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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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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 ..
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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,
- 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
- 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
- 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-
- 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
- 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
- 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-
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- 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,
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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'
- 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
- 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
- 356 The three stared at it. Sickened shock settled over them slowly.Thacher held the rod loosely, calmly, pointing it at Erickson. "We knew you three were on this s.h.i.+p," he said. "There was no doubt of that. But we did not know what had become of the C
- 357 Mayne looked at Haruhiku."Oh, come on, now! I came all the way from--" He stopped as he noticed the pilot's grave expression. "Oh! That sort of thing could be serious, I guess."He imagined he had seen the chief, Eemakh, come alert at the mention of t
- 358 "So if the s.p.a.ce Force should seize the Gemsbok, they'll all hear about it?""Within a few weeks, sir. That kind of news has wings on any world. I think we could take her for you, but we might do some damage. The size of a scout crew doesn't lend i
- 359 No. n.o.body ever deliberately named a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p that. The staid and stolid minds that run the companies which design and build s.p.a.ces.h.i.+ps rarely let their minds run to fancy. The only example I can think of is the unsung hero of the last ce
- 360 "That doesn't make much sense," I said."No. It doesn't. It isn't sensible. Those s.h.i.+ps' brains shouldn't have behaved that way. Robot brains don't go mad unless they're given instructions to do so--conflicting orders, erroneous information,
- 361 Jack gave him a meaningless smile and said: "h.e.l.lo, colonel." She was obviously not very impressed with either of us."Mind if I sit?" Brock asked.We didn't, so he sat."I'm sorry I missed you at the s.p.a.ceport," Brock said seriously, "but I h
- 362 The girl acknowledged his invitation and accepted it. Brock and I trailed along like the bodyguards we were supposed to be. I wondered whether or not Brock suspected me of being more than I appeared to be. If he didn't, he was stupider than I thought; on
- 363 "I see," I said. I hadn't realized that Brock was that close to panic. What was eating him?There must be something, but I couldn't figure it. Even the Intelligence Corps of the Political Survey Division can't get complete information every time.After
- 364 "Not a machine," I said gently. "Six of them. Each time the basic data was pumped into a new McGuire brain, you a.s.sumed that it was the same machine you'd known before with a little of its memory removed. Each time, you'd tell it to 'remember' ce
- 365 "You're Val Boran, sir?" he said. "I'm Lieutenant Hunter--"Inside, Narf sat at the head of the table. On his left was Lyla, then Rockford. On his right was a spidery little man of about fifty, his slick-back hair so tight against his skull that it g
- 366 "Well," Rockford said, "what do you think of her?"Hunter tried to keep the personal dislike out of his coldly formal reply: "If you refer to your suggestion that I not make love to her, sir, I can a.s.sure you that such a suggestion was never necessa
- 367 Gravel crunched loudly on one of the paths in the ghost trees and they looked back, to see Narf and Sonig coming, walking swiftly. Even at the distance, there was anger like a red aura about Narf."Well," Lyla said softly, "here comes my medicine."Soni
- 368 But there was no reason why he should endanger her by obeying Rockford's insane order. He would not do it-- "Ah ... good morning, Lyla!" Rockford loomed in the doorway, jovial as a Santa Claus. "Did you know Dale wants to go for a walk in the woods wi
- 369 Rockford smiled at him, "And you learned that an old man's mind can be mightier than the s.p.a.ce fleets of the Verdam empire--and that the line of duty that produces the best results can sometimes be very devious."He thought of the white-faced Sonig,
- 370 "I was delighted to hear Prime Minister Nehru say," General O'Reilly went on calmly, "how much he approved this method of settling old disputes. And I should be very glad to help--with this." Smiling, he tossed the Golden Judge in the air and caught
- 371 Zaidie took half-a-dozen photographs of the surface of Calisto while they were pa.s.sing it at a distance of about a hundred miles, and then went to get lunch ready.When they got on to the upper deck again Calisto was already a half-moon in the upper sky
- 372 RAIDERS INVISIBLE.By D. W. Hall Alone and unaided, Pilot Travers copes with the invisible foes who have struck down America's great engine of war.The m.u.f.fled, helmeted figure of a pilot climbed down the spider ladder, nestled into the foremost scout'
- 373 The chief operator on duty in the flags.h.i.+p of the Black Fleet swung round in his seat and yelled through into the bridge of the ma.s.sive battles.h.i.+p: "Urgent, sir! From the ZX-1!"A moment later the captain of the s.h.i.+p, for the fleet's admir
- 374 Istafiev was speaking again, in low, terse tones, oblivious of the desperate resolve forming in Chris's brain."Only one of the dirigibles had been destroyed. Well, it iss too bad, but not fatal to the plan. The ZX-1 can hamper our country's operations
- 375 "There! There! By heaven, I can make it!"Two or three hundred feet--it was not clear just how far--from the face of the dam, on the bare right bank of the channel, a tiny pin-p.r.i.c.k of black was moving slowly along. It seemed to move by itself throug
- 376 "Pollard!" My lips moved with difficulty. "Pollard, this is terrible--this change--"His radiant eyes flashed. "Terrible? It's wonderful! Do you two realize what I now am, can you realize it? This body of mine is the kind of body all men will have in
- 377 If my friend the engineer had not told me the Tube was dangerous, I would not have bought a ticket on that fatal night, and the world would never have learned the story of the Golden Cavern and the City of the Dead. Having therefore, according to universa
- 378 "Take it. I was beginning to feel lonesome, anyway."He bowed gravely and ordered the porter to bring in his things. I decided he was a musician. Only artists go in for such lovely hair. But he undressed in dignified silence, not casting so much as anoth
- 379 Otah came, and Lak and one other, and together they brought Obe back. No one made remark on the slaying; it was enough that Obe was here! And when Gral came forward at the gorging to take the bringer's share, he merely took and retired, disdaining the gr
- 380 This was Otah's last bitter thought, and then he was too occupied for cerebral indulgence. For the next minutes he wielded truer than any! Men came and fell, and others leaped and fell, skulls shattered, the life-stuff spurting, before Otah's shaft went
- 381 "Sure," said Stetson. "We have history books. They say the Nathians were top drawer in political mechanics. We know for a fact they chose landing sites for their refugees with diabolical care. Each family was told to dig in, grow up with the adopted cu
- 382 "Yes," said Orne. "But what if your Nathian underground is composed entirely of women bred the same way? What if the Heleb women were just a bunch who got out of hand because they'd lost contact with the main element?""Holy Moley!" blurted Stetson.
