{"code":"sci-fi","header_2":"The inventive, the interesting and the interplanetary.","header_1":"The Best Sci-Fi Short Stories of History","description":"The best sci-fi short stories of history. Read or download. A Guest of Ganymede by C. C. Macapp, The Nothing Equation by Tom Godwin, 2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut.","stories":[{"story":"a-guest-of-ganymede","description":"At number one, we have the adventurous, heist thriller from the unknown C. C. Macapp. Despite never reaching much success as an author aside from a few publications in sci-fi magazines, *A Guest of Ganymede* is a fantastic idea for an adventure in space, terrifically executed in its pacing. In the story, Gil Murdoch has ferried his wealthy, blind client to a hidden, alien hospital where they will heal his eyes with their firmly-guarded, cure-all virus. But Gil isn’t satisfied with a simple payment, and has other plans for the priceless drug."},{"story":"the-shape-of-things","description":"This story is wacky and imaginative, but surprisingly touching with a very thoughtful ending. Peter and Polly Horn give birth to a child in the wrong dimension, and the baby comes out appearing to everyday people in the regular world as a small, blue pyramid. Peter and Polly have to decide whether they can still love their child as it, he, or she is. If you want a happy and sweet sci-fi story, this one is for you."},{"story":"the-nothing-equation","description":"Tom Godwin gives us a very non-traditional sci-fi horror, with no typical monster or villainous adversary. The protagonist is the third man to try to survive a post at the new Galactic Observation Bureau. The previous two ended in insanity and suicide. *The Nothing Equation* is cleverly devised and even more cleverly written, ending in a way that ties the story up in a neat bow."},{"story":"2br02b","description":"Vonnegut is one of the pioneers of dystopian fiction, and of his short stories *2BR02B* is his most famous tale of bleak futures. Death as we know it has been solved, and the population of the United states is stabilised, but a father waits anxiously for his wife to give birth to triplets and for the consequences it brings. It is jarring and tragic, and not for light reading."},{"story":"the-plutonian-drug","description":"Seeing time as a fourth dimension is a concept that might be older than you think. Clark Ashton Smith wrote about it here in this 1934 short story. A man agrees to take the unstudied drug ‘Plutonian’ that his friend claims will allow him to see time just as he sees the physical world around him. Watch out for the excellent use of foretelling and you will be able to catch the ending before it is too late."},{"story":"the-coming-of-the-ice","description":"This concept behind this story could easily be adapted into a whole novel, but it works magnificently enough as a short story. A man undergoes surgery to gain immortality, only for the secret behind it to be lost forever, leaving him destined to be the last man on Earth. He lives through generation after generation of people, experiencing history as it unfolds. But where does it all end? *The Coming of the Ice* is profound and curious, but ultimately a tale of tragedy."},{"story":"the-argonauts-of-the-air","description":"Ending with something light-hearted, we have one of the many prophetic predictions of H.G. Wells. He wrote of the race for heavier-than-air flight as it was happening, and just before it was finished. A fictional duo of inventors, Monson and Woodhouse strive to create the first flying machine while the London public laughs at their failed attempts. It is silly and adventurous, and ends with a bang."}],"title":"Best of Sci-fi","subroute":"sci-fi","authors":["raybradbury","phillipkdick","hgwells","clarkashtonsmith","ccmacapp"],"has_text":true,"quote":{"quote":"“Your baby was born into—another dimension.” * The Shape of Things","code":"the-shape-of-things"},"image_code":"the-shape-of-things","image_alt":"Drawing of a man in pilot gear and a woman in a vehicle.","collection_type":"genre"}