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
- 855 Damis' eyes lighted as Turgan spoke."Your plans are good," he cried, "and I will fly the s.h.i.+p for you. In return I ask but one thing: let mine be the hand which strikes Glavour down.""If it can be so done, yours shall be
- 854 Glavour's eyes rested on the slim lithesome figure of the Earth-girl. She was just emerging from the grace of girlhood into the full dignity of young womanhood and the soft clinging garb she wore accentuated rather than concealed the curves of her bo
- 853 Earth's espionage ring was a headache, so the Martian Security Chief offered ten thousand credits for a key agent. But even for a price-- "This man is a spy for Earth," a voice droned, as the telecaster vibrated and a photo of Harry Horn fl
- 852 Graves said nervously: "I think I see. You are trying to make this communicator react as Betsy did. When it does, you will consider that your generator is creating a wave like the broadcasts from nowhere." "Yeah," said Bellews. "I
- 851 The broadcast ended abruptly. Betsy's screen went blank. The colonel was notified. A courier took tapes to Was.h.i.+ngton by high-speed jet. Life in Research Establishment 83 went on sedately. The barracks and the married quarters and the residences
- 850 The broadcast stopped. It stopped dead. Betsy's screen went blank. Her wildly fluctuating standby light slowed gradually to a nearly normal rate of flicker."That's not a theory," said Howell dourly. "It's a statement in the b
- 849 Pop reflected hungrily that it was something else to be made permanent and inspected from time to time. But he wanted more than a drawing of this! He wanted to make the memory permanent and to extend it-- If it had not been for his vacuum suit and the can
- 848 "Listen to this!" he cried in a ringing voice. "As a result of the worldwide publicity, Puffyloaves are outselling Fairy Bread three to one--and that's just the old carbon-dioxide stock from our freezers! It's almost exhausted, bu
- 847 A black-haired housewife spied them over her back fence, crossed herself and grabbed her walkie-talkie from the laundry basket. Seconds later, the yawning correspondent of a regional newspaper was jotting down the lead of a humorous news story which, reca
- 846 Slowly, his mind opened and became receptive. The prayer hung in the air of the smoky room. Jonas slipped in-- "Now," he said quietly.His control slipped. The two guards came toward him, overpowered and held him in a brief second-- "Wait,&q
- 845 "You--cast spells. You make things happen.""That's right," Jonas said, smiling again. "I'm a wizard. A warlock. That's what they say, isn't it?""You--make things happen," the bald man said.But he
- 844 "I am honored," Jonas said."Here we are alone," Scharpe went on, his voice lowering. "My wife and daughter have gone to visit a neighbor, for they have not yet closed us off entirely from all human contact."He grimaced. Jonas
- 843 It was a small shop, with an inconspicuous sign down in one corner of the window that said only, "KRUMBEIN--watches," and was probably the most famous shop of its kind in the world. Every s.p.a.ceman landing on Terra left his watch to be checked
- 842 The heat became intense. My wife and her soldiers began to feel the necessity for refreshment. My wife is accustomed to regular meals. The sun grew in strength as the time went on, and my wife gave the order to sit at ease, which was signalled to my mothe
- 841 When I woke I found myself thinking consecutively, a thing I do not remember to have done since I killed the curate in the other book. In the interim my mental condition had been chaotic, asymptotic. But during slumber my brain, incredible as it may seem,
- 840 Ford looked at Hugh Dunnam through slitted eyes, his face expressionless. Suddenly he smiled."You forget, sir," he said smoothly. "Under a less human commander I would have kept my thoughts to myself.""I was sitting there, Martha,
- 839 He listened briefly. "Yes, sir," he said, and hung up. "He wants you in the pilot room, Ren," he added.Ren started out of the central instrument room through the axis tube."Better be careful," Ford shouted after him. "No
- 838 He sat there, drumming his fingers on the walnut surface, his eyes closed as if he were listening to something very far away. A buzzer under his desk gave three short buzzes. He reached over and deflected the toggle on the intercom."Back already, Mar
- 837 "That's the last one, sir," Dwindle said six hours later as he added the one hundred twelfth graded test to the neat stack at the left of his desk. He stared through the thousand-plus holes in the answer key as if expecting the holes to s.h
- 836 "You mean bugs have families and all, too?" w.i.l.l.y asked."Beetle 'families' are groupings of similar species of insects," Freddy explained. "Not actually kinfolk. For instance, this beetle is related to the Lytta vesi
- 835 "Was that not a trifle rash?" demanded Hennings."Intelligence is inclined to think not, sir. The s.h.i.+ps were armed only with weapons listed as general knowledge items. The crews were not only trained in prisoner-of-war tactics, but also
