Perry Rhodan authors partition their oeuvre into groups of about fifty
novellas each, called Zyklus. My review pertains to the third cycle,
"The Posbis" Zyklus. It consists of novellas 100 - 149.
Posbis is a pluralized portmanteau of "positronic-biologic." It
denotes the combination of a soft organic cognitive substance, the
innermost, wrapped within a mechanical brain.
Posbis come from a extroplanet in the inter-galactic void between
starry islands in space: the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Posbis
command war machines and are able to shift localized time about a dozen
hours in order to cloak their ships.
Although not every story in the Zyklus contains a Posbi component,
the Posbi conflict dominates the cycle. It's both exposited and resolved
within the space of these fifty novellas.

Popular characters die in this cycle. One unpopular character, whose
endless schemes grated on me, dies. Yet his death left me sad.
The Ackerman translations die - due mostly to the greed and the
bureaucratic inertia of the two publishers: Moewig and Ace. This
translation tragedy's told by the tone of Forry's editorials - early
ebullience followed later by ever larger lugubriousness until the bitter
end, the last Master Publications translation: "145 The Phantom Horde."

Relationships between characters become dysfunctional. Primarily due to
psychological repercussions from Rhodan's failures as a father, husband,
and lover.
And Arkonide Atlan also develops a discontentment over his lot in
life. Perry describes his peer as a "sad dog," although Atlan's actually
a "top dog."

Rhodan's storied intuition ultimately proves itself occasionally
fallible. Yet fear continues to drive other leaders to follow Rhodan.
Not fear of Rhodan himself - rather, fear of a wrong decision made due
to a lack of input from Rhodan's imperfect, insightful intuition.
Even ethereal, intangible, invisible, immortal IT, creator of
materialized dreams, feels fear from alien creatures christened
"Luxites" by Reg Bell. Because these creatures consume all available
energy.
IT discloses this tantalizing tidbit to Perry, prior to latter's
departure to contain the Luxite threat:

[Rhodan says] "I am interested in the destiny of the
Barkonides. They once told me that I would one day regret
having helped them-yet I helped them at that time because
you asked me to do so. What is it supposed to mean that I
will regret having helped them?"
"They do not refer to actual danger, but only to your
conceit. You will rule the galaxy, but once the Barkonides
enter your life you will see how small you are-and how small
is the galaxy. More I cannot tell you."

145 "The Phantom Horde"

Although Perry may eventually rule the galaxy, for now he controls only
the small Solar Imperium based upon Terra. An Imperium allied to the
remnants of the Arkonide Empire, itself centered on globular cluster
M13.
The opposition consists of variegated interests united only by a
shared hatred of both Imperiums. There's the rootless, greedy Springer
traders who operate as the Mongols of space, without a permanent home.
Springers employ equally avaricious, itinerant mercenaries called
Mounders.
Akons, Aras, and Antis are always available as co-conspirators to
abet any arrogation against Atlan or Rhodan. Akons resent their
rebellious Arkon descendants who threw off the Akon yoke many millennia
ago. Aras are medical masters known to treacherously create pathogens in
order to profit from cures. Antis are anti-mutants, able to nullify
Terra's Mutant Corps.
Extragalactic threats take the form of Laurens, Luxites, and logical
Posbis.

Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
Ron Landry, Larry Randall, and Lofty Patterson. Android Meech Hannigan,
whose speech impediment causes him to mispronounce his own first name,
Mitch, soon joins the team, all under the supervision of hypochondriac
Nike Quinto.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

