Lester Del Rey 25 min read

Max Fleigh plants his boot in his bound captive's ribs and decides the gag is effective, for there can be no bungling when the future of the Plutarchy is at stake.

Lester del Rey's 1950 story opens on ruthless intrigue in a solar-system power struggle, building an AI-and-social-SF tale. Sharp, driven golden-age SF. Read it for a story of empire, betrayal, and the lengths a would-be dynasty will go to seize control of the planets.

In its time

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

Reading it

25 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

C. A. Murphy