Tricursu

Figure 1. Tricursu arena by Gemini.

 The first mention of ChatGPT in this blog was in a blog post of March 11, 2023 titled "Action". In that blog post, I challenged "Bing Chat" to describe the rules of the sport Hussade. Comedy ensued when Bing Chat confabulated and invented non-existent features of the game, such as describing the ball that is used in the game, when, in fact, there is no ball in Hussade. Today, I asked the same question of Gemini. Gemini's blather-loaded responses (below) have been edited for brevity.

Me: What are the rules of the sport Hussade?

Gemini: In the Alastor Cluster of Jack Vance’s Gaean Reach (specifically featured in Trullion: Alastor 2262), Hussade is the preeminent sport. It is a strategic, often brutal team game played on a gridiron of narrow walkways suspended over a tank of water.

Image by WOMBO Dream
and ImageFX (crowd).

 1. The Field of Play

The Grid: The field consists of a series of "runs" (ways) and "laterals" forming a grid.
  Dimensions: Runs are spaced 9 feet apart; laterals are 12 feet apart.
 The Moat: A central "moat" 8 feet wide divides the field. It can be crossed at the center, the ends, or jumped by agile players.
 The Tank: Below the grid is a tank of water (or sometimes sand on water-scarce worlds) roughly 4 feet deep. Falling or being forced into the tank removes a player from the immediate action.
 Trapezes: Suspended trapezes allow players to swing sideways from one run to another, though they cannot be used to travel between laterals.

 2. Team Composition

Image by WOMBO Dream
and ImageFX (crowd).

 A standard team consists of 12 players, including:

 The Captain: The strategic lead who carries the "hange."
 The Sheirl: A young woman (traditionally a virgin) who stands on a platform at her team’s home end.                        She acts as the ultimate objective of the opposing team.
 Guards, Forwards, Rovers, and Midfielders: Specialized roles for offense and defense on the grid.

  3. Key Mechanics & Equipment

 The Hange: The Captain carries a bulb on a three-foot pedestal called a hange. When the bulb is glowing, the Captain is "safe"—he cannot be attacked, nor can he attack others. The light goes dead if he moves more than 6 feet from the pedestal or lifts it to change positions.
 Combat Rules: Players use body-blocks or "buffs" to knock opponents into the water. Crucially, they may not use their hands to push, pull, hold, or tackle.

 4. Scoring and Winning

 The Objective: To reach the opposing team's platform and pull a golden ring attached to the Sheirl’s white gown.
 The Ransom: If a player reaches the Sheirl, play stops. The Captain of the defending team may ransom the Sheirl’s dignity by paying a prearranged sum of ozols (the local currency). If the ransom is paid, the player retreats and play resumes.
 The End of the Match: If the defending team cannot or will not pay the ransom, the player pulls the ring. This denudes the Sheirl (removes her clothing), ending the game in a total victory for the attackers and a public disgrace for the losers.

Figure 2. Tricursu arena by Gemini.

 Me: Science fiction scenario. Gemini, help me invent a new sport of the future Alastor Cluster called "Tricursu", a variant of Hussade, which is played in a circular arena that has three levels. Lower level: a deep cone-shaped pool full of flowing water. The water flows continuously from two waterfalls that cascade down from behind and around the feet of the Sheirls as they stand on their high display platforms at the two ends of the playing arena. The water from the two waterfalls falls into the pool below. Water continually drains out of the bottom of the vertex of the cone-shaped pool through a pipe which bifurcates: half of the drained water flowing back to each of the two waterfalls. The only way for a "tanked" player to return to play is by swimming to the bottom of the pool and through the pipe that will return them to their team's Sheirl platform/waterfall at end of the arena. Middle level: the networks of "runs" and "laterals" forming a network, similar to the grid in Hussade, except the entire arena is circular, not rectangular. The runs are all curved and branched so as to fill the entire circular profile of the arena. Top layer: the two captains are the only players who can move to the upper layer which is called "skyry" and is structurally composed of a transparent fiber-mesh material (the composite hierion-carbon-74) that has physical properties like the material used for a trampoline bed. The skyry is suspended ten feet over the runs and laterals of the middle layer. In the central 90% of the skyry, there are many holes in the transparent fiber which can be used by a captain to voluntarily exit from the skyry and drop down onto a run, below. Also the two captains can strike each-other with their buffs and attempt to knock the opposing captain through a hole in the fabric of skyry and down to a lower level. Once the captain leaves skyry, they cannot return until the next game in the match begins. There is no hange in Tricursu.

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Gemini: This is a fascinating evolution of the Vancian aesthetic. By removing the hange, you’ve shifted the game from a defensive, "anchored" strategy to one of fluid dynamics and verticality. Tricursu (likely derived from the Latin tri- and cursus, "three-course run") feels like a high-velocity, three-dimensional chess match.

Given your background in pharmacology and physiology, as well as your interest in imaginary nanotechnology, let’s refine the mechanics and biological implications of this sport.

---

The Physics and Fluid Dynamics of the Cone-Pool

The Lower Level is no longer just a "tank"; it is a high-pressure recovery system.

• The Siphon Effect: As a player is "tanked," they enter a vortex. The physiological strain here is immense. To return to play, the athlete must overcome the buoyancy force and the centripetal acceleration of the swirling water to reach the vertex pipe.

• The Return Pipe: From a fluid mechanics perspective, the bifurcating pipe acts as a pressurized "rebound" system. A player entering the pipe would be subjected to sudden hydrostatic pressure changes.

• Biological Note: Players would likely require specialized pulmonary surfactants or even nano-oxygenated blood-doping to handle the extended apnea and the G-forces of being "pumped" back up to the Sheirl platforms.

---

The Middle Level: The "Curved-Grid"

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Unlike the linear runs of Hussade, the circular geometry of Tricursu introduces non-Euclidean movement.