Em quinta-feira, 10 de novembro de 2022 às 19:04:47 UTC-3, Don escreveu:
> Perry Rhodan authors partition their oeuvre into groups of about fifty
> novellas each, called Zyklus. My review pertains to the third cycle,
> "The Posbis" Zyklus. It consists of novellas 100 - 149.
> Posbis is a pluralized portmanteau of "positronic-biologic." It
> denotes the combination of a soft organic cognitive substance, the
> innermost, wrapped within a mechanical brain.
> Posbis come from a extroplanet in the inter-galactic void between
> starry islands in space: the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Posbis
> command war machines and are able to shift localized time about a dozen
> hours in order to cloak their ships.
> Although not every story in the Zyklus contains a Posbi component,
> the Posbi conflict dominates the cycle. It's both exposited and resolved
> within the space of these fifty novellas.
>
> Popular characters die in this cycle. One unpopular character, whose
> endless schemes grated on me, dies. Yet his death left me sad.
> The Ackerman translations die - due mostly to the greed and the
> bureaucratic inertia of the two publishers: Moewig and Ace. This
> translation tragedy's told by the tone of Forry's editorials - early
> ebullience followed later by ever larger lugubriousness until the bitter
> end, the last Master Publications translation: "145 The Phantom Horde."
>
> Relationships between characters become dysfunctional. Primarily due to
> psychological repercussions from Rhodan's failures as a father, husband,
> and lover.
> And Arkonide Atlan also develops a discontentment over his lot in
> life. Perry describes his peer as a "sad dog," although Atlan's actually
> a "top dog."
>
> Rhodan's storied intuition ultimately proves itself occasionally
> fallible. Yet fear continues to drive other leaders to follow Rhodan.
> Not fear of Rhodan himself - rather, fear of a wrong decision made due
> to a lack of input from Rhodan's imperfect, insightful intuition.
> Even ethereal, intangible, invisible, immortal IT, creator of
> materialized dreams, feels fear from alien creatures christened
> "Luxites" by Reg Bell. Because these creatures consume all available
> energy.
> IT discloses this tantalizing tidbit to Perry, prior to latter's
> departure to contain the Luxite threat:
>
> [Rhodan says] "I am interested in the destiny of the
> Barkonides. They once told me that I would one day regret
> having helped them-yet I helped them at that time because
> you asked me to do so. What is it supposed to mean that I
> will regret having helped them?"
> "They do not refer to actual danger, but only to your
> conceit. You will rule the galaxy, but once the Barkonides
> enter your life you will see how small you are-and how small
> is the galaxy. More I cannot tell you."
>
> 145 "The Phantom Horde"
>
> Although Perry may eventually rule the galaxy, for now he controls only
> the small Solar Imperium based upon Terra. An Imperium allied to the
> remnants of the Arkonide Empire, itself centered on globular cluster
> M13.
> The opposition consists of variegated interests united only by a
> shared hatred of both Imperiums. There's the rootless, greedy Springer
> traders who operate as the Mongols of space, without a permanent home.
> Springers employ equally avaricious, itinerant mercenaries called
> Mounders.
> Akons, Aras, and Antis are always available as co-conspirators to
> abet any arrogation against Atlan or Rhodan. Akons resent their
> rebellious Arkon descendants who threw off the Akon yoke many millennia
> ago. Aras are medical masters known to treacherously create pathogens in
> order to profit from cures. Antis are anti-mutants, able to nullify
> Terra's Mutant Corps.
> Extragalactic threats take the form of Laurens, Luxites, and logical
> Posbis.
>
> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
> Ron Landry, Larry Randall, and Lofty Patterson. Android Meech Hannigan,
> whose speech impediment causes him to mispronounce his own first name,
> Mitch, soon joins the team, all under the supervision of hypochondriac
> Nike Quinto.
>
> Danke,
>
> --
> Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
> telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
> tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

Excellent!

Perry Rhodan english summaries by Cédric Beus ??

Dioberto Souza wrote:
> Don escreveu:
>> Perry Rhodan authors partition their oeuvre into groups of about fifty
>> novellas each, called Zyklus. My review pertains to the third cycle,
>> "The Posbis" Zyklus. It consists of novellas 100 - 149.

<snip>

> Excellent!
>
> Perry Rhodan english summaries by Cédric Beus ??

Thank you. My review is written solely by me and contains only my own
impressions of the novellas read by me. Matter of fact, the existence of
English reviews was nearly forgotten after my website reviews were
dropped by me. My website reviews contained links to the summaries,
perrypedia, as well as other associated webpages of interest.

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

Em sexta-feira, 11 de novembro de 2022 às 10:05:08 UTC-3, Don escreveu:
> Dioberto Souza wrote:
> > Don escreveu:
> >> Perry Rhodan authors partition their oeuvre into groups of about fifty
> >> novellas each, called Zyklus. My review pertains to the third cycle,
> >> "The Posbis" Zyklus. It consists of novellas 100 - 149.
> <snip>
> > Excellent!
> >
> > Perry Rhodan english summaries by Cédric Beus ??
> Thank you. My review is written solely by me and contains only my own
> impressions of the novellas read by me. Matter of fact, the existence of
> English reviews was nearly forgotten after my website reviews were
> dropped by me. My website reviews contained links to the summaries,
> perrypedia, as well as other associated webpages of interest.
> Danke,
>
> --
> Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
> telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
> tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

I share the series on social media, and there are many fans and people curious about the series who are from English-speaking countries!

