The First Theodore R. Cogswell Megapack Read online

  COPYRIGHT INFORMATION

  The Thedore R. Cogswell Megapack (also published as The Third Eye) is copyright © 1968 by Theodore R. Cogswell. All rights reserved. Cover art copyright © Diversipixel / Fotolia.

  Published by arrangement with the Estate of Theodore Cogswell. For more information, contact Wildside Press LLC.

  * * * *

  “Deconditioned Response” (under the title “No Gun to the Victor”) originally appeared in Imagination, Oct. 1955. Copyright © 1955 by Greenleaf Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1983 (Renewal # RE0000163159.)

  “Mr. Hoskin’s Heel” originally appeared in Fantastic Universe. Copyright 1954 by King-Size Publications, Inc.

  “The Cabbage Patch” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, December 1957. Copyright © 1952 by Fantasy House, Inc. Copyright renewed 1984 (Renewal # RE0000212874.)

  “Limiting Factor” originally appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction, Apr. 1954. Copyright © 1954 by Galaxy Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1982 (renewal # RE0000128787).

  “Disassemply Line” originally appeared in Beyond Fantasy Fiction. Copyright © 1954 by Galaxy Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1982 (renewal # RE0000128787).

  “A Spudget for Thwilbert” originally appeared in Fantastic Universe, Apr. 1958. Copyright © 1958 by King-Size Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1986 (renewal # RE0000281120).

  “Training Device” originally appeared in Imagination, March 1955. Copyright © 1955 by 1955 by Greenleaf Publishing Company.

  “Impact with the Devil” originally appeared in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction, Nov. 1956. Copyright © 1956 Fantasy House, Inc. Copyright renewed 1984 (renewal # RE0000212874).

  “Machine Record” (with Walter Tevis) originally appeared in Science Fiction Adventures, No. 20, May 1961. Copyright © 1961 by Nova Publications, Inc.

  “One to a Customer” originally appeared in Super Science Fiction, June 1958. Copyright © 1958 by Headline Publications, Inc. Copyright renewed 1986 (renewal # RE0000281120).

  “The Man Who Knew Grodnik” originally appeared in Science Fantasy, June 1962. Copyright © 1962 by Nova Publications, Inc.

  “Lover Boy” originally appeared in Beyond Fantasy Fiction. Copyright © 1954 by Galaxy Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1982 (renewal # RE0000128787).

  “The Other Cheek” Science Fiction Adventures, May 1953. Copyright © 1953 by Science Fiction Adventures. Copyright renewed 1981 (renewal # RE0000121265).

  “Minimum Sentence” originally appeared in Galaxy science fiction, Aug. 1953. Copyright © 1953 by Galaxy Publishing Company. Copyright renewed 1981 (renewal # RE0000121265).

  “The Short Count” originally appeared in Avon Science Fiction and Fantasy Reader, Jan. 1953. Copyright © 1953 by Avon Novels, Inc.

  “Conventional Ending” originally appeared in Future Science Fiction, Oct. 1954. Copyright © 1954 by Columbia Publications, Inc. Copyright renewed 1982 (renewal # RE0000128787).

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Theodore Rose Cogswell, (March 10, 1918 – February 3, 1987), was an American science fiction author. His first published story, “The Spectre General” in the magazine Astounding (June 1952), was a humorous tale in which a long-forgotten maintenance brigade of the Imperial Space Marines holds the promise of reinvigorating a declining Galactic empire.

  (It’s a short novel and can be found in the same ebook store where you purchased this volume. I cannot recommend it highly enough—if you enjoy classic SF, check it out!)

  Cogswell wrote nearly 40 science fiction stories, most in the same lighthearted vein as his first, and was co-author of a novel in the Star Trek franchise. He also published two collections of short stories. (This volume originally appeared as one of them, The Third Eye. I retitled it to fit into the Megapack series.)

  Cogswell was also the editor of the long-running “fanzine for pros”, Proceedings of the Institute for Twenty-First Century Studies, a collection of which was published in 1993. In this, writers and editors discussed their and each other’s works.

  During the Spanish Civil War, he served as an ambulance driver on the Republican side in the Abraham Lincoln Brigade.

  I am working with Mr. Cogswell’s daughter to resurrect and republish her father’s classic work. Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (Maybe it helps that we sometimes offer them as premiums to our mailing list!) One question we keep getting asked is, “Who’s the editor?”

