Phalid's Fate-Jack Vance novelette

Phalid's Fate-Jack Vance novelette

Phalid's Fate is the third work that Vance ever published and is a 35/36 page novelette that first came out in December, 1946 in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories.  Although it is a very early work, it is still a fascinating tales.  Insect like aliens called Phalids have been making surprise attacks against Earth ships. But a counter attack by the Earth military is not possible because they do not know the location of the Phalid's bases or home planet.  The Phalids recently killed the two brothers of Ryan Wratch. Ryan was almost killed too, but his brain was saved and implanted into one of the Phalid bodies. (Scientists are able to transplant human brains into Phalid bodies but not into other human bodies.)  Now that Wratch has the senses, language, body and some of the brain stem of a Phalid, he plans to infiltrate them and find out where their home planet is.  The plan is to send a signal from the Phalid's home planet to reveal its location so that Earth's military will be able to counterattack.  How Wratch adjusts to his new body and brain stem and what he is able to see, feel and do, provide a fascinating exercise in Vancian imagination.  I’ve read it several times and rated it a 4 “Really liked it.”

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled The Dark Side of the Moon (1986)

Included in the Jack Vance collection titled Magic Highways: The Early Jack Vance, Volume 3 (2015)

Included in Chateau d'If and Other Stories (2017, Spatterlight): CD (pb)

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