Operation Earthworm

by Joe Archibald

Classic Science Fiction! Septimus Spink didn't need to read Jules Verne's "Journey To The Center Of The Earth". He had more amazing ideas of his own. Interplanetary Press, Circa 2022-Septimus Spink, the first Earthman to reach and return from New Mu in a flying saucer, threw a hydroactive bombshell into the meeting of the leading cosmogonists at the University of Cincinnatus today. The amazing Spink, uninvited, crashed this august body of scientists and laughed at a statement made by Professor Apsox Zalpha as to the origin of Earth and other planets.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories

28 pages, Paperback

Published November 13, 2009

About the author

Prolific writer of sports themed books for boys and teens. His first book was published in 1947 (Rebel Halfback) and was followed by more than 50 titles through the 40's, 50's and into the 1960's.

Reviews

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not to make too many words: I found this story downright inane in its quirky style and tendency to get nowhere. Still, it incited me to what is probably my shortest review.

[Janelle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was one of the most ridiculous classic sci fi stories I’ve read. I gave it an extra star because it was set in 2022. I love the imagined future of classic sci fi. But this one was way more far fetched than most.

[Autumn · Rating 2 out of 5]

A silly, sophomoric"innerspace" short story set in the year 2022. A crew of three (the third being so unncessary that I cannot even remember any defining details about the character) burrow their way thousands of miles into the Earth using what is essentially a rocket ship pointed upside down. They then encounter the Nazi human-beatle hybrids that have been causing earthquakes Sep Spink out-thinks the descendant of Hitler, emerging back to the surface in a stolen U-boat, Earth's new hero. The pacing was terrible.

[Scott Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story is reasonably compelling and interesting, as Archilbald explores several ideas related the Sphinx and inner space vs outer space. The style is much more consistent with classic science fiction with its exaggerated characters, hyper attenuated ideas and largely comic book tone. It is an good example of golden age s.f. from a somewhat lesser known author.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We start this short science fiction story with a bang: “I am Septimus Spink, and descended from a long line of Spinks that began somewhere back at the time they put up the pyramids.”

Septimus tells the story of the Magnificent Mole that is d