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
- 1601 "Yes.""And you've testified that when you moved into the Holden home, you found things as the Holdens had provided them for their child?""Yes.""In your opinion, were these surroundings suitable for James Holden?""They were far too advanced for a
- 1602 "Then I shall point out that your ruling is based upon a personal opinion because you don't know anything about the process. If I am ruled a legal minor you cannot punish me for not telling you my secrets, and if I am ruled legally competent, I am ent.i
- 1603 "Well, why don't I kiss you good night and send you off to bed.""All right, if you want to.""Why?""Oh--just--well, everybody does it."She sat near him on the low divan, looking him full in the face but making no move, no gesture, no change in her
- 1604 Turning to face the new voice, James said calmly, "You mean 'may not' which implies that I have asked your permission. Your statement is incorrect as phrased and erroneous when corrected."He turned the k.n.o.b and entered. Judge Carter sat at his desk
- 1605 "Can you stand the pressure of a whole world angered because you've denied them their right to an education?""I suppose not." He looked at Brennan, at Professor White and at Jack Cowling. "If I've got to trust somebody," he said reluctantly, "I s
- 1606 The figure of a woman ran from the house, retrieved the now squalling infant and ran back into the house. Once inside, Nancy slammed the door, gave the baby to the stunned Martin and headed for the telephone."One of them was the same man!" she cried.Mar
- 1607 "Exactly. Is that too much to ask after all you've done?""I guess I have made mistakes. From now on you be the boss. I'll do whatever you say.""I hope I can count on that." Tendal 13 rang the jail buzzer.The jailer unlocked the cell door."You rem
- 1608 During the stabilization course one professor had permitted him to skip some cla.s.ses. Now he wished that he hadn't missed them; he probably wouldn't have this semantic instability to contend with now. Oh, well....He was tired. He'd spent the previous
- 1609 Black psionically cut in the outer office visiphone connection. The bell rang almost immediately. He switched on the inner office instrument and a familiar face came in sync on the screen--that of Peter Dodson, the princ.i.p.al administrative officer of t
- 1610 "Tch, tch," DeCastros said, "can anyone really be so asthenic as you seem, Mr. Wordsley?""No, sir," Mr. Wordsley said, uncertain of his meaning.The captain winked. "Yet there was that ruffled s.h.i.+rt that I found in the laundromat last week. It w
- 1611 "Oho!" DeCastros said, "If I am not mistaken, old Malmsworth has holed up in that very same rift where we caught him at his dirty business seventeen years ago. He's as mad as a Martian; you can lay to that. He'd have to be."The rift, when they arriv
- 1612 "Curious performance of the magnetic needle. They say it held due east for several minutes," continued Evarts, hoping to engage his senior in conversation--almost an impossibility, as he well knew.Thornton did not reply. He was carefully observing the i
- 1613 "Well, they are and they ain't. Pax--that's what he calls himself--signals NAA, our number, you understand, and then says what he has to say to the whole world, care of the United States. The first message I thought was a joke and stuck it in a book I
- 1614 "Professor von Schwenitz is here," he announced, and immediately returned to take up the thread of his conversation in the centre of the hall.The general turned gruffly to greet his visitor. "I have sent for you, Professor," said he, without removing
- 1615 "Haven't you heard?""No," answered Hooker rather impatiently. "I haven't heard anything. I haven't any time to read the papers; I'm too busy. My thermic inductor transformers melted last week and I'm all in the air. What was it?""Oh, never min
- 1616 Alas for the wives and children of the herdsmen! And alas for the herds! But better that the eight core bombs projected by "Thanatos" through the midnight sky toward Paris should have torn the foliage of the Bois, destroyed the grandstands of Auteuil an
- 1617 The extraordinary announcement, transmitted from various European news agencies, that an attempt had been made by the general commanding the First Artillery Division of the German Army of the Meuse to violate the armistice, had caused a profound sensation
- 1618 He turned on the electric lamp which hung over the desk, for in the fast-gathering dusk the interior of the Ring was in almost total darkness. How should his message read? It must be brief: it must tell the story, and, above all, it must be compelling.He
- 1619 Wilbur Murphy had a blond crew-cut, a broad freckled nose, and a serious sidelong squint. He looked from his crumpled sequence idea to Catlin and Frayberg. "Didn't like it, eh?""We thought the emphasis should be a little different," explained Catlin.
