Astounding Stories #189

In "A Day in the Life of Dynamo," ordinary office worker Len Brown’s quiet morning spirals into a globe-hopping quest when he’s swept from his desk to Hong Kong and then deep beneath the earth, where he must confront the Overlord’s plan to unleash nuclear devastation. Along the way, he’s aided by the mysterious Iron Maiden, a figure as enigmatic as the dangers he faces. By the time he returns, the moment to ask for a raise has slipped away—though he might just have earned something far greater.

In "When Aliens Meet!" from Astounding Stories #189 (1988), a space hunter who captures alien creatures for sport finds himself on an alien world where the locals see him as just another specimen—locked away in a zoo. After escaping, he comes to a startling realization about the cost of captivity, vowing to change his ways.

In "The Impossible Tunnel!", Robert Saunders sets out to construct a daring sub-oceanic passage between North America and Europe—only to stumble upon a hidden, peaceful underground society. Torn between progress and preservation, he makes a choice that could change everything.

In "The Monster Escapes!" from Astounding Stories #189 (1988), a stranded alien desperate to return home stumbles into an airtight time capsule—only to find himself trapped as his plan for escape turns deadly. The story unfolds with quiet dread, turning a moment of survival into a chilling accident.

In "Nothing Can Save Us!" from Astounding Stories #189, a group of stranded space pilots face a terrifying creature on a desolate planet—only to discover their fear may have been misplaced. When they realize the so-called dragon is actually the planet’s last defense against deadly asteroids, their survival hinges on understanding what they thought was a monster.

In "Land of Vanishing Men," a stranded alien, baffled by Earth’s strange customs, asks a passing man if he’s on Earth—only to be met with a dry “No, it’s Mars.” The alien vanishes, leaving behind a trail of confusion. Soon, Earth’s scientists detect strange activity on Mars, unaware the planet they’re watching is actually the one the alien has already claimed.

In "Sorry, Wrong Planet!", a bemused alien arrives on Earth, only to be met with dry sarcasm from a passerby who insists he’s on Mars. The alien, taking the joke literally, vanishes—only for scientists to later spot colonization efforts on Mars, completely unaware the mistake was a misunderstanding, not a threat.

In *Astounding Stories #189*, Ben Talbot raises an infant he finds in the New England woods, only to face a reckoning when she grows into a woman who refuses his marriage and his ambitions. As her true nature awakens, her return to the forest sets in motion a transformation that defies time and morality.