by Gustave Kahn
8 It is probable that a line has been omitted from this verse; in the original, the second line rhymes with the fourth, as in both the other verses, and the first with the last, as in the second but not the third, so the omitted line is presumably the fifth (which might have rhymed with the third, as in the third verse, or might not, as in the second).
9 The prominent Pharisee Hillel the Elder (c110 B.C.-10 A.D.) was one of the most important sages of Judaism, and played a leading role in the organization of the Talmud. He advanced Aaron as a role model for human conduct, on account of his mildness, and preached a doctrine of kindness closely akin to the ideas attributed to Jesus. The Nehemiah with whom he is here alleged to have been acquainted appears, however, to be Kahn’s invention.
10 cf 2 Samuel 6:13-16.
11 The use of the term péri [peri—the Arabic equivalent of a female spirit, or fairy] is a deliberate echo of Antoine Galland’s classic assembly of Arabian folklore, Les Mille-et-une nuits [The Thousand-and-One Nights] which was so popular in France that the “Galland method” became a recognized way of organizing texts, and a godsend to improvisers like Kahn, who wanted to bind pre-existing texts into some sort of whole.
12 Of these three names, Theano is the only one that Kahn did not invent; it is that of the most famous female philosopher of the Pythagorean school, sometimes identified as the wife or daughter of its legendary founder. Several letters attributed to her—almost certainly falsely—survived into modern times, giving some hint as to her ideas.
13 cf Genesis 16-17, which offers a very different account of the events narrated this story.
14 cf Judges 13.
15 cf I Samuel 1-2.
16 A Hebrew word usually translated as “mighty ones”
17 The version of the story of Lancelot reproduced here differs in some minor respects from the one that is most familiar to English and American readers, thanks to Thomas Malory. The details are mostly drawn from the group of 12th century romances nowadays known as the Vulgate Cycle, especially its version of Merlin, supposedly based on an earlier romance—only fragments of which survive—by Robert de Boron. I have retained Kahn’s spelling of the various names rather than substituting those familiar to English readers.
18 cf II Samuel 21.
19 Presumably a reference to Orpheus.
20 The classical god of the north wind, sometimes imagined to be riding a horse of thunder.
21 cf II Samuel 11.
22 A Greek lyric poet whose works (most of which were lost, although later imitations survive in profusion) celebrated pleasure and the joys of living.
23 Palamedes is not mentioned by Homer but was said by other writers to have been one of the heroes who joined the Greeks in the Trojan War—only to be betrayed by Odysseus, in revenge for having devised the trick that forced him into the war, and treacherously killed. Palamedes had a considerable reputation as a sage, and was traditionally credited with the invention of arithmetic and all its wonders.
FRENCH SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY COLLECTION
Henri Allorge. The Great Cataclysm
G.-J. Arnaud. The Ice Company
Richard Bessière. The Gardens of the Apocalypse
Albert Bleunard. Ever Smaller
Félix Bodin. The Novel of the Future
Alphonse Brown. City of Glass
Félicien Champsaur. The Human Arrow
Didier de Chousy. Ignis
C. I. Defontenay. Star (Psi Cassiopeia)
Charles Derennes. The People of the Pole
Alfred Driou. The Adventures of a Parisian Aeronaut
J.-C. Dunyach. The Night Orchid; The Thieves of Silence
Henri Duvernois. The Man Who Found Himself
Achille Eyraud. Voyage to Venus
Henri Falk. The Age of Lead
Charles de Fieux. Lamékis
Arnould Galopin. Doctor Omega
Edmond Haraucourt. Illusions of Immortality
Nathalie Henneberg. The Green Gods
Michel Jeury. Chronolysis
Gustave Kahn. The Tale of Gold and Silence
Gérard Klein. The Mote in Time’s Eye
André Laurie. Spiridon
Gabriel de Lautrec. The Vengeance of the Oval Portrait
Georges Le Faure & Henri de Graffigny. The Extraordinary Adventures of a Russian Scientist Across the Solar System (2 vols.)
Gustave Le Rouge. The Vampires of Mars
Jules Lermina. Mysteryville; Panic in Paris; The Secret of Zippelius
José Moselli. Illa’s End
John-Antoine Nau. Enemy Force
Henri de Parville. An Inhabitant of the Planet Mars
Gaston de Pawlowski. Journey to the Land of the Fourth Dimension
Georges Pellerin. The World in 2000 Years
Henri de Régnier. A Surfeit of Mirrors
Maurice Renard. The Blue Peril; Doctor Lerne; The Doctored Man; A Man Among the Microbes; The Master of Light
Jean Richepin. The Wing
Albert Robida. The Clock of the Centuries; Chalet in the Sky
J.-H. Rosny Aîné. The Givreuse Enigma; The Mysterious Force; The Navigators of Space; Vamireh; The World of the Variants; The Young Vampire
Marcel Rouff. Journey to the Inverted World
Han Ryner. The Superhumans
Brian Stableford (anthologist) The Germans on Venus; News from the Moon; The Supreme Progress; The World Above the World; Nemoville
Jacques Spitz. The Eye of Purgatory
Kurt Steiner. Ortog
Eugène Thébault. Radio-Terror
C.-F. Tiphaigne de La Roche. Amilec
Théo Varlet. The Xenobiotic Invasion (w/Octave Joncquel). The Martian Epic; (w/André Blandin) Timeslip Troopers
Paul Vibert. The Mysterious Fluid
English adaptation and introduction Copyright 2011 by Brian Stableford.
Cover illustration Copyright 2011 by Mike Hoffman.
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ISBN 978-1-61227-063-0. First Printing. December 2011. Published by Black Coat Press, an imprint of Hollywood Comics.com, LLC, P.O. Box 17270, Encino, CA 91416. All rights reserved. Except for review purposes, no part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. The stories and characters depicted in this novel are entirely fictional. Printed in the United States of America.