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

Page 13

SCIENCE FICTION FORWARD   Page 13.

     "How romantic!" scoffs the scientist in a sinister tone of voice. "But from the practical, scientific viewpoint, it's silly talk!"
     What an unutterably audacious, offensive stratagem! You are almost forced to believe that it was deliberate. Such cleverness is not accidental.
     And that cover---. What horrible people these scientists are.' Green skin, Satanic leer, Simon Legree mustache---br-r-r! It certainly sells magazines, and crowds the churches, but what a pack of lies!

"Guyon 45X" by Dean D. O'Brien. SUPER SCIENCE STORIES, March 1940.

     "Castor, the mad dictator of Jupiter, had the proud'Z' of the Scientists after his name, sign that no ordinary mortal could hope to defeat his plans to conquer the Solar System. But his adversary was no ordinary mortal, for Guyon 45X meant Guyon 'courage'!"
     So ran the blurb that accompanied this story, and the yarn itself did full justice to the ANTI-SCIENTIFIC reputation which ye ed tailored for it. There was nothing out of the ordinary about "Guyon 45X"; it was merely another pot-boiler with science as the menace, and courage as the savior of the world. The ancient "mad scientist" thing again. It expresses the commonest of ANTI-SCIENTIFIC claims, namely, that someday science will threaten iron-bound dictatorship, and the only thing that will save humanity from enslavement is for some brave young man to grapple hand-to-hand with the madmen and heave him over a cliff, or something.
     This type of story has been going on almost since the first issue of AMAZING STORIES 14 years ago. By this time they must be held in contempt, for they are certainly painfully familiar. Science vs. courage; sciencvs. love; science vs "common sense"; science vs. sympathy; they're all common themes. Science isn't versus anything, except ignorance! Science doesn't breed dictators, or blunt the emotions. If science discovers a face that blasts an old idee fixe which the human race chose to believe for centuries, it isn't up to science to suppress that fact, but for the human race to discard its outmoded delusion: In other words, humanity must keep an open mind to progress. Science-fiction is supposed to make one open-minded. Yet "Guyor 45X" was printed in an allegedly science-fiction magazine. There's something wrong somewhere!

"The Treasure of Ptakuth" by Leigh Breckett. ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION, April, 1940.

     The fundamental statement of this story runs thusly: "to every ounce of good there is in science and its progress, there is an equal or greater amount of bad."
     A race of people discover how to clean the blood of its poisons without long periods of sleep. They set up their machinery for doing so, and achieve everlasting wakefulness. Somehow it drives them to race suicide. Three big, fat raspberries, and I do mean raspberries.
     This story takes the same track as the immoralityarns, where somebody is immortal, and his greatest wish is that he would die!! Beh-h! Usually he is so bored and tired of living that death would be the only thing new to him. Believers of this little realize that as one's probably life-span lengthens, the possible things he could do to fit that life-time increase in a multiple proportion. There would be no boredom! If you could count on living for 5000 yea-s, what couldn't you plan on doing?! Boy! I'd like to have the chance!

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SCIENCE FICTION FORWARD Page 13. "How romantic!" scoffs the scientist in a sinister tone of voice. "But from the practical, scientific viewpoint, it's silly talk!" What an unutterably audacious, offensive stratagem! You are almost forced to believe that it was deliberate. Such cleverness is not accidental. And that cover---. What horrible people these scientists are.' Green skin, Satanic leer, Simon Legree mustache---br-r-r! It certainly sells magazines, and crowds the churches, but what a pack of lies! "Guyon 45X" by Dean D. O'Brien. SUPER SCIENCE STORIES, March 1940. "Castor, the mad dictator of Jupiter, had the proud'Z' of the Scientists after his name, sign that no ordinary mortal could hope to defeat his plans to conquer the Solar System. But his adversary was no ordinary mortal, for Guyon 45X meant Guyon 'courage'!" So ran the blurb that accompanied this story, and the yarn itself did full justice to the ANTI-SCIENTIFIC reputation which ye ed tailored for it. There was nothing out of the ordinary about "Guyon 45X"; it was merely another pot-boiler with science as the menace, and courage as the savior of the world. The ancient "mad scientist" thing again. It expresses the commonest of ANTI-SCIENTIFIC claims, namely, that someday science will threaten iron-bound dictatorship, and the only thing that will save humanity from enslavement is for some brave young man to grapple hand-to-hand with the madmen and heave him over a cliff, or something. This type of story has been going on almost since the first issue of AMAZING STORIES 14 years ago. By this time they must be held in contempt, for they are certainly painfully familiar. Science vs. courage; sciencvs. love; science vs "common sense"; science vs. sympathy; they're all common themes. Science isn't versus anything, except ignorance! Science doesn't breed dictators, or blunt the emotions. If science discovers a face that blasts an old idee fixe which the human race chose to believe for centuries, it isn't up to science to suppress that fact, but for the human race to discard its outmoded delusion: In other words, humanity must keep an open mind to progress. Science-fiction is supposed to make one open-minded. Yet "Guyor 45X" was printed in an allegedly science-fiction magazine. There's something wrong somewhere! "The Treasure of Ptakuth" by Leigh Breckett. ASTOUNDING SCIENCE-FICTION, April, 1940. The fundamental statement of this story runs thusly: "to every ounce of good there is in science and its progress, there is an equal or greater amount of bad." A race of people discover how to clean the blood of its poisons without long periods of sleep. They set up their machinery for doing so, and achieve everlasting wakefulness. Somehow it drives them to race suicide. Three big, fat raspberries, and I do mean raspberries. This story takes the same track as the immoralityarns, where somebody is immortal, and his greatest wish is that he would die!! Beh-h! Usually he is so bored and tired of living that death would be the only thing new to him. Believers of this little realize that as one's probably life-span lengthens, the possible things he could do to fit that life-time increase in a multiple proportion. There would be no boredom! If you could count on living for 5000 yea-s, what couldn't you plan on doing?! Boy! I'd like to have the chance!