Author name: gardensofhansen@hotmail.com

Aloha – As I looked through the Demeter manuscript I realized that I couldn’t share more from volume 1 without giving away the balance of the plot, so I’m moving on to book 2, Return to Demeter. In book 2 Ryder, his sister and their friends return to Earth. Readjusting to Earth’s gravity is a major issue. But a bigger issue for Ryder is returning to school and running into the bully who put him in the hospital and in effect started Ryder’s journey to Demeter. Barry Hales has not changed much in the past year, and he still targets Ryder. “Well, if it isn’t my old buddy, Bill Ryder,” he heard a voice behind him that made the words Bill and Ryder sound like a curse. Turning, Ryder saw Barry Hales just as a punch caught him in his left arm and send him spinning. Barry was quick to grab him, so that he didn’t fall. “Looks like you aren’t going to have any girls here to protect you.” Barry whispered, and then let him go. “What’s going on over there?” a craggy voice caught Ryder’s attention. “Nothing, just greeting an old friend,” Barry yelled back toward the voice. The voice belonged to an ancient looking man missing two fingers, who stood at the front of the room that was divided into two sections. There was a classroom area that Ryder had just entered with long narrow tables and stools rather than chairs. There was a larger area with concrete floors and power tools and benches that was going to be their workroom. Mr. LeBlanc had been teaching at the high school for over forty years. Somewhere along the line he had lost most of his hearing, and as rumor had it, two of his fingers on a band saw. He wore large, beige colored plastic hearing aids, but Ryder wondered if they helped at all, as Mr. LeBlanc seemed oblivious to any noise going on in the classroom. It was Ryder’s misfortune to be seated next to Barry for the class period. They were learning something about drafting, but Ryder was having a hard time paying attention. Every five minutes or so, Barry would slug Ryder hard enough to knock him off his stool. Three of the boys in their immediate proximity would chuckle along with Barry each time it happened. After the third event, Ryder responded, as he got back on his stool, “Football head.” Barry had never liked that nickname. It seemed appropriate as Barry was a starter on the football team, but he was sensitive about the shape of his head. It was long and narrow, the results of a forceps delivery at birth. So, from the front, his face looked sort of like a football. From the sides his head looked round. He kept his hair short for football season, which exacerbated the look. Barry hit Ryder harder, again knocking him off his stool. Ryder got up, brushed himself off, reattached his rear end to his stool, and turned to Barry, whispering a second time, “football head.” The timing was perfect. Without looking, Barry took another swing. Ryder considered just moving and letting Barry lose his balance and land on the floor, but taking the punch was going to be even better. The swing connected, and Ryder again went flying off his stool. “Mr. Hales! Save football for the football field. You have detention! Now out of my classroom and to the office!” Mr. LeBlanc may have been deaf, but he wasn’t blind. The motion had distracted him from his lecture in time to see what appeared to be an unsolicited blow fall on an innocent looking student. Ryder didn’t feel that innocent but was happy to substitute feeling good. Immediately after class Ryder had a study hall. He decided that wood working would have to wait for another year, and he went to the office to change his schedule. Standing in line, three people ahead of him, was Cynthia Flores. “Hey Cynthia.”

