The Golden Age Of Science Fiction Novel Chapters
List of most recent chapters published for the The Golden Age Of Science Fiction novel. A total of 1755 chapters have been translated and the release date of the last chapter is Apr 02, 2024
Latest Release: Chapter 1 : The Golden Age of Science Fiction.An Anthology of 50 Short Stories.by Various.VOL I.A ST
The Golden Age of Science Fiction.An Anthology of 50 Short Stories.by Various.VOL I.A STRANGE Ma.n.u.sCRIPT FOUND IN A COPPER CYLINDER.
By James De Mille CHAPTER I.THE FINDING OF THE COPPER CYLINDER.It occurred as far back as February 15, 1850. It happene
- 555 He watched in amazement as she leaped up and ran from the room, still clutching the clock. He shook his head. "Never satisfied. They're all that way. Never get enough."He sat down at the table and finished his meal.The cuckoo clock was not very large.
- 554 They were dressed in the ornate court dress of the Western Empire, he saw. Unquestionably, these were genuine men of the west. But he was now of the east. And here, he had established himself, and would soon establish himself more firmly, while they were
- 553 "Yes, sir. It'll give a flicker indication for low levels and it'll fail to trip for unaided thought. Not too much chance of an overload, either.""That's right. You're learning." Meinora nodded casually. "Well, let's keep watch on it." He sat d
- 552 "Nothing," Gerda told him. "Seven barges, this watch. Traders are gathering for the fair at Orieano.""I know," the other agreed. "We'll have rich collections for the rest of the summer, what with fairs all down the valley. You'll be going to the
- 551 Konar s.h.i.+vered. "I believe it. But why are they called 'transvisors'?""The name's somewhat descriptive, even if it is incomplete. As I said, visibility refraction doesn't work right in their case. Somehow, they pick up visual sensation right th
- 550 Derikuna smiled sardonically. "Thank you," he said, "and good trading." He reined away.He had caught the semi-fearful thoughts. Well, that was nothing unusual. Everybody became fearful of the iron hat sooner or later. Here, they would learn to respect
- 549 "Yes, sir. I looked it over. Planet was checked out by Exploration. They found a couple of civilizations in stasis and another that was about to go that way. Left alone, the natives'd have reverted to a primitive hunter stage--if they didn't go clear b
- 548 "A half hour of your time only," said Porteous.Melinda grasped the vial firmly, settled down on the sofa with one leg tucked carefully under her."Okay, shoot. But nothing personal."Porteous was delighted. He asked a mult.i.tude of questions, most of t
- 547 THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION.VOLUME VI.AN ANTHOLOGY OF 50 SHORT STORIES.HAPPY ENDING.By Mack Reynolds and Fredric Brown Sometimes the queerly shaped Venusian trees seemed to talk to him, but their voices were soft. They were loyal people.There were
- 546 Fifty feet! Would they hold off long enough for him to make it?Foot by foot the torpoon edged down at her forty-five-degree angle, and with every foot the watching bodies became visibly bolder. There was no light inside the torpoon--inner light would decr
- 545 Sallorsen and Lawson unquestioningly obeyed. Ken had reached the spirit in them, the strength not physical, that had all but been driven out by the long, hopeless weeks and the poisonous stuff that pa.s.sed for air, and it had risen and was responding. Sa
- 544 "Yes," murmured Ken, "that would do it....""I quick tried to get away," gasped Sallorsen. "Full-speed--back and forth. No good. Ropes held. Couldn't break. All our power couldn't! So then--then I acted foolishly. d.a.m.n foolish. But we were all
- 543 A margin of seconds in which to prepare! Ken locked the controls and scrambled back into the pa.s.senger compartment. Steadying himself on the bucking floor, he opened the torpoon's entrance port and slid in; quickly he locked the port and strapped the i
- 542 Quickly we tore open our packs. Ray and I s.n.a.t.c.hed out clothing and wrapped up the trembling girl. In a few minutes we had her snugly dressed in the fur garments that had been Major Meriden's. Then we got into the quilted garments we had made for ou
- 541 "Anyhow," she said later, "it is good to have both of you here with me. I am sorry indeed for you that you may never see your country again. But it is good fortune for me. I was so lonely.""These d.a.m.ned crabs don't know me!" Ray Summers muttered
