The Rage of Hypsis
Encyclopedia
The Rage of Hypsis is volume twelve in the French
comic book
(or bande dessinée
) science fiction
series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin
and artist Jean-Claude Mézières
.
, in the castle of that name, one worries about the threat of nuclear catastrophe likely to sweep Earth's civilisation in 1986 (as first told in the Valérian album The City of Shifting Waters).
Behind the multiplying anomalies, a throbbing presence: that of the mysterious planet Hypsis. A motley crew joining together three Shingouz enthusiasts of strong drinks, a Glapum'Tien extremely well versed in mathematics and an old English Lord and former fighter pilot in the Second World War will fly away with Valérian and Laureline.
It is on Hypsis that the destiny of Earth will be determined. Because, so that the world we know today can escape the cataclysm, it is vital that Galaxity of the future, which had been born from this cataclysm, disappears!
Published in 1985, The Rage of Hypsis is one of the premonitory albums in the Valérian series. Because – it should be recalled – it was in 1986 that the nuclear catastrophe took place... at Chernobyl
!
(translated from the back cover blurb
to the French edition)
, he has used his maritime contacts to provide a list of vessels that may have been involved. The Chief reveals that the devices of Hypsis have also done their work on Galaxity. Lord Seal reveals that a vessel is due to meet them at Kenchmoor Cove. Arriving at the cove, they are met by Commander
Merrywhistle of the weather ship
HMS Crosswinds. Boarding his ship they begin their voyage.
Valérian's sleep is frequently wracked by nightmares – images of the flood that engulfed the Earth in 1986 and of Galaxity disappearing into space-time. Looking in on the chief Valérian and Laureline are disturbed to see him apparently mesmerized by one of the Hypsis' devices. Meeting with Albert and Merryweather, they consider the ships that are known to be in the Arctic. Albert has narrowed the possibilities down to two cargo ship
s, a whaler
and a schooner
.
Several days later and they have intercepted and ruled out the two cargo ships and the whaler. Suddenly, Ralph, who has been spending most of his spare time in the ocean, returns to the Crosswinds to report that he may have some information. Checking the pictures of the last ship that they seek – the schooner Hvexdet – Ralph believes that this is the ship his contacts, the orca
s that live in the Arctic Ocean, have told him about. He returns, accompanied by Valérian, to speak to them again. The orcas tell Ralph that the ship does not seem to be human to them and that they last saw it near Baffin Bay
.
Some time later, the Crosswinds has come upon the Hvexdet lying idle amid a group of iceberg
s. Merrywhistle orders his ship to ram
the Hvexdet. Just as the prow of Crosswinds is about to make contact with the hull of the Hvexdet, the Hvexdet glows with a bright, alien energy and launches from the ocean into space. This is what the Chief has been counting on – Ralph will be able to use his advanced mathematical abilities to track the Hvexdet back to Hypsis. Distracted by the Hvexdets unexpected maneuver, the Crosswinds strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Merryweather orders the passengers and crew to abandon ship and they make for the lifeboat
s. Merryweather and his crew make contact with a rescue ship and head off to rendezvous with it but Valérian and the others stay out on the ocean near the sinking Crosswinds. Using his communicator, Valérian calls Lord Seal who, using the spatio-temporal jump, brings Valérian and Laureline's astroship to hover just above their lifeboat. Boarding the astroship, they take off in pursuit of the Hvexdet.
The Hvexdet careers through space-time, making seemingly random jumps, pursued, thanks to Ralph's abilities, by the astroship. Valérian proposes that they use Ralph's abilities to their greatest extent by putting him into direct phase with the astroship itself and attempting to predict where the Hvexdet will jump to before it can make the jump itself. With Ralph plugged in they make a series of jumps all in quick succession. Just as they are about to make the final jump to Hypsis, the Chief is assailed with doubt as to whether they are doing the right thing while Valérian is tortured once more by visions of Galaxity disappearing. Laureline, for her part, does not come from Galaxity and, fed up with their indecision, activates the jump herself and they emerge suddenly on Hypsis. The Hvexdet is ahead of them and it crashes at the foot of an immense tower.
Bringing the astroship into land, Valérian and Laureline make for the wreckage of the Hvexdet. Examining the ship, which appears to have been crewed by androids, they find the hold loaded with nuclear charges – enough to cause the catastrophe that melted the icecaps in 1986. The intervention by the passengers and crew of the Crosswinds means that the catastrophe will not now take place. Exploring the nearby tower, they are stopped by two sentries who tell them that only those summoned for non payment of taxes are allowed into the tower. The Hvexdet does not belong to the tower it crashed beside. A spot of negotiation by the Shingouz eventually yields the location of the tower that sent it. Gathering up the others, the party head for the tower.
