The Cryptofictional Records Wing: Heinlein's "Future History"

Many of Robert A. Heinlein's early science-fiction stories take place in a fictional universe which extends from roughly 1939 ("the present day") to the late 22nd century. Collectively known as the "Future History Stories" (a named coined by Astounding Science Fiction editor John W. Campbell), thirteen were written in between 1939 and 1941 (mostly for the pulp Astounding Science Fiction), another nine appeared between 1947 and 1950 (aimed at mainstream readers) and a final two were published in 1957 and 1962:

"Life-Line" (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1939)
"Misfit" (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1939)
"Requiem" (Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1940)
"'If This Goes On —'" (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1940)
"Let There Be Light" (Super Science Stories, May 1940)
"The Roads Must Roll" (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1940)
"Coventry" (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940)
"Blowups Happen" (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940)
"Logic of Empire" (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1941)
"Universe" (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1941)
"'—We Also Walk Dogs'" (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1941)
"Methuselah's Children" (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1941)
"Common Sense" (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1941)

"The Green Hills of Earth" (The Saturday Evening Post, February 8, 1947)
"Space Jockey" (The Saturday Evening Post, April 26, 1947)
"'It's Great to Be Back!'" (The Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1947)
"The Black Pits of Luna" (The Saturday Evening Post, January 10, 1948)
"Gentlemen, Be Seated" (Argosy Magazine, May 1948)
"Ordeal in Space" (Town & Country, May 1948)
"Delilah and the Space-Rigger" (The Blue Book Magazine, December 1949)
"The Long Watch" (The American Legion Magazine, December 1949, as "Rebellion On the Moon")
The Man Who Sold the Moon (February, 1950)

"The Menace from Earth" (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1957)
"Searchlight" (Scientific American, August 1962)

Since 1962, some of the characters and events taking place in the Future History sequence have been referenced in later Heinlein novels, but these appearances are more like "multiverse" events (such as found in Michael Moorcock's books), and are not part of the main fabric of the Future History. This core sequence was first published in book form as several Heinlein collections in the 1950s and 60s, but were ultimately collected into one gargantuan tome titled The Past Through Tomorrow in 1967. This volume places each story in "chronological story order" as follows:

"Life-Line" (1939)
"Let There Be Light" (1940)*
"The Roads Must Roll" (1940)
"Blowups Happen" (1940)
"The Man Who Sold the Moon" (1950)
"Delilah and the Space-Rigger" (1949)
"Space Jockey" (1947)
"Requiem" (1940)
"The Long Watch" (1949)
"Gentlemen, Be Seated" (1948)
"The Black Pits of Luna" (1948)
"'It's Great to Be Back!'" (1947)
"'-We Also Walk Dogs'" (1941)
"Searchlight" (1962)
"Ordeal in Space" (1948)
"The Green Hills of Earth" (1947)
"Logic of Empire" (1941)
"The Menace from Earth" (1957)
"'If This Goes On -'" (1940)
"Coventry" (1940)
"Misfit" (1939)
"Methuselah's Children" (1958)
"Universe" (1941)*
"Common Sense" (1941)*

*The stories "Let There Be Light", "Universe" and "Common Sense" are not included in most editions of The Past Through Tomorrow, but are generally considered to be part of the sequence.

Unlike a typical literary series, where characters are carried from one story to the next and a consciously-designed connective premise supports the entire sequence, Heinlein's Future History exists more as a background tapestry over which he foregrounds brief, self-contained episodes of heroism, humor and adventure. Because these stories extend over something like three centuries, three planets and two star systems, each character only appears once in the series (with one or two exceptions). However, later in the sequence, a seemingly-immortal mutant named Lazarus Long appears, whose tale is further explored in the Heinlein "multiverse" stories.

When Heinlein began writing these stories, he had not intended for them to be part of a predetermined historical narrative (he also wrote stories independent from the Future History). However, at some point he realized that a number of them did imply the existence of a consistent historical arc, and soon created a chart describing in broad strokes the advancement of mankind through periods of progress and instability (but generally heading outwards into outer space).

Future History Stories

The earliest story, "Life-Line", essentially takes place in the year in which it was written (1939), and deals with an invention which can predict the birth and death dates of individuals. In the following years (of the fictional Future History), mankind continues to make technological advances, but also begins exhibiting a "gradual deterioration of mores, orientation and social institutions". This growing social unrest leads to "the Crazy Years", which begin in the 1960s and extend into a scientific "Interregnum". Heinlein doesn't explore the moral decay of this era, but the story "Let There Be Light" does describe the development of solar energy panels during this period. Shortly afterwards, in "The Roads Must Roll", Heinlein describes the institution of city-to-city people-mover conveyor belts, as well as the dangers of a mass transit union strike. "Blowups Happen" happens after the development of atomic power plants as a primary energy source and examines ways to make them safer from human fallibility (ultimately the administrators relocate them to outer space in order to reduce the risk of devastating accidents).

