Preparing the Yaddithian Body for the Hazards of Earth

The end of Chapter VI of “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” written by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price ended with the Randolph Carter’s consciousness co-occupying the body of the Yaddithian Wizard Zkauba and leaving Yaddith as the bholes were destroying that world. Carter devised a way to leave Yaddith with a light-wave envelope, a technology that is typically limited the transportation of a consciousness through time and space. To accomplish this goal of retrofitting the light-wave envelope for a physical body, Carter had to develop a drug to suppress the consciousness of Zkauba.

 The Yaddithian Wizard Zkauba and the human Randolph Carter by Mara999 (www.deviantart.com)

In addition to a mode of transport for the physical body of Zkauba, Carter had to anticipate how a Yaddithian would survive on Earth. For example, a number of times Carter mentioned he need to immunize the Yaddithian body against bacteria and other potential pathogenic microbial life. However, there is no mention if the Yaddithian body harbored microflora that had the potential to introduce virulent alien diseases to humans or other species on Earth.

The introduction of any alien disease-producing species, whether from another continent or another world, has the potential to quickly spread through and negatively impact a population that has never been exposed. Some actual examples of this include the West Nile virus, which was originally from the Nile delta region and the Zika virus, which was originally identified from the Zika Forest of Uganda, Africa. In both of these cases these viruses eventually made their way to North America, via mosquitoes, where they quickly spread. However, in the case of the Carter – Zkauba Yaddithian no potential disease-bearing microorganisms were documented. Nevertheless, Carter took precautions against Earth-bound microorganisms impacting his Yaddithian body. It is interesting to note the immunization that Carter used was a “bacterial agent” but nothing else yet is known about this material.

                                                        Randolph Carter Nug Soth by Yumegari (www.deviantart.com)

In addition to taking precautions against disease, Carter also had to acclimate the Yaddithian body to the gravity of Earth. Since the Yaddithian were described as having some type of exoskeleton, they can be thought of as some type of alien invertebrate.  Yaddithian were described as being approximately the same height, although somewhat squat, as humans as well as being bipedal. This is in sharp contrast to the substantially smaller-sized arthropods on Earth and do not walk solely on two legs. The size limitations of Earth-bound arthropods are largely due to the Earth’s gravity and existing oxygen concentrations in the atmosphere. Approximately 300 million years ago (the Carboniferous period) when the atmospheric oxygen reached their geologically maximum concentration of 35%, insects were in fact larger. Some of these fossilized dragonflies (of the genus Meganeura) have a wing span of up to 65 centimeters or slightly over 2 feet! In contrast, today the concentration of oxygen in our atmosphere is approximately 21% and dragonflies are a lot smaller.

 A comparison of a human and the dragonfly Meganeura (www.prehistoric-wildlife.com)

Carter’s adjustments to his Yaddithian body were most likely conducted to acclimate to Earth’s heavier gravity and/or lower atmospheric oxygen concentrations relative to Yaddith. More than likely without such adjustments, Earth gravity would crush at least selection portions of the Yaddithian’s exoskeleton resulting in suffocation. However, these adjustments may be more complicated than we original hypothesize. For example, Yaddith may have been smaller than Earth and thus have a smaller gravitational field; however, a lower gravity could make it more difficult for the development of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. In addition, we are assuming that the Yaddithians use oxygen for respiration. It may be that Yaddithians used some other gaseous substance for respiration and Carter had to modify his respiratory system to breath oxygen. However, if Yaddith did have a lower gravity than Earth, then it would generally have a more difficult time retaining any gases that would otherwise drift into space. Perhaps the dholes exerted a gaseous waste that was utilized by the Yaddithians for respiration. In any event, Carter’s physiological modifications to his Yaddithian body allowed him to survive on Earth. Next time we will discuss the light-wave envelope transport technology. Thank you – Fred.

Through the Gates of the Silver Key: Was Randolph Carter Responsible for the Destruction of Yaddith?

In “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” written by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price, Randolph Carter’s consciousness is “downloaded” into an insectoid-like being who lives on the planet Yaddith. This specific Yaddithian individual is the Wizard Zkauba. Since both consciousnesses are sharing the same body there are times that Carter dominates and others that Zkauba dominates. Such conditions may have produced symptoms similar to schizophrenia.

