Contents
1895: "The Time Machine", by H.G. Wells
1909: "The Machine Stops", by E. M. Forster
1938: "Who Goes There?", by John W. Campbell
1941: "Universe", by Robert A. Heinlein
1942: "Nerves", by Lester del Rey
1946: "Vintage Season", by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
1947: "With Folded Hands", by Jack Williamson
1947: "E for Effort", by T. L. Sherred
1948: "In Hiding", by Wilmar H. Shiras
1949: "The Witches of Karres", by James H. Schmitz
1951: "The Marching Morons", by Cyril M. Kornbluth
1951: "...And Then There Were None", by Eric Frank Russell
1952: "Baby Is Three", by Theodore Sturgeon
1952: "The Martian Way", by Isaac Asimov
1952: "The Spectre General", by Theodore Cogswell
1953: "Earthman Come Home", by James Blish
1954: "The Midas Plague", by Frederik Pohl
1957: "Call Me Joe", by Poul Anderson
1958: "The Big Front Yard", by Clifford D. Simak
1960: "Rogue Moon", by Algis Budrys
1961: "The Moon Moth", by Jack Vance
1962: "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell", By Cordwainer Smith
The Best SF Published Before 1966
Following the success of 1970's The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 1 (which featured stories published before 1966 with less than 15,000 words), a second selection of generally longer stories from the same time period was also voted upon by the SFWA (Science Fiction Writers of America). This soon resulted in The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 2A and The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame Volume 2B, published by Doubleday in 1973 and edited by Ben Bova. The stories selected for this round were dated from 1895 to 1962 and characterized as "novelettes" (stories with a word count between 5,000 and 17,500) or "novellas" (stories with a word count between 17,500 and 40,000). Due to the changing definition of categories, the word counts of these stories sometimes overlap with those selected for the first volume. In any case, the top 10 stories selected in the novelette/novella category were:
"Who Goes There?" by John W. Campbell, Jr.
"A Canticle For Leibowitz" by Walter M. Miller, Jr.
"With Folded Hands" by Jack Williamson
"The Time Machine by H. G. Wells
"Baby Is Three" by Theodore Sturgeon
"Vintage Season" by Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore
"The Marching Morons" by C. M. Kornbluth
"Universe" by Robert A. Heinlein
"By His Bootstraps" by Robert A. Heinlein
"Nerves" by Lester del Rey
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Doubleday 1973 |
Volume 2A: :
Poul Anderson: "Call Me Joe"Volume 2B: :
John W. Campbell: "Who Goes There?"
Lester del Rey: "Nerves"
Robert A. Heinlein: "Universe"
Cyril M. Kornbluth: "The Marching Morons"
Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore: "Vintage Season"
Eric Frank Russell: "...And Then There Were None"
Cordwainer Smith: "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell"
Theodore Sturgeon: "Baby Is Three"
H.G. Wells: "The Time Machine"
Jack Williamson: "With Folded Hands"
Isaac Asimov: "The Martian Way"
James Blish: "Earthman Come Home"
Algis Budrys: "Rogue Moon"
Theodore Cogswell: "The Spectre General"
E. M. Forster: "The Machine Stops"
Frederik Pohl: "The Midas Plague"
James H. Schmitz: "The Witches of Karres"
T. L. Sherred: "E for Effort"
Wilmar H. Shiras: "In Hiding"
Clifford D. Simak: "The Big Front Yard"
Jack Vance: "The Moon Moth"
The stories in these two volumes were apparently organized as two groups in
alphabetic order by author last name. However, for analysis purposes, the
following synopses of these stories are presented in order of publication
date. Links are also provided to threads discussing each story in the Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Facebook Group.
Synopses
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Airmont Books 1964 |
"The Time Machine" (H.G. Wells, 1895)
(illustrations by Jason Alexander from W.T. Robinson's 2013 abridged
version)
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One night during a weekly dinner engagement with scholarly associates,
a man referred to as the “Time Traveler” describes the nature of time
as the 4th dimension (beyond the 3 dimensions describing length, width
and height). He presents a small ivory-crystal mechanism with a
twinkling lever and describes it as a small time-traveling machine.
After pushing a quartz lever, it disappears, supposedly into the
future. He then shows them a large-scale version under construction
with which he plans to travel through time.
- The following week the Time Traveler arrives later to the gathering than usual, in tattered clothes and limping. After cleaning himself up a bit and satisfying a desperately voracious appetite, he begins telling a fantastic story which had begun earlier the same day, but had lasted a full eight days for the Time Traveler. The tale follows.
- On the morning in question, the Traveler activates his machine and travels through a kaleidoscopic landscape of fast-changing scenery. When he stops the vehicle (now in the far future of 802,701), he finds himself on a hill on front of a marble, winged sphinx mounted on a room-sized pedestal. A group of small (somewhat elfin) men in tunics approach him from a nearby structure.
- The Traveler befriends these small, virtually sexless future humans (the Eloi) and visits their large hall. He notices that there are no individual houses, only large, dilapidated structures sheltering groups of the Eloi. It seems to him that technological progress has driven out the need for man to struggle against nature, and therefore made him weak both physically and mentally.
- The Traveler is soon horrified to learn that his Time Machine has disappeared, apparently stolen by an unknown agency and sequestered inside the pedestal of the sphinx. One day he saves an Eloi girl named Weena from drowning and becomes her friend. Around the same time, he catches glimpses of a member of a white-skinned, red-eyed, underground race named the Morlocks. The traveler theorizes that the Morlocks are descended from the industrial working classes of his own time, now accustomed to living underground.
