Posted on October 12, 2024October 12, 2024The Food of the Gods (continued . . .) Janno dived headlong for the undergrowth, with projectiles slashing past him like meteorites. He lay still, while his merciless pursuers searched the forest all round him. No sign of him. He’s escaped us. What does it matter ? He’s a nobody. The self-appointed leader of the super-creatures produced a handful of the deadly fruit. We will continue with our plans of conquest. But first . . . we will feast again off the food of the gods. Janno stayed hidden till nightfall. He then set off for Trigan City, reaching there at daybreak. I’ll report to my uncle at once. Those boys are a real danger and must be stopped immediately. But . . . Look ! It’s Janno ! Cut him down ! Only Janno’s quick wits and lightning physical reactions saved him. By all the stars ! Why are my own people shooting at me on sight ? He soon learned the answer . . . Did we get him ? I hope so ! We’ll be commended by the Emperor for wiping out the traitor who attacked the air base. I’ve been declared a traitor ! Following the mysterious attack upon the air base, the Trigan armoured corps were put on the alert. None of the soldiers took any notice of a group of boys watching nearby. We’ll take these war- machines and use them to destroy Trigan City ! Peric was working in his laboratory that fateful morning, when a sound at the open window made him turn. Peric. Aaaaah . . . You. The great scientist’s hand groped for a button . . . Peric. Something terrible is happening . . . Immediately, the young Air Fleet pilot was enveloped in twin clouds of choking red gas ! Aaaaaaagh ! Fool ! Do you think I am without protection here ? This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 665 on 12 October 1974.
Posted on September 14, 2024September 22, 2024The Food of the Gods It was in the fourth lunar month of the year of Zooth that an astral phenomenon was observed in the sky above Elekton. Countless multitudes saw it, wondering at its brightness that turned the night to day. It’s a shooting star ! I never saw such a shooting star before in my life ! Elekton’s top scientist, Peric, had the answer to the strange object in the sky. It is an exploded world ! Somewhere out in space, a world like ours blew up into fragments. The thing that passed through our outer atmosphere was one of the pieces of that destroyed planet ! The phenomenon passed on its way into the trackless wilderness of outer space. But, high in the upper atmosphere of Elekton, a cloud of strange particles remained and slowly descended. The particles were seeds. They fell upon the surface of the planet, widely scattered. Presently, they put forth small white flowers . . . Some distance from Trigan City, a herdsmen played his pipe and idly watched his flock. Suddenly . . . They’re surrounding me ! Then, sheer blind panic ! No ! No ! Keep away from me ! The creatures closed in upon him, their baaing drowning his screams. Some time later, Peric chanced to visit a botanist friend of his. This species is unknown to me, Beris. What is its name ? To be frank, my dear fellow, it also a total stranger to me. It has suddenly started to grow in considerable abundance on the Plain of Vorg. The local bird life will soon make short work of your specimen, Beris. So it appears. I had not noticed that before. And then . . . By all the stars ! They—they’re coming at us, Peric ! Aaaaaaah ! Run for your life, Beris ! This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 661 on 14 September 1974.
Posted on June 1, 2024July 1, 2024The Elixir of Youth (continued . . .) You wanted to see me, Uncle ? Yes ! Janno and Mallo, I want you both to meet an old friend . . . Eeeeeeeh ! In my younger days, Janno, I was some- thing of a wrestler ! And suddenly it all comes back to me ! Elekton’s top scientist—now much changed— grinned at his companions. But, you’re . . . you’re . . . Younger ! Between twenty and thirty lunar years younger ! With scarcely any grey hairs, all my teeth, and with the pulse and blood pressure of a man in his prime ! In the days and nights that followed, Peric and his assistant never left the Imperial Research Laboratory. This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 646 on 1 June 1974.
