Half-Breeds on Venus

Plot summary

The story begins shortly after the events of "Half-Breed". Over a thousand Tweenies, led by Max Scanlon, land on Venus and emerge onto an upland plateau. Max, now elderly, assigns his elder son Arthur the task of preparing an underground settlement where the Tweenies can live hidden from human settlers. Meanwhile, Arthur's younger brother Henry explores Venus with his girlfriend Irene.

They discover a lake in a forest and see a large amphibian creature rise from it. The amphibians prove friendly, puzzling Max because earlier human reports described them as shy. Noticing their large brain-cases, Max speculates they might be intelligent. The Tweenies learn the amphibians, which Henry names Phibs, are touch-telepaths and communicate with them.

Months later, while the Tweenies build their underground town, human settlers arrive and establish a farming community nearby. Irene and Henry sneak out to visit the Phibs, who suggest a solution to the human problem. Accompanied by Phibs, they travel three days to the Venusian lowlands, where the Phibs use telepathy to control three large twenty-legged reptilian carnivores called Centosaurs. They return at night during a storm.

The Centosaurs' screaming startles the human settlers, who flee. The reptiles destroy the deserted settlement, then break free of control and attack the Phibs. Henry and Irene fend them off with Tonite ray guns until more Tweenies arrive and kill the Centosaurs. Irene falls into a swollen river; Henry jumps in after her, and the Phibs rescue them both.