Showing results by author "Clifford Simak" in All Categories

After a night out on the town, Parker Graves returns home to life-threatening danger. The science reporter for the local newspaper barely misses a bear trap sitting on his doorstep. Then, the object transforms into what looks like a bowling ball and rolls off into the night all by itself. He begins to obsess over the question—Who put the trap there? And why? The following day, there is strange news floating around at the newspaper office. Someone with limitless funds is buying up hundreds of homes and businesses, only to close them up and tear them down.

Author Jay Vickers would like nothing more than to be left alone so he can finish his next book. But "there's something strange going on," as his peculiar neighbor, Horton Flanders, says. The market is filling with new inventions that supposedly last forever-cars, razors, cigarette lighters, and more. Individuals and whole families are disappearing. Soon, even Mr. Flanders vanishes-but not before leaving Vickers a note.

Since the dawn of mankind, immortality has been the ultimate reward. But by the year 2148, it requires no act of faith to believe in an afterlife. Forever Center promises to bring people back to a life beyond death. Now everyone spends their lives in poverty, giving all their money to Forever Center to ensure their happiness and comfort in the next eternal life.

Forestry student Jerry Conklin is fly-fishing when something huge lands on his car, crushing it into the earth. It looks like a big black box-about fifty feet high and two hundred feet long-and the object stirs up quite a commotion among the townspeople of Lone Pine, Minnesota. One of them even shoots at it-and quickly pays for it with his life.

Award winning author Clifford D. Simak published "The World That Couldn't Be" in 1958. It appeared in the January issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. In the story, Layard was an alien world that puzzled sociologists, since the planet's inhabitants were genderless, yet there was no decrease in population. Gavin Duncan had come to this world to farm vua, a plant that cured mental illnesses. Vua was a cash crop that Gavin hoped would bring him great wealth. He is thwarted by the Cytha, a large, supposedly simple-minded creature with a taste for vua.

Narrated by Joseph Tabler, Science Fiction Stories of the Future from the Past consists of the following works: “The Automatic Maid of All Work” by M. L. Campbell; “Ely’s Automatic Housemaid” by Elizabeth W. Bellamy; “Mr. Meek—Musketeer” by Clifford D. Simak; “Mr. Meek Plays Polo” by Clifford D. Simak; “In the Year Ten Thousand” by William Harben; “Service with a Smile” by Charles L. Fontenay; “Family Tree” by Charles L. Fontenay; and “Glow Worm” by Harlan Ellison. All stories are in the public domain.

This early novella by Clifford Simak includes many elements which have become staples in science fiction literature: alien invasion, time travel and the multiverse. The future entire Earth is threatened by the invasion of a phantasmal force known as the Black Horror, which appears to be impervious to all weapons developed by man. To where will Dr Silas White turn for the rescue of the planet?

Mr. Jonathan Chambers senses that something is very wrong. The walk he takes every night is suddenly, slightly shorter. All around him things are vanishing. Is it because of the recent war or famine in the world? Does the scandalous theory that cost him his job hold the key? Or is it just the slowly unhinging mind of a recluse?

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

X Minus One premiered in April 1955 on NBC and ran until January 1958. Like its predecessor series, Dimension X, X Minus One featured stories by the greatest names in modern science fiction: Ray Bradbury, Robert Heinlein, Clifford Simak, Robert Bloch, and many more.

An expedition to Landro encounters a deadly plague, and the serum they need is in the hands of the planet's inhabitants. Based on a story by Clifford Simak, this episode of Dimension X originally aired on July 26, 1951.

Lulu the computer terrorizes her ship's crew because she's in love! Based on a story by Clifford Simak, this episode of X Minus One originally aired on Halloween 1957.

In Hellhounds of the Cosmos, Clifford D. Simak takes listeners on a thrilling journey through space and time. The story follows a group of explorers who encounter terrifying, mysterious creatures on a distant planet. As they navigate strange landscapes and face deadly threats, they uncover shocking secrets about the universe and their place within it. With Simak's signature blend of science fiction and philosophical musings, this gripping tale explores themes of humanity, survival, and the unknown.

In an alternate Europe where the Roman Empire never fell, the expansive Empty Lands are inhabited by forces known collectively as the Evil. Yet Charles Harcourt is honor-bound to venture into that dangerous area to find his long-lost fiancee. He is joined on his trek by an abbot who hopes to locate a crystal prism that hold the soul of a saint; the non-human Knurly Man, who craves release from his pitiful existence; and the beautiful Yolanda, who seeks the answer to a secret mystery.