Barsoomian Adventures
Get appointment information and hours of operation for Medhat Barsoom, practicing Internal Medicine doctor in Buffalo, NY. Gods of Mars is the second novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs' amazing Barsoom series. It is set ten years after The Princess of Mars. John Carter has returned to. John Carter is a 2012 American science fiction action film directed by Andrew Stanton, written by Stanton, Mark Andrews, and Michael Chabon, and based on A Princess of Mars (1912), the first book in the Barsoom series of novels by Edgar Rice Burroughs.The film was produced by Jim Morris, Colin Wilson, and Lindsey Collins. John Carter stars Taylor Kitsch in the title role, Lynn Collins.
Science
Science, literature, art and architecture are in some of their departments further advanced upon Barsoom than upon Earth, a remarkable thing when one considers the constant battle for survival which is the most marked characteristic of life on the planet. Not only are they waging a continual battle against nature, which is slowly diminishing their already scant atmosphere, but from birth to death they are constantly faced by the stern necessity of defending themselves against enemy nations of their own race and the great hordes of roving green warriors of the dead sea bottom; while within the walls of their own cities are countless professional assassins, whose calling is so well recognized that in some localities they are organized into guilds. The reason for this is quite simple – almost all technology is the product of ancient minds. Until recently, which may be described as a scientific renaissance on Barsoom, innovation had been at a standstill. The advent of John Carter acted as an additional catalyst.
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Barsoomians do not recognize any separation between the theoretical and applied sciences; scientists both research and experiment. There are five major branches of scientific endeavor (in descending order of abstraction):
• “Imaginary Science” or povar [pō-vâr]: the study of mathematics, philosophy and logic.
• “Ray Science” or isvar [is-vâr]: the study of energy, physics and chemistry. This includes the technology of radium or irtay [ir-té] and the eighth and ninth rays.
• “Planet Science” or soomvar [süm-vâr]: The study of Barsoom’s meteorology, geology and metallurgy. The red nations dispatch research fliers to chart air currents and to check atmospheric pressure.
• “Life Science” or morvar [mōr-vâr]: the study of biology, biochemistry and medicine.
• “Man Science” or madvar [mad-vâr]: the study of sociology, psychology and history.
• “Imaginary Science” or povar [pō-vâr]: the study of mathematics, philosophy and logic.
• “Ray Science” or isvar [is-vâr]: the study of energy, physics and chemistry. This includes the technology of radium or irtay [ir-té] and the eighth and ninth rays.
• “Planet Science” or soomvar [süm-vâr]: The study of Barsoom’s meteorology, geology and metallurgy. The red nations dispatch research fliers to chart air currents and to check atmospheric pressure.
• “Life Science” or morvar [mōr-vâr]: the study of biology, biochemistry and medicine.
• “Man Science” or madvar [mad-vâr]: the study of sociology, psychology and history.
Numbers
The numbers are base ten:
ay [é] = one
ko [kō] = two
il [il] = three
tor [tōr] = four
en [en] = five
dan [dan] = six
ov [âv] = seven
bar [bâr] = eight
thor [ŧōr] = nine
tee [tē] = ten
teeay [tē-é] = eleven
teeko [tē-kō] = twelve, etc.
kotee [kō-tē] = twenty
iltee [il-tē] = thirty, etc.
tan [tan] = hundred
dar [dâr] = thousand
mak [mak] = ten thousand
dur [dür] = million
ay [é] = one
ko [kō] = two
il [il] = three
tor [tōr] = four
en [en] = five
dan [dan] = six
ov [âv] = seven
bar [bâr] = eight
thor [ŧōr] = nine
tee [tē] = ten
teeay [tē-é] = eleven
teeko [tē-kō] = twelve, etc.
kotee [kō-tē] = twenty
iltee [il-tē] = thirty, etc.
tan [tan] = hundred
dar [dâr] = thousand
mak [mak] = ten thousand
dur [dür] = million
Colors
The seenar [sēn-âr], the one priceless jewel on Barsoom, “scintillated nine different and distinct rays; the seven primary colors of our earthly prism and the two rays which are unknown upon Earth”. The two rays unknown to humans, the eighth and ninth rays, are beyond the visible spectrum. Harnessing the power of these two rays was a major achievement for Barsoomian science. The words for the seven primary colors are based on the numbers and the root word for energy and life, is [is]:
aysis [é-sis] = red, the first ray
kosis [kō-sis] = orange, the second ray
iliss [il-is] = yellow, the third ray
toris [tōr-is] = green, the fourth ray
eniss [en-is] = blue, the fifth ray
danis [dan-is] = indigo, the sixth ray
ovis [âv-is] = violet, the seventh ray
baris [bâr-is] = the eighth ray, also known as the ray of propulsion. This frequency of light can be harnessed to propel airships through the sky.
thoris [ŧōr-is] = the ninth ray; also known as the ray of creation. This frequency of light can be isolated and released to create breathable air.
kosis [kō-sis] = orange, the second ray
iliss [il-is] = yellow, the third ray
toris [tōr-is] = green, the fourth ray
eniss [en-is] = blue, the fifth ray
danis [dan-is] = indigo, the sixth ray
ovis [âv-is] = violet, the seventh ray
baris [bâr-is] = the eighth ray, also known as the ray of propulsion. This frequency of light can be harnessed to propel airships through the sky.
thoris [ŧōr-is] = the ninth ray; also known as the ray of creation. This frequency of light can be isolated and released to create breathable air.
