Astounding Science Fiction, British Edition

About this issue

Dead Hand by Isaac Asimov—A novelette from the Foundation series set four centuries into a weakening Galactic Empire. General Bel Riose, an ambitious military officer stationed at the Periphery frontier, visits the elderly scholar Ducem Barr seeking intelligence about mysterious "magicians" reportedly originating from beyond the imperial borders. Barr reveals classified knowledge spanning forty years: his exiled father encountered a merchant from the Periphery bearing an advanced personal force-shield—technology far beyond current imperial capability. The merchant left behind a non-functional generator, now a relic. Barr explains his continued research into these mysterious figures, connecting them to Hari Seldon, a renowned psycho-historian from Siwenna's past. The story explores the tension between Riose's military ambitions and Barr's guardianship of dangerous historical secrets.