• The Maze: The "runs" are concentric circles, and the "laterals" are radial paths. This requires superior vestibular-ocular reflex (VOR) integration. A player sprinting on a curved run experiences constant lateral force, requiring the vastus lateralis and peroneal muscles to work asymmetrically.

• The Intersections: Because the grid branches to fill the circle, the "buffing" angles are unpredictable. A player can be attacked from a "blind" radial path at every junction.

---

The Top Level: The "Skyry"

The use of hierion-carbon-74 (a high-tensile, transparent polymer) adds a layer of kinetic energy management.

• The Trampoline Mechanic: The Captains are not just walking; they are managing potential and kinetic energy. Every step creates a "dip" in the mesh, influencing the stability of the opponent.

• The "Hole" Risk: In the absence of a hange, the Captain’s only safety is his proprioception. He must track the location of the holes beneath his feet while focusing on the opposing Captain.

• The Drop: Falling through a hole involves a 10-foot drop to a run, or a 15-to-20-foot drop into the vortex. This necessitates advanced eccentric muscle control upon landing to prevent tibial fractures.

Figure 3. Tricursu arena by Gemini.

 Me: Generate an image that depicts a Tricursu arena during a game. Show the two Sheirls positioned at opposite ends of the circular arena and positioned so that the Sheirl can only be reached by a player on the middle level who climbs the low platform upon which the Sheirl stands. The gold rings are one foot in diameter and attached to the clothing of the Sheirls. The upper skyry level must be no more than 10 feet above the network of runs that comprise the middle layer.

______

Gemini really struggled to generate a reasonable depiction of the game Tricursu. I turned to Claude for help.

Me: Claude, process the two files that I uploaded. The AI-generated image was generated by Gemini when I provided this text prompt: "Generate an image that depicts a Tricursu arena during a game. Show the two Sheirls positioned at opposite ends of the circular arena and positioned so that the Sheirl can only be reached by a player on the middle level who climbs the low platform upon which the Sheirl stands. The gold rings are one foot in diameter and attached to the clothing of the Sheirls. The upper skyry level must be no more than 10 feet above the network of runs that comprise the middle layer.". Claude, describe discrepancies between the written description of the sport Tricursu and the depiction of a Tricursu game that was generated by Gemini in the AI-generated image.

Claude: I'll analyze the discrepancies between your written description of Tricursu and Gemini's generated image.

Major Discrepancies:

Image by WOMBO Dream

 1. Skyry Level Height

• Description: The skyry should be 10 feet above the middle layer runs
• Image: The transparent trampoline-like surface appears to be 20-30+ feet above the middle level, roughly double or triple the specified height

2. Skyry Occupancy

• Description: Only the two captains can access the skyry level
• Image: Shows two players engaged in combat on the skyry, but there are many other players visible on the middle level who appear to have no restriction from accessing it

3. Waterfall Configuration

• Description: Waterfalls should cascade "from behind and around the feet of the Sheirls" on their platforms
• Image: The waterfalls appear to flow from beneath/in front of the platforms rather than behind them, and don't seem to wrap around the Sheirls' feet as described

Image by WOMBO Dream

 4. Pool Geometry

• Description: A "deep cone-shaped pool" with water draining through a vertex at the bottom

• Image: Shows what appears to be a relatively shallow circular pool without clearly visible cone-shaped geometry or central drainage point

5. Return Pipe Visibility

• Description: Players must swim to the bottom vertex and through bifurcating pipes to return via their team's waterfall
• Image: No visible pipe system or vertex drainage point; the pool appears to be a simple circular basin

6. Runs Network Pattern

• Description: "Runs are all curved and branched so as to fill the entire circular profile"
• Image: Shows a more geometric, radial spoke pattern rather than the complex curved and branching network described

7. Central Pool Area

• Description: The cone-shaped pool should be at the center with the runs network around it
• Image: The pool seems to extend under the entire playing area rather than being a distinct central feature

Image by WOMBO Dream

 8. Skyry Holes

• Description: The central 90% of the skyry contains "many holes" through which captains can drop

• Image: The skyry appears as a solid transparent surface with no visible perforations

Elements Depicted Correctly:

• Circular arena configuration
• Two Sheirls at opposite ends in white gowns
• Gold rings visible on the Sheirls (approximately 1 foot diameter)
• Platforms elevating the Sheirls above the middle level
• Two-team color scheme (blue vs. orange/brown)
• Multiple players on the middle level runs
• >Spectator seating surrounding the arena
• General three-level concept (pool, runs, skyry)

The image captures the dramatic spectacle and Vancian aesthetic of the sport well, but misses several critical technical specifications, particularly regarding the skyry height, the cone-pool geometry, and the mechanical details of the water circulation system.

Me: Claude, generate an improved text prompt that I can use with Gemini. The new text prompt that you generate  should attempt to address the major discrepancies that you identified.

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Claude:  I've created an improved prompt that specifically addresses each major discrepancy. The key improvements include:

1. Explicit height specification - Repeatedly emphasizes the skyry is only 10 feet above the runs

2. Skyry occupancy restriction - Clearly states "EXACTLY TWO PLAYERS" on the upper level
3. Waterfall positioning - Specifies water flows "from BEHIND each Sheirl platform"
4. Cone geometry - Describes the vertex, vortex pattern, and visible drainage
5. Skyry holes - Explicitly requests "multiple visible holes" with size specifications
6. Curved runs network - Emphasizes "complex and curved, not just simple radial spokes"

The prompt also includes a "Critical Technical Details" section that reiterates the most important specifications to help ensure Gemini doesn't overlook them. This structured approach should produce a more technically accurate visualization of your Tricursu arena.