The neutral colors have their own words:
kil [kil] = black
thur [ŧür] = white
kil [kil] = black
thur [ŧür] = white
Time
The measurement of time is based on the orbit of Barsoom around the sun. This year or ord [ōr-id] is broken down into the following units:
1 ord [ōr-id] = 10 teeans
1 teean [tē-an] = 10 ans
1 an [an] = 6 or 7 padans (varies)
Thus, the year is 668.6 padans long (or in Earth time, 687 days). Note that the cycle or an [an] is a key measurement of time for religious calendars. The day or padan [pad-an] is broken down into the following units:
1 padan [pad-an] = 10 zodes = 24.62 hours
1 zode [zōd] = 50 xats = 2.47 hours
1 xat [zat] = 4 taks = 2.95 minutes
1 tak [tak] = 50 tals = 44.25 seconds
1 tal [tal] = .885 seconds
1 ord [ōr-id] = 10 teeans
1 teean [tē-an] = 10 ans
1 an [an] = 6 or 7 padans (varies)
Thus, the year is 668.6 padans long (or in Earth time, 687 days). Note that the cycle or an [an] is a key measurement of time for religious calendars. The day or padan [pad-an] is broken down into the following units:
1 padan [pad-an] = 10 zodes = 24.62 hours
1 zode [zōd] = 50 xats = 2.47 hours
1 xat [zat] = 4 taks = 2.95 minutes
1 tak [tak] = 50 tals = 44.25 seconds
1 tal [tal] = .885 seconds
Distance
The measurement of distance is based on the circumference of Barsoom at the equator or polodona [pō-lō-dō-nâ]. This circumference or soomad [süm-ad] is broken down into the following units:
1 soomad [süm-ad] = 360 karads = 13,263 miles
1 karad [kâr-ad] = 100 haads = 36.84 miles
1 haad [â-ad] = 200 ads = 1,945.15 feet
1 ad [ad] = 10 sofads = 9.73 feet
1 sofad [sōf-ad] = 10 sofs = 11.67 inches
1 sof [sōf] = 1.17 inches
Thus, 2.71 haads is equivalent to an Earthly mile.
1 soomad [süm-ad] = 360 karads = 13,263 miles
1 karad [kâr-ad] = 100 haads = 36.84 miles
1 haad [â-ad] = 200 ads = 1,945.15 feet
1 ad [ad] = 10 sofads = 9.73 feet
1 sofad [sōf-ad] = 10 sofs = 11.67 inches
1 sof [sōf] = 1.17 inches
Thus, 2.71 haads is equivalent to an Earthly mile.
Armor
Bulky armor is not traditionally worn on Barsoom – it is hot and constraining. The added weight is a burden when water must be carefully rationed. Against radium weaponry, it is mostly useless and has faded from use.
fonar [fō-nâr]: The battle harness worn by fighting men does confer some protection. It has places for the standard complement of weaponry, pouches containing ammunition, fire-starting devices and a collapsible boarding hook. Though the primary purpose of the hook is to lower oneself from the deck of one airship to another, in practice, the hook is used in countless ways and numerous emergencies, such as climbing.
Weight: 6, Armor +1, Parry +1
Weight: 6, Armor +1, Parry +1
padka [pad-ka]
The small cup shield used to parry during combat by the yellow men.
Weight: 8, Armor +0, Parry + 1
The small cup shield used to parry during combat by the yellow men.
Weight: 8, Armor +0, Parry + 1
nas [nas]: A helmet which is a rarity on Barsoom. Still used by the remnants of the Orovars. The therns and people of Manator wear ornamented headbands that echo this ancient practice.
Weight: 3, Armor +2 (Head Only), Parry 0
Weight: 3, Armor +2 (Head Only), Parry 0
Weaponry
“No male or female Martian is ever voluntarily without a weapon of destruction.” PM/4
All Barsoomian weapons are made of noncorrosive metal and may last for millennia. In the case of firearms, this is fortunate, since almost all rifles and pistols are heirlooms, antiques from the forgotten age when the white race ruled Barsoom. Although John Carter observed the women of the green tribes fashioning radium ammunition, he incorrectly assumed that the green men crafted their own firearms. A savage green warrior can barely fix a broken rifle, let alone understand the complex electronics required to construct a wireless finder and sighter.
adjat [ad-ĵat]: The long Barsoomian radium rifle is made from forthur alloy stocked with sorapus wood. Like all firearms on Barsoom, it uses small caliber radium bullets which only explode upon exposure to the sun’s rays. When fitted with electronic scopes, the rifle’s theoretical range is over 200 miles. However, it is generally employed at more reasonable distances.
Range 24/48/96, Dmg 2d10 (Daylight, else 2d8), RoF 1, Weight 10, Shots 15, Min Str d6, AP 4 (Daylight, else AP 1)
Range 24/48/96, Dmg 2d10 (Daylight, else 2d8), RoF 1, Weight 10, Shots 15, Min Str d6, AP 4 (Daylight, else AP 1)
ahzo [â-zō]: The great spear of the green men; a 40-foot metal-shod staff tipped with a narrow leaf-shaped blade.
Dmg Str + d8, Weight 10, Min Str d8, AP 2 (Mounted Only)
Dmg Str + d8, Weight 10, Min Str d8, AP 2 (Mounted Only)
dak [dak]: A long, slim dagger.
Dmg Str + d4, Weight 1
Dmg Str + d4, Weight 1
jat [ĵat]: The Barsoomian radium pistol is heavy for its size. Like all firearms on Barsoom, it uses small caliber radium bullets which only explode upon exposure to the sun’s rays.
Range 12/24/48, Dmg 2d8 (Daylight, else 2d6-1), RoF 1, Weight 5, Shots 8, Min Str d6, AP 4 (Daylight, else AP 1)
Range 12/24/48, Dmg 2d8 (Daylight, else 2d6-1), RoF 1, Weight 5, Shots 8, Min Str d6, AP 4 (Daylight, else AP 1)
padtar [pad-târ]: The Barsoomian short sword. Usually paired with a long sword, except for the black and yellow men who use a curved variant as a primary weapon.