Eventually, the Interregnum passes and the world economy stabilizes under a 19th century model encouraging capitalism and expansion. In the novel The Man Who Sold the Moon, a stubborn, individualistic industrialist named Delos Harriman realizes his dream of putting a man on the moon (while making a profit at the same time). This is followed by a series of smaller vignettes taking place during the development of an Earth-Lunar transit system ("Delilah and the Space-Rigger", "Space Jockey", "Requiem") and the establishment of an underground moon-base, Luna City ("The Long Watch", "Gentlemen, Be Seated", "The Black Pits of Luna", "'It's Great to Be Back!'").

Next follows a period of "Imperial Exploitation", where expeditions to Mars, Venus and some of Jupiter's moons lead to the discovery of primitive pre-industrial lifeforms in the solar system (which are soon exploited). In the ensuing years, colonies (plantations) are established on these worlds where generations of humans begin to grow up under non-Earth gravity conditions. The stories "'—We Also Walk Dogs'", "Searchlight", "Ordeal in Space", "The Green Hills of Earth", "Logic of Empire", and "The Menace from Earth" take place during this period, and sometimes address the issues faced by families living long-term lives on other planets, as well as their evolving attitudes towards Earth-dwellers.

Sometime in the early 21st century, political problems climax in revolutionary movements on Venus, in the United States and in Antarctica (as would have been depicted in the unwritten story "Fire Down Below"). The President of the United States is also replaced by a television evangelist (religious fanatic) named Nehemiah Scudder, who institutes reforms leading to a totalitarian Dark Ages-like theocracy, emphasizing puritanism and psychological mind control (as well as the development of limited telepathic communication between "sensitives"). This cessation of technological development leads to the halt of interplanetary spaceflight for half a century. Heinlein has hinted at additional unwritten stories ("The Sound of His Wings", "Eclipse", "The Stone Pillow") which would have documented this period of mankind's Future History.

The story "'If This Goes On —'" describes a "2nd American Revolution" where resistance fighters overthrow the United States' theocratic rulership, after which a new constitution (the "Covenant", based on individual freedom and the abolishment of violence of any form) is instituted. In the new United States, anti-social elements are exiled to a reservation called Coventry (which is described in the story "Coventry").

At this point, mankind resumes its exploration of the solar system and begins reaching for nearby star systems as targets of expansion and colonization. Meanwhile on Earth, an artificial means of extending life spans is developed. The stories "Misfit" (about the re-engineering of the asteroid belt), "Methuselah's Children", "Universe and "Common Sense" (dealing with interstellar colonization and the extension of human longevity) take place during this phase.

More detailed synopses of each story in the Future History series follow.

"Life Line" (Astounding Science-Fiction, August 1939)

A scientist named Pinero develops a machine which can trace a person’s biological “life-line” into the past or the future, and therefore determine his/her birth and death dates. Fearful of the implications of this invention, several life insurance companies band together and try to stop Pinero’s new business. In a court of law, it is decided to test out Pinero’s claims by obtaining the death-dates of several insurance company officials and periodically monitor their accuracy. One day, a young couple arrives in Pinero’s office. Disturbed by what he has found out about their death dates, he tries to delay their stay in his office. They eventually make an excuse to depart and are then both killed in an automobile accident. Later, the insurance officials learn that Pinero has been murdered and his lab destroyed. They examine Pinero’s prediction of his own death date and realize that the machine was accurate. They are tempted to read all of their own death dates, but in the end they decide to burn them unread.

"Let There Be Light" (Super Science Stories, May 1940, as "Lyle Monroe", not included in The Past Through Tomorrow)

A young scientist named Archie Douglas meets a bio-physicist named Mary Ann Martin. Mary combined her knowledge of bio-luminescence with Archie's knowledge of crystal-based frequency selection to create a ground-breaking system which converts energy to "cold light" with a much greater level of efficiency than incandescent bulbs. They also discover that this same method can be used to convert sunlight to electrical energy. Using this new technique, they begin developing a business based on super-efficient solar-energy conversion. Unfortunately, large corporations (fearful of losing their established market) begin to use criminal pressure to destroy their new venture. Mary suggests that Archie merely give away the technology for free, and only take a small percentage of the profits gained from the new technology. This idea works and the corporations no longer have any way of suppressing the new technology (later known as "Douglas-Martin sun-power screens"). In the end Archie, and Mary get married.