- 540 And a ray of red light, vivid and intense, burst from the tube. It flashed across the river of fire. With a dull, thudding burst it struck the rocks where the stone had fallen. It must have been a ray of concentrated heat. Rocks beneath it flashed into su
- 539 A sudden crack of snapping metal rang out sharp as a pistol report. A bright blade of metal flashed past the wing-struts, to fall in a flas.h.i.+ng arc. The motor broke abruptly into a mad, deep-voiced roar. Terrific vibration shook the s.h.i.+p, until I
- 538 "Boy, I almost agreed with you! I stared and pinched myself and closed my eyes and then stared again--and every time, there was Fancy Long smiling and waving! Tweel saw something, too; he was trilling and clucking away, but I scarcely heard him. I was bo
- 537 "The Martian wasn't a bird, really. It wasn't even bird-like, except just at first glance. It had a beak all right, and a few feathery appendages, but the beak wasn't really a beak. It was somewhat flexible; I could see the tip bend slowly from side t
- 536 And then he was running toward the crater's edge in bounding strides that carried him twenty feet at a leap. He understood now. Detis had recovered from his wound and was reversing the rulden's energy. He was projecting his own image and voice, many tim
- 535 "Jupiter! What's that?" Mado unslung his torpedo-projector.As if in answer to his startled question, a weird object drifted over the treetops and poised directly above them, about fifty feet up. An egg-shaped thing, six or seven feet in length, and see
- 534 The mouth of the dummy flapped up and down without cadence. The soldiers snickered, squirmed restlessly. A sound started, a low, plaintive wail that broke into a dirge and finally into a wild shriek from Crawford's lips. He screamed and kicked over the c
- 533 Dr. Shalt laughed. "What Colonel Meadows says is true. I'm very interested in your vocal range. While you rehea.r.s.ed I tested the quality and sound of your tone." He stopped, looked around the room until he discovered Spud where Crawford had put him
- 532 "Stella," she said, with a quiver of that good-looking short upper lip of hers, "we're trapped in. We're in the middle of some kind of fantasy. It's a crazy world we're living in, Stella. A-bombs and H-bombs and flying saucers and s.p.a.ce-flight--
- 531 Colonel Hampton wondered, anxiously, where Dearest was, now. He had not felt her presence since his nephew had brought his lawyer and the psychiatrist into the house. He wondered if she had voluntarily separated herself from him for fear he might give her
- 530 Forty years ago I was an obscure Army captain stationed at the Armed Forces Language School in Monterey, California. I had at that time just completed a tour of duty in Korea, a minor skirmish of that era, and despite an excellent reputation for resourcef
- 529 "It's too bad the Army did away with the cavalry. Sounds like you belong there, not in the Air Force.""No, because if there's anything I like better than riding a good horse, it's flying a fast and responsive airplane. I've been flying fighters for
- 528 "No!" Lindy cried. "You can't be sure, you're only guessing, and it isn't fair!""My dear woman, don't you realize this is a serious situation? The city's people will starve in time. No one can even bring food in because the trucks make too much
- 527 "If we could get enough of them," Lindy was saying, "I'd have the most unusual coat! Do you think we could find enough, Judd?""I doubt it. Never saw anything like it before, never heard of anything like it. You'd need fifty of 'em, anyway. Let's
- 526 Smithy was fl.u.s.tered. "I--well, that is--" He could think of no convincing answer. Hypno-research was one of Possy's most secret projects. He had used it constantly in his efforts to determine reasons for non-conformity to set patterns of behavior i
- 525 She nodded, her eyes s.h.i.+ning. So Time wasn't too vast to pinpoint after all, not when two people were so securely wedded in mind and heart that their thoughts could build a bridge across Time."The Bureau of Emotional Adjustment a.n.a.lyzed everythin
- 524 The thoughts which came to him were startlingly primitive, direct and sometimes meaningless to him.Go easy, baby! Swing it! Sure, we're in the groove now, but you never can tell! I'll buy you an orchid, honey! Not roses, just one orchid--black like your