- 1620 "It can have no possible basis," said Prince Ali-Tomas. "We have no horses on Cirgamesc. None whatever.""But ...""The veriest idle talk. Such nonsense will have no interest for your intelligent partic.i.p.ants."The car rolled into a square a hundr
- 1621 Soek smiled languidly. "You are so typical an old-lander--worried, frowning, dynamic. You should relax, cultivate napau, enjoy life as we do here in Singhalut.""What's napau?""It's our philosophy, where we find meaning and life and beauty in every
- 1622 "Very much so.""Excellent," said the Sultan. "You do me honor with your presence."Murphy waited patiently."I understand that you had a visitor this morning," said the Sultan."Yes. Mr. Trimmer." "May I inquire the nature of the conversation?""
- 1623 The creature rose to his feet, strode springily toward Murphy. He carried a crossbow and a sword, like those of Murphy's fleet-footed guards. But he wore no s.p.a.ce-suit. Could there be breathable traces of an atmosphere? Murphy glanced at his gauge. Ou
- 1624 Jarvis answered. "It's all right--just gashed. No danger of infection here, I guess; Leroy says there aren't any microbes on Mars.""Well," exploded the Captain, "Let's hear it, then! Your radio reports sounded screwy. 'Escaped from Paradise!' Hu
- 1625 "I don't think so," responded the chemist. "If my guess at the city's age is right, fifteen thousand years wouldn't make enough difference in the water supply--nor a hundred thousand, for that matter. It's something else, though the water's doubtl
- 1626 "Well, for a second I couldn't speak. I just stared at her, and she kept smiling back at me. 'What are you doing here?' I managed to ask her, at last. 'Do you know where you are?'"'I'll talk to your commanding officer,' she told me, cool as you
- 1627 "Yes?" I said, smiling to myself, and wondering what was coming next."Yes, Commander Hanson." There was just the faintest suggestion of steeliness in her voice now. "I fancy you've been giving him good advice, and painting me in lurid colors. Do you
- 1628 The floor, apparently, had been smoothed by human effort, but for the rest, the corridor was, to judge from the evidence, entirely natural for the walls of s.h.i.+ny black rock bore no marks of tools.At intervals, other pa.s.sages branched off from the ma
- 1629 It was late in the afternoon when I called Correy and Kincaide to the navigating room, where I had spent several hours charting our return course."I believe, gentlemen," I remarked, "that we can call on Mr. Fetter now. I'll ask you to remain in charge
- 1630 "Easily. There's a two-thirds margin of safety.""And you haven't considered that it may get harder to push? You know the increase of ma.s.s with velocity. You can't take one-half of the relativity theory without the other. And they've actually meas
- 1631 "Fortunately, they've been covered with helio-beryllium paint, and the helmet gla.s.s is the same stuff. Not even that atmosphere can touch it. I suppose there can be no life on the place. With all this sand, it would have to be based on silicon instead
- 1632 More to achieve, somehow, my own peace of mind, than in any hope of its being discovered, I have written this narrative. There are two copies, this to be placed in a helio-beryllium box at the terminus of the bridge, the other within the comet[TN-3]. One
- 1633 Golden Age of Science Fiction.Vol XIII.by Various.ONCE UPON A PLANET.By J. J. Allerton The mighty King Miotis came down to Earth to recapture his lost desire for war. But what he saw on this planet, caused him to feel differently.Once upon a planet there
- 1634 President Wong took the paper. It was an order sending a s.p.a.ce platoon, 5,000 wars.h.i.+ps and 500,000 men, to the system of Altair A, to place themselves under the command of the Grasvian fleet for an attack against the system of Altair D.The Presiden
- 1635 Against the blackness of the early morning sky the huge ball traced an arc of flame. Had Karn been watching the sky he would have seen the ball slow in its descent and then come to a landing some distance ahead of him. But he was too busy for that.On the
- 1636 To one side the mouth of the cavern yawned dark and forbidding as they went toward it. Andra explained to Karn that it was the mouth of a tunnel which led to the city proper. There were walls about the city which were never opened.They were almost to the
- 1637 They had fled almost to the sheer ambient face of the crater wall when the Falakian girl touched Farrell's arm and pointed back through the scented, pearly mists."Someone," she said. Her voice stumbled over the almost forgotten Terran word, but its sou
- 1638 "We'll know what we're after when darkness falls," he said. "But that's a good twelve hours away. In the meantime, there's a possibility that our missing key is outside the crater, rather than here inside it."They turned on him together, both baff
- 1639 THE PLOTTERS.By Alexander Blade .He came from a far planet to find some of the Earth's secrets. But Marko found other things, too--like his love for beautiful Beth It seemed to be the same tree that kept getting in my way. I tried to go around it but it
- 1640 Beth and I sat on the couch her father had vacated. We talked. I watched my words carefully; there were a good many commonplace things I knew nothing about. And I didn't want any more questions about myself. Fortunately, conversation between a young man
- 1641 My rush brought me into point-blank range on a line parallel with Beth's prostrate figure. At the same time her torturers wheeled about to face me, trapped for an instant in the paralysis of complete surprise. Ristal was the first to recover."Drop the g
- 1642 By dusk the roads he drove were no longer paved. Ruts carved deep by spring rains suggested long disuse. The swaying of the car and the constant grinding of gears eventually jolted Jenny out of her romantic dreams. She moved away from George and sat looki
- 1643 She moved back from the door into the darkness of the house; and the salesman s.h.i.+fted his case back to his left hand, pushed the front door wide and took a quick long step inside. He was just in time to hear the slight click of the closing of a second
- 1644 He looked back at Barbara, then smiled down at the girl. "Just like I said ... a short meeting. No need for any dictating. Lucky you.""Oh, I don't know," she countered coyly."Say, I heard a story the other day you might like. Do you like stories?"
