Professional Documents
Culture Documents
andromedASFMagazine152
science fiction club deutschland e.v.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 4
Introduction | Vorwort
You keep an issue of ANDROMEDA SCIEN- Du hltst ein Heft des ANDROMEDA SCI-
CE FICTION MAGAZIN of SFCD in your ENCE FICTION MAGAZIN des SFCD in dei-
hand. We compiled this very special edi- nen Hnden. Wir haben diese ganz spe-
tion for LonCon 3 and Shamrokon in Dub- zielle Ausgabe fr den LonCon 3 und den
lin trying to give you an understanding Shamrokon in Dublin zusammengestellt.
of German science fiction. Where are the Wir mchten dir die deutsche Science-
roots and what is going on in 2014? Fiction nahebringen. Wo liegen die Wur-
zeln und was ist 2014 aktuell.
We hope you enjoy reading your copy! Wir wnschen viel Spa beim Lesen!
Ralf Boldt & Michael Haitel Ralf Boldt & Michael Haitel
Publisher: Science Fiction Club Deutschland e. V., c/o Stefan Manske, Krefelder Str.
58, 47226 Duisburg. stefan.manske@sfcd.eu. Editor: Ralf Boldt, Sonnentauweg 26,
26188 Edewecht, ralf.boldt@ewetel.net. Michael Haitel, Ammergauer Str. 11, 82418
Murnau am Staffelsee, michael@haitel.de. Printed by: Druckerei & Verlag Christoph
Hille, Boderitzer Str. 21e, 01217 Dresden, post@hille1880.de, www.hille1880.de.
Coverdesign: Michael Haitel.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 6
A last important aspect of the club life language short fiction. Thanks to gene-
are the SFCD-JahresCons. They take place rous donations this award is the only
once yearly at changing locations across genre award in the German-speaking
Germany and offer the opportunity to area which is coming with prize money of
meet other SFCD members and of course 1,000 Euro per category. The DSFP is
also other sf fans from all parts of Ger- issued by a committee, which is open to
many and abroad. The SFCD-JahresCons any interested person including non-
are traditionally also the location of the members, and is awarded at the respec-
Mitgliederversammlung, the general tive SFCD-JahresCon.
meeting of the members that happens at
least once yearly, where the assembled
members set the course for the future of
the club.
SFCD members are not just consum-
ing. With their membership fee they sup-
port the activities of the SFCD in and for
the sf scene in Germany and the German-
speaking area. (Effects on the non-Ger-
man-speaking countries cannot comple-
tely be excluded.) Besides supporting e.
g. the Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar
(one of the two largest phantastic librar-
ies on earth, the SFCD is member of the
Frderkreis Phantastik since 1989) and
other relevant facilities around the globe
and the assembly of the Deutsche Sci-
ence Fiction & Fantasy Fanzine Archive
DSFA (German sf & f fanzine archive)
there constantly are events at which the
SFCD is participating either directly or in- ANDROMEDA NACHRICHTEN
directly. The club is always open ad ready is published 4 times per year in A4
to discuss new projects. format with differing size between 120
The SFCD issues a yearly literature and 160 pages. Historically the ANDRO-
award since 1985, now called Deutscher MEDA NACHRICHTEN were the club-inter-
Science-Fiction-Preis (German Science nal news magazine, in the meantime
Fiction Award, short DSFP, www.dsfp.de), they have not only evolved into the most
which has the two categories best Ger- important contact medium between SFCD
man-language novel and best German- members, but also into an important in-
ANDROMEDA SF MAGAZIN
is published once a year in A4 format
with 80 100 pages as a themed maga-
zine. The theme is set by a central editor,
suggestions and participation are always NACHRICHTEN, as well as articles written
welcome! Andromeda 149 for 2010 in- specifically for androXine. It offers a
vestigates the work of US author George good impression about the quality of the
R. R. Martin, Andromeda 151 for 2011 SFCD publications.
draws conclusions from 50 years of Perry
Rhodan (the largest sf series on earth). AndroSF
And you have a special edition in your is a book series created by a publish-
hand! ing house for the SFCD, which due to its
size is not included in the membership
androXine fee, but can be bought individually
(ANDROmeda eXtended magazINE) through any bookstore. The series pub-
is an online magazine published for lishes both non-fiction and fiction titles.
the SFCD, which is issued irregularly and So far 41 volumes have been published,
can be downloaded free of charge even more are in preparation. Within the
by non-members at www.sfcd.eu/publi- scope of AndroSF also STORY CENTER is
kationen/androxine. It comprises contri- carried forward, now as a yearly publi-
butions that, due to the limited budget, shed thematic anthology. (Details about
could not be printed in ANDROMEDA the books on www.pmachinery.de.)
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 8
German-language SF Awards
There are three major science fiction dack Verlag, the translation in Albedo
awards for the German-language area, One issue 36 (2009). Many thanks to
listed in the order of creation: Frank W. Haubold and Wilf James for the
publication permission! To my knowl-
Kurd-Lawitz-Preis (KLP) edge this is the only DSFP winner story
Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis that has been translated into English so
(DSFP) far. Two DSFP winner novels have been
Deutscher Phantastik Preis (DPP) translated into English: Der Schwarm
by Frank Schtzing, winner of both DSFP
I will give you some basic information and KLP in 2005, was published as The
about each of these three awards below. Swarm by Hodder & Stoughton in Great
If you are interested in German-language Britain and Regan Books in the USA, the
science fiction, you can find lists of all translation by Sally-Ann Spencer also
relevant publications since 2000 here: won the Schlegel-Tieck-Preis, ISBN-13 of
www.sfdb.de/deutsche-sf/index.html. If all editions 978-0-340-89523-8, 978-0-
you do not understand German but would 06-081326-0 , 978-0-340-89524-5, 978-
like to read German-language science 0-06-124661-6.
fiction, which has been translated into a Das Cusanus-Spiel by Wolfgang
language you understand, I have started Jeschke, DSFP and KLP winner in 2006,
a list here: www.sfdb.de/deutsche-sf/ has been published in English as The
deutsche-sf-ausland.html. It currently Cusanus Game by TOR in 2013, ISBN-13
(end of June 2014) includes translations 978-0-765-31908-1. Another award-
into Danish, Greek, English, Spanish, winning novel translated into English
Croatian, Hungarian, Italian, Japanese, was Der letzte Tag der Schpfung by
Latvian, Dutch, Polish, Romanian and Wolfgang Jeschke, KLP winner in 1982,
Russian. As information about transla- published as The last Day of Creation
tions are very difficult to get (in some in 1984 by St. Martins Press, ISBN-13
cases not even the authors know) I would 978-0-312-47061-6.
appreciate any additional information
you have. Kurd-Lawitz-Preis (KLP)
The 2008 DSFP winner story Heimkehr The Kurd Lawitz Award was modelled in
by Frank W. Haubold is included in this 1980 after the US-American Nebula
magazine in the English translation by Award, the first awards were given in
Wilf James as Homeward Journey. The 1981. It was named after Kurd Lawitz
story was first published in S.F.X, Wur- (18481910), who is considered the fa-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 10
ther of German science fiction. A custodi- Best graphic: Pierangelo Boog for the
an organizes the award, since 1991 this cover of Exodus 30
is Udo Klotz. The award is given in cur- Best audio play: no award
rently 8 categories, is non-endowed and Special award for long-standing ac-
awarded by the German-language pro- complishments: Martin Kempf and the
fessionals in the area of science fiction Fandom Observer team for 300 issues
(authors, correctors, editors, publishers, of the Fandom Observer
translators, journalists, artists, and for- Special award for one-time accom-
mer awardees), except for the categories plishments: no award (due to the
best audio drama and best translation small number of nominations this ca-
that are awarded by professional juries. tegory was merged with the category
All nominations must be definitely scien- for long-standing achievement)
ce fiction, for the first time professional-
ly published in the nomination year (the Homepage with all awardees: www.kurd-
award year is the following year), and lasswitz-preis.de (German language on-
the nominated person must be German- ly)
language or have created the work for
the German-language market (except the Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis
category best foreign work). It is possi- (DSFP)
ble to not give the award in a category.
The German Science Fiction Award was
The awarding ceremony for the 2014 named SFCD-Literaturpreis (SFCD Litera-
awards will be held on September 20, ture Award) until 1998 and first awarded
2014 at the ElsterCon in Leipzig. The in 1985. It is awarded by the Science
2014 awardees are: Fiction Club Deutschland e. V. (SFCD),
Best novel: Wolfgang Jeschke: the oldest (founded in 1955) and largest
Dschiheads, Heyne general science fiction club in the Ger-
Best short story: Michael Marrak: man-language area, in two categories.
