"Uni-Mind!"
Edited, written & drawn by Jack Kirby
Inker & Letterer- Mike Royer
Consulting Editor- Archie Goodwin

SUMMARY

A group of Eternals are shocked as another contingent of guests arrive- guests they hardly expected to see.

Woman in helmet:"The call to UNI-MIND had brought a host of DISTANT cousins to our illustrious city. But, witness the VISITATION materializing before us!"
Old man:"These eyes have YET to see one like it! There are apparitions of size and shape NOT to my liking!"
Bearded man:"What kind of habitat can have spawned the LARGE one? He seems neither human nor Eternal!"
Black man:"Y-you don't think that it might be a-- NO! IT CAN'T BE!! Our instincts do NOT lie! We are privy to guests of an UNPRECEDENTED nature!"
Old man:"Why mince words!? Call them what they ARE!!"
Bearded man:"DEVIANTS! DEVIANTS-- HERE-- IN A CITY OF THE ETERNALS!!"
Hooded man:"Who among us could have been so RECKLESS as to traffic with THEIR kind?"
Red-haired man:"Yes...WHO but the daughter of Great ZURAS himself!"

Thena stands before the Eternals with Karkas and Ransak. A group of women come forth demanding to know what she has done.

Old woman:"SPEAK, THENA! This may mean conflict in our peaceful realm! You OWE us an explanation!"
Black woman:"She NEEDN'T explain the HANDSOME one. I understand!"
Curled-hair woman:"So do I!"
Thena:"These poor beings sought SANCTUARY from oppression! I GAVE it to them!"
Curled-hair woman:"'Sweet Prince' must have tired of beating off those UGLY Deviant females...I'll wager that he'll find CONTENTMENT in Olympia!"
Thena:"He is a RARITY among Deviants, indeed! But he has YET to learn the art of romance!"
Hooded woman:"Then he is PERFECT fodder for the ladies! --A GRAND diversion from the problems of the moment!"
Black-haired woman:"Welcome to SANCTUARY, sweet prince!!"

Suddenly, Karkas falls to the ground- the wounds Ransak gave him have nearly killed him, and Thena promises to tend to his wounds.

Long-haired woman:"How EXCITING! The Deviant is not only handsome-- but he JOUSTS with sinister behemoths!"
Purple-haired woman:"He is a male to be reckoned with!"
Brown-haired woman:"Such shoulders...such ARMS! How COMFORTING they could be!"
Thena:"Have a care, lest they cause you GRIEF! He is NOT the plaything you take him to be!"
Ransak:"I make no pretense of gentility. My life has been on of killing, to survive combat in the arena!"
Thena:"And you do it so WELL-- don't you,-- SWEET PRINCE--! However, since Eternals CANNOT be killed, you pretty things have little to WORRY about! But, hold...why this SUDDEN departure?"
Purple-haired woman:"Er-- Great Zuras calls!"
Helmeted woman:"W-we must JOIN the Uni-Mind!"

Ransak was actually interested in their offers, but Thena tells him that he must first learn to care for others- and to start by tending the wounds of his "brother", Karkas.

Ransak:"I CANNOT share his wounds! If he suffers, he must do it ALONE! It is BLOOD, not tears, that one sheds in the arena! I shall NOT cry for Karkas!!"
Thena:"Then, you will LEARN! Guard him WELL!"
Karkas:"Hear that 'Reject'? HAHAHAH!"

Thena then leaves to join the Uni-Mind, as the two Deviants are left alone with each other.

Karkas:"HAHAHAHAH! Smile, sweet prince! Destiny plays the clown with both of us! Here, I may yet become a PHILOSOPHER of note! --And you, master killer, may inherit the balconies and rose gardens of FAIR young maidens!! Ease your battle stance! The shadows hide nothing but COOL breezes...THERE ARE NO ENEMIES-- IN PARADISE!"

Ransak:"FOOL! It's small wonder that you fall prey to SMALLER opponents! Paradise is just another PLACE! --And each place has CORNERS for the wary eye to scour and seek out-- to CERTIFY the state of their impotence!"

Within the dome constructed by the Celestials, Dr. Damian dozes by his work as Ajak enters the room. Ajak begs Damian to slow down in his work- they have 50 years, after all. But there is one thing Damian cannot stop thinking about- Arishem the Judge, who sits in the courtyard of the temple.

Damian:"He stands there, day after passing day, without twitching a finger...yet, somehow-- I KNOW he is active...doing things that will CHANGE our world..."

Ajak:"These things are HAPPENING even as we talk, Doctor Damian. Arishem's Host is now ABROAD upon the land and sea...making its presence known and FELT!"

Damian:"Well, THAT should JOLT the seats of the MIGHTY! I would like to look at the face behind that giant helmet, and see if it wears a SMILE."

Dr. Damian is certain that the following years will be tiring, but Ajak promises to keep things entertaining- and starts by bringing to life an Inca Wrestler whose image was upon the wall! Ajak grapples with the wrestler, testing his centuries of experience on him! Finally, he returns the wrestler to the wall, as Dr. Damian wonders how Margo is...

The Eternals take to the sky, carrying Margo and Sam Holden with them!

Margo:"IKARIS! I-I'M FRIGHTENED! Gliding hundreds of feet above the ground without support, is a TERRIFYING feeling--! DON'T LEAVE ME! STAY NEARBY!"
Ikaris:"Keep your courage, Margo! You WON'T fall! It is the power of my mind which supports us BOTH!"
Makkari:"RELAX, Margo! He's NEVER dropped a girl, yet!"
Sersi:"--Nor I, a man, Makkari. --Especially when they're such FIND specimens as my good friend Samuel."
Sam:"T-that's V-V-VERY r-reassuring, Sersi..."
Ikaris:"As an anthropologist, you will find the FORMING of the Uni-Mind a RARE treat, Holden!"
Sam:"Y-y-yes! Y-y-yes! TERRIBLY exciting I-Ikaris!"
Sersi:"HAHAHAHAH! You seem ready to pass out from the sheer THRILL of it, Samuel!"

As the Eternals circle above Zuras in his tower, Zuras releases a brilliant blue flame, which the Eternals now dive within, including Dr. Holden and Margo. The flame's blaze lights up the sky for miles! Now, in the place of the Eternals is the Uni-Mind, ready to examine the Celestials more closely! It departs from earth, and prepares to study them!

Next: THE BEST ISSUE OF THE ETERNALS! It's finally here!

COMMENTS

Great stuff. Interesting to note that black Eternals appear here for the first time. One of them may be Titanis, but I doubt Phastos was present.

The sight of the Eternal women swooning over Ransak was a treat! In many ways, having Ransak in Olympia feels like Loki in Asgard thus far- but there's more on Karkas & Ransak yet to come!

Nice to see Ajak & Dr. Damian again- the last time we'll see them in the Kirby book, actually.

Sam Holden & Sersi make a great couple, as usual. I would love to have a poster of the page showing Ikaris, Makkari & Sersi carrying Margo & Sam into the sky with them!