DIY History | Transcribe | Hevelin Fanzines | Reader and Collector, v. 3, issue 6, January 1946

Transcribe
Translate

Reader and Collector, v. 3, issue 6, January 1946

Page 15

15

the Will in accordance with the same deeper laws of nature with which Mr. Maydig was concerned.
Wells could have developed this idea himself, or gotten it from other sources, but the inclusion of Madam Blavatsky's name in such close conjunction with her theories seems conclusive evidence that he knew at least something of her. The important point is, however, that Theosophy was noticed, and in a certain sense, accepted by the writer interested in futuristic mythological fiction.
Ancient mythological plots have been brought into the structure of the futuristic fiction with completeness and accuracy. There does not seem to be a single quality, character, method, or circumstance in the old, mostly pagan, tales that does not have its counterpart in the pulp field of today. The sorcerer has been replaced by the scientist; the wonders of spirits and the "other-worlds" appear as things from the third and fourth dimensions, and falls into other dimensions are as common as the older hero's falling into enchantment. The Ancient Gods exist as the master minds of other worlds, or the forces from huge natural sources which trap and confuse the futuristic here. Curses and prophecies are made the psychological powers of an acutely developed brain. Psychology and analysis take the place of divination and supernatural judgment.
The journey into hell is transformed into a visit to another planet, star, or solar system. Where Pan and his Centaurs used to plague the lovers, kingdoms of intelligent half-goats, worms, fish, of long-armed Martians now fill in the plan.3 The adventure of Icarus finds an exact copy in the tragic flight of some newly designed space-ship, and the adventures of Odysseus are the same though they be spread over billions of miles instead of being bounded by the Mediterranean. Sorcery and enchanted castles appear in the
_______________
3. For example, C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet.

Saving...

15 the Will in accordance with the same deeper laws of nature with which Mr. Maydig was concerned. Wells could have developed this idea himself, or gotten it from other sources, but the inclusion of Madam Blavatsky's name in such close conjunction with her theories seems conclusive evidence that he knew at least something of her. The important point is, however, that Theosophy was noticed, and in a certain sense, accepted by the writer interested in futuristic mythological fiction. Ancient mythological plots have been brought into the structure of the futuristic fiction with completeness and accuracy. There does not seem to be a single quality, character, method, or circumstance in the old, mostly pagan, tales that does not have its counterpart in the pulp field of today. The sorcerer has been replaced by the scientist; the wonders of spirits and the "other-worlds" appear as things from the third and fourth dimensions, and falls into other dimensions are as common as the older hero's falling into enchantment. The Ancient Gods exist as the master minds of other worlds, or the forces from huge natural sources which trap and confuse the futuristic here. Curses and prophecies are made the psychological powers of an acutely developed brain. Psychology and analysis take the place of divination and supernatural judgment. The journey into hell is transformed into a visit to another planet, star, or solar system. Where Pan and his Centaurs used to plague the lovers, kingdoms of intelligent half-goats, worms, fish, of long-armed Martians now fill in the plan.3 The adventure of Icarus finds an exact copy in the tragic flight of some newly designed space-ship, and the adventures of Odysseus are the same though they be spread over billions of miles instead of being bounded by the Mediterranean. Sorcery and enchanted castles appear in the _______________ 3. For example, C.S. Lewis' Out of the Silent Planet.