"Space Mirror" by Edmond Hamilton (click image to enlarge) |
Znamya |
Solar Power in 1937. In "Space Mirror", Edmond Hamilton imagined a future time in which a 300 mile wide mirror would be constructed in Earth orbit and then be used to send solar energy to the people of Earth. Hamilton credited Hermann Oberth's work as inspiring the story "Space Mirror".
Blofeld's space weapon |
I've long wondered why Isaac Asimov made space-based solar energy collectors an integral part of his imagined future of positronic robots. Asimov admitted that it would be possible to trace most of the ideas in his science fiction stories to various stories by other writers that he had previously read.
Star Wars |
In the 1971 James Bond film Diamonds Are Forever, viewers were "treated" to the magical science of using diamonds to convert sunlight into a ray beam that could be aimed at Earth and used as a destructive weapon.
In "Space Mirror", Hamilton told his readers that there were natives of the planet Mercury who wanted to invade Earth and take up residence there (here!). To facilitate the invasion of Earth by the folks from Mercury, they tried to take control of the Space Mirror and use it as a weapon against the people of Earth.
interior art for "Space Mirror" |
I wonder if President Reagan read "Space Mirror" as a young man, igniting his interest in Sci Fi space defense systems.
Hamilton was audacious in featuring humanoid aliens from Mercury, a planet with no atmosphere and temperatures swinging between -170C (night) and +400C (day). However, nothing could prevent story tellers from imagining that every planet from Mercury to Uranus was populated by human-like creatures. And don't forget all those moons and asteroids!
a shleath (bottom); angry protoplasm |
"The Double Minds" by John W. Campbell was part of a series of stories featuring Penton and Blake. Campbell set the story on Ganymede, which has an average surface temperature of about -160C. Penton had (in a previous adventure) learned how to read minds when he visited Mars. Using telepathy, Penton was able to quickly learn the native language that is spoken by the 7-foot-tall P'holkuun of Ganymede. When he walks on stage, P'holkuun is wearing a Shaloor uniform.
At the start of the story as told by Campbell, Penton and Blake are already on Ganymede and sitting in jail. The jailor is a Lanoor. After readers learn about Penton's telepathic connection to P'holkuun which in "five minutes" allowed him to learn the Lanoorian language and P'holkuun's political views, P'holkuun must then engage in a verbal explanation of the difference between the Shaloor and the Lanoor.
interior art for "The Double Minds" |
The clever Shaloor want to learn the secrets of the spacecraft that brought Penton and Blake to Ganymede.
in the Ekcolir Reality |
Scientific Adventure.
With nothing better to do in their jail cell, Penton uses the Martian technique of "hypnotic teaching" to teach Blake the Lanoorian language. Doing so takes 5 minutes. The Martian telepathy and alien neuroscience is cool, but you can't have much of an adventure while sitting in jail. Penton talks the jailor into supplying some chemicals that can be used to dissolve the wall of the prison and then Penton and Blake walk out of the jail.
Hold on to your hat! Clearly Campbell is not going to let anything (even prison walls) stand in the way of a rollicking adventure on Ganymede. Penton and Blake stroll out into the Ganymede city, their only problem being that the air is a bit low in oxygen. Since it is night, nobody notices the two humans walking through the city streets.
in the Ekcolir Reality |
There in no electricity on Ganymede. Penton is nearly captured by a grethlanth, a kind of Ganymedian police dog, but he is able to use a spark from the battery in his electric flashlight to drive it off. Electricity is unknown on Ganymede where collections of glowing bacteria are used for lighting.
In the 1930s, no prisoners are ever searched. In particular, aliens arriving from outer space are simply thrown into a jail cell and allowed to keep any Hi Tek™ devices that they have in their pockets. I have to confess: it is very painful to read these old "Thrilling" Wonder Stories, but I persist in doing so because of my interest in understanding how Isaac Asimov was able to read them all and then, with his valuable experience as a science student, begin writing his own style of (slightly) more plausible stories.
Science: June 25th, 2999 |
Only after their attack on the Palace is underway (and after several days of telepathic contact with P'holkuun) does Penton finally learn from P'holkuun that although the Shaloor are brilliant thinkers, their altered brains cannot correctly process sensory information. Penton's sonic screwdriver flashlight is atomic powered, so he can use it for all sorts of things, including a quick job of melting the metal bolts that bar their way into the inner sanctum of the Palace. With the help of their Lanoorian pals, Penton and Blake fight their way through the Palace and reach their spaceship. The End.
the story behind "The Double Minds" by John Campbell |
Laboratory Magic! |
thrilling interior art |
I love the science fiction story idea of mind transfer, but what is the method for mind transfer that Grimes had developed after 1000 years of research? According to Kline, the way to transfer a human mind into an artificial brain is to make use of a Hi Tek™ "telastral projector". Grimes and his fellow robots begin transferring their minds into new, artificial brains.
For "The Iron World", since we are in the post-World War I era, the robots plan to use poison gas to kill the human population of Earth.
from "The Iron World" |
interior art |
Cyborgs ᴙ Us. In full Evil Scientist mode, rather than simply kill the ISS agents, Grimes begins to subject Allen and Ruth to a form of torture that will last weeks. Concentrated acid is to be dripped onto their bodies, starting at their toes and then slowly, day by day, working all the way up to their heads.
Artificial biological brains. Just as the two-week-long torture session begins, the evil plot of Grimes begins to unravel. It is discovered that the new-fangled artificial robot brains have a defect: they grow in an uncontrolled fashion, soon consuming their nutrient solution and pressing outwards against the glass robot brain cases.
hormones out of balance |
I suspect that "The Iron World" can be listed as one of the "murderous robot" stories that Asimov grew tired of reading in the years leading up to the creation of his own stories about robots.
from "Vision of the Hydra" |
The second story in the August 1937 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories by Otto Binder was called "Vision of the Hydra" and it used the same starting point as Campbell's "The Double Minds". Apparently, Binder had read Man the Unknown by Alexis Carre and been inspired to write a story about a man who learned to use all of his brain's capacity, achieving the powers of telepathy and telekinesis.
Next |
I'm of two minds with respect to the old Sci Fi stories in Thrilling Wonder Stories. It is fun to see the stories that had so much importance for the young Isaac Asimov. However, some of the stories are poorly written and very difficult to read. The ratio of science to magical fantasy in the stories is very low. 😒
Related Reading: aliens from Mercury in "Tetrahedra of Space"
Next: More hormones and robots in the August 1936 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories
The wonders of atomic energy! (August 1937) Jack Binder |
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