Coen Sloterdykes diametral levitier- The award is endowed with 1,000 Euro in
endes Chronoversum, Nova 21 each category, the endowment is dona-
Best foreign work: Jo Walton: In ei- ted by Thomas Recktenwald and the Villa
ner anderen Welt (Among Others), Fantastica Wien foundation, a public
Golkonda library for all fantastic genres founded by
Best translation: Margo Jane Warnken Helmuth W. Mommers. In addition to the
for the translation of James Tiptree endowment awardees receive a medal
jr. Das Doppelleben der Alice B. based on an idea by Andreas Eschbach.
Sheldon (James Tiptree, jr. The Dou- Except for the first two years when the
ble Life of Alice B. Sheldon), Septime awardees were determined by a poll
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 12
among the SFCD members, the award is WetzKon 2 will also celebrate the 60th
given by a committee of volunteers who birthday of the SFCD.
try to read all published German-langua-
ge science fiction. Since 2010 the chair- Best German-language story: Seit-
man of the committee is Martin Stricker. wrts in die Zeit by Axel Kruse, p.ma-
Eligible works must have been published chinery
professionally for the first time in the Best German-language novel: Dschi-
year prior to the award and must have heads by Wolfgang Jeschke, Heyne
been written originally in the German
language. Homepage with all awardees: www.dsfp.de
The first 27 winning stories are collec- (limited information available in English)
ted in Die Stille nach dem Ton und die Unofficial lists with all relevant publi-
anderen preisgekrnten SF-Kurzge- cations since 2000: www.sfdb.de/deut
schichten des SFCD-Literaturpreises sche-sf/index.html (German language
19851998 und des Deutschen Science- only)
Fiction-Preises 19992012, edited by Homepage of the Science Fiction Club
Ralf Boldt and Wolfgang Jeschke, p.ma- Deutschland e. V.: www.sfcd.eu (German
chinery, ISBN-13 978-3-942533-37-9. language only)
This book is still available and was awar- Homepage of the Villa Fantastica in
ded both the KLP and the DPP in 2013. In Wien (Vienna): www.villafantastica.com
the same format all winning novels will (German language only)
be published as well, the first volume,
the winner from 1994, GO! Die ko- Deutscher Phantastik Preis (DPP)
diktatur. Erst die Erde, dann der Mensch
by Dirk C. Fleck, is already available. For The German Fantastic Award is given by
more information: www.pmachinery.de/ the online magazine Phantastik-News.de
unsere-bucher/androsf-die-reihe-zum- and was first awarded in 1999, only in
dsfp (German language only). that year under the name award-at-
The awarding ceremony is always held phantastik.de. The award is not en-
at the yearly convention of the SFCD, the dowed, the awardees in the currently 9
2014 ceremony was held on July 12, categories are determined in a public
2014 at SchlossCon 2 in Schwerin, the poll in which anyone with internet access
2015 ceremony will be held most proba- and an e-mail address can participate.
bly (time planning is not yet finalized) Works eligible for nomination must be-
on July 5, 2015 at WetzKon 2 in the long to any fantastic genre (there is no
Phantastische Bibliothek Wetzlar (Fan- genre separation), originally written in
tastic Library Wetzlar), the second-lar- the German language (except category
gest fantastic library on this planet. best international novel), and originally
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 14
published (firstly published in German Honorary award (awarded by the edi-
translation for the category best interna- tors for the first time after 1999): Ralf
tional novel) in the year prior to the Boldt and Wolfgang Jeschke for edit-
award. The five entries with the most no- ing the anthology Die Stille nach
minations in each category are placed on dem Ton with all 27 winners of the
the ballot for the award. DSFP in the story category
The awarding ceremony is always held
at the BuchmesseCon in Dreieich near Homepage with all awardees: www.deut-
Frankfurt am Main at the Saturday of the scher-phantastik-preis.de (German lan-
Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book guage only)
Fair). The 2014 ceremony will be held on
October 11, 2014. As the awardees will not Each of these three awards is different
be published prior to the ceremony, below and has its unique point of view on the
you will find the DPP winners from 2013. genre. The DPP is a public poll and there-
fore gives a good impression on how the
Best German-language novel: Judith fantastic-reading public sees all of the
& Christian Vogt: Die zerbrochene fantastic genres. Well-known authors
Puppe, Feder & Schwert and well-known publishers are more like-
Best German-language debut novel: T. ly to win because they have been read by
S. Orgel: Orks vs. Zwerge, Heyne more of the persons who vote. The DPP
Best international novel: George R. R. therefore is rather similar to the Hugo
Martin: Der Sohn des Greifen/Ein Award, where all members of the World-
Tanz mit Drachen [Das Lied von Eis Con can vote. The KLP also is a poll, but
und Feuer 9/10], Penhaligon limited to science fiction and its profes-
Best German-language story: Bernd sionals, deliberately shaped after the Ne-
Perplies: Der Automat from Erin- bula Award. The KLP gives a good inside
nerungen an Morgen, Fabylon view of the professional German-langua-
Best original anthology/collection: ge science fiction scene. As the profes-
Peter Hellinger [editor]: Wenn das sionals are networked, they often alrea-
die Grimms wssten, art & words dy know new authors and new publishers
Best series: Das Schwarze Auge, before the general public does, and
Ulisses Spiele therefore can nominate or award them
Best artist: Arndt Drechsler already. This has sometimes created the
Best secondary work: Alex Jahnke & rumour that the professionals vote
Marcus Rauchfu: Steampunk kurz among themselves, which is nonsense
& geek, OReilly they just have a different perspective
Best internet site: www.phantastik- than the general public. The DSFP is dif-
couch.de ferent from the two other awards be-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 16
cause it is not determined through a poll when the KLP winner was not even nomi-
but inside a committee of dedicated indi- nated for the DSFP the perspectives
viduals. This gives unknown authors and and weighting of the different aspects of
publishers a much higher probability to literary quality are different between the
be recognized for outstanding quality. awards.
Consequently, the DSFP has been While to the outside it may look like
awarded to the first works of several the three awards are competing with
authors like Andreas Eschbach and Oliver each other, there is cooperation between
Henkel who were nominated for or won them. My lists with German-language sci-
the other awards only with their later ence fiction are deliberately published
texts. Critique has come for example publicly since 2003 to support all three
awards and the general public (I con-
sider them unofficial because its impos-
sible to capture all publications this
year I found out about a publication from
2000 that we missed for the DSFP 2001).
Information about potentially relevant
titles is exchanged between all three
awards and then published in my lists.
The three science fiction awards in the
German-language area are different from
each other, but share the same goal to
inform the public about works they con-
sider outstanding from their different
perspectives. These different perspecti-
ves help to find hidden gems. If you want
to be informed about interesting science
fiction literature from the German-spea-
king community, you should look at all
three awards as they complement each
other.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 18
Dime novels in Germany
Marianne Sydow = Marianne Ehrig pub- We have the first science fiction series in
lishes together with her son Ralph Ehrig the world really a fantastic tradition!
a reprint of the series The air pirate and We could be more proud of it, couldnt
his controllable air ship. we? What is there to be beefing about?
