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
- 601 "A limited quant.i.ty of the instruments--fifteen, I believe--are available now on the premises, stored in my office. Within a few weeks I will have enough on hand to supply as many of you as wish to speed up their progress by this method. Since the grou
- 602 They had come to pa.s.s judgement on him. He had violated their law--wilfully, ignorantly, and very deliberately."Our people will be arriving to visit us today," the robot said."Shut up!" snapped Rod Rankin. He jumped, wiry and quick, out of the chair
- 603 "The stars ..." Mark said."Yes?""The sun?""--shall s.h.i.+ne as now.""A b.l.o.o.d.y poet." "A poor poet.""And girls?""I dreamed of a girl named Martha once. Maybe if--""What do you think of girls? And stars? And Earth?" And it was bedtim
- 604 He gestured through the translucent skin of the Dome, and I felt sick. There was a little heap of bones lying there, looking oddly bright against the redness of the sands. They were the dried, parched skeletons of Earthmen. Bits of cloth and plastic, once
- 605 THE s.p.a.cE ROVER.By Edwin K. Sloat Evan Winford leaned wearily against the controls of the little s.p.a.ce sphere, and stared out of the window at the planet, Mercury, which lay a million miles sunward. Fail now? He gritted his teeth. No! He would wrenc
- 606 Winford seized a telescope speed calculator. The sphere was coming up far too rapidly to permit the Golden Fleece to pick up speed soon enough to escape--although he was confident the freighter could do it now, since Agar had changed its propulsion machin
- 607 At the first splash of water in his face Teutoberg groaned and rolled over."Get up, you," Winford ordered harshly.Teutoberg sat up groggily. The sight of the pistol and Winford's eyes brought him out with a sudden shock."Get over to that air-lock phon
- 608 The girl dropped her dark lashes in a sidelong glance at the stiletto on the floor. There was a little smile on her lips."My usual weapon. Don't you know most of us Martians go armed all the time?""Yeh?" Sime grinned skeptically. "And is it a habit
- 609 CHAPTER III.The Price of Monarchy Had Sime been able to follow and watch the girl he had kissed under such unusual circ.u.mstances on the night of his arrival on Mars, he would have been both puzzled and enlightened. After her final warning about Scar Bal
- 610 The medical officer, to whom the long climb was arduous, delayed his mission to the roof, and that was why, several hours later, Sime was still alive to see another s.h.i.+p appear to the north. It was large, sumptuous, evidently a private yacht. Its cour
- 611 "Here they come!" Sime croaked, and, peering around a corner, took careful aim at the foremost attacker. At the first whispering impact of the beam the Martian sprawled, dead.The soldiers were caught at a disadvantage. They were expecting club or fist,
- 612 It happened that there was a service corridor close at hand. Down this she sped, into the darkness of a boat-house. The doors were barred and locked, of course, but the depths of the water showed a faint greenish glimmer of light. Sira dived in, unhesitat
- 613 The man's white teeth flashed brilliantly when he spoke."Feeling better? Man, you can feel good to be here at all! Time and again have I seen Scar Balta drop 'em into that lake, but you're the first one ever to break the surface again. He gave you a b
- 614 She kissed him on the forehead. "Farewell, Wasil. I have been here two days already--far longer than prudence allows. They will be here looking for me. Have you any money?"Wasil produced a roll of I. P. scrip; handed it to her."Kiss Mellie for me," sh
- 615 Sira moved restlessly from place to place, feeling more deeply depressed with every moment. She felt as if she had been left entirely out of life, friendless, alone. Among all these thousands she had no friend. It seemed to her that never before had there
- 616 "I sure fooled him!" he gasped. "Mixed up the circuits. Scar Balta sat right here while I broadcast the secret sessions, and he was watching a lot o' haywah in the control screen."When Wilc.o.x got word from outside he knew he was done. He thought Sc
- 617 "Wouldn't you, Mr. Tilman?""Of course. But--well, yes, I suppose I do see, in a way. Let's go see Bennie-boy."So Ben Tilman went into the nursery and enjoyed every second of a fast fifteen-minute roughhouse with his round-faced, laughing, chubby son
- 618 END.THE BLUE GERM.BY MARTIN SWAYNE.CHAPTER I.BLACK MAGIC. I had just finished breakfast, and deeply perplexed had risen from the table in order to get a box of matches to light a cigarette, when my black cat got between my feet and tripped me up.I fell fo
- 619 He held up a warning finger and tiptoed to the door. He opened it suddenly and seemed relieved to find no one outside."Hus.h.!.+" he said, closing the door again. "Yes, they are b.u.t.terflies." He came back to the table and gave one of the gla.s.s pa
- 620 "It travels about a couple of miles an hour," I replied. "So that means about a day and a half."We spoke in low voices, for we were afraid of detection. The presence of two visitors at that hour might well have attracted attention."A day and a half!
