Alpha 3 Author:Robert Silverberg (Editor) Anthology of Ten great stories by Brian W, Aldiss, Arthur C. Clarke, L. Sprague de Camp, Philip K. Dick, Thomas M. Disch, Philip Jos'e Farmer, R. A. Lafferty, Frederik Pohl, Cordwainer Smith, Jack Vance — Contents: — "Nine Hundred Grandmothers" R. A. Lafferty — There are many stories about the quest for immortality; most of them offer... more »ing the sour-grapes consolation that eternal life would be hellish, and death desirable. This one evades that simple-minded approach without offering the conventional consolation of religious or scientific optimism. It can be seen as more about communication than life and death. What does this story have to say about the typical SF notion that we can learn the secrets of the universe from wise alien races?
"Day Million" Frederik Pohl
Some SF writers like Isaac Asimov assume that "human nature" stays essentially the same. Pohl here makes an assault on that assumption by describing a future humanity that is almost incredible.