I would very much like to direct these people to a website, and/or blog, and/or group/community, where they would find information/trivia about Perry Rhodan in English.

But there are few options and they don't interrelate with each other, which is a shame...

DIOberto / alemaopazeamor

In article <16df1a29-119c-4905-87f7-c6e7cbb4f82cn@googlegroups.com>,
Dioberto Souza <perryrhodan.souza@gmail.com> wrote:
>Em quinta-feira, 10 de novembro de 2022 às 19:04:47 UTC-3, Don escreveu:
>> Perry Rhodan authors partition their oeuvre into groups of about fifty
>> novellas each, called Zyklus. My review pertains to the third cycle,
>> "The Posbis" Zyklus. It consists of novellas 100 - 149.
>> Posbis is a pluralized portmanteau of "positronic-biologic." It
>> denotes the combination of a soft organic cognitive substance, the
>> innermost, wrapped within a mechanical brain.
>> Posbis come from a extroplanet in the inter-galactic void between
>> starry islands in space: the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxies. Posbis
>> command war machines and are able to shift localized time about a dozen
>> hours in order to cloak their ships.
>> Although not every story in the Zyklus contains a Posbi component,
>> the Posbi conflict dominates the cycle. It's both exposited and resolved
>> within the space of these fifty novellas.
>>
>> Popular characters die in this cycle. One unpopular character, whose
>> endless schemes grated on me, dies. Yet his death left me sad.
>> The Ackerman translations die - due mostly to the greed and the
>> bureaucratic inertia of the two publishers: Moewig and Ace. This
>> translation tragedy's told by the tone of Forry's editorials - early
>> ebullience followed later by ever larger lugubriousness until the bitter
>> end, the last Master Publications translation: "145 The Phantom Horde."
>>
>> Relationships between characters become dysfunctional. Primarily due to
>> psychological repercussions from Rhodan's failures as a father, husband,
>> and lover.
>> And Arkonide Atlan also develops a discontentment over his lot in
>> life. Perry describes his peer as a "sad dog," although Atlan's actually
>> a "top dog."
>>
>> Rhodan's storied intuition ultimately proves itself occasionally
>> fallible. Yet fear continues to drive other leaders to follow Rhodan.
>> Not fear of Rhodan himself - rather, fear of a wrong decision made due
>> to a lack of input from Rhodan's imperfect, insightful intuition.
>> Even ethereal, intangible, invisible, immortal IT, creator of
>> materialized dreams, feels fear from alien creatures christened
>> "Luxites" by Reg Bell. Because these creatures consume all available
>> energy.
>> IT discloses this tantalizing tidbit to Perry, prior to latter's
>> departure to contain the Luxite threat:
>>
>> [Rhodan says] "I am interested in the destiny of the
>> Barkonides. They once told me that I would one day regret
>> having helped them-yet I helped them at that time because
>> you asked me to do so. What is it supposed to mean that I
>> will regret having helped them?"
>> "They do not refer to actual danger, but only to your
>> conceit. You will rule the galaxy, but once the Barkonides
>> enter your life you will see how small you are-and how small
>> is the galaxy. More I cannot tell you."
>>
>> 145 "The Phantom Horde"
>>
>> Although Perry may eventually rule the galaxy, for now he controls only
>> the small Solar Imperium based upon Terra. An Imperium allied to the
>> remnants of the Arkonide Empire, itself centered on globular cluster
>> M13.
>> The opposition consists of variegated interests united only by a
>> shared hatred of both Imperiums. There's the rootless, greedy Springer
>> traders who operate as the Mongols of space, without a permanent home.
>> Springers employ equally avaricious, itinerant mercenaries called
>> Mounders.
>> Akons, Aras, and Antis are always available as co-conspirators to
>> abet any arrogation against Atlan or Rhodan. Akons resent their
>> rebellious Arkon descendants who threw off the Akon yoke many millennia
>> ago. Aras are medical masters known to treacherously create pathogens in
>> order to profit from cures. Antis are anti-mutants, able to nullify
>> Terra's Mutant Corps.
>> Extragalactic threats take the form of Laurens, Luxites, and logical
>> Posbis.
>>
>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>> Ron Landry, Larry Randall, and Lofty Patterson. Android Meech Hannigan,
>> whose speech impediment causes him to mispronounce his own first name,
>> Mitch, soon joins the team, all under the supervision of hypochondriac
>> Nike Quinto.
>>
>> Danke,
>>
>> --
>> Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
>> telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
>> tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.
>
>
>
>Excellent!
>
>Perry Rhodan english summaries by Cédric Beus ??

