Space: 1999 "The Great Brain Robbery" Short story Space: 1999 Annual 1975 World Distributors Ltd. Writer: Angus P. Allen 1975

Alan Carter is taken captive by aliens who plan to sift his brain for knowledge of how best to destroy his species.

 

Read the story at the Catacombs

 

DIDJA KNOW?

 

"The Great Brain Robbery" is a 5-page short story in the British Space: 1999 Annual 1975.

 

The story's title, "The Great Brain Robbery", is a play on the title of any one of several films and the 1975 novel by Michael Crichton, The Great Train Robbery.

 

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS STORY

 

Alan Carter

Commander Koenig

Dr. Russell

Professor Bergman

Paul Morrow

David Kano

Sandra Benes

aliens

Morgax (mentioned only)

 

DIDJA NOTICE?

On page 1 of the story, Commander Koenig refers to Alan Carter as "Paul" when he asks the pilot to take a closer look at the alien ship floating in space.

    On page 2 of the story, after Carter's Eagle and the alien ship vanish, Koenig defends his decision to send Carter on the basis that it had appeared the mission to investigate the floating alien ship was "...almost routine...an apparently dead ship." If the appearance of an apparently dead alien ship has become "almost routine", it would suggest that this story takes place sometime after a number of other such incidents have occurred.

    Also, while there are several "dead alien spaceship" stories in the annals of Space: 1999 media, they pretty much always turn out not to be "routine" unless one wants to call "dead-alien-spaceships-that-come-to-life-and-threaten-Moonbase-Alpha" routine! It seems like Koenig should have been more prepared for this mission turning hazardous.

Koenig and Bergman bicker angrily about which of them is at fault for Carter's condition and Bergman's ESP experiments on the pilot. Dr. Russell has to come between them to stop the argument. This does not seem true to the relationship and strong friendship Koenig and Bergman are seen to have on the TV series.

On page 3 of the story, Carter, not having his spacesuit helmet on, reflects that if the Eagle's open doors were open to space, he would have exploded in a billionth of a second. This is a popularly-believed, but inaccurate concept of the exposure of an unprotected human body to the conditions of outer space. In reality, scientists say a human body would not explode in space. Your blood would boil in your body due to the lack of air pressure, causing you to lose consciousness within about 15 seconds, die in about 90 seconds, and your body would freeze solid after several hours.

This story indicates that Carter has strong ESP-telepathic potential.

The aliens who have captured Carter neglect to take his sidearm from him! The explanation the narrative provides is "How could they? They'd no idea what he was or what he carried!" Seems like an awfully shortsighted species, especially considering Carter was captured because they were worried about what kind of threat the humans of the errant Moon could be!

On page 5 of the story, Moonbase Alpha fires missiles at the alien ship, destroying it. The story implies that the missiles were fired from Alpha itself, not from an Eagle.