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FMS Digest, v. 1, issues 1-5, February - July 1941
v.1:no.5: Page 7
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F M Z DIGEST Page 7 HEATHEN! By J Edward Davis Condensed from SPACEWAY June, 1941 "Prepare to land ship!" snapped Captain Miller Cochren, his beady black eyes flashing in indignation. "I'll show these Martian heathens a thing or two." The small ten-man exploration ship blasted to a stop several hundred feet from a crude stone building in the middle of one of Mars' glaring red deserts. This was the third sign of life that the explorers had seen that day. The other two groups were no more; Captain Cochren had seen to that. Cochren made the same short speech he had made twice previously that day: "Take your guns and go out there and blast hell of the dirty red scum; don't leave one of 'em alive. We'll clean this planet of those devilish savages, so that civilized earthmen can follow in our tracks and settle Mars. Remember! We're the first, and it's our job to make this land fit for a Christian civilization. Now get to it. men!" Snatching their space - suits from the closet-cabinets, they hurriedly donned them, and with guns in hand they stepped out into the scorching desert sand. A few long steps took them to the hut and a good kick sent the wooden door open. Inside, about twenty Martians rose at the unexpected entrance of the explorers. The leader of the group of seven-foot red-scaled Martians came forward, one of his three spindly arms held high above his head; to several of the earthmen it seemed a gesture of peace or [[illegible]] come from outside came the cry: "Kill 'em all!" A thundering report followed--many of the unarmed Martians fell to the red dirt floor, their thick green blood spurting from their wounds--another report--and the remainder were down. Now that the deed was done, the Captain sauntered in from outside, viewing the cold-blooded massacre. "Here's something, Captain," announced a young blond lad, "A scroll of sins with strange writing on them." "Humph," grunted Cochren, "they certainly can't be worth much." "Let me see them," requested Professor Michel, the white-haired archaeologist of the first Mars expedition. "Perhaps I can find some clew as to the history of this race." That night the professor emerged from his small cabin, where he had been all afternoon. "Gentlemen," he announced, "I have deciphered the meaning of these scrolls." The men quickly gathered around, Cochren among them. "What's written on the scrolls?" "Yeah," snapped Cochren, a broad smile on his dark face. "What were the lousy heathens reading?" "I have deciphered enough of the contents of the first scroll to guess what the rest is. Your heathens, Captain Cochren, were reading this: "'1. In the beginning God created the heaven and Karen. "'2. And Karen was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. "'3. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light..." Captain Miller Cochren's broad smile disappeared! by Fred W Fischer Condensed from THE SOUTHERN STAR June, 1941 The explanation: The terrorists had thrown many men into the bay, their feet imprisoned by heavy leg irons, chained together to one another. The currents swayed the bodies in unison, giving an impression of mass military movement. The heavy irons held the feet down, the corpses upright. The bodies had not decomposed because industrial chemicals dumped into the bay had preserved them. The divers had gone mad from fear; the pressure, combined with nitrogen in the blood and excessive discharge of adrenalin, had perhaps generated a deadly poison responsible for their deaths.
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F M Z DIGEST Page 7 HEATHEN! By J Edward Davis Condensed from SPACEWAY June, 1941 "Prepare to land ship!" snapped Captain Miller Cochren, his beady black eyes flashing in indignation. "I'll show these Martian heathens a thing or two." The small ten-man exploration ship blasted to a stop several hundred feet from a crude stone building in the middle of one of Mars' glaring red deserts. This was the third sign of life that the explorers had seen that day. The other two groups were no more; Captain Cochren had seen to that. Cochren made the same short speech he had made twice previously that day: "Take your guns and go out there and blast hell of the dirty red scum; don't leave one of 'em alive. We'll clean this planet of those devilish savages, so that civilized earthmen can follow in our tracks and settle Mars. Remember! We're the first, and it's our job to make this land fit for a Christian civilization. Now get to it. men!" Snatching their space - suits from the closet-cabinets, they hurriedly donned them, and with guns in hand they stepped out into the scorching desert sand. A few long steps took them to the hut and a good kick sent the wooden door open. Inside, about twenty Martians rose at the unexpected entrance of the explorers. The leader of the group of seven-foot red-scaled Martians came forward, one of his three spindly arms held high above his head; to several of the earthmen it seemed a gesture of peace or [[illegible]] come from outside came the cry: "Kill 'em all!" A thundering report followed--many of the unarmed Martians fell to the red dirt floor, their thick green blood spurting from their wounds--another report--and the remainder were down. Now that the deed was done, the Captain sauntered in from outside, viewing the cold-blooded massacre. "Here's something, Captain," announced a young blond lad, "A scroll of sins with strange writing on them." "Humph," grunted Cochren, "they certainly can't be worth much." "Let me see them," requested Professor Michel, the white-haired archaeologist of the first Mars expedition. "Perhaps I can find some clew as to the history of this race." That night the professor emerged from his small cabin, where he had been all afternoon. "Gentlemen," he announced, "I have deciphered the meaning of these scrolls." The men quickly gathered around, Cochren among them. "What's written on the scrolls?" "Yeah," snapped Cochren, a broad smile on his dark face. "What were the lousy heathens reading?" "I have deciphered enough of the contents of the first scroll to guess what the rest is. Your heathens, Captain Cochren, were reading this: "'1. In the beginning God created the heaven and Karen. "'2. And Karen was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. "'3. And God said, Let there be light; and there was light..." Captain Miller Cochren's broad smile disappeared! by Fred W Fischer Condensed from THE SOUTHERN STAR June, 1941 The explanation: The terrorists had thrown many men into the bay, their feet imprisoned by heavy leg irons, chained together to one another. The currents swayed the bodies in unison, giving an impression of mass military movement. The heavy irons held the feet down, the corpses upright. The bodies had not decomposed because industrial chemicals dumped into the bay had preserved them. The divers had gone mad from fear; the pressure, combined with nitrogen in the blood and excessive discharge of adrenalin, had perhaps generated a deadly poison responsible for their deaths.
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