![R f Starzl WS 3011](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b4/R_f_Starzl_WS_3011.jpg)
Roman Frederick Starzl (1899–1976) was an American writer. He, and earlier, his father (John V. Starzl), owned the ''Le Mars Globe-Post'' newspaper of
Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars is the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River northeast of Sioux City. The population was 10,571 at the time of the 2020 census. Le Mars is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area.
Histor ...
. Roman Frederick was also the father of physician
Thomas E. Starzl
Thomas Earl Starzl (March 11, 1926 – March 4, 2017) was an Health care in the United States, American physician, Medical research, researcher, and expert on organ transplants. He performed the first human liver transplants, and has often been ...
.
["The Long Search for the Bohemian Ancestors of John V. Starzl,']
The Doctor Thomas E. Starzl Website
University Library System, University of Pittsburgh His writing is largely forgotten now, but he was called a "master" by the pioneer of
space opera
Space opera is a subgenre of science fiction that emphasizes space warfare, with use of melodramatic, risk-taking space adventures, relationships, and chivalric romance. Set mainly or entirely in outer space, it features technological and soci ...
E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...
. Starzl's
Interplanetary Flying Patrol, in ''The Hornets of Space'', may have influenced Smith's
Galactic Patrol
The Galactic Patrol was an intergalactic organization in the ''Lensman'' science fiction series written by E. E. Smith. It was also the title of the third book in the series.
Overview
In the Lensman novels, the Galactic Patrol was a combination ...
. There is an extensive interview with Thomas Starzl about his father in Eric Leif Davin's ''
Pioneers of Wonder''.
Biography
Born Roman Frederick Starzl, he was the son of John (born Johann) V. Starzl and Margaret Theisen. John V. Starzl was born April 9, 1865 in Bischofteinitz (later known as
Věvrov) in the Austrian Empire, the son of Josef Starzl and Magdalena Ruba. Josef Starzl immigrated with his wife and 5 children (including John) in 1878 to the USA. John V. Starzl sold his pharmacy in Chicago around the time of his marriage and moved back to
Le Mars, Iowa
Le Mars is the county seat of Plymouth County, Iowa, United States. It is located on the Floyd River northeast of Sioux City. The population was 10,571 at the time of the 2020 census. Le Mars is part of the Sioux City metropolitan area.
Histor ...
, near where his Bohemian immigrant parents had settled after immigration. There, he purchased the German-language newspaper, ''Der Herold'', which later became Le Mars Globe Post, and raised Starzl and two other surviving children.
Starzl started his career as a reporter for this newspaper.
[Ashley, Lowndes (2004), pp. 112–113] He reportedly started writing for
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
s as part of his efforts to raise enough money for a specific goal. Said goal was to acquire ownership of the newspaper and printing establishment associated with his family. Starzl eventually achieved this goal and retired from writing.
[Bleiler (1998), pp. 407–411] Or so the story goes. His writing career indeed lasted only six years (1929–1934), during which he published about 24 stories. But it is possible that his writing career ended as his duties in the newspaper increased. A decision of necessity rather than choice. He became a partner in the ''Globe-Post'' in 1934, and sole owner and publisher in 1940. He continued in this role until 1968, when his printing plant fell victim to a fire.
He was a member of both the German Rocket Society and the
American Rocket Society
The American Rocket Society (ARS) began its existence on , under the name of the American Interplanetary Society. It was founded by science fiction writers G. Edward Pendray, David Lasser, Laurence Manning, Nathan Schachner, and others. Pendray ...
. Later in life, he developed an interest in
right-wing politics
Right-wing politics describes the range of political ideologies that view certain social orders and hierarchies as inevitable, natural, normal, or desirable, typically supporting this position on the basis of natural law, economics, author ...
.
His literary output in science-fiction consists of about twenty stories, a few of them in collaborations with Everett E. Smith and Festus Pragnell. He also tried his hand in other genres. His stories are essentially "
action fiction
Action fiction is a literary genre that focuses on stories that involve high-stakes, high-energy, and fast-paced events. This genre includes a wide range of sub-genres, such as spy novels, adventure stories, tales of terror and intrigue ("cloak a ...
with science-fictional trappings". Though nine of them feature the Interplanetary Flying Police, they can hardly be seen as a series. There is little to no consistency between them, and they are often set in different time periods.
He managed to somewhat stand out among the writers of this era, through a skill with words and a capacity for creative ideas.
He did not, however, avoid the tendencies of his contemporaries in science fiction. Already in 1931, the readers of ''
Wonder Stories'' complained that some of the stories published in the periodical seemed to be regular
western fiction
Western fiction is a genre of literature set in the American Old West frontier and typically set from the late eighteenth to the late nineteenth century. Well-known writers of Western fiction include Zane Grey from the early 20th century and ...
,
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
,
adventure fiction
Adventure fiction is a type of fiction that usually presents danger, or gives the reader a sense of excitement. Some adventure fiction also satisfies the literary definition of Romance (prose fiction)#Definition, romance fiction.
History
In t ...
with superficial science-fiction elements (such as placing the action in a future era or another planet). Stories like ''The Man who Changed the Future'' (1931) by Starzl are evidence that this was quite true.
[Ashley, Lowndes (2004), p. 324]
His first story ''Out of the Sub-Universe'' (Summer, 1928), was featured in an issue of ''
Amazing Stories Quarterly'' and inspired its cover. It depicted a young couple shrinking in size.
