
Part 1
On a distant world where the sky never darkens and the air smells of fresh frost and fire, life seems effortless. The planet, cultivated by Daniel Loveral and his carefully chosen community, runs on gleaming machines that keep every garden, house, and pathway in flawless harmony. Here, work is obsolete and every day feels like a gentle dream.
Loveral, the sole steward of this perfection, tends the hidden mechanisms that sustain the illusion of ease. Lately, however, a quiet unease spreads through the settlement: many have retreated indoors, their smiles fading as if the endless blue sky no longer inspires them. A name whispered in his thoughts—Atkinson—has become the only thread pulling him toward a mystery he cannot ignore.
As he steps into the tidy home of the Atkinsons, the perfect order of the world feels suddenly fragile, and Loveral wonders whether his careful design can survive the growing restlessness of those he vowed to protect.
Language
en
Duration
~16 minutes (15K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-09-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1923–2011
A mid-century crime and science-fiction writer from Nebraska, he built a career on sharp paperback novels and a steady stream of magazine stories. His work moved easily between suspense and speculative fiction, giving readers both hard-boiled tension and imaginative twists.
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