THE WORLD THAT COULDN’T BE

Episode #142 · Written by Clifford D. Simak · Narrated by Scott Miller

On a harsh alien world, a determined Earthman hunts a mysterious creature that refuses to behave like any animal he has ever known. The deeper the chase goes, the more unsettling the planet’s hidden logic becomes.

Gavin Duncan has carved out a precarious living on the alien planet Layard, growing a rare medicinal crop that Earth desperately needs. When a mysterious native creature known as the Cytha begins destroying his fields, Duncan does what he has always done—he hunts. Armed with experience, discipline, and a rifle, he sets out across an unforgiving landscape to eliminate what he believes is just another dangerous animal.

But Layard is not a simple world, and the Cytha is no ordinary beast. As the pursuit stretches over days, Duncan encounters strange taboos, unsettling native behavior, and evidence that the planet itself operates according to rules far beyond human understanding. The hunt evolves into something far more dangerous than a test of endurance—it becomes a confrontation with a living system that adapts, protects itself, and remembers.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Clifford D. Simak was one of science fiction’s most thoughtful voices, celebrated for his gentle prose and profound ideas. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Simak focused less on conflict and conquest and more on coexistence, empathy, and the long-term consequences of human expansion into the cosmos.

Born in Wisconsin in 1904, Simak began his career as a journalist before becoming a cornerstone of classic science fiction’s Golden Age. His works, including City, Way Station, and The Werewolf Principle, are renowned for their quiet power and philosophical depth. The World That Couldn’t Be stands as a striking example of Simak’s ability to transform an action-driven narrative into a deeply unsettling exploration of humanity’s place in a universe that does not belong to us alone.

LISTEN TO THE STORY

Listen to The World That Couldn’t Be by Clifford D. Simak — a classic science fiction tale of an alien world with rules humanity never expected.

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