The Fiction of Isaac Asimov Part I: The Early Asimov (1938-1952)

This is a list of Isaac Asimov's fiction. The items in this first part of the list (1938-1952) are listed according to completion date. In Part II (www.storypilot.com/asimov2.html), the items are listed by publication date since Asimov's autobiographies don't usually have exact completion dates for the later work. The completion dates and original publication information come mostly from Asimov's three autobiographies (In Memory Yet Green, In Joy Still Felt, and I. Asimov. There is also information on the first sixty stories in The Early Asimov. I have also used Edward Seiler's compilation of Asimov's fiction, William G. Contento's Index to Science Fiction, the Locus Index, the Internet Speculative Fiction Database, and the sfsite Asimov bibliographical summary. Corrections and additions are always welcome.

Timeline for the Robots and Foundation Universe

The dates of robot and foundation stories are partly from Atilla Torkos's 1998 timeline, published in David Brin's Foundation's Triumph, partly from the stories themselves, and partly from Asimov's published timeline in the Winter 1955 issue of Thrilling Wonder Stories

• A.D. Our own calendar.
• B.G.E. Before the Galactic Era.
• G.E. Galactic Era. Torkos's timeline sets this at about 12,500 A.D., approximately 8000 years after the diaspora. However, archeaological data from the Sirius sector in Pebble in the Sky marks the G.E. as starting much later (at least 50,000 A.D.). In my opinion, we should let Asimov have the final word himself, and he has done so in the Winter 1955 Thrilling Wonder Stories. There, he states that Trantor becomes the Galactic Empire officially around 35,000 A.D. He also sets Pebble in the Sky in 36,500 A.D. and it is known (from the book) to be 827 G.E. This makes the start of the Galactic Era to be 35,673 A.D. So be it.
• F.E. Foundation Era, starts with the founding of the First Foundation by Hari Seldon. Year 1 F.E. is 12067 G.E.

Story Numbers

The first sixty story numbers of the form [A.nnnn] are from The Early Asimov. I have added subsequent story numbers based on reading Asimov's biographies. Asimov had his own numbers for all published work, but I don't know where those are (and I don't know if they included non-fiction). I'm just a fan and a reader, not a scholar!

Michael Main
main@colorado.edu
I have also posted a list of some other favorite authors that I hope you will enjoy.

Listed by order of completion
1934

"Little Brothers"

A tale of Isaac's "troubles" with his little brother Stanley.
ASIMOV STORY [A.000] Completed in 1934.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication: Brooklyn Boys High Recorder literary magazine (Spring 1934)
• Before the Golden Age (1974). This is not in the table of contents, but it is at the start of Asimov's 1934 essay.
• Opus 200 (1979)
• A limited bound edition was produced in 1989, with at least one copy being sent by Asimov to Arthur C. Clarke (See page 108 of Yours, Asimov.)

1938

"Cosmic Corkscrew"

Asimov's first sf story, now lost, dealt with a view of time as a helix where time travellers could cut across from one ring to an adjacent ring.
ASIMOV STORY [A.001] Completed June 19, 1938.

"The Callistan Menace"

(Asimov's original title "Stowaway")
An unlikely set of circumstances turns young stowaway Stanley into the only hope for two men stranded on the surface of Callisto.
ASIMOV STORY [A.002] Completed July 10, 1938.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2100 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astonishing Stories (April 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Marooned off Vesta"

Warren Moore and his two crewmates are trapped in a wrecked spaceship with a lot of food and water, but only three days of air.
ASIMOV STORY [A.003] Completed July 30, 1938.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2050 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Amazing Stories (March 1939)
• Asimov's Mysteries (1968)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)

"This Irrational Planet"

Now lost with few details apart from Asimov's thought that the title planet was Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.004] Completed August 1938.

"Ring Around the Sun"

Jimmy Turner and Roy Snead are experienced space pilots using new technology to pilot a sun-skimming route from Earth to Venus. But their experience seems useless when the new technology backfires into dropping the ship temperature well below zero.
ASIMOV STORY [A.005] Completed August 1938.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2020 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Future Fiction (March 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"The Weapon"

President Calvin takes the initiative when Earth needs scientific help from the ancient Martian race.
ASIMOV STORY [A.006] Completed September 1938.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication: Super Science Stories pseudonym H.B. Ogden (May 1942)
• In Memory Yet Green (1979)

"Paths of Destiny"

Asimov remembers nothing about this lost story, except the sad note that Campbell called it "hackneyed."
ASIMOV STORY [A.007] Completed October 1938.

