THE MERCURIAN

Episode #382 · Written by Frank Belknap Long · Narrated by Scott Miller

A mining mission on Mercury should be nothing more than heat, hazard, and hard work. Instead, the return of a single strange creature from the molten surface triggers a chilling chain reaction that leaves an entire spaceship eerily still, as if time itself has been drained from the crew.

Only one man remains fully alive and moving, forced to confront an intelligence that can slip into his thoughts and speak in the language of his own mind. This visitor from Mercury does not come as a conqueror in the usual sense; it comes as a collector, calmly preparing to catalogue humanity as if we were artifacts in a distant museum.

Cut off from help and surrounded by frozen shipmates, he must play a dangerous mental game against a being that can bend matter, steal warmth, and read intentions before they become actions. The struggle is quiet but absolute, a duel of minds fought in corridors of steel while a hostile sun blazes overhead.

The story unfolds as a tense blend of planetary adventure and uncanny first contact, where scientific curiosity collides with cosmic indifference. Every choice carries the weight of an entire crew’s fate, and every thought risks betrayal in the presence of a telepathic foe.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Frank Belknap Long was a prolific American storyteller whose work ranged from speculative adventure to darkly imaginative tales of the unknown. A longtime contributor to influential genre magazines, he had a gift for pairing bold scientific ideas with unsettling, almost dreamlike encounters.

In “The Mercurian,” Long channels that talent into a vivid confrontation between human ingenuity and an alien perspective so detached it is almost chillingly polite. The result is a story that captures both the peril and the wonder of venturing too far, too boldly, into places that may already belong to someone else.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to The Mercurian by Frank Belknap Long — a vintage sci-fi short story about an expedition to Mercury hijacked by a mind-reading alien.

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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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