Under the Moons of Mars

by John Joseph Adams

  TARS TARKAS

  A Green Martian warrior. At first, Tars Tarkas believes that John Carter intends to destroy the eggs of the Tharks, Tars Tarkas’s tribe or “horde.” Eventually they become close friends and comrades in arms.

  TARZAN (A.K.A. JOHN CLAYTON, LORD GREYSTOKE, WAZIRI)

  Tarzan, most famous of Edgar Rice Burroughs’s creations, is still one of the world’s most widely recognized fictitious figures, along with Sherlock Holmes and Superman. Burroughs liked to spin connections between his fictitious worlds, for instance sending Tarzan to Pellucidar in one novel [See Moon Maid, The]. Many enthusiastic readers and not a few writers have expressed the wish that Tarzan would travel to Mars and meet John Carter—a “superhero team-up” for the ages! Unless a previously lost manuscript should be discovered, however, it appears that Burroughs never wrote such a story, although several other authors have attempted it, including some in this anthology.

  TELEPATHY

  When John Carter first arrived on Mars, he discovered that Barsoomians were able to read one another’s minds. This would obviate the need for a spoken language, but they have one nonetheless. Perhaps the spoken language evolved before the telepathic power, and spoken Barsoomian will someday cease to be used, but for the time being the Martians can communicate in either manner, just as people on Earth can communicate by spoken words, hand signals, computer links, or other means. At any rate, while John Carter (and later Ulysses Paxton) could read the minds of Martians, the Martians could not read the minds of their visitors from Earth, which motivated John Carter and Ulysses Paxton to learn to speak Barsoomian.

  THARKS

  A tribe of Green Men. [See Green Men]

  THERNS

  The ancient Martians were divided into races or tribes of different colors [See Races of Barsoom]. The Therns are the remnants of the White Martian race. They live in the Mountains of Otz and the Valley Dor. This region is reached by pilgrims traveling on the River Iss, the largest river on Mars. The Holy Therns spread the religious belief that pilgrims on the River Iss reach a land of eternal bliss, but in fact they are either enslaved or devoured by the Therns. All male Therns are bald but wear blond wigs.

  THOAT

  Although sometimes described as the “Martian horse,” the thoat bears little resemblance to Earthly equines. Its most obvious features are its size—as tall as ten feet—and its eight legs, four on each side of its body. This would indicate that thoats are not closely related to either four-limbed or six-limbed species on Mars. They may actually have evolved from the eight-limbed cephalopods that swam in the warm, nurturing waters of Mars millions of years ago! By the time of John Carter’s arrival on Mars, the thoat has been domesticated and even bred into several subspecies. The most common are used as transportation. They are controlled by their riders through telepathic commands.

  THURIA

  The Barsoomian name for Mars’s moon Phobos. [See Moons of Mars]

  THUVIA

  Having embarked on the pilgrimage down the River Iss at an age much younger than most Martians, Thuvia of Ptarth became a slave to the Holy Therns. While thus imprisoned she encountered a fellow prisoner, none other than John Carter, with whom she managed to escape from the Therns. Following a series of exciting adventures, she became the bride of Carthoris, son of John Carter and Dejah Thoris.

  TOM JEFFORDS

  An agent authorized to interact with the Native American tribes on behalf of the U.S. government during the Apache wars of the nineteenth century. [See Cochise]

  TOONOLIAN MARSHES

  While ancient Barsoom was covered with huge seas and oceans, little surface water remains due to eons of evaporation and loss of water vapor. Several bodies of water do still survive, such as the River Iss and the Sea of Omean. The Toonolian Marshes are not so much a body of water as an area of swamps, ponds, mud, and quicksand. There are two city-states in this region, Toonol and Phundahl, hostile to each other. A third city, ancient Morbus, was restored by the scientist Ras Thavas but was destroyed again. The marshes are inhabited by dangerous reptilian and insect life, as well as primitive bands of humans.