Arriving at the location they were given, they are surprised to find the tower is run down and neglected. Reaching the top, they are greeted by the three Lords of Hypsis who are behind the Hvexdet and the sabotage of Earth's nuclear defence capability. They include a huge man dressed in a trilby hat
and trenchcoat in the manner of a gruff detective from a film noir
, his hippy son and a talking slot machine
which the first man is always hitting.
It dawns on Albert and Lord Seal that these strange people are in fact the Holy Trinity – the perichoresis
of God
, the Son
and the Holy Spirit
.
God explains that his family has owned the Earth since its creation and has been intervening in its development, hoping to bring it forward to a point where it can return wealth to Hypsis. Other planets are owned by the other towers. The Hypsis have returned to Earth again – in the 20th century in the form of the devices that have sabotaged the Earth's defences and in the 28th century in the form of a small silver ball given to the Chief by one of his spatio-temporal agents. This has wiped out Galaxity. The Trinity have had to wipe out Galaxity because of the complaints they are getting from the other towers – Galaxity's imperialist
tendencies have impacted on the other worlds that send tribute back to Hypsis. At this point, Albert interrupts, stating that if they proceed with their plan to cause a cataclysm in 1986 they will only precipitate the events that led to Galaxity's foundation. He points out that history is now on a different track. Lord Seal offers to intercede and to arrange for some tribute to revert back to Hypsis, an arrangement that may allow the Trinity to restore their lost prestige. The Chief asks God if he can be returned to Galaxity, even though it has gone. Valérian wishes to go with him, to Laureline's horror. However, the Shingouz, seeing how upset Laureline is, strike a deal with God to keep the astroship for Valérian and Laureline so that they can continue their adventures together.
Some time later, back at Inverloch, Valérian ponders the Galaxity he has lost as he contemplates his astroship, before Laureline prompts him into joining her, Albert and the Seals in a quiet game of croquet
.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
(or bande dessinée
Franco-Belgian comics
Franco-Belgian comics are comics that are created in Belgium and France. These countries have a long tradition in comics and comic books, where they are known as BDs, an abbreviation of bande dessinée in French and stripverhalen in Dutch...
) science fiction
Science fiction
Science fiction is a genre of fiction dealing with imaginary but more or less plausible content such as future settings, futuristic science and technology, space travel, aliens, and paranormal abilities...
series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin
Pierre Christin
- Biography :Christin was born at Saint-Mandé in 1938.After graduating from the Sorbonne, Christin pursued graduate studies in political science at SciencesPo and became a professor of French literature at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City. His first comics story, Le Rhum du Punch, illustrated...
and artist Jean-Claude Mézières
Jean-Claude Mézières
Jean-Claude Mézières is a French comic strip artist and illustrator. Born and raised in Paris, he was introduced to drawing by his older brother and influenced by comics artists such as Hergé, Andre Franquin and Morris and later by Jijé and Jack Davis...
.
Outline
In this album, continued from The Ghosts of InverlochThe Ghosts of Inverloch
The Ghosts of Inverloch is volume eleven in the French comic book science fiction series Valérian and Laureline created by writer Pierre Christin and artist Jean-Claude Mézières.-Outline:...
, in the castle of that name, one worries about the threat of nuclear catastrophe likely to sweep Earth's civilisation in 1986 (as first told in the Valérian album The City of Shifting Waters).
Behind the multiplying anomalies, a throbbing presence: that of the mysterious planet Hypsis. A motley crew joining together three Shingouz enthusiasts of strong drinks, a Glapum'Tien extremely well versed in mathematics and an old English Lord and former fighter pilot in the Second World War will fly away with Valérian and Laureline.
It is on Hypsis that the destiny of Earth will be determined. Because, so that the world we know today can escape the cataclysm, it is vital that Galaxity of the future, which had been born from this cataclysm, disappears!
Published in 1985, The Rage of Hypsis is one of the premonitory albums in the Valérian series. Because – it should be recalled – it was in 1986 that the nuclear catastrophe took place... at Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Chernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
!
