Negu has just bought a fabulously expensive rocket ship called the Vulcan , which ideally can be manned by seven, by only takes one to fly. It's stuffed to the gills with supplies for hundreds of miners.
Arthur Granger, an aristocratic and unsuccessful novelist, betrays the ideals he prides himself on for the unrequited love of a young woman. And no ordinary woman, she, but an ethereal, goddess-like, nameless agent from a strange world.
A hayseed Martian among big-planet slickers. of course he would get into trouble. But that was nothing compared to the trouble he would be in if he did not get into trouble!
Earth has been conquered and is a subjugated planet, the humanoid new rulers extract heavy taxes, control industry and reproduction and interfere in every aspect of life. Rumors of their brutality and vicious massacres increase every day. They must be thrown out and rebellion seethes among the patriots. But on the other hand, others are not eager to get rid of the overlords: the terrible nationalistic wars have been stopped, famine is long gone and health care is almost universally available.
How could a man tell the difference if all the reality of Earth turned out to be a cosmic hoax? Suppose it turned out that this was just a stage set for students of history?
One of the most intriguing of all science fiction patterns is that of the galactic sweep--the story which takes for granted human travel between stars at speeds far faster than the speed of light. In its most successful form, such a story combines cosmic action with a wholly human plot.
A state police team's search for a missing person leads to an encounter with a bizarre creature. one that not only can play mind games but has the power to manipulate.
