Distress Signal by Ross Rocklynne Episode #67

Ross Rocklynne | April 17, 2023

Distress Signal by Ross Rocklynne Episode #67
Ross Rocklynne

DISTRESS SIGNAL

Episode #67 · Written by Ross Rocklynne · Narrated by Scott Miller

Two teenage runaways disappear into deep space and are never supposed to be found. Years later, stranded beneath the surface of an uncharted planet orbiting a dying red star, survival has become routine rather than hopeful. What separates the two survivors is not intelligence or courage, but how long each can live with being forgotten.

One adapts to the underground civilization that shelters them, learning its language and customs, accepting the limits of their isolation. The other refuses to stop looking outward. His determination hardens year by year, fueled by quiet trips into space and a private calculation that grows more dangerous the longer it remains unfinished.

Distress Signal builds its tension through restraint and inevitability. Instead of spectacle, it focuses on a single decision that cannot be reversed once made. The story asks whether rescue is still rescue when it demands a price that others did not agree to pay.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Ross Rocklynne published dozens of stories across the major science fiction magazines of the 1940s and 1950s, including Astounding Science Fiction, Planet Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, and Cosmos Science Fiction and Fantasy. His work frequently centers on human will colliding with vast physical systems, where clever solutions expose deeper moral fractures rather than resolving them.

Distress Signal is a prime example of Rocklynne’s ability to let character conflict drive cosmic consequence. The story remains memorable not for how rescue is attempted, but for what must be confronted once the signal is finally sent.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Distress Signal by Ross Rocklynne — a vintage science fiction tale where isolation drives one man to create a rescue signal with devastating reach.

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked #1 in 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.3 million listens, introducing classic science fiction to a global audience of devoted fans.

Each episode features carefully selected stories from the Golden Age of science fiction, professionally narrated. Timeless storytelling the way it was meant to be heard.

What listeners are saying:

★★★★★ “Classics from the Masters. Great stories! I listen every week, sometimes the stories are shorts by a famous master of vintage Sci-Fi. Sometimes they are great stories by someone you never heard of. The narrator is perfect, I imagine sitting in front of a classic radio.”
—TCBermy

★★★★★ “A legitimate Top Tier Pod. I can’t do justice to how good this podcast is, truly. The host has an affect and vocal style that’s just perfect. The stories are buried gems, sure, there’s problematic vocabulary but you have to enjoy it in the spirit it’s offered. I LOVE seeing how creative people from 40-50 years ago, imagined how the world would exist. It’s just glorious and I love it.”
—bwdesmo

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.