The 1970s started with mostly slocky B movies or even worse remakes of remakes that were more horror than science fiction. The 1970s did begin to come forward with some classics and near misses though. 1970 brought us “Colossus: The Forbin Project”. This is a largely forgotten film, but its theme shows up more and more with computer advances and the development of AI. The concept of the film is a supercomputer built over a large area, reminding me of the basement computer at the NSA in the 70s. The Russians meanwhile have built their own version of a massive supercomputer. The two merge and basically take over the world, forcing peace. “No Blade of Grass” also came out in 1970. This was a British film that focuses on environmental changes where agricultural production is ruined by nature itself. Certainly not the first dystopian movie where civilization breaks down as it focuses on a family’s attempts at survival as they try to flee to an oasis of hope. 1971 brought us “A Clockwork Orange” by Stanley Kubrick and making Malcolm McDowell a star. Frankly I did not like this movie and would ignore it on a Favorite science fiction movie but it has become a cult favorite. “The Omega Man” was also put out in 1970. It is the second film based on the 1954 book “I am Legend”. This one starred Charlton Heston and frankly of the three versions of the book I’m aware of, still stands as my favorite, but I haven’t seen it since the 1970s so I’m not sure how well it holds up. My favorite movie from 1972 was “Silent Running”. Remember, we’re talking 1972, but the film focuses on the premise that all forests on Earth are extinct because of ‘careless environmental exploitation’. The remaining forests are on bio-domes in space aboard massive space freighters. The crew are ordered to destroy each of the domes and return the ships to commercial use. The protagonist (Bruce Dern in his best role) refuses to do so and does anything he deems necessary to save the last forest. Interesting film I’d encourage you to look up if you haven’t seen it. Still full of B movies and cheap remakes, 1973 brought us four movies of note. First, “The Day of the Dolphin”. Starring George C. Scott and dolphins it identifies the intelligence of dolphins, although little more that well trained dogs, that can carry weapons of destruction toward waterborne targets. Very well made film. Second, perhaps Woody Allen’s best film, “Sleeper” where Woody Allen’s character is cryogenically frozen and defrosted 200 years later into a dystopian future. Third, the original “Westworld” movie. My wife and I saw this one together and she couldn’t sleep for nights afterward. Yul Brynner should have won a best actor award for this one. And finally, “Soylent Green was also made in 1973. Another early dystopian film, with a few surprises in a stable society. Charleton Heston was the main protagonist, but the film is stolen by Edward G. Robinson, famous for his 1930s gangster movies. So what did I miss? What was your favorite movie from these four years of film?

I’ve been quiet this week. My wife and I have been traveling (near Yellowstone… it was very cold) and not feeling well. In good news, two books in the Orion’s spur series cracked the top 50 in audio books in the category of Action & Adventure Sci-Fi for Teens. Demeter made it up to #23, and Paragon’s Virtue (book 5 of the series) hit #48 in the category.

I’ve identified five major players in the new space race: The U.S., China, EU, India, and Russia. They all have several parallel programs in planning or underway. Space Stations The International Space Station (ISS) is expected to continue operating through 2030. NASA plans to partner with the private sector to replace it currently looking at contracts including Axiom Space, Voyager Space, or Blue Origin. In effect NASA is working its way out of the space station business, while still acknowledging a space station as imperative to future missions. China was locked out of the ISS because of the Chinese military involvement in the project. As a result, China has launched its own space station which is about 1/3 the size of ISS. Like NASA, the European Space agency has signed on to the new commercial Starlab space station that is launching in 2028. It will be a tighter fit for astronauts as it is actually smaller than ISS. Russia is building their own space station (ROSS0 that they hope to have in orbit by 2028. Forecasts related to this and other exploration plans are obviously being impacted by the war with Ukraine. India is also in the planning stages for their own space station they expect to have in orbit by 2035. The Moon NASA by 2040 expects to establish a permanent settlement (the Lunar Homestead project). They plan to send 3D printers to the moon to build the structures “using lunar concreted made from moon rock fragments”. China intends to have a manned mission to the Moon by 2030, and a permanent research station on the Moon by 2035. The ESA likewise has a goal of landing a European astronaut on the moon before 2030. They have plans to have the equivalent of a gas station built on the moon for other research projects. Although they have extensive design plans for a permanent moon base I could not find a timeline for its execution. Russia has plans to have a permanent base on the Moon by 2040. I’m not very confident in this stated plan based on current circumstances. India plans to land an astronaut on the moon by 2035. Mars NASA seems pretty satisfied with their unmanned research for Mars and beyond. However, they have several plans tied to a launch of a manned mission in the late 2030s. If it happens at all it is much more likely to occur in the 2040s. ESA does have plans to launch a manned mission to Mars by 2040. Likewise Russia has plans to launch a manned mission to Mars between 2035 and 2040. Summary “United we stand, divided we fall” Although getting the U.S., China, E.U., India and Russia to cooperate on the future of space exploration is far fetched, it might not be far fetched to unite the efforts of the U.S., the E.U., India, and some of the other players such as Japan, France, and Australia to join together and pool resources and objectives for the Moon and Mars expeditions in particular. Such cooperation could accelerate timelines by years and cut costs by tens of billions of dollars. If we go all the way from hope to wish, imagine what we could accomplish if we could include China and Russia in such a united front. Instead of helping, in this case I think politics are hurting exploration and development.

