Synopsis

Kzanol comes out of FTL, heading toward a planet that he intends to enslave, but his ftl drive goes critical. He is able to eject it in time, but he is far away from his destination planet. He sets course for a safe place to crash, turns out to be earth, but way in our past.

Switch to the future on earth. Kzanol is in his stasis field and is found on the bottom of the ocean. Earth has the ability to cancel the stasis field. Larry is a telepath brought in to read Kzanol’s mind. Kzanol gets into Larry’s mind. Kzanol wants to recover a suit he left when he entered the solar system. Larry/Kzanol also wants to get it. The suit is the key to enslaving all of humanity.

History

First publication: Worlds of Tomorrow, March 1965

Expanded into the novel.

Review

A very good space opera, with the earth men trying to stop Kzanol before he can use the power of the suit to enslave earth. A lot of cool aliens and the scene on Pluto is interesting for its speculation about Pluto’s environment. This is a gripping story with a satisfying ending. Not a Top Tale, but still enjoyable and recommended. Now I want to compare this novella version to the final novel.