My memory of the whole Posbi era is pretty fuzzy, but I think at the
time it seemed the series was changing direction to something I
liked less well. The whole business of killing Khrest & Thora, and
then Rhodan's worthless son left kind of a bad taste, and the clear
Campbellian Earth-vs-all theme was getting less central, with nothing
as compelling replacing it. Of course if the translations had continued
I might have made it to another cycle I liked as well, but ultimately
they didn't.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

Ted Nolan wrote:
> Dioberto Souza wrote:
>> Don escreveu:

<snip>

>>> Although Perry may eventually rule the galaxy, for now he controls only
>>> the small Solar Imperium based upon Terra. An Imperium allied to the
>>> remnants of the Arkonide Empire, itself centered on globular cluster
>>> M13.
>>> The opposition consists of variegated interests united only by a
>>> shared hatred of both Imperiums. There's the rootless, greedy Springer
>>> traders who operate as the Mongols of space, without a permanent home.
>>> Springers employ equally avaricious, itinerant mercenaries called
>>> Mounders.
>>> Akons, Aras, and Antis are always available as co-conspirators to
>>> abet any arrogation against Atlan or Rhodan. Akons resent their
>>> rebellious Arkon descendants who threw off the Akon yoke many millennia
>>> ago. Aras are medical masters known to treacherously create pathogens in
>>> order to profit from cures. Antis are anti-mutants, able to nullify
>>> Terra's Mutant Corps.
>>> Extragalactic threats take the form of Laurens, Luxites, and logical
>>> Posbis.
>>>
>>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>>> Ron Landry, Larry Randall, and Lofty Patterson. Android Meech Hannigan,
>>> whose speech impediment causes him to mispronounce his own first name,
>>> Mitch, soon joins the team, all under the supervision of hypochondriac
>>> Nike Quinto.
>>
>>Excellent!
>>
>>Perry Rhodan english summaries by C??dric Beus ??
> My memory of the whole Posbi era is pretty fuzzy, but I think at the
> time it seemed the series was changing direction to something I
> liked less well. The whole business of killing Khrest & Thora, and
> then Rhodan's worthless son left kind of a bad taste, and the clear
> Campbellian Earth-vs-all theme was getting less central, with nothing
> as compelling replacing it. Of course if the translations had continued
> I might have made it to another cycle I liked as well, but ultimately
> they didn't.

150 "Specialists of the USO" opens the next Zyklus, entitled
"The Second Empire." "USO" commences a few centuries after "The Posbi"
Zyklus.
All of the original Division 3 operatives are now dead, replaced by
Lemy Danger, a human dwarf 22.21 centimeters tall. And Melbar Kasom,
another human who's 2.51 meters tall with shoulders 2.13 meters wide.
Both humans are products of evolution, in opposite directions, on their
respective non-Terran, adoptive planets.
151 "Signals of Eternity" reveals an unknown factor forced fictive-
being IT to abandon artificial planet Wanderer - afterward reduced to an
asteroid lost in time. So, no more cell showers are available to sustain
eternal life. Now homeless Homunk's handed over to Rhodan as a
consolation prize. Before IT bugs out, he delivers this valediction:

"Here speaks the Immortal. The galaxy is threatened by a
terrible danger from which I must retreat, since I am the first
it would strike. Try to prepare for that day - without my help.
But every Intelligence in this galaxy has been informed that I
leave behind a gift - a gift for the most proficient, most
clever and most capable. I am giving away twenty-five chances at
eternal life! In the form of small cell activators, I scattered
them on twenty-five worlds. This time no one is denied access.
Seek - and you will find eternal life. And start soon, because
you don't have much more time. The galaxy is destined for a
downfall, but there remains hope. Recognize the danger early
enough - and find the eternal life."