  TUR

  While Edgar Rice Burroughs never criticized sincerely religious people, he was an opponent of religious hypocrites and of anti-scientific, anti-intellectual fundamentalists. His satire of their attitudes and abuses were expressed in his description of the cult of Tur. This was the official religion of the City of Phundahl (note the pun), where the Turgan or sacred book of Tur is considered the ultimate source of truth. There are many idols and temples of Tur, and great theological debates are held over the meaning of the holy phrase, “Tur is Tur.” The racketeering practices of the priesthood of Phundahl, headed by the Jeddak Dar Hajus, were eventually revealed by the heroic Earthman Ulysses Paxton.

  ULSIO

  The so-called “Martian rat,” found most often in the dungeons of prisons on Barsoom. Hairless and repulsive, as large as a medium-sized dog, the ulsio has six legs, thereby suggesting that it is evolutionarily related to the white apes and Green Men of Mars. The ulsio has razor-sharp teeth and is extremely dangerous, although in combat it tends to be sly and cowardly rather than courageous.

  ULYSSES PAXTON

  An officer in the American Expeditionary Force fighting in France during the First World War, Ulysses Paxton was severely wounded. He had read of the wonderful adventures of John Carter on Barsoom, and discovered that he had the same power to travel to cross the millions of miles separating Earth from Mars. On Mars, Paxton fell in love with the beautiful Valla Dia, princess of the City of Duhor. However, Valla Dia had been the unwilling subject of a surgical procedure, and her skull now housed the brain of the hideous and cruel Xaxa of Phundahl, while Valla Dia’s brain was in Xaxa’s body. Ulysses Paxton brought about the restoration of Valla Dia’s brain to her own skull. They were then married and Paxton became a noble citizen of Duhor.

  UNDER THE MOONS OF MARS

  This was the original title of the first John Carter novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs. The author submitted the story to All-Story magazine under the byline “Normal Bean.” The story was accepted and published as a serial between February and July, 1912, with the author’s byline changed to “Norman Bean.” The first book edition was published in 1917 under the more familiar name A Princess of Mars, with the author’s name, Edgar Rice Burroughs.

  UNITS OF MEASUREMENT

  Barsoomians divide the circle into 360 karads, just as Earthly mathematicians and cartographers divide the circle into 360 degrees. At the Barsoomian equator, one karad is the equivalent of 100 haads, the haad being the Martian equivalent of a terrestrial mile. However, the actual circumference of Mars is approximately 13,300 miles. Dividing this distance by 36,000 haads, gives an actual value of the Martian haad of roughly .37 miles. As one moves away from the equator toward either the North or South Pole of Mars, the circumference grows progressively smaller, as does the karad. At the poles the karad would have a theoretical value of zero.

  USA

  A starchy root. A staple of Barsoomian military rations, rarely served elsewhere except in the homes of the poor.

  VA-GAS

  Horselike creatures with human faces who can wield weapons with their forelimbs. They live on the inner surface of the moon, along with the Kalkars. [See Moon Maid, The]

  VALLEY DOR

  When Martians sense that they are approaching the end of life (those not previously killed in the seemingly ceaseless wars of Barsoom) they make a pilgrimage down the River Iss to the Valley Dor, a sort of Martian version of heaven located near the South Pole of their planet. To reach this valley, they must travel through an icy region not unlike the ice fields near the North and South Poles of Earth. Surrounded by a towering mountain range, the Valley Dor is indeed a lovely place, a sort of lush oasis. However, it is inhabited by the terrible plant men who capture the pilgrims and deliver them to the white Therns, who use them as breeding stock for slaves and for food.

  WARHOON

>   A tribe of Green Men [See Green Men]

  WHITE APES

  Fierce creatures standing as tall as fifteen feet, with dead white skins and white hair. They have six limbs, like the Green Martians, and are thus more correctly regarded as relatives of the six-limbed Tharks, Warhoons, and other green hexapods than of Barsoom’s true humans. They are social creatures, living in groups, and are intelligent enough to make and use simple tools. They are almost certainly the “missing link” or transitional species from which the Green Martians evolved.

