GRAY LENSMAN
By E. E. SMITH, Ph. D.
[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Astounding Science Fiction
October, November, December 1939, January 1940.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]
PROLOGUE
This is not, strictly speaking, a biography. It is not, it cannotbe, comprehensive enough to be called that. Nor, since of necessityit must be limited, both in length and in scope, can it be called ahistory. It is, perhaps, best described as a record—the record of theactivities of Galactic Co-ordinator Kimball Kinnison, Gray Lensman, ofTellus, during the Boskonian War.
Nevertheless this record, what there is of it, is in essencebiographical; and the biographer of such a man as Kinnison has apeculiar task. In one way it is easy, in two others it is difficult inthe extreme.
"Nuts!" he is wont to exclaim in answer to a direct question as to someparticular event or situation. "Why in all the nine hells of Valeriaare you still wasting time writing about me?" But eventually I getthe data I need, and thus it is comparatively easy to make this workcompletely authentic, as far as the Gray Lensman himself is concerned.
It may be objected that I have recorded as facts certain minutiaewhich, considering what happened to the planet of the Eich and in thelight of other happenings elsewhere, cannot be known so exactly byany living entity. This objection is untenable; as profound researchupon every debatable point has shown conclusively that something verysimilar to, if not in fact identical with, each such detail must haveoccurred.
Of the two great difficulties, one lies in the selection of material.The story of Kimball Kinnison easily could—and really should—filla dozen encyclopedic spools; it is a Galactic shame and an almostimpossible undertaking to compress it into one two-hour tape. The othersticking point is the diversity of my audience. For in the First Galaxyalone there are millions of planets, peopled by races as divergent inmentality and in physique as they are far apart in space. Some raceswill read this chronicle from printed pages; some will see it; somewill hear it; some will both see it and hear it; some, unable eitherto see or to hear, will receive it telepathically. Still others,in other Galaxies, will undoubtedly acquire it in fashions starklyincomprehensible to me, its compiler.
Numberless races of intelligent beings already know Kinnison well,since his fame has spread north, south, east, west, zenith and nadir,to the six points of the three-dimensional galactic-inductor compassesof two galaxies. On the other hand, many know him not at all. Manyhave never even heard of Tellus, nor of Sol, our parent sun; eventhough it was upon that proud planet of this, our Solarian System, thatthe Galactic Patrol came into being. Indeed, it is inevitable thatthis biography will in days to come be of interest to races which,inhabiting planets not yet reached by the Cosmic Survey, have not evenheard of the Galactic Patrol, to say nothing of knowing its origin andits history.
In view of the above inescapable facts, and after a great deal ofthought and care, I have decided to write this Prologue, which willsummarize very simply that which is already most widely known; na