In Demeter, our protagonist, Ryder, is a nerd, but not all his friends are so inclined. Two of his friends from Earth are brothers Randy and Joel, who love sports and have found delight in the K-units (think Starship Troopers or a less elegant Ironman. Ryder is invited to an activity on the surface of Demeter, by two Cryellians, Randy and Joel. They are jumping in K-16 units off the surface of the asteroid. Today was neither work nor war. Jumping was a popular activity for the Cryellians. They had discovered that they could in effect launch themselves off Demeter’s low gravitational pull with just the system controls of the more advanced robotic suits. When Ryder and Aster emerged to the surface, Randy and Joel were both descending from a jump. They appeared to Ryder as dots. He turned on the magnification in the helmet’s display so that he could make them out. Unfortunately, Ryder over-magnified and kept twisting his head to find them. He would see their helmets momentarily, then a foot. He spent several minutes trying to get the magnification back to normal. By the time he figured it out, they were on the ground. Steerman launched shortly thereafter and quickly flew out of sight. “How high can we go with this thing?” Ryder was feeling more and more wary, remembering the sensation he had going over the falls on the Ashiijin River. “About two miles. The gravity will bring us back down, and the system will automatically break the fall. It’s kind of like parachuting on Earth without the plane, and in a box instead of a parachute,” Joel explained. Ryder was not comforted. However, when his turn came, the liftoff was exhilarating, and the descent was quite pleasant. He had gone through the cycle three times before Steerman voiced another of his familiar challenges. “Want to try something exciting?” “I don’t know. What is it?” Ryder asked suspiciously. “Catapults,” Steerman said in a cavalier tone. Randy and Joel immediately perked up. “You have catapults?” they asked in unison. “We’re in!” Ryder decided to pass on the activity, as did Aster. Buried into the ground about sixty feet deep were some spring-loaded catapults. Aster explained that they were contraband, and not sanctioned by the DDF. They had been constructed by bored technicians over the past couple of decades. The idea was to brace yourself into the highly compressed catapult, fire via computer, and shoot yourself into space. It provided enough energy to launch a suit into orbit without a rocket. “You’ve got to be kidding,” Ryder commented incredulously. Three suits launched simultaneously. They exited the pits like bullets. “Does it crush their heads with g-force?” Ryder asked Aster with morbid curiosity. “There are some that claim it causes brain damage,” Aster replied, “but I think that the damage is pre-existing.” Ryder and Aster both chuckled. They listened to the chatter as the three bullets continued outward. “What’s the record?” Joel’s asked with strained voice. “It’s 23.4 miles,” Steerman said. “I think I can go further than that,” Joel said with a puff. “It’s not getting that far out that’s the problem. It’s getting back,” Steerman oozed with criticism. In the end, they topped out at twenty miles and actually listened when Steerman told them to head back. As the K16 units descended, Aster emitted a soft, “Uh-oh.” “What? Are they going to crash?” Ryder asked apprehensively. “Nope, Gatekeeper just informed me that stations 58 and 60 have both spotted three unidentified objects entering the no-fly zone. Gatekeeper talked them out of firing. But there will be a report. We better get going as soon as they get down.” Shifting to a more formal tone, Aster then switched to broadcast mode, looking skyward. “Steerman, you hear that? I’m taking Ryder in now. Gather the chicks and follow as soon as you get down.”

I have previously discussed the presence of water throughout our solar system. If I were to choose one place to study related to water it would be a moon of Saturn, Enceladus. However, Saturn is three times as far away as Jupiter, so it is not surprising that NASA is more interested in the moons of Jupiter. Last week, NASA launched the Europa Clipper, a mission to explore one of the moons of Jupiter, Europa. The research question is whether its underground ocean is habitable, and if it contains any forms of life as we know it. Two problems to consider with regard to Europa are (1) the radiation belt around Jupiter. In some parts of the belt, the radiation is the equivalent of 100 million X-rays a day. It is a little less bad on Europa. Still, it is high enough that a human exposed to the radiation would become severely ill or die with a single day on the moon. (2) is the water potable? Water as we think of it is H2O, but even on Earth there are a lot of other elements in the water we drink. The water, assuming it is water below the surface, may be too toxic to drink even after purification. However, that does not mean some form of life could not develop in the mix if it is H20. The liquid form of water on Europa is believed to be between 10 and 15 miles below the surface, so drilling may be problematic. However, much of the barrier to liquid water is ice, so the Europa Clipper should be able to get some valuable data even on the surface. I found the following two articles about the Europa Clipper mission particularly interesting: https://europa.nasa.gov/mission/about/ https://europa.nasa.gov/mission/science/ What do you think? Will they find some form of life on or in Europa?

