MECHANICAL QUARRY(Earth-54136)
MECHANICAL QUARRY
(Earth-54136)
Real Name: Possibly "Mechanical Quarry," or possibly unrevealed or none (see comments)
Identity/Class: Alternate reality (Earth-54136) robot;
circa 2223 A.D.
Occupation: Avoiding detection and hunting prey
Group Membership: None
Affiliations: Unidentified hunter
Enemies: Unidentified hunter
Known Relatives: Unidentified hunter ("father"/creator)
Aliases: Mechanical Horror, creature, monster
Base of Operations: Unrevealed;
possibly created and destroyed on Earth (or another world in the) Sol system, Milky Way Galaxy, Reality-54136
First Appearance: Astonishing I#35/5 (October, 1954)
Powers/Abilities: Programmed only to hide and
to attack, the Mechanical Quarry was adept at avoiding detection while
also approaching its target/prey in preparation of an attack.
It was virtually silent at rest and gave off no odor.
However, as it initiated an
assault, its motion made and audible clicking that would give its
position away to a wary hunter and/or prey.
It was also slow and clumsy in its attack movements (at least), allowing potential prey a chance to react.
Constructed of an unidentified
metal, it may have had superhuman strength and certainly had sharp
teeth as well as clawed talons on the ends of each of its four legs.
It was likely superhumanly durable, but it was certainly vulnerable to a neutron gun, which could destroy it.
It may or may not have had springs in its wrists and ankles/hocks.
History: (Astonishing
I#35/5 (fb) - BTS) - Bored as he had successfully hunted all big game
in the solar system, the hunter wished to have a quarry that could give
him a keen thrill of danger, even though in the end, he was certain to
conquer it.
(Astonishing I#35/5) - To this end, the hunter used some sort of hand control operated robotic equipment to create such a creature as a robot.
The creature was programmed with two instincts: To hide and to attack.
(Astonishing I#35/5 (fb) - BTS) - The hunter released his mechanical quarry into a wooded area (perhaps within his hunting preserve).
(Astonishing I#35/5) - As the hunter tracked through his preserve, he could not hear or see his creation, nor could his scent-tracking counter detect the mechanical quarry.
The hunter bristled with the challenge of the chase; however, as the monster leapt, a low metallic clicking alerted the hunter to his quarry's presence. It's heavy, clumsy leap gave the hunter time to raise his neutron gun, and the blast caught the robot full force, destroy it.
(Astonishing I#35/5 - BTS) - With his mechanical quarry having failed, the hunter next resolved to splice two alien creatures.
Comments: Created by Mannie Banks and unknown writer.
The hunter is apparently human, and it would seem most likely that the base from which he constructed the Mechanical Quarry on Earth. However, as he traveled to the other planets (which had presumably been terraformed to make them hospitable for life) on a regular basis, it is certainly possible that he could have constructed it on another world.
The hunter never referred to
his robotic creation by name -- in fact, he never spoke at all during
the story, which was a complete narrative -- but the narrator refers it
as the "Mechanical Quarry" first, and then as "the monster" and finally
as "your mechanical quarry." The latter reference does seems most
likely to be descriptive ("your" vs. "the"), and "the monster" seems
like a general description, just as much as "creature" during its
construction.
However, we don't know if it actually received a
designation, but I went with "mechanical quarry" as the most accurate
and descriptive of the identifications used in-story.
It's lame to not have a name for a profiled
character...I'm talking to you, story-writers...high up on the list of
ways to make something forgettable is to not name it!
The story was told in the second
person, so YOU were the inventor and hunter...that's great, but the
character remains unidentified...
Profile by Snood.
CLARIFICATIONS:
The Mechanical Quarry should be distinguished from:
First posted: 1/31/2025
Last updated: 1/31/2025
Any Additions/Corrections? please let me know.
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