Synopsis
A man has moved countryside after a diagnosis of terminal cancer. One day he finds a strange machine nearby his house. The machine gives him a statue made of jade. A young woman who lives nearby gets a small bottle of eloquent perfume. Soon other people stat to come and everyone gets something - something which they have hoped. Then the machine starts to build something, and military gets very interested in what is going on. At the same time the polio epidemic which has been going on disappears suddenly. The military starts to suspect that the man has something to do with the alien machine and captures him. After through study they are convinced that the man is human after all and relax so much that man is able to escape. He has a powerful compulsion to return to the site. He meets the young woman from the next door from his cottage, and she also has the compulsion to return. They return. Meanwhile the military has tried to attack the now gigantic building which has appeared without any success. The couple gets inside feel welcome, and start learning things - in "kindergarten".
Publications (17)
| Date | Publication | Publisher | Type | Page |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1953 | Galaxy Science Fiction, July 1953 | Galaxy Publishing Corporation | MAGAZINE | 4 |
| November 1953 | Galaxy Science Fiction, Vol. 3 No. 9 | Strato Publications | MAGAZINE | 4 |
| May 1954 | Portals of Tomorrow: The Best Tales of Science Fiction and Other Fantasy | Rinehart | Anthology | 273 |
| January 1955 | Portals of Tomorrow: The Best Tales of Science Fiction and Other Fantasy | Rinehart / SFBC | Anthology | 174 |
| 1956 | Strangers in the Universe | Simon & Schuster | Collection | 169 |
| 1956 | Portals of Tomorrow | Cassell & Company | Anthology | 174 |
| May 1957 | Strangers in the Universe | Simon & Schuster / SFBC | Collection | 128 |
| 1958 | Strangers in the Universe | Faber and Faber | Collection | |
| May 1959 | Strangers in the Universe | The Science Fiction Book Club (UK) | Collection | 101 |
| February 1962 | Strangers in the Universe | Panther | Collection | 73 |
| 1986 | Brother and Other Stories | Severn House | Collection | 109 |
| December 1988 | Brother and Other Stories | Methuen | Collection | 109 |
| May 2005 | Eternity Lost | Darkside Press | Collection | 55 |
| July 2016 | Good Night, Mr. James and Other Stories | Open Road Integrated Media | Collection | |6 |
| January 2024 | Good Night, Mr. James and Other Stories | Tantor Audio | Collection | |6 |
| January 2024 | Good Night, Mr. James and Other Stories | Tantor Media | Collection | |6 |
| January 2024 | Good Night, Mr. James and Other Stories | Tantor Media | Collection | |6 |