"Blind Alley" was published before any of the novels; written in 1944, it was accepted by John W. Campbell later that year and published in "Astounding Science Fiction" in March 1945. It was anthologised by Groff Conklin in "The Best of Science Fiction", the first of Asimov's stories to have been reprinted, and was later included in "The Early Asimov" (in 1972, along with a very brief history of its origins), "The Asimov Chronicles" in 1989 and in volume 2 of "The Complete Stories" in 1992. It has never been published together with the novels, as it is connected only on the basis of being set during the Galactic Empire, after the "Robot" stories and before the "Foundation" series.