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.
Posted on May 25, 2024June 3, 2024The Elixir of Youth They came from all over the sprawling Trigan Empire, to witness the Imperial Games in the capital’s mammoth amphitheatre. We bring you a report on the ten thousand tellar foot race ! Coming up for the last lap, Zampha of Tharv is in the lead . . . The high spot of the games was the classic Vorg wrestling. Finalists were a Trigan named Mallo and a Daveli named Heller. You have him, Heller ! Do something, Mallo ! Mallo turned the tables on his bigger opponent, with a throw that thrilled the crowd and won him the crown ! The Emperor crowned the young victor, and spoke kindly to him. I hear that you are a promising scientist, Mallo. You must come and be Peric’s assistant. I would count that a great honour, Imperial Majesty ! I shall be delighted. That doddering old fool can’t last for long, then I shall be head of the Imperial Research Laboratory— with plenty of chances to line my purse ! And so, the scheming youth went to work with Peric, Elekton’s top scientist. What is this experiment ? Merely a forlorn attempt to rejuvenate this poor rorn, who has given so many years’ good service as a laboratory animal . . . That night, while Peric was working on his experiment, there was a shattering explosion ! Aaaaaaaaaghhh ! No one heard the crash and the old scientist lay unconscious until dawn. He crossed over to inspect the damage. It was then that Peric saw his own reflection. This installment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 645 on 25 May 1974.