- The Traveler decides that in order to regain his time machine he must investigate the underworld of the Morlocks. He descends a well leading to their realm. At first frightened, the Morlocks soon become more aggressive and try to capture him. He notices some half-eaten meat on their table, which is later revealed to be the remains of an Eloi. The horrified and weaponless Traveler barely escapes back up the well to the surface.
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The Traveler realizes that the Eloi are essentially cattle for the Morlocks, bred in their large temple-like stables for food. The Eloi fear that with a moonless night approaching, the Morlocks will soon come for them. The Traveler notices a “Palace of Green Porcelain” several miles away and decides to make it into his refuge from the Morlocks. He brings Weena along with him for the journey.
- The Green Palace turns out to be a ruined museum. Although there are signs of Morlocks dwelling in some of the lower parts of the museum, the Traveler finds a box of matches and makes himself an iron crowbar with which he plans to break open the base of the Sphinx (where he believes his time machine to be stored).
- As Weena and the Traveler head through the forest back towards the Sphinx, the Morlocks attack en masse. In order to temporarily scare them off, the Traveler starts a forest fire. Nonetheless, the Morlock mob eventually sneaks up on him. Although the Traveler is briefly buried under a mountain of Morlocks, the rampant forest fire forces everyone to flee, until finally in the morning the Morlocks can only wander about blindly. Unfortunately, Weena is nowhere to be seen, apparently a victim of the forest fire.
- When the Traveler reaches the Sphinx, he sees that the door to its interior chamber is wide open and that his time machine is inside. As soon as he enters however, he realizes that he has fallen into a trap. The doors swing shut and Morlocks begin attacking him. In a final desperate scramble in the dark, he activates his time machine and escapes them, going farther into the future.
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Going forward thousands and then millions of years, the Traveler sees the sun become a red giant which no longer moves across the sky. He halts the time machine’s progress and finds himself on a twilight beach facing a dead sea. When giant table-sized crabs begin to try and grab him, he barely escapes by again fast forwarding into the future. Several millennia later, the crabs are gone, only to be replaced by a tentacled, football-sized (or possibly bigger) blob.
- The Traveler eventually returns back to his own time, and reunites with his dinner guests (who have been waiting for his entrance). The other men are mostly skeptical of the Traveler’s tale, even when he produces a flower from the future (which Weena had earlier slipped into his coat). The next day, one of the less skeptical of his friends (the narrator of the framing story) returns to find out more about the Traveler’s tale. The Traveler tells him that he is departing on another time trip, and that he will soon return with photographic proof of his travels. The narrator waits for the Traveler’s promised return (supposedly in half an hour), but now, three years later he has so far not reappeared.
- Epilogue: The narrator is unsure of where the Traveler may have ended up, and is not sure if the bleak future he described will come to pass or not. However, he takes comfort in that he still has the flowers Weena had given the Traveler, proof that some element of gratitude and tenderness may still persist in the future (this sentimental passage is not present in all versions of the book).
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
"The Machine Stops" (E.M. Forster,
The Oxford and Cambridge Review Nov 1909)
- The Airship: In a future where all needs of an underground humanity are catered to through automation (controlled by “The Machine”), a woman named Vashti is contacted by her son Kuno. Kuno asks her to visit him, but she is reluctant to step outside her fully-automated comfort zone. Eventually her anxiety and curiosity motivates her to take an air-ship over the dead surface of the Earth to Kuno’s home.
- The Mending Apparatus: There, Kuno tells her a story in which he had managed to reach the surface by breaking through a tunnel shaft and climbing up out of an exhaust vent. He had then seen a woman approach, but a “mending apparatus” (designed to repair breaches in the airshaft) had then appeared and killed the woman. It then forced Kuno to return underground. Now, Kuno has been informed that he will soon be exiled from the underground city for his surface transgression. Vashti feels sad, but knows her son’s fate is inevitable.
- The Homeless: As time passes, the people of Earth further abandon interest in the surface, and devote themselves fully to The Machine. One day Vashti receives a surprise message from Kuno, claiming “the Machine stops”. Skeptical, she dismisses this claim. True to Kuno’s message, the music and facilities provided by The Machine begin to deteriorate. When no repairs are made, mankind merely becomes accustomed to the disrepair. Eventually The Machine stops functioning completely and chaos erupts in the now-darkened underground city. Vashti has a brief reunion with Kuno, who informs her just before the end that those who had been earlier exiled to the surface will rise again to rebuild the Earth, but this time will not allow a Machine to govern their lives. An air-ship crashes into the underground city, killing everyone.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Shasta 1948, Hannes Bok |
- In Antarctica, scientists discover a 20-million-year-old spaceship buried in the ice. While attempting to blow open the hatch, they accidentally ignite the craft's hull and destroy it. However, they do manage to uncover a 3-eyed, blue-haired monstrosity encased in a nearby block of ice. They surmise that this must be a member of the craft's crew who had become instantly frozen after emerging from its crash long ago.
- When a biologist named Blair insists on slowly thawing the creature out, a physicist named Norris fears that such an action might unleash an extraterrestrial bacteriological threat. Nonetheless, Blair is given permission to begin chipping away at the ice block encasing the creature.
- Some of the men also fear that, like some kinds of fish, the creature might revive itself, even after millions of years of frozen dormancy. A man named Connant declares that he is willing to watch over the Thing as it thaws out, just in case
- While in a semi-mesmerized state, Connant doesn't notice that as the creature thaws, it seems to be slowly coming back to life.
