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
- 355 "Nice little wife you're getting," he said. "Good and firm-looking." He winked, grinning lewdly.Jan glanced at him in sullen resentment. The soldiers guffawed. "All right," the leader said to Erick. "You people can pa.s.s."Erick took a small purs
- 354 "My name is Mara Gordon.""Mara? That's a nice name. What part of Terra are you from? North America? New York?""I've been in New York," Mara said. "New York is very lovely." She was slender and pretty, with a cloud of dark hair tumbling down her
- 353 "The h.e.l.l I didn't," Tom muttered. "I got out of the jail. Never mind how, it was one of those lucky breaks, me and another guy, but they caught him right away. That was last night--""He wanted to get hold of Jim, an' maybe make him confess an'
- 352 Contents THE SCALPEL OF DOOM.By Ray c.u.mmings A doctor is not supposed to use his knowledge to slay.Yet there came a time when this small-town medico had to operate with... LOTS of things, particularly unpleasant ones, can get crowded into an hour. I've
- 351 "You. Turn off that gravito unit. Then sit still."He pushed himself out of the chair as the constraining force was removed."Now," he growled, "you can kick it in again. Give it a little power, too, while you're at it." He wheeled around."All right
- 350 He closed the folder and handed it back to the clerk."All right, that's all I need." He glanced at the clock."Guess I'll check out for lunch."He walked out of the office. This one, he thought, could be broken wide open by a Guard investigation. Sorn
- 349 "Dachmann, Graham. Over here.""Oh, oh." Dachmann sighed. "Here's trouble. Wizow doesn't come out here unless he's got something."The blocky production chief looked coldly at them as they approached the car."It'll be a lot better," he growled,
- 348 A demonstrator had the back off from one of the big Lambert-Howell sprayers. As the man started to point out a feed a.s.sembly, another prisoner stepped directly in front of Graham.Stan shook his head impatiently and moved aside. Again, the man was in fro
- 347 "Yeah, yeah, that's right, Carl. I know a few guys once, tried playing the legit. Got kicked around, see? Low pay. Staffman hammering on 'em all the time. Big joke when they try to get more for themselves."Yeah, big joke. They get blamed, they bust so
- 346 "Let's go to electricity," I said speculatively. "Not that we know psi and electricity have anything in common, other than some similar a.n.a.logies, but we don't know they don't. Both of them may be just different manifestations of the same thing.
- 345 It did mean one thing very specifically. There are two basic approaches to the meaning of life and the universe about us. Man can know: That is the approach of science, its whole meaning. There are mysteries which man was not meant to know: That is the ot
- 344 "The nursery over in the plant had been having trouble with a little girl, daughter of one of our production women. She'd been throwing things, setting things on fire. The teachers didn't know how she did it, she just did it. They sent her to me. I ask
- 343 SENSE FROM THOUGHT DIVIDE.BY MARK CLIFTON.What is a "phony"? Someone who believes he can do X, when he can't, however sincerely he believes it? Or someone who can do X, believes he can't, and believes he is pretending he can?"Remembrance and reflecti
- 342 "Yes, sir."Mary's voice was perfectly even, without the slightest hint that there was anything unusual happening. Marlowe switched off and twisted his mouth.He picked up the GenSurv on the Dovenil area and began skimming it rapidly.He kept his eyes car
- 341 The car stopped for a pedestrian light, and a sports model bounced jauntily to a stop beside it. The driver c.o.c.ked an eyebrow at Marlowe and chuckled. "Say, Fatso, which one of you's the Buick?" Then the light changed, the car spurted away, and left
- 340 "Mr. Secretary?"Marlowe grunted. "Still here. Just thinking. Isn't Dovenil that nation we just sent Harrison to?""Yes, sir. On the same exchange program."Marlowe chuckled. "Well, if we've got Harrison down there, it's only fair to let their fell
- 339 ... and that last attack was a doozer! I wrecked a week's work looking for the little man who wasn't there. The urge to kill is becoming more intense. I want to destroy the author of my misery. Even though I am still a balanced personality--polite langu