"Knossos in Its Glory"

Now lost, Asimov described it as an ambitious attempt to retell the Theseus myth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.008] Completed November 1938.

"The Magnificent Possession"

(Asimov's original title "Ammonium")
Walter Sills has a new way of metal plating that will make him rich if he can avoid the nemeses who are trying to steal it.
ASIMOV STORY [A.009] Completed December 3, 1938.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Future Fiction (July 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Trends"

(Asimov's original title "Ad Astra")
John Harmon must face the anti-science sentiment of society when building the first rocket to the moon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.010] Completed December 1938.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 1975 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (July 1939)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

1939

"The Weapon Too Dreadful to Use"

Karl Frantor may be the only Earthman who knows the real power of the oppressed Venusians.
ASIMOV STORY [A.011] Completed February 6, 1939.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Amazing Stories (May 1939)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"The Decline and Fall"

Asimov indicates that the story no longer exists and he doesn't remember what it was about (The Early Asimov).
ASIMOV STORY [A.0012] Completed February 1939.

"Black Friar of the Flame" (Asimov's atlernate titles "Pilgrimage" or "Galactic Crusade")

In a galaxy that has forgotten the origin of mankind, Filip Sanat leads a revolt of humanity against the reptilian race that has conquered Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.013] Completed April 1939 (later revised).
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Planet Stories (Spring 1942)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Robbie" (in Super Science Stories "Strange Playfellow")

Robbie is a robot nanny that the mother sends away, sending the little girl into a depression.
ASIMOV STORY [A.014] Completed May 1939.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 1998 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication as "Strange Playfellows": Super Science Stories (September 1940)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• Robot Visions (1990)

"Half-Breed"

(aka "The Encyclopedists")
Max is a renegade half-human, half-martian, who enters the life of scientist and inventor Jefferson Scanlon.
ASIMOV STORY [A.015] Completed June 1939.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astonishing Science Fiction (February 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"The Secret Sense"

Lincoln Fields has a desire to experience a sixth sense that the Martians can provide, even if he can do so for only five minutes.
ASIMOV STORY [A.016] Completed June 1939.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Cosmic Stories (March 1941)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Life Before Birth"

This fantasy was submitted to Unknown, but no longer exists.
ASIMOV STORY [A.017] Completed July 1939.

"The Brothers"

A good brother, an evil brother, an invention,...,and a lost story, the first written after a two-month period in which Asimov could do nothing but worry about the coming war.
ASIMOV STORY [A.018] Completed October 1939.

1940

"Homo Sol"

Psychologists from the Galactic Federation both admire and fear the newest member from Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.019] Completed January 1, 1940.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (September 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Half-Breeds on Venus"

Henry Scanlon, grandson of the famous Max Scanlon, has an idea about how to drive away the Earthmen that he and his kind fled to Venus to avoid.
ASIMOV STORY [A.020] Completed June 1, 1940.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astonishing Stories (December 1940)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"The Imaginary"

The galactic psycologist from "Homo Sol" now has two mysteries, the harder one being the question of his wife's strange behavior.
ASIMOV STORY [A.021] Completed June 11, 1940.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Super Science Stories (November 1942)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"The Oak"

The leaves of an oak tree forecast the future through the rustling of its leaves. The story is now lost.
ASIMOV STORY [A.022] Completed July 1940.

"Heredity"

(Asimov's original title "Twins")
George and Allen Carter are twins separated at birth and bought up in vastly different environments. Now they must work together on a Martian farm in a crisis that takes them across the surface with outdated equipment.
ASIMOV STORY [A.023] Completed August 1940.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2100 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astonishing Stories (April 1941)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"History"

Martian historian Ullen knows of a lost weapon that may help Earth defeat Venus and the Earth military men don't believe that he doesn't have all the weapon's details.
ASIMOV STORY [A.024] Completed September 1940.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Super Science Stories (March 1941)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Reason"

Gregory Powell and Michael Donovan have a rebelious robot who reasons that mankind couldn't possibly have created robotkind. The robot locks the two out of the control room with deadly consequences if they can't convince the robot of the truth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.025] Completed November 1940.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2015 or 2016 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (April 1941)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• Robot Visions (1990)