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 4
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 4
sag [sag]: A one-handed, short-handled war-axe or hatchet.
Dmg Str + d4, Weight 1, Min Str d6
Dmg Str + d4, Weight 1, Min Str d6
tar [târ]: The Barsoomian long sword or rapier; the most common weapon on the planet. Although long, straight and needle-like, it does have a narrow flat side.
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 5, Min Str d6, Parry +1
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 5, Min Str d6, Parry +1
thak [ŧak]: The long bow. Used extensively on Barsoom prior to the invention of radium weaponry.
Range 12/24/48, Dmg 2d6, RoF 1, Weight 3, Shots -, Min Str d6
Range 12/24/48, Dmg 2d6, RoF 1, Weight 3, Shots -, Min Str d6
zo [zō]: A metal-shod spear.
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 5, Min Str d6, Parry + 1
Dmg Str + d6, Weight 5, Min Str d6, Parry + 1
Currency
Coins are unpolished, dull-colored and oval; paper money only exists as promissory notes between individuals to be redeemed twice yearly on days of reckoning. If a man cannot pay his debts, the government does and the man must work the fields or mines to pay the debt off. Currency is based on the smallest coin, the bronze pi [pē]:
1 gold tanpi [tan-pē] = 10 teepi
1 silver teepi [tē-pē] = 10 pi
1 pi [pē] = roughly equivalent of a 1944 U.S. penny
1 gold tanpi [tan-pē] = 10 teepi
1 silver teepi [tē-pē] = 10 pi
1 pi [pē] = roughly equivalent of a 1944 U.S. penny
Medicine
Unless immediately fatal/mortal, most wounds can be healed.
kysab [kī-sab]: This artificial stimulant can be used during or after battle by someone with the Healing skill. They add +2 to Spirit rolls to recover from being Shaken.
Materials and Technology
ersite [ir-is]: A sedimentary stone used in fabricating benches and tables; ERB added “ite”
erthur [ir-ŧür]: white marble
forandus [fōr-ań-is]: The hardest and lightest of metals known to Barsoomians. It is used in the making of wall panels.
forthur [fōr-ŧür]: A white, light, impenetrable alloy used largely in the construction of weaponry and aircraft. Often translated into English as “aluminum steel” or “carborundum aluminium”.
kor [kōr]: The “canals” or artificial waterways dug by the ancients which bring water from the poles to the farmlands. They measure 45 haads (around 16-17 miles) across. The water is collected in immense underground reservoirs at either pole from the melting ice caps, and pumped through long conduits to the various populated centers. The water does not flood the soil, but is delivered via small tubes to the roots directly. They are bordered by rich farmlands or “cultivated districts”, groves of tall trees, farm houses and stables. Endurance antivirus 4 1 4 for mac crack download. The farm houses are on columns and can be raised at night or for emergencies out of harm’s way. Farm labor is supplied by convicts, prisoners of war, delinquent debtors and bachelors who are too poor to pay the “celibate tax” imposed by the red nations to encourage the raising of children. A broad highway parallels them and at regular intervals, crosses over a low bridge. The canals are patrolled by red troops. “At the intersection of our crossroad with the wide, white turnpike which cuts each cultivated district longitudinally at its exact center.”
kuljoog [kül-ĵüg]: The “obstruction evader” invented by Carthoris. A visible device switches the mechanism on or off. The instrument itself is below deck, geared both to the steering apparatus and the control levers. It is a radium generator diffusing radioactivity in all directions to a distance of 30 ads from the flier. Should this enveloping force be interrupted in any direction a delicate instrument immediately detects the irregularity, imparts an impulse to a magnetic device which in turn actuates the steering mechanism, diverting the bow of the flier away from the obstacle until the craft’s radioactivity sphere is no longer in contact with the obstruction, then she falls once more into her normal course. Should the disturbance approach from the rear, as in case of a faster-moving craft overhauling, the mechanism actuates the speed control as well as the steering gear, and the flier shoots ahead and either up or down, as the oncoming vessel is upon a lower or higher plane than herself. In aggravated cases, that is when the obstructions are many, or of such a nature as to deflect the bow more than forty-five degrees in any direction, or when the craft has reached its destination and dropped to within a hundred yards of the ground, the mechanism brings her to a full stop, at the same time sounding a loud alarm which will instantly awaken the pilot.
ptangman [ţaŋ-man]: The great atmosphere factory of Helium is a huge building (four square miles, 200 ft. high) that contains the machinery which produces that artificial atmosphere that sustains life on Barsoom. It was conceived and built by the red men. The secret of the entire process hinges on the use of the ninth ray. There is always sufficient reserve of the ninth ray to maintain the atmosphere for a thousand years. The only fear is that an accident might befall the pumping apparatus: a battery of twenty redundant radium pumps. The walls are 150 ft. thick and the roof is made of shatter-proof glass. It has only one entrance, composed of three doors, each twenty feet thick, controlled by a series of thought waves as encryption. Two red men maintain the facility in half-year shifts. There is a smaller plant in the northern province of Marentina that supplies air to the domed polar cities of Okar.
urtith [ür-tiŧ]: The “destination control compass” invented by Carthoris – a combination autopilot and global positioning system. Set its pointer upon any spot on Barsoom; open the throttle and then lie down and go to sleep. An airship equipped with this device will carry its pilot to the specified destination, drop within a hundred yards or so of the ground and stop, while an alarm awakens the crew.
