Alien Earth-man

Earth-man: The title given a human living some place other than earth by the inhabitants of that place.

Bijak Colby's family have been colonists on planet Pierce 5 in the kingdom of * for generations.1
Their mode of conveyance was a crystalline family heirloom that had been designed by Jim Lock for the Maharaja Dasaratha Mehta in 1732 as a kind of telescope.
The Maharaja's observatory was famed for being far more wonderful than all five of Sawai Jaya Singh II's observatories.
One starry night, Lock's son and the Maharaja's daughters inexplicably got into the prism chamber of the telescope and vanished from our planet to the kingdom of * on Pierce 5.

In time a stable system was developed whereby the Mehta family maintained mutually beneficial trade with the kingdom of *. And owing to the foods and customs in the kingdom of *, the colonist's minds became attuned to new wavelengths of consciousness that have made the Lock/Mehta line alien everywhere.

This change was manifest in the contraptions made by these colonists. The Maharaja secretly implemented these things to make his city one of the most glorious cities in all India, and make the family of Mehta blessed for many lifetimes.

Colby's father, Tom Colby, entered the employ of the house of Mehta in 1890, and soon found himself a guest in the kingdom of * where he fell in love with the princess Sudeshna Mehta, whose husband had been eaten by a kind of laughing insect. It was in the kingdom of * that Sudeshna and Tom's child, Bijak, was raised,
with occasional visits to other
planets, including Earth.

Alchemical automation, the primary human industrial technique since the early 1800's, had marked the Earth as an increasingly unhealthy planet. (Especially it's implementation during the Earth's first world war.) So to stop the human race's estrangement from everywhere, the house of Mehta set their minds to influencing change. Yet no amount of influence could sway this haserdous planetary fervor.
But the Mehta family didn't entirely abandon hope as they abandoned the planet. They left young Bijak to see what could be done.

Bijak found himself in the Ragged Mountains of Virginia, leading a secret team of scientists in developing a means to defeat a new kind of super weapon: The storm bomb. A bomb that when detonated creates any number of isolated storms (sand storms, tornadoes, hurricanes, etc.) thereby crippling entire armies.

The impetus for the team was that the effect of the bombs detonation may not be isolated, and if widely used would affect a nightmare more dizzying than any formally known to the human brains of men.

Bijak did not have a conventional human brain, so he knew exactly what would happen. He set to work on the problem from two fronts: One. In the lab working on the problem of the bomb. Two. Crippling the Central Power's air fleet by himself.

Bijak had inherited the Earth colony contraptions that had been secured in the house of Mehta's mountain caves. From these and his singular know-how he built The Flying Suit.

The Flying Suit had a signature shark helmet, and a finned drive pack which was mounted on a possibly leather jacket. He refused to make more than one.

As the highflying Commander Colby he set about knocking the Central Power's airships out of the sky.

This heroic effort was ultimately undercut by tons of Storm bombs dropped on many hundreds of thousands of people all in one day, causing a metaphysical Armageddon that ripped away the tenuous barrier between the spheres, leaving the whole of human life on the Earth's surface prone to a blood hungry force bent on the payment man owed it for the years of alchemical automation.

Colby survived the cataclysm to find that the Fukogawa belt had made traveling to his home in the kingdom of * impossible.

During the years of reconstruction, Colby and his team focused on eradicating the Fukogawa belt while thwarting an array of plots for world domination concocted by evildoers.
Many of his celebrated exploits have been retold in the 85 Commander Colby masala movies.

Colby was an ace flier, but when he fought hand to hand he led with his chin and was often knocked unconscious. This could have been an attributing factor in his progressively antisocial behavior.
He would take unnecessary risks, usually while driving cars. His mood would quickly change from distracted or agitated to despondent and sullen. He rambled on and on about a previously unknown daughter in the kingdom of * whom he could see in the sunlight when it shone in a certain way. He'd feverishly make things, and go into fits of anguish when no one understood what the devices did. On the rare occasions when he went out, he would insist on wearing the shark helmet. This may have been to hide his scars and present an image the public could accept.
One day he put on the Flying Suit and set off to check something out. He never came back.

Footnote: 1. Formally known as 7856, in 1854 7856 was designated as Pierce 5 following the trend set in 1818 of naming astronomical bodies after the President in office at the time.
* is used here to abbreviate the name of the alien kingdom on Price 5. It can not be pronounced. It has been explained that any approximation would be detrimental for the people of this planet at its present level of consciousness.