 A Dhole of Yaddith by King Ov Rats (www.deviantart.com)

As a wizard of Yaddith, one of Zkauba’s jobs was “weaving spells to keep the frightful bholes in their burrows…” For the sake of this discussion, a bhole is thought to be either the same thing or closely related to the dholes identified in other tales of Lovecraft. Apparently, the “bleached, viscous bholes” were constantly tunneling through Yaddith and the spells of the Yaddithian wizards would keep these creatures in a relative inactive or dormant state. Desperate to get back to Earth, Carter found a drug on Yaddith that could be used to keep Zkauba’s consciousness in a perpetual dormant state, yet allow Carter to have access of the knowledge and memories of the wizard. Thus, the next time Carter dominated the body of Zkauba, he made and administered the drug to himself.

Keeping Zkauba in a dormant state did allow Carter to eventually successfully (somewhat) leave Yaddith, which we will discuss next time. As part of this process he had to move forward in time in order to ensure he would reach Earth approximately close to when he initially left. As he left Yaddith he saw, “Below him the ground was festering with gigantic bholes; and even as he looked, one reared up several hundred feet and levelled a bleached, viscous end at him.”

                                                                             Dhole by Michael Bukowski (www.yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com)

Based on this text, the eventual destruction of Yaddith was due to the bholes increasing in size and numbers and reaching the surface. If the bhole population was large enough, it may have even resulted in the eventual destruction of Yaddith itself. The planet may have internally collapsed, breaking apart into a collection of small pieces, producing a miniature asteroid field or a dwarf planet system surrounded by countless minor moons. Or, the size and density of the bhole population may have kept the world intact but slowly converted it into a literal “living planet” continuously shifting, moving and feeding on itself. Obviously, the Yaddithian civilization died with this domination of the bhole with a few possibly escaping through time and space.

 Did Yaddith eventually become a living planet, seething with millions of bholes feeding on eat other’s wastes?

With Zkauba’s consciousness in a dormant state, he could no longer perform the ritual to keep the bholes inactive. Carter certainly was not continuing these spells; he was busy figuring out how to get back to Earth. The only spell he had was “a doubly potent spell with which to hold back the bholes at the moment of his starting from the black, dead Yaddith of the inconceivable future.”

Given these circumstances, this begs the question: was Randolph Carter at least partially responsible for the destruction of Yaddithian civilization? If Carter was not so preoccupied with finding a way home and Zkauba could continue the spells to keep the bholes inactive, would this have prevented or at least delayed the eventual honeycombing of Yaddith as a result of bhole activity? If this is the case, the destruction of Yaddith occurred in the distant past but was triggered by the consciousness of a strange ape-like descendent who came from the distant future. Thus, the path to Yaddith’s destruction was not set into motion until Carter, a being of the distant future, traveled back in time. Essentially, Carter’s choice to have access to all of Space-Time with the aid of the Silver Key resulted in the destruction of an entire civilization in the past.

                                                                    A bhole (www.aaronsiddall.com)

Next time we will discuss the science behind Carter’s escape from Yaddith. Thank you – Fred.

Through the Gates of the Silver Key: Chapter VI, Galaxies and Light-Beam Envelope Technology

As described in Chapter VI of “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” written by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price, the insectoid-like beings of Yaddith were a technologically advanced species that could transport their consciousness through time and space similar to the Great Race. For the Yaddithians this was done with the use of “light-beam envelopes.”

 Yaddith by Jacques Brodier (www.thewire.co.uk)

When Randolph Carter’s consciousness entered the body of the Yaddithian wizard Zkauba, he took advantage of the light-beam envelope technology to travel throughout the twenty-eight galaxies and over ten thousand worlds known by the Yaddithians. Currently, based on observations made with the Hubble Telescope it is estimated that there are 100 billion galaxies in the Universe but this estimate is expected to increase to around 200 billion as improvements and refinements are made in telescope technology.

