Table of Contents
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
ARENA
EXPERIMENT
KEEP OUT
THE GEEZENSTACKS
HALL OF MIRRORS
EARTHMEN BEARING GIFTS
IMAGINE
IT DIDN’T HAPPEN
RECESSIONAL
EINE KLEINE NACHTMUSIK
PUPPET SHOW
NIGHTMARE IN YELLOW
JAYCEE
PI IN THE SKY
HAPPY ENDING
ANSWER
KNOCK
REBOUND
THE STAR MOUSE
ABOMINABLE
LETTER TO A PHOENIX
NOT YET THE END
ARMAGEDDON
OF TIME AND EUSTACE WEAVER
RECONCILIATION
NOTHING SIRIUS
PATTERN
THE YEHUDI PRINCIPLE
COME AND GO MAD
SENTRY
ETAOIN SHRDLU
THE END
COPYRIGHT INFORMATION
The Fredric Brown Megapack is copyright © 2013 by the Estate of Fredric Brown. All rights reserved. For more information, contact Wildside Press. Cover art © AlienCat / Fotolia.
SPECIAL THANKS
Special thanks to Barry Malzberg, agent for the Fredric Brown estate, for fascilitating this edition; and to David Datta for assistance with locating and scanning some of Fredric Brown’s short stories. This volume could not exist without them.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
“Arena” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, June 1944. Copyright © 1944 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.
“Keep Out” originally appeared in Amazing Stories, March 1954.
“Happy Ending” originally appeared in Fantastic Universe, September 1957.
“Hall of Mirrors” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, December 1953.
“Earthmen Bearing Gifts” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1960.
“Imagine” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, May 1955. Copyright © 1955 by Fantasy House, Inc.
“It Didn’t Happen” originally appeared in Playboy, October 1963. Copyright © 1963 by H.M.H. Publishing Company.
“Recessional” originally appeared in Dude, March 1960. Copyright © 1960 by Mystery Publishing Company, Inc.
“Eine Kleine Nachtmusik” (with Carl Onspaugh) originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 1965. Copyright © 1965 by Mercury Press, Inc.
“Puppet Show” originally appeared in Playboy, November 1962. Copyright © 1962 by H.M.H. Publishing Company.
“Nightmare in Yellow” originally appeared in Dude, May 1961. Copyright © 1961 by Mystery Publishing Company, Inc.
“Jaycee” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction. Copyright © 1955 by Fantasy House, Inc.
“Pi in the Sky” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, Winter 1945. Copyright © 1945 by Standard Magazine, Inc.
“Answer” originally appeared in Angels and Spaceships. Copyright © 1954 by Fredric Brown.
“The Geezenstacks” originally appeared in Weird Tales, September 1943. Copyright © 1943 by Popular Fiction Publishing Company.
“Knock” originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, December 1948. Copyright © 1948 by Standard Magazines, Inc.
“Rebound” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks. Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
“The Star Mouse” originally appeared in Planet Stories, February 1942. Copyright © 1942 by Love Romances Publishing Company, Inc.
“Abominable” originally appeared in Dude, March 1960. Copyright © 1960 by Mystery Publishing Company, Inc.
“Letter to a Phoenix” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, August 1949. Copyright © 1949 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.
“Not Yet the End” originally appeared in Captain Future, Winter 1941. Copyright © 1941 by Standard Publishing Company.
“Armageddon” originally appeared in Unknown, August 1941. Copyright © 1941 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.
“Experiment” and “Sentry” originally appeared as “Two Timer” in Galaxy Science Fiction, February 1954.
“Of Time and Eustace Weaver” originally appeared in Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine. Copyright © 1964 by Davis Publications, Inc.
“Reconciliation” originally appeared in Angels and Spaceships. Copyright © 1954 by Fredric Brown.
“Nothing Sirius” originally appeared in Captain Future, spring 1944. Copyright © 1944 by Standard Publishing Company.
“Pattern” originally appeared in originally appeared in Angels and Spaceships. Copyright © 1954 by Fredric Brown.
“The Yehudi Principle” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, May 1944. Copyright © 1944 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.
“Etaoin Shrdlu” originally appeared in Unknown Worlds, February 1942. Copyright © 1942 by Street & Smith Publications, Inc.
“The End” originally appeared in Nightmares and Geezenstacks. Copyright © 1961 by Fredric Brown.
A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER
Fredric Brown (1906-1972) is perhaps best remembered for his use of humor and his mastery of the “short-short” form (these days called flash fiction)—stories of one to three pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. He was just as accomplished in the mystery field as in science fiction, and he won an Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America for his first novel, The Fabulous Clipjoint.
I discovered Fredric Brown’s work in the mid 1970s through the wonderful Science Fiction Hall of Fame anthology series. The concept of the series was that each volume contained some of the greatest science fiction stories published before 1965, as voted on by the membership of the Science Fiction Writers of America (and then winnowed down by each volume’s editor). The theory being, of course, that science fiction writers ought to know the best of the best.