- Later, Connant informs the members of the station that the creature has escaped under his nose. They eventually track it down to the dog cages and electrocute it with a weapon fashioned like a metal pitch fork .
- Upon examination of the corpse, they realize that the creature had consumed one of the dogs and then begun to remold itself into the dog's image. Blair realizes that the Thing can consume and imitate any kind of animal life and theorizes that it can even share its consciousness among its newly-recreated replicas (the Thing is apparently telepathic). In hysterics, Blair begins suspecting his fellow colleagues of possibly being one of these alien replicas.
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When Blair vows to kill every member of the station (in order to save
the world from being taken over by this infectious alien
consciousness), the other men sedate him. When the Thing's earlier
guardian Connant is suspected of being a replica, they lock him up in
a room. In the meantime, the base's medic, Dr. Copper, works on a
blood test which might be used to reveal whether a man is "real" or an
alien replica. Since the test requires blood from a dog and two
humans, Copper and base commander Garry donate samples.
- When Blair awakens and resumes his hysterics, the men lock him up in a shack with some food. Dr. Copper continues to work on his blood test, as more of the men begin to suspect each other of being not who they seem to be.
- Connant's blood test results at first seems to show that he is not a Thing. However, Dr. Copper soon realizes that the blood test results prove nothing except that either Garry or himself must be a Thing.
- As a precaution, Garry gives up his command to a meteorologist named McReady. When Dr. Copper begins to go into hysterics he is sedated.
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Using the electric fork, McReady determines that their cattle are
alien replicas and destroys them. He also realizes that he and his
colleagues might have drunken milk coming from one of these alien replicas. The
men eventually discard this idea, but soon find out that almost all of
their dogs have been replaced by replicas and destroy them.
- While McReady tries to come up with a solution to their problems, the men start showing films as a distraction. However, the cook, Kinner, is soon found dead from knife wounds inflicted by am unknown assailant.
- When McReady uses the electric fork on Kinner's remains as a precautionary measure, the carcass suddenly reanimates into Thing, after which the men quickly destroy it. McReady soon states that he believes that spilled blood gathered from a Thing will try to flee from danger of its own accord. By threatening blood samples taken from his colleagues with a heated needle, Connant and Garry are soon exposed as Things and are destroyed.
- In the end, McReady's test exposes 14 replicas which are quickly destroyed. The men then return to Blair's shack and discover a monstrous Thing working on a mysterious device. They eventually destroy this last creature and realize that for the last week the Thing posing as Blair had been building an anti-gravity device and was just about to escape to the outside world with it when they interrupted it.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Astounding Science-Fiction, May 1941, Hubert Rogers |
"Universe" (Robert A. Heinlein, Astounding Science-Fiction May 1941):
- Prologue: In 2119, the Jordan Foundation funds the Proxima Centauri Expedition, but the ship is never heard from again.
- "Universe": 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 breaks 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.
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"Common Sense" (Astounding Science-Fiction, October 1941): Now convinced of the truth, Bill Ertz relates to Hugh, Alan and the muties that the main crew in th elower decks 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 all 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 ship's 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.
Signet 1970, Gene Szafran
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1942, Paul Orban |
"Nerves" (Lester del Rey, Astounding Science-Fiction, September 1942)
- A doctor named Ferrel is told to report to the atomic plant he is employed at in order to handle a sudden government inspection. Palmer, the plant manager, is concerned since the local press has been inflaming public fears of radiation leaking from the plant.
- During the inspection, an accident occurs. Ferrel does all he can for the victim's radiation burns, but the timing if the incident will probably mean disaster for the plant's future.
- Palmer meets with a congressman named Morgan, who promises aid if the plant will provide his constituents with a new form of experimental radioactive insecticide. Palmer agrees, although there is a slight chance that the radioactive process might result in the dreaded Isotope R.
- As the process to create the new element begins that very night, another accident occurs. Ferrel takes in a few initial patients, apparently injured by flying shrapnel.
- The plant's lead scientist, Jorgenson, rages while the atomic converter explodes. After finding temporary refuge in a lead box, he realizes that the new process has indeed resulted in Isotope R.
- Ferrel and his staff begin handling burn victims. He also learns that the reaction might have created Isotope R, an element which eventually breaks down into Mahler's Isotope, an extremely explosive element with a half-life of hours. If true, all of the contaminated flesh and materials will eventually explode spontaneously.
- Palmer goes over to the damaged converter plant where a few men are rescued. However, many are found dead, and Palmer realizes that Jorgenson must have perished as well. Even worse, it looks like the chamber is full of Isotope R.
- The men eventually manage to find Jorgenson still alive in his lead box. Unfortunately, right after being given emergency treatment, he apparently stops breathing.
- Ferrel's wife Emma becomes worried at her husband's absence, and notices that the entire city seems tense about rumors of the plant "blowing up". She drives to the plant in search of her husband.
- Ferrel uses manual heart massage to keep Jorgenson alive until an experimental mechanical device is delivered to the plant so that it can take over for him.
- With time running out before Isotope R ignites a massive explosion (possibly strong enough to split the entire continent), the medical staff race to revive Jorgenson in the hopes that he might present a solution.
- Palmer is informed that the government plans to drop a fusion bomb on the plant in an effort to halt the Isotope R explosion. Unfortunately, Palmer knows that this will only increase the scope of the devastation. In order to buy time, he tells congress that the situation is under control.
