Crossroads of Destiny by H. Beam Piper

A historian joins a late-night conversation about worlds where one altered event sends nations down roads no one remembers. Then a stranger leaves behind something impossible to explain, suggesting one of those other histories may be much closer than anyone imagined. Crossroads of Destiny by H. Beam Piper. That’s next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast. Our new podcast, Weird Tales Reborn, will be available within the next 48 hours—possibly even sooner—and we think you’re going to love it. We’ve featured stories from Weird Tales magazine on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast before, but Weird Tales Reborn is devoted entirely to stories published in this legendary magazine, bringing its strange, fantastic, and unforgettable fiction back to life. You can listen to the trailer and subscribe right now, so you’ll be ready when our very first episode arrives. You’ll find links to Weird Tales Reborn in the description. Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/weird-tales-reborn/id6812494670 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2KgAyqHo9HPkU9gu6yrgQB Author H. Beam Piper makes his debut on the podcast today. Henry Beam Piper was born in 1904 in Altoona, Pennsylvania, and was largely self-educated. He developed a fascination with history as a boy—several of his ancestors had fought in the Civil War—and by his teens he had decided he wanted to become a writer. Around that time he discovered speculative fiction through H. G. Wells, Bram Stoker, Edgar Rice Burroughs and A. Merritt. At 18, Piper went to work for the Pennsylvania Railroad in Altoona, where he worked as a laborer and later a night watchman while writing and submitting stories in his spare time. Remarkably, he spent about 26 years trying to make his first sale before John W. Campbell bought “Time and Time Again,” which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1947. His deep knowledge of history became one of the signatures of his fiction, particularly in his Paratime stories and alternate-history tales like “Crossroads of Destiny.” Piper went on to write more than two dozen short stories and roughly a dozen novels and book-length works, depending on how collaborations and posthumously published books are counted. His best-known books include Little Fuzzy, Space Viking, Four-Day Planet and The Cosmic Computer. Little Fuzzy was nominated for the 1963 Hugo Award for Best Novel. Writer Jerry Pournelle recalled that Piper once told him, apparently with a straight face, that he believed he had been born in another timeline. From Fantastic Universe in July 1959 we will find our story on page 4, Crossroads of Destiny by H. Beam Piper… Next on The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, A government believes it has created the perfect biological weapon: a virus that kills only the people it considers dangerous. But Dr. Joseph Euge knows the plague is making a very different judgment, and soon an entire world may learn what truly makes someone vulnerable. Righteous Plague by Robert Abernathy. Lost Sci-Fi Premium - https://lostscifi.supercast.com/ Buy Me a Coffee - https://lostscifi.com/coffee Newsletter - https://lostscifi.com/free/ Facebook - https://lostscifi.com/facebook YouTube - https://lostscifi.com/youtube X - http://Lostscifi.com/x Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/lostscifiguy Merchandise - https://lostscifi.creator-spring.com/ Thanks to Our Listeners Who Bought Us a Coffee $200 Someone $100 Josh Jennings, Tony from the Future $75 James Van Maanenberg $50 Tony Ciak, Ryan and Kait, James Van Maanenberg, MizzBassie, Anonymous Listener $25 Fintan Quigley, Curious Jon, David Bell, Steve, Miriam, Someone, Someone, Eaten by a Grue, Jeff Lussenden, Fred Sieber, Anne, Craig Hamilton, Dave Wiseman, Bromite Thrip, Marwin de Haan, Future Space Engineer, Fressie, Kevin Eckert, Stephen Kagan, James Van Maanenberg, Irma Stolfo, Josh Jennings, Leber8tr, Conrad Chaffee, Anonymous Listener $15 Every Month Someone $15 Tina Godby, Steve, Someone, SueTheLibrarian, Joannie West, Amy Özkan, Someone, Carolyn Guthleben, Patrick McLendon, Curious Jon, Buz C., F