- 338 The Golden Age of Science Fiction.Volume IV.An Anthology of 50 Short Stories.by Various.THE VALOR OF CAPPEN VARRA. By Poul Anderson "Let little Cappen go," they shouted. "Maybe he can sing the trolls to sleep--"The wind came from the north with sleet
- 337 With a last glance into the gaping pit from which we had dug the marvelous stone, we turned and ran across to the hangars. As we ran the sun came above the sea in the east: its first rays struck us like a fiery lance. The mechanics had not yet appeared. C
- 336 "I hope the Valhalla isn't in weather like this!" cried Charlie.In a few minutes a dark form loomed through the wind-riven mist. Swiftly it swam nearer; became a black s.h.i.+p."Only a tramp," Charlie said, breathing a sigh of relief.It was a dingy t
- 335 "Fine," said Ross enthusiastically. "They're doing just fine."He walked over to his bunk and lay down on his side so he could see out of the viewport. There would be an hour left before darkness fell, an hour to watch the geraniums. They were tall an
- 334 "The substance is not life.""It is only four-dimensional matter, right. But over a long enough time--you know this as well as I do--random factors will eventually produce a life form. By some trick of radiation this process has been speeded up here. Th
- 333 When they awoke the chronometer recorded the pa.s.sing of twelve hours, and they had to tear a network of strong fibers with which the tree had invested them preparatory to absorbing their bodies as food. For so keen is the compet.i.tion for life on Inra
- 332 THE PLANET OF DREAD.By R. F. Starzl A stupid blunder--and Mark Forepaugh faces a life of castaway loneliness in the savage welter of the planet Inra's monster-ridden jungles.There was no use hiding from the truth. Somebody had blundered--a fatal blunder-
- 331 "Sure--don't interrupt so--until at zero time the activity, extrapolated to zero time, matches one of my bombs. I cut that bomb loose, shoot myself off in a sharp curve, and Z-W-E-E-E-T--POWIE! She's out!" With an expressive, sweeping gesture."You ho
- 330 "Now see here--what's this guff about human nature?""Well, there's the human desire to ride with a winner, and the human frailty that hopes to get something for nothing. To say nothing of the great human desire to be 'On the Inside' track or 'In t
- 329 There was also the possibility that Barcelona might consider his deliberate "Leak" to Gimpy Gordon ineffective. Most sensible folks are disinclined to treat Gimpy's delusions of grandeur seriously despite the truth of the cliche that states that a one-
- 328 He smiled knowingly. "Wally," he said slowly, "if you feel that allegations have somehow impugned the pure name of your family, you could apply for a review of their several appearances in court. It's possible that 'Fireman' O'Leary did not use his
- 327 "What are you driving at, Jerry?""Just this, Professor. I had a little daydream, recently, and I want you to hear it. I dreamed about a group of teachers, scientists, and engineers, a group who were suddenly struck by an exciting, incredible idea. A gr
- 326 "My name's not Lana, and I can't deliver any messages.""But this is something he wants to see." He handed her an envelope, stamped URGENT. "Do it for me, Hedy. And I'll buy you the flas.h.i.+est pair of diamond earrings in Was.h.i.+ngton.""Well,
- 325 He looked out the window into a blank world. His neighbors' houses already were gone. They had not lived with them as he had lived with this room. Their interests had been divided, thinly spread; their thoughts had not been concentrated as his upon an ar
- 324 What was this? What did it mean? By what inconceivable necromancy could a paved street with houses, trees and buildings be spirited away and the s.p.a.ce it had occupied be closed up?Was something happening in the world which he, in his secluded life, kne
- 323 So they hadn't arrested him. No, of course not; no more than they would arrest any wild animal who went berserk. They had just dumped him back in the jungle. He tried to get up, but couldn't make it. Quite a going-over it must have been. Nothing seemed