- Jorgenson briefly revives and manages to give some hints to a solution. Jenkins, one of Ferrel's assistants, realizes the true nature of the solution (it turns out that he is a respected scientist's stepson). The men use thermite to turn the radioactive magma in the converter chamber into a gas form, after which the vaporized isotope is funneled through tubing to a nearby river. When the isotope hits the water, it's explosive potential is eliminated due to its dissolution in the river.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
"Vintage Season" (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore, Astounding Science Fiction, September 1946)
A man named Wilson finds that his innocuous house has become highly
desirable to out of town renters and prospective buyers. One day in late
May, his new renters (three somewhat unearthly people) arrive. In the
ensuing days, Wilson manages to shares some private afternoons with
Aleph, one of his three strange house-guests. While inebriated, Aleph drops
hints which cause Wilson to suspect that she and her friends are from a
future time. She eventually admits that this is so, and that this week
of May is highly desirable to time-traveling tourists (a "vintage"
season). However, she is evasive as to why his house is so highly
desired as a tourist location. Eventually, on the last night of their
stay, the tourists perch themselves at the front of Wilson's house in
order to enjoy front-row seats to the crash of a gigantic meteor which
destroys a row of houses before them. A composer from future the named
Cenbe also arrives to the delight of the guests. After getting drunk,
Wilson awakes sometime later and sees that Cenbe alone has remained in
his timeline. Cenbe tells him that he is drawing from the feelings of
desperation and pain created during historic disasters to derive
inspiration for a new symphony. Several days later, Wilson dies from a
plague contained in the meteorite. Before his death, Wilson tries to write a
note in the hopes that some future time-traveler might feel sympathy for
his time and save them through futuristic technology or a warning.
However, shortly after his death, his house is destroyed by
dynamite.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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| Astounding Science Fiction, July 1947, Art: William Timmins |
"With Folded Hands" (Jack Williamson, Astounding Science Fiction July 1947)
A robot salesman named Underhill begins to feel threatened when a the “Humanoid Institute” arrives in his town and its new Humanoid androids are clearly far superior to his own robots. Underhill is gradually driven out of business as everyone in town embraces the Humanoids, who are willing to work for free on a “trial basis”. Underhill then befriends a man named Sledge who is soon revealed to be the inventor of the Humanoids. Sledge had attempted to create the perfect solution to mankind’s problems, but soon realized that the Humanoids’ Prime Directive (to protect all mankind from harm) also prevents man from living a real life, or to enjoy the freedom of taking risks. On every planet in which the Humanoids have landed on, people have become blessed with total luxury and safety, but also imprisoned in fully-automated and safety-restricted environments. Underhill agrees to help Sledge build a device which will destroy the central brain of the Humanoids, rendering all of the Humanoids inert. Unfortunately, the Humanoids have already shielded their central brain from this kind of attack, and have always known of their creator’s destructive plans. Until now, they have allowed Sledge to complete his machine so that they could co-opt the new machine’s technology to further their own takeover of the universe. In despair, Sledge surrenders to his creations and is taken away to a hospital. When Underhill meets him again, Sledge has been “altered” into embracing the aims of the Humanoids. Underhill is told that Sledge’s claims were the result of a brain tumor, which has now been removed. Underhill resolves to pretend to believe this story, for fear of being “cured” himself.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Astounding Science Fiction, May 1947, Tiedeman |
"E for Effort" (T. L. Sherred, Astounding Science Fiction May 1947)
A Mexican immigrant named Miguel (Mike) invents a device which can
project a scene from any time and any place in the past. He is unable to
find a way to make money from the device, except by showing filmed
recordings of these displays as "movies" in cheap theaters. However,
when an American man named Ed Lefko learns the secret behind the
verisimilitude of Mike's films, he applies his prior experience in the
film industry to form a partnership, under which they start making
marketable (but unfinished) historical films. Eventually, they gain the
support of a movie studio and develop a series of successful historical
films, although the secret behind their shooting methods are never
revealed to outsiders. Finally, they make a film exposing all of the
secret, corrupt deals made behind government doors which have resulted
in the recent World Wars and show them to the public. When the two men
are put on trial for "incitement", they finally reveal the invention to
the public, and state that they hope that with such technology, mankind
will no longer wage war (since secrets can no longer be kept hidden).
The American government nonetheless confiscates the device and continues
to hold the two men incommunicado. Lefko and Mike then fear that foreign
countries will soon realize that the invention will give America supreme
power in any conflict, and will try to strike before it is used in such
a manner by the U.S. Lefko sends a note to a friend telling him that
plans for the device are in a safe deposit box and that they should be
mailed to several trustworthy members of the international community so
that the technology will be dispersed, defusing the threat against the
U.S. Unfortunately, the message is intercepted and foreign agents attack
the U.S. in an effort to obtain the plans for the device themselves.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Astounding Science Fiction Nov 1948, Paul Orban |
"In Hiding" (Wilmar H. Shiras, Astounding Science Fiction November 1948)
A school psychiatrist named Welles meets a young boy named Timothy who
seems strangely guarded about his own wealth of knowledge. After many
sessions, Welles learns that Timothy has the intelligence of a college
student and has been hiding his mental skills, since he has learned that
displays of his powers have always earned him enemies. Welles soon
learns that Timothy had been conceived shortly after his parents'
exposure to radiation from an atom bomb test. He tells the boy that they
should look for other "mutants" like himself so that as he grows older
he will not be lonely. Welles also accepts that as Timothy's
intelligence advances far beyond normal humanity's, his young friend
will eventually see him as a pet dog.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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| Astounding Science Fiction December 1949, Zboyan |
"The Witches of Karres" (James H. Schmitz, Astounding Science Fiction December 1949)
- A space trader named Pausert prepares to leave the planet Porlumma on his ship the Venture, but is arrested when he comes to the aid of Maleen of Karres, a slave girl being punished by her master, a cruel baker named Bruth. As a penalty for his violent act, the court orders that Pausert buy Maleen off of her master. After he does this, Pausert then learns that Maleen's two sisters are also being held as slaves on the planet.
