Cold Asylum
Encyclopedia
Cold Asylum is the twentieth book in the series of Deathlands
. It was written by Laurence James
under the house name James Axler
.
, his son Dean
, Krysty Wroth
, J.B. Dix, Dr. Theophilus Tanner
, Mildred Wyeth
, and Michael Brother begin a MAT-TRANS
jump in a decaying redoubt, only for the jump to go awry part-way through. When they awake they each find themselves alone in a distinctly separate redoubt, with the exception of Dean and Krysty who were in close contact when the jump occurred. Individually they explore the outer control rooms of their respective redoubts, only to all decide (for varying reasons) to jump again; all decide to jump within the 30 minute "return window", which under normal circumstances will return them to the last facility they jumped from. Instead they are all sent to a different facility, presumably because their initial jump point has ceased to function.
Though the companions are all sent to the same facility, their arrival is staggered in 20 minute increments. Ryan arrives first and proceeds through the facility, followed (unknowingly) by J.B. who in turn is followed (also unknowingly) by Mildred. Ryan discovers the top floor of the redoubt houses a massive wartime mortuary which has recently been invaded by hostile "cannies". Though of little relative threat, Ryan is nonetheless forced to open fire on an attacking group of cannies. J.B. immediately recognizes the sound of Ryan's blaster
and rushes to his aid, with Mildred meeting up with the two soon after the firefight concludes.
Meanwhile, Krysty and Dean have arrived at the redoubt and waited long enough to greet Michael as he jumps in. They proceed to the top floor and reunite with the rest of the group, unaware that Doc Tanner has arrived some time after them. Doc's mental stability has been temporarily impaired owing to the stress of his initial destination combined with back-to-back jumps, and in this state he mistakenly comes face-to-face with a large group of cannies. The ensuing battle draws his nearby friends to him, who help kill the remaining cannies and save Doc from certain death.
Reunited, the companions explore the redoubt, finding several warehouse-sized rooms filled with innumerable refrigerated corpses, slowly being raided and used for food by the cannies. Doc refuses to let the corpses be used for food, locates the environmental control room, and increases the ambient temperature as far as the system will allow. The long-frozen bodies quickly begin to rot, and Ryan and his friends leave the facility as fast as possible.
The area outside proves to be a hilly pine forest, which causes both Mildred and Doc to doubt J.B. when his sextant
places them somewhere in Kansas
; he asserts that he is correct. The argument is moot, and the companions enjoy several hours of relative peace and favorable conditions. Sometime later a horse-mounted hunting party is spotted in the distance, causing the companions to hide. Initially suspecting it to be a deer hunt, the companions soon learn it is a manhunt
. The fleeing man is caught a short distance from Ryan and his friends, then brutally executed at the order of a beautiful, raven-haired woman. Before the hunters can leave Dean falls from his hiding place, forcing Ryan and his friends to reveal themselves. The woman is introduced as Mistress Marie Mandeville, the daughter of the local Baron; she orders Ryan and his friends to accompany her back to the ville. Along the way Doc nearly drowns while crossing a raging river and is rescued by Ryan, but loses his LeMat Revolver
in the process.
Meanwhile in the ville of Andromeda, somewhere near the Cific Ocean
, Abe is continuing his search for Trader. While at a bar he is set upon by three men, scavengers who mistakenly believe he has a map to a cache of pre-dark technology, and intend to interrogate him for the information. Though outnumbered and caught unprepared, he is saved when the three men are shot dead. His savior is none other than the Trader. Reunited, the two begin to travel together, and eventually start offering payment for any traveler willing to carry a message for either J.B. or Ryan, should they come across either. The message simply states that Abe has found the Trader, and the two will be near Seattle for the next three months.
