“They want little steel balls?” “That’s what it says and these things . . . ” Johan said, pointing at the pamphlet. “What on earth for?” Wilhelm asked, without really looking at the pamphlet. “I’m not sure. Pamphlet doesn’t say. I would guess it’s some sort of strange rolling bushing.” “I don’t know, Johan. The whole thing [...]

Karl looked out of the greenhouse at the back of his home and ran the numbers. They did not add up. The greenhouse was breaking even, but it was not making much of a profit if any at all. If it were flat instead of running up a steep hill, and if the owner cut [...]

October 1635, Zielona G-ra Sergeant John “Puss” Trelli was so intent on the men he was observing that he didn’t hear the man sneak up behind him, and he was totally unaware of the cudgel being swung at his head. He was also totally unaware of the dog in the shadows until it growled. Instinct, [...]

Spanish Netherlands, Early October 1632 René; Within is the singularly most important paper on mathematics ever written. It is called the Crucibellus Manuscript, and it is only the first volume of several. Digest the enclosed manuscript. This one was hand delivered to me by a man who got it from the writer in Grantville; supposedly [...]

Kurt Vest didn’t know what he was doing at the party except that he had been informed by his mother, his father, his elder sister Elisabeth and his brother-in-law that he would attend. He was just back from university, having completed his studies in natural philosophy. The party was being held in the courtyard in [...]

Johan Frey was enjoying the day. It had been a cold, wet week, but now the clouds had broken and it was a lovely fall day. He and Watchman Thomas Weiss were sitting outside the watch headquarters. Their main activity was waving greetings to the passing crowd. “Public relations” up-timers called it. Johan called it [...]

There, But For the Grace of God, Go Eyes Leahy Medical Center, Nurse training program, April 1635 My dearest aunt, I am well. I hope this letter finds you well. We are all fed very well here. There are many things I am learning that I am not sure how to tell you. I am [...]

Chapter Forty-Four: A Kiss And Some CoffeeCaptured French warship Effrayant, site of up-time Poste de Flacq, Mauritius The kiss ended delicately, its initial passion consumed and resolved into a lingering sweetness as their lips reluctantly broke contact. Pam blinked at Torbjörn's smiling eyes. She was trembling, excited, happy, and half-frightened out of her wits. Did [...]

Have you ever had that craving, sometimes late at night, for teriyaki chicken and fried rice? Or maybe you enjoy a little sushi or a good pad Thai once in a while. All of these dishes are not reproducible without soy sauce. And what exactly is this dark and salty brew? We all know that [...]

On the command, “Up Ship!”, the Graf Zeppelin dropped enough water ballast to render the ship 900–1200 pounds light. It rose vertically into the air, and at about 150 feet, started its first engine, on idle. At 300 feet, all engines were idling, and it gradually increased power, and proceeded on its way. Normal cruising [...]

City Slickers, Country Bumpkins, Ants, Robots and Mutants. I Thi nk That’s Everybody . . . Oh Yeah, There’s Goblins, to Say Nothing of the Banshee. Mr. Simak, I realize that you have done almost everything in newspaper work from printer’s devil to publisher . . . but I know also that you have spent much of the past [...]

At the end of Worldcon last year, my friend Bill Trojan died. Most folks in the field had met him at one point or another. For years, he ran a large bookstore in the dealers' room at conventions—Escape While There's Still Time Books. He also chaired a number of conventions. If you lived on the [...]

Jack Dauderman watched as Andy Blacklock slowly led the mixed group of prison guards, Cherokee, and nineteenth-century federal soldiers into position. They were preparing to assault the prison which had been taken over by that nutcase, Adrian Luff. Jack remembered that night well. He had been one of the guards taken prisoner by Luff's goons, [...]

Gonzalo Xoan de Alcantara rode slowly through the peculiar landscape, unlike anything he had seen in the Old World or the New. He and his very unhappy horse were trying to work their way onto higher ground, low hills glimpsed beyond the tangled growth. They were surrounded by swampy forests of towering ferns, and what [...]

In the still hush of morning, Howard the allegorical alchemist sat before his work table with magnifying spectacles perched on his nose. He held tweezers and a funnel, and one by one he plucked tiny balls of sunshine from a jar and placed them on a scale. When the scale balanced—a properly measured dose—he poured [...]