Alien Worlds (1982) 5-A

"Lip Service"
On a remote world outpost, one sentry is relieved of duty at the end of his shift, and he tells his replacement that he is guarding the gates of a leper colony. A long line of alien male visitors come to the gate every day, and the guard must regulate their coming & going, but the guard finds out that there are no lepers behind the gate, only females of the alien species, and they share a certain trait with the preying mantis. 10 pages.

"Game Wars"
U.S. military space warriors stationed on the moon play cards in their off time, awaiting action. It comes in the form of a Soviet attack, but while this goes on, all the fighters see Earth demolished by nuclear holocaust across the reaches of space. With nothing else left to do, the two antagonists sit down for a game of cards. 3 pages.

"Plastic"
In a future reality, the surface of the world has been turned to quicksand except for small islands of exposed ledge. The few remaining men in the world are increasingly cut off from each other and battle to maintain control of these islands. Luckily, the quicksand is full of tiny creatures that serve as food for the survivors. As one survivor succumbs to dispair, he sinks into the mire only to discover that the tiny creatures play at turn-about in terms of eating. 8 pages.

"Wasteland"
An injured war hero sits in his hospital bed, his body still full of poisons and with a plate in his head. Maybe that's why, when he turns on the TV, instead of regular programming, he sees a time traveling adventurer talking to him. The adventurer is exploring mankind's deep past, but is being stalked by a cave man. The vet cautions the adventurer about monkeying with the past, but when the adventurer must kill the cave man to survive, the ripples of causality spread quickly. 8 pages.