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

In article <20221111b@crcomp.net>, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>Ted Nolan wrote:
>> Dioberto Souza wrote:
>>> Don escreveu:
>
><snip>
>
>>>> Although Perry may eventually rule the galaxy, for now he controls only
>>>> the small Solar Imperium based upon Terra. An Imperium allied to the
>>>> remnants of the Arkonide Empire, itself centered on globular cluster
>>>> M13.
>>>> The opposition consists of variegated interests united only by a
>>>> shared hatred of both Imperiums. There's the rootless, greedy Springer
>>>> traders who operate as the Mongols of space, without a permanent home.
>>>> Springers employ equally avaricious, itinerant mercenaries called
>>>> Mounders.
>>>> Akons, Aras, and Antis are always available as co-conspirators to
>>>> abet any arrogation against Atlan or Rhodan. Akons resent their
>>>> rebellious Arkon descendants who threw off the Akon yoke many millennia
>>>> ago. Aras are medical masters known to treacherously create pathogens in
>>>> order to profit from cures. Antis are anti-mutants, able to nullify
>>>> Terra's Mutant Corps.
>>>> Extragalactic threats take the form of Laurens, Luxites, and logical
>>>> Posbis.
>>>>
>>>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>>>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>>>> Ron Landry, Larry Randall, and Lofty Patterson. Android Meech Hannigan,
>>>> whose speech impediment causes him to mispronounce his own first name,
>>>> Mitch, soon joins the team, all under the supervision of hypochondriac
>>>> Nike Quinto.
>>>
>>>Excellent!
>>>
>>>Perry Rhodan english summaries by C??dric Beus ??
>> My memory of the whole Posbi era is pretty fuzzy, but I think at the
>> time it seemed the series was changing direction to something I
>> liked less well. The whole business of killing Khrest & Thora, and
>> then Rhodan's worthless son left kind of a bad taste, and the clear
>> Campbellian Earth-vs-all theme was getting less central, with nothing
>> as compelling replacing it. Of course if the translations had continued
>> I might have made it to another cycle I liked as well, but ultimately
>> they didn't.
>
>150 "Specialists of the USO" opens the next Zyklus, entitled
>"The Second Empire." "USO" commences a few centuries after "The Posbi"
>Zyklus.

Heh. I contribute to the USO here in the States!

> All of the original Division 3 operatives are now dead, replaced by
>Lemy Danger, a human dwarf 22.21 centimeters tall. And Melbar Kasom,
>another human who's 2.51 meters tall with shoulders 2.13 meters wide.
>Both humans are products of evolution, in opposite directions, on their
>respective non-Terran, adoptive planets.
> 151 "Signals of Eternity" reveals an unknown factor forced fictive-
>being IT to abandon artificial planet Wanderer - afterward reduced to an
>asteroid lost in time. So, no more cell showers are available to sustain
>eternal life. Now homeless Homunk's handed over to Rhodan as a
>consolation prize. Before IT bugs out, he delivers this valediction:
>
> "Here speaks the Immortal. The galaxy is threatened by a
> terrible danger from which I must retreat, since I am the first
> it would strike. Try to prepare for that day - without my help.
> But every Intelligence in this galaxy has been informed that I
> leave behind a gift - a gift for the most proficient, most
> clever and most capable. I am giving away twenty-five chances at
> eternal life! In the form of small cell activators, I scattered
> them on twenty-five worlds. This time no one is denied access.
> Seek - and you will find eternal life. And start soon, because
> you don't have much more time. The galaxy is destined for a
> downfall, but there remains hope. Recognize the danger early
> enough - and find the eternal life."
>
>Danke,
>

IT was kind of a jerk. 25? Really?
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan <tednolan>) writes:
> In article <20221111b@crcomp.net>, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>consolation prize. Before IT bugs out, he delivers this valediction:
....
>> But every Intelligence in this galaxy has been informed that I
>> leave behind a gift - a gift for the most proficient, most
>> clever and most capable. I am giving away twenty-five chances at
>> eternal life! In the form of small cell activators, I scattered
>> them on twenty-five worlds. This time no one is denied access.
>> Seek - and you will find eternal life. And start soon, because
>> you don't have much more time. The galaxy is destined for a
>> downfall, but there remains hope. Recognize the danger early
>> enough - and find the eternal life."

> IT was kind of a jerk. 25? Really?

Yeah, 25, and yes, this is lower than the number of people in the
Solar Empire who were getting the immortality treatments on Wanderer;
some of the characters we know don't end up with cell activators and
don't get seen again in subsequent cycles, notably Conrad Deringhouse
and Michael Freyt.

As one goes on in the series, one definitely learns the following:

1) IT is certainly a jerk, and is not entirely trustworthy;

2) Nevertheless, IT is probably the closest thing to an ally humanity
has among the Higher Powers of the universe; the others are usually
a lot worse. Beings that feel compelled to develop weapons called
"Galaxy-incinerators", and deploy them, do not give one warm fuzzy
feelings... (the Kosmokraten, circa PR 1998 or so).

