[ "The story begins with Noork, a white-skinned, brown-skinned man, floating in the waters of the Lake of Uzdon on the small moon of Sekk. He is pursued by a group of men from the city of Grath, led by a renegade named Gurn, who is a traitor to the people of Zuran, and by a mysterious bird-thing that carried him to the top of a cliff above their valley and devoured a great bird. He was captured by the Vasads of the forest, who named him Noork because he spoke the words that caused them to name him New York, and he was taken to the island of Manak, where he is now living with two other men, Gurn and another man named Tholon Sarna, a beautiful girl from the valley city of Konto. Noork is attacked by a misty blob of nothingness, and his right arm is numbed by a club, but he is able to escape and make his way through the swampy lowlands towards the lake. He finds a place to hide, and there he meets a beautiful golden-skinned girl, Tako, who tells him that she is the daughter of Tholon Dist, an exile from Grath. Noork is intrigued by her beauty and tells her that he has come to rescue her, and she agrees to go with him to rescue Sarna. He takes her to the temple where she is being held as a sacrifice to the god Uzdon, but is unable to find her because the priest of the temple guards are guarding her. The two of them fight, and Noork kills one of the guards, and the two escape to the prison pit where Tholon is being kept. He kills the guards and hides the bodies of the two guards in the next morning, and when he wakes up, he finds himself in a clearing in the forest where he sees a young woman, Sarna and a man named Rold, who are talking to him. He tells the girl that he is Noork and asks her if she will help him escape from the island and rescue his friend Tholon from the Misty Ones. The girl agrees to help him, and they leave the clearing together. As they leave, Noork sees a huge weathered white skull in the distance, and realizes that it is the same one that he had seen earlier in the story. The skull is guarded by the men of the lake, and it is there that the two men of Zur", "The story takes place on the island of Sekk, a small satellite of the larger moon of Luna. It is inhabited by the people of the city-states of Zura, who live in valleys and jungles. There is a sunken star-shaped lake in the center of the lake, and the eleven radiating tips of the starry abyss are valleys green with jungle growth. The land is covered in thick jungle, and there is a thick game trail that leads to the lake. There are many caves and caverns within the jungle, including the prison where Tholon Sarna, the golden girl, is held. The lake itself is a huge dome of shaped white stone, with an eye-sockets and gaping nose-hole. Slitted apertures allow for windows that serve for windows at three distinct levels of the temple's curving walls. The main entrance to the temple is barred with a massive timber and the timber locked in place with a metal spike slipped into a prepared cavity in the rock wall. The priests and the misty blobs are stationed at regular intervals across the great entrance into the skull's interior, but they pay Noork no heed. The upper levels are forbidden to the slaves and common citizens of the island.", "Gurn is the leader of the wild Vasads of the jungle. He is a renegade from the walled city of Grath, and the city rulers call him a traitor because he has spoken against the making of slaves of the captured Zurans from other valleys. Gurn is also an exile from the city of Konto, and he has told Noork that his brother, Gurn, has told him the reason for the exile. The reason is that the Zurans are no longer making slaves of other valleys, and Gurn believes that they should no longer make them slaves. He tells Noork to go to Gurn and tell him that the Misty Ones can be trapped and skinned.", "The story begins with the story of a white savage named Noork, who is captured by a group of men from the city-states of Zura. The men of the city of Grath enslave him and his fellow Zurans to serve as slaves for their worship of the god Uzdon, who they believe is the most powerful and powerful of all gods. The story ends with Noork escaping from his captors and escaping to the lake of the Misty Ones, where he meets a beautiful golden-skinned girl, Tholon Sarna, and rescues her from the prison where she is being held as a sacrifice to the god of the lake.", "The Misty Ones are the guardians of the Temple of the Skull on the island of Sekk. The men of the city of Zuran enslave the women of the valley city of Grath, and they use them as slaves to be sacrificed to the god Uzdon, who is the most powerful of all gods. The women are kept in cages beneath the temple, where they are sacrificed for the sacrifice of a young woman to be used as a sacrifice to Uzdon. The priests of the temple keep the women in cages in order to ensure that they will not be able to escape and escape to the lake of the Misty Ones where they can be skinned and eaten by them. The Misty Ones, however, are not gods, demons, or even ghostly servants of demons. They are living breathing creatures like Noork, and Noork is able to defeat them by using his sword and his knowledge of their language to escape from the prison where he is being held. When Noork escapes, he is pursued by a group of men from the city city of Konto, who capture him and take him to the Lake of Uzdon to be killed by the priests. When he escapes, Noork discovers that they are not immortal demons, but men, and that they can kill him and save his life if he tells them the truth about his mission.", "Space Man Willard is a lonely man who has been alone in space for twenty years. He is the sole survivor of the Space Ship Mary Lou, which left the Rocket Port for an alleged planetoid beyond Pluto thirteen years ago. He has spent the entire time alone, and the only thing that keeps him sane is the memory of his friends and the sound of their voices in his mind. He dreams of the cities and the fields and the shops where he worked, and he hears the voices of his co-workers and scientists. He thinks of his beautiful wife, his gruff and deep voices, and even the gruff deep voices of the farmers and scientists who he worked with. He also thinks of the blue green water, the soft slap of rainwater under his feet, the crunch of snow, and other sounds that he used to hear when he walked on the plains or in the fields. Willard has tried to tear the memories of Earth out of his heart, but it cannot be done because he is afraid of the loneliness that he feels. He spends his days and nights staring at the stars and dreaming of the days he had known on Earth. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he goes to the window and sees a faint ghost-like rocket ship coming toward him. He believes that it is the Ghost Ship, but the ship is not from the solar system, and it turns out to be a life and blood rocket ship from Earth. He calls the ship and receives a message that it has been disabled and not space worthy, inviting him to come aboard. The ship is a super-size exploration ship to be called Mary Lou II in memory, and Willard accepts the invitation. He leaves the Mary Lou for the first time in his entire life.", "The story is about a lonely man who is alone in space and has no one to talk to, no friends, no family, and no companionship. He tries to tear the memories of his life on the Mary Lou out of his mind, but it cannot be done because he is unable to detach himself from his memories of the days he had known on Earth. These memories are the only things that Willard has left of his time in space, and he cannot let go of them. He dreams of the cities and the fields and the shops where he had worked, the voices of his co-workers and scientists, and the soft slap of rainwater under his feet. These are all the things that he remembers from his childhood, and these memories are what keep him going and keep him from going mad. When he wakes up in the middle of the night, he sees the stars again, and his dreams are horrible with the fantasies of terror that years of solitary brooding had implanted deep in his mind. He is lonely and alone, and every night he dreams of his friends, the cities, the fields, the shops, the sounds of birds, the crunch of snow, and all the other sounds that he used to hear when he was a young man. When the ship is destroyed by a meteorite, Willard is alone again, but he does not look out the window because he cannot bear the thought of the Ghost Ship. He does not want to see the ship again because he knows that he will never see it again. He thinks of the loneliness of being alone and the fear that he would go mad if he saw it. He also thinks of his best friend, Dobbin, dying, and wants to walk on solid ground once more. When Dobbin dies, he is happy because he will die a happy man knowing that he had lived as much and as deeply as any man could.", "Larry Dobbin is the best friend Willard has ever had in space. He and Willard were on the Space Ship Mary Lou when it left the Rocket Port for an alleged planetoid beyond Pluto. After four years in space, Dobbin begins to show signs of delirium and begins to believe that the Ghost Ship is coming for him. Willard tries to convince him that the ship will return soon, but Dobbin refuses to believe him. When he dies, Willard keeps vigil over his body for two days, hoping that he will get well soon and start to work again on a new idea of his. When the time is up, he does what is necessary and nothing remains of Dobbin.", "Ghost Ships are the hauntings of spacemen who can never return to Earth. The story begins with Willard, the lone survivor of the Space Ship Mary Lou, staring out the window at Orion\u2019s belt and imagining the appearance of faint ghost-like rocket ships. Willard believes that he has seen these ships before, but he dismisses them as nothing more than his imagination. Then, one night, he sees a full-sized rocket ship coming toward him, and he realizes that it is not a ghost ship, but a life and blood rocket ship from Earth. He believes that the ship is coming for him, but it turns out to be a vague outline in space. The ship is not from the solar system, but is headed toward the Mary Lou. The news that the space ship is disabled and not space worthy makes Willard cry, and this makes him decide to manufacture a super-size exploration ship to be called Mary Lou II in memory of his father.", "Willard and Dobbin have a very close relationship. They have been in space together for four years, and Willard is the only person that Dobbin has ever known. Willard has cared for Dobbin for the last four years of his life, and he is the best friend he has ever had. Dobbin is dying of a terminal illness, and it is Willard who tries to comfort him and reassure him that they will return to Earth soon. Willing to help Dobbin, Willard keeps vigil over his body for two days, and when the time is up, he leaves him to die alone. Dobbin\u2019s death makes Willard sad and lonely, but he also knows that he will never see Earth again. He is like Anteus, who could live without friends, fortune, and fortune, but only the feel of solid ground under his feet could give him the courage to go among the stars. When he dies, he will die a happy man, knowing that he has lived as much and as deeply as any man could.", "The Terrestrial Embassy Councillor, Retief, is discussing the sponsorship of Youth groups with Ambassador Magnan. The Youth Movement is an emergent power group on the planet Fust, and the Terrestrial mission is sponsoring them in order to cement relations with them. Magnan tells Retief that the Youth groups are a shrewd stroke on the part of the mission, but Retief does not want to get involved in the sponsorship. He wants to study the social patterns of the youth, and he wants to get himself a good blackjack. He also wants to attend the Sponsorship ceremony for the SCARS group, but Magnan warns him that he will not be able to attend due to his intransigence. Retief leaves the Embassy and heads to the shipyards, where he meets a Fustian youth named Slock, who is building a battle cruiser for the Groaci Embassy. Slock is a member of the Youth Movement, and Magnan wants Retief to help him find a sponsor for the Youth group. The youth tells him that it is not a secret project, but he does not know who the sponsor is, and Retief wants to know more about the Youth movement. He is interrupted by two youths from the shipyard, Whonk and Slock. They kidnap Slock and tie him up, and they plan to use him as a weapon to blow up the ship. The two youths escape, but they are caught by Retief. He follows them to a storage bin, where they find Slock lying on his back with his carapace missing, and his body covered in blood. The Fustians tell him that the youth is the leader of a gang of youths, and that they are planning to use Slock as a means of obtaining weapons to kill him. They tie Slock up and take him to the warehouse, but the youth escapes and tells them where the titanite is hidden. They find it in a shed, and when they try to find it, they discover that Slock\u2019s body has been cut off. They take the youth to the embassy, where Magnan informs them that he is scheduled to go on a cruise tomorrow. They go to the VIP shipyard to discuss the shipment of titanite, but there is no sign of a guard, so they decide to go to Moss Rock instead. The shipyard is empty, and there is a strange odor on the floor. They enter the ship and find four small drums painted an evil green", "The Fustians are a long-lived race with an average age of seventy-five. They have a steel-age manufacturing economy and a highly developed shipbuilding industry. The Fustian life cycle is divided into three parts: (1) youth, (2) adults, and (3) children. The youth are responsible for the organization of Youth groups, such as the Sexual, Cultural, and Athletic Recreational Society (SCARS), which is currently awaiting funding from the Terrestrial Embassy. The adults tend to the place of papers, which is where the Youth live and work.", "Magnan is the Ambassador of the Terrestrial Embassy on Fust. He is a Fustian diplomat who has only been on the planet for a month, but he already has a keen understanding of the culture and political situation of the planet. Magnan is also a member of the Youth Movement, a group of young Fustians who are seeking funding to complete their sexual, cultural, and athletic development. The Youth Movement is a shrewd stroke on the part of the mission, and sponsorship of Youth groups is a way to cement relations with the leaders of the future. The Ministry of Youth vouches for these Youth groups, and Magnan believes that they are important news in today\u2019s political situation. He also believes that the Groaci Embassy is behind the sponsorship of the SCARS group, and that they want to use the Youth movement to launch an interplanetary war against Flamenco, which would be a great opportunity for them to take over the planet and use the resources they have to their advantage. Magnan also serves as the leader of the Sponsorship Committee for the shipyards, which is responsible for the construction of a new passenger liner for the planet, and he is also responsible for recruiting the Youth to participate in the sponsorship ceremonies. He meets Retief at the banquet hall, where he introduces him to Slock, who is being honored as the guest of honor for sponsoring the Youth group. He introduces Retief to the audience, and when Magnan asks Retief if he is the ringleader of a delinquent gang, Retief tells him that the gang is not a gang, but rather a youth organization. When Magnan tells the story of his encounter with Slock and Whonk, Magnan tries to defend the youth organization, but the youth group, SCARS, and Slock. Magnan also tells Retief that the Youth groups are not important news, but a ploy to gain the attention of the Groacai Embassy.", "Whonk is a Fustian youth that Retief meets on the shipyard where he is building a battle cruiser. He tells Retief that he knows Retief because he told him about him when Retief came out to look at the ship he was building. When Retief tries to kill Slock, Whonk pins him to the floor and lifts him off the floor. When Slock tries to run away, he is pinned to the ground and beaten. When the Fustians try to capture Retief, he fights them off with his pry-bars and kicks them out of the way. When they escape, they take the Youth with them to the VIP shipyard to discuss the shipment of titanite.", "The Terrestrial Embassy is located on the planet Fust. It has a sprawling bungalow-type building that houses the chancery of the Embassy. There is also a shipyard, a refreshment pond, and a dockyard. The shipyards are where the Fustians build their ships, and they are also where the Groaci shipyard is located. Fustian youth are also involved in the sponsorship of Youth groups. The Youth Movement is an important news in today\u2019s political situation on Fust, and sponsorship of the Youth groups is a shrewd stroke on the part of the Terrestrial embassy.", "Sergeant Major Andrew McCloud is in charge of the Office of the Civil Health and Germ Warfare Protection Co-ordinator. He has been in charge for two years, and he has not found a replacement for Colonel Patterson, who was retired ten days ago. The office is full of reports from all over the country, but there is no sign of an epidemic. He is frustrated, and his secretary, Bettijean, brings him a pile of reports. She tells him that there has been an outbreak of the plague, but he is unable to find any signs of it in the small offices or small businesses. He asks her to tell him everything that she has done in the last twelve hours, and she tells him everything. She also tells him about her phone and typewriter, but she does not use a government envelope to save a stamp. She says that she did not write a letter to her mother. She does not have a doctor, dentist, or attorney in her office. The lab report is not complete yet, but it shows that there is an epidemic in every part of the country. The general, the brigadier, the colonel, and the other officers in the office are all confused. They are told that the epidemic is not a communicable thing, but they cannot find a way to prevent it from spreading. The brigadier and the colonel suggest that they send a message to all radio and TV networks warning people not to lick the four cent stamps, but the general says that they cannot do that because there are too many people in the area. He tells the girls to get blankets or coats and get a glass of water. The next day, a girl, Janis, falls ill and is rushed to the emergency room. The doctor and the lab technician are unable to identify the cause of the illness, and there are no reports from any military installations. The army is alerted, and every American base in the world is being issued live ammunition. The hospital in Tennessee is filled with sick people, but no one has died. The doctors and the hospital technicians cannot identify the poison because the water systems are pure. The Army has no idea who is responsible for the epidemic, and no one knows how to treat it. He calls the general and tells him to give the two new officers a thirty-day furlough to rest up and get better acquainted. The two officers are relieved of their duties, and they leave the office for a while. The colonel tells the two officers to report to the surgeon general's office.", "Sergeant Andy McCloud is in charge of the Office of the Civil Health and Germ Warfare Protection Co-ordinator in the Pentagon. He has been in charge for two years, and he has not received any news of a new lieutenant to take over his position. He is very tired and frustrated, and his nerves and patience are wearing thin. He does not know what to do, but he tries to do his best to find a way to help the people who are sick. He calls Bettijean, his secretary, and asks her to bring him all the latest reports, but she does not find anything significant. He begins to wonder if it is a fifth column setup, but then he receives a report from the lab that shows that half the adult population of Aspen, Colorado, is down, and half of the population of Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico, is also down. He goes to the outer office, where he meets with his superior, the colonel, and the general. The general tells him that the epidemic is not a communicable thing, and that there are no signs of it in the military. He also tells Andy that he will be relieved of his position, but Andy refuses. He tells the general that he has been entombed in this office for 2 years and that his staff and he know how to handle the situation.", "Sergeant Andy and Corporal Bettiejean have a very close relationship. They are both young, black-headed soldiers who work in the Office of the Civil Health and Germ Warfare Protection Co-ordinator in the Pentagon. Andy is the new noncom in charge of the office, and Bettijean is his subordinate. They have a warm and caring relationship, which is evident from the beginning of the story, when Andy calls Bettiejeane into his office and asks her to bring him all the latest reports. They share a warm, affectionate relationship throughout the story. When Andy is frustrated with the lack of progress in finding a cure for the plague, Bettiejen is supportive of him and encourages him to keep working. When the general comes into the office and berates Andy for his lack of response to the news of the epidemic, Andy tries to calm him down and reassures him that they will find a way to solve the problem. They also have a loving relationship when the general threatens to fire the two officers from the office if they don\u2019t cooperate with him.", "Janis is the first person to fall ill with the plague. She is the only one in the office that is sick, and she is the one who tells Andy that she wrote a letter to her mother about what they are doing. This is significant because it allows Andy to find out what she did in the last twelve hours, and it allows him to figure out the cause of the epidemic. It is also significant because she is able to tell him everything that she did during the twelve hours that she was sick. She also tells him that she didn\u2019t use a government envelope to save a stamp to save the stamp, and that she had a sandwich and some coffee and got a little nap in the ladies' lounge. When she tells him all of this, he can see that she is scared and confused, but he is also able to reassure her that it is not contagious and that there is nothing to be afraid of. He also gives her a glass of water and blankets and tells her to take it easy. When Bettijean asks her what time it is, Janis says it\u2019s three o\u2019clock in the morning, and Andy realizes that she has been here since 9. He calls the doctor and the chemist and tells them that she\u2019ll be fine. He then calls the general and the surgeon general. He tells them to give Janis the best of everything, and they give her a thirty-day furlough to rest and get better acquainted with each other. When Andy calls the colonel and the next day, he finds out that there are no more cases of the plague in the military bases, and the general agrees with his plan. The general orders the rest of the officers to be on the lookout for a new lieutenant to take charge of the office. When the news comes in that the plague has spread throughout the entire country, the general is furious, and he orders Andy to be put in charge of all of the military operations. Andy is furious because he has been in charge for two years and has not been able to find a single case of the disease. He is also furious that the general has not given him any information about the epidemic, but the general does not listen to him. He orders the other officers to investigate the situation, and when he learns about the four-centers, he orders them to spread the news to all radio and TV networks. When he receives the news that the epidemic is spreading throughout the country, he is furious and calls Bettij", "The \"chicken colonel\" is a noncom in charge of the Office of the Civil Health and Germ Warfare Protection Co-ordinator. He was replaced ten days ago by Colonel Patterson, who had retired ten days prior to the outbreak of the plague. The new noncom, Andy, has been in charge for two years, and he has not been able to find a replacement for Patterson. The general, the brigadier, and the other officers in the office are all upset and angry with the noncom. The chicken colonel tries to calm them down by telling them that the epidemic is not a communicable thing, but they are not getting sick. He also tries to tell them that there is no evidence of a plot, but the general refuses to listen to him. He orders the two officers from the surgeon general\u2019s office to get the two sergeants and the corporal from the office. The colonel is relieved of his duties, and his captains are ordered to report to his office for disciplinary action. Bettijean brings him a newspaper with the news that the Red Plague has spread throughout the country. She also brings a report from the lab showing that half the adult population of Aspen, Colorado, is down, and half the population of Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico, is also down. She tells the colonel that she has found a society matron and her social secretary who are sick, and a new parents and newly engaged girl who stayed at the office for five hours, and then went to the ladies' lounge for a nap in the rest of the day. The chickens colonel is furious, and threatens to fire the sergeant and corporal. The two officers are relieved of their duties, but are relieved by the general, who orders them to remain by the switchboard for the duration of the emergency. When the chicken colonel comes back, he is given a four-cent stamp. He hands it to Andy, who uses it to announce that the plague has spread to the entire nation. He then calls the general and tells him that he is to be given a thirty-day furlough to rest up and get better acquainted with the people in his office. He leaves the office and goes to the outer office, where he is met by the colonel and his two captains. He tells them that they will be assigned to a switchboard out of the office, and they will take orders only from the sergeant. He is also told that he will not be allowed to communicate with the general", "Herbert Hyrel is a middle-aged man who lives in a small cabin in a hidden nook between a highway and a river where he has installed a receiving set for his telporter suit. He lives with his wife and their two children, and he spends most of his time in the privacy of his small cabin, where he keeps his clothes, his money, and the telporter suits. His wife, a Persian dancer, is dancing with a tall toreador, and Hyrel notices that she is wearing a wig of platinum hair encrusted with jewels that sparkles in the lights. He notices that her eyes sparkle behind the almond slits of her glasses, and she has contact lenses of garish green. He is depressed because he has very little money left, and his wife is constantly reminding him that he made a bad bargain when he married her. He also hates her for the paltry allowance she doles out to him, as if he were an irresponsible child. He wants to kill her, but he cannot afford to do so until he receives his monthly dole two weeks hence. He decides to go to the club to dance with a Persian girl, and when he sees her, he is depressed. She is wearing the same costume she had worn the night before, but this time it is a can-can dancer. The mesh hose that encased her shapely legs are held up by flowered supporters in such a manner as to leave four inches of white leg exposed between hose top and lacy panties. Her skirt, frilled to suggest innumerable petticoats, falls away at each hip, leaving the full length of her legs exposed. She kisses him, and they dance together, and then she goes to her room. He grabs her by the hand and drags her to the far end of the garden, where they dance in the shadows of the artificial palms. He tells her that he will kill her when he has plenty of money, but she refuses to believe him. He then tells her he is going to kill his wife. She tells him that she doesn\u2019t believe him, so he goes to the telephone and calls the police. When the police arrive, he tells them that his wife has been shot and that he has killed her. She calls them and tells them to bring a doctor. After the doctor arrives, Hyrel tells his wife that he killed his wife because he had no money to pay for a private room for her, so she won\u2019", "Herbert Hyrel is a bank president who lives in a small cabin in a hidden nook between a highway and a river. His wife, Mrs. Herbert Hyrel, is a wealthy woman who keeps a telporter suit that allows him to travel to the club where he meets the Persian dancer. She is also the wife of a boorish oaf who is spending an evening telling his wife how he came to be a successful bank president. Her husband is depressed because he cannot afford a private room at the club, and she does not want to dance with him because she is afraid that he will kill her. She does not believe him when he tells her that he is going to kill her because he has no money to pay for the suit. When he tries to convince her to go outside, she refuses because she has very little money left. He then threatens her with the switch that will jerk his shadowy self back along its invisible connecting cord, and leave but a small mound of clothes upon the chair at the table. When she calls the police, she tells them that something horrible has happened to her husband. When the police arrive, she calls her husband and tells him to come to the hospital immediately. After he dies, she goes to the bathroom, removes her clothes, puts on a fresh pair of blue, plastifur pajamas, and hides them in the false back of the medicine cabinet.", "Herbert and his wife are married to each other. She is a wealthy bank president and he is a low-paid employee. They live in a small cabin in a hidden nook between a highway and a river where he has installed the receiving set a month ago. He has very little money to live on, so he has to borrow money from his wife to pay for the telporter suit. She keeps a small amount of money from him, which she doles out to him as an allowance. She does not want to go out with him because she does not like to be taken outside. She also does not believe him when he tells her that he is going to kill her because he cannot afford a private room at the club like the others. When he tries to seduce her, she refuses to dance with him, and he does not allow her to go outside because she is afraid of what he will do to her. When she does allow him to take her outside to dance, she is coldly and unyielding. After he kills his wife, she calls the police and tells them that something horrible has happened to her husband. When the police arrive, she tells them to bring a doctor immediately because he has died.", "Teleporter suits are devices that allow a person to leave their body and materialize in another person\u2019s body. The person in the telporter suit is whisked away to a receiving set in secret, where he or she can receive music, images, and other stimuli. When the person leaves the body, his or her ectoplasm, higher self, streams out of him along an invisible channel, leaving his body behind in a conscious but dream-like state. This allows the person to escape from his wife, and he is able to dance with a beautiful Persian dancer in the club. When he returns home, he has a cut on his hand from a broken champagne glass. The scar is peculiar to the shadowy body only, but not the scars on the outer body. This is why teleporter suits allow people to get drunk and have a good time, and then return to their real selves in the morning. This creates an iron-clad alibi for the person who killed his wife.", "The Riverside Club is an exclusive club that attracts a very exclusive clientele that have three things in common: money, a desire for utter self-abandonment, and a sales slip indicating ownership of a telporter suit. The club is of necessity expensive, for self-telportation is strictly illegal, and police protection comes high. It is also a place where people can escape from their everyday lives and become the thing they dream of being. The story is set in a society where people are desperate to escape reality, and the club is a place that allows them to do so.", "Time in the Round is a story about two young boys, Joggy and Hal, who are visiting the Time Theater to watch a Time Theater show. They are not allowed to enter the theater because of a minority theory that the Time Bubble is a kind of hole through space-time, which can only be used for light. The boys are fascinated by the bubble because they can see through it, but they can\u2019t see the audience because there is only a single isotope of light coming out of the bubble. The narrator explains that the bubble is the locus of an infinite number of one-way holes, all centering around two points in space time, one now and one then. The audience on the other side of the Bubble sees into the bubble just as we do, only they\u2019re seeing the other way because the tree is in the way. The bubble only shines light out, but no one can get into it from outside because the hole is a one way hole. Joggy\u2019s friend, the Butcher, is also interested in the time theater, but he is not allowed in because he is under five years old. The two boys decide to go swimming, but the Butcher refuses because he thinks he is too young to be allowed in the theater. They decide to walk to the theater instead, but when they get there, they are stopped by an usher because they are not old enough to pass through the usher. The usher explains that there is a delay in energizing the time bubble due to an anomaly, and that the boys must wait in a small transparent cubicle to watch the show without disturbing the adult audience. They watch a show about Tamerlane, a man who was a Scand of the Navies, and a group of warriors, including a hooded figure with hawklike, disturbing eyes. The men are wearing furs and metal-studded leather, and their weapons and armor are made of metal. The hooded man has a metal tube in his hand, which he uses to jab the dog in the stomach, and he tells the boys that he is the World Director of the Dawn Era, a time when people were hurting each other all the time so the blood came out. The boy says that he would like to have lived in a time where there was no violence, and the Butcher says he will not be World Director when he becomes World Director because he will reject all violent solutions to problems when he is older. The story ends with the two", "Hal is a five-year-old boy from the Time Theater. He and his friend Joggy are part of a group of uninjes that watch a Time Theater show. They are fascinated by the Time Bubble, which they believe is a kind of hole through space-time that allows them to see into the future. The boys are able to see through the bubble because they have levitators, which allow them to move through the space between two points in time. The Time Theater is where they watch the show, but they are not allowed to go inside because they are under-five years old. The reason for this is because of the minority theory that the bubble operates by hypermemory, which is a theory that people with impulsive mentalities cannot use the bubble for time travel. The audience on the other side of the bubble can only see through it because the bubble only shines light out through holes in space time.", "Technology plays a significant role in this society. The Time Bubble is a kind of hole through space-time that allows people to see into the past and future, but it is impossible for humans to step into the bubble because it is a one-way hole. The audience on the other side of the bubble can only see the original light from the bubble, which is why they can\u2019t see through it. The bubble is also used to protect the audience from any harmful consequences of time traveling, such as an atom beam that could damage the bubble. The projector in the Time Theater interprets the audience\u2019s thoughts and actions, and it is able to tell the audience that they are under-five years old, which prevents them from entering the theater. There is also an electronic interpreter in the auditorium, which allows the audience to watch the show without disturbing the adults. The theater also has a Time Theater, where the audience can see Earth in the past, present, and future. The narrator explains that there is a minority theory that the Time Bubble operates by hypermemory, which suggests that the bubble is not real at all, but an illusion created by a single isotope of light that leaks through holes in space time.", "The society in this story is based on a pre-civilization society. It is made up of humans who live in a Time Bubble, which is a kind of hole through space-time. The bubble is made of a single isotope of light, which can only be seen through a single hole in space time. The Time Theater is a circular auditorium with a huge bubble of light. The audience is seated in concentric rows around the bubble, their keen and compassionate faces dimly revealed by the pale central glow. There is also a Time Theater, where children are allowed to watch the Time Theater. The theater has an auditorium, a time theater, and a backstage area for the uninjes. The backstage area is filled with cubicles where children can play with their levitators, and there is a small Time Theater where adults can watch the show. The auditorium has a projector that allows the audience to see the show from a different time scale, and the theater itself has a screen that allows them to see Earth in a different perspective. The society also has an interpreter who speaks to the audience through microtapes. The interpreter tells the audience that the Time Bubble operates by hypermemory, which means that some scientists believe that all memory is time traveling, and that the bubble is not real at all, but an infinite number of one-way holes. This theory is a minority theory, but there are safeguards to protect the audience from any harmful consequences of time traveling in either direction.", "Pre-civilization is a time period in which there was no civilization. The story takes place in the future, where there is no Time Bubble, no television, no movies, no radio, no computers, no telephones, no televisions, no radios, and no computers. There is only the Time Bubble and a Time Theater, which is where the audience watches the Time Theater. The audience is made up of adults, children, and uninjes, who live by pillage and rapine. There are no weapons, armor, or weapons of any kind, and there is only a single isotope of light coming out of the bubble, which can only be seen through one of the one-way holes in space-time. The Time Theater is the only place where humans can go to see a Time Show, but it is not allowed to be visited by under-five-year-olds because there is a good reason for this. The theater is a place where children are not allowed because it is dangerous for them to be in the bubble because they can\u2019t see the other side of the time bubble.", "Semul Mury, a Poligerent for the City of Dynamopolis, and Ryd Randl, an unemployed helio operator, meet in a bar. Mury tells Ryd that the power cylinder is going to be the salvation of Earth, but it is not coming in as planned, and Mury wants Ryd to accompany him on a mission to deliver the power shell to the planet. Ryd does not want to go with Mury because he is out of a job, but Mury convinces