The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack Read online

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  Author’s Introductions originally published in The Best of Mack Reynolds. Copyright © 1976 by Mack Reynolds.

  “Come In, Spaceport” originally appeared in Go: Reading in the Content Areas. Copyright © 1974 by Scholastic Magazine.

  “Compounded Interest” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Aug 1956. Copyright © 1956 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “The Business, As Usual” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, June 1952. Copyright © 1952 by Mercury Press. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Good Indian” originally appeared in Analog, Sept 1962. Copyright © 1962 by Conde Nast Publications. Copyright renewed 1990 by Mack Reynolds. Renewal B00000987665. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “No Return from Elba” originally appeared in Fantastic Stories, September-October 1953. Copyright © 1953 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Pacifist” originally appeared in The Magazine of fantasy & science fiction, Jan. 1964. Copyright © 1964 by Mercury Press.

  “Earthlings Go Home!” originally appeared in Rogue, August 1962. Copyright © 1962 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Albatross” originally appeared in Imagination, April 1955. Copyright © 1955 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “The Enemy Within” originally appeared in Analog, April 1967. Copyright © 1967 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Survivor” originally appeared in Analog, July 1966. Copyright © 1966 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Fad” originally appeared in Analog, April 1965. Copyright © 1965 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Spaceman on a Spree” originally appeared in Worlds of Tomorrow, June 1963. Copyright © 1963 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “The Adventure of the Extraterrestrial” originally appeared in Analog, July 1965. Copyright © 1965 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Utopian” originally appeared in The Year 2000. Copyright © 1970 by Mack Reynolds.

  “Prone” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, September 1954. Copyright © 1954 by Mercury Press. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Down the River” originally appeared in Startling Stories, September 1950. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Second Advent” originally appeared in Worlds of If, May-June 1974. Copyright © 1974 by UPD Publishing Corp.

  “Romp” originally appeared in Analog, Oct 1966. Copyright © 1966 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Fido” originally appeared in Fantastic Adventures, May 1950. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Isolationist” originally appeared in Fantastic Adventures, April 1950. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Not in the Rules” originally appeared in Imagination, April 1951. Copyright © 1951 by Mack Reynolds. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Romp” originally appeared in Analog, October 1966. Copyright © 1966 by Conde Nast Publications.

  “Fido” originally appeared in Fantastic Adventures, May 1950. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  “Not in the Rules” originally appeared in Imagination, April 1951. Edited version copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Welcome to The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack, continuing our Mack Reynolds reprint program. When Wildside Press purchased Mack Reynolds’ literary estate from his son, Emil, in 2013, we were far more familiar with his novels than his short stories. That’s undoubtedly because many of those short stories have been undeservedly locked away in dusty old magazines for generations. In fact, as far as we can tell, only one collection of Mack’s shorter works was published in his lifetime—The Best of Mack Reynolds, in 1976 (Pocket Books). [And decidedly not to be confused with another, unauthorized collection of random public domain short stories published under the same title many years later and which we are trying to get renamed to avoid confusion among readers.)

  Anyway, the Pocket Books edition was the source for most of this volume. I have kept Mack’s original introductions, too, which I think add a lot to the stories. I removed several fantasy stories as well as stories which appeared in our first Mack Reynolds Megapack to avoid duplication and to focus this volume more on science fiction. (Don’t worry, those fantasy stories will appear in other Megapacks. Wildside Press wastes no stories!)

  And if after reading the first two Mack Reynolds Megapacks and want still more after reading The Mack Reynolds Megapack and The Second Mack Reynolds Megapack, I refer you to the latest issue of my fanzine, Adventure Tales #7, which is a Special Mack Reynolds issue and contains 6 more stories plus 2 essays by Mack (plus work by a lot of other great pulp writers). It should be in the same ebook store where you purchased this volume.

  Enjoy!

  —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 Meg
apack

  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

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald 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

  COME IN, SPACEPORT

  AUTHOR’S INTRODUCTION

  This is a type of story undreamed of a quarter of a century ago. It’s a juvenile and written on order for a child’s textbook, GO: Reading in the Content Areas, edited by Harold L. Herber of Syracuse University. Heavens to Betsy, who would have thought that science fiction would one day be turning up in children’s textbooks? When I was a lad, we fans used to have to hide our magazines from our parents.

  —Mack Reynolds

  * * * *

  Bruce Camaroon was on duty as repeat man for the monitoring computers when the first call came through. There was precious little to do. He just had to be there, in case something did come up. This job was going to go down the drain one of these days; the computers didn’t really need him. He could have handled the duties, home in bed. All he’d have to do was have an alarm, so they could rouse him up, if anything developed.

  Radio technician Dick MaGruder was sitting across the desk from him, chewing the rag, and Jill Farnsworth, the secretary, who was just about as useful as Bruce was, was on the other side of the control room, using her voco-typer. She was probably doing personal letters.

  One of the computers had evidently picked up something out of the way. His screen clicked.

  A rather high-pitched voice said: ‘‘Emergency, emergency. Please come in. This is Jimmy… uh, James Barry. In Lifeboat 2, of Spaceship Promised Land. There are two of us. My sister and me. She’s hurt. We’re all that’s left. They… they’re all dead. Our parents… and everybody. Jane’s burnt bad. Please have an ambulance at the spaceport. Please put me in contact with a doctor, right away. I have to ask him what to do.”

  Bruce Camaroon’s eyes were bugging. “The Promised Land! It blew! There were no survivors!”

  MaGruder snarled, “Shut up, listen!”

  The voice went on. “I smeared all the ointments in the medicine chest on her and bandaged her all up. My father is… my father was, a doctor. I also stuck one, uh, Syrette of, I think, a sedative into her. It said on the tube, Pseudo-Morphine. I don’t know if I should give her any more or not. She’s asleep. She’s not very big. Ten years old. I don’t know if she should have been given a full Syrette or not. Or maybe she even needs another one. She’s burnt pretty bad, all over, almost.”

  He took a deep, tear-choked breath, and went on. “Anyway, I’m following the space lifeboat instruction book as good as I can. I think I’m doing all right. I think we’re heading for the Northern Hemisphere. The book says there are four spaceports there. So I’m calling New Denver Spaceport. Calling New Denver Spaceport, for landing instructions. Please come in, New Denver Spaceport. Uh, over and out.”