Vehicles
“The sky was black with naval vessels and private and public pleasure craft, flying long streamers of gay-colored silks, and banners and flags of odd and picturesque design.” PM/21
Like on Earth, naval battles were once fought upon vast expanses of ocean. The mighty seas of Barsoom have long since evaporated. In the absence of water upon which to sail, Barsoomians harness the power of the eighth ray of propulsion to sail upon light among the clouds in gravity-defying airships, known as fliers or zar [zâr]. Airship design evokes the shape of extinct fish that once swam in the oceans. Specialized solar panels capture the eighth ray, transferring it to buoyancy reservoirs for lift and noiseless radium engines to impel the craft. All airships possess searchlights and a compass or tith [tiŧ], but only those allied with Helium have the destination control compass or the obstruction evader. Military airships are armed with radium cannons, rapid-fire radium guns and bomb batteries.
Fliers are kept in hangars on the tops of buildings; the tallest reserved for inter-city travel. Military craft on the roof of barracks are guarded and require authority (dwar or higher rank) or written permits to take out. Great merchant and passenger vessels ply back and forth between the cities of red men. Airships fly pennons and banners to proclaim their status as warships, peaceful envoys, merchant freighters, scientific vessels, passenger liners or pleasure craft. They are also often painted with insignias of city-states or noble houses. Airships have horns for signaling alarms and battle orders. Though they come in many shapes, there are eight basic sizes of fliers:
ayzar [é-zâr]: A one-man flier primarily used for scouting and personal use. Its body is sixteen feet long and two feet wide, tapering to a point at the ends. It is equipped with a small toolkit for emergency repairs. At full throttle, it can reach a velocity of 1,100 haads per zode (166 mph). The fliers of Helium have experimented with a new design that doubles that speed by incorporating an accumulator inside its hull; the details are jealously guarded. At these speeds, pilots must use the safety straps and wear cowls to protect from the rush of the wind.
kozar [kō-zâr]: A two-man flier primarily used for long-range scouting.
enzar [en-zâr]: A five-man flier primarily used for city patrols.
teezar [tē-zâr]: A light or scout cruiser with a crew of 10-15. It is the most popular size for pleasure craft.
enteezar [en-tē-zâr]: A destroyer with a crew of around 50.
tanzar [tan-zâr]: A cruiser with a crew of 100-200.
darzar [dâr-zâr]: A battleship with a crew of around 1,000. They bristle with big guns.
makzar [mak-zâr]: A dreadnought with a crew of close to 10,000. These vessels serve as airship carriers, literally floating hangars for vast battle groups. With lighter armaments (and no bomb batteries), this size vessel is used as a transport for infantry and cavalry.
tinnar [tin-nâr]: Technically not an airship, the “equilibrimotor” is a one-man flying harness. A special belt equipped to process the eighth ray with sufficient strength to propel a person through the air. Small, adjustable wings provide maneuverability.
Flier Weaponry
“By now the ships of Helium had opened fire and shells were exploding about the leading ships of the Jaharian fleet—shells so nicely timed that they can be set to explode at any point up to the extreme range of the gun that discharges them. It takes nice gunnery to synchronize the timing with the target.” FMM/15
angith [aŋ-iŧ]: An incendiary bomb. A standard bomb rack occupies 1 hardpoint, delivers 1 bomb per round and stores 6 bombs.
Range dropped, Dmg 6d10, RoF and Shots based on delivery system, Weight 30, AP 4, Large Burst Template
Range dropped, Dmg 6d10, RoF and Shots based on delivery system, Weight 30, AP 4, Large Burst Template
Tinth [Tin-iŧ]: The “Flying Death”. A seeking torpedo invented by Phor Tak. When launched it will follow and make contact with the object to which it has been attuned and explode.
rasjat [ras-ĵat]: The rapid-fire radium gun.
Range 24/48/96, Dmg 2d10 (Daylight, else 2d8), RoF 3, Weight 32, Shots 150, AP 2
Range 24/48/96, Dmg 2d10 (Daylight, else 2d8), RoF 3, Weight 32, Shots 150, AP 2
karjat [kâr-ĵat]: The radium cannon. Green men have perfected their own version of this for ground artillery.
Range 40/80/160, Dmg 4d8 (Daylight, else 3d6), RoF 1, Weight 18, Shots 5, AP 4, Medium Burst Template (daylight Only)
Range 40/80/160, Dmg 4d8 (Daylight, else 3d6), RoF 1, Weight 18, Shots 5, AP 4, Medium Burst Template (daylight Only)
falis [fal-is]: The disintegrating ray invented by Phor Tak. three types of rays; one would disintegrate metal, another would disintegrate wood and the third would disintegrate human flesh. Can be protected by blue paint It projects an invisible ray, the vibrations of which effect such a change in the constitution of metals as to cause them to disintegrate. these rays change the polarity of the protons in metallic substances, releasing the whole mass as free electrons. I have also heard the theory expounded that Phor Tak, in his investigation, discovered that the fundamental principle underlying time, matter and space are identical, and that what the rays projected from his rifle really accomplish is to translate any mass of metal upon which it is directed into the most elementary constituents of space.
Surface Travel
In addition to riding beasts, Barsoomians possess ground transportation vehicles. In the arctic nations of the north, the “flier” or zar [zâr] is a wheeled motor vehicle with tires filled with the eighth ray. It possesses just enough power to bounce and turn its way around. The red men have “ground fliers” or zaras [zâr-as] too. Wealthy Barsoomians own slaves to drive. For the greater part they skim along the surface, soaring gracefully into the air at times to pass over a slower-going driver ahead, or at intersections, where the north and south traffic has the right of way and the east and west must rise above it.
