Something Was Very Wrong, Out There Among The Stars...The interstellar transport had touched down on six other colony worlds - and all six had been devoid of human life. Where was everybody? It was almost as if humankind, when separated by cosmic distances from Mother Earth, could not survive.
It starts with cadet Roger, urm, nicking a study spool for use in a competitive exam -- but that leads all of our cadets into a fight, and when they're caught at that, a trial. In the midst of the trial they get assigned to duty on a Top Secret Projectile Project, and things go wrong there in ways at once related and impossible to connect. Someone is causing real menace to roost in the cadets' lives, and the worst is still ahead...
Premium-sized adventure short featuring Conan. While one could say a lot against some of the sexist fantasies in Conan stories, Howard's stories always are crisp and satisfying through their completeness. Don't miss yet another from the master of adventure pulp!
What is a "phony"? Someone who believes he can do X, when he can't, however sincerely he believes it? Or someone who can do X, believes he can't, and believes he is pretending he can?