Marianne died in 2013. She was the Because these are only dime novels?
first female author of PERRY RHODAN. Well: the dime novels where a reasonable
alternative compared to the much more
Mankind will not live eternally on earth. expensive books, which were simply be-
Initially, they will timidly enter the fron- yond many peoples means. Readers, I
tieres of atmosphere in the fight about mean real readers, needed more than
light and space and then conquer the in- just two books to wish for Christmas or
terplanetary space their birthday. A real reader needs read-
(Konstantin Eduardowitsch Ziolkow- ing stuff, plentiful, masses of books, to
ski, 1911) get lost in another world for hours. This
was called reading fever and it was
Once, a Japanese lady told me she does done everything to stop it because it was
not understand the Germans. PERRY not useful for work moral at the produc-
RHODAN is the best science fiction series tion line and willingness of military drill
of the world ever if it would come out in and it created longings after longings for
Japan, made up and written by a Japa- a different more interesting life not ei-
nese, the whole country would be proud ther good for work in forge or in the
of it and the authors would be famous mines.
and respected and would not have to live To be fair some of these old horror
in such a lousy house like me (of course, stories were really heavy. There still was
she said it more politely). Also, the Ame- no control of morally damaging to juve-
ricans would surely have made more of it niles contents anyhow and so in the sto-
in the meantime. If PERRY RHODAN ries there was massacred, killed and
would be a French product, the series slaughtered with a vengeance there
would of course, be art and a national was not even a slight idea of belles-lett-
memorial. In Germany it was, is and will res not even about good entertain-
be rubbish. Exactly like The air pirate ment. But, not all series and rows were
and his controllable air ship this was like this and not everything that was pro-
the first real science fiction series world- duced as a dime novel was entertain-
wide and it was published in the 20th cen- ment. Among others quite all revolution-
tury in Germany, too (not really a mini- arily papers and calls were firstly pub-
series with 165 issues!). Isnt that great? lished as flyers and dime novels because
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 20
this was cheap and easy to distribute. been something appealing on these little
And thus, did not enter the chart list of things. Thats why these poor, small, pro-
lecture welcome on the part of the gov- secuted trashy little things became at
ernment. Additionally, there were a lot home on all sites where a little bit of
of religious tracts from the strangest sec- change and encouragement was so nee-
tarian corners: esotericism had its period ded: in infirmaries, housemaids quarters,
of glory. Strangely enough, at that time in the barracks and of course, schools.
first intersections to science fiction were The three German opinion constants
built. Popular stories were those in which referring to dime novel literature resul-
wise old men from Mars (or even from Ve- ted from the above: 1st: dime novels are
nus or other planets) told worldly wis- bad. 2nd: dime novels are dirty and there-
dom to the people and political idols. fore interesting. 3rd: for property of dime
Mostly, this was more or less peculiar novels one should preventatively be
utopia and the authors were right to fear ashamed, hide them and explain imme-
that these stories could leave a nasty diately to the nerved looking seat
taste at the authorities. What was nearer neighbour in the subway that usually one
to claim that the Martians dictated this doesnt read such stuff I just found it
to them (like proven example, see Atlan- and thought, well, I could have a look
tis). It is hard to discuss about the au- what is written in there. One has to be
thority of cosmic wise men. informed At that time, especially
Because at the end of 19th and begin- about 100 years before, some newspaper
ning of 20th century it was so arduous to shops had special paper baskets for ena-
sort everything out they simply threw all bling the better off gentlemen to dispose
dime novels in a ton with the inscription the coloured Nick Carter-jacket before
deficient literature and set it on fire: entering the tram with a now looking
away with the dreams of another, better, neutral writing pad.
easier, more interesting, fair life away Somehow, there got something col-
with everything the authorities didnt lectively stucked to us Germans. Again
like. They collected all that nasty stuff in, and again there are people who seriously
where ever they could find it and extirpa- and disputatiously argue that they never
ted it. never never in their life read a dime no-
This was, of course, the best service vel or even touched it, much less even
they could render to the trash literature read one line of it. I know a lot of mean
publishers. The culture upper class has (my deceased husband was one of them)
always been trying to spoil everything be- who seriously assured that pornos did
ing funny to the hard working under absolutely mean anything to them how
class. So if the upper class was so wild could one read and look such nasty stuff,
about the dime novels there must have no, no and again no. (As Tolkien said: In
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 22
a hole in the Ground, there lived a Hob- buyers. A trash literature novel could
bit ) contain thousands of pages. The author
just went on writing continuation after
How it all began continuation until customers stroke and
enforcedly he had to dissolve the numer-
Appropriately the whole disaster com- ous and racy complexity of his heroes
mon teachers where faced to was put (sometimes not even that happened). To
down to implementation of compulsory survive a real trashy literature novel pa-
schooling. First of all it was forced in tience, time and money was needed. The-
Prussia and Saxony not only on the paper se three things were missing in the wor-
but also in practice (Significantly the king class.
three biggest dime novel publishers were To understand the dilemma of these
located in Berlin and Dresden) and so people you have to put yourself into this
firstly here a pretty high percentage of time: no radio, no TV, only every 6
people grew up with a certain reading months a fair, on Sunday to church. In
tradition and who did not implicate read- the cities there was theatre oftener
ing not only in the sense of schoolmas- than today. But, you had to pay entrance
ters cane but, with entertaining stories. and to be well-dressed. At the end of 19th
Parallel to this new printing technolo- century public libraries raised but those
gies were developed: literature could be were under strict surveillance. In litera-
printed faster in higher (up to very big) ture lists it was listed what was allowed,
numbers. e.g. by the society for propagation of na-
And then the famous trashy literature tional education, the society for ethic
came out. This word origins in the French culture and numerous associations of
language which was especially in Prussia teachers and educationalists. These or-
extremely fancy at that time: porter ganisations determined what the nation
col meant something like To carry it on had to read for uplifting of their finish-
the shoulder: trashy literature were ing time. On the other side the publish-
printed in layers and delivered to the ers were confronted with a gigantic tem-
door by the news boys. From these layers ptation: there were masses of potential
the buyers could bind real books (as far customers who absolutely hungered for
as they wanted it). being entertained and they all were will-
Trashy literature still was bound for ing to spend money for that. The demand
the upper society. Although it was re- was there the clientele craved for the
ceived by the domestic staff (and often right choice.
also read by them) but, finally they en- Approximately at that time the last
ded in the parlour because in the length ingredient was provided: the staple al-
of time they were quite expensive for the ready existed but, now the stapler came
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 24
into being and promptly some genius got The continuation character of series
the idea of cutting every trashy literature was regarded as dangerous for work mo-
novel into slices, envelope every slice ral among others since it supported the
with a beautiful, colourful jacket and jab feared reading mania. The addiction
two staples through it and voil the to leisured wallow in a foreign phantasy
dime novel was born! world finally becomes impregnable. If
And immediately made career. one always follows this pleasure his body
Trashy literature novels were volumi- gets weak, the senses loose their acuity,
nous, long, not easy to transport under memory and mind slowly become weak,
your arm or in your jacket pocket. They the phantasy is overstrung, the will to
carried the image of old-fashioned like attend like for every serious activity gets
mature and staid. The dime novel was broken. The reading addiction calls a
young. It was colourful. It was adven- strong aversion for every imposed work
ture. And an important factor: the teach- () and makes people totally work-shy.
ers hated it. The development in the USA and
With horror the people who were keen Great-Britain was different. They also
on culture watched how the obsessive had these magazines but, they took them
use of reprehensible trash reading follo- easier no reason to man the barricades.
wed the yearned public education like a In America they called the Penny Dread-
shadow. People hardly could read and fuls. At the last in the forties they were
promptly they read the wrong texts. changed mainly by cheaper paperbacks.
Being mocking one could remark that In Germany, they maintained until today
right at this stage the ways of utopia and why?
fantasy crossed the ways of enraged figh- And once again the answer is found in
ters against trash literature at a spe- our history: the cheap magazines often
cial, life related way. A constant theme where the only possibility during war
of utopian-fantastic literature is the time and directly after it to print some-
question how people should ideally live thing entertaining. During all that time
and how it could be done to impose them there was a big lack of everything also
this ideal way of life. The fight of anti- on paper. Also, the publishers could not
trash literature movement is a utopia print frankly of what they expected prof-
lived with high dedication and but like its from. During the Third Reich it was
all utopias at the end it failed because the Reich literature chamber, who jud-
all ideals do not work in practice. Even ged and condemned the content, after
not the educational policy. the war it was the Allied Forces turn. Be-
No matter how strong they tried: peo- fore a publisher could print something,
ple could not stop reading trash litera- he had not only to ask for permission at
ture. the responsible occupying power but al-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 26
so to apply for allocation of paper and hard-earned money for well-shaped
that was the more difficult part, a first books which they maybe would read only
class bureaucratic hurdling. Of course, once (and perhaps not even that). With a
the principle was valid: the modest the dime novel they did not risk a lot. They
content the higher the hurdle. And on chose a series they liked and knew in ad-
the other hand: the lower the need of pa- vance what they would get. And if they
per, the easier something could be man- sometimes got a dime novel that did not
aged. The small dime novels had no com- match their expectation, they did not
petition. make a big loss: they went to the weekly
And again there was the same situa- market and simply changed the junk,
tion: the people yearned for entertain- gave two novels away and got another
ment. They didnt want to be continually out of the cardboard boxes that seemed
forced with advanced culture education to be interesting. The swap developed
with finger-wagging but they wanted to such a good business that the publishers
hide mentally in another, more friendly printed prohibitory remarks on the mer-
world where they could have fun and ex- chandise.
