Tales Of Hope and Time — Ian Anderson

Four Science Fiction Novellas with the themes of Hope and Time:

For Fleur.
After frantic effort, Professor John Elliott discovers how to look into the future. He is desperate to save the life of his wife Fleur, who is dying of cancer. He hides in a medical school library overnight where he can record the computer screens of future readers as they research cancer topics. He learns that he will deliver a public lecture in the future in which he will announce stunning details of cancer prevention and cure. Can he watch his future self and did he save his wife?

Empathy Shrew.
Is it possible to find your perfect partner who exists somewhere in the world? Miles Watson is a socially limited zoology lecturer who faces dismissal from a minor American University because his research is not of commercial value. Unknown to him, he is the subject of research by a group of aliens who are studying empathy in humans. They have found that he is the perfect partner for a European woman who is unusually empathetic and their main study subject on Earth. The aliens try to expedite their meeting by giving Miles an empathy amplifying device.

The Last Run.
An impoverished alien species charters a ship with Artificial Intelligence to transport one of its members to a dangerous and dying planet. The purpose of the visit is secret. The unemotional AI becomes interested in its passenger, something that it has never felt before with previous passengers. The alien Spurl has a historic mission to perform for the sake of its race, but it is also young and immature. It has its own risky, personal agenda on the planet. The alien and the AI are alone, many distant light years from home. They may find they need each other far more than they thought.

Ahead of his Time.
Matt and Jim Harper are two brothers who work together to fantastically improve the abilities of Mark Armstrong an average, county class cricketer nearing retirement. Matt, a wayward and unconventional scientist, has invented a beam that can move Mark forwards fractionally in time. Jim a TV cameraman, has the means of projecting the beam, but he also has an illegal gambling habit.
Mark Armstrong has two beautiful sisters who have famous boyfriends in the visiting Australian Cricket team. If Mark is selected for the national side, how far will the criminal fraternity go to sabotage his debut test performance? How will his two sisters relate to these two unusual brothers?