
A high‑stakes investigation unfolds when the Interstellar Police’s top commissioner, Gus Fry, is summoned by the Overgovernment’s research coordinator, Howard Camhorn, to discuss a baffling theft in deep space. Their conversation reveals that a valuable, time‑bending device known as the Ym‑400 vanished from a routine cargo freighter, and the ship’s course was mysteriously altered to drift into empty void before self‑destructing. The two officials must piece together how a group of audacious thieves managed to bypass the supposedly impregnable security of an automated transport without triggering any alarms.
The mystery deepens as they consider the possibility of a covert boarding operation—tiny craft slipping aboard the freighter, hijacking its navigation, and slipping away with the prized cargo. With political giants and alien forces converging on Lion Mesa, the early chapters set a tense cat‑and‑mouse game, hinting at larger conspiracies while keeping the true nature of the stolen power shrouded in intrigue.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (139K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
New York, NY: Ziff-Davis Publishing Company, 1963.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
2023-12-31
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1911–1981
Known for fast, clever science fiction and unusually capable heroines, this mid-20th-century writer built a loyal following with stories that still feel lively and smart. His work ranges from sharp short fiction to popular adventures in the Hub and Telzey Amberdon series.
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