When is an SOS not an SOS? When it's a trap. Lieutenant Dave Carter is lured to Deneb IV while on his way to recuperate on the vacation planet of Ophiuchus VII after a reactor explosion on his previous ship. Little did he know that, due to the nature of his treatment, he is the only man in the universe equipped to combat what awaits...

"The Mystery of Deneb IV" appeared in "Fantastic Science Fiction," February 1957, page 56 - 67.

Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is an American author and editor, best known for writing science fiction. He is a multiple winner of both Hugo and Nebula Awards, a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame, and a Grand Master of SF. He has attended every Hugo Award ceremony since the inaugural event in 1953.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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The robot was strictly logical, reasoning, as only its perfect machine mind could, from observed facts to inevitable—if wacky—conclusion.

Today's story is "Reason," by Isaac Asimov. It appeared in the April 1941 issue of "Astounding Science Fiction" on pages 33 to 45.

"Reason" is part of Asimov's Robot series, and was the second of Asimov's positronic robot stories to see publication.

In 1967, this short story was adapted into an episode of the British television series "Out of the Unknown" entitled "The Prophet".

The story was also broadcast as episode two of a five-part 15 Minute Drama radio adaptation of "I, Robot" on BBC Radio 4 in February 2017.

Isaac Asimov (c. January 2, 1920 – April 6, 1992) was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. During his lifetime, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science fiction writers, along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke. A prolific writer, he wrote or edited more than 500 books. He also wrote an estimated 90,000 letters and postcards. Best known for his hard science fiction, Asimov also wrote mysteries and fantasy, as well as popular science and other non-fiction.

Asimov's most famous work is the "Foundation" series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966. His other major series are the "Galactic Empire" series and the "Robot" series. He also wrote more than 380 short stories, including the social science fiction novelette "Nightfall", which in 1964 was voted the best short science fiction story of all time by the Science Fiction Writers of America.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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The old man could feel orbits, sense trajectories, and calculate faster than the best computators. But he couldn't be trusted when he got a drink inside him. He was, however, Captain Kroll's only hope of getting home to the colony on Jupiter...

"Jonah of the Jove-Run" appeared in "Planet Stories," Spring 1948, pages 50 - 58.

Ray Douglas Bradbury (August 22, 1920 – June 5, 2012) was an American author and screenwriter. One of the most celebrated 20th-century American writers, he worked in a variety of genres, including fantasy, science fiction, horror, mystery, and realistic fiction.

Bradbury is widely known by the general public for his novel Fahrenheit 451 (1953) and his short-story collections The Martian Chronicles (1950) and The Illustrated Man (1951.) Most of his best known work is speculative fiction, but he also wrote and consulted on screenplays and television scripts, including Moby Dick and It Came from Outer Space. Many of his works were adapted into television and film productions as well as comic books.

The New York Times called Bradbury "the writer most responsible for bringing modern science fiction into the literary mainstream."

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Across the frozen cliffs they loomed—the unbelievably ancient towers with the unimaginable engines deep inside them still pouring out their endless power. Dr. Sidney Lee, back from time away due to a breakdown, and believing the towers to represent a threat to humanity, vowed to uncover their secrets...

"The Towers of Titan" appeared in the January 1962 issue of "Amazing Stories."

Benjamin William Bova (November 8, 1932 – November 29, 2020) was an American writer and editor. During a writing career of 60 years, he was the author of more than 120 works of science fact and fiction, an editor of Analog Science Fiction and Fact, for which he won a Hugo Award six times, and an editorial director of Omni; he was also president of both the National Space Society and the Science Fiction Writers of America.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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No crime had been committed; no untoward event had occurred. But the astute Poirot saw, in the mere advertisement of a flat at too low a price, the manifestation of a curious plot.

Today's story is "The Adventure Of the Cheap Flat," by Agatha Christie. It appeared in the May 1924 issue of "Blue Book Magazine" on pages 86 to 92.

Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, DBE (née Miller; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple. She also wrote the world's longest-running play, the murder mystery The Mousetrap, which has been performed in the West End of London since 1952. A writer during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction," Christie has been called the "Queen of Crime"—now trademarked by her estate—or the "Queen of Mystery." She also wrote six novels under the pseudonym Mary Westmacott. In 1971, she was made a Dame (DBE) by Queen Elizabeth II for her contributions to literature. Guinness World Records lists Christie as the best-selling fiction writer of all time, her novels having sold more than two billion copies.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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A year in total isolation exploring distant galaxies is too long to spend with just one other person, even for newlyweds on their honeymoon. Wanting to get to Ganymede to start divorce proceedings, Jan and Karin get caught between two warring stars, as inconsequential as a bird roosting in the No Man's Land of the great battlefields of old Earth.

"No Star's Land" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," July 1954, pages 134 - 146.

Joseph Samachson (October 13, 1906 – June 2, 1980) was an American scientist and writer, primarily of science fiction and comic books. He wrote science fiction (under the pseudonym William Morrison), including two novels published in Startling Stories, and short stories for several magazines. He also penned a couple of Captain Future pulp novels (under the house name "Brett Sterling"), and had work appear in the science fiction magazine Galaxy. Gnome Press published Mel Oliver and Space Rover on Mars in 1954.

He is believed to have begun working for DC Comics in late 1942, working on comics scripts for characters, notably including Batman. He also wrote scripts for comics and characters including Sandman, Green Arrow, Airwave and Robotman.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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In this century, as before, women and Stonehenge share one trait; they serve both men!

Today's story is "Second-hand Stonehenge" by Ernest Taves. It appeared in the July-August 1970 issue of Worlds of If Science Fiction magazine on pages 4 to 29 and 157 to 158.

Ernest Henry Taves (February 1, 1916 – August 16, 2003) was an American psychiatrist, author of three non-fiction books, two on Mormonism and one on UFOs, and several science fiction short stories.

He was a scientific skeptic and was a Technical Consultant for the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry. Taves served in Yokohama, Japan after WWII as a Captain in the US Army Medical Corps, chief of the neuropsychiatric section.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

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Life for their kind was becoming more difficult. So, Rathsden conceived a plan to stow away on a flying saucer and travel in secret to another planet. He was confident of surviving and finding another source of food...

"The Deadly Ones" appeared in "Fantastic Universe," July 1954, pages 147 - 156.

F L Wallace (February 16, 1915 – November 26, 2004), sometimes credited as Floyd Wallace, was a noted science fiction and mystery writer. Wallace spent most of his life in California as a writer and mechanical engineer after attending the University of Iowa. He also attended UCLA.

His first published story, "Hideaway", appeared in the magazine "Astounding." "Galaxy Science Fiction" and other science fiction magazines published his subsequent stories, including "Student Body," "Delay in Transit," "Bolden's Pets," and "Tangle Hold." His novel "Address: Centauri" was published by Gnome Press in 1955. His works have been translated into numerous languages, and his stories are available today around the world in anthologies.

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"Mesmerizing Galaxy" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com). Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.

If there's a story you'd like me to narrate, or a genre you'd like me to include more of, please let me know using the Contact Form.