Robert Sheckley 17 min read

An inventor cannot afford carelessness when his invention is priceless, and Charles Dennison doesn't grasp how careless he's been until a silenced bullet chips the wall inches from his head.

Robert Sheckley's 1959 story turns a valuable discovery into a deadly chase, with a wry philosophical sting. Sharp, ingenious social SF from a master. Read it for a gripping tale about an invention worth killing for, and just what makes it so very valuable.

In its time

Published in 1959, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

17 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).

Illustrated by

Dick Francis