THE MEMORY BANK

Reviewed 7/04/2019

Cover art by Ralph Brillhart

Film This!

THE MEMORY BANK Wallace West New York: Airmont Books, July 1962				Rating: 5.0 High
ISBN-13 ?
ASIN: B0007F15KW	127pp.	SC	$0.35

Centauran Admiral Mendez's mission to the inhabited planet of the star Sirius, to forge an alliance with the telepathic natives against a threat to the Centauran planets, was not going well — if concluding an alliance with contemptuous Siriuns who referred to humans as "worm" could be expected to go well.

"We are here, puny human!"

The words were not spoken. They grated like rusty needles on the cortex of Merek's brain. He saluted and escorted the whispers into the conference room, where Mendez stood sweating and uncomfortable behind his empty desk. Then he unlimbered his pocket steno, preparatory to taking notes on the meeting.

"Despicable Centauran," the needle skittered at Mendez, "we have consulted our . . . superiors. Your proposals for an alliance with us are beneath contempt."

"But why, Your Magnificence," the admiral's voice shattered the stillness of the room. "You have a profitable trade with the Centauran planets as the result of the treaty which you and I negotiated hundreds of years ago. That trade will be lost if the barbarians conquer Centaurus. Emperor Rolph and his wild men despise all luxuries; if they seize the resources of Mercon, Arcon, and Pizar, they will have no need for your wares."

– Page 10

The Siriuns admitted this was true, but bluntly stated that they could wait for the barbarians to outbreed the decadent Centaurans and develop a taste for luxuries, because they would then be a far larger market. Merek had worn a spy camera in an attempt to get an image of the Siriuns, who preferred to be invisible. The Siriuns detected this and managed to fog the film in the camera. They reported it to Mendez, who demoted Merek and Pancrief, builder of the camera, and sent them home on a Siriun ship.

Back on Pizar, they met with Admiral Patterson. He "disciplined" them by restoring them to their former ranks and assigning them to a ship undergoing overhaul. It seemed Pizar was woefully underarmed and understaffed against the barbarian hordes, compared to the wealthier worlds of Mercon and Arcon. He also invited them to the planetary ball taking place that very night.

At the ball, Merek took a shine to a tall, slim, black-haired girl with a scar on her shoulder. Just then, the bandleader announced that barbarians had infiltrated the event and urged everyone to cooperate. Merek and Pancrief pushed through the crowd to the kitchen and escaped. They made it to their ship and, its captain being among the barbarians' prisoners, Merek took command and lifted the Shark on antigravs. From that vantage, they watched the 5,000 prisoners being marched through the streets to a new subdivision on the outskirts of the city. Soon, unfamiliar globes came speeding out of the sun: barbarian ships. Shark downed one of them and dodged the other two until reinforcements showed up. By that time, the prisoners from the ball had disappeared — and so had the new subdivision.

The decision was made to carry the fight to the barbarians, who resided in a globular cluster 20,000 LY distant. Two battles took place. Both went badly for Centaurus. In the second, Merek's ship was boarded; he and his crew were captured. It became a personal struggle for Merek, but yet not wholly unpleasant; for the black-haired girl was there. Her name was Iskra, and she served as his warden and mentor. He learned a lot about barbarian culture, and picked up some sword-fighting skills that served him well later on. Then came the Dark, a purely mental attack against which the barbarians were defenseless. Merek saved Iskra from the terror it induced. Thus, according to barbarian ethos, her life became his to command; she helped him and the other prisoners escape in a grounded merchant ship. That, it developed, had a few surprises built into it by the barbarians. It further developed that Centauran culture was more of a threat to Centauran survival than barbarian culture, that Emperor Rolph was not the true villain, and that a small group of refugees from long-dead Earth was the key to victory.

This is a classic example of Golden Age science fiction, brim-full with hurtling ships, ravening energy beams, and the horrors of hyperspace. It adds some sociocultural commentary, and for diversion there are sword fights, weird bloodthirsty beasts, and scandalous barbarian customs. Finally, it wouldn't be a Wallace West novel without an ancient, inimical telepathic threat. It all adds up to a fast-paced tale which would make a great film. Full marks