
Transcriber's Note:
BY MURRAY LEINSTER (Pseudonym of William Fitzgerald Jenkins)
In a future where humanity has spread to distant worlds, the planet Eire was set aside as a sanctuary for the Irish diaspora—a place promised to be free of the serpents that once plagued the Emerald Isle. The story opens with President O’Hanrahan confronting Sean O’Donohue, a stern delegate from Earth’s Dáil, who insists the colony be ready for a massive influx of families. Their heated exchange is steeped in folklore, politics, and the lingering pride of a culture trying to carve out a new home among the stars.
Beneath the grand façade of the presidential mansion, an unlikely guardian slithers: Timothy, a six‑foot black snake tasked with protecting the structure from tiny, dinosaur‑like pests known as “dinies.” When a bold diny emerges from the turf, the fragile peace teeters, and the characters must grapple with ancient myths turned literal, the practicalities of settlement, and the quirky, sometimes absurd, realities of frontier life. This blend of humor, speculative biology, and political tension offers a fresh, off‑beat glimpse into humanity’s colonial ambitions.
Language
en
Duration
~45 minutes (43K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2007-11-10
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1896–1975
Best known for brisk, idea-packed science fiction, this prolific American storyteller helped shape classic genre themes long before many of them became standard. Writing under a pen name, he produced an enormous body of fiction and is still remembered for influential stories such as "First Contact" and "Sidewise in Time."
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