Wiki Fiction: Between Worlds

Aug 2, 2022

Between Worlds

This is the third of a series of blog posts in which I've been searching for interesting aliens in the stories that Groff Conklin collected in an anthology called Possible Worlds of Science Fiction. Previously, in part 1 and part 2, I commented on 14 of the stories. I also searched for Hollywood adaptations of stories from the featured writers. Do any of those qualify to be described as interesting attempts to depict aliens on the screen? Are any of these worthy of a retro-SIHA award?

Below, in this blog post, I give the same treatment to the remaining 8 stories in Possible Worlds, most of which were written by rather famous authors such as Theodore Sturgeon. Like Jack Vance, Sturgeon spent time at sea in the merchant marine and he often drew on his work and travel experiences when creating stories about travel adventures in outer space.

Burk the shambling ape on Mars, from the Winter 1948 issue of Planet Stories.

HiTek spaceship; interior art by Jack Binder

#15. Between Worlds. In the February 1941 issue of Astounding was "Completely Automatic" by Theodore Sturgeon. The entire story takes place inside spaceships, so we don't get to visit a new planet or meet any interesting aliens. 😠

"Completely Automatic" reminds me of "The Ultimate Computer", an episode of Star Trek in which the Enterprise is automated by means of a new M-5 multitronic unit.

Are things getting too hot for the boys?
Call on Ivy Hendricks, spaceship engineer.

After the "success" of "Completely Automatic", Sturgeon went on to write "Killdozer!" which has the same sort of attention to detail such as spaceship crewmen who haul dangerous cargo through space in ships that have no means to dump the cargo or control a fire in the cargo hold. Maybe Sturgeon lived through such an event as that shown in the image above, but an interesting science fiction story this does not make. 😝

tesseract house

The February 1941 issue of Astounding had a famous story called "And He Built a Crooked House" by Robert A. Heinlein. My advice to all Sci Fi fans: read Heinlein's story and skip "Completely Automatic".

What's on Buck's mind?

#16. In the August 1947 issue of Astounding was "Propagandist" by Murray Leinster, featuring Buck, the space-traveling dog. I've previously mentioned how useful it can be to have a telepathic Vulcan along on your voyage while cruising through the galaxy, but don't underestimate Buck the wonder dog. Because of Buck's pure and loyal thoughts, it was possible for the alien Masians to trust humans and form an alliance with Earth to defeat the Evil™ "Space Assassins". Woof!

Figure 1. Interior art for "Asleep in Armageddon".

#17. The winter 1948 issue of Planet Stories included "Asleep in Armageddon" by Ray Bradbury. What's worse than a stray meteor hitting your ship? For Leonard Sale, it is crashing your spaceship into Plantoid 787 while on your way to Mars. Maybe that image to the right is exactly how Ray Bradbury would have imagined a crash landing on an asteroid. Leonard discovers that the asteroid has breathable air and he only needs to wait a few days for a rescue ship to arrive from Marsport.

Figure 2. from "Asleep in Armageddon"

Telepathy. However, "Asleep in Armageddon" is one of these stories where the author assumes that any stray asteroid has its own native lifeforms. Soon, Leonard's mind is invaded by Tylle and Iorr and it becomes a challenge for Leonard to retain his sanity before he can be rescued.

In case you are wondering where Tylle and Iorr are from, they explain everything (see Figure 2). This is basically the plot of a Star Trek episode called "Return to Tomorrow" written by John T. Dugan.

Figure 3. sweet dreams

To distract himself from his troubles, Leonard tries thinking about pleasant things such as Helen King (see Figure 3).

Sci Fi? Ray Bradbury had the intelligence and good grace to tell his readers that he mostly wrote fantasy, not science fiction. However, there is no shortage of people who make no such distinction. 😞 In the case of "Asleep in Armageddon", Bradbury hints that there actually is a scientific explanation for how Tylle and Iorr are able to haunt planetoid 787.

