Pogo Planet

In Short

Pogo Planet is a lighthearted science fiction adventure that follows Ajax Calkins, an arrogant self-proclaimed superman who travels to a newly discovered, light-absorbing planet between Saturn and Uranus to claim it as his empire. Finding a landscape of cracked clay and intelligent, bouncing alien life, he stumbles into captivity and meets a grounded earthwoman named Nadia Landor. Together, they escape on the back of a giant, sentient flea while pursued by mechanical pogo sticks. The story endures for its whimsical, inventive absurdity and satirical take on pulp hero tropes.

The Story

Ajax Calkins launches his spaceship toward Midplanet, a hidden world between Saturn and Uranus, driven by a grievance that all great heroic deeds have already been done. Crashing into a gooey swamp through a light-absorbing gas layer, he emerges into a brilliant blue sky, proclaims himself Emperor of the planet, and sets off across a cracked clay plain toward a distant city. Finding an abandoned, nine-foot metal pogo stick, he accidentally triggers its engine and bounces wildly across the terrain until he crashes into a band of grey-furred, kangaroo-like natives. They capture him and bring him to their city by the hills, locking him in a room with Nadia Landor, a member of the Official Interplanetary Union Expedition whose single-seater flier has broken down.

Nadia reveals that she has already befriended Bosco, an intelligent, horse-sized flea captured by the kangaroos to serve as a holiday banquet. Vaulting onto Bosco's back, Ajax and Nadia make a daring escape, firing a para-ray at pursuing guards as the flea leaps across the cracked landscape. A fleet of giant, steam-powered pogo sticks manned by the kangaroo natives gives chase in a high-speed, bouncing pursuit across Midplanet. As Bosco begins to tire, Ajax directs the giant flea toward the swamp where his original spaceship had landed. Bosco clears the treacherous morass in a record-breaking five-hundred-yard leap, while the pursuing pogo sticks plunge helplessly into the gummy mud, trapping their riders and saving the humans. Safe from pursuit, Ajax offers Nadia the chance to stay and rule the world as his empress, but she casually dismisses him, mentioning her husband is waiting at the Union spaceship twenty miles away. To make matters worse, Ajax discovers his own ship has completely sunk into the swamp, forcing him to walk the distance with her.

How It Unfolds

• The voyage begins: Convinced he is a man of destiny, Ajax Calkins secretly pilots his small spaceship toward the newly discovered, light-absorbing Midplanet to carve out his own empire.
• The crash landing: After plunging through an opaque gas envelope, his ship bounces on the soil and crash-lands in a gooey swamp, leaving him bruised among his survival gear.
• The imperial proclamation: Buckling on a para-ray, he crosses to solid ground, steps over deep clay cracks, and solemnly proclaims himself Emperor of Midplanet.
• The mechanical ride: He discovers an abandoned metal pogo stick, accidentally activates it, and is hurled wildly across the terrain until he crashes into a group of kangaroo-like natives.
• The prison encounter: Taken to the city by the hills, he is locked in a room where he meets Nadia Landor, an earthwoman from an official geological survey expedition.
• The flea escape: They mount Bosco, a giant, intelligent flea scheduled for a kangaroo feast, and vault out of the courtyard while zapping pursuing guards.
• The bouncing chase: A line of steam-powered pogo sticks manned by armed natives pursues the fleeing humans across the crevice-ridden landscape in a frantic race.
• The swamp trap: Bosco leaps across the deep swamp to safety, causing the heavy pogo pursuers to plunge hopelessly into the mud, ending the pursuit.

The People

• Ajax Calkins: An arrogant, self-styled superman who believes he is destined for greatness. He wants to escape his ordinary life by conquering a new world, but his grand ambitions are continually undermined by his clumsiness, lack of common sense, and absurd pomposity. He ends up defeated in romance and stranded on foot.
• Nadia Landor: A practical and unflappable member of the Official Interplanetary Union Expedition. She wants to complete her geological survey and escape captivity. Unimpressed by Ajax's delusions of grandeur, she remains level-headed throughout their harrowing adventure and leaves him behind with a laugh.
• Bosco: A gigantic, intelligent flea captured by the local inhabitants. Wanting to avoid becoming a holiday banquet, he aids the humans in their escape by bounding across the harsh terrain, ultimately leaping to safety before returning to the horizon.
• The Kangaroo-Men: The native inhabitants of Midplanet's city. They use advanced steam-powered pogo sticks to navigate the cracked clay terrain, seeking to protect their territory and enjoying a culture that treats giant fleas as feast animals.

In Its Own Voice

Introducing that modest little superman, that shrinking violet of destiny, Ajax Calkins, and a world where you had to hop, in some way, to get where you wanted to go!

The narrator introduces the protagonist and the unique physics of Midplanet right at the beginning of the tale.

"I hereby take possession of this land in my name, Ajax Calkins, and proclaim it subject to my will as Emperor."

Ajax grandly declares his sovereign rule upon stepping onto the mysterious planet's soil.

"Hello, stranger, how'd you get to Midplanet so soon?"

Nadia casually greets a stunned Ajax when they first encounter each other in the alien prison tower.

What It's Really About

The story playfully satirizes the classic pulp fiction tropes of colonial conquest and the rugged space explorer. Through the lens of Ajax Calkins, the narrative pokes fun at male ego, self-aggrandizement, and the absolute absurdity of claiming sovereignty over inhabited worlds. Beneath the sci-fi adventure, it questions the traditional heroic narrative by contrasting grandiose imperial ambitions with ordinary human folly. The book suggests that the universe is far too bizarre and self-sufficient to be easily conquered by pompous earthmen, favoring pragmatic cooperation and a sense of humor over hollow displays of dominance.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love retro science fiction with a heavy dose of irony and deadpan comedy will find this a delightful romp. It feels like a brisk, energetic cartoon brought to life, moving at a relentless pace through an imaginative ecosystem of cracked clay plains, giant pogo sticks, and sentient fleas. The primary difficulty for modern readers lies in the protagonist's insufferable narcissism, which is entirely intentional yet occasionally trying, mirroring the period's satirical pulp archetypes. What stays with you is the sheer visual audacity of two humans riding a giant flea across a hidden world while pursued by angry kangaroo-men on pogo sticks, coupled with the protagonist's wonderfully bruised ego at the very end.

Would you like to explore other satirical short stories from the golden age of science fiction?