[Ashley, Lowndes (2004), p. 271] The story built on an idea previously used in ''The Man from the Atom'' (1923) by Green Peyton Wertenbaker, but it also served as a parody of the ''Golden Atom'' tales by
Ray Cummings
Ray Cummings (born Raymond King Cummings) (August 30, 1887 – January 23, 1957) was an American author of science fiction literature and comic books.
Early life
Cummings was born in New York City in 1887. He worked with Thomas Edison as a ...
.
''The Last Planet'' (1934), on the other hand, seems to be a precursor to the
generation ship
A generation ship, or generation starship, is a hypothetical type of interstellar ark starship that travels at sub-light speed. Since such a ship might require hundreds to thousands of years to reach nearby stars, the original occupants of a gene ...
tales. Unfortunately, Starzl never fully dwelt on the subject. Leaving ''The Voyage That Lasted 600 Years'' (1940) by Don Wilcox to be the first fully realized example of this subgenre.
[Ashley, Lowndes (2004), p. 225]
Partial list of works
Short stories
* ''Out of the Sub-Universe'' (Summer, 1928), first published in ''
Amazing Stories Quarterly''. Professor Halley (the protagonist) has conducted experiments with
cosmic ray
Cosmic rays are high-energy particles or clusters of particles (primarily represented by protons or atomic nuclei) that move through space at nearly the speed of light. They originate from the Sun, from outside of the Solar System in our own ...
s, discovering a method of
resizing (both shrinking and enlarging) items and living beings. He has also discovered the existence of sub-universes within the structure of the
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas, and ...
. He has managed to send items to an atomic world, and then successfully retrieve them. The story begins when Halley attempts to send two human volunteers to this atomic world, using the same method of shrinking them. The volunteers are his daughter Shirley and her prospective fiancé Hale. They are supposed to stay in sub-atomic size for a mere half-an-hour. When Halley attempts to retrieve them, he is surprised to see a population of about 200 individuals emerge from the sub-atomic world. He learns that time within the sub-universe passes at an accelerated pace. While only half-an-hour passed for him, untold millennia passed within the atom. Shirley and Hale are long dead, and the newcomers consider them founding figures of their culture.
In other words, as subjects became smaller their subjective time became faster. Minutes of Halley's time translated to the passing of entire generations of descendants for Shirley and Hale. While this was far from the first story concerning shrinking, concerning differences in time was a new element.
The story is considered a pioneer in the use of "differential time", time passing in different paces. But
E. F. Bleiler
Everett Franklin Bleiler (April 30, 1920 – June 13, 2010) was an American editor, bibliographer, and scholar of science fiction, detective fiction, and fantasy literature. In the late 1940s and early 1950s, he co-edited the first "year's best" s ...
points that it was not the first of its kind, as it had a precursor in ''The Man from the Atom'' (1923) by Green Peyton Wertenbaker.
[Bleiler (1998), p. 492] Gary Westfahl
Gary Wesley Westfahl (born May 7, 1951) is an American scholar of science fiction. He has written reviews for the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The Internet Review of Science Fiction'' and Locus Online. He worked at the University of California, River ...
calls attention to another element of the story. Accidentally or not, humanity colonizes a subatomic world. Making this an early use of the
frontier
A frontier is the political and geographical area near or beyond a boundary. A frontier can also be referred to as a "front". The term came from French in the 15th century, with the meaning "borderland"—the region of a country that fronts o ...
theme in science-fiction. The theme is represented by tales where humans seek new homes in space (notably used by
Robert A. Heinlein and
Ray Bradbury
Ray Douglas Bradbury (; August 22, 1920June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of modes, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and r ...
), underneath the sea (
Arthur C. Clarke
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (16 December 191719 March 2008) was an English science-fiction writer, science writer, futurist, inventor, undersea explorer, and television series host.
He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film '' 2001: A Spac ...
,
Hal Clement), on the upper atmosphere (
Hugo Gernsback,
Edmond Hamilton), underground (
Daniel F. Galouye
Daniel Francis Galouye (11 February 1920 – 7 September 1976) was an American science fiction writer. During the 1950s and 1960s, he contributed novelettes and short stories to various digest size science fiction magazines, sometimes writing ...
,
Harlan Ellison
Harlan Jay Ellison (May 27, 1934 – June 28, 2018) was an American writer, known for his prolific and influential work in New Wave speculative fiction and for his outspoken, combative personality. Robert Bloch, the author of '' Psycho'' ...
), in
alternative realities (
Clifford D. Simak
Clifford Donald Simak (; August 3, 1904 – April 25, 1988) was an American science fiction writer. He won three Hugo Awards and one Nebula Award. The Science Fiction Writers of America made him its third SFWA Grand Master, and the Horror Wr ...
,
Philip K. Dick
Philip Kindred Dick (December 16, 1928March 2, 1982), often referred to by his initials PKD, was an American science fiction writer. He wrote 44 novels and about 121 short stories, most of which appeared in science fiction magazines during his l ...
), through time-traveling to the distant past (
Robert Silverberg
Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand ...
, Clifford D. Simak), or entering
cyberspace
Cyberspace is a concept describing a widespread interconnected digital technology. "The expression dates back from the first decade of the diffusion of the internet. It refers to the online world as a world 'apart', as distinct from everyday rea ...
