Spaceway, June 1954

Spaceway, June 1954

This issue features the novelet "X of Mizar" by Arthur J. Burks, in which the first Earth explorer to reach the star Mizar encounters an alien entity composed of mist-like matter, neither animal nor plant, that communicates through a hijacked typewriter. The entity describes itself as "X"—the unknown quantity—and reveals it has absorbed explorer Jacob Fels's knowledge while remaining largely invisible. Additional contents include novelets "The Uncompromising People" by Jim Harmon and shorter science fiction tales: "The Green Earth Forever" (Christopher Monig), "The Human Thing to Do" (Kinsley McWhorter Jr.), "The Long Night" (Melvin Sturgis), "Martian Pete" (Atlantis Hallarn), "The Plague" (Albert Hernhuter), "Pearls of Parida" (Alma Hill), and "One Out of Many" (Mark Pines). Themes span alien encounters, space travel, and speculative futures. The issue also includes a feature on hypnotism by A. E. van Vogt and science fiction film reviews.