I have previously looked at science fiction movies that I saw well after they had been produced, but I’m getting into my adolescent years when I actually got a chance to see them first run. The last half of the 1960s was really hit and miss, and mostly miss. Nonsensical comedies and a plethora of horror movies filled the science fiction movie dance card in the 1960s. Just a partial list of films I saw and did not see where I hope the celluloid was no preserved: • The Navy vs the Night Monsters • King Kong Escapes • They came from Beyond Space • The Eye Creatures • Terrornauts • Voyage to the Planet of Prehistoric Women • Astro Zombies • Space Thing • They saved Hitler’s Brain • Destroy all Monsters • The Valley of Gwangi • The Blood Beast Terror Yes, there are many more terrible choices. However, there were also some classics during this period. 1965 brought us the pilot for Star Trek, “Star Trek: The Cage” with Jeffrey Hunter as Captain Pike. The studio wanted more action, so they recast Captain Pike with William Shatner as Captain Kirk. In 1966 the book “Fantastic Voyage” was turned into a great film with excellent special effect for the time, and Raquel Welch to add to the draw. We also got a much darker film, “Fahrenheit 451” I did not enjoy the film as a teenager, but it was still better than most dystopian movies of the last 20 years… much more thoughtful. 1966 also brought some repackaging of old movie serials and television shows including Flash Gordon and Dr. Who. After a terrible 1967, 1968 rebounded with several classics. I read “The Sentinel” a short story by Arthur C. Clark and thought it was a great short story. I was excited about “2001: A Space Odyssey” based in part on that short story. Watching it, for all its special effects, was a waste for my 16-year-old brain. I was mostly bored. I do appreciate the movie as it showed how grand a scale a good science fiction movie could be. I would only rewatch it if I wanted to fall asleep. It reminds me of the more recent Disney film, “Oceans” narrated by Pierce Brosnan. Oceans has some amazing film pieces of 1-2 minutes each, but the sound of the ocean and Brosnan’s narration created an environment where I fell asleep in the theater; a first for me. I believe rewatching 2001 today would have the same outcome. Three much more entertaining films came out in 1968: “Planet of the Apes”, “Barbarella”, and “Charly”. “Planet of the Apes” was an excellent film. My only problem with this film was the numerous sequels and remake. It did not work well as a tent pole for a movie series and television series for me. After the first film it became more of actors in monkey suits for me. “Barbarella”? I was a teenager, I loved it. Would I pick it as a favorite today? I liked “The Fifth Element”. Both films are based on French comic strips. No, not even as a guilty pleasure. Charly doesn’t feel like a science fiction movie and I was surprised at first to see it on a list of syfy movies. But the premise is advances in science so I can go with it. It is based on the story, then book, “Flowers for Algernon”. The movie starred Cliff Robertson. It is a heart wrenching story of a mentally disabled man who is injected with a drug that allows his mind to develop greater and greater mental skills. Ultimately, Charly realizes before the scientists do that the drug has short term rather than permanent effects. So, what of all the science fiction movies of the late 1960s did I like best? I would rather go with the film that I found both entertaining and able to impact me personally, that would be “Charly”. For pure entertainment, I would go with “Fantastic Voyage”.

In 1958 Robert Heinlein published “Have Space Suit – Will Travel”. In the novel Kip, a young teenager wins a used space suit. He spends the first part of the book refurbishing the space suit so it could be used in space, but decides to sell it. Before that happens he is kidnapped and his adventure begins. It was a great story for a pre-teen or teenage boy for fun escape reading in the early 60s. But the space suit was certainly clunky. In Orion’s Spur, Demeter I write about the Surface Terrain Units or STUs. Yes, it does have double entendre as the suits are uncomfortable and the humidity inside the unit has the users refer to it as something to stew in. One character has a problem as she perpetually puts the suit on backward. A whole new world has opened for space suits now though as space suits have entered the world of high fashion. Axiom Space and Prada have partnered to develop a much more comfortable space suit to be worn for intrepid adventures on their way to the Moon. The proto-type has been revealed, and appears to be the next generation space suit that NASA will be using for its 2026 Moon landing. The story in its entirety is available at https://www.yahoo.com/news/tech/artemis-moon-suit-designed-axiom-130029637.html Stealing a phrase from the old ad agencies, “We’ve come a long way baby.”

