CAPTAIN MIDAS

Episode #335 · Written by Alfred Coppel · Narrated by Scott Miller

There’s a special kind of temptation that only space can offer: a prize so huge it feels like destiny. In Captain Midas, that temptation arrives as something impossible—an immense, wounded vessel drifting in silence, daring a crew to claim it.

The story runs on atmosphere and rising dread. Greed doesn’t just cloud judgment here—it turns crewmates into rivals and decisions into threats. The closer they get to their “sure thing,” the more unstable everything becomes: trust, authority, even the simple idea of what’s safe to touch.

This is vintage science fiction at its sharpest—big stakes, tight pacing, and a moral bite that lingers. It’s not about a complicated plot. It’s about what people do when they believe they’ve finally found the one jackpot that changes everything.

And just when the crew thinks they understand the risk, the story reminds them: the universe doesn’t hand out miracles. It negotiates—and it always collects.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Alfred Coppel brought a hard-edged realism to his science fiction, shaped by a life that included service as a World War II fighter pilot. He wrote across genres with a storyteller’s instinct for pressure, consequence, and characters who feel dangerously human.

Beyond short fiction, Coppel is also known for powerful novels that explore conflict and survival, including Dark December. In Captain Midas, his strengths are on full display: lean prose, relentless tension, and a theme that hits like a warning—especially when the treasure looks too good to be true.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to Captain Midas by Alfred Coppel — vintage science fiction where a drifting prize sparks paranoia, mutiny, and a terrible cost of greed.

RELATED STORIES

• The Flight of the Eagle by Alfred Coppel
• Captain Midas by Alfred Coppel
• Runaway by Alfred Coppel
• The First Man on the Moon by Alfred Coppel
• Wreck Off Triton by Alfred Coppel
• The Invader by Alfred Coppel
• The Hills of Home by Alfred Coppel

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