Generate a detailed image of a Tricursu arena during an active game, viewed from an elevated spectator perspective that clearly shows all three levels:

Arena Structure (Circular, Three Levels):

LOWER LEVEL - The Cone Pool:

• A deep cone-shaped pool of water at the center of the circular arena
• The cone's vertex (pointed bottom) is at the deepest point in the center
• Water continuously swirls in a visible vortex pattern toward the central vertex
• Two or three players are visible swimming underwater in the illuminated pool, trying to reach the bottom vertex
• The vertex has a visible drainage pipe opening at the very bottom center

Image by WOMBO Dream

 MIDDLE LEVEL - The Curved Runs Network:

• A complex network of narrow curved walkways (runs) and radial paths (laterals) suspended above the cone pool
• The runs are curved and branching, filling the circular arena profile like an intricate web
• Runs are only 2-3 feet wide - narrow enough that players must be careful not to fall
• Multiple intersections where radial paths meet curved concentric runs
• Approximately 20 players total (two teams of 10) positioned on various runs, engaged in combat using body-blocks
• Players wearing two distinct team colors (blue and orange)
• Several players in mid-air, having just been knocked off runs and falling toward the water below

Image by WOMBO Dream

 UPPER LEVEL - The Skyry:

• A transparent trampoline-like mesh surface suspended ONLY 10 feet above the middle level runs (this is critical - keep it low)
• Made of hierion-carbon-74 (a transparent fiber composite that looks like trampoline fabric)
• The surface should show visible deformation/dips where the two captains are standing
• EXACTLY TWO PLAYERS on this level - the two team captains, one in blue, one in orange
• The captains are engaged in combat with padded buffs (short striking weapons)
• Multiple visible holes (gaps) in the skyry fabric, particularly in the central 90% of the surface
• The holes should be large enough (2-3 feet diameter) for a person to fall through 
• Light should pass through both the transparent fabric and the holes, creating interesting shadow patterns on the runs below

Image by WOMBO Dream

 The Sheirls and Their Platforms:

• Two Sheirls positioned at exact opposite ends of the circular arena (180 degrees apart)

• Each Sheirl stands on a raised platform that is 6-8 feet above the middle level runs
• Each Sheirl wears a flowing white gown
• A prominent gold ring (1 foot diameter) is clearly visible attached to each Sheirl's gown at chest/shoulder level
• Water cascades from BEHIND each Sheirl platform, flowing around and past the Sheirls' feet
• The waterfalls flow downward from behind the platforms into the cone pool below
• The platforms should be accessible by climbing up from the adjacent runs (show a ladder or steps)

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Lighting and Atmosphere:

• Dramatic arena lighting from above
• The cone pool should be illuminated from within, showing the swirling water vortex and the vertex at the bottom
• The transparent skyry should be clearly visible with light passing through it
• Water spray and mist from the waterfalls
• Spectator stands surrounding the circular arena in darkness with thousands of faces watching

Critical Technical Details to Emphasize:

1. The skyry must appear only 10 feet above the runs - not 20 or 30 feet. Show this scale clearly.
2. >Only two players (the captains) are on the skyry level - all other players are on the middle level runs or in the water
3. The waterfalls must originate from BEHIND the Sheirl platforms, not in front
4. The cone pool must clearly show its conical geometry with the vertex/vortex at the center bottom
5. The skyry must show visible holes in the fabric, not be completely solid
6. The runs network should appear complex and curved, not just simple radial spokes

Show the arena during active gameplay with players in dynamic poses - blocking, falling, swimming, climbing, and the two captains fighting on the low-hanging transparent skyry above it all.

Figure 4. Using Claude's text prompt: by Gemini.

 Me: Claude, the image that I just uploaded was generated by Gemini using the text prompt that you generated. I fear that Gemini was confused by your long text prompt.

Claude: You're absolutely right - I made the prompt far too long and complex. Gemini seems to have gotten confused and created some strange elements (like that central pillar fountain that shouldn't exist, and the waterfalls now coming from the sides rather than behind the Sheirls).

Let me create a much shorter, more focused prompt that emphasizes only the most critical corrections:

Generate an image of a Tricursu arena during a game, aerial view showing:

Three distinct levels in a circular arena:

1. Bottom: Deep cone-shaped pool with swirling water and a vortex at the center bottom. 2-3 players swimming underwater.

2. Middle (suspended above the pool): Complex network of narrow curved walkways with about 20 players (blue team vs orange team) fighting and moving across them.
3. Top (only 10 feet above the middle walkways): Transparent trampoline-like mesh with ONLY 2 players on it - the two captains fighting each other. The mesh has multiple holes visible in it.

Image by WOMBO Dream

 At opposite ends of the circular arena:

• Two Sheirls in white gowns standing on raised platforms
• Each has a visible gold ring (1 foot diameter) attached to her gown
• Waterfalls flow from behind each platform down into the pool below

Key details:

• The top transparent level must be very close (10 feet) to the middle walkways, not high above
• Only the 2 captains are on the top level; all other players are on the middle walkways or in the water
• The pool is cone-shaped with the point at the bottom center creating a vortex
• Dramatic arena lighting with spectators in darkness around the edges

 ___

Image by WOMBO Dream

 This simplified version focuses on the essential elements and should be less confusing. The main improvements over my first attempt:

• Much shorter and more direct
• Uses numbered list for the three levels
• Emphasizes "ONLY 2 players" on top level
• Repeats the critical 10-foot height specification
• Removes excessive technical jargon
• Cuts out the overly detailed descriptions that may have confused the AI

The original image was actually quite good in some ways - this shorter prompt should help Gemini keep what worked while fixing the major issues.

____

Figure 5. Claude's short text prompt: by Gemini.

I provided Claude's shorter prompt to both Gemini and ImageFX.

Figure 6. Image by ImageFX.

 

Claude: Interesting comparison! Both AI systems struggled with different aspects of the Tricursu arena design.

