First published in 1977 by editor Fred Obrecht, this Anthology contains twenty-six stories, and a few essays by the editor to provide context to each section of the anthology.
Works in this anthology:
- "The Early Challenge Of Space And Time", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "From the Earth to the Moon", by Jules Verne (1956)
- "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", by Jules Verne (1956)
- "The Time Machine", by H. G. Wells (1895)
- "Christmas 200,000 B.C.", by Stanley Waterloo (1887)
- "In The Year Ten Thousand", by William Harben (1892)
- "Tampering With Human Nature", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley (1818)
- "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde", by Robert Louis Stevenson (1977)
- "Fondly Fahrenheit", by Alfred Bester (1954)
- "The Man Inside", by Bruce Mc Allister (1969)
- "Going A Step Further Robots", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "R.U.R.", by Karel Čapek (1977)
- "Helen O Loy", by Lester del Rey (1938)
- "A Bad Day For Sales", by Fritz Leiber (1953)
- "Men Are Different", by Alan Bloch (1954)
- "Some Fun With Space Jargon", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "Traffic With The Planets", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "The War of the Worlds", by H. G. Wells (1898)
- "Of Course", by Chad Oliver (1954)
- "Changing The World For Better Or Worse", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "Utopia", by Sir Thomas More (1516)
- "Looking Backward", by Edward Bellamy (1888)
- "Brave New World", by Aldous Huxley (1932)
- "Nineteen Eighty-Four", by George Orwell (1949)
- "August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains", by Ray Bradbury (1950)
- "The Fun They Had", by Isaac Asimov (1951)
- "Extension? Prediction? Fantasy?", by Fred Obrecht (1977)
- "The Great Nebraska Sea", by Allan Danzig (1963)
- "Erem", by Gleb Anfilov (1963)
- "Report From The Planet Proteus", by Lawrence Sail (1972)
- "In The Matter Of The Assassin Merefirs", by Ken W Purdy (1972)
- "Eat, Drink, and Be Merry", by Dian Girard (1974)
Tropes appearing in this work:
- Adaptation Distillation: Many of the stories present in this Anthology are excerpts from larger stories of the same name.
- An excerpt of From the Earth to the Moon, by Jules Verne.
- An excerpt of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne.
- An excerpt of The Time Machine, by H. G. Wells.
- An excerpt of Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley.
- An excerpt of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
- An excerpt of R.U.R., by Karel Čapek.
- An excerpt of The War of the Worlds, by H. G. Wells.
- An excerpt of Utopia, by Sir Thomas More.
- An excerpt of Looking Backward, by Edward Bellamy.
- An excerpt of Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley.
- An excerpt of Nineteen Eighty-Four, by George Orwell.
- Apocalyptic Montage: In "The Great Nebraska Sea", a Short Story by Allan Danzig, most of the story is spent on describing the effects of an earthquake from Canada, through America, into Mexico, and ends the story by describing the way people would adapt to the new landscape.
- Arranged Marriage: In "Christmas 200,000 B.C.", by Stanley Waterloo, a caveman named Fangs brings his friend Wolf home to take his daughter Red Lips home (marriage hasn't been invented yet). When She Fox tries to object, Fangs beats her and drags her back into the cave.
- Earthquakes Cause Fissures: "The Great Nebraska Sea", by Allan Danzig, explains that the Niobrara, Kiowa, and Conchas fault lines are all part of the same line, going from Canada, through America, and into Mexico. The story goes on to predict that in the near future, an earthquake will occur, and dramatic changes start to occur. Colorado gets shaken up, causing dust storms and rock slides. The 'quake gets worse, and the ground cracks open, parts of the land rising and dropping. The Gulf of Mexico advances over the land that's now below sea level, and so on.
- Exty Years from Publication: In "The Great Nebraska Sea", by Allan Danzig, the earthquake that starts the whole disaster occurs in 1973, exactly ten years (to the season) after the story was published.
- Murder the Hypotenuse: In "Christmas 200,000 B.C.", by Stanley Waterloo, Red Lips is supposed to be mated to Wolf, but runs away to find Yellow Hair. Together, the two of them conspire to kill Wolf so that they can be together instead.
- Next Sunday A.D.: In "The Great Nebraska Sea", by Allan Danzig, the story describes an earthquake destroying the American midwest by dropping it below sea level. In plenty of detail, before shifting to the way Americans adapted to the changed landscape.
- Painting the Medium: In "Fondly Fahrenheit", by Afred Bester, a schizophrenic mass murderer and his robot duplicate share being the protagonist. Sometimes the guy thinks of himself simply as himself, other times he thinks of himself as the robot, and then there's the times he thinks of them both as one person. All of this is accomplished by Bester constantly switching his use of pronouns.
- Patricide: In "Christmas 200,000 B.C.", by Stanley Waterloo, Red Lips convinces Yellow Hair to help her kill her father, Fangs, the most powerful caveman in the area.
- Questioning Title?: "Extension? Prediction? Fantasy?", by the editor Fred Obrecht.
- 20 Minutes into the Future: In "The Great Nebraska Sea", by Allan Danzig, the story begins by describing how geologists identified various faults in America, then shifts to the the immediate future, describing the destruction of the American Midwest. Finally, almost one hundred years after 1973, the story describes how American life has changed.
- Which Me?: In "Fondly Fahrenheit", by Alfred Bester, has a man and his android duplicate unable to tell each other apart, nor which of them is a murderer.
