The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg Episode #233

Robert Silverberg | July 6, 2024

The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg Episode #233
Robert Silverberg

THE MYSTERY OF DENEB IV

Episode #233 · Written by Robert Silverberg · Narrated by Scott Miller

A routine rescue turns quietly hostile on Deneb IV, where a missing survey crew appears safe, organized, and disturbingly unconcerned by the distress signal that summoned help. Dave Carter quickly senses that something fundamental is wrong—not with the planet, but with the people waiting for him.

The tension deepens as Carter discovers that obedience comes easily to everyone but him. Conversations feel rehearsed. Violence arrives without emotion. Orders travel without voices. Somewhere beneath the expedition’s headquarters, an intelligence listens, measures resistance, and decides who is useful.

This story builds pressure through containment rather than chaos. Carter’s danger comes from standing out in a place where individuality has already been erased. Every choice he makes risks exposing the one advantage he doesn’t fully understand.

The Mystery of Deneb IV delivers a sharp, suspense-driven confrontation between human ingenuity and absolute mental authority, forcing its protagonist to gamble on deception while the clock quietly runs out.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Robert Silverberg began publishing science fiction professionally in the early 1950s and quickly became one of the most visible contributors to American genre magazines. His stories appeared frequently in Amazing Stories, Fantastic, Galaxy, and Astounding, often blending fast pacing with unsettling speculative ideas.

The Mystery of Deneb IV comes from Silverberg’s early adventure period, when he was producing dozens of stories a year while refining themes of control, autonomy, and hidden power. These foundations later supported his acclaimed novels and short fiction, but even here his precision and narrative confidence are already unmistakable.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to The Mystery of Deneb IV by Robert Silverberg — a vintage science fiction thriller where a rescue mission reveals a hidden intelligence and a dangerous resistance.

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 34 countries and heard in more than 190 countries, the show has surpassed 3.4 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:

★★★★★ “The Lost Sci Fi Podcast is such a joy... Scott Miller is a master storyteller, truly inhabiting each character in a way that makes you forget there is only one narrator! I appreciate all the research that goes into every episode, from finding these obscure gems to the interesting biographical notes about the authors. Thank you for making me look forward to my commute!”
— Someone

★★★★★ “Best of all Worlds. No Sci-Fi podcast content or context compares to LSF and no one does it like Scott Miller. He doesn’t just read the stories. He tells them.”
— JCMargerison

Vintage science fiction. Professionally narrated. Carefully curated.