him that he has nothing to lose. They leave the bar together, and as they are walking, Mury grabs Ryd by the arm and leads him outside. As they get closer to the spaceport, Ryd realizes that Mury is armed with a flame pistol, and he is terrified. They are about to board the towship Shahrazad, which will take them into space, when Mury suddenly cuts off the main drive of the ship, and the ship goes into space. The two are caught by the guardsmen of the city, and they are taken to the control room, where Mury shows Ryd how to use the flame pistol to open the inner lock of the airlock. The guardsmen do not know what to do with Ryd, so Mury orders him to cover him with his flame pistol. When Ryd tries to run away, he is caught by Mury's flame gun, which kills him instantly. They escape, but when they get to the tower, they see that the ship is being guarded by Martian soldier robots. They realize that the robots are not armed, but are unarmed, and that they are going to take Ryd aboard the ship to help the planet rebuild itself. The ship is about to leave for space, but Ryd refuses to go because he does not have the physique to work on the planet, which is why the government sold the planet to Mars ten years ago, and now it is a colony of the Red Planet.", "The story takes place in the year 819. The story begins in a bar called Burshis\u2019 Stumble Inn, which is located on the edge of the city of Dynamopolis. The bar is crowded with men and smoke, and the place is dark and musty. There is a metal door marked CAUTION at the entrance, and there are metal arches that block the view of the terminal facilities of the spaceport. The spaceport is located at the end of Pi Mesa, and it has two runways, one for the ships of space and the other for the military bases. The Spaceport itself is a vast, impersonal place, with many buildings and runways. There are no lights in the tower, but there is one great tower, the Communications Tower. The tower is crowned with many lights where the signal-men sit godlike in its summit.", "Throughout the story, Mury treats Ryd as if he is nothing more than a pawn in a game of chess. He treats him as a potential employee, and he treats him with the same coldness and contempt that he would treat any other employee. He does not try to intimidate Ryd or frighten him, nor does he try to frighten Ryd out of his decision to join Mury and the crew of the towship Shahrazad. Mury does not threaten Ryd, but he does try to calm him down when he realizes that the ship is not coming in as planned. When Ryd tries to run away from Mury, he does not hesitate to use his flame pistol against the lock mechanism of the ship. When Mury tells Ryd that the power cylinder is going to be a shot in the arm for Earth industry, he is calm and does not show any signs of fear or anger.", "Many Earthmen are desolate because they have been sold out to Mars by their governments. The Restriction Act prevents them from retooling their plants and factories for the use of the helio-dynamic engine, which allows them to live healthily on the outer world. The government has sold the entire planet to Mars because they lack the courage and vision to retool their plants for the inescapable conflict. They are sold as economic prey to the ruthless masters of Mars, and Earth is a great pool of labor ready to be tapped, cheaper than robots, cheap as slaves. Therefore, they are sold to Mars.", "Ryd is a young helio operator who has been out of a job for nine years. He is a bit of a kicked-dog type of person. He does not want to work, and he is scared of Mury and the other men. When Mury asks him to accompany him on a mission to retrieve the power cylinder from the Martian warship, Ryd is terrified. He knows that he will be killed if he does not go along with Mury. He also knows that Mury will kill him if he refuses to go with him. Ryd does not like Mury, but he is afraid of him too. He tries to be brave, but it is not easy for him.", "The Serpent River is an endless rope of cloud oozing along the surface of the land. It is a long silvery serpent-like thing that crawled slowly over the planet\u2019s surface. The crew of the EGGWE (Earth-Galaxy Good Will Expeditions) has landed on this planet to learn more about the inhabitants of the planet. They have brought back two important pieces of information: (1) that man lives on the planet, a humanoid closely resembling the humans of the Earth, and (2) that a vast cylindrical \"rope\" crawls the surface continuously, endlessly. Captain Linden, the leader of the expedition, and his companion, Captain Split, have been sent to the planet to gather more information about the creature. They are accompanied by their guard, Gravgak, who is anxious to hear all the talk. They observe the creature through a telescope, and they notice that it is moving. They also notice that the creatures are wearing puffy white fur ornaments around their elbows, which suggests that they are protecting themselves from predators. The creature is also wearing a red sash about his middle, and a red headdress that comes down over his shoulders as a circular mantle. The creatures are also wearing red sashes and red headdresses. The men are dressed in brilliant garb, while the women are more scantily clothed. The woman is wearing a cream-colored robe, and her hair is the color of lemon-tinted sunlight. The two explorers land on the land, where they are greeted by the leader and his group of twelve people. They notice that they have landed on top of an underground city, and that the trees are moving. The leader, a tall, stately man named Tomboldo, greets them and asks them to accompany him back to their ship. The two explorers decide to go and meet the two creatures, but they are attacked by a group of savage natives. They attack the leader, and he is knocked unconscious by a stone from a sponge-tree. The attackers run away, but the attackers run back to the hillside. The captain and his team are able to defeat the attackers, but one of their guards is injured. They return to the ship and find Vauna, the daughter of the leader. She tells them that her father is eager to talk with them, but she does not want to be part of the group. They decide to wait a few days until the leader is well enough", "Gravgak is one of the guards on the ship that the explorers landed on. He is tall and muscular, with green and black diamond designs on his arms and legs. He has piercing eyes that make him seem suspicious. When the explorers land on the planet, he is the first to notice the serpent-like creature that crawls over the surface of the land. He immediately recognizes the creature as a man, but he does not work very hard to make sure that the way is safe. When he is knocked unconscious by the attackers, the rest of the group rushes to help him. However, when he comes back to consciousness, he angrily berates the group for not paying attention to the danger. After the attack on the explorers, the group decides to take Gravgak back to the other part of the world.", "The siren is significant because it is the first sign of human presence on this planet. The crew of the EGGWE Good Will Expeditions were sent to this planet to learn more about it and its inhabitants. They had come equipped with the Keynes-Roy roving cameras that had brought back information about various parts of the universe, including the shape of the land, the size of the serpent-like creature that crawled over the surface of the planet, and the presence of a vast cylindrical \"rope\" crawling over the land. The siren also serves as a warning to the natives that the ship is coming and that they are in danger. It is also significant because the siren allows the crew to communicate with Vauna, the daughter of Tomboldo, and her father, who is the leader of the natives. When the natives attack the ship, they hear the ship's siren, which frightens them away from the attack. This allows them to retreat to the safety of the hilltop, where they are protected by the ship. This is also important because it allows the humans to learn about the natives\u2019 customs and beliefs.", "Captain Linden is the captain of the spaceship that landed on the planet Serpent River. He is a member of the EGGWE (Earth-Galaxy Good Will Expeditions) team that was sent to the planet to learn more about it. He and his partner, Split Campbell, are on a mission to investigate the strange creature that they see on the surface of the planet. They are accompanied by two other members of the team, named Split and Vauna, who are both Benzendellas. Captain Linden\u2019s first impression of the Serpent River is that it looks like a man-like animal, and he feels a deep sense of excitement when he first sees it. However, he quickly learns that the creature is not a living creature, and that it is a serpent-like creature that has been crawling over the planet for millions of years. He orders his men to stay away from the creature and to not enter into any kind of marriage contract with it, which is against the rules of the Eggweg code. He also orders Vauna to keep an eye on the creature to make sure that it does not harm them. When he is unconscious, he is visited by Vauna and her attendant Omosla, who is also looking after him. When Vauna comes to see him, she tells him that she is the daughter of Tomboldo, the leader of the tribe, and she wants him to get well so that they can go back to their hilltop home. She also tells him about her father, who has performed an operation on him to relieve the pressure on his brain. After he awakens from his coma, he learns that he is in love with Vauna.", "The relationship between Captain Linden and his lieutenant \"Split\" Campbell is one of the most important aspects of the story. The two men have been on the same ship together for only a few months, but they have already traveled millions of miles in space together. They are both dedicated to their duties and have a strong sense of duty to each other. Although they are both young and inexperienced, they are able to communicate effectively with each other and work well together. The relationship between the two men is based on trust and trust in each other as well as trust in the other.", "Don Alford, an unemployed pharmacist, receives a letter from POSAT, an ancient secret society that promises him the secrets of the universe and the key that will unlock the hidden knowledge within him. He receives three envelopes from the organization, each with the same information: the name of his company, the address of his laboratory, and the number of the room he works in. His wife, Betty, thinks that it is a psychological test, but he refuses to believe it. The next day, he receives another letter, this time from the Grand Chairman of POSAT asking him to attend an interview with him on Tuesday, July 10, at 2:30 P.M. Don decides to decline the invitation, but his secretary tells him that he will not be able to leave the laboratory because he is not allowed to take a day off from his job. Don leaves the laboratory and goes to the office of the organization. There he receives a booklet that contains pamphlets and a questionnaire that asks him to fill out. He finds out that the organization is a secret society called POSAT and that its founder, a super-genius, designed an atomic reactor that has been in use for only twenty years. The organization claims to have discovered the packing fraction that describes the binding energy of nuclei, but it can\u2019t be done because it is an observed phenomenon. Don is disappointed that he has never seen a similar device before. He is also disappointed when he receives three more envelopes, each containing information about the organization\u2019s mission and purpose. He thinks that they are a spy ring, but they are not. He decides to ignore them and sends them back to the laboratory. Don receives a second letter from the same organization, but this time the information is more personal, asking him if he will join their society. He accepts the invitation and is shown to a luxurious room with paintings of ancient Egyptian artists. The room is decorated with paintings that are lighted by a fluorescent tube that is attached to brackets. He notices that one of the paintings near the corner is a Titian, and he thinks that he recognizes the artist. The woman who opens the door to the next room shows him to a balcony overlooking the building where he is supposed to be meeting with the grand chairman of the society. She leads him to the room where he finds the atomic reactor, but the door is locked and he is unable to open it. He realizes that the room is not his office, but a laboratory. He sees a", "The story takes place in a futuristic society called POSAT. It is located in an industrial part of the city. The headquarters of POSAT is located on the other side of a warehouse, at the end of a blind alley. There is a reception room with a battered desk facing the view of an empty alley, and a gray-looking wallpaper and worn rug. There are paintings on the walls, ornately framed in gilt carving, and there is a filing cabinet with a folder from which the girl opens a door opposite the stairwell. On the far side of the room is a balcony with a frosted glass door leading to the office of the Grand Chairman. Inside the office, there is an atomic reactor, which is shielded by a thick layer of bluish-green plastic. The room also contains a computer room, where there is also a large computing machine. Outside, there are alleys lined with loading platforms, and the warehouse is recessed from the street in several places to make room for the small, shabby buildings of a wholesale pharmacy, a printer's plant, an upholstering shop, and other businesses. The warehouse is also indented by alleys that lead to loading platforms. The main building of the society is a huge sprawling warehouse, of concrete construction, and almost entirely windowless. The building is located next to a large warehouse. Inside of the warehouse, the main building is a laboratory, which has many different types of equipment, including a large atomic reactor. The laboratory also has a desk, filing cabinet, filing cabinets, a filing room, and an outer door. The outer door of the laboratory is locked. The inner door leads to the outer office.", "Mr. Crandon is an important character in the story because he is the Grand Chairman of POSAT, an ancient secret society. He is the founder of the organization that created the atomic reactor, and he is one of the most important people in the society. Don is a research physicist who admires Crandon and wants to learn more about the organization. He believes that the organization is a secret society, but he is also suspicious because he has never heard of it before. When he sees the paintings in the waiting room, he realizes that they are part of the founder\u2019s personal collection, which he bought from artists of the Renaissance. He also realizes that the reactor is modern because it has been in use for only twenty years. He realizes that POSAT has broken many laws, including the prohibition of the use of atomic energy, and that he must join the organization if he wants to save his civilization.", "The Perpetual Order of Seekers After Truth (POSAT) is an ancient secret society. Its founder, a super-genius, designed an atomic reactor that has been in use for only twenty years. He also designed the atomic reactor for power that is now in use in the laboratory. The organization claims to be a secret society dedicated to discovering the secrets of the universe and the key that will unlock the hidden knowledge within the human mind. Don Alford, an unemployed pharmacist, sees the ad in a copy of Your Life and Psychology that had been abandoned on his seat in the bus. He fills out the coupon and sends it to the U.S. mail, where it is received by a woman named Miss Elizabeth Arnable. She receives three identical envelopes, each with the same information: the name of the company, the address of the laboratory, and the number of the room that he works in. She also receives a small pin with the symbol of POSAT wrought in gold and black enamel. Don is invited to an audience with the Grand Chairman of the organization on Tuesday, July 10, at 2:30 p.m. Don does not want to attend the meeting, but he is unable to refuse because he is at work. The next day, he receives three more envelopes addressed to his business address. The first one contains a questionnaire with multiple choice questions that ask him to fill out. The second one is a psychological test. The third one is an invitation to join the organization. The last one is to attend an interview with the organization\u2019s Grand Chairman.", "Bill and Elizabeth contribute to the story in many ways. Bill is an unemployed pharmacist and his wife, Elizabeth, is a cat lover. They are both avid readers of the radio in their room, which is why they are able to pick up a copy of the Antivivisectionist Gazette the day before the advertisement for POSAT appeared in their local paper. They both read the ad, but they are not familiar with the organization, so they do not know what to make of it. However, they are intrigued by the idea of POSAT, and they decide to take the time to read the pamphlet and send it to their neighbor, Miss Elizabeth Arnable, who is also interested in the organization. They decide to post the pamphlet as soon as possible so that it can be sent to the Grand Chairman of the society.", "The story begins on a day 17, Month IX, New Century Three, in Northem. The protagonist is in his living machine in Center Four, where he has been assigned a job in the Office of Weapons. He is in the mid-point of his life, in his thirties, and his job is in magnetic mechanics, which is the only way to handle quanta reaction, or the so-called non-energy drive, and is the answer to feasible space travel beyond the present limit of Mars. His job is important, and there are frequent inspection tours by Big Wheels and Very Important Persons. However, he does not want to be a nonconformist, so he is assigned a new designation, AAAA-111/111. This designation is a four letter word, which he finds extremely embarrassing, and he reports it to his chief, who decides to move him to a new department. The next day, he goes to the office to get his travel permit, but he is told that he will have to get a travel permit to go to Center One, the office of Opsych. The woman at the information desk is very attractive, and the protagonist falls in love with her. He tells her his name, and she asks him to follow her to the controls of Bank 29, where she will record his name and address. They go through the passageways and talk about the mating booths. He finds himself attracted to her, and wants to be in a mating booth with her, but she does not seem to be interested in it. He decides not to ask her out of course, and they leave the room. He goes back to his machine.", "The State plays a very important role in the Northem. The State is responsible for the organization of the society, the numbering system, and the regulation of its citizens. The state is also responsible for maintaining order and maintaining order in the society. Individuals are assigned six digits and an additional prefix or suffix of four letters, which are called serial designations. They are not allowed to change their designation, but only the Office of Psychological Adjustment is authorized to change them if they go from a lower to higher E.A.C. They can also change their name if they are deemed to be a nonconformist, which means that they cannot change their status in any way. The only agency that can change a person\u2019s designation is Opsych, which is located in Center One of the capital. The State also plays a significant role in regulating the lives of the people of Northem, as they are required to conform to the rules and regulations of the State. The characters in the story are all members of the state, and their lives are controlled by the State, and they are not free to choose their own lives. They do not have the freedom to do what they want to do.", "The narrator\u2019s relationship to the voice in his dreams is very different from the one he has in waking life. He is in his thirties, at the mid-point of his life, and has spent his whole life under the control of the State. He has been assigned a number of different names, and he is not allowed to change his designation. He does not want to be classified as a nonconformist, but he cannot change his name because he is already in the highest E.A.C. The voice in the dreams is seductive and seductive, and the narrator is attracted to it. He dreams about the woman, Lara, and her seductive voice. He wants to take the first step in changing his name and find a way to reproduce himself. The narrator does not talk back to the woman in the dream because he does not know how to respond to her. However, he does want to listen to her voice because she is trying to get him to follow her suggestion.", "The narrator\u2019s name affects his social life in two ways. Firstly, his name is a four-letter word, which makes him a nonconformist. He is not allowed to meet any women with his name attached to them. Secondly, he is unable to get a job because of his name. He has to report his name to the office of the Office of Government Publications, where he is required to report it every day. The office clerk does not want to hear his name, and he cannot change his designation because it would be considered a violation of the regulations. Finally, he cannot find a woman to mate with because he has no name attached. He cannot find any women who would be interested in mating with him because he is an N/P. He tries all sorts of schemes to find a mate, but none of them work.", "The narrator\u2019s name is shocking to many people in the organization. The first day he receives his new four letter designation, he is unthinkably embarrassed. He does not want to look at the woman at the information desk when he tells her his name, but he cannot help himself. The clerk at the desk looks at him with a double-take, and the secretarial engineer at the administrative circuits is visibly embarrassed. When the narrator tells the woman his name and asks her for her name, the woman's eyes become wide and her eyes become a warm gray, almost a mouse color. The narrator does not look away from the woman, but instead holds her by the arms and kisses her. The woman does not respond, but the narrator feels a rush of attraction to her.", "Greg Malcolm is the secretary of J. Foster Andrews, the head of the Galactic Metals Corporation. His employer is a plump, impatient little Napoleon. His wife, Enid, is calm, graceful, serene, tastefully garbed and elaborately coiffured even here in deep space, three weeks from the nearest beauty shop. His sister, Maud, is charming despite her age and homeliness simply because of her eyes. Greg\u2019s boss, Ralph Breadon, is a socialite and gentleman sportsman. His family, the Andrews family, includes his wife, his son, his daughter, and their pet poodle, Cuddles. The family has landed on Titan, a planet that is 3,000 miles away from Earth. The crew of the spaceship, the Carefree, has been trapped in an atmospheric belt for eight hours, and they are now in a space vortex. They are in danger of being caught in the vortex by an ionized field, which they have blasted into the atmosphere of Titan. Greg and his fellow crew members, including his secretary, Malcolm, are discussing what to do when they hear a loud scream from their cabin boy, Malcolm. They all rush to the dining dome, where they find their captain, Mr. Breadon. He orders them to immediately set up a life-skiff as a last resort, but they are unable to do so because the ship is caught in a gravity-drag. The captain, Greg Malcolm, orders the crew to get out of the skiff and onto the surface of Titan, where there is a small, flat basin of sandy soil, rimmed by shallow mountains. He sees a thin ribbon of silver sheering the face of the northern hills. He deduces that the silver ribbon is Titan, and he tells his crew members that they are in the northern hemisphere of the planet. He also tells them that they have a radio, but it is broken, and that they need to send an SOS to the nearest space cruiser. He tells them to fix the radio immediately, but Sparks says he can\u2019t fix it because the tubes are made out of glass, and glass bounces so badly. Greg tells the crew that he knows where they are because he has studied astrogation for years, and Sparks tells him that there is only one planet in the solar system that has such a phenomenon, Hyperion, and it is probably Titan. He explains that the ship has hit a warp-eddy last night, and the", "Gregory Malcolm is the secretary of J. Foster Andrews, the head of the Galactic Metals Corporation. His wife, Enid, sits next to him, and his sister, Maud, sits on his right. On the other side of the table is his daughter, Crystal, who is already married to Ralph Breadon, a young man. On his left is his son-in-law, Bert, and on the right is his wife's maid, Tina, and her son, Tommy. The other members of the life skiff are Sparks, the radioman, and Sparks\u2019 assistant, Sparks. The rest of the crew members are members of Breadon\u2019s crew, including the cook, the maid, and the maid. The crew members on the skiff with Malcolm are described as being middle-aged, middle-class, and well-to-do. They are mostly men and women, but there are also a few children, including a maid and a poodle. They all seem to be in a hurry to get out of the space vortex, but they are confused about what to do when they realize they are stuck in it.", "Greg Malcolm is the secretary to J. Foster Andrews. He is a mild, lean, pale, bespectacled secretary. Ralph Breadon is a socialite and gentleman sportsman. They have a cordial relationship. When the crew of the Carefree is caught in a space vortex, Breadon takes over the controls of the skiff. He orders the crew to immediately set up a camp on Titan, which is not an ideal location for the crew because there are no mines, colonies, or other resources on Titan. However, when the crew realizes that the ionized field is coming from Titan, they realize that they are in the Heaviside-layer of some heavenly body, which means that they may not crack up. They decide to use the life-skiff as a last resort.", "Gregory Malcolm and his family are employed by J. Foster Andrews, the head of the Galactic Metals Corporation. They are a wealthy and powerful family, and they have a very powerful position in the organization. They have a lot of power over their employees, and it is clear that they are very important to them. The family has a very tense relationship with the men and women who work for them. They treat them very well, and the men are very loyal to their employer. The women are not as loyal, but they do their best to do their jobs. The men are loyal to the family, too, but it is also clear that the family does not trust them.", "The story takes place on the space yacht Carefree, which is owned by J. Foster Andrews and his wife, Enid, and their daughter, Crystal. The yacht is in deep space, where it is surrounded by a super-ionized belt of atmospherics. The crew of the yacht is trapped in a vortex of space-atmospherics, and they are unable to communicate with the outside world because of the ionized field. The ship is in a space-vortex, which means that it is in the Heaviside-layer of the solar system, a 3,000-mile-diameter satellite of Saturn. The gravity-drag of the ship is almost Earth norm, and the planet has a 3-million-mile diameter, which would give it a strong pull. There is also a thin ribbon of silver sheering the face of the northern hills, which suggests that the ship has landed on Titan.", "Denton Cassal, a sales engineer from Earth, is on a journey to Tunney 21 to see a man. He is being followed by a man, Dimanche, who wants to kill him. Cassal is not interested in the attack, but Dimanche warns him to turn around. Dimanche tells him that the man has a knife and a stiletto in his pocket. He tries to pick up the rapier, but is knocked to the ground by the man, who then stabs him in the throat. He picks up his wallet, but it is not there. He decides to go to the Travelers Aid Bureau to seek help. The first counselor, Murra Foray, is a philanthropic agency. She tells Cassal that he will have to work as a salesman if he wants to get to the center of the galaxy. She also warns him that there are many star systems waiting for him, and a ship that will take him to each one will take a long time to arrive. She says that there is no guarantee that a ship will come in the next five years, so he should take a chance. The second counselor is a Huntner, and she warns him about the difficulties of galactic travel. The third counselor is an electronic device called Dimanche. She warns him not to give the information to the police, but he refuses. He leaves the counseling room, and Dimanche follows him. They find the body of the man who attacked him, but the man is not dead. They realize that Dimanche is right about the man having no heartbeat. They decide to go back to the hotel, but they are interrupted by a Godolphian girl. They follow her to an alleyway, where they find Dimanche and the body. They discover a small amount of money in the man\u2019s pocket, but no other information. The man is still looking at merchandise, so they decide to follow him. As they get closer to the alley, they see Dimanche holding a lighter, and they realize that he is holding a knife. They approach the alley and see the man lying on the water side of the walkway. He has been strangled, and he is not breathing. They examine the body, but there is nothing to be done about it. They return to their hotel, and Cassal realizes that he has lost his identification tab. He asks Dimanche to give him a print of it. The counselor tells him to drop it in the slot provided for that purpose as he leaves", "Dimanche is an electronic instrument that follows Denton Cassal around the city of Godolph. He is a good engineer and the best salesman that Neuronics, Inc. has. He follows Cassal because he wants to learn more about the man who is following him. Dimanche is able to detect the human\u2019s thoughts and emotions, but he cannot read minds. He can only report what a person says or subvocalizes, and he can\u2019t tell if a person is lying or not. He also has limited knowledge of human emotions. He does not know why the man is following Cassal, nor does he know why he is trying to kill him. However, he does know that the man has a knife and a stiletto in his pocket. He tells Cassal to turn around and let him follow the light of his cigarette. When Cassal does turn around, Dimanche tells him that he is not going to kill the man because he has no intention of doing so. He has no idea what the man wants to gain from killing Cassal. He only knows that he has to find a ship to take him to Tunney 21 and that it will take a lot of time to get there. He knows that there are a thousand star systems waiting for him, and a ship that will take him there is not likely to arrive in the next five years.", "Denton Cassal is a sales engineer at Neuronics, Inc. He is on his way to Tunney 21 because he has been selected to make a long journey to study under the best scientists in the galaxy. The reason is that he is unable to get off the planet Godolph because there are a thousand star systems waiting for him, and a ship to take him to each one. He has been waiting for a few days on Godolph for a ship that was supposed to arrive, but it hasn\u2019t come in, and he is stuck on this planet. He wants to see a man who is important to the company that employs him, but the man is not important to anyone save the company, and possibly not even to them. Therefore, he has to find a way to convince the man to come to Earth and work for him. The problem is that there is no way for him to get to the center of the galaxy without a ship, and no ship is capable of stopping at every star in the third ring of the Galaxy. The only way to get there is by star-hopping, which takes a lot of time, and it is extremely dangerous. The man following him wants to kill him because he thinks he is the best scientist in the Galaxy, but he cannot get off this planet because he is not allowed to leave without an identification tab. He also wants to know why the man wants to murder him.", "Murra Foray is the first counselor at the Travelers Aid Bureau. She is a Huntner, a sub-race of men on the other side of the Galaxy. She was vocalizing about her home planet when she managed to locate Cassal, but she was not able to give him any information about it. When she finds out that Cassal is a first class engineer, she tells him that he will not be able to do business with Godolphians because an engineer is regarded as merely a technician who hasn\u2019t yet gained practical experience. However, she does offer him a sum that would force him to work as a salesman. She also tells him about the agency that accepts contributions, which is significant because she is the one who is going to help him get to Tunney 21.", "The story takes place on a planet called Godolph. It is a weather-controlled planet where the natives like rain. The planet is a transfer point for stars nearer to the center of the Galaxy. There is a block-square building with a sign that says TRAVELERS AID BUREAU Murra Foray on the outside. Inside, there is a maze of small counseling rooms. There are many machines that help people with their problems. The first counselor is a young woman with a smile. The second counselor, Dimanche, is older than the first counselor. The third counselor is an older woman who is a philanthropic agency. The story also takes place in an alleyway. The alley is narrow and dark, oily slow-moving water gurgling at one side, high cavernous walls looming on the other. The Godolphian natives do not like rain, which makes it extremely dangerous for a human to walk through the city. The streets are brightly lighted, but for native eyes, it is dim. The city shuts down at dusk, so there is no air taxi to take people to their destination. The only way to get to Godolph is by air taxi.", "Jorj Helmuth, a 40-year-old Thinker, wakes up from a dream in which he sees a silver-winged vision of his spaceship with sails. He unstraps his cat, Sappho, and watches the rays of the sun as they make the buildings of Old Washington, New Washington, and the Institute for Advanced Studies glow. The President of the United States, a grizzled general, and his secretary, a paunchy veteran of party caucuses, are discussing the importance of the Thinkers\u2019 brain-machine, Maizie, which they call the \u201cAmazing\u201d because of its ability to think. The Secretary of Space, a burly man, is worried about the power that the machine has over the Administration. Jorj\u2019s friend, Willard Farquar, is also worried about its power over the people of the world. The Thinkers have been making overtures to humans, asking them to help them with their mission to build a spaceship that will take humans to Mars. Opperly, a scientist, is skeptical of the idea, but the Secretary of State agrees with him. The President and his Secretary discuss the power of the machine, and how it can be used to manipulate people. They also discuss the importance that the Thinker has for the future of mankind, and that it is the only way they can defeat the charlatans. They both agree that they need to find a way to defend themselves against them.", "Maizie is the brain-machine that the Thinkers have created. She is a beautiful blonde cat that Jorj Helmuth uses to hypnotize him into falling in love with her. She has built-in controls that make her always the servant of humanity, or of humanity's right-minded leaders. The Thinkers call her amazing, humorously given the form of a girl\u2019s name, which helps take the curse off her. This is significant because it allows her to communicate with the President of the United States and the Secretary of Space, and it is also significant because she is the only one who can communicate directly with the Thinker, which allows them to build the first spaceship that will take humans to Mars.", "The Thinkers are a group of scientists and engineers who have created a brain-machine called Maizie. The Thinkers have created this machine to help the President of the United States, Jorj Helmuth, and the Secretary of Space, Willard Farquar, build a rocket that will take them to Mars. They are also significant because they are the ones who invited the President to see the rocket, which is the first spaceship to be built by the Thinkers, and they are also the ones that are responsible for convincing the President that the rocket is actually going to go to Mars, and that the Soviets pulled out of the war in Iraq and Iran because of the Thinker\u2019s mind bomb threat.", "Willard Farquar is the main character in the story. He is the younger brother of Jorj Helmuth, the leader of the Thinkers\u2019 Foundation, and he has a profound effect on the story because he is the one who initiates the conversation with the President and the Secretary of Space about the possibility of a mission to Mars. The President and Opperly have a tense relationship with each other because of their differences in age, but they are also very close friends. They have a lot in common, and they are both concerned about the future of humanity. They are both afraid of what they see as charlatans and thinkers. They both believe that they are the only ones who have the power to stop them, and that they will be able to do so when the time comes.", "Morton Opperly and Willard Farquar are both physicists who work at the Institute for Advanced Studies in New York City. They both live in a colonial dwelling near the Thinkers' Foundation in New Washington. They are both in their fifties, and both have lived a long life of abstract thought. Both men have a reputation for being absent-minded, but they are different in that they are both passionate about their work. They believe in the power of science and are willing to fight for it. However, both men are also aware of the dangers of their work, and they both know that they cannot simply surrender the world to charlatans without a struggle.", "The story begins with Daniel Oak, a Confidential Expediter, arriving at O\u2019Banion\u2019s Bar in New York. He meets Colonel Harrington Brock, the head of the Security Guard at the planetoid. He is trying to pour a glass of Madeira into a decanter, which is difficult to do on a planetoid where the gee-pull is measured in fractions of a centimeter per second squared. The negative meniscus on the wine is something to see; the first time you see it, you get the eerie feeling that the glass is spinning and throwing the wine up against the walls by centrifugal force. He tells Oak that he wants him to go to Ceres and help him with the MGYR-8, a spaceship that is being built by Viking Spacecraft. He explains that he was the first man to speak to McGuire after he had been activated, and that he is the only man whose orders the robot will obey. He wants Oak to help him build a ship that will take orders only from the person who is responsible for the ship. Oak agrees to help, but he does not want to work for Ravenhurst because he is working for the Secret Service of the UN Government. The Secret Service is the branch of the System Census Bureau, and its job is to evaluate the political activities of various sub-governments all over the System. The three Laws of Robotics are to not allow harm to