This one will take only five minutes of your time, but will entertain nonetheless. Quick and to the point, with a twist at the end, "Keep Out" is jsut the thing if you're on the go and need a momentary sci-fi fix. It's not great sci-fi, but it'll do.
This short story centers on Abraham Lincoln and his creation and delivery of the Gettysburg Address in November 1863. It nicely captures the sorrow, pathos and good-heartedness of Lincoln, while placing him in a somewhat contrived circumstance. Worthy of your time, anyway.
"The Junkmakers" employs a common theme in science fiction -- a man who begins to doubt whatever societal conventions and restrictions are prevalent at the time. In this case, society is fixated on the mandoatory, almost religious destruction of useful equipment and a "healthy" (officially ordained) way of thinking. It is a controlled society in the style of Orwell, and main character Wendell Hart finds that he wants to be part of the underground rebellion against it.
Not a gripping story, but interesting for its prescience of things to come (the destruction of perfectly good equipment equates, eerily, with Cash for Clunkers, and the "healthy" thoughts and speech required by the government in the story smack mightily of today's political correctness).
Now THIS is how you write a good sci-fi story. Pop Ganlon, a weary old spaceman with a bucket of bolts for a ship, is hijacked by an interstellar murderer. Fast-paced with a really neat punch at the end. Highly recommend.
Okay sci-fi short story about aliens who try to restore health to a human they have inadvertently injured. Not really remarkable in any way, just an amusing read.
This compact, no-nonsense scifi short story is memorable for its succinct, but insightful, speculations about the flaws of society and whether they are the fault of -- in this case -- robots, or whether they are inherent in Man himself. The philosophy is made both palatable and enjoyable by a tense story line.
A quick read from 1950s scifi master Horace Brown Fyfe, "The Envoy, Her" is less about a planet-conquering emperor and the subjugation of a race as it is the inability of absolute power (and limitless material wealth) to bring real happiness. Enjoyable.
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Not a gripping story, but interesting for its prescience of things to come (the destruction of perfectly good equipment equates, eerily, with Cash for Clunkers, and the "healthy" thoughts and speech required by the government in the story smack mightily of today's political correctness).