- Pausert purchases the other two girls ("the Leewit" and Goth) and brings them aboard his ship, intending to take them back to Karres. Unfortunately, Goth brings aboard some jewels stolen from her former master (gained through her ability to teleport), causing Porlumma law enforcement to pursue the Venture. Fortunately the three "witches" conjure some magic ("the Sheewash Drive") which immediately propels the Venture beyond reach of their pursuers.
- When the Venture stops at a mining moon, Goth uses her teleporting powers once again to steal from a nearby star-ship. Pursued once more, Pausert is forced to jettison the stolen goods in order to return them to their rightful owner. Pausert tries to discipline Goth for her childish antics but she uses her powers to resist any kind of punishment.
- Pausert eventually lands on Karres and returns the three sisters to their mother, Toll. After a few weeks enjoying the hospitality of the witches of Karres, Pausert realizes that he must head back to his home planet to reunite with his own betrothed. Although the witches reward him with many handicrafts, Pausert unfortunately cannot sell these goods back in the Empire due to its customs laws. The three girls tease him as he leaves.
- When Pausert returns to his home planet, he is confronted by police for the prior incidents of theft on Porlumma and the mining moon. He is also charged with treason for not obtaining the secret of the Sheewash Drive for his government. Finally, he learns that his betrothed has married his rival during his absence. When Pausert decides to leaves his home planet behind, the Venture unexpectedly dashes out of the system under the Sheewash Drive.
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Pausert discovers that Goth has stowed away on the Venture, and that
the people of Karras' plan all along was to have Pausert take care of
Goth while the planet of Karras goes into hiding from the Empire. Goth
tells Pausert that eventually he will be welcomed as a Karras witch
himself after he has been trained. In fact, a notorious uncle of his
had already become a witch of Karras many years ago, and is in fact
Goth's father.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Galaxy April 1951, Don Sibley |
"The Marching Morons" (Cyril M. Kornbluth, Galaxy April 1951)
In the far future, most people are born with an intelligence less than
half the average found in the 20th century. Unfortunately, a minority
group of people born with higher I.Q.'s are thus forced into being
responsible for keeping the world running and having to do more actual
work than the incompetent masses (the reason why this imbalance exists
is because those with higher intelligence in the 20th century tended to
refrain from having children). One day, a real-estate shyster from the
20th century named Barlow awakens from a cryogenic sleep, and when
confronted with this problem of the over-abundance of "morons", he tells
the over-worked "intellectuals" that he has a plan to solve their
problem, but in return he must be made world dictator. After his demands
are met, he presents a plan to lure most of the public "lemmings" to
non-existent paradise colonies on Venus (in actuality, these trips will
ultimately end in death in space). The "morons" soon fall for Barlow's
ruse, which relies on propaganda tactics copied from Hitler in the 20th
century. However, the scheming Barlow is himself later betrayed by his
co-conspirators and sent on a one way "trip to Venus" as well.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
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Astounding Science-Fiction June 1951, Rogers |
Far in the future, mankind has settled many worlds, many of which have
been out of contact with Earth for centuries. A Terran spaceship
carrying soldiers and diplomats arrives on a colony planet named Gand,
intending to reestablish the colony's relations with the Terran Empire
and "upgrade" their lifestyles. However, the citizens they come across
act whimsically, and communication problems lead the diplomats to suspect
that they are being mocked. Eventually, it turns out that the citizens
of Gand (a name taken from their philosophical model, Gandhi) have
developed a system of barter by exchanging favors, this establishing a
perfect system of economics and social life. Additionally, they
subscribe to the concept of civil disobedience and simply disobey orders
whenever they feel like. Over the course of five days, the crewman who
go on leave on the planet become convinced of the desirability of the
Gand system and desert their ship. In a diplomatic defeat, the Imperial
ship leaves with one quarter of its complement electing to stay
behind.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
"Baby Is Three" (later expanded as More Than Human, Theodore Sturgeon, Galaxy Science Fiction October 1952)
-
Gerry, a callous 15-year old teen, visits a therapist named Stern and
asks him to help him find some answers as to why he has just killed
someone. Stern puts Gerry under hypnosis and has him relive his
past.
-
Seven years in the past (at age 8), Gerry flees an orphanage, after
which he survives by sleeping in the wild. A strange man named Lone
discovers him and brings him back to his forest abode. There, a young
telekinetic girl named Janie tells Lone that Gerry belongs with their
"gestalt" group (which includes a "mongoloid" infant named Baby and two
teleporting twins). Gerry is puzzled by the strange super-powers these
people seem to have.
- About three years after being adopted into Lone's group, Gerry visits a 33-year-old recluse named Alicia Kew and tells her that Lone has been killed in an accident. In order to repay a mysterious debt, Miss Kew agrees to take in Gerry and the other children. Although shocked at their wilderness-hardened state, she cares for them for the next three years. At one point, the children become alarmed when Gerry, Baby and Janie (who are Caucasian) are kept separate from the twins (who are black). Eventually Miss Kew gives in and they have a desegregated lifestyle. In an earlier incident, when Miss Kew sends Baby away to a care center which handles mongoloid infants, Janie uses her telekinetic powers on her, in order to force her to bring Baby back.
