A pretty average or below average issue. Sheckley’s story was pretty fun.
The Necessary Thing • [AAA Ace] • shortstory by Robert Sheckley
Interplanetary decontamination service has acquired a new tool, which is going to save them a vast amount of money: a replicator which produces a copy of everything which is asked. No more buying things and carrying them around in expensive storing space! How convenient! Until they notice that the machine is able produce only ONE piece of everything. No repeats! Soon their food choices start to be fairly limited and very exotic. And the need of spare parts is getting severe. Fun and well-written story, even after 60 years. ****
The Princess and the Physicist • novelette by Evelyn E. Smith
A some kind of elected god with some sort of apparently supernatural powers takes care of a planet. Earthmen "guard" the planet in more or less colonialist way, but don't believe in the god of the planet. Some scientists come to study the native customs and supposedly powerful god, though. A pretty talky, disjointed and badly overlong story. **½
Picture Bride • shortstory by William Morrison
A young man falls in love with a girl from future. The story is seen from the viewpoint of a little brother. Very short and simple, more of an outline of an actual story. ***-
Grandy Devil • shortstory by Frederik Pohl
A family of immortals has some disagreements. The story is written in a light vein. Is very short and not very special or impressive. ***-
Inside Story • novelette by Richard Wilson
A newspaper man decides to make a scoop and goes to a colony where people with a severe communicable disease live. The sickness seems pretty strange as on the other hand it is described as something which is easily transferable, but on the other hand it described as something which is mostly due to laziness. The newspaper man has a new totally invisible and totally impenetrable shield against all disease. There are some strange lights floating around the "leper" colony, and it turns out that an alien attack is going on. A pretty stupid story with a fairly convoluted and hard to believe plot with average writing for its' time period. ***-
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