citement, love, drive, riches, splendour An avalanche was unleashed, the
and all the trash, that was necessary triumph of the dime novels could not be
to forget for a few hours the unheated stopped anymore. The libraries could
digs in the bombed-out post-war period, have hold against it, but they reacted
that meager bread, the hard fight for with the usual arrogance of the educated
carbon and potatoes. middle-class. To cap it all they indulged
Over the years the situation became in a limited application area. Even litera-
better. Paper was no longer scarce. The ture of Hans Dominik who in no case was
publishers could buy it without compli- suspected of writing trash literature,
cated applications (but there still was a were available in the municipal libraries:
certain control of texts by the Allied For- science fiction novels of all kind sim-
ces). Theoretically, this could have been ply were Fie! They were existing. And
the end of the dime novels. But, the pub- there were people who wanted to read
lishers calculated exactly that this for- them. But they did not appear in the
mat of publication had its undeniable ad- bookshelves.
vantages: easy and cheap to produce, The first publisher who got his act to-
easy to be distributed over the newspa- gether was Goldmann: with his Z-row he
per stands and what also plaid a role provided a science fiction with hard co-
to be offered on good terms. The Ger- ver which really were placed in the book-
mans were not so hard up strapped for shelves too late, because in the mean-
money like directly after the war but, time already private lending libraries
they also were not so rich to spend their were opened. Since the thin-skinned
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 28
dime novels did not survive the lending tasy world we could dive in as fascinated
not even for four weeks, another typical as our predecessors were right after the
German branch of entertaining literature turn of the century when the opened air
inspired: the library book, printed on ex- pirate novels and travelled to the Moon,
tra robust paper with a jacket of plastic to Venus, to Mars and to Saturn. Loan
film (Supronyl, therefore the tender books and dime novels where our shut-
name supronyl-junks) and in all other tles that brought us to the stars. And
aspects equal to the dime novels: colour- they were no hostile brothers but allies:
ful, often a little dingy, decried as the many lending books were reprinted as
epitomize of trash and rubbish and nev- dime novels.
ertheless dearly loved by a whole genera- I frankly admit that in contrary to a
tion of readers, although they had to pay lot of my colleagues I did not start with
a reading charge at the private libraries Lawitz & Co my very personal focus in-
for these colourful little things. In re- fection was such a library book. Its title
turn, you could go there as often as you was: Star A sends us an SOS and was
liked and loan as many books as you written by an author called K. H. Scheer.
wanted (or as many as you could carry And one days, years later, I discovered in
and pay), whereas at the municipal libra- a box in the newspaper stand a dime no-
ries there was a limit of three books a vel written by the same author: Perry
week. And the lending libraries had eve- Rhodan Nr. 1, Mission Stardust.
rything your heart desired at that time:
space flight, Aliens, utopian worlds, co- Marianne Sydow
lourful cover pictures a splendid fan- aka Marianne Ehrig (19442013)
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 30
Jules Verne, the cuttlefishes
and the Steampunk
Is Jules Verne the Father of Steam- Verne wrote scientific thrillers en-
punk? tertaining and educational likewise.
This question is not easy to answer, it His books have a chapter of character-
has a lot to commend it, and a lot istics which are assigned nowadays to
against it. the sci fi subgenre Steampunk:
His submarine masterpiece 20.000 The strong and independent charac-
Leagues Under the Sea takes a central ters with love to adventure to conquer
place in his lifework and can help to an- new living spaces perfectly match to this
swer this question. 20.000 Leagues retro-futuristic genre. Spirit of research,
Under the Sea was published in 1869 by complicated technical fiddles and a cer-
J. Hetzel et Cie. in the extremely suc- tain degree of gentleman-attitudes
cessful book series Les Voyages Extraor- are celebrated also by the contemporary
dinaires (The Extraordinary Voyages). steam punks. Until now, little attention
has been given to the cephalopods,
Jules Verne wrote exciting stories: ad- which first appeared in the literature in
venturous, imaginative, eager for scien- 20.000 Leagues Under The Sea as im-
ces and exciting. Almost always he portant protagonists and which are char-
sticked to the facts known at that time acter animals of the steampunk today.
because submersibles, electricity and
scubas were already invented and suc- Tentacles and ink jet
cess story of natural sciences had just
begun. At the world exhibitions he Cephalopods are mollusks living in the
catched up information about new tech- sea with a different number of tenta-
nologies and he was in contact with sci- cles. As their name implies, the arms
entists and many other forward-thinking begin directly at their head. Their tenta-
persons. He also knew the Parisian pro- cles serve as well for grabbing as for
fessor of zoology Milne-Edwards who moving. These animals are soft and do
significantly influenced the character not have a skeleton, but some of them
Prof. Aronnax. The literature character like ammonites or nautilus have an
Prof. Aronnax himself gives the referen- external shell. The modern cephalopods
ce: my famous teacher, M. Milne-Ed- octopusses and squids have ink
wards. glands.
Ist Jules Verne der Vater des Steampunk? Seine Bcher haben eine ganze Reihe
Diese Frage ist nicht einfach zu beantwor- von Merkmalen, die man heute dem SF-Sub-
ten, manches spricht dafr, anderes dagegen. genre Steampunk zuordnet:
Sein submarines Meisterstck 20.000 Die starken und unabhngigen Charakte-
Meilen unter dem Meer nimmt einen zent- re mit ihrer Abenteuerlust zur Eroberung
ralen Platz in seinem Werk ein und kann bei neuer Lebensrume passen perfekt in dieses
der Beantwortung dieser Frage helfen. retro-futuristische Genre. Forschergeist,
20.000 Meilen unter dem Meer erschien technische Tfteleien und ein gewisses Ma
1869 im Verlag J. Hetzel et Cie. in der ex- an Gentleman-Attitden werden auch von
trem erfolgreichen Buchreihe Les Voyages den heutigen Steampunkern gern zelebriert.
Extraordinaires (Die auergewhnlichen Ein bisher wenig beachteter Aspekt sind die
Reisen). Kopffer, die in 20.000 Meilen unter
Meer erstmals in der Literatur als wichtige
Jules Verne hat spannende Geschichten ge- Protagonisten auftreten und heute Charak-
schrieben: abenteuerlich, ideenreich, wis- tertiere des Steampunk sind.
senschaftsbegierig und spannend. Er blieb
dabei fast immer auf dem Boden der damals Tentakel und Tintenstrahl
bekannten Tatsachen, denn Tauchboote,
Elektrizitt und Tauchgerte waren bereits Kopffer (Cephalopoden) sind im Meer le-
erfunden und die Naturwissenschaften be- bende Weichtiere mit einer unterschiedli-
gannen gerade ihre groe Erfolgsgeschich- chen Anzahl von Tentakeln. Wie ihr Name
te. Auf den Weltausstellungen informierte er sagt, beginnen die Arme direkt am Kopf.
sich ber neue Technologien und stand im Ihre Tentakel dienen sowohl zum Greifen als
Austausch mit Wissenschaftlern und vielen auch zur Fortbewegung. Die Tiere sind weich
anderen modern denkenden Menschen. So und haben kein Skelett, manche allerdings
kannte er auch den Pariser Zoologieprofes- wie Ammoniten oder Nautilus tragen eine
sor Milne-Edwards, der die Figur des Prof. Auenschale. Die modernen Kopffer
Aronnax mageblich beeinflusst hat. Die Kraken und Kalmare haben Tintendrsen,
Romanfigur des Prof. Aronnax selbst gibt darum heien sie auch Tintenfische.
den Hinweis dazu: mein berhmter Lehrer, Statt eines zahnbewehrten Kiefers sitzen
M. Milne-Edwards. in der Mundffnung scharfkantige Schnbel,
Verne schrieb Wissenschaftsthriller un- mit denen sie Beutetieren und Feinden tiefe
terhaltend und belehrend gleichzeitig. Wunden reien knnen.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 32
Instead of a teeth-equipped jaw there described as god and demon at the same
are sharp-edged beaks in the mouth time, was victorious over the steam.
opening with which they can cut deep Verne introduced the ingenious sub-
wounds at their prey and enemies. marine Nautilus in 20.000 Leagues
Squid are fast swimmers with ten arms Under The Sea and described it in de-
and agile hunters in the ocean. Two pro- tails, however, rather the technique and
longed arms have tentacle clubs with su- less the design. The illustrators of the
ckers for catching of its prey. The suckers publishing house draw it like that: fac-
are often armed with barbs which enable tual, timeless, without a trace of embel-
them to grab their victims inescapably. lishment. The victorian embellishments
The biggest squid is the giant squid Ar- only appeared in 1954 in the Walt Disney
chiteuthis, who was often suspected to movie and since then they are associated
attack ships. with the Nautilus and Verne.
