Black smoke (The War of the Worlds) Black smoke (The War of the Worlds) The black smoke, or black powder, is a fictitious poisonous gas in H. G. Wells' 1898 science fiction novel "The War of the Worlds", used by the Martians to eliminate groups of humans, especially artillery crews, and conveyed by shells fired from a gun-like ""black tube"" carried by the Tripods' whip-like tentacles. Any animal inhaling this deadly smoke is killed almost instantly, but the smoke becomes harmless on contact with water. The Martians would dispel it after each use with jets of steam, leaving only a residual, "cindery" black powder, which reminds the
Flying machine (The War of the Worlds) machines are also featured in both the computer game and the PlayStation game "Jeff Wayne's The War of the Worlds". In the games the flying machines are equipped with one Heat-Ray and light armor, but in turn, are highly maneuverable and extremely fast. A common tactic in the PC game involves the mass production of these units in order to rush an entrenched human sector. In "Sherlock Holmes's War of the Worlds", the Martians only have a single flying machine with them, and it is described as being shaped like a traditional flying saucer. In the postscript, when the Martians