A team of scientists and space‐explorers makes a startling discovery during a lunar expedition—a series of photographs and measurements that upend conventional cosmology. Instead of a uniformly expanding universe as previously believed, the evidence suggests that the solar system itself is contracting under the influence of a mysterious, deliberately applied force. Convinced that this contraction will soon bring about the total annihilation of not only Earth but the entire inner solar system, the determined protagonist assembles a diverse band of researchers and crew to secure the technical and military secrets of every major planet. Forced into exile when Earth’s governing council rejects his warnings, the group hijacks a cutting‐edge cruiser powered by an experimental “hypatomic” motor and a revolutionary quadridimensional drive. Their perilous journey takes them first to Venus and then to Mars, where they encounter not only harsh planetary environments and hostile space patrols but also internal treachery that comes to a head when a trusted colleague reveals his true loyalty to an ancient enemy. Throughout, the voyagers debate the nature of the cosmic threat: an assault delivered via concentrated cosmic rays that appears to be designed to accelerate the contraction, or “dwindling,” of the sun and the planets around it. As the expedition advances deeper into the outer regions of the solar system, they learn that the source of the lethal radiation is not a random natural phenomenon but the deliberate weaponry of an extraterrestrial empire originating from an ancient, long-forgotten conflict between two vanished worlds. In a mythic twist echoing legends of Gog and Magog, the protagonists uncover that one of the adversaries—once a prideful civilization that annihilated its rival—is now orchestrating the systematic destruction of the solar system. This foe, masquerading as a sympathetic insider under a false name, has deliberately sabotaged their systems and even attempted to use the fourth-dimensional drive against them. Amid furious interstellar engagements and desperate struggles with betrayals on board their own ship, the group realizes that the only hope of escape lies in unearthing a secret of faster-than-light travel—a method that does not propel a ship through space at extraordinary speed but instead warps space itself, effecting an instantaneous transition between distant points. In a climactic turn, as the ship hurtles toward the ancient capital of the enemy world, the crew’s survival depends on not only subduing the traitor and his fellow loyalists of the old empire but also on mastering this revolutionary technology. Success would enable them to leave the doomed solar system behind and, perhaps, inaugurate a new era of interplanetary cooperation and even eternal life. Ultimately, the narrative is a race against time and fate—a journey that interweaves advanced physics, interplanetary politics, and the weight of ancient myth—to rescue a whole universe from a meticulously orchestrated, inexorable decline.
By Nelson S. Bond · First published 1964 · Genre: Science Fiction, Fantasy, Adventure · 21 chapters