Now, maybe if the fetching Miss King had made an appearance on Plantoid 787 in much the same way that Rheya did in Solaris then something could have been salvaged from spaceship EB6XN.

I like to imagine that in an alternative Reality, such as the Ekcolir Reality, there might have been some interesting science fiction stories written by the analogues of fantasy authors such as Ray Bradbury.

In the Ekcolir Reality.

Sequel Time. One of Asimov's early stories was "Marooned off Vesta". Twenty years later, he wrote a sequel.

My Fantasy. Maybe in the Ekcolir Reality, the analogue of Bradbury wrote a story about Miss King going in search of poor Leonard. I suppose Helen would get "captured" by Tylle and Iorr, just like everyone else, but maybe she would have the wits to trick the two aliens and escape from the planetoid with Leonard. Along the way, maybe we would learn something interesting about the methods used by Tylle and Iorr to telepathically communicate with humans.

space tourism

#18. In the January 10, 1948 issue of The Saturday Evening Post was "The Black Pits of Luna" by Robert A. Heinlein. I suppose this sort of story was of interest to some young readers back before anyone had the means to actually travel to the Moon. I first read this story in the late 1970s (see The Past Through Tomorrow), post-NASA Moon landings, and it fell flat.

What could go wrong?

The Pits. I'm not sure that any young person would enjoy the way that one of the characters is called "the runt" by an older sibling who in turn is called "shorty". Maybe in Heinlein's mind, writing a juvenile story did not mean trying to entertain young readers... maybe he thought it meant $elling a $tory and insulting youngsters by writing like a juvenile.

Lost Runt. I can't decide which is more annoying in "The Black Pits of Luna": 1) the many pages spent arguing whether a young boy should be allowed to get in a spacesuit and romp around on the surface of the Moon or 2) the pages of hand-wringing over how to rescue said boy after he is lost on the surface of the Moon. Since there are no space aliens in the story, I'll move on.

The Enchanted City

#19. The July 1950 issue of Other Worlds Science Stories included "Enchanted Village" by A. E. van Vogt. "Enchanted Village" seemingly picks up where "Asleep in Armageddon" (see #17, above) left off.

The Internet Speculative Fiction Data Base lists several stories with "enchanted" in their title including "The Enchanted Crow" (1849) which is on this list of fairy tales. An illustration from "The Enchanted City" by Hubert Murray (1878) is shown to the right. I'm not having any great expectations for a story with the word "enchanted" in its title. Okay, I confess I was intrigued by this title: "The Electric Man in the Enchanted Valley" by Cornelius Shea (1905) because the titular "electric man" sounds like some kind of robot.

image source

Hot Mars. A. E. van Vogt's "Enchanted Village" is on Mars. Maybe in an alternative Reality he could have moved the story to Europa, just for a catchier title: "The Enchanted Village on Europa". And maybe that would have saved poor Bill Jenner from walking across the burning hot desert. Surely van Vogt would not have had a hot desert on Europa?

After crash-landing on Mars, Bill finds a village, but the Marian's are long gone. Some of the equipment still works and for a time he tries to get the village to provide him with Earthly food and drink. However, in the end, it is Bill who is transformed into a creature that can eat and enjoy the strange food that the village provides. I guess Bill has been transformed into a Martian. Magic or science? Your guess is as good as mine.

In the Ekcolir Reality.

#20. The May 1950 issue of Astounding had "The Helping Hand" by Poul Anderson. This is the issue in which L. Ron Hubbard unveiled his new "science" of Dianetics.

a Skontaran

General Semantics. Anderson throws us into the aftermath of a war between the Cundaloans and the Skontarans. There is much hand-wringing over the "primitive" cultures of these aliens, including the rudeness of the Skontarans... and thereby hangs a tail.

