Short Fiction · Chapter
Volmar Again! explained
Roverton and Deming, marooned on a hostile alien world, are attacked by a swarm of giant insects.
What happens
Roverton and Deming, marooned on a hostile alien world, are attacked by a swarm of giant insects. After fighting them off with fire, Captain Volmar unexpectedly arrives in the space-flier, apologizes for his earlier harshness, and offers to take them back. He explains that the ship suffered casualties and engine trouble, and that the planet is uninhabitable. They accept and depart into space.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Desolation
The alien world is depicted as utterly barren and hostile, with seas, deserts, marshes, and ruins, reinforcing the theme of desolation.
Supernatural and the Unknown
The giant insects and the eerie, ultramundane ruins evoke a sense of the unknown and the supernatural.
Characters to notice
- James Roverton
Leads the defense against the insect swarm, builds a fire, and decides to return with Volmar.
- Chester Deming
Stung by a giant insect; suffers a swollen hand but survives the attack.
- Captain Volmar
Returns unexpectedly in the space-flier, apologizes, and rescues the two men.
Key passages
“The sun had gone down, leaving an erubescent twilight that stained the soil, the ruins and the dead trees as with a deepening tide of blood.”
The sunset cast a red glow over the landscape, making everything look bloodstained.
Sets a foreboding atmosphere for the chapter.
“I’m sorry I was so hasty with you—I certainly put you off on an impossible sort of world.”
Volmar apologizes for abandoning them on such a dangerous planet.
Volmar's change of heart and offer of rescue.