- 621 "Why do you blush?" she asked with some interest."He blushed because of your unpardonable familiarity in calling him Richard," laughed Sarakoff."I shall be most happy, Leonora," I stammered, making an immense effort, and longing for the waiter to br
- 622 "It's very bad luck on the trout.""Why?""After getting the bacillus into their system, they blunder on to a hook and meet their death straight away.""The bacillus is not proof against death by violence," replied Sarakoff gravely. "That is a fact
- 623 He pulled it out and examined it. "I'm going across to see this gent," he announced. "It's convenient, 'im living so close. Perhaps he'll 'ave a word to say about this 'ere disease. Fair spread over Birmingham, so they say. It would be nasty if a
- 624 "I know what it is," cried Alice suddenly. "It's the Blue Disease. Father, you remember the Perrys were telling us about it yesterday at lunch. They said it was all over Birmingham, and that they had come south partly to escape it. They must have brou
- 625 "What's the matter with her?"He frowned."Dr. Sykes thinks it's lung trouble.""Consumption?"He nodded, and an expression of anxiety came over his face. "Good," I exclaimed. "Now listen to what I have to say. Before the week is out your wife will
- 626 He smiled."You won't need to prove that you're a doctor, sir," he said genially. "We have a lot to do with doctors. I could tell you were a doctor after talking a minute with you. You are all the same.""What do you mean?""Well--it's the things y
- 627 "It's awful," I murmured. "We can't be too careful." We began to descend the stairs. "Sarakoff, you remember I told you about that dead sailor? I see now why that expression was on his face. It was the terror that he felt.""Extraordinary!" he mu
- 628 "So you are Dr. Harden!" he exclaimed.He stopped and looked confused."Yes," I said; "please sit down, Mr. Clutterbuck."He did so, twisting his hat awkwardly and gazing at the floor."I owe you an apology," he said at length. "I came to consult you
- 629 "Of course.""At your age, Dr. Harden?""What has age got to do with it? There is no such thing as age."He stared. Then his eyes turned to Alice."No such thing as age?" he murmured helplessly. "But surely you are not going to sell; you have the bes
- 630 He put down his gla.s.s. It was half full. There were beads of perspiration on his brow."I'll finish that gla.s.s somehow," he observed. He pa.s.sed his hand across his forehead. "This is extraordinary. It's just like taking poison, Harden, and yet i
- 631 "The effects of last night have vanished," said Sarakoff to me. "My head is clear again and I have no intention of ever repeating the experiment.""You got back, to some extent.""Yes, partly. It was tremendously painful. I felt like a man in a night
- 632 "If the germ prolongs life, it will lead to complications," he remarked. "The question of being too old has attracted public attention for some time now, which shows the way the wind is blowing. Oldness has become, in a small degree, a problem. The wor
- 633 The taxi-man seemed about to say something, but he changed his mind."Why did you collect beetles?" the policeman asked me."I was interested in them.""But that ain't a suitable answer," he replied. "It ain't suitable. That's what I've been seein
- 634 CHAPTER XXIX.THE REVOLT OF THE YOUNG.Amid all the strife and clamour of the next few days one thing stands out now in my mind with sinister radiance. It is that peculiar form of lawlessness which broke out and had as its object the destruction of the old.