The Skontarans are too rude to be offered Earth's "helping hand". They retain their own unique culture and develop their own technological advances and also general semantics. In contrast, the Cundaloans become swamped in Earthly culture and struggle to maintain their own unique culture. After 50 years, it seems that the Skontarans are better off for having kept themselves apart from the Earthlings. Related Reading.

Figure 4. 'lorum (left) interior art for "Exit Line"

#21. In the September 1950 issue of Startling Stories was "Exit Line" by Sam Merwin, Jr., a story that concerns an alien creature with telepathic powers called 'lorum. There's the multi-tentacular 'lorum in the image to the right.

Universal Semantics. Poul Anderson was pushing "general semantics" in his story "The Helping Hand" (#20, above), so why shouldn't Merwin up the ante and go for "universal semantics"? With his telepathic ability, 'lorum can look into human minds and understand every nuance of human thought. The alien 'lorum is a story teller, and it has no trouble putting thoughts -and stories- into human minds.

In the Ekcolir Reality.

Using its tricks, the 'lorum gets a group of human colonists to build it a comfortable new home. Then, by pretending that the planet is home to dangerous creatures such as the Mangards and the Ardigans, the 'lorum scares the settlers and soon the Earthlings go on their way, leaving the 'lorum once more secure, and alone, on its world... with a cool new house.

#22. In the November 1950 issue of Astounding was "In Value Deceived" by H. B. Fyfe. Who can come out on top in a quickly improvised trade deal, the telepathic aliens from Olittra or the mouth vibrating Solarians?

Interstellar Capitalism

The story is told from the perspective of the aliens and I suppose Fyfe was trying to make it a humorous story. Sadly, the two telepathic Olittrans can only telepathically communicate with each-other. However, apparently all the various space-faring peoples in the galaxy use a common set of gestures for shared inter-species communication.

Fair Trade. The planet Olittra has suffered a devastating blight and they need a source of plants and food. The Solarians provide them with a gift of plants in a hydroponics tank, technology which the Olittrans have apparently never thought of. In turn, the Olittrans provide the Solarians with a device that can transmute elements. Both of the trade partners seem happy as they rush back to their home planet.

Time Tunnel 1964

SIHA. While searching for interesting aliens in the stories collected in Possible Worlds, I've also been looking for interesting Hollywood aliens that were inspired by these science fiction authors. Apparently, Murray Leinster was paid for the use of the title "Time Tunnel"...

Time Tunnel; Visitors from Beyond the Stars. Starting in 1966, The Time Tunnel went 17 episodes before having an episode about space aliens. The aliens from Alpha 1 came to Earth to rustle cattle in the old West (Mullins, Arizona Territory, in 1885).

alien from Canopus

Knowing that they had found a winning Sci Fi angle, the makers of The Time Tunnel made sure that there were more space aliens dressed in flashy silver for a 1967 episode called "The Kidnappers". The folks from Canopus were more sophisticated aliens than those featured in "Visitors from Beyond the Stars"... the humanoids of Canopus apparently eat just a few mineral supplements and get energy directly from Canopus light.

Watching this silly TV show might damage your brain, but you can read an Episode review at the Time Travel Nexus.

Ann the electrobiologist.

In the year 8433. Rather than round up cattle, the aliens from Canopus wisely recognize the good things that planet Earth has to offer and so they grab Miss America (A.K.A. Dr. Ann MacGregor). Watch this episode of The Time Tunnel here, if you dare. William Welch is given credit as a writer for this episode at the IMDB. The IMBD also says this about Welch: "...style-over-logic writer is mainly known, to some, as the guy who scripted many highly entertaining, and totally way out, color episodes of Irwin Allen's adventure series..." I have to wonder if Welch was the one who imagined the aliens as being like plants in getting energy from Canopus and becoming completely inactive at night. In any case, Ann escaped from Canopus by means of the alien interstellar teleporter device and returned to the Time Tunnel for the final two episodes of the show, also featuring space aliens.

an alien from Aristos

In "Raiders from Outer Space", aliens from Aristos (see the image to the right) want to destroying the city of London in 1885, but when the aliens try to destroy the Time Tunnel with a bomb, our heroes send the bomb back to the alien's control room... BOOM... alien invasion averted.