- 322 "I'm so glad you came," the little Earther bubbled. "Come on in and I'll introduce you to everyone."The door opened photoelectrically as they approached. Quinton seized him by the hand and dragged him in. There was the sound of laughter and of shout
- 321 "... beautiful, isn't he? That's the biggest one I've seen!""Come over here, won't you?" the horned one called, in a soft, gentle voice which contrasted oddly with the raucous bellowing Rolf had been accustomed to hearing in s.p.a.ce. "We'd like
- 320 Richard Everset and C. R. Jones had gone on the first interstellar flight. They had found an inhabited planet in the region of Vega. The rest was standard procedure.A flip of the coin had decided it. Everset went down in the scouter, maintaining radio con
- 319 "Isn't that rather a naive view?" Mr. Bennet asked, smiling. "As it happens, my a.s.sociates and I are not undertakers. We took on the disguise in order to present an understandable motive if our plan to capture you had misfired. In that event, others
- 318 All three receivers showed similar scenes, the milling youngsters and the s.h.i.+p, but from up close, the pictures jerking and swaying erratically as if the cameras were somehow fastened to moving human beings. Then the scenes condensed into a cramped, j
- 317 "Jim," over the intercom, Philips' voice seemed to waver slightly, "those men honestly saw what they say. I'd stake my life on it.""All of us are, Doc." He flipped the off b.u.t.ton. Just thirty days now, since the scout s.h.i.+p Leo's discovery
- 316 Fredericks grunted. "Any of the ecologists will tell you Eighteen's an unspoiled beauty. No problems there--except the ones we bring along ourselves."Simms grinned faintly. "Well, we're good at doing that, aren't we? Have you looked around for uh ..
- 315 Whether a maniac McAllen made a more desirable jailer than a secret a.s.sociation engaged in keeping dangerous scientific developments under cover could be considered an open question. The most hopeful thought was that Dr. McAllen was indulging an unsuspe
- 314 When they returned to the cabin some time later, McAllen was in a pensive mood. He started a pot of coffee in the small kitchen, then quickly cleaned the tackle and put it away. Barney sat at the table, smoking and watching him, but made no attempt at con
- 313 "You really enjoy that sport, don't you?" Barney said curiously.McAllen advised him with the seriousness of the true devotee to try it some time. "It gets to you. It can get to be a way of living. I've been fis.h.i.+ng since I was knee-high. Three ye
- 312 The Ganymedan's lips writhed. "Nothing at all to your pretty friend," he leered. "I have plans for her. But as for you--see these creatures all about?""Well?""You are going to be one of them. They are pa.s.sengers and crews who had the misfortune
- 311 Grant stretched luxuriously before he began."Certainly. There's nothing for us now to do but wait until we get pulled down to Jupiter, and that'll take some time. I hope we look like Ganymedans.""Will you get on with your story!" she cried.He obeyed
- 310 "You beastly Earthling," he cried in a voice choked with rage, "I'll--"The Chief intervened swiftly. "Here, none of that," he said sharply to Miro. "Don't say anything you'll regret later." Then he turned to Grant, who was steadily holding his
- 309 When the meals had been deposited in the service chute she looked at him pleadingly. "Hon, why don't you try being psyched? They could make you satisfied with--things as they are."Allen lifted a thin transparent food cover while he shook his head. "Ma
- 308 He awoke to disaster. The captain and Plato's dorm master were standing there, staring down at him, and the dorm master was saying, "All right, Plato, you've had your adventure, and now I'm afraid you'll have to pay for it. It's time to go home."Pl
- 307 Of course, he needed money. He might travel at half fare, but even that would be expensive. And then there was the matter of food. He'd have to stay hidden until the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p took off and there was no turning back, and at the thought of crouching
- 306 Jim preferred not to think of that, as he drove on into the night.Crossing the Missouri River at dark and deserted Kansas City, they soon saw the eastern arc of that deadly orange circle loom on the horizon. To get over it safely, Jim rose to twenty thous
