Prologue Science Fiction
17 total works
Visit Earth, the birthplace of man!
From the holiday planet of Paradiso one could go on many exciting tours and excursions - Mars, Venus, the Moon, even the most distant and alien worlds were accessible to the inquisitive holidaymaker, courtesy of Starways Inc. - the giant combine which owned Paradiso and over half of the galaxy.
But of all Starways illustrious trips, there was really only one which interested Ram Burrell - the one which Starways seemed to actually discourage people from taking... the trip to planet Earth. And once Burrell had got himself a ticket for the journey, he began to discover why Earth had become the least visited planet in the galaxy, and why Starways worked so hard to keep it that way...
Utopia had been completely separated from the rest of the galaxy for 300 years. It had taken six decades to finalise the agreement and conditions that would permit a visitor from the Other Worlds to come there. Hardy Cronyn from Washington IV was the first arrival.
The sensuous, young beauty who was to be his guide greeted him with a kiss. But it only took moments for Cronyn to learn the rules: no marriage. It was illegal. The two million inhabitants of Utopia were immortal. If there were marriage, there would be the desire for children, and that was seldom allowed.
The only deaths were accidental; petty crime was non-existent. Cronyn believed Utopia was paradise - until he discovered one paralyzing fear that consumed them all - PAIN! For if life was eternal pain would last a long, long, time...
Kill and die. That was the battle tactic of the Tinkers, rough, vicious interplanetary invaders who would rather die than be captured alive. Controlling them in some way were The Six - an occult group that had learned how to duplicate human beings and use them as pawns in a grandiose plan to control interstellar space.
Defending civilization against this onslaught were Rey Cottrell, a war consultant without even a fortress from which to fight his battle, and Captain Brixby, a lone idealist faced with mutiny when he tried to take his ship into the combat zone. Their chances seemed hopeless - especially since Cottrell suspected that there were supernatural forces involved that could take over the whole galaxy!
FLETCHER HAD TO DIE.
And so he did; and found himself in a place - in a state of mind - that he could not tolerate. And so he had to die again. And then again. Until, soon enough, it became clear that death did not want him.
It became his challenge to die into life!
Earth, 2066.
The human race was changing...nature was trying valiantly to produce an answer to the neurosis, psychosis and instability of mankind; and so, two new breeds of homo sapiens were emerging - the Normans, originally called Newmen, and the Sexons.
Normans were absolutely devoid of body hair, with quiet, thoughtful dispositions hiding a new ability, a new power, which had previously been granted only to a chosen few.
Sexons were completely the opposite, being unstable, animal-like in their desire for sex, often violent and sometimes depraved.
And so the blueprint of man was being changed, with each mutation desperately convinced of its right to inherit the Earth...
Foley was a BORN LEADER...but the settlers of the planet Mundis were smug, content with their lives, happy to 'leave well alone'. Their petty conflicts and jealousies absorbed them; they had no need for a leader. They were a nation of sheep in a universe which they thought contained no wolves.
Then came the well-armed, marauding invaders from Secundis...
The Giants...
They came in the summer - the longest, hottest summer the village had ever known.
They wouldn't drink beer - it was 'grossing'. They fought duels - and although people got killed, nobody got hurt. They dressed in shirts and shorts - but the clothes never got dirty or worn.
And when the inferno began, the holocaust that swept the village from end to end, the giants were right in the middle of it...
Three travellers find six very different worlds await their choice - if they have the courage to leave Eden...
On awakening in an idyllic tropical paradise, Rex is disoriented and possibly afflicted with amnesia. He knows his name, but the particulars are curiously missing. He spends his first week exploring, and discovers that his Eden-like paradise is surrounded by a huge unscalable wall 50 miles in circumference. Furthermore, there are six gateways at roughly equal intervals, but there is no way to climb up there and see where they go...
The Million Cities covered every inch of Earth's surface with a gleaming metal skin - and penetrated almost to the planet's core. Billions of people crowded them, using up the last depleted resources of an aging world. There was no hope for mankind but exploring and colonizing new frontiers beyond the sky.
The Chartists were the only people with the ability to build a spaceship -were within reach of success...
And then the government outlawed space travel - and began a vicious reign of terror against the Chartists!
The Noman authorities had a highly original method of keeping the planet's population figures stable - the Sports. These were a series of aptitude tests, each one designed to test nerve, skill and physical qualities of the competitor. Proficiency was recognised by medals, failure by death, for each test was cunningly devised so as to make the slightest mistake fatal. And sixty million Nomans died each year in the Sports.
Earthman telepath Jeff Croner had been sent to Nome by the Universal Order Force. His four predecessors had lost their lives in the Sports, but only because the equipment was sabotaged. He was there who find out who had done it, and why.
They had conquered Mars! Earth was next.
And in the council chambers at Washington, Earth's leaders gathered to face the peril.
Mars had gone down to defeat in one hour and thirty-four minutes. And now a fleet of creatures from outer space was headed towards Earth.
All eyes turned to Eldin Raigmore, President of the United States - the one man to be trusted above all others. One by one the elite were dispatched on missions of last-minute strategy. They went with confidence, inspired by the swift, sure mind of Raigmore.
Civilization rested in his hands. And he was a secret member of the invader race!
It all started when a scientist called Paget performed some fantastic experiments on dogs, cats, rats and mice in an attempt to heighten animal intelligence.
He was far too successful.
When a few of the specimens escaped from their cages, people were amused by the strange creatures. But as they rapidly bred and spread, and new generations combined vastly sharpened intelligence with a natural hatred of man, amusement turned to stark horror.
One man seemed to know too much about the net "paggets" for his own safety - but not enough to avoid getting caught squarely in the middle of mankind's final, desperate battle, a savage struggle for supremacy in the world that would be won only by . . . THE FITTEST.