(
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
,
Greg Egan
Greg Egan (born 20 August 1961) is an Australian science fiction writer and amateur mathematician, best known for his works of hard science fiction. Egan has won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Memorial Award, the Hugo Award, an ...
). Westfahl considers this to be a major theme of the entire genre.
[Westfahl (2005), pp. 320–322] Robert A. W. Lowndes
Robert Augustine Ward "Doc" Lowndes (September 4, 1916 – July 14, 1998) was an American science fiction author, editor and fan. He was known best as the editor of ''Future Science Fiction'', ''Science Fiction'', and ''Science Fiction Quarterly ...
praised the story's "surprise" ending as "not only logical but necessary".
["Yesterday's World of Tomorrow: 1928 IV", '' Future Science Fiction'', October 1958, P.100, 107]
*''Madness of the Dust'' (May 1930), first published in ''Amazing Stories''. Set in the early 21st century, "not too long" after the year 2025. The main action takes place on planet
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 ...
, with a description of its surface deriving from the theories of
Giovanni Schiaparelli. There is also mention of planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
as a vacation center.
The native
Martians are depicted as gentle
humanoid
A humanoid (; from English ''human'' and ''-oid'' "resembling") is a non-human entity with human form or characteristics. The earliest recorded use of the term, in 1870, referred to indigenous peoples in areas colonized by Europeans. By the 20t ...
giants. There is reference to a native aristocracy with superior cognitive skills, but the only representatives of the race actually depicted are simple-minded workers. The protagonist is an Earthman, John Farrington, who serves as a supervisor in the borium mines. The position pays well but comes at a high cost. All Earthmen who work in the mines eventually succumb to "dust madness", a chemical side-effect which drives them to "homicidal fury". Farrington took the risk willingly, because it was the only way he could afford to marry his beloved Alfreda. When he starts showing symptoms of madness, a spaceship arrives to collect him. Its pilot, Steve, is both an old friend and a rival suitor for the hand of Alfreda. In his madness, Farrington suspects that Steve is there to undermine him. When Steve experiences his own medical emergency,
appendicitis
Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...
, in mid-flight, there begins a period of inner struggle for Farrington. His mind constantly alternates between periods of murderous rage towards Steve, and more lucid moments of feeling responsible and trying to provide medical assistance.
![ASTAUG1930](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b8/ASTAUG1930.jpg)
*''The Planet of Dread'' (August 1930), first published in
Astounding Stories
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...
. Set in the 23rd century, on the fictional planet Inra. The main characters are adventurer Mark Forepaugh and his dim-witted servant Gunga. The latter is a one-eyed Martian. The planet has a
tropical climate and is inhabited by a native
primitive culture
''Primitive Culture'' is an 1871 book by Edward Burnett Tylor. In his book, Tylor debates the relationship between "primitive" societies, and "civilized" societies, a key theme in 19th century anthropological literature.
Evolutionism
Tylor's w ...
. Forepaugh is there hunting for local specimens of
orchids which he plans to sell to the markets of Earth. His advanced weaponry is quite capable of keeping him safe, and its powered by
hydrogen fuel cylinders. Unfortunately, he placed his trust on the wrong supply man. His energy reserves end much sooner than expected, leaving him and Gunga stranded in a hostile environment. The two travelers try to make their way towards the mountains of the planet, which enjoy a cooler climate, while facing local predators. Forepaugh has to rely on a less-advanced weapon, which he typically carries with him for sentimental reasons: a
revolver
A revolver (also called a wheel gun) is a repeating handgun that has at least one barrel and uses a revolving cylinder containing multiple chambers (each holding a single cartridge) for firing. Because most revolver models hold up to six roun ...
dating to the
American frontier
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of United States territorial acquisitions, American expansion in mainland North Amer ...
.
Bleiler felt that the story was "capable pulp work", but lacked in novel elements. The most memorable character, in his view, was a "highly intelligent"
amoeboid with the ability to control the
wills Wills may refer to:
* Will (law)
A will or testament is a legal document that expresses a person's (testator) wishes as to how their property ( estate) is to be distributed after their death and as to which person (executor) is to manage the pr ...
of others beings.
*''The King of the Black Bowl'' (September 1930), first published in ''
Wonder Stories''. Set in the year 1935, at the city of Chicago. The subject matter seems derived from contemporary predictions and humor that
organized crime
Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
would formally take control of this city. In the near-future setting of the story, leading
gangster Felix Spumelli has become the de facto ruler of Chicago. But he still finds his power insufficient. He kidnaps local physicist Dawkelson and has him isolate the city from the rest of the world. Chicago becomes a
domed city, surrounded by a zone of nothingness in the shape of a black bowl. With the exception of water nothing is able to enter or leave the city, including all forms of
radiation
In physics, radiation is the emission or transmission of energy in the form of waves or particles through space or through a material medium. This includes:
* ''electromagnetic radiation'', such as radio waves, microwaves, infrared, visi ...
. Spumelli becomes the self-proclaimed king of Chicago and imposes a harsh occupation rule over the city. His private security force patrols the city in
armored vehicles. Meanwhile, two former students of Dawkelson (Darwin Ellis, and Buck Holt) strive to rescue their mentor.
