
In a gleaming space academy where rockets roar and the future feels inevitable, a ten‑year‑old boy named Plato struggles with a nickname that makes his classmates snicker. Though his teachers praise his quick grasp of ship controls, he feels trapped by endless lessons on mathematics and distant moons, longing instead for the kind of daring that fills the pages of his favorite adventure tales. When the principal’s speech about duty ends, a single thought ignites in his mind: he will run away and find his own destiny among the stars.
Plato’s plan unfolds in the quiet of night, where he dons a homemade infrared visor and pores over forbidden schematics, mapping a route to the unknown. The story follows his first bold steps beyond the academy’s walls, racing against the looming threat of the notorious rogue Rogan and his chaotic fleet. As the young “philosopher” slips into the vastness of space, his ingenuity and courage are put to the test, promising a thrilling chase that will challenge everything he thought he knew about heroism.
Language
en
Duration
~26 minutes (25K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2009-09-03
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects

1906–1980
A scientist by training and a storyteller by instinct, this mid-20th-century writer moved easily between science fiction magazines, comic books, and popular science. His work blended brisk adventure with a real curiosity about science, helping him build a career that stretched across several corners of American pulp culture.
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