Virus Fatal

Catalog Note "Virus Fatal" by Alan Star, serialized in this Spanish-language pulp magazine from Ediciones Toray (Barcelona, 1960), presents a science fiction tale of mysterious affliction and moral coercion. The narrative follows Howard Perelle, a wealthy television manufacturer absorbed in developing advanced "Perelle" brand television sets, when a young man named Conway arrives from Venus seeking a million credits for a sanatorium to treat workers afflicted with a persistent malaria. Perelle refuses the request indignantly. That evening, Perelle's young son John mysteriously develops a disturbing physical transformation—his body becomes covered in reddish hair, regressing to a bestial state. Desperate, Perelle publicly pledges the million credits to Conway's organization. A doctor named Holsen subsequently arrives, administers an injection, and assures Perelle his son will recover by morning. The narrative suggests Conway's involvement in both the affliction and cure, raising questions about coercion, moral obligation, and supernatural intervention in this interplanetary science fiction plot.