THE ULTIMATE ENEMY

Cover illustration for Fred Saberhagen

Mar 28, 2025

A monstrously large robot looms on the horizon while a simple plant sprouts defiantly from barren, rocky soil in the near foreground. The arms of the robot lurch forward with fingers tensed to grip, implying a sense of forward motion, marching toward the plant. While it's body resembles a stocky biped, it's head is an asymmetrical jumble, which on close examination looks like futuristic buildings set off-center right upon its shoulders. Stiff antennae protrude upward from head and shoulders. Red and orange eye-like lights are set akimbo, an uneven diagonal that adds to the sense of uneasiness about the mechanical monstrosity. — THE ULTIMATE ENEMY (1979), Acrylic and Gouache on Illustration Board - 28" x 18"

Sometimes the simplest statements have the strongest force. The image is ostensibly a representation of the struggle to preserve life against the onslaught of the Berserker war machines described in The Ultimate Enemy by Fred Saberhagen. I view the painting in the larger context of the conflict between natural life and the sterility of man-made technology. Which will win in the end?

I’m betting on the plant. Whether humanity will be around to view the outcome, though, is another question.

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Additional images from THE ULTIMATE ENEMY

LEFT: Detail from THE ULTIMATE ENEMY featuring a simple plant sprouting defiantly from a short mound of soil. There's a winding curve to its stalk. Pointed curving leaves extend like palms to catch the rays of the sun. It looks healthy and vibrant in the early stages of growth. RIGHT: Close detail from THE ULTIMATE ENEMY featuring the Berserker robot from the torso up. The metal structures on its chest and head are asymmetrical. A pair of domes with varying numbers of lights on its chest point off panel right. Two lenses suggest eyes; one is set low just above its shoulder on the right while a red lens rises on a diagonal strut on the left. Between them a building like structure with uniformed columns and rows sits where a neck might be. Above is compositional nonsense, adding to the asymmetrical mass off-center right that includes a curved metal piece that might be a slide. A single sail with a pair of diagonal orange stripes project off the structure top right, while stiff antennae extend vertical, horizontal, and diagonal off the robot at random. — Details of the plant and Berserker war machine from THE ULTIMATE ENEMY

Book cover for THE ULTIMATE ENEMY by Fred Saberhagen, published by Ace Books — *The Ultimate Enemy* by Fred Saberhagen (Ace)

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THE ULTIMATE ENEMY

Cover illustration for Fred Saberhagen

Additional images from THE ULTIMATE ENEMY

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