Back in Kansas, the Baron, Nathan Mandeville, greets the companions warmly and shows them great hospitality, offering them fine food and comfortable lodgings. Nonetheless there is a subtle undertone of something sinister in the Baron's attitude, further emphasized by veiled, ambiguous warnings from the ville's sec boss, Harry Guiteau, as well as the extreme security measures in place throughout the ville. The following day the companions are invited to participate in a series of public, competitive challenges, which they accept. The first challenge pits Michael against the ville's jailer, Jericho, in unarmed wrestling. Michael wins the first bout, only to be sucker-punched by Jericho as her readies for the next round. Angered, Michael crushes Jericho's larynx, then finishes him with a bone-breaking kick to the face. The death attracts the immediate attention of Mistress Marie, who appears to orgasm
watching Michael kill the larger man. The remainder of the competition is spent with Michael seated by her side, the two touching intimately and at one point with Marie possibly giving Michael a handjob
. At the end of the day's events Mistress Marie leaves for her quarters with Michael at her side.
While the other companions eat dinner and, later, return to their rooms, Michael and Marie spend time alone in her room. Both are drunk, and in this state Marie mentions that she will keep Michael "safe"; Michael briefly realizes this implies his friends will not be safe. The two then proceed to have sex for several hours, with Mistress Marie variously biting him, performing fellatio
, engaging in vaginal intercourse
, having Michael perform cunnilingus
on her, and ordering him to kiss her boots and suck her boot heels
in order to "show you'll do what I tell you." While this happens Marie plays a collection of custom vids
, which start with relatively benign subjects such as bondage
, group sex
, and pegging
, but move on to darker subjects such as bestiality
, eventually culminating in a vid showing Mistress Marie disemboweling
a pre-teen boy, to her both recorded and live sexual pleasure. Michael reacts by simultaneously punching Marie and vomiting in her face, and flees for his friends' rooms.
After Michael tells his friends what he witnessed, the group makes an attempt to leave the ville, only to be stopped by a large contingent of sec men led by Marie. The companions are disarmed and escorted back to their rooms. The following day Ryan concludes they are going to be hunted for sport, which Marie confirms. The companions are given only their bladed weapons and a 15 minute start. Rather than hopelessly trying to reach the redoubt, Ryan and his friends circle around and re-enter the ville from the back just as the hunting party, consisting of most of the ville's sec men, leave from the front. The companions disable the ville's hydroelectric generator, then make their way into the Baron's armory to recover their weapons. In the process Doc discovers and takes a replica LeMat, chambered for more common, modern ammo. With the sec men fast approaching J.B. rigs the armory with a timed explosive and the group flees downstairs; the ensuing explosion kills most of the sec men and starts a massive fire. Baron Nathan is killed by Doc, while Marie seeks cover and Guiteau takes Dean hostage, using him as a human shield. Mildred takes careful aim, shooting off Guiteau's trigger finger and then killing him with a shot between the eyes once Dean is clear. Michael declares he will deal with Marie himself, calmly approaches her while she tries (and fails) to shoot him, and after exchanging some brief, unheard words with the woman, he snaps her neck. The companions then leave for the redoubt.
The thawed bodies in the upper floors of the redoubt have rotted thoroughly, causing most of the cannies to die of starvation. After making their way through the near-unbearable stench the companions arrive at the MAT-TRANS chamber. Everyone links hands, lest they be sent to separate locations, and Ryan closes the door to start the jump.
, Pablo Picasso
, Andrew Wyeth
, and Andy Warhol
.
Deathlands
The Deathlands is a series of novels published by Gold Eagle Publishing. The first novel 'Pilgrimage to Hell' was first published in 1986. This series of novels was first written by Christopher Lowder, under the pen name Jack Adrian. Mr. Lowder became ill after developing the plot and writing most...
. It was written by Laurence James
Laurence James
Laurence James was a British science fiction writer, especially known for his involvement with the "Deathlands" series.James originally worked in publishing other people's books. In 1972 he embarked on the career of "a full-time freelance author and journalist"...
under the house name James Axler
James Axler
James Axler is a house name used by the publishing company Gold Eagle Publishing, the action adventure series published by Harlequin Enterprises Ltd....
.
Plot synopsis
Ryan CawdorRyan Cawdor
Ryan Cawdor is a fictional Deathlands character that first appeared in the novel Pilgrimage to Hell by Jack Adrian.-Ryan's life:Ryan is the youngest son of a powerful baron in Virginia. His middle brother, Harvey, is responsible for the loss of Ryan’s left eye after murdering Morgan, Ryan's eldest...