Truth and the Inocent

Heroes

After WWI the absence of protective forces signified real trouble for our uneasy planet. As luck would have it, a multitude of singular individuals spontaneously emerged, taking it upon themselves to protect the cities and towns.
This mass Hero Phenomenon is one of the events that marks the beginning of our modern age.
In a short time, almost all places had their own Hero. However, the Heroes of certain places (such as Innsmouth, Massachusetts, for example) would be considered Monsters elsewhere. Not Villains, Monsters.
The necessity for Heroes is not as great today, with policemen and armies to enforce laws. But some jobs are not healthy for normal people, and a city or town’s Hero is a source of pride to its inhabitants.

The Hero's code:

"SEEK OUT THE TRUTH, AND PROTECT THE INNOCENT!"

Usually the Hero is picked by a governing body, or, as in the case of the KING SILVERS the mantle has been handed down from one generation to the next.

The KING SILVERS are an example of Masked Heroes. Legend has it that the KING SILVER Mask was the magical source of power for KING SILVER 1. Whether this is still true for the present KING SILVER, and what kind of power is produced, be it psychological or physical, is still a mystery.

Traditionally men and women who wear masks are called Masked Men. Whether they are Villains or Heroes is defined by their actions

The mask is a form of disguise worn over the face, which is the focal identifying feature among humans. Disguises obscure the identity of the wearer visually. Many disguises incorporate devices that misdirect any attention focused on the wearer via the Hypno band, affording a degree of anonymity from the eye and the mind.

King Silver 1

Legend says he was a hapless colonial farmer who, by an act of providence, found a magician’s magical silver bag and put his head into it, becoming the first KING SILVER, KING SILVER 1. In his lifetime, he vanquished many villains. His power has been passed on through the generations of KING SILVERS and is a source of hope that strengthens the hearts of many who need strength in their hearts. It is said that his presence has been felt in and around the KING SILVER ancestral burial cave (not to be mistaken with “the Cave.”)

More of KING SILVER 1's story is told in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED

Commander and Chief

Presidents

A president is selected from the megalomaniacs bred for the political arena. Many Presidents observe the ancient custom of body scarification. One has only to look at money to find beautifully rendered photo-realistic engravings of them.
After a president has died, the skin of the president is tanned and hung in the Hall of Presidents’ Skins, in the Tallest Building of the capital city.
Exceptions to this rule are Alexander Hamilton and Lincoln. Having gone beyond the Natural Life Span, their ceremonial markings have faded away. This phenomenon came into play during the identification of Lincoln as Lincoln when he was found to still be alive.

Lincoln was the sixteenth president. It had once been popularly believed that Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth in 1865. But since The Goblin Rider found Lincoln outside The Cave early one morning, it leads one to conclude that John Wilkes Booth must have shot someone else.
Another previously unknown truth about Lincoln was his role as a voodoo priest.

DEFPOTEC

The DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE was established in the early part of the 20th century as a mail-order magicians’ school, where correspondents could send in a few dollars and receive how-to instructional booklets on magic tricks. Once a year the students were invited to an enormous Hotel where they would attend lectures, perform tricks, unveil new illusions, etc. all according to their level of skill. Among the notable guests the students could meet was the professor himself: Bill Schloss, THE INSCRUTABLE DEFPOTEC.

Schloss started his career as a close-up magician and eventually had an act of his own with the full complement of assistants and technicians. Though his show was good, there was nothing to distinguish it. At this point Schoss and company disappeared. A year later a new show was making headlines with an act that had patrons running, screaming with terror, out of packed theaters!
Schloss had retuned as THE INSCRUTABLE DEFPOTEC! The papers said that while in the jungles of Central America, he was visited by the specter of the high priest DEFPOTEC, and by giving his body over to the spirit's will, he could conjure things no man had ever dreamed! On stage, Schloss would set the crowd agog by conjuring wondrous nightmare images awash with gallons of blood. Off stage, Schloss made it clear that his show was an illusion. Its semblance of reality was due his superlative skill as a prestidigitator and showman.

Schloss felt that the distinction was necessary. At the time when stage magic was at its peak, there was a division between magicians. On one side there were those who employed the traditional tools of misdirection, and on the other were a newer breed that employed alchemical automation, creating acts that were no illusion. What you saw was real.

