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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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,"
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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--
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- 556 But it appeared that humans in the city lived closer to their masters. Several times Alan saw them coming out of houses, and a few that he saw were not entirely naked, but wore bright bits of doth at various places on their bodies. Wiln expressed strong d
- 557 "Why do all you slaves believe those fairy tales about cannibalism?" she asked scornfully. The word cannibalism was unfamiliar to Alan. "We aren't going to eat you, boy, we're going to make you free. What's your name?""Alan," he answered in a sha
- 558 The Wild Humans were trapped in the middle of Falldyn.Terrified, the men and women of Haafin converged and swirled in a helpless knot in the center of the street Hussir arrows from nearby windows picked them off one by one. The advancing Hussirs in the st
- 559 FLAMEDOWN.By H. B. FYFE It was, of course, one h.e.l.l of an ending for a trip to Mars-- Charlie Holmes lost touch with reality amid rending and shattering sounds that lingered dimly. Blackness engulfed him in a wave of agony.He was not sure exactly when
- 560 "What do you think, Jules?" said St. Simon."Waal, Ah reckon we can do it, cap'n. Ef'n we go to the one o' them thar poles ... well, let's see--" He leaned over and punched more figures into the calculator. "Ain't that purty! 'Cordin' ter this,
- 561 "I am not here in my capacity as an officer of the Workingman's Compensation Insurance Corporation," he said carefully. "I am here as a representative of the People's Congress."Alhamid's face showed a mild surprise which he did not feel. "I'm hon
- 562 "If you want to call it that, yes," Tarnhorst said. "Anything that has anything to do with operations in s.p.a.ce requires that sort of experience--and there are very few jobs out here that can avoid having anything to do with s.p.a.ce. s.p.a.ce is onl
- 563 "No, no, no, Mr. Danley! You are not crawling, Mr. Danley, you are climbing! Do you understand that? Climbing! You have to climb an asteroid, just as you would climb a cliff on Earth. You have to hold on every second of the time, or you will fall off!"
- 564 "The young one," she said, "the blond one.""It isn't even addressed to me," Alhamid said with a note of puzzled speculation in his voice."No. I noticed that. I told him he could send it straight to the school, but he said you would know how to han
- 565 CHAPTER II.The Coming of Ku Sui Straight through the vast cold reaches that stretched between one mighty planet and another the Scorpion arrowed, Ca.r.s.e and Friday standing watch and watch, Sako always on duty with the latter. Behind, Saturn's rings me
- 566 He turned to Hawk Ca.r.s.e. "I have thought that an inspection of this, my home in s.p.a.ce, would intrigue you more than anything else my poor hospitality affords. May I do you the honor, my friend?""You are too good to me," the Hawk replied frostily
- 567 CHAPTER VII.The Coming of Leithgow Hawk Ca.r.s.e awoke to the touch of a hand on his brow. He came very slowly to full consciousness. His pain was great.His whole body was sore: every joint, every muscle in it ached; his brain was feverish, pumping turmoi
- 568 CHAPTER IX.The Brain Speaks A case lay revealed.At first, while it was unlit, it seemed nothing more than that: a case like those gla.s.s-sided and gla.s.s-topped ones found in museums, a case perhaps three feet high, three feet deep and five feet in widt
- 569 He took away his hands and raised his eyes.The screen was blank!Friday looked up with a grin from where he was kneeling before the k.n.o.b on the door of the cell. Ca.r.s.e saw that the k.n.o.b was of metal, centered in an inset square of some dull fibrou
- 570 Then he heard a faint click inside the laboratory--in a place where no one should be. Instinctively he whirled and crouched--and an orange ray streaked over his head with its wicked spit of death. At once his own ray-gun was up and answering to the spot w
- 571 Old Leithgow trusted his friend a little more. "Get your suit on, Friday," he said gently, and slipped into his own. The negro, ashamed, followed his example; then both were flat on the ground, back to back, sniping--Leithgow also--as best they could un
- 572 "Me!" Arnold stiffened, pulled his fingers away hastily."That surprises you? Don't worry, you're not one of the Primes; probably be rejected on the first run. It's just that you once knew Carmack rather well. Cal Tech, wasn't it, when Carmack was d
- 573 Beardsley saw Arnold leap to the master-switch, where he became entangled with a tech who was screaming at him, "My G.o.d, sir, hurry! It's BREAKDOWN!"Cursing, Arnold shoved the man aside and pulled the controls.But now that it was roused, ECAIAC didn
- 574 "So it leaves me right where I started, doesn't it? And yet I know this: it was no emotional killing. It was all coldly planned. The killer was someone Carmack trusted enough to have in his home; they were probably having a quiet little chat together. A
- 575 The effect was startling. The tele-columnist was a tall, dour and bushy-browed man who took a perverse sort of pride in the impression he gave of shabbiness. He slouched wordlessly into the room, hands thrust deep in the pockets of a makes.h.i.+ft jacket.
