Edward W. Ludwig 14 min read

Far off in the midnight-black of the cave, a pin-point of silver light shines, an island of life in a sea of death, as Martin gasps forward, a puppy cradled in his arm.

Edward W. Ludwig's 1950 story is a haunting post-apocalyptic and psi tale of survival, faith, and a light in the dark. Atmospheric, moving golden-age SF. Read it for a poignant story of the last survivors of a dead world creeping toward a symbol of mercy and hope.

In its time

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

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

W. E. Terry