come to a human being, to protect its own existence, and to not act in ways that conflict with the First or Second Law. The third law is that a robot shall strive to protect itself, except when it is necessary to protect the life of another human being.", "Daniel Oak is a Confidential Expediter. He is hired to help other people Get Things Done. His job is to help people get things done, such as getting a spaceship test-piloted so that it will take orders only from the person who is responsible for the ship. He works for a company called Viking Spacecraft, which owns the biggest rock in the Belt, which is called Ceres. He also works for the Political Survey Division, which evaluates the political activities of various sub-governments all over the System. He has been assigned to this job because the PSD is interested in the MGYR-8, a spaceship that will be built by Viking to replace the McGuire-type ships that are being sabotaged by Thurston and Baedecker Metals & Mining Corporation.", "Shalimar Ravenhurst and Daniel Oak are both employees of Viking Spacecraft, the company that owns the largest asteroid in the Belt. They work together as part of the Political Survey Division, a branch of the System Census Bureau of the UN Government that monitors the political activities of various sub-governments all over the system. They have a professional relationship where they interact with each other in a professional manner. When Daniel Oak asks for a glass of Madeira, Ravenhurst offers him a glass, but he does not look up from his work. He does not even acknowledge that he is the first man to speak to the MGYR-7 after it has been activated. He is also the only man whose orders that the robot will obey. This is a conflict of interest for Oak because he is already working for Ravenhurst, and he cannot work for him unless he agrees to co-operate with him.", "A flitterboat is a small craft that can be used to travel around the Belt. It is powered by a single gravitoinertial engine and has a single bucket seat, astride the drive tube, with nothing but a near-invisible transite hull between the vessel and the stars. The vessel is small enough to get around the neighborhood in, but it does not get much exercise because it has to hop from beacon to beacon. Flitterboats can also be used for individual transportation, but they are not economical to use for great distances because a man can't stay in a vac suit for very long without getting uncomfortable. The only way to get to the next beacon station is by hopping from one beacon to another, which means that the average velocity doesn\u2019t amount to much, and you have to spend too much time accelerating and decelerating to get much of an average velocity. The flitterboats are also not very useful for long distances because they can only get around in a one-gee pull.", "The current version of the McGuire spaceship is different from the previous ones because it is built by the Robotocists at Viking Spacecraft, a company that owns the biggest rock in the Belt, Ceres. The first six models of the spaceship were built by robotocists who attempted to build robots that would take orders only from a single person, but the robots went insane due to the difficulty of defining the term \"human being\" and the difficulty in defining a single individual who can be trusted to give wise and proper orders to the robot. The reason for this is that the Three Laws of Robotics are not yet fully understood, and it is difficult to define a human being in a way that a robot can encompass the concept of a person. Therefore, it is impossible to define the term 'human being' unambiguously to a robot, and therefore it is much more difficult for the robot to be able to understand the concepts of 'human beings' and'responsible human beings'. Therefore, the robots that were built in the past were unable to understand human beings, and thus they became very difficult to control. The current version is built so that the first man who addresses the MGYR-7 will be considered its master, and the robot will obey his orders only if he is the only person who can do so. This means that there is no conflict of interest between the two.", "Starrett Blade is hiding in a tiny Centaurian lake. He is waiting for Devil Garrett, the top space pirate in the void, to come and kill him. He has been hunting him for eight years, and he is known as \"Death Star\" because of his fighting prowess. Star has been knocked unconscious three times by Devil Garrett's men, and now he is going to be executed as Devil Garrett. When he wakes up, he sees a girl, Anne Hinton, standing next to him, holding a jet-gun and a knife. She tells him that she is Starrett Blade, and that her father is Old John Hinton. She is the owner of Blade Cosmian, the company that manufactures most of the equipment that Blade uses. She says that she has proof that Star is who he says he is, and she wants to kill him, so that she can collect the reward that is offered on him. Star tries to convince her that he is not a pirate, but he is knocked unconscious again. He wakes up in a cell, where he is surrounded by two men, one of whom is Devil Garrett and the other is a District Commander Weddel. Star throws a fork at the vision transmitter, which causes it to go out, but it does not work because of the diffusing effect of cosmic rays. Star tries to escape, but one of the men hits him with a jet gun, knocking him unconscious again, and Star is knocked out again. When Star wakes up again, he is in a room where he sees Devil Garrett sitting in a laboratory chair. He tells Star about his plans to build a power plant that will bring the barren, rocky planets of Alpha Centauri to life. He shows Star the plans of the power plant, but Star does not understand what they are. He sees a huge room filled with machinery and machinery, and then he realizes that it is a two-way transmitter. He realizes that the beam from the transmitter is coming from an Interstellar Command headquarters, but the beam is not from a Hineson Sub-space beamer because it is an old-style transmitter with different wave speeds. He tries to find a way to destroy the beam, but his knife hits the small unit behind the dial-board, and the beam goes out. Star realizes that he has an ace card, which he throws at the transmitter, causing it to emit a distress signal. He throws it at the screen, and it causes the beam to be sent to Earth. He", "Devil Garrett is the most famous pirate in the void. He is six feet three tall, twice as strong, and has jet-guns and electron knives. He has been hunting Starrett Blade for eight years, and Star has personally been hunting him for a year. When Star\u2019s ship crashes into the Centaurian lake on Alpha Centauri III, he is captured by Devil Garrett and his men. Star is knocked unconscious, and when he awakes, he sees Devil Garrett sitting on a laboratory chair with a gun in his hand and a knife in his belt. He tells Star that he is working on a new power process to liberate hydrogen and oxygen from water, and that the process is going to bring the barren, rocky planets of Alpha III to life. He also shows Star the plans of his power plant, and tells him that he will take over the few governing posts on this little planet, and rule an entire world, a whole planet to himself.", "The story takes place on the planet Alpha Centauri III, which is described as the most barren planet in space. It has seven planets circling Alpha alone. There are no running water, tidal power, and tidal power is out, and there is no moon. There is a lake, and hundreds of others like it. The planet has a large number of lakes, and it has a lot of volcanoes. The ship that Star was in when he crashed into the lake was a Hineson Sub-Spacer, and the ship that he was in was a Star-Traveler craft. There is a large room with a large corridor leading to it, and a room filled with instruments and recording devices for the machinery in the room below. The room also has a door leading to a small room at one side of the room, where there is a recording device room.", "The first thing that Devil Garrett does to make the girl believe that he is Star and Star is Garrett is to make her believe that she is Starrett Blade and he is Devil Garrett. He first shows her the papers showing a description and showing a tri-dimension picture of him. Then he tells her that he has a new way of electrolyzing water to liberate hydrogen and oxygen, and that it is the one good thing he has ever done. He then tells her about his plans to bring the barren, rocky Centauri planets to life. Then, he shows her his plans for his power plant, which he says is going to bring all the barren planets of Alpha III to life, and then he explains that he will take over the few governing posts on this little planet, and he will rule an entire world, a whole planet to himself.", "Star possesses various pieces of equipment throughout the story. He has a jet-gun, electron knife, and a pair of jet-guns. He also has a radio transmitter, which he uses to communicate with Devil Garrett. He is also armed with an electron knife and an electron beam gun. When he is attacked by Devil Garrett, he uses the electron knife to cut the man\u2019s throat, and the electron beam to kill him. He uses the jet gun to kill the other two men, and he also uses a fork to destroy the television set that is connected to the transmitter. He also has an atomics plant on Alpha III, which is powered by water from a thousand lakes, and has a Barden energy-beamer that can be used to power hundreds of plants all over the planet. He owns a Hineson Sub-Spacer, a Star-Traveler craft, and several other types of weapons.", "The story begins with a group of people on the Moon, including Kane, Verana, Marie, and Harry, walking across the Mare Serenitatis. As they get closer, they notice a strange shape that protrudes from the Moon\u2019s surface. The group decides to investigate it further, but they are captured by an alien ship that is on its way to their home planet. They are locked in a steel cage, and they are unable to communicate with the ship. The aliens want to study them, so they put the ship on the moon as a booby-trap to see what their civilization would be like when they developed space flight. Kane and his wife Marie, who live in Lunar City with hundreds of other people, decide to take a walk. They reach the end of the path, and a metal door closes behind them. Verana and Marie scream, and Kane is thrown twenty yards into the air. They realize that they are in an alien spaceship, and the aliens want them to be guinea pigs to learn about them. They try to call Lunar City, but there is no way to reach them because the ship is controlled by a machine. The ship tells them that they will be in a prison for six months, and that they can\u2019t leave the ship because they have no tools or weapons. They decide to explore the rest of the ship to see if they can find a way to escape. They enter a room filled with strange drawings and instruments, and then a room with a circular opening. Inside the room, they find whiskey, chocolate, milk, and other strange items. After drinking the whiskey, they realize that the aliens have created an intoxicant that is similar to their own, but stronger than their own. The men decide to call the authorities, but the machine tells them they will not be harmed if they return with dead specimens. Kane threatens to kill all of them if they do not take the ship back to their masters\u2019 planet. The machine tells him that their masters will be displeased with him if he does not return with the bodies of the dead people. Kane is angry, and he tells the machine that he would build an electronic brain capable of making decisions, but that he doesn't know how to build such a brain. He asks the machine if it has a conscience, but it says that it does not have one. He tells the aliens that he has a theory about how to solve the problem, and asks them to let him go", "The story takes place on the Moon. The Moon is covered in pumice and is covered by the Mare Serenitatis, which translates as \"the Sea of Serenity\". The Moon has been inhabited by humans for over a year, and there are many places to explore. The ship that the humans are on is a booby-trap that the aliens have placed on the moon. The aliens want to study the humans to see what they would be like when they develop space flight. They put the ship there to lure humans to their planet so they could study them. The ship has six rooms, each of which are covered with different colored boxes and bottles. The walls are covered in a spongy substance and the lights are dim and soothing. There is also a small bathing pool, running water, waste-disposal units, and yellow cakes of soap. The ceiling is only a few inches above the men\u2019s heads. There are also shelves filled with thousands of various colored boxes, bottles, and games. Each room has a table and four chairs, and each chair has a curving platform with a single supporting column. The floor is covered with a green, plasticlike floor. Each chair has no back, except for the ones that open into the corridor. The room also has a circular opening with a five-foot opening. Inside of the room, there is a circular room with a small room inside of it, and an observatory. The rooms are filled with strange drawings and instruments, and the ceiling and walls are transparent. The only thing that can be moved is a metal panel that slides across the room.", "Kane\u2019s violent drinking outburst at the beginning of the story has a significant impact on the story. When he is drunk, he loses control of the ship and threatens to kill all of the crew members if they don\u2019t cooperate with his plan to find a way to escape the ship. He is angry because he believes that the aliens want to take them to their planet to study them, and he wants to prove his theory that there is a solution to the problem. He also believes that they will be famous if they return to their home planet with the bodies of the dead crew members. This leads him to threaten to kill the machine that controls the ship, which is controlled by the aliens, and then to attack Verana and Marie, who are tied to chairs in the kitchen. He beats his fist against the wall until blood trickles from his knuckles and bruises form on his face. Verana is frightened, Marie is calm and resigned, and Harry is angry. When Kane wakes up, he is more sober than he was the night before, but his wife and Verana are still frightened and angry at him. He tries to convince them that he has a plan to escape, but they refuse to cooperate with him because they are afraid of what the aliens will do to them if they do not return with their bodies. He threatens the machine again, but the machine tells him that they cannot control their actions because the aliens have no way to control them. When the aliens tell him that the ship is a booby-trap, he realizes that they have no means of controlling their actions, and that they are in a trap so strong that humans cannot escape.", "Marie lives in Lunar City with her husband, Kane, and their two children, Verana and Kane\u2019s wife, Marie. She is a member of a club that investigates extra-sensory perception with the hope of learning how it operates. When she hears a telepathic voice, she is initially frightened, but the voice reassures her that it only wants to learn something about them. When the aliens get her in the room, Marie is terrified and tries to run away, but her husband grabs her and ties her to a chair in the kitchen. The aliens then lock the three of them in a steel cage, and they are unable to escape. They are trapped in the ship for six months, and the aliens want to study them to see what they would be like if they developed space flight.", "Ed and Verana are married to Kane and Marie. They live in Lunar City with hundreds of other people. Verana is a mineralogist, and Ed is a scientist. They have been married for over a year. They are both frightened by the alien ship and its strange construction, but they are also calm and rational about their situation. They realize that they are in a trap so strong that they can\u2019t escape. They also realize that the aliens want them to be sent to their planet so they can study them.", "Stardust, a space liner, has just landed on Venus and is about to take off for Earth. The captain of the ship, Captain Menthlo, tells Shano that there is a Uranian fleet out there, and that they may not be so lucky. Shano is nervous because he has been digging, lifting, lugging, and pounding around the planets for a long time, and he has gum-clogged lungs. He is told to stay in his cabin as much as possible. The ship is being attacked by Uranian space ships, and the captain warns Shano to stay away from the engines. When the ship is attacked, Shano goes to the engine room, where he works on the cosmic drive, which is the ship\u2019s main way of getting back to Earth. He hears the captain warn him about the danger ahead, but Shano ignores the warnings and goes to work on the drive. When he hears the alarm, he shuts down the ship. The engine room is full of toxia gas, which will kill him. He tries to lift the rod and slip it into its slot, but the rod pins melt down and the valves won\u2019t work. He thinks about Pluto, where his lungs fight gas, and thinks about the vanium mines of Pluto, and his gum-filled lungs. Suddenly, he hears a loud-speaker blaring that the ship has been hit by an enemy fleet, and all hands are told to shut down and stop all machinery. He follows the bluish glow of his bulb through labyrinthine passages and down a companionway, coughing and leering against the pain in his joints. He finds the emergency exit, and a chunky man, Rourke, approaches him. Rourke is angry because Shano has a nick in his jaw, and Shano tells Rourke that they are supposed to be in their cabin. He punches Rourke in the face, and Rourke dies. The alarm goes off again, and everyone on the ship goes back to their cabins. When Shano returns to his cabin, he sees that the power is off, and there is an emergency button in the control room. He presses the button and the ship lights up again. He sees the captain and the engineer, and they tell him that they cannot repair the valve rods because the fuel must pass through the selector valves before entering the tube chambers. He realizes that he is going to die, but he is determined to try and make the ship go. He", "Rourke is an Earthman and his jaw seems cut with a knife. He is a chunky man with a nick in his jaw. When Shano asks him why he is not in his cabin, Rourke tells him that there is trouble ahead. He also tells Shano that the Uranian space fleet is coming and that the ship is in danger. He warns Shano about the danger and tells him to stay close to his cabin as much as possible. Shano is angry and frustrated with Rourke, and he lunges at him and punches him in the face. When Rourke dies, Shano thinks about the rumors about his jaw and how he sold out to Uranus. He thinks about his gum-clogged lungs and how they saved his life in the Plutonian mines. When the ship\u2019s alarms go off, he thinks about Pluto and how his lungs fought gas in the tunnels. When he hears the captain warn him about the dangers of the space ship, he is excited. He wants to go home to die.", "Shano is an Earthman who works as a laborer in the mines of Pluto. He has a nick in his jaw, which he believes to be a sign that he has sold out to Uranus. He is tired of digging, lifting, lugging, and pounding around the planets, and his gum-clogged lungs have saved his life in the Plutonian mines. When the captain warns him to stay in his cabin because the ship is going to be attacked by the Uranian space fleet, Shano does not want to leave the ship. He smokes a cigarette and thinks about his life as a miner. He thinks about the rumors about nicked jaws, and how they are the talk of ignorant men, but he does not know where they are coming from. He does not believe the captain when he tells him that the ship\u2019s engine room is full of toxia gas, which will kill him if he tries to lift the rods to drive the ship, and he thinks about how he will never get home to die. When he hears the captain warn him about the danger of the Uranians, he is angry and frustrated. He goes to the engine room to try to fix the problem, but the valve rods are useless because they have melted down. He tries to think about the possibility of getting a man in there to fix them, but it is impossible because there is no one to lift them. The captain tells him to shut down the ship and shut off the engines, but Shano decides to stay on the ship because he wants to go home. He wants desperately to see his wife and children, and wants to see Pluto again. He knows that he is a useless old man, but his lungs are clogged with gum and his joints hurt. He also thinks about Pluto and how he is going home.", "The story is set in a space liner called the Stardust. The ship is equipped with various types of equipment, including a ship\u2019s engine room, a control room, and the engine room. The engine room is where Shano is tasked with running the cosmic drive, which drives the ship towards Venus. There is a dial dial needle that quivers when the ship is shut down, and a gray box with two toggle switches and a radium dial that quitters delicately. The dial dial is connected to a control panel in the control room. There are also valves in the ship that allow fuel to pass through the tubes before entering the tube chambers. The valves are operated by a series of metal rods that are attached to a metal box that has a toggle switch and a dial. The control room also has an emergency speaker system that broadcasts a loud-speaker system.", "The story takes place on a space liner called the Stardust. It is located in space, and it has a hangar, cradles, freighter catapults, and long runways. There is also a control room where the captain and the pilot sit in leather seats. The ship has an engine room, which is where Shano works on the cosmic drive. The engine room has a gray metal box with toggle switches and a radium dial that quivers delicately. The control room also has a control panel in the control room that controls the ship\u2019s engines. The engines are connected to the engine room by a series of pipes. Inside of the room, there is a gray box with a toggle switch and a dial with a dial. There are valves that allow the fuel to pass through the pipes before entering the tube chambers. The valves are powered by a metal box that has two toggle switches, a dial, and a button. Inside the box is an emergency oxygen cylinder, which Shano uses to keep the ship running.", "Marsh wakes up from a nightmare of exploding novae and fouling rockets. His parents are worried about him because he will be the first person to go into space. His father tells his mother that he is too young to be sent into space, but his mother insists that he should be sent because he is a young man. The next morning, Marsh and his father go to the building where he will undergo rigorous tests and briefings to prepare him for his mission. After the briefing, the two leave the building and drive to the launch site. As they get out of the car, they are surrounded by reporters and photographers. The two are escorted to the rocket launch site by Colonel Tregasker. As the rocket is about to blast off, Marsh is shot to the end of his safety line. He feels the force of the rocket, and his body jerks at the taut end of the line. The rocket explodes, and Marsh is thrown into zero gravity. He is then strapped into his space suit and strapped into the ship. The ship begins to descend into the atmosphere, and he feels the heat of the atmosphere. He begins to feel dizzy and panic, but he manages to hold on to his safety belt. He hears the voice of General Forsythe, the commanding officer of the space program, reassuring him that everything is going to be fine. After a few minutes, he hears the sound of the countdown. The countdown goes off, and the rocket explodes. Marsh feels the shock of the explosion, and then the gravity pulls him away from the rocket. He sees the stars and the moon, and feels the exhilaration of being a king over all of this. He then hears the roar of the engines and realizes that he has reached the point where he can safely land the rocket on Earth.", "Marsh\u2019s emotions change throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, he is excited to be going into space, but his excitement is tempered by his fear of failure. His parents are worried about him, and he knows that he will not be able to pass the test. He also knows that his training in zero-g has prepared him for the gravity of space, which makes him nervous. However, he also realizes that he has been through many rigorous tests to prove that he can take the rigors of space and that his parents are not worried about his failure. After the explosion at Skyharbor, he feels a rush of excitement and excitement, but he also feels nervous and apprehensive. When he sees the stars, the Milky Way, and the moon, he begins to feel dizzy and anxious. He is also afraid of falling, which is why he flips his body in a half-cartwheel and brings his boots up in front of him to protect himself. He thinks about his parents and worries that they will not see him again. When the rocket explodes at the end of the flight, Marsh feels a sudden jolt of fear, and his body jerks at the taut end of his safety line like a cracked whip. He feels the force of the rocket and is almost thrown out of the safety line. He tries to calm himself down, but it is impossible because he is in a vacuum. He hears his parents\u2019 footsteps in the adjoining room, and realizes that they hope he will fail. He goes to the blockhouse where he will be put into his space suit and strapped into his helmet. He sees his parents again, and is relieved that they are not excited about him failing. He tells his parents that he is going to space, and they are relieved that he won\u2019t fail.", "The first flight of the rocket that Marsh is about to take takes place on the rocket \u201cHarry\u201d is a huge event for all the characters in the story. It is the first time that a human has ever been in space, and it is a moment of great excitement for all of them. Marsh\u2019s parents are very nervous about him going on the flight, and they are worried that he will fail the test. They are also anxious because they know that he is not the right man for the job. They also worry that he might fail because he is too young to go into space, but they are also worried about him because they have been preparing him for this mission for a long time. The first flight also affects the cadets who are going to be his successors in case he fails the test, as well as the people who are waiting for him to return from the flight. All of them are excited about the mission, but their excitement is tempered by their anxiety about losing their son, who is only twenty-two years old, and their fear of losing him. The flight is also significant for Marsh because he will be the first person to see Earth from space, which is a new experience for him, and he is excited about being the first human to see it from space.", "The first part of the story takes place in the United States. The story is set in the early morning of the day of the flight, when Marsh wakes up from his sleep. His parents are up early, trying to act as though it is just another day. His father tells him that he is going to be the first man to go into space, but his mother and father are worried about him. The flight is to take place on a rocket called the \u201cBig Tom\u201d that will take Marsh into space. The rocket is a three-stage rocket, and the first two stages are called Tom, Dick, and Harry. The third stage is called Big Tom because it is the hardest part. The rockets are jettisoned after reaching their peak velocities, and they will orbit around Earth for a few minutes before dropping into a perpetual orbit around the planet. The rocket is located at Skyharbor, which is the largest rocket experimental center in the U.S. Air Force. It is a small commercial field, but it has been taken over by the Air Force in recent years and converted into a large space experimental center. There is a high wire fence around the area, and people are not allowed inside the small circle of important activity. The air lock is lowered from the top of the latticed platform that surrounds the rocket. Inside of the rocket, there is an open-cage elevator that takes the cadet to the cage. Inside the cage, he is strapped into his space suit and strapped into a soft contour chair. He is then taken to the blockhouse, where he will don his space gear. The ship\u2019s camera is attached to his body. He then goes outside to the launch site. The launch site is a few miles away from the air lock, and there is a gate that guards the area. There are hundreds of people waiting to see the rocket launch, and Marsh is escorted by Colonel Tregasker.", "The first man to go into space is a young man named Marsh. He is chosen because he is the most stable of two hundred cadets, but his parents are worried that he will not be able to make the flight. His parents are anxious because they know that he is too young to be the first person to go to space, and they are worried about him failing the mission. However, they also know that the mission is important and they want him to succeed, so they try to act as though everything is fine. They are also worried about the safety of the rocket, which is about to explode and kill him. They also worry about the millions of people around the world who are waiting for the dawn of the space age. The story also explores the idea of responsibility and how it affects the cadet\u2019s life. The cadet is responsible for his safety and for the success of the mission, but he is also responsible for the lives of his fellow cadets as well as for his own safety.", "The story begins with a man in a gray flannels and sweatshirt exploring a small cove on the coast of Maine. He is surprised by the quietness of the place and the fact that he has never been there before. As he continues to explore, he sees a gray motorboat, which he recognizes as belonging to Martin Kesserich, the biologist who has just completed his solo circumnavigation of the globe. As the woman gets out of the car, he notices that she has a rifle in her hand. The woman tells him that Martin died in a railway accident in 1933, and that she is the one who sends him the little boxes that make him believe that he was born in 1916 instead of 1933. She then tells him about her relationship with her brother, Martin, and how she fell in love with him when they were both in their twenties. She also tells him how she has two closets of old newspapers that she keeps by her bed, where she can read them whenever she wakes up. She says that the newspapers are old ones, but she could show him if she could get at the old ones. Then, she shows him a photograph of her fiancee, Mary Alice Pope, who was killed in a train accident. The woman then tells Jack that she knows that he is the man who sent her the boxes, but that she doesn\u2019t want him to come back because his family will not like it. She tells him to leave the island because he is a wicked man, and she will come back tomorrow to tell him the truth. Jack leaves the house and goes to the waterfront to buy newspapers. When he returns to the house, he finds the key to the cabinet, but the key is gone. He goes back to the beach, where he sees the sea urchins again. He runs across the beach again, and sees a woman driving a motorboat. He follows the woman to her house, and when she opens the door, he realizes that the woman has a radio on the roof of the house. He tells her that he knows who she is, and he wants her to come with him to the mainland. She agrees, and they go to her aunt\u2019s house. When they get there, the woman shows him the newspaper with the headline \u201cHITLER IN NEW DEFIANCE\u201d on it, and the radio is playing a news report about the World Economic Conference. Jack asks her if she knows anything about the Second World War, and", "The story takes place on a small island in Maine. The main setting of the story is a small cove on the coast of Maine. There is a narrow cove with a blue V inscribed on the surface by the sloop\u2019s prow. There are two islands, one on the landward side of the cove and the other on the water. The first island is a green, high island with a rocky spine and a cove of sea urchins. The second island is an old white Cape Cod cottage with narrow, sharp-paned windows topped by a cupola. The cottage has a small, white door and a white door that leads to a porch with a rattan table between three rattan chairs. Inside the cottage, there is a radio aerial that hangs from the roof and a small cabinet with a cardboard box inside. The radio is tuned to an old-fashioned radio with a curved brown trumpet. The house also has a radio loudspeaker that broadcasts news about the World Economic Conference.", "Martin Kesserich is a biologist who works at Wood\u2019s Hole. He is the father of Mary Alice Pope, who is the main character of the story. He has been married to Mary Alice for almost eighteen years, but he has not married since he was forty years old. His sisters, Hani and Hilda, were jealous of him because they thought that since he had reached the age of 40, he was safe. When he fell in love with Mary Alice, his sisters began to hate him because of his love for her. He married her in 1933, and she died in a railway accident in 1933.", "Martin Kesserich has tried to cope with the loss of his beloved wife by building a home for himself and his wife, Mary Alice, on the island. However, he is unable to do so because he is consumed with his love for her. He is obsessed with the idea of building a future with her, which is why he spends so much time away from his family. When he returns home, he tries to spend time with his wife and children, but it is impossible for him to do this because of his intense love for his wife. He tries to distract himself with his research, but he cannot stop thinking about her.", "The newspapers are important because they are the main source of information about the island and the people who live on it. They are where the story takes place, and they are also where Jack first meets Mary Alice Pope. She is the one person he meets on the island, and she tells him that she was born in the middle of the war, which is why she is the only one who has ever seen him. She also tells him about the newspapers that are yellow and brittle-edged, which makes him think that they are old ones. The newspapers are also the main reason that Jack decides to go to the waterfront and buy half a dozen newspapers. He goes to buy them because he wants to see if he can find out more about the people he is looking for. He also goes to the beach because he knows that he will be able to see more of the people on the beach if he goes there.", "The story begins with a young man, Michael Frey, on a flight from the United Universe to Portyork. He has been a member of the Angeleno Brotherhood since he was an infant. His father brought him when he entered the lodge, and he has been there for a year prior to his birth. He had spent months studying the customs and tabus of the Universe before leaving the Lodge, and had decided that he would be able to adapt to the new life he planned for himself, with confidence and ease. A middle-aged man sitting next to him, Carpenter, asks him why he wants to leave the Lodge. He tells him that he has a girlfriend, and that he is planning to marry her soon. Carpenter warns him not to use the word \u201cmarriage\u201d in front of the man because it is taboo on Earth. He also warns him that if he brings his girlfriend to live with him, he might be reported for violating a tabu, which is the law on Earth that prohibits exclusive possession of members of the opposite sex. He warns him to be careful not to mention the word \"marriage\" in public, as it would be considered a violation of the tabu. On the flight, the young man is introduced to a group of Sirians, who are singing a song about their home planet, Sirius. The Sirians are sad because they have never seen their Sirius and are homesick for it, and their bodies are pain-racked, delirious, and suffering from the pain of not being able to see their home. The song ends with the bright purple swamps of their Sirius. Carpenter Times Square, the biggest spaceport in the Union, where the passengers are greeted by a salesman, Mr. Carpenter, who tells them that the city is the best place to see the sights. He explains that it is the most cosmopolitan city in the Universe, and there are many extraterrestrials on the bus. He shows them to a small, white building with transparent plastic domes housing clocks of all varieties, most of the antique type based on the old twenty-four hour day instead of the standard thirty hours, and explains that they have to take a taxi to get to the feeding station to get some food. He then takes them to the Old Town, where he shows them the sights and explains the history of the city. The Old Town is filled with many different types of people, including the Venusians, the Mercurians,", "The rules of the United Universe were introduced by different planets in order to prevent wars. The rules are based on the belief that wars arise from not understanding one's fellows, not sympathizing with them. Therefore, the Wise Ones decided that if every planet, every solar system, had the same laws, customs, and habits, there would be no differences, and hence no wars.", "The story takes place in the United Universe. The story begins on Earth, where a young man, Michael, is sitting on a shelf in a waiting room. He is told that he has been a member of one of the Brotherhoods on Earth for a long time, and that his father brought him when he was an infant. The young man is taken to a bus that takes him to Portyork, the biggest spaceport in the U.S. The bus is filled with transparent plastic domes housing clocks of all varieties, most of the antique type based on the old twenty-four hour day instead of the standard thirty hours. There is also a large circular desk in the lobby, where the attendants direct traffic from a circular desk. The lobby is decorated with red and green lights and banners, and there is a large map of the landing field. The Old Town is also in the story, and it is described as being very cosmopolitan. There are many caf\u00e9s and restaurants, as well as a number of hotels. The city also has a zoo, and the zoo is where the animals are kept.", "The trip back to the United Universe is the main reason for the story. When Michael first leaves the Lodge, he is eager to leave the life he has lived on Earth. He has spent months studying the customs and tabus of the Universe, and he is confident that he knows the ways of the world better than the other members of the Lodge. However, he does not realize that he has been a member of the Brotherhood since he was an infant. The reason for this is that he is not yet a fully fledged Brother, so he cannot enter the novitiate until he has achieved his majority. Therefore, he has to spend some time outside of the lodge before he can enter the Union. He does not understand why the Lodge exists, but he does understand that it is because the Wise Ones have decided that wars arise from not understanding one's fellows, not sympathizing with them, and hence there is peace and plenty for all. Thus, they believe that there is no need