Octopuses have eight arms and live on The ingenious designer Harper Goff
the seafloor. Mostly, they move unhur- became inspired by different sources and
riedly and can be kept well in an aquar- created something spectacularly new.
ium. But there is no escape for their prey That Goff met the broad publics taste,
out of their l tentacles with suckers. With shows the fact that his picture of the
eight arms and surprisingly muscular Nautilus has been and is copied always
strength they can grip dauntless and and everywhere. Much more later, in
they release their prey reluctantly. 2003, in the movie The League of Extra-
ordinary Gentlemen there is a subma-
Nautilus: Ink snail and submarine rine Nautilus that reminds to Vernes
original in its factual design.
Vernes submarine, the Nautilus of the Captain Nemos famous deep sea vehi-
mysterious Captain Nemo, is one of the cle bears the same name like the ethnic
most famous vehicles in the fleet of cephalopod Nautilus, an ink snail. On
Steampunk. purpose?
The submarine runs with electricity The submarine is fast, agile and de-
and not with steam and therefore does fensive.
not fit to the steampunk in the stricter The ink snail is far from being fast and
sense with its steam mobility cult. In the agile, but has been rolling gently
book, the electrified Nautilus is vastly through the oceans since millions of
superior to the steam frigate Abraham years, softly floating up and down. Since
Lincoln. After the attack of the subma- the age of the dinosaurs these animals
rine there only remain a few wreckages only changed slightly.
of the proud steamship in the vastness of Unfortunately, they are not defensive,
the ocean. So electricity, which Verne so they are in danger of extinction be-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 34
cause of overfishing. Their soft body with legged defender and swing him over the
its mysterious eyes and the 50 small ten- others heads. Then the astute Captain
tacles is packed into a sensational Nemo succeeds with this technical supe-
shell. A spiral of fabulous shimmering riority to fend off the squid by means of
mother-of-pearl. The spiral form is geo- an electrical shock.
metrically perfect and flatters the human Another illustration shows the lasting
sense of harmony. Thus, the Nautilus be- effect of the silhouette of Prof. Arronax
came the symbol of renaissance and is, in front of the bulls-eye of the Nauti-
unfortunately, until today a popular col- lus, behind which a capital octopus
lectors item. curls its arms. The illustrator worked out
But, Vernes steely underwater hull in detail the eyes of the octopus. Man
has no direct references to the primary and octopus are faced eye to eye. This il-
cephapolod. In fact the author got in- lustration is at the beginning of the oc-
spired for naming by Robert Fulton who topus attack and builds up the suspense
built and tested successfully a submarine of the coming event.
called Nautilus already in the year The striking illustrations in 20.000
1800. Leagues Under the Sea show octopuses
So, this tentacled animal surfaces as an exotic novelty in the central Euro-
more or less by chance than intended. pean fiction. However, their biology was
only little explored. Therefore, in Vernes
Octopus and squid: eight or ten text and his illustrators drawings octo-
arms? puses and squids are confounded. Fur-
thermore today we know of course that
On purpose Verne established other ce- octopuses and squids do not attack
phalopods in his submarine adventure: ships. But, this does not dampen the
octopuses and squids. tension of enthralling action scenes, fi-
The fight with the giant squid is one nally the book is a historical important
of the most memorable scenes in and fascinating novel and not a current
20.000 Leagues Under The Sea that octopus educational book.
additionally burns itself into readers
memory by its action-packed illustration. Why of all thing cepahlopods
Also in the later Walt Disney movie this
became a key scene: the bloodthirsty Cephalopods are daunting and self-pro-
giant squid catched the Nautilus, the tective creatures with eight or ten arms
submarine crewr attack the monster with in a strange habitat. Jules Verne was the
axes. Its enormous eight arms are far first who made the almost unknown in-
stronger than the physical strength of vertebrates with those expressive eyes to
the defenders, it even captures a two- literary stars. With their tangle of tenta-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 36
cles and superhuman reaction time they Because of their ability to communi-
are optimum opponents for the brave hu- cate and solution strategies they mean-
man heroes. while gained high affection. They are still
Squids and octopuses live in the different and mysterious but in a positive
ocean which at Vernes times was much way. In spite of their ability to communi-
more unexplored and terrifying than cate octopuses live on their own outside
nowadays, finally discovery of this wet pairing season. Only for pairing the
habitat had just begun. To the people in males and females meat for an extensive
the 19th century the ocean was stranger amorous play always an arms length
than the universe to us today. The cepha- away. May be also the image of this broo-
lopods in the past version are the todays dy loner with his distinctive skills makes
aliens from outer space. At the begin- the octopus an ideal steampunk idol?
ning of the 20th century other authors In any case, the exotic sea dwellers
like Sir A. C. Doyle with its air octopus in conquered an everlasting place in the
The Horror in the Heights (1913) and iconography of steampunk: They are mo-
P. H. Lovecraft in this stories Cthulhu dels for jewelry designs and decorate il-
(The Call of Cthulhu, 1928) and the lustrations for different purposes.
Flying Polyps (The Shadow out of The numerous cephalopods in the
Time, 1936) successfully picked up steampunk could primary be traced back
again the cephalopods . to Vernes dramatical octopus scenes and
only secondary to the Cthulhu-Z
From monster to cult cyclus and the air octopus. Thus, he
mainly influenced this genre in any case.
The image of the cephalopods basically It is out of question that some of Ver-
changed since Vernes times: today we nes novels did influence the steampunk
know that octopuses and squids are and without any doubt 20.000 Leagues
highly intelligent and have a smart social Under the Sea belongs to it.
behaviour. Aimless monsters turned to But, in my opinion it would lead too
smart playfellows, passionate lovers and far and thought too narrow to call the
intelligent creatures. Experiments in the French author as the Father of Steam-
open sea and aquariums have meanwhile punk. However, certainly his stories are
proven that octopuses are very inventive the ideal medium and arena to be en-
and adaptive: They heave up aquarium riched with squiggled design and ideas.
covers to escape and reach to open screw
cap glass to get the food stored therein. Bettina Wurche
Some like the octopus Paul have a
successful part-time job as a football
oracle.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 38
Perry Rhodan, Peacelord
of the Universe
I have heard that in Germany, science written by them and a cadre of authors)
fiction is divided into PERRY RHODAN to be a series of some 30 works, but it
and everything else. continues to be published today, now
But who is Perry Rhodan? Hes the star over 2,700 novels, with spin-off series
of probably one of the longest space like Atlan, the Planet Novels and
opera series ever that sadly has had others, and most recently a new series,
only a few works published in the United Perry Rhodan Neo, which reboots the
States. And in my opinion, the series is series with the action starting in 2036.
pure pulp. The series centers on Perry Rhodan,
Started in the 1960s, the PERRY RHO- an American astronaut who leads the
DAN series was created by K. H. Scheer first expedition to the moon in the future
and Walter Ernsting/Clark Darlton (and of 1971. There they find a spacecraft of
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 40
The well-known sf editor and collector mand that the German publisher cant
Forest Ackerman soon worked to bring work out something to bring Perry Rho-
Perry Rhodan to the U.S. Stories were dan back to the U. S.
translated by his wife and others (some No, the series is not high literature,
say they were better than the original but I found the earlier series fun. And
German) and published by Ace Books. sometimes thats what you need in sci-
Additional material was added, and Ive ence fiction. Maybe someone will wise up
heard stories that it was the other mate- and we will be able to enjoy the series
rials that really sold the maga-books again.
as they were called. But some felt the se- I like the work that Black Coat Press is
ries too juvenile and Ace pulled the plug doing in bringing some interesting
even though it was a great seller. An- French (and other European) sf/pulp
other 20 or so stories were published by works into America. But as long as the
subscription only, but even that was en- German publisher has an inflated view of
ded by the German publisher, four sto- the value of Perry Rhodan and is unwill-
ries short of the current cycle. ing to work with a similar smaller press,
Another fan tried a go in the 1990s, nothing will happen it seems.
publishing four stories starting with But if you look, you should be able to
#1800, and hoping to publish the final find the American editions.
four stories of that unfinished cycle, be-
fore the German publisher again pulled Taken from www.thepulp.net/pulpsuper
the plug. FanPro was going to publish fan, ref. www.thepulp.net/pulpsuper
the six-part Lemuria miniseries, but fan/2014/04/14/perry-rhodan-peace
only got the first volume out. I cant un- lord-of-the-universe. With kind permis-
derstand why in this day of print-on-de- sion of Michael Brown. Thank you!