"Christmas on Ganymede"

Olaf Johnson has inadvertantly got the native workers on Ganymede excited about the coming of "Sannycaws" and now they won't work unless the jolly old man appears.
ASIMOV STORY [A.026] Completed December 1940.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Startling Stories (January 1942)
  ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2100 A.D.
• The Early Asimov (1974)

1941

"The Little Man on the Subway" (with Frederik Pohl writing as James MacCreigh)

Subway conductor Cullen follows a subway car beyond the end of the line and finds a little man who is a god.
ASIMOV STORY [A.027] Completed January 18, 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Fantasy Book (Vol. 1, No. 6, 1950)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Liar!"

Robopsychologist Susan Calvin matches wits with a robot who can read minds and is strictly controlled by the three laws of robotics.
ASIMOV STORY [A.028] Completed January 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2021 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (May 1941)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• Robot Visions (1990)

"Masks"

A short-short fantasy, inspired by Robert Louis Stevenson's "Markheim", intended for Unknown, rejected, eventually lost.
ASIMOV STORY [A.029] Completed February 3, 1941.

"The Hazing"

Shortly after joining the Galactic Federation, a group of ten Earthmen use their brains to solve the problem of accidentally being stranded on a primitive planet during a hazing.
ASIMOV STORY [A.030] Completed February 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Thrilling Wonder Stories (October 1942)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Super-Neutron"

Gilbert Hayes spins a horifying yarn that points to the inescapable conclusion that the sun is about to go nova.
ASIMOV STORY [A.031] Completed February 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astonishing Stories (September 1941)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Hostile Galaxy"

This was the beginning of a novel, requested by Fred Pohl. Asimov worked on it during the first two months of 1941, but tossed it aside in frustration on March 5, writing in his diary "It's hack! My heart isn't in it." I've assigned the Asimov number 31½, since Asimov himself did not include it in his list.
ASIMOV STORY [A.031½] Stopped March 5, 1941.

"Nightfall"

On a planet with six nearby stars, a periodic alignment of celestial objects causes darkness once every 2900 years.
ASIMOV STORY [A.032] Completed April 8, 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (September 1941)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• The Edge of Tomorrow (1985)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)
• Novelization by Robert Silverberg (1990)

"Not Final!"

Jovians want to exterminate Earthmen, a plan that has Earthmen in fear until scientists prove once and for all that it's impossible for Jovians to leave their massive planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.033] Completed before June 2, 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE:

Some 25 years after the settling of Ganymede and contact with the Jovians, perhaps 2050 A.D. Strong shields were developed at the end of this story.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (October 1941)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Legal Rites" (with Frederik Pohl writing as James MacCreigh)

Hank Jenkins feels that he should have some legal rights after haunting the same house for over ninety years.
ASIMOV STORY [A.034] Completed June 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Weird Tales (September 1950)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

"Robot AL-76 Goes Astray"

(Asimov's original title "Source of Power")
A lunar robot is confused and lost on Earth, eventually meeting Randolph Payne who hopes to collect a large reward for finding the wayward robot--but while Randolph works toward the reward, the robot undertakes an amazing task himself.
ASIMOV STORY [A.035] Completed August 17, 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE:

Sometime after robots were banned from the open surface of the Earth, perhaps 2150 A.D.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Amazing Stories (February 1942)
• The Rest of the Robots (1964)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)

"Foundation"

(aka "The Encyclopedists")
Mayor Salvor Hardin must convince the Foundation Board that there is more to the universe than their Encyclopedia project.
ASIMOV STORY [A.036] Completed September 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 50 F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (May 1942)
• Reprinted as "The Encyclopedists" in Part II of Foundation (1951)

"Runaround"

Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan again find themselves in a predicament with a robot--this time a robot sent for a vital supply of selenium seems to be disobeying his orders in spite of the Three Laws of Robotics.
ASIMOV STORY [A.037] Completed October 18, 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2015 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (March 1942)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• Robot Visions (1990)

"Bridle and Saddle"

Thirty years after taking power from the original Foundation Encyclopedists, Mayor Salvor Hardin again faces a crisis--a potential military attack from the powerful surrounding four kingdoms.
ASIMOV STORY [A.038] Completed November 16, 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 80 F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (June 1942)
• Reprinted as "The Mayors" in Part III of Foundation (1951)

"Big Game" (alternative Asimov title: "The Hunted")

Jack Trent hears a half-drunken story of time travel and the real cause of the dinosaur extinction.
ASIMOV STORY [A.039] Completed November 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication in Before the Golden Age (1974). If you get the separate volumes of this anthology, "Big Game" is in Volume 3 of the Fawcett versions or Volume 4 of the Orbit (UK) versions.

