The Skylark of Space · Chapter
XIII: Nalboon of Mardonale explained
The Skylark crew encounters the aerial battle between Mardonalian battleships and monstrous flying creatures.
What happens
The Skylark crew encounters the aerial battle between Mardonalian battleships and monstrous flying creatures. After rescuing a decorated plane, they meet Nalboon, the Domak of Mardonale, who presents them with pale-skinned slaves. Seaton and Crane accept the slaves to prevent their execution. Nalboon agrees to provide copper, indicating a four-day journey to obtain it, and the fleet escorts the Skylark to the capital city.
Themes in this chapter
Exploration and the Unknown
The crew encounters a new alien civilization and its customs, highlighting the challenges of cross-cultural communication.
Survival and Resilience
The Skylark crew navigates a dangerous aerial battle and adapts to the alien environment and social norms.
Characters to notice
- Richard Seaton
Leads the first contact with Nalboon, performs sleight-of-hand tricks, and decides to accept the slaves to save their lives.
- Martin Crane
Cautiously advises Seaton during the encounter and helps rescue the slaves from execution.
- Marc DuQuesne
Observes the battle and suggests the Mardonales' power is electrical, not chemical.
- Nalboon
Domak of Mardonale, greets the Earth visitors with a royal reception, gives slaves as a gift, and agrees to provide copper.
- Margaret Spencer
Present in the Skylark, exchanges affectionate glances with her lover during the encounter.
Key passages
“Better not, Dick. Let him think that you are the king of everything in sight. Not on your life. If he is one king, we are two.”
Crane suggests Seaton should appear as the sole leader, but Seaton insists on introducing Crane as an equal ruler.
Seaton asserts equality with Nalboon by presenting Crane as a co-king.
“We must take them with us, I see, said Crane, as he brushed the guards aside.”
Crane realizes they have to accept the slaves to prevent their immediate execution.
Crane intervenes to save the prisoners from being killed.
“I don't get these folks at all, Mart, said Seaton, after a moment's silence. They have machines far ahead of anything we have on Earth and big guns that shoot as fast as machine-guns, and yet are scared to death at a little simple sleight-of-hand.”
Seaton is puzzled by the Mardonales' advanced technology combined with their ignorance of basic chemistry like matches.
Highlights the technological disparity between fields.