H. L. Gold 1 hr 7 min read

Across the void comes a man who could never have been born, from a world that could never have existed, to demand his birthright of an Earth that would have to die to pay it.

H. L. Gold's 1958 story is a haunting first-contact and psi tale of an impossible son and a terrible claim. Sharp, atmospheric golden-age SF. Read it for a story where a childless man's sudden 'son' arrives from nowhere, bearing a demand that could doom the world.

In its time

Published in 1958, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 7 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

Diane Dillon