Richard Todd wrote:
> Ted Nolan writes:
>> Don wrote:
>>>consolation prize. Before IT bugs out, he delivers this valediction:
> ...
>>> But every Intelligence in this galaxy has been informed that I
>>> leave behind a gift - a gift for the most proficient, most
>>> clever and most capable. I am giving away twenty-five chances at
>>> eternal life! In the form of small cell activators, I scattered
>>> them on twenty-five worlds. This time no one is denied access.
>>> Seek - and you will find eternal life. And start soon, because
>>> you don't have much more time. The galaxy is destined for a
>>> downfall, but there remains hope. Recognize the danger early
>>> enough - and find the eternal life."
>
>> IT was kind of a jerk. 25? Really?
>
> Yeah, 25, and yes, this is lower than the number of people in the
> Solar Empire who were getting the immortality treatments on Wanderer;
> some of the characters we know don't end up with cell activators and
> don't get seen again in subsequent cycles, notably Conrad Deringhouse
> and Michael Freyt.
>
> As one goes on in the series, one definitely learns the following:
>
> 1) IT is certainly a jerk, and is not entirely trustworthy;
>
> 2) Nevertheless, IT is probably the closest thing to an ally humanity
> has among the Higher Powers of the universe; the others are usually
> a lot worse. Beings that feel compelled to develop weapons called
> "Galaxy-incinerators", and deploy them, do not give one warm fuzzy
> feelings... (the Kosmokraten, circa PR 1998 or so).

Although the nuances of der Galaxienzünder elude me (as a PR newbie)
Perrypedia hints the Kosmokraten use der Wunderwaffe to impose a rules
based order (so to speak) upon the Multiversum? ROTFL.

Regardless, Perrypedia implies der Galaxienzünder debuts in 2183
"Through the eyes of the Cishaba:"

https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Mit_den_Augen_der_Cishaba
https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Galaxienzünder

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
> Richard Todd wrote:
>> Ted Nolan writes:
>>> Don wrote:
>>>>consolation prize. Before IT bugs out, he delivers this valediction:
>> ...
>>>> But every Intelligence in this galaxy has been informed that I
>>>> leave behind a gift - a gift for the most proficient, most
>>>> clever and most capable. I am giving away twenty-five chances at
>>>> eternal life! In the form of small cell activators, I scattered
>>>> them on twenty-five worlds. This time no one is denied access.
>>>> Seek - and you will find eternal life. And start soon, because
>>>> you don't have much more time. The galaxy is destined for a
>>>> downfall, but there remains hope. Recognize the danger early
>>>> enough - and find the eternal life."
>>
>>> IT was kind of a jerk. 25? Really?
>>
>> Yeah, 25, and yes, this is lower than the number of people in the
>> Solar Empire who were getting the immortality treatments on Wanderer;
>> some of the characters we know don't end up with cell activators and
>> don't get seen again in subsequent cycles, notably Conrad Deringhouse
>> and Michael Freyt.
>>
>> As one goes on in the series, one definitely learns the following:
>>
>> 1) IT is certainly a jerk, and is not entirely trustworthy;
>>
>> 2) Nevertheless, IT is probably the closest thing to an ally humanity
>> has among the Higher Powers of the universe; the others are usually
>> a lot worse. Beings that feel compelled to develop weapons called
>> "Galaxy-incinerators", and deploy them, do not give one warm fuzzy
>> feelings... (the Kosmokraten, circa PR 1998 or so).
>
> Although the nuances of der Galaxienzünder elude me (as a PR newbie)
> Perrypedia hints the Kosmokraten use der Wunderwaffe to impose a rules
> based order (so to speak) upon the Multiversum? ROTFL.
>
> Regardless, Perrypedia implies der Galaxienzünder debuts in 2183
> "Through the eyes of the Cishaba:"
>
> https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Mit_den_Augen_der_Cishaba
> https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Galaxienzünder

The plot thickens...

*spoilers*
^L

Romanticism makes me miss Anne Sloane much more than Deringhouse and
Freyt. In "156 Lemy and the Toad-Wolf" [1] a villain murders Sloane to
appropriate her activator for himself. Although activators afford
eternal homeostasis, they do not protect wearers from death by violence.
Rhodan and Atlan's activators are tuned to their respective bodies.
Any other who attempts to take one of those two to wear sentences
himself to death.
On the other hand, anyone's free to wear one of the twenty-five new
activators without repercussions. Ergo, an existential, strong motive to
murder in order to acquire an activator for one's self. Atlan
approximates about a century of life is available, at a maximum, before
a wearer succumbs to murder.
Lemy accidentally detonates an activator near the end of 156. As a
result, in the next novella, the motivation behind IT's bug-out appears:
the Terrorworm [2] and hornterror [3] scourge.
The hornterror's malevolent reproductive drive to destroy all
reminds me of the silver seeds at the end of "Autofac" (PKD) [4].

