
In a distant future where interstellar physicians juggle bureaucracy and the mysteries of alien biology, a senior doctor finds himself on the defense table of the Medical Disciplinary Board. After a harrowing survey of a planet whose inhabitants are convinced an indestructible “hlorg” will devour them, he petitions for an extreme decontamination protocol before his ship returns to Earth. The case pits his Red Service colleagues against a Black Service commander whose terse, almost taboo‑filled language hints at deeper tensions within the galactic health corps.
The narrative follows the uneasy days aboard the General Survey Ship Mercy as the crew grapples with unsettling reports and an increasing sense of paranoia. Conflict erupts when the commander’s blunt accusation forces the protagonist to confront both his own doubts and the looming threat of an unseen contamination. Listeners are pulled into a tightly wound blend of sci‑fi intrigue, medical ethics, and psychological unease, all before the story’s larger mysteries begin to unfold.
Language
en
Duration
~34 minutes (32K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2010-04-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1928–1992
A doctor who turned his medical knowledge into lively science fiction, he wrote stories for both younger and adult readers and also produced clear, popular nonfiction about medicine and science.
View all books
by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse

by Alan Edward Nourse