Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells Episode #556

Basil Wells | May 21, 2026

Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells Episode #556
Basil Wells

FACTORY IN THE SKY

Episode #556 · Written by Basil Wells · Narrated by Scott Miller

Factory in the Sky imagines a sprawling industrial civilization hanging in the asteroid belt, where millions of workers keep the machinery of interplanetary travel alive. Basil Wells fills this enormous artificial world with crowded buses, endless production levels, roaring stamping machines, and workers already exhausted before their shifts begin. The setting feels immense, but the danger arrives quietly.

At the center of the story is Mike Terry, an ordinary factory operator trying to survive another long day inside a wartime economy running at full speed. Rumors spread across lunch breaks about sabotage, undercover agents, and growing tensions between Mars and the Jovian moons. Most workers dismiss the stories as gossip until Mike notices something that does not belong inside the Factory.

What follows is part industrial thriller and part espionage story, wrapped inside a vivid vision of everyday life in space. Wells keeps the focus close to the workers themselves. These are not admirals or politicians deciding the fate of planets. They are machine operators, inspectors, mechanics, and tired commuters standing one mistake away from disaster.

Published in 1942, Factory in the Sky reflects the wartime atmosphere that shaped much of early science fiction during World War II. The story mixes futuristic engineering with fears of infiltration and sabotage, creating tension that still feels immediate decades later.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Basil Wells published science fiction, fantasy, and western stories across magazines including Planet Stories, Thrilling Wonder Stories, Startling Stories, and Super Science Stories. His fiction regularly appeared during the 1940s alongside writers shaping the fast-moving adventure style that dominated pulp-era space fiction.

Wells often focused on working-class characters caught in dangerous environments rather than heroic commanders or scientists. Stories such as Revolt of the Outworlders, The Doorstep, and The Reality Bridge carried the same sense of isolation and pressure found in Factory in the Sky, where survival depends on quick thinking inside hostile environments far from Earth.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Factory In The Sky by Basil Wells — a vintage science fiction tale of sabotage, secret agents, and danger inside a giant space factory.

ABOUT THE LOST SCI-FI PODCAST

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.

What listeners are saying:

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— M Coats

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.