrest complete their task quickly, and Nyssen heads back out on the trail of Rhodan.

Rhodan has meanwhile reached the true base of the mountain, which turns out to be a needle-like formation soaring into the sky. Seiko perceives another message: “You are on the right way. Keep going! Are you endowed with the higher knowledge?” (p. 94) The outline of a great door can be seen on the side of the mountain. Rhodan orders Sloane, “I assume that it takes a telekinetic knack to open it. Please apply your higher knowledge” (p. 94). But at that moment a large group of the energy balls appears, bearing down on the door.

Miles away, Nyssen's caterpillar is overtaken by a storm front. Buffeting winds are accompanied by a radical drop in temperature. Formations of frozen methane solidify out of the atmosphere almost immediately and trap the caterpillar. Nyssen calls for help from the Stardust, but before that can happen both the caterpillar and the space-sphere come under renewed attack, by a new, more effective tactic. The generators are attacked directly and start to fail. The crews are subjected to rapidly mounting gravity.

At the mountain, Sloane manages to open the door and Rhodan guns the caterpillar through just ahead of the lights. They enter a large circular chamber occupied by a single apparatus – an “impulsator” like that found in the factory-like hall of #8, The Galactic Riddle, a remote hyperspace matter-transmitter. Once again, it is up to Sloane's telekinesis to activate the mechanism.

Chap. 7, “Beyond the Galaxy”

Rhodan and his companions have the impression of “ – [a]n endless time” – “no prior transition [in Rhodan's experience] had taken as long as this one” (p. 109). They reappear in the Command Center of the Stardust. Nyssen and Klein and their caterpillar have also appeared in the ship's hangar. But the ship itself has been thrown to an entirely unknown sector of space, outside the galaxy, where only a handful of stars can even be seen. Seiko alone sees a glowing ball suspended in the middle of the Command Center – “and became terribly frightened, believing at first that it was a light body” (p. 111). It is not. And he alone “hears” a message from their “unknown mentor”:

“You have been warned! Now find the world where the coordinates are secured. Remember that you cannot return home if you do not know the right way. Your goal is far!”

Another synopsis may be seen at http://perryrhodan.us/php/displaySummary.php?number=16 .

* * *

First, the requisite silly cover question: Is that Saturn Girl of the Legion of Super-Heroes?

That impression is only reinforced by the hypnotic concentric (thought?) waves radiating from the female eyes in the background of Gray Morrow's painting. And if so, is that Lightning Lad with her? … Doesn't really look like him. Just for the heck of it, I and a lot of other people had a similar “Is that Saturn Girl?” moment not too long ago when T-Mobile's new (and cute as all get-out) spokeswoman Carly Foulkes appeared in similar attire:

Again, this Ace publication initially appeared with the Johnny Bruck German cover art and the Gray Morrow art only appeared by the third edition (1974) which is what I have. I'm not sure what the second edition looked like. Bruck's painting again at least somewhat reflects some scene in the story.

This volume begins with the Editorial “From the Captain of the Stardust 4E: The Glowing Coal,” celebrating the appearance of Perry Rhodan #500: Aliens from the Void, by K. H. Scheer, earlier in 1971. At one adventure per month, Ackerman forecast that the English translation would be published sometime in the 21^st century. But he held out hope for an increased frequency of publication as well as the possibility of judicious use of summaries of some issues as well as special editions of the anniversary issues years before they would normally be published. Except for a couple more adventures to be skipped altogether in the near future (like The Wasp Men Attack), which Ackerman himself apparently later repented, only the increased frequency would come about – for a time.

The aftermatter consisted of “Scientifilm World,” this time a review of First Spaceship on Venus (1962), and “The Perryscope” letters column.

Some notes and commentary:

On p. 15, Rhodan refers to the “Fable of the Fox and the Sour Grapes” when Khrest and Thora would quit the quest altogether since it seems the universe in not going to arrange itself for their convenience as Arkonides have become accustomed to. This is originally a story from the Greek fabulist Aesop; Wikipedia quotes a brief translation of the Latin version by the Roman Phaedrus:

Driven by hunger, a fox tried to reach some grapes hanging high on the vine but was unable to, although he leaped with all his strength. As he went away, the fox remarked, 'Oh, you aren't even ripe yet! I don't need any sour grapes.' People who speak disparagingly of things that they cannot attain would do well to apply this story to themselves.

I can find no reference to any legend of “an abominable ogre” named Gol to which Bell refers in naming the monstrous gas giant on p. 24. Perhaps it's a German legend?

