Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Frederik Pohl.

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Chapter 1
Asteroid of the Damned
MacCauley, a T.P.L. agent, finds himself stranded and penniless on the asteroid Pallas after being robbed. He attempts to report the crime to the local Kiddie police but is thwarted by a corrupt Venusian interpreter who demands a filing fee. Even revealing his T.P.L. affiliation fails to gain him any leverage, highlighting the lawless and alien nature of the asteroid.
Chapter 2
Conspiracy on Callisto
The chapter follows Peter Duane as he is arrested on Callisto and brought before Governor Andrias, who reveals a conspiracy involving the manipulation of time and reality. Duane learns of a plot by the Old Ones to control humanity through a time loop, and he must navigate a web of deceit and power struggles.
Chapter 3
I
Herrell McCray, a ship's navigator on the Starship Jodrell Bank, suddenly finds himself transported from his navigator's cubicle to a dark, silent room filled with random objects. He discovers a spacesuit and tries to use its radio to call for help, but receives no response. The pinkish light that appeared when he wished to see vanishes, and he realizes he cannot see his own body.
Chapter 4
II
Hatcher, a non-human probe team leader, reports to his council about the captured Earthman Herrell McCray. The council pressures Hatcher to establish communication quickly due to the threat of the Old Ones and the disappearance of a team member from the Central Masses. Hatcher struggles with the alien nature of the Earthman and the urgency of the situation.
Chapter 5
III
Herrell McCray, trapped in a mysterious room on an unknown planet, discovers a light on a spacesuit and uses it to navigate. He realizes there is a significant time lag in his radio communications with the Jodrell Bank, estimating he is over 500 light-years away. As the room heats up and fills with toxic halogen fumes, he dons the suit, retrieves a space-ax, and breaks through a door into another room filled with cryptic, alien workbenches and shelves.

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Asteroid of the Damned

Conspiracy on Callisto

I

II

III