This story by Fredric Brown begins and ends with what some claim is the shortest horror story ever written: The last man on Earth sat alone in a room. There was a knock on the door… A scientist wakes to find himself in a cell. The previous night Alien invaders had collected 217 animal species, including him, for study. They then destroyed all other animal life on the planet. He devises a clever way to convince the aliens that living on Earth is not a good idea. After they have all gone, he hears the second knock on the door. More…
Archives
Voodoo
In this flash story, Fredric Brown explores the use of black magic to solve a marriage problem. Mr and Mrs Decker have decided on a divorce. Love has turned to hate, and the break-up is not friendly. The biggest issue they need to agree on is the financial settlement. Mrs Decker wants half of everything; Mr Decker thinks this is too much. She knows voodoo, and tells him she could use it to kill and him and get everything if he didn’t agree. This leads to an all-or-nothing bet where, if her voodoo doesn’t kill him, he keeps it all. More…
Answer
A goodreads.com reviewer aptly describes Answer by Fredric Brown as one of the most concise SciFi horror stories I have ever read. There are eerie similarities between the new supercomputer’s response to the first question asked of it in this story and the final sentence of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question. Both stories were published in the mid-1950s and reflect concerns about the future influence of computers on society. An interesting observation on some other websites is that Brown’s one cybernetics machine that would combine all the knowledge of all the galaxies is already here… it’s called the Internet! More…
Solipsist
Wikipedia defines solipsism as the philosophical idea that only one’s (your own) mind is sure to exist. This flash story by Fredric Brown takes an irreverent view of the universe and the place of one solipsist in it. Walter B. Jehovah has had a bad week. He decides to end it all… not just his life, but everything. After some initial success, he finds that willing the universe out of existence is not as easy as it had first seemed. In fact, it looks like he may have to float around alone in the void for millions of years! More…
Earthmen Bearing Gifts
In this sardonic science-fiction story by Fredrick Brown, the people of Mars are looking forward to their first ever visit from Earth. The planets have long planned an exchange of gifts. Each civilization is more advanced in an important area of science. Martians have mastered the para-psychological sciences. They can teach Earthmen how to avoid crime and war through telepathy, telekinesis and empathy. The Earth has made greater progress in technology and the physical sciences. This could help the Martians restore their dying planet. Earth’s first “gift”, delivered in an unmanned spacecraft, is not what the Martians expected. Theme: betrayal. More…