The Best of Bova, Volume III

Ben Bova

Volume #3 of 3 of the very best of Ben Bova, a grandmaster of science fiction storytelling. These stories span the five decades of Bova’s incandescent career.

Here are tales of star-faring adventure, peril, and drama. Here are journeys into the mind-bending landscapes of virtual worlds and alternate realities. Here you’ll also find stories of humanity’s astounding future on Earth, on Mars and in the Solar System beyond—stories that always get the science right. And Bova’s gathering of deeply realized, totally human characters are the heroic, brave, tricky, sometimes dastardly engineers, astronauts, corporate magnates, politicians, and scientists who will make these futures possible—and those who often find that the problems of tomorrow are always linked to human values, and human failings, that are as timeless as the stars.

Cover Art by Adam Burn

THE BEST OF BOVA: VOLUME III

This is a work of fiction. All the characters and events portrayed in this book are fictional, and any resemblance to real people or incidents is purely coincidental.

Copyright 2017 by Ben Bova

Introduction © 2017 by Ben Bova; “Sepulcher” first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction © November 1992; “The Man Who . . .” first published in Maxwell’s Demons © September 1978; “Conspiracy Theory” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © April 1993; “The Great Moon Hoax” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction © September 1996; “Build Me a Mountain” first published in 2020 Vision © February 1974; “Crisis of the Month” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction © March 1988; “Free Enterprise” first published in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact © February 1984; “Vision” first published in Analog Science Fiction/Science Fact © January 1980; “Moon Race” first published in Jim Baen’s Universe © December 2008; “Scheherazade and the Storytellers” first published in Gateways © July 2010; “Nuclear Autumn” first published in Far Frontiers © April 1985; “Lower the River” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © June 1997; “The Café Coup” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction © September 1997; “Remember, Caesar” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction © March 1998; “Life as We Know It” first published in The Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction © September 1995; “Delta Vee” first published in Twice Seven © August 1998; “We’ll Always Have Paris” first published in New Frontiers © July 2014; “The Babe, the Iron Horse, and Mr. McGillicuddy” by Ben Bova and Rick Wilber, first published in Asimov’s Science Fiction © March 1997; “Greenhouse Chill” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © January 2000; “Brothers” first published in In the Field of Fire © February 1987; “Interdepartmental Memorandum” first published in Challenges © July 1993; “World War 4.5” first published in Challenges © July 1993; “Sam Below Par” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © July 2012; “High Jump” first published in Amazing Stories © Summer 2000; “The Question” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © January 1998; “Waterbot” first published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact © June 2008; “Duel in the Somme” first published in Apex Science Fiction & Horror Digest © June 2006; “Bloodless Victory” first published in New Frontiers: A Collection of Tales About the Past, the Present, and the Future © July 2014; “Mars Farts” first published in Free Stories © March 2013; “A Pale Blue Dot” first published in New Frontiers: A Collection of Tales About the Past, the Present, and the Future © July 2014; “Stars, Won’t You Hide Me?” first published in Worlds of Tomorrow © January 1966; “Monster Slayer” first published in Absolute Magnitude & Aboriginal Science Fiction © June 2003.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form.

A Baen Books Original

Baen Publishing Enterprises

P.O. Box 1403

Riverdale, NY 10471

www.baen.com

ISBN-13: 978-1-4814-8259-2

eISBN: 978-1-62579-603-5

Cover Art by Adam Burn

First Baen printing August 2017

Distributed by Simon & Schuster

1230 Avenue of the Americas

New York, NY 10020

Printed in the United States of America

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Electronic version by Baen Books

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Contents

INTRODUCTION

SEPULCHER

THE MAN WHO. . .