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 42
Kravitzs own efforts. They expressed rest. The headlights drove the shadows
their wish for better days as they enjoyed back and transformed the frost covered
the bottle of Stolichnaya that Komarov trees into glistening fantasy objects. It
had thoughtfully kept on ice. had become cold, as always just before
The next day Kravitz woke with a split- the holidays. Kravitz had been driving
ting headache and only just managed to this way for eight years and couldnt re-
catch his flight. On the aeroplane he got member if the forest and road had ever
an asprin from a stewardess. However, looked any different to the way it was to-
his tiredness vanished in an instant when day. It almost seemed that the country-
he caught a glimpse of a television side had adapted itself to the self-im-
screen showing the news. The headline posed ritual that took him to this loca-
in a red banner on the screen was as sho- tion every year at this time. He had long
cking as it was absurd: given up wanting to know the basis for
Accident at the German Research his motives. He had no rational explana-
Centre Niederlahr cut off from the rest tion for his actions. Others put Christmas
of the world. trees in their apartments and relived
The news item that appeared on the their childhoods. He just drove home.
screen a few seconds later left him in no This would not have been so unusual, if
doubt. He knew the area well enough to not for the fact that his home was just as
recognise it, even though the view was unreachable as his childhood.
from a fair distance. The town lay before him in the valley
But why would there be talk about a as the glittering magic forest retreated
reactor accident? The institute where he behind him. He thought that nothing
worked didnt have one. What a pity he had changed, but he made the same
couldnt use his mobile phone while on error every time. The town at the lower
board, otherwise he could have called reaches of the Aarnau was no longer the
Miriam to ask who might be responsible same as it had been. It had become slow-
for such a prank. ly and steadily desolate.
Kravitz had often asked himself later This was not because of the absence
if he really had been so mystified then. of tourists. It was also not the sight of
In retrospect, the question was unans- the vacant motels and pensions that had
werable. All he could do was to regret the been built in the recent past. It was just
decisions he had made when he was that the inhabitants had left the town for
younger. What would he have given to be a reason Kravitz believed he knew. It
in that situation again. seemed their departure was caused by
the effect of the Robinson Syndrome
Kravitz turned the cars headlights on as the name given to the affliction in the
he entered the darkness of the Hardt fo- specialist literature. People in the imme-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 44
members. It was a puzzle to Kravitz why With slow deliberation he picked up
he had not left. his suitcase and went to the lift without
What was left to investigate here dignifying his adversary with a glance.
eight years later? And why did he not go The corridor on the second floor smelt
home during the holiday like most of his of disinfectant and stale smoke. It was a
colleagues? Perhaps he only wants to familiar smell that strengthened the deja-
make himself seem important. vu that Kravitz felt every time he stayed
Kravitz attempted to calm himself here. The interior of the building had not
while he took his suitcase out of the changed in years. Doldinger was an ex-
boot. It seemed heavier than it had been pert at replacing worn out items with
in the morning, even though he had exact duplicates.
packed it himself; it was a mistaken feel- Room number 32. Kravitz felt his
ing that he dismissed every year. Be- pulse quicken as he unlocked the door.
sides, that was part of the ritual. The light came on automatically, the only
Professor! He was greeted by a so- new item that the owner had installed.
norous voice that hardly matched the Kravitz hardly glanced at the furnishings
gaunt bald head of the man who polished in the room. Everything was in its usual
glasses behind the bar. Punctual as al- place. He had the impression that he had
ways. You are very welcome! been here only a short while before. He
The two others in the room were Dr. made sure that nobody had followed him
Willems and a younger man of asiatic and carefully shut the door. The journey
appearance whom Kravitz didnt know. had tired him and he longed for a sho-
Willems said Cheers and raised his wer. Somehow he felt more unsettled. He
half full beer glass towards him. The must find out now, even if it might be
younger man, who had a glass of tea in distressing.
front of him, scrutinised the newcomer. He carefully took his night sight box
Number 32 as always? asked the out of his suitcase, opened it and activa-
landlord obsequiously. ted the electronics. He then turned off
Kravitz nodded and accepted the key. the light, pushed aside the curtains and
It was not a code card but a real key, with went outside onto the small balcony. The
a brass tag which had the room number rear face of the hotel was in darkness. The
engraved on it. other rooms on this floor were frequently
Same procedure every year, Willems not in use and no lights were visible.
remarked annoyingly in English, then Kravitz could not rule out the possibi-
emptied his glass with one lity that he had been seen, but by whom?
gulp. In any case, not Dr. Willems. He was fully
Kravitz resisted the temptation to re- occupied downstairs, drowning his frus-
turn the affront. tration.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 46
call. He had really not expected other- Doldinger had approached unnoticed
wise. The UNSCET staff had studied every and waited with his flimsy notepad for
part of the area with special cameras Kravitzs order. This also belonged to the
without obtaining anything new from ritual. Kravitz went along with it and did
their recordings. He would not find Miri- what he usually did, pretending to study
am even if he stayed out here all night. the menu before he ordered what he usu-
When he put the night sight down red ally had. Presumably Doldinger had al-
spots danced in front of his eyes. For a ready given the order before he arrived.
dizzy moment he was scared of losing The wine was served first, a rich red Bur-
consciousness. Nevertheless he pulled gundy that Kravitz sipped slowly while he
himself together, though his hands waited for the starter. He heard the two
shook as he took the night sight off the men at the bar conversing in the back-
tripod. Maybe it was just the cold from ground but only understood a few snat-
being outside. ches of what they said. He asked himself
what Willems was aiming at with his ob-
Kravitz took the lift down to the restau- vious presence. Did he really believe that
rant less than an hour later. For a minute he could break him out of his reserve?
or two he had toyed with the thought of Hopefully he had enough decency not to
simply skipping dinner but then realised disturb him as he ate.
he was hungry. Besides, he had not The starter arrived, a mushroom soup
eaten anything since breakfast. He dare with fresh herbs; it was excellent and so
not show any weakness. The shower had was the pickled venison that was served
freshened him up and awakened his figh- with it. Kravitz ate with pleasure, and for
ting spirit. Whatever Willems intended, a while he almost succeded in not think-
he would not give him the pleasure of ing about either Willems or the reason
spoiling a pleasant meal. for his stay. The end of the menu was a
The two men were standing by the bar recommendation of the host curd
as usual. Kravitz gave Willems a cold look cheese with cherries in rum that Kravitz
as Willems raised his glass to him. He was hesitant to accept but nevertheless
then went directly to his reserved table. did not want to miss. As he heard steps
He sat down at a place by the window behind him he realised that the agree-
with his back turned to his adversaries. able part of the evening was over.
For the first time he noticed that there May we join you? Willems grinned
were other guests in the hotel. Two ta- and indicated the two places opposite Kra-
bles away were an old couple. On the op- vitz. The young man with him bowed po-
posite side were a group of men who litely. He was almost a head shorter than
were drinking local wine in giant glasses. the Dutchman. He was dark haired and ap-
What can I get you, Professor? peared to have far eastern ancestry.
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 48
That doesnt matter, smiled Wil- late about the size and shape of the arte-
lems. If you will agree, I want to tell you fact, not about the fact it exists; but as
a little story that will tie the available we see it, it is certain that it was not of
facts together for us in an interesting natural origin.
way. As you say. Only get on with it!
Presumably I cant stop you saying Professor Komarov did not go public
what you want to say, Kravitz replied as with his discovery; he carried out re-
he leaned back in a obviously relaxed search on his own instead.
manner. That sounds rather fantastic, but
Let us accept for now that your ac- continue.
quaintance had discovered something, Komarovs research led to no usable
lets say it was very strange, at one of results for reasons that we dont know,
these half-legal auctions. which is why he asked you confidentially
Possible, if not particularly likely, for support.
Kravitz interjected. And why should he have done that?
He came across something, insisted It was a question about what was
his opponent. There is supporting infor- technically possible. Professor Komarov
mation. was a mineralogist, not a physicist.
