Astounding Stories #41

In his laboratory, zoologist Otto Kalmer pursues cruel experiments on animals in the name of science, subjecting tropical creatures to extreme heat. When a woman confronts him about his methods, a shocking discovery suggests that one of his victims may have returned—but perhaps not as Otto remembers it.

Earth's first televised glimpse of Venus reveals something extraordinary—a beautiful Venutian woman—but the signal abruptly cuts to black, and Captain Atom suspects sabotage. Racing into space at incredible speeds to investigate, Captain Atom confronts the alien woman and her warrior companions, only to discover that the Venutians have far more advanced technology than he bargained for. What begins as a hostile encounter may be something altogether different.

Space Ranger Bob Varney endures two grueling years of isolation at a remote listening post, only to be recalled to Earth—a "punishment" for insubordination that's meant to be mercy. Back on his home planet, his behavior grows stranger by the day: buying lavish gifts, touring landmarks, stuffing his ship with oddities—until his desperate attempts to get himself exiled again force the authorities' hand. What begins as a bitter return home becomes something far more surprising.

Four astronauts selected for humanity's first crewed journey to the moon meet for the first time just before launch—and three of them immediately question why a nuclear engineer was added to the crew, calling him dead weight with no practical role on a dead planet. When the ship encounters an unseen energy band near the moon and suddenly receives orders from Earth placing the dismissed crew member in command, the astronauts realize their skepticism may have been dangerously premature. What awaits them on the lunar surface will prove that Carter's presence was anything but expendable.

Spaceman Ross Tuckerman's expedition ship Terra IX is stranded beyond all known galaxies with dwindling fuel and food, forcing him to scout a promising new planet for supplies—but his landing triggers an attack from hostile locals that cripples his scout vessel. Cut off from his crew, Tuckerman finds unexpected aid from a human-like inhabitant of this distant world who has been monitoring Earth for centuries and sees the meeting as the beginning of something larger than either civilization imagined.

Safety engineer John Renner descends into an abandoned lead mine to uncover the source of the strange accidents that forced its closure, only to discover mysterious forces dwelling in its depths—and an enigmatic woman named Tola who saves his life. As Renner grows closer to the beautiful stranger, he begins to realize she's far more than human, and that a single kiss may seal his fate forever. This eerie tale by Stan Ditko explores what happens when curiosity and love collide with the unknown lurking beneath the earth.

When the plant men of Venus launch a devastating surprise attack on Earth, mankind's peaceful expansion into space turns into an all-out war of attrition—until a dedicated scientist's unfinished creation, a time machine meant to explore history, falls into enemy hands. Dr. Jason Marks never lived to see his life's work become the deciding factor, but his invention unleashes Earth's entire violent past upon Venus in a single, catastrophic moment. The weapon mankind didn't know it possessed ends the war in a way no conventional military strategy ever could.

Mysterious intruders armed with devastating energy weapons strike at Cape Canaveral, killing Cpl. Blackmer and threatening America's national secrets—forcing Captain Adam to transform into Captain Atom and pursue them into space. Faced with swarms of hostile craft and their devastating attacks, Captain Atom fights for survival while uncovering the scope of the invasion, ultimately reporting to the President about the massive mothership threatening Earth. With the fate of the world in his hands, Captain Atom prepares for a final, decisive strike against the alien force.

When alien visitors gift humanity's enemies the technology to create indistinguishable robot duplicates, Coordinator Sorin races against time to discover their weakness—before thirty perfect imposters converge on a single location carrying enough fissionable material to obliterate the Western Hemisphere. With the clock ticking and the enemy's plan already in motion, Sorin must decide whether to seek answers from the aliens themselves or trust his instincts and the world's greatest scientific minds to uncover the truth in time.

A group of gifted humans with extraordinary psi abilities—including Don Fleet and Carol Braddock—are abducted from Earth by an alien race called the Grulls and transported to the planet Contella, where they're imprisoned to have their mental powers studied and replicated as weapons. Held captive alongside other psi-gifted subjects, Don and the others discover they can tap into their psychic abilities in ways their captors never anticipated, setting the stage for a desperate bid for freedom.

When Valkor, Mars's ruthless dictator, launches an artificial satellite to scout Earth for conquest, his scientists report back a nightmare world of ice, volcanoes, and dinosaurs—completely unsuitable for Martian colonization. But as Valkor's failed invasion plan triggers a popular uprising led by the rebel Cralus, a shocking truth emerges about what the satellite really saw. A clever tale of deception that turns a would-be tyrant's ambitions against him.

When an expedition led by Captain Bart Hewitt makes contact with the aggressive Jovians of Jupiter, he unwittingly reveals Earth's location to an enemy intent on invasion—and with fifty warships on the way, humanity's defenses crumble under the assault. Hewitt's desperate gambit to lure the invaders toward the Moon becomes Earth's only hope, as he banks on a mysterious force field that has repelled every human landing attempt to work against the alien fleet instead.