SFWA members selected Fredric Brown’s story “Arena,” which is in this collection, as one of the top 20 science fiction stories. (“Arena” was also adapted as an episode of the original Star Trek TV series—you will probably recognize it as soon as you start reading.) I have chosen to lead off The Fredric Brown Megapack with “Arena” because, for anyone new to Fredric Brown’s fantastic work, this story is an ideal starting point.
But if you are already familiar with Brown’s work, I hope you will find a few tales new to you here. For the others, you will doubtless enjoy revisiting the work of one of science fiction’s masters.
Enjoy!
—John Betancourt
Publisher, Wildside Press LLC
www.wildsidepress.com
ABOUT THE MEGAPACK SERIES
Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has proved to be one of our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”
The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes
John Betancourt, Mary Wickizer Burgess, Sam Cooper, Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, Robert Reginald. A. E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!).
A NOTE FOR KINDLE READERS
The Kindle versions of our Megapacks employ active tables of contents for easy navigation…please look for one before writing reviews on Amazon that complain about the lack! (They are sometimes at the ends of ebooks, depending on your reader.)
RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?
Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).
Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.
TYPOS
Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.
If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at wildsidepress@yahoo.com or use the message boards above.
THE MEGAPACK SERIES
MYSTERY
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Charlie Chan Megapack*
The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack
The Detective Megapack
The Father Brown Megapack
The Girl Detective Megapack
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack
The First Mystery Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Philo Vance Megapack*
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Raffles Megapack
The Sherlock Holmes Megapack
The Victorian Mystery Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
GENERAL INTEREST
The Adventure Megapack
The Baseball Megapack
The Cat Story Megapack
The Second Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Third Cat Story Megapack
The Christmas Megapack
The Second Christmas Megapack
The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.
The Classic Humor Megapack
The Dog Story Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The Horse Story Megapack
The Military Megapack
The Russian Short Story Megapack
The Sea-Story Megapack
SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Dragon Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack
The Martian Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Science-Fantasy Megapack
The First Science Fiction Megapack
The Second Science Fiction Megapack
The Third Science Fiction Megapack
The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack
The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack
The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack
The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack
The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Steampunk Megapack
The Time Travel Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
HORROR
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Ghost Story Megapack
The Second Ghost Story Megapack
The Third Ghost Story Megapack
The Haunts & Horrors Megapack
The Horror Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Macabre Megapack
The Second Macabre Megapack
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The Mummy Megapack
The Occult Detective Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Vampire Megapack
The Weird Fiction Megapack
The Werewolf Megapack
WESTERNS
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The Buffalo Bill Megapack
The Cowboy Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
The Western Megapack
The Second Western Megapack
The Wizard of Oz Megapack
YOUNG ADULT
The Boys’ Adventure Megapack
The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack
The Dare Boys Megapack
The Doll Story Megapack
The G.A. Henty Megapack
The Girl Detectives Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Penny Parker Megapack
The Pinocchio Megapack
The Rover Boys Megapack
The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack
The Tom Swift Megapack
AUTHOR MEGAPACKS
The Achmed Abdullah Megapack
The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack
The Edward Bellamy Megapack
The E.F. Benson Megapack
The Second E.F. Benson Megapack
The Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack
The B.M. Bower Megapack
The Max Brand Megapack
The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack
The Fredric Brown Megapack
The Second Fredric Brown Megapack
The Wilkie Collins Megapack
The Ray Cummings Megapack
The Guy de Maupassant Megapack
The Philip K. Dick Megapack
The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack
The Jacques Futrelle Megapack
The Randall Garrett Megapack
The Second Randall Garrett Megapack
The Anna Katharine Green Megapack
The Zane Grey Megapack
The Edmond Hamilton Megapack
The Dashiell Hammett Megapack
The C.J. Henderson Megapack
The M.R. James Megapack
The Selma Lagerlof Megapack
The Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***
The Arthur Machen Megapack**
The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack
The Talbot Mundy Megapack
The E. Nesbit Megapack
The Andre Norton Megapack
The H. Beam Piper Megapack
The Mack Reynolds Megapack
The Rafael Sabatini Megapack
The Saki Megapack
The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack
The Robert Sheckley Megapack
The Bram Stoker Megapack
The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack
* Not available in the United States
** Not available in the European Union
***Temporarily Unavailable.
OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY
The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)
The Wildside Book of Fantasy
The Wildside Book of Science Fiction
Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories
Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories
X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries
ARENA
Carson opened his eyes and found himself looking upwards into a flickering blue dimness.
It was hot, and he was lying on sand, and a rock embedded in the sand was hurting his back. He rolled over to his side, off the rock, and then pushed himself up to a sitting position.
I’m crazy, he thought. Crazy—or dead—or something.
The sand was blue, bright blue. And there wasn’t any such thing as bright blue sand on Earth or any of the planets. Blue sand under a blue dome that wasn’t the sky nor yet a room, but a circumscribed area—somehow he knew it was circumscribed and finite, even though he couldn’t see to the top of it.
He picked up some of the sand in his hand and let it run through his fingers. It trickled down onto his bare leg. Bare?
He was stark naked, and already his body was dripping perspiration from the enervating heat, coated blue with sand wherever sand had touched it. Elsewhere his body was white.