The Variable Universe

The Variable Man by Philip K. Dick
He fixed things—clocks, refrigerators, vidsenders and destinies. But he had no business in the future, where the calculators could not handle him. He was Earth’s only hope—and its sure failure!

The Misplaced Spaceship by Harry Harrison
It might seem a little careless to lose track of something as big as a battleship... but interstellar space is on a different scale of magnitude. But a misplaced battleship—in the wrong hands!—can be most dangerous.

Youth by Isaac Asimov
Red and Slim found the two strange little animals the morning after they heard the thunder sounds. They knew that they could never show their new pets to their parents.

Bread Overhead by Fritz Leiber
The Staff of Life suddenly and
disconcertingly sprouted wings
—and mankind had to eat crow!

Rainworm by Jakob Chapman
The oddest part of the ordeal was that somehow, I had fallen in love with her. Her mind was whole—unfragmented. Beautiful. The bond I felt between us was only marred in one way. Whenever we joined, I relived her strongest memories and emotions: the explosion of Candeo—being flung from the inferno while the rest of her race sizzled in silence—the planet below a glowing brand.