Forbidden Worlds #85

Marooned on a remote planetoid near Jupiter by his treacherous partner Bull Brogan, Mike Dane faces certain death—until he manages to construct a desperate signal that brings rescue four months later. Back on Earth, Dane learns that Brogan has claimed their entire diamond haul and twisted the story to authorities, leaving him with little recourse but to accept a new prospecting job searching for the rare metal Energium across the solar system, all while nursing his vow of vengeance against the man who abandoned him.

Reporter Jess Compton sets out to interview exchange students at a prestigious Eastern university, but when he encounters the enigmatic Miss Neferti, she rebuffs his attempts at conversation and vanishes—leaving behind only a notebook filled with Egyptian hieroglyphics. What unfolds is a genuine mystery wrapped in the trappings of science fiction, as forensic analysis raises questions that defy easy explanation.

Kurt Baleen infiltrates Dr. Peters' remote jungle laboratory and discovers the scientist's revolutionary Molecular Ray—a machine capable of transforming matter into its opposite state. When the ailing Dr. Peters entrusts Baleen with the device and dies, Baleen's ambition overrides his honor, and he plots to use the ray's awesome power to dominate the world. His treacherous journey back through the Brazilian wilderness tests whether his hunger for power will survive the dangers that stand between him and his goal.

A lighthouse keeper named John Tucker, isolated on the Massachusetts coast, finds himself fevered and alone—until a terrible storm brings a shipwrecked vessel carrying Pilgrim settlers directly to his door. Convinced it's all a fever dream, John welcomes the chance to witness history firsthand, but his fascination deepens when the ship remains real come morning, along with an unexpected arrival: the notorious pirate Andre DuPrez, whose vessel limps into the cove seeking repairs. Caught between the peaceful settlers and ruthless buccaneers, John discovers that time itself may be playing tricks far stranger than any hallucination.

The wicked townsmen of Dragon's End have made a gruesome living luring merchant ships onto rocky shoals under cover of darkness, claiming the cargo that washes ashore—until one fateful night when the sea itself seems to answer their crimes. What begins as another promised bounty turns into something far more sinister when the townsmen discover there is no ship at all, only a mysterious summons to the beach. As the raging waters rise against them, they discover that nature itself has grown tired of their treachery.