A lone astronaut approaches the Skull Temple, the only known structure on the entire planet of Beta Gema. The temple, seemingly abandoned, serves as the Archives of Nebukari.

This rogue planet wanders the cosmos, luring unsuspecting astronauts and adventurers with false maydays or promises of wonder and knowledge, much like the Sirens of old. Unbeknownst to the space-faring visitor, the temple also houses an ancient and powerful entity known as Ka. As the hapless explorer marvels at the wonders of the temple complex and chases after illusions, Ka establishes a neural link to the astronaut’s home world. Once linked, the population is devoured and converted into more digital records, and Beta Gema moves on to the next world to consume.

These promises of wonder and knowledge have enticed countless astronauts and explorers for millennia. Although Ka claims that the archives contain records of his visits to many worlds, they are actually the digital remnants of those worlds—ghosts forever trapped in the memory matrix.

All that remains after Ka feasts on a world.

“Unlike comics and graphic novels, which had page after page of illustrations, pulp novels had only the cover artwork to entice you to read them. Inside were 100s of pages of text and little to no graphics. These covers featured fantastical planets, monsters, or spaceships that inspired my imagination and also led me to read many sci-fi novels. I’ve designed a few pulp covers, as an homage to those covers that inspired me.”

-Sean Russell, Artist