"The Roads Must Roll" (Astounding Science-Fiction, June 1940)
Mass transit is effected by people-moving conveyor belts (“roads”) which criss-cross the country at high speeds (reaching over 100 mph). When a mentally-unstable engineer named Van Kleek organizes a revolt amongst the workers, the union workers cause one of the roads to suddenly stop (which causes many casualties). The Chief Engineer, Gaines, eventually makes his way to a meeting with Van Kleek. By preying on Van Kleek’s psychological weaknesses, Gaines eventually disarms Van Kleek, and the “rolling roads” are restored back to normal service.

"Blowups Happen" (Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1940)
Modern Earth technology depends on an atomic pile to provide sufficient energy for its needs. However, the intense stress of maintaining such a destructive force causes recurring mental breakdowns to among the engineers monitoring it. Psychologists are brought on site to look out for potential mental fallibility. An expert psychologist named Lentz is brought in to search for a broader solution, but he states that it is inevitable that the engineers will have breakdowns. One day, an astronomer named Harrington discovers that a single atomic accident will cause a chain reaction leading to the total destruction of the Earth. He also suggests that the moon might have once been inhabited by an atomic civilization, but an atomic accident had then destroyed all life on its surface. The administrator of the atomic pile, Dr. King, tries to have the atomic pile shut down, but the Board of Directors refuses to heed his warnings. Two of King’s engineers then come up with a way to transform the explosive energy of the atomic pile into rocket fuel, making space travel feasible. At the same time, Harrington comes up with a plan to situate an atomic pile in space, so that the fuel can be safely generated from a safe distance and then siphoned down to the planet. The project is begun. As the it nears completion, one of the (earthbound) atomic pile engineers has a breakdown, but he is stopped from doing harm just in time. As soon as King learns that the rocket project is ready, he shuts down the atomic pile in relief.

Signet 1951, Stanley Meltzoff

The Man Who Sold the Moon (February, 1950)

A space station designed to produce atomic fuel in space has exploded, causing a setback to space exploration. Nonetheless, despite the skepticism of his friends and the board members of his corporation, Delos D. Harriman announces his intention to reach and lay claim to the Moon.
Delos has an argument with his wife when he proposes diverting funds from the household expenses for his moon venture.
Delos has his lawyers start staking a claim to all of the land over which the moon orbits in order to establish some form of ownership over the moon itself. He finds an engineer named Bob Coster who can build a moon rocket, but Coster also insists that he must be one of the 3 men on the first launch.
Construction begins in Colorado Springs so that the ship can launch from Pike’s Peak.
Delos gains financial support from a soda corporation by hinting that a competitor will soon buy advertising space on the moon. He does the same with a publisher by hinting at the threat of a communist propaganda symbol painted on the moon.
Delos meets a man named LeCroix, a back up pilot for the old space shuttle, and hires him as his new pilot. LeCroix suggests looking for remnants of X-fuel (fuel used for the failed energy satellite), but none is available.
When Delos learns that the ship can only carry one man to the moon, he reluctantly gives up his seat to the lightest candidate.
Some of Delos’ more skeptical allies futilely try to undermine his control of the project.
Delos’ ship the Pioneer successfully lifts off from its base in Colorado.
LeCroix successfully lands on the moon and returns to Earth. Delos surreptitiously plants diamonds in the cockpit for reporters to find so that rumors of diamonds on the moon can spread through the press. Ironically, LeCroix reveals that there really are diamonds on the moon.
Delos’ co-investors decide that they want a larger piece of the pie. Delos agrees since he needs more funds to continue his space enterprise.
Delos’ team begins developing a new system where spaceships can be catapulted into orbit to be then fueled by orbiting stations.
Delos is stunned when he learns that his co-investors will not permit him to risk his life going up to the moon until his enterprise starts becoming solvent. Due to insurance purposes, he is forced to agree to their terms.
The second ship takes off without Delos aboard. His friend George Strong notes that Delos looks like Moses standing outside the borders of the Promised Land.

"Delilah and the Space-Rigger" (The Blue Book Magazine, December 1949)
“Tiny”, the construction manager of a new space station, becomes outraged when he finds out that his new radio operator is a woman (named Gloria). He is worried that his men will be distracted by the presence of an attractive woman. Tiny makes plans to have her replaced on the next crew rotation, but the other crew members threaten to go on strike if Gloria is dismissed. Finally, Tiny is convinced that the solution is to bring up even more women (as well as a marriage chaplain).

"Space Jockey" (The Saturday Evening Post, April 26, 1947)
A space pilot named Pemberton is forced to cancel a vacation with his wife Phyllis when he gets called in to pilot an emergency space flight for the Harriman corporation. During the journey (from Earth to a satellite station, then from the satellite to a lunar satellite, and finally a landing on the moon from the lunar satellite), Pemberton wonders how to balance his career with his marital responsibilities. On the transit between the Earth and lunar satellite stations, a visiting brat throws the ship off course. Fortunately, Pemberton’s piloting skills allow him to course correct the flight. When this act earns him a job offer on Luna City, he is relieved when he learns that Phyllis is willing to move there to join him.

