''Outpost Mars'' is a short science fiction novel by American writers

Cyril M. Kornbluth Cyril M. Kornbluth (July 2, 1923 – March 21, 1958) was an American science fiction author and a member of the Futurians. He used a variety of pen-names, including Cecil Corwin, S. D. Gottesman, Edward J. Bellin, Kenneth Falconer, W ...

and

Judith Merril Judith Josephine Grossman (January 21, 1923 – September 12, 1997), who took the pen-name Judith Merril around 1945, was an American and then Canadian science fiction writer, editor and political activist, and one of the first women to be wid ...

, published under their

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Cyril Judd Cyril Judd was a joint pseudonym used by American writers Cyril M. Kornbluth and Judith Merril for their two novels:

. It was originally a three-part serial in ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'' in 1951 under the title "Mars Child" and was first published under the title ''Outpost Mars'' in 1952 by Abelard Press, New York. It was reprinted as ''Sin in Space'' in 1961.''Sin in Space''
at

WorldCat WorldCat is a union catalog that itemizes the collections of tens of thousands of institutions (mostly libraries), in many countries, that are current or past members of the OCLC global cooperative. It is operated by OCLC, Inc. Many of the OCL ...

Plot summary

The story is based on the growth of a fictional Mars settlement. After 40 years of settlement,

Mars Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...

has developed into a thriving mining and farming colony, trading four times a year with Earth via rocket. The people of Sun Lake are trying to establish themselves as a self-sufficient community, contrasted with nearby industrial establishments like the Brenner Pharmaceuticals Corporation. Now a legal crisis with Brenner Pharmaceuticals threatens to destroy all the colony's hard work. A small fortune's worth of a drug deadlier than

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...

, called Marcaine, has been stolen from a factory near the colony, and Hugo Brenner, the notorious drug dealer and manufacturer, has come to the colony to accuse the council of harboring a drug thief and smuggler. The clock ticks with less than a week until the next rocket shipment goes out; the council goes into a mad search to find a culprit or the missing drugs as they face being shut down and starved out. The book follows the daily routine of the colony's doctor, Tony Hellman: handling several medical problems throughout the colony, delivering a baby, administering checkups, as well as tending to regular patients. By looking into the suspicious murder of a nearby pregnant woman and health complications with the newborn, Sunny, Tony continues to unravel the mystery of the stolen Marcaine. Even after the packing areas and labs are scoured, the drugs are still missing. Eight new passengers fly over from Marsport to the colony, one of them being a famous writer Douglas Graham. Small child-sized footprints turn up in the

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

and the story grabs Graham's interest. Graham, Hellman and his assistant Anna make a series of spectacular discoveries that lead to the unearthing of a secret mutant dwarf

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

of Mars that has been eating the stolen Marcaine as its natural food source.

References

Sources

*Judd, Cyril (1952) ''Outpost Mars''. Abelard Press.

External links

* ''Mars Child'
parts 12
an
3
at the Internet Archive 1951 American novels 1951 science fiction novels American science fiction novels Works originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction Novels set on Mars Debut science fiction novels 1951 debut novels {{1950s-sf-novel-stub