In Ray Bradbury’s “Usher II,” Mr. William Stendahl has built an exact replica of Edgar Allan Poe’s The House of Usher on Mars as a protest against the censorship that has destroyed fantasy literature on Earth. In a society where all things imaginative are forbidden, Stendahl invites members of the Society for the Prevention of Fantasy to a macabre event at his newly built house, where they will experience a shocking experience.
The Veldt is a short story by Ray Bradbury, published on September 23, 1950, in The Saturday Evening Post and later included in The Illustrated Man (1951). Set in a future where technology dominates everyday life, it tells the story of the Hadley family and their automated home, designed to meet their every need. Its most significant innovation is a virtual reality games room capable of materializing any imagined environment. However, their peace of mind is disturbed when the room repeatedly projects a disturbing scene of the African savannah, where lions lurk in the grass. As their children’s obsession with this landscape grows, the Hadleys question the impact of excessive technology on their family.
In ” Silly Asses,” a story by Isaac Asimov written in 1957, Naron, an imposing and ancient member of the Rigelian race, is in charge of maintaining the galactic annals that record the intelligent civilizations of the universe. One day, he is informed that a new group of organisms, hailing from a distant planet known … Read more
“The Food of the Gods,” a short story by Arthur C. Clarke published in 1964, revolves around human nutrition’s technological and ethical dilemmas. The protagonist is the CEO of a food company, who discusses the historical evolution of the human diet before a congressional committee, from the vicious dependence on meat and agricultural products to … Read more
“The Pedestrian” by Ray Bradbury is a short story set in a futuristic city in the year 2053. The plot revolves around Leonard Mead, a man who enjoys walking alone through the city streets at night. In a world where television has replaced social interactions and people remain locked inside their homes, Mead’s walks stand … Read more
In “True Love,” Isaac Asimov weaves a futuristic story where Milton Davidson, a software engineer, uses advanced artificial intelligence to find his ideal mate. Inside Multivac’s vast computer system, Milton meticulously programs the artificial intelligence, searching through millions to find the perfect woman for him. Preempting the arrival of Tinder and AIs in our lives, … Read more