- Gerry soon reveals to Stern that he had been prompted to kill Miss Kew because adapting to her more civilized lifestyle (without using their powers) had been causing them to lose their former "gestalt existence". However he does not know why killing her was necessary, as their new life had actually been more comfortable than their life in the forest.
- Further hypnosis reveals that when Gerry had first approached Miss Kew for help three years ago, Miss Kew's repressed memory of an encounter with Lone had suddenly been restored when she had heard Gerry utter the phrase "Baby is three". The phrase had caused Miss Kew to recall a time several years in the past when Lone had visited her and used her as a tool to research "gestalt life-forms" (organisms which are a part of a whole, but separated), which he believes he and his three friends to be. Lone eventually realizes that his four-member gestalt is incomplete, and that it is still missing a "brain" (whom he would soon find in the form of Baby). Afterwards, he erases her memory of their encounter, but tells her that he may one day need her help once again, at which point she will remember their encounter.
- Gerry realizes that Miss Kew's sudden recollection of her time with Lone had been so strong that it had buried his own remembrance of once probing Miss Kew's mind with his under-developed telepathic powers. But with the past now uncovered, Gerry uses his newly-reawakened telepathic power to burrow into Stern's mind in order to learn what he really is: a more advanced (i.e. - not "idiot") version of Lone as the gestalt's head. Afterwards, he realizes that he had wantd to kill Miss Kew because her continued care of the gestalt was killing its chances for survival (it is soon revealed that Gerry had not actually killed Miss Kew, but had only been contemplating it). Now believing himself to be a member of a new, evolved super-being, he recalls his lifetime of mistreatment, and vows to now "have fun" himself. When Stern questions Gerry's apparently missing sense of morality, Gerry erases the therapist's memory of the session.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Galaxy Science Fiction, November 1952, Ed Emshwiller |
Colonists on Mars depend on Earth for its water supply. However, when a
politician starts a movement to reduce water exports to Mars, the
survival of the Mars colony is threatened. One of the Mars "scavengers"
comes up with a plan to obtain water from the outer planets. A fleet of
ships journeys to Saturn's ring and implants themselves into one of the
gigantic ice blocks making up Saturn's ring. They use the jets on their
smaller ships to propel the cylindrical mountain of ice to the surface of Mars, thus solving their water
supply problems, and setting up a water-import/export industry for the future.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
|
Astounding Science Fiction, June 1952, Van Dongen |
"The Spectre General" (Theodore Cogswell, Astounding Science Fiction June 1952)
Sometime in the far future, a garrison of Imperial Space Marines specializing in technology
maintenance is installed on an alien planet. Although several hundred
years pass without contact from the Earth Empire, the soldiers continue to
maintain their technical abilities over many generations, even though
they themselves refrain from using technology to maintain their base (they farm the land to survive). Additionally, commanding
officer Colonel Harris periodically dons a "power suit" in order to
pose as an Imperial "Inspector General" in order to keep up morale
amongst his troops. Meanwhile, the Empire falls, only to be replaced by
a "Protectorate", which survives on barely-functioning leftover Imperial
technology, and is on the verge of being overthrown by a resistance group
led by a man named Carr. While searching for Carr's rebel factions, a
Protectorate fleet under the command of a man named Krogson stumbles
across the planet the Marines have been stationed on (and whose
existence has long since been forgotten about). When a Marine from the
planetary garrison named Kurt is captured and brought to Krogson's
flagship, he amazes the Protectorate officers when he demonstrates his
technical aptitude and repairs their failing equipment. When Kurt realizes that
Krogson plans to vaporize his garrison (in fear of an Imperial attack),
he locks the fleet's firing ports in the closed position and threatens
to blow up the fleet if Krogson doesn't surrender to his commanding
officer. Soon, Harris, is brought aboard Krogson's
flagship and the two leaders eventually make a deal to combine their
forces in order to take over the rest of the galaxy.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Astounding Science Fiction, November 1953, Walt Miller |
- In the far future, space-faring cities dubbed "Okie cities" travethe stars using "spindizzy" technology, and immortality has been achieved through drugs. One space city, "New York", heads out of the Milky Way in order to evade Earth police forces who are pursuing them for undeserved charges. They soon land on a planet under a temporary contractual arrangement with its rulers, the "Proctors of IMT (Interstellar Master Traders)", who use human-descended serfs to farm their land. However, New York's spindizzies are no longer able to launch the city back into space, and thus they actually hope to settle on the planet permanently.
-
The mayor of New York, Amalfi, gains the trust of a serf named
Karst. A Proctor named Heldon arrives in New York and asks for the IMT's spindizzies to be repaired. He believes that New York
probably has enough firepower to take over his people's planet, but
the Proctors will leave peacefully if their spindizzies are made
functional. Nonetheless, Amalfi is suspicious of a trap, as he knows
that IMT had once brutalized a planet named Thor V.
- Amalfi visits the spindizzy drives of the IMT and repairs them. However, after a long night of technical work, Heldon notifies Amalfi that his city has now exceeded the time of stay permitted by their contract and has him arrested.
-
Heldon then tells Amalfi that Earth police forces are on their way to arrest the renegade city of New York. However, Amalfi uses the threat
of a hand-held "plague bomb" to buy time to escape Heldon's guards and
reaches the control room of the IMT's spindizzies. There, he sets the
controls to launch the IMT city into space. With the Proctors busy
trying to regain control of their spindizzy drives, Amalfi and the
serfs escape the city before it leaves the surface of the planet.