In Lovecraft’s time, the concept of a galaxy was relatively new. Prior to the early 20^th century galaxies were described as globular star clusters or spiral nebulae. However, by the early 20^th century Harlow Shapely determined the distribution, size and shape of some of these globular star clusters as well as the Milky Way. It was Shapely who determined that the Milky Way bulged in the center, surrounded by a large, flat area (http://science.howstuffworks.com/dictionary/astronomy-terms/galaxy2.htm). Shapely later called the identified star clusters or nebulae as “island universes” or galaxies. Others claimed that the nebulae were part of the Milky Way. Thus, in the early 20^th century there was a debate on whether the Milk Way was essentially the Universe or if it was just one of many galaxies in a much larger Universe.

                                               A very small fraction of the billions of galaxies identified by the Hubble Telescope

Toward the end of 1924 the debate was settled by Edwin Hubble. Using his 100-inch diameter telescope at Mount Wilson California, Hubble identified, with the use of Cepheid variables (stars that pulsate on a regular basis, producing a stable period and amplitude of brightness) that a spiral nebula had structure and stars similar to but separate from the Milk Way. This confirmed the presence of another galaxy and those Cepheid variables became part of the galaxy known as Andromeda. Thanks to Hubble, it was determined that the Milky Way galaxy is not the Universe but one of other galaxies spread throughout the Cosmos. The Universe got a whole lot bigger thanks to Hubble.

                                                                                            One of Edwin Hubble’s first photographs of the Andromeda Galaxy (also known as M31)

The Yaddithians are known to be able to have the ability to travel through the 28 known galaxies. Possibly by coincidence, in the Superman mythos it is also stated that there are 28 known galaxies. I was curious why this number of 28 keeps coming up when we now know there are literally billions of galaxies. I hypothesize that this number of 28 stems from the findings of Hubble. After his confirmation that other galaxies exist, Hubble went on to discover another couple dozen galaxies. Thus, while at this time I cannot find an actual document to confirm this, I hypothesize that in the mid-1920’s as Hubble’s findings were presented to the general public somewhere it may have stated that Hubble identified 28 galaxies, which is why this number has been used in a number of venues.

 A more recent photograph of the Andromeda Galaxy one of the “local 28” for Yaddithians

Relative to the Yaddithians, the 28 galaxies may represent a local “cluster” of galaxies, composed of a few large galaxies, such as the Milky Way and the Andromeda, and a series of satellite galaxies that surround the larger ones. From a practical standpoint, traveling throughout Space-Time for the Yaddithians may be limited to these 28. As we have suggested with the Great Race’s ability to travel through Space-Time, the Yaddithian may transmit their consciousnesses through the Universe on a laser beam, to be deposited into the mind of another sentient being. The wavelength of a laser beam is microscopic and you can compress vast amounts of information on its wave pattern; even more data can be transferred onto a beam of X-rays, which has a wavelength smaller than an individual atom (The Future of the Mind: The Scientific Quest to Understand, Enhance, and Empower the Mind by Michio Kaku, 2014).

                          Humans can transfer 26 Terabits of information per second with the use of laser technology. Do the light-beam envelopes of the Yaddithians perform a similar function but on a larger scale? Transferring an entire consciousness through Space-Time on a laser?

The Yaddithians probably used their light-beam envelopes to transmit their minds, with the aid of laser beams or X-rays as carrier waves, through controlled wormholes that opened up hyperspace and “beam” their minds into other devices or the “receptive” organisms on other worlds or in other times. Again, similar technology is utilized by the Great Race; however, for them instead of using light-beam envelopes, they used strange mechanical devices in conjunction with some alien crystals. In each case the result is the same – downloading the consciousness of an individual into a device and then immediately transferring it through Space-Time (most likely through a worm hole) into a new receptacle, which may be another organism or some type of artificial or cybernetic device.

                    Illustration of a Yaddithian by King Ov Rats. (www.deviantart.com)

In conclusion, it appears that both the Great Race of Yith and the Yaddithians had the ability to consciously travel through Space-Time. However, in order to get back to Earth Randolph Carter, trapped in the body of the Yaddithian wizard Zkauba, had to modify a light-beam envelope so that it could transport both the body as well as the mind of the individual. This topic, as well as the resulting cost this had on Yaddith, will be discussed next time. Thank you – Fred.

