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Sun Spots, v. 5, issue 3, whole no. 19, August 1941

Page 3

SUN SPOTS Page 3

OUR MARTIAN BROTHERS
By Manly Wade Wellman

The Martians are bright, And very polite... -Nursery Rhyme (A.D. 2660)
People are beginning to ask me about my Martians, challenging me or upholding me or deriding me or asking me to prove something or other. I owe much to the fans of science fiction, and probably an explanation is among the things I owe.
You who, to my flattered surprise, read my stories of the future know something about "my" Martians. They're the same in all my tales of the Third Millenium--bladder-bodied, six-tentacled, boneless, with fragile craniums that are tufted all over with sensitive tags of tissue, making them seem chrysanthemum-headed. Those "face-petals" house the Martian sense of awareness that does duty for seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting. For the sake of better posture, Martians strap themselves into a harness that holds them upright, supports two tentacles for use as legs, gives them a roughly Terrestrial form. An artificial voice-box in the breathing-hole enables them to talk to Earthmen, though they are apt to sslurr theirr Rrr's and Ssss's. They must sound rather like Russians.
"Bright, and very polite." Does that necessarily mean that they are pleasant and dependable? The same qualities can be found among Japanese. Bright may mean shrewd--polite may mean deceptive. Look out for Martians! From long existence on a harsh, hungry planet they have become harsh and hungry. They aren't as strong as Terrestrials, but they're fierce. They can achieve thought-reading, to your great embarrassment. They make treaties, and sometimes they break treaties. There are good Martians; there are also bad ones.
My big Martio-Terrestrial war took place in 2675, was expensive, bloody, and in bad taste. Many were killed, and nobody won. The two planets thereafter became allies, holding hands--because they dare not let go. We're heading on from there.
These facts about Martians, and many other facts, I've developed in stories published by Argosy, Astounding, Amazing, Wonder, Comet, Astonishing, and elsewhere. There was a very decent little Martian, Zeoui, who fought for law and order (Space Station No. 1), another, Yaxul, who perished for peace (Worlds of Tomorrow). On the other hand, whole litters of Martian scoundrels plotted to seize the rule of their planet and ours (West Point 3000 A.D.), and there have been many pirates and outlaws (Forces Must Balance, Devil's Asteroid, etc.). Watch future magazines for Tzee, who is very good indeed, and Rrlan, who is horrid.
A fan wrote once that he was tired of "Wellman's petal-pussed Martians". Others probably feel the same way, but there's a strong and comforting opposition that likes them, the petaller-pussed and rollinger-R'd the better. The payoff is at hand--Nelson S. Bond has asked to use my type of Martian in a new yarn of his. Both Otto Binder and Joe Millard, though sticking to their own Martians conception in print, say they think of Mars as a sort of animated chrysanthemum-garden... Well, who knows? Maybe I'm psychic, after all. Maybe I've been vouch safed a vission across space.
Maybe that's what Martians really ARE!!1!

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SUN SPOTS Page 3 OUR MARTIAN BROTHERS By Manly Wade Wellman The Martians are bright, And very polite... -Nursery Rhyme (A.D. 2660) People are beginning to ask me about my Martians, challenging me or upholding me or deriding me or asking me to prove something or other. I owe much to the fans of science fiction, and probably an explanation is among the things I owe. You who, to my flattered surprise, read my stories of the future know something about "my" Martians. They're the same in all my tales of the Third Millenium--bladder-bodied, six-tentacled, boneless, with fragile craniums that are tufted all over with sensitive tags of tissue, making them seem chrysanthemum-headed. Those "face-petals" house the Martian sense of awareness that does duty for seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting. For the sake of better posture, Martians strap themselves into a harness that holds them upright, supports two tentacles for use as legs, gives them a roughly Terrestrial form. An artificial voice-box in the breathing-hole enables them to talk to Earthmen, though they are apt to sslurr theirr Rrr's and Ssss's. They must sound rather like Russians. "Bright, and very polite." Does that necessarily mean that they are pleasant and dependable? The same qualities can be found among Japanese. Bright may mean shrewd--polite may mean deceptive. Look out for Martians! From long existence on a harsh, hungry planet they have become harsh and hungry. They aren't as strong as Terrestrials, but they're fierce. They can achieve thought-reading, to your great embarrassment. They make treaties, and sometimes they break treaties. There are good Martians; there are also bad ones. My big Martio-Terrestrial war took place in 2675, was expensive, bloody, and in bad taste. Many were killed, and nobody won. The two planets thereafter became allies, holding hands--because they dare not let go. We're heading on from there. These facts about Martians, and many other facts, I've developed in stories published by Argosy, Astounding, Amazing, Wonder, Comet, Astonishing, and elsewhere. There was a very decent little Martian, Zeoui, who fought for law and order (Space Station No. 1), another, Yaxul, who perished for peace (Worlds of Tomorrow). On the other hand, whole litters of Martian scoundrels plotted to seize the rule of their planet and ours (West Point 3000 A.D.), and there have been many pirates and outlaws (Forces Must Balance, Devil's Asteroid, etc.). Watch future magazines for Tzee, who is very good indeed, and Rrlan, who is horrid. A fan wrote once that he was tired of "Wellman's petal-pussed Martians". Others probably feel the same way, but there's a strong and comforting opposition that likes them, the petaller-pussed and rollinger-R'd the better. The payoff is at hand--Nelson S. Bond has asked to use my type of Martian in a new yarn of his. Both Otto Binder and Joe Millard, though sticking to their own Martians conception in print, say they think of Mars as a sort of animated chrysanthemum-garden... Well, who knows? Maybe I'm psychic, after all. Maybe I've been vouch safed a vission across space. Maybe that's what Martians really ARE!!1!