"They'd Rather Be Right"

1954 Clifton, Mark [Irvin] (1906-63) and [Frank Wilbert Ryhlick] (1915-96). “They’d Rather Be Right.” By Mark [Irvin] Clifton and Frank Riley [pseud.]. Astounding Science Fiction (New York) 53.6 - 54.3 (August - November 1954): 12-47, 108-40, 106-41, 96-133. Repub. New York: Gnome Press, 1957. Rpt. Norfolk, VA: Donning, 1981. Also published as The Forever Machine. New York: Galaxy, [1958]. Rpt. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1992. The story “Crazy Joey” written with Alex Apostolides (1923-2005) and illus. by [Henry Richard] Van Dongen (1920-2010). Astounding Science Fiction 51.6 (August 1953): 122-137, was rewritten and used throughout the early sections of the novel. Rpt. with a note to that effect in The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton. Ed. Barry N. Malzberg and Martin H. Greenberg (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press/London and Amsterdam: Feffer & Simon, 1980), 39-55. So was “Hide! Hide! itch!” written with Alex Apostolides (1923-2005) and illus. by [Fred] Kirberger. Astounding Science Fiction 52.4 (December 1953): 8-42, was rewritten and used throughout the early sections of the novel. Rpt. with a note to that effect in The Science Fiction of Mark Clifton. Ed. Barry N. Malzberg and Martin H. Greenberg (Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press/London and Amsterdam: Feffer & Simon, 1980), 181-215. GU, Merril

A computer makes human beings telepathic and immortal, and the novel is concerned with the reactions of people to the new possibilities.