Dracula Unbound by Brian W. Aldiss
"Dracula Unbound" is a science fiction narrative that intertwines elements of horror and time travel, centering on the character Joe Bodenland as he confronts a formidable threat from the Fleet Ones—vampiric descendants of pterodactyls. These beings, intent on enslaving humanity, utilize a time-travel device to achieve their goals. The story begins with Bodenland's innovative method of toxic waste disposal through time displacement, which sets the stage for his adventure.
When Bodenland's friend, paleontologist Bernard Clift, uncovers a coffin from the Cretaceous period, they inadvertently engage with a ghostly time train that transports them to a dystopian future ruled by the Fleet Ones. Following a series of encounters, including a dangerous liaison with a vampire agent named Bella, Bodenland learns of a plot led by the vampire Lord Dracula to ultimately dominate humanity.
The quest leads Bodenland, alongside Bram Stoker—who is in the process of writing "Dracula"—and Stoker's gardener, Spinks, to various historical periods, including a critical mission to retrieve a powerful weapon from Tripoli in 2599. The culmination of their efforts results in a dramatic confrontation that alters the course of both human and vampire history. The narrative explores themes of ingenuity, betrayal, and the fight for survival against an ancient evil.
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Dracula Unbound
First published: 1991
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—time travel
Time of work: 1896, 1999, and 2599
Locale: London, England; Enterprise, Utah; and Tripoli, Libya
The Plot
Dracula Unbound follows the efforts of Joe Bodenland to defeat the Fleet Ones, vampirish descendants of pterodactyls who intend to use time travel to enslave humanity. Bodenland has developed a method of toxic waste disposal involving time displacement. His friend, Bernard Clift, a paleontologist, has discovered in the deserts of Utah a coffin containing a humanoid corpse, buried in rock from the Cretaceous period.
When a ghastly “ghost train” appears over Clift’s find, Bodenland and Clift manage to steal aboard. They discover that the train is a time-travel device from the far future, when Earth is ruled by the Fleet Ones, who hope to use the “time train” to dominate humans throughout all time. Clift is killed, but Bodenland seizes control of the train. Discovering that the train recently dropped off a vampire agent in the London of 1896, he travels there to attempt to thwart her. Upon arrival, he befriends Bram Stoker, who is writing the novel Dracula, and his gardener, Spinks.
Bella, the operative whom Bodenland seeks, seduces him. She confides that the vampires’ leader, Lord Dra-cula, has called a great convocation of all vampires to plan humanity’s ultimate downfall. She further confides that this gathering will take place in the Cretaceous period. The only weapon that could defeat Dracula, a superfusion bomb, can be found only in Tripoli, Libya, in the year 2599. Bodenland, Stoker, and Spinks stalk Bella and dispatch her with a stake.
Taking Bella’s corpse with them, the three men board the time train for Tripoli, where they steal the bomb. Soon, however, Dracula captures Bodenland and tells him of Bella’s true plans. She had been sent to Bodenland to lure him to Tripoli to steal the bomb, so that Dracula could then wrest it away from him. The Fleet Ones, though shrewd, are incapable of the sustained logical thought and powers of invention needed to retrieve the bomb from its sophisticated safeguards. Dracula also taunts Bodenland with the revelation that it is his invention that will lead to time travel, the vampires’ pathway to total dominion over humans.
Stoker and Spinks rescue Bodenland, and they soon set out for the Cretaceous period. They bomb the convocation of Fleet Ones of which Bella had spoken, causing the cloud-shrouded cold and darkness that ended the age of reptiles. Bella is buried on a vast Cretaceous plain, to be discovered in 1999 by Clift. Bodenland destroys his time-displacement system.