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Helix The Cat
"Helix the Cat" is a science fantasy short story by American writer Theodore Sturgeon. The story was written in 1939 or 1940 and submitted to John W. Campbell, editor of'' Unknown '' and ''Astounding Science Fiction'' magazines. The editor rejected it, as he felt it did not fit into either fantasy or science fiction categories. The manuscript was placed in storage, thought lost by the author, and returned to him about thirty years later. It was published, without any alterations, in '' Astounding: The John W Campbell Memorial Anthology'', in 1973. Plot summary The story is narrated by Pete Tronti, a struggling inventor. Whilst experimenting with a new form of glass, he is trying to perfect, Pete is astonished to hear a disembodied voice from within the bottle he is working with. The voice announces itself to be the soul of Wallace Gregory, who has just died in a road accident. He is hiding from Them, who search out and eat souls. Gregory persuades Tronti to create a body for h ...
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Science Fantasy
Science fantasy is a hybrid genre within speculative fiction that simultaneously draws upon or combines tropes and elements from both science fiction and fantasy. In a conventional science fiction story, the world is presented as being scientifically logical; while a conventional fantasy story contains mostly supernatural and artistic elements that disregard the scientific laws of the real world. The world of science fantasy, however, is laid out to be scientifically logical and often supplied with hard science–like explanations of any supernatural elements.Eric R. Williams, ''The Screenwriters Taxonomy: A Collaborative Approach to Creative Storytelling''p. 121/ref> During the Golden Age of Science Fiction, the fanciful science fantasy stories were seen in sharp contrast to the terse, scientifically plausible material that came to dominate mainstream science fiction typified by the magazine '' Astounding Science Fiction''. Although at this time, science fantasy stories were ...
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Short Story
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest types of literature and has existed in the form of legends, Myth, mythic tales, Folklore genre, folk tales, fairy tales, tall tales, fables and anecdotes in various ancient communities around the world. The modern short story developed in the early 19th century. Definition The short story is a crafted form in its own right. Short stories make use of plot, resonance, and other dynamic components as in a novel, but typically to a lesser degree. While the short story is largely distinct from the novel or novella, novella/short novel, authors generally draw from a common pool of literary techniques. The short story is sometimes referred to as a genre. Determining what exactly defines a short story has been recurrently problematic. A classic de ...
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Theodore Sturgeon
Theodore Sturgeon (; born Edward Hamilton Waldo, February 26, 1918 – May 8, 1985) was an American fiction author of primarily fantasy, science fiction and horror, as well as a critic. He wrote approximately 400 reviews and more than 120 short stories, 11 novels and several scripts for '' Star Trek: The Original Series''. Sturgeon's science fiction novel '' More Than Human'' (1953) won the 1954 International Fantasy Award (for SF and fantasy) as the year's best novel, and the Science Fiction Writers of America ranked " Baby Is Three" number five among the " Greatest Science Fiction Novellas of All Time" to 1964. Ranked by votes for all of their pre-1965 novellas, Sturgeon was second among authors, behind Robert Heinlein. An overview of his work by science fiction critic Sam Moskowitz can be found in the collective biography '' Seekers of Tomorrow''. The Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame inducted Sturgeon in 2000, its fifth class of two dead and two living writers ...
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John W
John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second Epistle of John, often shortened to 2 John * Third Epistle of John, often shortened to 3 John People * John the Baptist (died c. AD 30), regarded as a prophet and the forerunner of Jesus Christ * John the Apostle (lived c. AD 30), one of the twelve apostles of Jesus * John the Evangelist, assigned author of the Fourth Gospel, once identified with the Apostle * John of Patmos, also known as John the Divine or John the Revelator, the author of the Book of Revelation, once identified with the Apostle * John the Presbyter, a figure either identified with or distinguished from the Apostle, the Evangelist and John of Patmos Other people with the given name Religious figures * John, father of Andrew the Apostle and Saint Peter * ...
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Unknown (magazine)
''Unknown'' (also known as ''Unknown Worlds'') was an American pulp fantasy fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1943 by Street & Smith, and edited by John W. Campbell. ''Unknown'' was a companion to Street & Smith's science fiction pulp, '' Astounding Science Fiction'', which was also edited by Campbell at the time; many authors and illustrators contributed to both magazines. The leading fantasy magazine in the 1930s was ''Weird Tales'', which focused on shock and horror. Campbell wanted to publish a fantasy magazine with more finesse and humor than ''Weird Tales'', and put his plans into action when Eric Frank Russell sent him the manuscript of his novel ''Sinister Barrier'', about aliens who own the human race. ''Unknown''s first issue appeared in March 1939; in addition to ''Sinister Barrier'', it included H. L. Gold's "Trouble With Water", a humorous fantasy about a New Yorker who meets a water gnome. Gold's story was the first of many in ''Unknown'' to combine com ...