"First Law"

Mike Donovan tells a tall tale of a robot with an instinct even stronger than the First Law of Robotics
ASIMOV STORY [A.040] Completed November 1941.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: My guess 2030 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Fantastic Universe (October 1956)
• The Rest of the Robots (1964)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)

"Time Pussy"

Mr. Mac tells of the troubles of trying to preserve the body of a four-dimensional cat.
ASIMOV STORY [A.041] Completed December 7, 1941.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (April 1942)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

1942

"Victory Unintentional"

Three specially made ZZ robots visit the militant Jovians.
ASIMOV STORY [A.042] Completed February 8, 1942.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE:

A few years after "Not Final!", perhaps 2058 A.D.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication: Super Science Stories (August 1942)
• The Rest of the Robots (1964)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)

"The Camel's Back"

This was the beginning of a story, a few pages written during Asimov's early marriage and work in the Navy Yards of Philadelphia. The story concerned a black hole before such ideas were written of by astronomers. I've assigned the Asimov number 42½, since Asimov himself did not include it in his list.
ASIMOV STORY [A.042½] First few pages written August 1942.

1943

"Author! Author!"

Graham Dorn's fictional detective comes to life.
ASIMOV STORY [A.043] Completed April 4, 1943.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication: The Unknown Five, ed. D. R. Benson (1964)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)

"Death Sentence"

Theor Realo has discovered an ancient planet peopled by robots as a psychological experiment.
ASIMOV STORY [A.044] Completed June 27, 1943.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (November 1943)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Catch That Rabbit"

On a mining asteroid, Gregory Powell and Mike Donovan are again given the task of diagnosing a robot gone wrong, or to be more precise, a robot and its six underlings--all gone wrong.
ASIMOV STORY [A.045] Completed September 1943.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2016 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (February 1944)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)

1944

"The Big and the Little"

(aka "The Merchant Princes")
Hober Mallow continues the Foundation's tradition of nonviolent domination of powerful neighbors by introducing trade of luxuries that soon become necessities to the Empire-supported Korellian Republic.
ASIMOV STORY [A.046] Completed January 17, 1944.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 155 F.E.

Seventy-five years since the second Seldon crisis.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (August 1944)
• Reprinted as "The Merchant Princes" in Part V of Foundation (1951)

"The Wedge"

(aka "The Traders")
About forty years before the time of Hober Mallow, Limmar Ponyets introduces of trade to surrounding kingdoms that have previously spurned the Foundation, starting with the rescue of a fellow trader from far-off Askone.
ASIMOV STORY [A.047] Completed April 1944.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 115 F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (October 1944)
• Reprinted as "The Traders" in Part IV of Foundation (1951)

"Dead Hand"

(aka "The General")
The crumbling but still powerful Empire sends General Bel Roise to crush the Foundation. But Roise does not realize the power of the psycho-historical forces set in place by Harry Seldon two hundred years before.
ASIMOV STORY [A.048] Completed August 1944.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 200 F.E.

Ducem Barr indicates that "over forty years ago" his father, Onum Barr, was visited by a wanderer, a merchant from the edge of the Galaxy (Hober Mallow).

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (April 1945)
• Reprinted as "The General" in Part I of Foundation and Empire (1952)

"Blind Alley"

"Only once in Galactic History was an intelligent race of non-Humans discovered"--and it's up to Loodun Antyok, Chief Public Administrator, to preserve them. (I guess the Encyclopedists have forgotten the Jovians by this time).
ASIMOV STORY [A.049] Completed October 1944.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 977 G.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (March 1945)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Escape"

(retitled "Paradoxical Escape" by Campbell)
Susan Calvin gets The Brain to design mankind's first interstellar warp ship. Mike Donovan and Greg Powell get to test it. But there's a catch that noone knows except The Brain.
ASIMOV STORY [A.050] Completed December 1944.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2029 A.D.

