TESTING

Episode #549 · Written by Sam Merwin Jr. · Narrated by Scott Miller

Hannibal Pryor has spent years proving himself in the service of Sirius Sector, only to watch politics push him aside at the worst possible moment. Instead of commanding a prestigious mission, he is sent to perform a dull preliminary survey on a planet selected for destruction. The assignment feels meaningless until his instruments reveal human life where none should exist.

What waits on Rigel IV is unlike anything Pryor has known. The isolated settlers of Nevis have rejected the crowded pressures of interstellar civilization and built a quiet agricultural community far from political ambition and military competition. Their customs seem ancient, their way of life almost impossible, yet Pryor quickly realizes they possess something most of the galaxy lost long ago.

As the countdown toward the planet-buster test continues, Pryor finds himself trapped between military authority and the people he has been ordered to remove. Every delayed message increases the danger. Every choice carries consequences that stretch far beyond one remote colony. The tension grows steadily because the threat is already moving toward them and there may not be enough time left to stop it.

Testing stands out for the way it balances massive science fiction spectacle with intimate human moments. Sam Merwin Jr. fills the story with political maneuvering, interstellar technology, and military pressure, but the emotional core comes from Pryor’s growing admiration for the settlers of Nevis. Their small community becomes more vivid and important with every passing hour.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Sam Merwin Jr. was deeply involved in science fiction both as a writer and as an editor during the magazine boom of the 1940s and 1950s. He edited Startling Stories and Thrilling Wonder Stories, helping shape the careers of many important science fiction authors while also publishing his own fiction in major genre magazines.

Merwin’s novels included House of Many Worlds, The White Widows, and The Isling, but he was especially effective at shorter fiction built around pressure, moral conflict, and sharply defined characters. Testing captures many of the qualities that made his work memorable: strong pacing, believable military tension, and ordinary people forced to confront enormous decisions under impossible deadlines.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Testing by Sam Merwin Jr. — a classic science fiction tale of military power, political mistakes, and a forgotten colony facing destruction.

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