Good, I accept that this could be the The boundaries are so vague, but I
case. What sort of thing had you thought accept that it could have been so.
it might be? Komarov handed over a part of the
Kravitz was certain that he was invol- material to you for investigation, and
ved in a dangerous game, but the temp- you did the work yourself, perhaps as a
tation his adversary was presenting was part of a test setup whose true back-
simply too great. ground you withheld from your collea-
An extra-terrestrial artefact for ex- gue.
ample? True, thought Kravitz regretfully. I
Most meteorites are of extraterres- dared not hand over supervision of the
trial origin, Kravitz commented. Other- investigation.
wise there wouldnt be any. Even if all that was true, he objec-
You know now where I am heading ted, I cant see the connection. A physi-
an artefact that was possibly not of natu- cist makes certain that he has no doubts
ral origin. about the capabilities of the institutes
You mean like a type of alien space- installations. Any connection with the
ship? Perhapsa rather small one? appearance of the Barrier is excluded by
Save your sarcasm until you have the energy balance alone.
heard the story to the end, replied Wil- Not when during the course of the
lems unimpressed. We can only specu- investigation something triggered a re-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 50
Interesting, Kravitz smiled and sur- ded fifty more to persuade the man to
prised himself how little Willems words forget his name.
worried him. After his return trip he went directly
Willems had come rather close to the from the airport to his Moscow institute
truth, but what did that mean anyway? to carry out the preliminary investiga-
He would not be able to prove anything. tion. He soon found confirmation of what
However, Kravitz now felt something like he suspected. There were inclusions, four
respect for his antagonist. Many others altogether, and what really astounded
would have long given up, but Willems him all appeared to be the same size! It
had sunk his teeth in like a terrier. He was no problem for a man of Komarovs
must have studied and analysed a vast experience to extract the inclusions from
mass of material. Otherwise he would not the material. It had taken several days
have conceived the idea that a lump of before he was able to free the capsules
meteorite that took its owner to the far this was what the inclusions looked like
side of the world had anything to do with and remove all clinging debris. They were
this matter. all exactly the same size, eight centime-
tres long and twelve millimetres in dia-
The material was actually offered on the meter. Each weighed exactly two hun-
internet meteorites from the Sichote- dred and eighteen grams, which corres-
Alin region. They were considered to be ponds to an average density of nearly
relatively worthless by experts. Sergei twenty-five grams per cubic centimetre.
became interested because the sellers Even Osmium, the heaviest metal known,
description contained inconsistencies. is significantly lighter. The radiological
The measurements did not match the investigation brought the first setback,
weight. Sichote-Alin meteorites gener- the material showed itself to be abso-
ally consist of iron with around six per- lutely impenetrable, even for the strong-
cent nickel inclusions, therefore the est x-rays. The attempt to get a spectrum
lump offered was too heavy. Komarov analysis of the material was equally un-
had contacted the seller and settled the successful. The capsules were neither af-
business as soon as he had confirmed the fected by ionisation nor reacted in the
details. Then he had flown to Vladivostoc slightest to physical pressure. The great-
and had called on the man, a rather est surprise Komarov got was caused by
dodgy young fellow, who alleged that he the attempt to heat one of the capsules.
had inherited the stone from his grand- The material seemed to have the capabil-
father. Presumably he had stolen it, but ity to absorb energy. Despite intensive
that did not interest Sergei. He paid the heating, the temperature of its surface
negotiated five hundred dollars after he never rose above twenty five degrees Cel-
had examined the meteorite. He then ad- sius. Sergei had to conclude eventually
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 52
to more investigations involving the par- polite bow with a nod of the head. He
ticipation of all the appropriate services. waited a little until the two men had ta-
They all state that Professor Komarov ken their places by the bar. Then he went
could not have left the institutes premi- through the empty lounge to the lift.
ses unobserved.
And what do you think? The door to his room was locked; but Kra-
I think that his disappearance had vitz still looked around cautiously on en-
something to do with the artefact per- tering the room. There was no evidence
haps it was a sort of defence mechanism that anyone had forced an entry in his
that you, or whoever, triggered off here absence, but he felt calmer after he had a
in Niederlahr. look in his suitcase. The silver cigarette
Was it a purposeful action? Kravitz case was present, of course, and, judging
forced a smile. You mean that we have by its weight, so was its contents. The
aliens here with us? case had belonged to his grandfather,
I dont mean anything, Willems re- Jonathan C. Kravitz. His name was en-
plied. But I dont rule anything out. As graved on the lid. It had lain in a drawer
long as science cannot provide an expla- unobserved for decades, until Kravitz
nation for the appearance of the Barrier, found it by chance. He was a non-smo-
we must conclude that a non-human in- ker, but had nevertheless occasional use
telligence is indirectly involved, at for the antique item, at least once a year.
least. The capsule a grey cylinder with roun-
By which we would be with the little ded edges was thicker than a normal ci-
green men again Im sorry Dr. Willems, garette and lay in a cushion that Kravitz
but that appears to me to be too far had cut out of Styrofoam. With a little
fetched. Please excuse me if you will. It imagination one could take it for a type
has been a long day. of cartridge, but basically it had no re-
It was not an excuse. Kravitz felt ex- semblance to any known thing. As Kra-
hausted and spent. Perhaps it had been vitz took it out of the case, he grimaced
the abundant wine, perhaps the long at the unsettling reaction of his muscles
journey. In any case, at that moment he and nerves. He distrusted them some-
wanted, no he yearned for, the chance to what, like he did the thing itself. Some-
be able to stretch out and shut his eyes. thing that looked like metal and was
Apologies for detaining you, Wil- heavier than lead should feel cool, but it
lems replied, not in the least bit put out. didnt. The surface of the capsule was
I hope we have not bored you too much. warm and shiny like polished wood. It
Sleep well, Professor. was futile to speculate what caused this
Good night, gentlemen, muttered impression; a property of the material
Kravitz. He returned the smaller mans from which it was made, no doubt. An ex-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 54
had caused most of the houses in the im- tion, no, that wasnt it, Distribution of
mediate neighbourhood of the Barrier to finds, likewise uninteresting, but per-
be vacated. After many guards had star- haps Orbit would help him further.
ted to suffer from sleep disturbances and
other psychological afflictions, their ac- The first calculations originated from a
commodation had been moved further Russian called Fesenkov who had recon-
away to the south suburb, and that had structed the path of the main body of the
reduced the complaints. The problem meteorite on the basis of eyewitness ac-
was blamed on a sort of stasis field that counts. Later computer simulations by
existed near the Barrier. However, this Shepard and Turner provided only minor
was only a speculative hypothesis. corrections. They suggested an estima-
Could it be that some kind of plan- ted period for the orbit of 1,132 days.
ned action was in play, as he had sug- They said that the meteorite would have
gested to Willems? come under the influence of Martian gra-
Another thought sneaked into Kra- vity approximately twentysix years be-
vitzs consciousness, though vague and fore its impact with the Earth. From that
unstructured. It could be the first signs the two Britons concluded that either the
of an explanation that was almost attain- data available to Fesenkov was imprecise
able if he could just reach it and put or the meteorite originated in 1921
the different parts together. probably through a collision between
Capsules Stasis field Robinson two objects in the asteroid belt.
Syndrome Sychote-Alin meteorite A collision, Kravitz thought, yet not
fragment loneliness. so long ago. If that was actually what
There must be a simple connection. had happened, then it was possible that
And perhaps it had to do with the origin only small fragments were swung in the
of the meteorite. But he could not make direction of the sun. The path of the
headway without help. He needed more more massive fragments would have
information. hardly been altered because of the mo-
Kravitz took his Comboard out of the mentum of their orbit. Iron asteroids
side compartment of his suitcase and were not particularly common. Only lar-
switched it on. When the connection was ger planetoids could be formed with iron
made, he activated the beamer and fo- cores. The meteorite was possibly debris
cused the projection. It showed a blue from a planet that Jupiters gravity had
shimmering panel on which the logo of ripped to pieces millions of years ago.
the Allnet portal soon appeared. He then What if the capsules came from that pla-
selected his datafile and downloaded the net? Perhaps they had undergone this
SAM dossier. Somewhere here must be strange metamorphosis to ensure their
the information he sought. Composi- survival? This was pure speculation but it
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 56
anything else, he was slightly disappoin- The transporter! It had disappeared,
ted. it was simply not there anymore. It had
He suddenly felt extremely tired. His stood there for eight years, only a few
limbs felt as heavy as lead. The few metres dozen metres away from the Barrier. It
to his bed took all the rest of his strength. was a delivery wagon of a cleaning ser-
Miriam, was his last thought before he vice, and the images of the yellow trans-
slept. Miriam, Im sor porter with the rear steering wheel had
The light in the room stayed on all gone around the world. Now it was gone
night, but Kravitz slept like a log, while vanished!
in his right hand he held the capsule as a It is gone! With straining eyes Kravitz
child keeps hold of a favourite toy. stared across at the banks of fog that hid
the institutes buildings. It is actually
He was woken by the telephone. Sleepily gone.
he turned to the source of the noise and
grabbed the handset with a deep sigh. If Minutes later the first emergency vehi-
that is Doldinger then he should rot in cles approached the district with howling
However, it was not the hotelier but sirens, but Bernhard Kravitz was already
Willems. on his way.