Shortly after "Little Lost Robot" in I, Robot.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication (title "Paradoxical Escape"): Astounding Science Fiction (August 1945)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)

1945

"The Mule"

When Mayor Indbur first interviews Han Pritcher: "You are forty-three and have been an Officer of the Armed Forces for seventeen years...entered the Army as Under-Officer ... 293rd year of the Foundation Era."
ASIMOV STORY [A.051] Completed May 15, 1945.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 310 F.E.

"...Well, there is one--a new one. In this past year or two, there has come word of a strange man whom they call the Mule."

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (November/December 1945)
• Reprinted as Part II of Foundation and Empire (1952)

A "Mainstream" Romantic Short Story

On page 617 of In Memory Yet Green, Asimov says that while he and Gertrude were living in Wingate Hall (Dec 28, 1942 - Sep 25, 1945), he wrote a "mainstream" romantic short story intended for the slicks, but it never managed to sell.
ASIMOV STORY [A.051½] Completed at Wingate Hall.

1946

"Evidence"

Candidate Stephen Byerley turns to robopsychologist Susan Calvin to provide evidence to refute a nasty rumor about whether he is man or robot.
ASIMOV STORY [A.052] Completed April 10, 1946.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2032 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (September 1946)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• Robot Visions (1990)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Little Lost Robot"

Dr. Susan Calvin must deal with the case of Robot NS-2 who was told to "just go away"--and according the the Third Law of Robotics, it did.
ASIMOV STORY [A.053] Completed September 14, 1946.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2029 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (March 1947)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• Robot Dreams (1986)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• Robot Visions (1990)

1947

"Now You See It--"

The Mule has a plan to find the Second Foundation by sending ambitious young Bail Channis on a trip with loyal Han Pritcher.
ASIMOV STORY [A.054] Completed February 2, 1947.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 316 F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (January 1948)
• Reprinted as "Search by the Mule" in Part I of Second Foundation (1953)

"No Connection"

Ten million years beyond mankind's destruction on Earth, Raph's clan runs into the strangely gregarious but anti-social Eekahs.
ASIMOV STORY [A.055] Completed May 20, 1947.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (June 1948)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)

"The Endochronic Properties of Resublimted Thiotimoline"

(aka "The Marvellous Properties of Thiotimoline, Part I")
Pure thiotimoline has the amazing property that it dissolves slightly more than one second before the addition of the solvent.
ASIMOV STORY [A.056] Completed June 8, 1947.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (March 1948)
• Only a Trillion (1957) as "The Marvelous Properties of Thiotimoline, Part I"
• The Early Asimov (1974)

Pebble in the Sky

(aka Grow Old with Me)
Joseph Schwartz takes one step from 1949 to the year 847 of the Galactic Era, where he meets archaeologist Bel Arvardan, Earth scientist Dr. Shekt, the doctor's beautiful daughter Pola, and a plot to destroy all non-Earth life in the galaxy.
ASIMOV STORY [A.057] (BOOK #1)

The original 40,000 word version was written at the request of Sam Merwin for Startling Stories, completed September 22, 1947. But it was rejected and never appeared in that form. Later, Fred Pohl sold the idea of a rewrite to Doubleday. Asimov rewrote the story (70,000 words) and corrected the quotation of the title to Grow Old along with Me from Robert Brownings "Rabbi Ben Ezra". He completed the rewrite on May 21, 1949. The Doubleday editor, Walter Bradbury, asked for a new title with more sf flare, hence Pebble in the Sky.

ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 827 G.E. PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Doubleday (1950)
• Original version in The Alternate Asimovs (1986)

1948

"The Red Queen's Race"

Professor Elmer Tywood has a plan to change the world, but the plan seems to have gone awry, burning up 100 pounds of plutonium and leaving the professor dead.
ASIMOV STORY [A.058] Completed July 11, 1948.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (January 1949)
• The Early Asimov (1974)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Mother Earth"

Ambassador Luiz Moreno has his own ideas about the difference between victory and defeat for the Earth and the fifty outer worlds.
ASIMOV STORY [A.059] Completed October 10, 1948.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE:

Perhaps 3000 A.D.: 150 years after Aurora first obtained permission from Earth to introduce positronic robots into their society. It is also mentioned that there are fifty Outer Worlds, the last of which is Hesperus (settled from Faunus).