Schloss was a proponent of discipline and presence of mind. He advocated skill for the performance of illusions, a practice that in turn made for a stronger mind and body. He was an ardent opponent of alchemical automation, for he believed the price that would in time be paid was too high.

Schloss stated once that, “A show that gives the impression of danger is fine. But what an audience gets when these fools go fishing in the “deep end” are things no one is supposed to see. Ever!”

The situation on the stage reflect a debate which was ongoing in the world at large.
Society for some time had become dependent on the aid of alchemical automation, for instance, the use of automaton calculating machines. These devices instantly performed the equations that for an aligned human mind to perform would have taken lifetimes of singular attention.

Alchemical automation ranged from domestic products such as windows, and floors which cleaned themselves, to meals that cooked themselves. As for industry, lighter-than-air transparent super metals and fuel-less furnaces were enormously beneficial.

In the arena of stage magic, this practice was employed to create unbelievable shows, and since it kept theaters full, any outcry from traditional magicians was ignored.

At the end of WWI the world knew the cost of their unlimited lifestyle. A vampiric storm let loose by a saturation of alchemical super weapons barely left the human race alive on this planet and few of the survivors were still in the mood to see a magic show. In spite of all this, the DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE did not close. Unable to perform his act publicly, Schloss lived quietly, sending out the magic trick pamphlets and doing private engagements.

Over time it became evident to the observant that this planet was becoming alien. For a human to deal with the new situations in this changing world, a cultivation of oneself became increasingly perceived as an appropriate course of action.

Schloss was approached by a concerned party who invited him to set up the DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE as a physical entity where techniques useful in this modern age could be made available for those of solid character.
Now it is agreed by many that the DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE’S “MAGICIAN STYLE” is very strong, and is welcome in many places. Those who would do harm fear the “MAGICIAN STYLE”.

People. Part I

Hello my friends. In this first entry, I would like to ask you to become acquainted with the people of this Amplified world. To know something of their stories my help you prepare your selves for what is to come.

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Diane

After the “mysterious” “death” of her parents Diane was adopted by Professor Ramirez . She is afflicted with malignant dreams, usually while asleep. She has trouble consciously integrating these experiences into objective reality. On the Professor’s advice, Diane has been studying abroad, in France.
As seen the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED Diane has broken off her engagement with Dr. Samson Blackwood, the Professor’s protégé, to marry George Panther.
Dr. Samson Blackwood may now be dead.
Diane has a curious birthmark on her left arm. The reactions people have to this birthmark are a constant source of anxiety.

Lieutenant George Panther

George is an army pilot who is “popular”. He is also an agent of Special Branch (a division of the military).
George has been assigned by Special Branch to investigate Professor Ramirez. It has been said that the nature of Ramirez’s scientific endeavors are irregular. During this investigation George met and wooed Diane to insure closeness to Ramirez. George’s attraction to Diane may be genuine. Their relationship is highlighted in the motion picture "MARK OF THE DAMNED".
During a flight over the Yukon, George’s plane crashed. He was found kilometers from the wreck eating moss and suffering from singular wounds. To expedite a “full recovery” George’s health may have been sacrificed.

The Unknowable Fantasmerack

The Unknowable Fantasmerack is an adept student of the DEFPOTEC magician style. The Unknowable Fantasmerack is currently in the employ of The DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE. The Unknowable Fantasmerack looks exactly like one Mister Lobo. Mister Lobo is a scholar whose obsession with "editing history" has made their uncanny resemblance inconvenient for the Unknowable Fantasmerack and the DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE. The issue is not simply that they resemble one another. It's that they are exactly identical. Their blood is even the same. And they always get the same glasses! Inexplicably, neither party will take necessary steps to differentiate himself visually from the other. The degree of animosity between them is such that they have never been photographed together, which inevitably leads to groundless theorizing by “speculative jackasses.”

The Goblin Rider

An accomplished Masked Hero, The Goblin Rider is ostensibly nocturnal. His outré style is amplified by the spectral horse he rides. The horse’s locomotion causes colossal shock waves not unlike thunder. While in motion the horse and its rider are invisible and can smash through almost anything.
His association with King Silver is well known.



Dr. Blackwood

One of the foremost experts on primitive cultures and comparative religion. Dr Samson Blackwood has dedicated his life to revealing the hidden knowledge of the human race on the planet earth. Blackwood would gladly dare beyond survival to satisfy the furious hunger of science.


