
In a distant future a colossal Space Ark drifted through the void for two millennia, its inhabitants forced to invent their own challenges to avoid cultural decay. Isolated from any external world, they turned inward, perfecting biolo‑mental sciences while the physical sciences fell into disuse. This experiment produced a rigid caste system of engineered “mutants,” whose very existence reshaped the ship’s social fabric and gave rise to a startling ability: recording, replaying and interpreting three‑dimensional dreamscapes.
Ker‑jon, a hydroponics bio‑technician, awakens each night haunted by the same vivid vision of a hairless, mutated version of himself. Determined to uncover why the dream recurs, he schedules a session with the psych‑technicians who can dissect the recorded imagery. As he prepares for the appointment, a subtle power play with his colleague Cluny‑ann adds a human edge to the sterile, introspective world, hinting that the answers may lie as much in personal relationships as in the Ark’s forgotten sciences.
Language
en
Duration
~52 minutes (50K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
United States: Columbia Publications, Inc., 1951.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2023-04-14
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1928–2008
Best known for the globe-trotting private eye Chester Drum, this prolific American novelist also ranged far beyond crime fiction. He wrote science fiction, suspense, and vivid fictional lives of historical figures, building a career that stretched across several decades.
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