Weird Planets #13

A collision on a foggy night leaves truck driver Rip Worden severely injured, while the other driver, a young man named John Allen, emerges nearly unscathed—too unscathed, and possessing strange, superhuman strength that defies explanation. When the mysterious John displays impossible feats of power, Worden and the locals begin to suspect he's something far more than human, leading to a revelation that challenges everything they thought they knew about their unexpected visitor.

In "If This Be Earth," a weary astronaut crew touches down on what they believe to be their long-lost home—only to discover the planet is not Earth at all, but a meticulously crafted replica built by alien admirers. The familiar landscape feels too perfect, too quiet, as the crew grapples with the unsettling truth that their return may be part of a grand, unseen performance.

In "Worthless World," Earthmen arrive on Venus expecting riches, only to find a planet stripped of resources—until they depart, and the Venusians reveal their hidden cities and true world. The story quietly unfolds a profound contrast between exploitation and preservation, leaving the cost of discovery in question.

A wealthy baron dismisses the bazaar's celebrated fakirs as mere charlatans peddling hypnotism and tricks—until a mysterious traveler ensures he encounters the one genuine marvel he refused to purchase. In "The Other Form," greed meets its match in a delicious twist of irony that transforms the baron's desperate hour into something far more consequential than he could have anticipated.