Ten Apocalyptic and Post-Apocalyptic science fiction short stories from some of the best sci-fi authors of the 1940s, 50s and 60s.
- Time Enough At Last by Lynn Venable
- Breakfast at Twilight by Philip K. Dick
- Inheritance by Edward W. Ludwig
- Homecoming by Miguel Hidalgo
- Proof of the Pudding by Robert Sheckley
- The Star by H. G. Wells
- Not a Creature Was Stirring by Dean Evans
- The Spy in the Elevator by Donald E. Westlake
- The Enormous Word by William Oberfield
- The Moon is Green by Fritz Leiber
This is a well written Sci-Fi thriller / Martian novella with interesting and quite well developed characters. The story line is complicated and fast moving with lots of twist and turns leading to the extremely satisfying conclusion so sit back and enjoy a fun ride as you listen. In 'The Crystal Crypt,' war between Terra (the new name of Earth) and Mars looms as one of Mars's great cities was destroyed. The tension builds from the start; who destroyed the city? How did they do it? Why did they do it? Enjoy a great storyteller show us how it is done.
Did you ever wonder at the lonely life the bird in a cuckoo clock has to lead—that it might possibly love and hate just as easily as a real animal of flesh and blood? Philip Dick used that idea for this brief fantasy tale. We're sure that after reading it you'll give cuckoo clocks more respect.
Breakfast At Twilight by Philip K. Dick - It’s distinctly ungood to wake up in the middle of a war. Anybody knows that.
Philip K. Dick, an iconic figure in science fiction literature, captivated readers with his visionary and often mind-bending narratives. Dick explored themes of reality, identity, and perception throughout his prolific career. His works, including 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (which inspired the film 'Blade Runner'), 'Ubik,' and 'The Man in the High Castle,' challenged conventional notions of existence, blurring the lines between the real and the surreal.
Dick's writing was characterized by its philosophical depth, psychological insight, and prophetic vision of a future shaped by technology and societal upheaval. He delved into the nature of consciousness, questioning what it means to be human in a world increasingly dominated by machines. Dick's own tumultuous life, marked by personal struggles and existential crises, often found expression in his fiction, adding layers of complexity to his narratives.
Despite struggling with mental health issues, Dick's creative genius continued to shine, earning him a devoted following and posthumous recognition as one of the most imaginative and influential writers of the 20th century. His legacy endures, inspiring readers and writers alike to ponder the mysteries of existence and the boundaries of reality.
'Adjustment Team' is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Orbit Science Fiction (September–October 1954, No. 4) with illustration by Faragasso.
A man called the Clerk approaches a talking dog, and explains in businesslike manner that 'Sector T137' is scheduled for 'adjustment' at 9 o'clock. He instructs the dog to bark at exactly 8:15, which the Clerk explains will summon 'A Friend with a Car', which will take real estate salesman Ed Fletcher to work before 9, but while the Clerk is preoccupied, the dog falls asleep and as a result barks a minute too late. Inside Ed's house, while he is getting ready for work, Ed is accosted by a door-to-door insurance salesman and doesn't leave for work until 9:30. Ed arrives at his office building, but upon stepping onto the curb, finds himself in a sunless version of the world where everything and everyone is immobile, ash-grey, and crumbles at his touch. Ed is accosted by white-robed men, who talk about 'de-energizing' him with a hose-like piece of equipment, but he flees outside and across the street, back to the everyday world, fearing he's had a psychotic episode...
'Meddler' is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Future Science Fiction, October 1954 with illustration by Virgil Finlay.
The technology called 'The Dip' is used by historians to observe and study historical phenomenon. Wood is showing Hasten a new version of the Dip that can look into the future. Hastern is horrified by this. Not only is it illegal to Dip into the future, it is extremely dangerous. Anything from the future brought into the present has the potential to radically alter future event. Wood explains that the damage has already been done.
