The Seventh Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack Read online




  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO3

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER5

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES7

  D-9914

  LET THERE BE LIGHT183

  MANNERS OF THE AGE191

  LUNA ESCAPADE208

  THE OUTBREAK OF PEACE223

  FEE OF THE FRONTIER229

  IRRESISTIBLE WEAPON246

  THIS WORLD MUST DIE!254

  THE TALKATIVE TREE278

  A TRANSMUTATION OF MUDDLES288

  SATELLITE SYSTEM307

  FLAMEDOWN322

  THE ENVOY, HER327

  THE WEDGE342

  EXILE348

  YES, SIR!, by H.B. Fyfe363

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Seventh Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack: H.B. Fyfe is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © 2014 by Innovari / Fotolia.

  * * * *

  D-99 was originally published in 1962. Copyright © 1962 by H.B. Fyfe.

  “Let There Be Light” originally appeared in If Worlds of Science Fiction, Nov. 1952.

  “Manners of the Age” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, March 1952.

  “Luna Escapade” originally appeared in Orbit, vol. 1 no. 2, 1953.

  “The Outbreak of Peace” originally appeared in Analog Science Fact & Fiction, Feb. 1961.

  “Fee of the Frontier” originally appeared in Amazing Stories, Aug. 1960.

  “Irresistible Weapon” originally appeared in originally appeared in If Worlds of Science Fiction, July 1953.

  “This World Must Die!” originally appeared in Future combined with Science Fiction Stories, Sept. 1951.

  “The Talkative Tree” originally appeared in Worlds of If, Jan. 1962.

  “A Transmutation of Muddles” originally appeared in Astounding Science Fiction September 1960.

  “Satellite System” originally appeared in Analog Science Fact & Fiction, Oct. 1960.

  “Flamedown” originally appeared in Analog Science Fact & Fiction, Aug. 1961.

  “The Envoy, Her” originally appeared in Planet Stories, March 1951.

  “The Wedge” originally appeared in Worlds of If, Sept. 1960.

  “Yes, Sir!” originally appeared in Startling Stories, Sept. 1951. Copyright © 1951 by C. B. S. Publications, the consumer publishing division of C. B. S., Inc. Copyright © renewed 1979. (Reneal #RE0000020295.) Reprinted by permission of the estate of H.B. Fyfe.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Horace Bowne Fyfe (1918-1997) was an American science fiction author most active during the Golden Age. He had a light, comic style and published more than 50 short stories between 1940 and 1967. His most popular creation was the “Bureau of Slick Tricks” (Department 99) series, which appeared in Astounding. (He later compiled them into his only book, D-99, which is included in this volume.)

  Following his death, his heirs discovered about 50 unpublished manuscripts in his files. They run the range from early science fiction (predating his first professional sale to Astounding) to historical adventure to fillers aimed at the women’s magazine market. Unfortunately, although selling regularly to top SF magazines of the day, he never managed to break out into the “slick” magazines.

  We are working to prepared these manuscripts for publication and will present the best of them in future Megapacks.

  For now, enjoy this selection!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among 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 (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, 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 [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Bulldog Drummond Megapack*

  The Charlie Chan Megapack*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Girl Detective Megapack

  The Second Girl Detective Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Second 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 Pirate Story Megapack

  The Sea-Story Megapack

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First R
eginald Bretnor Megapack

  The 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 C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Jack London Science Fiction Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The A. Merritt 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 Space Opera Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson 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 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 Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Third Macabre Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Occult Detective Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Weird Fiction Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson 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

  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

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower 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 Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Second Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Stephen Crane Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Frederick Douglass Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman 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 Harold Lamb Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Jonas Lie Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Katherine Mansfield Megapack

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  The A. Merritt 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

  The Virginia Woolf Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  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

  D-99

  ONE

  At the ninety-fifth floor, Westervelt left the public elevator for a private automatic one which he took four floors further. When he stepped out, the dark, lean youth faced an office entrance whose double, transparent doors bore the discreet legend. “Department 99.”

  He crossed the hall and entered. Waving at the little blonde in the switchboard cubby to the right of the doorway, he continued a few steps into the office beyond. Two secretaries looked up from the row of desks facing him, a third place being unoccupied. Behind them, long windows filtered the late afternoon light to a mellow tint.

  “Did you get it all right, Willie?” asked the dark girl to his left. “Mr. Smith wants you to take it right in. He expected you earlier.”

  “My flight from
London was late; I did the best I could after we landed,” said Westervelt. “It took me the whole day to fetch this gadget. At least let me get my coat off!”

  He moved to his right, to a modest desk in an alcove formed by the end of the office and the high partition that enclosed the switchboard.

  “How do you find yourself inside that?” asked the other secretary, a golden haired girl with a lazy smile. “Talk about women’s clothes! The men are wearing topcoats like tents this year.”

  Westervelt felt himself flushing, to his disgust. He strug­gled out of the coat, removed an oblong package and a large envelope from inner pockets, and tossed the coat on his desk.

  It had hardly settled before the door at the opposite end of the office, beyond the dark girl, was flung open. From the next room lumbered a man who looked even lankier than Westervelt because he was an inch or two over six feet tall. His broad forehead was grooved by a scowl of con­centration that brought heavy eyebrows nearly together over a high-bridged nose. His chin seemed longer for his chewing nervously upon his lower lip. He was in shirtsleeves and badly needed a haircut.

  “I’m going down to the com room, Miss Diorio,” he told the brunette. “There’s another weird report coming in!”

  He vanished into the hall with a clatter.

  His secretary looked at Westervelt, a smile tugging at the corners of her full lips. She threw up her hands with a little flip.

  “I told you to take it right in,” she reminded him.

  “Aw, come on, Si! What if I’d been in the doorway when he came through?”

  “What is it, anyway?” asked the other girl.

  Westervelt looked around as she rose. Beryl Austin, he thought, would be a knockout if only there were less of a hint of ice about her. She was, in her high heels, only an inch shorter than he. Her face was round, but with a delicate bone structure that lent it an odd beauty. Westervelt was privately of the opinion that she spoiled the effect by wearing her hair in a style too short and too precisely arranged. And too bleached, he told himself.

  The talk was that before coming to the Department, she had won two or three minor beauty contests. That might explain the meticulous make-up and the smart blue dress that followed the curves of her figure so flatteringly. Westervelt suspected, from hints dropped by Simonetta Diorio, that this was insufficient qualification for being a secretary, even in such a peculiar institution as Department 99. Of course, maybe Smith had ideas of making her a field agent.

  He held out the package in the palm of his hand.

  “They said at the London lab that it was a special flash­light that would pass for an ordinary one.”