for a group of humans to retire from the world and live in the simple ways of their primitive forefathers.", "Mr. Carpenter is a salesman for the Aphrodisiacs line of the United Universe. He is a middle-aged man who has been a member of the Angeleno Brotherhood since he was an infant. When he first meets Michael, he introduces himself as Mr. Pierce B. Carpenter and asks if he has any business to speak to him about. He tells him that he is staying for a while on Portyork to learn the customs and tabus of the universe. He also offers to show him around the city and show him the sights, but warns him not to speak rudely to anyone who is speaking. He does not want to report him to the police, but he does warn him to be careful not to violate the tabu. Carpenter also tells him to put on a pair of yellow gauntlets to protect his hands from the smell of Tpiu Number Five, which is the most esteemed aroma on the planet.", "The story begins with a young man, Eric the Bronze, peering over the side of a canal. He hears a thin wail of music from the city, telling him to come into the fabled city. He tries to ignore the music, but the city keeps coming back to him. He runs away from it, and when he reaches the bottom of the canal, he hears the music again. The city becomes dull and sordid and evil, with every part offensive to the eye. When he tries to leave, the music keeps calling him back, and the city is evil like he has never known. He goes back to his ship, where his brother, Garve, awaits him. Garve tells him that the Legend says that he will destroy the City, and that he is to be the one to destroy it. When Garve goes down to the city to see what it is, the people of the city attack him with sticks and whips. He is captured by the guards and taken to the City Council. There, he meets Nolette, the Daughter of the City. She tells him about the Legend, and she believes him. She asks him to touch the heart of the man, and he does so. Then she asks him if he is the Eric of the Legend. The man says yes, and Nolette tells him to leave the city. She leads him to a building, where he knocks three times on the door. The door opens, and six men sit at a conference table. They ask him to explain his identity to them. He tells them about the legend, and they tell him that he must destroy the city because he is a part of a machine that translates thought into reality. The machine builds according to the mass will of the people, though it is sensitive to the individual in areas where it does not conflict with the imagination of the mass. When the machine is destroyed, the person who created it will be reborn. The story ends with Nolette and Garve leaving the building.", "The citizens of the Third Planet of Sol believe that Eric is the Bronze one of the Legend. They believe that he will destroy the city, and that he is the one who will destroy it. They are afraid of him because of the legend, and they believe that if he is not the bronze one, then they will forget about the city and go back to their old ways. They do not want him to return because they are superstitious about him, and because he is a part of a legend. When he is captured by the city guards, the people of the city do not treat him with the same respect that they did when he was rescued by Nolette. They treat him as a threat, and when he tries to escape, they beat him with whips and threaten to kill him. When the Daughter of the City comes to see him, the city is full of respect for her, and the people are excited to see her. However, when she tries to touch him and feel his pulse, the crowd is hostile towards her. The people are afraid that if she touches him, she will recognize him as the Bronze One, and destroy the City. When Garve tries to kill Eric, he is treated with kindness and respect, but when he is taken to the Council, the citizens are angry and frightened.", "The city that Eric finds himself in is called the Beast-Jewel of Mars. It is described as ugly, dull, and sordid. The spires and minarets are gargoyles of hatred, twisted and misshapen, and the sound of the city is a macabre song of hate. The city has a high wall around it, and a heavy gate carved with lotus blossoms. There is a wide fur street, and women are more beautiful than music. The people are very fair, and they stare at him with red hate in their eyes. When the city begins to change, it is beautiful again. The music begins to talk to him, telling him to come into the city, come down into the fabled city. There are jewels and wine and women as fair as springtime. When he comes to the city gate, there is a large room with six men sitting at a table. The room is made of a luminous plastic, and it has a great table at the base of the T-shaped table. When Eric knocks on the door, he is greeted by an old man. He tells him that he is the eldest of the elders, and that he has brought him to the City to satisfy himself of his identity. He explains that the city was built by the ancient Martian fathers to protect a small colony of those who were chosen to remain on Mars. The machine is a machine that translates thought into reality. The machines are controlled by the dreamers, the people who live in the city. The dreamers are the ones who keep alive the old knowledge of the machine and its history. The elders are the governing body of the City.", "The Beast-Jewel of Mars is set on the planet of Mars. The story begins on Earth, the Third Planet of Sol, where the inhabitants of the planet have built a giant machine to protect a small colony of those who were chosen to remain on Mars. This machine, the City, is a machine that translates thought into reality. The city is a cubical, severe building made of a solid plastic. It has a high wall around it, and a heavy gate carved with lotus blossoms. There is a flat sandstone area where Eric and his brother, Garve, establish their base camp. After five minutes of riding, they come to a building in the center of the city. The building is cubical and severe in line and architecture, and contrasts oddly with the exquisite ornament of the rest of the building. It is made of the same luminous plastic as the building, but it has a more timeless, functional beauty. The room is designed for a conference room. There are six men at the conference table, and there is one vacant seat beside the head of the T-shaped table. When Eric knocks three times on the door, the door opens and an old man greets him. Inside the room, there is a large room with six men sitting around a table. The table has a great table with a chair at the base of the table. A great table stands in the room. The walls of the room are made of red sandstone, and the ceiling is covered in a thin layer of red dust. The floor is covered with rough sandstone.", "The significance of Garve leaving the ship and following the call of the city is that he fulfills the ancient legend that he will be the one to destroy the machine that is the City. The city is built to protect a small colony of those who were chosen to remain on Mars. The machine is a machine that translates thought into reality, and it translates the red dust of the desert into any sort of material desired, and a construction device, to assemble this material into the pattern already recorded from thought. When the machine is destroyed, the people of Mars will have to struggle forward to knowledge and power again. This is why the legend of Eric the Bronze has been passed down from father to son. The legend says that one day a man named Eric will come, and he will destroy the city, and then the machine will be destroyed, and the people will be able to return to the land of their ancestors.", "The story begins with a Centaurian, Rat, and a nurse, Nurse Gray, arguing over who will pilot the ship that will transport a sick woman, Judith, to a hospital on Mars. The Centaurians are arguing because they believe that Rat is unfit to handle the ship because he has been AWOL from his post for a long time, and he has never been able to pilot a ship before. The nurse, Gray, tries to convince Rat to leave the ship, but he refuses, saying that it is an emergency and he is going to take the ship anyway. The two argue for a while, and then Gray leaves the room. Rat follows her, and they discuss the ship\u2019s deceleration problem. The ship is slowly decelerating, and it is becoming increasingly hot on the ship. Gray and Rat argue about how long it will take them to land on Earth, and Rat says that they have passed the half-way line three days ago. Gray asks him about his record, but Rat refuses to tell her about it. She asks him why he didn\u2019t tell her before, and the Centaur tells her that he was AWOL, and when Mad Barry Sansan and his gang of thugs swooped down on the Ganymedean colony, there was no warning. He was supposed to go out to help a sick man alone in the desert. The sick man died soon after, and no one believed him because he had no time to send a call through. He had to come back with the next day, and nobody believed him. Rat tells Gray that he has an appendix, and she asks him to take care of the sick man. He tells her to wrap the girl in blankets, but she refuses. He leaves her and goes to get Gladney, who is sick too, and Gray realizes that the ship is sinking. She tries to ask him how long they will be on Mars, but is unable to find out because she is too hot. She hears a sibilant whisper from the window, and turns around to see Rat. He comes back with a small bag of water and tells her they will land tonight. Gray tries to drink it, but it tastes like hell and it costs her a lot of money, so she decides to take a hammock instead. She falls asleep in the hammock and wakes up in the morning to find Rat gone. He returns with Gladney and Gray, who are both unconscious, and tells them that they must land", "Judith Gray and Patti Gray are both nurses on the ship. They have a romantic relationship with each other. Judith is a nurse, and Gray is a governess, guard, and nurse. Patti is a seventeen-year-old girl who came to the ship on a pleasure jaunt with her father. The cruise ended when she lost control of the ship because of space appendicitis. She is only seventeen, but she is a combination nurse, governess and guard. She has a front name, but it is not her real name. She refers to herself as just \"Patti\". She is very fond of Rat, and he is fond of her. The two have a passionate relationship, and they try to help each other during the ship\u2019s journey. They are also very protective of each other, and try to protect each other from the dangers of the journey.", "Rat and Patti Gray are both Centaurians. They are both nurses on the ship, and they have a close relationship. Rat is a Centaurian, and Gray is a nurse. She is a combination nurse, governess, guard, and nurse. They have a tense relationship throughout the story, especially when they are in the hammock together in the ship. She constantly begs him to stop driving the ship and let her rest, but he refuses. He is also very protective of Judith, who is in need of air and water, and he tries to protect her from the heat of the ship by covering her with a blanket. He also tries to calm her down by telling her that they will land on Earth in eight days, but she refuses to believe him. When he tells her about the Sansan massacre, she asks him if he was in it. He tells her that he didn\u2019t take part in it, but that he was AWOL from his post at the outpost watch, which is where he was supposed to be when the gang of thugs attacked the Ganymedean colony. He explains that he went out to help a sick man alone in the desert, but when he returns, he finds that the sick man has died. He then goes back to the ship to get Gladney, and the two miners who found them when they crashed. When they return, they find that the ship has passed the half-way line, but they still have six days to go before they can land. When Gray asks him how long it will take them to reach Earth, he refuses to tell her, and says that they passed it three days ago. When she asks if he has an appendix, he says that he does not know, but says that it is dangerous because the atmosphere causes it to start manufacturing poison. When the ship gets thirsty, he explains that the water on the sun side is hotter than on the moon side, and that it must be fuel. She asks him to get her some water and he does so, but the water tastes bitter and she is too hot to drink it. She tries to ask him about the ship\u2019s air conditioner but he ignores her and tells her to shut up. She also asks him about his record and he says he has never had an appendix. She wants to know why he is AWOL and he refuses her request to pilot the ship because she favors him. She does not want to risk Mr. Roberds\u2019 job, but", "The crash of the ship of Judith\u2019s father is significant because it marks the beginning of the end of the cruise that she and her father were on together. The cruise ended when she lost control of her ship due to space appendicitis. The ship crashed on a planet that doesn\u2019t have any hospitals or hospitals. This is why the Centaurians want her to pilot the ship to save the lives of the men on the planet. The crash also serves as a catalyst for Rat to decide to take the ship himself. The Centaurian had been AWOL from his post at the outpost watch, and when Mad Barry Sansan and his gang of thugs swooped down on the Ganymedean colony, there was no warning. Rat was sent to help the sick man alone in the desert, but he did not return because he was AWOL. This led to the attack on the colony and the Sansan massacre, which led to Rat leaving his post and landing on Mars.", "Patti Gray is a nurse on the ship that is on a mission to save the lives of two people, Judith and Gladney. She is a combination nurse, governess, guard and what have you. Her job is to care for the sick Gladney, who has appendicitis. The ship is being driven by Rat, a Centaurian who is AWOL from his post at the outpost watch on Mars. He has been AWOL for a long time, and when Mad Barry Sansan and his gang of thugs swooped down on the Ganymedean colony, there was no warning. Rat was supposed to go out to help a sick man alone in desert, but he didn\u2019t come back because he was AWOL. The sick man died soon after, and Rat had to fan him. The ship is slowly decelerating, and Patti Gray is constantly trying to get Rat to stop the ship. She falls asleep in the hammock and wakes up in the middle of the night with a painful bump on her arm and a bruise on her side of her head. She tries to wake up, but the ship is still moving, and she is unable to get out of her hammock. She goes to the faucet to get water, but it turns out to be fuel, and the water tastes bitter. She asks Rat to get her some water, and he tells her that it must be fuel. When she tries to ask him about the half-way line, he says that they passed it three days ago, but she asks him to tell her if he has an appendix. She tells him that he has never had an appendix, and that he should tell her about it. She then asks him about his record. He tells her about the Sansan massacre, which is not a pretty thing to hear. She wants to know more about Rat's record, but Rat tells her not to ask because he is not allowed to talk about it because the police will arrest him. She begs him to stop driving the ship because she cannot keep up with the deceleration. She also asks him how long it will take them to reach Earth, but his answer is that they must land in eight days. She cries out for help and begs him not to leave the ship, and asks him if he will let her take Judith to a hospital. He refuses to let her because she is too sick to risk her job. She realizes that she has caused a lot of trouble", "The story begins with a young woman, named Miss Carstens, who is waiting for her boss. She is thirty years old and has not had a husband or a family in three years. She decides to stay home because she is tired of waiting for the phone to ring. She picks up a book from the mail slot and throws it across the room. She then goes to the office to pick up a copy of a newspaper advertisement for the colonization of planets. She notices a poster of a beautiful woman leaning toward the viewer. The woman is from Earth, and the poster says that she will be sent to the planets of romance if she chooses to go there. The poster is a violation of privacy, and she decides to report it to the Colonization Board. She goes to see the man who sent her the poster, and he tells her that she can either go to the penitentiary for ten years and pay a $10,000 fine, or she can ship out to the colony planets and receive a five-hundred-dollar immigration bonus. She tells him that she doesn\u2019t want to go either way, but he gives her a choice. She chooses the latter. She leaves the office and walks towards the landing field. There, she sees a group of women waiting for their numbers to be called. She notes that some of the women are very attractive, but she is not attracted to them. She also notices that the men are more adventurous than the women. The men are also more puritanical, and they have more silly little laws on the books as a result. The women on the other side of the planet are more traditional, and their morals are stricter. She thinks about her future and decides to ship out. The next day, she receives a call from a Mr. Macdonald, the head of the department. He informs her that the Board has decided to send her to the colonies because the number of women who want to emigrate from Earth is falling off. The number of men applying to the colonization board for emigration to the planet is also falling off, and there is a reason for this. The Board wants to get the women to settle on the planets because they have a shortage of women. They want to find a way to convince the women that they are good workers and that they will be able to support themselves and their families. They decide to go to Landing City and put in for the numbers on the list. They arrive at the office building and are greeted by", "Women on Earth have different expectations of men and men on the other planets. The men on Earth expect women to be beautiful, sophisticated, and glamorous. The women on other planets expect them to be good workers, to be devoted to improving the morals and morals of the rest of the population, and to raise families. On the other side of the spectrum, the women on the colonies expect men to be more adventurous and adventurous. They want to be able to go to the colonies and fight against disease and savages, and they want to live in comfortable cities that are far ahead of the frontier settlements. They also want to have a family and raise a family, which is why they are not willing to leave their homes and settle on the colony planets.", "The Girls from Earth is a story about two men, Karl and Joe, who are trying to find a way to get married and settle down on a planet called Midplanet. The story starts with the two men going to the office of the Colonization Board to get their numbers for the wife draft. There is a poster of a handsome man on the front of the building, and the woman on the poster says that she is from Earth. The poster is a violation of privacy, and it is sent to a woman who is waiting for her number to be called. She is told that she can either go to the penitentiary for 10 years and pay a $10,000 fine or ship out to the colony planets for a $5,000 immigration bonus. She decides to ship out, but the man who sent the poster tells her that she has a record for shoplifting, so she will have to pay a fine of 10,000 dollars and receive a 10-year sentence. Then, she is taken to the detention building, where she is given a choice of either to pay the fine or to be sent to the colonies. She chooses the latter. The man who gave her the choice gives her a choice, and says that he will ship her out for ten thousand dollars and 10 years, but he will not pay her room and board for the rest of her life. He also tells her she will receive a five-hundred-dollar immigration bonus if she stays on the planet.", "The story takes place on a planet called Midplanet. It has a population of about 10,000 people. The planet is rich in resources, including forests, lakes, rivers, and cities. The land is covered in misty blue sky, and there are many trees and bushes in the forest. There is also a large office building that serves as the rocket port office and headquarters for the colonial office on Midplanet, which is decorated with bunting and huge welcome signs for the new arrivals. The office is also decorated with pamphlets meant to help the newly married colonists, and a table is loaded with luncheon food that is served by the colonial women in the community. Outside of the office building, there is a grassy lot beside the landing field where the rocket lands. There are also benches and tables set up for the women to sit at. The area is crowded with people, and it is filled with advertisements for book clubs, lecture clubs, how to win at bridge and canasta, etc. Outside the office, there are benches, tables, and chairs. The newspaper advertisement for the colony planets is printed on the back of the paper, and the poster shows a beautiful woman leaning toward the viewer. The poster also has a printed list of the different solar systems to which the colonists will be sent to. The woman on the poster has green eyes and green hair, and her smile is provocative.", "Escher and MacDonald are both in charge of the Colonization Department of the Second System. They have been tasked with trying to find a solution to the problem of colonizing women on Earth. The problem is that the number of men applying to the Board for emigration to the colony planets is falling off due to the increasing number of women leaving the planet. The reason for this is that men are more adventuresome than women, and the women are less adventurous. Therefore, they are not attracted to the idea of living on a planet where the women outnumber the men five to three. This is why the Board is giving them a blank check to solve the problem.", "The story begins with a tall, frail-looking man standing at the edge of a field looking toward the village. He is a captain of an alien spaceship that landed on the planet Lupus V. He has been stationed there for thirty years, and he has been called up to clear four colonies. The ship lands, and the man stands there for a while, but no one goes out to greet him. After a while a woman comes into the shack and tells him that her father, Mr. Rush, wants to know if he wants sentries posted. Rossel, the captain of the ship, informs him that there is no room for the sentries on the ship because the ship is overloaded and there is only room for one person. The captain tells Rossel that he has a message from Fleet Headquarters, and Rossel asks if he is in charge here. The message is that the aliens have attacked and destroyed the colony at Lupus, and that they are coming for the colonists. The colonists are angry and resentful because they have been paying the freight for them all these years and it is time for them to earn their keep. The aliens have a heat ray, which they use to attack the colonists, but the colonists do not know how they know how to defend themselves. After the aliens attack the colony, the army comes to investigate, but they find no evidence of a bomb. The army does not know who cut the wire because it was buried in the center of the camp, but it has not blown up yet. The soldiers decide to post sentries to protect the colonists from the aliens, but when they do not answer their calls, they realize that the wire has been cut. They decide to send a message to Bossio, the commander of the other colony, but Bossio does not answer. When they try to call him, he does not pick up, so they decide to go to the radio shack and find out where the wire is. They find a wire cut, and they find out that it was cut by someone who knows the planet and knows how to use telepathy. They realize that they will need to find a ship to take the colonists to Three, but there is not room for them there. They call Bossio and he tells them that he will return to pick them up by nightfall. They go to find Rossel and ask if there is room on his ship, but Rossel tells them there is none. The men are worried that the ship will not take more than forty", "The story takes place on a planet called Lupus V. It is a quiet and peaceful place where the colonists live. The first contact with an intelligent alien race occurred in the year 2360 when an alien force attacked and destroyed a small quiet place called the colony on the planet. The aliens had a heat ray that they used to destroy the colony, and the colonists were unable to defend themselves because they had no weapons, radios, guns, or radios. After the aliens left, the colonists built a radio shack to communicate with the ship that was coming to pick them up. There was a bomb buried in one of the main buildings, hidden from view under twelve inches of earth, but the wire had been cut and the detonator was not detonated.", "Captain Dylan is a tall, frail-looking man with a gaunt, not too well shaven face. He is a soldier and an outcast. He was only nineteen when his father died of a hernia, and the anti-war conditioning out on the Rim was not very strong. After his father\u2019s death, he bummed all over space, scraped his way along the outer edges of Mankind, waited and dozed and patrolled and got drunk, waiting always for something to happen. When he was thirty years old, he was made a captain by the government, and he was sent out on a mission to clear four colonies of aliens. He had been drinking and playing like a town drunk for thirty years, but the government made him a captain because he was a good soldier and had studied military tactics. When the aliens attack and destroy the colony at Lupus V, he is the only one of the colonists who does not believe that the aliens are dangerous. He does not know the people on the planet and does not want them to leave, so he sends a message to the Fleet Headquarters asking for a spokesman. The message is received by a young man, Rossel, who tells him that he has a message from Fleet Headquarters, and asks him to post sentries. When Dylan tells him about the wire that was cut, he thinks that it is an alien, but he does not think that it could be an animal. He goes to the radio shack to check the wire, but it is cut by someone who knows the planet, and when he returns, he realizes that the wire is not cut by an alien. He realizes that he will have to go back to the ship to splice it, but decides to stay with the colonists until he can figure out who cut the wire. After the colonists realize that they will not be able to leave the ship, he leaves the ship and goes back to find Rossel and the women and children, who are frightened. He tells them that the ship will not take more than forty people, and they will need to go to the colony on Three, but they do not have room to take all of them. He tries to convince them to stay, but none of them will listen to him. He leaves and goes to find Bossio, but Bossio does not answer his call, and Dylan realizes that there is no room on the ship. He decides to call Bossio and ask if there is room on his sister colony at Three, and Boss", "The army is the only defense that Earth has against the aliens. The aliens attack and destroy a colony on the planet Lupus V, and the colonists are unable to defend themselves because the army is small, weak, and without respect. When the aliens attack again, the army does nothing but spread the news that the aliens are coming, and people begin to fall back. Eventually, the aliens cut the wire that connects the two colonies, but the aliens do not know how to control one of them, so they cannot control all of them. The army ships are the only means of defense for the colonists, but they are not able to protect them because they are too small and weak.", "The cut wire is significant because it marks the beginning of the end of the story. The first contact Man had with an intelligent alien race occurred out on the perimeter in a small quiet place a long way from home. The alien force attacked and destroyed the colony at Lupus V. The wreckage and the dead were found by a mailship which flashed off screaming for the army. When the army arrived, they discovered that the wire had been cut. The wire was buried in the center of each colony, hidden from view under twelve inches of earth. The army did not understand why the wire was cut, and the colonists began to fall back. The aliens had a heat ray, which they used to destroy the colony, but the aliens did not have telepathy or telepathic abilities. The cut wire was the first sign that the aliens were coming.", "The story begins with Jeff and Ann sitting at a restaurant eating their supper. Jeff is complaining that he is losing his grip on his life. Ann is trying to cheer him up by telling him that he will bounce back. They are interrupted by a mustachioed man at the next table, who asks them if they would like to go back in time to 1957. Jeff tells Ann that he cannot go back to 1957 because he has no legal right to be in the future. The man offers to take them on a free trial trip to another time, and Jeff agrees. They leave the restaurant and go to a bar, where they meet a man named Mr. Bullen, who invites them to his office. He is the general manager of Continental Radioptic Combine, owned by Mr. Dumont Bullen. He tells Jeff that he can take them back to the time of the Civil War, but he cannot explain how he does it because it is a dimension, not a stream of events. Ann and Jeff decide to go with him, and he takes them to a room with two movie screens. The room is filled with people chatting in a fast-moving corridor. Jeff notices that there are bars at the windows of the house they came out of. He asks Ann if she is scared, but she assures him that this isn\u2019t any different from any part of the city they have ever been in before. They go to the next room, and there is no sense of motion or change in the environment. They get into a limousine, and the driver tells them that they are in 1957. The car is new, but they realize that they have been transported back six years. Jeff asks where they are, and they are taken to a station 725. They find themselves in a replica of the room they left at 701, but it is not the same as the one they left in. The next room they go to is called 724, but there is a sign that says Green Thru-Way. Jeff realizes that they must be in a shopping center, but the street they came from is not a boulevard. When they get out of the car, they find themselves on a freeway. They see a picture of a man in a silver-haired, silky-looking suit. He introduces himself as Septo Kersey, a local agent of Bullen\u2019s company, and asks them to come with him to his apartment. He shows them a card that says \u201c", "The story takes place in the future. The story begins in a restaurant where Jeff and Ann are eating their supper. The restaurant is noisy and hot, and Ann is nervous about the unfamiliar surroundings. They leave the restaurant and go to a shopping center. The shopping center is filled with lights and swarming with shoppers. There is also a big shopping center, which Jeff does not recognize. They go to an apartment house. The apartment house is a middle-sized, middle-cost home in a good neighborhood. There are lots of signs for turn-offs, but none give any hint where they are. They find themselves in a replica of the room they had left at 701. The room has a sign hanging from the middle of the ceiling and two giant television screens. The TV screens have the words Ante and Post in bright yellow on black, and there is an arrow pointing to the screen on the left with the word Ante, and to the right with Post. On the wall, there is a picture of a man bound hand and foot, huddled in one of the chairs.", "Time is significant in the story because it is what allows Jeff and Ann to travel back in time to the past to find a way to get out of their predicament. They are in 1957, which is six years ago, and they have lost their lease to a company that is no longer in existence. They have no legal right to be in the future because they do not have an immigrating permit or citizen file. They cannot get work because they are illegal aliens. They do not know where they are or what they are doing in the past, so they cannot go back to the future to find out if they are still in 1957 or not. Time is also significant because it allows the story to take place in a different dimension, which allows the reader to see the world in a new way. The story takes place six years later, but it is also possible to go back and forth between the present and the past by traveling through time travel.", "Jeff and Ann have a loving relationship. They are married and have two children together. Jeff is the smartest color engineer in television, and Ann is his wife. They live in a small town in the future where they have no money to live in and no place to live. Jeff has been taking pills to help him sleep, and he is worried about losing his grip on his life. Ann, on the other hand, is a loving wife who cares about her husband and wants him to bounce back. They have a good relationship with each other, and they are very supportive of each other. They try to help each other as much as they can, but it is clear that they are not as close as they would like to be.", "The Elliotts have a tense relationship with Mr. Snader. They are not rich enough to afford expensive trips to other time, so they cannot afford to hire a traveling time traveler. However, they are willing to pay for a free trial trip to another time to see if they can go back in time and correct the mistakes they have made in the past. Jeff and Ann have a good relationship with Snader, and he treats them well. He treats them with warmth and kindness, but he also has a cold, calculating side to him. When Ann and Jeff ask him about his time travel, he laughs at them and tells them that it is not possible, but that he invites them to come with him. He also tells Ann that he will give them the rest of their pay when they prove that they are not in fact in the future.", "Isobar Jones is a young man who works at the Experimental Dome on Luna. He has been locked up in an airtight dome for six months, where he has been unable to leave the dome for fear of being attacked by the Grannies, a dangerous, unyielding, and indestructible form of life found on the moon. His job is to make forecasts of the weather for each sector of the moon, and he enjoys this part of his job. He is very homesick for Earth, but he is not allowed to play his bagpipes outside of the Dome because it disturbs the air-conditioning system. His boss, the Dome Commander, orders him not to do so, but Isobar refuses. He plays his bagpipe anyway, and the sound of it is heard throughout the Dome, which annoys the Dome staff. The Commander orders him to stop playing it, which he does, but not because he is homesick, but because he has read General Order 17, which forbids the playing of any musical instruments outside the Dome. He then orders Isobear to go back to his quarters, which is where he is supposed to be sleeping. He leaves the room and goes outside to play the bagpipe. He hears a sharp, explosive bark of a Haemholtz ray pistol, and is startled by the sound. He runs to the entrance to the Dome and hears the voice of Sparks, the radio operator, asking for the weather forecast for the week of May 15-21, but is unable to hear him because his portable radio is broken. He goes to the gate to see if Sparks has received a message from the Dome\u2019s radio turret, but Sparks has not received one. He sees two Patrolmen, Roberts and Brown, racing around the curve of the dome, and calls for help, but they do not return. The Patrolmen are attacked by Granny-like creatures, and they are unable to defend themselves against them. They are attacked again, but this time the Granny attack does not break the tree. The Granny attacks the men, but the men are able to hold on to the tree and prevent it from falling down. They hear the distant sound of an armored tank coming and run to it, but it is too late. The men are saved when the tank is sent to rescue them, and it is sent by the Dome commander, Joe Roberts, who sees them. He tells them that Sparks saw them from his turret window", "The bagpipes are one of Isobar\u2019s most important possessions. They are the only source of entertainment for him, and he plays them incessantly throughout the story, even when he is forbidden to do so by the Dome Commander. He plays them to distract himself from his work, and it is the only thing that keeps him from becoming bored and bored himself. He also plays them as a way of distracting the Grannies, who are attacking the men, and as a means of distracting them from their work. The sound of the pipes is loud enough to disturb the Dome staff, and the sound of them disturbs the air-conditioning system, which can be heard through the entire structure. This is the reason why the men are forbidden to play them outside of the Dome, and this is also why the Granny attack on the men is so violent. The pipes are also the reason that Isobars is able to escape from the Dome and escape to Outside, where he is rescued by the armored tank.", "The Granitebacks are the only mobile form of life found on Earth's satellite. They are described as grey, grey, gaunt creatures that move with astonishing speed despite their massive bulk. Their carapace or exoskeleton is made of something harder than steel, diamond, or battleplate, and they are almost indestructible. The flesh of the Graniteback is composed of something that can be penetrated by no weapon known to man, and their flesh can be pierced with an atomo-needle dispenser. They have no sense of hearing, so they are unable to communicate with Isobar or the other Patrolmen.", "The story takes place on the surface of the moon of Luna. It is located in the hemisphere of Lunar III, which serves as a rocket refueling station, teleradio transmission point, meteorological base, and meteorological outpost. The Dome is a large, airtight structure that houses Isobar Jones, the meteorological officer at the Experimental Dome on Luna. The dome is enclosed in an airtight dome with ultraviolet wave-traps so that it cannot burn. The air inside the Dome is filtered through ultraviolet waves, which leave the skin pale and lustreless and clammy as the belly of a toad. There is no fresh air, only reoxygenated air from atmo-conditioning units. There are huge impervite gates at the entrance to the Dome and the doorway to Outside, which are double-locked and barred. Outside of the Dome, there is grass, trees, and flowers. The grass is green beneath his feet, the trees are lacy network through which warm sunlight filtered benevolently, and the chirrupings of small insects and the rustling whisper of the breezes form a tiny symphony of happiness through which he moves as one charmed. The moon is covered in a thin layer of atmosphere-shielded sun, and there is a thick layer of greenery that is fragrant with the scent of growing things. The Moon is also covered in an atmosphere, which allows for the presence of the Grannies, the only mobile form of life found on the moon.", "Isobar Jones is a young man who works at the Experimental Dome on Luna. He is described as a lean, gangling figure with a pale, gangly frame. He has been working at the Dome for six months, and he is very homesick for Earth. He loves to play his bagpipes, but he is not allowed to play them outside of the Dome because of