Helium has a mass transportation system in the form of pneumatic tubes or malmanjat [mal-man-ĵat] that connect Greater and Lesser Helium. The conical-nosed projectiles for this giant air gun measure one ad (9.75 feet). At stations, attendants open and close the arched lids to assist passengers in and out of the upholstered cabins; the rider sets the desired location on the nose before entering. The projectiles move in slow procession on a grooved track to the appropriate tube where it whizzes off to its location.
The green men employ brightly-colored chariots. They have enormous, broad tires and are pulled by zitidars driven by goads.
Psionics
“What forbidden magic is this?' FMM/13
In our exposition of what we have gleaned about Mars, we have been careful to indulge in no speculation. The laws of physics and the present knowledge of geology and biology, affected by what astronomy has to say of the former subject, have conducted us, starting from the observations, to the recognition of other intelligent life. We have carefully considered the circumstantial evidence in the case, and we have found that it points to intelligence acting on that other globe, and is incompatible with anything else. We have, then, searched for motive and have lighted on one which thoroughly explains the evidence that observation offers. We are justified, therefore, in believing that we have unearthed the cause and our conclusion is this: that we have in these strange features, which the telescope reveals to us, witness that life, and life of no mean order, at present inhabits the planet. Part and parcel of this information is the order of intelligence involved in the beings thus disclosed. Peculiarly impressive is the thought that life on another world should thus have made its presence known by its exercise of mind. That intelligence should thus communicate its existence to us across the far stretches of space, itself remaining hid, appeals to all that is highest and most far-reaching in man himself. More satisfactory than strange this; for in no other way could the habitation of the planet have been revealed. It simply shows again the supremacy of mind. Men live after they are dead by what they have written while they were alive, and the inhabitants of a planet tell of themselves across space as do individuals athwart time, by the same imprinting of their mind.
Thus, not only do the observations we have scanned lead us to the conclusion that Mars at this moment is inhabited, but they land us at the further one that these denizens are of an order whose acquaintance was worth the making. Whether we ever shall come to converse with them in any more instant way is a question upon which science at present has no data to decide. More important to us is the fact that they exist, made all the more interesting by their precedence of us in the path of evolution. Their presence certainly ousts us from any unique or self-centred position in the solar system, but so with the world did the Copernican system the Ptolemaic, and the world survived this deposing change. So may man. To all who have a cosmoplanetary breadth of view it cannot but be pregnant to contemplate extra-mundane life and to realize that we have warrant for believing that such life now inhabits the planet Mars. (--Percival Lowell, Mars as the Abode of Life, 1908)1
Since creating my poster map of Barsoom in 2012, by compositing Schiaparelli’s Victorian-era maps of the Martian 'canali' with a modern map of Mars by noted planetary cartographer Ralph Aeschilman,2 I have been puzzling over how to reconcile all those detailed maps of Mars made from 1876 through 1971, showing intricate networks of apparent canals, with the bleak and barren Mars we discovered with NASA’s Mariner and Viking missions in the late 1970s, on which no such features can be seen.
Fig. 1: Mars/Barsoom from the 1870s into the 1920s. In this and the following maps I converted Shiaparelli’s and other astronomers’ Mercator maps to a Lambert Equal-Area Azimuthal Projection, and then overlaid them on Ralph Aeschliman’s beautiful image. First, I had to remove all labels (which varied greatly among astronomers); then I had to flip the original maps vertically. It was the convention of astronomers to make their planetary maps with South at the top because that’s the way it looked in their telescopes, which reversed the image. Several of the amateur cartographers [i.e. Larry Ivie, 1962; Leathem Mehaffey, ERBzine #1438] who tried to map Barsoom against Shiaparelli’s and Lowell’s maps missed this, and ended up locating Helium in the Northern hemisphere, with all other locations similarly displaced, and thus unrelated to actual Areography. |
Schiaparelli’s detailed maps influenced all subsequent Martian observers and cartographers, who confirmed and replicated his system of Martian canals: Leo Brenner (1894, ’96, and 1904); Percival Lowell (1893); Scheiner (1916); Eug?ne Michel Antoniadi (1930); Gerard de Vaucouleurs (1941); Lowell Hess (1956); E.C. Silpher (1962), and R.A. Wells (1971). Adjusted for projection, the features on Schiaparelli’s final map of 1983 correlate precisely with our most modern NASA mapping—except for the “canals,” for which no evidence can be found today.
Schiaparelli called the lines he saw crisscrossing the surface of Mars canali (“channels”), which was mistranslated in English as “canals.” A number of prominent scientists, particularly noted astronomer Percival Lowell, theorized that these were immense engineering works constructed by an intelligent race in an attempt to convey diminishing water from the polar regions to irrigate their dying planet. Lowell published his speculations in three books: Mars (1895), Mars and Its Canals (1906), and Mars as the Abode of Life (1908), thus validating and popularizing the widespread belief that these markings proved the existence of intelligent life on the Red Planet. And Lowell’s writings inspired Edgar Rice Burroughs to write his legendary series of John Carter novels, which took place on the planet Mars (Barsoom) as it was believed to be by the best scientific minds of the time.