Through the Gates of the Silver Key: Chapter VI, Welcome to Yaddith

Chapter V of “Through the Gates of the Silver Key” written by H.P. Lovecraft and E. Hoffmann Price, ended with Randolph Carter’s consciousness entering the body of a squat, tapir-snouted and clawed inhabitant of a world illuminated by five multi-colored suns. This strange world of bizarre metal towers and cryptical floating cylinders is Yaddith, which is the focus on this article. Going into Chapter VI it is revealed this strange world was Yaddith.

 Surface of Yaddith. Note the presence of five suns in the horizon (http://www.demonbane.wikia.com)

The main sentient inhabitants of Yaddith were snouted, anthropomorphic, insectoid-like beings and through his dream travels, combined with tilting or modifying one’s consciousness-angles, Carter found himself in one of these clawed, snouted beings – a wizard named Zkauba. Given that Yaddith had five suns the atmosphere was ablaze with a wide variety of solar colors. As previously eluded to, traveling through consciousness-angles may be a metaphysical interpretation of traveling through the Space-Times of the Multiverse, similar to the example given with a sphere entering flatland. Once Carter’s mind entered the body of Zkauba, he found his consciousness “marooned” in the Yaddithian’s body. In addition, Carter had to “share” the body with Zkauba. More will be discussed about this in an upcoming article; this article focuses on Yaddith.

                     The Wizard Zkauba; Yaddithian III by KingOvRats (http://www.deviantart.com)

As previously cited Yaddith is in a five-star system so it is unlikely that this world experiences night, although the amount of daylight must widely vary, based on how many suns shine on the world at the same time. In addition, Yaddith probably experiences higher amounts of radiation (e.g. visible light, radio waves, infra-red, UV-radiation, infra-red, cosmic rays, etc.) relative to Earth. This means that Yaddith’s magnetosphere is probably strong enough to repel the charged particles that emanate from the multi-suns and/or the resident biota of Yaddith have evolved to be adapted to exist in an environment that is bombarded with high amounts of radiation. However, not all life on Yaddith may be well adapted to the highly-irradiated surface of this world.

The burrowing inner horrors of Yaddith were large, worm-like creatures called bholes (also referred to as dholes in some cases), which may have used the “unexplained” tunnels to burrow and move throughout the planet. The bholes may prefer to stay underground to avoid the high amounts of radiation Yaddith may receive from its five suns. However, it appears that these creatures were constantly trying to reach the surface but were prevented from doing so by spells performed by the Yaddithian wizards including Zkauba. Eventually, the entire world of Yaddith would be overrun by the bholes resulting in the extinction of the Yaddithians.

 Dhole of Yaddith III by KingOvRats (http://www.deviantart.com)

As previously mentioned, the Yaddithians, to some known as the nug-soth, were anthropomorphic insectoid-like beings. Given this insectoid-like description the Yaddithians more than likely had some type of exoskeleton. Whether this exoskeleton was composed of chitin like the arthropods on Earth or some type of similar or analogous material, it is most likely that the Yaddithians did possess some type of exoskeleton Typically, invertebrates with exoskeletons on Earth are limited in size by a number of physical constraints such as supporting an efficient respiratory / circulatory system in an armored organism. However, another important factor that limits the size of invertebrates on Earth is our planet’s gravitational pull. However, depending on what the Yaddithian exoskeleton is made of as well as gravitational pull of Yaddith, conditions on that world may have favored the development of large, anthropomorphic insect-like entities who stand upright with exoskeletons.

Similar to the Great Race of Yith, the Yaddithians had the ability to transport their minds through time and space, using a technology called “light-bean envelopes.” The Yaddithians made trips to worlds distributed throughout twenty-eight galaxies and collected knowledge from over ten thousand worlds. The libraries of the Yaddithians must rival those of the Great Race. Some of the nearby worlds that the Yaddithians frequently visited included Shonhi, Mthura and Kath but nothing is known of these planets.

                                                                                                      Yaddithian by Michael Bukowski (http://www.yog-blogsoth.blogspot.com)

Next time we will discuss more about the technology of Yaddithian culture and how Randolph Carter used this technology to eventually leave this world to return to Earth.