
A lone explorer returns from a deep‑space survey that has claimed three whole crews, and the only survivor is a man named Braun, now sipping alone at a remote way‑station bar. The quiet, dim room becomes a crossroads where travelers—human and otherwise—trade rumors, half‑remembered facts, and uneasy glances, while Braun’s haunted eyes hint at something the void has taken from him. As curious patrons press for answers, the atmosphere swells with a mix of awe for the unknown and the palpable weight of what was left behind.
The story unfolds through the uneasy conversations and brief flashes of Braun’s past voyages, offering a glimpse of a galaxy where the laws of physics bend and the line between reality and madness thins. Listeners are drawn into a tense, introspective mystery that explores both the vastness of space and the isolation that follows a survivor who can speak only in fragments. It’s a slow‑burning, atmospheric sci‑fi tale that asks what happens when the greatest adventure becomes a burden no one can comprehend.
Language
en
Duration
~34 minutes (32K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2021-10-19
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1911–1974
A mid-century science fiction and fantasy writer with an artist’s eye, he filled pulp magazines with energetic space opera and strange adventures. His work also stretched into editing and small-press publishing, giving him a hand in several sides of the genre.
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by Stanley Mullen

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