Milton A. Rothman 26 min read

On the hostile streets of a brawly space-port town, the iridescent-furred alien Joe walks tentacle-in-hand with his Terran teammate Jed Grey, his pelt paling to blue with distaste.

Milton A. Rothman's 1951 story pairs a telepathic alien and a human crewman for a night ashore in a military space opera. Vivid, atmospheric golden-age SF. Read it for a story of interspecies friendship and unease amid the sensory chaos of a rough spaceport town.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Herman B. Vestal