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (May 1949)
• The Early Asimov (1974)

1949

"--And Now You Don't"

Young Arcadia Darell wangles her way from the First Foundation to Kalgan, where she finds herself on the run from Lord Stettin and from the Second Foundation.
ASIMOV STORY [A.060] Completed March 29, 1949.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 376 F.E.

There is some date confusion. The start of the story indicates that 14-year-old Arcadia was born in 362 F.E., setting the story in 376 F.E. From Attila Torkos's timeline, this would be 12442 G.E. and 454 years after the birth of Hari Seldon in 11988 G.E. However, in the "Beginning of War" chapter, alternate dates are given for the time of the story:
• 11692 G.E.
• 348 Y.F. (year of the Foundation)
• 419 A.S. (after Seldon's birth)
In Foundation's Edge, the date of Arcadia's adventure is given as 378 F.E.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (Nov 1949 / Dec 1949 / Jan 1950)
• Reprinted as "Search by the Foundation" in Part II of Second Foundation (1953)

"Satisfaction Guaranteed"

(Asimov's original title: "Flesh and Metal")
Shy housewife Claire Belmont has a new experimental housekeeping robot named Tony, and Tony will do his best to respond to her every wish.
ASIMOV STORY [A.061] Completion date unknown.

On page 589 of In Memory Yet Green, Asimov writes that this was his attempt to write a robot story for the slicks (motivated by Heinlein's success in that market). The story circulated "all through 1949 and early 1950"), so it could have been written earlier than 1949 (Heinlein's first appearance in Saturday Evening Post was in 1947). Anyway, Asimov gave the story to Pohl, who sold it to Amazing for a 1951 appearance.

ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Circa 2020 A.D.

Susan Calvin is a senior psychologist for U.S. Robots and Mechanical Men Corporation, which would place the story some years after her hiring in 2007. On the other hand, Dr. Calvin remarks that World War II was "fifty years ago", so it can't be too far after 2007. This is U.S. Robots first attempt to introduce robots into common life after Robbie in 1996.

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Amazing Stories (April 1951)
• Earth is Room Enough (1957)
• The Rest of the Robots (1964)
• The Far Ends of Time and Earth (1979)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"The Evitable Conflict"

Stephen Byerley ("Evidence), now Coordinator of Earth, brings a seemingly small problem to Susan Calvin: Why are Earth's controlling computers slightly off in their predictions of needs and resources?
ASIMOV STORY [A.062] Completed October 1949.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2052 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (June 1950)
• I, Robot (1950)
• Isaac Asimov (1981)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• Robot Visions (1990)

1950

"Day of the Hunters"

A midwestern professor tells a half-drunken story of time travel and the real cause of the dinosaur extinction.
ASIMOV STORY [A.063] Completed early 1950.

Asimov (p 589 In Memory Yet Green) mentions that this was completed before "Dawinian Poolroom", but doesn't indicate the exact date. In Buy Jupiter and Other Stories, the date is cited as early 1950, and he indicates that this is an expansion of the then-unpublished short short "Big Game".

PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Future Science Fiction (November 1950)
• Have You Seen These? (1974)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Darwinian Poolroom"

Philosphers at Dr. Trotter's laboratory discuss the impetus of evolution.
ASIMOV STORY [A.064] Completed May 1950.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Galaxy (October 1950)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)

"Green Patches"

(Asimov's original title "Potent Stuff")
(Also published as "Misbegotten Missionary")
An all-male space crew lands on Saybrook's Planet to study the reason for Saybrook's demise, and they pick up an unintended hitch-hiker on the way back to Earth.
ASIMOV STORY [A.065] Completed July 1950.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 6500 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Galaxy Science Fiction (November 1950)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

The Stars Like Dust

(aka Tyrann)
(aka The Rebellious Stars for Ace paperback, cut without Asimov's permission)
Biron Farrill, scheduled to graduate from the University of Earth, has a sudden change of plans when he finds a radiation bomb in his dorm room and learns of his father's death at the hands of the Tyranni.
ASIMOV STORY [A.066] (BOOK #3)
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Significantly before Pebble in the Sky. According to Asimov, this is 30,000 A.D, which is 5673 B.G.E. PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• Serialization in Galaxy with title Tyrann: (January 1951) / (February 1951) / (March 1951)
• First book publication: The Stars Like Dust, Doubleday (1951)

"Breeds There a Man"

Scientist Elwood Ralston has a theory about why he has suddenly become suicidal.
ASIMOV STORY [A.067] Completed late October 1950.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (June 1951)
• Through a Glass, Clearly (1967)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Edge of Tomorrow (1985)
• Robot Dreams (1986)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"Hostess"

Rose Smollett must entertain a visitor from the closest of four other worlds with intelligent life, and the visitor wants to know why humans are the only species that is immune to a deadly disease that threatens all other worlds.
ASIMOV STORY [A.068] Completed late November 1950, revised in Horace Gold's office December 28, 1950.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (May 1951)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)
• Robot Dreams (1986)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"What If--?"

