
A hardened Space Patrol agent is thrust into a tangled web of politics and murder on the fringe of the solar system. When a striking red‑Martian is accused of killing a high‑ranking member of the Red Council, the case lands on his desk, promising more than a routine chase. The investigation quickly reveals hidden rivalries between the Blue and Red factions, and the agent realizes he’s been handed a pawn in a larger power play.
To find his quarry, he ventures into the Spacerat’s Roost on Ganymede, a lawless dive where plutonium prospectors, fungal hunters, and alien outcasts mingle beneath a haze of fung‑weed smoke. The bar’s clientele ranges from Jovian octopus waiters to Venusian bouncers, each offering a glimpse of the gritty underbelly that fuels the illegal moondrug trade. Amid the neon‑lit chaos, the agent must navigate shifting loyalties and survive long enough to uncover the truth behind the murder accusation.
Language
en
Duration
~41 minutes (39K 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
2021-02-25
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1911–1974
A museum curator by profession and a pulp storyteller by passion, he brought a thoughtful, literary touch to science fiction and fantasy magazines of the 1940s and 1950s. His work often mixed imagination with psychology, myth, and a quietly unsettling sense of wonder.
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