"Town of Terror". There are so many good lines in the last episode of The Time Tunnel such as: "The only thing I have on my mind is getting out of here."

Don't turn your back on
the people of Cliffport...

...they are aliens in disguise!

End of the World; 1978. Our time-traveling heroes travel into the future and visit ~~Cabbot Cove~~ Cliffport, Maine and discover an evil plot by purple space aliens which is aimed at stealing all of Earth's oxygen. It is good to watch at least one of these old episodes of The Time Tunnel just as a reminder of how much better Star Trek was.

Figure 5. interior art for "The Sky Was Full of Ships"

Heinlein and Sturgeon? Apparently there was a 1951 television show called "Ordeal in Space" based on a short story by Heinlein and with the teleplay written by Sturgeon. Sadly, there were no space aliens in that story.

In the Star Trek episode "The City on the Edge of Forever" we see how the Guardian of Forever is able to display a complete record of the Earth's history. Viewers are not supposed to ask how that is possible, but in "The Sky Was Full of Ships" by Theodore Sturgeon, Alessandro Sykes breaks into a cave and finds an alien machine that has been recording all of human history (Figure 5).

Professor Sykes and the alien device.

I suppose "The Sky Was Full of Ships" must be called an alien invasion story. The Last line of the story is "The Sky Was Full of Ships", but we don't actually find out if those alien ships attack Earth... but why would you need a sky full of ships unless the aliens were expecting to have to fight a world with atomic powered technology, as the story implies.

The first episode of Tales of Tomorrow was called "Verdict from Space", which was based on Sturgeon's story "The Sky Was Full of Ships". The TV episode leaves no doubt about the intentions of the alien spaceships: at the end of the show, the aliens begin to destroy Earthly civilization.

The Invaders came to Earth for our oil!

If "Verdict from Space" frustrates you by not actually showing an alien spaceship, go ahead and try "The Betrayed", an episode from The Invaders.

Earlier this year I blogged about The Door Into Summer and I think you will find it a big challenge to find a better Heinlein-inspired story on big screen or small. However, that story has no aliens. Similarly, there is a new take on Life-Line coming out soon, but again, no aliens. If you can tolerate cartoon animation Martians, then try Red Planet.

aliens in the attic

Ray Bradbury fiction on Screen. Apparently, there is a video version of "Asleep in Armageddon" (see #17, above) that is currently being made. At the risk of brain damage from Hollywood mindlessness, you can try watching "Zero Hour". Description of "Zero Hour" from a fan. One of the most despised episodes of Star Trek is "And the Children Shall Lead" which uses the same plot as "Zero Hour".

It Came from Outer Space (1953) managed to reach the big screen with a significant amount of dignity, but this film did not even get on my list of 4 worthy 1950s films about aliens. I believe the original intention of the film makers was to completely avoid the task of putting an alien on screen. At the last minute, they put together an embarrassing, cobbled-together excuse for an alien that seems like something out of a Dr. Who episode.👎

Figure 6. In the Ekcolir Reality.

If you insist on watching really cheesy Sci Fi television, there is "The Man with the Watch" by Sam Merwin. Science fiction is at its best when it does not take itself too seriously and "The Man with the Watch" has fun with the "Evil Alien Comes to Earth" plot. I want a sequel showing the further adventures of Ludovic Altimus. (Fig. 6)

Just Do It. If Ray Bradbury originally had spider-like and/or morphing aliens for his story "A Matter of Taste" then maybe someone in Hollywood could remake It Came from Outer Space and give us the story that Bradbury imagined.

If the original story was set on an exoplanet (and not on Earth) then why not give us a film about a visit to another planet with interesting aliens? Maybe that would have been a budget-breaking challenge for a film-maker in 1952, but not so in this millennium.