Phyllis Sterling Smith 23 min read

An advertisement for an ancient secret society promising the mastery of all knowledge appears in the magazines, passed over by most, but not by all, for its shadow is four hundred years long.

Phyllis Sterling Smith's 1951 story is a clever first-contact and social-SF tale. Sharp, intriguing golden-age SF. Read it for a well-turned mystery that spins a real wonder out of a crank-sounding classified ad, as a skeptic investigates the strange Perpetual Order of Seekers After Truth, in a golden-age piece with a satisfying, quietly cosmic revelation.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Ed Emshwiller