Posted on January 3, 2026January 5, 2026The Ultimate Collection (continued . . .) Forty lunar years before these events took place— before Trigo had founded the great city and empire that bears his name—a small caravan of settlers were passing across the barren and inhospitable Desert of Vorg. Suddenly ! . . . Alarm ! Alarm ! The wild ones are coming ! . . . They came !—shrieking their wild war-cries ! Hi-yaaaaaahhh ! Death to the intruders ! The settlers fought for their lives—and most of them fought in vain ! The few who survived the savage onslaught were made prisoner of the Wild Ones. The smallest and weakest of these wretched prisoners was a lad named Lipka. But there must have been a great will to live within that skinny frame—for Lipka was the only one to survive the cruel captivity. In the long years that followed, Lipka was a slave to the proud and savage warriors of the desert, who covered themselves with ornaments of the yellow metal that was prized all over Elekton. Indeed, Lipka himself laboured to dig out the yellow metal from the secret places known only to the Wild Ones. Lipka was a grown man, hardened by years of slavery and deprivation, when he managed to escape from his cruel captors. Later, in a frontier town, he told his astonishing story to an interested party. You say that you know where the Wild Ones dig out the yellow metal ? Yes. I could take you there. It’s perfectly safe, for the Wild Ones have a super- stition that only allows them to dig for the yellow metal on one day a year. The ex-slave and his new- found friend journeyed into the wilderness where, for many lunar years, they dug out the yellow metal. It was after his companion died of the bite of a venomous nobra that Lipka decided to return to civilization. There can be no one in all Elekton who possesses so much of the yellow metal. I must be the richest person alive ! It was the selfsame Lipka—the richest person alive on the planet Elekton—who confronted the kidnapped scientist Peric in the palatial mansion near Trigan City. So you are Peric, the Supreme Scientist of Elekton. And you I recognise as the multimillionaire Lipka. But, tell me, with all your boundless wealth, what has driven you to crime ? Lipka replied . . . Peric, for the greater part of my life, I owned nothing but the few rags I stood up in ! I spent a childhood of deprivation, without a friend or a toy ! I had nothing ! . . I did not even own myself ! . . I was a slave ! Now all that is changed ! Come ! I will show you things that will fill you with wonder and disbelief ! Come ! This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 729 on 3 January 1976.
Posted on December 27, 2025December 28, 2025The Ultimate Collection (continued . . .) Next morning, the planet’s newspapers screamed—Chorpinal kidnapped—Elekton’s greatest living composer snatched from the liner “Emperor Trigo” while on his way to conduct his newest symphony. Peric was at the Imperial Palace soon after dawn. His Imperial Majesty is not to be disturbed ! Stand aside. My business won’t wait ! Trigo was at sword practice. Imperial Majesty, I tried to . . . Good morning, Peric. It must be an important matter to bring you here so early. It is, Sire ! I request that you designate me, by Imperial Proclamation, as Supreme Scientist of Elekton. Well, by all the stars ! The Emperor was wryly amused. And you such a modest individual. You are undoubtedly the greatest scientist alive, but do we have to thrust it down the throat of every other scientist on the planet ? It is not for myself I ask it, Majesty, but part of my plan to get to the bottom of these thefts and kidnappings. . . Is it, indeed ! Yes, Sire. I will explain . . . Peric’s explanation was so satisfactory to Trigo that a special ceremony took place the same day, to which all the scientists within call were hastily summoned. Whose idea was this ? Meaningless mumbo-jumbo. Surely not the Emperor’s ? And Peric would never have the impudence to suggest it. Peric, in appreciation of your great works for the cause of scientific progress, I grant you the title of Supreme Scientist of Elekton. The ceremony over, Peric took himself to his villa in the suburbs, where he relaxed. And now . . . to wait ! He did not have long to wait. That same evening . . . The great scientist did not turn a hair when they burst in on him. Good evening, gentlemen. I’ve been expecting you. They took him away. Not far away, in a pleasant valley beyond the city limits, a sumptuous mansion standing in secluded grounds . . . He was taken into the palatial dwelling and brought before its owner. We have him, master. This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 728 on 27 December 1975.
Posted on December 20, 2025December 21, 2025The Ultimate Collection (continued . . .) The fiendish cunning by which the diadem had been taken was the most sensational aspect of the news story. Following on an unsuccessful attack upon the temple, one of the thieves posed as the Abbot of Zemf, switched the diadem for a fake and made off with the true jewel ! The Emperor Trigo summoned an extraordinary session of the Imperial Council. Janno’s kidnapping and the various thefts are clearly the work of one will. But what is the reason behind it all, Peric ? Majesty, it is difficult to say. The great scientist pondered on his sovereign’s question. It is simple to guess the motive behind the kidnapping of a member of the Imperial Family. But what connection does that have with the theft of a pile of ancient fossilised bones ? Trigo’s retort was short and brutal. You will find that connection, Peric ! And you will work day and night till you do ! It was night. The great ocean liner “Emperor Trigo” was heading for port with a host of passengers. Danger lurked nearby. Prepare to surface and fire a warning projectile. The first warning of peril came with a thunderclap of sound, followed by a streak of lurid flame. They’re signalling us to halt, or else they’ll sink us ! Stop the ship ! A party of masked and ruthless raiders soon boarded the ship. See here, you animals ! I protest . . . Aaaaghh ! Silence ! Down into the palatial dining saloon, among the horrified passengers, they marched. They halted by a mild-looking individual who was eating alone. Get to your feet ! It’s you we’ve come for ! News of the outrage reached Trigan City before dawn. It was immediately passed to Peric, who had spent a sleepless night in his laboratory, puzzling his brain. What did you say ? Repeat the name of the kidnappers’ victim. A great light dawned in Peric’s mind. I’ve got it ! I’ve found the connection ! This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 727 on 20 December 1975.
