
Part 1
Calvin Mulloy is a seasoned survey engineer who has spent years chasing the promise of new worlds. Assigned to the raw, unmapped planet Mersey, his makeshift sailplane is caught in a violent storm and crashes onto a tiny, barren island at the mouth of the Adze River. Alone, Calvin must quickly assess his precarious situation.
The island offers little shelter—just a few scrubby bushes and a rocky outcrop—while the river behind him is rising fast, its shallow gulf turning the storm into a flood threat. The nearest shore is barely two hundred yards away, but wind and rain make even a short trek perilous. Calvin weighs his options, from waiting for rescue to building a makeshift raft.
As the storm intensifies, Calvin’s training and stubborn determination become his only allies. The story follows his split‑second decisions and the harsh realities of an alien world that feels eerily Earth‑like, while his inner thoughts reveal a man confronting his limits. Listeners are drawn into a tense, atmospheric survival tale that asks how far one will go when the planet itself seems determined to drown you.
Language
en
Duration
~26 minutes (25K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Nov 22, 2019
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1917–1983
A prolific American science fiction writer, Mack Reynolds became known for sharp stories about politics, economics, social change, and imagined futures. He also wrote Mission to Horatius, the first original novel based on the Star Trek television series.
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