Short Fiction · Chapter
VII explained
Ash Holcomb, captured by Harry Thorsten, is brought to an asteroid base.
What happens
Ash Holcomb, captured by Harry Thorsten, is brought to an asteroid base. During a tense dinner, Thorsten reveals his messianic plan to use the hyperspatial drive to conquer Earth with Martian allies, intending to destroy the planet with contraterrene matter. Ash realizes Pat is in love with Thorsten's dream, and after a failed attack, he is shot and captured.
Themes in this chapter
Power and Corruption
Thorsten's absolute control over the asteroid base and his plan to destroy Earth for his own vision of humanity's future.
Betrayal and Trust
Thorsten's betrayal of Earth and his alliance with the Martians, whom he plans to deceive.
War and Its Aftermath
Thorsten's bitterness from his wartime experiences and his use of the war's chaos to build his kingdom.
Characters to notice
- Ash Holcomb
Narrator and protagonist; captured by Thorsten, he tries to understand Thorsten's plans and is shot when he attacks.
- Harry Thorsten
Antagonist; reveals his paranoid, messianic plan to use the hyperspatial drive and Martian allies to invade Earth, destroying it with contraterrene matter.
- Pat McKay
Present at the dinner; she is in love with Thorsten's dream, which blinds her to the destruction he plans.
- Mort Weidmann
Mentioned by Ash as a contrast to Thorsten; Mort lost an arm in the war but is not bitter.
Key passages
“There’s got to be a change, Holcomb. Humanity isn’t fit to go out to the stars the way it is. It’s not ready for the hyperspatial drive. It’s not going to get it.”
Thorsten declares that humanity is unworthy of space travel and that he will control the hyperspatial drive.
Thorsten's messianic justification for his plan.
“I’ll be the standard-bearer of the human race among the stars. There won’t be any fumbling and bumbling—no bureaucrats, Holcomb, no splinter groups, no special interests, no lobbies.”
Thorsten sees himself as the sole leader who will take humanity to the stars without interference.
Thorsten's megalomaniacal vision.
“We’ll invade Earth, then. The T.S.N. won’t be able to stand up to us—not when torps start coming out of nowhere.”
Thorsten plans to use the hyperspatial drive to launch a surprise attack on Earth.
Thorsten's strategy for conquering Earth.
“But it’s possible to take off directly into hyperspace—the only trouble being that the warp changes a hundred cubic miles of adjacent mass to C. - T. matter.”
Thorsten explains that a hyperspatial takeoff would convert a large volume of matter into contraterrene, causing a massive explosion.
The destructive potential of the hyperspatial drive.