- 523 "Nothing too spectacular. We'll leave for the blasting pits at 3:00 o'clock. I'd be honored if you'd ride with me.""Do you still own a car?""A small one. Its value is negligible.""We'll go in one of mine. Be here at five minutes to three.""C
- 522 Lee Gorman looked at the intercom on his desk as though it had snapped at him. "Who?" he barked. But there had been no mistake. Gorman sat in puzzled silence for a few moments. Then he said, "All right, show him in."Joshua Lake entered the office with
- 521 A visitor looking closely at the sign could see that it had been done over--that a discarded legend lay beneath a coat of white paint. The old name of the firm was still faintly visible: Lake and Gorman--Castings and Extrusions.It wasn't difficult for Jo
- 520 "Won't I?" Lance's hand darted inside his s.h.i.+rt. "Maybe this'll equalize us." He brought out the pistol he'd taken off the captain in the guardhouse. Sagen, Nordsen, and Carmody backed off from it."The Cosmos XII is still two-thirds fueled,"
- 519 His glance s.h.i.+fted from one to the other."Isn't she?"n.o.body would reply--neither Colonel Sagen, nor any of the officers bunched-up around him.Sweat suddenly broke out on Lance's brow. The chilly feeling went through him that if and when an answe
- 518 "Hold him!" shouted Colonel Sagen. "Don't let him run loose.""We got gas pills, colonel," suggested the s.p.a.ce cop Lance had bowled over. The man was rising to his feet."Use them."Lance started to run. Over his shoulder, he saw the guard reach
- 517 "That there is danger involved. That something dreadfully, dreadfully wrong can happen to you while you're out there. No matter what the eggheads say about it." A paroxysm of sobs suddenly racked the girl's slender body. "Oh, darling, don't go!""H
- 516 What he discovered there interested him very much. We do not intend to describe all of the marvels unfolded for him in that venerable mildewed ma.n.u.script, for some of the more gruesome mysteries of the supernatural world are better left unrevealed; but
- 515 "Their intention is to reduce our population so it can be easily handled. And I can a.s.sure you that these women are perfectly capable of slaughtering as many people as they think necessary. They have both the means and the contempt for human life that
- 514 "Take it easy," Ben cautioned. "All because of that plate?"Carson slumped back into his chair. "Yes. And because we have failed in our duty. Our only hope is that we may have time to make it up. I'll give you the facts: "Those tubes are made of Vir
- 513 "Hi, honey," she giggled into his ear. "Havin' a time?"He reached for the white arm to pull her to him, but she eluded his grasp and reeled away into the waiting arms of a tall toreador. Hyrel gulped his whiskey and watched her nestle into the arms o
- 512 The third event of Wednesday came to my ears on Thursday morning.I was a little late arriving at the barn, and was taken a bit aback to find the roadway leading to it rather full of parked automobiles, and the barn itself rather full of people, including
- 511 Fallout is, of course, always disastrous-- one way or another "What would you think," I asked Marjorie over supper, "if I should undertake to lead a junior achievement group this summer?"She pondered it while she went to the kitchen to bring in the de
- 510 "I'll hurry," Retief said and, with a Yill wink: "Together we shall see many high and splendid things!"END.Contents ONE MARTIAN AFTERNOON.By Tom Leahy She was sweet, gentle, kind--a sort of Martian Old Mother Hubbard. But when she went to her cupboa
- 509 With a clang of cymbals the musicians launched a renewed a.s.sault. Six tall, helmeted Yill sprang into the center of the floor and paired off in a wild performance, half dance, half combat. Magnan pulled at Retief's arm, his mouth moving.Retief shook hi
- 508 "Later, young man," the amba.s.sador snapped. He beckoned to the first councillor, and the two moved off, heads together.Outside, a bluish sun gleamed in a dark sky. Retief watched his breath form a frosty cloud in the chill air. A broad doughnut-wheele
- 507 LATHAM. Which was?NIEMAND. In every case of a simultaneous attack the Sun was s.h.i.+ning at both New York and California.LATHAM. You mean if it was cloudy-- NIEMAND. No, no. The weather had nothing to do with it. I mean the Sun had to be above the horizo
