
Part 1
A routine run for the Morgan Interstellar Transportation Corporation takes a sudden turn when the sleek S.S. Franklin is ordered to make an unscheduled stop at Procyon IV, a tiny, wind‑blown mining outpost barely a mile across. Captain Webster, eager to set a new speed record, bristles at the delay, only to be knocked back by a frantic, long‑haired stranger who insists the ship must leave immediately and stay hidden. The visitor, a jittery official from the Office of Colonial Development, carries a mysterious suitcase and an urgent, if baffling, request that hints at something far more precarious than a simple cargo run.
Meanwhile, the unexpected passenger, Sam Purcell, steps aboard with a tangled mop of hair and a request for a haircut—an odd request that quickly proves to be a matter of survival on this hostile world. As the crew grapples with bureaucratic absurdities and the strange customs of a far‑flung colony, the story blends dry humor with classic space‑age tension, inviting listeners to wonder just how dangerous a trim can become when the stakes are planetary.
Language
en
Duration
~24 minutes (23K 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
Feb 27, 2021
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

A maritime historian with a strong independent streak, he wrote vividly about Ireland’s sea life and coastal world. His work blended deep historical curiosity with a lifelong fascination with ships, politics, and national identity.
View all booksA mid-century science fiction writer and fan, she helped shape the lively magazine world of the 1940s and 1950s. Her stories, often written with John de Courcy, mix pulp-era adventure with a playful, imaginative streak.
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