*''The Globoid Terror'' (November 1930), first published in ''Amazing Stories''. One of the first two stories featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in the 22nd century, c. 2124, on planet
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
. Venus is a tropical planet inhabited by strange life forms. The diamond mines of the planet produce "gray diamonds" that have proven more useful for industrial purposes than both the natural
gemstone
A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, ...
s of Earth and the
synthetic diamonds.
Shortly after leaving the planet, a number of gray diamonds seem to disappear without a trace. The recurring incidents are deemed threatening to the industry and attract the attention of the Interplanetary Flying Police.
Police corporal Heywood Crombie is tasked with investigating the problem at its source, Venus itself. Shortly following his arrival, Crombie faces an assassination attempt within his own bedroom. His descent into the mines is marked by a second attempt on his life, involving a sabotaged
elevator
An elevator or lift is a wire rope, cable-assisted, hydraulic cylinder-assisted, or roller-track assisted machine that vertically transports people or freight between floors, levels, or deck (building), decks of a building, watercraft, ...
. The focus of the story shifts from Crombie attempting to actually investigate the case to merely trying to survive.
The title is in reference to a predatory
amphibian
Amphibians are tetrapod, four-limbed and ectothermic vertebrates of the Class (biology), class Amphibia. All living amphibians belong to the group Lissamphibia. They inhabit a wide variety of habitats, with most species living within terres ...
lifeform of Venus, which is resistant to
rayguns.
The crime turns out to be a typical
inside job, committed by people in trusted places. Between the mines and the storage facilities, a number of real diamonds were stolen and replaced by artificial gems. The latter were unstable in structure, eventually disintegrating and so "vanishing".
Bleiler considered the story to have a strong opening for an action story, although he found its further scenes and conclusion rather weak.
*''Hornets of Space'' (November 1930), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. Also one of the first two stories featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in the 23rd century, in space around the
asteroid
An asteroid is a minor planet of the inner Solar System. Sizes and shapes of asteroids vary significantly, ranging from 1-meter rocks to a dwarf planet almost 1000 km in diameter; they are rocky, metallic or icy bodies with no atmosphere.
...
Eros. The ''Hornets'' of the title are tiny one-man
spaceships, operated by the police and armed with
torpedo
A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, su ...
es.
The spaceliner ''Medusa'' is attacked by the aging warship ''Redoubtable'', currently operated by a
space pirate
Space pirates are a type of stock character from science fiction. A take on the traditional seafaring pirates of history or the fictional air pirates of the 19th century, space pirates travel through outer space. Where traditional pirates target ...
. Aboard the spaceliner are a unit of the police who have to react to the situation. Their combat efforts are hampered by a space cloud which interferes with the effectiveness of their weapons.
The story relies on the character dynamics between the men of the police. The key characters are Strickland and Henderson. Through Strickland, the reader glimpses the social interactions aboard the ship: the mutual hostility between himself and an older crew member; the budding romance between himself and a female radio operator; et cetera; while Henderson is a social pariah, due to being branded a coward for his actions in a previous conflict. For him this battle is his chance at winning redemption.
Bleiler considered this story competently written but "lifeless".
*''The Terrors of Aryl'' (March 1931), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. The third story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in the late 20th century or early 21st century, with the year 1998 mentioned as recent. The premise involves the existence of a small
intra-Mercurial planet, (that is, a planet inside the orbit of
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
), called Aryl.
Aryl has a strange atmosphere which shields it from the solar rays, leaving it with a tropical climate rather than an extremely high surface temperature. The atmosphere is breathable to humans and able to sustain life. The atmosphere distorts light, rendering the planet practically invisible from Earth and causing
mirage
A mirage is a naturally-occurring optical phenomenon in which light rays bend via refraction to produce a displaced image of distant objects or the sky. The word comes to English via the French ''(se) mirer'', from the Latin ''mirari'', meanin ...
s on its surface area.
Police corporal Henley and private Elsinger are the sole crew members of a spaceship which pursues space pirate Captain Nirvo. Their pursuit ends with them crash-landing on Aryl. They realize that Nirvo probably has set a homebase on the planet. After Elsinger helps his superior recover from a fever, the two of them start searching for this homebase. At this point, taking over the pirate's ship is their only chance of ever leaving the planet. First, they have to consider the carnivorous lifeforms of Aryl.
An ending plot twist reveals that Nirvo holds captive the love interest of Henley. Bleiler considered this a competent adventure story, but pointed to the
damsel in distress
The damsel in distress is a recurring narrative device in which one or more men must rescue a woman who has either been kidnapped or placed in general peril. Kinship, love, or lust (or a combination of those) gives the male protagonist the motiv ...
scenario as a weakness.
*''The Earthman's Burden'' (June 1931), first published in ''Astounding Stories''. The fourth story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in an undated future era, mostly on the planet
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
which is featured as having a tropical climate. The native Mercurians are a primitive culture, with an appearance resembling humanoid frogs. The Mercurian Trading Concession (M.T.C) is a merchant company from Earth which has set up
factories (
trading post
A trading post, trading station, or trading house, also known as a factory, is an establishment or settlement where goods and services could be traded.
Typically the location of the trading post would allow people from one geographic area to tr ...
s) on the planet. They trade with the natives to acquire a local
natural gum
Natural gums are polysaccharides of natural origin, capable of causing a large increase in a solution's viscosity, even at small concentrations. They are mostly botanical gums, found in the woody elements of plants or in seed coatings.
