Flight from New Mu

Flight from New Mu by Joe Archibald is a humorous science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century. It playfully riffs on flying saucers and interplanetary war, following a comic adventure that pits a swaggering Earth pilot against cosmic threats and a distant, plant-based civilization called New Mu.

Septimus Spink, a notorious space ham newly sprung from a psychiatric ward, is grabbed by saucer folk during a Nougatine assault and whisked through space by Quantum Spink, his alien cousin. He witnesses New Mu’s fleet annihilate the invaders with dazzling tech, calls Earth’s commander to prove saucers are real, and is taken to New Mu, where a chlorophyll infusion keeps him alive and he discovers the planet reveres an earlier Earth forebear who transformed their world. When told he must marry Quantum’s daughter to bind destinies, he bolts, steals a saucer, and white-knuckles his way back to Earth, where doctors reverse his plant-like state. The captured craft and his transmissions vindicate him, win him honors, and spark plans to study New Mu’s marvels. A genial parting call from Quantum promises no attack, leaving the universe calm as the irrepressible hero basks in newfound fame.