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Astounding Science Fiction
''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Clayton, and edited by Harry Bates. Clayton went bankrupt in 1933 and the magazine was sold to Street & Smith. The new editor was F. Orlin Tremaine, who soon made ''Astounding'' the leading magazine in the nascent pulp science fiction field, publishing well-regarded stories such as Jack Williamson's ''Legion of Space'' and John W. Campbell's "Twilight". At the end of 1937, Campbell took over editorial duties under Tremaine's supervision, and the following year Tremaine was let go, giving Campbell more independence. Over the next few years Campbell published many stories that became classics in the field, including Isaac Asimov's ''Foundation'' series, A. E. van Vogt's '' Slan'', and several novels and stories by Robert A. Hein ...
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The John W Campbell Memorial Anthology
''Astounding: John W. Campbell Memorial Anthology'' is a 1973 anthology honoring American science fiction and fantasy editor John W. Campbell, in the form of an anthology of short stories by various science fiction authors, edited by Harry Harrison. It was first published in hardcover by Random House as a selection of the Science Fiction Book Club, and first published in paperback by Ballantine Books. The stories were contributed by writers who had been previously published in the pages of ''Analog,'' the publication that Campbell had edited for many years. The book includes a foreword by Isaac Asimov and an afterword by Harry Harrison, and each story is prefaced by comments either by the author or the editor. It won the 1974 Locus Award for Best Anthology. Contents *"The Father of Science Fiction" (introduction by Isaac Asimov) *" Lodestar" (Poul Anderson) *"Thiotimoline to the Stars" (Isaac Asimov) *"Something Up There Likes Me" (Alfred Bester) *"Lecture Demonstration" (Ha ...
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Inventor
An invention is a unique or novel device, method, composition, idea or process. An invention may be an improvement upon a machine, product, or process for increasing efficiency or lowering cost. It may also be an entirely new concept. If an idea is unique enough either as a stand alone invention or as a significant improvement over the work of others, it can be patented. A patent, if granted, gives the inventor a proprietary interest in the patent over a specific period of time, which can be licensed for financial gain. An inventor creates or discovers an invention. The word ''inventor'' comes from the Latin verb ''invenire'', ''invent-'', to find. Although inventing is closely associated with science and engineering, inventors are not necessarily engineers or scientists. Due to advances in artificial intelligence, the term "inventor" no longer exclusively applies to an occupation (see human computers). Some inventions can be patented. The system of patents was established ...
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Glass
Glass is a non-Crystallinity, crystalline, often transparency and translucency, transparent, amorphous solid that has widespread practical, technological, and decorative use in, for example, window panes, tableware, and optics. Glass is most often formed by rapid cooling (quenching) of the Melting, molten form; some glasses such as volcanic glass are naturally occurring. The most familiar, and historically the oldest, types of manufactured glass are "silicate glasses" based on the chemical compound silicon dioxide, silica (silicon dioxide, or quartz), the primary constituent of sand. Soda–lime glass, containing around 70% silica, accounts for around 90% of manufactured glass. The term ''glass'', in popular usage, is often used to refer only to this type of material, although silica-free glasses often have desirable properties for applications in modern communications technology. Some objects, such as drinking glasses and glasses, eyeglasses, are so commonly made of silicate- ...
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Soul
In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun '':wikt:soul, soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attestations reported in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' are from the 8th century. In King Alfred's translation of ''De Consolatione Philosophiae'', it is used to refer to the immaterial, spiritual, or thinking aspect of a person, as contrasted with the person's physical body; in the Vespasian Psalter 77.50, it means "life" or "animate existence". The Old English word is cognate with other historical Germanic languages, Germanic terms for the same idea, including Old Frisian ''sēle, sēl'' (which could also mean "salvation", or "solemn oath"), Gothic language, Gothic ''saiwala'', Old High German ''sēula, sēla'', Old Saxon ''sēola'', and Old Norse ''sāla''. Present-day cognates include Dutch ''ziel'' and German ''Seele''. Re ...
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1973 Short Stories
Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. President Richard Nixon announces the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam. * January 17 – Ferdinand Marcos becomes President for Life of the Philippines. * January 20 – Richard Nixon is Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, sworn in for a second term as President of the United States. Nixon is the only person to have been sworn in twice as President (First inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1969, Second inauguration of Richard Nixon, 1973) and Vice President of the United States (First inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1953, Second inauguration of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 1957). * January 22 ** George Foreman defeats Joe Frazier to win the heavyweight world boxing championship. ** A ...
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