“Amazing Stories,” Vol. 2, No. 12 (March 1928). Cover art by Frank R. Paul illustrating a scene in the story entitled “Lakh-Dal, Destroyer of Souls” by W. F. Hammond.
“Lakh-Dal flashes his concentrated rays of isolated moonbeams, or ‘Lunacy Rays,’ straight in the face of the unfortunate Chinese victim. In five minutes, the man becomes a hopeless lunatic, whose vacuous and grotesque mouthings were fearful to behold. . .”
[Perhaps that accounts for the lunacy in our world?]
“That is for you and me to discover, if possible,” replied the General, “for I tell you frankly,” and there was no mistaking the gravity of his manner – “I tell you frankly, that unless we track this evil creature to his hiding place and crush him as we would a loathsome toad, our boasted Western civilization will collapse and we shall become a nation of raving maniacs.”
“I believe you really mean it,” said Errell, impressed in spite of himself by the other’s manner.
“Mean it? Of course I mean it!” exclaimed Gen. Humiston, at the same time bringing his fist down on the table with a bang. “Good God, man, don’t you read the papers? . . . Don’t you realize that insanity is increasing among us at a frightful rate, that our asylums are already overcrowded and the whole land overrun with morons?”
“Yes, to all three questions,” was the sober rejoinder.
“Amazing Stories,” Vol. 2, No. 12 (March 1928). Cover art by Frank R. Paul illustrating a scene in the story entitled “Lakh-Dal, Destroyer of Souls” by W. F. Hammond.
“Lakh-Dal flashes his concentrated rays of isolated moonbeams, or ‘Lunacy Rays,’ straight in the face of the unfortunate Chinese victim. In five minutes, the man becomes a hopeless lunatic, whose vacuous and grotesque mouthings were fearful to behold. . .”
[Perhaps that accounts for the lunacy in our world?]
“That is for you and me to discover, if possible,” replied the General, “for I tell you frankly,” and there was no mistaking the gravity of his manner – “I tell you frankly, that unless we track this evil creature to his hiding place and crush him as we would a loathsome toad, our boasted Western civilization will collapse and we shall become a nation of raving maniacs.”
“I believe you really mean it,” said Errell, impressed in spite of himself by the other’s manner.
“Mean it? Of course I mean it!” exclaimed Gen. Humiston, at the same time bringing his fist down on the table with a bang. “Good God, man, don’t you read the papers? . . . Don’t you realize that insanity is increasing among us at a frightful rate, that our asylums are already overcrowded and the whole land overrun with morons?”
“Yes, to all three questions,” was the sober rejoinder.