(translated from the back cover blurb
Blurb
A blurb is a short summary or some words of praise accompanying a creative work, usually used on books without giving away any details, that is usually referring to the words on the back of the book jacket but also commonly seen on DVD and video cases, web portals, and news websites.- History :The...
to the French edition)
Synopsis
Inverloch Castle, the morning after the events of The Ghosts of Inverloch. Meeting for breakfast, Valérian, Laureline, the Chief, Lord and Lady Seal, the Shingouz, Ralph and Albert consider their next move. Lord Seal reports that worldwide nuclear defence systems continue to be disturbed as more and more mysterious objects from Hypsis are found. Albert produces the secret documents he has carried from France to Inverloch – knowing that the 1986 catastrophe occurred at the Arctic CircleArctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
, he has used his maritime contacts to provide a list of vessels that may have been involved. The Chief reveals that the devices of Hypsis have also done their work on Galaxity. Lord Seal reveals that a vessel is due to meet them at Kenchmoor Cove. Arriving at the cove, they are met by Commander
Commander
Commander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Merrywhistle of the weather ship
Weather ship
A weather ship was a ship stationed in the ocean as a platform for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reporting via radio...
HMS Crosswinds. Boarding his ship they begin their voyage.
Valérian's sleep is frequently wracked by nightmares – images of the flood that engulfed the Earth in 1986 and of Galaxity disappearing into space-time. Looking in on the chief Valérian and Laureline are disturbed to see him apparently mesmerized by one of the Hypsis' devices. Meeting with Albert and Merryweather, they consider the ships that are known to be in the Arctic. Albert has narrowed the possibilities down to two cargo ship
Cargo ship
A cargo ship or freighter is any sort of ship or vessel that carries cargo, goods, and materials from one port to another. Thousands of cargo carriers ply the world's seas and oceans each year; they handle the bulk of international trade...
s, a whaler
Whaling
Whaling is the hunting of whales mainly for meat and oil. Its earliest forms date to at least 3000 BC. Various coastal communities have long histories of sustenance whaling and harvesting beached whales...
and a schooner
Schooner
A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....
.
Several days later and they have intercepted and ruled out the two cargo ships and the whaler. Suddenly, Ralph, who has been spending most of his spare time in the ocean, returns to the Crosswinds to report that he may have some information. Checking the pictures of the last ship that they seek – the schooner Hvexdet – Ralph believes that this is the ship his contacts, the orca
Orca
The killer whale , commonly referred to as the orca, and less commonly as the blackfish, is a toothed whale belonging to the oceanic dolphin family. Killer whales are found in all oceans, from the frigid Arctic and Antarctic regions to tropical seas...
s that live in the Arctic Ocean, have told him about. He returns, accompanied by Valérian, to speak to them again. The orcas tell Ralph that the ship does not seem to be human to them and that they last saw it near Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay
Baffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
.
Some time later, the Crosswinds has come upon the Hvexdet lying idle amid a group of iceberg
Iceberg
An iceberg is a large piece of ice from freshwater that has broken off from a snow-formed glacier or ice shelf and is floating in open water. It may subsequently become frozen into pack ice...
s. Merrywhistle orders his ship to ram
Ramming
In warfare, ramming is a technique that was used in air, sea and land combat. The term originated from battering ram, a siege weapon used to bring down fortifications by hitting it with the force of the ram's momentum...
the Hvexdet. Just as the prow of Crosswinds is about to make contact with the hull of the Hvexdet, the Hvexdet glows with a bright, alien energy and launches from the ocean into space. This is what the Chief has been counting on – Ralph will be able to use his advanced mathematical abilities to track the Hvexdet back to Hypsis. Distracted by the Hvexdets unexpected maneuver, the Crosswinds strikes an iceberg and begins to sink. Merryweather orders the passengers and crew to abandon ship and they make for the lifeboat
Lifeboat (shipboard)
A lifeboat is a small, rigid or inflatable watercraft carried for emergency evacuation in the event of a disaster aboard ship. In the military, a lifeboat may be referred to as a whaleboat, dinghy, or gig. The ship's tenders of cruise ships often double as lifeboats. Recreational sailors sometimes...
s. Merryweather and his crew make contact with a rescue ship and head off to rendezvous with it but Valérian and the others stay out on the ocean near the sinking Crosswinds. Using his communicator, Valérian calls Lord Seal who, using the spatio-temporal jump, brings Valérian and Laureline's astroship to hover just above their lifeboat. Boarding the astroship, they take off in pursuit of the Hvexdet.
