Off the Main Sequence

''Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein'' () is a collection of 27 short stories by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, including three that were never previously collected in book form. The title is a play on the astronomy concept

off the main sequence ''Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein'' () is a collection of 27 short stories by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, including three that were never previously collected in book form. The title is a pl ...

, and refers to these stories not being part of Heinlein's Future History.

* "Introduction" by Greg Bear * "Foreword" by Michael Cassutt * "Editor's Note" by Andrew Wheeler * " Successful Operation" (as "Heil") by Lyle Monroe, '' Futuria Fantasia'', April 1940 * "

Let There Be Light "Let there be light" is an English translation of the Hebrew (''yehi 'or'') found in Genesis 1:3 of the Torah, the first part of the Hebrew Bible. In Old Testament translations of the phrase, translations include the Greek phrase (''genēth ...

" by Lyle Monroe, ''Super Science Stories'', May 1940 * "

"—And He Built a Crooked House—" '—And He Built a Crooked House—' is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in February 1941. It was reprinted in the anthology '' Fantasia Mathematica'' (Clifton ...

", ''

Astounding Stories ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cl ...

'', February 1941 * " Beyond Doubt" by Lyle Monroe & Elma Wentz, ''Astonishing Stories'', April 1941 (*) * " They", ''

Unknown Unknown or The Unknown may refer to: Film * The Unknown (1915 comedy film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 comedy film), a silent boxing film * The Unknown (1915 drama film), ''The Unknown'' (1915 drama film) * The Unknown (1927 film), ''The Unknown'' (1 ...

'', April 1941 * "

Solution Unsatisfactory "Solution Unsatisfactory" is a 1941 science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It describes the US effort to build a nuclear weapon in order to end the ongoing World War II, and its dystopian consequences to the nation and ...

" by Anson MacDonald, ''Astounding'', May 1941 * "

Universe The universe is all of space and time and their contents, including planets, stars, galaxies, and all other forms of matter and energy. The Big Bang theory is the prevailing cosmological description of the development of the universe. Acc ...

", ''Astounding'', May 1941 * "

Elsewhen "Elsewhen" (1941) is a science fiction novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, concerning time travel and Parallel universe (fiction), parallel universes. It was first published as "''Elsewhere''" in the September 1941 issue of ''Astounding ...

" (as "Elsewhere") by Caleb Saunders, ''Astounding'', September 1941 * "

Common Sense ''Common Sense'' is a 47-page pamphlet written by Thomas Paine in 1775–1776 advocating independence from Great Britain to people in the Thirteen Colonies. Writing in clear and persuasive prose, Paine collected various moral and political argu ...

", ''Astounding'', October 1941 * "

By His Bootstraps "By His Bootstraps" is a 20,000 word science fiction novella by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It plays with some of the inherent paradoxes that would be caused by time travel. The story was published in the October 1941 issue of '' Astoun ...

" by Anson MacDonald, ''Astounding'', October 1941 * "

Lost Legacy {{Unreferenced, date=December 2009 ''Lost Legacy'' (1941) is a novella by science fiction writer Robert A. Heinlein. Originally published in the November, 1941 issue of ''Super Science Stories'', it was collected in the book ''Assignment in Eter ...

" (as "Lost Legion") by Lyle Monroe, '' Super Science Stories'', November 1941 * " My Object All Sublime" by Lyle Monroe, '' Future Fiction'', February 1942 (*) * "

Goldfish Bowl "Goldfish Bowl" is a science fiction short story by American author Robert A. Heinlein, first published in ''Astounding Science Fiction'' in March 1942, and collected in one of Heinlein's anthologies, ''The Menace from Earth''. Plot summary In ...

" by Anson MacDonald, ''Astounding'', March 1942 * "

Pied Piper The Pied Piper of Hamelin (german: der Rattenfänger von Hameln, also known as the Pan Piper or the Rat-Catcher of Hamelin) is the title character of a legend from the town of Hamelin (Hameln), Lower Saxony, Germany. The legend dates back to ...

