A member of a quartet of space explorers from Earth who utilize a cube-shaped vehicle called the Sky Cube and astral projection. Doctor Kinney, a trained medical doctor, is the leader of the group. The second in the party is John W. Smith, an engineer responsible for developing the magnetic “anti-gravitational current” engine which drives the Sky Cube, which draws negative and positive magnetic energy from the ether of space, placing contrary poles in opposition to create propulsion. Smith proves to be good with mechanics both native to Earth and alien. The third member is E. Williams Jackson, nicknamed Billie. Williams is an archaeologist, trained to decipher ancient languages, objects, and cultures. In the second story of the series, “The Queen of Life”, Billie is revealed as a woman in disguise. She marries Van Emmon before the third story, “The Devolutionist”, and becomes Mrs. Van Emmon. The fourth member is G. Van Emmon, a geologist and brawler, who can identify underground and surface resources such as oil and minerals. Their first mission is to Mercury, in the story “The Lord of Death”, where they discover the tale of Strokor, the Death Lord, through a recording device replaying the biography of the genius-brute. The second mission, “The Queen of Life”, takes them to Venus, where they encounter an androgynous, pyschic race of people living under a glass dome protecting a breathable atmosphere. In the third story, “The Devolutionist”, the explorers use a form of astral projection learned from Venusian literature, which allows each of them to see through the eyes of an extraterrestrial agent, to travel to a world where the human-like inhabitants wage a class war. Notes: Further description on their astral travel method of space exploration: “It made no difference whatever as to what language was used. The telepathic process employed enabled the investigators to know all that their agents’ subconscious minds took in. The brains of the four automatically translated these thought-images into their own language. However, this method did not enable them to learn what their agents were thinking, but only what they said, heard, and saw.”
First Appearance “The Death Lord” in The All-Story Weekly (May 10, 1919)
First Publisher Argosy
Appearance List Pulps: “The Death Lord” in The All-Story Weekly (May 10, 1919), “The Queen of Life” in The All-Story Weekly (August ?, 1919), “The Devolutionist” in The All-Story Weekly/Argosy (July ?, 1921), “The Emancipatrix” in The All-Story Weekly/Argosy (September ?, 1921); Novels: The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life (Ace, 1965), The Devolutionist and the Emancipatrix (Ace, 1965).
Sample Read The Lord of Death and the Queen of Life [PG]
Description A member of a quartet of space explorers from Earth who utilize a cube-shaped vehicle called the Sky Cube and astral projection. Doctor Kinney, a trained medical doctor, is the leader of the group. The second in the party is John W. Smith, an engineer responsible for developing the magnetic “anti-gravitational current” engine which drives the Sky Cube, which draws negative and positive magnetic energy from the ether of space, placing contrary poles in opposition to create propulsion. Smith proves to be good with mechanics both native to Earth and alien. The third member is E. Williams Jackson, nicknamed Billie. Williams is an archaeologist, trained to decipher ancient languages, objects, and cultures. In the second story of the series, “The Queen of Life”, Billie is revealed as a woman in disguise. She marries Van Emmon before the third story, “The Devolutionist”, and becomes Mrs. Van Emmon. The fourth member is G. Van Emmon, a geologist and brawler, who can identify underground and surface resources such as oil and minerals. Their first mission is to Mercury, in the story “The Lord of Death”, where they discover the tale of Strokor, the Death Lord, through a recording device replaying the biography of the genius-brute. The second mission, “The Queen of Life”, takes them to Venus, where they encounter an androgynous, pyschic race of people living under a glass dome protecting a breathable atmosphere. In the third story, “The Devolutionist”, the explorers use a form of astral projection learned from Venusian literature, which allows each of them to see through the eyes of an extraterrestrial agent, to travel to a world where the human-like inhabitants wage a class war. Notes: Further description on their astral travel method of space exploration: “It made no difference whatever as to what language was used. The telepathic process employed enabled the investigators to know all that their agents’ subconscious minds took in. The brains of the four automatically translated these thought-images into their own language. However, this method did not enable them to learn what their agents were thinking, but only what they said, heard, and saw.”
