Deathrays over Mars!

Prince Gopotty's First Recruits Take to the Skies

   A few months ago, our readers were treated to the first photostats of Martian Prince Musta Gopotty of Galfor mounted upon his (somewhat) domesticated golden whorled deathray, gliding gracefully through the cerulean skies of the Red Planet. Prince Gopotty has named his personal deathray mount "Rogor," which translates to "Slasher" in English.

   Since that time, the Prince has been consumed with the difficult task of finding Martians brave enough to join him in the pursuit of mounted aeronautics. A few hardy souls have answered his call and received the intense training required. And you can see photostats here!

   We have here the man who will be captain of the flying cavalry, Lord Impaw Sibbel. He is armed with what appears to be (at great distance, to be sure) an American .41 cal Navy revolver, with a brass frame, as was popular in the Confederate States during the War Between the States.

   The next photostat is a drummer, apparently intended to fly with the prince to provide signalling to the rest of his army far below.

   This last photostat is a shot of the first of the 'other ranks' for the Prince's Own Deathray Guards Cavalry. He is armed with a lance and a revolver. This journal's military contacts are not exactly convinced of the effectiveness of the lance when used on a flying mount, but reserve final judgment until such time as an entire unit of flying lancers can be observed in action.

   When shown the evidence of this airborne threat, a spokesman for the Viceroy had this to say:

   "We are used to the flying ships of the Martian natives. And we have countered them, to their consternation and our benefit. This new force is merely a response to the success, here on Mars, of our superior Earthly civilization.

   "Thankfully for our peace of mind, it seems that Prince Gopotty is having some difficulty finding recruits with both the nerve to mount a large, carnivorous, not-totally-domesticated flying beast and the skill to master the use of weapons while controlling said beast in flight. It will be some time still before these aerial marauders can threaten our security here in the Crown Colony. By then, the Viceroy is confident that our professional military, naval, and aeronaval officers shall have some sort of counter for this sort of perfidious, nearly silent but deadly force."

[Editor's Note: Finally! Progress on this project. I am torn on the main armament of the Prince's Own, though. A poll in the making. Which should it be, rifles or lances, or a mix? I lean towards lances, myself, but am not quite sure. There are two more saddled up and ready to be strapped onto their deathrays, a standard bearer and a rifleman. Just need to get some more leather lacing to strap them on with. Hope you like the photos. As before, the figures are Black Hat's Martian Cavalry, a mix of Command, w/Guns, w/Lances, and Mounted Princes packs. The deathrays are Safari, Ltd. Spotted Eagle Rays, and the saddles were cast by me in resin. If you want one or two, I could probably be talked into making some for you. I have actually thought about neatening up the sculpt and casting them for sale so others could do the same kind of conversions on any creature they wanted. What do you think?]

Valuable Mineral Deposits

Handwavium Source Discovered Near Nova Roma!

Thrilling news, good readers!

It seems that the astonishing handwavium crystals (seen in the photostat above) have been found by Earthmen for the first time. These massive crystals can be induced to provide vast amounts of heat and light when subjected to the proper chemical baths, without requiring any oxygen at all! Imagine a boiler 'fired' by a chunk of handwavium the size of your head, and powerful enough to move a fully laden train! And it is consumed so slowly that it could last for over a year with no appreciative loss in function.

Truly, we live in an age of Marvels!

Naturally, the Colliers' Association of Britain has demonstrated against its use. Spokesman Darrel McTaggart of the CAB is quoted in the Times, "It would be a terrible error to put all of our faith in this potentially hazardous, and completely alien technology, while allowing good, Earthly coal mines to go unworked and unprofitable."

The deposits are found in a desolate area near Nova Roma, the recently Catholicized Martian city-state. The crystals grow right out of the ground, making 'mining' of them anincredibly simple task, except for one thing: the yellow floss spore plant. You may see in the photostat a small bush near one of the crystals. This is a yellow floss spore plant. Its spores, which are released with the slightest contact or even in a good stiff breeze, are highly toxic to Earthmen. Martian animals eat the stuff as if it were cotton candy. The yellow floss spore plant is supposed to be common in areas of handwavium, even in the underground caverns where Martian miners have been excavating small nuggets of handwavium for millennia.

