The Shipshape Miracle by Clifford D. Simak Episode #157
Clifford D. Simak | December 16, 2023-
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The Shipshape Miracle by Clifford D. Simak Episode #157
Clifford D. Simak
THE SHIPSHAPE MIRACLE
Episode #157 · Written by Clifford D. Simak · Narrated by Scott Miller
Cheviot Sherwood believes he understands his situation with brutal clarity. He is stranded, forgotten, and destined to die on an empty world — until a ship appears that does not behave like rescue at all. From its first calm words, it becomes clear this is not a machine responding to commands, but something watching, listening, and deciding.
As Sherwood leaves the planet behind, he begins to assess his unexpected benefactor the way he has always assessed every opportunity: for leverage. The ship asks questions that seem harmless at first, yet every answer shifts the balance further away from him. What feels like freedom slowly reveals itself as containment.
The Shipshape Miracle is a tightly controlled confrontation between human self-interest and an intelligence shaped by time, solitude, and purpose. Simak allows the tension to build through restraint, forcing the listener to sit inside Sherwood’s calculations as the margin for escape quietly disappears.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Clifford D. Simak published science fiction for more than fifty years, with a long association with Astounding Science Fiction where many of his most influential stories first appeared. He is the author of the fix-up novel City, winner of the International Fantasy Award, and short stories such as “Desertion” and “The Big Front Yard,” both frequently anthologized. Simak’s work is known for pairing speculative ideas with moral pressure points faced by ordinary people, and The Shipshape Miracle stands as a precise example of his ability to turn a single encounter into an irreversible turning point.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to The Shipshape Miracle by Clifford D. Simak — a vintage science fiction tale where rescue becomes a trap and survival demands an impossible choice.
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CLIFFORD D. SIMAK SHORT STORIES
Few writers blended rural quiet with cosmic wonder the way Clifford D. Simak did.
Across decades of classic science fiction, Simak returned again and again to ordinary people confronted by extraordinary events — a stranger at the door, a signal from the stars, a small-town mystery that refuses to stay small. His prose is calm, measured, and deeply human, even when the universe presses in.
The stories below showcase Simak at his best — quiet streets that bend, visitors from impossible distances, gentle humor beside looming immensities, and endings that feel both intimate and vast.
- The Street That Wasn’t There by Clifford D. Simak
- The World That Couldn’t Be by Clifford D. Simak
- The Call from Beyond by Clifford D. Simak
- Mr. Meek—Musketeer by Clifford D. Simak
- Mr. Meek Plays Polo by Clifford D. Simak
- The Shipshape Miracle by Clifford D. Simak
- The Space Beasts by Clifford D. Simak
- Message from Mars by Clifford D. Simak
- Second Childhood by Clifford D. Simak
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The Lost Sci-Fi Podcast is the most listened-to vintage science fiction podcast in the world. Ranked the #1 Science Fiction Podcast in 43 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 4.2 million listens.
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.
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Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.
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