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in 1930 when his first short story, When the Atoms Failed, was accepted by a science-fiction magazine. At that time he was twenty years old and still a student at college. As the title of the story indicates, he was even at that time occupied with the significance of atomic energy and nuclear physics.
For the next seven years, Campbell, bolstered by a scientific background that ran from childhood experiments, to study at Duke University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, wrote and sold science-fiction, achieving for himself an enviable reputation in the field.
In 1937 he became the editor of Astounding Stories magazine and applied himself at once to the task of bettering the magazine and the field of s-f writing in general. His influence on science-fiction since then has been great. Today he still remains as the editor of that magazine's evolved and redesigned successor, Analog.
THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
by JOHN W. CAMPBELL
ACE BOOKS, INC. 1120 Avenue of the Americas New York, N.Y. 10036
THE ULTIMATE WEAPON
Copyright, 1936, by John W. Campbell
Originally published as a serial in Amazing Stories under the title of Uncertainty.
All Rights Reserved
Cover by Gerald McConnell
Printed in U.S.A.
Transcriber's Note:
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed. Minor spelling and typographical errors have been corrected without note. Subscript characters are shown within {braces}. The mathematical symbol pi is shown as [pi].
[Illustration]
I
Patrol Cruiser "IP-T 247" circling out toward Pluto on leisurely inspection tour to visit the outpost miners there, was in no hurry at all as she loafed along. Her six-man crew was taking it very easy, and easy meant two-man watches, and low speed, to watch for the instrument panel and attend ship into the bargain.