V "Deadly Harvest" Author Unknown V Storybook (World International Publishing Ltd.)

The Visitors begin growing hybrid Earth/alien plants for their toxic properties.

Story Summary

Tyler and Kyle raid a Visitor crop farm which is growing hybrid Earth/alien plants to create a toxin capable of rendering Earth soldiers helpless and in a state of total obedience. The two wear gas masks and use flame throwers to torch the crops while Donovan and Julie swoop in in a helicopter, machine-gunning the Visitor personnel. Soon the chopper lands to pick up the ground pair and they remove their gas masks.

They still have to take out the laboratory, so Donovan scoots the copter over there and his three compatriots run into the lab to set charges. But then they discover the lab has been booby-trapped with vents which release the processed plant toxins, paralyzing them. Donovan has no choice but to race from the chopper and pull them out before the charges detonate. He just barely gets them all out before the explosion and he heads off with the immobile threesome in the chopper. But, a wounded Visitor guard had snuck in and hid in the back of the vehicle and, as Donovan pilots the bird away, he picks up the helpless form of Julie and prepares to chuck her out the open hatch. Donovan notices just in time and, locking the flight controls, gets up and tackles the alien. Julie falls to floor of the chopper and Donovan manages to force the alien out the door, to plummet to his death.

As Donovan rushes back to the pilot's seat to regain control, his three friends are finally beginning to stir and Tyler tells him, "You know, Gooder...I'm beginning to think there's hope for you yet!"

THE END

Didja Know?

This story appeared in the British 1984 V Storybook, a kids book of short stories all about V. The stories are all pretty lame.

Didja Notice? 

Page 5 describes Lompoc Valley, CA, located between the Santa Ynez Mountains and Vandenberg Air Force Base, as being famous for its flower and plant seeds. This is all true.

Page 5 also reveals that the Visitors are growing hybrids of toxic Earth and extraterrestrial plants in Lompoc to create extremely potent buds that will render Earth soldiers helpless and in a state of total obedience.

Also on page 5, the Visitor guard towers are described as being constructed of plasti-metal. This is the first mention of the material, though it may be similar to plastiflex mentioned in two other stories, "The Three Brave Men" and "Hero".

Another Earth food apparently enjoyed by Visitors are live frogs, which Visitor guard Joseph salivates over on page 5.

On page 6, Donovan and Julie show up in a Hughes CH-6A Cayuse helicopter with a 30mm XM 230 Hughes chain gun. I believe the CH-6A Cayuse is a real helicopter, but I have been unable to find a specific reference to it online other than as a toy police chopper made by Zee Toys; Hughes Helicopters does make a line of CH-6 Cayuse helicopters. The "A" designation at the end of the model name of a vehicle or weapon is often meant to denote "Army". The XM 230 Hughes chain gun is a real mounted automatic gun often used on attack helicopters.

On page 7, Tyler and Kyle remove their gas masks, Tyler telling Donovan, "It's OK, Gooder. Turns out the stuff's not toxic until it's been processed." How does he know? Obviously he and Kyle went into the battle with gas masks, thinking the burning plants would be toxic, so what makes them take off the masks and say this now? It also proves to be a foolhardy move, especially for a trained mercenary like Tyler, because they wind up wishing they had them on again when they storm the laboratory on site and find a booby trap of the gas which incapacitates them.

Also on page 7, we see a type of Visitor laser-rifle not seen previously.

On page 10, Donovan guides the chopper towards the San Rafael Mountains. This is a real mountain range near Lompoc.