"Requiem" (Astounding Science-Fiction, January 1940)
Now wealthy and elderly, the architect of the first moon landing, Delos Harriman ("The Man Who Sold The Moon"), has still not had his chance to go to the moon. By the time moon travel has finally become feasible to the public (and thus allowed to Harriman under the terms of his Board), he has become deemed too elderly for such arduous travel. Eventually, he hires two freelance spacemen, and with their help secretly builds his own spacecraft. Although Delos’ health begins to fail, he undertakes the journey and lands on the Moon. He feels a great feeling of contentment even as he draws his last breath on the lunar surface. The two spacemen feel sympathy for the old man and prop up his corpse so that it faces the Earth, and leave him with a note containing Robert Louis Stevenson's poem, "Requiem".

"The Long Watch" (The American Legion Magazine, December 1949, as "Rebellion On the Moon")
On the moon, when John Dahlquist learns that his insane commanding officer intends to use atomic bombs to establish a military dictatorship over the Earth, he locks himself in with the bombs and sets up a “dead man’s switch” which will blow the bombs up upon his death. As Dahlquist begins disassembling the bombs, he becomes exposed to deadly radiation and eventually dies (but not before dismantling the bombs). His commanding officer commits suicide when reinforcements from Earth arrive. Dahlquist’s body is brought back to Earth in a lead coffin.

"Gentlemen, Be Seated" (Argosy Magazine, May 1948)
Three men are taking a tour through an underground lunar tunnel when an explosion causes a small breach in the tunnel enclosure. Oxygen begins to escape, but two men take turns using their own bodies (their buttocks, specifically) to plug the hole. The cold and suction gradually begin to take their toll on their bodies but help eventually arrives and they are rescued.

"The Black Pits of Luna" (The Saturday Evening Post, January 10, 1948)
A small boy goes missing while on a sightseeing trip to visit the crater of a lab accident on the dark side of the moon. Fortunately, his precocious brother is able to find him under a rocky structure where he had accidentally become caught.

"It's Great to Be Back!" (The Saturday Evening Post, July 26, 1947)
After several years living on the moon in Luna City, Allan and his wife Josephine decide that they miss Earth and move back to New York City. Once there, they find it difficult to readjust to the heavier gravity and unpredictable weather. Also, when they try to reestablish old relationships, they cannot relate to their old Earth-bound friends. In the end, they decide to return to their "true home" on the moon.

"—We Also Walk Dogs" (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1941, as "Anson MacDonald")

A company named "General Services" prides itself on being able to handle any problem for a price. One day, a government agent named Beaumont visits Clare, the president of General Services. Beaumont wants to set up a diplomatic meeting of representatives from each of the colonies established throughout the Solar System. This would require accommodations for people used to different degrees of gravity (Martians would need lighter gravity and Jovians would need heavier gravity). Although seemingly beyond the realm of possibility, Clare eventually convinces an idiosyncratic scientist named O'Neil to take on the job (in return for a rare antique he desires). O'Neil eventually comes up with technology to maintain artificially-generated gravity in contained capsule environments. Once the conference is over, Clare makes plans to use this new invention to make a huge profit for his company.

"Searchlight" (Scientific American, August 1962)
While on a short trip between stations on the moon, a blind pianist's ship crashes. The search party are eventually able to make radio contact with her, but due to her blindness she cannot divulge her location. The station director then divides the moon surface into 88 regions and sends a tight beam audio signal to each region with each carrying a piano note. When the girl recognizes the note and calls out the pitch, the director is then able to determine which of the 88 regions she is located in by mapping the pitch to the region. He proceeds to further sub-divide each of these target regions into additional divisions of 88 and repeats the process, until the girl's exact location is found.

"Ordeal in Space" (Town & Country, May 1948)
When a Lunar-Mars passenger cruiser loses its exterior radar dish, the captain decides to go on an extra-vehicular walk to repair it. However, due to their near approach to Mars, the crew are unable to slow down the ship's artificial gravity spin. Nonetheless, the captain climbs out and manages to repair the radar. Unfortunately, he finds himself unable to find his way back to the airlock. After holding on to an iron rung for two hours he falls out into space, but is eventually rescued by another spacecraft. The episode causes extreme acrophobia for the man and he is forced to quit the service. One day while visiting the high-rise apartment of a friend, he forces himself to go out on a window ledge to rescue a kitten stuck outside his guest room window. The experience cures his fear of heights.

