THE DERELICT (1912) – This short story was originally published in Red Magazine in December of 1912. The author was William Hope Hodgson, whose other works have already been reviewed here at Balladeer’s Blog.
A ship traveling from Madagascar to China comes across a derelict vessel which seems to be from hundreds of years ago. An away team is sent to investigate the derelict.
The away team had to struggle through strange brown, clinging scum that surrounded the exterior of the ancient vessel. Once they managed to board the ship they found a bizarre white mold covering the decks, cabins and fittings.
The decks were so rotted they began cracking under the feet of the investigators and from those cracks emerged sea lice the size of beetles. As members of the away team kicked and stomped the scuttering lice, thick purplish liquid oozed out from the floorboards.
This unusual activity on the apparently long-dormant vessel seemed to awaken some strange, colony creature intelligence. A sound like a large heart beating was heard, causing panic among the away team.
The white mold animated itself and managed to overwhelm and viciously dissolve one of the seamen. Next the mold began cutting off avenues of escape for the other crew members, who fought to wipe off the clinging white substance while also attempting to escape.
The away team survivors who did manage to reach their boat then had to struggle to free that boat from the clinging brown scum surrounding the ancient vessel. At length the seamen arrived back at their mother ship, which then cut a wide berth around the derelict.
A doctor among the passengers theorized that the mold and other living things on and around the ancient vessel had been undisturbed for so long they had formed a collective consciousness. Alarmed, they attacked the intruding away team.
The Derelict is a nice quick read. Some may consider it a horror story but because of the quasi-scientific explanation offered by the doctor character I’m counting it as science fiction. I find it similar to various “spaceship crew encountering an abandoned space vessel” stories.
FOR MORE “ANCIENT” SCIENCE FICTION CLICK HERE.
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Thank you!
You’ve already hooked me!
Ha! Good to hear!
It is a good story everything happened on the boat . Good short story .
Thank you very much for saying so.
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You’re the best!
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Monkeys?
🐔🐔🐔🐔
Now chickens!
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Your usual (we expect nothing less) grand write-up. All the same, enough real-time horror every day in Libbie MSM short form. So. Imma pass on the genre despite your review brilliance.
Thanks for such kind words, buddy! You’ll give me a big ego!
Re “Johnsons.”
Ha!
Hmm sounds a little bit like Event Horizon meets The Blob on the ocean. Cue Laurence Fishburne: “We’re leaving. F— this ship.”
There you go! And of course Sam Neil’s line “Where we’re going we won’t need eyes to see.”
The white mold!
Gwen.
Yep!
Great review of ancient science fiction stories. This one does seem fascinating to me because it reminds me of classic movies about ships I have seen. To give an example, the story brought to mind the Planet of the Apes series. It focuses on similar themes of transportation, death and war. The Apes use ships as a means of transportation in the second film “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes”. One of the best sequels ever made. Andy Serkis is extraordinary in the role of Caesar.
Here’s why it’s worth watching:
I understand! Loved your review of Dawn of the Planet of the Apes!