Human u ...
which is the only known
cure for cancer
Cancer research is research into cancer to identify causes and develop strategies for prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and cure.
Cancer research ranges from epidemiology, molecular bioscience to the performance of clinical trials to evaluate and ...
.
The successive
factors
Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to:
Commerce
* Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent
* Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate
* Factors of production, suc ...
(mercantile agents) of the Blue River Station keep disappearing. The Police tasks Olear with investigating the situation. He develops a poor working relationship with the current factor, but proves effective in stealthily investigating the surrounding area and resolving the mystery.
The villain turns out to be one of the last surviving members of a
dying species: a
Plutonian. His species once thrived on the benefits of a super-science now nearly lost. The tale explains that the Plutonians had a history of alien visitations to Earth, and had gained a place in
folk memory Folk memory, also known as folklore or myths, refers to past events that have been passed orally from generation to generation. The events described by the memories may date back hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands of years and often hav ...
... as the
Devil
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in various cultures and religious traditions. It is seen as the objectification of a hostile and destructive force. Jeffrey Burton Russell states that the different conceptions of t ...
. As featured in this story, Plutonians have horns, hooves, and tails.
*''The Man who changed the Future'' (June 1931), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. A
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
story, set in the years 1930 and 2030. The city of Lakopolis where the action takes place is an obvious stand-in for Chicago.
In the year 1930, crime-ridden Lakopolis has gangsters acting openly and exercising power. Park Helm, the protagonist, would like to do something about this situation. However, for the time being, he wonders of the long-term consequences of the current situation; one Professor Nicholson offers him a chance to find out about them. The scientist has developed a way to send the
astral body of a person to any point in time, a method involving the
magnetic field
A magnetic field is a vector field that describes the magnetic influence on moving electric charges, electric currents, and magnetic materials. A moving charge in a magnetic field experiences a force perpendicular to its own velocity and to ...
s of a giant
electric generator
In electricity generation, a generator is a device that converts motive power (mechanical energy) or fuel-based power (chemical energy) into electric power for use in an external circuit. Sources of mechanical energy include steam turbines, gas ...
disrupting the
aether.
Helm successfully arrives in the year 2030, as an unseen spectator. He finds Lakopolis worse than ever and gangsters running rampant. When he witnesses an individual gangster trying to force marriage on a young woman, Helm tries to intervene and somehow materializes a body for himself. Permanently settling in this era, Helm becomes the leader of a reform movement. His movement tries to reclaim this city for its honest citizens.
Bleiler found this story unsuccessful, and self-contradictory. After a long explanation that ''only the astral body'' of the individual can travel in time, ''not his corporeal body,'' the story shifts in the opposite direction, with no real explanation.
*''The Planet of Despair'' (July 1931), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. The fifth story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in the 40th century, in the year 3977, at the planets
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
and
Pluto
Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is a dwarf planet in the Kuiper belt, a ring of trans-Neptunian object, bodies beyond the orbit of Neptune. It is the ninth-largest and tenth-most-massive known object to directly orbit the S ...
,
the background of the story involves a war between the two planets, taking place in 3927. The Plutonians had an advantage in technology, which allowed them to win. First they managed to disintegrate the Terrestrial space fleet, and then displaced the Earth itself from its orbit, forcing the Earth to surrender with no further negotiations. The Plutonians returned the Earth to its original orbit and allowed the Interplanetary Flying Police to continue operating in the
inner planets. The price for these favors was having the Earthmen pay them an annual tribute of 30 healthy men and women.
The Plutonians are nearly passionless and emotionless,
anger
Anger, also known as wrath or rage, is an intense emotional state involving a strong uncomfortable and non-cooperative response to a perceived provocation, hurt or threat.
A person experiencing anger will often experience physical effects, su ...
being the sole emotion they experience. For fifty years they conduct
human subject research, in a vain attempt to understand the human capacity for emotions. Their human specimens never survive the process of the experimentation.
The story proper begins when officer Hi Buckram of the Police returns to Earth on
furlough
A furlough (; from nl, verlof, "leave of absence") is a temporary leave of employees due to special needs of a company or employer, which may be due to economic conditions of a specific employer or in society as a whole. These furloughs may be s ...
. He learns that his beloved Cinda Mara is among the next group to be sent to Pluto for experimentation. Buckram is determined to join her in this journey, and manages to gain a spot through coercion and bribery. Fernon, chief scientist of the Plutonians, finds him psychologically interesting and starts having regular conversations with him. Buckram learns the motives behind the Plutonians' research, and seemingly agrees to help Fernon discover the long-sought secret of human emotion. On Pluto itself, Buckram is allowed to work in the energy facilities of the planet. He is actually seeking a way to make the entire planet explode.
Bleiler found the conclusion of the story rather predictable and unconvincing.