, his son Dean
Dean Cawdor
Dean Cawdor is the teenage son of Ryan Cawdor in the Deathlands Saga novels. Despite his youth he is a full member of the team of warrior survivors that comprise the primary characters...
, Krysty Wroth
Krysty Wroth
Krysty Wroth is a main character in James Axler's Deathlands saga of novels. A skilled and talented combatant and markswoman, her primary weapons of choice are a snub nosed 5 shot .38 Smith and Wesson Revolver, her silver toed cowboy boots, and a small knife secreted on her person...
, J.B. Dix, Dr. Theophilus Tanner
Dr. Theophilus Tanner
Dr. Theophilus Tanner, or "Doc" as he is known, is a fictional character from the book series Deathlands. He is rescued by Ryan Cawdor and his people from the ville of Mocsin, where he was being kept captive by Jordan Teague, the ville's baron....
, Mildred Wyeth
Mildred Wyeth
Mildred Winona Wyeth is a character in the Deathlands series of novels. Mildred is a stocky black woman, known for her corn rowed hair, and smartass comments to life in general. She is also a medical doctor from the twentieth century who was cryogenically frozen before the apocalypse event...
, and Michael Brother begin a MAT-TRANS
MAT-TRANS
MAT-TRANS is short for Matter-Transmitter, a teleporter used as a plot device in James Axler's Deathlands and Outlanders series.The device is typically a six-sided room with walls, floor and ceiling made of "armaglass", a likely fictitious type of glass which is very difficult to break or shatter....
jump in a decaying redoubt, only for the jump to go awry part-way through. When they awake they each find themselves alone in a distinctly separate redoubt, with the exception of Dean and Krysty who were in close contact when the jump occurred. Individually they explore the outer control rooms of their respective redoubts, only to all decide (for varying reasons) to jump again; all decide to jump within the 30 minute "return window", which under normal circumstances will return them to the last facility they jumped from. Instead they are all sent to a different facility, presumably because their initial jump point has ceased to function.
Though the companions are all sent to the same facility, their arrival is staggered in 20 minute increments. Ryan arrives first and proceeds through the facility, followed (unknowingly) by J.B. who in turn is followed (also unknowingly) by Mildred. Ryan discovers the top floor of the redoubt houses a massive wartime mortuary which has recently been invaded by hostile "cannies". Though of little relative threat, Ryan is nonetheless forced to open fire on an attacking group of cannies. J.B. immediately recognizes the sound of Ryan's blaster
Firearm
A firearm is a weapon that launches one, or many, projectile at high velocity through confined burning of a propellant. This subsonic burning process is technically known as deflagration, as opposed to supersonic combustion known as a detonation. In older firearms, the propellant was typically...
and rushes to his aid, with Mildred meeting up with the two soon after the firefight concludes.
Meanwhile, Krysty and Dean have arrived at the redoubt and waited long enough to greet Michael as he jumps in. They proceed to the top floor and reunite with the rest of the group, unaware that Doc Tanner has arrived some time after them. Doc's mental stability has been temporarily impaired owing to the stress of his initial destination combined with back-to-back jumps, and in this state he mistakenly comes face-to-face with a large group of cannies. The ensuing battle draws his nearby friends to him, who help kill the remaining cannies and save Doc from certain death.
Reunited, the companions explore the redoubt, finding several warehouse-sized rooms filled with innumerable refrigerated corpses, slowly being raided and used for food by the cannies. Doc refuses to let the corpses be used for food, locates the environmental control room, and increases the ambient temperature as far as the system will allow. The long-frozen bodies quickly begin to rot, and Ryan and his friends leave the facility as fast as possible.
The area outside proves to be a hilly pine forest, which causes both Mildred and Doc to doubt J.B. when his sextant
Sextant
A sextant is an instrument used to measure the angle between any two visible objects. Its primary use is to determine the angle between a celestial object and the horizon which is known as the altitude. Making this measurement is known as sighting the object, shooting the object, or taking a sight...
places them somewhere in Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
; he asserts that he is correct. The argument is moot, and the companions enjoy several hours of relative peace and favorable conditions. Sometime later a horse-mounted hunting party is spotted in the distance, causing the companions to hide. Initially suspecting it to be a deer hunt, the companions soon learn it is a manhunt
Manhunt
Manhunt may refer to:In film:* Bloodfist VII: Manhunt, a 1995 action/adventure film starring Don Wilson* Man Hunt , a 1941 film directed by Fritz Lang* Man Hunt , a 1985 Western film directed by Fabrizio De Angelis...
