The Cults of Deimos and Phobos

Lester Dent's Zeppelin Tales Now Available!

Lester Dent penned many pulp adventures before he created Doc Savage in 1933 under the house name Kenneth Robeson. Lester Dent's Zeppelin Tales collects five airship-themed stories published from 1930 to 1932, and includes material restored from Dent's original manuscripts!

Lester Dent's Zeppelin Tales is nearly 100,000 words of pulpy goodness, and is available now as a PDF from e23. It should be available from most online booksellers shortly (it is currently listed with BarnesAndNoble.com and Amazon.co.uk), and you can special order it from your local bookshop: just tell them it is available from Ingram or Baker & Taylor in the US or Blackwell's or Bertram's in the UK.

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The Cults of Deimos and Phobos:

A Treatise on the Endemic Religions of the Western Dioscurian Region of the Planet Mars and the Origins of Said Religions

Presented by Dr. Roger Hammersmith Usher, Ph.D.

To the Royal Geographic Society

On the 9^th day of November in the Year of Our Lord, One Thousand Eight Hundred and Eighty-Six

As Reported by Samuel Noyce

"And in the day of her tribulation the Mother delivered. And thus were two sons born but one was their body. The first to breech was fair and full of light. The second was dark and full of power. The second grabbed after the first, and thus from their birth was the struggle born. Thus was the Mother delivered and she had much joy to behold the fruit of her labors, but was much troubled by the conflict that crowded around them like Gashants to a watering hole."

-Excerpt from a partial translation of the Book of the Mother, Chapter 3

"Shortly after the time of the void, twin boys were born to the Mother Mars. She named one [Deimos] because he was the first-born and his future was shown to be one full of life and the nurturing of living things. The other was named [Phobos] because his future showed that he would forever live in the shadow of his brother and deal with things of the shadow. His destiny was to overcome the life-bringer and to be overcome by him in turn."

-Excerpt from carved panel in Prince Rhuumbarrdaar IVís tomb

(Translated by Umbran Archaeological Expedition of 1884)

In Martian mythology, Deimos and Phobos are twin brothers. They were born to the Martian Mother Goddess during her last days. Due to the strain placed upon her, her twin boys were malformed upon birth, their bodies fused together. Although legends recount the eventual separation of the twins and their adventures as they sought a cure for their mother throughout Mars, they were always linked on a metaphysical plane and some legends even refer to a cord that linked the two physically. The universal drought that followed the gradual drying up of the canals is reflected in the religious beliefs of the people by the death of the Martian Mother. Legend states that on her deathbed she gave one last piece of advice to her sons, how to revive her. This request for assistance is the basis of the two religions that dominate in the region. Each has their own holy records that proclaim their mission to the Mother Goddesses. Each denounces the other as heretical and evil though having a goodly portion of the truth. The history of the region is replete with their struggles and clashes. Though currently the two respective cults have small devout followings, at one time they held almost tyrannical sway over large parts of the Western Dioscurian region. Even today most of the colloquialisms, mannerisms, and habits of even the non-religious is dominated by the common elements of the religions. In politics, strongly religious leaders have often held sway. Although the current culture seems to place the highest value on profit and the trade of spice, there is still exists the small sayings of religion in the everyday lives of the people and their business transactions.

Although the Cult of Deimos is relatively peaceful, much