Ryder and his friends team up with two of the Cryellians (mentioned in last blog post) for a trip to Shimmer’s Head. Shimmer’s Head is an outcropping along a wild river, where an retired Terran and his wife run a river rafting business. In some ways this chapter is simply adventure, but there are other short term questions about trust, and factors that play into the plotline further in the book. This was a particularly fun chapter to write. As they floated quietly away from the landing, Ryder could see the bottom of the river clearly. It was only two or three feet deep here, and he saw a variety of trout-like fish lolling back and forth along the bottom. They looked like they were big enough to take a good bite out of someone’s arm, but not big enough to swallow anyone. The minutes glided by, and first Aster, then Steerman, then everyone else peeled off layers of clothing. Ryder couldn’t help noticing how nice Cynthia’s legs looked in cutoffs. Her swimsuit top looked good too. “Are you leering, boy?” Hondo asked him in a loud voice, then guffawed. “Knew I should have paired you with your sister.” Ryder sank into his seat as everyone laughed, including Cynthia. He wondered if he could crawl out of the boat and provide a snack for the trout. Maybe there was one big enough to swallow him whole. “No, I like him right here,” Cynthia retorted. “I admire his pecks.” Ryder, recovering, leaned over and whispered to Cynthia, “Thanks.” She whispered back, “It was all I could think of. I’m glad you think I look good in cutoffs.” She winked. He wanted to continue the conversation, but it was getting noisy. He glanced ahead and saw that the river was starting to churn, and he could see outcroppings of rock that were mostly along the banks of the river. “All right boys and girls, time to earn your keep.” Hondo raised his voice and turned the raft with the large oar on the right. “Things will get a bit more interesting in a few minutes.” Ryder thought things were interesting already. He saw Hondo pulling first one oar then another to try to keep them in the channel as the raft started moving faster and faster. Every now and then, Hondo would shout, “You, on the left, paddle! Harder, you fools!” The noise continued to get louder. Then it was their turn on the right. “Harder, you fools!” seemed to end nearly every sentence that Hondo shouted. Ahead, Ryder saw a white swirling mass in the middle of the river. He looked to either side and couldn’t see a safe passage. About this time, Hondo yelled, “Pull those paddles out, OUT of the water!” Then added, “Hang on,” and chortled. For the next ten minutes Ryder wasn’t sure if he was going to fall overboard, fly out, or just get beaten to death by the raft. They actually flew out of the river at one point like a killer whale breaching out of the ocean and slapping back into the water. That was when he was sure things were going to end badly. Even Cynthia grabbing him didn’t really help his mind clear away from the thought, I’m going to die. I’m going to die. Abruptly the raft emerged from the chutes, and the waters calmed back down. They were gliding through shallows again. Ryder was relieved that the river once more widened and slowed. The canyon walls on the right were still sheer, and they were passing a small alcove and beach like the landing at Shimmer’s Head. The left side showed signs of numerous rockslides, and Ryder thought he spotted some movement in one of the rubble-laden piles of rock. He wondered if the movement had been from a gopher or rabbit, or some totally foreign creature. They were floating leisurely for several minutes, and then he started to hear the river thundering ahead again. The cycle of cataracts and calm water continued over and over for the next four hours. After a particularly rough ride traversing what Hondo referred to as Devil’s Gate, they pulled ashore on a narrow beach to eat a quiet lunch. Randy, Joel, and Ryder were drafted to carry three boxes that were strapped to the raft behind Hondo. Lunch was comprised of sandwiches on homemade bread, and water. Everyone devoured their first sandwich without so much as a word. By his third sandwich, Joel commented that it was the best meal that he had ever eaten, and Randy and Ryder quickly agreed. Hondo gave Joel a not so gentle jab. “Those are just chicken sandwiches and jelly sandwiches.” He laughed. “Although I admit that Margaret makes great homemade breads and jellies. Just wait ’til dinner. You’re in for a real treat then.” Turning toward Becky, Hondo asked, “What do you think of them?” Surprised at the attention, Becky faltered, but responded that the sandwiches were delicious. “So how are things back on Earth?” Hondo sidled up next to Becky “They’re fine,” Becky responded, somewhat embarrassed. “And your family, how are they taking all this?” Hondo leaned forward with his hands on his knees, almost staring at Becky’s face. “They don’t know. They think I’m in Europe.” Becky stared down at her water bottle. “Well, you know, the Europe on Earth.” “That devil, Steve! Still supporting kidnapping, eh?” Having finished a couple of sandwiches and two bottled waters, Hondo got up and walked to a small rock overhang and was immediately asleep. Ryder was tired, but not that tired. Aster and Steerman joined Cynthia and Ryder. “Better than you thought?” Aster inquired. “Depends on whether dying is fun?” Ryder sighed. “I could have sworn I was dead meat for the fish every time we went through those rapids.” “Yeah, Hondo is kind of crazy. I think he’s the only one that is willing to run this part of the river,” Aster replied. “Who is

