Formula for Conquest

In Short

Professor August Q. Twilken approaches the disguised Martian mercenary Tod Mulhane with a dangerous formula designed to accelerate evolution on Venus and break an interplanetary deadlock. Before they can execute their plan, Mon Pordo, chief of the Jovian Secret Police, intercepts and captures them to hijack the formula for a conquest of the Allied Worlds. Escaping their imprisonment through hidden Martian traits and clever sabotage, Twilken and Mulhane turn the formula's chemical properties against their captors in a fiery climax, dismantling the tyrannical regime and securing peace.

The Story

Professor August Q. Twilken tracks down Tod Mulhane, a disguised Martian soldier of fortune operating on Mars, to enlist his help. Twilken possesses a revolutionary formula that can rapidly speed up evolution on Venus, transforming its primitive inhabitants into a vital ally to break the military deadlock between the Allied Worlds and the aggressive outer planets led by Xan VIII. As they discuss the plan in a back room, a Jovian named Mon Pordo eavesdrops. Soon after departing for Venus, their ship is attacked and crippled by Pordo, forcing them into a brief vacuum before being captured by a Jovian cruiser.

Pordo seizes the formula, intending to use it instead on the regressing population of Pluto to secure Plutonian allegiance for Jupiter's impending conquest. The duo is transported to Jove City and thrown into a squalid, disease-ridden palace dungeon alongside other victims of Xan's regime. During their two-month imprisonment, Mulhane reveals his true Martian nature—specifically his prehensile tentacle hand—and bides his time while Pordo conducts experiments on twenty-five elite Plutonians in the palace.

On the sixty-second day, as the political elite of three planets gather in the Grand Assembly Hall to finalize a pact with the newly evolved Plutonians, Mulhane melts his cell door with electrical current and dispatches their guards. Sneaking into the hall via exterior vines, Mulhane discovers that the Plutonians, deformed by their environment outside their native world, are composed primarily of impure calcium carbonate. He quietly executes them with electrical shocks and manipulates their bodies into life-like poses around the council table before Pordo catches him.

When Pordo corners them with an atomic pistol, Mulhane and Twilken fight back, overpowering the Jovian police chief and leaving him unconscious. Twilken places a piece of the altered Plutonian residue onto the butt of Pordo's weapon and holds it against an ancient, rusted sprinkler pipe connected to the hall's water system. As Xan VIII and the other diplomatic leaders re-enter to inspect the silent Plutonians, one of the bodies collapses and shatters. Xan rushes forward just as the sprinkler system activates, drenching the assembly with water. The water reacts with the calcium carbonate residue—converted to calcium oxide by Mulhane's electrical heat—triggering a massive, fiery explosion that consumes the entire Grand Assembly Hall.

The tyrants perish in the inferno, destroying the leadership of the coalition. Mulhane and Twilken escape through the chaos, stealing a cruiser from the deserted spaceport to return to Earth. With their leaders dead and the formula lost to history, the oppressive regime collapses, leaving the planets poised for a new democratic future.

How It Unfolds

The meeting in the musk-parlor Professor Twilken tracks down Tod Mulhane, a disguised Martian soldier of fortune, in a rough Martian bar to pitch a secret formula capable of rapidly altering planetary evolution. Despite initial skepticism and the looming threat of eavesdroppers like a clumsy Jovian agent, Mulhane agrees to protect the vulnerable scientist and provide transport toward Venus to shift the military balance of power.

Ambushed in the void A fast Jovian cruiser swiftly intercepts their ship mid-flight, blasting their hull and forcing them into a freezing vacuum. Mon Pordo captures the helpless pair, strips them of the formula, and diverts his course toward Jupiter to execute his own counter-conquest using Pluto's population.

Imprisoned in the palace Pordo casts Mulhane and Twilken into a subterranean dungeon beneath the Jovian governmental palace alongside broken, disease-racked political prisoners. While enduring months of harsh captivity, Mulhane conceals his true Martian anatomy and prehensile hands from their captors while calmly biding his time for the right moment.