Image 1 (Gemini from Claude's prompt):

Improvements over the original:

• The skyry appears closer to the correct 10-foot height above the middle level
• Only 2 captains visible on the top level (correct!)
• Visible holes in the skyry surface
• Better cone-shaped pool geometry with vortex visible at bottom
• Waterfalls now positioned more appropriately

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Remaining issues:

• Still has that problematic central pillar/fountain structure that shouldn't exist
• The Sheirls appear to be standing ON the skyry level rather than on separate platforms at the arena's perimeter
• The middle level walkways appear too simple/geometric rather than the complex curved branching network described
• The arena appears more vertical/stacked than it should be

Image 2 (Google ImageFX):

Better elements:

• Excellent waterfall positioning - clearly from behind the Sheirl platforms
• The Sheirls are correctly positioned on separate elevated platforms at opposite ends
• Good cone pool with visible vortex at center
• The overall circular geometry is clearer
• Multiple levels of curved walkways creating a more complex network

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Issues:

• The skyry appears square rather than circular
• The skyry seems too high above the middle level again
• The middle level has too many distinct circular tiers rather than a single network of curved runs
• Too many players visible overall

The most accurate hybrid would combine:

• ImageFX's correct Sheirl platform placement and waterfall configuration
• Gemini's better skyry height and hole visibility
• A simplified middle level with ONE network of curved/branching walkways (not multiple tiers)
• Remove any central pillars or fountain structures

Neither AI quite captured your vision, but each got different elements right!

____

Figure 7. Image by ChatGPT.

I challenged ChatGPT to make an image depicting the play of Tricursu (see the image in Figure 7). Sadly, the two captains seem to be floating in mid-air below the upper level of the game field.  Most disappointingly, the the two Sheirls were not depicted as women.

Figure 8. Generated by Grok. Click image to enlarge.

The image that is shown to the right in Figure 8 was generated by Grok. Grok wins the award for the most absurdly bad rendering of Tricursu. 

Figure 9. Image by Grok.

I provided Grok with the longer text prompt that was generated by Claude (see above on this page) and Grok generated a second image (see Figure 9). The new Grok-generated Tricursu playing arena was better, but still not very good.

Figure 10. Image by ChatGPT.

When provided with the the more detailed text prompt that had been generated by Claude, ChatGPT generated the new image that is shown to the left in Figure 10. In this "version 2" image, the two captains are shown on top of the skyry level, but unfortunately ChatGPT also put the two Sheirls on the skyry level where none of the players on the main level can reach them.

None of the AI-generated depictions of Tricursu was very good. I think the one by ImageFX (Figure 6) is the best.

Below are some Tricurso videos that were generated by Grok.

Be sure to play the audio for the last two video's above.

Next:

Visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers

1926

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Back in September, I searched for important science fiction story writers who were born in the year 1926. On the AI-generated list that I obtained back in September was Lino Aldani. I read his 1963 short story "Good Night, Sophie" (I actually read the 1973 English translation of "Buonanotte Sofia" that is in "View from Another Shore") which depicts a world in which there is a technology that allows for the creation and marketing of artificial "dreams" that can be purchased and used as entertainment. 

"Buonanotte Sofia" was originally published in the first issue of an Italian magazine called "Futuro" that was co-founded by Aldani. As described in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction, one of Aldani's preferred story types was "representations of the individual's unease and struggle in the industrial and urban present" and "Buonanotte Sofia" falls into this category of story. 

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Math Fiction. Having read one such useless downer of a story ("Good Night, Sophie"; for a favorable review go here), I had no interest in reading anything else written by Aldani. Apparently, Aldani taught mathematics, which may explain how he could write an absurd thought experiment like "Good Night, Sophie" which makes absolutely no effort to explain the dream sharing technology and simply assumes that such a technology could completely dominate human society. 🜙

In the absence of any specific science fiction story teller born in 1926 that I wanted to investigate further, I decided to explore Amazing Stories rather than a particular person. The first issue of Amazing Stories was published in April 1926, but apparently the first original story published in the magazine was "The Man From the Atom (Sequel)" by G. Peyton Wertenbaker in the second issue, May 1926. The original "The Man From the Atom" was previously published in the August 1923 issue of Science and Invention (download here). Here (below) is the editorial blurb for "The Man From the Atom":

Figure 1. Editor's intodruction to "The Man From the Atom" by Hugo Gernsback (EDITOR).

Image by Leonardo and Mr. Wombo.

Albert Einstein gave his Nobel prize lecture entitled "Fundamental Ideas and Problems of the Theory of Relativity" on July 11, 1923. Apparently, he missed giving a Nobel lecture in the year that he won the prize (1921) because he was traveling.

 Magic or Science? Above on this page, I objected to a story by Aldani in which he made no effort to describe the workings of a magical machine that could for a "few pennies" insert a manufactured dream into a person's brain. "The Man From the Atom" begins in exactly the same fashion, with a magical machine, in this case, crafted by a reclusive SuperGenius™ (professor Martyn), a wearable device that can alter the size of a person, either shrinking you to the size of an atom or growing you larger, indefinitely. This kind of magical shrinking had previously been done by Ray Cummings, so Wertenbaker went to the growth side.

by Leonardo & Mr. Wombo

Wertenbaker was a teenager (16?) when he wrote "The Man From the Atom", which can account for the absurdity of the mechanism that is used to "explain" how people (actually, just one man, Kirby) can first enlarge and then shrink.

Time Travel. "The Man From the Atom" is actually a time travel story. Upon growing larger, time passed at a different rate for Kirby, which seemed to strike Hugo Gernsback (see Figure 1, above) as an elegant depiction of Einstein's theory of relativity. After having grown to cosmic size, upon shrinking again, Kirby finds himself in the future, among people who speak an unrecognized language. This mercifully brief mis-adventure is all prequel to the 1926 story, "The Man From the Atom (Sequel)". 

 Short-cut. As usual for sequel stories in magazines, there is a short summary of the 1923 story right at the start of the 1926 sequel and there is very little to be lost by only reading that summary rather than the original entire text of the story.

Figure 2. Interior art by Frank R. Paul
manually colorized by me.