General Order 17, which prohibits him from doing so. Isobar is also very sensitive to the sound of his pipes, which annoys the Dome staff. He does not want to disturb the air-conditioning system, so he keeps his bagpipe in his cubby. He also enjoys his job as a meteorologist, writing detailed forecasts for each of the different regions of the moon. He enjoys the weather forecast for each sector, too, as he notes the proper figures under the headings Sun Spots, Max Freq, and Min Freq. He is very excited when he receives a call from Sparks, the Dome Commander\u2019s niece, asking him to report on the weather in Oceania Sector 4B next week. He leaves his cubicle and heads to the central section of the dome to prepare for the call. When he returns, he is in a state of agitation, and begins to play the bagpipe, which he has taken from the cabinet in his private cubicle. When Sparks asks him to stop playing, he tells him that he has been told not to do so by the general council of all Patrolmen. He then goes back to his quarters, where he is supposed to be sleeping. When the Grannies attack the Dome, he tries to distract himself by playing the pipes, but is unable to find a way to distract them. He begins to think of ways to scare them off, and is interrupted by the arrival of an armored tank, which saves his life. He tries to call for help, but his portable radio is not working, and Sparks orders him to go back to the Dome. He goes to the main entrance to try to find the tank, but it is locked and barred. He hears the explosion of a Haemholtz ray pistol and realizes that the Granny attack is coming again. He runs to a nearby tree to try and save the men, but they are attacked again and he has to retreat. He uses his pipes to distract the grannies, and when they stop attacking the tree, he realizes that they are listening to his music", "The story begins on a Saturday night at The Space Room, a bar on Marsport. It is a picturesque oasis of old Martian charm, situated on the beauteous Grand Canal. The bar is run by a Martian named Goon-Face, who is described as being skeleton thin and so tall that if he fell down he'd be half way home. The bartender, Fat Boy, and the bass fiddle player, Hammer-Head, are playing in the bar when the bartender, Mr. Ke-teeli, comes in to berate them for their lack of bass player. The bass player, John Smith, is the best bass player this side of Nirvana, and he is late because his bass man, Ziggy, has nearly sliced off two fingers while opening a can of Saturnian ice-fish. The three of them try to convince John to join their band, but he refuses. He says he has to find the right hole in the universe to prove his theory, and there are millions and millions of holes in this universe. He explains that the holes provide a means of studying all of the time dimensions, each interwoven with the other, throughout the ages. He is trying to find one particular hole that he believes is the right one, but it is impossible to find because there are so many holes. He tells the bartender that he has lost his own time dimension, and if he doesn't find it, he will be discredited. After the bartender leaves, the three try to find a new bass man to replace John, but none of them are able to find him. They go out to get some air and some strong black coffee, but John is nowhere to be found. They try to persuade him to stay another day, but his body is full of holes and he won't leave. The next day, they go to the bar again, but the bartender refuses to let them talk to John because he has too much beer. They decide to go to Marsport's uranium pits to try and find him, but there is a force field at the other end of the hole that prevents John and his Zloomph from returning to their time dimension. They jump in the manhole after him, and when they get back, there is nothing but the smell of ozone and an echo bouncing off the walls of the conduit. They realize that John is gone because he fell through the force field. They find him in the uranium pits of Neptune, but they can\u2019t find him because he", "John Smith is a bass player from the Marsport union. He is interested in holes because he believes that there are millions of holes in this universe. He believes that the history of all the time dimensions is interwoven with the other, and the holes provide a means to study all of it first hand. He also believes that if he doesn\u2019t find the right one, he will be discredited and his theory will not be accepted. He wants to find a hole that will allow him to go back to his own time dimension and prove his theory, but he cannot find one that is right for him because his body is full of holes. He says that if The Eye sees a hole in his ashtray, he would swear at him in seven languages, and he has no way to get back to the original dimension. He has to find the hole that is the right hole for him to return to his original dimension, and if he does not find it, he is afraid that he will lose his entire time dimension.", "The Goon-Face is the manager of The Space Room, a bar on Marsport\u2019s Grand Canal. He is a tall, thin, bald man with black needle points set deep in a mask of dry, ancient, reddish leather. He looks down on the band members and berates them for playing too loud, too fast, or too soft. He does not like John Smith, the bass player of the band, because he thinks he is too loud and too fast. He also thinks the band is too slow and too soft, and he does not want John to play with them because he is afraid that he will lose his own time dimension. The Goon is also very cold towards the rest of the crew, especially Hammer-Head and Fat Boy, because they are the only ones who can play with him. When John Smith goes missing, he is the only one of the members who is still alive, so he is not considered to be a member of the group.", "John is the best bass player in the band, and he is the only one who can play the bass. He is the one who has been playing with the band for the longest, and it is important to him that he continues to play with them. Without him, the band will not be able to continue playing, and they will be notes in a lost chord. Without John, they cannot even sue the city for the loss of his corpus delecti, which is the key to their success. John is the reason that the band continues to perform, and without him, they would not have enough money to keep going.", "John Smith\u2019s instrument is a bass fiddle that is over five thousand years old. It has an unusual hole in the front of the fiddle, which makes it sound like an hour-glass. He also has a piano keyboard, which he uses to play his music. He plays his Zloomph, which is an ancient instrument that has a hole in its front. He uses this hole to make his music sound like a whole chord with each beat.", "The Valley by Richard Stockham tells the story of two couples, Michael and Mary, who have been on a mission to find a new planet to live on. They arrive on Earth, where they are greeted by the President of the planet, who tells them that Earth is almost dead and that they are to be sent back to the city to die. They are told that they will be isolated in solitary confinement until the time when they can migrate to another planet. The President tells them they will not be allowed to go out among the people because they are heroes and martyrs, and they will have to be isolated for the good of the people. The two couples decide to go back to Earth and live in the car, which they do for a while. They see a green valley with three blades of grass, and the two decide to take off their boots and walk to the valley. They find a spring and drink from it. They feel the freshness of the water, and decide that they can live on Earth. They decide to tell the people of the new planet that they have found, but the people are horrified at the sight of the scar tissue and begin to cry. They tell the President that they cannot live on the planet because they have been searching for two thousand years for a truth. The people of Earth are afraid of the truth and refuse to listen to what they have to say. They threaten to kill themselves if they don\u2019t give them the lockets, which are designed to kill instantly and painlessly if they are ever faced with pain or terror. They say that they would rather die in the desert than in the city, and that the people will not see them again. The President calls a meeting of the council, where he informs them that their report is a complete failure. The council decides to send another expedition out to find another planet, but they are not allowed to leave the city.", "Michael and Mary have been married for a long time and have been together for two thousand years. They are both passionate about the idea of living on Earth, and they both want to be part of it. However, they both also want to live on Earth for as long as they can. When they first see the green grass on the hill, they are both drawn to it and want to explore it. But when they return to the city, they realize that they can\u2019t live there anymore. They want to go back to space, where they can live in the spaceship and be close to their loved ones, but they cannot bear the thought of dying out there in the desert. They both want the open sky and the quiet away from those awful pounding pumps when they die.", "The mission that Michael and Mary were sent on was to find a new home for Earth. They were sent to space because they believed that Earth was dying and there was no other place for them to live. They had been searching for a truth for 2,000 years, and they had found it. They wanted to tell the people of Earth that there was a new life waiting for them on Earth, but they were told that they would die if they told the truth. The people of the city were horrified at the sight of the bodies of people dying in space, and the sight drove them mad. The President told them that the Earth was almost dead, and that they had to find another planet to live on. They decided to go back to the city and deliver their message to the people.", "The President has decided to send Michael and Mary back to Earth. He believes that they are heroes and martyrs, and he wants them to be isolated for the good of the people. He also believes that the people must not know the truth about what they have found, and that they must be protected from the possibility of their spreading the truth. He tells them that they will stay in solitary confinement until the time when they can migrate to another planet where they will be able to take their place in the society. He explains that they have been searching for a truth for two thousand years, and they have come to the conclusion that there is no place for them on Earth. The Earth is dying, and there is nothing else for them to live on, so they have to return to Earth and die. The people are afraid of the sight of the bodies of those who died in outer space, and the President says that they cannot bear to see them anymore. He says that the Earth has been overcrowded and the people have died, and it is too late to save them. He wants to send them back to the city and let them live on Earth, but the people are scared of what they will see if they do. The President tells the people that he will send another expedition out to find another planet to take them to, but they are told that there will be no escort. He then tells them to wait outside the council chambers until they have reached their decision.", "The lockets were given to every member of the expedition the night before they left. They were designed to kill the wearer instantly and painlessly if he were ever faced with pain or a terror he couldn\u2019t endure. The society that gave the lockets to the men and women in the story was the President\u2019s society. The people of the various societies were horrified at the sight of the bodies of people who had died in outer space, and they feared that the same thing would happen to them if they were exposed to the images of their own deaths. Therefore, the society gave them the locket with the choice between suffering or quick painless death.", "The story begins with Kevin, a psi-negative, walking through the woods with his family. His family members are telepaths, and he is the only one of them who does not possess any psi powers. He is the youngest member of the family, and his parents are worried about him because he is unable to receive telepathic abilities. He does not have any interest in anything outside of his job as a machine-sitter. His mother, Sylvia, is a psychiatrist, his father is a traveling salesman, his sister is a meteorologist, his brother, Tim, is an executive in a furniture moving company and his sister, Sylvia is an advertising copy writer. He has no interest in any of these jobs, but he does enjoy the first-aid class he takes because it is the first time he has ever worked with people as an equal. He also enjoys the fact that he is able to feel the pain of others, which makes him feel more sympathetic towards them. His family is worried about the possibility of war with the aliens because they have been attacked by one of their ships, and they are worried that the aliens will come back with reinforcements in less than six months. The government has built a hospital just for him to care for the wounded, but it is not equipped with enough cure-alls to take care of all the casualties. Kevin\u2019s family is also worried about his ability to heal because he has no ability to do so, and the government refuses to allow him to go to the cure-all because it might attract the attention of the enemy. His parents are also worried that he will not be able to adapt to the new environment he is working in because he can\u2019t do any of the menial tasks that humans are supposed to do. His sister, Lucy, tells him that she is interested in him and wants to be his assistant, but his parents refuse to let her go because she is a telepath. He tells her that he does not want her to be jealous of him, and she says that he has a gift that will come out some day.", "Tim is the youngest member of the family, and he is the one who seems to like Kevin the most. He is a good prognosticator, and his ability to predict the future is one of the reasons why he has risen so rapidly in his profession. He also seems to be the only person in the family who treats Kevin the way he wants to be treated. He tries to be kind to Kevin, even though he knows that it won\u2019t work because he has no ability to do any of the things that the other members of his family do.", "When Kevin was very young, his family was in the middle of a war with the aliens, and he was a machine-sitter in the hospital. He had no interest in anything outside of his job, and his family didn\u2019t want him to have any kind of interest in life outside of caring for the machines in the house. His parents were worried about the possibility of war, but they were also afraid of the crowds that would attract the enemy\u2019s attention. The government also told them that he was the most important individual on Earth, so they didn\u201dt want to risk his safety. After the war ended, the government built a hospital just for his work, and people came in droves to see him. He became very popular with his patients, and the government even built a spaceship just for him to be able to go to the other planets, but it was discovered that there were no other planets suitable for human life.", "People without psi-powers are not seen as special in this society. They are not considered special because they do not have the ability to receive or transmit thoughts or telepathically communicate with others. They do not possess telepathy or telekinesis, and they are not able to perform any of the abilities that telepaths are capable of. They have no place in society because they cannot be trusted to do anything useful. People do not want to be seen as inferior to them because they are the most important person on Earth, and the government does not want them to attract the enemy\u2019s attention.", "The relationship between Kevin and his mother is one of love and hate. Kevin\u2019s mother is an old-fashioned woman who does not hold with robocooks. She is a psychiatrist and uses her psychic abilities to help her patients, but she does not like to probe her son. She does not approve of his ability to heal and does not want him to be useful in any way. She also does not understand that he has a gift and that it is the greatest gift of all, that of healing. However, she does try to make up for her lack of understanding by offering him coffee, cigarettes, and treats him as if he is a god.", "The story begins with Captain Steffens of the Mapping Command and Lieutenant Ball of the Aliencon crew on a planet called Tyban IV. The planet is a dead one, and there are no signs of life on it. They are looking for a place to land when they see a cluster of buildings on a hill. The buildings are made of metal, and they have a circular stamp on the surface. The robots are described as being about fifteen thousand years old, and the crew thinks that they must be from the fourth planet, but they cannot be sure because there is no atmosphere on the planet. The crew decides to explore the planet, and when they land, they see that the robots are armed and ready to blow up the ship. They decide to investigate the robots further, but the robots do not seem to be interested in them. They simply extend their hands and say hello, but it is clear that they are not interested in the humans. They do not know if they are the Makers, or if they have come from outer space, or whether they are from a different planet. Steffens asks the robots if they build themselves, and one of the robots replies that they do not build themselves. The other robot says that they have been built by the makers, and that the makers have gone away for a very long time. The robot then sends a picture of a robot that looks like a human, and it is revealed that it is actually a robot with an eye that sees all ways. The two men decide to go down to the factory to see if they can find out more about the robots. They find out that there are moons on the other side of the planet as well, but none of them are habitable. They return to the ship, where they are greeted by a group of robots that look like humans, but are actually robots. The aliens ask if they want to see a doctor, but one of them tells them that they will only be allowed to enter their minds if they request it. After this conversation, the aliens decide to return to their ship, but not before they find out the answer to the robots\u2019 question about who made them.", "The story takes place on a dead planet called Tyban IV. It is located in the Coal Sack Nebula, a region of the galaxy where humans have been living for hundreds of thousands of years. The planet is covered in a thick layer of carbon dioxide, which makes it extremely dangerous for humans to live on it. There are many buildings on the planet, some of which are very old, and the planet itself has a circular stamp that marks it as dead.", "The makers are the ones who built the robots on Tyban IV. They are the reason for the existence of the robots, and the reason why they have been built. The Makers have been gone for a very long time, and there is no way to know if they have ever come back. The robots are the only ones that have ever been built, and they are all the robots that the Makers want to serve them. The reason for their existence is that they are the robots\u2019 only hope for the future, and if they don\u2019t come back, they will never be able to fulfill their purpose of serving the Maker. Steffens and the crew of the Mapping Command are on a mission to find out if there is any evidence of life on this planet, and when they land on the planet, they are greeted by hundreds of robots that look like robots, but are actually human-like. The first robot that they meet, Elb, says that they do not build themselves, but they are made by the Factory, which is a huge, fantastic block of gray and cloudy metal. The factory is located on the other side of the planet and is where the robots live, and it is there that the robots communicate with Steffens. The story ends with the robots telling him that they have not been able to communicate with him for a long time because they are not allowed to communicate unless they are called upon by the Maker to do so. This is ironic because the robots have been created by the makers, but the makers have not come back to this planet.", "The robots on the planet Tyban IV are described as being made by the Makers. They are made of metal, and their bodies are covered in metal. Their heads are covered with plastic, and they have a single round spot of plastic on the top of their head. They have a band of clear plasticlike stuff running around their head, and a single metal eye that sees all ways. Their arms and legs are also covered with metal, but they have no arms or legs. They do not have eyes or hands, but instead have a metal chest with symbols engraved on it. The symbols are repeated below the level of the arms, and continue in orderly rows across the front of the robot, all the way down to the base of the trunk. The first robot that Steffens meets is called Elb, and it seems to be the first one to speak to him. It says that they have come from the stars, and that their purpose in life is to serve the Maker. The other robot, Peb, is 17 years, one month and four days old, and says that their desire is only to serve when the Maker returns. The robots seem to be happy to see the humans, and are eager to be of service.", "Steffens decides to engage with the robots because he is curious about them and wants to learn more about them. He is concerned that if he does not investigate the robots, he will be court-martialed for breaking the Law of Contact or for dereliction of duty. He believes that the robots are the Makers, and he wants to know if they are the same as humans. He also believes that they are similar to humans in that they have a general, comfortable air of good feeling that it warmed him and he is so preoccupied with watching the robots that he doesn\u2019t think about the future. When he first sees them, he thinks that they look like robots, but then he notices that there is a pattern of symbols on the robots\u2019 bodies. He realizes that the symbols are not meant to be symbols, but are meant to communicate with him. He tries to ask them questions, but the robots do not answer. He begins to feel a sense of warmth towards them, and this makes him want to talk to them. The robots seem to be happy to be on the planet, and they offer him their hand. He asks them to stay with the ship, but they do not want to leave because they are afraid that they will be detected by the aliens. He decides to go down to the factory to see if there is any evidence of life there. He sees that the buildings are very old, and the robots have been there for a very long time. He thinks about the possibility that they might be the same people that the aliens from the fourth planet came from, but not the humans from the other planets. He goes down to see the factory.", "A CITY NEAR CENTAURUS By Bill Doede A city near Centaurus II is a dead city that has been abandoned for millions of years. Michaelson, an archeologist from Earth, is exploring the ruins of the city when he sees an old man with a gun. The man is a native from the fifth planet of the system, and he is angry at Michaelson for trespassing on his land. The old man tells Michaelson that the city is sacred, and that the spirits of the dead people are angry at him because he has not told them about the city. He also warns him not to touch any of the artifacts in the city because they are dangerous to the spirits. When Michaelson refuses to leave, the old man threatens to kill him with his gun, but Michaelson uses the cylinder hidden behind his ear to find a way to take him home. The cylinder takes him to the city, where he finds an ancient book that contains the story of a race of people who conquered all disease, explored all the mysteries of science, and devised a machine to cheat death. He touches the button on the book, and a high-pitched whine fills the air, and the machine takes him instantly to the place where the people lived half a million years ago. When he presses the button again, there is no sound, no movement, and nothing else. The machine is a door leading to a path of non-existent distance. He tries to take the machine back to his own body, but it does not work, so he goes back to where he was when he first touched the machine. He returns to the building where he found the machine, but the machine is gone. He finds an old book that talks, and tells him that it is a talking book. He goes to the machine again, and this time it does work, but he does not want to leave the city as it is full of information about the people who lived there. He wants to build a museum to preserve the books, but Maota says that they must go over to the hill just outside the city and build a chamber to stop the decay. He tells him to leave now because the spirits may return one day, and Michaelson says that he is not a god, but a human with a machine. The two men fight, and when they do, they accidentally kill the machine and leave a black, charred hole in the ground. They bury the machine in a desert knoll outside of town.", "The story takes place in a dead city that has been abandoned for millions of years. The city is made up of many buildings, some of which are small, some huge, and some with spires. The buildings are covered in sand and have been blown down and filled with the accumulated ages. There is also a desert knoll outside the city overlooking the tall spires that shine in the sunlight and gleam in the moonlight. There are desert plants growing from the roofs of smaller buildings, and there is a large square building with hand made chairs and a bed. Inside the building, there are instruments in the rooms that look like bedrooms, but the rooms are empty. Outside of the city, there is an ancient street that winds through the desert and is lined with crumbling buildings. In the distance, two moons are visible in the night sky.", "Mr. Michaelson is a tall, gaunt man who lives alone in the city of Alpha Centaurus II. His wife died many years ago, and he has no children. He is very curious about the city and its inhabitants, but he doesn\u2019t want to destroy it because he believes that the city is valuable and must be preserved for future generations. He has a machine that can take him back to his home on Earth, but it is a tiny device that can only be used by him. He also has a gun that he keeps hidden behind his ear, which he uses to defend himself against the webfoot.", "The webfoot is a native of Alpha Centaurus II, a colony from the fifth planet of the system. He is a short, gray-haired man with long gray hair. His webbed feet drag in the sand as he walks, making a deep trail behind him. He has a gun pointed at Michaelson\u2019s head, and warns him not to touch the city. He also holds a gadget that looks like a time-piece, but is actually a clock. The device is connected to his ear, and it can take him instantly back to his home planet. The cylinder is a thing of mystery and immense power, and he carries it with him everywhere he goes. He does not want to leave the city because he believes that the spirits will return one day. He wants to preserve the city as it is, but he cannot leave because the spirits are angry. The city is sacred, but not to its gods.", "The cylinder is significant because it is the key to Michaelson\u2019s quest to find the lost civilization of Alpha Centaurus II. The cylinder is a device that allows Michaelson to travel back in time to the time when the inhabitants of the city lived. It is a machine that allows him to travel to another dimension, where distance is non-existent. The machine is powered by a button on the wall of the building where the city is located. When Michaelson presses the button, the machine sends him to the other side of the planet, where he finds himself standing in the same place where he was when he touched the button. This means that the machine can take him anywhere on Earth, even on the planet where he is now.", "Robson Hind, the son of the business manager of the Hoskins Corporation, meets Barry Barr, the jet chief of the Five Ship Plan, on the surface of Venus. They shake hands and discuss the mission of the colony, which consists of refabricating the discarded ships into whatever form is most needed, and studying native Venusian materials. Barry is assigned to the colony because he is the logical man, and he has some training in Hoskins drivers, power tools, and alloys. Dorothy Voorhees, the toxicologist and dietician, is the only woman on the Colony, and she is attracted to Robson, but she hesitates. The man's smooth charm had fascinated the girl and his money had opened to her an entirely new world of lavish nightclubs and extravagantly expensive entertainments, but her inborn shrewdness had made her hesitate. The two men have a tense rivalry, and Barry feels he has the inside track despite the money and the brash assurance that goes with it. After the men shake hands, they head to the airlock to change accelerators. As the ship is about to enter the Venusian atmosphere, a meteorite hits the jet room, causing a backsurge of heat and deadly radiation. Barry faints and falls into the water. He is revived by Dr. Carl Jensen, a specialist in tropical diseases, who tells him that the changes in his body are rudimentary gills, and that there is nothing he can do to reverse them. When he wakes up again, the air is warm and the room is filled with water, but he is unable to breathe. He tries to open the window, but it is locked, so he goes back to sleep. After a few days, he begins to have visitors, but Dorothy does not come to see him. He begins to suspect that she wrote to him before Three blasted off, and when he tells her that he is not married, she cries and tells him to stop lying. He realizes that she loves him even if he doesn\u2019t have a wife and child in Philadelphia. He also realizes that Dorothy is the one who wrote the letter, and the only person who could have written it. The doctor tells him he has two days to figure out how to fix the leak in the air conditioner, and then he sends him out to find a dozen helpers to make a machine that can remove the water from the air. When the machine is ready, the men return to the ship, and it is revealed", "Barry Barr undergoes a number of changes throughout the story. First, he becomes a water-breather, which means that his skin between his fingers and toes becomes membranous webs, and his neck develops dark parallel lines. He also begins to experience pain in his neck, which he believes is the result of the Sigma radiation. He begins to have nightmares about Dorothy Voorhees, and he begins to believe that she wrote to him before Three blasted off. He believes that she is the person who wrote the letter, but he does not want to believe her because he has no child in Philadelphia. When he wakes up from his coma, he realizes that he has fainted, and the doctor tells him that he is going to die. He is unable to breathe because of the heat and dryness of the water, but his lungs are still able to draw oxygen from the air. He tries to convince himself that he will recover, but it is hard for him to do so because his body is still suffering from the effects of the radiation. When Dorothy comes to visit him, he tells her that he loves her, but she does not believe him because he is not married and he has never been to Philadelphia. She believes him, and stays with him for hours. He tells her about his feelings for Dorothy, and she believes him. After a few days, he is able to go to sleep again, and when he awakes again, he notices that the air in his room is no longer hot and dry. He becomes aware of the stench of decaying plants and the smell of decaying vegetation. He realizes that the water is salty and stinking, and that the worms are attacking his skin. He goes to the window to try to open it, but the window is locked and he falls into the slough. He faints again and is rescued by Dr. Jensen, a specialist in tropical diseases, who gives him water to drink. He wakes up in the morning with a headache and a burning sensation in his chest, and begins to think about the possibility that the radiation might reverse itself. He decides to make a machine to cleanse the air from the ship. He draws water directly into his lungs, and this causes the water to seep out of his body, which allows him to breathe again. When the ship is in free fall, he tries to turn back to the airlock, but there is no way to open the door because the mechanism is locked. He has to rely on the", "Venus is the opposite of lifeless Mars. It is covered in a thick layer of mist, and the surface is covered by a swamp-covered swamp. The surface is half water, with land masses mostly jungle-covered and broken by a few rocky ledges. There are many creatures on Venus, including saurian or semi-saurians, giant swamp-dwellers that use the slough beside the colony\u2019s ledge as a highway, and giant insects that buzz and buzz like lost airplanes. The swamps are filled with creatures that are harmless and timid, and many of those most harmless are venomous. The vegetation on Venus grows with a vigor approaching fury. The plants are poisonous, but the creatures that live on Venus are harmless.", "Robson Hind is the jet chief of the Five Ship Plan. He is the only son of the business manager of the great Hoskins Corporation, which owns a considerable share of the plan. He has a reputation for being a ruthless, restless, probably psychopathic man. He had tried to transfer Barry to Three and Dorothy to Four, but the plan was not successful. He was assigned to Four because he was the logical man, but he was not assigned because he had a broken ankle. He also had a reputation as a manipulative man, which is why he was chosen for the mission.", "The Five Ship Plan is a joint enterprise between the government and various private groups. The plan is to send five ships out into space, each fueled to within a whisper of spontaneous detonation, manned by specialists who can maintain themselves under alien conditions. Each ship will land on Venus, where it will be refabricated into whatever form is most needed. The remaining fuel from each ship will be transferred to whichever ship will return to Earth in best condition. The mission is to establish a colony on Venus.", "The story begins with the assistant administrator of the Bureau of Population Equalization, Roy Walton, sitting in his office. He receives a report from the director, Mr. FitzMaugham, that the population of the planet has reached seven billion, and he has to decide whether or not to save one child from Happysleep. He has six weeks of pressure, six weeks to decide, and six weeks in which he has been under constant pressure from his boss, the Director Fitzmaugham. He is afraid that he will lose his job, but he decides to do the right thing. He goes to the euthanasia clinic to check the records of the seven babies that have been sent to him, but one of them, Philip Prior, is not a normal, healthy baby. He calls his brother, Fred, who is working in room seven, and asks him to find him for him. Fred tells him that the boy is a tubercular baby, but Fred does not want to tell him the truth because he is afraid of what his brother will do. Walton leaves the clinic and goes to his office, where he receives a call from Mr. Prior, his brother-in-law, who wants to see him immediately. Walton tells him he can't see him because he has some work to do downstairs. He leaves the office and heads to the lift tube to the twentieth floor. When he arrives at the elevators, he realizes that he has given the wrong information to his boss. He decides to go to the big room where he will be able to save the baby. There, he finds the card of the boy, but finds that it has been changed. The card has the symbol 3f2, tubercular-prone on it. He retyped it and sends it to the machine to be corrected. The machine confirms that the card is normal, and the baby is sent to the 11th chamber. Walton goes back to the office, but his brother calls him and tells him not to tell anyone about the mistake. Walton decides to ignore the call because he cannot bear the thought of losing his job. When his brother Fred calls him, he tells him to take some time off for relaxation. His brother is on the phone and asks for a transcript of his conversation with the machine, but Walton refuses to give it to him because it is confidential. He tells his brother that he cannot do it because his son, Philip, is tubercular and he cannot spare his son. He also tells him about the", "The new world order is based on the Equalization Laws, which are a set of laws that aim to equalize the population of the planet Earth. The Equalization Law requires every child born within two weeks of birth to have an examination and a certificate of life. The law is meant to prevent the overpopulation of the population, which is a major cause of the current situation. The laws are enforced by the Bureau of Population Equalization, which has been created by the Director of Popeek, FitzMaugham, and the Assistant Administrator, Roy Walton. The laws were passed in order to ensure that the population would not overpopulate the planet, which would lead to a checkmate in a century or less. The goal of the laws is to keep the population under control and prevent the spread of degenerate genes to the next generation. However, the laws also allow for euthanasia, which can be used to eliminate a child with a tubercular condition. This is a form of euthanasia that is illegal under the law, and it is punishable by death.", "The story takes place in the 23rd century. The offices of the Bureau of Population Equalization, known as Popeek, are located on the twentieth through twenty-ninth floors of the Cullen Building, a hundred-story monstrosity typical of twenty-second-century neo-Victorian at its overdecorated worst. The building has iridescent chrome scalloping that trimmed the walls, sash windows with opaquers, and a massive ceiling fixture. There is also a lift tube that leads to the twentieth floor, where Walton's office is located. There are also offices on the twenty-eighth floor, immediately below Director FitzMaugham\u2019s office. The office has a desk and a chair for Walton to sit in, and there is also an annunciator that announces the incoming reports. The main part of the story is in the main section of the clinic, where there are hundreds of babies being examined and evaluated. The room is large, thirty by twenty, with deck upon deck of Donnerson micro-memory-tubes racked along one wall and a bank of microfilm records along the other. The machine that processes the data in the room is called the euthanasia machine, and it has an impressive collection of data. The euthanasia files are kept in a big room on Floor 20. The files are stored in a large room with a big, gleaming sign that says \u201cEuthanasia Clinic and Files\u201d on the door.", "Fred Walton is the assistant administrator of the Bureau of Population Equalization (Popeek). He is the brother of the director, FitzMaugham, who is also the second-in-command of Popeek. Fred is a small, compact man with a squat build. He has never been able to catch up with his older brother. Fred works in the Happysleep section of the Popeek Bureau, and his brother is in room seven, running analyses. Fred has a reputation