- 834 Brand nodded, wordlessly, walking on the b.a.l.l.s of his feet like a boxer, holding himself ready to swerve the thing should it charge them. Which--next instant--it did!With a whistling bellow it gathered its tons of weight and thundered with incredible
- 833 Into the Enclosure In the torture chamber Dex wavered slowly back to consciousness to get the growing impression that he was being immersed in a bath of liquid fire. Burning, intolerable pain a.s.sailed him with increasing intensity as his senses clarifie
- 832 He shuddered; then he began to explore the dome of the building for a means of entrance.There was no opening in the roof. A solid sheet of reddish metal, like a t.i.tanic half-eggsh.e.l.l, it glittered under him in an unbroken piece.He crept down its incr
- 831 Dex compressed his lips stubbornly. He couldn't tell them if he wanted to, and, by G.o.d, he wouldn't if he could.Another notch, the wheel was turned; and in spite of himself a groan escaped Dex's lips. One more notch, while the metal slide
- 830 How many hours had pa.s.sed, the Earthmen did not know. They had spent the time in fruitless planning to escape from their tower room and go back to the s.h.i.+p again. Though how they could get away in the s.h.i.+p when the Rogans seemed able to propel i
- 829 Once more the shock stung them, as a reminder not to keep their captors waiting. With their shoulders bunched for abrupt action, and their guns in hand, the two men walked to the trap-door of the s.h.i.+p. They threw the heavy bolts, drew a deep breath--a
- 828 Occasionally he had landed--always staying close to the s.p.a.ce s.h.i.+p, for Jupiter's gravity made movement a slow and laborious process, and he didn't want to be caught too far from security. At such times he might hear a cras.h.i.+ng and sp
- 827 It's amazing how much you can learn about absolute strangers if you just stop to think about the kind of an animal they'll put in a ...Captain Baird stood at the window of the laboratory where the thousand parts of the strange rocket lay strewn
- 826 "But everything under the drug is so ...""Haphazard? That's true. The recall episodes are always purely random, with no chronological sequence. Our problem will be to rea.s.semble them in proper order later. Or some particular scene ma
- 825 "But we must find something for him to do," said another. "We can't have an idle person in the State. It's unthinkable.""But what?" asked the Chief. "He's utterly incapable of running any of the machines.
- 824 THE CATASTROPHE.The Esmeralda was putting out to sea when I thought of a last expedient to draw the attention of her captain. Filling my revolver with cartridges which I had loose in my pockets, I fired all the chambers as fast as I could snap the trigger
- 823 I cannot give the substance of this address, or any portion of it, verbatim as on former occasions, for I have not the ma.n.u.script. I doubt if Brande wrote out his last speech. Methodical as were his habits it is probable that his final words were not p
- 822 "I am attending.""By the hold over my sister's imagination which I have gained, I will kill her on the fourth morning from now.""You will--not.""I tell you I will," Brande shrieked, starting up in his berth. &q
- 821 This sudden change in her manner surprised me. I knew I had no art in dealing with women, so I let it pa.s.s without comment, and looked out at the gla.s.sy sea.After some minutes of silence, the girl spoke to me again."Do you know anything of the ac
- 820 MORITURI TE SALUTANT.We had been sitting on deck chairs smoking and talking for a couple of hours after the late dinner, which was served as soon as the vessel was well out to sea, when Brande came on deck. He was hailed with enthusiasm. This did not move
- 819 Thought! The man's mysterious power was becoming wearisome. It was too much for me. I wished that I had never seen his face.As I lay sleepless in my bed, I recommenced that interminable introspection which, heretofore, had been so barren of result. I
- 818 Brande--I believe I s.h.i.+vered. Heredity has much to answer for.That is the whole of the entry. I did not read the words until the hand that wrote them was dust.Natalie professed some disappointment when I announced my immediate return to town. I was ob
- 817 Of course the Woman question was soon introduced, and in this I made the best defence of time-honoured customs of which I was capable. But my outworks fell down as promptly before the voices of these young women as did the walls of Jericho before the blas
- 816 "Of the people--their lives--their work--their misery!""I a.s.sure you many are very happy," I replied. "You take a morbid view. Misery is not the rule. I am sure the majority are happy.""What difference does that make?&
- 815 Then, at the end of the village street, he saw Don Howard coming out of one of the houses with his hands held high."You win, Lord; leave them alone."It was victory, but Lord felt no triumph--only a crus.h.i.+ng bitterness. He motioned Howard to
- 814 "You could call this the first trade exchange between your world and ours," another savage added. "Give us the machine; we'll send you fresh food from the village."The argument was logical and eventually the natives had their way.
