as too short for book publication. The Twayne version had
a small print run and is so scarce that few people have seen it. Those
bibliographers who knew of its existence assumed that both versions of
_Uller_ were the same. It was through a telephone conversation with
Charles N. Brown, publisher of _Locus_ and correspondent with Piper,
that I learned about the Twayne edition and its greater length. Brown
allowed me to photocopy his original, for which we owe him a debt of
thanks; because the Twayne version is not only novel length, but far
better than the shorter one that appeared in _Space Science Fiction_.

Probably the most surprising and interesting thing about the Twayne
edition is the essay that forms the introduction to that volume, and
is reprinted here. The essay is by Dr. John D. Clark, an eminent
scientist of the fourties and fifties and one of the discoverers of
sulfa, the first "miracle drug." It describes in great detail the
planetary system of the star Beta Hydri, and gives the names of those
planets: Uller and Niflheim. A publisher's note states that Clark's
essay was written first, and given to the contributors as background
material for a novel they would then write.

The fans of H. Beam Piper seem to owe a great debt to Dr. Clark.
_Uller Uprising_ became the foundation of Piper's monumental
Terro-Human Future History; the first story where we encounter the
Terran Federation. In it we learn about Odin, the planet that will one
day be the capital of the First Galactic Empire; and humble Niflheim,
which in more decadent times will become a common expletive, a word
meaning hell. This is also where Piper introduced and explained the
Atomic Era dating system (A.E.). _Uller Uprising_ is set in the early
years of the Terran Federation's expansion and exploration, an epoch
of great vitality. In "The Edge of the Knife" Piper compares this time
of discovery to the Spanish conquest of the Americas. This feeling of
vigor and unlimited possibilities runs through all the early
Federation stories: _Uller Uprising_, "Omnilingual," "Naudsonce,"
"When in the Course--," and, to a lesser degree, in the late
Federation novels, _Little Fuzzy_, _Fuzzy Sapiens_, and _Fuzzies and
Other People_. (See _Federation_ by H. Beam Piper for a good overview
of this period.)

In these stories we see Terro-Humans at their best and at their worst:
Individual heroism and bravery in the face of grave danger in _Uller
Uprising_; Federation