
Star bright
In a tightly regulated future where the state controls every moment of entertainment, Andy Brooks feels trapped in a loveless marriage and a world of scripted “Sensory Shows.” The streets of the Communal Worker’s Center buzz with efficiency, yet Andy’s mind drifts to Glora Delar, a luminous actress who lives only on the silver screen. His wife’s accusations and the looming threat of “directive therapy” – a treatment meant to erase personal fantasies – push him toward a desperate resolve. Andy sees the moon over the sea as a reminder that real dreams might still exist beyond the manufactured haze.
As he prepares to abandon his assigned life, Andy confronts the paradox of wanting genuine feeling in a society that equates imagination with danger. The story follows his uneasy balance between surrendering to the collective and daring to chase a private vision of freedom. Every step he takes raises the question: can one truly escape the confines of a world that designs every pleasure?
Language
en
Duration
~33 minutes (32K 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
Apr 13, 2023
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1918–1988
Best known for fast-moving pulp fiction and science fiction, this mid-century American writer also worked across radio, television, and adventure storytelling. His career ranged from magazine stories to scripts, giving his work a lively, hard-driving feel.
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