
Transcriber's Note:
In the drizzle‑soaked streets of 1960s Arlington, a man in a pastel blue coat slips into a nondescript brick building. He isn’t a typical client; he’s a U.S. senator acting as a covert operative for a hidden government bureau that masquerades as the Society for Mystical and Metaphysical Research. The organization’s public face—crackpot lectures on auras and flying saucers—provides perfect cover for a team that monitors psychic phenomena and investigates sabotage.
Inside, the senator adopts the persona of “Swami Chandra,” dazzling the bemused receptionist with faux‑spiritual insights and a flawless reading of her aura. While the charade entertains the staff, his mind runs a silent, four‑dimensional net, scanning for threats and gathering intelligence on a mysterious sender named Brian Taggert. The scene blends dry humor with a subtle sense of danger, suggesting that the Society’s “research” may be the nation’s most discreet line of defense against unseen enemies.
Language
en
Duration
~54 minutes (52K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Sankar Viswanathan, Greg Weeks, and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-10-20
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1927–1987
A prolific mid-20th-century science fiction and fantasy writer, he became especially known for witty, idea-rich stories and for creating the popular Lord Darcy mysteries. His work ranged from pulp-magazine adventures to clever alternate-history fantasy, often published under a variety of pen names.
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