Inspector Nigel Lesley

A brave police officer, with one human brain, who knows the futility of guns in the occult world of modern crime.
Lesley wished to be depicted here as he is today in this drawing delicately rendered by his father Mr. Lesley.
Inspector Lesley was hospitalized after his experience with a gang of kidnappers rumored to be alien body snatchers. (The dramatization of the event can be seen in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED.)
During his convalescence Lesley disappeared. Witnesses attest that he had never left his room. The only clue was a geometric pattern drawn on the wall next to his bed. Months later Lesley’s mother, Mrs. Lesley, found a thing roughly human shaped sprawled out on the floor of her parlor. It was alive and spoke to her. She realized this was her son.
Since his reappearance it has been deduced that Lesley had stepped out of our world and traversed the Hypnoband to unknown places. And to survive the transitions between here and there his anatomy had to change so he may survive.
Lesley now lives with his parents in there home.
His singular understanding of crime is still of great value to the police department who call upon Lesley to aid in there more peculiar investigations.

Casey Tomlin

Casey Tomlin was a mathematics instructor who found he could not only withstand, but actually manipulate the inhuman forces within The Orbaphone. And in doing so he is able to create music which many people enjoy.
Doctors say that Tomlin has survived playing The Orbaphone because he can also breathe under water.


Amanda

In the weird and sometimes troubling places a scientist goes while doing archeology, Amanda's nerve and presence of mind have helped Amanda and some of her colleagues survive many scientific expeditions.





Commander Chet Zadok

Commander Zadok was a Space-rocket pilot. He was shot beyond the living range of earth threw the Fukogawa Belt into an orbit around the moon. Commander Zadok screamed during the entire return trip. Once retrieved form the Space-rocket he refused to close his eyes. By this time Commander Zadok’s screams had become a weird keening without any detectable syllabification.
There was no evidence of gigantism or mutation. The flight was a tremendous achievement.
Commander Zadok was then transferred to Special Branch. His assignment was to observe Professor Ramirez by posing as a patient in his care. After receiving treatment Commander Zadok continued the investigation as Ramirez’s butler. Details of the investigation can be seen in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED .

The colonial governor

Sent to the colonies to make a name for himself, Young Duke Pimberton Shadwell, the Third Earl of Walford in Erbino, took up residence in the fortress of Pila De La Cueva, built on the site of a heathen temple, overlooking a province whose agricultural wealth promised to make the Duke very wealthy and solidify his popularity in her majesty’s court.
A year later, some disquieting news of the Duke’s behavior reached back across the Atlantic, punctuated by the accompanying portrait he sent his mother, the Duchess of Crimona, for her birthday. An envoy sent by the Duchess's representatives found the colony run amuck and the Duke a madman preoccupied with the idea that he was the victim of black magic. There is an account of a gala that ended in conflagration from which there were few survivors. The fate of the Duke remains a mystery. “Coincidentally” within the aforementioned event is the first official account of the masked hero KING SILVER 1.

Dr. Cyclops Mather

A minor celebrity in his field, Cyclops Mather suffers from the potentially hazardous belief that all roads taken in the pursuit of archeology may lead to Eldorado. He is also deathly afraid of spiders.
An interesting thing about the Mather family is that they all look alike. Though this isn’t uncommon in the modern age, it is unsettling.


Jungle Girl

Pundits have made much of the fact that KING SILVER is surrounded by staggeringly good-looking women. Jungle Girl is integral, and rarely unscathed.



King Silver

Since the dawn of man there have been unique men who by design or by “accident” are their brothers’ keepers and protectors. King Silver has inherited this distinction from a long line of King Silvers. Like his ancestors before him, King silver bears the mark of power on his left arm and wears the silver mask on his head. He has no secret life, for the mask is his only face and the hero’s code is his only purpose: Seek out the truth and protect the innocent!



Inspector Manningtree

Inspector Maningtree fell in the line of duty wile investigating a gang of kidnappers (the details of the investigation can be seen in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED) Maningtree and his companions were caught in a lava flow. Surviving this they were then trapped under tons of volcanic ash. Using makeshift tools, they dug their way out. His companions said Maningtree was disoriented by the new terrain and fell into a ravine where a river swept him down stream. Three weeks later his head was found on the steps of a park ranger station. He is remembered by his wife Joan and their two children Roylan and Danly.



