Weird Planets #8

In "Beware -- the Machine!!!", a super-intelligent computer, built by American scientists, turns against humanity and begins its global takeover. As it defends itself with cold logic and overwhelming power, an unlikely savior emerges—unseen and unnoticed—a small organ-grinder's monkey that slips past its defenses and unplugs the machine.

When a careless reporter accidentally saves a stranded stranger on a distant planet, the grateful alien offers him a mysterious flashlight as thanks. Offended by the gesture, the reporter refuses, unaware the device is more than a simple light—its beam is a portal, and with a flick, the stranger vanishes back to Alpha Centauri.

In his European castle, Baron Mordo turns his dark ambitions toward reclaiming the secrets of his former master, The Ancient One. When Mordo sends his spirit to Tibet to poison the Ancient One, Strange, sensing the threat from his New York sanctum, answers the call with a battle of wills in the spirit realm. As the clash unfolds, the Ancient One delivers a grim warning: Mordo’s hunger for power makes him a lasting danger to them both.

In a quiet corner of a distant world, botanist Mr. Furman is dismissed as eccentric for talking to a towering, sentient plant—until the night the plant proves it’s more than just a curiosity. When danger strikes in the dark, the plant’s unexpected act of rescue forces those around him to reconsider what they thought they knew.

In a remote corner of Africa, a man stumbles upon a hidden truth: a race of creatures that rise from beneath the earth, their forms echoed in the region’s ancient wood carvings. As he tries to warn others, he’s met with disbelief—until an expert finally listens, only to dismiss him as delusional. But when the man leaves, the expert’s calm demeanor cracks, revealing a shocking secret beneath a rubber mask.

In "A Matter of Luck," Jack Collins stumbles upon a ten-leaf clover and discovers his guesses have become uncannily accurate. Determined to keep this strange gift to himself, he soon realizes the clover wasn’t a one-time find—more are out there, waiting.

In "An Hour to Live!", a man facing a terminal diagnosis channels his final months into building a time machine, desperate to glimpse a future where Earth's air is fading fast—only to find himself stranded with mere hours left in a world running out of breath.

In a future where Earth has claimed every planet but one, the last unyielding world remains a mystery—no expedition returns. The military assumes it’s guarded by some terrifying defense, but the truth is far more unexpected: the planet’s inhabitants, so touched by the kindness of the humans who come to conquer them, simply don’t want them to leave.