A Guest of Ganymede

Gil Murdoch pilots a tiny, camouflaged craft through the frozen wastes of Ganymede, hoping to slip past the Terran quarantine and reach a hidden alien installation. Inside a perfectly cut cylinder of ice he discovers a sleek building, artificial sunlight, and a strange, self‑contained atmosphere that seems eerily Earth‑like. As he activates his ship’s communicator, a cold, precise voice identifies him down to his birthplace, turning a routine inspection into a personal interrogation.

The alien warns that a bounty has been placed on Murdoch’s head and that any attempt to steal their secrets ends in death. His employer, the wealthy Waverill, is impatiently demanding the return of priceless eyes—an enigmatic prize that the strangers claim they can restore. Murdoch realizes the encounter may involve a mysterious virus‑like treatment that could alter human biology, and that the stakes are far higher than he imagined. The frozen moon becomes a tense arena where curiosity, greed, and survival collide.