 May Telepathy Be With You. In the sequel story, Kirby is on a planet that is populated with telepathic people, one of which (Vinda) makes an effort to learn to speak English. Vinda is the daughter of the local king, who is himself a physicist. Vinda "explains" to Kirby that by growing large again, he can travel even further into the future, into the next repeating cycle of the universe, and find his own place in time, complete with the people he knows, particularly professor Martyn. 

Kirby can't wait to return to his world. He takes advantage of the circular nature of Time and travels forward in Time into the next iteration of the universe and discovers that some things are different (for example, in the new universe, the United States is a Monarchy). Having worked hard to get home, Kirby then instantly decides that he is in love with Vinda, so he jumps ahead to the future so that he can be with her again in the next iteration of the universe.

Vinda by ImageFX.

Most of "The Man From the Atom (Sequel)" makes no sense, including the title. While Vinda has the appearance of a normal woman, all of the men on her world are emotionally cold intellectuals who have large heads and shriveled bodies and they view Kirby as a primitive ape man. 

 Genetic Engineering. Wertenbaker could not be bothered to plainly tell readers what is going on in the story, so I'll assume that Vinda lives on Earth of the far future when the sun has grown large and red. How it is that in the far future human males have evolved into a new form, but human females have retained the same body form from the past remains a mystery. Sadly, in 1926, Wertenbaker had no idea how evolution works.

Vinda by WOMBO Dream.

At the start of "The Man From the Atom (Sequel)" there was interior artwork by Frank R. Paul. I manually colorized part of that line drawing (see Figure 2) and had WOMBO Dream use that as a referenced image, resulting in the image that is shown to the right on this page. 

The right hand side of the interior illustration by Frank R. Paul showed Kirby in a kind of spacesuit that protected him from the extreme temperatures of outer space. Kirby was shown while enlarged to a size that allowed him to tower over Vinda. That is one of Kirby's hands on the right hand side of Figure 2, looking like a mitten.

 Push-button Magic. Readers of "The Man From the Atom" were told that the magical machine devised by professor Martyn could enlarge Kirby by incorporating atoms from the surrounding air into his body. The enlarger/shrinker device had several wires that attached to Kirby's body and made him grow when a button on the device was pushed. Conveniently, even Kirby's spacesuit grew larger when the "grow" button was pushed.

Image by WOMBO Dream

 Immortal June. In the June 1926 issue of Amazing Stories was another story by G. Peyton Wertenbaker, "The Coming of the Ice". As for "The Man From the Atom", "The Coming of the Ice" begins with an astounding discovery. A surgeon (Sir John) finds that by altering a person's reproductive organs, they can achieve immortality: they stop aging. Sir John's sidekick, Dennell, eagerly volunteers to under-go the operation so that he can become immortal. As for "The Man From the Atom", you might wonder why there is only ever just one man who uses these fantabulous inventions. In the case of "The Coming of the Ice", the discovery of the operation that gives immortality was an "accident" and Sir John dies young in a car crash, only having made Dennell immortal. After a few centuries, Dennell discovers that he is unable to continue learning new things, but he lives on. The world enters a severe ice age and everyone dies. The End.

 Figure 3. Interior artwork by Frank R. Paul
(colorized manually by me)

There was one other new story in the June issue, item #44 of 45 "Dr. Hackensaw's Secrets". Looking down the list of past 'secrets', I was tempted to look at "The Secret of the Memory Obliterator" by Clement Fezandié published the December 1923 issue of Science and Invention. 

Image generated by ImageFX.

Erasing memories is a popular topic in many science fiction stories. The first example I saw was in the Star Trek episode "Dagger of the Mind" in which criminals were treated by a device that could alter memories and behavior. In Season 2 there was "The Changeling" in which alien technology could erase memories. In Jack Vance's novel, Marune, an alien drug erases a man's memory. 

Image by WOMBO Dream.

We never learn how Dr. Hackensaw was able to erase memories, but the story hints at the use of some sort of magic ray gun (see Figure 3, above).

 Experts. Near the end of the July 1926 issue of Amazing Stories was "Experts Join Staff of Amazing Stories" by Hugo Gernsback, announcing that Conrad A. Brandt was on the Board of advisors for Amazing Stories. Apparently, Brandt was from Germany, had some knowledge of chemistry and a large collection of speculative fiction. It would be interesting to know just how much Brandt's tastes in fiction influenced what ended up in Amazing Stories. A letter by Brandt in the June 1923 issue of Weird Tales praised "Ooze" by Anthony Melville Rud, a story that had been published in the March 1923 issue of Weird Tales. Brandt described "ooze" as a "semi-scientific story". 

Image generated by Leonardo.

 Giant Protists. "Ooze" had the same tired format as did "The Man From the Atom" (above on this page) and Frankenstein. A reclusive "scientist" who likes to work in swamps and other nice places with a diversity of microbes, makes a startling discovery. In this case, our lone scientist discovers how to terminate the natural restraints on the growth of microbes. He grows a giant microbe that ends up killing both him, his son and his son's wife. There are a few terms such as "chromosome" that got tossed into the "Ooze", but no actual science. I have to wonder if "Ooze" was inspiration for a terrible Star Trek episode, "The Immunity Syndrome" and possibly the film Annihilation.

Image by ImageFX

 Amazing July. The first story in the July 1926 issue of Amazing Stories was the first of 3 parts of a story titled "Station X" which Hugo Gernsback described as "the greatest radio story that was ever written". I can't really count "Station X" as a "new" story since it was first published in 1919 as a 317 page novel. I don't have the patience to read all of "Station X", but it starts with a man (Macrae) who seemingly senses danger in his future, danger which arrives with what at first looks like his death ("Dead!" said the doctor). 

 Telepathic Aliens. In my own stories (for example, 191988), I enjoy depicting characters as having the ability to receive information from the future. In the case of "Station X", maybe Macrae is in (unconscious) telepathic contact with Martians even on page 1 of the story.

