Author: Calif.) International Ucla Symposium On Sources And Detection Of Dark Matter And Dark Energy In The Universe (5th 2002 Marina Del Rey

1Badge of Infamy

By Lester del Rey

Daniel Feldman was a doctor once. He made the mistake of saving a friend's life in violation of Medical Lobby rules. Now, he's a pariah, shunned by all, forbidden to touch another patient. But things are more loose on Mars. There, Doc Feldman is welcomed by the colonists, even as he's hunted by the authorities. But, when he discovers a Martian plague may soon wipe out humanity on two planets, Feldman finds himself a pivotal figure. War erupts. Earth is poised to wipe out the Mars colony utterly. A cure to the plague is the price of peace, and only Feldman can find it. (summary by Steven H. Wilson)

2Victory

By Lester del Rey

Lester del Rey (1915 – 1993) was a Golden Age science fiction author and editor closely connected to John W. Campbell Jr. and Astounding Science Fiction magazine. He also founded Del Rey Books, a popular publishing label he edited with his wife Judy-Lynn. Victory is the story of an undefended Earth in a warring galaxy. It appeared in the August 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)

3Sky Is Falling

By Lester del Rey

After dying in a terrible accident at a building site, Dave Hanson finds himself being brought back to life in a world where magic is real, and where the sky is breaking apart and falling. And he is expected to put it back together again. Will he be able to save this strange world, and his own new life? (Summary by Karen Savage)

4Let'em Breathe Space

By Lester del Rey

The old space freighter Wahoo is all Dr. Pietro can afford for his expedition to the rings of Saturn. Although built for a crew of 6 the good doctor crams 19 people into the Wahoo, and after 5 months they are really getting on each other’s nerves. Then someone starts killing people and poisoning the air giving plants in the hydroponics bay. Can our hero Paul Tremaine find the killer before he suffocates? Perhaps you should hold your breath. – Let’em Breathe Space was first published in the July 1953 edition of Space Science Fiction magazine. (Summary by Gregg Margarite)

5Police Your Planet

By Lester del Rey

Bruce Gordon looked at his ticket, grimaced at the ONE WAY stamped on it, then tore it into bits and let the pieces scatter over the floor. He counted them as they fell; thirty pieces in all, one for each year of his life. Little ones for the two years he'd wasted as a cop. Shreds for the four years as a kid in the ring before that--he'd never made the top. Bigger bits for two years also wasted in trying his hand at professional gambling; and the six final pieces that spelled his rise from special reporter helping out with a police shake-up coverage, through a regular leg-man turning up rackets, and on up like a meteor until.... He'd made his big scoop, all right. He'd dug up enough about the Mercury scandals to double circulation. And the government had explained what a fool he'd been for printing half of a story that was never supposed to be printed until all could be revealed. They'd given Bruce Gordon his final assignment... (Summary by Christian Alexander and Excerpt of Chapter 1)

63 Science Fiction Stories by Lester del Ray

By Lester del Rey

The quirky mind of famous SF writer Lester del Ray gives us three wonderful tales ranging from zombies (Dead Ringer), time travel (how do you convince your earlier self it is safe to get into the time machine, eh?)(...And It Comes Out Here) and eternal life (The Dwindling Years). Listen and enjoy.

7Preferred Risk

By Frederik Pohl and Lester del Rey

The Company insures you against everything. Everything except war, that is. But they've put an end to wars (or so they claim). The Company also controls everything. Including all the sources of weapons. The Company is dedicated to the happiness of mankind (or so they claim). Medical Treatment and Law Enforcement are just a few of the other services they provide to the entire world. Claims Adjuster Wills was a happy Company employee until his path crossed those of a man with no legs and a mysterious woman. All of a sudden, his world was turned upside down, and his decisions could determine the future of the planet. This collaborative work was originally published under the pseudonym Edson McCann. It was the winner of the 1955 Galaxy-Simon & Schuster novel contest. - Summary by Nick Bulka

8Badge of Infamy (version 2)

By Lester del Rey

Set in the early 22nd century: Dr. Daniel Feldman, stripped of rank and status and named pariah for violating Medical Lobby rules, stows away on a spaceship and flees to Mars Colony. There, while essentially practicing medicine without a license, he stumbles upon a plague organism indigenous to Mars, that threatens the whole colony and potentially the human race. Performing research to identify a cure, (also in gross violation of Medical Lobby rules) he must risk his life to buck the entrenched bureaucracy, bent on sweeping the whole matter under the rug in the name of political expediency. - Summary by Thomas Rose

9Let'em Breathe Space (version 2)

By Lester del Rey

Eighteen men and two women in the closed world of a space ship for five months can only spell tension and trouble—but in this case, the atmosphere was literally poisoned. Who is trying to kill them and sabotage the mission? And why would they be doing this when they will die too? A deadly mystery unfolds inside the cramped space ship with fear growing daily as their air runs out.

10Pursuit

By Lester del Rey

Wilbur Hawkes wakes with no memory of the last seven months. He knows he's in danger, but he doesn’t know why. No sooner does he leave his apartment than it explodes in flames, and, to escape, he must run through New York, not knowing where to run, or who he is running from. With heat rays, disintegrating men, and exploding cats, how can this not involve aliens? What other explanation can there be? - Summary by Dale Grothman

11Victory (Version 2)

By Lester del Rey

The earth is undefended. A ripe, juicy, rich plum just innocently waiting for one of the many new and warlike civilizations in the nearby universe to reach down and pluck to plunder and rape. Well... undefended can mean many things. In this case, humans have colonized many worlds and found many surprisingly human like races among the stars. But when these human colonies are threatened and even viciously attacked by really alien civilizations, earth does nothing to help them. Earth, fat, rich earth sits back and lets her own colonies be practically wiped out, claiming a neutrality that seems a thin veil for cowardice and deceit. How this happens and the story behind the story is what this exciting story is all about. (Summary by phil chenevert)