The Hvexdet careers through space-time, making seemingly random jumps, pursued, thanks to Ralph's abilities, by the astroship. Valérian proposes that they use Ralph's abilities to their greatest extent by putting him into direct phase with the astroship itself and attempting to predict where the Hvexdet will jump to before it can make the jump itself. With Ralph plugged in they make a series of jumps all in quick succession. Just as they are about to make the final jump to Hypsis, the Chief is assailed with doubt as to whether they are doing the right thing while Valérian is tortured once more by visions of Galaxity disappearing. Laureline, for her part, does not come from Galaxity and, fed up with their indecision, activates the jump herself and they emerge suddenly on Hypsis. The Hvexdet is ahead of them and it crashes at the foot of an immense tower.
Bringing the astroship into land, Valérian and Laureline make for the wreckage of the Hvexdet. Examining the ship, which appears to have been crewed by androids, they find the hold loaded with nuclear charges – enough to cause the catastrophe that melted the icecaps in 1986. The intervention by the passengers and crew of the Crosswinds means that the catastrophe will not now take place. Exploring the nearby tower, they are stopped by two sentries who tell them that only those summoned for non payment of taxes are allowed into the tower. The Hvexdet does not belong to the tower it crashed beside. A spot of negotiation by the Shingouz eventually yields the location of the tower that sent it. Gathering up the others, the party head for the tower.
Arriving at the location they were given, they are surprised to find the tower is run down and neglected. Reaching the top, they are greeted by the three Lords of Hypsis who are behind the Hvexdet and the sabotage of Earth's nuclear defence capability. They include a huge man dressed in a trilby hat
Trilby
A trilby hat is a type of fedora. The trilby is viewed as the rich man's favored hat; it is commonly called the "brown trilby" in England and is much seen at the horse races. It is described as a "crumpled" fedora...
and trenchcoat in the manner of a gruff detective from a film noir
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
, his hippy son and a talking slot machine
Slot machine
A slot machine , informally fruit machine , the slots , poker machine or "pokies" or simply slot is a casino gambling machine with three or more reels which spin when a button is pushed...
which the first man is always hitting.
It dawns on Albert and Lord Seal that these strange people are in fact the Holy Trinity – the perichoresis
Perichoresis
Perichoresis is a term in Christian theology first found within the Church Fathers but now reinvigorated among contemporary figures such as C. Baxter Kruger, Jurgen Moltmann, Miroslav Volf and John Zizioulas, amongst others. The term first appears in Gregory of Nazianzus but was explored more...
of God
God
God is the English name given to a singular being in theistic and deistic religions who is either the sole deity in monotheism, or a single deity in polytheism....
, the Son
Son of God
"Son of God" is a phrase which according to most Christian denominations, Trinitarian in belief, refers to the relationship between Jesus and God, specifically as "God the Son"...
and the Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit
Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of the Hebrew Bible, but understood differently in the main Abrahamic religions.While the general concept of a "Spirit" that permeates the cosmos has been used in various religions Holy Spirit is a term introduced in English translations of...
.
God explains that his family has owned the Earth since its creation and has been intervening in its development, hoping to bring it forward to a point where it can return wealth to Hypsis. Other planets are owned by the other towers. The Hypsis have returned to Earth again – in the 20th century in the form of the devices that have sabotaged the Earth's defences and in the 28th century in the form of a small silver ball given to the Chief by one of his spatio-temporal agents. This has wiped out Galaxity. The Trinity have had to wipe out Galaxity because of the complaints they are getting from the other towers – Galaxity's imperialist
Imperialism
Imperialism, as defined by Dictionary of Human Geography, is "the creation and/or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationships, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination." The imperialism of the last 500 years,...
tendencies have impacted on the other worlds that send tribute back to Hypsis. At this point, Albert interrupts, stating that if they proceed with their plan to cause a cataclysm in 1986 they will only precipitate the events that led to Galaxity's foundation. He points out that history is now on a different track. Lord Seal offers to intercede and to arrange for some tribute to revert back to Hypsis, an arrangement that may allow the Trinity to restore their lost prestige. The Chief asks God if he can be returned to Galaxity, even though it has gone. Valérian wishes to go with him, to Laureline's horror. However, the Shingouz, seeing how upset Laureline is, strike a deal with God to keep the astroship for Valérian and Laureline so that they can continue their adventures together.
Some time later, back at Inverloch, Valérian ponders the Galaxity he has lost as he contemplates his astroship, before Laureline prompts him into joining her, Albert and the Seals in a quiet game of croquet
Croquet
Croquet is a lawn game, played both as a recreational pastime and as a competitive sport. It involves hitting plastic or wooden balls with a mallet through hoops embedded into the grass playing court.-History:...
