On the Martian Way

Forgotten Futures reposts another story: Harry Gore Bishop, "On The Martian Way" (1907). This is a true short, not an outline-as-novella.

Timewise it follows Einstein's famous year 1905. Bishop may or may not have digested the implications of this patent-clerk's findings. I suspect, he did; our story sits in the inner solar-system, mainly the Earth/Mars route. Antigrav exists but it doesn't much help. Also a race of Martians exist, humanoid but uncanny-valley.

I'm impressed that Cap'n Bishop has a route. This may anticipate Hohmann - or, it may owe something to Auf zwei Planeten. The route-planners do mathematics on personal "computing machines" which are - I swear by the old gods and the new - laptops.

Now, the bad news: the good Captain was less racist than Cole; but he made up for it with contempt and gratuitous antisemitism. The German accents and the paranoia are played for larfs, because the canards have nothing to do with the plot.

As editor I'd suggest the Martians own difficulties in Earth's gravity - because, again: we knew Mars had a 3.7ish surface-gravity already. Following Cole that the Martians be human would (I think) be safest, but I'd not insist on it.