The Rediscovery of Man

Welcome to the strangest, most distinctive future ever imagined by a science fiction writer. An interstellar empire ruled by the mysterious Lords of the Instrumentality, whose access to the drug stroon from the planet Norstrilia confers on them virtual immortality. A world in which wealthy and leisured humanity is served by the underpeople, genetically engineered animals turned into the semblance of people. A world in which the great ships which sail between the stars are eventually supplanted by the mysterious, instantaneous technique of planoforming. A world of wonder and myth, and extraordinary imagination.

Contents (view Concise Listing)

viii • Timeline from The Instrumentality of Mankind • (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce [as by J. J. Pierce ]

xi • Cordwainer Smith: The Shaper of Myths • (1975) • essay by John J. Pierce [as by J. J. Pierce ]

1 • Scanners Live in Vain • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1950) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

40 • The Lady Who Sailed the Soul • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1960) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith and Genevieve Linebarger [as by Cordwainer Smith ]

67 • The Game of Rat and Dragon • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1955) • shortstory by Cordwainer Smith

84 • The Burning of the Brain • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1958) • shortstory by Cordwainer Smith

95 • The Crime and the Glory of Commander Suzdal • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1964) • shortstory by Cordwainer Smith

114 • Golden the Ship Was - Oh! Oh! Oh! • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1959) • shortstory by Cordwainer Smith and Genevieve Linebarger [as by Cordwainer Smith ]

124 • The Dead Lady of Clown Town • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1964) • novella by Cordwainer Smith

210 • Under Old Earth • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1966) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

257 • Mother Hitton's Littul Kittons • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1961) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

283 • Alpha Ralpha Boulevard • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1961) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

315 • The Ballad of Lost C'Mell • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1962) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith

338 • A Planet Named Shayol • [The Instrumentality of Mankind] • (1961) • novelette by Cordwainer Smith