Hasten has been brought in because he is the expert in the use of Dips for historical research. The future Dip was authorized earlier by the Political Science Council to predict the outcome of decisions and use began about one year earlier. To protect the future timeline, the Dip was designed to bring nothing back and only take photographs from high altitudes. The first reports from the future showed a world getting progressively better. Less urbanization and a happier population. But when they went back again to review earlier periods with the Dip, they found that the future has changed. There was now evidence of massive war. Moving forward again, the Dip revealed that all human civilization will be destroyed. To investigate why this happened and hopefully prevent it, they built a Time car that could send one person into the future. Hasten is charged with investigating the cause of the end of humanity.
'Human Is' is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was first published in Startling Stories, Winter 1955.
The plot centers on the crisis facing a woman whose cold and emotionally abusive husband returns from a survey mission to the dying planet Rexor IV, changed for the better—his psyche was replaced by a Rexorian, glad to have escaped the confines of its dying planet.
The story was adapted by Jessica Mecklenburg for an episode of the 2017 TV series, Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams.
'Of Withered Apples' was first published in Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy (July 1954).
An apple tree mentally controls a woman in order to live...
The story is simple enough on the surface (and perhaps a little too gimmicky in its ending), but what sticks with the reader is the woman's profound frustration, the comic dull stupidity of her husband and father-in-law, and the way nature itself calls, through her many manifestations, to the unquellable sensuality in all of us.
'Beyond Lies the Wub' is a science fiction short story by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was his first published genre story, originally appearing in Planet Stories in July 1952. It was first collected in The Preserving Machine in 1969, and was included in The Best of Philip K. Dick in 1977. It was the title story for the first volume of the original edition of Dick's collected stories. Translations of 'Beyond Lies the Wub' have appeared in Dutch, French, German, Italian, Polish and Spanish; and the story has been included in more than a dozen anthologies.
Peterson, a crew member of a spaceship loading up with food animals on Mars, buys an enormous pig-like creature known as a 'wub' from a native just before departure. Franco, his captain, is worried about the extra weight but seems more concerned about its taste, as his ship is short of food. However, after takeoff, the crew realizes that the wub is a very intelligent creature, capable of telepathy and maybe even mind control.
'Survey Team' is the story of two planets, first published in Fantastic Universe (May 1954).
'Survey Team' tells of a designated four man group of space travelers chosen to find another planet on which humankind can survive., since the once good green earth has been all but destroyed, rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war. The few remaining humans live miles beneath the surface, their resources depleted, their survival only a matter of time. Could Mars be the place they are looking for? The 'survey team' has been chosen to find out.
The first thing they see when they arrive on Mars is a ruined city, and in their course of exploring the ruins the discover some disturbing truths, not only about the history of Mars, but of the the nature of humankind itself.
This is a disturbing, bleak tale. It is perhaps a little heavy-handed, particularly at the end.
'The Defenders' is a 1953 science fiction novelette by American author Philip K. Dick, and the basis for Dick's 1964 novel The Penultimate Truth. It is one of several of his stories to be expanded into a novel. The story was first published in the January 1953 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.
Eight years ago a nuclear war began between the United States and the Soviet Union. American survivors evacuated to gigantic bunkers miles under ground. Sophisticated, radioactivity-immune robots called 'leadys' continue fighting the war on the devastated surface that is too dangerous for humans. The Soviets have similarly evacuated underground, and each side builds powerful weapons and vehicles for the remote-controlled war they only see from film that the robots deliver.
The security department asks Taylor, an American war planner, to observe the interrogation of a leady regarding the progress of the war.
'Survey Team' is the story of two planets, first published in Fantastic Universe (May 1954).
'Survey Team' tells of a designated four man group of space travelers chosen to find another planet on which humankind can survive., since the once good green earth has been all but destroyed, rendered uninhabitable by nuclear war. The few remaining humans live miles beneath the surface, their resources depleted, their survival only a matter of time. Could Mars be the place they are looking for? The 'survey team' has been chosen to find out.
The first thing they see when they arrive on Mars is a ruined city, and in their course of exploring the ruins the discover some disturbing truths, not only about the history of Mars, but of the the nature of humankind itself.
This is a disturbing, bleak tale. It is perhaps a little heavy-handed, particularly at the end.
