Transcribe
Translate
Fantods, whole no. 9, Winter 1945
Page 22
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
page 22 EFTY-NINE "The Smallest God" [3]. Too, we may remark upon Wesso's predilection for drawing electrical apparatus with knife-switches in which both blades and the cross-bar are shown bent from a single strip of metal. [4] It will be conceded, of course, that to short-circuit all four of its terminals might be the intended purpose of such a switch. Be that as it may, that is certainly what would happen. Wesso did something better, though, when he illustrated "Skylark Three" [5]. It was probably not his fault taht his excellent illustration of the episode wherein Seaton and Crane quizzed the captured Fenachrone warrior got captioned "'All Set,' he reported crisply, and barked a series of explosive syllables at Shiro, ending upon a rising note." Which quote, of course, refers to the previous episode wherein Seaton, Crane et cie., learned Japanese via mechanical educator. (Quick, DBT, does Japanese have explosive syllables?) So the accompanying picture of the Fenachrone gentleman might give the impression that Shiro was a pretty tough baby. He was, to be sure, but not that tough! Looking up the dope int he above paragraph naturally brought us to a rereading of the Smith classic and to the following point, which had never caught our attention of previous readings. Seaton describes how he obtains a hard vacuum in the case of his super-sensitive object compass. Sez he, "'You see, I've got three pumps on that job, in series. First, a Rodebush-Michalek super-pump then, backing that, an ordinary mercury-vapor pump, and last, backing both the others, a Cenco-Hyvac motor-driven oil pump. In less than fifty hours that case will be as empty as a flapper's skull. Just to make sure of cleaning up the last infinitesimal traces, though, I'm going to flash a getter charge of tantalum in it. After that, the atmosphere in that case will be tenuous -- take my word for it.'" It's to be wondered why Dr. Smith mad Seaton draw his vacuum the hard way, since, while these operations were progressing, the party was flying through the Interstellar space which is noted for containing large amounts of much harder vacuum that can be obtained by the known lab. methods which he cites. But apparently the good doctor wondered about it, too, shortly after. For in his next opus "Spacehounds of IPC" we find Stevens, cast away on Ganymede and set the task of constructing a high-power transmitting tube, saying, "'A comet's tail, which so many people are afraid of as being poison gas, is almost a perfect vacuum, even at its thickest, and we'd have to wear spacesuits anyway. And speaking of vacuum...whoopee! We don't need mercury any more than a goldfish needs a gas-mask. When we get Mr. Tube done, we'll take him out into space, leaving his mouth open, and very shortly he'll be as empty as a flapper's skull. Then we'll seal him up, flash him out, come back here, and start spilling our troubles into Brandon's shell-like ear.'" [6]. If you read your Fancyclopedia daily, as every devout fan should, then surely by this time you have paused over the Planet Prince's quatrain which our Thucydides misquotes as an example of purely science-fiction poetry. Eventually we tracked the verse to its lair [7], and now insist on giving you overpage the correct version: ---------- 3. Astounding Science-Fiction, 24, v (Jan. 1940). 4. E.g., Astounding Science-Fiction, 22, iii, 10 (Nov. 1938). 5. Amazing Stories, 5, v, 388 (Aug. 1930). 6. Amazing Stories, 6, iv, 317 (July 1931). 7. Science Wonder Stories, 1, vi, 495 (Nov. 1929).
Saving...
prev
next
page 22 EFTY-NINE "The Smallest God" [3]. Too, we may remark upon Wesso's predilection for drawing electrical apparatus with knife-switches in which both blades and the cross-bar are shown bent from a single strip of metal. [4] It will be conceded, of course, that to short-circuit all four of its terminals might be the intended purpose of such a switch. Be that as it may, that is certainly what would happen. Wesso did something better, though, when he illustrated "Skylark Three" [5]. It was probably not his fault taht his excellent illustration of the episode wherein Seaton and Crane quizzed the captured Fenachrone warrior got captioned "'All Set,' he reported crisply, and barked a series of explosive syllables at Shiro, ending upon a rising note." Which quote, of course, refers to the previous episode wherein Seaton, Crane et cie., learned Japanese via mechanical educator. (Quick, DBT, does Japanese have explosive syllables?) So the accompanying picture of the Fenachrone gentleman might give the impression that Shiro was a pretty tough baby. He was, to be sure, but not that tough! Looking up the dope int he above paragraph naturally brought us to a rereading of the Smith classic and to the following point, which had never caught our attention of previous readings. Seaton describes how he obtains a hard vacuum in the case of his super-sensitive object compass. Sez he, "'You see, I've got three pumps on that job, in series. First, a Rodebush-Michalek super-pump then, backing that, an ordinary mercury-vapor pump, and last, backing both the others, a Cenco-Hyvac motor-driven oil pump. In less than fifty hours that case will be as empty as a flapper's skull. Just to make sure of cleaning up the last infinitesimal traces, though, I'm going to flash a getter charge of tantalum in it. After that, the atmosphere in that case will be tenuous -- take my word for it.'" It's to be wondered why Dr. Smith mad Seaton draw his vacuum the hard way, since, while these operations were progressing, the party was flying through the Interstellar space which is noted for containing large amounts of much harder vacuum that can be obtained by the known lab. methods which he cites. But apparently the good doctor wondered about it, too, shortly after. For in his next opus "Spacehounds of IPC" we find Stevens, cast away on Ganymede and set the task of constructing a high-power transmitting tube, saying, "'A comet's tail, which so many people are afraid of as being poison gas, is almost a perfect vacuum, even at its thickest, and we'd have to wear spacesuits anyway. And speaking of vacuum...whoopee! We don't need mercury any more than a goldfish needs a gas-mask. When we get Mr. Tube done, we'll take him out into space, leaving his mouth open, and very shortly he'll be as empty as a flapper's skull. Then we'll seal him up, flash him out, come back here, and start spilling our troubles into Brandon's shell-like ear.'" [6]. If you read your Fancyclopedia daily, as every devout fan should, then surely by this time you have paused over the Planet Prince's quatrain which our Thucydides misquotes as an example of purely science-fiction poetry. Eventually we tracked the verse to its lair [7], and now insist on giving you overpage the correct version: ---------- 3. Astounding Science-Fiction, 24, v (Jan. 1940). 4. E.g., Astounding Science-Fiction, 22, iii, 10 (Nov. 1938). 5. Amazing Stories, 5, v, 388 (Aug. 1930). 6. Amazing Stories, 6, iv, 317 (July 1931). 7. Science Wonder Stories, 1, vi, 495 (Nov. 1929).
Hevelin Fanzines
sidebar
