[Gutenberg 60393] • Game Preserve

In November 1961, the last science fiction story written by Rog Phillips appeared in Fantastic magazine. By then, Rog was seriously ill. A handful of his detective stories appeared sporadically over the next four years, and then it was all over. Rog Phillips was poised to enter the mainstream when he died. For over fifty years his work has remained forgotten and buried in the moldering pages of aging pulp magazines, until now.... Presented inside this volume, the fourth in the ongoing series of his complete works, is Rog Phillips at his very best. Here you will be thrilled, amused, puzzled, and charmed by the wit, humor, wisdom, and talent of this many faceted, many named, writer. Inside these pages you will meet the man behind the fiction, as illustrated by his incredibly realistic characters. Contained within: World of If: Take a trip into the furthest reaches of the imagination and cross the time barrier into all the possible worlds of tomorrow. Enter into one of those worlds of If with businessman John Dow and share his incredible journey into the horrific future of the United States after a murderous Communist takeover. Discover how John Dow, with the help of his pal, Joe Pace, fight in the future against not only these revolutionary forces but also as they fight in the present against the forces of science being used to create this monstrous vision of tomorrow and a world gone very wrong. Game Preserve: Cross the frontiers of imagination into another "world of If" as dreamed up by Rog Phillips. In this all-too-possible world of tomorrow after a worldwide nuclear catastrophe the entire human race has been forced to confront their most horrible and deadliest enemy...themselves. In this tale, dripping with pathos, the reader will encounter one of the most endearing characters in his baffling encounter with his fellow human beings. Communication is not the only problem this literal babe-in-the-woods will encounter. This encounter will change him forever. The Yellow Pill: Any man must live in a subjective world; the problem is to maintain one that corresponds with the external world. And sometimes that can be remarkably difficult...for every man experiences directly only the subjective world! In this fascinating story a patient whose fantasy-world takes the form of a space-travel story so credibly constructed that the psychiatrist himself keeps drifting into near-acceptance of this separate reality. Rog Phillips asks: How does the doctor know-for sure-who's crazy? Rat in the Skull: Some people will be shocked by this story. Others will be deeply moved. Everyone who reads it will be talking about it. Read the first four pages; then put it down if you can. Imagine, if you will, a brilliant doctor who has just made the most daring discovery of the millennium only to find himself trapped by the horrific results of his experiment gone very wrong. Genius has its virtues, among them is self-sacrifice, but all too often revolutionary breakthroughs require more...deeply personal...sacrifices. Enjoy!