Popp Science Fiction

Just before the Final Reality.
Original cover art by Walter Popp;
see Space Stories, April 1953
and Amazing Stories, October 1952.

At the ISFDB, Walter Popp has only a short list of attributed illustrations for science fiction magazines during the years 1952 - 1954. For information about Popp's wider career as an artist, see this.

In the Ekcolir Reality.
Original cover art by Walter Popp;
see Amazing Stories, August 1952
and June 1952.

Popp's name came up today during a discussion with Zeta and Yōd concerning the transition into the Final Reality.

According to Zeta, in the Ekcolir Reality, the analogue of Jack Vance wrote a story called 'Zonk's Tomb' about the adventures of two IPCC police officers. That story  has similarities to parts of what was published as Araminta Station in the Final Reality. Apparently the death of a young woman at Pogan's Point (where much of the action in 'Zonk's Tomb' takes place) caused such a reaction from fans in the Ekcolir Reality that Vance's "twin brother" Jack wrote a follow-up story called 'Return to Pogan's Point' in which the young woman (named Lilia) was rescued from Pogan's Point by a time-traveling IPCC agent.

In the Buld Reality.
Original cover art by Walter Popp;
see Startling Stories, May 1953
and August 1953.

In what Zeta calls the Buld Reality (just before the Final Reality), Shana Peterson published a story called 'Eat and Breath Nanites'. According to Zeta, 'Eat and Breath Nanites' is a sequel to Vance's 'Return to Pogan's Point' in which Lilia, having been taken into Eternity and provided with nanite tools, becomes an Interventionist agent working on Earth. Set in the 20th century before the end of the Time War, any time that  Lilia runs into trouble during a mission, she can travel back through time and change events to her own advantage.

Special thanks to Miranda Hedman (www.mirish.deviantart.com) for the DeviantArt stock photograph "Black Cat 9 - stock" that I used to create the  "sedronite" who is in the image shown to the right. 

In the Ekcolir Reality.
Original cover art by Howard Brown;
see Astounding Stories, September 1936
and December 1937.

According to Yōd, the main adversaries for Lilia were the tryp'At Overseers, although in 'Eat and Breath Nanites' the tryp'At agents were simply referred to as "the Q", named after a tyryp'At woman, Dr. Quinn.

Popp Quinn

femto-tubes

Dr. Quinn's team of secret agents were devoted to preventing the people of Earth from learning anything meaningful about hierions and sedrons. From the perspective of the Q, Lilia's use of hierion-based nanites on Earth was one of the greatest existing risks that might lead to information about hierions reaching the general population of Earth.

Next: nanoscale artificial life

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