for being a bit of a pushover, and he does not want his brother to know he is down there. He does not like the fact that his brother works for Popeek, but he is loyal to his boss.", "Philip Prior was born on 31 May 2232 at New York General Hospital. He is the first son of Lyle Martin and Ava Leonard. He was born with a tubercular gene pattern, which is why he was sent to the euthanasia clinic. Prior\u2019s son, Philip, is two weeks old, and he has been committed to Happysleep because of his tubercular condition. Prior comes to see Walton because he wants his son to be spared from euthanasia. Walton tells him that he can\u2019t do it because his son is perfectly sound, but Prior insists that he must see him because he has an urgent request to see him. When Walton refuses, Prior leaves the room.", "The story begins with Chip Warren, a spaceman, staring at his reflection in the glass. He is annoyed with his companions, Syd Palmer and Johnny Haldane, for their lack of appreciation of beauty. Chip decides to take a night off from the spaceport, and he goes to a bar called XU\u2019UL\u2019S SOLAREST. There he is greeted by a bevy of charm-gals vying for the privilege of helping him beat the roulette wheel; helping him drink the house dry; and separating him as quickly as possible from the credits in his money belt. He leaves the bar and heads toward the town of Danae, where he finds himself surrounded by a mob of people. He tries to run away from them, but he is caught by one of them, and the man shoots him in the face with a flame-pistol. Chip is knocked unconscious, and when he wakes up, he is surrounded by his friends, who accuse him of murdering Johnny Halde. Chip tells them that he is wanted for the murder of Johnny, and they accuse him again. Chip explains that he and his friends have discovered a mountain of ekalastron, a new element, on an asteroid in the Belt, and that they are not going to sell it to the public. He also tells them about the Lorelei, a beautiful woman who lures space-mariners to their deaths by singing, but does not actually sing. The men decide that they will not sell the ore to anyone but the Space Patrol at Uranus, because they do not have a very strong transmitter. They decide to take the ore and head to the Bog, a dangerous region of asteroids, where it is being plated. They arrive at the Bog and are greeted by an enchantress of space, who begs for help from the men. They hear her voice again, and this time they realize that she is calling out for help. They realize that they have crashed, and their pursuers are coming after them. Chip tries to escape, but one of the men shoots him, and Chip fires his flame pistol at the man. The man dies, but Chip continues to shoot until he is completely out of range of the man\u2019s gun, and then he kills him with his own flame pistol. He then runs to the Chickadee, which has crashed on the planetoid, and tries to find a way to escape from the mob. He hears a voice calling for help, and realizes that", "Lorelei is a beautiful woman who wantsonly lures space-mariners to their death. She is described as an incredibly beautiful woman with golden-crowned hair, who sits on an asteroid somewhere in the Belt, combing her golden locks, warbling and luring her fascinated admirers to destruction. She does not sing, she does not call, but instead sits on a treacherous rock and calls out for help. She has set up a number of wrecks, including the Chickadee, a spaceship that is being plated with ekalastron. She also has a habit of locking the controls of wrecked ships and setting them adrift, and setting hulks adrift as well. She calls out to space-men to come and help her, but they do not hear her.", "Johnny Haldane is one of the crew members of the spaceship Chickadee II. He is an old friend of Chip and Syd, and they have been shipmates for many years. Johnny is also the one who warns Chip about the Lorelei, a beautiful woman who wants to lure space-mariners to their deaths. He also warns Chip that if his message is intercepted, he may be in danger of playing into the hands of the woman and her men. Johnny also tells Chip that he is on a mission to find the Bog, an asteroid in the Belt that has been used as a hideout for the woman, and that he has a tip that one of her men put in here for supplies. When Johnny arrives at the spaceport, he is greeted by a group of men who accuse him of murder. Johnny tries to defend himself, but one of them shoots him in the face with a flame-pistol. Johnny dies instantly, and Chip is left with a scar on his face.", "Ekalastron is a metal so light that a man could carry in one hand enough to coat the entire hull of a battleship, yet so adamant that a gossamer film of it would deflect a meteor. It is also so resilient that, when properly treated, it would rebound like rubber. It was discovered on frigid Titania, a satellite of far Uranus, and it is the greatest contribution to spaceflight since Biggs' velocity-intensifier. The crew of the Chickadee, led by Johnny Haldane, found a mountain of ek on the planet, and they decided to use it to coat their private cruiser. They also decided not to sell it on the open market because there are privateers and outlaws who would take advantage of it. They decided to keep it for themselves, and to use the money to build a private spaceship. The ship is plated with ek, and the crew is going to take it to the Bog, where Lorelei is hiding. The Bog is a treacherous region of tightly packed asteroids, a mad and whirling scramble of gigantic rocks which, aeons ago, had been a planet. The men have never been able to penetrate it, but they know that it is dangerous because of its proximity to the Belt, and their crews have been murdered and their cargos stolen.", "Salvation Smith is one of the crew members of the spaceship Chickadee II. He is a tall, gangling scarecrow garbed in rusty black, a lean-jawed, hawkeyed man with tumbled locks of silver framing his weathered cheeks and a jutting, aquiline nose like a halo. He wears a bright, gaudier suit than his companions, and he is a devoutly religious man with the heart of an adventurer. He believes that his God is the fierce Yahveh of the Old Testament, a God of anger and retribution, and that his mission is to carry to outland tribes the story of the God he worships. He also has the best hand with a gun, which he uses to win his converts. When he sees the Lorelei in the bar, he calls out to her, \"Help! Oh, help! Can anyone hear me? Help!\" He is also the leader of the gang of outlaws who are after the stolen cargo of ekalastron. He warns the crew not to get too close to any of the joy-joint entertainers, and warns them not to report the matter to the Space Patrol because they may play into the hands of the Lorellei.", "Pat Mead, a tall, red-headed man with fiery red hair, introduces himself to June Walton and her brother, Max, as he introduces himself as a colonist from the planet Minos. He tells them that the planet was once inhabited by humans, but that they were wiped out by a disease called melting sickness. He explains that he took human cells and made them into phagocytes, which are able to adapt to the environment on Minos by a process called test-tube evolution. He then sends them to Alexandria, where they will be tested to see if they still carry the melting sickness, and then to return to the ship to wait for the people to vote on his proposal. As June and Max are eating in the dining hall, they notice that a tall man, Pat Mead, is sitting next to them. June notices that he is shorter than she is, and she feels a pang of guilt for being disloyal to him. Pat tells June that he has walked three hundred miles to come to Minos, and that the people on the planet have not been able to contact him because of the plague, which killed everyone except the Meads. He also tells them about how he has adapted their genes to the planet, and how he did it all right. June feels a stab of guilt because she loves Max, but she does not feel the same way about Pat. Later, they see Pat eating with the other colonists, including Hal Barton, his brother, and a woman named Shelia the beautiful, who is fascinated by him. She tells June she would like to marry him, but June tells her that she has never thought of marrying any other man.", "Pat Mead is a tall, red-headed, magnificently handsome man. He is a hunter and bridge carpenter, and he is the first person June meets on the ship. She is tall and tanned, with a few freckles, and wavy red hair, like him. She also has blue eyes, and she tries to ignore the brightly humorous blue eyes. She does not feel disloyal to him, but she does feel a sense of guilt for not marrying him sooner. When they first meet, June is nervous about him. He seems so different from everyone else, and it makes her nervous. She tries not to show it, but it is clear that she is nervous around him. Later, when they are eating in the dining room, she notices that he is shorter than she is, and that he looks almost shrunken to her. This makes her feel guilty. She tells herself that it is because she loves Max, not because she feels disloyal towards him.", "The melting sickness is a disease that affects the people of Minos. It is caused by the melting of human cells that have been made into phagocytes by Alexander P. Mead, a plant geneticist. He took human cells and made them into leucocytes, which are able to absorb the alien food and return to their original state of independence, hunting, eating and reproducing alone. He then planted these cells back in the people he had taken them from, and they were able to hunt and plant while the other settlers were still eating out of hydroponics tanks. The people on Minos were immune to the disease because they were related to the Meads. However, the melting sickness killed everyone except the Mead families, and their ship went off into the sky to avoid the contagion and never came back. The doctors died too soon to find out what it was or what to do about it.", "The members of the Explorer follow strict health safety guidelines. They believe that the environment on the planet Minos is safe enough for them to live and work, but they do not want to bring any disease with them. They are concerned about the melting sickness, a disease that has been known to kill people on other planets, and they want to be sure that they are not carrying it on board the ship. They also want to make sure that no one on the ship is carrying the disease, so that they can be free to interact with the people of Minos and not risk spreading it to them.", "The story takes place on a spaceship called the Explorer. It is an old-fashioned spaceship that has been converted to living and working quarters. The ship is built for safety, and the people of the ship have to wear spacesuits to protect themselves from the dangers of the planet. There is a viewplate that shows a long view of mountains in the distance on the horizon, and between them, low rolling hills, bronze and red with patches of clear green where there are fields. The forest leaves are green and copper and purple and fiery red, and a wind sends patches of bright greenish sunlight dancing among the leaf shadows. The air is breathable and cool, and there is a brook winding through the forest. There are also a number of rooms on the ship, including a dining hall, a locker room, a medical department, a laboratory, and an observation deck. The dining hall is a section of the old dining room left when the ship was converted into living quarters, and it still has the original finely grained wood of the ceiling and walls, the sound absorbency, the soft music spools and the intimate small light at each table where people leisurely eat and talk. The viewplate also shows a view of the horizon. The hospital is visible from the dining hall. The medical department is in the dining room, and June and Max go there to see Pat Mead, a tall man with red hair and red-haired red-headed hair, who has walked three hundred miles to come to the ship. The food is served in a lot of different ways, including hydroponic mushroom steak, salad, fish, and vegetables, and desserts. The men and women eat in the same way as they did on Earth, but there is also a variety of different types of food, including desserts.", "The story begins with the birth of a boy named Sim. He is born on a planet that is next to the sun. The planet is extremely cold and harsh, with the nights burning with cold and the days burning with fire. The people live in the cliffs to escape the incredible ice and the day of flame. At dawn and sunset, the air is breath-sweet, flower-strong, and then the cave peoples bring their children out into a stony, barren valley. The cave people live their entire life in the caves, talking incessantly with their people, sleeping never, thinking, thinking and lying upon their back, dreaming; but never sleeping. When Sim is born, his mother feeds him pebble-fruits, valley-grasses and ice-nipples broken from the cavern entrances, and his sister, Dark, feeds him. He grows up surrounded by his mother and father, who are old and feeble, and he is fed by his sister Dark, who is a violet blue flame. They walk through the valley, and Sim hears his father say that he will die in eight days. He thinks about the fact that he is the fifth in a long line of futile sons, and that he has only seven days left to live. The next day, the sun begins to warm the valley. Flowers are burnt into effigies, grasses sucked back into rocks like singed snakes, flower seeds whirled and fell in the sudden furnace blast of wind, sown far into gullies and crannies, ready to blossom at sunset tonight, and all life on the planet jumps, bursts into life. The valley is full of life, but it is also full of death. The children of the cave people die in a week, leaving their parents to die in the next day. Sim's father and mother scream and run away from the dying people, but Sim\u2019s mother holds on to him and tells him to eat and feed his sister. The next morning, his father sees a metal seed on a low mountain. He runs towards it, and it reflects a dazzling ray of light. He realizes that it is the only ship that is still a unit, still usable, and there is no one in it to help him escape. He sees his father run towards the ship, and realizes that his father is about to kill him, but his mother stops him. The two of them run back to the cave, where the sun is coming, and they hear the sound of", "The story takes place on a planet that is next to the sun. The planet is covered in cliffs that are covered in snow and ice. The people live in the cliffs to escape the incredible ice and the day of flame. At dawn and sunset, the air is breath-sweet, flower-strong, and then the cave peoples bring their children out into a stony, barren valley. There is a violent, impossible world, with violent nights and days that burn with cold and heat, and the days are like torches of fire. The land is covered with avalanches that fall from the cliffs and melt into the valley floor. People live in caves, where they eat pebble-fruits, valley-grasses and ice-nipples broken from the cavern entrances, and eat, eliminating, eating again. The air is a restive blue, filled with green foliage and temperate clime, and there is a tide pool where waves of varying and violent temperatures recede. When the sun comes up, the valley blushes with impulsive color. Flowers are burnt into effigies, grasses sucked back into rocks like singed snakes, flower seeds whirled and fell in the sudden furnace blast of wind, and all life on the planet jumps, burst into life, and dies again. Sim\u2019s parents live in a cave, surrounded by their children. The cave people live their entire life in the caves, with two hours a day outside. The sun is hot, and intense, and every morning at least one person is caught in the downpour. The cliff people are afraid of the avalanches, and their bodies are carried in a funeral procession to the top of a small hill where the sun will cremate them.", "The relationship between Dark and Sim is very similar to that between a parent and a newborn child. Dark is the older sister of the cave dweller, and she feeds and cares for the newborn Sim. She is also very protective of him, telling him to feed him, care for him, and protect him. When the cave people die, she holds him tightly and tells him that he will need weapons soon to fight for this Lyte one. She also warns him that superstitious people will try to kill him because of the belief that if one kills another, the murderer partakes of the life energy of the slain, and therefore will live an extra day. She tells him to fight to protect himself because superstitious beliefs are believed that if you kill another person, you will live another day.", "The planet is next to the sun, but it is extremely cold and harsh. The nights are very cold, and the days are very hot. The people live in the cliffs to escape the incredible ice and the day of flame. At dawn and sunset, the air is breath-sweet, flower-strong, and then the cave peoples bring their children out into a stony, barren valley. There is a violent, impossible world. People live in caves, and they have very short lives. The planet is full of volcanoes, avalanches, and violent winds. People die very quickly, and there is a superstitious belief that if one kills another, the murderer partakes of the life energy of the slain, and therefore will live an extra day. The sun is very hot, and it burns everything. The land is covered in ice, and every morning there is an avalanche. The cliffs are covered with boulders, and people run away from the cliffs. The mountains are covered in snow, and at sunset the creeks and rivers die and cool. The air is blue, and plants grow instantly, and birds are flung like pellets across the sky. The sky is a riot with sickly shining stars. The only ship that is still intact is a perfect, unscarred metal seed. The ship is far away, so there is no one in it to help.", "From the moment he is born, Sim begins to absorb his surroundings. His mother feeds him pebble-fruits, valley-grasses and ice-nipples broken from the cavern entrances, and feeds him fruit and grasses. He is fed every minute, he is constantly swallowing, feeding, and his body is constantly digesting. The soft burden of food gives him knowledge of his system, of energy, of movement. The sight of green plant life whirls his mind like a gyroscope, seeking balance in a world where lack of time for explanations makes a mind seek and interpret on its own. He understands love, marriage, customs, anger, pity, rage, selfishness, shadings and subtleties, realities and reflections. He also learns about his parents\u2019 thoughts and emotions. When his parents die, he begins to understand that they will die in a few hours, and that he will live only eight days. He begins to think about life in the caves, and he understands that life is short. He learns about the dangers of the cave life, and how to survive in it. When he sees his father, he sees the old people sitting in the tunnel beyond the living quarters. He sees that they are dying, and this makes him understand that his parents will die soon, too. The old people are dying because of superstitious beliefs that if one kills another, the murderer partakes of the life energy of the slain, and therefore will live an extra day. He thinks about this, and tries to protect himself. He tries to keep his parents young, but they become old, and they become mummies. When the sun goes down, the cave people die, and their bodies are buried in the valley. The children run around the valley, and the sun burns the grasses, flowers, and birds, and animals. The cave people live in the cliffs to escape the cold and the heat. The people are afraid of the avalanches and the day of fire. The men and women are running to fight, to kill, over there in those small black cliffs where other people live. The metal ship on the far mountain is the only ship that is still a unit, intact, and still usable. This ship is his only hope of escape, and it is where he will grow up to be a man.", "The story begins with a boy named Steve Cantwell returning to his childhood home from Earth, where he had lived with his aunt after his parents had been killed in a Kumaji raid. He remembers the single well from which all the families drew their water, the mud-brick house, and the community center where he spent his happiest time as a boy. He goes to the well to drink water, but the water turns out to be poisoned, and he is unable to drink it. He returns to his aunt\u2019s house to tell her that his water has been poisoned and that his father, Tobias Whiting, has gone missing. When he returns to the village, he is greeted by his old friend, who tells him that his family has been attacked by the Kumajis, and that they are fleeing to Oasis City, which is 500 miles away. The Kumaji are after them because they have poisoned a well, and three people died from the poisoning of the well last night. The old man is bitter because he had been the Colony's official trader with the Kumaji, and had grown rich at his business. He tells Steve that he is leaving the colony because he has plenty of money to trade for the location of the Oasis, but he cannot leave because his wife, his daughter, and his son-in-law, Mary, are all gone. He also tells him to go after his people because they are his people, and they have to hurry to get to the oasis city. When the old man dies, he tells his daughter that he will never see his profits again because he is tied up with a moneylender, and will never be rich again. The two of them decide to go to the larger settlement, but decide to stay with their aunt and try to find Whiting. When they reach the camp, they find out that their father has been killed and that he has gone off to the nearby Kumaji encampment to try to get the information they need to find his people. They decide to kill Whiting and go after him, but they are spotted by a single man armed with a pike. They kill the man and run away from the camp. The next day, they hear the sound of a panicked Kumaji calling out for help, and when they return to their camp, the camp is deserted. They find their father, who is unconscious and bleeding from a wound in his stomach. They take him to a nearby camp, where they realize that Whiting", "Tobias Whiting is one of the most successful members of the Kumaji tribe. He was the Colony\u2019s official trader with the Kumajis, and had grown rich at his business. He had a very successful business when he was a boy, but he had lost all of his profits due to a debt to a Kumaji moneylender. Now, he and his wife, Mary, and their three children are stranded in the desert with no water, food, or shelter. They have been unable to find water for the past few days, and they are in desperate need of food and water. When they hear that their water supply has been poisoned, they decide to return to their home, where they find their father, who is sleeping in a tent. He tells them that he has plenty of money to trade, and he will tell them when they reach the larger settlement. He also tells them he has changed his mind and will not tell them anything, because he wants to make sure that the information is going to the right people. When he tells them this, he is angry and bitter, but his anger is tempered by his love for his daughter and his desire to protect her. When the two women, Mary and his daughter, come to see him, they are shocked to learn that their father has died from the poisoned water, and that his wife and three children have died as well-wishers. He begs them not to kill him, but they refuse to listen to him because he has made up his mind to tell them the truth. He is taken to a small encampment, where he is shot with a pike by one of Kumaji guards. After he dies, the women and their father are taken to the encampment to be treated for his wound. They find out that Whiting has decided to turn traitor and flee with the other refugees to the nearby Oasis city, and Whiting himself is taken with them.", "The story takes place in the twenty-second century on a planet called Sirius II. It is described as being hot and desert-like, with desert heat. There is a single well from which all the families draw their water, a mud-brick house, and a community center where all the people live. The desert is filled with desert animals, including the Kumajis, who are nomadic tribesmen who live in the desert. The climate is extremely hot and dry, and there is a constant wind blowing in from the desert, which makes it extremely windy. The sun is very hot, and the Sirian sun gleams balefully off the blades of Steve\u2019s unicopter, which brings him from Oasis City, almost five hundred miles away. When he arrives at the village, he is greeted by a cluster of deserted mudbrick houses and a small community center. There are also a few trees and a well, but it is not very well-kept. The town is deserted, except for a lone Kumaji, who is resting in the shadows of the community center and singing a traditional Kumaji chant. The main setting of the story is the village where the main character, Tobias Whiting, and his daughter, Mary, meet up with him.", "The Kumajis are a tribe of purple-skinned people who live on the desert planet Sirius II. They are hostile to the Earthmen, and they have been known to raid the nearby colony. When the colony\u2019s well was poisoned last night, the people of the desert had no choice but to flee to Oasis City, which is almost five hundred miles away. The colonists had to leave the town because they were running out of water and food, and the only way to get there was by trekking across the desert. The Kumaji have never accepted the colony as a fact of their life on the planet, and it meant one oasis less for their own nomadic sustenance. When Steve was a boy, he read about the frequent Kumaji raids, how they had increased in violence, and how the Earth government had suggested withdrawal from the Kumaji desert settlement, especially since a colony could exist there under only the most primitive conditions.", "Tobias Whiting is the main character of the story. He was the most successful man in the colony when Steve was a boy, and he is the one who tells the story of how the Kumajis poisoned the well that the colonists used to draw their water from. He is also the father of the young girl, Mary, who decides to go after Whiting to save her people. The old man is bitter and bitter because he has been away from his people for so long that he has no desire to return. He does not want to leave his people, but he is unable to flee because he is too old to fight and too weak to fight. He tells his daughter that he is staying because this is his home and he will die if he does not stay. The story ends with the two young women, Mary and Steve, going to find Whiting.", "The story begins with Sol Becker, a young New York advertising executive, waking up in a strange dream world of Armagon. He is being picked up by a man named Dawes, who tells him that his car has been stolen and that he needs to pick up the body of his friend, Mr. Brundage, from the barber shop. The two men take the body to the funeral parlor, where the body is taken away by the Sheriff, Charlie, and the Sheriff\u2019s wife, Mrs. Coogan. Sol goes to sleep, but wakes up in the middle of the night with a voice asking him if he is nakkid. He tells his mother that he is tired and very sleepy, and goes back to sleep. The next morning, he wakes up with a headache. He goes to his mother, who gives him a bath towel and tells him to go to bed. When he goes to bed, he thinks about the wedding he is supposed to attend in Salinas that weekend. He wakes up at 3:30 in the morning, and his mother gives him some hot biscuits and a cup of coffee. Then he goes downstairs to wake up Sally, a little girl with pigtails. She asks him to stay with her for the night, but he refuses. When she leaves, he goes into the parlor to get some clothes. After he undresses in the bathroom, he is met by his mother. He tries to call his old Army buddy, Fred, but his car is stolen and he is unable to get to the wedding. He calls the Sheriff and is told to stay in town until he is contacted by the authorities. He leaves the house and walks around the town. He finds a park where three old men are sitting around a monument of some unrecognizable military figure. He asks them about the execution, but the old men refuse to talk about it. He walks back to the barbershop, where he meets a fat man named Charlie. The fat man tells Sol that he picked him up about two miles from the place, and he has been going there ever since he was a kid. Charlie tells him about the death of the old man, and Sol asks if he knows anything about Armagon, which the fat man says that it is just a dream. He also tells Sol about his car, which is stolen, and they go to the Sheriff's office. When they arrive at the office, the Sheriff tells them that the body has been taken to a funeral par", "Willie Dawes is the Regent of Armagon. He is a tall, rangy man with a bobbing Adam\u2019s apple and a lined face. He has a reputation for being a bit of a mystery man, but he is friendly and helpful to Sol. He knows the place better than anybody, as he has been there since he was a kid. He also knows about Armagon, which is why he picks Sol up and takes him to the barber shop to get a shave. When Sol asks him about the execution, Dawes says it is none of his business. He does not want to talk about it, and he is not interested in writing a story about it either. However, he does want Sol to stay in town until he is contacted again by the authorities.", "Mrs. Brundage is the wife of Vincent, the owner of the barber shop in Armagon. She is a plump, apple-cheeked, white-haired woman with a fussy, old-fashioned appearance. Her husband died of a heart attack in the barbershop, and she is distraught over his death. She begs the Sheriff and Dawes not to take her husband\u2019s body to the funeral parlor, but they refuse. She cries and begs them to let her husband die, but the Sheriff tells her that the law is the law and she must tell them the truth. When she refuses, the Sheriff calls her mother and tells her to come and see her. She leaves the house and goes to her mother-in-law's house, where she stays for the night. When Sol wakes up the next morning, she is still in the house, and he asks her to leave him alone. She tells him that her husband had a bad dream about Armagon, and that he had been executed. When he tells her about the execution, she cries and tells him to leave her alone, but he insists that he must tell her about it. When the police come to pick up the body, she begs them not to let them take it away. When they leave, she asks them to leave, and tells them that she has things to do. She also tells them to call her mother, who will come to see her at ten o\u2019clock, and they leave.", "Mom is a plump, apple-cheeked, white-haired woman who looks like a political cartoon character. She is very kind to Sol when he comes to stay with her after his car was stolen. She gives him hot biscuits and a bath towel when he wakes up in the middle of the night. She also helps him get dressed in the morning. When he goes to the barber shop to get a shave, she tells him that she has to call Mrs. Brundage to let her know that the State Police will be around to get his car. When Sol goes to bed, she gives him a soft blanket and tells him to sleep in the sofa. When she wakes up, she is still in the big chair near the fireplace. She has a stern voice when she tells Sol to leave the room. She does not want him to go to the palace, and she does not like him to dream about Armagon at night. However, she does allow him to stay in her house for the night because she knows that it is the least she could do for him.", "The dream of the townspeople is significant because it is the reason for Sol\u2019s arrival in Armagon. He has been dreaming about Armagon every night since he was a child, and he is the only one who has ever been to the place. The dream is also the reason why he is unable to find his car, and why he has to stay in town until the authorities come to arrest him. It is also significant because the dream is the main reason that Sol is able to escape from the barber shop, and it is this dream that ultimately leads him to the execution.", "The story begins with George Faircloth, a Super Deluxe model of an android, getting fed up with his wife Marge. He has been married to Marge for eight years, and she is a beautiful woman with a tongue like a #10 wood rasp and a list of grievances long enough to paper the bedroom wall. He tries to make her happy by telling her all the things she wants to hear and paying attention to her, but she doesn\u2019t seem to like it. He also tries to get her to go on a second honeymoon with him, but her husband refuses to let her go. The next day, he goes to the bank to cash a check for $5,000, but the bank tells him that his regular account has been empty for over a year. He goes to a warehouse and meets a greasy little man with a black mustache and a bald spot. He tells him about his company, Ego Prime, Inc., and asks for a Utility model. The little man tells him he can supply him with a Deluxe model, which is perfect for close contact work. He takes him to the laboratory, where he is fitted with a Microprobe and Microprobes. He then goes home to his wife, Marge, who is kissing him the way he hasn\u2019ts kissed her in eight long years. He realizes that Marge has known about George Prime for a long time, and that she has been trying to get him to go away with her to Hawaii or someplace. He sends George Prime back to the factory, and Marge goes back to her job at the office. After a week, he realizes that he has been neglecting his wife. He calls Marge and tells her that he is going to take George Prime to Bermuda, but Marge says that she will go to sleep. He is furious and goes to call the police. He finds out that George Prime has been following Marge around the house, kissing her, and even kissing her when she is supposed to be at work. When he gets home, he calls the police, but they are unable to find him because he is not in his closet. He decides to take care of this nonsense by rewiring George Prime from top to bottom as soon as the laboratory can take him. Marge is upset that George has been doing this to her husband, and he tells her to stop worrying about him. She goes to sleep, and the next morning, George is still there, but he has not come", "The \u201cPrime\u201d technology is the technology that allows George Faircloth to create a duplicate of himself. The technology was invented by the neuro-pantograph inventor Hunyadi, and it allowed him to create androids that could be programmed to do anything he wanted them to do. The idea was to create an android that could take over his wife\u2019s life, and he was able to do so because he had all his circuits open and ready to go. However, it was illegal to use the technology in the first place because it was regulated by the Federal government. The only way to get a license was to be a big business executive or a high public official, or a movie star, or something like that, but even then his circuits had to be inspected every two months and he had to specify in advance exactly what you wanted his Prime to be able to be doing when, where, how, why, and under what circumstances. There was also strict Federal control and laws regulating the use of the technology right down to the local level.", "The theme of marriage is explored throughout the story. At the beginning of the story, the main character, George Faircloth, gets fed up with his wife, Marge, and decides to find a way to get rid of her. He has been married to Marge for eight years and has been trying to keep her happy for seven and a half years. Marge has a tendency to complain about him, and he is constantly trying to make her happy, but she does not seem to appreciate him. He tries to convince her that he loves her and that he will always be there for her, but Marge does not believe him. She does not want to go on a second honeymoon with him, so he sends her on a trip to Bermuda instead. The next evening, George Prime is kissing Marge the way he hasn\u2019t kissed her in eight long years, and it makes George\u2019s hair stand on end. After the fight, he calls Marge and tells her he is sorry, but her husband refuses to let him come to her house. He goes to the office, where he spends the rest of the day at the office. After dinner, he and Marge go out for a movie together, but he breaks his date with her and goes home alone. After a while, he realizes that he is having an effect on Marge. When he goes to bed at night, she kisses him tenderly and says that she loves him, but it is not like the Marge she used to be. After seven years of marriage, he begins to wonder if things are getting out of hand. He realizes that Marge is trying to run off with George Prime, and tries to get him to go to Hawaii or someplace. He sends her back to the factory, and the two of them get into a fight again.", "Marge Faircloth and George Faircloth have been married for eight years. Marge is a sweet, good-hearted woman who has a tendency to complain about her husband\u2019s lack of attentiveness to her. She has a tongue like a #10 wood rasp and a list of grievances long enough to paper the bedroom wall. When she is not complaining, she is crying, and when she isn\u2019t crying, she points out in chilling detail exactly where George is failing as a model husband. She also has a toothpick-in-the-door routine that he uses to try and get her to clean up the house. He also tries to make her happy by telling her all the things he wants her to do and paying attention to her, but she doesn\u201dt want to do any of that. She is also a very good secretary, but Marge has a spy system. She knows that George is a Super Deluxe model, and she knows that he is trying to get Marge to run off with him to Hawaii or someplace where he can be free from her. He is also trying to make Marge happy by showing her how much he loves her and showing her his affection, but it is clear that he does not want her to be suspicious. He tries to keep Marge quiet and happy, but he also has to be careful not to let her know that he has an Ego Prime in his closet. When Marge finds out about the situation, she accuses him of being unfaithful, and tells him to stop. He tells her that he will take care of everything, but then goes back to the factory. He has to take over the house for the rest of the week. He even kisses her good-bye for the first week, but after a while, he realizes that she is no longer interested in him. He goes to bed early and calls Marge and they have a fight, but the next night, they are both gone. When he comes home, he finds his pipe and slippers laid out for him, and the evening paper neatly folded on his chair, and Marge kisses him. She tells him that she thinks he is a handsome man, and he tells her he is not. He kisses her again, but this time it is the way he used to kiss her when they were married, and it makes his hair stand on end. He thinks about the past seven and a half years and wonders if they are meant for each other. He", "Harry Folsom is an executive-type employee at the company where George Faircloth lives. His wife, Marge, is not a very happy person, and she constantly berates him for not being a model husband. Harry envies the men at the office who can take a spin down to Rio once in a while with one of the stenographers and get away with it. He also has a friend who knows a