The Mad Scientist Megapack Read online

  Contents

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  THE MEGAPACK SERIES

  MYSHKIN, by David V. Reed

  A LIGHT THAT SHAMED THE SUN, by C. J. Henderson

  INCOMPLETE DATA, by H.B. Fyfe

  THE CORPSE ON THE GRATING, by Hugh B. Cave

  COSMIC TELETYPE, by Carl Jacobi

  MONSTER KIDNAPS GIRL AT MAD SCIENTIST’S COMMAND!, by Lawrence Watt-Evans

  GREAT MINDS, by Edward M. Lerner

  THE MAN WHO EVOLVED, by Edmond Hamilton

  NO GUTS, NO GLORY, by Edward M. Lerner

  THE DEVOTEE OF EVIL, by Clark Ashton Smith

  SONG OF DEATH, by Ed Earl Repp

  STATUS: COMPLETE, by Leslie J. Furlong

  FOOD FOR THOUGHT, by Jack Dolphin

  DR. VARSAG’S EXPERIMENT, by Craig Ellis

  PUBLIC SAFETY, by Matthew Johnson

  THE WORLD IN A BOX, by Carl Jacobi

  MACHINE RECORD, by Theodore R. Cogswell

  THE BIRTHMARK, by Nathaniel Hawthorne

  HERBERT WEST—REANIMATOR, by H.P. Lovecraft

  ZAPT’S REPULSIVE PASTE, by J.U. Giesy

  THE STRANGE CASE OF DR. JEKYLL AND MR. HYDE, by Robert Louis Stevenson

  THE MAN WHO STOPPED THE EARTH, by Henry J. Kostkos

  SYMPATHY FOR MAD SCIENTISTS, by John Gregory Betancourt

  ABOUT THE AUTHORS

  COPYRIGHT INFO

  The Mad Scientists Megapack is copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press, LLC. All rights reserved. Cover copyright © 2014 by Thinkstock.

  * * * *

  “Myshkin,” by David V. Reed, originally appeared in Other Worlds Science Fiction, April 1953.

  “A Light That Shamed the Sun,” by C.J. Henderson, originally appeared in Sir Walter’s Salon. Copyright © 2009 by C.J. Henderson. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Incomplete Data,” by H.B. Fyfe, is original to this publication (but was written in the 1940s). Copyright © 2014 by Wildside Press LLC. (Wildside owns the Literary Estate of H.B. Fyfe.)

  “The Corpse on the Grating,” by Hugh B. Cave, originally appeared in Astounding Stories, February 1930.

  “The Cosmic Teletype,” by Carl Jacobi, originally appeared in Thrilling Wonder Stories, October 1938. Copyright renewed 1964 by Popular Library, Inc. (renewal # R368250). Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.

  “Monster Kidnaps Girl at Mad Scientist’s Command!” by Lawrence Watt-Evans, originally appeared in Crosstime Traffic. Copyright © 1992 by Lawrence Watt-Evans. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Great Minds,” by Edward M. Lerner, originally appeared in Jim Baen’s Universe, October 2006. Copyright © 2006 by Edward M. Lerner. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Man Who Evolved,” by Edmond Hamilton, originally appeared in Wonder Stories, April 1931.

  “No GUTs, No Glory,” by Edward M. Lerneroriginally appeared in Jim Baen’s Universe, August 2009. Copyright © 2009 by Edward M. Lerner. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “The Devotee of Evil,” by Clark Ashton Smith, originally appeared in The Double Shadow and Other Fantasies (1933).

  “Song of Death,” by Ed Earl Repp, originally appeared in Amazing Stories, November 1938.

  “Status: Complete,” by Leslie J. Furlong, originally appeared in Shadows Realms #5, May/June 2005. Copyright © 2005 by Leslie J. Furlong. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Dr. Varsag’s Experiment” originally appeared in Amazing Stories, January 1940.

  “Public Safety,” by Matthew Johnson, originally appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, March 2007. Copyright © 2007 by Matthew Johnson. Reprinted by permission of the author.

