
Part 1
Dr. James Lawrence, chief psychiatrist at St. Paul's Neuropsychiatric Hospital, is jolted out of his routine when a dark‑haired stranger bursts in, gun in hand, demanding his most enigmatic patient, Bette Bauer. Bette, a former theoretical physicist now trapped in a catatonic state, has long fascinated Lawrence with the flicker of brilliance that still haunts her mind. As midnight drapes the ward, the doctor is forced to lead a group of unsettling men through the silent corridors toward the padded cell where she lies.
The intruders are unlike any ordinary agents; their leader wields a weapon of unknown design and his companions move with a cold, rehearsed precision. Before Lawrence can react, the gun fires a blinding flash, knocking him unconscious and unveiling a grotesque, reptilian‑insect hybrid looming over him. Awakening in pain and confusion, he realizes the rescue of Bette may have drawn him into a far‑reaching menace that stretches beyond Earth’s borders.
Language
en
Duration
~23 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
2021-04-21
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1927–1987
A prolific mid-century science fiction and fantasy writer, he became especially well known for the Lord Darcy stories, where detective fiction meets an alternate world shaped by magic. He also wrote heavily for the pulp magazines of the 1950s and 1960s and collaborated with other major SF writers.
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b. 1935
A major voice in modern science fiction, this prolific writer helped shape the genre with work that ranges from fast-paced early stories to thoughtful, award-winning novels and novellas. Readers often return to his fiction for its big ideas, psychological depth, and sense of wonder.
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