" by Lyle Monroe, '' Astonishing Stories'', March 1942 (*) * "

Free Men "Free Men" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, which originally appeared in his collection ''The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein'' (1966) and was later collected in Expanded Universe (Heinlein), ''Expanded Univer ...

", ''

The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein ''The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein'' is a collection of science fiction short story, short stories by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, published in 1966. It includes an introduction entitled "Pandora's Box" that describes some of the difficult ...

'', 1966 * "

On the Slopes of Vesuvius On, on, or ON may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * On (band), a solo project of Ken Andrews * ''On'' (EP), a 1993 EP by Aphex Twin * ''On'' (Echobelly album), 1995 * ''On'' (Gary Glitter album), 2001 * ''On'' (Imperial Teen album), 200 ...

", '' Expanded Universe'', 1980 * "

Columbus Was a Dope "Columbus Was a Dope" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It was first published in the May 1947 issue of ''Startling Stories''. It later appeared in two of Heinlein's collections, ''The Menace from Earth'' (19 ...

", ''

Startling Stories ''Startling Stories'' was an American pulp science fiction magazine, published from 1939 to 1955 by publisher Ned Pines' Standard Magazines. It was initially edited by Mort Weisinger, who was also the editor of ''Thrilling Wonder Stories'', S ...

'', May 1947 * "

Jerry Was a Man "Jerry Was a Man" (1947) is a short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein. It is about an attempt by a genetically modified Common chimpanzee, chimpanzee to achieve human rights. The main theme of the story is civil liberties, in this case ...

" (as "Jerry Is a Man"), ''

Thrilling Wonder Stories ''Wonder Stories'' was an early American science fiction magazine which was published under several titles from 1929 to 1955. It was founded by Hugo Gernsback in 1929 after he had lost control of his first science fiction magazine, ''Amazing Stor ...

'', October 1947 * "

Water Is for Washing "Water is for Washing" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in '' Argosy'' (November 1947). It is based on the premise that an earthquake had catastrophically shattered the range of alluvial depos ...

", '' Argosy'', November 1947 * " Nothing Ever Happens on the Moon", ''

Boys' Life ''Scout Life'' (formerly ''Boys' Life'') is the monthly magazine of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Its target readers are boys and girls between the ages of 6 and 18. The magazine‘s headquarters are in Irving, Texas. ''Scout Life'' is pu ...

'', April 1949 * "

Gulf A gulf is a large inlet from the ocean into the landmass, typically with a narrower opening than a bay, but that is not observable in all geographic areas so named. The term gulf was traditionally used for large highly-indented navigable bodie ...

", ''Astounding'', November 1949 * " Destination Moon", ''Short Stories'', September 1950 * "

The Year of the Jackpot "The Year of the Jackpot" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published 1952, and collected in one of Heinlein's anthologies, ''The Menace from Earth''. In the story, a trend-following statistician finds r ...

", ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Editi ...

'', March 1952 * "

Project Nightmare "Project Nightmare" is a science fiction short story by American writer Robert A. Heinlein, first published in ''Amazing Stories'', May 1953, and reprinted in various collections, including ''The Menace from Earth (collection), The Menace from E ...

", '' Amazing Stories'', April/May 1953 * "

Sky Lift :''Other usages: ''Skylift'' is an aerial tram or possibly a ''helicopter'' or an ''airlift''.'' ''Sky Lift'' is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein, first published 1953, and collected in Heinlein's ''The Menace from Earth "T ...

", ''

Imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...

'', November 1953 * " Tenderfoot in Space", ''Boys' Life'', May 1958 * " All You Zombies—", '' Fantasy & Science Fiction'', March 1959 :(*) ''Previously uncollected in a Heinlein collection'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Off the Main Sequence: The Other Science Fiction Stories of Robert A. Heinlein 2005 short story collections Short story collections by Robert A. Heinlein

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