Short Science Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Science Fiction by Noel Loomis.
Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.
Chapter 1
Electron Eat Electron
President Jeffrey Wadsworth, a sixteen-year-old Superior Mutant, prepares to fight an electronic war against the Hunyas, led by President Forgacs. Despite the skepticism of his chief of staff, Supreme General Hoshawk, Wadsworth uses a strategy of sonic transmitters to detonate the enemy's explosives, sacrificing cities to ensure total destruction of the invading forces. The chapter explores themes of trust, responsibility, and the nature of modern warfare.
Chapter 2
Parking, Unlimited
Slim Coleman convinces the narrator to invest $300 in a parking garage scheme. Using a device that shrinks cars to six inches, they pack thousands of cars into a small basement. The business booms, but suspicion grows, and they plan to flee to the coast before they are caught.
Chapter 3
The Bryd
The Bryd, an ancient energy being, awakens inside the mind of Dale Stevenson, a physicist in charge of a sun-station orbiting Earth. It discovers that Dale, under the influence of a foreign agent's psyche-control, is about to use the station's mirror to burn a path across Paris. The Bryd investigates Dale's motivations, including his jealousy of Georges Raoul Dumont and his devotion to his incurably ill sister, Marillyn. It also observes Ann Wondra's love for Dale. To stop the attack, the Bryd implants knowledge of Marillyn's cure and Ann's love into Dale's mind, causing him to hesitate and contact the U.N. police. The Bryd then redirects the foreign fliers' atom bombs to their own cities and settles back into Dale's mind, hoping for a peaceful rest.
Chapter 4
Remember the 4th!
Doc and Slim, private investigators, are behind on rent and struggling. They use the Brain-Finder, a device that can observe past events, to gather evidence for a divorce case. After trailing Mrs. Ellingbery and finding her innocent, they turn to her husband Tom, discovering his affair with a blonde on July 4th. In court, Tom's lawyers demand proof of how the evidence was obtained, threatening to expose the Brain-Finder. Doc, feeling guilty about invading privacy and seeing the happiness of the Swanbergs, destroys the machine in court, sacrificing their financial windfall. Later, Tom and his wife reconcile, and Slim gets paid anyway.
Chapter 5
The Mischievous Typesetter
High-Pockets Jones, a barnstorming linotype operator with a theory of 'personal electricity,' is sentenced by a judge (a former proofreader) to work on a troublesome linotype, No. 7, at the Daily News. Despite the machinist Arturius Wickware's skepticism, High-Pockets attempts to tame the machine, which seems to have a will of its own, even composing unsolicited poetry. The chapter highlights the conflict between High-Pockets and the judge, as well as the mysterious behavior of No. 7.
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