This collection of stories from the master of the unexpected darts from the comic to the grave, from the palpable to the ambiguous, and shows Brian Aldiss at his most inventive. Covering such imaginative and diverse ground as: the final conversation to be held on earth; a doppelganger ark; alien beings; Stalin's daughter; Arab tourism; machines that bring paintings to life. Located on Aldiss' Zodiacal Planets or within the form of 'enigmas', these stories explore the unknown with chilling insight and irresistible wit.