
In a world where mental telepathy has become a regulated science, the streets are still haunted by those who would weaponize perception. The narrator, a seasoned operative trained in the art of “digging” the environment with his mind, finds himself stalked through a dim city block by a ruthless assassin brandishing a concealed needle‑ray. He relies on split‑second mental mapping of every curb and shadow, turning ordinary surroundings into a tactical maze.
The chase erupts into a violent showdown when the attacker closes in, his weapon humming with lethal intent. With a hidden firearm and his keen sense of perception, the protagonist turns the tables, forcing the assailant into a gritty street‑level defeat just as sirens wail overhead. A police lieutenant, himself a graduate of the same perception institute, steps onto the scene, his own mental acuity matching the protagonist’s as they begin to untangle why the assassin targeted him.
Language
en
Duration
~34 minutes (32K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2006-11-29
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1911–1981
A Golden Age science fiction writer with an engineer’s eye for detail, he built stories around communications systems, problem-solving, and life in space. He is especially remembered for the Venus Equilateral tales, which helped give mid-century magazine SF some of its brisk, technical charm.
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