. The fleeing man is caught a short distance from Ryan and his friends, then brutally executed at the order of a beautiful, raven-haired woman. Before the hunters can leave Dean falls from his hiding place, forcing Ryan and his friends to reveal themselves. The woman is introduced as Mistress Marie Mandeville, the daughter of the local Baron; she orders Ryan and his friends to accompany her back to the ville. Along the way Doc nearly drowns while crossing a raging river and is rescued by Ryan, but loses his LeMat Revolver
LeMat Revolver
The LeMat revolver was a .42 or .36 caliber cap & ball black powder revolver invented by Dr. Jean Alexandre LeMat of New Orleans, which featured a rather unusual secondary 16 gauge smoothbore barrel capable of firing buckshot, and saw service with the armed forces of the Confederate States of...
in the process.
Meanwhile in the ville of Andromeda, somewhere near the Cific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
, Abe is continuing his search for Trader. While at a bar he is set upon by three men, scavengers who mistakenly believe he has a map to a cache of pre-dark technology, and intend to interrogate him for the information. Though outnumbered and caught unprepared, he is saved when the three men are shot dead. His savior is none other than the Trader. Reunited, the two begin to travel together, and eventually start offering payment for any traveler willing to carry a message for either J.B. or Ryan, should they come across either. The message simply states that Abe has found the Trader, and the two will be near Seattle for the next three months.
Back in Kansas, the Baron, Nathan Mandeville, greets the companions warmly and shows them great hospitality, offering them fine food and comfortable lodgings. Nonetheless there is a subtle undertone of something sinister in the Baron's attitude, further emphasized by veiled, ambiguous warnings from the ville's sec boss, Harry Guiteau, as well as the extreme security measures in place throughout the ville. The following day the companions are invited to participate in a series of public, competitive challenges, which they accept. The first challenge pits Michael against the ville's jailer, Jericho, in unarmed wrestling. Michael wins the first bout, only to be sucker-punched by Jericho as her readies for the next round. Angered, Michael crushes Jericho's larynx, then finishes him with a bone-breaking kick to the face. The death attracts the immediate attention of Mistress Marie, who appears to orgasm
Orgasm
Orgasm is the peak of the plateau phase of the sexual response cycle, characterized by an intense sensation of pleasure...
watching Michael kill the larger man. The remainder of the competition is spent with Michael seated by her side, the two touching intimately and at one point with Marie possibly giving Michael a handjob
Handjob
Handjob is a slang or informal word referring to an act of manual stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner, whether female or male, usually to the point of orgasm and ejaculation. The act is similar to male masturbation, though the latter is performed by a male on himself...
. At the end of the day's events Mistress Marie leaves for her quarters with Michael at her side.
While the other companions eat dinner and, later, return to their rooms, Michael and Marie spend time alone in her room. Both are drunk, and in this state Marie mentions that she will keep Michael "safe"; Michael briefly realizes this implies his friends will not be safe. The two then proceed to have sex for several hours, with Mistress Marie variously biting him, performing fellatio
Fellatio
Fellatio is an act of oral stimulation of a male's penis by a sexual partner. It involves the stimulation of the penis by the use of the mouth, tongue, or throat. The person who performs fellatio can be referred to as the giving partner, and the other person is the receiving partner...
, engaging in vaginal intercourse
Sexual intercourse
Sexual intercourse, also known as copulation or coitus, commonly refers to the act in which a male's penis enters a female's vagina for the purposes of sexual pleasure or reproduction. The entities may be of opposite sexes, or they may be hermaphroditic, as is the case with snails...
