Fee of the Frontier by H. B. Fyfe Episode #26
H. B. Fyfe | July 19, 2022-
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Fee of the Frontier by H. B. Fyfe Episode #26
H. B. Fyfe
FEE OF THE FRONTIER
Episode #26 · Written by H. B. Fyfe · Narrated by Scott Miller
Mars in Fee of the Frontier is not a shining outpost of destiny. It is a lived-in place, shaped by routine, compromise, and quiet longing. Beneath the dome lights, a former spacer watches younger men prepare for a leap that cannot be undone, knowing how thin the line is between readiness and regret.
The story unfolds over a single evening filled with chance encounters, risky games, and conversations that drift dangerously close to confession. Romance, money, and ambition press in from all sides, but none of them can compete with the pull of open space. Every choice feels temporary, yet every consequence threatens to last forever.
Rather than grand speeches or heroic declarations, the tension comes from restraint. What is left unsaid matters as much as what is spoken aloud. The frontier advances not through bravery alone, but through the willingness to let others go, even when it hurts.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
H. B. Fyfe was a prolific contributor to science fiction magazines such as Astounding Science Fiction, Galaxy Science Fiction, and If Worlds of Science Fiction during the 1950s and early 1960s. He became especially known for stories that focused on the practical realities of future societies, often blending technical credibility with sharply observed human behavior.
Stories like “Protective Mimicry,” “The Wages of Sin,” and Fee of the Frontier reflect Fyfe’s interest in the systems that grow around exploration—bureaucracy, commerce, and social pressure—rather than the machinery alone. His work consistently treats space travel as something people must live with, not merely dream about.
LISTEN TO THE STORY
Listen to Fee of the Frontier by H. B. Fyfe — a vintage science fiction short story where Mars tests who is truly ready to pay the price of the next great leap.
RELATED STORIES
Mars has always been the most familiar of alien worlds, close enough to imagine and distant enough to remain dangerous. Vintage science fiction turned the red planet into a testing ground for human ambition—an empty frontier, a dying world, or a civilization older and stranger than Earth itself.
These stories send explorers, settlers, soldiers, and scientists across the void to a place where survival is never guaranteed. Thin air, vast deserts, and abandoned cities create a landscape that is both harsh and haunting.
Whether the planet is home to ancient Martians, fragile colonies, or the last hope after Earth’s decline, Mars stories are about adaptation.
- Dwellers in Silence by Ray Bradbury
- Death-Wish by Ray Bradbury
- Defense Mech by Ray Bradbury
- The Visitor by Ray Bradbury
- The One Who Waits by Ray Bradbury
- The Crystal Egg by H. G. Wells
- Never on Mars by John Wyndham
- Return of a Legend by Raymond Z. Gallun
- Message From Mars by Clifford D. Simak
- The Monsters Came By Night by Robert Silverberg
- The Martians and the Coys by Mack Reynolds
- A Zloor For Your Trouble by Mack Reynolds
- The Weapon by Isaac Asimov
- Arm of the Law by Harry Harrison
- Monster by William Morrison
- Fee of the Frontier by H. B. Fyfe
- A Message From Our Sponsor by Henry Slesar
- Two Weeks in August by Frank M. Robinson
- Duel on Syrtis by Poul Anderson
- We're Off to Mars by Joe Gibson
- Death Walks on Mars by Alan J. Ramm
- The Old Timer by Richard R. Smith
- Trainee for Mars by Harry Harrison
- The Hermit of Mars by Stephen Bartholomew
- Martian Homecoming by Frank Belknap Long
- Lake of Fire by Frank Belknap Long
- The Hated by Frederik Pohl
- The Old Martians by Rog Phillips
- The Martian Shore by Charles L. Fontenay
- Madmen of Mars by Erik Fennel
- Martians Never Die by Lucius Daniel
- What's He Doing in There? by Fritz Leiber
- Don't Look Now by Henry Kuttner
- Jonah of the Jove-Run by Ray Bradbury
- The Goggles of Dr Dragonet by Fritz Leiber
- The Foxholes of Mars by Fritz Leiber
- Alien Equivalent by Richard R. Smith
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