- 305 Then Professor Wentworth switched off the current and stepped toward the tank. Waving away that orange gas, he reached for the cathode and held it up. It was no longer iron, but silver, now."Plated, you see!" he exclaimed in triumph."Yes, but those fum
- 304 "You guessed it. And photograph 'em!""Okay, Chief," said Carter, though he knew this would be the toughest job yet.Overton knew it, too."It won't be easy," he said. "And it may be dangerous. You don't have to take the a.s.signment unless you wan
- 303 Jim tarried no longer. He knew where he was going. It was still early and Joan would be up--Joan Wentworth, daughter of Professor Stephen Wentworth, who held the chair of astro-lithology at Hartford University. It was as their guest at the observatory las
- 302 Paul said finally, "This is no time to make detailed plans. We love each other, that should be enough. When it's all over, we'll have the chance to look over each other's way of life. You can visit the States with me.""And I'll take you on a visit
- 301 "I don't know." She frowned, trying to find words, dropped English and spoke in Russian. "The Communists made mistakes, horrible mistakes and--especially under Stalin--were vicious beyond belief to achieve what they wanted. But they did achieve it. Th
- 300 The Britisher rapped, "You keep mentioning our team but according to the dossier we carry on you, Mr. Koslov, you are neither British nor even a Yankee. And you ask me to turn over our complete Soviet machinery."Paul came to his feet and leaned over the
- 299 When d.i.c.kens was gone the Chief scowled at his trouble-shooter. "Paul, you're bad for discipline around here. Can't you even knock before you enter? How is Nicaragua?"Paul Koslov slumped into a leather easy-chair and scowled. "I did knock. Most of
- 298 The fact that Sally had gone dry had been kept a carefully guarded national secret. To keep up the pretense and show to the world that America still controlled the only proven method of manned s.p.a.ce travel, the Joint Chiefs of Staff voted to expend two
- 297 "Look, commissioner," he broke in, "I can't put a stop to those stories. What? I said I can't put a stop to the stories for one reason. They're true."The only sound that came from the phone was the steady hum of the line."Are you there, John?" Pe
- 296 The squad chief stared incredulously at his counter and banged it against the side of the station wagon. Still the needle held in the normal zone. He banged it harder and suddenly the needle dropped to zero as Hetty and her ranch hands peered over the AEC
- 295 "That pot busted the pump house 'lectric line, Johnny, when it went sailing," he said. "Miz Thompson wants to pump up some water and on top of that, the batteries are down. You got time to fix the line?"Johnny paused and surveyed the kitchen. "I'm
- 294 "That's gone, too.""I'll get it!" Sidney declared. "I've just forgotten it for a minute. I'll remember!""No," said George, "you won't."Sidney looked around. "There must be something left." He thought. "The atlatl lances they shot at us!
- 293 "Another thing," George said. "If we can talk with them we can learn everything we've tried to know in all our work and solve in a minute what we're ready to spend the whole summer, even years, digging for."Sidney brightened. "That's what we wante
- 292 "Sorry. I have to call the office." I turned my back on him and headed for the car.The noise was louder, and the flashes in the sky brighter--it looked as though they were moving this way. Well, I didn't have any money tied up in the car, so I wasn't
- 291 s.h.i.+eld 8805 This candy store is called Chris's. There must be ten thousand like it in the city. A marble counter with perhaps five stools, a display case of cigars and a bigger one of candy, a few dozen girlie magazines hanging by clothespin-sort-of
- 290 "Tyrrell discusses that dilemma, and doesn't dispose of it. I think I can. If somebody has real knowledge of the future, then the future must be available to the present mind. And if any moment other than the bare present exists, then all time must be t
- 289 It was the smooth body of a little boy.That was ridiculous. He was a man of forty-three; an army officer, a chemist, once a best-selling novelist. He had been married, and divorced ten years ago. He looked again at his body. It was only twelve years old.
