In a world that does not orbit any star, an intelligent but non-biological being searches for other life in the universe like itself. "The Cruel Sky" A scientist, who was born crippled, climbs Mount Everest with the aid of his levitation invention and with the guidance of his promising assistant. However, soon after beginning their descent from the summit, gale-strength winds blow them and their levitators off the face of the mountain. "Neutron Tide" A commander explains, in a letter, how an Earth battleship got destroyed when it passed too close to the gravitational field of a neutron star. "Transit of Earth" The last surviving astronaut of the first manned landing on Mars works to complete his observations and recordings of Earth's transit across the face of the Sun. He and four others were marooned when permafrost melted underneath the landing craft and it toppled over. The others committed suicide to ensure him surviving to make these observations and he contemplates how he will commit suicide after the transit is over. "A Meeting with Medusa" Back cover teaser: "AMONG THE PLANETS—Weather the hydrogen storms of Jupiter with Howard Falcon (once a man now a cyborg) as he goes where no man has ever gone before!" References External links 1972 short story collections Short story collections by Arthur C. Clarke