Syfy movies in the 1960s exploded. Yes, a pun. Beginning in the 1950s and continuing into the 60s the fear of atomic bombs and a nuclear war fed an expansion of this sub-genre of science fiction. Most of these films were cheap B movies. The best movie from this group actually slips back into 1959, “On the Beach”. “On the Beach” was a more realistic look at the outcome of a World War III nuclear war. It was based on a best selling novel, had a big budget and a great cast including Gregory Peck, Fred Astaire, Anthony Perkins and Ava Gardner. The storyline follows the crew of a nuclear submarine that docks in southern Australia after the northern hemisphere is decimated with radioactivity. The film ends with an overt message, “There is still time…Brother.” It was a bit of a soap opera, but relayed a great message in a serious film. 1960 did not see much in the way of outer space adventures excluding a couple of comedy vehicles, but it did have three films worth noting. “The Last Woman on Earth”, “The Lost World”, and “The Time Machine”. “The Last Woman on Earth” is interesting mainly because so many recent films and even a television series seems to play off the story line of two men and a woman being the only people left on Earth. It is a Roger Corman film and needs little further discussion. “The Lost World” to me is a classic. A scientist, Professor Challenger (I love the name) leads an expedition into the Amazon basic to study an isolated plateau. They get stuck on the plateau when a dinosaur destroys their helicopter. From there the adventure continues with dinosaurs, cannibals, killer plants and a great volcano to destroy all evidence of their find. Well, they did bring out a dinosaur egg that hatches into a baby tyrannosaurus rex. Okay, maybe this is a guilty pleasure. “The Time Machine” with Rod Taylor is a great film. I like it much better than the remake, although we do have to deal with 1960 special effects. 1961 does take us off world with “The Phantom Planet”. It is not a great film, but does bring us an interesting storyline. A planet is approaching Earth. It turns out that the planet is a planet converted into a spaceship, but the humanoid creatures have all died. Could be end of the world except for out adventurous heroes. One of my two favorite films from 1961 is a film loosely based on Jules Verne’s Mysterious Island. Other than the Captain Nemo (20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) the film today reminds me of a bigger budget version of the 1960 “The Lost World”. It still stands up as a great fantasy adventure. My other favorite film from 1961 science fiction is “Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea”. Rather than facing extinction from a nuclear war, the problem this time is the potential loss of the Van Allen Belt. It has a great cast, an interesting story, and was eventually turned into a popular TV series. 1962 left a lot to be desired. “Journey to the Seventh Planet” at least gets us back into space. It is a pretty weak entry though. 1963 brings us “The Day of the Triffids”. The best thing about this film is the title. It is based on a novel by John Wyndham, but the movie strays far from the book. Basically the world is being conquered by alien plant spores. 1964 gave us a couple of cult classics: “Santa Claus Conquers the Martians” which I don’t care for, and “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” which I loved as a kid and still have fond memories of the film with Adam West (out of his Batman costume). “Robinson Crusoe on Mars” is a much more simplistic version of Matt Damon’s “The Martian”. Which is more entertaining? I’ll leave that to you. Which is more science-y? “The Martian”. One other film I would like to mention is “The Last Man on Earth”. I thought it was Roger Corman as Vincent Price is the protagonist, but it is actually an Italian/US film. This is the first version that I am aware of, of Richard Matheson’s novel “I am Legend”. The film was remade as “The Omega Man” with Charleton Heston, and more recently as “I am Legend” with Will Smith. The book is often given credit as the source material for all zombie movies. Of this five year period I’ll have to vote for “The Time Machine” as my favorite. So what do you think? Do you have a favorite science fiction movie from 1960-64 that I missed?