There is an interesting exchange between Thora and Rhodan on p. 49. After Rhodan has revealed to his fellow Terrans his theory that the glowing balls of light are “higher order” beings, she cautions him:

“You ought to be more careful.... You're talking to your men about beings living in a higher order of space. I'm not sure whether these people, although they are majors, are familiar enough with the concepts of hyper-geometry to know that there's no value judgment expressed by that.”

Rhodan takes her seriously: “That's a good point. I'll keep it in mind. … Still, it does state a value.... We can achieve a transition, we can modulate hyperwaves and broadcast them. But we're at a loss as to how to handle a being whose abode is in higher space. Anybody living in space of n dimensions eludes by this fact alone the grasp of those in (n-one [read “n minus one”]) dimensional space.”

Kurt Mahr really seems to have been the original cadre of authors' go-to-guy for describing treks across alien landscapes. I found a lot of echoes in the general mood of this story to #4(b), Base on Venus, which he also wrote. Just one parallel: In both stories, our heroes have a mountain as their goal, and encounter various dangers along the way.

Mahr also took time to describe the varying reactions of Rhodan's people to their situation – p. 64:

“The crew aboard the carriers had mixed feelings. Tanaka Seiko was still suffering from a splitting headache because the huge sphere kept following the vehicle doggedly. Rhodan had retreated into the cold and determined toughness which was at the core of his personality in such critical situations. Reginald Bell and Major Derringhouse vied with him in his toughness but embellished it with a certain show of flippancy and a devil-may-care attitude. Khrest had not uttered a word in the last few hours. He seemed convinced that they were on a straight path to hell and so apparently was Anne Sloane, who was squatting apathetically on the floor of Rhodan's car with a vacant look and showing little interest.

“Major Nyssen was a strange man. Rhodan had never known this aspect of his qualities. Nyssen, who outwardly so much resembled Reginald Bell, had developed during the last few hours a certain fanatical urge – without losing his sense of reality or overestimating the limiting circumstances of the expedition – to subdue the energy bodies which seemed to constitute the greatest danger to the Stardust ….”

Mention of Anne Sloane's depression a moment ago brings to mind what might be the quotation of the issue! – “'Don't be afraid, baby!' [Rhodan] smiled when he saw how pale [Anne Sloane's] face was” (p. 78). I laughed out loud at that.

Once Rhodan's expedition penetrates the mountain, I hesitated a moment – Rhodan might have recognized the “impulsator” (p. 105), but I had no idea to what that word referred until reading further. Did I miss it previously being given that name? I comment on it because this seems to have happened before – some new fact or term being dropped in without (what I consider to be) proper introduction. Luckily, it quickly became clear in this case. But I think this must be another result of the series' “writing by committee” and the sheer rapid pace that these stories appeared. As Mahr was writing this story, had he had a chance to read Darlton's #8, The Galactic Riddle?  Perhaps something similar explains the out-of-the-blue dubbing of the auxiliary spheres as "Guppies."

My gut feeling is that the description of Gol is too fantastic to be realistic.  I mean, it's described as a "gas giant" three times the size of Jupiter, with an "enormous density" and gravity over nine hundred times that of Earth.  Jupiter itself has a density about one-quarter that of Earth, with a gravity about 2-1/2 times.  I frankly toyed with the idea of trying to see if the math worked out, but just as frankly I found it beyond me - or at least the time and effort that I'm willing to put into it.  Anyone else wants to have a go at it, be my guest.

* * *

As an addendum to my just previous post, about the Perry Rhodan movie that might or might not really exist (see the first paragraph here), I have a confession to make. Since viewing that film, bad as it was, I find it has changed my mental image of one of the major characters. Contrary to what I stated a few posts back (here), no longer is my mental image of Thora formed by Gray Morrow's cover to Ace #70 … now I see Essy Persson.

That is not at all unpleasant....

She's the only one, however. I still “see” Rhodan as in the banner above, from Morrow's cover to Ace #50. Frankly, I found most of the other main actors pretty interchangeable among themselves and even with the movie's Rhodan. Except for Khrest – but even so, I still retain as my mental image of the elderly Arkonide scientist US Representative Tom Lantos.

Imagine him with red eyes.  Even years after I was reading the Perry Rhodan series in the 1970s, when Lantos emerged on the political landscape (the 1980s? 1990s?) I immediately thought of Khrest, specifically of this image:

Cheers, and Ad Astra!