"The Green Hills of Earth" (The Saturday Evening Post, February 8, 1947)
An engineer named Rhysling earns a reputation on the solar system transport circuit as a great troubador-poet. One day he is blinded during an accident. Unable to function as an engineer, he continues his career as a troubadour (with accordion), while spaceship crews allow Rhysling free passage on their ships as a measure of respect. One day while heading back to Earth, Rhysling is in the engine room with an old friend when another accident occurs. He saves the ship, but the radiation is fatal. As his final act, he finishes one last poem, "The Green Hills of Earth".

"Logic of Empire" (Astounding Science-Fiction, March 1941)

While on a drunken binge, a well-connected lawyer named Wingate and his wealthy friend Sam Jones impulsively sign on as indentured laborers assigned to the swamps of Venus. In the morning, the two are unable to convince the captain of the transport ship that their presence is a huge misunderstanding. Ultimately, they are forced to continue to Venus where they are assigned to labor camps. Wingate spends his free time writing a book "exposing" the evils of slave-supported colonialism. Eventually, Jones' sister comes to their rescue and the men return to Earth. There, Wingate tries to get his book expose published, but the publishers feel that his book is too sterile. A ghost-writer adds a "sordid" element to his book, which is eventually published as I Was A Slave On Venus. Wingate is disgusted, but Jones maintains that slavery will always exist as long as colonization administrators lack intelligence and imagination.

"The Menace from Earth" (The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, August 1957)
In Luna City, a precocious teenage girl named Holly Jones earns money as a tourist guide while working towards becoming a starship designer. She plans to form a company with her long-time friend Jeff Hardesty. One day, a "gorgeous" Earth woman named Ariel Brentwood arrives and catches Jeff's eye. Holly is disdainful of Ariel (as well as "groundhogs" in general), but feels a sense of loss knowing that Jeff is spending more time with Ariel than her. Eventually, Ariel asks Holly to teach her how to fly in the low gravity "Bat's Cave", where independent human flight is possible with artificial wings. During the episode, Ariel begins to fall but Holly saves her life. Unfortunately the accident causes Holly to break both her arms. While recovering, Holly learns that Jeff really does love her, and Ariel returns to Earth.

"If This Goes On —" (Astounding Science-Fiction, February 1940)

Three generations ago, the United States had been taken over by a religious fanatic named Nehemiah Scudder (the "First Prophet"). Now, the country is ruled by a totalitarian religious order headed by the Prophet Incarnate (the First Prophet's "representative on Earth"). In the capitol of New Jerusalem, John Lyle is an "Angel of the Lord" whose duty is to guard the Prophet Incarnate in his Palace. By chance, he meets Sister Judith (a virgin deaconess whose role is to "service" the Prophet) and falls in love with her. One evening Judith is finally chosen to be with the Prophet. She screams and faints. Later Lyle's friend Zeb informs him of what the Virgins' duties actually entail. Later they see a man stoned to death for heresy.
Lyle and Zeb decide to help Judith escape from the Palace. Unfortunately, during a secret rendezvous, a guard surprises them. After they kill the guard, they decide that they have no choice but to seek help from the Cabal, a secret resistance group which has infiltrated the Prophet's organization.
In the ensuing days, Lyle and Zeb manage to contact the Cabal and join their organization. The Cabal promises to send Judith to Mexico for her safety. Unfortunately, the death of the guard has started off an investigation, and the Guardian of Morals (head inquisitor) arrests Judith for questioning before she can be spirited away.
The next night, the Cabal helps Lyle break Judith out from her cell. Unfortunately, an alarm is thrown. After passing Judith to one of the Cabal members, Lyle quickly resumes his guard duties, hoping that no one will catch on to his role in the break out.
Although Lyle tries to act normally, he is eventually brought before the Grand Inquisitor and tortured for information. Eventually, he wakes up and finds that he has been rescued by the Cabal, and that Judith has already been sent off to Mexico.
In the ensuing weeks Lyle learns more about the free world outside the United States. Eventually, he undergoes physical and mental conditioning so that he can be a secret double for a textile merchant named Adam Reeves.
Lyle uses this disguise to reach Minnesota and then Colorado, intending to make contact with the Cabal's General HQ. However, in Colorado a blood sample is taken, which he realizes will soon prove him to be an imposter. He steals a courier rocketship and takes off.
Over Utah, Lyle sets the plane on autopilot and bails out in a parachute.
After hijacking a small plane, Lyle lands in Phoenix, Arizona where he meets his contact, a pastor at a small church. From there he is transported (hooded) to the Cabal's General HQ, which turns out to be in a mile-wide underground cavern.
In the following weeks, Lyle becomes a high-ranking officer in the underground complex and reunites with his friend Zeb as well as their mutual friend Maggie. One day, he joins Zeb, Maggie and another woman on a picnic and swim, and is shocked at how intimate his friends have become with one another.
As the Cabal makes preparations for their revolution to start, Lyle receives a letter from Judith, breaking off their relationship. Distraught, John proposes to Maggie, but Maggie is not sure of the arrangement.
The Cabal uses agents to infiltrate the Voice of God transmission on the day of the yearly Miracle of the Incarnation, in which the "First Prophet" possesses the Prophet Incarnate to deliver a sermon. This time, as per the Cabal's plans, a Cabal agent disguised as the First Prophet shocks the public by accusing the Prophet Incarnate to be an agent of Satan.
The cities of the United States fall into chaos, allowing agents of the Cabal to assume control.
Although the country is in an uproar, New Jerusalem continues to maintain control within its own borders. The new government scrambles to make plans against the last bastion of Scudder's theocracy before public winds turn again. Briefly, a form of mass hypnosis is considered on the public, but an old-timer accuses the new leaders of picking up right after the old leaders, and the idea is shelved.
Just before the armored attack on New Jerusalem, Lyle and Maggie marry. Afterwards, Lyle accompanies the lead tank on the final assault on the city. After breaching the city's defenses, the armored divisions crash into the palace under Lyle's direction (with communications facilitated through telepathic crew members). When the troops break into the Prophet's enclave, they discover that he has already been torn apart by his own Virgins.