- 813 Furiously, he tried to summon some tiny bit of energy to activate the distorter.Nothing happened.The man whose pity had destroyed him suddenly frowned, then turned and darted away. Dully, Barra watched him, then he turned, to look around the village. His
- 812 Had his brother actually ever left this place? But if not, where were his drivers? What had happened to his train of draft brutes? How had the cargo he carried been disposed of?Oh, of course, he knew there were caravan masters who would accept freight and
- 811 Now, however, he had found a whole, new source of income. And a new sense of power had come to him. Caravans were more than welcome at Kira Barra.He leaned back on his new chair, enjoying the complete ease with which it instantly shaped to fit his body. I
- 810 "He can put it in the boat," he told the man. "I'll have one of my people pick it up for you when we get to the island. Now, if you'll follow me, the pier is over this way." He turned and floated toward the dock.As they pulle
- 809 "Why are all your people idling away their time? Where are your herdsmen and guards?"The headman's face tensed with effort. He waved a hand southward and made meaningless noises. Faintly, the thought came through to Barra."In south for
- 808 Under the impulses of his amplified thought, the crystal glowed, appeared to expand, then became a three-dimensional vista.The high intensity summary and excerpt leader had been not too deceptive, Barra told himself as the story unfolded. It was a well do
- 807 Jeter went through the doors into the plane. In a few seconds the propeller kicked over, hesitated, kicked again. Then the motor coughed, coughed again, and broke into a steady roaring.CHAPTER XII.High Chaos The plane moved forward. Its tail swung around.
- 806 Try as they might, the partners could not see how the Three manipulated the ray. They guessed that there were many b.u.t.tons on the table at which they sat. The table itself was not an ordinary table. What might have been called a fifth leg, squarely und
- 805 A cold chill ran along Jeter's spine. There was something too final about the guide's calm reply. Both adventurers remembered again, most poignantly, the fate of Kress.The leaders stepped through the door. A flight of steps led downward.Several
- 804 They slipped on the smooth surface face and fell sprawling. Each felt, when he fell, that he must rise at once, with all his speed, lest something grasp him and hold him down forever. It was a horrible trapped feeling, and yet....They had but to look at e
- 803 But would they have been lowered back to safety as the Hueber and her crew had been?Believing as he did that the enemy knew everything that transpired within its sphere of influence, Jeter doubted that Eyer and himself would have been so humanely treated.
- 802 Hadley's eyes were bulging. So were those of the others who had crowded close to listen. They seemed to think Jeter had taken leave of his senses, and yet--all had seen the Vandercook building perform the utterly impossible.Hadley nodded."What d
- 801 "Yet n.o.body seems to have wakened at that ranch when--and it must have happened--the herd stopped making any noise whatever. The utter silence should have wakened seasoned cowhands. It didn't. Why? What happened to them that they slept so soun
- 800 CHAPTER I.The Take-off.It seemed only fitting and proper that the greatest of all leaps into s.p.a.ce should start from Roosevelt Field, where so many great flights had begun and ended. Fliers whose names had rung--for a s.p.a.ce--around the world, had la
- 799 As he hauled himself toward the Ranger, Coffin watched the receiver web grow in his eyes, till it snared a distorted Milky Way. It seemed very frail to have carried so much h.e.l.l. And, indeed, it would have to be dismantled before deceleration. No trick
- 798 Golden Age of Science Fiction.Vol VIII.by Various.THE BURNING BRIDGE.By Poul Anderson Usually there are two "reasons" why something is done; the reason why it needs to be done, and, quite separate, the reason people want to do it. The foul-up s
- 797 Darl shook his head, and prayed for sudden death. The Martian spoke to the dwarfs. They started forward, saliva drooling from their tusks. Darl gritted his teeth. He would hold out as long as was humanly possible.A shrill rhythmic whistle came from somewh
- 796 THE GREAT DOME ON MERCURY.By Arthur L. Zagat Darl Thomas mopped the streams of perspiration from his bronzed face and lean-flanked, wiry body, nude save for clinging shorts and fiber sandals. "By the whirling rings of Saturn," he growled as he g
- 795 "That's all I know. Read it some place a long time ago. Can I go back to sleep now?""Go back to sleep," said Banner.They spent the next three hours maneuvering carefully around the asteroid. They took six thousand feet of movies a
