A crew member of an expedition to Titan, Tom Drake, encounters a mysterious misty sphere while piloting the emergency craft, the _Weddington_, back to Earth. Despite his reports of the encounter, he is dismissed as unstable. Months later, a new celestial body, initially thought to be a comet, appears in the solar system, later dubbed the Ghost Planet. As it approaches, strange misty globes begin to appear on Earth, causing panic and confusion. Tom, now unemployed and living with his friend Lan Hardy, becomes increasingly obsessed with the Ghost Planet and its implications. When the Ghost Planet's globes start abducting humans, including a man in Cleveland, Tom realizes the potential threat they pose. He theorizes that the globes are sentient and are scouting Earth for something they desire, possibly intelligent life. As the situation escalates, Tom and Lan are called to assist Kit McGuire, the daughter of the former World President, who believes her father’s warnings about the Ghost Planet are being ignored. They work together to understand the nature of the globes and the Ghost Planet, leading to the development of a device that could interact with the ghostly matter. When the globes attack Pasadena, Tom and McGuire pilot the _Weddington_ to confront them. They discover that the globes can be affected by a trigger-energy field, which allows them to interact with the ghostly matter. After a tense confrontation, they manage to disable one of the globes, leading to a breakthrough in communication with the inhabitants of the Ghost Planet. Through a series of negotiations, they learn that the Ghost Planet's inhabitants are seeking knowledge to overcome a biological limitation that has stunted their civilization. In exchange for information about human advancements, particularly in medicine, they offer humanity the secret to interstellar travel. The story concludes with a successful exchange of knowledge, allowing both civilizations to benefit. Tom and Kit's relationship develops amidst the chaos, and they contemplate a future together as humanity prepares to explore new worlds. The narrative explores themes of communication, the nature of reality, and the potential for cooperation between different civilizations.
By Murray Leinster · First published 1950 · Genre: Science Fiction, Adventure, Fantasy · 8 chapters