The Cat Men Of Aemt

Professor Jameson and the other metal Titans of his band of Zoromes return to free the industrious race of Moeps from the oppression of the tyrannous Aemtsexcerpt"We have seen no intelligent on this world yet," the professor remarked, "but still there seems to be a manifestation of mind force, thoughts close lo us which are partly veiled." "It grows stronger up here," said 6W-438.29G-75 bent over the edge of the pro jecting rampart and looked into the valley-far below. The space ship was many miles down the valley and lost to sight. 119M-5 was first to reach the plateau to which they were climbing and loosed a mental exclamation.""What is it?"" asked the professor, scrambling up beside him and staring at a metal spheroid which glinted hack the rays of the sun.""Spaceship or aircraft of some kind.""All four were now on the plateau, sur prised to find this striking example of civilization on what they had come to con sider an uncivilized world."Dare we go any closer?" 29G-75 sug gested."If any intelligent creatures inside had sinister aims against us, they would prob ably have executed them already while we stood watching."Professor Jameson suited this thought with a slow, deliberate approach. As the machine men came nearer, they saw that two metal doors were swung open, as if whoever had left the ship had not re turned. A sense of emptiness and loneliness pervaded the exterior of the craft. The four Zoromes stood and peered in through the doorways. Strange mechan isms and strange objects met their inquisitive sight, but they saw nothing living."I shall go inside," the professor de cided. "Stay out here until we are sure everything is all right."

Professor Jameson and his immortal band of robot-bodied Zoromes find a derelict space-ship-and in it the deadliest, mind-destroying danger of their careers!ExcerptWith a metal tentacle, Professor Jameson pointed to the world in the rear of their passage. At a distance astern of less than twenty thousand miles, the planet still loomed large and commanding, occupying a large section of the star-sprinkled sky within its halo of atmosphere."It seems strange, 6W-438, that we found no intelligent life on that world.""There are still three inner planets to explore. We may yet find an intelligent species in this system.""Life, even of low intelligence, is the exception rather than the rule," 744U-21 reminded them. "We have found life on but seven worlds in the last twenty-eight planetary systems we have visited, and all but one of these worlds were divided up among two systems. We did gather interesting scientific data, however, in a good many cases.""This system shows signs of being peculiarly well adapted for life forms," the professor pointed out. "We may strike something of interest among the inner worlds.""First, we must explore this lone satellite of the fourth world. It is strange that there is but one moon among all five worlds. Possibly, on closer approach to the inner world, we shall see smaller ones we missed through distant observation."The satellite in question grew on their vision as the mother world behind gradually dwindled. 20R-654 piloted the space ship in a broad, sweeping curve around the little moon. As detectors and divinators of all kinds were trained upon the little moon, Professor Jameson, by the side of 744U-21, who was estimating the satellite's diameter and density, saw that their earlier approximation of seventeen hundred miles diameter was only slightly in excess of the exact."There is a strong concentration of metal at one spot we passed," 65G-849 announced."Return that way and we shall seek it out," 744U-21 relayed to 20R-654 at the controls. "Cruise closer to the surface."Close to the surface, in their parlance, meant at an initial safe distance of several miles above any possible spires of rock or mountainous terrain rising up suddenly from beyond the moon's close horizon. They dropped gradually nearer the rough, airless expanse of desolate surface and slowed their speed as 65G-849 reported stronger emanations. At one point, he re ported the metallic concentration to be highly localized. Then the ship passed beyond it, for the emanations diminished in strength quite rapidly. 65G-849 made a confusing report, however, as they returned to the point of highest recording. The radiations were weaker."We have strayed off the line to one side or the other.""No, we were above the same topographical features both times.""Check your instruments again and give specific directions to 20R-654."This was done, and a startling discovery was made."We are not over this metal concentration! We are under it!"Surprise and interest was immediately manifested by all thirty-eight machine men."A sub-satellite!"The mysterious object was quickly found. It was small, they noticed, as the ship maneuvered to sunward."Another space ship-smaller than ours!"