"Coventry" (Astounding Science-Fiction, July 1940)
After the 2nd American revolution, a "Covenant" is established which extends freedom and rights to all men and women as long as no violence is done to anyone. After being caught in a socially-prohibited fist-fight, a pampered writer (literary critic) named David MacKinnon refuses to be mentally "adjusted" into a respectable member of the new society (as per the laws established in the Covenant). His only other option is to be sent to Coventry, a reservation for outcasts who do not fit in with the new United States. Once past the impenetrable Barrier, he is swindled by the customs officers inside Coventry and jailed by a less-than-honorable judge. In his cell, he befriends Fader Magee, a long-time resident of Coventry who explains to MacKinnon that Coventry is divided into three territories: New America (an outlaw version of the United States run through with corruption), the Free State (a dictatorship ruled by the "Liberator") and the Angels (remnants of the Prophet Incarnate and his followers). Fader helps MacKinnon break out of prison and takes him to his friends, a rogues gallery of thieves headquartered in a warehouse. The next day, news breaks that New America and the Free State have formed an alliance and that they plan to break out of Coventry with some new superweapons, after which they will take over the United States. Fader tries to escape to to the border to avoid the alliance's "draft" but is injured. MacKinnon volunteers to help take his friend to Coventry's doctor. Once there, MacKinnon becomes fascinated with the doctor's daughter, Persephone. In an effort to impress her, he decides to try to cross the Coventry Barrier himself so that he can warn the outside world of the revolution brewing inside. After difficult several days and nights, MacKinnon manages to swim underneath the Coventry Barrier, and reports to some guards. There, he learns that Fader was in actuality an Army spy working undercover in Coventry. After another psych evaluation, the authorities deem MacKinnon "self-cured" of his antisocial behavior. MacKinnon then considers becoming a Coventry spy himself.

"Misfit" (Astounding Science-Fiction, November 1939)
A squad of soldiers (made of up "misfits" on Earth) is sent into space to maneuver an asteroid into an orbit located between Earth and Mars in order to act as an emergency aid space station. One of the recruits, A.J. Libby, is revealed to be a mathematical genius. As the asteroid is moved into its final orbital position, the computer fails. Libby saves the day by doing the critical calculations in his head.

Methuselah's Children (Astounding Science-Fiction, July-Sept 1941, expanded to book length in 1958)