guy who can supply him with an Ego Prime. Harry tells his friend about his desire for a personal Prime, and the friend tells Harry about this guy. Harry goes to the warehouse and meets this guy, a greasy little man with a black mustache and a bald spot. He tells Harry that he can provide him with a Super Deluxe model, which is perfect for close contact work. Harry also tells him about a friend of his who knows someone who can give him one.", "The story begins with Kaiser, a scout on the ship Soscites II, having a dream about his wife, Helene, and his life in space. The dream is interrupted by a message from the ship informing Kaiser that he has been infected by a mysterious creature called a \u201csymbote\u201d. The creature is able to change the physical properties of humans by reading their minds, and the ship wants Kaiser to return to the ship immediately to repair his scout. Kaiser does not want to return because he is afraid that the creature will try to change his mind and make him more like the creatures on the other side of the planet. Kaiser tries to repair the damaged scout, but it is impossible because the ship\u2019s air conditioning has gone out, and he has no way to fix it. He is also worried about his relationship with his wife because she does not love him and is constantly nagging him to divorce her. Kaiser also worries about the creature because he has noticed that it has changed his appearance and tastes, which he believes is due to the creature trying to make him feel better. Kaiser decides to go swimming in the river to test the effects of the creature on his body, but the creature grabs him by the ankle and drags him into the river. When Kaiser wakes up from his dream, he realizes that the ship has sent him two messages, one from the captain of the ship, and one from Sam, the ship's mechanical diagnostician. The message from Sam tells Kaiser that his body has been affected by a parasite similar to the one found on the planet, and that he needs to return immediately. The second message tells him that he must repair the scout or he will be stranded forever. Kaiser goes back to the scout and tries to fix the fuel pump, but he is unable to do so because the metal of the scout bottom is bent inward. He tries to use his crowbar to raise the metal, but his hands bruise against the lever. He decides to take a short trip to another location on the same planet to see if he can find more information about the creatures. When he returns, he finds that the creatures are more advanced than the ones he first encountered. He notices that the females are more intelligent than the males and that the males seem to be more friendly. He also notices that one of the females wants him to go into the water, and Kaiser agrees. The female tells him to take off his plastic trousers because they are beginning to turn brown at the roots. The male", "The story takes place on a planet called Big Muddy. It is described as being very wet, humid, and warm. The planet has a wide, sluggish river that flows through it, and there are many huts and seal-people in the river. There is also a scout ship that Kaiser is on, which he uses to travel between the planet and the mother ship. The ship is powered by an octopus, which is connected to the ship\u2019s communicator and is constantly monitoring the planet for its own needs. There are also a number of small villages along the river, where the natives live. The land is covered in soft mud, and Kaiser is disappointed to find that there are fewer people on the planet than he would have expected. He is also disappointed that he has not been able to find the solitude he likes best in space.", "The seal-people are the first inhabitants of the planet Big Muddy that Kaiser encounters on his mission to repair his scout ship. They are intelligent and intelligent, but they do not seem to be able to communicate with humans. They seem to live in huts along the riverbank, and they seem to spend most of their time swimming in the river. They also seem to have a higher intelligence than the humans, as they are able to recognize Kaiser and communicate with him. However, they are not able to tell him anything useful about them because they are unable to understand his language, and he cannot communicate with them because he is unable to speak their language. They do not communicate with the humans on the ship, which is why they are so important to the story.", "The communication device is the main focus of the story. It is the only way Kaiser communicates with his ship, Soscites II, and the only means by which he communicates with the other members of the crew of the ship. Without it, he would not be able to repair his scout, which is the ship\u2019s only means of communication with the outside world. Without the communicator, he cannot communicate with the ship, and he would be unable to repair the damage to his scout. The communication device also serves as a way for Kaiser to communicate with his mother ship, as well as with the seal-people that he encounters on the planet. The communicator also allows Kaiser to send and receive messages from the other ship, which allows him to learn more information about the planet and its inhabitants, and also to send messages back to the mother ship.", "The baby talk that Kaiser is using to communicate with his ship is very important because it is the first communication he receives from his ship, Soscites II, after he has been stranded on the planet Big Muddy. The baby talk is the reason that Kaiser has been communicating with the ship for so long, and it is also the reason why he is unable to repair his scout. The ship is sending messages to him in baby talk because it believes that the baby talk will help him regain the happy state of mind that he was in when he was a child. It is also important because the ship believes that this baby talk helps the symbiote recognize the mistakes that it has made and correct them.", "Professor Venetti is sitting in his office in his bachelor apartment. His secretary, Miss Brown, is getting a good look at his pale, bony chest. Professor Venetti tells her that it is humid for March, but she does not seem to notice. He is interrupted by Tony Carmen, the head of the AEC, who tells him that the government wants to confiscate his invention, the Expendable machine, and that he needs Venetti\u2019s help in finding a way to dispose of the bodies. Venetti explains that he has been working on a machine to neutralize radioactive waste for the government, but the government is not interested in his invention because it violates the law of conservation of energy. The government wants him to make a machine that can destroy radioactive waste without producing energy. Venettis\u2019 assistant, Tony, explains to him that he is a business man who owns large shares of stock in a competitor. Carmen tells Venetti that he will give him 49% of the company if he sells the machine to Arcivox, but Venetti refuses. He tells Carmen that he cannot sell his invention to the government because the government will confiscate it because it is part of an investigation for the U.S. government. Carmen informs him that there are two small items of interest in the Times the following morning. One two-inch story tells of the incineration of a warehouse on Fleet Street by an ingenious new arson bomb that left \u201cvirtually no trace.\u201d The other item is a science column about the government developing a new process of waste disposal rivaling the old Buck Rogers disintegrator ray. The AEC man informs Venetti-ray. He explains that they have agents tracing the machine and that they will be arriving in an hour. He asks Venetti to tell them what to do with the machine. He tries to explain the danger to the public, but is unable to explain how the machine will dispose of bodies. The machine will not be able to do so because the earth will have moved from the spot where it was created. He begins experimenting with different methods to try to make it work, but fails. He leaves the laboratory and goes to see the machine in the warehouse. He returns to his office to find Tony and his assistant, Carmen, waiting for him. Carmen explains that the machine is being used to destroy radioactive wastes, but he cannot explain how it will do this because he doesn\u2019t know where the bodies will go. He goes to the warehouse to", "Tony Carmen is a racketeer who works for the U.S. government. He is described as having pink-manicured, flashily ringed hands and a diamond sticking out of his silver tie. He has been in the Marines and has experience in the business of racketeering. When Venetti first meets him, he tells him that the district attorney has not indicted him for the murders of Harry Keno and his associates, but that the government will take over his invention if he sells it to Arcivox. He tells Venetti that he is a business man and that he owns shares in a competitor to his own company. He explains that he wants to sell the machine to the government because the government wants it to be used to dispose of radioactive wastes. Venetti tells Carmen that he cannot sell his invention because it is restricted information, but he agrees to give him 49% of the company if he will give him control of the patents. He also agrees to sell him the machine if he can make it work for the government.", "Professor Venetti\u2019s inventions are inventions that he has been working on for a long time. He has been trying to find a way to neutralize radioactivity in the past, present, and future. His machine, the Expendable, is a machine that can be used to dispose of radioactive waste. He is also working on a machine to destroy unwanted bodies, but he is unable to explain how his machine works. He does not want the government to use his machine for commercial use because he is afraid that the government will confiscate all of his inventions because they violate the law of conservation of energy.", "Global warming is one of the main themes of the story. Throughout the story, Venetti\u2019s invention of the Expendable machine is used to dispose of bodies of people that have died due to the effects of global warming. It is revealed that the machine is being used to destroy radioactive waste, which is causing the mean temperature of the planet to rise to the point where it will burst into flame. The Expendable device is also used to create a machine that can destroy radioactive wastes. The machine is then used by Tony Carmen to destroy the bodies of Harry Keno and his associates.", "The Expendable is a story about capitalism. The story begins with Professor Venetti and Tony Carmen, a racketeer, discussing the possibility of using his machine to dispose of radioactive waste for the government. Venetti is a scientist who refuses to be tied to the dictates of other people\u2019s ideas. He refuses to work in the vast facilities of big corporations like Bell, Du Pont, or General Motors. Instead, he works in a small private laboratory owned by himself, his late wife's father, and the bank. He also refuses to allow the government to take over his invention, which he calls the Expendable, because he believes that the government will not be interested in his invention. The government wants to confiscate the machine because it violates the law of conservation of energy, which Venetti believes is a violation of the maxim of energy conservation. However, he refuses to sell the machine to the government because he is a business man and he wants to keep control of the patents for his invention through a separate corporation. He does not want to be a figurehead in the company because he does not like office work and he is not happy as a businessman.", "Marty Isherwood, a rocket pilot, is sitting in his office with his receptionist. He has six hours, forty-seven minutes, and four days left to complete his Astronomy 101 course. His advisor tells him that he is not interested in the course because he has already taken all the math and engineering courses in the program. He is also told that he will not be able to take the Chief Test Pilot position after the completion of the course. He tells his advisor that he has no family, no friends, no hobbies, and no one to sustain him if something goes wrong. He does not want to go to the moon because he believes that it is not the same as the flight. He also tells his wife that he cannot get married because he cannot afford to get married. His father is furious because he thinks he has been cheated out of what he devoted his life to. He calls his Section boss and demands that he be let go. The Personnel Manager tries to convince him to stay, but he refuses. He goes to the bar to get some beer, and the bartender quotes a poem from a famous poet. He asks the bartender if the poem is old, but the bartender says it is about four hundred years old. He then goes to talk to Martin MacKenzie, a fellow rocket pilot. He talks to him about his life for the last seventeen years, and how he has worked odd jobs for the first few months. He says that he took some of his pay in flying lessons, but then he stuck to garages and repair shops for the rest of the time. He admits that he does not have a family, and that he had no close friends or any other interests. After talking to him for a while, he leaves the bar and goes back to his ship. He brings the twin-bubble beast back to the station after two days of running rings around the spinning Earth. The receptionist calls the Personnel Manager and tells him to come immediately. When he arrives at the briefing, he is late for the briefing because he is supposed to be there in six hours and a few minutes. He leaves the briefing and goes to his bunk. His wife, Nan, tries to explain to him why he can\u2019t sell the ship and go into some kind of business, and he tells her that it\u2019s not really the same. He thinks about the flight and the moon, and realizes that it cannot be the same because he did not push the beast up to the Moon. He", "Nan is Ish\u2019s girlfriend. She is a brunette with short hair and freckles. She falls in love with Ish when he tells her about his dream of becoming a rocket pilot. She tries to convince him to sell the plane and go into some kind of business, but he refuses. He says that he has to win the Vandenberg Cup to get the Chief Test Pilot position, and after that, he can walk into any plant in the States and pick up the job for the asking. She also tries to explain to him why he can\u2019t get married and have a family. She tells him that he is a trained pilot, and that he can do anything he wants after the test job. He tells her that he will be able to find a job after the Cup, and then he can go to the moon. She does not understand what it means to him, and she tries to tell him that it is all right, and he has done his job. But he refuses to listen to her. He is angry and tells her to go away. She runs out of the press section and tries to run over to him. She apologizes to him for not understanding what it all means. He does not put his hand over to her because he has lost his head. She leaves him and goes back to her trailer.", "Martin Isherwood is a rocket pilot, weight 102, height 4\u2019 11\u201d. He is a small man with a thin jaw. He has no family, and his father was making good money. He graduated from high school at seventeen. He worked odd jobs for the first few months. Then, he took some of his pay in flying lessons. After that, he worked in garages and repair shops for a while. He had a girlfriend, but she broke up with him because he couldn\u2019t afford to get married. After he won the Vandenberg Cup, he can walk into any plant in the States and pick up the Chief Test Pilot\u2019s job for the asking. He also has a lot of knowledge about navigation and math, and he can use words like brennschluss and mass-ratio without running over to a copy of Colliers.", "Mackenzie is Ish\u2019s rocket pilot. He graduated from high school at seventeen and worked odd jobs for the first few months. Then he took some of his pay in flying lessons. After that, he worked in garages and repair shops for the rest of his life. He has no family, no friends, no hobbies, and no other interests. He is described as being very thin and emaciated. He is the only trained rocket pilot in the world, and he has been working his own way for the last seventeen years. He does not have a family, and his father had a pension plan, insurance policies, and a steady girl. He had no friends or hobbies, no ties, no props, nothing to sustain him if something went wrong. He was the best there was, but he had done something to himself by becoming the best. After he won the Vandenberg Cup, he can walk into any plant in the States and pick up the Chief Test Pilot's job for the asking. After the test job, there will be the launch job, and after that, the rockets. After all, he has trained himself for it, and there is no other way to do it. He knew what death was like, and knew what the moon was like. He also knew what it was like to die, and that was why he had to cancel out the thrill that comes from challenging the unknown. He died on the Moon, and the world mourned him.", "The words of other people about the rocket are significant because they influence the outcome of the story. For example, when Ish\u2019s father ridicules him for wanting to become a rocket pilot, it is significant because it is the first time in the story that he says such a thing. It is also significant because he is the only trained rocket pilot in the world, and the only one who has ever been to the moon. He is also the only person who has successfully flown a rocket before, and he has never experienced the thrill that comes from challenging the unknown. The fact that he has done this means that he will be able to go to any plant in the US and pick up the Chief Test Pilot position for the asking. This means that after he wins the Vandenberg Cup, he will no longer have to worry about his family, his friends, his trailer, and his trailer. He will be free to pursue whatever he wants to do after the test job, and after that, he can pick up any job he wants. This is why he has shut himself off from his family and friends, and has no other interests besides rocket piloting. This makes him feel like he has been cheated out of what he devoted his life to.", "The story begins with the crew of the Marco Four landing on Alphard Six, a planet that was colonized by the Hymenops in 3025. The crew is led by Captain Stryker and navigator Arthur Gibson, who are on rest leave from their mission to find Terran colonies enslaved and abandoned by the bees. They land in Alphard 6 and are greeted by a group of people who are eager to enjoy the fruits of Terran assimilation. However, the crew is unable to determine who these people are because they have been conditioned to believe that they are descendants of the original crew of a ship that left Alphard Five in the Twenty-second Century and landed here in the twenty-first century. They are also unable to identify the bees because the bees have never been seen before, and there is no record of their presence before the bees took over Alphard six. The crew is further confused by the presence of a grounded spaceship that appears to be Terran, but the ship\u2019s crew is able to determine that it is powered by continuous atomic fission, which is not possible for Terran technology. The ship is grounded because of a malfunction in the Zero Interval Transfer (ZIT) computer, and the crew decides to investigate the situation on their own. Xavier, the ship's navigator, informs the crew that the bees are trying to communicate with them through the power lines that carry electricity to their hamlets. The bees are using the same technology as the bees, but they are using it in a primitive way, which makes the crew members suspicious. They decide to investigate further, and Xavier leads them through a series of storage rooms and hydroponics gardens, through a small gymnasium fitted with physical training equipment in graduated sizes and finally into a soundproofed place that could have been nothing but a nursery. There, they discover a creche, where generations of children are being trained to fulfill the functions of the hive.", "Farrell is the navigator of the three-man Terran Reclamations crew. He is the youngest member of the crew, and he is the one who decides to go down to Alphard Six to investigate the Hymenop colony. He has been working with the Alphardians for ten years, and it is clear that he has a lot of experience in dealing with hostile aliens. He initially disagrees with Stryker and Gibson about the possibility of the colony being inhabited by Hymenops, but he quickly agrees with them when they point out that the colony was never colonized before the bees invaded it. He also disagrees with the conclusion that the bees were responsible for the crash of the Marco Four, and that they must have abandoned the colony after the bees left. However, he also agrees with Gibson that there is only one way to find out the truth about the colony and that it is for him and Arthur to go.", "Stryker is the captain of the three-man Terran Reclamations crew. He is a tall, fat man with anachronistic spectacles and close-cropped gray hair. He has worked for the Hymenops for the better part of a century, and he is fond of his beard. He also has a fondness for his accordion, which he plays in the background of the story. Stryker has a good sense of humor, which is evident when he laughs at Farrell when he berates him for not taking the Marco Four down sooner. He does not like to be out of his comfort zone, which shows when he calls Arthur \u201cArthur\u201d and tells him to take the ship down. When the Alphardians attack the ship, he pulls Xav back to prevent it from being used as a booby trap by the bees. When he realizes that the bees did not shoot him down, he laughs and tells Gib that they must have been very clever.", "The story takes place on Alphard Six, a planet that was colonized by the Hymenops in the Twenty-second Century. It is uninhabited except for a large island some three hundred miles in diameter and twenty-seven small agrarian hamlets surrounded by cultivated fields. There is one city of perhaps a thousand buildings with a central square. Alphard six was surveyed and seeded with Terran bacteria around the year 3000, but it was never colonized before the bees took over in 3025, so there is no record of a colony in the beginning of the twenty-second century. The planet is inhabited by humans, but there are no signs of any Hymenop presence.", "The Ringwave technology is significant because it is the only means by which the Hymenops have been able to communicate with the humans on Alphard Six, and it is also the only way that the humans have managed to establish a colony on the planet Alphard 6. The technology is based on the Zero Interval Transfer principle, which is a principle that has been used by humans for millennia to travel long distances. The principle was discovered in the Twenty-second Century and has served the human race since then. It is also significant because the Bee colony is the first Terran colony to have been colonized by humans, and the Bee people are the only ones that have ever attempted interstellar flight.", "The story begins with Jon Karyl, a Lone Watcher on an asteroid, being watched by six Steel-Blues. He is being tortured by one of them, a Steel-Blue named No. 1, who tells him to drink a glass of hemlock. The liquid tastes bitter and pungent, but he drinks it anyway. After drinking the liquid, he feels hot prickles jab at his scalp and his eyes fill with tears. After a few days, the steel-blues take him to the service station, where he is tortured by them. He tries to communicate with the Space Patrol cruiser that is due to refuel at his service station in 21 days, but the ship is not in range of his radio. The steel-blue tells him that he will die if he doesn\u2019t warn the SP ship, so he sends out a distress signal. The space patrol ship arrives, and Jon is taken to an examination room where he learns that he is a soft-metal creature, made up of metals that melt at a very low temperature. He drinks the liquid and is told that it will turn his ship into jelly. After the liquid is diluted with a harmless liquid, it is given to him, and he is sent to a service station to be tortured for 21 days. After this, he is taken back to the interrogation room, where the Steel Blues give him a second glass of the liquid. When he drinks the second glass, he realizes that the liquid tastes like acid, and is bitter. When the Steel-blue asks him to tell the story of the corrosive acid to warn the patrol ship, he does not know how to do so. After 21 days of this torture, Jon is rescued by the SP patrol ship. He goes to the power station, and when he tries to escape, he finds himself in a hollowed-out space with a lock leading to an underground service station. He uses the power pack radio to send a distress message to the ship, but it is not picked up by the ship. The ship is attacked by the Steel Blue, who then sends him into an igloo with a plastic igloo. The water is bitter and corrosive, and after drinking it, he becomes weak and weak. He decides to go to the Service Station, but before he does so, he hears the sound of a ship approaching. He runs towards it and sees two Steel Blue ships approaching. The two ships are coming towards him, but they are attacked by two Steel", "The Steel-Blues are creatures of the Solar System. They are of the steel-blue color from the crown of their egg-shaped heads to the tips of their walking appendages. They have four pairs of appendages, many-jointed that stretched and shrank independent of each other, keeping the cylindrical body with its many pairs of tentacles on a level balance. Their heads are made up of metal that melt at a very low temperature. Their eyes have an elliptical-shaped lens, covering half of the egg-head, with its converging ends curving around the sides of the head. They also have two short ones that grow from the top of their heads. Their bodies are made of soft metals that melt very low temperatures. The steel-blues have no legs, just appendages that stretch and shrink independent of the other. Jon Karyl is about six feet tall, but he tapered from broad shoulders to flat hips. He has broad shoulders, flat hips, and broad shoulders that tapered down to broad shoulders. The Steel-Blue has a bulbous muzzle and bulbous eyes, and his head has an egg-like head with two short, elliptical eyes. The creature has a forked tentacle that holds a square black box. The tentacle has four short, tentacle-like appendages at the tip of each appendage. The appendages are many jointed, and extend and shrink independently of the body. The creatures have four sets of four pair of tentacles. The heads of the size from the ends of the heads, and their eyes have two pairs of eyes. Jon\u2019s eyes are set in the back of his head.", "The story takes place on an asteroid in the solar system. The service station that Jon Karyl works at is located on an uninhabited asteroid. There is also a service station with a small service station, a power plant, and an underground entrance to the service station. There are also two service stations, one on the asteroid and one on a nearby service station in the service area. Jon is captured by the Steel-Blues and taken to an examination room where he is given a tumbler of hemlock. The interrogation room is a circular room with light streaming from a glass-like, bulging skylight. Inside of the examination room, there is a metal cylinder that contains a liquid that causes the metal to harden, leaving a scaly residue that can be used to dissolve metals. After drinking the liquid, the steel-blues take Jon to an igloo that is smaller than the larger service station igloo. Inside the igloo, Jon is put into a small room with a power station, an atomic cannon, and a control room. The power plant is where Jon receives his power pack radio, and the control room is where he sends out a distress signal. The control room also has a television set that allows him to see the area surrounding the station. Outside of the power plant there is an underground service station where Jon is taken to be tortured.", "Some of the equipment used in the story is the service station. Jon Karyl\u2019s station is made of stelrylite, the toughest metal in the solar system. The outer shell of the station has a revolving turret that points at the ship of the Steel-Blues. Inside the station is a power plant, a power station, a service station, and an igloo. The service station also has an atomic cannon, an air pump, a microphone, and a television. There is also a power pack radio that can be used to send a distress signal to the SP ship. The power pack can also be used as a communication device. The steel-blues also have a torture chamber where they feed Jon the hemlock, a liquid that is malleable and can dissolve metals. The cylinder also contains a glass-like tumbler that contains a yellowish liquid. When Jon drinks the liquid, he feels a chill go through his body. The liquid tastes bitter, and he feels hot prickles jab at his scalp. When he drinks it, he experiences a sensation similar to eating very hot peppers. After he finishes drinking, he is taken back to the interrogation room, where he is subjected to further torture. The Steel-Blue interrogates him for 21 days. He is given a stubray pistol, a pistol with a firing stud, a small microphone on the outside of his suit, and the ability to see into every room in the station. He also has a power-pack radio, a television, and power pack, a water tank, and oxygen. The water tank. The story ends with Jon being tortured in the last of all.", "The relationship between Jon Karyl and his Steel-Blue (the one that he initially meets) is initially very friendly. The two have a very friendly relationship. The first time that Jon meets him, he is being tortured by the Steel-Blues in the service station. He is initially afraid of them because he thinks that they are robots, but he soon learns that they have telepathic abilities. The steel-blues are able to read Jon\u2019s thoughts and communicate with him in the language of the mind, which is why he is able to communicate with them in the first place. After the first encounter, the two seem to have a friendly relationship, but after the second encounter, they seem to become more antagonistic towards each other. Jon is afraid of the steel-blue because he believes that they will kill him if he doesn\u2019t tell them the truth about the SP ship, and he is afraid that he will be captured and tortured again. However, after he drinks the hemlock, he realizes that he is not afraid anymore and that the steel blue is actually a friend. The relationship between the two is very friendly, and it is revealed at the end of the story that the two are actually friends.", "The story begins with a young man, Hogey, who has just returned from space. He is a tumbler, a man who has been in space for nine months, and his wife, Marie, has waited patiently for him to return home. He has six hitches in space, and every time the promise is the same: One more tour, baby, and then he will quit for good. The first time he went out of the station in a suit, everything was falling, and you fell, with it. Everything was pain-bright or dead black, and it wheeled around you, and your body went nuts trying to figure which way was down and that the pit was bottomless. It took him months to teach his body that all ways are down and the pit is bottomless, and he had to learn how to live in a lonely shack and read books for kicks. He was supposed to be home with his wife and son, but the money had never been quite enough until this time. He had forty-eight hundred in the bank two weeks ago, and now he has just lost it. He thinks about how he is going to tell Marie and his son about the money, but he has no idea how to tell them because he is not used to gravity. He hears a baby crying in the distance, which makes him realize that he is in a terrible situation. He decides to go to Marie\u2019s house, but his feet get stuck in the mud and he falls into a ditch. He tries to stand up, but they won\u2019t budge, so he goes back to sleep. He wakes up in the middle of the night with a gin bottle in his pocket. He goes to get a ride, but a car door slams and a big man with a florid face gets out and threatens him. Hogey gets into the car, and the man tells him to get in the back seat. The woman in the car is Marie Parker, and Hogey tells the man that he knows her, but she is not Marie anymore. The man drives away and the woman with the sun-wrinkled neck sits rigidly beside the farmer in the whole time. The two men go to have a drink, but Hogey falls asleep on the way. When he wakes up again, he realizes that his feet are burning up and his legs are stuck in a vise of concrete. He realizes that he has fallen into a cruel trap. He falls asleep again and wakes up", "When Hogey\u2019s feet get stuck in concrete, it is significant because it is the first time he has ever been in space. He has been away from home for nine months, and he has not seen his wife or his son in that time. He is a born tumbler, which means that he is not used to the gravity of space, and his feet are stuck in the concrete. This is why he is unable to get his feet out of the concrete when he wakes up in the middle of the night, and it is also why he cannot find a way to walk back to Marie's house. His feet are trapped in concrete because he cannot stand the gravity, which is why his legs are unable to work properly. The concrete is also the reason that he cannot get his gin bottle out of his coat pocket, which makes him unable to tell Marie about the money that he has been saving up for the last nine months. The gin bottle is also significant because he has to kill it to get the money back.", "The other humans (hoofers) help Hogey get home. They help him because he is a tumbler, which means that he is an Earth-chained bunch of hoofers. They accept him because of his white goggle marks on his sun-scorched face. They also make allowances for him when he falls in the aisle of the bus because he has been in space for nine months and is not used to gravity. They even help him get home because they know that he has a son, which is why he is unable to stand the gravity. When he falls, they help him find his way back to Marie\u2019s house. When the bus driver sees that Hogey is in no shape to walk the road, he helps him out of the car and helps him walk the rest of the way. The farmer also helps him get his gin bottle back from behind the seat. The woman with the sun-wrinkled neck sits rigidly beside the farmer in the back seat. When Hogey gets home, he is greeted by his wife and son, who are sitting on the porch. The two men take him to have a drink, and he tells them that his mother is half Cherokee, which makes them laugh. When they go back to the house, the man tells him that he knows Marie, and the woman is Marie Parker, and that she has been married to John Hauptman for six years. The man also tells Hogey that he can walk the three miles to Marie's place, which Hogey does. The other than the two men, there is no one else to help him.", "Tumbler and hoofer are two different types of people. A tumbler is a person who has been in space for a long time and is not used to the gravity of gravity. A hoofer is someone who has come back from a long period of time and has a family. They have a family, but they are Earth-chained and have no business with a family or a home. Hoofer is a man who has a lot of money and wants to go home to his wife and family. He is a born tumper, which means that he was born in Big Bottomless, where Earth is like a fat moon with fuzzy mold growing on it, and he is mold. He has to find a woman and have a kid, and that is the end of it.", "The story takes place in the Great Plains of the United States of America. It is described as being filled with treeless, barren, and rolling land. The land is covered in tall grass, tall trees, and tall grass. There is a dirt road that winds around the land, and there is a farm road that leads to Marie\u2019s house. There are also a few farmhouses, a couple of farmhouses at the edge of a side-road, and a deserted filling station with a sagging roof. The story also takes place on the outskirts of Big Bottomless, which is a vast expanse of land that is filled with tall grass and tall trees. The sky is red, sulphurous, and yellow, and the air hangs over the land with yellow smoke. The air is full of yellow smoke, the omnipresent dust of the plains. The main setting of the story is located in the area of the Hauptman farmhouse. The house is a big frame house surrounded by a wheatfield and a few scrawny trees. It has a front porch with a screen door and a porch light. The farm road leads to the farm road, which leads to a side road. The fields on the left belong to Marie's father, and they are filled with sickly, sickly-looking peaches. The road also has a fence-gap between barbed-wire fences that separates the fields from the field. The dirt road winds around and comes up the hill in front of the house, and back towards the house. The houses are on the hillside. The main setting is on the other side of the road.", "The story begins with Ed Loyce, the vice-president of the Oak Grove Merchants' Bank, driving home from his job. He passes a small square of green in the center of the street, the town park. He sees a shapeless bundle hanging from the lamppost. He thinks it is a dummy, but when he gets closer, he sees that it is actually a human body. He runs to the police station and asks for an explanation, but the police tell him that they don\u2019t know why the body is hanging there, and that it has been there for a long time. He is confused, but then he sees the body hanging in the park again, and this time, he realizes that the man is not a man at all, but an insect. The police take him to the hospital, where he is told that he is not sick, but that he has escaped from an alien invasion of the town. He leaves the hospital and runs to his house, where his wife, Janet, and his son, Jimmy, are waiting for him. He tells them that the aliens have taken over the town, but they are not omnipotent, and they can make mistakes. He goes back to his cellar, and suddenly, he feels an alien mind probing his mind. He grabs a butcher knife and stabs the alien mind. The alien mind disappears, and he is able to leave the house. He heads to the bus stop and sees that there are no parking places in front of his store. He gets on the bus, and as he is about to board, he notices that there is a strange figure hanging from a lamplost in the town square. The figure is a man, but he is unable to identify him because he has never seen him before. As he approaches the man, he is attacked by a swarm of bees, and the man dies. The bees attack him again, but this time he manages to stab the creature, and it dies. He returns to the store, and when he sees his wife and son, he calls them and tells them to get out of town. The two run out to the street and see the body, but it is no longer hanging there. They run back to the station, where they see the bodies of two men, one of whom is the man who hung the body. The other man is the one who was hanging the body in the first place, and now the two men are coming after him. They chase the man down the street", "Edward C. Loyce is the vice-president of the Oak Grove Merchants' Bank. He is a forty-year-old man who lives in a small town in the United States