Willems, damn you, have you gone While he chased towards his goal at
completely crazy what are you saying breakneck speed, he glanced again at
the Barrier are you serious? Thanks, the passenger seat to make sure that the
see you later. objects he had put there were still there.
In a moment Kravitz was out of bed. They were a silver cigarette case and a
Still in his underclothes he grabbed his packet in yellowing gift wrapping. He
viewer, pulled the curtains aside and had not brought anything else.
went out onto the balcony. At first Merry Christmas, Miriam, the grey
glance there was nothing unusual to see. haired man whispered with a beaming
The old town in front of him seemed as smile. Ill be home soon.
sad and lost as it had been for ages. The Home. a yearning alien consciousness
metre high steel chain fence that sur- echoed in the all encompassing dark-
rounded the district was only recognis- ness. Home soon.
able as an outline. Kravitz switched his
viewer on, but the grey foggy swathes
that arose from the river meadows swal- Winner of the
lowed up the details of the scene in front 2008 German Science Fiction Award
of him. Somehow something had chan- (Deutscher Science-Fiction-Preis)
ged. The feeling was stronger than his Translated from the German
memory of the place. by Wilf James
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 58
Nur das nchste kleine groe Ding
Steampunk Science-Fiction existiert nur noch als Ni-
in Deutschland anno 2014 sche und Steampunk kreucht unter der
Wahrnehmungsschwelle. Das Kino wird
1987 propagierte K. W. Jeter in einem geprgt von den blichen globalen Mas-
Leserbrief an das Locus-Magazin, dass senblockbustern, allen voran den Comic-
viktorianische Fantastik zum nchsten verfilmungen und die Free-TV-Serien
groen Ding avancieren wrde, htte kreisen um bernatrliche Wesen oder
man nur einen passenden Namen, wie modernen Superhelden.
vielleicht Steampunk. ber ein Viertel- Doch unterhalb dieser Wahrneh-
jahrhundert spter ist Steampunk in mungsschwelle entstand auch in
Deutschland angekommen, allerdings Deutschland eine rhrige Szene, die
nur als das nchste kleine groe Ding. durchaus aktiv ist.
Warum nur? Junge Nachwuchsschriftsteller labo-
Deutschland blickt kaum auf eine rieren an neoviktorianischen Geschich-
glorreiche Vergangenheit zurck. Auch ten, die nicht mehr im Nebel Londons,
gab es nie eine so lange und prgende sondern in Wiesbaden, Baden-Baden
Regierungszeit eines Herrschers, wie die oder auch in Hamburg oder Wien spielen.
von Knigin Viktoria in England. Die in- Kurzgeschichtensammlungen sind bei
dustrielle Revolution wird dank der ty- den Groverlagen verpnt, die Kleinver-
pisch deutschen pessimistischen Grund- lage haben keine Probleme ein Dutzend
haltung ebenfalls eher negativ belegt: von Steampunkanthologien mit Kurzge-
Soziale Verwerfungen und Verelendung schichten zu fllen. Beim Buchmessecon,
der Massen fallen als Stichwort und we- einer Parallelveranstaltung zur Frankfur-
niger der Aufbruch in ein modernes, ter Buchmesse fr Kleinverlage der fan-
neues Zeitalter. Somit darf es niemanden tastischen Szene gewinnen seit Jahren
verwundern, dass ein Genre wie Steam- immer wieder Steampunkwerke Preise in
punk, das in der viktorianischen Zeit und den Sparten Nachwuchsroman, Antholo-
der industriellen Revolution verwurzelt gie oder bestes Sekundrwerk.
ist, in Deutschland keinen leichten Stand Der optischen sthetik des Steam-
hat. punks erliegen Anhnger der Gothic-Sze-
Steampunk wird in Deutschland ne, Mittelalterfans und gelangweilte SF-
nicht laufen, prophezeiten viele Gro- Dinos. Bastler, die schon immer an
verlage vor noch fnf Jahren. Und sie schrgen Dingen werkelten, verzieren ih-
sollten hinsichtlich auflagenstarker Pub- re Arbeiten mit Messingbeschlgen und
likationen Recht behalten. Den deut- bekennen sich zum Steampunk. Hacker
schen Buchmarkt dominiert die Fantasy, und Moder etablieren eine politische Ge-
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 60
genkultur, gegen die Uniformitt der Es gibt kaum Steampunkfilme, abge-
Soft- und Hardware. Sie mchten die Ge- sehen von Wild Wild West und besser
rte und Programme umbauen, erweitern als Dieselpunk kategorisiert Sky Cap-
oder einfach nur aufhbschen, ohne die- tain and the World of Tomorrow. Aller-
se nach drei Jahren Nutzung zu ver- dings finden sich immer wieder Retroele-
schrotten, um sich die nchste schwarze mente in Filmen, was den Steampunkfan
Kiste ins Haus zu stellen. Auch diese Ma- sofort veranlasst, diesem Film den pas-
ker haben den Begriff Steampunk fr sich senden Stempel aufzudrcken. Gem
entdeckt. der Devise: Seit ich einen Hammer habe,
LARPer versuchten sich an ersten Rol- sieht alles aus wie ein Nagel. Dass also
lenspielen, auch wenn sowohl Location ausgerechnet aus Deutschland Steam-
als auch Kostme und Requisiten teuer punkfilme kommen, ist illusorisch. Doch
und aufwndig zu organisieren sind. Und ein professioneller Mitarbeiter vieler
begabte Schneiderinnen wechseln von Filmproduktionen ist Steampunkfan: Dirk
Schwarz auf Braun, von Mittelalter auf Mller. ber Crowdfunding finanzierte er
Viktorianik. In der Provinz entstehen einen ersten zehnmintigen Filmtrailer
kleine Treffen, Stammtische und Freun- Airlords of Airia. Derzeit schreibt er an
deskreise. Schnell lsst man das Caf einem Drehbuch fr eine abendfllende
hinter sich und schreitet in voller Kost- Adaption.
mierung hinaus auf die Strae. Das ist Erst im Jahr 2012 fand das erste, rei-
riskant, besonders auerhalb des Karne- ne Steampunkfestival statt: der Aether-
vals. Doch ist das Steampunkkostm eher circus in Stade, einer Kleinstadt nrdlich
gesellschaftsfhig, als der hautenge von Hamburg. Michael Deutschmann,
Trekkie-Pulli berm Wohlstandsbauch Kopf der Band Drachenflug, hatte die
oder die zerschlissene Klamotte vom Idee, das Durchhaltevermgen und die
letzten Zombie-Walk. Untersttzung seiner groen Familie und
Internetaktivitten konzentrieren Freunde. Zunchst fand der Circus im
sich auf den Clockworker und ein Forum Historischen Rathaus der Stadt statt,
namens Rauchersalon, wo die grten 2013 und 2014 traf man sich an authen-
Zugriffszahlen im Unterforum Erfinder- tischem Orte: einem alten Wachfort an
werkstatt gezhlt werden. Musikgrup- der Elbe namens Grauerort. Livemusik,
pen wechseln von Mittelalterklngen und Lesungen, Multimedia-Vortrge gesellen
Folk Richtung Steampunk, wie Off Li- sich zu Walking Acts, Zeltlagern oder
mits, manchmal mit einer speziellen Ausstellungen von Knstlern, Makern
viktorianischen Attitde wie Coppelius und Hndlern. Viele Besucher erscheinen
oder mit seltsamen Instrumenten und kostmiert. Und dann wechselten die
Texten, die sich am Genre orientieren, Bastler mit ihren wunderbaren Expona-
wie Drachenflug. ten auf die andere Seite der Elbe, nach
andromedaSFmagazine 152 p. 62
Science Fiction in Germany