Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition (October 1944)

This October 1944 Astounding Science Fiction issue features Murray Leinster's novelette "Trog," set in a post-apocalyptic America where major cities have mysteriously collapsed. Dick Drummond returns to New York to find the city devastated—docks abandoned, ships wrecked, populations vanished—and civilization systematically dismantled over the past four years. The destruction is attributed to a "mass consciousness" theory: humanity's collective psyche, rebelling against civilization itself, compels individuals ("trogs") to sabotage infrastructure—power stations, water supplies, control towers—without conscious awareness. Drummond's associate Hamilton confesses to destroying an airport control panel while experiencing inexplicable time-lapse amnesia. Drummond, a para-psychological researcher, intends to study Hamilton as an actual case subject. The narrative explores whether this sabotage stems from individual psychology or truly collective unconscious revolt against modern society.