- 506 There was silence in the room until Powers broke it again."Would you have Sebelia, Sakh," he asked gently, "or Ruller I, Bellevan's world, or Labath?" There was no answer to this and he knew it. There was only one alternative to a dead, burned-out, e
- 505 "Good," said Cowalczk, "take the pressure up all the way, and we'll see what happens.""Eight hundred pounds," Cade said, after a short wait."Good enough," Cowalczk said. "Tell that engineer to hold up a while, he can fix this thing as soon as he
- 504 "Could have been worse," said Cowalczk."How's that?""Wasn't anybody out in it.""Hey, Chuck," another technician, Lehman, broke in, "you could maybe get hurt that way.""I doubt it," Cowalczk answered, "most of these were pinhead size, and th
- 503 It was maybe midnight when the kid showed at the table again, looking kind of dazed. I was drunker than I ought to be by midnight, so I said I was going for a walk. He tagged along and we wound up on a bench at Screwball Square. The soap-boxers were still
- 502 "Let me copy the diagram, Biff, I could use some of those magnetic waves in the new bird!""Those flashlight batteries are cheaper than lox, this is the thing of the future!"Only Teddy Kaner caught wise as the flight began. He was an amateur magician a
- 501 Both Norman and Sarja sprang to their feet and waved wildly to those in the tower-cage, their flying-boat drifting slowly forward. Instantly the force-sh.e.l.ls ceased to hail toward them, and as they moved nearer a sirenlike signal broke from the cage. A
- 500 For it was a gigantic dome of black metal rising sheer from the lonely sea, ten miles if anything in diameter, a third that in greatest height. There was no gate or window or opening of any kind in it. Just the colossal, smooth black dome rearing from the
- 499 "I can't stop to take you back to your own world and I can't leave you alive on this one--with what you've learned from my mind you would have the natives build the Varn a disintegrator-equipped s.p.a.ce fleet equal to our own s.h.i.+ps.""We want on
- 498 "They have a good understanding of it, but along lines entirely different from what our own were at their stage of development. For example: they power their machines with chemicals but there is no steam, heat, or exhaust.""That's what we want to find
- 497 Lar Tantril was not annoyed by the words. He only laughed and slapped his thigh."Yes?" he mocked. "Truly, Captain Ca.r.s.e, you must be frightened, to try and anger me so I'll shoot! Do you fear a skewer-blade so much? We would leave most of you for K
- 496 Save for that far-off spectral hint of the giant occulted planet, Hawk Ca.r.s.e sped in darkness. Through the open face-plate the night wind buffeted his emotionless, stone-set face: his suit whistled a song of speed as the gusts laced by it. Down and ahe
- 495 "We've a.s.sumed that our smas.h.i.+ng the dome and opening it to s.p.a.ce killed Ku Sui and everyone inside, and destroyed all the mechanisms, including the coordinated brains. But the mechanism controlling the asteroid's invisibility was not destroye
- 494 The Egyptian's curved sword clanged against Sir Robert's helm, setting his head ringing. In return, the knight's broadsword came about in a sweeping arc, and the Egyptian's horse rode on with the rider's headless body.Behind him, Sir Robert heard fur
- 493 "Birken!" he shouted. "For the last time! Do you want me to send them to drag you back here?"Birken stopped at that. He regarded the motionless Tepoktans with a derisive sneer."They don't look too eager to me," he taunted.Kinton growled a Tepoktan
- 492 The s.p.a.ceman had been cleaned up and bandaged by the native medicos. Kinton saw that his left thigh was probably broken. Other dressings suggested cracked ribs and lacerations on the head and shoulders. The man was dark-haired but pale of skin, with a
- 491 She said an unp.r.o.nounceable word and added: "You may call me Liz."Montcalm went to the closet and found one of Millie's house dresses. He held it out to her beseechingly.As he did so, he was stricken with a sudden sharp feeling of regret that she mu
- 490 "I think we have it! At least it's worth trying. If there is any tubing around...." He stopped as he realized he was talking in English, and resumed stiltedly in Aga's own language."Hast thou, in the palace, any lengths of pipe like to that which the