Naturally, Her Majesty's Government is keen to gain access to these incredibly valuable deposits. Combined with the recent hydrium discoveries, it could truly revolutionize how aeroships and aetherships operate. There has been no official word out of Nova Roma as to the willingness of the Prince - or the Vatican - to trade in this vital substance. It is the sincere hope of this journal that the Prince, Bishop, or whomever is in charge of affairs of state and trade for the State of Nova Roma will be of an enlightened viewpoint in regards to this material.

[Editor's Note: The handwavium is chunks of pink foam cut in vaguely crystalline shapes, and then glued ot thin plywood bases and painted with a variety of paints, including Vallejo Model Colors and cheap craft paints (for the bases). I made them late last night when inspiration struck me. I call it handwavium because, well, I liked the word when i saw it used on TMP and it does sort of just wave a hand in the face of critics who start discussing how it is impossible to work because of laws of physics and chemistry. I am also planning on making some 'unobtainite ore' for Venus, which appears much like a blue granite, but has strange properties when exposed to an electrical current...]

Added Feature!

The Atlas of Imagi-Nations

Gentlemen, I have embarked today upon an ambitious - nay, heroic! - quest: the Atlas of Imagi-nations!

You will now find, on the lefthand margin of your difference engine imaging screen, a section entitled: Imagi-nation Atlas. Below the heading are located telephonic linkages which, when selected, shall lead you to information about the imagi-nation selected.

The Viceroy of the Martian Crown Colony had this to say when his staff informed him of the news:

"Mister Womack has embarked, today, on an ambitious - nay, heroic! - quest."

Yes, I am on the Viceregal staff. My function? I write the Viceroy's speeches, actually.

Anyone with an imagi-nation that wishes to be considered for inclusion in the atlas need only contact me with their information, preferably providing me with a telephonic network address. This is easily done through the comments feature of this journal.

Photostats at Last!

Papal Forces on Mars - Proof!

Using a telescopic device in conjuction with his voltaic digitizing photostatic imager, our intrepid correspondent has managed to get up-close pictures of the lead elements of the Pope's soldiers on Mars [Freikorps' 15mm Pontifical Infantry Command]. Judging by their uniforms, and consulting Roger's Handbook of European Uniforms, these men are regular infantry, not the elite Zouaves. Note the deep purple coats and kepis, and the loose fitting grey trousers. The purple, obviously, indicates the royal stature of the Earthly Host of Saint Michael, the Army of the Holy See of Rome. The enlisted men have white leggings over their black boots. This uniform was developed in 1871 for the Pope's forces. The guidon bearer has the Papal Army flag in hand.

It is hoped that more photostats will be forthcoming once additional troops arrive.

Imperial German Luftschiffetruppen on Venus

Though the photostat is blurry (damaged, I think, by exposure to the sun's rays in crossing the ether to Mars from Venus), it clearly shows a trio of German imperialist troops. The Imperial German colony of Venustaadt denies its expansionist tendencies. Only time will tell. Of course, a push on Venus might easily be followed by, or even preceded by an attempt to expand the Kaiser's influence here on Mars. Were I you, good readers, I should be on the watch for agents of the Kaiserlich Geheimenpolizei (Imperial Secret Police).

[Editor's Note: The Germans above are the first of those cruddy looking Seebattalion troops I got in a couple of weeks ago. These three are nearly done, and I wanted you to get a look at the improvements. I decided to go with a non-historical paint scheme on both sets of troops pictured today, partly to emphasize the new troop types there would be in a world with flying aetherships and secondly for the alternate history aspect of the Papal troops. In OTL, the Pope lost his secular kingdom in 1870. In the ATL, it is still a going concern, and stronger for the threats made against it in the 1860s and 1870.]

Technical Difficulties

Photostats Delayed!

With heavy heart, I am forced to admit that the photostats promised for the journal yesterday shall be delayed at least one day, and possibly longer. An unforeseen technical difficulty has caused problems with retrieval of the captured images from the voltaic digitizing photostatic camera. A cable is missing and until located, the photostatic images are locked within the infernal device!

Personally, I suspect foul play.

Truly, good readers, I shall endeavour to repair the device as rapidly as possible.