in the zone ::: the "bizarro world" remix

[Lorentzen / Nicklaus]

 "as the war ended, the founders of aerojet started looking for a way to make 
the firm viable, because its future was suddenly very uncertain. it is ironic 
that parsons' work, despite its anti-military beginnings and goal, had become 
the backbone of military operations, so much so that his company was virtually 
dependent on war. how he was able to reconcile his profession with his personal 
life, which, while hedonistic, he ostensibly viewed as spiritual, is a quirk of 
the human mind in general, as millions of others have been able to do the same.

 fortunately, the firm was able to convince general tire to invest in it. if it 
succeeded, fine; if not, general tire was big enough to absorb the loss as a tax 
write-off. with the purchase, aerojet became aerojet general, today known as 
gencorp aerojet. once general tire bought in, it decided it wanted the whole pie 
but none of the oldtimers hanging around, so it sent its people out to 
strong-arm aerojet's founders into relinquishing their stock. all sold out but 
malina who happened to be in london at the time and who later wrote that sunspot 
activity disrupted the telegraph transmission, such that he never got the offer. 
the solar storm proved a boon, however, as he became a millionaire as a result. 
in the '60s, von kàrmàn calculated that if he himself had held onto his stock he 
would have been worth $12 million.    

 but is was hard to resist the offer aerojet general was making. the war was 
ending, the future was uncertain, the group had achieved what they had intended 
to achieve with rockets, and now aerojet was offering them $50.000 apiece for 
their stock. charles bartley remembers parsons and forman coming into his office 
at jpl quite excited, bragging how they had managed to get out of the company 
while they were still ahead. the war was over, they told him, and rockets were 
finished. the field had no future. the were going to start a chain of 
laundromats with their money and become rich men. it is difficult to understand 
how the two obviously passionate men could have given up their youthful goals 
about rockets so easily, particularly since they still hadn't launched anything 
into space.  

 in fact, parsons had actually sold out before the war ended and intended to 
continue his hazardous passions. in a letter dated december 14, 1944 to grady 
mcmurtry, parsons wrote that he had 'sold out at aerojet, purchased 1003 (s. 
orange grove ave.), and am starting a new company engaged in chemical research.' 
evidently interested in other dangerous pursuits, he added that he was trying to 
get the ex-high priestess regina kahl to return to the lodge. in apparent 
response to a question from mcmurtry as to whether he could send parsons 
anything from europe, parsons replied a 'a witch, young, red headed ...' his 
letters to mcmurtry are full of references to europe being 'witch country.'

 ... parsons and forman formed adastra research, a small explosives company that 
was investigated for 'espionage' when the two were caught with a large quantity 
of 'x-nitrate,' a powerful explosive. it was determined that the compound had 
been procured for experimental reasons, and the charges were dropped. parsons 
then went to work for the vulcan powder company in pasadena, where he would 
remain for the next two years.

 back in new mexico, robert goddard had his own problems. at the end of the war, 
he fell into a depression, became ill, and died before the year was out. 
certainly his failure with rockets---and caltech's success---was a contributing 
factor.

 in late august of 1945, lou goldstone brought l. ron hubbard over to meet 
parsons, who liked hubbard immediately. as noted, hubbard has been the model for 
d. vance wimple in white's  r o c k e t   t o   t h e   m o r g u e. he told a 
lot of war stories, which, though hard to believe, were well-liked by most, and 
he fit right in with the unusual people who lived there.

 ... the parsons circle included not only a circuit connecting hubbard and 
crowley, but also one linking crowley to lovecraft, whom hubbard had met through 
lovecraft biographer frank belknap long. (writers have tried for years to link 
lovecraft and crowley in one way or another, but this is a direct connection 
that has not yet been explored.) in addition, hubbard and parsons associated 
with people in pasadena who had met clark ashton smith, one of lovecraft's 
regular correspondents, as well as of crowley's 'inner circle.' lovecraft's 'the 
colour out of space' had appeared in the september 1927 issue of  a m a z i n g 
s t o r i e s, the publication ed forman had written about, so parsons had 
probably read it. he may also have read  w e i r d   t a l e s, which regularly 
featured the work of lovecraft in the teens and twenties. judging by crowley's 
remark in december 1943 in his letter to jane wolfe, this was simply the sort of 
'magazine trash' parsons was reading.                 

 ... hubbard charmed parsonage resident alva rogers who, like hubbard, was a 
redhead. indeed, hubbard confided his believe that all redheads descend from the 
neandertal rather than pure  h o m o  s a p i e n s. 'needless to say,' rogers 
wrote, 'i was fascinated.' the redhead-neandertal connection is interesting to 
keep in mind when reading williamson's  d a r k e r  t h a n  y o u  t h i n k, 
the story of werewolves who return to their atayistic state." 

 & later also this: "some of parsons' letters to cameron are from alabama, where 
paperclip rocket scientist wernher von braun was a prisoner of war, and it is 
possible the two had met."


  ('john carter': sex and rockets. the occult world of jack parsons. venice, ca 
  1999: feral house. pp. 100-2, 193)


 kfl //:: ps: thanks for the hint to rich romeo!