- 1645 "Down, boy!" he said, and dealt the bear a sharp blow across the muzzle with his board.The bear dealt Oliver a roundhouse clout in return that stretched him half-conscious beside Perrl-high-C-trill-and-A-above. Then, at precisely that moment of greatest
- 1646 Reinhart stopped in his tracks."Pretty, isn't he?" Sherikov said ironically."What the h.e.l.l is it?"Icarus, we call him. Remember the Greek myth? The legend of Icarus. Icarus flew.... This Icarus is going to fly, one of these days." Sherikov shrugg
- 1647 Reinhart watched, tense and rigid. For a moment nothing happened. 7-6 continued to show. Then-- The figures disappeared. The machines faltered. New figures showed briefly. 4-24 for Centaurus. Reinhart gasped, suddenly sick with apprehension. But the figur
- 1648 For a long time he studied the tube. Then, gradually, he became aware of something. Something in the top right-hand corner.A date. October 6, 2128.Cole's vision blurred. Everything spun and wavered around him. October, 2128. Could it be?But he held the p
- 1649 Presently the stove opened, sliding out a tray of steaming dishes. The mechanism clicked off, dying into silence. Steven grabbed up the contents of the tray, filling his arms. He carried everything down the hall, out the emergency door and into the yard.
- 1650 "Incredible." Sherikov's eyes were only an inch from the wiring. "Such tiny relays. How could he--""What?""Nothing." Sherikov got abruptly to his feet, closing the box carefully. "Can I take this along? To my lab? I'd like to a.n.a.lyze it more
- 1651 "What happens if I don't wire this control for you? I mean, what happens to me?""Then I turn you over to Reinhart. Reinhart will kill you instantly. He thinks you're dead, killed when the Albertine Range was annihilated. If he had any idea I had save
- 1652 "Down!" Reinhart shouted. He dropped to his hands and knees. All around him his police dived for the floor. Reinhart cursed wildly, dragging himself quickly toward the door. They had to get out, and right away. Sherikov had escaped. A false wall, an ene
- 1653 A flash, and a blinding spark of light around him.The spark picked him up and tossed him like a dry leaf. He grunted in agony as searing fire crackled about him, a blazing inferno that gnawed and ate hungrily through his screen. He spun dizzily and fell t
- 1654 "I dont believe it!" Reinhart gasped. "It isnt possible. If Cole solved Hedges problem that would mean--" He broke off, staggered. "Faster than light drive can now be used for s.p.a.ce travel," Sherikov continued, waving the noise down. "As Hedge i
- 1655 When they put new chains on him, around neck and waist, he thought it was only to make sure he didn't run away before they could deliver him ostentatiously to the s.h.i.+p.A dozen adult males had gathered in the clearing, but that was hardly an unusual e
- 1656 They'd entered the woods. Even before that, Dr. Pine had lagged because his slippers kept falling off, and now he brought up the rear. Chet, in the lead, took a last long look at the s.h.i.+p before the trees and mosses cut off his view.He went on sl
- 1657 He cleared his throat. "...the Summer Seminar. t.i.tle: The Propogation of White Martian virus. Paragraph. It will be remembered that the early attempts to establish Earth colonies on Mars were frustrated by the extreme susceptibility of our people t
- 1658 James shuffled out of the room."I suppose that means I'll manage," said Leah, with a self-pitying sigh. "I've noticed that whenever people decide to rough it and do without a Menial, they take it for granted the women will do the
- 1659 "What good will that do? You know how terrible you feel now about being left out--though I swear I never meant it to be like this. But just try to imagine. If you report me so that Leader Marley gets the secret of SDE, then thousands of people will b
- 1660 "They got Tanya," she said dully. "They took her away.""What happened? Quick!""After I reported to BureauMed--I'm sorry I did that, Dr. Wong, but I just couldn't help myself. I didn't tell them about Tanya
- 1661 When the door closed, the room throbbed to Leah's sobs."I couldn't help it, Dr. Wong," she cried. "I got so bored, sitting and looking at those books, day after day, with nothing to do! I thought I'd just slip down here for a
- 1662 These people appeared friendly to the Earthlings, but so did the Earthlings give the appearance of friendliness to the natives; that was proof in itself that you couldn't trust actions to indicate purpose. But even more than that, their basic alienne
- 1663 "Okay, Sid--Mike. We'll take it a while."The rhythm of the axe-strokes ceased. Red Mike swept the back of a forearm across the semi-shaven stubble that set him as something of a dandy. Wordlessly, big Sid ambled up the road to replace Vito.
