Alfred Bester

In this pulse-quickening novel, Alfred Bester imagines a future in which people "jaunte" a thousand miles with a single thought, where the rich barricade themselves in labyrinths and protect themselves with radioactive hitmen—and where an inarticulate outcast is the most valuable and dangerous man alive. The Stars My Destination is a classic of technological prophecy and timeless narrative enchantment by an acknowledged master of science fiction.

From back cover of Timescape paperback March 1981: IN A MEGA CITY OF THE FUTURE... They were nice ladies, really. Just bored. And they never expected to succeed. But intoning ancient rituals to raise the devil, they unwittingly began a rampage of rape, torture and murder. For they concocted a new devil: Golem 100. And the Golem continues to grow... Tracking the monstrous path of depravity are three super talents: Gretchen Nunn, beautiful, black master of psychodynamics; Blaise Shirma, her brilliant chemist lover; and the shrewd policeman Subadar Ind'dni. Their hunt takes them into real and subliminal worlds of dazzling intensity, through the heart of the collective unconscious and beyond... where they battle for their souls and for the survival of humanity. But even these three super intelligences are up against their limits. For now the Golem has acquired a new identity. And the Golem continues to grow...

Alfred Bester's first science fiction novel since The Stars My Destination was a major event--a fast-moving adventure story set in Earth's future. A band of immortals--as charming a bunch of eccentrics as you'll ever come across--recruit a new member, the brilliant Cherokee physicist Sequoya Guess. Dr. Guess, with the group's help, gains control of Extro, the super-computer that controls all mechanical activity on Earth. The plan to rid Earth of political repression and to further Guess's researches--which may lead to a great leap in human evolution to produce a race of supermen. But Extro takes over Guess instead of turns malevolent. The task of the merry band suddenly becomes a fight in deadly earnest for the future of Earth.Sequoya Guess, whom they love, must be killed. And how do you kill an immortal?

Time, Space and the Future. Here is your passport into the fascinating world of science fiction... eleven dazzling, jet-propelled, rocket-paced tales of tomorrow by one of today's leading writers. Contents: Disappearing Act (1953) Adam and No Eve (1941) Star Light, Star Bright (1953) The Roller Coaster (1953) Oddy and Id (1950) The Starcomber (1954) Travel Diary (1958) Fondly Fahrenheit (1954) Hobson's Choice (1952) The Die-Hard (1958) Of Time and Third Avenue (1951)

In a world in which the police have telepathic powers, how do you get away with murder? Ben Reichs heads a huge 24th century business empire, spanning the solar system. He is also an obsessed, driven man determined to murder a rival. To avoid capture, in a society where murderers can be detected even before they commit their crime, is the greatest challenge of his life.

Brady Garrett is back in space, this time as an unwilling member of a team of humans seeking to study the alien Faceless and their technology. It’s not the first time Brady’s life has been in the hands of the Faceless leader Kai-Ren, and if there’s one thing Brady hates it’s being reminded exactly how powerless he is. Although dealing with the enigmatic Faceless might actually be easier than trying to figure out where he stands with the other humans on board, particularly when one of them is his boyfriend’s ex. Cameron Rushton loved the starlight once, but being back on board the Faceless ship forces him to confront the memories of the time he was captured by Kai-Ren, and exactly how much of what was done to him that he can no longer rationalize away. Cam is used to being Brady’s rock, but this time it might be him who needs Brady’s support. This time Brady is surrounded by the people he loves most in the universe, but that only means their lives are in danger too. And when Kai-Ren’s fascination with humanity threatens the foundations of Faceless society, Brady and Cam and the rest of the team find themselves thrust into a battle that humans have very little hope of winning, let alone surviving.