  WOOLA

  A calot assigned to guard John Carter early in Carter’s adventures on Mars. Later, Woola is attacked by white apes and very nearly killed. He is rescued by John Carter and nursed back to health, forming a close bond of loyalty, friendship and affection as a result.

  ZITIDAR

  A large, dinosaur-like animal. These creatures have been domesticated for many years and are used by Martians to draw freight wagons or drays.

  ZODANGA

  A large and powerful city, at one time second only to Helium in wealth and influence on Barsoom. There was a serious rivalry between the two cities, until a military confrontation led to the subjugation of Zodanga and its incorporation into the Empire of Helium. During the grand showdown between the two cities, the incomparable Dejah Thoris was kidnapped by Sab Than, son of the Zodangan Jeddak, Than Kosis. To rescue Dejah Thoris, John Carter and his friend Kantos Kan, an naval officer of Helium, disguised themselves and enlisted in the navy of Zodanga.

  ZODE

  A unit of time. The Barsoomian equivalent of an hour.

  ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

  JOHN JOSEPH ADAMS

  John Joseph Adams (johnjosephadams.com) is the bestselling editor of many anthologies, such as Wastelands, The Living Dead, The Living Dead 2, By Blood We Live, Federations, The Improbable Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, Brave New Worlds, The Way of the Wizard, and Lightspeed: Year One. BarnesandNoble.com named him “the reigning king of the anthology world,” and his books have been named to numerous best-of-the-year lists. He is also the editor of Lightspeed magazine and is the cohost of io9’s The Geek’s Guide to the Galaxy podcast. Forthcoming anthologies include The Mad Scientist’s Guide to World Domination and Armored. He has been nominated for the World Fantasy Award and the Hugo Award.

  DAREN BADER

  For the past seventeen years, Daren has been an art director for the video game and entertainment industry, working with a large variety of companies, including Disney, Nintendo, and Capcom. Currently he is the Senior Art Director for Rockstar San Diego where he recently finished art direction for the critically-acclaimed Red Dead Redemption. On the weekends, Daren is a freelance illustrator for various trading card games such as Magic: The Gathering and World of Warcraft, amassing well over two hundred cards in the field. He has also done the occasional book cover, including a series of covers for fan-favorite R. A. Salvatore. Daren lives in northern San Diego with his wife and son.

  JEREMY BASTIAN

  Jeremy Bastian lives with his wife, Emily, and their menagerie of livestock and poultry in Plymouth, Michigan. He has lived in Michigan all his life minus the two years he spent attending the Art Institute of Pittsburgh. He is currently working on his creator-owned comic Cursed Pirate Girl for Olympian Publishing and has had work published through Dark Horse and Archaia comics. His love of an antique world of illustration has warped his artistic integrity into a slow-paced battle against a minimalistic streamlined world. He revels in the most microscopic detail and challenges himself with every page to dig even deeper into the bizarre abyss of his imagination.

  PETER S. BEAGLE

  Peter S. Beagle was born in 1939 and raised in the Bronx. Thanks to classics like The Last Unicorn, A Fine and Private Place, and “Two Hearts,” he is a living fantasy icon. He also wrote the episode “Sarek” for Star Trek: The Next Generation and the animated Lord of the Rings. His nonfiction book I See By My Outfit is considered a classic of American travel writing, and he is also a gifted poet, lyricist, and singer/songwriter. He currently makes his home in Oakland, California.

  Peter has vivid memories of entertaining himself during slow elementary school classes by writing original adventures of the Lone Ranger, the Shadow, and different characters created by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Getting invited to contribute to this anthology felt, he says, “like a golden ticket back to my childhood.”

  TOBIAS S. BUCKELL

  Tobias S. Buckell is a Caribbean born SF/F author and New York Times bestseller who now lives in Ohio. He is the author of Crystal Rain, Ragamuffin, Sly Mongoose, Halo: The Cole Protocol, and over forty short stories in various magazines and anthologies. His next novel, Arctic Rising, is due out sometime soon from Tor, and he’s working on his next book. Find him at tobiasbuckell.com.