*''If the Sun died'' (August 1931), first published in ''Astounding Stories''. The story is set in the distant future, c. the 650th century, below the surface of planet Earth. The background of the story involves a disaster in the 500th century, when solar radiation became insufficient to provide warmth and sustenance to humanity. Thinking that the Sun itself was dying out, humanity transferred itself to the caverns. The past 15 millennia have seen some poor developments for the population of Subterranea. A small, dynamic class of technies (scientists and technicians) emerged to maintain and expand the machinery providing food and breathable air to humanity. But the vast majority of the population has lost its drive, becoming indolent. By the point the proper story begins, there is no skilled labor force to assist the technies in their maintenance duties. Parts of the life-sustaining machinery have fallen into decay, and the technies realize that it is only a matter of time before the whole system breaks down. They believe that it is time to see whether surface conditions have improved, but the rest of the population is against any such proposal. The opposition points out that they can not be certain what is on the surface, citing that the last cavern settlement which tried to reach the surface ended in opening up a hole below the Atlantic Ocean and drowned.
Eventually protagonist Mich'l Ares and a small group of technies escape to the surface, leaving Subterranea to its fate. To their surprise, surface conditions are downright pleasant. They soon realize what actually happened in the 500th century. The Sun was not dying. The Earth was just entering another
glacial period, one that apparently ended in the intervening millennia.
*''A 20th century Medusa'' (September 1931), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. The story is set in the year 1940, mostly in Chicago and its vicinity. While gangsters are running the city, a mysterious female figure seems to be controlling the criminal underworld. Her enemies tend to be found either paralyzed, or fully petrified. Rumor has it that the mystery woman is
Medusa, the
Gorgon of antiquity, somehow still alive. A contradictory rumor speaks of a whole race of Medusas, originating in
Atlantis.
The protagonist, Hal Gibbs, is an agent of the
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service (USSS or Secret Service) is a federal law enforcement agency under the Department of Homeland Security charged with conducting criminal investigations and protecting U.S. political leaders, their families, and ...
. His determination, to find out who Medusa is, leads him to her lair where he is forcibly recruited into the ranks of her organization. Medusa turns out to be a young woman who dresses in the fashion of
classical antiquity
Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...
. She uses paralyzing disks to immobilize her enemies.
During an ambitious caper, Medusa herself foils the plan and undermines the organization from within. She is herself a victim in this affair, having been under
hypnosis for her entire reign over Chicago. The true mastermind controlling her, and through her the underworld and the city, is revealed to be an influential member of local society. He was otherwise known as a leading figure of a
reform movement
A reform movement or reformism is a type of social movement that aims to bring a social or also a political system closer to the community's ideal. A reform movement is distinguished from more radical social movements such as revolutionary mo ...
.
Bleiler found this "fanciful thriller" rather unconvincing, concluding that
crime fiction
Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professional detective, of a crime, ...
was never the forte of Starzl.
*''In the Orbit of Saturn'' (October 1931), first published in ''Astounding Stories''. The sixth story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in the 22nd century, in the year 2159, in the space surrounding the
outer planets
The Solar SystemCapitalization of the name varies. The International Astronomical Union, the authoritative body regarding astronomical nomenclature, specifies capitalizing the names of all individual astronomical objects but uses mixed "Solar S ...
.
The spaceship ''Celestia'' is captured by space pirates, who use a type of
cloaking device
A cloaking device is a hypothetical or fictional stealth technology that can cause objects, such as spaceships or individuals, to be partially or wholly invisible to parts of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum. Fictional cloaking devices have bee ...
to remain invisible to other ships. Quirl Finner, a member of the police, is among the captives. He spends part of the story trying hard to protect the safety of Lenore, "a remarkably rich young woman".
Finner has ambiguous feelings about the pirates themselves. They are led by Captain Strom, who is both an honorable man and an idealist dreamer. Once a would-be social reformer, Strom was framed for treason and exiled. He managed to escape and turn to crime, but crime and piracy are a
means to an end
In moral philosophy, instrumental and intrinsic value are the distinction between what is a ''means to an end'' and what is as an ''end in itself''. Things are deemed to have instrumental value if they help one achieve a particular end; intrinsic ...
for him. He still dreams of social reform and wants to acquire the means to colonize a small planet, and create his ideal society. Finner can sympathize with this dream.
But the more wicked side of the pirates is represented by
mate
Mate may refer to:
Science
* Mate, one of a pair of animals involved in:
** Mate choice, intersexual selection
** Mating
* Multi-antimicrobial extrusion protein, or MATE, an efflux transporter family of proteins
Person or title
* Friendship ...
Gore, a brutal thug-for-hire, who treats the prisoners harshly. The story concludes with a mutiny on board and with Finner sabotaging the cloaking device, leaving the pirate ship an easy target for the police.
Bleiler considered this a well-written action story. In his view, the developing romance between the wealthy woman and her poor protector adds a
fairy tale
A fairy tale (alternative names include fairytale, fairy story, magic tale, or wonder tale) is a short story that belongs to the folklore genre. Such stories typically feature magic (paranormal), magic, incantation, enchantments, and mythical ...
aspect to the story.
*''The Martian Cabal'' (May 1932), first published in ''Astounding Stories''. The seventh story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police, and a
novelette
Novelette may also refer to:
* ''Novelette'' (ballet), a solo modern dance work choreographed by Martha Graham
* Novelette (music), a short piece of lyrical music
* Novelette (literature), a work of narrative prose fiction that is longer than a ...
in length. The setting in time is left unspecified, though there is a reference to the 22nd century as either ongoing or fairly recent. The action is set on planet
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 ...
. There is an upcoming election on the planet and all political forces involved (representing
big business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly kn ...
, the military, the
democratic faction and the
monarchists) seem equally corrupt and ruthless. Sime Hemingway, an undercover agent of the police, tries to uncover the multiple concurrent conspiracies of this world.