Jackie Sees a Star by Marion Zimmer Bradley All Cats are Gray by Andre Norton Song in a Minor Key by C. L. Moore Travel Diary by Alfred Bester Pythias by Frederik Pohl The Good Neighbors by Edgar Pangborn The Sound of Silence by Barbara Constant The Intruder by Emil Petaja An Ounce of Cure by Alan Edward Nourse Longevity by Therese Windser The Ghost of Mohammed Din by Clark Ashton Smith Of Time and Texas by William F. Nolan Native Son by Thelma Hamm Evans Gorgono and Slith by Ray Bradbury The Eyes Have It by Philip K. Dick The Putnam Tradition by Sonya Dorman Gods of the North by Robert E. Howard Small World by William F. Nolan Nightmare on the Nose by Evelyn E. Smith Collector's Item by Robert F. Young Crossroads of Destiny by H. Beam Piper The Hoofer by Walter M. Miller, Jr. Doorstep by Keith Laumer The Jovian Jest by Lilith Lorraine Dream World by R. A. Lafferty Shatter the Wall by Sydney Van Scyoc The Big Engine by Fritz Leiber Misbegotten Missionary by Isaac Asimov The One and the Many by Milton Lesser The Glory of Ippling by Helen M. Urban Where There's Hope by Jerome Bixby 2BR02B by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. Disqualified by Charles L. Fontenay No Strings Attached by Lester del Rey Zeritsky's Law by Ann Griffith Say Hello for Me by Frank W. Coggins Navy Day by Harry Harrison The Undersea Tube by Lucile Taylor Hansen Probability by Louis Trimble No Shield from the Dead by Gordon R. Dickson I'll Kill You Tomorrow by Helen Huber The Secret of Kralitz by Henry Kuttner Never Stop to Pat a Kitten by Miriam Allen deFord More than Shadow by Dorothy Quick The Monkey Spoons by Mary Elizabeth Counselman Witch of the Demon Seas by Poul Anderson The Piebald Hippogriff by Karen Anderson The Vampire of Wembley by Edgar Wallace Riya's Foundling by Algis Budrys Ask a Foolish Question by Robert Sheckley Flight From Tomorrow by H. Beam Piper Robots of the World! Arise! by Mari Wolf The Worlds of If by Stanley G. Weinbaum The Adventurer by C. M. Kornbluth Decision by Frank M. Robinson The Waker Dreams by Richard Matheson A Matter of Proportion by Anne Walker One-Shot by James Blish McILVAINE'S Star by August Derleth The Man with the Nose by Rhoda Broughton Operation Haystack by Frank Herbert The Nothing Equation by Tom Godwin The Man Who Saw the Future by Edmond Hamilton Common Denominator by John D. MacDonald The Natives by Katherine MacLEAN The Lonely by Judith Merril The Street That Wasn't There by Clifford D. Simak and Carl Jacobi Food for Friendship by E. C. Tubb Half Around Pluto by Manly Wade Wellman Project Hush by William Tenn Time Enough At Last by Lynn Venable Bride of the Dark One by Florence Verbell Brown The Cosmic Express by Jack Williamson The Next Logical Step by Ben Bova They Twinkled like Jewels by Philip José Farmer Shandy by Ron Goulart Tight Squeeze by Dean C. Ing Extracts from the Galactick Almanack by Laurence Janifer Postmark Ganymede by Robert Silverberg Hot Planet by Hal Clement The Tenth Scholar by Steve Rasnic Tem and Melanie Tem A Little Journey by Ray Bradbury Strain by L. Ron Hubbard The Time of Cold by Mary Carlson The Customs Lounge by Annie Proulx I, Executioner by Ted White and Terry Carr and many more

That Only a Mother - short story by Judith Merril Scanners Live in Vain - novelette by Cordwainer Smith Mars Is Heaven! - short story by Ray Bradbury The Little Black Bag - novelette by C. M. Kornbluth Born of Man and Woman - short story by Richard Matheson Coming Attraction - short story by Fritz Leiber The Quest for Saint Aquin - novelette by Anthony Boucher Surface Tension - novelette by James Blish The Nine Billion Names of God - short story by Arthur C. Clarke It's a Good Life - short story by Jerome Bixby The Cold Equations - novelette by Tom Godwin Fondly Fahrenheit - novelette by Alfred Bester The Country of the Kind - short story by Damon Knight Flowers for Algernon - novelette by Daniel Keyes A Rose for Ecclesiastes - novelette by Roger Zelazny

