
In the bustling market of Borlaam, an otherworldly creature known as a proteus twists and morphs before a crowd of curious onlookers. The auctioneer—a squat, booming Agozlid—promises the prize of a shape‑shifting being that can become anything, while the creature itself quivers in agony with each transformation. Among the bidders stands Barr Herndon, a tall, solitary figure whose own past is marked by loss, and whose knowledge of proteus life makes the spectacle a personal torment.
Herndon’s relentless drive turns the sale into a fierce duel of wills, pitting him against a flamboyant courtier whose jeweled doublet gleams with wealth. As bids climb and the proteus contorts into ever stranger forms, the market erupts with tension, whispers, and the faint cry of a distant sea‑bird. The stranger’s hidden agenda and the crowd’s fevered excitement promise a dangerous game where every rise in price deepens the mystery of what the proteus truly represents.
Language
en
Duration
~1 hours (80K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
New York, NY: Royal Publications, Inc., 1958.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2023-11-26
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

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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