  “Machine Record,” by Theodore R. Cogswell, originally appeared in Science Fiction Adventures, No. 20, May 1961. Copyright © 1961 by Theodore R. Cogswell. Reprinted by permission of the author’s estate.

  “The Birthmark,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, originally appeared in The Pioneer, March 1843.

  “Herbert West—Reanimator,” by H.P. Lovecraft, originally appeared in 1922.

  “Zapt’s Repulsive Pace,” by J.U. Giesy, originally appeared in All-Story, November 19, 1929. No record of copyright renewal found.

  “The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde,” by Robert Louis Stevenson, originally appaered in 1886.

  “The Man Who Stopped by Earth,” by Henry J. Kostkos, originally appeared in Amazing Stories, March 1934.

  “Sympathy for Mad Scientists,” by John Gregory Betancourt, originally appeared in Horrors! 365 Scary Stories. Copyright © 2001 by John Gregory Betancourt. Reprinted by permission of the editor of this ebook, who happened to write this story and really, really hopes you enjoy it.

  A NOTE FROM THE PUBLISHER

  Who doesn’t love a Mad Scientist?

  From Victor Frankenstein to Doctor Moreau to Herbert West, the Mad Scientist has been a staple of science fiction for generations. I have always been fascinated by them, and I’m pleased to present a selection of Mad Scientist stories from the classics like H.P. Lovecraft’s “Herbert West—Reanimator” and The Strange Case of Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde to modern and classic tales you probably haven’t heard of before (including an original tale by H.B. Fyfe, discovered among his papers after Wildside Press purchased his literary estate).

  Enjoy!

  —John Betancourt

  Publisher, Wildside Press LLC

  www.wildsidepress.com

  ABOUT THE MEGAPACKS

  Over the last few years, our “Megapack” series of ebook anthologies has grown to be among our most popular endeavors. (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 Megapacks (except where specifically credited) are a group effort. Everyone at Wildside works on them. This includes John Betancourt (me), Carla Coupe, Steve Coupe, 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 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 SERIES

  MYSTERY

  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 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 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 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 GOLDEN AGE OF SCIENCE FICTION MEGAPACKS

  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)

  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 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 Mad Scientist Megapack

  The Martian Megapack

  The A. Merritt Megapack*

  The E. Nesbit Megapack

  The Andre Norton Megapack

  The H. Beam Piper Megapack

  The Pulp Fiction Megapack

  The Mack Reynolds 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 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

  HORROR

  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

  WESTERNS

  The Western Megapack

  The Second Western Megapack

  The Third Western Megapack

  The B.M. Bower Megapack

  The Max Brand Megapack

  The Buffalo Bill Megapack

  The Cowboy Megapack

  The Zane Grey 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

  AUTHOR MEGAPACKS

  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 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 L
agerlof 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 Mack Reynolds Megapack

  The Rafael Sabatini Megapack

  The Saki Megapack

  The Darrell Schweitzer Megapack

  The Robert Sheckley Megapack

  The Bram Stoker Megapack

  The Fred M. White Disaster Megapack

  The Lon Williams Weird Western 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.

  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

  MYSHKIN, by David V. Reed

  Since it became known that I was mixed up in what Time called, “The Mad Myshkin Affair,” I’ve been bothered so much I decided to put it down, get it printed, and the hell with it. My life has become too complicated. Day and night, my telephone’s at the mercy of jerks, ghouls, crackpots and people with out-of-town accents. My mail’s so heavy, by the time I find the bills, they’re overdue. And nobody believes it anyway, so the hell with it.

  But one thing I’d like understood from the start: I don’t expect to be believed. By now I’m just a little weary of telling people I mean it, even if I can’t explain it. Aren’t scientists working on it? They had me down at the Institute again last week, and there were dozens of them in white coats, waving pince-nez at me. It may take them a long time to figure it out but when it happens—and it’ll happen!—everybody’ll realize I meant it. Remember, I wasn’t alone in this. Meanwhile I’m reconciled. I know it’s wild. I knew it all the time it was happening, but that was no reason not to believe it.…