- 489 The Professor threw down a large fragment of rock. Seconds elapsed and we heard no splash. The unseen surface was too far below for the noise of the rock's fall to carry on up to us."The mystery of this ball of earth on which we live!" murmured the Pro
- 488 "We have a curious custom in Zyobor of which I have not yet told thee," she murmured. "It concerns the kings of Zyobor. The color of their hair."She glanced up at my own carrot-top, and then averted her gaze."For all of our history our kings have had
- 487 At length the low pa.s.sageway ended, and I exclaimed aloud at what I saw.I was looking down a long avenue of buildings, all three stories in height. There were large door and window apertures, but no doors nor window panes. In front of each house was a s
- 486 Or should they try to ride out the storm in spite of being crippled by the drag of us?"I think if I were up there I'd cut us adrift," said Stanley grimly. Both the Professor and myself nodded. "Though," he added hopefully, "my captain is a good gamb
- 485 We nodded, and prepared to visit the bottom a mile below the Rosa's keel. The preparation consisted merely in donning heavy, fleece-lined jumpers to protect us from the cold of the sunless depths.Soberly we entered the ball to undergo whatever ordeal awa
- 484 "I? Nothing.""Are you sure?""I was thinking that there must have been a time when this planet was quite different, when there was life on it.""I suppose there was. It's unfortunate that no s.h.i.+ps from our system came this far, but then we had n
- 483 They reached the outskirts of the city at about the middle of the afternoon. The sun, cold and yellow, hung above them in the colorless sky. Dorle stopped at the top of a ridge overlooking the city."Well, there it is. What's left of it."There was not m
- 482 "Do I? But of course I'm coming back!" He cast her off. "Babs, listen. Father's upset. That's natural. You tell him not to worry. I'll be careful, and do what I can to save that little city. I must find Glora and--"Babs was suddenly trembling with
- 481 I scrambled back to my hiding place. Polter's huge fingers were fumbling at our bars. The little door sprang open."Come, Babs."He held the cupped bowl of his hand to the doorway. "Come out.""No!" she called. "It is too far down!""Come. That iss
- 480 Glora said abruptly, "Listen! Is that someone coming?"They thought they heard approaching footsteps. A moment pa.s.sed but no one came into the room."Hurry," urged Glora. "That was nothing. We're waiting too long.""My boy--Alan, after all these ye
- 479 Again I touched the drug to my tongue; held it an instant. The cage drew away; grew to a normal six-foot height; then larger, until in a moment it stopped. I stood peering at it, trying to gauge its size in relation to me. I wanted so intensely now to app
- 478 "My world," Glora was saying. "You like it? See the starlight on the lake? I have heard that your world looks like this at night, in summer. Ours is always like this. No day, no night. Just like this--starlight." Her hand went to Alan's shoulder. "Y
- 477 We started walking. The railing around the slab was knee-high. The slab itself was a broad, square surface. The fragment of golden quartz lay in its center. It was now a jagged lump nearly a foot in diameter.The platform seemed to s.h.i.+ft as we walked;
- 476 Glora whispered, "Do not move! I have the drugs. But I can not give them to you when I am still so small. I have not enough. I will hide--there." Her little arm gestured to where, near us, half a dozen boxes were piled. "When I am large as you, I come
- 475 Suddenly Alan burst out, "I know what father's secret was! I can piece it together now, from little things that were meaningless when I was a kid. He invented the electro-microscope. You know that. The infinitely small fascinated him. I remember he once
- 474 Moran grinned. "You're so right. There was a whole bunch of kids standing around. Looked like dozens of 'em. And they were all chanting at the top of their voices. You know that old jingle? 'Howie's got a gir-rul?' Chanted it over and over." The gr
- 473 DeVore held out the letter. "You wanted to see me, sir, about this." He placed the paper within the reach of his superior, who s.n.a.t.c.hed at it, held it up for a moment, then dropped it to his desk."Yes, I did. What can we do about it?""Why," DeV