[1] <https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Lemy_und_der_Krötenwolf>
[2] <https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Schreckwürmer>
[3] <https://www.perrypedia.de/wiki/Hornschrecke>
[4] <https://crcomp.net/arts/electricdreams/index.php>

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

On Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 3:04:47 PM UTC-7, Don wrote:

> [Rhodan says] "I am interested in the destiny of the
> Barkonides.

I thought this might be a typo for the Arkonides, but a web
search informed me that not only were the Barkonides another
race in the Perry Rhodan stories, but they also had the Akonides.

John Savard

On 11/18/2022 12:52 AM, Quadibloc wrote:
> On Thursday, November 10, 2022 at 3:04:47 PM UTC-7, Don wrote:
>
>> [Rhodan says] "I am interested in the destiny of the
>> Barkonides.
>
> I thought this might be a typo for the Arkonides, but a web
> search informed me that not only were the Barkonides another
> race in the Perry Rhodan stories, but they also had the Akonides.
>
> John Savard

The Perry Rhodan universe is incredibly complex. There are thousands of
races (not all are humanoids) and million of occupied planets.

Lynn

On 2022-11-10, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:

> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:

Abteilung III! (I would've picked "Department 3".) Actually I don't
remember anything about them, other than that I liked the stories
at the time. Oh, and one member is an android. I seem to remember
a scene like
"He's a robot."
"No way. ... If he was a robot, he'd weigh two tons."
"Climb on the table!"
*tables comes crashing down*

The series always had a questionable attitude towards robots. On
the one hand, it featured robots and giant computers that for all
practical purposes appeared to be persons, but at the same time it
consistently denied them personhood, treating them as "just a
machine" and expendable.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de

In article <slrntnfvve.1jpi.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
>On 2022-11-10, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>
>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>
>Abteilung III! (I would've picked "Department 3".) Actually I don't
>remember anything about them, other than that I liked the stories
>at the time. Oh, and one member is an android. I seem to remember
>a scene like
>"He's a robot."
>"No way. ... If he was a robot, he'd weigh two tons."
>"Climb on the table!"
>*tables comes crashing down*
>
>The series always had a questionable attitude towards robots. On
>the one hand, it featured robots and giant computers that for all
>practical purposes appeared to be persons, but at the same time it
>consistently denied them personhood, treating them as "just a
>machine" and expendable.
>

Comics used to be like that: Superman could "kill" all the robots he wanted to.
--
columbiaclosings.com
What's not in Columbia anymore..

On 18 Nov 2022 23:19:28 GMT, ted@loft.tnolan.com (Ted Nolan
<tednolan>) wrote:

>In article <slrntnfvve.1jpi.naddy@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
>Christian Weisgerber <naddy@mips.inka.de> wrote:
>>On 2022-11-10, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:
>>
>>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>>
>>Abteilung III! (I would've picked "Department 3".) Actually I don't
>>remember anything about them, other than that I liked the stories
>>at the time. Oh, and one member is an android. I seem to remember
>>a scene like
>>"He's a robot."
>>"No way. ... If he was a robot, he'd weigh two tons."
>>"Climb on the table!"
>>*tables comes crashing down*
>>
>>The series always had a questionable attitude towards robots. On
>>the one hand, it featured robots and giant computers that for all
>>practical purposes appeared to be persons, but at the same time it
>>consistently denied them personhood, treating them as "just a
>>machine" and expendable.
>>
>
>Comics used to be like that: Superman could "kill" all the robots he wanted to.

And some wonder why the Machines took over ...
--
"In this connexion, unquestionably the most significant
development was the disintegration, under Christian
influence, of classical conceptions of the family and
of family right."

Christian Weisgerber wrote:
> Don wrote:
>
>> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
>> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
>
> Abteilung III! (I would've picked "Department 3".) Actually I don't
> remember anything about them, other than that I liked the stories
> at the time. Oh, and one member is an android. I seem to remember
> a scene like
> "He's a robot."
> "No way. ... If he was a robot, he'd weigh two tons."
> "Climb on the table!"
> *tables comes crashing down*
>
> The series always had a questionable attitude towards robots. On
> the one hand, it featured robots and giant computers that for all
> practical purposes appeared to be persons, but at the same time it
> consistently denied them personhood, treating them as "just a
> machine" and expendable.