- 288 "Well, this is probably it," Altamont said. "We didn't have to bother fussing around with that flag after all. That hump over there looks as though it had been a small building, and there's nothing corresponding to it on the city map. That may be the
- 287 "Oh, photographs, which you can enlarge. I can understand that. You mean, you can make many copies of them?""That's right. And you shall have copies, as soon as we can take the originals back to Fort Ridgeway, where we have the equipment for enlarging
- 286 "There's a gun up there," he said. "Looks like a four-pounder. Bra.s.s. I knew that smith-shop was also a foundry. See that little curl of smoke? That's the gunner's slow-match."I'd thought maybe that thing on the island was a powder mill. That wo
- 285 THE RETURN.By H. Beam Piper and John J. McGuire I.Altamont cast a quick, routine glance at the instrument panels and then looked down through the transparent nose of the helicopter at the yellow-brown river five hundred feet below. Next he sc.r.a.ped the
- 284 Tommy sighed. "In a word--yes. So far we've gotten nowhere at a thousand miles an hour.""I can't do it!" the cosmetician wailed, hurling himself down on a chair and burying his face in his hands. "I've failed. Failed!"The Grdznth sitting on the s
- 283 Hogey gripped fistfuls of the dry sand and cursed between his teeth, while his eyes wandered over the sky. They came to rest on the sliver of light--the s.p.a.ce station--rising in the west, floating out in Big Bottomless where the gang was--Nichols and G
- 282 They all knew he was a s.p.a.cer because of the white goggle marks on his sun-scorched face, and so they tolerated him and helped him. They even made allowances for him when he staggered and fell in the aisle of the bus while pursuing the hara.s.sed littl
- 281 "Open the main door!" Carnes snapped.Slavatsky made a move toward the light, and Carnes' gun roared deafeningly in the confined s.p.a.ce. The heavy bullet smashed into the wall an inch from the dwarf's hand and he started back."Open the main door!"
- 280 "I'm sorry that I did it, Carson, but only because the results were so poor. We had planned on Williams for a month and I wanted him. And Bird was so easy that I couldn't resist it.""And what did you get? Not as much menthium as would have come from
- 279 The second figure arose and faced them and again Carnes received a shock. While the likeness was not so, striking, there was no doubt that the second man would have readily pa.s.sed for Carnes himself in a dim light or at a little distance. Dr. Bird burst
- 278 "May I?" said Loveral finally, waving his long fingers toward the living room."Oh, yes," said the woman. "Of course, Mr. Loveral." And as she spoke Loveral had the impression she might suddenly begin crying.Loveral followed the woman into the house,
- 277 Farrow lowered his arm, but kept the gun in his hand.The natives drew near enough for their faces to be seen. The leader was casting frightened glances from side to side and ahead of him as he came. The other two stared straight ahead, their faces rigid,
- 276 He shook his head wearily. "What's the use? It is for this we are fighting our war, and we thought if we took one of you here, showed him the undeniable truth of our statue.... Well, will you at least return to your people with a tale of what you have s
- 275 "There is a s.h.i.+p here," he said uneasily. "It is a human s.h.i.+p. There are humans in it. The s.h.i.+p is disabled."Sergeant Madden affected surprise."Yeah? How come?""It ar-rived two days ago," said the interpreter. Then he plunged. "We br-
- 274 Before the syllable was finished, Patrolman Willis pressed hard on the overdrive b.u.t.ton. There came the always-nauseating sensation of going into overdrive combined with the even more unpleasant sensation of coming out of it. The squad s.h.i.+p was som
- 273 Patrolman Willis blinked again. Then he saw. The Cerberus carried one set of emergency-landing rockets, for use in a descent on a refuge planet if the need arose. The need had arisen and the Cerberus had used them. Then, from somewhere, another set of roc
- 272 by Murray Leinster The importance of a matter is almost entirely a matter of your att.i.tude. And whether you call something "a riot" or "a war" ... well, there is a difference, but what is it?n.o.body ever saw the message-torp. It wasn't to be expec
- 271 "Do you really want to know how long you were dead before we found you?" asked 25X-987. "It would be interesting to find out.""Yes, I should like very much to know," replied the professor."Our greatest mathematician, 459C-79, will tell it to you."
