pulps
El hombre sintético
This Spanish translation of Theodore Sturgeon's "The Dreaming Jewels" (retitled "El hombre sintético" / "The Synthetic Man") depicts eight-year-old Horty Bluett, an orphan living with the cruel adoptive parents Armand and Tonta Bluett. Caught eating ants at school, Horty endures humiliation from both his guardians and classmates. His only possession of value is Junky, a battered jack-in-the-box toy with luminous jeweled eyes he's owned since infancy. When Armand crushes the toy and locks Horty in a closet, injuring his hand, the boy escapes through a window. He encounters sympathetic neighbor Kay Hallowell, who learns of his flight and offers encouragement. Horty boards a truck with Junky, and as he slips, a mysterious hand inside reaches out to catch him. The narrative suggests the beginning of Horty's departure into an unknown destiny.