Richard S. Shaver wrote many articles and short novels for AMAZING STORIES and other science fiction-fact magazines during the controversial “Shaver Mystery” period (ca. 1945-1949), including his most famous short novel, 'I REMEMBER LEMURIA', which was re-written and expanded by editor Raymond A. Palmer from the original draft titled 'A WARNING TO FUTURE MAN'.
This story, as well as later ones based on the same theme, tells the history of two underground races, the DERO (or DEtrimental RObots), of a very negative-evil nature, and their nemesis, the peaceful TERO.
These subterranean races were allegedly descendants OR contemporaries of the 'Elder' ones who abandoned the surface of the Earth ages ago and built underground cities. They later departed for the stars, leaving their underground abodes to be occupied by less sophisticated subterranean dwellers, who separated into two factions… those who served the D-Force (the force of decay, degeneration, etc.) and those who served the T-Force (the “creative” force, etc.).
Shaver wrote many “science-fiction” stories, however only ONE of them, he alleged, actually occurred to him. This was when a woman’s voice 'led' him to get a rowboat and get onto Delaware Bay, and head toward a shore-side cliff, where hidden in the shadows and the foliage he discovered a hidden crack in the cliff, just large enough for his rowboat to enter, and he then followed a long tunnel half-filled with water.
Rowing through this for some time he came to a large cavern where the underground “Tero” people lived… however, while there, this particular “Tero” community was attacked, and most if not all of it’s residents were killed by the “Deros”… however Shaver – if we are to believe his story – was able to escape in his boat, and returned to the seaside cliff-crevice where he originally entered the 'underground world'. He says he never again entered that cave.