- 472 He went through the corridor to the elevator, and stepped in, smiling contentedly. The morning hadn't been entirely wasted.As he got out of the elevator on executive level, he glanced at his watch. It wasn't quite time for lunch, but there would be litt
- 471 The door opened and the clerk stood, respectfully awaiting orders."Send in Bond and the people with him."The clerk stepped back, turning his head."You may go in now, sir." He disappeared around the door.Harold Bond stepped through the doorway, followe
- 470 Elaine walked to the door. She stepped out into the corridor and walked down the steps."All right?""Perfect! Try the parking lot. Close the door."She went out of the quarters, crossed the areaway, and stood under the landing slot. Far overhead, a segm
- 469 Graham came forward and pulled a flat sheet from the range, then opened an access door at the front of the stove.Morely peered inside, then thrust a hand in. For a moment, he groped around, then he pulled his hand out and looked at it. It was clean. He sn
- 468 Morely measured the distance quickly, judging the instant when the other pilot would have to repitch his impellers and halt his downward rush. He allowed his own heavy s.h.i.+p to wallow earthward.Scant feet from ground surface, the sportster pilot flicke
- 467 After eating, I went for a long walk. When I got back to the s.h.i.+p, everyone was sleeping.March 1 Bishop found Armitage this morning, in his cabin. He came out, very pale, staring at me."You b.i.t.c.h," he said. "Ear to ear. Now what'll I do for a
- 466 COMPEt.i.tION.by James Causey They would learn what caused the murderous disease--if it was the last thing they did!GRETA.January 18, Earth Time I wish Max would treat me like a woman.An hour ago, at dinner, John Armitage proposed a toast, especially for
- 465 "And, by the way," he added, "I hope you like it in Puerto Pacifico. Because there isn't any place to go from here and there isn't any way to get there if there were.""Pardon me, gentlemen, but I'm Joe Valencia, manager of the hotel. I would be ve
- 464 The woman smiled to him."He's told you his name, I see."Marden lifted his hat."Indeed he has.""Michael is all right," she said. "I do think, though, that he reads too many Buck Gordon Interplanetary comic books for a boy of eleven." THE END.Conte
- 463 "Now do you understand?" he asked Corinne. "A mechanical servant! Think of it! Of course ma.s.s production may be years away, but ...""Everyone will have Thursday nights off," said Corinne--but Ronald was already jabbing at b.u.t.tons as Pascal drag
- 462 "I am seventy-five years of age. I have, in this year 2004, been studying 'time' for thirty of those years. I have completed the first time machine ever built-and thus far, its construction, even the fact that it has been constructed, is my own secret.
- 461 In the back of her mind there had been forming a vague sort of an idea, which had signalled ahead of itself that there was hope. She sat there and desperately drove her reason to its utmost efforts, to find that idea and bring it to the surface of conscio
- 460 Five o'clock in the evening of that same day came the news of another safe disappearance. Phil got his tip over the phone, and in fifteen minutes was at the scene. It was too much like the others to go into detail about; a six-foot portable safe had sudd
- 459 "They did," Carlstrom said. "They did--precisely. But the world, including us, was too stupid to see it. We have only ourselves to blame.""If it weren't for the fact that the work was inspired and effective," Christianson muttered, "we might have
- 458 "Yes. Haven't you ever heard of Tapwater?""Oh, sure! That drip's running all the time!"Joyce tossed me a reproving glance."This is a matter of gravity, Donald," she stated, "and you keep treating it with levity. Sandy, do you really own Tapwater?
- 457 "This is true," replied Joyce, "only of guppies. Understand, Don, I don't mind changing my name from Carter to Mallory. In fact, I'd rather like to. But I have no desire whatever to be known to the neighbors as 'that poor little Mrs. Mallory in last
- 456 "MacGuire," he said. "Tomorrow it's me."MacGuire chuckled. Farrel could have kicked him. He put his chin in his hands and stared out the port. Danny Stern had the log in place in the barricade. The bulldozer was moving on to a new task. His momentary