- 635 To the east he could see the lights of Fort Mudge where the railroad cut through on its way to Jacksonville. He had planned to ride the freight into Jacksonville but by now they were stopping every train and searching along every foot of the railroad righ
- 636 "Right on schedule. We'll be ready for the final test by the end of the week.""By the way," asked Jenner, speculatively, "how come you ordered the s.h.i.+p stocked and provisioned, for the test?""Why ... why I think she should be tested under exac
- 637 He reached out and gently touched her cheek. "Can't you see I want to stay?" he pleaded."Then why? Why?" She was crying now."I ... I just can't. It's no good." He stood up.She reached out and caught his hand. "Then take me with you. I've heard
- 638 "The Golden G.o.ddess whose symbol led him here. He does not know what it is. He stole it by murdering one of our own messengers for it. He did not know at all; he only heard the tales that some relate about her. They are false tales.""Did he tell you
- 639 "Because I signed to them to let you stay. You did not see, whatever-your-name-is....""Call me Carlin Keele, Carl for short. What is your name, and what is your race, and why are you so different from people as I know them?""My name is Nokomee, as I
- 640 These were the mole-men, the crab-men, the creatures built for specific purposes as tools are built. Each thing bore on his back a bale of goods, or a bar of metal, a burden sizeable enough for two ordinary men. They were strong, and they were silent and
- 641 My eyes drifted casually to the blank, cold stare of the old Jivro, to the mournful liquid eyes of the Schree, on to the apparently disinterested gaze of the queen's friend. The only ominous feeling I got was from the eyes of the aged insect-man, and my
- 642 "There will be a s.h.i.+p waiting to pick her up as soon as she is out of sight of the Jivros who will accompany us. I have sent it already. It waits in the hills by the barrier. With you along, you can contact the remaining Zervs. They will augment your
- 643 I inserted the clip, and lay there with my fore-sight following the disk s.h.i.+p in its steady circling flight. Just where would an armor-piercing steel bullet do the most harm? I shot the clip out at the great round body of the thing, trying to guess wh
- 644 "Not at all. I should desire nothing more than to see the worlds of other suns, other places in the far paths of s.p.a.ce. Yet....""Yet what? Have you a wife here, children?""No, not that. But I have possessions it cost me many years of effort to acq
- 645 "Yes," he said in that programmed tone which indicated endless grat.i.tude for the privilege of half-being."That ends my sad day," Connor sighed. "I'm taking a blackout pill and intend to stay that way for the next fourteen hours."The next morning
- 646 As they approached the crushed forms, Connor slowed down a little. "They're dressed too well--what's left of them. They're paraNormals!"A minute later they were at the large apartment block where Crane lived. They entered the building through a lobby
- 647 "All right," whispered Williams, "I've got 'em.""Tell Paris that our clocks are all out five minutes according to the meridian."Williams worked the key rapidly, and then listened."The Eiffel Tower says that their chronometers also appear to be ou
- 648 "Satisfied?" growled Von Koenitz. "I have seen plenty of snowstorms in August. They have them daily in the Alps. You ask me if I am satisfied. Of what? That earthquakes, the aurora borealis, electrical disturbances, snowstorms exist--yes. That a myster
- 649 The professor paused and wiped his gla.s.ses. With a roar a Taube slid off the landing stage, shot over toward the hangars, and soared upward."Is that all?" inquired the general, turning again to the chart."That is all, your Excellency," answered Von
- 650 "Zircorundum," said Bennie, groping around in a drawer of his work table. "It's an absolute nonconductor of heat. Look here, just stick your finger in that." He held out to Thornton what appeared to be a small test tube of black gla.s.s. Thornton, wi
- 651 Thus started the Hooker Expedition, which discovered the Flying Ring and made the famous report to the Smithsonian Inst.i.tution after the disarmament of the nations. But could the nations have seen the expedition as it emerged from its boarding-house tha
- 652 "He only goes ten mile maybe," announced Marc confidently. "Un pet.i.t bout de chemin. We get there to-night."On they struggled beside the Rail, but now hope ran high. Bennie sang and whistled, unmindful of the mosquitoes and black flies that renewed