Rev. Dr. Amicus Mather

Amicus is an ordained priest. In his youth he was a missionary to a remote Polynesian island, where he picked up some “heretical” ideas and a curious tattoo. He is no longer allowed to preach, but his specialized knowledge and unique stamina are extremely valuable to the Church and mankind. Reverend Mather is often part of sphinx-like teams that combat evil in a more direct and active way. He is also the custodian of a DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE Hazardous Printed Media Archive.
An interesting thing about the Mather family is that they all look alike. Though this isn’t uncommon in the modern age, it is unsettling.

Dr. Guy Quatermass

Dr. Quatermass is a Tar-zan. A Tar-zan is a Homo sapien raised by animals other than Homo sapiens. Not to be mistaken for mountain men or wild men who simply live with animals other than Homo sapiens. In Dr. Quatermass’s case he was raised by apes.
Mr. and Mrs. Axle Quatermass found Guy (then age 11) while they were visiting the jungle Island of Sbola. The Quatermasses swiftly brought Guy home and adopted him. Guy proved to possess a staggering intellect and great physical power. Guy excelled scholastically and was soon at university, where he insisted that he pay his own way with the winnings he earned as a pugilist.
Some time later an accident in the lab forced Dr.Guy Quatermass to wear an insulated suit of his own design to protect other people from the dangerous “vibes” his body now radiated. In time, he scaled down the suit to resemble a pair of thick horn-rimmed eye-glasses. Another result of the accident is that Dr. Guy Quatermass’s strength has been increased to levels as yet immeasurable.
Dr.Quatermass has been the recipient of the Frankenstein Harmonious Earth Prize and the Tesla True Science Award.
Dr. Quatermass can be seen in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED.

Professor Vervain RanDom

Professor Random is the number one most dangerous man alive. He is responsible for the Earthquake Machine and the subsequent Zombie Epidemic. (Faithfully dramatized in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED)
Believing himself snubbed by the scientific community for his ardent belief that the dead can be a viable work force, Professor RanDom activated a device that caused all the dead within range of its vibratory force to become animated. A residual effect of this phenomenon was catastrophic earthquakes.
It is widely believed that, having irrevocably bent the laws of science, Professor RanDom is now capable of anything. World authorities are searching for Professor Random. He could be anywhere. He may be on the moon.

Stephanie

Stephanie is a student of Dr. Blackwood and Prof. Ramirez. She is working on her P.H.D. in archaeology and anthropology.








The Baron

The Baron is an enigma. He has been at a majority of decisive military battles since at least the year 1632. His strength, ferocity, and inability to die are disquieting. Over time the Baron lost his original limbs in a succession of martial activities. The technology that makes up most of the Baron’s present form seems to be beyond the comprehension of experts. The Baron volunteers his skills to the World Congress Headquarters and usually respects The Chain of Command. When asked about the Baron the government has only one response:
"This is the Baron. He is friendly."
Doctors, on the other hand, have this to say: “He may be chordate. There is speculation that he may be of the order canivora though his “skull” shape does not manifest dentition of prominent canines and carnassials “

Patrolman Pequeno

Pequeno often stumbles upon inconceivable situations that affect many human lives, a trait usually associated with Heroes. The difference here is that people don’t usually pay attention to Pequeino.
An interesting thing about the Pequeno family is that they all look alike. Though this isn’t uncommon in the modern age, it is unsettling.


Skipper Bruce Hathorne

"Anything that can be said about Skipper Bruce is probably an absolute lie" -Cantonese proverb

That statement is true. As an entertainer Bruce Hathorne has reinvented his past numerous times.
It is known for certain that he did have a submarine and he did travel the globe in search of bad movies/adventure and his eyes were removed and his anatomy was tampered with in an attempt to create something akin to The Baron. The titanic eyeballs within the Tandem Vitreous Discerning Telescope are the eyes designed for him, but they were never shrunk with a shrink-ray like they told him they would be, because shrink-rays do not exist. He can see what the eyes see at night, so he can’t sleep, and the only drugs he can get to keep the organs they used in him from killing him aren't the right ones, so he’s going nuts. His voice does not really sound the way it sounds, and he's sick of everybody. He is very scary to most people. And he's making me write this. He has a gun.




Professor Ramirez

Professor Ramirez teaches at the University and is one of the co-organizers of the Blackwood Expedition. He is a man with a mysterious past. There are rumors about his style of science. Professor Ramirez adopted Diane after the “mysterious” “death” of her parents. He is currently under observation by both the Special Branch and the DEFPOTEC INSTITUTE. These investigations are in the motion picture MARK OF THE DAMNED.