
High above a glittering St. Louis, three recent university graduates slip into a sleek, cigar‑shaped fighting ship—normally reserved for squadron commanders. The year is 2675, and Earth and Mars are locked in a bitter interplanetary war, with every vessel stripped for combat. From their cushioned cabin, the trio watches the city shrink to a speck of light as they climb into the stratosphere, savoring a brief taste of freedom far from the watchful eyes of their superiors.
The friends—Bull Mike, the former star athlete; Neil, the charming strategist; and Sukune, the inventive technician—use the two‑day leave to explore the sky on their own terms. While scanning the void, they spot a lone asteroid drifting between Earth and Mars, a mysterious mile‑wide rock whose path and purpose are unknown. Their curiosity turns the harmless joyride into a quiet, shared wonder about what lies beyond the front lines, hinting at adventures that may reshape their view of the war and the universe.
Language
en
Duration
~53 minutes (51K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Original publisher
New York, NY: Stellar Publishing Corporation, 1932.
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net (This file was produced from images generously made available by The Internet Archive)
Release date
2024-02-02
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1903–1986
Best known for eerie, folkloric tales set in the Appalachian Mountains, this prolific American writer brought regional legend and old-time music into fantasy and horror in a way that still feels distinctive. He also worked across science fiction, mystery, westerns, and historical fiction, building a career that ranged far beyond one genre.
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