- 653 It was decided that Burke must land on the plateau above the cliff, and here the material for the fire was collected. There was little enough of it and it was hard work carrying the oil up the steep trail. At times Bennie was almost in despair."It won't
- 654 "Come in, Mr. Barrow. I'm glad to see you. I was surprised to hear of your use of the money, but was pleased rather than disappointed. You did well."For a moment d.i.c.k was taken back, then he smiled sheepishly. "I don't know just what to say, Sir,
- 655 d.i.c.k sat down in amazement, a smile slowly spreading over his face. Dolores was happy--wherever they were. The room was all that mattered. But he couldn't understand why Morquil had ga.s.sed them, and put them on board unconscious. He would have enjoy
- 656 d.i.c.k laughed, but knew that it was close to the truth. The other men in the party were tied to their wives' ap.r.o.n strings. Aside from Dolores and Eileen McCarthy, none of the women trusted the s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p. They were afraid it might fly to pie
- 657 d.i.c.k sat down hard. Not a man in the crowd was able to answer. Success had left them speechless. Barrow was the first to recover his voice."Are you sure?""Yes, d.i.c.k! We took three separate observations, and each showed the same result--almost dou
- 658 The expression on his face scared them even more than the pounding of the worms, and they hurried to obey.d.i.c.k jumped into the nearest ground car. He couldn't be bothered traveling on the railroads. This happened to belong to the a.s.sistant head of t
- 659 "I'm sorry," Ramsey said. "Were you talking to me?""I thertainly wath," lisped the Irwadian, his eyes blazing with drunken hatred. "I thaid I won't have any Earthman thnooping over my thoulder while I gamble, not unleth he'th gambling too.""Be
- 660 "Give me the gun," Ramsey said."My goodness, of course. I'm not trying to hold you up. Here." She got up from the bed for the first time and walked toward them. She had firm, long legs, and used them well. She was utterly lovely and although part of
- 661 "Well, there could be. If they were lucky enough to find such a fuel supply in one of the wrecks in the Graveyard, they wouldn't be suspicious. Naturally, we won't put one there.""But you're wrong, my dear Ramar Chind. You'll load the hopper of one
- 662 Margot smiled.The smile suddenly froze on her face.The Enterprise lurched as if an unseen giant hand had slapped it.At that moment Ramsey leaned forward over the controls, battling to bring the Enterprise back on course.And let down his mental guard. ...
- 663 The Enterprise was empty.Garr Symm looked doubtfully at the gray murkiness behind them. Although the Dog Star stood out there less than a quarter of a mile away, they couldn't see it through the murk."Where did they go?" Ramar Chind asked.Symm waved va
- 664 "I? I am nothing. I am the end-product of an equation our ancestors found a million years ago. An equation to give them G.o.d-like power. Instead it made them savages and I have had to watch their slow climb back to the stars. An equation, Ramsey. Almost
- 665 But all this was last night, Harry reminded himself. Today was a different matter. He was in the sanct.i.ty of his office now and capable of clearer thinking. Paula Ralston had accomplished the first phase of her mission. The next move was his. Seeing the
- 666 "It's important, Frank. I must find out what causes total loss of all hair."The detective grunted. "Well, let's see, there are three or four diseases I know of. Some people claim it's hereditary. Sometimes a deficiency in the genes ...""Okay, Fran
- 667 The interruption was dismissed with a wave of Thompson's hand."Your government was informed by George Fisher.""George Fisher!" Harry gulped."You see, Mr. Fisher ... that wasn't really his name, you understand ... was one of us ... a member of our o
- 668 The Rhal touched the fingertips of both hands to his forehead in the Arrillian gesture of greeting, and Tyndall did the same. He noticed several male Arrillians standing near the back of the room, although the servant had bowed and retired."Well, Tyn-Dal
- 669 "Bah! A reason! You've kept me in this misery and squalor for a reason! Who's my father?"He flung Rudolph to the floor, where the old man crouched in apprehensive misery."Please Karl--don't! I can explain. Just give me time. It's a long story.""T
- 670 "Majesty! Have mercy!" gasped Moreau. "Paul has eluded us. He was skylarking--in the lower levels of New York. But our secret agents are combing the pa.s.sages. We'll have him in twenty-four hours. I promise!"The rage of the Zar was terrible to see.