The infiltration of the hall Escaping their melted cell using high-voltage electrical current from his hidden tentacle, Mulhane infiltrates the Grand Assembly Hall where elite Plutonian delegates are meeting with planetary leaders. He silently eliminates the evolved Plutonians and alters their calcium-based remains to set a chemical trap for the council.

The fiery final collapse Cornered by Pordo on the balcony, the duo overpowers him and heats a piece of Plutonian residue against an old sprinkler pipe. When the emergency water hits, the resulting chemical reaction triggers a massive explosion that destroys Xan VIII and the entire ruling regime in an instant.

The People

Tod Mulhane is a capable, adaptable Martian soldier of fortune hiding behind human disguises and pseudonyms. He wants to survive his perilous line of work while quietly aiding the Allied Worlds, but his path is blocked by ruthless enemies and tight security. By the end, he survives the ordeal largely unchanged in spirit, ready for his next adventure.

Professor August Q. Twilken is a mild-mannered, near-sighted scientist plagued by rheumatism. He wants to deploy his evolutionary formula to save the Allied Worlds from an interplanetary war, but he is constantly thwarted by his own vulnerability, his capture by the enemy, and the catastrophic risks of his formula falling into the wrong hands. He ends up disillusioned with the destructive potential of his invention, ultimately relieved that the formula is lost forever.

Mon Pordo is the cunning, cruel chief of the Jovian Secret Police. He wants to secure victory for Jupiter and save his own life from Emperor Xan VIII by utilizing Twilken's formula to conquer the Allied Worlds. His ambitions are blocked by Mulhane and Twilken's sabotage, and he ends up strangled and defeated during the final confrontation.

Xan VIII is the supreme ruler of the Jovian coalition, draped in exotic jewels. He wants absolute domination over the System through an efficient military machine, but his plans are utterly ruined when the heroes destroy him and his entire diplomatic council in a fiery explosion.

In Its Own Voice

When Professor Twilken first approaches the mercenary in a Martian bar, he announces his mission with startling directness.

"I have a formula," the little man said loudly.

Reflecting on his dangerous profession during a quiet moment in the dungeon, Mulhane describes his lifelong drive.

"I've put a lot of space behind my tubes in my brief span of years and seen a lot of things that would make your blood run cold--things I've never talked of before, nor will I tell of them now."

When Mon Pordo successfully steals the scientific notes, he reveals his pragmatic cruelty to his captives.

"Dank you, Misder Dwilken. Never fear, I shall make good use of your formula."

What It's Really About

The narrative explores the ethics of scientific intervention and the dangerous consequences of accelerating natural evolution for geopolitical gain. Both the Allied sympathizers and the Jovian secret police view technological progress as a weapon to tip the balance of power, raising questions about whether civilization's advancement can be safely managed. It also examines the nature of tyranny, suggesting that corrupt regimes inevitably sow the seeds of their own destruction through overreach and cruelty. Beneath the veneer of space opera adventure, the story questions the morality of retaliation, framing war not as an abstract struggle, but as a reciprocal cycle where ruthless tactics ultimately breed total annihilation.

Why Read It Today

Readers who appreciate vintage pulp science fiction filled with fast-paced action, undercover espionage, and interplanetary stakes will thoroughly enjoy this piece. Reading it feels like stepping directly into a mid-century magazine adventure, complete with high-stakes escapes, narrow margins, and dramatic confrontations. What stays with you is the sheer resourcefulness of the protagonist and the inventive, explosive climax that turns simple chemistry into a narrative weapon.

Modern readers should approach the text with an awareness of its pulp origins and period limitations. The dialogue relies heavily on phonetic spelling for non-human characters—such as the Jovian inability to pronounce the letter "t"—which can feel repetitive and dated today. Furthermore, the characterizations are broad, and the political dynamics of the three worlds are sketched with simple, broad strokes rather than deep world-building. However, those willing to embrace its straightforward style will find a fast, entertaining snapshot of 1940s science fiction that delivers precisely what it promises without pretense or delay.