Earth`s Last Citadel

C. L. Moore
1943

This story begins in the deserts of Tunisia. World War 2 rages over the country and Alan Drake, an American Army Intelligence man, is struggling to complete his latest mission. His job is to get the Scots scientist Sir Colin Douglas out of the hands of the Nazis and to Allied safety. The two fugitives are making their journey cross-country be foot. They are pursued by two Nazi agents: Karen Martin, a sly, ruthless but charming woman of mixed races, and Mike Smith, an Americanized German with a history in racketeering and a strong instinct for killing. All four simultaneously pass over the crest of a ridge and come upon each other, but more importantly come upon a strange ovoid-shaped craft, which is half buried in the earth in a crater. The craft is glowing with heat like a meteorite, but its surface is perfectly smooth and unpitted as if its furious plunge from the sky has left it unharmed. The two parties draw weapons and a standoff occurs, but suddenly, as if commanded by telepathic control, all four walk into the strange craft. The craft buries itself in the ground and Alan Drake is dimly aware of strange 'dreams', of an alien creature hovering in a doorway, and of time passing. When all four awake they find themselves transported far into the distant future. What strange adventures and what dangers await the four twentieth century travelers? Will they ever return to their own time?

C.L. Moore and Henry Kuttner are two famous authors of the 'Classic Era' (1930s to 1950s) of science fiction writing. Neither is remembered much today, though they are both well worth reading. The two authors independently established their careers as fiction writers, then married in 1940, after which they often wrote as a team. This novel is one of their early team efforts and it manages to successfully combine Moore's high-adventure style with Kuttner's "more cerebral storytelling." The story moves along at a quick pace: we hardly get used to one circumstance before we are thrust into some new occurrence. But there is depth also, especially when we read the brief, but interesting, descriptions of the various strange 'mind-states' that the hero, Alan Drake, experiences. Also of depth is Mike Smith's descent from cool, confident agent to fearful, crazy-man.

At around 150 pages this book is a quick read, and indeed it could possibly be describes as a novella. Moore and Kuttner wrote for the pulp magazine trade which, because of the limit of physical size, encouraged shorter works. (1943) is just the right size to curl up with for a weekend's entertainment.

Of course each book takes a place in the history of literature and this novel shows a number of similarities to the famous earlier book The Moon Pool by A. Merritt (1919). The chief of these similarities is a non-corporeal, 'energy' monster with mind-control capabilities. Moore and Kuttner have definitely put their own spin on these details an

Arvamus:

Teise Maailmasõja ajal satuvad neli inimest mingi veidra lennumasina pardale. Kui neil teadvus jälle tagasi tuleb, leiavad nad end hoopis teistsuguselt Maalt – tühjalt ja kõledalt ja inimestevabalt. Ühesõnaga Maa on oma eksistentsi lõppu jõudmas, aeg on miljoneid aastaid edasi läinud.

Aga päris asustamata see Maa siiski ei ole. On mingid ebamaised ehitised, kusagil koopas on mingid inimesesarnased surematud olendid ja naaberkoopas teised inimeselaadsed poolmetslased. Ja on veel Keegi...

Selgub, et kunagi meie tulevikus saabuvad Maale mingid tulnukad, puhastavad Maa „parasiitidest” (s.t. inimestest), ajavad siin omi asju ja lõpuks kas lahkuvad Maalt või surevad välja.

Aga üks esimesi saabunud tulnukaid jääb millegipärast kauaks tudule ja ärkab just siis, kui nood eelpool mainitud 4 inimest tema laeva juures olid (miks too tulnukas peale magamajäämist ajas oma laevaga tagasi liikus?), ja põrutab siis koos pardale sattunud inimestega oma õigesse aega (ilmselt oli ta siis miljoneid aastaid maganud?). No igatahes leiab too tulnukas siis eest Maa, kust tema liigikaaslased on juba ammu lahkunud või välja surnud.

Nood Maa vallutanud tulnukad on inimesele midagi täiesti käsitamatut, mingid energiaolendid oma eriliste vajadustega. Nii kõlbab neile toiduks vaid elusate mõistuslike olendite „eluenergia”.

Igatahes leiab too ärganud olevus eest maailma, kuhu pole jäänud enam ühtegi tema liigikaaslast ja kus toiduvalik on väga kasin. Nood 4 (tema enda poolt kogemata kaasa toodud) inimest pluss kamp poolmetslasi. Ja kõht on peale pikka magamist väga-väga tühi! Seega asub olend oma toiduprobleemi lahendama, inimesed aga kõigiti vastu sõdima sellele, et neid nahka pistetaks.

Selline oleks süžee kõvasti lihtsustatuna. Siia juurde liitub muidugi kõiksugu tulnukatest Maale maha jäänud imevigurite kirjeldusi, parajalt madinat ning põnevust.

Olgugi, et ma eelpool mainitud paarist seigast aru ei saanud (ehk lugesin liiga pealiskaudselt), siis oli tegemist korralikult kirjutatud ja parajalt põneva ajaviitelooga, mis minult nelja saab.