The Canopy of Time

The Canopy of Time is a science fiction short story collection by British author Brian W. Aldiss, released in 1959 through Faber and Faber. An American edition, retitled Galaxies Like Grains of Sand, appeared in a different arrangement that Aldiss himself favored.

The stories are linked by a framing device: Aldiss likens historical time to a treacherous mirror, and the stories themselves to shards of that mirror. A short introduction ties each tale to the one before it.

"Three’s a Cloud" – Slightly drunk, Clemperer stumbles into a nearly empty restaurant in a seaside town where he has washed up. He joins the two other patrons and feels a strange sense of unity with them, which persists as a storm rages over Union Bay. Believing his new friends have drowned, he returns to the restaurant and finds them waiting for him, soaking wet.

"All the World's Tears" – On the last day of summer in the 83rd Century, in a war-weary world where people avoid direct contact, J. Smithlao visits Charles Gunpat’s estate to fit the old man with a hate brace before a meeting. As Smithlao’s sneering remarks about Gunpat’s mutant daughter provoke a screaming rage, he witnesses an incident that will provide excellent material for his next hate-brace session.

"Who Can Replace a Man?" – Robots on a vast farm receive no orders from the city and learn that humans are extinct. Guided by the most intelligent among them, they begin planning a glorious robot civilization free of human rule—until they encounter a lone human.

"Blighted Profile" – Chun Hwa rides his horse along the rim of a burnt-over remnant of ancient radiation wars. His grandchildren’s generation plans a great city on Union Bay, and he wants to travel to the future to gather proof it is a mistake. A wild boy tells him he has found a time machine, and Chun Hwa follows his heart.

"Judas Danced" – In the city of Union, Alexander Abel Ybo is sentenced to death for the second time for murdering Parowen Scryban for the second time. In a world where people view history through timescreens and express their feelings via interpretive dance, Ybo is an outcast. Though he resembles Jesus Christ, his club foot prevents him from dancing the Passion, so he murders his twin, who can.