Will Earth's Lost Race Return? 

by Theobald Parker

Originally published in Planet Comics #26 in 1943.

Deep in the jungles of Cambodia, French Indo-China lies the ruins of a mysterious kingdom whose people vanished sometime between the 12th and 16th centuries. The enigma of their strange disappearance has never been solved, but certain evidence that has been uncovered provokes weird predictions. 

For generations, the natives of Cambodia have whispered haunting tales about the great temple of Angkor-Vat. Foremost among their legends is the grim belief that the lost people will someday return. They reason that since the two million people of the Khmer civilization did not die, the sudden exodus from Angkor cannot be explained until the prediction is fulfilled. 

Fear stirs in the dark eyes of these natives when they speak of this prophecy. They expect great and horrible things to occur if the vanished people come back. Scientists and explorers who have passed through this land do not laugh at the natives' fears because no one has ever proved how two million people could disappear so suddenly and without ever being seen or heard of again. 

To understand the full portent of the threatened phenomenon, one must visit the source of the legend. Amid steaming jungles to the north of the Great Lake lies the Khmer kingdom. The largest of the ruins is the city of Angkor-Thom and the temple of Angkor-Vat. These monstrous structures of limestone stand on the right bank of the river Siem-Reap which flows from the Great Lake. 

Archaeologists reckon that Angkor-Thom was built at about 900 A. D. during the reign of Jayavarman III. A high wall that runs two miles on each side, encloses the city from the surrounding jungle. Five tremendous gates provide entrance through the wall. From these gates once poured two million people, but the secret of their strange destination is not revealed when one passes into the city. 

Towering inside the massive wall are palaces and temples. Once shimmering structures of polished stone, they are now overgrown with jungle trees and vines. Lightning and erosion have caused many walls to crumble. Storms and jungle beasts have ravaged the sculptured balconies. 

The great temple of Angkor-Vat lies a mile south of the walled city. This magnificent structure is situated in a park encircled by a deep moat. A causeway crosses the moat and leads to a portico that runs for one-quarter of a mile to the temple gate. 

Within the gate, one stares in awe at the broad stairways that climb to meet at the sanctuary, a lofty pyramid that seems lost in the clouds. 

Does this towering temple hold the key to the disappearance of the Khmer civilization? 

Its construction expresses the desire of a people to reach beyond the earth to the sky. 

After studying Angkor-Vat, a French astronomer declared that the architecture followed the lines of ancient ruins left by sun worshipers. However, his theory conflicts with the fact that Angkor-Vat was built for the worship of Brahma, and shortly before the people vanished the temple was devoted to the worship of Buddha. 

One of the native legends is that the lost people mounted Angkor-Vat's great stairways and disappeared into the sky. Hearing this tale, several scientists have pondered over the possibility that the Khmer civilization may have found a route to the sky but by another method. 

There is no evidence to indicate that the Angkor was visited by voyagers from other planets. Nevertheless, this cannot be disproved. It is reasonable to assume that the Khmer people did not desert their kingdom without cause. Therefore they might have been willing to venture beyond the earth if a means of transit had been available. 

Examination of the ruins reveals that the engineers of the era used only crude, hand-operated machinery. If these people journeyed into space, they were not flown aboard carriers that they themselves built. 

Some scientists have argued that the removal of two million people by spacecraft would have been illogical. That depends upon one's conception of the type of ships employed. If we can imagine a fleet of colossal craft with the same carrying capacity in cubic feet of our largest ocean liners, then we can readily see that the feat may have been possible. 

To those who scoff at the mere suggestion of this exodus, let us point out again that there is absolutely no evidence to prove that the two million people disappeared due to natural causes or events. A flood, earthquake, or violent windstorm would have left indelible scars on the ruins and surrounding land. The migration of two million people through the jungles, and their infiltration among other Asiatic tribes after the 12th century could not long have remained a secret.

No matter what is put forth to account for the strange exodus from Angkor there is no evidence to substantiate the claim. Therefore we can find logical reasoning in the native legends that prophesy the return of the vanished people.

Now the question is how will they return to Earth? The best assumption is that they will come back by somewhat the same means that provided their departure. Seven centuries have elapsed since their disappearance suggests that their means of transit would now be more advanced. 

Speculation is varied concerning the number of people who may return. The descendants of two million may count above a hundred million depending upon the clime and condition of life on the distant sphere to which the lost people emigrated. 

One hundred million strong, the descendants of the Khmer kingdom would present a powerful menace if they swarmed upon Earth today. Regardless of whether this great horde would arrive peacefully or warlike, they would soon bring tremendous pressure to bear on our civilization in its present war-torn and chaotic state. 

Two courses of action would be open to them. They could dictate order among our warring nations or they could annihilate the forces of both sides. In either case, the peoples of Earth could offer little resistance. Our combined air forces have neither the speed nor the armament to deal with the armada of space ships. Our great cities, still vulnerable to air bombardment, could put up no defense against ultra-scientific weapons of destruction. 

With the entire world brought to its knees, the Khmer horde would become the master people. 

END