Astounding Science Fiction (British Edition)

# Catalog Entry

Astounding Science Fiction, Vol. 5, No. 11 (British edition, August 1947), contains three science fiction novelettes and one short story set in a totalitarian future. "The Equalizer" by Jack Williamson depicts a fascistic Earth ruled by Director Tyler, served by an "Atomic Service" and the SBI (Special Bureau of Investigation). The narrative follows Chad Barstow and Jim Cameron, two scientists recently released from SBI imprisonment after returning from a twenty-year mining expedition to a dark star, where they extracted plutonium. Hudd, a secretary of Tyler's regime, coerces them into undertaking unspecified work, threatening execution. Barstow's father, a former Secretary of Atomics who opposed Tyler's authoritarianism, disappeared into labor camps; Cameron distinguished himself through scientific innovation but remains politically suspect. The story examines resistance to autocratic control through personal loyalty tested against state power.