On a train trip for their fifth anniversary, Livvy and Norman wonder what their lives would have become if they hadn't met during a chance swerve of a streetcar.
ASIMOV STORY [A.069] Completed mid-December 1950.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Fantastic (Summer 1952)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

1951

"In a Good Cause"

In the space-faring galaxy of mankind and the Diaboli, Dick Altmayer and Jeff Stock take two different routes to unite mankind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.070] Completed January 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: New Tales of Space and Time, ed. Raymond J. Healy, Holt (1951)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"Nobody Here but--"

Bill Billings and Cliff Anderson have to head to their lab to investigate a strange occurrence with their supercomputer, but Bill's girlfriend Mary Ann doesn't particularly want to come along.
ASIMOV STORY [A.071] Completed February 5, 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Star Science Fiction Stories #1, ed. Frederik Pohl, Ballentine Books #16, $0.35 (1953)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"The Psychohistorians"

Young mathematician Gaal Dornick arrives on Trantor only to be immediately thrown into Harry Seldon's fight to save the galaxy from 30000 years of dark ages.
ASIMOV STORY [A.072] Completed March 1951.
NOTE: This story was written explicitly as a new section for the first foundation book, Foundation.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: Start of the F.E.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Part I of Foundation (1951)

Foundation

This brings together the first four Foundation stories from Astounding Stories, along with a new Part I ("The Psychohistorians") written for this book.
ASIMOV BOOK #4 PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication Part I: "The Psychohistorians" new in this book
• First publication Part II: see "The Encyclopedists" (aka "Foundation")
• First publication Part III: see "The Mayors" (aka "Bridle and Saddle")
• First publication Part IV: see "The Traders" (aka "The Wedge")
• First publication Part V: see "The Merchant Princes" (aka "The Big and the Little")
• First book publication: Foundation, Doubleday (1951)

"Shah Guido G."

Philo Plat tells the true story of the fall of the flying island city called Atlantis.
ASIMOV STORY [A.073] Completed April or May 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Marvel Science Fiction (November 1951)
• Have You Seen These? (1974)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)

"C-Chute"

(Asimov's original title "Greater Love")
An odd mixture of Earthmen are taken prisoners by the Kloro monsters, but only the quiet, unemotional Mullen has the personality and private reasons to undertake an escape plan.
ASIMOV STORY [A.074] Completed May 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Galaxy Science Fiction (October 1951)
• Through a Glass, Clearly (1967)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"The Fun They Had"

Margie and Tommy find a real book that seems to say that school wasn't always so boring.
ASIMOV STORY [A.075] Completed May 30, 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• ----- First publication: Boys and Girls Page, syndicated newspaper feature (December 1, 1951). I am uncertain which newspapers carried this feature, but possibly The Sun in New York. If you run across an issue that has the story, I'd be interested in seeing a xerox.
• Earth is Room Enough (1957)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (197x)
• The Far Ends of Time and Earth (1979)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"The Monkey's Finger"

Science fiction writer Marmie Tallinn has a scientist friend who has taught a monkey how to be literate.
ASIMOV STORY [A.076] Completed June 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Startling Stories (February 1953)
• Have You Seen These? (1974)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

David Starr: Space Ranger (pseudonym Paul French)

David Starr, newly annointed member of the Council of Science, journies to Mars, seeking the source of the ever-increasing food poisoning.
ASIMOV STORY [A.077] (Book #5) Completed July 29, 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: David Starr: Space Ranger, Doubleday (1952)

"Youth"

Two youngsters, Red and Slim, stumble across explorers from another planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.078] Completed October 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Space Science Fiction (May 1952)
• The Martian Way and Other Stories (1955)
• Prisoners of the Stars (Omnibus) (19xx)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)