Among other plots featured, corrupt "planetary president" Wilcox plans to extend his authority to the entire Solar System through military means, having achieved the necessary funding from interplanetary bankers. His co-conspirator Scar Balta aspires to become a subordinate king in the new regime. He tries to legitimize his would-be royal status by marrying Princess Sira, one of the heirs to an old monarchic regime. Prince Joro, a rival heir, has his own plans to bring the monarchists to power.
Bleiler found this complex story "pretty silly".
![R F Starzl WS 3206](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/69/R_F_Starzl_WS_3206.jpg)
*''The Power Satellite'' (June 1932), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. The eighth story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. Set in an unspecified future era, on
Triton
Triton commonly refers to:
* Triton (mythology), a Greek god
* Triton (moon), a satellite of Neptune
Triton may also refer to:
Biology
* Triton cockatoo, a parrot
* Triton (gastropod), a group of sea snails
* ''Triton'', a synonym of ''Triturus' ...
. Starzl adds the alternate name "Goddard" for this satellite, naming it after
Robert H. Goddard
Robert Hutchings Goddard (October 5, 1882 – August 10, 1945) was an American engineer, professor, physicist, and inventor who is credited with creating and building the world's first Liquid-propellant rocket, liquid-fueled rocket. ...
.
The premise of the story is that Triton/Goddard has gained in significance to the economy of the inner planets. The planets
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
,
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
, and
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 ...
have set up mines on its surface, extracting a
radioactive material
A radionuclide (radioactive nuclide, radioisotope or radioactive isotope) is a nuclide that has excess nuclear energy, making it unstable. This excess energy can be used in one of three ways: emitted from the nucleus as gamma radiation; transfer ...
called "". This material has proven invaluable to industry and space travel. An interplanetary treaty determines the amounts that each planet can claim from the yearly production of the mines. When large quantities of disappear, the police take an interest and task Anton Waite of Earth to investigate the situation.
The chief deviation, from previous stories of Starzl, is that Venusians and Martians are featured not as
aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
, but as descendants of human colonists which diverged into new variants of humanity. The development is used to explain a romantic subplot between Waite and a female Martian. Otherwise, the story is rather formulaic.
*''The Venus Germ'' (November 1932), first published in ''Wonder Stories''. Co-written by Festus Pragnell. The ninth (and last) story featuring the Interplanetary Flying Police. The story is set in the 40th century, in the year 3976, on planets
Venus
Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...
, and
Earth
Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...
. The background of the story involves the Earth colonizing Venus. The Venusian colonists have diverged into a variant of humanity, their most notable physical difference being "a mane of hair down their spine." The parent planet keeps the colony under political control and economic subjugation, despite the colonists' desire for independence. The financial elite of Earth simply wish to exploit the colony and its resources, and the politicians of Earth obey the wishes of their true masters.
The story proper begins when a lab experiment involving
bacteriophage
A bacteriophage (), also known informally as a ''phage'' (), is a duplodnaviria virus that infects and replicates within bacteria and archaea. The term was derived from "bacteria" and the Greek φαγεῖν ('), meaning "to devour". Bacteri ...
s backfires spectacularly. Instead of finding a cure for cancer, the research scientists accidentally unleash an epidemic which proceeds to claim millions of lives. The scientists of Earth fail to find a cure, but their Venusian counterparts soon develop an
antitoxin. But they refuse to offer the treatment to the Earthmen, unless terms for the political independence of Venus can be reached. The politicians are willing to reach terms, but
decolonization efforts are hindered by the business elite of Earth, who wish to maintain their investments on Venus at all costs.
The heroes of the story are Glenn Haye and his friend Panco. The former is a righteous member of the police, the other a kind-hearted Venusian. They struggle to see that justice prevails and lives are saved. Curiously, the tale never really questions the integrity of a police force serving an otherwise thoroughly corrupt system. Bleiler sees this story as a tale of capitalist exploitation, and the exploited colonists fighting back; which gives the tale a
Marxist
Marxism is a Left-wing politics, left-wing to Far-left politics, far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a Materialism, materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand S ...
undercurrent, probably reflecting Pragnell's ideas.
*''The Metal Moon'' (Winter, 1932), first published in ''Wonder Stories Quarterly''. Co-written by an Everett C. Smith. It is uncertain if this was the same person who wrote ''Industry Views the teaching of English'' (1956) two decades later.
[Bleiler (1998), pp. 398–399] A tale set in the 10,002nd century, in the year 1,000,144, in the vicinity of planet
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
. The background of the story has it that long ago humanity managed to expand beyond the
inner planets. But in the 800th century, a massive
meteor swarm ended interplanetary travel and communications. The fate of several colonies remains unknown. The story proper chronicles the first attempt in thousands of years to travel beyond Mars.
*''The Last Planet'' (April 1934), first published in ''Wonder Stories.'' The story is set in the distant future, c. the 10,000th century. The premise is that the Sun is dying out and the Solar System has become too cold to sustain life. The remnants of humanity survive on the warmest planet left,
Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
, though they aspire to migrate away from this doomed stellar system. They have located a suitable planet for colonization, standing a
light-year
A light-year, alternatively spelled light year, is a large unit of length used to express astronomical distances and is equivalent to about 9.46 trillion kilometers (), or 5.88 trillion miles ().One trillion here is taken to be 1012 ...
away from their current position, and have worked for many years in developing a massive spaceship capable of interstellar flight.
