Inheritance

by Edward W. Ludwig

Shakily, Martin rose. His mind was clear now, the fogginess washed away by the cool morning air. There was only hunger, that great gnawing hunger, and thirst that made his throat and mouth seem as dry as ancient parchment.  As he stood overlooking the valley below with its green fields and little groves of trees, a realization came to him. The..

The Aab

by Edward W. Ludwig

The cool Martian wind crept across the rust-red expanse of desert. Occasionally its soft touch stirred the thorny leaves of Devil's Eggs—the squat black plants which peppered the silent monotony. Here and there a wisp of sand spiraled upward into the bright, thin morning. The wind felt clean and new on Monk O'Hara's coarse, blond-stubbled face. He ..

The First

by Edward W. Ludwig

The city was enchanted. It was a colossal music box blaring forth a thousand chants of victory. It was a rainbow torn down from the sky and poured over the earth. It was a magic nursery through which eager-eyed children swarmed to behold a sparkling new toy.Three spacemen, three conquerors-to-be, sat stiffly in the back seat of a blue-bannered conv..