After Worlds Collide
Cover of After Worlds Collide
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| Author | Philip Gordon Wylie & Edwin Balmer |
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| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Frederick A. Stokes Company |
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Publication date
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1934 |
| Media type | Print (hardcover & paperback) |
| Pages | 341 pp |
| Preceded by | When Worlds Collide |
After Worlds Collide (1934) was a sequel to the 1933 science fiction novel, When Worlds Collide, both of which were co-written by Philip Gordon Wylie and Edwin Balmer. After Worlds Collide first appeared as a six-part monthly serial (November 1933 through April 1934) in Blue Book magazine. Much shorter and less florid than the original novel, this one tells the story of the survivors' progress on their new world, Bronson Beta, after the destruction of the Earth.
The United States and several other countries were able to construct and launch space Arks before the Earth was destroyed by a collision with Bronson Alpha, a rogue planet that had entered the solar system months earlier. Several other countries attempted to build them, but were unable for whatever reason. For example, it's mentioned that a French ship was constructed on a fault line, and was destroyed by an earthquake shortly before Bronson Alpha destroyed the Earth and moves out into deep space again. The new planet Bronson Beta swings into what seems to be a stable, but eccentric, orbit around the sun.
Both American ships survived the voyage to this new world, as did at least two foreign ones, though all four were separated on landing, and each unaware of any other successful arrivals. The two American ships' personnel are finally reunited nearly half way into the book.
Early in the story, the survivors of Hendron's own smaller Ark took stock of their situation and set out to establish a colony, already aware of the hint of a previous civilization: a road. Tony Drake and another associate scout out for suitable farmland, which is put to use, but during their return journey following the alien road, the two men come across a vehicle, giving further evidence of a previous civilization. After a mysterious disease passes through the camp, killing three colonists, Hendron forbids exploration, but some of the colonists defy him and strike out, bringing back wood from a distant forest. That night, an aircraft passes near the camp, beating a hasty retreat when it notices the campfire of wood.
Tony's former manservant, Kyto, explains he found a piece of paper blowing in the wind, and it reveals that a group made up of Germans, Russians and Japanese intend to establish a "soviet" called "The Dominion of Asian Realists."
At Hendron's order, an exploratory aircraft is built from remnants of the Ark and its rockets, and Tony Drake sets off with writer Eliot James. They follow the road and discover a domed city. These are the remains of a native civilization, whose builders were essentially humanoid and had considerably higher technology than humanity. This species built five domed cities specifically to survive as their world went into interstellar space, but ultimately decided to simply become extinct after they were completed.
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