Allow me to address your followup in reverse order.

When Rhodan cavalierly consigns corps of robots to serve as little more
than cannon fodder on suicide missions it feels immoral to me. But a
couple of considerations serve to mitigate my sentiment. Typically, lots
of humanoids have heretofore died in a "sacrificial" story, so to speak.
And Rhodan's use of robots prevent further slaughter of humanoids. Also,
an astronomical amount of "Solars" are spent to build each robot, so
Rhodan always pays a price, one way or another, for his decisions.

The table crash scene happens near the end "146 Behind the Time Wall."
Springer outcast Haika falls in love with Meech (an android) and she
refuses to believe it when people tell her Meech is actually a robot. So
Ron Landry explains how a nearby table can support a load of one ton
then taciturnly tells Meech to climb unto the table to crash it and
thereby prove he weighs two tons.

"Department 3" or "Department III" is indeed closer. Better yet,
"Geheimabteilung III." Someone named Schelwokat uses it in the
afterword. IMHO it better conveys the violet badge mystique:

Landry nodded. Then he reached into his pocket so casually
that Froyd didn't notice the movement. He was only alerted when
he saw something glittering in Landry's hand. He blinked and
looked closer at it. What he saw gave him something of a shock.
He thought he knew every type of service insignia in
existence. He was familiar with all of them from the ordinary
green badges of the regular police and the red insignia of the
galactic criminal police force to the silver shields of the
military security men. They were all more or less the same
pattern-a small Earth ball with initials representing one or
another of the service branches of the Solar Imperium. The
colour of such medallions determined the level or magnitude
of cooperation that the bearer could expect to receive from
authorities in charge of any operation.
He had never really believed that the violet medallion
existed-which purportedly outranked the silver badges by far-
until now. The badge in Landry's hand was violet.
"You can believe what you're looking at, Coleman," said
Landry in a businesslike tone of voice. As he replaced the
badge in his pocket he added: "Of course you're at liberty
to check it out if you wish-but first of all you'll have to
call back that expedition! Those troops are to turn around
as fast as they can and report back here to Modessa."

"106 The Idol of Passa"

Danke,

--
Don.......My cat's )\._.,--....,'``. https://crcomp.net/reviews.php
telltale tall tail /, _.. \ _\ (`._ ,. Walk humbly with thy God.
tells tall tales.. `._.-(,_..'--(,_..'`-.;.' Make 1984 fiction again.

On Friday, November 18, 2022 at 6:19:33 PM UTC-5, Ted Nolan <tednolan> wrote:
> In article <slrntnfvve...@lorvorc.mips.inka.de>,
> Christian Weisgerber <na...@mips.inka.de> wrote:
> >On 2022-11-10, Don <g...@crcomp.net> wrote:
> >
> >> Along the way, a dozen novellas in the Posbis Zyklus take a detour
> >> to tell tangential tales about a trio of Terran Divison 3 operatives:
> >
> >Abteilung III! (I would've picked "Department 3".) Actually I don't
> >remember anything about them, other than that I liked the stories
> >at the time. Oh, and one member is an android.
....
> >
> >The series always had a questionable attitude towards robots. On
> >the one hand, it featured robots and giant computers that for all
> >practical purposes appeared to be persons, but at the same time it
> >consistently denied them personhood, treating them as "just a
> >machine" and expendable.
> >
> Comics used to be like that: Superman could "kill" all the robots he wanted to.

I was listening to a podcast on the first appearance of Bizarro, in a Superboy comic. This one was destroyed at the end of the story, and the hosts were not convinced by the assurances in the writing that it was made of "unliving material."

The kicker was when then mentioned that the story was written by Otto Binder, who, as you know, Bob, with his brother Earl as Eando Binder wrote the first Adam Link story "I, Robot" an early plea for robot rights. I popped a note to them that the writer's stand on "unliving material" was not necessarily that expressed in this story.

--
-Jack

On 2022-11-20, Don <g@crcomp.net> wrote:

> "Department 3" or "Department III" is indeed closer. Better yet,
> "Geheimabteilung III."

I think this is patterned after the naming scheme that led to "MI5"
and "MI6".

> Someone named Schelwokat uses it in the afterword.

Günter M. Schelwokat was the long-time editor and éminence grise
of _Perry Rhodan_.

--
Christian "naddy" Weisgerber naddy@mips.inka.de