- 270 "We shall visit the second planet first of all," directed 25X-987, who was in charge of this particular expedition of the Zoromes, "and on the way there we shall cruise along near the third planet to see what we can of the surface. We may be able to te
- 269 "Wait a minute." He looked wildly about him. Valier hadn't been built with a view toward stowaways; and every cubic inch of s.p.a.ce was crammed with something, except for the pa.s.sageway with its ladder, leading up from the main motor section. Well,
- 268 "Beautiful workmans.h.i.+p. Is that all you use?" he asked."I never cared much for guns," I answered. "I've always thought a bow gave the animal more of an even chance for his life."We talked then on the various aspects of hunting and how the crisp
- 267 The magnetic field cut off and he instantly raced his extensor motors to leap forward. Coleman took a plastic box out of his pocket and held his thumb over a switch inset into its top."Don't make any quick moves, junk-yard, this little transmitter is ke
- 266 "Too late, Buster, our planes are leaving. Goodbye, dead man!"And we had to run for our planes. Danny's pitch sounded pretty weak to me, even though Orley was superst.i.tious, but I didn't get to tell Danny that until nearly five years later."I think
- 265 Lenore felt a thrill of secret pleasure go through her, a feeling of possessing a delicious secret, a delightful sensation of reckless gaiety, of life stirring throughout the sleepy s.h.i.+p, of a web of secrets and countersecrets hidden from everyone but
- 264 Contents THE LAST SUPPER.By T. D. Hamm Hampered as she was by the child in her arms, the woman was running less fleetly now. A wave of exultation swept over Guldran, drowning out the uneasy feeling of guilt at disobeying orders.The instructions were manda
- 263 He fought to keep his consciousness as he saw the beast turn away from him, satisfied that he was out of the way. Then he saw it leap at the stunned figure of Fenwick.He heard the girl scream in terror and he saw Fenwick's arm come up with the hypodermic
- 262 Gaddon's mind fought to the fore, took control of that feline man-shape that was his, struggled to its feet and moved in a lithe bound to the opposite side of the chamber. A clawed hand reached up where Gaddon knew the release mechanism of the door lay,
- 261 And the glow grew.And suddenly the hissing of the exploding rocket fuel began to diminish in volume. The apex of the flight was nearly at hand then.And the glow around Gaddon began to color. From a weird phosph.o.r.escent whiteness it changed to a dull bu
- 260 Gaddon moved closer to the soldier, and then suddenly his hand came out of his coat pocket and there was a gun in it."Drop your rifle, soldier. Quick!"The guard stared at the scientist in shocked astonishment."What is this, sir? A gag?"Gaddon motioned
- 259 "No. He's just having a physical checkup. Seems to be worried about his heart. Dr. Fenwick didn't need me since it's a routine job, so I took Brutus for a walk."Trent nodded. "That's a bit of luck. I think I'll stick around and give Gaddon a lift
- 258 It was all over. She and the tree bit the dust together. But the tree was dead, and Naomi merely fainting, and Ted would soon be home ...Contents SERVICE WITH A SMILE.BY CHARLES L. FONTENAY.Herbert was truly a gentleman robot. The ladies' slightest wish
- 257 "Receptive?""Fearful. That's the condition. So I didn't want to tell you because you must not let yourself become afraid, Naomi. We're clearing trees from the land, in certain areas. And it's their planet, after all. Fear is their weapon and fear c
- 256 It is the White House that draws most strongly at the interest and curiosity of the homely, common throng that visits the capital.But there were no casual visitors at the White House on the seventh of September. Certain Senators, even, were denied admitta