"Button, Button"

Harry Smith has an eccentric scientist uncle who needs to make some money from his astonishing invention.
ASIMOV STORY [A.079] Completed November 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Startling Stories (January 1953)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)

"Flies"

(aka "King Lear IV, 1, 36")
Dr. John Polen attends a college reunion where he finds two sad friends, but perhaps Polen is the saddest of all since his scientific work discovered the true nature of his friends.
ASIMOV STORY [A.080] Completed December 1951.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction (June 1953)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov (197x)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

1952

The Currents of Space

Slowly, Rik's memory is returning, memories that point to the ultimate doom of the planet Florian.
ASIMOV STORY [A.081] (Book #7) Completed March 30, 1952.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: About 1000 years after Trantor started on the path to galactic empire, and probably before the start of the actual G.E. dates. According to Asimov, 34,500 A.D, which is 1173 B.G.E. PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (October 1952 / November 1952 / December 1952)
• First book publication: The Currents of Space, Doubleday (1952)

"The Martian Way"

(aka "A Piece of Ocean")
Ted Long is one of the Martian colonists determined to find a solution to Earth's embargo stopping all water shipments to the red planet.
ASIMOV STORY [A.082] Completed June 10, 1952.
ROBOT/EMPIRE TIMELINE: 2000 A.D.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Galaxy Science Fiction (November 1952)
• The Martian Way and Other Stories (1955)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• Prisoners of the Stars (Omnibus) (19xx)
• Robot Dreams (1986)
• Other Worlds of Isaac Asimov (1987)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"The Deep"

Roi's sun has long since died and now the last warmth of the planet is disappearing so he sets out on a telepathic quest for a new home.
ASIMOV STORY [A.083] Completion date some time before August 4, 1952.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Galaxy Science Fiction (December 1952)
• The Martian Way and Other Stories (1955)
• The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973)
• Prisoners of the Stars (Omnibus) (19xx)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 2 (1992)

"Sally"

Jacob Folkers runs a retirement farm for automobiles such as his favorite, Sally.
ASIMOV STORY [A.084] Completion date some time before September 15, 1952.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Fantastic (May/June 1953)
• Nightfall and Other Stories (1969)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)
• The Complete Robot (1982)
• The Robot Collection (Omnibus) (1983)
• Robot Dreams (1986)
• The Asimov Chronicles (1989)
• The Complete Stories, Volume 1 (1990)

"The Micropsychiatric Applications of Thiotimoline"

(aka "The Marvelous Properties of Thiotimoline, Part II")
Unexpected applications of thiotimoline arise in the study of psychiatric patients.
ASIMOV STORY [A.085] Completion date some time before September 15, 1952.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Astounding Science Fiction (December 1953)
• Only a Trillion (1957) as "The Marvelous Properties of Thiotimoline, Part II"

Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids (Second Lucky Starr Book, pseudonym Paul French)

Twenty-five years after his parents' deaths at the hands of pirates, Lucky infiltrates the pirates' organizatin in the asteroids and stumbles upon unexpected threats.
ASIMOV STORY [A.086] (Book #10) Completed October 28, 1952.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Lucky Starr and the Pirates of the Asteroids, Doubleday (1953)

"The Pause"

Alexander Johannison is one of a few hundred people who knows what really happened when a strange visitor came into his yard to remove a disease of mankind.
ASIMOV STORY [A.087] Completed November 13, 1952.
PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication: Time to Come: Science Fiction Stories of Tomorrow, ed. August W. Derleth, Farrar, Straus & Young (1954)
• Have You Seen These? (1974)
• Buy Jupiter and Other Stories (1975)

Foundation and Empire

This brings together the next two Foundation stories.
ASIMOV BOOK #6 PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication Part I: see "Dead Hand" (aka "The General")
• First publication Part II: see "The Mule"
• First book publication: Foundation and Empire, Doubleday (1952)

1953

Second Foundation

This brings together the last two Foundation stories from the original trilogy.
ASIMOV BOOK #9 PARTIAL PUBLICATION RECORD:

• First publication Part I: see "Now You See It" (aka "Search by the Mule")
• First publication Part II: see "--And Now You Don't" (aka "Search by the Foundation")
• First book publication: Second Foundation, Doubleday (1953)

  This list continues in Part II (www.storypilot.com/asimov2.html).

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