
On a freight run between Mars and Jupiter, the ship’s only Level‑One navigator, Johnny “Horse” Collins, steers through a treacherous belt of asteroids with the casual confidence of a former All‑Earth football star. He’s a restless space‑bum who talks about women as if they were a rare commodity, while his ship‑mate keeps a dry, pragmatic eye on the instruments. When Collins swears he sees a woman waving from a phantom planetoid, the crew’s routine voyage suddenly teeters on the edge of the uncanny.
The sighting sparks a playful rivalry between the two men and drags the whole crew into a quiet obsession with a mystery that shouldn't exist in the void. Gault mixes humor, hard‑science details and a touch of melancholy as the navigator wrestles with longing, duty, and the thin line between imagination and reality. Listeners will find themselves drifting through asteroid alleys, wondering whether the galaxy hides more than just rocks and ice.
Language
en
Duration
~23 minutes (22K characters)
Release date
2024-07-27
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1910–1995
A prolific pulp-era storyteller, this American writer moved easily from crime fiction to sports novels for younger readers. His books helped shape hard-boiled private-eye fiction while keeping a strong feel for everyday life and competition.
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