  The Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Bonner Menking, Colin Azariah-Kribbs, A.E. Warren, and many of Wildside’s authors…who often suggest stories to include (and not just their own!)

  RECOMMEND A FAVORITE STORY?

  Do you know a great classic science fiction story, or have a favorite author whom you believe is perfect for the Megapack series? We’d love your suggestions! You can post them on our message board at http://movies.ning.com/forum (there is an area for Wildside Press comments).

  Note: we only consider stories that have already been professionally published. This is not a market for new works.

  TYPOS

  Unfortunately, as hard as we try, a few typos do slip through. We update our ebooks periodically, so make sure you have the current version (or download a fresh copy if it’s been sitting in your ebook reader for months.) It may have already been updated.

  If you spot a new typo, please let us know. We’ll fix it for everyone. You can email the publisher at [email protected] or use the message boards above.

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Dragon Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack

  The Jack London Science Fiction Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The A. Merritt Megapack*

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Science-Fantasy Megapack

  The First Science Fiction Megapack

  The Second Science Fiction Megapack

  The Third Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fourth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Fifth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Sixth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Seventh Science Fiction Megapack

  The Eighth Science Fiction Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Space Opera Megapack

  The Steampunk Megapack

  The Time Travel Meg
apack

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  MYSTERY

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Bulldog Drummond Megapack*

  The Charlie Chan Megapack*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective Megapack

  The Detective Megapack

  The Father Brown Megapack

  The Girl Detective Megapack

  The Second Girl Detective Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Mystery Megapack

  The First Mystery Megapack

  The Second Mystery Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Philo Vance Megapack*

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Raffles Megapack

  The Sherlock Holmes Megapack

  The Victorian Mystery Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  GENERAL INTEREST

  The Adventure Megapack

  The Baseball Megapack

  The Cat Story Megapack

  The Second Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Third Cat Story Megapack

  The Christmas Megapack

  The Second Christmas Megapack

  The Classic American Short Stories Megapack, Vol. 1.

  The Classic Humor Megapack

  The Dog Story Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The Horse Story Megapack

  The Military Megapack

  The Pirate Story Megapack

  The Sea-Story Megapack

  HORROR

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The Second Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Cthulhu Mythos Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The Ghost Story Megapack

  The Second Ghost Story Megapack

  The Third Ghost Story Megapack

  The Haunts & Horrors Megapack

  The Horror Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Macabre Megapack

  The Second Macabre Megapack

  The Third Macabre Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Mummy Megapack

  The Occult Detective Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Vampire Megapack

  The Weird Fiction Megapack

  The Werewolf Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack

  WESTERNS

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Boys’ Adventure Megapack

  The Dan Carter, Cub Scout Megapack

  The Dare Boys Megapack

  The Doll Story Megapack

  The G.A. Henty Megapack

  The Girl Detectives Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Penny Parker Megapack

  The Pinocchio Megapack

  The Rover Boys Megapack

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet Megapack

  The Tom Swift Megapack

  The Wizard of Oz Megapack

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  The Achmed Abdullah Megapack

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Edward Bellamy Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Second E.F. Benson Megapack

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson Megapack

  The Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Second Algernon Blackwood Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The First Reginald Bretnor Megapack

  The Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Second Fredric Brown Megapack

  The Wilkie Collins Megapack

  The Stephen Crane Megapack

  The Ray Cummings Megapack

  The Guy de Maupassant Megapack

  The Philip K. Dick Megapack

  The Frederick Douglass Megapack

  The Erckmann-Chatrian Megapack

  The F. Scott Fitzgerald Megapack

  The First R. Austin Freeman Megapack

  The Second R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Third R. Austin Freeman Megapack*

  The Jacques Futrelle Megapack

  The Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Second Randall Garrett Megapack

  The Anna Katharine Green Megapack

  The Zane Grey Megapack

  The Edmond Hamilton Megapack

  The Dashiell Hammett Megapack

  The C.J. Henderson Megapack

  The M.R. James Megapack

  The Selma Lagerlof Megapack

  The Harold Lamb Megapack

  The Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Second Murray Leinster Megapack***

