Sometimes the queerly shaped Venusian trees seemed to talk to him, but their voices were soft. They were loyal people. There were four men in the lifeboat that came down from the space-cruiser. Three of them were still in the uniform of the Galactic Guards.

Author Biography

Fredric Brown (1906 - 1972) was an American science fiction and mystery writer. He is perhaps best known for his use of humor and for his mastery of the "short short" form-stories of 1 to 3 pages, often with ingenious plotting devices and surprise endings. Humor and a somewhat postmodern outlook carried over into his novels as well. One of his stories, "Arena," is officially credited for an adaptation as an episode of the American television series Star Trek. Dallas McCord "Mack" Reynolds (1917 - 1983) was an American science fiction writer. His pen names included Dallas Ross, Mark Mallory, Clark Collins, Dallas Rose, Guy McCord, Maxine Reynolds, Bob Belmont and Todd Harding. His work focused on socioeconomic speculation, usually expressed in thought-provoking explorations of Utopian societies from a radical, sometime satiric, perspective. He was a considerably popular author from the 1950s to the 1970s, especially with readers of science fiction and fantasy magazines.