The Eleventh Golden Age of Science Fiction Megapack Read online

  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The MEGAPACK™ Ebook Series

  TANGLE HOLD

  ACCIDENTAL FLIGHT

  FORGET ME NEARLY

  MEZZEROW LOVES COMPANY

  STUDENT BODY

  THE IMPOSSIBLE VOYAGE HOME

  SECOND LANDING

  BOLDEN’S PETS

  WORLDS IN BALANCE

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Golden Age of Science Fiction MEGAPACK™: F.L. Wallace is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  * * * *

  The MEGAPACK™ ebook series name is a trademark of Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  The “Golden Age of Science Fiction” MEGAPACK™ ebooks are designed to introduce readers to classic science fiction writers of the 1940s-1960s who might otherwise be forgotten. Floyd L. Wallace (1915-2004) is one such unjustly forgotten author.

  Wallace wrote not only science fiction, but mysteries. He was born in Rock Island, Illinois, in 1915, and died in Tustin, California, in 2004. He spent most of his life in California working as a mechanical engineer after attending the University of Iowa.

  His first published story, “Hideaway,” appeared in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction, but most of his work appeared in Galaxy Science Fiction and other science fiction magazines, including the classics short stories “Bolden’s Pets” and “Tangle Hold” (both of which are included here). His mystery works include “Driving Lesson,” a second-prize winner in the twelfth annual short story contest held by Ellery Queen’s Mystery Magazine.

  Wallace was most comfortable writing at shorter lengths and only wrote one science fiction novel, Address: Centauri, which was published by Gnome Press in 1955 (and recently reprinted in facsimile by Wildside Press).

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE SERIES

  Over the last few years, our MEGAPACK™ ebook series has grown to be our most popular endeavor. (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 MEGAPACK™ ebook series (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, Shawn Garrett, Helen McGee, 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™ ebook 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™ Ebook Series

  MYSTERY

  The Lady Sleuth MEGAPACK™

  The First Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Second Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The Bulldog Drummond MEGAPACK™*

  The Carolyn Wells Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Charlie Chan MEGAPACK™*

  The Craig Kennedy Scientific Detective MEGAPACK™

  The Detective MEGAPACK™

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story 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 Penny Parker MEGAPACK™

  The Philo Vance MEGAPACK™*

  The Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Raffles MEGAPACK™

  The Red Finger Pulp Mystery MEGAPACK™, by Arthur Leo Zagat*

  The Sherlock Holmes MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Mystery MEGAPACK™

  The Victorian Rogues 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 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™

  The Thanksgiving MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  THE GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION

  1. Winston K. Marks

  2. Mark Clifton

  3. Poul Anderson

  4. Clifford D. Simak

  5. Lester del Rey

  6. Charles L. Fontenay

  7. H.B. Fyfe

  8. Milton Lesser (Stephen Marlowe)

  9. Dave Dryfoos

  10. Carl Jacobi

  11. F.L. Wallace

  SCIENCE FICTION & FANTASY

  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 Ninth Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The First Reginald Bretnor MEGAPACK™

  The Fredric Brown MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The First Theodore Cogswell 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 Lost Worlds MEGAPACK™

  The Mad Scientist MEGAPACK™

  The Martian MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The Pu
lp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Milton A. Rothman Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Science-Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Space Opera MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Steampunk MEGAPACK™

  The Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Second Time Travel MEGAPACK™

  The Utopia MEGAPACK™

  The William Hope Hodgson MEGAPACK™

  The First Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second Willam P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Willam P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  The Zanthodon MEGAPACK™, by Lin Carter

  HORROR

  The 2014 Halloween Horrors MEGAPACK™

  The Horror MEGAPACK™

  The Second Horror MEGAPACK™

  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 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™

  WESTERN

  The Andy Adams Western MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower MEGAPACK™

  The Max Brand MEGAPACK™

  The Buffalo Bill MEGAPACK™

  The Cowboy MEGAPACK™

  The Zane Grey MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Western MEGAPACK™

  The Second Western MEGAPACK™

  The Third Western MEGAPACK™

  The Western Romance MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  YOUNG ADULT

  The Bobbsey Twins MEGAPACK™

  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 Second Carolyn Wells MEGAPACK™

  The Space Patrol MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Corbett, Space Cadet MEGAPACK™

  The Tom Swift MEGAPACK™

  The Wizard of Oz MEGAPACK™

  SINGLE-AUTHOR

  The Achmed Abdullah MEGAPACK™

  The H. Bedford-Jones Pulp Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Edward Bellamy MEGAPACK™

