Cities in the Sky

Title Fight

There would be blood on the streets tonight when Alix 1340, a robot, beat the current middleweight champion of the world, Nick Nolan, a human. Alix was fighting for the rights of the robots, the right to be recognized as having that 'spark of life' that gave the humans dominion over the sea and the land. He had to win...

"Title Fight" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," December 1956, pages 101 to 111.

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The Woman Obsession

Surely Collins was an idiot. He dreamt of women in a world that had forgotten their 'function.' He even claimed to have seen one on a planetoid in asteroid alley, a place where there couldn't possibly be any women.

"The Woman Obsession" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," September 1954, pages 48 to 57.

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William Campbell Gault (1910–1995) was an American writer. He wrote under his own name, and as Roney Scott and Will Duke, among other pseudonyms. He is probably best remembered for his sports fiction, particularly the young-readers' novels he began publishing in the early 1960s, and for his crime fiction.

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

What would happen when a police robot was posted to a law enforcement outpost on Mars? How could a robot—a machine, after all—be involved in something as complex as the application of law? At one time—this was before the Robot Restriction Laws—they'd been allowed to make their own decisions....

"Arm of the Law" appeared in "Fantastic Universe", August, 1958, pages 23 to 36.

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Harry Max Harrison (March 12, 1925 – August 15, 2012) was an American science fiction author, known mostly for his character The Stainless Steel Rat and for his novel Make Room! Make Room! (1966). The latter was the rough basis for the motion picture Soylent Green (1973). Long resident in both Ireland and the United Kingdom, Harrison was involved in the foundation of the Irish Science Fiction Association, and was, with Brian Aldiss, co-president of the Birmingham Science Fiction Group.

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

The Ice Goes Out

This is a story of Alaska, in which honest men and crooks propose, but inscrutable Nature disposes.

"The Ice Goes Out" appeared in "Adventure," July 1st 1928, pages 58 - 61.

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Raw Men

Dick Walton's father had sent him out on Hanson's Arctic trading schooner to make something of him, to make up for his own failings as a father, in the hopes that he could learn that which his father had been unable to teach him. What he learned was that there are men, and there are Raw Men. Which was he?

"Raw Men" appeared in "Blue Book Magazine," November 1924, pages 80 - 85.

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Frank Richardson Pierce (1881-1966) was an American writer, best known for his stories in Western Pulps. He published over 1,500 short stories, 3 novels and 4 films—under his own name and pseudonyms, Erle Stanly Pierce and Seth Ranger—over a 50-year career. He was a founding member of the Northwest Writers Association (later renamed the Seattle Free Lances,) and was a member of the Author League of America, the League of Western Writers and the Authors Guild of America.

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

There was a comic book in the alien space ship—of a sort. But it wasn't meant for children.

"Classified Object" appeared in "Fantastic Universe", July 1954, pages 115 to 129.

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John Victor Peterson was an American author who began publishing work of genre interest with "Martyrs Don't Mind Dying" in "Astounding", January 1938, and writing science fiction stories for various contemporary science fiction magazines until 1959. With Allen Ingvald Benson he published "Atmospherics" ("Astounding", September 1939) under the joint pseudonym "Victor Valding". He wrote one full-length novel, "Rock the Big Rock", published in 1970.

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

A Long Way Back

After the war that ravaged the world, he held the future of civilization in his numbed hands. The satellite was ready to beam power back to Earth, and knowing that he wouldn't live to see the results, from 22,500 miles out, he made the gamble.

"A Long Way Back" appeared in "Amazing Science Fiction Stories" February 1960.

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The Next Logical Step

Normally, the military would want to keep the predictions of their wargames secret. But there might be times when you would want the enemy to see the results of your simulations. 

"The Next Logical Step" appeared in "Analog Science Fiction and Fact," May 1962.

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Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932 – November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, for which he won a Hugo Award six times, and an editorial director of Omni; he was also president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Travelogue

Adventure called late in the diffident, gentle, dreaming life of Wesley Filburn, mediocre writer of science fiction stories. But when it did call—in the shape of a strange child drowning in Sampson's Creek—it was just in time to save him from the machinations of the two women closest to him...