- 1664 "You don't sound very optimistic, Dr. Mallon," said the FBI man.Mallon shook his head. "Frankly, I'm not. He was shot laterally, just above the right temple, with what looks to me like a .357 magnum pistol slug. It's in there
- 1665 The Senator looked blank for a second, then recognition came into his face. "Wendell, eh? After all this time. Poor chap; he'd have been better off if he'd died twenty years ago." Then he paused and looked up. "But just who are yo
- 1666 He left the lifeboat and closed the door behind him. There was no point in worrying about a boat he couldn't use.He made his way back toward the engine room. Maybe there was something salvageable there. Swimming through the corridors was becoming eas
- 1667 "Well, keep your eyes peeled for Tower Point up there. As soon as we've got old Ryska's junk, we'll all be heading for home."Nellon felt a weary sort of satisfaction. No, Big Tim didn't suspect. Big Tim didn't know that
- 1668 "Helmets!" Big Tim breathed. "Brad, those are helmets. And unless I'm mistaken the other stuff must be suits of some kind. What have we stumbled onto, anyway?"Nellon pa.s.sed a slow, almost-knowing glance about the room, his helme
- 1669 "Orville Potts, out to the door," the bored voice said.Potts gave Wilhart a killing look when the big attendant, immaculate in white duck trousers and short-sleeved linen s.h.i.+rt, pa.s.sed through to the porch. Potts wondered why so many of th
- 1670 Potts tapped his forehead with a forefinger and asked, "What is a brain? You'll say it's an organ occupying the skull and forming the center of the nervous system, and the seat of intellect, or some such thing. I don't think so. It gen
- 1671 "Gee, Drill, if you only would!" he breathed. Think of it! Me, dumb-bell Rabbit Meekers, in with Drill Morgan on a job! Gosh, I'd never forget it. I'd learn more in that one night than I ever knew in all my life before. And, at that, D
- 1672 "All right, if you say so," he murmured. "Now tell me about that night--the other time. Drill--"Drill Morgan laughed. The laugh was jerky, forced. The hand with which he scratched the match to light his cigarette made the little flame
- 1673 "All right," he said quietly. "I can disguise you so you'll not be recognized. But you'll have to follow my orders exactly, or death will result for both of us."That strange, hooded dread flickered again in his eyes, as thoug
- 1674 They landed amid unseen men in the c.o.c.kpit, and as he scrambled to his feet the inspector cried, "Follow that boat that just went down-river. But no shooting!"With thunderous drumfire from its exhausts, the cutter jerked forward so rapidly th
- 1675 "Are you who come here of the Brotherhood of the Door?" he asked, apparently repeating a customary challenge.Campbell answered, his flat voice tremorless. "We are of the Brotherhood.""Why do you not wear the badge of the Brotherho
- 1676 "To whom do we bring these sacrifices?"As the high priest uttered the words, and before the booming answer came, a hand grasped Ennis and pulled him back from the line of victims. He spun round to find that it was one of the other priests who ha
- 1677 "Good grief, man! Where've you been? Get down here fast. But fast!""Listen, Cranly. I'm on my honeymoon. Or have you forgotten? Remember three days ago you were best man at a wedding? Well, the fellow at the altar was Case Damon.&
- 1678 He was sorry now that he hadn't thought to shoot cross-country to get Karin. Who knew for certain where the next blast would hit? He could have dropped her off at the moon base.The moon was full in his vision plates now. He was close enough to tune i
- 1679 They must be a sc.r.a.ppy people. Almost every male citizen carried a gun. His own wouldn't be noticed, then.Before a huge building, the truck stopped. The end of the journey. Case hopped off, nodded his thanks for the lift and started walking.Those
- 1680 "This is it," Burnine gasped. "Good thing Engels liked to brag. That big panel is the converter."He reached out a bony hand for a maze of wires, but Case stopped him."Wait. We don't want to do just a temporary job. And we don
- 1681 He had forgotten the flashlight again, and he cursed as he stumbled over an unseen obstruction."Bila!" he called."Yes, starman?" The alien appeared as if from nowhere."I'm afraid that I'm not as gifted as you when it com
- 1682 "Right." Each looked as though the other were something unmentionable, left over from the last cleaning of the cesspool."So we just...." He leaned forward and outlined his plan.Five days pa.s.sed, peaceably. The natives gave the post a
