The Mightiest Machine by John W. Campbell
"The Mightiest Machine" is a science fiction story written by John W. Campbell, Jr., serialized between 1934 and 1935, and published in book form in 1947. The narrative centers on Aarn Munro, a uniquely strong human raised on Jupiter, alongside his comrades Don Carlisle, a chemistry genius, and Russ Spencer, owner of a rocket company. They innovate advanced technologies, including the Sunbeam spaceship, powered by a unique energy beam from the Sun, and equipped with remarkable safety features.
The plot thickens when the Sunbeam collides with a meteorite and is thrown into a universe inhabited by hostile spaceships, leading to a dramatic confrontation. They encounter the Magyans, a human-like species with roots tracing back to Earth, whose ancestors survived a catastrophic civilizational collapse. As Munro and his friends assist the Magyans in their struggle against the malevolent Teff-Hellani, they continually invent new technologies to meet various challenges. The climax involves a decisive battle to eliminate the Teff-Hellani threat, ultimately allowing Munro and his team to set a course back to their own universe, promising to reunite with the Magyans later. This story explores themes of ingenuity, cooperation, and the consequences of ancient conflicts, framed within a richly imagined science fiction universe.
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The Mightiest Machine
First published: 1947 (serial form, Astounding Stories, December, 1934-April, 1935)
Type of work: Novel
Type of plot: Science fiction—future war
Time of work: 2079
Locale: Earth, deep space, and various locations in an alternate universe
The Plot
This story, although serialized in 1934 and 1935, did not see book publication until 1947. It was one of the last of John W. Campbell, Jr.’s fictional works to be published under his own name.
Of the three chief protagonists, the principal character is Aarn Munro, a human born and raised on Jupiter. Jovian gravity has resulted in his unique physique. Although he is five feet, seven inches tall, he is almost five feet in circumference, weighs three hundred fifty pounds, and is strong enough to lift and walk off with a ton and a half of lead. He is also a brilliant physicist. Don Carlisle is a genius in chemistry, and Russ Spencer is owner of the Spencer Rocket Company.
As a result of the inventions of Munro and Carlisle, Spencer is able to build a remarkable new spaceship, the Sunbeam, which obtains its power from the Sun via Munro’s “transpon,” a beam that reaches out to, and transports energy from, the Sun. Other inventions, such as antigravity devices, “accumulators” to store vast amounts of energy, and a “magnetic atmosphere” that protects the ship from meteorites and other missiles, make the new ship appear invincible. On its maiden voyage, however, as it travels at about forty-two thousand miles per second, it collides with a 100,000 ton meteorite.
The impact throws the ship into a universe of supergiant stars, where it is attacked immediately by six spaceships of unknown origin and design. Damage inflicted during the meteorite impact puts the Sunbeam at a disadvantage until a fleet of spaceships of an entirely different design appear and help fight off the attackers. During the encounter, Munro catches a glimpse of one of the attackers and discovers it to be red, with horns and a tail, matching the classical description of a devil.
When contact is made with the friendly ships, they turn out to be crewed by humans, who call themselves Magyans and whose language appears to have common roots with that of the Earthmen. After following the Magyans to their home planet, the Earthmen hear their story. It appears that their ancestors were from Earth, living on the continent of Mahu (Mu), where they had a great civilization. An immense earthquake opened a cleft, from which came a strange misbreed, the Teff-Hellani, that had been locked in vast caverns for a million years or so. These creatures and humans had an instinctive hatred of each other. Over the eons, the war evolved into space until, finally, the human leader Tsoo-Ahs (Zeus) decided that the Teff-Hellani must be completely eradicated. He sent out thousands of expeditions to all parts of the planet, so that at least some humans might survive. In the final battle, the energies that were released destroyed the continent of Mahu, and all spaceships were destroyed except one from each side. Those, in an accident similar to the Sunbeam’s, were hurled into the other universe, from which they were unable to find their way back. The human colonies left on Earth degenerated into savagery before starting the climb to civilization again.
Munro and his companions decide to help the humans defeat the Teff-Hellani. In the course of the battle, they mount a spy mission to the Teff-Hellani planet in order to obtain astronomical data that will let them return to their own space.
The final battle involves smashing the Teff-Hellani planet with the Magyan moons. During the course of all these battles, Munro and his friends invent one new scientific gadget after another to solve new problems as they arise. After the battle, using the astronomical data, they embark for their own space with a promise from the Magyans to follow a thousand days later.