"Travelogue" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," December 1956, pages 87 - 100.

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The Minister had to Wait

Dr. Maxey's Dimension-tube would allow the Western Allied Military to penetrate the East's defensive shields and finally win the war, no matter how strenuously Dr. Maxey warned against the dangers of opening up a conduit into other dimensions. The Allied Military would hear none of it, though, and went ahead with a full-scale version...

"The Minister had to Wait" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," June-July 1953, pages 138 - 148.

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Roger D Aycock (6 December 1914 – 5 April 2004) was an American author who wrote under the pseudonym Roger Dee. He primarily wrote science fiction.

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Trust Lancelot Biggs to get the Saturn into a mess just when speed and good navigation meant the prize contract of the year...!

"Lancelot Biggs, Master Navigator" appeared in "Fantastic Adventures," May 1940, pages 30 - 37.

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Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

Referent

Roby Morrison was special, a genius, but he didn't want to be. He wanted to escape the island where every waking moment was supervised. He wanted to be a normal boy doing normal things. He wanted to keep his dreams of the Sandman to himself. He wanted to bounce a rubber ball. He wanted to see his mother. He wanted to fly away from this place...

"Referent" appeared in "Thrilling Wonder Stories," October 1948, pages 148 - 152.

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The Irritated People

How does one make war without hurting anyone? That's exactly what Charles Crossley, President of American Jet-Propelled Ships, had figured out. And he was going to strike at the enemy with the President's blessing or without!

"The Irritated People" appeared in "Thrilling Wonder Stories," December 1947, pages 90 - 97.

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Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is widely known by the general public for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951). Most of his best known work is speculative fiction, but he also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including "Moby Dick" and "It Came from Outer Space." Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books.

The New York Times called Bradbury "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream."

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

There was more at stake than just a football game for Lancelot Biggs; two hundred and fifty credits, his claims on three future planetary discoveries, the rights to his new uranium condenser, his rocket emblem...and his heart!

"The Madness of Lancelot Biggs" appeared in "Fantastic Adventures," April 1940 pages 70 - 77.

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Nelson Slade Bond (November 23, 1908 – November 4, 2006) was an American writer. His works included books, magazine articles, and scripts used in radio, for television and on the stage.

The 1998 recipient of the Nebula Author Emeritus award for lifetime achievement, Bond was a pioneer in early science fiction and fantasy. His published fiction is mainly short stories, most of which appeared in pulp magazines in the 1930s and 1940s. Many were published in Blue Book magazine. He is noted for his "Lancelot Biggs" series of stories and for his "Meg the Priestess" tales, which introduced one of the first powerful female characters in science fiction.

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

The Man from Time

Being the first Time Traveller, he couldn't have known about Time Fear; every date he observed terrified him. Lost in the vastness of Time, he didn't know how his colleagues would find him again.

"The Man from Time" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," March 1954, pages 74 - 85.

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Mr Caxton Draws a Martian Bird

No animal the size of the 'huge bird' Peter supposedly saw could survive on Mars without oxygenating apparatus. So said mean, grumpy Mr Caxton who was tasked with looking after them while their parents were away. They must be lying...

"Mr. Caxton Draws a Martian Bird" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," July 1954, pages 91 - 101.

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Frank Belknap Long Jr. (April 27, 1901 – January 3, 1994) was an American writer of horror fiction, fantasy, science fiction, poetry, gothic romance, comic books, and non-fiction. Though his writing career spanned seven decades, he is best known for his horror and science fiction short stories, including contributions to the Cthulhu Mythos alongside his friend, H. P. Lovecraft. During his life, Long received the World Fantasy Award for Life Achievement (at the 1978 World Fantasy Convention), the Bram Stoker Award for Lifetime Achievement (in 1987, from the Horror Writers Association), and the First Fandom Hall of Fame Award (1977).

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If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know at [email protected].

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Music: "Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.