Planet Stories, Spring 1942 |
Who needs water? After summarizing the evidence from telescopic observations of the Moon, Fontenelle concluded that there was no water on the Moon. However, he claimed that since microscopic observation of Earthly rocks reveals that there are "worms" that eat rock, we should expect there to be rock-eating life on the Moon. Fontenelle wrote: "In short, every thing is animated; every thing is full of life." Having issued that grand assertion, Fontenelle was then quick to imagining intelligent beings on the Moon who gaze up at the Earth and contemplate visiting Earth.
original art by Alfonso Williamson |
In case you wonder if Fontenelle's imagination placed people everywhere in the universe, rest at ease. He actually drew the line at the Sun, proclaiming its hot surface unsuitable for life.
original art by Dave Seeley |
Writers of the 20th century, in search of new settings for their Sci Fi stories, went on to populate every part of the solar system including Uranus and Pluto. Which brings us back to Fredric Brown. In 1942 he published "The Star Mouse" and revealed to Earthlings the existence of an over-looked abode for alien life that is closer to Earth than the Moon!
creatures from the Moon visit Earth Amazing Stories, February 1929 |
In Fredric Brown's "What Mad Universe" (1948), readers were treated to the depiction of a science fiction fan who fantasized about there being air-breathing aliens from the Moon who upon reaching Earth would enjoy smoking tobacco. I suspect that Brown was poking fun at the many science fiction stories that had been written about alien people from the Moon (for example, see "The Death of the Moon" and "Moon Plague"). By the late 1940s, when Arthur C. Clarke wrote "The Sentinel", it was clear that conditions on the Moon made it unlikely for there to be any "people" who had evolved on the Moon. Brown's 1950 story "Honeymoon in Hell" depicted the Moon as lifeless. However, as late as 1966 Philip Dick was still imagining the discovery of a "living plasma" on the Moon for his story "We Can Remember It for You Wholesale".
Space Rat! |
Mitkey. For "The Star Mouse", Fredric Brown sent a mouse into space. Most science fiction inventors want to ride their newly devised spaceship into outer space, but poor Professor Oberburger, working in his basement, can't afford to build a big spaceship... so a mouse (Mitkey; his "wife" is Minnie) has to be the passenger for a trip to the Moon. However, a funny thing happens on the way to the Moon: Mitkey lands on an asteroid (Prxl). Earth's astronomers have never noticed this near-Earth asteroid because its residents have painted the surface of the asteroid black.
Prxl does not have an atmosphere, but it is populated by half-inch tall people who have advanced technology. In fact, the folks of Prxl long ago moved their asteroid into Earth orbit in an attempt to hide from other asteroid people who were raising havoc in the asteroid belt.
Professor Oberburger and Mitkey |
Concerned that humans might soon travel into space and discover Prxl, Mitkey is returned to Earth with a device that Mitkey can use to boost the intelligence of all the mice on Earth. This is intended to disrupt human civilization, giving the residents of Prxl several thousand more years of peace and quiet. However, when Mitkey returns to Earth his boosted intelligence goes away and so there is no war between intelligent mice and humans. Whew!
aliens from Xandor |
When a Xandorian spaceship arrives on Earth, they enter a city and abduct two monkeys from a zoo. Thinking that the monkeys are the degenerate remnants of the city-builders, they decide that there are no primates on Earth intelligent enough to serve as slaves and the Xandorian's depart from Earth. Thus, humans avoid being enslaved.
image source |
For "Armageddon", Brown sends readers off to Cincinnati for a performance by Gerber the Great (a magician) at the Bijou theater. The story is about young Herbie, who just got a new water pistol before Gerber the Great's stage show. Herbie's dad gives him a whipping for misbehavior: filling his water pistol with Holy Water during a stop at the Cathedral.
Although Herbie gets whipped, he actually saved the world from destruction by the Devil: a squirt of some Holy Water from his pistol dispatched the Devil and saves Humanity.
interior art for "Armageddon" |
When Gerber the Great is transformed into the Devil, flames appear, particularly on the magic pigeon box being held by Herbie. Herbie draws his water pistol and tries to put out the flame, splashing Holy Water on the Devil and saving the world from Armageddon.
Now having read several stories by Fredric Brown, I've had my fill of mini-asteroidal aliens, Mitkey the talking mouse, the Devil and the rest of Brown's retinue of fantasy characters. Maybe Brown wrote some interesting science fiction in later decades?
cover art by Ed Emshwiller |
I have to wonder if Fredric Brown also got better at writing science fiction with practice.
interior art for "Earthmen Bearing Gifts" |
I've seen Brown praised as a master of the very short story. "Earthmen Bearing Gifts" is very short. It recycles the same plot device that is found in "What Mad Universe": using a powerful burst of energy to probe the composition of a distant planetary body. In this case, an atomic bomb is sent to Mars from Earth in order to learn about Mars and its atmosphere.
In the Ekcolir Reality. |
The Martian's are anticipating good relations with humans. The Martians are experts in social science and they hope to get help from Earthlings for rebuilding the infrastructure of their ancient civilization.
Only one Martian city remains with about 1,000 residents. The atomic bomb from Earth accidentally and improbably lands on the last remaining Martian city, putting an end to the telepathic Martians.
cover art by Tim White |
This (above) is the third of a set of blog posts about Fredric Brown and the "stuff" that he published in Sci Fi magazines and how Sci Fi fans reacted. How would I characterize his "stuff"? When science fiction was assembling as a distinct literary genre it had a core set of plot elements that were frequently included in stories: space travel, time travel, alternate dimensions or parallel universes, space aliens, the ingenious scientist/inventor, the heroic spaceship captain, etc.
In the Ekcolir Reality |
At a young age, Isaac Asimov's father did not want his son wasting time with trash magazines. Isaac created the idea that if a magazine had the word "science" in the title then it must be educational. With the mentoring of John Campbell, Asimov was pushed towards making his own stories more than just entertaining pulp "stuff". When pushed to invent new Sci Fi plot elements such as the Laws of Robotics and the fictional science of Psychohistory, Asimov was able to make interesting additions to the science fiction genre.
everything is animated |
Related Reading: an entire website devoted to old fantasies about life in our Solar System - and "Sinister Barrier", published in the first issue of Unknown
Next: even crystal skulls are animated; the 2021 SIHA awards
visit the Gallery of Movies, Book and Magazine Covers or Planetoid 787. |
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