SOURCE: "The Hothouse World" by Arthur K. Barnes   (Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1937)

DESCRIPTION: "Thirty seconds later the air was filled with the thin screams and bangings of dozens of the fabulous whiz-bang beetles as they hurtled their armored bodies blindly against the metal walls of the station, attracted by the odor of tobacco. Strike flinched and hurriedly doused the pipe. A man couldn't even have the solace of a smoke on this damned planet. His life would be endangered by the terrific speed of those whiz-bangs." ("The Hothouse World" by Arthur K. Barnes)

NOTES: The Whiz-Bang Beetl travels at such velocity that to be hit by one is like being shot with a bullet. These creatures live in the hothouse world of Venus.

HISTORY: Barnes' tale is remonscient (in a good way) of the planetary tales of Stanley G. Weinbaum. His Venus has been well-thought out. See also The Rotifer, The Murri, The Shovel-Mouth, The Venusians and The Whip.

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