Talk:The Skylark of Space

Editions

I have a 1974 Panther edition, which does say that it was specially revised by the author. The question is whether the write-up is in error or do the editions vary significantly. I recognise the plot synopsis but details differ; for instance, the "copper tub" that "blasts hole through the wall" in my edition was a "copper steam-bath" that flew "through the open window". A missing steam-bath would require some explanation but a great hole in the wall could hardly go unnoticed, so as a revision it makes sense. 86.162.192.240 (talk) 23:44, 15 February 2012 (UTC)

Aspects of this plot synopsis do not match the magazine version (the Gutenberg edition is based on my scans of a friend's copies of the magazines, and I still have the images to verify against), the second edition hardcover (which I own), or the 1960s American paperbacks (which I own and nearly know by heart :-) ). The first paragraph of the magazine edition contains the copper vessel departing at speed, and the magazine version says this: "PETRIFIED with astonishment. Richard Seaton stared after the copper steam-bath upon which he had been electrolyzing his solution of X, the unknown metal. For as soon as he had removed the beaker the heavy bath had jumped endwise from under his hand as though it were alive. It had flown with terrific speed over the table. smashing apparatus and bottles of chemicals on its way, and was even now disappearing through the open window." It's a steam-bath just like in your edition, and it goes through the open window, not the wall. The 1947 edition is the same in the key things you questioned -- it's called a steam-bath, and it goes through an open window (there are quite a few little changes). So I'm going to try to change the wrong details in the synopsis just a bit. Dd-b (talk) 18:55, 27 January 2013 (UTC)

I recently looked at the first pages of the Amazing serialization, the hardback third first edition (1950), and the Pyramid seventh printing (1970); all three differed substantially, with the biggest difference between Amazing and the hardback. The paperback, of course, normalized Seaton’s assistant’s dialect.

— FlashSheridan (talk) 15:44, 3 December 2017 (UTC), revised 2018-01-15 9:19 PM EST

Chapters

The Pyramid edition has no chapter titles, but (at least initially) they correspond to the text of the hardcover (indicated with a ditto mark for close correspondence, and a tilde for rough correspondence). The U.S. Gutenberg edition uses the Amazing text, the Canadian uses the Pyramid 1966 third printing of the May 1958 edition, except for the usual Gutenberg spurious line breaks. I own the hardback third edition (1950), the Pyramid seventh printing (1970), the ADV Plans DVDs, and the August Amazing, but am mainly working from the Archive.org copies (https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n05_1928-08_ATLPM-Urf, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n06_1928-09, https://archive.org/details/Amazing_Stories_v03n07_1928-10_missing_ifc_ibc_bc) and Gutenberg ebooks. (ADV Plans’ August edition contains only the cover and the Buck Rogers story, and is missing September and October.)

Amazing	Hardcover	Pyramid
—	Forward	—
I. The Occurrence of the Impossible	1. The Occurrence of the Impossible	"
—	2. The Engagement Dinner	"
—	3. Earlier Days	"
—	4. Failure and Success	"
II. Steel Becomes Interested	5. Steel Becomes Interested	~
III. Seaton Solves the Problem of Power	6. Seaton Solves the Problem of Power	~
IV. Steel Liberates Energy—Unexpectedly	7. Steel Liberates Energy—Unexpectedly	~
V. Direct Action	8. Direct Action	"
VI. The Object-Compass At Work	9. The Object Compass at Work	"
VII. The Trial Voyage	10. The Trial Voyage	~
Part II
VIII. Indirect Action	11. Indirect Action	"
IX. Lost In Space	12. Lost In Space	~
X. The Rescue	13. The Rescue	"
XI. Through Space Into The Carboniferous	14. Through Space Into The Carboniferous	"
XII. The Mastery Of Mind Over Matter	15. The Mastery Of Mind Over Matter	"
XIII. Nalboon of Mardonale	16. Nalboon of Mardonale	"
Part III
XIV. Nalboon Unmasked	17. Nalboon Unmasked	~~ ~
XV. The Escape from Mardonale	18. The Escape from Mardonale	"
XVI. An Osnomian Marriage	19. An Osnomian Marriage	~
XVII. Bird, Beast, or Fish?	20. Bird, Beast, or Fish?	~
XVIII. The Invasion	21. The Invasion	~~ ~
(The end of the Pyramid chapter 21 contains substantial new material about The Code, and differs in other ways.)
XIX. The Return to Earth	22. The Return to Earth	~

—FlashSheridan (talk) 00:31, 15 January 2018 (UTC) – 2018-03-15

Selected Variorum

• “space-car” Amazing (27 times) and hardback, e.g., first occurrence ch. IV/7 p. 338/68, “spaceship” in Pyramid.

