In the courtyard of a Trigan City apartment, two youths were practising the classic art of Vorg wrestling. How was that? Well done, Janno! Janno was delighted to be taking lessons from Mallo, the wrestling expert. Did I hurt you, my friend? It’s all right, Janno. The Emperor’s nephew calls me “friend“! My, you’ve come a long way from being the son of a shoemender, Mallo! At that moment, a messenger arrived. Something important? A summons from my uncle. I am to go immediately to the palace. And you are to come with me, Mallo. The two youths arrived in the Imperial apartments, where the Emperor Trigo awaited them. You wanted to see me, Uncle? Yes! Janno and Mallo, I want you both to meet an old friend . . . Good day to you, sirs! Peric! The very same, and to prove it . . .Eeeeeeeh! In my younger days, Janno, I was something 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! But . . . how? It happened last night. As Mallo knows, I have been searching for a rejuvenating agent. Last night, a strange green liquid appeared in the test tube. Almost immediately, it exploded . . . I absorbed that green liquid and it took years off my life! It has all gone, but we will find more of it, Mallo! You and I will work, day and night, to re-discover the secret of youth! Yes, Peric! . . . Yes! In the days and nights that followed, Peric and his assistant never left the Imperial Research Laboratory. The mixture of ingredients is very critical. I must take a short rest. You carry on, Mallo. But be very careful—the true mixture is highly unstable! Alone, the ambitious young scientist grew reckless. The secret of youth! It would make me the richest man on Elekton, and more powerful than any Emperor! . . . To blazes with caution! I will increase the ingredients a hundredfold! Suddenly, the liquid in his test tube turned into a luminous green! The secret of eternal youth is mine! All mine!
This instalment was originally published in Look and Learn issue no. 646 on 1 June 1974.