Desperate, lost, the machine men of Zor took off on the most perilous mission they had ever faced-against a foe that could not die!ExcerptSince reaching Zor, this new expedition had embarked upon a roundabout direction, which Professor Jameson expected would ultimately lead him back in the direction of his own world and the nearby system of Sirius, where the strangely evolutionized descendants of humanity had fled millions of years ago when Earth had become chill and the sun had grown subdued. As the present narrative opens, however, we find them upon the third world of a system comprised of five planets.Orange sunlight streamed down upon the hull of the spaceship, moored upon a plain of waving, yellow grasses. The sun was not far above the horizon, and was slowly sinking. Fantastic animals and birds uttered strange cries and noises, but showed little curiosity in regards to the machine men.Professor Jameson and 744U-21 stood and watched machine men flying in from different directions on their metal wings. They were about to leave this third world of the orange sun. There were two outer planets in opposition at their present orbital phases, and it had been the agreed design of the machine men to explore these nearer worlds before proceeding to those closer the sun."I have a strange curiosity, developed since we came to this third world, to see what the second planet is like," said the professor. "Now that we are about to leave here for the fourth and fifth planets, this curiosity seems to have grown stronger.""A coincidence," 744U-21 observed, "for I feel the same way, but it is more logical to visit the outer worlds first."The professor was inclined to agree with him. It was strange that they should both become so unreasonably obsessed with the same idea, 6W-438 and 8L-404 approached."I think we are making a mistake going to those outer worlds before we have explored the worlds closest the sun," said 6W-438."What makes you think that?" 744U-21 asked."I don't know. But SL-404 thinks the same, and so do others with whom I have talked."

The mammoths of the ancient world have been wonderfully preserved in the ice of Siberia. The cold, only a few miles out in space, will be far more intense than in the polar regions and its power of preserving the dead body would most probably be correspondingly increased. When the hero-scientist of this story knew he must die, he conceived a brilliant idea for the preservation of his body, the result of which even exceeded his expectations. What, how, and why are cleverly told here

A war older than Man, fought among ageless stars. . . Long after Man's day was done his last strange son answered its dread challenge on an invisible world of flaming terror!ExcerptRaising one of his six metal tentacles, 6W-438 pointed to the great comet stretching off into space more than a half million miles. "We have been up near the head, and on all sides of it by virtue of our superior speed. Why not fly through it?"744U-21, who with Professor Jameson, headed this later expedition, expressed negation. "We don't know enough about it. The long tail is of a gaseous nature. That we do know. What we do not exactly know is whether its effects on metal might, or might not, be harmful. 168P-75 reports an element in the comet which he believes would corrode the alloy of which we are made. Its effect on the spaceship would be much the same, even though the metallic composition varies somewhat from that of our own bodies.""There is nothing especially worth learning by passing through the tail of the comet," the professor pointed out. "What interests us is watching the comet pass through the planetary sytem which lies in its path. As 65G-849 has told us, there will be no collision with any of the worlds. They are too few and strung out too far, yet their presence is bound to have an effect on the comet even though it may only result in a change of direction. The green sun itself being the largest body of the system, will probably exert the most change and might even bend the course of the comet a hundred and eighty degrees so that it would eventually return this way."Already the metal Zoromes who had once been flesh and blood creatures back on their own planet Zor in a far distant corner of the universe, had taken as much scientific data as possible, short of entering the long gaseous tail. The nucleus was solid, like a small world careening through space. That it carried or sustained any life they seriously doubted, even though they had occasionally found strange life under even stranger conditions during their travels from system to system, world to world, on their eternal exploration for the unusual.

