"Pat Pending's Periscoop" by Nelson Bond, (from The Blue Book Magazine. January 1943)
Nelson Slade Bond (1908-2006) is primarily remembered for his science fiction and fantasy stories. He worked in the public relations field until he realized that he could make more money writing fiction. Much of his early work were stories for the sports pulps, but he soon gained attention for his science fiction tale "Mr. Mergenthwerker's Lobblies," which has been adapted for radio at least six times and ran as a radio series in 1938; the story was also televised at least three time and spawned three additional stories about the lobblies. Other series by Bond included stories about spaceman Lancelot Biggs and about Meg the Priestess -- who was one of the first powerful female characters on science fiction. Other popular characters include Horsesense Hank (the Scientific Pioneer), Squaredeal Sam McGhee, and hapless inventor Pat Pending; lesser-known characters included Chip Warren and Jessifer; newspaper reporter and amateur detective Anne Rogers was a radio character created by Bond for Hot Copy (1941-1944). Bond's work was featured regularly in The Blue Book Magazine, one of them premiere fiction magazines of the time. Bond also was active scripting for radio and television. Bond retired from writing in the late Fifties and opened his own public relations firm; he later became an antiquarian bookseller. A philatelist, Bond served on the Board of Governors/Board of Directors of the British North American Philatelic society and published aa book on the postal stationary of Canada. A correspondent with author James Branch Cabell, Bond was briefly Cabell's literary executor. In 1998 Bond was named an Author Emeritus by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America.
From Jess Nevins: "Pat Pending is an Unlucky Inventor whose creations are ingenious but also lead him into various adventures, often with his Russian counterpart, Regis Patoff. Pending is assisted by Don Mallory, a clerk in the U.S. Patent Office." "Pat Pending's Periscoop" was the second of twelve published adventures.
"The famous inventor of the amazing Bacular Clock makes an even more soul-shaking discovery."
Donald Mallory receives a telegram from Pat Pending, "a big red-haired, buck-tooth gawk with a face like the map of Eire." urging him to come at once to his secret location. Pending had vanished shortly after inventing the bacular clock -- one that turned back time -- and used it to stop a train wreck, saving hundreds of young American soldiers. Moments after arriving three Germans broke into the house and pulled guns on Pending and a cute Western Union employee, Susan Ross, demanding Pending's latest invention, while Mallory was in the upstairs bathroom getting something for Pending. Mallory managed to knock out two of the men and he and Pending grabbed their guns and held them on the third. Soon all three Nazis were tied up. Pending, of course, knew exactly what was going to happen, which is why he sent Mallory to the bathroom when he did. Pending had seen it all the day before, using his latest invention, the periscoop, which shows what's going on at a certain place at a certain time twenty-four hours later.
But there was a fourth Nazi, Eric von Bummschmell, waiting outside. Wondering hat took his companions so long, he entered and got the drop in Pending, Mallory, and the girl, forcing Pending to show him how to operate the periscoop. (The way the periscoop works is really very simple: "It's motulation is based on the constantibility of tempuosity. An electricaceous magnitulation disrupterizes the dimensular controvenive creatinga hnyperstacity of scopables." Easy peasy.) Pending focused the machine on Talu island in the Aleutians where American forces had just (will just) be obliterated by Japanese forces. What von Bummschmell did not count on was Pat Pending's cleverness and the International Date Line...Ipso facto, all ends well.
Only four of the twelve Pat Pending stories have been reprinted; six of the stories are available in the original magazines on Internet Archive of Luminist Archive; leaving four of the stories currently unavailable. I doubt if I am the only one who wishes that all twelve stories were available in a single volume. I wonder if any small press publisher is listening?
The Pat Pending series:
- The Bacular Clock (The Blue Book Magazine*, July 1942; reprinted in Mr. Merganthwirker's Lobblies and Other Fantastic Tales, 1946)
- Pat Pending's Periscoop (The Blue Book Magazine*, January 1943)
- Miracular and Importulant (The Blue Book Magazine*, April 1943)
- The Masked Marvel (also features Bond's character Squaredeal Sam McGee) (The Blue Book Magazine, December 1943; reprinted in The Far Side of Nowhere, 2002)
- Pat Pending's Invisibelt (The Blue Book Magazine**, January 1944)
- Pat Pending Returns (The Blue Book Magazine, June 1945)
- Magnifular and Marvaceous (The Blue Book Magazine, April 1946)
- The Greater Gizmo (The Blue Book Magazine, May 1946)
- Pat Pending -- Detectivator! (The Blue Book Magazine*, October 1946)
- Double Trouble for Pat Pending (The Blue Book Magazine, April 1947)
- Much Ado About Pending (The Blue Book Magazine, August 1948; reprinted in Nightmare and Daydreams, 1968)
- Lighter Than You Think (Fantastic Universe**, August 1957; available on Project Gutenberg. 2009; included in The Science Fiction Megapack: 25 Science Fiction Stories by Masters [e-Book, also published as The First Science Fiction Megapack], edited by John Gregory Betancourt, 2011; included in Light Tales: Five Short Science Fiction Stories About Light, editor uncredited, 2012; also published in Fantastic Stories Presents: Science Fiction Super Pack #1, editor uncredited, 2013; also available in Short Science Fiction 48 [audio] from Librivox, 2013; also available in Fantastic Stories Presents The Fantastic Universe Super Pack #3, editor uncredited, 2016)
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