The Sweeper of Loray

On the mist‑shrouded world of Loray, dawn paints the canopy a dull red as the village awakens to its quiet sunrise ceremony. Among the thatched huts, a lone figure known only as the Sweeper glides between homes, his blank, knobby face marked by a stark black band that signals the lowest rung of the native hierarchy. His guttural humming and methodical sweeping hint at a culture both familiar and unsettling, inviting curiosity about the planet’s hidden depths.

Into this scene stride Professor Carver, a methodical anthropologist intent on proving his long‑fought theories about alien intelligence, and Fred, his lean, restless aide who sees only profit in the strange sighting. Their uneasy partnership is tested when the locals bring in a wounded srag—an intimidating forest beast—sparking a debate over a rumored universal cure that could change everything. As Carver weighs scientific rigor against Fred’s greed‑driven optimism, the true nature of the Sweeper and the promise it may hold remain tantalizingly out of reach.