Part One

In 2136 (61 years after the institution of the Covenant described in "Coventry"), a secret underground meeting is held for members of the long-lived Howard Foundation family. A delegate recounts the history of the Howard Foundation: Starting in 1875, a selective breeding program begun accentuating health and longevity in genetic lines (driven by monetary incentives given to volunteer parents). In the ensuing centuries, these long-lived individuals had hidden the nature of their ages (under a policy known as the "Masquerade"), but in recent years a few have begun to reveal the existence of the Howard descendants. Unfortunately, a backlash has erupted amongst the general populace, who are jealous of the unattainable longevity the descendants enjoy (and believe that they are hiding a secret "immortality formula"). At the meeting, a 213-year old man named "Lazarus Long" (aka Woodrow Wilson Smith, visiting a family meeting for the first time in a century), befriends Mary Sperling, the second oldest member at 183 years. He spends the night at her place.
The next day, Mary's would-be fiance Bork Vanning arrives and tells her that the secret of the Howard Families' longevity will soon be extracted by them - through force of necessary. When Mary reveals that she herself is a Howard descendant, Lazarus is forced to intervene and drive the man away. Expecting trouble, Mary and Lazarus flee to the nearby Families' Seat (HQ) in order to have one of their telepaths broadcast a warning to the rest of the Families' Seats. Later, Lazarus runs into Libby (from "Misfit"), and they catch watch a news broadcast announcing that Howard descendants are to be captured at any cost.
As the Families gather to discuss their next move, some of the Howard descendants are captured before they can go into hiding. Under truth-serum, they reveal their secrets. In the meantime, Lazarus heads a Family meeting and suggests fleeing to another star system. The meeting is interrupted when they get a direct call from the authorities (the Administrator, Slayton Ford) on their secret line.
Ford speaks with the Family's Senior Trustee, Barstow, and explains that he sympathizes with the Family but does not have the power to hold back the mob. When Barstow brings up the possibility of moving the Family to another star system, Ford seems open to consider that possibility. Later, Lazarus asks Barstow if he is prepared to do what must be done.
Ford, Barstow and Lazarus facilitate a mass arrest of the members of the Families in the Families' Seat complex in order to avoid a messy, protracted hunt (which would likely lead to casualties). The Howards are all moved to a reservation in Oklahoma. In the meantime, Lazarus makes plans to transport the Howards to New Frontiers, a just-completed interstellar spacecraft. He decides to first inspect the craft.
After conning his way aboard, Lazarus figures out the basics of operating the interstellar craft. He then buys a transport ship named the Chili from an old friend on the way to the Oklahoma Howard Family internment camp. Once he gets there, the 100,000 Howard members get onboard, just as the sympathetic Ford is deposed from his position by Bork Vanning.
The Chili manages to connect with the New Frontiers, after which Lazarus commandeers the ship at blaster-point. While the Howard Families transfer over, Ford himself appears in his own personal flyer. His part exposed on Earth, he has decided to throw in with the voyagers. When Libby boards, he brings aboard a portable warp drive based on inertia-less propulsion. After launch, Navy ships force the New Frontiers into a trajectory into the sun, but Libby's warp drive takes the New Frontiers to safety at near light-speed.
As the ship heads out of the solar system, Ford is elected by the Family's small circle of main conspirators to be the "leader" of the civilian population. A former Naval officer named King is chosen to be the ship's commander, with Libby as its main navigator.

Part 2

Years pass. Because the New Frontiers had been designed for a much smaller passenger count, most of the Howard descendants spend the journey in cryogenic sleep. Eventually, the ship arrives at a star system where they find an Earth-like planet. One of the telepaths aboard the ship communicates with the humanoid natives of the planet (the Jockaira), who for some reason begin to worship the telepath. The colonists are welcomed to the planet, although Lazarus feels uneasy about the ease of the deal.
The Families are given a Jockairan city to live in and gradually learn the native language. Although their customs are different, the Jockairans treat the humans with great generosity. One day, a Jockairan named Sarloo states that the humans must join the Jockairan worship structure if they wish to remain. As a test, Ford undergoes the "initiation ritual" in a private ceremony, but emerges from the experience in a traumatized, uncommunicative state.
Lazarus realizes that the Jockairans are a form of domestic "pet", and that the Jockairan "gods" are the real occupants of the planet. He surmises that Ford's mind had cracked after exposure to these higher beings. In short order, the Jockairans inform the humans that they are no longer welcome on the planet. Some unexplained force physically carries all of the humans back to the New Frontiers and sets the ship on a course to a new star system. Somehow the ship is made to travel at faster than light speeds (through the Jockairan gods' intervention presumably). During this interminable journey, Mary Sperling wonders at Lazarus Long's longevity. Lazarus tells her that a man named Pinero (from "Lifeline") had once tried to predict his death date with his special machine and then ended up refunding his money. 17 months later the New Frontiers reaches the planet chosen for them by the Jockairan gods. A small bunny-like humanoid somehow appears onboard and telepathically invites the humans to their planet.
The natives (dubbed "the Little People" by the settlers) are able to provide the humans with a paradise-like existence, due to their advanced transmutation abilities. Part of the reason for their advanced state of being is because they exist as hive-minds in groups of 30. In this way they have attained a form of immortality, as when a member of the hive-mind dies, a new, "unformed" body is joined to the hive. In fear of her impending death, Mary Sperling decides to take up the Little People's invitation and submerges her consciousness into one of the hive-minds (to Lazarus' great dismay).
Soon another disturbing event arises: a newborn child is found to have been genetically-modified by the Little People into an evolved (but horrifying-looking) mutant. Lazarus decides to take a vote and the majority of the settlers elect to return to Earth (especially now that they have attained a greater level of technology than the humans back on Earth). Additionally, the journey will only take 3 weeks, due to the advanced technology passed on to them by the Little People. They arrive back to Earth space 74 years after they had left. A diplomatic group is sent down to Earth, and after two weeks they return with good news: the Families are now welcome on Earth since a genuine longevity formula has since been developed on Earth.
A representative of the Earth Federation named Miles Rodney boards the New Frontiers with the return party. Lazarus suspects that the Federation's claim of developing a longevity formula may be a trick to have the returnees let down their guard, but Rodney appears to recognize Ford as his old supervisor.
After further quizzing, Miles is proven to be truly as old as he claims. He tells them that longevity has been achieved by introducing fresh young blood into each person's bloodstream in order to prevent aging (the blood is generated artificially, thereby negating the need for donors). However, a problem arises regarding where the Families are to live, since all of their original homes have since been sold off to new owners.
While the legal experts aboard the New Frontiers argue with Miles, Lazarus and Libby go off to get some food by themselves. Lazarus tells Libby that with his new star-drive (enhanced with the technology obtained from the Little People), the Families will undoubtedly have enough clout to work out a suitable arrangement for themselves. In fact, now that an "immortality formula" has been developed, Lazarus now feels inspired to spend the next thousand years exploring the universe.