A Princess of Mars was published in 1912, and reports events occurring decades earlier, from 1866 through 1876. Gods of Mars (1913) covers the years 1884-1887. And Warlord of Mars (1914) the final book of the initial trilogy, all takes place in 1888. Thuvia, Maid of Mars (1916) spans 1888-1898, and The Chessmen of Mars (1922) covers 1888-1917. The Master Mind of Mars (1927) spans the years 1918-1925. A Fighting Man of Mars (1930) takes place in 1928; Swords of Mars (1935) spans 1928-1934; Synthetic Men of Mars (1939) covers 1934-1938; Llana of Gathol (1941) covers 1938-1939; Giant of Mars (1940) takes place in 1939; and Burroughs' final unfinished John Carter novelette, Skeleton Men of Jupiter (1942), occurs in 1939-1940.4
Fig. 2: Mars/Barsoom ca. 1930, but drawn in 1956 by Lowell Hess, from Exploring Mars by Roy A. Gallant, Garden City Books, NY, 1956. Hess’ original source: Eugene Michel Antoniadi, “Two hemisphere maps in polar azimuthal equidistant projection,” The Planet Mars. 1st edition: 1930. Hess’ map of Mars is by far the most beautiful ever drawn, and was even made into a globe (Fig.3). As with many of the best maps of Mars, Hess used a Mercator projection, with South at the top. I removed the labels, flipped the image, and converted it to a Lambert Equal-Area Azimuthal Projection in Photoshop. I have added Burroughs' Barsoomian locations, and it is interesting to compare this map with the earlier one by Schiaparelli (Fig. 1). This is how Barsoom looked at the time of the events recounted in Swords of Mars. |
In 1935, Austrian physicist Erwin Schrödinger posited a “thought experiment” to illustrate the strange nature of quantum entanglement, a characteristic of a quantum state that is a combination of the states of two systems that once interacted but were then separated, and are not each in a definite state. The Copenhagen interpretation of quantum physics implies that the probability state of the two systems collapses into a definite state only when one of the systems is measured. Schrödinger imagined a scenario with a cat in a sealed box, wherein the cat's life or death depended on the random decay of a subatomic particle. According to Schrödinger, the Copenhagen interpretation implies that the cat remains both alive and dead (to the universe outside the box) until the box is opened, whereupon the cat is discovered to be either alive or dead. This paradox is popularly known as “Schrödinger’s Cat.”
The planet Mars may be considered a “Schrödinger's Planet,” simultaneously both alive and dead until it was actually visited by NASA’s Viking Mariner 9 mission in 1971, at which point its quantum state collapsed into the condition we know today. But let’s consider an alternative interpretation in which we reconcile Burroughs' world of Barsoom from the days of John Carter with the dead planet revealed by the cameras of Mariner 9.
I don’t need to recount the history of Barsoom we all know from the Carter Chronicles. It extends over a million years into the past (“The Time of the Orovars”). But the narrative abruptly ends in mid-tale in the year 1940, with John Carter and his incomparable Martian Princess Dejah Thoris kidnapped and transported to the giant planet “Sasoom” by the Skeleton Men of Jupiter.
During the long journey through space from Barsoom to Sasoom, John Carter is told that the Skeleton Men (Morgors) plan to invade and conquer Barsoom, beginning with the twin cities of Helium. One possible way they could accomplish this is by destroying the atmosphere plants upon which all life on the Red Planet depends. The ending of the first novel, A Princess of Mars, had revealed this vulnerability when the southern plant ceased operations upon the death of its mad custodian. John Carter managed to get the doors of the plant to open for a reboot crew barely in the nick of time, with people throughout the world gasping their last breaths. Carter himself lost consciousness, and when he awoke, he was back on Earth.
So the first thing we need to understand is the dessication of Mars/Barsoom, the thinning of its atmosphere, and exactly how the atmosphere plants operated. This can be fully explained in the context of the narrative.
The gravity of Mars is only a third that of Earth, and thus cannot retain lighter gasses. Here is an analysis of the Martian atmosphere from 1956:
One of the most recent estimates is that the Martian atmosphere is about 96 per cent nitrogen and 4 per cent argon. The presence of carbon dioxide has been shown by the spectroscope; in fact, the percentage of carbon dioxide in the Martian atmosphere is higher than in the terrestrial atmosphere. Traces of water vapor seem to occur occasionally, but most of the time the water in the Martian atmosphere takes the form of floating ice crystals which the spectroscope cannot detect. Whether there is any oxygen present is not established. It is almost traditional by now to say that the oxygen that was formerly present in the Martian atmosphere has been tied up chemically in the planet’s crust. Rupert Wildt of Princeton some time ago made an interesting suggestion as to how this may have come about. Higher up in the Earth’s atmosphere the ultraviolet radiation coming from the sun changes a percentage of the oxygen present into the tri-atomic form of oxygen known as ozone. Because of the lower pressure in the Martian atmosphere, such an ozone layer would have been near the ground, and since ozone is far more active chemically than normal oxygen is, it would have been used up in oxidizing the surface about as rapidly as it was formed. The oxygen, therefore, was chemically tied up, with the detour of ozone formation, but in this case the detour is the far more rapid route.5
Mars lost most of its magnetic field about four billion years ago. As a result, solar wind and cosmic radiation interacts directly with the Martian ionosphere. This keeps the atmosphere thinner than it would otherwise be by solar wind action constantly stripping away atoms from the outer atmospheric layer. Most of the atmospheric loss on Mars can be traced back to this solar wind effect.6The thinning of the Barsoomian atmosphere may have been noticed as early as 800,000 years ago, and the greatest Orovarian scientists of the day set out to do something about it. Realizing that the planet’s oxygen was becoming bound into the soil and rocks due to the oxidation process described above, they sought ways to release it back into the atmosphere. The transportation and processing of sufficient oxidized soil to make any difference proved logistically impossible, so they turned to another process—the electrolysis of water.