 Mind Transfer. However, after several days of seemingly being dead, Macrae's body does not decay. At this point, the story descends into the wonders of hypnosis and Macrae is depicted as having been under the mental control of someone from Venus just before he "died". The 'Station' in "Station X" is a remote radio transmission station in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. I believe the intent of the story is to say that a Venusian speaks to Macrae using the radio equipment at Station X and hypnotizes him.

Image by ImageFX.

 Readers of "Station X" are told that the good folks on Venus have listened to radio signals from Earth and have long hoped to communicate with Earthlings: if only to provide a warning about the plans of the Evil™ Martians. Macrae is informed by his Venusian contact that long ago life existed on Earth's Moon, giving rise to an intelligent creature that could "exchange personalities". When the Moon began to lose its habitability, the Lunarians transferred their minds into creatures that existed on Mars. Fast-forward to the present, when the Martians are now planning to transfer their minds from the "dying" Mars to Earth.

All of this silliness from 1919 seems amazingly similar to the goofy plot of Pluribus in 2025. Rather than "explain" the alien invasion of Pluribus in terms of hypnosis and interplanetary mind transfer, we are "treated" to the more modern, but equally improbable, idea that Evil™ aliens need only transmit the sequence of an RNA molecule to Earth in order to turn humanity into an inhuman hive mind.

Image by ImageFX.

 Giant Insects. Also in the July 1926 issue of Amazing Stories was "The Eggs from Lake Tanganyika", a short story by Curt Siodmak. In his editorial blurb for "The Eggs from Lake Tanganyika", Gernsback identified "The Eggs from Lake Tanganyika" as "the best scientifiction story so far for 2026". Professor Meyer-Maier brings some gigantic eggs back to Berlin from Africa. 

 Death to Eggs. Although the natives in Africa repeatedly warned the Professor about giant insects, the Professor ignored the warnings an he allows the giant eggs to hatch in Germany. The giant insects fly off and soon one has sucked the blood out of a horse. Readers are told that the solution to this problem is to inject Lysol into any eggs that are found. Actually, all of the tools of the military are required, but eventually tanks, airplanes and poison gas do eliminate the giant insects that have for a few weeks terrorized Germany.

Image generated by Gemini.

 Amazing August. The August 1926 issue of Amazing Stories began with the first of 3 published parts of the story "A Columbus of Space" by Garrett P. Serviss. "A Columbus of Space" had first been serialized and published in several issues of The All-Story Magazine in 1909, so it was not a newly-written story for Amazing. 

 Hugo's Hype for Space. In his editorial blurb for "A Columbus of Space", Gernsback referred to Serviss as "Professor Serviss" and labeled Serviss as a "scientist", which seems to be totally false; as far as I can tell, Serviss never worked as a scientist and never held a teaching position. Gernsback described "A Columbus of Space" as "a scientific masterpiece". Gernsback was trying to excite readers with amazing stories and issues like truth and honesty seemed to be of minor importance when building magazine circulation volume.

Image generated by Gemini.

 Page 1 of "A Columbus of Space" has the following: "What is radioactivity? Heaven only knows." We can ask: just how "scientific" is "A Columbus of Space"? Also on page 1 of "A Columbus of Space", readers are introduced to Edmund Stonewall, "the most ingenious man who ever lived", "the greatest human being that has ever appeared on this earth" and readers are told that Stonewall "made the most wonderful invention that ever the world heard of". Yes, dear reader, Stonewall was a believer in the perpetual motion machine (image shown here) of fraudster John Keely. On page 1 of "A Columbus of Space", Serviss mentioned Tesla's "communication with Mars idea".

Figure 1. Interior art by Ray Wardell

 No Swords in Science fiction. Edmund Stonewall has built a spaceship powered by atomic energy and he heads for Venus, taking along a few buddies and even some swords ("I hope we shall not have to use them"). Upon First Contact with the Venusians, Stonewall murders the leader with a gun shot to the head. The Venusians instantly become well-behaved, not so much because of the murder, but because Stonewall's gunshot made such a loud noise in the dense oxygen-rich atmosphere of Venus.

Figure 2. Made using Figure 1
as a reference image. Image
generated by WOMBO Dream.

 Scientific Masterpiece? For "A Columbus of Space", Serviss adopted the mistaken idea that one half of Venus was always in the dark. When Stonewall and his buddies step out on the surface of Venus, they are bundled up in thick furs to protect themselves against the cold of the dark side of the planet. Serviss also imagined that meteors would be thickly collected and swarming around Venus (depicted in Figure 1). Serviss never bothers to explain how, over the course of just a few weeks, Stonewall learns how to harness atomic energy and control gravity and construct a spaceship that can travel to Venus. By skimming, I made it to the end of Part 1 of "A Columbus of Space", after what appear to be human beings are found living on the always-sunny side of Venus. And, you guessed it, the 'Columbus of Space', Stonewall, quickly shoots and kills one of these Venusians.

Figure 3. An ad in Amazing Stories

 Back in 2015 I blogged about "The Talking Brain" by M. H. Hasta, which was published in the August 1926 Amazing Stories. Sadly, in those low bandwidth days, the poor disembodied Brain had to communicate by Morse code. It would be interesting to know who the author of "The Talking Brain" (identified only as "M. H. Hasta") actually was.

Almost as amazing as the stories in Amazing Stories were the advertisements (example, see Figure 3). 

interior art by Frank R. Paul

There was also "High Tension", a short story by Albert B. Stuart, M.D. in the August 1926 issue of Amazing Stories that begins with: "A Wonderful Surgeon— As Irritable as Able". The surgeon has discovered that high frequency electrical stimulation of his brain makes it work better. However, while using that stimulation, his body temperature rises and he becomes red in the face and snaps at assistants and nurses. In the end, he accidentally electrocutes himself (see the image to the right) and the high frequency electrical stimulation device is destroyed. 

