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Fantasy Commentator, v. 1, issue 10, Spring 1946

Page 246

246
FANTASY COMMENTATOR

decades to one of mere weeks. As a result, dozens of generations appear and disappear within the course of a single year. The Neophytes in "Microcosmic God" are produced by very similar means. Still another unusual effort is Neil R. Jones' "Little Hercules," wherein the hero attains his supernormal powers via an atomic compression. Stature is diminished to approximately a fourth of its normal value by this method, whist bodily strength is increased manifold.

In Kontrol, "The Supermen," and "The Isotope Men" normal individuals are all subjected to planned scientific experiments. The Isotope Men result from a separation of the human body into its isotopic parts. Two races are thus produced: one composed of the heavier isotopes that supposedly make up 99% of the normal human body, and the second of the so-called "recessive" isotopes that allegedly constitute the remaining one percent. The first provides supermen who possess the benevolent emotions, and the latter subhumans exemplifying nothing but homo sapiens' bestial nature. "The Supermen" are created by no new method, that of tampering with the pineal gland. Kontrol utilizes a modus operandi that is more than little unconvincing---transplantation of the greatest minds into the most perfect bodies of the world. "Lights and wheels and sparks as long as your arm" are said to accomplish this feat, although everything concerned with the process remains unexplained throughout.

Odd John and his cohorts alone appear sans raison on the scene, no explanation of their origin being set forth by the author.

II
The Mental Superman

All racial supermen possessing great intellects are of the objective type, and whether or not a story biographies one single individual---as in Odd John--his actions can be taken as typical of the race to which he belongs. Realizing that they exist in a hostile world, these supermen work as a rule in a single unit for a common purpose. As the inevitable problems mount the solution assumes either of two courses: that of racial suicide, or that of assimilation by the normal humans surrounding them. As before, the mortality rate is very high.

"The Supermen" of David M. Speaker are all created simultaneously by an adventurous scientist. Quickly seeking a position of domination, they band together atop a mountain and from there issue decrees to the world. Attacks fall back before their superior weapons, but in the end the scientist devises a method for overcoming them. Here, as in many previous cases, the creator of a superman is responsible also for his death.

Aside from their unique origin the Isotope Men of Nat Schachner have other very unusual attributes of interest. The mentality of a person's dominant half is found to be raised exactly one hundred points on the I.Q. scale by this process. As ever greater numbers subject themselves to it there is discovered the fatal flaw, which causes the total negation of all its supposed benefits. The dominants are filled with insatiable longing for their torn-away recessive portions, while the recessives feel nothing but hate for their isotopic counterparts. This situation leads to the eventual extinction of everyone who has been treated by the process.

Odd John provides one of the most intelligent and carefully thought-out concepts of supermen extant. This is not Stapledon's first use of the theme, however, but rather an extension and further development of ideas expounded in his earlier Last Men in London. The concluding pages of the latter novel relates the development of Humpty, superbeing extraordinary. According to Stapledon's conception, supermen are of normal birth, do not reach maturity until after thirty, and have a life-span that extends over some three hundred years. This story within a story tells of Humpty's struggles to repair his warped and twisted mind that has been ruined by a monstrous upbringing, and to set out for the goal of

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246 FANTASY COMMENTATOR decades to one of mere weeks. As a result, dozens of generations appear and disappear within the course of a single year. The Neophytes in "Microcosmic God" are produced by very similar means. Still another unusual effort is Neil R. Jones' "Little Hercules," wherein the hero attains his supernormal powers via an atomic compression. Stature is diminished to approximately a fourth of its normal value by this method, whist bodily strength is increased manifold. In Kontrol, "The Supermen," and "The Isotope Men" normal individuals are all subjected to planned scientific experiments. The Isotope Men result from a separation of the human body into its isotopic parts. Two races are thus produced: one composed of the heavier isotopes that supposedly make up 99% of the normal human body, and the second of the so-called "recessive" isotopes that allegedly constitute the remaining one percent. The first provides supermen who possess the benevolent emotions, and the latter subhumans exemplifying nothing but homo sapiens' bestial nature. "The Supermen" are created by no new method, that of tampering with the pineal gland. Kontrol utilizes a modus operandi that is more than little unconvincing---transplantation of the greatest minds into the most perfect bodies of the world. "Lights and wheels and sparks as long as your arm" are said to accomplish this feat, although everything concerned with the process remains unexplained throughout. Odd John and his cohorts alone appear sans raison on the scene, no explanation of their origin being set forth by the author. II The Mental Superman All racial supermen possessing great intellects are of the objective type, and whether or not a story biographies one single individual---as in Odd John--his actions can be taken as typical of the race to which he belongs. Realizing that they exist in a hostile world, these supermen work as a rule in a single unit for a common purpose. As the inevitable problems mount the solution assumes either of two courses: that of racial suicide, or that of assimilation by the normal humans surrounding them. As before, the mortality rate is very high. "The Supermen" of David M. Speaker are all created simultaneously by an adventurous scientist. Quickly seeking a position of domination, they band together atop a mountain and from there issue decrees to the world. Attacks fall back before their superior weapons, but in the end the scientist devises a method for overcoming them. Here, as in many previous cases, the creator of a superman is responsible also for his death. Aside from their unique origin the Isotope Men of Nat Schachner have other very unusual attributes of interest. The mentality of a person's dominant half is found to be raised exactly one hundred points on the I.Q. scale by this process. As ever greater numbers subject themselves to it there is discovered the fatal flaw, which causes the total negation of all its supposed benefits. The dominants are filled with insatiable longing for their torn-away recessive portions, while the recessives feel nothing but hate for their isotopic counterparts. This situation leads to the eventual extinction of everyone who has been treated by the process. Odd John provides one of the most intelligent and carefully thought-out concepts of supermen extant. This is not Stapledon's first use of the theme, however, but rather an extension and further development of ideas expounded in his earlier Last Men in London. The concluding pages of the latter novel relates the development of Humpty, superbeing extraordinary. According to Stapledon's conception, supermen are of normal birth, do not reach maturity until after thirty, and have a life-span that extends over some three hundred years. This story within a story tells of Humpty's struggles to repair his warped and twisted mind that has been ruined by a monstrous upbringing, and to set out for the goal of