With the bipper the Special Police Agency could get anything out of anyone. It burns them out completely in the process, but that is for the good. They are erased and won’t do any meddlesome thinking again. They will do routine work like every other Egghead and never make a mistake for 20 years. Except for the blind. Their brain waves are different and they can’t be bipped.But what does this all mean for Fred? And why does he care so much?

Retief is heading to the technologically backward double planets called Jorgensen's Worlds with a warning and a plan to thwart the Soetti’s planned invasion. Everyone he meets on the way is determined to stand in his way, except Chip. Together Retief and Chip land on The Frozen Planet and are surprised by what they learn.

The Boyars have spent the past sixty years terraforming the planet Flamme, clearing jungle, descumming the seas, irrigating deserts and establishing forests. Now the Aga Kaga have decided to move in and claim it as their own. The Under-secretary of the CDT refuses to support the Boyars with anything more than a diplomatic note.It’s up to Retief to deliver it and convince the Aga Kaga to abandon their claim. "Don't worry. I'll keep the peace, if I have to start a war to do it."

Evon-thia, The Spirit Bands use astral travel to bypass the normal rigors and dangers of an adventure to Mars. Their leader, Carl De L'Ester is the spirit guide to a medium we know only as Madame.Over the course of two years, Madame has several out of body experiences that take her to Ento, that red planet we know as Mars. She is joined by different spirit friends who guide her observations, which she writes about in great detail.This classic science fiction is an epic stor...

Venusport Division Chief Carl Wattles had a problem with the Kentons who wanted to build a new house instead of harvesting pretzins. The Kentons had a problem with the snakes and dragons. Wattles sent his answer and some help, but who knew how the Kenton’s would use it?

“Misrule” and “A Bad Town for Spacemen” were both first published in Worlds of If Science Fiction magazine in 1962. In this reformatted edition you can read both science fiction short stories.Science fiction often answers the question, “What if?” In “Misrule”, author Robert Scott explores what could happen if the government made all decisions and provided every need for all the people–even the need to vent their anger and frustrations.On People’s Day the people are...

The whirlybirds were predators. They ate the vicious animals like tigers and bears. But when their prey was exhausted, they turned to people. Today the crowd cheered from their windows to welcome the convertible, solo-spacecraft. Five-gun Charles DeCrabbe was flying into town to save the day.When Whirlybirds Call, a Science Fiction Classic, was written by Frank Banta and first appeared in the Worlds of If Science Fiction magazine in January 1963.

Science fiction classic character Retief is back in this sci fi short story by Keith Laumer. Retief is caught in the middle of competing mining claims on the planet 95739-A. He wants to side with the underdog.

The Machine has arrived at the tournament to face world class Grand Chess Masters from around the world.Sandra, a reporter from the Chicago Space Mirror is there to watch the match and see who will win. Can anyone from this group of some of the smartest men in the world beat the artificial intelligence of their new opponent?

Coxe got a great deal on the refrigerator. It chilled his beer perfectly and surprisingly produced a package of delicious fish eggs every day. Coxe didn’t ask too many questions until the visitor came asking about the refrigerator.

industrialist David Greaves invested his personal fortune toward building the Defiance. Now he was battered and tossed inside the the crazy, tumbling spaceship. There in the misty shroud of Venus, he self-administered a sleep inducing anesthetic. He awoke to the kiss of a beautiful woman in the shadow of hideous gargoyles and was hailed as a god.

"Before this I lived in a star, a puff of expanding gas. Before that in a haunted house ... dreadful. And before that in the lopsided blob of protoplasm that was the last of Pyet, the astrologer.” The computer had begun acting strangely and now it was talking out loud. Dr. Henderson thought it was a virus that would work itself out if he just turned it off. The night janitor knew better.This Science Fiction Classic was written by William Harris and first appeared in the Worlds of I...