  The Jonas Lie Megapack

  The Arthur Machen Megapack**

  The Katherine Mansfield Megapack

  The George Barr McCutcheon Megapack

  The A. Merritt Megapack*

  The Talbot Mundy Megapack

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Bram Stoker Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western Megapack

  The Virginia Woolf Megapack

  The William Hope Hodgson Megapack

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  OTHER COLLECTIONS YOU MAY ENJOY

  The Great Book of Wonder, by Lord Dunsany (it should have been called “The Lord Dunsany Megapack”)

  The Wildside Book of Fantasy

  The Wildside Book of Science Fiction

  Yondering: The First Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  To the Stars—And Beyond! The Second Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Once Upon a Future: The Third Borgo Press Book of Science Fiction Stories

  Whodunit?—The First Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  More Whodunits—The Second Borgo Press Book of Crime and Mystery Stories

  X is for Xmas: Christmas Mysteries

  NO GUN TO THE VICTOR

  CON-SUM-ER (KON-SUM-ER}, n., 1. A person who destroys, uses up, or wastes industrial production in order to control the size of the population and make possible the full employment that is necessary for a healthy economy. 2. One who has not yet achieved producer status. 3. Any person under twenty-one. 4. (Obs.) A person who uses goods or services to satisfy his needs rather than to resell them or to produce other goods with them.—The Authorized Dictionary (New Washington, Kansas: The Federal Printing Office, 3rd ed., 1984)

  It was Saturday so Alan had to go out and get the mail. Just as the letter carrier’s tank clanked away, he got his cousin Alf to man the front door turret and went zigzagging down the communication trench that led to the street. As he reached cautiously up to open the small door in the bottom of the armored mail box, there was a sudden crack from across the way and the whine of a near miss sent him tumbling back into the slit trench. A m
oment later there was a coughing stutter as Alf opened up with the fifty and pounded a burst into the tungsten steel shutters of the house across the street. Alan jumped to his feet, dumped the mail out of the box, and then made a quick dive for safety just in case Alf’s fire hadn’t completely discouraged the Higgens kid.

  The mail didn’t look particularly exciting. There wasn’t anything for him and aside from a few letters for his uncle, most of what had come consisted of advertisements for sniper-scopes and stuff like that. The only exceptions were two small black boxes. They looked like samples of something, and since, as the only consumer left in the family, samples were Alan’s perquisite, he promptly stuffed them into his worn grenade carrier, and just as promptly forgot about them. Until that evening when the man from Consolidated Munitions stopped by, that is.

  Mr. Flugnet was so disturbed that he’d forgotten to take off his white truce hat “We think the promotion crew passed out a batch on this street,” he said as Alan slipped into the room and sat down quietly in the far corner. “But we’re not sure.”

  “Why not?” asked Alan’s uncle, a weedy little man with a somewhat nasal voice.

  “Because some damn kid dropped a mortar shell on their halftrack while they were on the way back to the warehouse to pick up another load. Got every one of them. Were any samples dropped off here?”

  “Alan brought in the mail,” volunteered Alf.

  “Was there anything in it that somebody wanted that they didn’t get?” asked Alan in a small voice. They all turned and looked at him, aware of his presence for the first time.

  “I’m from Consolidated Munitions,” said Mr. Flugnet.

  “Yes, sir?”

  “Did you find a small black box in the mail? We’ve been passing out samples of our new concussion grenade and we just discovered today that several…uh…overpowered experimental models had got mixed in with them by mistake. We’re trying to track them down before its…well, before something unfortunate happens.”

  Alan was just about to reach into his grenade case and produce the two little cartons when the word “overpowered” registered. He struggled briefly against temptation and lost.

  “I dumped all the advertising stuff on the hall table.” He felt suddenly that his grenade case had become transparent and that the little black boxes inside, now grown to quadruple size, were visible to everybody in the room. He knew it couldn’t be, but even so he let his hand drop casually over the carrier just in case there might be a revealing bulge. “I’ll go check.”

  Once the door was safely shut behind him, he took the two boxes out, opened them, and examined their contents. There was a little metallic globe in each, but one had a roughly soldered seam that made it look like a hand production job. He gave a little whistle of excitement and stowed it away carefully in his pocket. If he was going to make it through the game with North, he was going to need super power. After replacing the other grenade in his box and putting it back in his carrier, he squatted down on his haunches and listened at the keyhole. He wanted to find out something more about his new weapon.