- 794 "They'll give us medals. That's what they'll do. For safe delivery of one million tons of tractor fuel, you two fine specimens of manhood are hereby presented with the Order of the Oil. And for your courageous service in delivering two
- 793 "'Vegetation of heroic size' is right, too," said Correy, who had been examining the terrain at close range, through the medium of the television disk. "Two of the leaves on some of the weeds would make an awning for the whole s.h
- 792 "No," I admitted, still staring with a fixed fascination at the strange scene in the television disk. "Perhaps this is what we've been searching for. Please call Mr. Correy and Mr. Hendricks, and ask them to report here immediately.&qu
- 791 "Back, men!" I shouted. "Hendricks! Get away as far and as fast as you can. Back! Back!" Half dragging Correy, who was still breathless from the blow, I hurried after the men.Behind us, shaking the earth in his death agonies, the monst
- 790 The Kabit was wrapped in the coils of a mighty serpent; a monster that must have been the height of a man in diameter, and whose length I could not even guess.Four coils were looped tightly about the Kabit, and we could now see the terrible tail of the th
- 789 Commander John Hanson challenges an appalling denizen of the watery world Hydrot."Good afternoon, sir," nodded Correy as I entered the navigating room. He glanced down at the two glowing three-dimensional navigating charts, and drummed restlessl
- 788 IX.'We emerged from the palace while the sun was still in part above the horizon. I was determined to reach the White Sphinx early the next morning, and ere the dusk I purposed pus.h.i.+ng through the woods that had stopped me on the previous journey
- 787 'I thought of the physical slightness of the people, their lack of intelligence, and those big abundant ruins, and it strengthened my belief in a perfect conquest of Nature. For after the battle comes Quiet. Humanity had been strong, energetic, and i
- 786 'Some sleight-of-hand trick or other,' said the Medical Man, and Filby tried to tell us about a conjurer he had seen at Burslem; but before he had finished his preface the Time Traveller came back, and Filby's anecdote collapsed.The thing t
- 785 "Who knows?" said Dan again. "There are those who believe we wake to a happier world, but--" He shook his head hopelessly."It must be true! Oh, it must be!" Galatea cried. "There must be more for you than the mad world y
- 784 "Why, foolish one! What could hinder them?""Wild beasts," said Dan. "Poisonous insects, disease, flood, storm, lawless people, death!""I never heard those words," said Galatea. "There are no such things here.&q
- 783 Down on the dark street, they met their mercenary again. He eyed them sourly. "I see you were, in a sense, successful."Peter Hawley faced the mercenary. "We were successful and would you like to make something of it?""I'm goi
- 782 "So am I!" snarled Buregarde showing a fine set of white fangs in the most effective gesture."This must cease!" thundered the mercenary. "You cannot threaten His Excellency's Peacekeepers!"Buregarde growled, "Slip t
- 781 Xanabar lays across the Spiral Arm, a sprawling sphere of influence vast, mighty, solid at the core. Only the far-flung boundary shows the slight ebb and flow of contingent cultures that may win a system or two today and lose them back tomorrow or a hundr
- 780 The pilot made a final check of Monk's G suit and straps. Then he clapped the industrialist on the shoulder and strode off.Twenty minutes later, when they were ready for blast-off, a warning bell sounded throughout the s.h.i.+p.With a deafening roar
- 779 "That is the point," Rostov said stiffly. "You have a serious heart condition. A dangerous condition. You've ignored eight years of my advice, and now your heart is showing the effects.""What can it do to me?""Kill
- 778 He left the park, and wandered into a thriving luncheonette. He tried questioning the man behind the counter, who merely snickered and said: "You stayin' with the Dawes, ain't you? Better ask Willie, then. He knows the place better than any
- 777 At the table, Dawes asked his destination."Wedding in Salinas," he explained. "Old Army friend of mine. I picked this. .h.i.tchhiker up about two miles from here. He seemed okay.""Never can tell," Dawes said placidly, munchin
- 776 Mal Shaff tore madly up the slope, topped the crest, and threw himself flat on the ground, almost exhausted.A queer feeling stole over him, a queer feeling of well-being. New strength was flowing into him, the old thrill of battle was pounding through his
