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Acolyte, v. 4, issue 1, whole no. 13, Winter 1946
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ideal woman, ideal automobile, or ideal anything else. "The Point of View" tells of the invention of an "attitudinizor", the wearing of which will give the wearer the point of view of the person at whom he is looking. The trilogy is identical in plot, workmanship, and quality --with the single exception that in each story Van Manderpootz creates a new invention. Weinbaum had the last laugh, since he sold the same story and the same idea to Wonder three times, while they remained blissfully unaware of any incongruity in the situation, and probably lauded him for his ability to conceive "new policy" ideas. "The Red Peri" received Weinbaum's second and last cover, but he was already too slick to appreciate it when it appeared. The story received a big buildup, and was intended as the first of a series which Weinbaum never lived to complete. It is a fast-paced adventure story dealing with a woman space-pirate of exceptional cunning and resourcefulness. Much of the story's appeal was lost through the fact that similar situations could have taken place in mundane fiction with more velievable results. The one new idea in the entire story is Weinbaum's suggestion that the vacuum of outer space might have no effect on the human body if the exposure were very limited. Present in the same issue of Astounding as "The Red Peri" was Weinbaum's John Jessel yarn, "The Adaptive Ultimate"--the strongest, best developed, most serious plot Weinbaum had ever presented. There were no freak animals, no set-ups for humor. A sickly, dying girl is injected with a hormone that increases her rate of adaptability to the point where her body can adapt itself instantly to the stab of a knife, or her metabolism adjust to her poisonous vapors before they can overcome her. Weinbaum paints here a picture of an indestructible woman, inevitably on her way to the control of all mankind. The story of a woman tolerant of attempts to destroy her since she loves the man who is trying to kill her, and of the inner conflict driving him on, knowing that for the good of humanity he must destroy the woman he loves, makes a powerful and moving story. "The Mad Moon" is the last of Weinbaum's screw animal stories. One might almost believe that he was attempting to kill the craze for this sort of thing by introducing creatures so ridiculous as to run the idea into the ground. It presents the long-necked, big-headed, giggling, candy-loving loonies; the prevaricating parcat (half-cat and half parrot); and the semi-intelligent, malicious slinkies. Yet Weinbaum managed to knot this incongruous material into an appealing tale with a little throat-catch at the end. By the time "Smothered Seas" appeared,the sands had run out in the hour glass of Weinbaum's life. It is doubtful if he ever saw in print this collaboration with Ralph Milne Farley, a fellow member of the Milwaukee Fictioneers. I am convinced that the military parts of the tale are the work of Farley, and the love scenes unquestionably Weinbaum--the same mysterious, beautiful, and powerful woman falling in love with the man she should be guarding against. The story is one of international intrigue against a background of war and an outbreak of algae which has covered the oceans with a thick, ship-stopping scum. The story makes fairly entertaining reading, but leaves no lasting impression. "Redemption Cairn" is a tale of an attempt to locate the cairn, containing a new formula for rocket fuel, of an old scientist on the moons of Jupiter. The story proceeds and ends in formula style, redeemed only by flashes of light romance and a single funny creature, the bladder-bird. "Proteus Island" deals with an island where every organism is a different, sometimes freakish, mutation. The hero falls in love with a bronze girl there. In this story Weinbaum has attempted to repeat the success of "The Adaptive Ultimate" by introducing strong motivat- -- 26 --
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ideal woman, ideal automobile, or ideal anything else. "The Point of View" tells of the invention of an "attitudinizor", the wearing of which will give the wearer the point of view of the person at whom he is looking. The trilogy is identical in plot, workmanship, and quality --with the single exception that in each story Van Manderpootz creates a new invention. Weinbaum had the last laugh, since he sold the same story and the same idea to Wonder three times, while they remained blissfully unaware of any incongruity in the situation, and probably lauded him for his ability to conceive "new policy" ideas. "The Red Peri" received Weinbaum's second and last cover, but he was already too slick to appreciate it when it appeared. The story received a big buildup, and was intended as the first of a series which Weinbaum never lived to complete. It is a fast-paced adventure story dealing with a woman space-pirate of exceptional cunning and resourcefulness. Much of the story's appeal was lost through the fact that similar situations could have taken place in mundane fiction with more velievable results. The one new idea in the entire story is Weinbaum's suggestion that the vacuum of outer space might have no effect on the human body if the exposure were very limited. Present in the same issue of Astounding as "The Red Peri" was Weinbaum's John Jessel yarn, "The Adaptive Ultimate"--the strongest, best developed, most serious plot Weinbaum had ever presented. There were no freak animals, no set-ups for humor. A sickly, dying girl is injected with a hormone that increases her rate of adaptability to the point where her body can adapt itself instantly to the stab of a knife, or her metabolism adjust to her poisonous vapors before they can overcome her. Weinbaum paints here a picture of an indestructible woman, inevitably on her way to the control of all mankind. The story of a woman tolerant of attempts to destroy her since she loves the man who is trying to kill her, and of the inner conflict driving him on, knowing that for the good of humanity he must destroy the woman he loves, makes a powerful and moving story. "The Mad Moon" is the last of Weinbaum's screw animal stories. One might almost believe that he was attempting to kill the craze for this sort of thing by introducing creatures so ridiculous as to run the idea into the ground. It presents the long-necked, big-headed, giggling, candy-loving loonies; the prevaricating parcat (half-cat and half parrot); and the semi-intelligent, malicious slinkies. Yet Weinbaum managed to knot this incongruous material into an appealing tale with a little throat-catch at the end. By the time "Smothered Seas" appeared,the sands had run out in the hour glass of Weinbaum's life. It is doubtful if he ever saw in print this collaboration with Ralph Milne Farley, a fellow member of the Milwaukee Fictioneers. I am convinced that the military parts of the tale are the work of Farley, and the love scenes unquestionably Weinbaum--the same mysterious, beautiful, and powerful woman falling in love with the man she should be guarding against. The story is one of international intrigue against a background of war and an outbreak of algae which has covered the oceans with a thick, ship-stopping scum. The story makes fairly entertaining reading, but leaves no lasting impression. "Redemption Cairn" is a tale of an attempt to locate the cairn, containing a new formula for rocket fuel, of an old scientist on the moons of Jupiter. The story proceeds and ends in formula style, redeemed only by flashes of light romance and a single funny creature, the bladder-bird. "Proteus Island" deals with an island where every organism is a different, sometimes freakish, mutation. The hero falls in love with a bronze girl there. In this story Weinbaum has attempted to repeat the success of "The Adaptive Ultimate" by introducing strong motivat- -- 26 --
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