Snowstorm on Mars

In Short

Sam Merwin, Jr.’s science fiction story follows Lynne Marcein, the only visibly pregnant woman on a sparsely populated, developing Mars, as she balances advanced telepathic training with a bizarre crisis at Patagonia Station. When ancient, bodiless aborigines—the "zombies"—feed on E-power discharges and possess the minds of the station's beef cattle to act out depraved rituals, Lynne must use her mental discipline to help neutralize the threat. Amidst bureaucratic delays trapping her husband, Rolf, on Earth, Lynne successfully gives birth to the planet's second natural child, and Rolf arrives just in time to use a fabricated snowstorm and a three-dimensional projector to break the cattle's zombie possession once and for all.

The Story

The narrative opens at Nampura Depot on Mars, where Lynne Fenlay Marcein struggles against the intense public curiosity surrounding her advanced pregnancy. Because Martian environmental conditions normally prevent normal births, expectant mothers are usually shipped back to Earth, making Lynne and the earlier pioneer Rana Willis rare exceptions. While Lynne undergoes routine medical checks with Dr. Smetana and maintains telepathic contact with her husband, Rolf—who remains stranded on Earth by administrative delays regarding E-source power programs—troubling news arrives from Patagonia Station. Joanna Wheatley, the young agricultural worker managing the station's newly grown pastures, reports that her prize beef cattle have begun behaving strangely, engaging in rhythmic dances and erratic movements that signal possession by invisible, electricity-devouring Martian aborigines known as zombies.

Recognizing the severity of the threat, Lynne attempts to balance her daily yoga-telepathy exercises—which she uses to maintain a protective mental rapport with her unborn child—with investigating the cattle plague alongside her twin brother, Revere, and Planetary Agricultural Director Nicholas Radchev. The zombies, ancient survivors of Mars' desolation, have learned to bypass tough human telepathic minds by infiltrating the blanker, simpler brains of the station's cattle, feeding on the electrical emanations of the E-entity storms. When Lynne and Joanna visit the pastures on a tractoscooter to confront a threatening herd led by a savage, blood-horned steer, Lynne uses her telepathic focus to trigger the beast's natural instincts, forcing the herd into a panicked stampede and thwarting an immediate attack.

Despite this temporary reprieve, subsequent attempts to use a three-dimensional projector to hypnotize the entire herd and lock the zombies out of their bovine hosts initially fail. The strain of the crisis, combined with the physical demands of her advanced condition, overwhelms Lynne, and she collapses into a feverish delirium. While she is unconscious, Dr. Martin Juarez—the station's veterinarian—successfully delivers her healthy eight-pound, thirteen-ounce baby boy.

Meanwhile, Rolf finally manages to break free from Earth and arrives on Mars just as the situation reaches its peak. Utilizing his wife's insights, Rolf orders the deployment of the three-dimensional projector combined with an artificial snowstorm across Patagonia Station. Because cattle instinctively turn their backs on snow, the environmental trigger forces the beasts to face the projector, allowing the combined mental discipline of the team to break the zombies' control over the herd once and for all. The story concludes a few days later as Lynne, Rolf, the newborn Martin Jr., Revere, and Rana return to Nampura Depot, where the adults celebrate their victory and plan for the practical domestic future of raising children on the Red Planet.

How It Unfolds

• The pregnant pioneer: Lynne Marcein navigates daily life at Nampura Depot as the only visibly pregnant woman on Mars, enduring public stares while keeping in touch with her absent husband via radarphone.
• The cattle aberration: Reports reach the Depot from Patagonia Station detailing bizarre, immoral dances and aggressive behavior among the newly grazed beef cattle, pointing to a resurgence of the ancient electric zombies.
• The pasture confrontation: Lynne and Joanna ride out to the station on a tractoscooter and face a menacing charge from the cattle herd, prompting Lynne to use telepathic probing to force a stampede.
• The unexpected birth: Overwhelmed by the crisis and the demands of her pregnancy, Lynne collapses into delirium and gives birth to a healthy son delivered by the station veterinarian.
• The snowstorm solution: Rolf arrives from Earth and uses a three-dimensional projector during an artificial snowstorm to fixate the cattle and successfully break the zombies' control over the herd.

The People

• Lynne Fenlay Marcein: A sharp, resilient Class-C telepath and former Earth resident who wants to safely deliver her child and protect the Martian frontier. Standing in her way are her advanced pregnancy, physical incapacitation, and the insidious zombie takeover of the station's cattle. She ends up triumphant, successfully aiding in the defeat of the zombies and welcoming her newborn son.
• Rolf Marcein: Lynne’s resourceful husband and an efficient organizer who wants to finalize Earth-side E-power adaptations and return to his family. Red tape and bureaucratic delays stand in his way, but he ultimately breaks free, arriving on Mars to save the day with a clever environmental strategy.
• Joanna Wheatley: The dedicated, youthful animal husbandry expert at Patagonia Station who wants to foster successful cattle ranching on the dry planet. Unpredictable zombie-driven cattle behavior threatens her livelihood, but she stands her ground with a bullwhip and stunner, assisting Lynne through the crisis.
• Dr. Smetana: The pragmatic, square-jawed general practitioner and psychiatrist at Nampura Depot who wants to ensure the health of his patients against the odds. The lack of specialized medical personnel on Mars challenges him, but he successfully manages local care and oversees Lynne's recovery.
• Dr. Martin Juarez: The station boss and veterinarian who wants to see the agricultural project succeed. The cattle plague and biological hurdles threaten his work, but he expands his resume by successfully delivering Lynne's human baby.

In Its Own Voice

“Not only visible, but apparently downright shocking,” she told her husband, Rolf Marcein, over the Earth-Mars radarphone during their weekly conversation.

Lynne discusses the intense public reaction to her pregnancy on the sparsely populated Red Planet.

“Once a freak, always a freak,” she told herself wryly, as she left the Earth-Mars communications chamber and walked slowly across the courtyard of Nampura Depot Center.

Lynne reflects on her unique status as both a Mars-adapted individual and an anomaly among the colonists.

“I’ll be zwirched,” he said, “if I can figure out how you manage it, Lynne.”

Dr. Smetana expresses his utter astonishment at the success and stability of Lynne's pregnancy against all known Martian medical rules.

What It's Really About

The story explores the tension between human ingenuity and the untamed ecology of a pioneer world, questioning what it truly means to colonize an alien environment. Merwin examines the compromises of settlement, contrasting the sterile mechanics of Earth bureaucracy with the messy, organic realities of building a permanent home on Mars. The narrative treats pregnancy and animal husbandry not merely as plot devices, but as extensions of survival, suggesting that dominating a planet requires adapting both human biology and domestic livestock to an unsparing landscape. Beneath the pulp adventure lies a thematic argument about symbiosis: humanity cannot simply conquer Mars with technology alone, but must learn to harmonize with its strange energies and environmental quirks to endure.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love mid-century pulp science fiction filled with bold frontier optimism, telepathic abilities, and quirky planetary terminology will find plenty to enjoy here. Reading it feels like stepping into a vibrant, slightly eccentric Saturday-morning serial where high-tech engineering rubs shoulders with rugged ranching. Modern readers should be prepared for period-specific dialogue, stylized slang like "zwirched" and "ferkab," and mid-century gender dynamics where expectant mothers juggle domestic roles alongside planetary emergencies. Yet, the story's fast pace, quirky charm, and genuinely inventive central conflict—where an alien invasion is defeated using a three-dimensional projector and a snowstorm—stay with you long after the final page.