"High Tension" is more of a detective story than a science fiction story. The surgeon (Dr. Carter) takes time out of his busy schedule to murder a Russian spy, but in a good (mysterious) way. A fellow doctor solves the murder mystery and hears Carter's confession and tale about the high frequency electrical stimulation of his brain that makes Carter such an amazing surgeon... just before Carter dies.

Image by WOMBO Dream.

 Amazing October. There were no new stories in the September 1926 issue of Amazing Stories. In the October 1926 issue of Amazing Stories was "Blasphemer's Plateau", a short story by Alexander Snyder. For "Blasphemer's Plateau", we are asked to imagine that there is some magical "frequency" of a 'neo-wave' that can switch-on or switch-off any living thing. The story makes no sense and at the end, the "mad scientist" blows everything up, reducing his remote laboratory to ruins.

image source

There were no new stories in the November 1926 issue of Amazing Stories. There was an amusing exchange in the editorial titled "Plausibility in Scientifiction" that was printed at the beginning of the November issue. Gernsback printed comments from reader W. F. Crist which included a complaint about the story "High Tension" from the August issue (see above). Dr. Carter was depicted as killing the Russian spy with his bare hands, using muscle strength amplified by his magical high frequency electrical stimulation device (related reading). W. F. Crist felt that Dr. Carter's ligaments would not have been strong enough to support the amplified force of muscle contraction. Gernsback assured readers that: "A medical authority vouches for the general accuracy of the statements of the story."

cover art by Frank R. Paul

 December 2025. The December 1926 issue of Amazing Stories announced a story writing competition, which I blogged about previously in a 2012 blog post titled "An Amazing Contest". Those entering the story writing contest were to submit for possible publication a short story (5,000 - 10,000 words) based on the illustration that was on the cover of the December issue (see the image to the left).

interior art by Frank R. Paul

That issue had a new mercifully short story titled "Time Eliminator" by K. A. Winter. A young inventor builds a device that can allow for the viewing of any past time and place on Earth. With the security of the nation hanging in the balance, the young inventor shows General Humiston the scene that is illustrated to the right, which makes it possible for the inventor to marry the General's delicious daughter.

 Whodunit? I have to wonder how many of the stories in Amazing Stories that were attributed to people like "K. A. Winter" were actually written by someone else, like Gernsback himself.

interior art for "The Lord of the Winds"

The December 1928 issue of Amazing Stories had "Through the Crater's Rim" by A. Hyatt Verrill. The story features "terrible man-eating trees" and a "lost race" in Central America. I can't imagine how this silly "adventure" story qualifies as "scientifiction".

 Breaking Wind. "The Lord of the Winds" by Augusto Bissiri is about a weather control device that uses magical electron shunting "tubes" to move the air (see the image to the left).

paid advertisement in Amazing Stories

 Horror. The last of the new stories on the December 1928 issue of Amazing Stories was "The Telepathic Pick-Up" by Samuel M. Sargent, Jr. A device is built that allows the telepathic detection of thoughts. Imagine all of the uses to which such a device might be put. In the story, it is used to detect the thoughts of a man who is killed in the electric chair, revealing the "fact" that such people continue to think after being electrocuted.

Bacillatorium by ImageFX.

I can't help feeling sorry for Hugo Gernsback. Truly a man before his time, there were no new good 'scientifiction' stories available to publish in his new magazine. The "golden age" of science fiction did not arrive until 15 years later.

The AI-generated image that is shown to the right is a tribute to Gernsback's 1911 story "Ralph 124C 41 +". The story features the "Bacillatorium", a decontamination chamber for the home. It uses Arcturium rays to kill bacteria and can also extend a person's total life expectancy to greater than 120 years.

Another "future technology in "Ralph 124C 41 +" was the hypnobioscope. Near the start of this blog post, I complained about Lino Aldani's 1963 story "Buonanotte Sofia" which concerns an imaginary technology that allows for the creation and marketing of artificial "dreams" that can be purchased and used as entertainment. I consulted with Gemini:

Me: What is a "hypnobioscope"?

Image generated by Gemini.

 Gemini:  A hypnobioscope is a fictional device designed for "sleep-learning" or hypnopædia. It was first introduced by Hugo Gernsback in his 1911 serialized novel Ralph 124C 41+.

Historical and Literary Origin. In Gernsback’s narrative, the hypnobioscope is a head-worn apparatus connected to a phonograph-like system. It functions by transmitting information directly to the subconscious mind of a sleeping subject, allowing them to acquire vast amounts of knowledge—such as foreign languages or technical manuals—without conscious effort.

Ralph 124C 41+ (1911): Gernsback, the namesake of the Hugo Awards, used the device as a symbol of technological efficiency.

The best of all worlds

 Influence on Huxley: While Gernsback coined the specific term "hypnobioscope," the concept was most famously explored as hypnopædia in Aldous Huxley's Brave New World (1932), where it was used for moral and social conditioning rather than just rote learning.

Physiological Perspective. From the standpoint of modern medical physiology, the "hypnobioscope" remains largely pseudoscientific. While memory consolidation is a critical function of the sleep cycle—specifically during Slow Wave Sleep (SWS) and REM—the brain's ability to encode entirely novel, complex semantic information while the thalamic "gate" is effectively closed to external stimuli is highly limited.

Me: Evaluate the veracity of this claim made by Hugo Gernsback about the hypnobioscope: "J.A. Phinney, Chief Radioman, U.S. Navy, who, having tried the system himself, in 1923, introduced it at the Pensacola, Florida, Naval Training School. Here one may see naval students stretched out on long benches asleep with casket-like coverings over their heads. The caskets contain two telephone receivers through which radio code is sent to the sleeper. It has been demonstrated that the sleeping student can be taught code faster than by any other means, for the sub-conscious self never sleeps. Students who have failed in their studies have passed examinations after being taught by this method." (source: https://gutenberg.org/cache/epub/60944/pg60944.txt)

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 Gemini:  Evaluating the veracity of Hugo Gernsback’s claim requires a dual approach: acknowledging the historical reality of the experiments while rigorously critiquing the underlying physiological assumptions through the lens of modern neuroscience and pharmacology.

