“Operation Distress” by Lester Del Ray

“Operation Distress” by Lester Del Ray

As human beings venture out into the cosmos, it’s pretty certain they’re going to run into all sorts of unexpected threats to their health and well-being. It happened to explorers hundreds of years ago when European explorers arrived in the New World and were exposed to all sorts of new diseases… then they decided to return the favor by giving blankets infected with small pox to the people they met. Of course it’s also entirely possible that explorers out in space will run into problems that are a little more familiar. As is the case in this week’s story, Operation Distress by Lester Del Ray.

“Time Arbitrage” by Keith Conrad

“Time Arbitrage” by Keith Conrad

Did you know that in 2024 a person making the average salary in the United States can’t get qualified for the average priced home? It’s bad out there. So much so that many are giving up on the idea of owning a home all together. In this week’s story “Time Arbitrage” a couple is just about ready to give up themselves, when they learn about a company offering an unexpected solution to the problem.

“,000 a Plate” by Jack McKenty

“$1,000 a Plate” by Jack McKenty

Light pollution is increasingly a problem in 2024. If you live in a big city, it’s a pretty good bet you can only see a handful of stars when you look up at the night sky. You would think the pioneering souls who move to the first colony on Mars wouldn’t have to deal with that issue quite as much. However in this week’s story “$1000 a Plate” by Jack McKenty our characters learn that you can’t avoid some problems even if you’re on the frozen tundra of Mars.

“Chain of Command” by Stephen Arr

“Chain of Command” by Stephen Arr

Back in the 1950’s when Stephen Arr wrote Chain of Command, it was pretty common to imagine the worst possible unintended consequences from the atomic age. This story does revolve around animals who are forever changed by atomic radiation, but at the end of the day the message of this story is that the chain of command is the same for everyone, even radioactive mutant mice.

“Dimension of the Lost” by Keith Conrad

“Dimension of the Lost” by Keith Conrad

Pop culture over the past twenty years or so is riddled with stories about pioneering scientists visiting new worlds. In the 1990’s there was Sliders, there was also Stargate SG-1 with a different planet every week. In this week’s story “Dimension of the Lost,” three scientists visit three different dimensions. Two of them have life-changing experiences, while the third ends up solving a mystery that has haunted humanity for generations.

“Project Hush” by Philip Klass

“Project Hush” by Philip Klass

In the next few years, NASA will be sending astronauts back to the Moon for the first time since the 1970’s. While those brave astronauts might not be the first humans to visit the Moon, they’d still be very surprised if they found out they had unexpected company. That’s exactly what happens in this week’s story, Project Hush by Philip Klass.