Table of Contents

Introduction by James Gunn

After a brief overview of the preceding volumes, Gunn presents a history of science fiction from 1940 to 1977, the years this volume covers.

All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein

A temporal agent takes on the role of a New York City bartender to recruit a man who calls himself "the Unmarried Mother" into his agency. But he has to bet the man that he's heard as strange a story as the man has to tell. This story, which superficially looks like a time-travel gimmick, is on deeper inspection an elegant metaphor for Heinlein's recurring theme of self-reliance.

Reason by Isaac Asimov

Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan assemble a new robot they hope to train to take command of their solar power station. But the robot doesn't believe they could build him. When it decides the station's energy converter is its god, it stops obeying Powell and Donovan.

Desertion by Clifford D. Simak

Kent Fowler is the head of an expedition exploring life forms discovered on Jupiter. But in order to survive on Jupiter, humans must be converted to an alien form -- and once on Jupiter, they never come back.

Mimsy Were the Borogoves by Lewis Padgett (Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore)

Scott Paradine finds a box that holds the components of a time machine. Not knowing what it is, he opens it and starts playing with what he thinks are the toys inside. But his parents get worried when they notice how he and his sister Emma are affected by the toys.

The Million-Year Picnic by Ray Bradbury

In this story from The Martian Chronicles, a family leaves Earth in their private rocket for what is ostensibly a family fishing trip to Mars. But the parents have another reason for leaving Earth, one they haven't told their children yet.

Thunder and Roses by Theodore Sturgeon

Most of the United States has been destroyed by a sneak nuclear attack, and many of the survivors are dying of radiation sickness. On a remote military base, Pete Mawser finds himself in the company of a famous singer, Starr Anthim, who has come with the message that to save humanity, they must not strike back.

That Only a Mother by Judith Merril

In a time when mutations caused by radiation are a worry, Margaret has their child while her husband Hank is stationed away from home. She keeps him up to date by mail on the baby's development, including remarkable abilities she's developing at a young age. But other surprises await Hank when he finally meets her for the first time.

Brooklyn Project by William Tenn (Philip Klass)

Scientists have developed a way to send a camera back in time to record events. And despite the fact that other scientists question the possible ramifications of this kind of device, the laboratory invites the media for the first demonstration.

Coming Attraction by Fritz Leiber

A British visitor to post-holocaust New York saves a young woman from being run down by a car. And, in turn, the woman invites him to her home, where she tells him she's afraid, and wants him to take her back to England with him.

The Sentinel by Arthur C. Clarke

In the story that served as the inspiration for 2001: A Space Odyssey, explorers discover a monument left on the moon by an extra-terrestrial civilization.

Sail On! Sail On! by Philip Jose Farmer

An alternate history of Columbus' first voyage, set in a world in which Roger Bacon was a saint instead of persecuted by the Church, and primitive radios and dirigibles already exist.

Critical Factor by Hal Clement

An intelligent species, a rock-eating fluid, lives in the Earth's crust. One of its members has just discovered Antarctica and its ice cap, and proposes that they try to melt it to enlarge the oceans which protect them from the deadly oxygen. But they don't know yet the properties of unconfined liquids, and no one is sure what would really happen.

Fondly Fahrenheit by Alfred Bester

Despite the safeguards supposedly built into it, James Vandaleur's robot is killing people, forcing him to flee from planet to planet. But he can't afford to get rid of the robot, because he depends on it for his living.

The Cold Equations by Tom Godwin

The penalty for stowing away on an Emergency Dispatch Ship is to be jettisoned out the air lock. But Marilyn Lee Cross didn't know that when she hid on a ship carrying life-saving serum to a research colony. She just wanted to see her brother. The pilot sympathizes with her, but with her on board, there's not enough fuel to complete the mission.

The Game of Rat and Dragon by Cordwainer Smith

Mankind was attacked by creatures in deep space they perceived as dragon-like during the early era of interstellar travel. But with the help of human telepaths, partnered with telepathic cats, they learned to defend themselves.

Pilgrimage to Earth by Robert Sheckley

Alfred Simon travels to Earth to find love because it's the last place where such things can be found. But what he finds in New York is not quite what he expected in this witty satire.

Who Can Replace a Man? by Brian W. Aldiss

One day,the machines find that all the men have died. With no one to direct them, they begin to fight over control of one other.

Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr.

George and Hazel Bergeron's son Harrison is in jail for being too intelligent, in violation of a recent constitutional amendment requiring complete equality.

The Streets of Ashkelon by Harry Harrison

John Garth, a trader, has staked out a trade monopoly on Wesker's World, inhabited by an innocent and primitive, but intelligent, amphibious species. Then a missionary shows up, ready to convert the species to Christianity and save them from their sins.

The Terminal Beach by J. G. Ballard

Traven wanders around an island once used for nuclear weapons testing, seeing visions of his late wife and son who were killed by atomic bombs.

Dolphin's Way Gordon R. Dickson

Malcolm Sinclair is a dolphin researcher with a wild theory -- that extraterrestrials are waiting for evidence we can communicate with another intelligent species before contacting us. He thinks he's on the verge of a breakthrough, but he also thinks that funding is about to be cut off.

Slow Tuesday Night by R. A. Lafferty

In this satire, the civilization of the future operates at a much faster pace. Basil Bagelbaker makes and loses several fortunes, Judy and Ildefonsa go through several marriages, and the lifetimes of new products are measured in minutes, all on a slow night.

Day Million by Frederik Pohl

In the distant future, Don and Dora meet, fall in love and get married. But none of it much resembles what we would call those things.

We Can Remember It For You Wholesale by Philip K. Dick

Douglas Quail fantasizes a trip to Mars as a secret agent. But he can't afford it, so he decides to have a memory implant. When the procedure begins, it becomes clear that the fantasy was actually an artificially suppressed memory -- and the agency that suppressed it now wants him killed. (The movie Total Recall was based on this story.)

I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream by Harlan Ellison

A giant computer has killed off all of humanity except five people. And those five it keeps alive only to torment.

Aye, and Gomorrah... by Samuel R. Delany

Spacers have to be neutered and androgynized before being sent off to work on other worlds, and they no longer have interest in sex. But there are those on Earth who want sex with them, enough to pay for it.

The Jigsaw Man by Larry Niven

Executions are viewed as a way to obtain organs for transplants. And so, Warren Lewis Knowles is in jail, awaiting a trial in which he will almost certainly get the death penalty.

Kyrie by Poul Anderson

While on an expedition to investigate the remains of a supernova, Eloise Waggoner, a young telepath, finds love with the alien she's communicating with -- a fiery comet-like being travelling with them because it can get closer to the supernova than humans can.

Masks by Damon Knight

Jim's wrecked body has been replaced by an artificial one, but the researchers are worried about the psychological effects. And though he won't tell them what's wrong with his new face, he insists on wearing a mask over it.

From Stand on Zanzibar by John Brunner

This novel excerpt begins with a series of bullets about characters and events, and ends with an urban riot.

The Big Flash by Norman Spinrad

There's a new rock band taking the world by storm --The Four Horsemen. They're the biggest thing since the Beatles. But their songs focus on images of nuclear destruction, and their concerts are sponsored by the defense industry.

Sundance by Robert Silverberg

Tom Two Ribbons, a biologist and member of the Sioux, is part of a team preparing a planet for colonization. Part of the preparation involves exterminating a species known as the Eaters. But Tom gradually becomes convinced that the Eaters are intelligent.

From The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. LeGuin

Genly Ai is the Ekumen's envoy to Gethen, on a mission to convince the natives to join the Ekumen and become part of the rest of humanity. But his chief ally in the nation of Karhide, Estraven, tells him he must withdraw his support.

When It Changed by Joanna Russ

On Whileaway, men died centuries ago and women have carried on, finding alternate ways to reproduce. But now men from Earth have come, threatening the life the women have made for themselves.

The Engine at Heartspring's Center by Roger Zelazny

Bork came to the center long ago to die. He's a cyborg, rebuilt after suffering injuries in an assassination attempt. Now a girl who also came to the center to die decides she's not ready. When they come for her on the beach, she asks Bork for protection.

Tricentennial by Joe Haldeman

Signals from a civilization on a nearby star have been discovered, but the orbital L-5 colony can't get support to divert power systems for a strong signal to reply. Failing that, they plot to resurrect the abandoned starship Daedalus for a clandestine trip to this newly discovered civilization.

ack to Off the Shelf.