While J.A. Phinney and the Pensacola experiments were real, Gernsback’s conclusions regarding the efficacy and the mechanism of the "sub-conscious" are largely considered pseudoscientific by contemporary standards.

1. The Historical Veracity: The Phinney Experiments

Gernsback was not inventing the event; he was reporting on a series of documented trials. In 1923, Chief Radioman J.A. Phinney did indeed conduct "sleep-teaching" experiments at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida.

• The Setup: Twelve students who were struggling with Morse code were subjected to nocturnal broadcasts of code via headphones.

• The Result: Initial reports (often sensationalized in magazines like Radio News, which Gernsback edited) claimed significant success. However, more controlled military follow-ups and later psychological reviews in the 1940s and 50s (notably by Simon and Emmons) failed to replicate these "miraculous" gains under conditions where wakefulness was strictly monitored via EEG.

 2. Physiological Critique: The Thalamic Gate and Synaptic Plasticity

Gernsback’s assertion that "the sub-conscious self never sleeps" is a poetic oversimplification that ignores the thalamocortical gating mechanism.

As a specialist in medical physiology, you recognize that during Non-REM (NREM) sleep, specifically Stage N3 (Slow Wave Sleep), the brain undergoes massive hyperpolarization of thalamic relay neurons. This "thalamic gate" effectively decouples the cerebral cortex from external sensory input.

• GABAergic Inhibition: The thalamic reticular nucleus (TRN) releases GABA, inhibiting the transmission of auditory stimuli (the Morse code) to the primary auditory cortex (A1).

• Oscillatory Interference: The presence of delta waves (0.5–4 Hz) and sleep spindles represents a state where the brain is preoccupied with internal memory consolidation, not the acquisition of novel, exogenous data.

For a student to "learn" the code, the stimulus must be loud enough to break through this gating mechanism, which typically results in a micro-arousal or a transition to Stage N1/Wakefulness. Therefore, the "sleep-learning" was likely just "learning during periods of sleep deprivation and light drowsiness."

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 3. Pharmacological Considerations: Cholinergic Tone and LTP

From a pharmacological perspective, the neurochemical environment of sleep is diametrically opposed to the environment required for Long-Term Potentiation (LTP) and de novo encoding.

• Acetylcholine (ACh) Levels: High levels of ACh in the hippocampus and neocortex are essential for encoding new information (the "loading" phase). During SWS, cholinergic tone drops precipitously to facilitate the transfer of memories from the hippocampus to the cortex (the "consolidation" phase).

• The Paradox: Attempting to force encoding (via the hypnobioscope) during a period of low cholinergic tone is biochemically counterproductive. Without sufficient ACh to suppress feedback loops in the CA3 region of the hippocampus, the brain cannot efficiently distinguish new external signals from internal "playback."

• Glutamatergic Signaling: While NMDA receptor activity is present during sleep for synaptic pruning and strengthening, it is optimized for endogenous signals. External auditory "code" would lack the necessary salience to trigger the molecular cascades (e.g., CaMKII activation and CREB phosphorylation) required for stable memory formation without waking the subject.

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 4. Semantic vs. Procedural Learning.

However, Morse code is a procedural-associative task. Modern research (e.g., Arzi et al., 2012) shows that humans can perform basic associative conditioning during sleep (like smelling a scent and hearing a tone). But the complex decoding of a linguistic or symbolic system (Morse code) requires higher-order cognitive processing that is absent in the delta-wave dominated brain.

Conclusion

Gernsback’s claim is partially factual in its historical occurrence but false in its scientific conclusion. The "success" of the naval students was likely due to:

1. Priming: The auditory stimulus provided a "familiarity" with the cadence of the code that reduced the threshold for learning during the day.

2. Sub-threshold Wakefulness: The "caskets" and headphones likely prevented deep sleep, keeping students in a state of hypnagogia (the transition from wakefulness to sleep), where the brain is still somewhat receptive to environmental stimuli.

Me: Provide a complete citation for "Arzi et al., 2012"

Alice 212B 426. Image generated by Leonardo.

 Gemini:   The complete citation for the study referenced in our previous discussion regarding sleep-learning and associative conditioning is as follows:

Full Citation: Arzi, A., Shedlesky, L., Ben-Shaul, M., Nasser, K., Oksenberg, A., Hairston, I. S., & Sobel, N. (2012). Humans can learn new information during sleep. Nature Neuroscience, 15(10), 1460–1465.

• DOI: 10.1038/nn.3193

• PMID: 22922782

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Study Overview

As a brief refresher for your pharmacological and physiological context, this paper is a seminal work in the field of sleep cognition. The researchers utilized a partial-reinforcement trace conditioning paradigm, pairing specific tones with either pleasant odors (e.g., deodorant or shampoo) or unpleasant odors (e.g., rotten fish or carrion) while subjects were in NREM or REM sleep.

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 The key findings included:

• Implicit Learning: Subjects developed a conditioned "sniff response" to the tones alone, despite having no conscious awareness of the stimuli upon waking.

• Persistence: This acquired behavior persisted throughout the night and into the ensuing wake period.

• Boundary of Learning: While this demonstrates that the brain can acquire new associative information, it also highlights the limit of sleep-learning, as it did not involve the high-level semantic or procedural encoding (like Gernsback's Morse code) that characterizes conscious learning.

In my own science fiction stories, I imagine advanced nanotechnology that makes it possible to quickly insert information into a human brain: infites, information nanites. For example, in "Plūribus ē Spatium", Tyhry is able to extract infites from her father's femtobot endosymbiont and use the encoded information to activate a piece of alien technology.

Related Reading: 1950 edition of "Ralph 124C 41 +".

More Related Reading: "Station Y" and The Discovery.

Next: the sport Tricursu.

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