Attar the Merman

Attar the Merman was a short lived man's adventure series written by Joe Haldeman under the pseudonym of Robert Graham. The series only lasted two books, Attar's Revenge and War of Nerves both published in March of 1975.

Attar was not born a merman, he undergoes an operation to implant gills on his body. He can also communicated with dolphins, and a killer whale named Grampus raised by dolphins. Attar lives on Seahope an island off Australia with his adopted father Wallace Hamilton and his other adopted brothers and sisters. Hamilton build Seahope and his organization AREL to protect the oceans and it's life within. He adopted twelve children and trained then to become the protectors of the oceans. With the changes tide of politics he also trained them to be warriors.



1910
Wallace Hamilton is born

1924
Yoshinobu Johnson is born to a gardener and maid of a wealthy couple named Johnson. After the death of his real parents, Yoshinobu is adapted by the Johnsons. (Attar’s Revenge)

1942
Yoshinobu is sent away to California do to anti Japanese feelings in his home town. In California he forms the Lotus Gang, a group of anti-white thugs. (Attar’s Revenge)

1944
Yoshinobu is shot and paralyzed in a shoot out with MPs. Now in a wheelchair Yoshinobu changes the group’s name to the Black Lotus. He adds mystic rituals to control his followers
(Attar’s Revenge)

194?
Yoshinobu moves the Black Lotus to French Indonesia (Attar’s Revenge)

1950
Victor Hamilton is born

Lin Hamilton, Attar is born

June
Wallace Hamilton meets John Tucker and his daughter Sharon in Key West. The Tucker’s take Hamilton on their ship to give diving. Later in the month Hamilton saves Sharon from a shark. Tucker decided to start a non profit corporation, for “the prevention of unscrupulous and irresponsible exploitation of the sea; and the preservation of the balance of life there in”, with Hamilton as the director. Aquatic Research Associates Limited (ARAL), is formed

October
Hamilton finds an island in the Great Barrier Reef near Australia’s East Coast for AREL’s headquarters

1951
Tranh Hamilton, Essence is born, she is eight months younger then Attar

1952
Hamilton adopts twelve children, each of mixed race, to become the future leaders of ARAL

1955 (about)
Black Lotus headquarters are moved to Tokyo (Attar’s Revenge)

1961
AREL scientist begin researching the creation of gills for humans

1963
Attar and Essence leave the island for the first time

After three CIA agents are killed by the Black Lotus, they intact a ‘hands off’ policy when dealing with the group (Attar’s Revenge)

1970
Hamilton is the first human to undergo the operation to transplant gills on to a human. The operation is a success, but because of his advanced years his heart could not endure the strain the gills but on him. After a few months the gills stop working 8 months later

Attar and Essence undergo the operation

1971
Attar and Essence befriend the dolphins Sam and Lilly

December
Attar and Essence in Japan disrupting Black Lotus’ dolphin fishing operation (Attar’s Revenge)

1972
January (five weeks after the assignment in Japan)
Attar and Essence destroy the Black Lotus’ California outpost where the heroin is brought in from Mexico. Essence is killed causing Attar to want revenge on the Black Lotus (Attar’s Revenge)

March -5days
Attar in Mexico destroying the Black Lotus’ heroin operation (Attar’s Revenge)

Late March to Late April
Attar resting at Seahope

~ April 25 to Thursday, May 18
Attar goes on assignment to kill Johnson and other five top members of the Black Lotus (Attar’s Revenge)

Mid 1972
Victor Hamalton undergoes the gill transplant operation, but like Wallace Hamalton the gills fail after a few dives

Attar begins to communicate with Grampus, a young killer whale raised by dolphins

1973
Friday, October 19 to Friday, October 26
Attar and Victor help the CIA find a Rasputin, a madman blackmailing the US with the never gas Tabun III War of Nerves