  The E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Second E.F. Benson MEGAPACK™

  The Henri Bergson MEGAPACK™

  The Lloyd Biggle, Jr. MEGAPACK™

  The Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson MEGAPACK™

  The Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The Second Algernon Blackwood MEGAPACK™

  The B.M. Bower 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 William Hope Hodgson 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 William P. McGivern Fantasy MEGAPACK™

  The First William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The Second William P. McGivern Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  The A. Merritt MEGAPACK™*

  The Talbot Mundy MEGAPACK™

  The E. Nesbit MEGAPACK™

  The Andre Norton MEGAPACK™

  The H. Beam Piper MEGAPACK™

  The E. Hoffmann Price Spicy Story MEGAPACK™

  The Mack Reynolds MEGAPACK™

  The Rafael Sabatini MEGAPACK™

  The Saki MEGAPACK™

  The Darrell Schweitzer MEGAPACK™

  The Charles Alden Seltzer MEGAPACK™

  The Robert Sheckley MEGAPACK™

  The Bram Stoker MEGAPACK™

  The Fred M. White Disaster MEGAPACK™

  The Lon Williams Weird Western MEGAPACK™

  The Walt Whitman MEGAPACK™

  The Virginia Woolf MEGAPACK™

  The Arthur Leo Zagat Science Fiction MEGAPACK™

  * Not available in the United States

  ** Not available in the European Union

  ***Out of print.

  FREE PROMO MINIPACKS™

  Each one is only available for a single day—on Free Ebook Monday! Like us on Facebook to see new title announcements.

  The Lt. Jon Jarl of the Space Patrol MINIPACK™, by Eando Binder

  The Paul Di Filippo MINIPACK™

  The John Gregory Betancourt MINIPACK™

  The Thubway Tham Thanksgiving MINIPACK™

  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

  TANGLE HOLD

  Originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction, June 1953.

  Somebody was wrapping him in a sheet of ice and spice. Somebody was pulling it tight so that his toes ached and his fingers tingled
. He still had fingers, and eyes too. He opened his eyes and they turned in opposite directions and couldn’t focus on what they saw. He made an effort, but couldn’t keep it up and had to let his eyes flutter shut again.

  “Rest. You’re all right.” That’s where he got the idea of ice and spice—from that voice.

  “Mmmm,” said Jadiver. He tried to raise his hand, but it wouldn’t move. It was good advice—to rest; he couldn’t do otherwise. “What happened?” he whispered.

  “You had an accident. Remember?”

  He didn’t. It was his mind playing tricks, of course. It couldn’t have been pleasant if his memory didn’t have access to it.

  “Mmmm,” he evaded.

  “Go to sleep. We’ll talk later.”

  He thought he felt something shoved deep in his flesh, but he may have been wrong. In any event, the light that filtered through his closed eyelids faded away and the external world, of which there wasn’t much in the first place, vanished completely.

  * * * *

  Later, he awakened. How much later, he didn’t know, but it may have been days. The oppressive languor had left him and he felt capable of movement. To prove it to himself, he turned his head. He was alone, and he thought he recognized where he was. He didn’t like it.

  There was an odor in the room, but this time it was the kind that lingers in all hospitals. He tried to sit up, but that was more than he could manage. He lay there a long time, looking through the heavily reinforced window; then someone came in.

  “You’ll live,” said the voice behind him—the same voice.

  “Think so?” He hadn’t intended to turn around, but the spice was back and he wanted to see. It was only the fragrance she wore—there was none in her voice or demeanor. That was still ice.

  When she sat down, he could see that her hair was a shade of copper and the uniform she wore a dark green. She was not a robot and therefore not a nurse or a guard. It was logical to assume she was a doctor, police variety—definitely the police.

  Thadeus Jadiver sighed. “What am I in for?”

  “You’re not in for anything. Maybe you should be, but that’s not my business,” she said in a flat voice. That was the only thing about her that was flat; the rest curved nicely even under the uniform. “This is an emergency as well as a police hospital. We were close, so we took you in.”

  That was reassuring. Jadiver tried to smile as he lifted a curiously bandaged arm. “Thanks for this.”

  “I’ll take only half the credit. That was a combo job.”

  He was going to have difficulty if she insisted on using technical slang. “What’s a combo job?”

  “Just what it sounds like. A combination robot-human surgeon. All hospitals use them. The robot is more precise and delicate, but it lacks the final margin of judgment that’s supplied by the human. Two of us work together in critical cases.”