The Wheels of If And Other Science-Fiction

Foreword

PEOPLE sometimes accuse me of writing satire. This, if not exactly a vile canard, is at least an inaccurate statement, because in the strict sense satire Ls ridiculing established conditions, conventions, or institutions by exaggeration or burlesque in the hope of changing them. In other words, it has social significance, which is just the thing I studiously avoid in my stories. These yarns are meant purely to amuse and entertain, and neither to instruct, nor to incite, nor to improve. If you get instructed, incited, or improved as a result of reading them, don't blame me, for such was not my intention. Don't think for instance, that The Contraband Cow contains my opinions on the subject of world government; I have such opinions, but I don't necessarily incorporate them into my stories.

These tales all appeared cither in Astounding Science-Fiction or in Unknown during the years 1938-1942. They can all be called fantasies in the broad sense; that is, " 'tain't so" stories. In a strict sense they are science-fiction stories: that is, stories based upon scientific or pseudoscientific assumptions, as opposed to fantasies in the strict sense: stories based upon mythological or supernatural assumptions.

However, let's not get ourselves involved in the dusty science of taxonomy at this point. Let's rather read the stories, and I hope you like them.

L. Sprague de Camp.

Landsdowne, Penn.

20 October 1948