MICROCOSMIC GOD
Episode #500 · Theodore Sturgeon · Narrated by Scott Miller
Some stories warn us about the dangers of power. Others explore the loneliness of genius. Microcosmic God does both—then pushes far beyond, into territory that feels disturbingly inevitable.
Theodore Sturgeon imagines a world where knowledge accelerates faster than morality, and where discovery becomes its own unstoppable force. The story builds tension through ideas rather than explosions, asking what happens when creation advances without restraint, oversight, or empathy.
This is science fiction at its most unsettling: not because of monsters or invasions, but because of how calmly and logically everything unfolds. As invention compounds upon invention, the listener is drawn into a rising sense of dread, watching the gap widen between capability and wisdom.
Written during the early Golden Age of science fiction, Microcosmic God stands apart for its emotional intelligence and philosophical weight. Sturgeon uses speculative science not as spectacle, but as a lens through which to examine control, responsibility, and the human cost of unchecked brilliance.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Theodore Sturgeon was one of the most influential and respected voices in twentieth-century science fiction, renowned for his focus on character, ethics, and emotional depth. His work often challenged the genre’s assumptions, proving that speculative fiction could grapple with moral complexity as powerfully as any literary form.
Microcosmic God remains one of his most ambitious stories, blending hard scientific speculation with profound questions about authority, evolution, and the dangers of absolute control. Decades later, it continues to resonate as a cautionary tale for any age driven by innovation.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Microcosmic God by Theodore Sturgeon — a classic sci-fi story about unchecked genius and the dangerous reach of absolute power from the golden age of science fiction.
RELATED STORIES
Few writers brought emotional depth to classic science fiction the way Theodore Sturgeon did.
Sturgeon’s stories often begin with a single human flaw or fragile hope and then push it into unfamiliar territory — a lone genius reshaping life itself, a sky suddenly crowded with impossible arrivals, a world that turns out to be something other than it seems. His prose is intimate and character-driven, even when the ideas stretch far beyond Earth.
The selections below highlight Sturgeon’s range — bold imagination grounded in feeling, speculative premises carried by very human stakes, and endings that linger long after the final line.
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