.
Principal Characters
- Valérian, a spatio-temporal agent from Galaxity, future capital of Earth, in the 28th century
- Laureline, originally from France in the 11th century, now a spatio-temporal agent of Galaxity in the 28th century
- Mr Albert, Galaxity's contact in 20th century Earth
- Lord Basil Seal, former SpitfireSupermarine SpitfireThe Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft that was used by the Royal Air Force and many other Allied countries throughout the Second World War. The Spitfire continued to be used as a front line fighter and in secondary roles into the 1950s...
pilot and chair of the UK Joint Intelligence CommitteeUK Joint Intelligence CommitteeThe Joint Intelligence Committee is the part of the British Cabinet Office responsible for directing the national intelligence organisations of the United Kingdom on behalf of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom and providing advice to the Cabinet related to security, defence and foreign affairs... - Lady Charlotte Seal (née MacCullough), wife of Lord Seal and heir to the Clan MacCullough, owners of Inverloch Castle
- The Chief of the Spatio-Temporal Service
- The ShingouzShingouzThe Shingouz are a fictional, alien species created by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières in the French comic book series Valérian and Laureline.-Biology and culture:...
, a group of three aliens who trade in information - Ralph, a Glapum'tien, an aquatic species of brilliant mathematicianMathematicianA mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s capable of instantaneously calculating the trajectoryTrajectoryA trajectory is the path that a moving object follows through space as a function of time. The object might be a projectile or a satellite, for example. It thus includes the meaning of orbit—the path of a planet, an asteroid or a comet as it travels around a central mass...
of any object. - CommanderCommanderCommander is a naval rank which is also sometimes used as a military title depending on the individual customs of a given military service. Commander is also used as a rank or title in some organizations outside of the armed forces, particularly in police and law enforcement.-Commander as a naval...
Patrick Fitzgerald Merrywhistle of the weather shipWeather shipA weather ship was a ship stationed in the ocean as a platform for surface and upper air meteorological observations for use in weather forecasting. They were primarily located in the north Atlantic and north Pacific oceans, reporting via radio...
HMS Crosswinds. - James, butlerButlerA butler is a domestic worker in a large household. In great houses, the household is sometimes divided into departments with the butler in charge of the dining room, wine cellar, and pantry. Some also have charge of the entire parlour floor, and housekeepers caring for the entire house and its...
to Lord and Lady Seal at Inverloch Castle - The Trinity of Hypsis – God, the Son and the Holy Spirit
Settings
- EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
, year 1986:- ScotlandScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
, Inverloch Castle. See entry for The Ghosts of Inverloch for more detailed description. Kenchmoor, where Lady Seal goes riding, leads to Kenchmoor Cove where Valérian and the others rendezvous with Commander Merrywhistle of the Crosswinds. - The Arctic OceanArctic OceanThe Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic north polar region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions...
. The Crosswinds finds the Hvexdet close to Baffin BayBaffin BayBaffin Bay , located between Baffin Island and the southwest coast of Greenland, is a marginal sea of the North Atlantic Ocean. It is connected to the Atlantic via Davis Strait and the Labrador Sea...
.
- Scotland
- The Climphus Cluster. A dense asteroid field where the Hvexdet attempts to shake off Valérian's pursuit.
- The planet Hypsis. This mysterious planet moves from location to location at random, making hard to find. At the time that Valérian and Laureline reach it is acting as the fourth moonNatural satelliteA natural satellite or moon is a celestial body that orbits a planet or smaller body, which is called its primary. The two terms are used synonymously for non-artificial satellites of planets, of dwarf planets, and of minor planets....
of the gas giantGas giantA gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
Anoubil, a planet in Zuben-El-AkrabGamma LibraeGamma Librae is a star in the constellation Libra. It has the traditional name Zuben-el-Akrab, meaning "Shears of the Scorpion". The name is a modification of the Arabic al-Zuban al-Aqrab...
, a star in the constellation of LibraLibra (constellation)Libra is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for weighing scales, and its symbol is . It is fairly faint, with no first magnitude stars, and lies between Virgo to the west and Scorpius to the east.-Notable features:]...
. The sky is coloured orange and the ground is rocky but fertile. The Lords of Hypsis live in great towers dotted around the surface. They are visited by people bringing tribute from the worlds they own. The Lords who own the Solar System live in a rusting and crumbling tower perched on top of a finger of rock.