“The Emperor of the Universe”
Published under the pen name Rene Lafayette

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Publication date: November 1949

Original publication: Startling Stories

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Conquest of Space

Story description: When Erskine encounters “The Emperor of the Universe,” again, the old man is dead, lying within yards of his disreputable old spacecraft and its extraordinary cargo—the seeds the “Emperor” has been sowing among the barren planets in preparation for man’s coming among the distant stars.