Walter J. Sheldon 1 hr 4 min read

Working late among the great banks of criminological computers on his second anniversary, a happy man's world is about to be upended by unexpected visitors.

Walter J. Sheldon's 1953 story sets the ordinary, contented Richard Pell at Central Investigation on a night that should have been a celebration, before something strange arrives. Atmospheric, suspenseful space opera that builds from domestic warmth toward dread. Read it for a well-turned golden-age tale that shatters an ordinary evening.

In its time

Published in 1953, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 4 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

Kelly Freas