  JEFF CARLISLE

  Jeff Carlisle is a graduate of the prestigious Columbus College of Art and Design. A year or so after graduating, Jeff submitted art to the Star Wars fan site TheForce.net, which resulted in a dedicated fan art gallery there. In the year 2000 he met acclaimed fantasy artist and children’s book author Tony DiTerlizzi. DiTerlizzi encouraged Jeff to “get in the game,” which led Jeff to the 2000 GenCon game fair, and his first industry job: drawing starships, droids, and aliens for Star Wars Gamer magazine. After six years of freelance illustration and concept design, Jeff has worked with a number of clients, including: Alderac Entertainment Group (AEG), COSI Studios, Decipher, Goodman Games/Sword and Sorcery, Green Ronin Publishing, Lucasfilm Ltd., Paizo Publishing, Poop House Reilly, Presto Studios/Microsoft Game Studios, The Scarefactory, Inc., Topps, and Wizards of the Coast. Jeff currently lives in Columbus, with his wife, Lisa, and their white hellcat, Snow.

  MIKE CAVALLARO

  Mike Cavallaro is originally from New Jersey, where he attended the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He began working in the New York comics and animation industries in the early 1990s. His clients include Valiant Comics, DC Comics, Marvel Comics, Image Comics, BOOM! Studios, First Second Books, IDW Publishing, MTV Animation, Warner Brothers Animation, Cartoon Network, and others. Mike is a member of the online webcomics collective, ACT-I-VATE.com, where he contributes free weekly webcomics, including the superhero-sci-fi epic, LOVIATHAN, and the true-life historic memoir, Parade (with fireworks). Other graphic novels include The Life and Times of Savior 28, a collaboration with writer J. M. DeMatteis, and Foiled, the first graphic novel by legendary author Jane Yolen. Mike is a member of the National Cartoonists Society and a founding member of Deep 6 Studios in Brooklyn, where he currently resides.

  CHRIS CLAREMONT

  Chris Claremont is best known for his award-winning, ground-breaking work on Marvel Comics’ The Uncanny X-Men series. Chris’s work has served as the foundation material for the X-Men movies, including X-Men: First Class and the forthcoming second Wolverine movie. Chris is currently putting the finishing touches on a young adult novel, Wild Blood; working on an adult novel, The Winter King; and a screenplay, Hunter’s Moon.

  MOLLY CRABAPPLE

  Artist and comics creator Molly Crabapple has been called “a downtown phenomenon” by The New York Times and “the artist of our time” by comedian Margaret Cho, using her hyper-detailed Victorian pen for graphic novels, giant nightclub murals, and for clients like D.C. Comics, Marvel Comics, SXSW, Red Bull, and the Wall Street Journal. She is the creator of The Puppet Makers (D.C. Comics) and Straw House (First Second Books).

  TOM DALY

  Both Tom Daly and the modern maraschino cherry hail from the same beautiful small town in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley. Both ventured out of the valley, Mr. Daly going on to New York to study art, and the cherry going on to pretty much every bar on the planet. Mr. Daly has been making drawings for books, magazines, and comics since graduating from Parsons School of Design, way back in the twentieth century. When not drawing, Mr. Daly enjoys playing in the park with his sons, reading, long walks, and writing about himself in the third person. Mr. Daly l
ives in New York City. More of his work can be seen at TomDalyArt.com.

  THEODORA GOSS

  Theodora Goss was born in Hungary and spent her childhood in various European countries before her family moved to the United States. Although she grew up on the classics of English literature, her writing has been influenced by an Eastern European literary tradition in which the boundaries between realism and the fantastic are often ambiguous. Her publications include the short story collection In the Forest of Forgetting (2006); Interfictions (2007), a short story anthology coedited with Delia Sherman; and Voices from Fairyland (2008), a poetry anthology with critical essays and a selection of her own poems. She has been a finalist for the Nebula, Crawford, and Mythopoeic Awards, as well as on the Tiptree Award Honor List, and has won the World Fantasy and Rhysling Awards.