It would have become difficult at this point to deny the inevitable. There would have been a dawning realization of this tipping point having occurred, and that ultimately it would mean their descendants’ death. Some would have approached this with apathy, some with religion, most ignored it, others, over time, might have begun to call out for something to be done to preserve life and civilization, and been pushed into an intellectual revolution.There could have been a brief further flowering of civilization due to accelerated technological progress. All of these lines of investigation and action evolved and converged into “The Great Plan” for survival… Electrolysis of water to produce oxygen was part of the solution, done with the knowledge that on an industrial scale it would accelerate the disappearance of the oceans. The longer term plan was to build an atmosphere plant (which would not only provide breathable air but adjust its composition to ensure a proper balance of greenhouse and non-greenhouse gases) and canals; however these would not be ready in time to prevent significant ecological collapse.7
Situating a mighty electrolysis plant along a critical waterway—the straits connecting the southernmost extension of the Toonolian Ocean with the Warhoon Expanse—ensured a permanent flow of water as the ocean gradually retreated to become the Toonolian Marshes, and the rest of the waterway eventually dwindled to become the River Iss. Meanwhile another atmosphere plant was built in secret by the Okarians deep within the north polar icecap, where it derived its H2O from ice. The southern atmosphere plant was four miles across and 100 feet in depth, with 20-foot-thick telepathically-operated steel doors.
But on Mars, electrolysis is a one-way process. For it breaks H2O molecules down into their constituent oxygen and hydrogen, but with the red planet’s low gravity, the hydrogen immediately escapes into space and can never be recombined to make water. So over hundreds of thousands of years, the surface waters of Mars were consumed by the atmosphere plant, while the oxygen released by the electrolysis continued to be converted to ozone (O2) by solar radiation, and eventually ended up in the soil, which turned progressively redder with ferric oxide (Fe2O3) over the millennia. The ultimate Doom of Barsoom was thus inevitable.
Additionally, the increasing desertification of the planet destroyed the once-lush forests, and the carbon of the dying vegetation combined with atmospheric oxygen to produce carbon dioxide (CO2). The most recent analysis of the Martian atmosphere reverses the ratios from 96% nitrogen and 4% CO2 in 1956 to 1.89% nitrogen and 96% CO2 in 2013. And today, free oxygen constitutes only 0.146% of the atmosphere.8
So what became of Barsoom?Let’s pick up the thread of the Barsoom saga from 1940, with John Carter and Dejah Thoris separated and trapped on the planet Jupiter (Sasoom) where they had been transported by the skeletal Morgors. And that’s where Burroughs left them, with no reunion, no resolution, and no return to Barsoom. John Carter’s final words were: “My lonely voyage was over. I had surmounted seemingly unsurmountable obstacles and I had reached my goal. Soon my incomparable Dejah Thoris would be again in my arms.”9 And that’s it. We are left to wonder, what happened next?
Since Burroughs lived to 1950, he could certainly have written more of the story—if there was indeed more to tell. One possibility that makes sense in the context of the saga is that John Carter and Dejah Thoris never returned to Barsoom, and the Morgors destroyed the atmosphere plants in their battle to invade and conquer the Red Planet. But the Morgors found they could not live on the tiny world with virtually no air or water, and their plans for colonization had to be abandoned. Barsoom was left barren and lifeless (as had nearly happened in 1876, at the end of A Princess of Mars).
But perhaps it wasn’t the Morgors who destroyed the atmosphere plants. By 1940, the last remnants of Barsoomian water had dried up with the dwindling River Iss, no longer supplying the great southern atmosphere plant, whose oxygen-producing electrolysis ceased production. At the North Pole, site of the secret Okarian atmosphere plant, water ice had also virtually disappeared, replaced by frozen carbon dioxide (dry ice). Perhaps the great global dust storm of 1939 was related to these events, or even precipitated by them.
Fig. 5: Composite map of Mars by Gerard de Vaucouleurs, compiled from photographs and visual observations made during the oppositions of 1939 and 1941 by Earl C. Slipher at Bloemfontein, South Africa; by Lyot, Carmichel, and Gentili at the Pic du Midi, France, and by de Vaucouleurs at Le Houga Observatory, France. (Courtesy of Macmillan, New York; Faber and Faber, London; Editions Albin Michel, Paris.) |
But even with the death of Barsoom, surely remnants and ruins of the ancient Barsoomian cities and canals would have survived another three decades to be discovered by Mariner 9 in 1971. Why were these not found?
I think the reason is due to dust storms that, as on Earth’s Sahara Desert, covered and obliterated all signs of civilization.
In A Princess of Mars, about half-way thru (page 71 in the 1979 Ballantine paperback edition), John Carter says: “It was the first march of a large body of men and animals I had ever witnessed which raised no dust and left no spoor; for there is no dust upon Mars except in the cultivated districts during the winter months, and even then the absence of high winds renders it almost unnoticeable.”10
Telescopic observations of Mars confirmed its atmospheric clarity throughout the entire time-frame of the Chronicles:
Later, around 1890 evidence of water waned, perspectives changed and the notion arose that the light areas were desert, and the dark areas the marshy remnants of dried seas. The conception of the Martian atmosphere changed, due to the infrequency of clouds and dust storms, the air was thought to be relatively thin.10However, in the 1940s, after the destruction of the atmosphere plants, all that changed.
The kidnapping of John Carter from Barsoom by the Skeleton Men of Jupiter can be dated precisely to Dec. 25, 1939, when the distances given all match.11 That year witnessed a great Martian dust storm, which was followed by similar storms every other year for a few years (1941 and 1943).
I propose that these three storms (1939, 1941, 1943) obliterated all evidence of Barsoomian civilization, and subsequent global dust storms in the 1950s and ‘70s continued the process, so that long before we sent our first spacecraft to Mars, there was nothing to be found of Barsoomian life or civilization—it had all been sand-blasted to oblivion or buried beneath the shifting vermillion sands…to await rediscovery by future Terran/Jasoomian archaeologists. Indeed, the first soft landing on Mars was made by the Soviet Mars 3 in 1971. It landed in the midst of a huge global dust storm, and its signals were terminated after only 15 seconds.
