
A TV production team stuck in a creative rut is hunting for a story that will capture listeners. They encounter Wilbur Murphy, a field reporter who offers a bizarre legend: a man on a horse climbs ten thousand miles into the vacuum to greet incoming starships on the airless world of Sirgamesk. The planet’s sealed valleys, ancient ruins, and stark landscape set a vivid stage for a tale of romance and danger.
The producers debate how to frame the material—whether to sensationalize it with neon‑lit rituals or present it as sober fact from a distant frontier. Their banter reveals the tension between commercial hype and genuine curiosity about an alien culture that might hide such a legend. Listeners get a glimpse of the lid‑covered valleys and the impossible sight of a rider silhouetted against the void as the crew decides how far to stretch the truth.
Language
en
Duration
~57 minutes (54K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-09-16
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1916–2013
Best known for his dazzling science fiction and fantasy, this American writer built worlds full of wit, danger, and wonderfully strange societies. His stories range from the far-future twilight of The Dying Earth to the elegant intrigue of Lyonesse and the planetary adventures of Tschai.
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