- 671 WANDERER OF INFINITY.By Harl Vincent Lenville! Bert Redmond had never heard of the place until he received Joan's letter. But here it was, a tiny straggling village cuddled amongst the Ramapo hills of lower New York State, only a few miles from Tuxedo. T
- 672 "Behold!" At the Wanderer's exclamation the enclosing sphere became transparent and they were in the midst of a dizzying maelstrom of flas.h.i.+ng color. Brilliant geometric shapes, there were, whirling off into the vastness of s.p.a.ce; as Bert had se
- 673 Then came the tremendous thump, the swinging of a colossal page across the void, the warping of the very universe about them, the physical torture and the swift rush through Stygian inkiness...."Farewell." A single word, whispered like a benediction in
- 674 Spender broke in then with his customary cold, quiet speech. "A sickman, eh? Then we have approximately one chance in three of living through our first encounter with the enemy when we leave here. That is according to the statistics, I believe. But to th
- 675 Harding grunted: "Well, tell me, have you ever served under a sick skipper?""No.""Do you want to?""Why not? Besides--what can I do about it?"Harding leaned back and sipped away on the straight whiskey he was drinking, watching me over the top of t
- 676 As Gault made strangled noises, Pillbot stared interestedly. "Why--its like some of the designs in his doodling," he exclaimed."And made with some of my best modeling clay for reproducing geometric solids!" rasped Gault. He wheeled upon Harper."Get t
- 677 "That's it!" cried Pillbot hoa.r.s.ely. "You switched the pattern of imitation on It--tricked It into bringing you here. That's what made it angry--""Angry?" Harper almost dropped his pad, clutched at Pillbot as there was a sudden upheaval of the
- 678 Clyde and I were in Victoria, British Columbia. Not subscribing to the folkway that prescribes seasick intoxication as an expression of joy, we did the town with discrimination. At midnight we found ourselves strolling along the waterfront in that fine, V
- 679 As far as he knew, there were no pets and very few domesticated animals. Bolden snapped on the cabin light. It was one of those mysterious creatures every tribe kept in cages near the outskirts of their camps. What they did with them no one knew and the n
- 680 The result would be a metabolic explosion. Swiftly each bodily function would stop altogether or race wildly as the central nervous system was invaded, one regulatory center after the other blanking out. His body would be aflame or it would smolder and fl
- 681 Phobar turned and shut the door. The world had seen its last dawn. If the purpose of the dark star was destruction, none of the planets could offer much opposition, for no weapon of theirs was effective beyond a few thousand miles range at most--and the d
- 682 "You will now be returned to your world," came the thought of Garboreggg. "We shall watch you through our cosmotel to see that you deliver our instructions. Unless the nations of Earth obey us, they will be obliterated at the end of seven days."A wild
- 683 His back stiffened and his hands clenched. He turned to face me again. "I went through the Academy with Ben. How about doing me a favor? For old times sake. Tell me who it was that put the finger on him. Just give me a name. I might spot it sometime on a
- 684 I waited for three long hours.The sweat dampness of my uniform evaporated only to be replaced by the stains of new perspiration. I sucked in great gulps of E-T's air and found it consistently comfortable in my lungs. Insects came, investigated, and retre
- 685 "We destroyed your clothes," the medic said sheepishly. "We figured--"I railed at them for a couple of minutes, but it was mostly unfair. Moya's decision could be justified, too.They rustled up a uniform and helped me to Astrogation. The remaining cr
- 686 "A deadly missile, son, wearing or containing a virulent poison. And people used to blather about curare."I began to draw concentric arcs on the chart."I kept fetching water and testing and retreating all the way back to the plain. Pretty soon there's
- 687 Ward's face appeared in the ray of light, pale and blood-streaked."I wonder what happened.""It sounded like a collision."They stared at one another with fearful eyes. A collision while underseas in a submarine is a serious matter."Where's Solino?"