Another adventure of the intrepid Professor Jameson. ExcerptProfessor Jameson clung more tightly to his precarious perch on the sloping mountainside. His metal tentacles curled about treacherous knobs of slippery rock. His mechanical eyes circling the coned metal head regarding Gloph, the intelligent space creature who, too, fought for his life against the face of the looming peak. Around them shone the stars of space, and several little moons moved visibly in ever-changing phases. Out of the darkness, a blazing sun threw sharp etched shadows all about them. Far beneath them, they saw the haze of the planet's low-lying, dense atmosphere up out of which the towering mountains reached beyond and into space, a bleak region, a veritable top of the world, where only Gloph and his species lived. The space ship of the Zoromes was gone. It had fallen when a part of the mountain peak had slid away. Weathering had weakened the mountain peak beneath the atmosphere line. The professor remembered 65G-849 remarking about this characteristic as they had approached and examined the strange world from out in space."There is no weathering on the mountain tops in space, other than what results from temperature changes when the sun shines," 65G-849 had assured his fellow Zoromes. "It is different, however, below the atmosphere line. Because of the presence of atmosphere and moisture, a good many of the mountain peaks are undermined around the edges."Besides the space ship and those inside it, the five machine men who had come out of the space ship with the professor to talk with friendly space creatures had gone hurtling to their doom. The professor had seen 6W-438, 119M-5, 29G-75, 777Y-46 and 7H-88 grab frantically for something to stay their plunge. Only the professor and 119M-5 had been successful in gaining a hold, and 119M-5's respite had been but a brief one. The machine man's hold on the slippery surface had been even more insecure than the professor's 119M-5 had shot by the professor, radiating a departing farewell.Among the group of space creatures accompanying the machine men, all had fallen, too, except Gloph, who with the professor and 119M-5 had been farthest from the edge of the great break. Before the catastrophe, the space creatures had formed a funeral cortege in the performance of strange rites for the two of their dead, and the machine men had watched. At the climax of the rites, it was the custom, the machine men had learned, to hurl the two dead bodies off the precipice and into the atmospheric sea far below. It was never just one. There always had to be two.Professor Jameson looked across at Gloph and envied the latter's soft, shaggy feet which gave him some measure of support in avoiding the inevitable. "Are you all right?" he radiated. "For the moment," the long, thin creature with the luminous eyes formed the thought. "But I can get nowhere from here." He gazed up helplessly at the steep slope they were on. His four long arms clung to scanty holds on the steep face of the mountain; four shaggy hooves settled against uneven spots on the slippery rock, while the long, gray body hugged the wall closely."We can't get up farther," the machine man told him. "If we could only climb down. It would be easier to climb if we were below the atmosphere line."

Complementing Science-Fiction: The Early Years, which surveys science-fiction published in book form from its beginnings through 1930, the present volume covers all the science-fiction printed in the genre magazines--Amazing, Astounding, and Wonder, along with offshoots and minor magazines--from 1926 through 1936. This is the first time this historically important literary phenomenon, which stands behind the enormous modern development of science-fiction, has been studied thoroughly and accurately. The heart of the book is a series of descriptions of all 1,835 stories published during this period, plus bibliographic information. Supplementing this are many useful features: detailed histories of each of the magazines, an issue by issue roster of contents, a technical analysis of the art work, brief authors' biographies, poetry and letter indexes, a theme and motif index of approximately 30,0000 entries, and general indexes. Science-Fiction: The Gernsback Years is not only indispensable for reference librarians, collectors, readers, and scholars interested in science-fiction, it is also of importance to the study of popular culture during the Great Depression in the United States. Most of its data, which are largely based on rare and almost unobtainable sources, are not available elsewhere.

Helplessly trapped, the machine men heard the ultimatum of the terrible Heolons of Bhem: "Give us back the secret that has been dust these thousands years-or, as living metal statues, adorn our halls throughout all eternity!"excerptKlaemten paused in his flight through the richly verdured foothills of the Mlopts which towered in the blue haze of distance. He heard the shrill screeches of the pursuing Chebs, and he turned in the direction of that sound, the deep-set eyes in his spherical head searching for them. Klaemten's body was also round, but flattened slightly in front and back. Powerfully muscled legs had given him a good start on the Chebs, but their animal speed and endurance was closing the distance. A pair of tentacles, like snakes, curled gracefully from the sides of his round body, while sharp ears projected from his head to give him an alert and listening appearance.Escape lay in the mountains, but a desperate despair struck at his heart. He would never make it. He had come far, indeed, on his strength and endurance and had even successfully employed a bit of trickery on the pursuing Chebs. Had he only to reckon with the ignorant animals, he might now be free. But not all the Chebs were ignorant. Many of them, including those pursuing him, were mentally endowed by the master race, the Heolons, for whom Klaemten had lately slaved. Klaemten was an Urgyul, one of the slave race, who not only were slaves of the Heolons but served as food for their great pets, the Chebs. By a secret art of their own, the Heolons gave many of these fearsome carnivores intellects.Klaemten had been purposely released by his masters so that he might be hunted by the Chebs for their amusement. Moreover-and this was the worst-Klaemten was not the only one who had been condemned. His mate, Eulud, at that moment lay in the crypt at Thoth, the food store-house for the Chebs.Klaemten looked longingly at the mountains on the horizon. Safety and security lay in the upper readies of the high peeks where dwelt a colony of free Urgyuls, one of the few known strongholds of that subjugated race. Neither the Heolons nor the Chebs could stand the thin, cold air of the mountains.