- 775 It was not his body, however. His brain was not his alone. The p.r.o.noun, he realized, represented the sum total of those other men, his fellow adventurers.Suddenly a new feeling came, a feeling of completeness, a feeling of supreme fitness. He knew that
- 774 "Why, I suppose I have, but I seem to fail to understand.""We are facing an invasion of fourth-dimensional creatures," the old man whispered, almost as if fearful to speak the words aloud. "We are being attacked by life which is o
- 773 I guess you know the rest of the story, about how that destroyer spotted us and got us and my diary aboard, and towed the rocket to San Francisco. News of the "captured Martian" leaked out, and we all became nine-day wonders until the dismantlin
- 772 I didn't know. I hadn't seen them, nor the jeep, on my trip back. So we followed the wheel tracks for a while, and they veered off from my trail and followed another, very much like the one that had been paralleling mine when Jones and Lloyd had
- 771 The Missionary of Oneness swung his bronzed, well-muscled legs over the side of the hammock and sat up. With an expression of great interest, he watched Spokesman Dorn coming across the sun room towards him from the entrance corridor of his hospital suite
- 770 Menesee entered his box between those of Directors Cornelius and Ojeda, immediately to the right of the Spokesman's Platform and with an excellent view of the prisoner. When Administrator Bradshaw and Spokesman Dorn had taken their places on the plat
- 769 "Just as you say, Miss Telzey," he agreed. "I hate to miss whatever you're going to be doing here, but if you don't lock me up now, Miss Halet will figure I was helping you and fire me as soon as you let her out."Telzey nodde
- 768 Telzey's eyes widened. She'd gathered something similar from her other information source but hadn't quite believed it. "One hunter killed for each cat bagged?" she said. "That's pretty rough sport, isn't it?"E
- 767 It appeared to have been an expression of definite a.s.sent....The dreamlike sensation increased, hazing over Telzey's thoughts. If there was nothing to this mind-communication thing, what harm could symbols do? This time, she wouldn't let them
- 766 Blagonravov poured himself more vodka angrily. "Explain yourself. What's this all about?"His former best field man said, "Kliment--""I want no familiarities from you, colonel!""Yes, sir." Ilya Simonov went on d
- 765 "I don't understand. Is this group of yours, ah, illegal?"She shrugged impatiently. "Oh, of course not. Don't be silly. We gather to hear various speakers, to discuss world affairs. That sort of thing. Oh, of course, theoretically
- 764 "With my car in plain sight?"That didn't seem to call for an answer. The plainclothesman looked apprehensive but blank.Simonov turned on his heel and approached the two guards at the gate. They were not more than thirty feet from where he w
- 763 I'd gone off on the identification!I slapped another evasion pattern into the controls, a standard set, I had no time to punch up an improvisation. But he was on me like a wasp. I rejected it, threw in another set. Reject. Another!Even as I worked, I
- 762 "I'm going to have to do a lot of talking," he said, "and it's going to be thirsty work. I'll have to tell you the whole thing from the beginning, and if you start asking questions at random, you'll get me mixed up and I
- 761 "Yes, I know. Thank you."The first mate held out the clipboard he was carrying. "Would you mind checking over this, Mr. Maxwell? Your baggage list.""Certainly." He glanced at the slip of paper. Valises, eighteen and twenty-fi
- 760 There were Hairy People about now; for the past five days, moving northward through the forest to the open gra.s.slands, the people of Kalvar Dard had found traces of them. Now, as they came out among the seedling growth at the edge of the open plains, ev
- 759 There are strange gaps in our records of the past. We find traces of man-like things--but, suddenly, man appears, far too much developed to be the "next step" in a well-linked chain of evolutionary evidence. Perhaps something like the events of
- 758 The little con-man's jaw sagged lower and lower, the color draining from his face. He turned, wide-eyed, to Meyerhoff, then back to the judge."The Chairman of the Jury," said the Judge succinctly, "will read the verdict."The littl
- 757 "But--you said the Dictator was only 32--" Roger trailed off, regarding Ann in amazement.Martin smiled. "People don't grow old so quickly nowadays," he said. "You are 57 years old, Roger. Ann is 53." He leaned back in hi
- 756 Strang left Security Headquarters, and crossed across to the Labs, frustrated and angry. His mind spun over the accident--incredulous, but more incredulous that Morrel would practically laugh at him. He stopped by the Labs building to watch the workmen pu