Shortly afterwards, Earth police forces arrive and, believing the
airborne IMT city to be New York, destroy it. Now with the Proctors no
more, Amalfi welcomes the former serfs to "Earth". When Karst asks
what he means, Amalfi tells him that Earth is not a planet, but an
idea.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Galaxy Science Fiction, April 1954, Ed Emshwiller |
In the future, advanced technology has resulted in unavoidable
over-production of goods. Thus, citizens are obligated by law to consume a
ridiculous amount of food and forced to "wear out" their possessions in tiresome activities. One day, a
man named Morey Fry meets some friends at a bar and after being inspired
by their "anti-robot" sentiments, goes home and drunkenly orders his
servant robots to begin consuming and wearing out his possessions in
secret. The next morning, he forgets all about his orders to his robots,
and in the ensuing days he wonders at how he has been able to so easily
satisfy his consumption obligations. He eventually remembers his drunken
orders to his robots and, although he feels a sense of guilt for such an
illegal act, he allows his robots to continue doing his
"consuming" for him. Eventually, his guilt forces him to confess to the
authorities, but instead of receiving punishment, he is regaled as a
hero, as he has come across the perfect solution to society's
over-production problems.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Astounding Science Fiction April 1957, Frank Kelly Freas |
In order to begin establishing a colony on Jupiter, scientists have developed a means to create muscle-bound, remote-controlled "pseudo" bodies which can survive in Jupiter's forbidding high-gravity atmosphere. A crippled man named Anglesey based on a satellite research base controls "Joe" (the most advanced of these Jovian pseudos) through psionics equipment. When certain elements of the equipment begin failing, a psionics technician named Cornelius is summoned to the station. After a period of observation, Cornelius believes that Joe's "dummy" brain is developing its own personality due to its repeated exposure to Anglesey's consciousness. Fearing that Joe's personality will eventually overcome and take over Anglesey's, Cornelius tries to psionically eavesdrop on Anglesey and Joe during one of their remote sessions to further investigate. Anglesey becomes angered when he detects Cornelius' intrusion. When Cornelius tells Anglesey that he and Joe have essentially become one person, Anglesey realizes that he no longer needs his crippled human form. After angrily ejecting Cornelius from the mind link, Anglesey decides to allow his human body to die as he fully integrates his mind into Joe's powerful (and uncrippled) form. On the station, Cornelius eventually realizes that as a pseudo on Jupiter, Anglesey can enjoy a strong and happy life, and that this may even be a solution for other cripples and the elderly.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Astounding Science Fiction, October 1958, Frank Kelly Freas |
A handy-man/antique dealer named Taine discovers that aliens have transformed the front of his house into a gateway to a desert world. He drives into the desert and eventually comes across an unfamiliar-looking dwelling. Inside, he finds that the front of the alien dwelling leads to yet another world made up of seas and heavy rain. He returns to his house and learns that his simple-minded friend Beasley has reported the discovery and that the world is now converging on the spot to further exploit this miraculous gateway. A man-sized woodchuck appears on the desert side of Taines’ house, and Beasley becomes friends with him. When a different kind of alien appears, this time on anti-gravity bicycles, Taine, Beasley and the woodchuck work together to establish trade relations with these more advanced beings. Taine eventually sells the aliens on the idea of paint in return for their anti-gravity technology.
- The time is late 1959 (the present). Because all of his test subjects have died or gone insane (for as yet unspecified reasons), Ed Hawks, a scientist who has developed matter transmission technology, suffers from a guilt complex. Hawks' personnel director, Connington, introduces Hawks to a reckless "daredevil" named Al Barker, who enjoys flirting with death in his spare time (possibly because he is an invalid with an artificial leg). During the meeting, Hawks also meets Barker's manipulative girlfriend Claire, who flirts with both Hawks and Connington. In any case, Barker accepts Hawks' dangerous job offer as a challenge.
- On the way back to his office, Hawks runs into a young lady named Elizabeth Cummings and self-consciously flirts with her.
-
The next day at his research center, Hawks tells Barker that an alien artifact
containing a mysterious "zone" has been discovered on the far side of
the moon. In order to reach it before the Russians do, the U.S.
government has been using Hawks' teleportation technology to send men
to the site without having to launch time-consuming rocket ships. This matter
transmission technology first disintegrates a subject and then stores
his atomic structure on tape, later to be transmitted to a remote receiver.
After "reassembly" at a lunar receiver, the subject penetrates the
alien environment as far as he can before he is inevitably killed by
mysterious traps. Another copy of the subject is also reassembled
on Earth, and reports on his lunar twin's findings through a kind of
sympathetic telepathy. Unfortunately, the death of his twin (whilst
exploring the alien artifact) usually drives the Earthbound copy
insane. Hawks hopes that Barker's "love of death" will prevent him
from going insane when his double experiences it.
-
Hawks visits Elizabeth and expresses his dream of being able to create
a machine which could "fill in" missing or diseased body tissue. Their
relationship grows.
Equinox / Avon, William Maughan - The next day, Barker is sent through the matter transmitter and his lunar twin makes his first attempt to explore the alien zone. After a few minutes, he is killed by an indescribable alien force, but his copy on Earth is able to stay sane. Later back at his house, Barker gets into an argument with Claire and Connington. This motivates him to continue working on Hawks' project, despite the trauma of the first trip.
-
Hawks visits Elizabeth again and wonders at the mysterious nature of
women. Elizabeth promises she will make time for him after he finishes
his project.
- Barker continues to make deeper and deeper trips into the lunar zone. After more drama at Barker's house, Claire and Connington eventually leave town in order to start a new relationship.
