The Empire of Isher

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2005 Winner of the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award for Libertarian Science FictionThe Isher/Weapon Shops novels are one of the very few examples of Golden Age science fiction that explicitly discusses the right to keep and bear arms, specifically guns. Indeed, the motto of the Weapon Shops, repeated several times, isTHE RIGHT TO BUY WEAPONS IS THERIGHT TO BE FREEVan Vogt's guns have virtually magical properties, and can only be used in self-defense.  The political philosophy of the Weapon Shops is minimalist. They will not interfere with the corrupt imperial monarchy of the Isher government, on the grounds that men always have a government of the type they deserve: no government, however bad, exists without at least the tacit consent of the governed. The mission of the Weapon Shops therefore is merely to offer single individuals the right to protect themselves with a firearm, or, in cases of fraud, access to a "Robin Hood" alternative court system that judges and awards compensation from large, imperial merchant combines to cheated individuals. Because the population has access to this alternative system of justice, the Isher government cannot take the final step toward totalitarianism.In F. Paul Wilson's popular Repairman Jack series of novels, the titular hero's weapon shop of choice is "Isher Sporting Goods". The secret basement of Isher Sporting Goods, where the weapons are stored, features a neon sign over the stairs that reads, [i]"The right to own weapons is the right to be free".[/i]--WikipediaIncluded in this omnibus volume are:A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 01 - The Weapon Shops of IsherThe novel is a fix-up created from three previously published short stories about the Weapon Shops and Isher civilization:"The Seesaw" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, July 1941)"The Weapon Shop" (Analog Science Fiction and Fact, December 1942)"The Weapon Shops of Isher" (Wonder Stories, February 1949)and A. E. van Vogt - Empire of Isher 02 - The Weapon Makers