- 576 Beardsley blinked at him. "Sure of what, Pederson?""Of what you're doing! d.a.m.n it, man, don't tell me that was all waste effort in there! Look--I know what this means, and I'm with you all the way. If only you could beat ECAIAC, I'll give it all
- 577 COUNSELOR (frowns; it was not the answer he wanted): Very well, then. Dr. Trstensky ... would you come forward, please? Dr. Trstensky ... you are head of the Department of Advanced Cybernetics at Cal Tech. You have had opportunity to study these graphs an
- 578 Professor Lightning nodded. "Now, then," he said. "We'll get right to work on ... Charley, my boy, what did you say?"Charley licked his lips. "I said no," he said.Professor Lightning waited a long minute. "You mean you don't believe me," he said
- 579 "Try me," Charley said. "Go ahead." He scratched at one s.h.i.+n with the other foot."Well," Ed began, and then stopped. He shook his head. "Look, Charley, let me tell this my way. Something like this happened before. A long while back--before the
- 580 "Come in," Professor Lightning said. "Come in." In the midst of the riot of wealth, the professor didn't seem to have changed at all. He was still wearing the same ratty robe he'd worn in the carnival, his hair was still as uncombed. It was only on
- 581 He said, voice hoa.r.s.e, "Shut up. Go away. Let me eat alone. I'm sick of the lot of you."Mother and Joe returned a few minutes later where he sat forcing food down his throat. Mother said, "Henry dear--" He didn't answer. She began to cry, and he
- 582 Brett stepped back inside, and pushed through into the next car. It was empty. He walked along the length of it, into the next car. It was empty too. He went back through the two cars and his own car and on, all the way to the end of the train. All the ca
- 583 "You sound like my Aunt Haicey," Brett said. "She said I had everything I needed back in Casperton. How does she know what I need? How do you know? How do I know myself? I can tell you I need more than food and a place to sleep--""What more?""Every
- 584 The fat man looked down at his rumpled suit. "I ... ah ... was caught a little short today. Didn't have time to change. I'm a busy man. And what business is it of yours?" He clamped his jaw shut, eyed Brett warily."I'm a stranger here," Brett said.
- 585 For half an hour Brett waded in waist-deep water along a wall of damp clay that rose sheer above him. Far above, bars of dim sunlight crossed the upper reaches of the cavern. He had seen no sign of Dhuva ... or the Gels.He encountered a sodden timber that
- 586 "Get in, Dhuva. We might as well ride. Which way do we go to get out of this place?""The wall lies in that direction," said Dhuva. "But I don't know about a gate.""We'll worry about that when we get to it," said Brett. "This whole place is goin
- 587 Finally dawn began to seep from the bedrooms. When the bulb in the hall had grown quite dim, the Professor unfolded his arms.Just then, there was a loud splas.h.i.+ng in the bathroom. The Professor's family looked toward the door. The splas.h.i.+ng stopp
- 588 No mortal had ever seen the Martians, but they had heard their whisperings--without knowing the terrible secret they kept hidden.There was death in the camp.I knew when I awoke that it had come to stand with us in the night and was waiting now for the day
- 589 Bill answered my question slowly, his eyes on Kenny's cropped head. "I think we'd better take a look at his shoes," he said.We edged up slowly, taking care not to disturb the others, pretending we were sauntering toward the well on a before-breakfast
- 590 "It's funny," I said after a while."What is?""You know what they say about the whispering. Sometimes when you listen intently you seem to hear words deep in your mind. As if the Martians had telepathic powers.""Perhaps they have," she said.I glan
- 591 "Hallo, Danny," it said. "The way the years roll by, I forget exactly how old you are, boy. Seventeen? Eighteen? Twenty? Well, it doesn't matter-if you still believe. If you have faith. Faith in what? Maybe now you're old enough to know. I mean faith
- 592 "I need a drink," Columbus whispered. "I can't go through with it.""Father," Nina said. "We're with you. I'm here. Martin is here.""I can't go-""You've got to go through with it! For yourself and for the world. Now, stand straight, father.
- 593 Danny went outside, to where the lawyer was waiting for him. The trunk was Danny's now, the time trunk. And he would use it again, often. He knew that now, and it was wrong to deflate a dream.Columbus was a hero. He would never say otherwise again.THE EN
- 594 For several minutes Carnes swung the telescope around. Twice Dr. Bird stopped him and decreased the sensitiveness of his instrument by introducing more resistance in the lines in order to keep the magnet from twisting clear around, due to the fluctuations
- 595 In an agony of desire the Doctor tightened his grip on the dying man's shoulder. But Smith collapsed into a heap. Dr. Bird bent forward and tore open his s.h.i.+rt and listened at his chest. Presently he straightened up."He is gone," he said sadly, "a
- 596 But yesterday, a whole planet had shouted: Hail Hradzka! Hail the Leader! Today, they were screaming: Death to Hradzka! Kill the tyrant!The Palace, where Hradzka, surrounded by his sycophants and guards, had lorded it over a solar system, was now an infer
- 597 Almost at once, there was a new sound--a multiple throbbing, at a quick, snarling tempo that hinted at enormous power, growing louder each second. Hradzka stiffened and drew his blaster; as he did, five more aircraft swooped over the crest of the mountain
- 598 Number One grunted. "I knew Ljubo well. You must realize that his arrest was before my time. I had no power to aid him. It was, of course, after my being elected to the Secretary Generals.h.i.+p that he was exonerated and his name restored to the list of
- 599 "This new policy of yours." Josip's voice was diffident."You mean overtaking the steel production of the West, by utilizing all methods of production?" The commissar's voice dropped. "I warn you Comrade, the germ of this idea originated with Zoran
- 600 From his vantage point behind most of the group, he let his gaze and thoughts wander from one to the other of them again. For the majority of the advanced students, he reflected, the Inst.i.tute of Insight wasn't really too healthy a place. But it offere