Space: 1999 "Caught in the Middle" Comic book story Look-In #45-49 Writer: Angus P. Allan Pencils: John M. Burns 1975

The voyager Moon arrives through a time warp 1,000 years into the future and in Earth's own solar system.

 

Read the story summary at the Catacombs (Story Two)

 

NOTES FROM THE SPACE: 1999 CHRONOLOGY

 

In this story, a time warp takes the Moon back to Earth's solar system a thousand years in the future. Several "time warp" stories occur within the annals of Space: 1999, both televised episodes and other media. I have tried to integrate them into groups, in the thought that when the Moon gets sent to an area of space open to a time warp, the Alphans may experience multiple time warp adventures in sequence. This is one such story, which I've placed after the comic book story "Adam & Eve--Mark II" (from Space: 1999 Annual 1975) in the chronology. In that prior story, a spaceship from Earth 1,000 years in the future lands at Moonbase Alpha. It seems reasonable to suggest that the same "1,000 year time warp" is in effect for each story. 

 

DIDJA KNOW?

 

"Caught in the Middle" is a 10-page comic book story that appeared in Look-In #45-49, 1975. The original story is untitled. The title used here, "Caught in the Middle", is borrowed from the Look-In Wikia on the Internet Archive.

 

CHARACTERS APPEARING OR MENTIONED IN THIS STORY

 

Paul Morrow

Commander Koenig

Professor Bergman

Sandra Benes

David Kano

Ma Lai

Dr. Russell

Alternative Mars colonists

Marovitch

Chinese Mars colonists

Chang

Nam Lee

Vassily

 

DIDJA NOTICE?

The story opens with the Moon having already been flung forward in time to Earth's solar system a thousand years in the future.

On page 1 of the story, Commander Koenig orders a "command Eagle" prepped for launch with an armed center section. This Eagle is severely damaged and left behind on Mars.

On page 3 of the story, Koenig and Dr. Russell find the base on Mars to be abandoned, but with food on a mess hall table as if everyone was in the middle of eating and left suddenly. This brings the Marie Celeste to mind for Dr. Russell. This is a reference to the merchant brigantine ship Mary Celeste (often erroneously referred to as Marie Celeste) a real world ship that was found deserted and adrift in the Atlantic Ocean in 1872 with all crew missing and no sign of why they should have abandoned ship.

Helena finds that the base's distress call is running off a continuous reel-to-reel tape! Of course, a base one thousand years in the future would not be likely to be using reel-to-reel tapes for recording and playback!

Nam Lee reveals that Chinese colonists (plus a Western group of unrelated "Alternatives") came to Mars to escape the dying Earth after the Moon broke out of orbit (in "Breakaway"). His people are descended from those original Chinese colonists.

On page 6 of the story, Koenig tells Nam Lee that he can bring the Alphans down to Mars to join them, if permitted, as part of Project Exodus. In "Another Time, Another Place", the potential evacuation of Moonbase Alpha to a planet was introduced as Operation Exodus.

From the two names we get of members of the Alternatives (Marovitch and Vassily), it seems they may be descended from Russian colonists.

The story ends with the two colonist groups on Mars still at war, with the Alternatives now having a huge upper hand on taking over the Chinese base (and probably wiping out the inhabitants). An Eagle from Alpha rescues Koenig and Russell and that's the end of the story. No mention is made of whether the Moon passes through the time warp again and back to their "normal" time period!