A Fuller Explanation of Original Sin - poem by Isaac Asimov and Janet Asimov [as by Isaac Asimov and Janet O. Jeppson] Et Tu - poem by John Stallings Creation - poem by L. Sprague de Camp Stag Night, Paleolithic - poem by Ogden Nash An Epicurean Fragment - poem by Robert Hillyer Spaced Out - short story by Russell Baker The Coffin Cure - short story by Alan E. Nourse Silenzia - short story by Alan Nelson The Agony of Defeat - short story by Jack C. Haldeman, II Epitaph on Rigel XII - poem by Sherwood Springer Epitaph on Ceres - poem by Sherwood Springer The Snowball Effect - short story by Katherine MacLean Pâté de Foie Gras - short story by Isaac Asimov The Available Data on the Worp Reaction - short story by Lion Miller Imaginary Numbers in a Real Garden - poem by Gerald Jonas The Mathenauts - short story by Norman Kagan Coffee Break - short story by D. F. Jones Putzi - short story by Ludwig Bemelmans All Things Come to Those Who Weight - short story by Robert Grossbach Derm Fool - short story by Theodore Sturgeon The Heart on the Other Side - short story by George Gamow Blackmail - short story by Fred Hoyle A Slight Miscalculation - short story by Ben Bova A Subway Named Mobius - short story by A. J. Deutsch A Sinister Metamorphosis - short story by Russell Baker Something Up There Likes Me - short story by Alfred Bester A Prize for Edie - short story by J. F. Bone Isaac Asimov's "The Caves of Steel" - poem by Randall Garrett (variant of Parodies Tossed: Isaac Asimov's "The Caves of Steel" 1956) Neptune - poem by Sansoucy Kathenor [as by Sansoucy North] Pluto - poem by Sansoucy Kathenor [as by Sansoucy North] Jury-Rig - short story by Avram Davidson Protection - short story by Robert Sheckley The Self-Priming Solid-State Electronic Chicken - short story by Jon Lucas (variant of The Self-Priming, Solid-State Electronic Chicken) The Night He Cried - short story by Fritz Leiber The Big Pat Boom - short story by Damon Knight The Adventure of the Solitary Engineer - short story by John M. Ford Report on "Grand Central Terminal" - short story by Leo Szilard Ad Astra, Al - poem by Mary W. Stanton They'll Do It Every Time - short story by Cam Thornley No Homelike Place - short story by Dian Girard (variant of No Home-Like Place) Simworthy's Circus - short story by Larry T. Shaw A Growing Concern - short story by Arnie Bateman The Vilbar Party - short story by Evelyn E. Smith A Pestilence of Psychoanalysts - short story by Janet Asimov [as by J. O. Jeppson] Death of a Foy - short story by Isaac Asimov The One Thing Lacking - poem by Isaac Asimov The Merchant of Stratford - short story by Frank Ramirez The Wheel of Time - short story by Robert Arthur Quit Zoomin' Those Hands Through the Air - short story by Jack Finney The Adventure of the Global Traveler or: The Global Consequences of How the Reichenbach Falls into the Wells of Iniquitie - short story by Anne Lear Pebble in Time - short story by Avram Davidson and Cynthia Goldstone Ahead of the Joneses - short story by Al Sarrantonio The Pinch Hitters - short story by George Alec Effinger (variant of The Pinch-Hitters) Swift Completion - poem by Brad Cahoon A Skald's Lament - poem by L. Sprague de Camp The Stunning Science Fiction Caper - short story by Thomas N. Scortia [as by Gerald Macdow] I, Claude - short story by Charles Beaumont and Chad Oliver Out of Control - short story by Raylyn Moore Slush - short story by K. J. Snow An Unsolicited Submission - poem by Deborah Crawford Judo and the Art of Self-Government - short story by Kevin O'Donnell, Jr. Lulu - novelette by Clifford D. Simak The Splendid Source - short story by Richard Matheson MS. Found in a Chinese Fortune Cookie - short story by C. M. Kornbluth The Several Murders of Roger Ackroyd - short story by Barry N. Malzberg The Critique of Impure Reason - novelette by Poul Anderson One Rejection Too Many - short story by Patricia Nurse Bug-Getter - short story by Reginald Bretnor [as by R. Bretnor] The Last Gothic - short story by Jon L. Breen A Benefactor of Humanity - short story by James T. Farrell The Silver Eggheads (Excerpt) - short fiction by Fritz Leiber Adverbs - poem by E. Y. Harburg Dry Spell - short story by Bill Pronzini The Odds-On Favorite - poem by E. Y. Harburg MS Fnd in a Lbry - short story by Hal Draper

