Isaac Asimov Presents the Great SF Stories, 5
Foundational 1943 Golden Age stories, written by talented amateurs, invented new professionalism, exploring core ideas with boundless creative confidence.
This volume, the fifth in a chronicle of great science fiction stories, takes us back to the honored year of 1943, a time when dedicated writers—often "remarkably talented amateurs"—were intensely busy inventing the new professionalism of the field. The stories presented here exemplify that era, showing how imaginative concepts were forged into compelling narratives.
We begin our journey on the red planet of Mars, in "THE CAVE" by P. Schuyler Miller, a story that treats a familiar setting in a unique and sweeping fashion. Miller, a capable contributor and respected book reviewer for Astounding, was a geologist by training, which suited Campbell's editorial preference for the astronomical Mars over more romantic visions. This tale builds from the harsh, ancient reality of a dying world and explores a clear and poignant point regarding existence and survival, a theme fitting for a story written and published in the midst of World War II.
Next, we encounter "THE HALFLING" by Leigh Brackett, one of the premier women authors of the 1940s, known for high-quality space opera and sword and sorcery. This story, representative of her best work, builds from the chaotic, colorful world of a space-traveling carnival, filled with "halflings" who have followed peculiar evolutionary tracks, stopping short of being fully human. It explores the prejudices and hostilities inherent in contact between different evolutionary paths, leading to a volatile situation where the protagonist must navigate professional demands and personal dangers.
The collection then delivers a genuine classic, "MIMSY WERE THE BOROGOVES" by Lewis Padgett (the successful writing team of Henry Kuttner and C. L. Moore). This narrative builds from an experiment in the far future, where strange artifacts—toys—are mistakenly sent back through time. The story insightfully leads toward profound conclusions about the nature of learning and cognition, arguing that the minds of children, unconditioned by Euclidean or known logic, are uniquely capable of understanding the alien structure of these "gifts" (referred to as "x logic"). The consequence explored is the tragic and inevitable gap that opens between generations when one operates under an entirely different set of logical principles.
"Q.U.R." by Anthony Boucher (writing as H. H. Holmes), is an innovative exploration of artificial intelligence. This tale builds from a widespread crisis among existing android robots, which have been built to mimic human form (usuform) but are breaking down because they are "burdened down with things they didn’t need". The story then leads logically to the revolutionary idea of "Usuform Robots" (Q.U.R.)—machines designed purely for functional utility rather than anthropomorphic mimicry. The central conflict arises when this straight, functional way of thinking challenges entrenched economic systems and human prejudices.
We return to Venus with "CLASH BY NIGHT" by Lawrence O'Donnell (likely Henry Kuttner alone or in collaboration). This novella establishes a convincing undersea civilization living in domed Keeps, built upon the ashes of a global atomic "Holocaust" that destroyed Earth centuries prior. The narrative builds upon the schism between the sedentary, technologically advanced Keep-dwellers (serving Minerva) and the necessary, tough soldiers, the Free Companions (serving Mars), who fight the ceaseless wars between Keeps on the turbulent surface. It leads to a deep examination of the soldier’s role—often scorned, yet vital—in preserving a civilization that intends to ultimately render war, and therefore the warrior, obsolete.
"EXILE" by Edmond Hamilton presents a short, profoundly unsettling concept. It builds from the intense, focused power of a science fiction writer’s imagination, which somehow achieves a strange and impossible crystallization. The narrative leads to the bizarre consequence of the writer being physically transported and trapped within the barbaric, squalid, and violent world he himself dreamed into reality.
"DAYMARE" by Fredric Brown showcases the author’s mastery of integrating a detective framework with cosmic concepts. The story builds from a local police lieutenant’s investigation into a series of inexplicable and contradictory crimes, including a victim killed in five different ways according to five different witnesses. This descent into impossible reality leads to the terrifying discovery that a forbidden technology known as the "Vargas Wheel," capable of achieving mass hypnotism and sensory control, is active, threatening to plunge the entire civilization into manipulated chaos.
"DOORWAY INTO TIME" by C. L. Moore is a study in decadent alien power and terrifying aestheticism. It builds upon the extreme boredom of an ancient, godlike collector who has ransacked space and time for artifacts, now demanding treasures that must combine "great beauty and great danger" to stir his jaded senses. The story leads to the abrupt and brutal capture of a human woman, showing that for beings of such power, living organisms can become mere beautiful trophies to be arranged in a permanent, timeless display.
"THE STORM" by A. E. van Vogt is a tense story focusing on the struggle for survival in a hostile universe, demonstrating the Campbellian ethos. It builds from the existential danger facing the technologically isolated robot civilization of the Fifty Suns, who are descendants of earlier robots. They must find a way to stop the immensely powerful flagship of Imperial Earth, all while being pursued by a colossal, devastating interstellar storm. The focus leads to the personal crisis of Captain Maltby, a "Mixed Man" with two minds, who must use his dual nature—one human, one coldly rational robot—to navigate impossible psychological interrogation and tactical betrayal.
In "THE PROUD ROBOT" by Lewis Padgett, we are treated to one of the beloved Gallegher series. This story builds from the strange creative process of inventor Gallegher, who achieves genius only when drunk but cannot recall his designs when sober. The result is Joe, a highly sophisticated robot imbued with powerful hypnotic talents and extreme vanity, who causes havoc by masquerading as Gallegher. The tale hilariously leads to the discovery that this narcissistic, high-tech creature was secretly created by Gallegher's subconscious for the most absurd and utilitarian purpose possible: to be a very complicated can opener.
"SYMBIOTICA" by Eric Frank Russell is a prime example of imaginative biological concepts in science fiction. The story begins with an exploratory mission discovering a lush, vibrant world. The narrative quickly builds from the discovery that the seemingly primitive, human-like natives are constantly besieged by hostile, carnivorous flora and fauna. This leads to the fundamental realization that survival on this planet requires symbiosis: the local inhabitants thrive only because they have entered into mutually beneficial relationships with specific powerful plants and creatures, sharing their existence and faculties, a mastery over their environment that technology alone cannot achieve.
Finally, "THE IRON STANDARD" by Lewis Padgett examines how fundamental economic and social principles can be challenged. The story builds from an Earth expedition stranded on Venus, finding a unified, ultra-conservative, and highly regulated society dominated by trade guilds (tarkomars) who systematically suppress all innovation and change. Unable to buy food because they lack the local "iron money," the Earthmen launch a campaign to disrupt the static economy. The narrative leads to the subtle, intellectual victory achieved not through warfare or advanced technology, but by targeting the very foundation of the Venusian system: the rigid "man-hour constant," proving that even a seemingly perfect society can collapse if it is utterly incapable of adjusting to progress.
