Short Fiction · Chapters

Chapters explained

Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Ray Bradbury.

Read with companions Book page

Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.

Chapter 1
Don't Get Technatal
Samuel Stern laments the loss of sensationalism and conflict in a utopian Technocracy, arguing that peace and equality have destroyed his ability to write exciting stories. His wife Bella suggests love stories or science fiction, but Stern's frustration builds until he quietly reaches for his atomic gun.
Chapter 2
The Pendulum
John Layeville, inventor of a time machine, is imprisoned inside the glass head of a giant pendulum after his machine malfunctions and kills thirty scientists. Swung endlessly back and forth for what becomes centuries, he witnesses the decline of humanity, an alien invasion that wipes out the city, and finally his own death. The pendulum continues swinging until alien visitors from the void discover his skeleton, still grinning as if having conquered time itself.
Chapter 3
The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa
The crew of the space rocket Clarissa, nine days out from Venus, experiences a lull during which Anthony Quelch writes a book. The crew throws a wild party in the control room, tearing up magazines and editors. They then land on Venus and engage in a disastrous battle against two Venusians, resulting in the deaths of all Earth men. The Venusians weep over the bodies as dawn breaks.
Chapter 4
The Piper
An old man and a Martian boy observe the Piper, an exiled Venerian, playing his pipe on a burial hill. The old man explains that the Piper was once the epitome of Venerian culture, outlawed by Earthlings. He reveals that the Piper's music has been summoning savage, hybrid Martians from the caves, and tonight they will descend to destroy the Earth cities and launch a revolution. The boy hides as the creatures overrun the settlements, and at dawn he emerges to start a new world.
Chapter 5
Lazarus Come Forth
Brandon, working on a Morgue Ship, discovers a perfectly preserved frozen body of a Scientist who holds the key to ending the war. He revives him, seeing him as a second son after losing his own son Richard. Logan, his corrupt assistant, plots to sell the Scientist to the Martians for personal gain. Brandon fights Logan, kills him in self-defense, and races to prevent the Scientist from being handed over.

Free preview

26 more chapter companions sit beside the text in BetterReads — open a free preview to unlock the rest.

26 more companions → free preview

Don't Get Technatal

The Pendulum

The Fight of the Good Ship Clarissa

The Piper

Lazarus Come Forth