In the dim past men had fled to Mars for refuge, but now the red planet was a dying world and the Martians returned to colonize and rule over the Titans — descendants of those who had stayed behind at the time of the now-legendary catastrophe.
Teraf, prince of Hellas, was particularly struck by the changes Earth had wrought in Martians during the period of their rule. The rays of the earthly sun had burned their sensitive skin almost as black as those of Nubians, and to meet the stress of Terran gravitation, they had developed enormous muscles which sat poorly on their slender frames and gave them the deceitful appearance of strong men in a circus.
The Afhas — those of mixed Martian and early parentage — apparently had absorbed the best traits of both. Like Teraf himself, all had blazing red hair and the slim grace of their Martian forebears, plus a better adaptation to their earthly conditions.
But the rulers of the Titans, retained by their ancestral thrones, chafed under the benevolent progress of ...
Teraf, prince of Hellas, was particularly struck by the changes Earth had wrought in Martians during the period of their rule. The rays of the earthly sun had burned their sensitive skin almost as black as those of Nubians, and to meet the stress of Terran gravitation, they had developed enormous muscles which sat poorly on their slender frames and gave them the deceitful appearance of strong men in a circus.
The Afhas — those of mixed Martian and early parentage — apparently had absorbed the best traits of both. Like Teraf himself, all had blazing red hair and the slim grace of their Martian forebears, plus a better adaptation to their earthly conditions.
But the rulers of the Titans, retained by their ancestral thrones, chafed under the benevolent progress of ...
