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Science Fiction Forward, v. 1, issue 1, September 1940

Page 5

SCIENCE FICTION FORWARD    Page 5

ous advances made by science are everywhere. In 1937 they started their sheiss-zeitung, "THE FORTEAN, a magazine that attempted to bring the old rats "researches" up to date. All the latest boners pulled by scientists the world over, bits about people disappearing, houses burning down, "bodies in the sky", footprints, ball-lightning---all very mysteriously and impressively presented to the eye. So much so, in fact, that one fancies that H.P.Lovecraft, an individual supposed to be interested in such things, would have snickered hollowly. HPL had no illusions about his calling as a wierd fiction writer. He know the human brain well.....   "One can never produce anything one tenth so horrible," he wrote in a letter, "as one can awesomely hint at." And few people in this world---the Roman Catholic priests are undoubtedly among this Holy few---have managed to utilize this fact with greater virtuosity than the Forteans. It permeates all they say and do.
     In connection with this, let us examine Volume 1, Number 1 of their PORTEAN MAGAZINE>

                           II.

     Whenever somebody famous disappears, there is always a big hula-baloo among the people who are by trade inclined to take a cynical view of common sense. The pulpits quake and quiver with thunderous anathemas, the Hearst newspapers make a pot of money syndicating a column on "Famous Disappearances", and, in general, it is a pretty low spiritual church that cannot manage to get a new paint job out of the situation.
     When Earhart and Noonan took a dive in 1937 there was a good deal of the abovementioned blather, snd the Forteans, as usual, were in the very front line trenches, throwing mud as fast as they could scoop it up. They came out with a huge scarehead in the first issue of their magazine: "WHAT HAPPENED TO EARHEART AND NOON?", and answered their own question in a way which would have made old HPL lick his chops in envy. For, like Lovecraft, they didn't answer it. They just hinted, like this:
     "On May 29th, Rabual, New Britian, was destroyed by the eruption of two volcanoes, Between 250 and 500 natives were killed. On June 9 and 8th (because of the International Date Line), there was a total eclipse which lasted ten seconds longer than it 'should'. (The Forteans never miss a chanceto knock eclppse calculations. They use it to prove that the sun and the moon "don't really exist at all!") On July 2nd, Amelia Earheart and Fred Noonan left Lae, New Guinea, and the last exact position of their plane as reported by them is recorded on the map. (They gave a map on page 3. The position referred to is about 150 m. SSW of Nauru) August 9th, a gold strike and consequent 'rush' were reported near Port Moresby, New Guinea."
     Get it? We don't.
     From this mess of entirely irrelevant data we are supposed to extract some profound and far-reaching conclusion. Precisely what it is no one seems to know, not even the Forteans, who purport to know everything. Just what connection a gold rush in Port Moresby has to do with the question at hand is not at all clear to us poor, meek scientific slaves. If the Forteans can help us out, let t hem do so instead of hammering at the unessential. We know that there was a total eclipse on the date referred to. We also know that water is wet, that hamburgers taste good, and that most girls (praise be!) have legs. But how will that help usfind Earheart and Noonan?
     It is quite true that we don't know exactly what happened to them, but we have a number of reliable facts to stand on. For one thing they were expressly warned before leaving Lae that conditions along the route to

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SCIENCE FICTION FORWARD Page 5 ous advances made by science are everywhere. In 1937 they started their sheiss-zeitung, "THE FORTEAN, a magazine that attempted to bring the old rats "researches" up to date. All the latest boners pulled by scientists the world over, bits about people disappearing, houses burning down, "bodies in the sky", footprints, ball-lightning---all very mysteriously and impressively presented to the eye. So much so, in fact, that one fancies that H.P.Lovecraft, an individual supposed to be interested in such things, would have snickered hollowly. HPL had no illusions about his calling as a wierd fiction writer. He know the human brain well..... "One can never produce anything one tenth so horrible," he wrote in a letter, "as one can awesomely hint at." And few people in this world---the Roman Catholic priests are undoubtedly among this Holy few---have managed to utilize this fact with greater virtuosity than the Forteans. It permeates all they say and do. In connection with this, let us examine Volume 1, Number 1 of their PORTEAN MAGAZINE> II. Whenever somebody famous disappears, there is always a big hula-baloo among the people who are by trade inclined to take a cynical view of common sense. The pulpits quake and quiver with thunderous anathemas, the Hearst newspapers make a pot of money syndicating a column on "Famous Disappearances", and, in general, it is a pretty low spiritual church that cannot manage to get a new paint job out of the situation. When Earhart and Noonan took a dive in 1937 there was a good deal of the abovementioned blather, snd the Forteans, as usual, were in the very front line trenches, throwing mud as fast as they could scoop it up. They came out with a huge scarehead in the first issue of their magazine: "WHAT HAPPENED TO EARHEART AND NOON?", and answered their own question in a way which would have made old HPL lick his chops in envy. For, like Lovecraft, they didn't answer it. They just hinted, like this: "On May 29th, Rabual, New Britian, was destroyed by the eruption of two volcanoes, Between 250 and 500 natives were killed. On June 9 and 8th (because of the International Date Line), there was a total eclipse which lasted ten seconds longer than it 'should'. (The Forteans never miss a chanceto knock eclppse calculations. They use it to prove that the sun and the moon "don't really exist at all!") On July 2nd, Amelia Earheart and Fred Noonan left Lae, New Guinea, and the last exact position of their plane as reported by them is recorded on the map. (They gave a map on page 3. The position referred to is about 150 m. SSW of Nauru) August 9th, a gold strike and consequent 'rush' were reported near Port Moresby, New Guinea." Get it? We don't. From this mess of entirely irrelevant data we are supposed to extract some profound and far-reaching conclusion. Precisely what it is no one seems to know, not even the Forteans, who purport to know everything. Just what connection a gold rush in Port Moresby has to do with the question at hand is not at all clear to us poor, meek scientific slaves. If the Forteans can help us out, let t hem do so instead of hammering at the unessential. We know that there was a total eclipse on the date referred to. We also know that water is wet, that hamburgers taste good, and that most girls (praise be!) have legs. But how will that help usfind Earheart and Noonan? It is quite true that we don't know exactly what happened to them, but we have a number of reliable facts to stand on. For one thing they were expressly warned before leaving Lae that conditions along the route to