Alan J. Ramm 6 min read

Slip of paper in hand, Jeremy strides to Room 16B for his final exam in Advanced Deliberation and Memory, knowing the classes he cut are sure to hurt his chances of passing.

Alan J. Ramm's 1953 story is a sharp psi-powers and space-opera tale of a high-stakes examination. Clever, tense golden-age SF. Read it for a story where a university student's final test proves to be far more than academic, and the consequences of passing or failing reach well beyond a diploma.

In its time

Published in 1953, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

6 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).