Astounding Stories #31

Jo, a quiet scientist, never expected his latest invention—a telepathy-enhancing pill—to be the key to his own rescue. When a pair of thieves break into his lab, mistaking his sealed device for a simple box, they trigger a chain of events that leads to an unexpected connection between mind and police. Written by an unknown hand, the story unfolds with eerie precision, turning a simple theft into something far more unsettling.

Crime Smasher juggles a $50,000 bounty on Public Enemy No. 1, Killer King, with a string of smaller cases—until his assistant Eve orchestrates an interview with Al Mone that forces the detective into the criminal underworld. When a trio of desperate women appeal for help against a supposedly escaped madman threatening their lives, Crime Smasher finds himself caught between his conscience and the case that could make his reputation—all while Killer King watches from the shadows, confident he knows exactly how to use the detective's own heart against him.

In "Where There's Smoke..." from Astounding Stories #31 (1968), Jo discovers a mysterious tobacco blend that turns his dreams into reality—until his wife sells a pouch to a customer whose nightmare reveals a terrifying secret tied to the seller’s past.

In "The Thing Called Metallo!, Part One," a fugitive in a radiation-proof suit—posing as a lab technician—unwittingly unleashes a dangerous transformation after discovering the suit’s true power. As he turns to crime, the realization that his own illness demands constant radiation exposure forces him into a desperate, sealed existence.

In "Don't Turn Around!" from Astounding Stories #31 (1968), a scientist's experimental device meant to summon people from the past seems to have failed—until it inadvertently drives off two intruders who were about to rob him while he lay unconscious. The story quietly builds on the tension of isolation and unintended consequences, leaving the full impact of the invention’s true effect lingering in the air.