Martian global dust storms tend to start in the southern hemisphere with a local dust storm… Local dust storms seem to be swept into huge storms that envelope the entire planet, as was discovered by the Mariner 9 mission in 1971 and Viking missions to Mars in the 1970's. During 1977 the Viking spacecraft, both orbiters and landers, made extensive observations of dust activity. Between the two global dust storms, numerous local dust storms were observed.12By the 1960s, the best telescopic observations from Earth indicated that the famous Martian canals were fading from view, though they were still just barely visible. Here is the best map of the era, produced in 1962:
Martian Great Dust Storms12
Year Observation Ls(°) Initial Location
1939 Earth Utopia
1941 (Nov) Earth South of Isidis
1943 Earth 310 Isidis
1956 Earth 250 Hellespontus
1958 Earth 310 Isidis
1971 (July) Earth 213 Hellespontus
1971 (Sept) Earth, Mariner 9 260 Hellespontus
1973 Earth 300 Solis Planum
1977 (Feb) Viking 205 Thaumasia
1977 (June) Viking 275
1979 Viking 225
The atmosphere is quite dusty, giving the Martian sky a light brown or orange color when seen from the surface; data from the Mars Exploration Rovers indicate that suspended dust particles within the atmosphere are roughly 1.5 micrometres across.12
On June 26, 2001, the Hubble Space Telescope spotted a dust storm brewing in Hellas Basin on Mars. A day later the storm 'exploded' and became a global event. Orbital measurements showed that this dust storm reduced the average temperature of the surface and raised the temperature of the atmosphere of Mars by 30°C. The low density of the Martian atmosphere means that winds of 18 to 22 m/s (40 to 49 mph) are needed to lift dust from the surface, but since Mars is so dry, the dust can stay in the atmosphere far longer than on Earth, where it is soon washed out by rain. The season following that dust storm had daytime temperatures 4°C below average. This was attributed to the global covering of light-colored dust that settled out of the dust storm, temporarily increasing Mars' albedo.13
Dust storms are most common during perihelion, when the planet receives 40 percent more sunlight than during aphelion. During aphelion water ice clouds form in the atmosphere, interacting with the dust particles and affecting the temperature of the planet.
It has been suggested that dust storms on Mars could play a role in storm formation similar to that of water clouds on Earth. Observation since the 1950s has shown that the chances of a planet-wide dust storm in a particular Martian year are approximately one in three.14
But surely, we must consider, even if the ruins of Barsoomian cities and canals are now buried under the rusty desert sands, and no longer visible to orbiting surveyors, we have landed several roving robots onto the surface which should come across some such remnants of lost civilization. And perhaps someday they will, but to date, none of our landing sites have been anywhere close to the locations of Barsoomian cities or canals. Here is a list of the landing sites of all missions to Mars to date, followed by a map comparing their locations with those of Barsoom: Missions to Mars: Landings15
1. Mars 3 (USSR) – 1971; 45°S, 158°W (lasted only 15 seconds; buried under huge dust storm)
2. Viking 1 (USA) – 1976; 22°N, 48°W
3. Viking 2 (USA) – 1976; 48.3°N, 226°W
4. Pathfinder/Sojourner Rover (USA) – 1997; 19°N, 33.5°W
5. Spirit Rover (USA) – 2004; 14.6°N, 175.5°E
6. Opportunity (USA) – 2004; 2°S, 354.5°E
7. Phoenix (USA) – 2008; 68°N, 233°E
8. Curiosity (USA) -2012; 4.6°S, 137.4°E
Footnotes
1. Mars as the Abode of Life, by Percival Lowell, MacMillan Company, NY, 1908. Chapter VI: Proofs of Life on Mars, pp. 214-216.
2. “A New Map of Barsoom” by Oberon Zell, ERBzine Volume 3937.
3. Observations of the planet from Mariner 9 confirmed that Nix Olympica was not just a mountain, but a volcano. Ultimately, astronomers adopted the name Olympus Mons for the albedo feature known as Nix Olympica. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nix_Olympica
4. “Chronology for the Princess of Mars Trilogy and The Master Mind of Mars,” by Fredrik Ekman; 2nd edition, April 2006. ERBzine Volume 0507; also http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barsoom
5. The Exploration of Mars by Willy Ley and Werner von Braun, Viking Press, NY, 1956.
6. “The Solar Wind at Mars,” NASA Science News, Jan. 31, 2001. http://science1.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2001/ast31jan_1/
7. “The Fall of Ancient Barsoom (and Some Thoughts on How This Shaped Barsoomian Race and Culture)” by Steven A. Warner and Oberon Zell, ERBzine Volume 4497
8. “Abundance and Isotopic Composition of Gases in the Martian Atmosphere from the Curiosity Rover.” Sciencemag.org (2013-07-19).
9. E.R. Burroughs, Skeleton Men of Jupiter, © 1942 Ziff-Davis Publishing Co.
10. Burroughs, A Princess of Mars, © 1912 Frank A. Munsey Co.
11. “Matching Mars, the Lost Canals of Percival Lowell,” by Den Valdron, Part of the Exploring Barsoom Series. ERBzine Volume 1414
12. Table 5-1. “Martian Global Dust Storms,” Martian Dust Storms and Their Effects on Propagation, by R.W. Zurek, 1982. http://descanso.jpl.nasa.gov/Propagation/mars/MarsPub_sec5.pdf
Barsoom 2 5 Trailer
13. Lemmon et al., 'Atmospheric Imaging Results from the Mars Exploration Rovers: Spirit and Opportunity,' Science, Volume 306, Issue 5702, pp. 1753-1756, 2004.14. “Effect of Dust Storms,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martian_dust_storm#Effect_of_dust_storms
Barsoom 2 5th
15. “List of missions to Mars,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_missions_to_Mars16. Lowell, op cit. p. 216.