of America. He owns a small store called LOYCE TV SALES AND SERVICE. He lives with his wife, Janet, and their two sons, Tommy and Jim. He works hard to make ends meet for his family, but he is also a practical man. When he sees a shapeless bundle hanging from the lamppost in the town square, he is shocked and horrified. He goes to the police station to find out what is wrong, but the police do not believe him because he was digging in the basement. He then goes to his cellar, where he is attacked by an insect. He kills the insect with a butcher knife. He returns to his store, where his wife and son are waiting for him. He tells them that he has escaped from the aliens, and that he is going to Oak Grove to get help. When the police come, he tells them about the bodies hanging from a building in Oak Grove.", "The hanged human body plays a significant role in the story because it is the first thing that Ed Loyce notices when he sees the shapeless bundle hanging from the lamppost in front of the town square. It is not a display of some kind, but a dead body hanging from a post. It has been hanging there for some time, but no one seems to notice it. This is because it has been there for so long that no one has noticed it. The hanging body is used as bait to draw people to the place where it is supposed to be. The body is also used as a way for the aliens to control the minds of the people in the town. When the aliens take over the town, they use the bodies of the dead people as bait. The bodies are then used to lure people away from the town so that they can escape.", "The alien flies are winged creatures from another dimension. They have the ability to mimic the appearance of humans, and have the power to control the minds of people. They are described as having yellow T-shirts, jeans, and wings. Their bodies are covered in yellow t-shirts and jeans. Their eyes are multi-lensed, and they have a strange half-turn of their body as they approach Loyce. They also have a stinger on their bodies. The flies are able to mimic human behavior, but they are not able to take over the entire town. They can only take over one area at a time, and then move on to the next town.", "The story is set in a small town in the United States. The town has a small square of green in the center of the street, a single lamppost, and a grocery store. There is also a gas station and a drive-in. The main character, Ed Loyce, is a forty-year-old man who runs a TV sales store. He sees something hanging from the lampppost in the town square. He goes to investigate it, but it is not a dummy, it is a human body. He runs away from the body, and it hangs there for ten miles before he gets to the police station. The police station is located on the main street of the town, and there is a telephone pole in front of the building. There are also a lot of cars and people, but nobody notices the body hanging there. When the police arrive, they take the body to the hospital, where it is found to be dead. The body is then taken to Oak Grove, a town on the other side of town.", "The story begins with Bruce waking up from a dream in which he sees Marsha and Marsha talking to each other. Marsha tells him that they are on a mission to conquer the highest mountain on Mars, and that they have been climbing it for eight months. Terrence, the captain of the ship, tells Bruce that he killed Lieutenant Doran because he didn\u2019t like the way Terrence was presenting the mission. Bruce tells Terrence that he doesn't want to go on the mission, and Terrence says that he\u2019ll kill him if he has the chance. He then tells Bruce about his dreams, which are filled with people talking to him in dreams. He realizes that Terrence is right about the dreams being a dream within a dream. He also realizes that Marsha\u2019s voice is not as real as it was in the dream, and he begins to wonder if Terrence killed the creature in his dream because he was afraid of what he might find when he woke up. He decides to listen to Terrence on the radio as they continue to climb the mountain. He hears Terrence talking about the importance of conquering the mountain, but he is not interested in the challenge. He thinks about Marsha, and she tells him about her dreams. She says that there is nothing to go from the top of a mountain but down, and the springs that flow on the floor of the valley will never seem fresh or clear for thinking of the glitter of the mountain water in the feathery green of the year. She also says that the people on Earth will get their chance one day, too.", "The story takes place on Mars, where the crew of the ship, Mars V, is on a mission to climb the highest mountain on the planet. The ship is located on a planet that is older than any other planet in the solar system. It is covered in a thick layer of dust and is covered by a thin layer of green grass. There is a small city on the surface of the planet, and there is a canal that flows through the city. The mountain that the crew is climbing is over 45,000 feet high, which is higher than any mountain on Earth, and it is visible from space. There is also a small village on the mountain, where Terrence, Marsha, and Marsha\u2019s husband, Anhauser, and the rest of the crew are staying. The village is described as green and lush, with pastel-colored cities and green valleys. The valley is filled with trees and streams and green grasses. The mountains are covered in purple mist, and purple mist blanketes the knees of low hills. The city is also covered in green and rich with trees. The water of the canal flows through a green valley, and birds as delicate as colored glass wavered down the wind.", "Bruce and Marsha have a romantic relationship. They first met when they were climbing the highest mountain on Mars together, and they fell in love with each other. They have been climbing together for a while now, and it is clear that they have a lot in common. Marsha is a young woman, and she is very excited about the prospect of climbing the mountain, but she is also very scared of the dangers of the climb. She does not want to leave the mountain with the other crew members, so she keeps calling him by his name. She is very happy that he came on the fifth ship because she thinks he is different from the others. She also tells him that she is glad he came because he is the one who killed Doran.", "The mountain is significant because it is the highest mountain on Mars. The crew of the first ship that hit Mars eight months ago decided to climb it, and that set a precedent for other ships to attempt to conquer the planet. Since then, every ship that has come to Mars has attempted to climb the mountain, and none of them have succeeded. This is because the crew members of the previous four ships, the crew of Mars V and Mars VI, were unable to make it to the top of the mountain because they had to accept the challenge of conquering the planet, and because they were conditioned to do so by the Martians. The mountain is also significant because Terrence, Marsha, and Marsha\u2019s husband, Anhauser, are the only ones who have ever made it up the mountain. Terrence is the leader of the expedition, and he is the one who decides to go up to the highest peak of the planet to test the strength of the people on the expedition.", "Terrence is the captain of the ship, Mars V. He is the leader of the expedition that has been sent to Mars to conquer the highest mountain on the planet. He and his crew have been climbing the mountain for eight months, but they have not seen any sign of the other four ships that have come to Mars before. Terrence is angry with Bruce because he believes that he is not fit for the mission, and he wants to kill everyone on the expedition. He shoots one of the crew members, Anhauser, who disagrees with Terrence\u2019s decision to continue on the mission. He also shoots Marsha, who refuses to go back down, and kills another member of the team, Jacobs, who is also a member of Mars V, after Terrence shoots him in the back of the head. Terrence continues to talk to Bruce in his dreams, but Terrence does not seem to be as real as he was in the waking dreams. He talks about the importance of conquering the mountain, but he does not want to go up the mountain. He does not believe that there is any reason for the expedition to be on Mars. He believes that the mission is a waste of time and energy, and that he should be sent back to Earth. He wants to be left alone with Marsha and the other crew members to live their lives as they are meant to live them. He thinks that he will be able to see both sides of the story when he wakes up from his dreams.", "Roddie is a full-grown man who has been left behind with his nurse, Molly, while the soldiers go out to fight. He is angry because the soldiers don\u2019t want him to fight because he is not a little boy, and because he has never seen an Invader. Molly is a nurse, and she has raised him despite all obstacles. Roddie\u2019s friends are soldiers, and they protect the city from the Invaders. The Invaders are destroying the city, and the soldiers are not allowed to leave the city because the city is their home. When the Invaders break in, the soldiers have to defend the city. They have to cross the San Francisco Bay Bridge, but the bridge is impassable because it has been destroyed by fire. The bridge is where the Invaders are coming from, and it is where they are going to attack the city to take over it. When the Invaders come, they are led by a young girl named Ida. She stows away on one of the boats when it is dark and the fog has settled down. She is a member of the Invaders, and her reason for stowing away is to help with the wounded. The soldiers have captured the city and are trying to take it over, but they are unable to do so because of the lack of young men. They want to kill the girl because she is the only one who has ever done it before, but she says that her people will take over the city regardless of the soldiers because they are the true Men, and men can accomplish anything. When Ida realizes that the soldiers will come back to avenge her and her people, she cries and begs him not to kill her, but he refuses because he thinks he is a man, and he wants to prove that he is superior to the soldiers. When they reach the bridge, Ida tries to run up the cable, but it is impossible because there is no guard-ropes or handgrips to prevent her from falling. When she realizes that she is trapped, she runs up the main left-hand suspension cable, which is the way the Invaders will cross the bridge to catch the city unaware. She tries to find a way to get away from the bridge before the soldiers come, but Ruddie grabs her and drags her to the top of the manhole. He uses his hammer to break the wire, and when he does, he notices that the bottom of the hole has a warm, body heat. He", "Ida is a young girl who stows away on one of the boats to help with the wounded. She is short and lean, with slender legs that tapered to bare feet and bare, tiny hands. She wears a shapeless doeskin dress that stretches slender legs and tapered feet. She has two hands, one on each side of her body. Her hands are bare, and her hands are only two in number. Her skin is tanned and ruddy, with a full mouth and bright dark eyes that hide under long lashes when she looks too long. Her eyes are dark and frightened, with full, bright, and full-lashed eyes. When Roddie first meets her, she is frightened and scared, but she does not show it. She does not try to fight him, but instead follows him, bumping him every few steps. When the soldiers come to capture them, she tries to hide behind him, and when she sees the hammer in his waist, she cries and begs him not to kill her. However, he does not kill her because he thinks she is a defenseless girl.", "The relationship between Roddie and Ida is initially cordial and friendly. They have been friends for a long time, and they have spent a lot of time together. Ida has been stowing away on one of the boats to help with the wounded, and she stowed away because there are not enough men to take over the city. She is a young girl who stows away on the boats because there is a shortage of men. She has no weapon, but she is interested in the city because she wants to help the Invaders. She does not want to be killed by the Invaders, and when she is attacked by one of them, she begs him not to kill her because she is afraid that her people will come back to avenge her and destroy her friends. When she cries, it is because she realizes that she is not as strong as him and that he is a man, and that she will not be able to protect him from the soldiers. When the soldiers come for her, she is frightened and tries to run away, but Ruddie grabs her by the arm and holds her tightly. He tries to calm her down and comfort her, but her tears bring back painful memories of when he was a child and she wept him. When they are attacked by the soldiers, he tries to protect her from them by hitting her with his hammer, but when she screams, he does not. When he realizes that the soldiers will kill her anyway, he decides to let her go because he wants to learn something of value before he kills her.", "Roddie uses his screwdriver and hammer throughout the story. He uses them to make his way through the ruins of the city. He first uses the screwdriver to loosen the manhole cover and then the hammer to make a ladder to climb to the top of the tower. He also uses his hammer to break the wire that holds the cable to the bridge. He then uses the screwsdriver to break off the ends of the wire to make an unfastened end of wire stick on the grayish spot where it seems to belong. When Ida tries to run away from him, he grabs her by the back of her neck and pulls her into the rubble. When she tries to escape, Roddie picks up the hammer and uses it to break her neck. When the soldiers come, he uses the hammer again to break one of the soldiers\u2019 arms. When he tries to kill Ida, he takes the screwdrivers and hammers from his waistband and uses them as a weapon to break Ida\u2019s wristwatch.", "Roddie is different from his friends because he is a full-grown man. He is not allowed to leave the city with his nurse, Molly, because the soldiers don\u2019t want him to be a part of their fight against invaders. Instead, he is left behind with his mother, who is a nurse, and the soldiers, who protect the city from invaders. Roddie\u2019s mother is also a nurse; she cares for him and tries to keep him warm, but she does not know how to provide him with food and water. The soldiers are guards; they protect the ruins against anything larger than a rat; they only try to rob and end the city by destroying it. The Invaders, on the other hand, are more rational and have a purpose. They have a plan to take over the city, whereas the Invaders are only interested in robbing and destroying the city.", "The story begins with Theodor and his wife, Celeste, discussing the recent disappearance of two moons, Phobos and Deimos, in the Solar System. The two moons have disappeared because of the Disintegration Hypothesis, which states that the planets and moons of the solar system trade positions every so often. The moon Phobos was supposed to start as the outermost planet, and is now in the orbit of Jupiter. The other moons, Deimoos and Phobos, are smaller than many of the asteroids, and are moving in the same orbits and at the same velocities as the moons of Mars and Jupiter. This suggests that the moons are moving at roughly the same velocity as the orbits of the planets, and that the debris left behind by the moons is similar to the material in the rocky envelopes of the moons. The next day, the Wolver family gathers in the Deep Space Bar to discuss the latest news. They are interrupted by the arrival of Rosalind Wolver, the daughter of Theodor\u2019s wife, and her husband, Edmund. They discuss the recent news of the disappearance of Jupiter and its moons, and the possibility of the existence of extraterrestrials. The conversation turns to the possibility that the aliens are coming to Earth to help them, but Theodor is interrupted by a voice from a telepathic source. The voice tells them that they are in contact with the aliens and that they will welcome them back to the society of enlightened worlds. The aliens want to destroy all of the life on Earth in order to prevent them from interfering with the development of the human race, but they are afraid of the aliens\u2019 ability to see into their minds. They want to hide in the depths of the Earth so that they cannot be detected by their pursuers.", "The principle of mental privacy is one of the most important principles in the story. It is the principle that protects the privacy of the human mind from intrusions by the other gods. The other gods have forbidden the human race from interfering with the development of life because they believe that the principle of privacy is the greatest good in the whole universe. The idea of intruding on a human person\u2019s private thoughts and feelings is abhorrent to them, and they are afraid that they will be discovered and destroyed. Therefore, they have chosen to hide their thoughts in a way that allows them to escape detection. This is why they are able to flee in great boats or ships and hide from their pursuers for so long. However, they are pursued on such a large scale that there is no hiding place for them anywhere in the universe.", "Rosalind Wolver is the daughter of Theodor and Dotty. She is a member of the Wolver family, and her husband, Ivan, is the leader of the expedition to search for the missing moons of Jupiter and Deimos. When Theodor leaves to attend a Kometevskyite meeting, Rosalind takes over for him, and they go to the Deep Space Bar to have a drink. When they return, they find Ivan\u2019s leather briefcase half-buried in the dirt. They find dirt on the microfilms as well, and when they look at them, they realize that the dirt has been cemented into the leather. They realize that Ivan has been abducted by the other gods, and that they are being drawn into the depths of the Earth. They decide to disguise their bodies in a way that will allow them to be stored for future assembly. They leave the bar, and Theodor goes out for a drink with his friends. When he returns, he finds the dirt on his briefcase, and the words \u201cGoing down\u201d written on it.", "Dotty\u2019s dreams are significant because they reveal that she is the daughter of a god, and that the other gods are following her and her family because they are afraid of her thoughts. The other gods have forbidden them to keep some of their thoughts secret because they fear that they will be hunted down and destroyed by them. The gods are afraid that if they are discovered, they will destroy them, and they are trying to hide their existence so that no one will know where they are or what they are doing. Therefore, they are hiding in the depths of the Earth in order to be able to escape the pursuers. This is why they are sending their ships to search for the lost moons of Phobos and Deimos, and why Rosalind and Ivan are bringing their daughter to the meeting. The dreams also reveal that the gods are in contact with the humans who are searching for them and that they are coming to welcome them back to the society of enlightened worlds.", "When Theodor and his wife, Frieda, and their daughter, Rosalind, come into the room to discuss the news about the disappearance of the moons of Phobos and Deimos, Celeste is very upset. She feels that they are not her whole family, and she wants to be able to rely on them for her security. She does not want to be separated from her husband, but she also wants her source of security to be in her husband. She also feels that she should look for security in Edmund or Ivan, but they are just one-third of her husband and she does not trust them enough to trust them. She is angry with them for not being there for her, but at the same time, she wants them to be a whole and indivisible family. When Theodor tells her that he is the father of her daughter, Dotty\u2019s, she is very excited and happy to hear this news. However, when she hears the news that the moons are no longer visible, she feels very scared and confused. She wants to believe that they have found a way to escape from their pursuers and that they will come back to save her and the rest of her family.", "The story begins with Harry, a farmer, lying in bed with his wife, Edna, and his fourteen-year-old son, Davie. Harry tells Edna that he is sick in the head, but she insists that he should see a doctor. Harry goes to the doctor, who tells him that his son died, and that he has to run a world. Harry is confused because he has no children, and Edna says that they had a son, but he doesn\u2019t remember. He goes back to his house, where he has a headache, and goes to see his wife. Edna tells him to go see the doctor for a checkup, but Harry refuses. He then goes to his barn to feed his mare, Plum. He hears a low rumbling noise, and he realizes that the sound is coming from the ocean. He walks to the fence, and there is a barbed-wire fence. He realizes that this is not the way he had built his barn, but it is his farm. He tries to go back to town, but there is no one there. He sees a new house, and the two policemen take him to it. The new house is big, with many doors branching off it on both sides, and stairways going down from it in at least three places. There is also a big ramp leading up to the house. The doctor tells Harry that he will give him a little treatment to settle his nerves and make everything go well. Harry leaves the doctor\u2019s office, and walks to his horse, which is grazing on the edge of the field. When he gets to the gate, he sees that the fence is curving inward. He decides to climb the fence to get to the other side. He does so, and when he gets there, he hears the rumbling again. He looks out over the ocean, and realizes that it is salt water. He runs back to the barn, where his horse is grazing, and then he sees a television program guide pinned to the sugar bag. He picks it up, but Edna has never seen any of the old movies. Harry decides to go to the supply bin, where food and clothing and home medicines are left. He finds some money from the government, for not planting wheat or not planting corn. He also finds a receipt for his food bill, and a new bill for his vegetable gardens and livestock. He notices that the door to the hall is not right, but the stove is.", "Doctor Hamming is the main character of the story. He is described as a thin, bald man with bald head and frameless glasses. He has a white coat and bald head. He does not speak much, but he listens attentively to Harry\u2019s story. When Harry tells him about his son, Hamming looks at him with concern. He tells Harry that his wife lost her mind and that he has to run a world. He gives Harry and his two sons vegetable gardens and livestock and sanity. He also gives Harry a small amount of change to pay for the treatment. He leaves Harry with a police officer to drive him home.", "Edna and Harry have a loving relationship. They have been married for forty-one years and have two sons. Harry is a farmer and Edna is a housewife. They live in a small house with four cows, four sheep, four horses, and four chickens. Edna works as a housekeeper for the government, but she is also a farmer. She is worried about Harry\u2019s health and wants him to see a doctor, but Harry refuses to go to the doctor because he has too much to do. She also worries that he will break the travel regulations and break travel regulations. Harry agrees to see the doctor and goes to see him, but when he comes back, Edna starts crying. She tells him that they have no children, and that they went to the funeral of their son. Harry tries to explain that he had a dream about a son, but Edna refuses to believe him. He goes back to bed, and when he wakes up, he has a headache again. When he goes to the supply bin, he finds food, clothes, and a television program guide. He asks Edna if she has seen anything new on this week, and she says that she has never seen any of the films. He tells her that he has to go see Dr. Hamming. She says that he should go see him for a checkup, but he refuses. She cries again, and Harry tells her to stop talking about doctors. When the doctor tells him he has passed the test, he feels better, and wants to go back to town, but the police take him back to his farm. When they get to the new house, he sees a gate with a barbed-wire fence. He realizes that the fence is not the way he had thought it would be, and he realizes that there is no ocean in this county. He hears the ocean on two sides of the fence, and realizes that it is not Iowa. The doctor tells Harry that he is on an ark.", "The story takes place in a rural area of the United States. It is described as a place where people live in a small farming community. The story begins with Harry and his wife Edna in their house, where they have hotcakes and coffee. Then they go to the barn to feed their animals. After that, they go outside to the yard, where there is a fence with a three-foot barbed-wire extension. There is an unfenced, unplanted field, and the ground is hard-packed sand. Then there is an ocean, gleaming with bright sunlight, surging and seething endlessly. The land is filled with sand and salty water, and there is no ocean in this county. Then the story moves to the doctor\u2019s office, where Harry is taken to a room with a chair and needles. Then he goes to the supply bin, where deliveries of food and clothing and home medicines are left with a sloping flap lid. After the doctor gives him some treatments, Harry goes back to his house. He goes to his bedroom, where the bed is wrong, the windows are wrong, and his door is not right. Later, he goes out to the pasture, where he has four cows and four sheep and four horses. Then, he comes to a gate with a barbed wire extension. The gate leads to a big ramp that leads up to the new house. The new house has many doors and stairways leading up to it. Inside the house, there is also a supply bin. The doctor is sitting in a windowless room. The room has a television program guide pinned to the side of the window. The whole house is covered in gray plaster walls and dull black floors. The only light comes from a dim bulb in the corner of the room.", "The government regulations that are imposed in the story are very strict. The regulations include the travel regulations, rationing of food and water, and restrictions on the amount of time that people can spend on their farms. The government also regulates the number of animals that can be brought to the farm and how much they can be allowed to graze on the land. There is also a ten-foot fence with a three-foot barbed-wire extension. There are also restrictions on travel, such as not going further than Walt and Gloria Shanks\u2019 place, not planting wheat or not planting corn, and not having enough gas to travel further than their place. The story also mentions that there is a new plastics plant that runs on practically no gas, and that the government has stored up so much grain that they will be able to get along without crops for years more.", "The Girls From Fieu Dayol Robert F. Young introduces us to the protagonist, Herbert Quidley, who is an avid reader of old books. He is fascinated by young women, especially when they look the way Helen of Troy must have looked when Paris took one look at her and started building his ladder. When he first sees a young woman in the library, he notices that she is tall and blue-eyed with liquid blue eyes, and she has a Grecian symmetry of shape that would have made Paris\u2019 eyes pop had he been around. She introduces herself as Kay Smith, a stock girl on a ship called Persei 17, and tells him that she will be in town two nights hence to pick up a snoll doper for him to deliver to her family. She explains that she has been reading his mail since the night before he met her, and that he is the particular man who compromised her, so he is liable in the eyes of both interstellar law and his own society. Quidley follows her to her house, where she tells him she is going to take him to meet her parents, and he follows her. She tells him about the snoll-doper message that was sent to her by a man named Cai, but he does not understand the meaning of the words because he has never heard the words before. He follows her home, and after she leaves, he decides to write an epic novel about her. He decides to spend the evening plotting the epic novel, but is interrupted by a message from Kay asking him to wait for her at a coffee bar. He tries to ignore it, but accidentally spills some of the sugar on her lap, and apologizes for his behavior. She apologizes and asks him to kiss her again, and they go back to the car. She then tells him where she is taking him to pick her up, and when they get there, he realizes that they are not going to another planet, but to her parents\u2019 house. He asks her where they are going, but she says she has to pick someone up. They go to the apartment building, and the next morning, he sees a station wagon following them. He realizes that someone is following them, and realizes that it is probably Jilka, the girl from the previous night. He goes to the library to find out who sent the message, but when he returns to his apartment, he finds out that the message was sent by a girl named", "Kay Smith is a tall, beautiful young woman with blue eyes. She is the stock girl on the Taine History of English Literature, and she is the one who sent the message to Quidley. She has blue eyes that sparkle when she looks at him, and her skin is white, glowing skin. She wears a white dress with snow-like crystals clinging to her skin. Her hair is long and glossy, and it falls like forest pools down her back. She is tall and graceful, with hyacinth-colored hair and liquid blue eyes; she is also tall and beautiful. She comes to the library to pick up Taine\u2019s History, and when she arrives, she is followed by a man and a woman. The woman is Jilka, and the man is a snoll doper. The message is addressed to Kay, but she does not reveal the identity of the person who sent it to her. She does not want to be taken to another planet, so she tells him that she is going to her parents\u2019 house. She also tells him she is not going to take him to Fieu Dayol on the ship.", "Herbert Quidley is an artist who works as a profiliste. He is fond of old books and prefers to read them in his reading room. He has a typewriter, a chrome-trimmed desk, and a bookcase full of reference books and magazines. He likes to read The Zeitgeist, a magazine that he keeps on his reading table. He prefers to be alone in his apartment, which is why he does not want to be seen with Kay. He does not like the idea of having a romantic relationship with a woman, and he is afraid that she will marry one of the men on Fieu Dayol. However, he is attracted to her because she is tall and beautiful, and her blue eyes make him fall in love with her. Herbert is an avid reader of books and has a penchant for old wood, paintings, and old furniture. He also likes old wine and old whiskey, but he is not fond of the word \u201cfiance\u201d because it brings up thoughts of marriage. He considers himself to be a bit of a coward, and is afraid of being caught by a woman who is a snoll doper. He tries to hide his feelings for Kay from her, but is unable to do so because of the Interstellar statute forbidding the use of local communications services and forbidding him to appear in public places. He believes that she is the key figure in an amateur secret society, and wants to protect her from the consequences of her actions.", "The snoll doper plays a significant role in the story because it is the main reason that the protagonist, Herbert Quidley, decides to write an epic novel about the adventures of a young woman named Kay Smith. He is attracted to her because she is beautiful, and he falls in love with her. However, he is unable to marry her because of interstellar law, which limits the number of men on Fieu Dayol. Therefore, he has to look for wotnids on other planets to find a mate. Kay is a member of an amateur secret society to which she and Klio, Yoolna, and Gorka belong. She is the key figure in the snoll-doper enigma because she has been reading his mail since the night before he met her, which explains why he spilled the sugar. The message that Kay sends to him is in the same code as the one that was sent to him by Klio and Cai. The message is similar to the one sent to the first message, except for a slight variation in camouflage, but the message no. 4 is addressed to Kay and contains the same words as the first one. The two messages are sent by the same person, but they are addressed to different people. The sender of the second message is a man named Cai, and the message that is sent to Kay is addressed as \"Jilna\".", "The Girls From Fieu Dayol takes place in an ordinary society. The story begins in a library, where Quidley is reading a history of English literature in the literature section. A young woman walks in, and he notices that she is tall, blue-eyed and graceful, with hyacinth hair and liquid blue eyes. She is accompanied by a tall and lissome man with a Helenesque air of her own. They leave the library and go to her house, where she takes him to her parents\u2019 house. The house has a large living room, a dining room, and a sideboard with two snifter glasses and a bottle of bourbon. After they leave the house, they go to an all-night coffee bar, where they order coffee without sugar. They go to Kay\u2019s apartment building, which is a brick apartment building. The building is dark and rutted, and there is a gangplank that comes to rest within the fringe of the trees. There is also a window with a chrome-trimmed desk and a window display window. There are books on display in the window, including The Zeitgeist, a magazine, and books by Harper's, The Atlantic, and The Saturday Review.", "The story begins with the story of Captain Midas, an old spaceman, sitting on a hospital cot in his hospital bed. He tells a story about the Martian Maid, a derelict ship that he and his crew found on their last mission. The ship was built in the Foundation Yards for the purpose of developing spaceflight, but it was never built for inter-planetary flight. The crew of the Maid was rough, hungry men with hell in their eyes and a great lust for high pay and hard living. They were greedy and hasty and full of an unreasoning, unthinking love for gold. They ride a golden ship that they paid for with all the years of their lives, and it's all theirs now. They are greedy, hasty, greedy men, and they are full of greed. They don't care about the consequences of their actions, they just want to get rich. Captain Midas tells his crew about the treasure he has in his hands, and he tells them that he is going to take it to Callisto to claim it as his own, but he orders Spinelli to stay on board the Maid with him. Spinelli does not want to go with him because he is afraid of the gold, but the captain tells him that he will be put in irons if he tells anyone about the gold. He also orders Cohn and Zaleski to take over the starship, but Spinelli refuses. The captain orders him to stay with the Maid, and tells him to keep an eye on the derelict. The three of them approach the ship, and the crew members of the crew are horrified to see what has happened to the ship. They see that the walls of the ship have become yellow metal, which they realize is the result of the metal being drawn from the crew\u2019s energy. They realize that the gold has been drawn from their bodies, and their hands begin to burn like fire. They run away from the ship and throw every scrap of the alien metal into space, but they are unable to find a way to get back to the Maid because they are too tired to move. The Captain realizes that he has space-radiation fever. He decides to report himself to the Foundation medics, but his hands feel heavy and his arms are wrinkled and grey. He realizes that his illness has spread from his hands to his body and he is thirty-two years old. He is relieved of his command and is given a hospital pension.", "Captain Midas is the captain of the Maid, a ship that has been lost in space. He is an old spaceman who has been in space for a long time. He has a reputation for being greedy and hasty and full of unthinking greed. He believes that he is entitled to his share of the treasure because he is a spaceman and he has millions in his hands. He also believes that his crew is greedy and greedy because they are greedy and eager for high pay and hard living. He does not believe that there is a noble pioneering spirit in space, and he believes that men are still greedy and malcontent and adventuring mercenary.", "The story takes place on the Maid, a ship that was built in the Foundation Yards for the purpose of developing spaceflight. The Maid is one of the oldest ships that has ever been built, and she was the last ship that ever went into space. The ship is located in a region of space that is very thinly strewn with asteroids, and that is the way that the Maid used to make her flight between the outer systems and the EMV Triangle. There is also an airlock for the living quarters for the prize crew, which is set aside for them to live in. The story also takes place in Callisto, a moon in the outer system of the outer System.", "Captain Midas and Mister Spinelli have a tense relationship. Spinelli is the Third Officer on the Maid, and Midas is the captain of the ship that finds the derelict ship. Midas has been in space for many years, and he is an old man with a reputation for being greedy and greedy. When Spinelli first reports the discovery of the gold, Midas does not hesitate to tell him what it is, but he does not like the look in Spinelli\u2019s eyes when he sees it. He does not trust Spinelli, and when Midas tells him about the treasure, Spinelli does not want to take part in the salvage operation. He is suspicious of Midas\u2019 motives, and it is clear that he is jealous of the amount of money he has in his hands. He wants to take over the ship and claim it as his own, but Midas refuses to allow him to do so. When Midas finds out that Spinelli has told Zaleski about the gold and is planning to steal the ship, he is furious and threatens to put Spinelli in irons. He beats Spinelli to death with his fists and kicks him in the face, and then he kills him with his metal shod boot.", "The mystery metal from the starship is significant because it is the source of the crew\u2019s greed and greediness. The crew of the Maid is greedy and hasty and full of unthinking greed, and they are willing to risk their lives in order to get what they can out of space. The ship that the Maid finds is a derelict, and the crew is eager to claim it as their own because they believe that it is worth millions of dollars. However, the crew discovers that the metal is actually gold, and it turns out that the gold is not from the ship itself, but rather from the planet where it was made. The crew is greedy because they want to own the ship and the gold, but they also know that they are entitled to keep the gold because they are the ones who built it. They are greedy and greedy because the gold belongs to them, and if they lose it, they will never be able to live off of it again. The gold is the reason why the crew members are so eager to take the ship back to Callisto and claim it for themselves." ]