- 383 "Nomads," said Orne. "This house is a glorified tent. Men on the outside, women on the inside. Look for inner courtyard construction. It's instinctive with Nathian blood. Add to that, an inclination for odd musical instruments--the kaithra, the tambou
- 384 "Stop it. Quit predicting what I'll do. Let's go to the nursery."They went to the nursery and stayed there for three-quarters of an hour. They left with the tinny laughter filling their minds--and the last words of the monstrous ent.i.ty."We'll say
- 385 After we had been weeded out, interviewed and rigorously questioned, Norris had taken us into the hangar, waved a hand toward the Marie Galante and explained the details.The Marie Galante was a cruiser-type s.h.i.+p, stripped down to essentials to maintai
- 386 "Take a look at that!" he demanded.Norris took the stone, glanced at it and laid it down on his desk. His face was emotionless. "I expected this sooner or later," he said. "Yes, it's Indurate all right. Is that what you want me to say?"There was a
- 387 That explained things, of course. As the population grew, the cities would expand and the forests would go under. It had happened on Earth, and on every settled planet. As recently as 1850, for instance, large tracts of New York City, where I make my home
- 388 The first group was off to the other side of the fence, and I couldn't see or hear them. The wait seemed to go on for hours; perhaps a minute and a half pa.s.sed. Then the first heater went off.The sentry whirled and fired without really thinking. There
- 389 "It's all right," said Fenwick, waving away Baker's protests with a vigorous flap of his hand. "I know Clearwater isn't MIT or Cal Tech, but we've got a real hot physics department, and you're going to see some sparks flying out of there if you'l
- 390 Baker pointed soundlessly to the graph."Hobbies and social activities are not bad," Baker said, after a time. "Almost up to within ten points of the standard. A few less bingo parties and Brownie meetings and that many more book reviews or serious soir
- 391 Getting rid of Baker physically was not the answer, of course. If he were gone, a hundred others like him would fight for his place.Baker had to be shown. He had to be shown that high-grading was costing him the very thing he was trying to find. It must b
- 392 "Yes, Dr. Baker," said Sam Atkins."If you hear me, wave your hands. I will observe you through the field gla.s.ses.""The field gla.s.ses won't be necessary."Both the image before them, and the distant figure on the knoll were seen to wave arms and
- 393 They searched the skeleton and found the splintered bones. They examined the muscle structure and found the torn and shattered tissue. They searched the dark recesses of his vital organs and came to injury that Baker knew was hopeless."You built this onc
- 394 "And nothing short of a Heavenly miracle will ever change that shape!""You have said nothing about how the crystal caused you to attempt suicide," said Fenwick."The crystal invalidated the molecular tape I had chosen to provide my foundation program
- 395 Pehrson was a man in whom allegiance was easily swayed. His loyalty was only for the top man of any hierarchy, and he suddenly began to regard Baker with an amazed incredulity. It seemed akin to witchcraft to be able to pull out works of near genius from
- 396 Baker was shaking his head and laughing. "No. Sam Atkins didn't tell me that one man could become immune and fight the Plague head on all by himself. He taught me something else that I didn't understand for a long time. He told me that he who ceases to
- 397 He broke off as a cute blonde entered and put stacks of reports before both Andy and Bettijean. The girl hesitated, fidgeting, fingers to her teeth. Then, without speaking, she hurried out.Andy stared at the top sheet and groaned. "This may be something.
- 398 The Secretary of Defense growled: "Now wait a minute, Felder! We were voted--"The President interrupted, raging weakly: "Oh, you rascals! My father would have known what to do with you! But don't think I can't handle it. Don't think you can hoodwink
- 399 President Folsom XXV said: "Very well. Have it done."Mrs. Grayson, widow, of New Pittsburgh, Io, disappeared one night. It was in all the papers and on all the broadcasts. Some time later she was found dragging herself back across the line between Nizhn
- 400 None of them answered. I sat down. I had to move just a little faster than they did, and by holding the initiative, keep them off balance. They had counted on hearing my approach, having a few moments to get set, and using my surprise against me. I had re