The Alternate Asimovs

The Alternate Asimovs is a collection of early science fiction drafts by American writer Isaac Asimov. Asimov mostly threw away early drafts. Just a few survived and were included in this anthology. It consists of three items: This is a shorter and less refined version of the book Pebble in the Sky; set in the very early days of the Trantorian Empire whose eventual decline had been described in the Foundation novels. The plot is largely the same, though the chief villain is less developed. Asimov also explained how he began with the idea that Earth was radioactive from an atomic war. As he... learned more, he became unhappy with the notion, reckoning that a war would not make the crust radioactive without also wiping out all life, hence the revised notion in Robots and Empire. A 25,000 word novella that was extensively changed for the book-length The End of Eternity, it tells of an organisation of time travellers dedicated to the betterment of humanity by tampering with history. However, control brings problems, sometimes tragedies. Elements of the later novel are there. But 'Andrew Harlan' was a merger of two different characters from the short story.
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