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""The Impossible World Named Earth"": This story is reprinted from Mystery in Space #30.

From Beyond the Unknown #17 is an issue of the series From Beyond the Unknown (Volume 1) with a cover date of July, 1972. It was published on April 11, 1972.

Synopsis for "The Impossible World Named Earth"

This story is reprinted from Mystery in Space #30.

An alien communicates telepathically with a writer from Earth, but none of his companions believe that there could be a planet other than theirs.

Appearing in "The Impossible World Named Earth"

Featured Characters:

Other Characters:

Locations:

Items:

  • Mind Machine

Vehicles:




Synopsis for "Mystery of the 12 O'Clock Man"

This story is reprinted from Strange Adventures #162.

In the year 1978, a rocket scientist named Benjamin Forbes appears to disappear uncontrollably every Friday, from 12:00 noon to 1:00 PM. This has happened every week the past month, but Ben cannot remember where he goes or what he does during that time. One Saturday, he tries to gather information about his past from the orphanage where he remembers growing up, and the school he remembers attending for junior high. To his surprise, neither place has records on a Benjamin Forbes.

While Ben wonders why someone would try to hide his past from him, he starts devising a plan to find out where he disappears to every Friday. He spends the next week constructing a miniature video camera, and clasps it to his tie on Friday morning. By pushing record immediately before 12:00 noon strikes, Ben manages to capture video and sound of where he disappears to.

When Ben watches the video that night, he discovers that it shows him delivering security information about humanity's progress in space travel to a group of green-eyed aliens, who refer to him as, "B-4". The video also shows the aliens boasting about the technological and biological advances they've made, such as the ability to create a synthetic human, and implant him with artificial memories. They declare that the product of those experiments, the synthetic spy B-4, has proven helpful in obtaining information that could help them travel to and conquer other planets, including Earth.

With Ben's complete knowledge of his being and purpose awakened, he vows to try and stop his creators from dominating the planet he now calls home. The following Friday, Ben attempts to dupe the aliens with false information about Earth. When this sets off a lie detector, B-4's creators deem him faulty, and activate his disintegration. As Ben slowly shuts down, he nobly uses his remaining energy to short-circuit the laboratory's "electronic brain", destroying the aliens' records of all the information they planned to use in their conquest of the universe.

Appearing in "Mystery of the 12 O'Clock Man"

Featured Characters:

  • Benjamin Forbes/B-4 (Single appearance; dies)

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • Unnamed aliens

Other Characters:

  • Charlie (Single appearance)

Locations:

  • 1978
    • Earth's Moon
    • The American Rocket Base
    • Pleasant Dale Orphanage
    • Jr. High School
    • Ben Forbes' apartment
    • The aliens' laboratory

Items


Vehicles:



Synopsis for "The Magic Typewriter"

This story is reprinted from Strange Adventures #31.

Appearing in "The Magic Typewriter"

  • Appearances not yet listed

Synopsis for "Super-Cook of Space"

This story is reprinted from Mystery in Space #56.

Appearing in "Super-Cook of Space"

Featured Characters:

  • Chold miners from Earth
    • Henson

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • Procyons

Other Characters:


Locations:

  • Procyon-3

Items:

Vehicles:



Synopsis for "Rocketeer for Hire"

This story is reprinted from Mystery in Space #11.

Appearing in "Rocketeer for Hire"

Featured Characters:

  • Slag Sorrel

Supporting Characters:


Antagonists:

  • Hagarians

Other Characters:

  • Coral
  • Gill

Locations:

  • Future, after the end of the Four Planets War

Items:


Vehicles:

  • Battlerockets

Notes

"The Impossible World Named Earth": This story was altered. The aliens were red Martians and the American president was Dwight D. Eisenhower in the original print, and orange Jovians and Richard Nixon in this issue.



See Also


Links and References

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