Forgotten Sci-Fi

This story is a perfect example of a literary tactic that is seldom used in modern stories; that of allowing the reader in on the secret of the story! The reader's journey is thus not to find out the mystery, but to join the characters in their journey of discovery. This technique was common all the way through the 1980s, with TV viewers witnessing a crime in the opening minutes of a show, then ride along with detectives as they find clues.

Moxon's Master, by Ambrose Bierce.

Ambrose Bierce is well-known in the annals of great writing, mostly for his story "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," about a Civil War soldier being hung for treason. A Civil War veteran himself on the Union side, Bierce is also still known for his other war stories, and poetry. Throughout his stories there winds a thread of being a fabulist, and Moxon's Master, written in 1899, is no exception. Crossing the divide between psychological horror and science fiction, Moxon's Master explores the strange and strained relationship between man and machine, predating so many other works that delve into the very same arena.

Bierce was a ceaselessly interesting character, known for biting sarcasm and wit and his disdain for most of humanity. His writing influenced such luminaries as H.P. Lovecraft and H. L. Mencken, and while he was fluent in many writing styles, his style was not for everyone of the age. Bierce's final resting place is unknown; he disappeared without a trace while riding as an observer with Pancho Villa's army through Mexico in 1913.

Episode 1:

In the Abyss, by H.G. Wells

Though H.G. Wells is obviously one of the best-known masters of early science fiction, there are many of his works that are unknown to the larger audience. For those who dig deep into the genre, this story, written in 1896, will be familiar. But for most, it still represents an era of short storytelling that faded out with time. To gauge the significance of what Wells put on paper, it's worth keeping in mind that the device used in this story to visit the ocean depths was fully describing the bathysphere. But the bathysphere wouldn't be invented for another thirty years.

Wells also touched on the human predilection to dispose of various items in the ocean, by describing how they affect what lies below. In this description, Wells showed himself not only one of the first to be thinking about the ramifications of dumping waste, but was already thinking about less-obvious ways it might change the world it invades.