- 1683 Showalter stopped at the door of the conference room. "Maybe they want to sell us something. At any rate, we're about to find out."The conference table was surrounded by Senators of the Committee. Layered behind them were scientists represe
- 1684 Hockley heard the buzz and switch clicks of communication circuits reaching for the s.h.i.+p. Then, in a moment, he heard the somewhat irritated but familiar voice of his old friend."Waldon Thar speaking," the voice said. "Who wishes to tal
- 1685 In the evenings, in the study lounge of the dormitory, they held interminable bull sessions exchanging and digesting what they had been shown during the day. It was at the end of the third day that Hockley thought he could detect a subtle change in the gr
- 1686 "But we do not want what the Rykes have obtained--if we have to pay their price for it.""Then you are complete fools," said Markham. "Fortunately, you cannot and will not speak for all of Earth."Hockley paced back and forth a
- 1687 "They aren't extraterrestrials in the other dome, Ben," Monroe volunteered in a sudden burst of sanity. "No, they're human, all right, and from Earth. Guess where.""I'll kill you," I warned him. "I swear I
- 1688 "... Hi boss," Algernon Allerdyce called in greeting. His nose sniffed appreciatively at the aroma of coffee."Hi Oogie," Sam Grogan replied without turning from what he was doing, lifting the cover of the percolator on the electric pla
- 1689 The alarm in his voice was the signal for them to attack. In a moment he was the center of a mob of women all bent, it seemed, on his destruction. He fought at first as gently as he could. But as some of the stones. .h.i.t and some of the clubs struck vul
- 1690 The staggering truth about Atummion seeped in slowly. Item one: Although we put only a pinch of it in a whole barrel of talc.u.m powder, it did give the female users a terrific complexion! Pimples, black-heads, warts, freckles and even minor scars disappe
- 1691 Neff swung the great door back into place with its whoosh--thunk that sealed in air, sound and nearly a hundred thousand dollars in currency. He levered the bolts into place and spun the expensive combination lock.The vault, tucked away in the front, left
- 1692 "That did it. Get the gun!" The voice was high, almost girlish. A young boy?A slightly heavier voice said, "Got it. Keep an eye on him while I find out why the fan stopped working.""He's going no place. You were right. That b
- 1693 "We were always there. We colonized the rest of the galaxy. Long ago."The registrar clicked furiously, expressed itself still more femininely this time. "Oh, that planet! You certainly are the first, Smith. The very first here at the school
- 1694 That part of it at least turned out better than Smith had hoped. There were eggs, and while he was sure he would not recognize the fowl if he saw it, he could at least order his over-light and get something familiar. And there were long strips of fatty me
- 1695 "This is getting me nowhere," Jorak hissed. "You're making me look like a fool, Earthsmith." Perspiration bathed the purple face, stained the sides of Jorak's tunic darkly.And then he smiled. Smith felt giddy, hardly could ke
- 1696 He smiled. "All right, I'll--stop."And together, laughing, they walked out of the room. Smith was surprised to find he had no trouble at all with the door.Jorak had a friendly smile for Smith when he entered their room. "There's a
- 1697 Smith laughed at the two giants. "Well," he said.Kard rushed. Smith dropped to hands and knees, pinched Kard's legs, held them perpendicular from the knees down. Kard's rus.h.i.+ng weight carried his body on over. His knees popped. He
- 1698 "Girls! Hurry with your packing! Girls!"Sighing, Matilda Moriarity subsided. The girls, obviously, were in no hurry. That would have been out of character.Matilda Moriarity sighed again. She was short, stocky, fifty-two years old and the widow o
- 1699 "Then let's get started."The Firstman stared at him levelly. "You're a brave man, Mayhem.""Let's say I'm not afraid to die. I've been a living dead man for eight years. Come on."One of the so-called c
- 1700 House Bartock balled his fist and hit her. Three of the girls caught her as she fell. None of them tried to do anything about Bartock, who had levelled his blaster at Jane c.u.mmings.Trembling, she went down the companionway with him.A fierce cold wind bl