Jr. L. J. Stecher 33 min read

With the Solar Confederation under invasion, the great defense computer offers only a ridiculous old proverb: 'A stitch in time saves nine.' Its exasperated maker can make no sense of it.

L. J. Stecher Jr.'s 1956 story spins clever military space opera from a cryptic, riddling supercomputer. Sharp, witty golden-age SF. Read it for a story where the fate of humanity may hinge on decoding a machine's maddeningly folksy advice.

In its time

Published in 1956, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

33 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

Ed Emshwiller