- 688 Out of a sick darkness they came. At first they thought they were confronting Zoro. Then, as the mists of unconsciousness cleared from aching heads, they perceived that they were in a vast hall crowded with swarthy men in short tunics, and with greenish g
- 689 There were footsteps and a whistling noise outside. The inhabited man heard the sounds and woke up, irritated. He opened his eyes a slit as his wife told the neighbor that Charlie was taking a nap, worn out from a hard day at the office, and the visitor,
- 690 "We'll work together," said the doctor's voice. "You've been ill, but so have others. With your help, we can make you well."The traveler made a tremendous effort. He urged Mersey to say: "I'll help, doctor. I want to find peace."But then Mersey
- 691 THE MINUS WOMAN.By Russ Winterbotham Red Brewer had plugged his electric razor into the lab circuit and he was running it over his pink jowls while I tried to discover what was haywire about the balance scales."Have you noticed," Red said above the clat
- 692 The woman nodded. "I turned the young man inside out. In a moment the transition will be complete. You will be our next entrance to this universe...."From Red's bunk came a wail. A bawl, like a tiny baby. A dying baby.Some people die of age. Red died a
- 693 He reached into his coat pocket and touched the rose. It was no more than a stem and a handful of petals now, but its reality could not be denied. But roses do not bloom in autumn, and green roses do not bloom at all-- "Ruf!"He had turned into the new h
- 694 This one did, he saw, kneeling down and peering inside. A lovely back doorway, rimmed with s.h.i.+mmering blue. It framed a familiar vista, in the foreground of which a familiar green-rosebush stood. Beneath the rosebush Zarathustra sat, wagging his tail.
- 695 THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION.VOLUME VII:.AN ANTHOLOGY OF 50 SHORT STORIES.THE BARBARIAN.By Poul Anderson Since the Howard-de Camp system for deciphering preglacial inscriptions first appeared, much progress has been made in tracing the history, ethn
- 696 The man at the workbench looked around. Then, he laid his tools aside, and picked up a small microphone."This is Housewife," he announced."Coming in."The worker clipped the microphone to his jacket, and crossed the room to a small panel. He threw a sw
- 697 "I brought twelve bales. They are marked with my name.""Very good, sir. We will hold them for your disposal. You may claim them at any time after mid-day." The man wrote rapidly on his tablet.Musa thanked him, then turned to see how his s.h.i.+pboard
- 698 During the days that followed, Musa made more votive offerings, practiced the rites ordered by the priest, and watched his goods as they were delivered to the Bordeklu, a s.h.i.+p belonging to Maladro, beloved of Kondaro, a s.h.i.+powner whose s.h.i.+ps w
- 699 "Oh, Great Kondaro, Lord of all the seas, and the things within the seas," he began.Musa evaded the two slaves with a quick weave of his shoulders. Covering the distance to the side of the s.h.i.+p with a few quick steps, he jumped over the rail. As he
- 700 "Type seventeen screens," he read. "Probably Ietorian model Nan fifty-seven generators. Strictly a sportster setup. He's got electromagnetics and physical contact screens, but there's nothing else. And, with the type of readings I've got here, I'd