Posted on March 6, 2021January 19, 2022The Giant Plant (continued . . .) The panic-stricken crowd broke through the ranks of a cohort of the Trigan Imperial Guard at the far end of the square. Take aim ! . . . Then that magnificent body of warriors—who had won a hundred hopeless battles in the Empire's short history—turned and fled ! Eeeeeeh ! Aaaaaagh ! Having cleared the streets, the ravenous horde broke into the city grain store, and wiped it clean. Nothing could satisfy their voracious appetites. By nightfall, they had gnawed the foundations of some of the older, wooden buildings to powder—and they collapsed. By the following dawn, the rallus had retired underground—and the hungry, angry populace besieged the Imperial Palace. Why doesn't the Emperor do something ? Give us food ! Down with him ! The Emperor Trigo saw it all. Yes ! Something must be done—and quickly ! Peric, I look to you for a means of combating this scourge ! Imperial Majesty . . . Peric was Elekton's top scientist. The giant rallus are like their normal brethren—they are quick and cunning. Like all rallus, they refuse to take poisoned bait. But I am working on the problem. The chaos increased. Seizing the opportunity offered, some of the discontented vassal-states of the Empire came out in open rebellion. Sooner or later, Trigan City will have to be evacuated—then we will march in ! True ! In the meantime, we will strike at their communications ! Patrol craft of the Trigan Air Fleet were attacked without warning ! After four days of the terror, the population fled from the capital. Trigan City, once heart of a mighty Empire, lay dying in the night. Young Janno remained on duty, guarding his Emperor. That night, he was caught out alone in the peril- ridden streets. There are more ahead of me ! —I'm cut off ! He backed against a wall and drew his blade. This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 477 on 6 March 1971.
Posted on February 20, 2021June 19, 2023The Giant Plant (continued . . .) The small boy who looked like a man raced through the streets, pursued by flying stones. Ha ! See the big fellow run ! Mother ! Mother ! They're hurting me ! He reached home, and the comforting arms of his mother. My child—have those rough street boys been ill-treating you again ? Yes—they wouldn't let me play with them. Soon he was sleeping peacefully. He has the body of a grown man but he is still a child in his mind. Yes, but his mind grows every day. Husband—can we not take him away to some remote spot where he may mature in peace ? So the family left the city and settled in a valley beyond the plain. There they built a rough hut, and cultivated a vegetable patch. But others occupied the heights above the valley—a band of renegade Lokans who had never accepted Trigan rule. Get rid of those Trigans ! Take what they have, and put them to the sword. The Lokans attacked. Mercy ! Spare us, and —and I will show you a miracle ! A miracle ? I don't believe it ! Such ibises ! It's true. Look at our son —three lunar months ago he was a sickly child in arms, and we feared for his life ! The puzzled Lokans pondered. Mother—may I have a drink of water ? Another strange thing— he drinks water all the time. He could drain a river dry. Instead of slaying the family, they brought them before their leader. It is a fantastic tale—but it may be true. It can easily be tested. At an order from the leader, one of the band went out and trapped a rallu, one of the fierce vermin of Elekton. Feed it the ibis seeds ! Within days, the rallu had to be transferred—with great difficulty—into a much larger cage ! Imagine ten thousand of them set loose in a crowded city ! By all the stars, I'd hate to meet that brute outside its cage ! Brothers ! Here is a weapon with which we can destroy Trigan City, and perhaps bring that accursed empire to its knees ! Meanwhile, in the dreaded convict mines, the hate-filled Tax Toru had reached the end of his endurance. Escape ! Escape ! And then—death to Trigo's empire ! The nobleman whom Trigo had debased for treason was ready to take his revenge ! HA ! Uuuuuh . . . This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 475 on 20 February 1971.
Posted on February 13, 2021January 19, 2022The Giant Plant The Trigan Imperial Guard was on parade, marching with the impeccable precision for which the crack regiment was famous throughout Elekton. Leading the guardsmen was their commanding officer, Tax Toru—a haughty Trigan aristocrat. But after the parade . . . Colonel ! You are under arrest ! Aaaah ! Because of his high rank, the accused man was tried by the emperor himself. The evidence against him was brief—but damning. Letters have been found showing that he has been selling military secrets to the Empire's enemies. Trigo passed sentence. Tax Toru ! You have betrayed the Empire and shamed your family name. You will be stripped of your rank and condemned to labour in the mines for the rest of your natural life ! Tax Toru was publicly disgraced. Then, chained, he became a slave in the dreaded mines. Curse Trigo ! Curse him ! If I ever escape from this living death, I'll bring his wretched Empire down about his ears ! Meanwhile, the great scientist Peric was at work in his laboratory, watched by his young friend Janno. You see, the seeds of the ibis plant are a staple diet of our poorer people. I am trying to increase the size of the plant to provide more food for them —not with any success, for this compound is my last hope. Later that day, Peric returned to the plant—and— By all the stars ! I have succeeded beyond my wildest dreams ! The ibis has doubled its size ! He raced out to spread the news. It was then that the plant's swollen seed pods burst —and scattered their contents to the winds. Most of the seeds fell on infertile ground, but a few landed in the small garden of a poor peasant. Within a few days, the peasant couple were staring in delighted amazement at the towering plants. I never saw such ibises ! The seeds of these fine plants will make nourishing soup for the little one. Before the end of the lunar month, the once-sickly child was a sturdy stripling ! It is like a miracle ! We never thought we'd rear him —and now he's bigger and stronger than lads twice his age ! This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 474 on 13 February 1971.
