Science fiction | Lecturia

Edgar Allan Poe: Some Words with a Mummy

“Some Words with a Mummy” is a short story by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe, published in April 1845 in the American Review. At the home of Dr. Ponnonner, a group of people gathers to witness the examination of an Egyptian mummy that has remained intact in a museum for years. After opening its successive coffins, the attendees discover that the body is exceptionally well-preserved and lacks the usual incisions made during embalming. Fascinated by the discovery, they decide to subject the corpse to the action of a voltaic pile, which triggers an unexpected reaction in the mummy.

Isaac Asimov: The Feeling of Power

“The Feeling of Power” is a short story by the American writer Isaac Asimov, published in February 1958 in If magazine and later included in 1959 in the book Nine Tomorrows. In a future dominated by technology, humanity depends on computers and has forgotten even the most elementary mathematical operations. In the midst of a long war against Deneb, programmer Jehan Shuman summons military and political leaders to introduce them to Myron Aub, a humble technician with an unusual talent: he has developed a method that allows him to perform arithmetic calculations using only his mind, a pencil, and a sheet of paper. Intrigued and skeptical, the high-ranking officials witness a demonstration that could change the course of the conflict.

Otto Binder: “I, Robot”

“I, Robot” is a short story by the American writer Otto Binder, published under the pseudonym Eando Binder in January 1939 in Amazing Stories. Adam Link is a robot endowed with an artificial brain capable of learning and reasoning like a human being. Created by Dr. Link after twenty years of work, Adam recounts his awakening to consciousness, his first steps, his learning of language and reading, and the peculiar relationship he develops with his creator and with the little dog Terry. When Dr. Link prepares to reveal his creation to the world, an unexpected accident alters Adam’s fate.

Isaac Asimov: I’m in Marsport Without Hilda

“I’m in Marsport Without Hilda” is a short story by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in November 1957 in Venture Science Fiction Magazine. Max, an agent of the Galactic Service, arrives in Marsport for a three-day stopover before returning to Earth. The occasion seems perfect: his wife, Hilda, will not be able to join him, leaving him free to call Flora, a former lover. But just when everything seems to be leading toward the long-awaited encounter, Rog Crinton, an official of the Service on Mars, assigns him an urgent mission: to discover which one of three important passengers is carrying a dangerous contraband substance capable of threatening space travel.

Richard Matheson: Third from the Sun

“Third from the Sun” is a short story by American writer Richard Matheson, published in October 1950 in Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. In the early morning, a man and his wife silently prepare for a journey of no return. Together with their two young children and the neighboring family, they will board the spaceship that he, a test pilot, knows inside out. The threat of an imminent war and the conviction that their world is doomed drive them to flee toward another solar system, all while trying to say goodbye to everything without arousing suspicion.

Fritz Leiber: The Man Who Never Grew Young

“The Man Who Never Grew Young” is a short story by American writer Fritz Leiber, published in 1947 in the collection Night’s Black Agents. In a remote landscape along the Nile, an ageless man watches as the world around him slowly falls apart: the pyramids are returned to the hills, great thoughts are reabsorbed by the minds that conceived them, and humanity retreats toward its origins. An unchanging witness to vanishing civilizations, the protagonist reflects wistfully on his own existence in a time that seems to flow backward.