Orphans of the Sky (1963, not included in The Past Through Tomorrow)

Signet 1970, Gene Szafran

Prologue: In 2119, the Jordan Foundation funds the Proxima Centauri Expedition, but the ship is never heard from again.

Universe (Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1941): On board the ship Vanguard, several generations have come and gone since its original launch from Earth in 2119. At some point during the journey, a mutiny had erupted. In the end, the crew had killed most of the mutineers, and driven the survivors to live in the unpleasant low-gravity decks. Years pass and the crew eventually lose touch with the technology of their ancestors. They come to believe that the environs of the Vanguard comprise their entire universe, and that their lives have no purpose other than merely existing. However, the remaining mutineers (now victims of genetic mutation and dubbed "muties") continue to live outlaw lives in the low-gravity decks of the ship, where they still have some sense of the real universe outside the ship. One day, a young man named Hugh is captured by a two-headed mutie named Joe-Jim. Joe-Jim forces Hugh to be their slave, but their fondness for him eventually inspires them to show Hugh the Control Room of the Vanguard. After accepting the truth of their situation, Hugh decides that the ship's original mission to reach a new planet should be restored. He returns to his own people but is arrested for "heresy". However, with the help of his childhood friend Alan and the muties, Hugh is broken out of prison. While escaping to the mutie-run low-gravity decks, chief scientist Bill Ertz is captured and brought to the Captain's viewing port in the Control Center so that he can see the stars for himself.
Common Sense (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1941): Now convinced of the truth, Bill Ertz relates to Hugh, Alan and the muties that the lower crew have decided to wipe out the muties once and for all. They decide that they must convince the crew to make peace or they will all eventually be killed. Ertz returns to the lower decks and tries to gain support. Joe-Jim begins building new weapons (swords) in case a battle will be necessary. At the same time, Hugh notices that one of the stars is getting larger, which implies it to be their true destination, "Far Centaurus". Eventually, with the help of the ambitious (and wily) executive officer Phineas Narby, the Captain and his officers are ambushed during a council meeting, and Narby is made new Captain. In the following days, the muties are brought under control under Joe-Jim's gang. However, to Hugh's dismay, Narby also decrees that "conversions" are not to take place, in order to prevent religious complications from interfering with the establishment of the new administration. One day, Hugh and Joe-Jim discover a launch vehicle with a ships log. The log states that the mutiny leading to the "Dark Ages" aboard the Vanguard took place in 2172, 53 years after it's launch. Even later, Hugh calculates that a pilot correction must be made for the Vanguard to reach Far Centauri accurately. However, when he and his friends inform Captain Narby, the Captain has his guards arrest them. It turns out that Narby had never himself believed in Hugh's claims of an "outside universe" and only used their coup to gain power for himself. Now hunted as criminals, Hugh and his friends fight their way to the launch vehicle. Joe-Jim is forced to sacrifice their lives in a heroic last stand. The launch vehicle successfully navigates away from the Vanguard, and after an incredible succession of lucky coincidences manages to reach a planet. There, the autopilot brings them down safely. The survivors soon discover wild game on the planet, enough to sustain them as settlers.

Collections

Shasta 1950, Hubert Rogers

The Man Who Sold the Moon (1950)

"Life-Line"
"'Let There Be Light'"
"The Roads Must Roll"
"Blow-Ups Happen"
"The Man Who Sold the Moon"
"Requiem"

Shasta 1951, Hubert Rogers

The Green Hills of Earth (1951)

"Delilah and the Space-Rigger"
"Space Jockey"
"The Long Watch"
"Gentlemen, Be Seated"
"The Black Pits of Luna"
"'It's Great to Be Back!'"
"'—We Also Walk Dogs'"
"Ordeal in Space"
"The Green Hills of Earth"
"Logic of Empire"