
Part 1
A lone asteroid drifts through the void, its rugged surface the stage for a high‑stakes repair mission. Ballard and Walton, two engineers in cramped suits, race against time to install a blinking beacon that will unlock a chain of navigation markers—and the promise of priceless rotenite nuggets hidden within. As the heat‑beam melts plastic onto jagged walls, the quiet hum of machinery is punctuated by uneasy breaths and a growing sense that the partnership may be a façade.
The stark silence of space magnifies every small mistake, and the thin line between cooperation and rivalry sharpens with each passing hour. Walton’s nervous excuses and Ballard’s watchful vigilance hint at deeper motives, turning a routine job into a tense psychological dance. Listeners will be drawn into the claustrophobic atmosphere, the ticking clock, and the unsettling question: can trust survive when wealth hangs just beyond reach?
Language
en
Duration
~16 minutes (15K 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
2023-03-22
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
1925–1960
A short-lived but memorable voice in 1950s science fiction, this American writer brought a brisk, adventurous feel to stories about space travel, strange futures, and human limits. His best-known work includes the novel Prisoner in the Skull and several magazine stories from the genre’s pulp-magazine era.
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