THE UCHKE (1933) SOURCES:
"Into the Hydrosphere" (Amazing Stories, October 1933)
DESCRIPTION: “They were like figments of an evil dream, theirruthlessness and brutal character plainly stamped on beetling visages. Professor Jameson was strongly reminded of the snarling face of a gorilla he had once seen long ago, during his Earthly life. But there was no hair on the faces of the Uchke, and their foreheads were prominent instead of sloping, revealing that they were advanced thinkers. Their bodies, however, were small and out of proportion to the size of their heads. Four upper appendages branched forth, terminating in clawed digits. Two stumpy legs afforded the creatures movement.” (“Into the Hydrosphere” by Neil R. Jones) NOTES: The Uchke are ape-like space aliens who have taken the water planet of the Plekne for their secret weapons base. To do this they hollowed out the small rock core at the planet's center, and installed a complex base on the inside inner curve. At the center of the hollow rest Light Island which hangs in place by the laws of mutual attraction, being at the very center of the planet. This island is the secret weapons labratory and prison that houses the Plekne slaves. The Uchke capture their Pleknan slaves with submarines. inside the hollow base they use airships to get around. The weapons technology of the Uchke is considerable (though no match for the Zoromes, who they attack when they approach the planet). They have light pistols that stun, death rays that disintegrate, cannons, bombs and a blue smoke bomb that creates a wall to lower visibility. The Uchke's downfall comes from under-estimating the Plekne's desire for revenge and the intelligence and technology of the Zoromes. The Uchke do not actually create their own technology. They have enslaved another race, the Qwux, who invent and maintain all technology. HISTORY: The Uchke are typical Pulp baddies, with no redeemable features, just evilness. Their description reminds me of the Morlocks though their four arms are more like Edgar Rice Burroughs' White Apes of Mars. Jones spent quite a while figuring out their technology and makes them plausible in that regard. Their name rsembles the word "ucky" or "yucky". Obviously evil.
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