The Nature of the Title - essay by Isaac Asimov What's It Like Out There? - novelette by Edmond Hamilton Who Can Replace a Man? - short story by Brian W. Aldiss What Have I Done? - short story by Mark Clifton Who's There? - short story by Arthur C. Clarke Can You Feel Anything When I Do This? - short story by Robert Sheckley Why? - short story by Robert Silverberg What's Become of Screwloose? - short story by Ron Goulart Houston, Houston, Do You Read? - novella by James Tiptree, Jr. Where Have You Been, Billy Boy, Billy Boy? - short story by Kate Wilhelm If All Men Were Brothers, Would You Let One Marry Your Sister? - novella by Theodore Sturgeon Will You Wait? - short story by Alfred Bester Who Goes There? - novella by John W. Campbell, Jr. An Eye for a What? - novelette by Damon Knight I Plinglot, Who You? - novelette by Frederik Pohl (variant of I Plinglot — Who You?) Will You Walk a Little Faster? - short story by William Tenn (variant of "Will You Walk a Little Faster") Who's in Charge Here? - short story by James Blish The Last Question - short story by Isaac Asimov

The Cold Calculations - short story by Michael A. Burstein (variant of Cold Calculations) They Twinkled Like Jewels - short story by Philip José Farmer Lingua Franca - short story by Carole McDonnell Dawn of Flame - novella by Stanley G. Weinbaum Don't Jump - short story by Warren Lapine [as by Jamie Wild] Youth - novelette by Isaac Asimov Digger Don't Take No Requests - novelette by John Teehan Lighter Than You Think - short story by Nelson S. Bond [as by Nelson Bond] Garden of Souls - short fiction by M. Turville Heitz The Variable Man - novella by Philip K. Dick Starwisps - novelette by Edward J. McFadden [as by Edward J. McFadden, III] Gorgono and Slith - short fiction by Ray Bradbury I Was There When They Made the Video - short story by Cynthia Ward The Perfect Host - novella by Theodore Sturgeon That Universe We Both Dreamed Of - short story by Jay O'Connell The Lake of Light - novelette by Jack Williamson Lies, Truth, and the Color of Faith - short fiction by Gerri Leen The Second Satellite - novelette by Edmond Hamilton Hopscotch and Hottentots - short fiction by Lou Antonelli No Place to Hide - short story by James S. Dorr [as by James Dorr] Industrial Revolution - novella by Poul Anderson The Visitor - short fiction by Ann Wilkes Travel Diary - short story by Alfred Bester Encounter in Redgunk - short story by William R. Eakin The Indecorous Rescue of Clarinda Merwin - short story by Brenda W. Clough Lost Paradise - novelette by C. L. Moore Siblings - short story by Warren Lapine Gun for Hire - short story by Mack Reynolds The Answer - short story by H. Beam Piper Pythias - short story by Frederik Pohl Arm of the Law - short story by Harry Harrison The Good Neighbors - short story by Edgar Pangborn The Intruder - short story by Emil Petaja The Six Fingers of Time - novelette by R. A. Lafferty An Ounce of Cure - short story by Alan E. Nourse [as by Alan Edward Nourse] The Hoofer - short story by Walter M. Miller, Jr. The Stellar Legion - short story by Leigh Brackett Year of the Big Thaw - short story by Marion Zimmer Bradley