The problem is that the ship, called ''Ventura,'' can not complete its mission by transferring all of humanity in a single journey. Two or more journeys are necessary. When it comes time to decide who will go first and who will have to wait for the ship to return,
class conflict
Class conflict, also referred to as class struggle and class warfare, is the political tension and economic antagonism that exists in society because of socio-economic competition among the social classes or between rich and poor.
The forms ...
begins in earnest. The technies (scientists and engineers) claim the right to man the maiden voyage, citing a previous decision in their favor. However, the members of the financial and legal elites, who funded the project, claim the privilege for themselves. The working class protests any plans to leave it behind, and even threatens to sabotage the spaceship. A fourth group causes problems, the self-proclaimed "Peace Makers." They are a group of rogues, outlaws, and experts of strong-arm tactics, who are supposed to serve as a security force for the technies. Actually they are trying to ensure passage for themselves and plot to take over the ship.
At the heart of the story is a
love triangle
A love triangle or eternal triangle is a scenario or circumstance, usually depicted as a rivalry, in which two people are pursuing or involved in a romantic relationship with one person, or in which one person in a romantic relationship with so ...
between a brilliant scientist, Jay (a leading technie), a dynamic
bad boy, Curtes (a commander of the Peace Makers), and the lady Idar. The latter is romantically involved with Jay, but lusts after Curtes. In that aspect, Bleiler considers this a "routine" story.
*''Dimension of the Conquered'' (October 1934), first published in ''Astounding Stories.'' A dimension-spanning tale, told in a
first-person narrative. The narrator tries to explain his role in a plot which resulted in a brilliant scientist declared insane and institutionalized.
The narrative begins when the scientist, Gerald P. Simeon, invites various acquaintances to demonstrate his breakthroughs in exploring other dimensions. He has managed to both communicate with a culture of the
Fourth dimension, and to create a device translating their language to English and vice versa.
An unseen extra-dimensional being explains that a "cosmic storm" had once affected the planet Earth, creating two divergent versions of it: one is their own Earth and the other a counterpart in the fourth dimension. Now the being asks for assistance. It belongs to the dominant race of its planet, a sentient and civilized race. But they have long used a race of savages as servants, and now the savages are attempting to overthrow them. Its race never developed weapons, and now would need the human's knowledge of the subject to survive in their hour of need.
Once Simeon establishes visual contact with the other Earth, his associates are surprised in many ways. The city where the entity resides is remarkably similar to their own. But the entity and its race are sentient humanoid
wasp
A wasp is any insect of the narrow-waisted suborder Apocrita of the order Hymenoptera which is neither a bee nor an ant; this excludes the broad-waisted sawflies (Symphyta), which look somewhat like wasps, but are in a separate suborder. Th ...
s, while the servant race of savages are
sub-humans. Simeon is willing to serve the masters over the servants, which causes his associates to react violently. They sever all communications with the fourth dimension, destroy his equipment, and have him committed to an insane asylum.
Bleiler found this to be an above-average story, with interesting implications. The master race is very similar to humans in mentality, but not in appearance. The servant race is physically identical to humans, but intellectually different; leaving open questions concerning their true natures and that of human nature.
Mentions by other writers
The comic book issue ''
Justice League of America
The Justice League (also known as The Justice League of America) are a team of superheroes appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The team first appeared in ''The Brave and the Bold'' #28 (March 1960). The team was conceived ...
'' No. 18 (March 1963) featured the story "Journey into the Micro-World", featuring a travel to a sub-atomic world. The story used a familiar theme from ''Out of the Sub-Universe'' (Summer, 1928), while writer
Gardner Fox and editor
Julius Schwartz
Julius "Julie" Schwartz (; June 19, 1915 – February 8, 2004) was a comic book editor, and a science fiction agent and prominent fan. He was born in The Bronx, New York. He is best known as a longtime editor at DC Comics, where at various t ...
probably had a hand in naming its miniature civilization "Starzl", in tribute to the writer.
[Eury (2005), p. 18]
Book I of the science fiction trilogy ''
The Nova Project 70'' written by Gregory R. Miller and Fabion O. Reeves, mentions Starzyl in the acknowledgements. The book, written in what Miller refers to as the ''starzylian'' mode, is destined to become a science fiction classic.
References
Sources
*
*
*
*
External links
Starzl Family History*
*
*
*
Post-gazette.com listed as a favorite in
E. E. Smith
Edward Elmer Smith (May 2, 1890 – August 31, 1965), publishing as E. E. Smith, Ph.D. and later as E. E. "Doc" Smith, was an American food engineer (specializing in doughnut and pastry mixes) and science-fiction author, best known for the '' ...
's ''The Epic of Space''
Roman Frederick Starzlat
Find a Grave
Find a Grave is a website that allows the public to search and add to an online database of cemetery records. It is owned by Ancestry.com. Its stated mission is "to help people from all over the world work together to find, record and present fin ...
Johann Starzl - birth
{{DEFAULTSORT:Starzl, Roman Frederick
1899 births
1976 deaths
Novelists from Iowa
German emigrants to the United States
American science fiction writers
American male novelists
American male short story writers
20th-century American novelists
20th-century American short story writers
20th-century American male writers