-
On a romantic getaway, Hawks professes his love to Elizabeth and
states that he believes a man can live on beyond his death through the
memories of others.
-
One day, Hawks also goes through the matter transmitter in order to accompany Barker on one of his lunar explorations.
They manage to make their way completely through the zone,
successfully charting out a course for future scientists (the main
objective of their mission). However, they have no way of getting back to Earth, as
there is no matter transmission equipment on the moon. Hawks decides
to die of asphyxiation on the moon while Barker considers his options.
Back on Earth, the copies of Barker and Hawks wonder at what might
have transpired to their analogues after successfully navigating
through the alien zone. Hawks opens his fist to see a note to himself
reminding him to "remember" himself for Elizabeth.
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
| Galaxy Magazine, August 1961, Dick Francis |
Best Science Fiction and Fantasy Short Fiction Discussion
|
|
Galaxy October 1962, Virgil Finlay |
"The Ballad of Lost C'Mell" (Cordwainer Smith, Galaxy Magazine October 1962)
-
Jestecost, a Lord of the Instrumentality, is sympathetic to the
lower-class status of the underpeople (humans evolved from original
animal forms). When tasked with investigating a possible conspiracy,
Jestecost approaches C'Mell, a young hostess who is also
an "underperson" (a second-class humanoid whose genetic inheritance
comes from cats). Usng his telepathic abilities, Jestecost detects a strange voice embedded inside C'Mell's consciousness.
- Jestecost visits with C'Mell again and eventually makes contact with her hidden "alter-ego" E'telekeli. After convincing the being of Jestecost's genuine sympathy for the underpeople, they strike an alliance.
- Although love between an underperson and a true human is forbidden, C'Mell beleves that she is falling in love with Jestecost.
- Jestecost and E'telekeli hatch a plan in order to hack the Intrumentality's computer database ("the Bell"). One day, C'Mell enters the council to report on a petty crime. When the council searches for relevant facts in the Bell, E'telekeli uses Jestecosts' eyes to penetrate the database for information useful to help the underpeople.
-
In the ensuing years, Jestecost manages to elevate the rights of the
underpeople. However, C'Mell never tells Jestecost about her feelings
for him, and in any case Jestecost's greatest passion is for justice
itself. Nonetheless, on his deathbed, Jestecost learns from E'telekeli
that CMell had always loved him and is told that a folk song ("The
Ballad of Lost C'Mell") immortalizes their forbidden relationship.
It may be interesting to list the stories selected for the first two volumes of the The Science Fiction Hall Of Fame series in publication order to derive the "best sf" written before 1966 (as per the SFWA).
1895: "The Time Machine", by H.G. Wells
1909: "The Machine Stops", by E.M. Forster
1934: "A Martian Odyssey", by Stanley G. Weinbaum
1934: "Twilight", by John W. Campbell
1938: "Who Goes There?", by John W. Campbell
1938: "Helen O'Loy", by Lester del Rey
1940: "The Roads Must Roll", by Robert A. Heinlein
1941: "By His Bootstraps", Robert A. Heinlein
1941: "Universe", by Robert A. Heinlein
1941: "Microcosmic God", by Theodore Sturgeon
1941: "Nightfall", by Isaac Asimov
1942: "Nerves", by Lester del Rey
1942: "The Weapon Shop", by A.E. van Vogt
1943: "Mimsy Were the Borogoves", by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
1944: "Arena", by Fredric Brown
1944: "Huddling Place", by Clifford D. Simak
1945: "First Contact", by Murray Leinster
1946: "Vintage Season", by Henry Kuttner and C.L. Moore
1947: "E for Effort", by T. L. Sherred
1947: "With Folded Hands", by Jack Williamson
1948: "In Hiding", by Wilmar H. Shiras
1948: "Mars is Heaven!", by Ray Bradbury
1948: "That Only a Mother", by Judith Merril
1949: "The Witches of Karres", by James H. Schmitz
1950: "Born of Man and Woman", by Richard Matheson
1950: "Coming Attraction", by Fritz Leiber
1950: "Scanners Live in Vain", by Cordwainer Smith
1950: "The Little Black Bag", by Cyril M. Kornbluth
1951: "...And Then There Were None", by Eric Frank Russell
1951: "The Fireman", Ray Bradbury
1951: "The Marching Morons", by Cyril M. Kornbluth
1951: "The Quest for Saint Aquin", by Anthony Boucher
1952: "Baby Is Three", by Theodore Sturgeon
1952: "The Martian Way", by Isaac Asimov
1952: "The Spectre General", by Theodore Cogswell
1952: "Surface Tension", by James Blish
1953: "Earthman Come Home", by James Blish
1953: "It's a Good Life", by Jerome Bixby
1953: "The Nine Billion Names of God", by Arthur C. Clarke
1954: "The Midas Plague", by Frederik Pohl
1954: "Fondly Fahrenheit", by Alfred Bester
1954: "The Cold Equations", by Tom Godwin
1955: "A Canticle for Leibowitz", Walter M. Miller
1956: "The Country of the Kind", by Damon Knight
1957: "Call Me Joe", by Poul Anderson
1958: "The Big Front Yard", by Clifford D. Simak
1959: "Flowers for Algernon", by Daniel Keyes
1960: "Rogue Moon", by Algis Budrys
1961: "The Moon Moth", by Jack Vance
1962: "The Ballad of Lost C'Mell", By Cordwainer Smith
1963: "A Rose for Ecclesiastes", by Roger Zelazny
