Lords of the Psychon is a novel that ultimately strips away our conventional notions of reality to reveal a new world where true power resides in something much different from bullets and bombs.
We’re in 1993, sixteen years after the monumental attack launched by aliens that devastated human populations and cities, leaving behind only a handful of burnt-out, rubble-strewn towns and villages scattered across the globe. Humans now must contend with alien Cities of Force—fortresses of colossal geometric shapes housing numerous giant malevolent Spheres that roam across the land, chasing down and smothering individuals who have been chosen for such a fate.
On the opening pages, on the eve of Horror Day (more below), US Captain Geoffrey Maddox and the five men under his command approach one such city composed of “immense green cubes, slender and graceful orange pylons, emerald pyramids, shimmering gray obelisks.” And rising above it all are glimmering shafts of energy spearing high overhead “to fan out into the netlike Grid that covered the sky.”
Their mission is clear: penetrate the center of this eerie geometric city and set off the ultimate modern weapon—an atomic bomb. If such a bomb destroyed Hiroshima and Nagasaki, then surely the same fate awaits this alien city. All is ready, the timer is set, and Maddox and the others take up positions hundreds of yards away to watch the explosion. Then the unexpected: “A minute later there came from the center of the city a muffled pop.” The fortress had absorbed the fury of fifty kilotons of devastation without visible effect."
What! An atomic bomb possessing no more destructive force than a popgun against this alien power? Now, that’s discouraging. At this point, it appears there is no avoiding Horror Day, a catastrophic annual event occurring every September 25, when a luminescent alien energy descends to blanket the globe, inflicting intense psychological and physical suffering on all humans—a torture so severe that recovery usually takes months.
Will humanity be destroyed, or will Captain Maddox and the others in his makeshift military compound discover a way to overcome these geometric aliens? So as to maintain the suspense for any reader turning the pages of this high-octane tale of adventure, I will now shift to a highlight reel.
HORROR DAY
Why the annual ritualized sadism? Why the global spectacle on a specific day of the year? And where are the aliens as they are usually conceived? Geometric cities and murderous Spheres? Who would have imagined such a scenario from extraterrestrials?
SELECTION AND CHASE
The Spheres have eliminated all human children. This points to the aliens having a systematic plan of attack. Figuring out the reasoning behind the plan might be a first step in understanding how humanity can survive as a species.
FANTASTIC THEORY, ONE
There’s a university professor of biochemistry on the army base by the name of Ulrich. According to Ulrich’s analysis, these alien Cities and Spheres are attempting to shift Earth into a different dimension of reality for their own diabolical purposes. The series of Horror Days are the consequence of Earth being gripped in a transitional state.
FANTASTIC THEORY, TWO
By Ulrich’s reckoning, the fundamental building blocks of reality are not entirely physical; they are composed of a mental energy or “plasma” that can be manipulated by the mind. The Cities of Force and the Spheres interact with and respond to both the conscious and subconscious thoughts of humans.
HOSTILE HUMANS
Maddox and everybody else on the base must deal with Gianelli, a headstrong leader who has united the surrounding villages against the military—for one reason among many: according to Gianelli, Maddox’s presence in the nearby City of Force has unleashed many more Spheres chasing down women and men in the villages.
Additionally, there are the Judgmenites, fundamentalist fanatics who claim the Spheres are heaven’s wrath and that all survivors—including military personnel—must join them in order to be saved.
SOURCE OF POWER
An adventurous survivor, Northon Wallford, enters military headquarters and shows Maddox something he discovered during his own foray into the City of Force: two plasma rings that appear to respond to the human mind. Might these plasma rings prove key in overcoming the aliens? Hint: one of Galouye’s recurring themes across all his novels is that perception of reality is the central factor in defining and controlling reality.
With the discovery of the two plasma rings, the novel pivots away from the conventional model of reality as fixed matter and brute force. Rather, true power derives from heightened consciousness and mastering perception along with subconscious fears. The mind itself can then be employed as an active force to mold and transform reality.
Exactly how all this plays out as the next Horror Day approaches is for each reader to discover, page by thrilling page.
American SF author Daniel F. Galouye, 1920-1976
Comments
Post a Comment