, having Michael perform cunnilingus
Cunnilingus
Cunnilingus is an oral sex act performed on a female. It involves the use by a sex partner of the mouth, lips and tongue to stimulate the female's clitoris, vulva, or vagina...
on her, and ordering him to kiss her boots and suck her boot heels
Boot worship
Boot worship is a term for the practice of extreme adulation of boots in BDSM.It is also important to point out that the dominant partner in the boot worship action is almost always a female, and the submissive a male or female...
in order to "show you'll do what I tell you." While this happens Marie plays a collection of custom vids
Home video
Home video is a blanket term used for pre-recorded media that is either sold or rented/hired for home cinema entertainment. The term originates from the VHS/Betamax era but has carried over into current optical disc formats like DVD and Blu-ray Disc and, to a lesser extent, into methods of digital...
, which start with relatively benign subjects such as bondage
Bondage (sexual)
Bondage is the use of restraints for the sexual pleasure of the parties involved. It may be used in its own right, as in the case of rope bondage and breast bondage, or as part of sexual activity or BDSM activity.- Private bondage :...
, group sex
Group sex
Group sex is sexual behavior involving more than two participants. Group sex can occur amongst people of all sexual orientations and genders...
, and pegging
Pegging (sexual practice)
Pegging is a sexual practice in which a woman penetrates a man's anus with a strap-on dildo. The neologism "pegging" was popularized when it became the winning entry in a contest in Dan Savage's Savage Love sex advice column, held after an observation was made that there was no common name for the...
, but move on to darker subjects such as bestiality
Zoophilia
Zoophilia, from the Greek ζῷον and φιλία is the practice of sex between humans and non-human animals , or a preference or fixation on such practice...
, eventually culminating in a vid showing Mistress Marie disemboweling
Disembowelment
Disembowelment is the removal of some or all of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract , usually through a horizontal incision made across the abdominal area. Disembowelment may result from an accident, but has also been used as a method of torture and execution...
a pre-teen boy, to her both recorded and live sexual pleasure. Michael reacts by simultaneously punching Marie and vomiting in her face, and flees for his friends' rooms.
After Michael tells his friends what he witnessed, the group makes an attempt to leave the ville, only to be stopped by a large contingent of sec men led by Marie. The companions are disarmed and escorted back to their rooms. The following day Ryan concludes they are going to be hunted for sport, which Marie confirms. The companions are given only their bladed weapons and a 15 minute start. Rather than hopelessly trying to reach the redoubt, Ryan and his friends circle around and re-enter the ville from the back just as the hunting party, consisting of most of the ville's sec men, leave from the front. The companions disable the ville's hydroelectric generator, then make their way into the Baron's armory to recover their weapons. In the process Doc discovers and takes a replica LeMat, chambered for more common, modern ammo. With the sec men fast approaching J.B. rigs the armory with a timed explosive and the group flees downstairs; the ensuing explosion kills most of the sec men and starts a massive fire. Baron Nathan is killed by Doc, while Marie seeks cover and Guiteau takes Dean hostage, using him as a human shield. Mildred takes careful aim, shooting off Guiteau's trigger finger and then killing him with a shot between the eyes once Dean is clear. Michael declares he will deal with Marie himself, calmly approaches her while she tries (and fails) to shoot him, and after exchanging some brief, unheard words with the woman, he snaps her neck. The companions then leave for the redoubt.
The thawed bodies in the upper floors of the redoubt have rotted thoroughly, causing most of the cannies to die of starvation. After making their way through the near-unbearable stench the companions arrive at the MAT-TRANS chamber. Everyone links hands, lest they be sent to separate locations, and Ryan closes the door to start the jump.
Cultural references
Baron Mandeville's private art gallery features works from many famous artists. Named artists include Alan Burgess, Georgia O'KeeffeGeorgia O'Keeffe
Georgia Totto O'Keeffe was an American artist.Born near Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, O'Keeffe first came to the attention of the New York art community in 1916, several decades before women had gained access to art training in America’s colleges and universities, and before any of its women artists...
, Pablo Picasso
Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso known as Pablo Ruiz Picasso was a Spanish expatriate painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist, and stage designer, one of the greatest and most influential artists of the...
, Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Wyeth
Andrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
, and Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
.