Amazing	Hardcover	Pyramid
II. Steel Becomes Interested	5. Steel Becomes Interested	~
“Brookings then took from his pocket his wireless and called Perkins.”	similar to Pyramid, but gold	“Brookings took a small instrument, very like a watch, from his pocket, touched a button, raised it to his lips, and spoke.”
IV. Steel Liberates Energy—Unexpectedly	7. Steel Liberates Energy—Unexpectedly	~
(Seaton’s description of chemists in the Bureau, presumably including the real Dr Smith) “Scott, Smith, Penfield, DuQuesne, Roberts—quite a bunch of them. Let's see—Scott hasn't brains enough to do anything. Smith doesn't know anything about anything except amines.”	similar to Amazing, except “amino acids” instead of “amines.”	“Scott, Smith, Penfield, DuQuesne, and Roberts. Hmmm, let's see--if Scott's brain was solid cyclonite, the detonation wouldn't crack his skull; Smith is a pure theoretician; ”
V. Direct Action	8. Direct Action	"
“Then they set out in the biplane,”	“Then they set out in the plane, ”	“Then they set out in the helicopter,”
“The place referred to was the Perkins Café, a high-class restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue, heavily patronized by the diplomatic, political, financial, and sporting circles of upper-class Washington. It was famous for its discreet waiters, and for the absolutely private rooms. Many of its patrons knew of its unique telephone service, in which each call went through such a devious system of relays that any attempt to trace it was hopeless; they knew that while "The Perkins" would not knowingly lend itself to any violation of law, it was an entirely safe and thoroughly satisfactory place in which to conduct business of the most secret and confidential character; a place from which one could enjoy personal conversation with persons to whom he wished to remain invisible and untraceable: a place which had never been known to "leak." For these reasons it was really the diplomatic and political center of the country, and over its secret wires had gone, in guarded language, messages that would have rocked the world had they gone astray. It was recognized that the place was occasionally, by its very nature, used for illegal purposes, but it was such a political, financial, and diplomatic necessity that it carried a "Hands Off" sign. It was never investigated by Congress and never raided by the police. Hundreds of telephone calls were handled daily. A man would come in, order something served in a private room, leave a name at the desk, and say that he was expecting a call. There the affair ended. The telephone operators were hand-picked, men of very short memories, carefully trained never to look at a face and never to remember a name or a number. Although the precaution was unnecessary, this shortness of memory was often encouraged by bills of various denominations. No one except Perkins and the heads of the great World Steel Corporation knew that the urbane and polished proprietor of the café was a criminal of the blackest kind, whose liberty and life itself were dependent upon the will of the Corporation; or that the restaurant was especially planned and maintained as a blind for its underground activities; or that Perkins was holding a position which suited him exactly and which he would not have given up for wealth or glory—that of being the guiding genius who planned nefarious things for the men higher up, and saw to it that they were carried out by the men lower down. He was in constant personal touch with his superiors, but in order to avoid any chance of betrayal he never saw his subordinates personally. Not only were they entirely ignorant of his identity, but all possible means of their tracing him had been foreseen and guarded against. He called them on the telephone, but they never called him. The only possible way in which any of his subordinates could get in touch with him was by means of “the wonderful wireless telephone already referred to, developed by a drug-crazed genius who had died shortly after it was perfected. It was a tiny instrument, no larger than a watch, but of practically unlimited range. The controlling central station of the few instruments in existence, from which any instrument could be cut out, changed in tune, or totally destroyed at will, was in Perkins' office safe. A man intrusted with an unusually important job would receive from an unknown source an instrument, with directions sufficient for its use. As soon as the job was done he would find, upon again attempting to use the telephone, that its interior was so hopelessly wrecked that not even the most skilled artisan could reproduce what it had once been.”	Similar to Amazing	“The place referred to was the Perkins Café, a restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue. It was the favorite eating-place of the diplomatic, political, financial, and social élite of Washington, none of whom even suspected that it had been designed and was being maintained by the world-girdling World Steel Corporation as the hub and center of its world-girdling nefarious activities.”
VII. The Trial Voyage	10. The Trial Voyage	~
“Dick," she said fiercely. "I would have been worried sick if I had known that you were way off there?" "I knew it, sweetheart. That's why I didn't tell you we were going. We both knew the Skylark was perfectly safe, but I knew that you would worry about our first trip. Now that we have been to the moon you won't be uneasy when we go to Mars, will you, dear?" "I can't help it, boy. I will be afraid that something terrible has happened, every minute. Won't you take me with you? Then, if anything happens, it will happen to both of us, and that is as it should be. You know that I wouldn't want to keep on living if anything should happen to you." He put both arms around her as his reply, and pressed his cheek to hers. "Dorothy sweetheart, I know exactly how you feel. I feel the same way myself. I'm awfully sorry, dear, but I can't do it. I know the machine is safe, but I've got to prove it to everybody else before I take you on a long trip with me. Your father will agree with me that you“you ought not to go, on the first trip or two, anyway. And besides, what would Madam Grundy say?" "Well, there is a way...." she began, and he felt her face turn hot. His arms tightened around her and his breath came fast. "I know it, sweetheart, and I would like nothing better in the world than to be married today and take our honeymoon in the Skylark, but I can't do it. After we come back from the first long trip we will be married just as soon as you say ready, and after that we will always be together wherever I go.”	Similar to Amazing	“She flies! How she flies! We've been around the moon!" "What?" Dorothy was shocked. "Without even telling me? Why, I'd've been scared pea-green if I'd known!" "That was why," Seaton assured her. "Now you won't have to worry next time we take off." "I will so," she protested; but Seaton was listening to Vaneman.”
XII. The Mastery Of Mind Over Matter	15. The Mastery Of Mind Over Matter	"
“materialized: a man identical with him in every feature and detail, even to the smudge of grease under one eye, the small wrinkles in his heavy blue serge suit, and the emblem of the American Chemical Society upon his watch-fob. "Hello, folks," the stranger began in Seaton's characteristic careless speech. "I see you're surprised at my knowing your language. You're a very inferior race of animals—don't even understand telepathy, don't understand the luminiferous ether, or the relation between time and space. Your greatest things, such as the Skylark and your object-compass, are merely toys.”	Similar to Amazing	“materialized in the air before them; a man identical with Seaton in every detail, down to the smudge of grease under one eye and the exact design of his Hawaiian sport shirt. "Hello, folks," he said, in Seaton's tone and style. "S'prised that I know your language--huh, you would be. Don't even understand telepathy, or the ether, or the relationship between time and space. Not even the fourth dimension.”

— FlashSheridan (talk) 16:49, 9 May 2018 (UTC)