
A covert alien fugitive has slipped into a bustling Midwestern city, using unsuspecting humans as temporary hosts. Chester Forge, the pragmatic chief of a tourist‑port for interstellar visitors, is thrust into a tense partnership with a cold‑logic Ravian emissary who demands the runaway be captured before chaos erupts. Their uneasy alliance forces Chester to juggle bureaucratic limits, the strange etiquette of alien guest‑hosts, and the unnerving prospect that anyone around him might be a concealed mind‑puppet.
Meanwhile, a curious child named Sally discovers a strange, shifting globe that subtly rewires her memory, unaware that the object is the very vessel the alien uses to slip through bodies. As the clock ticks on the two‑day deadline, both the seasoned human overseer and the innocent girl become entangled in a quiet, high‑stakes hunt that blends everyday life with a subtle, mind‑bending threat. The story balances crisp sci‑fi intrigue with a glimpse into how ordinary people react when the invisible alien presence brushes against their daily routine.
Language
en
Duration
~29 minutes (28K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2021-04-27
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
A mid-century science fiction writer remembered for brisk, imaginative stories with classic pulp-magazine energy. His surviving work includes tales of outer space, body-swapping, haunted places, and other strange turns.
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