THE XOLLARIANS (1932)

SOURCES: "Zehru of Xollar" by Hal K. Wells (Astounding Science Fiction, February 1932)

DESCRIPTION: “The thing was a curious blending of human and bestial features. It stood barely five feet in height, yet its great scale-armored skull was at least three times as large as that of a grown man. There was colossal mental power and nameless evil glowing in the dark depths of the two abnormally large eyes that stared fixedly out from under the heavy forehead. The thing had no nose. The mouth opening, surrounded by a rosette of flabby gray skin, was a mere slit. The entire skull and face were covered with small, closely overlapping scales of lusterless gray. The head merged directly into a short black torso nearly as wide as the skull itself. From this trunk there writhed a score of long black snake-like tentacles, each terminating in a flexible three-fingered "hand." The trunk was supported by two short thick legs, armored with gray scales, and ending in broad three-toed feet.” ("Zehru of Xollar" by Hal K. Wells)

NOTES: Xollar is a planet in "an island universe known to your astronomers as the Great Nebula of Andromeda". The Xollarians (with Zehru being the only example we see) are short octopoidal aliens covered in scales. Their massive heads hold great brains which accounts for their superior technology. Zehru, who is an insane Xollarians who has been sentenced to death for sins against nature, has invented a dimensional/space gate and net, which can scoop creatures from distant planets. He also possesses a force field and a paralyzing ray. The atmosphere of Xollar is a purple gas (methane?) and deadly to humans, just as an oxygen atmosphere is corrosive and deadly to Xollarians. Zehru brings two kinds of creatures to Xollar, humans and Vegans. He plans to switch his consciousness with one of them and flee his execution.

HISTORY: Despite Zehru's "colossal mental powers" he is unaware of the concept of an "insulator", which allows Blake his change to break free of the paralysing ray. This scenario of frozen man versus pontificating mad scientist gets a refit in Sword & Sorcery when the barbarian is frozen with magic while the sorcerer blabs on about world conquest. Which only proves one of the great Villain rules that is always broken KFGL: "Kill First-Gloat Later."