Peace in the wilderness

Peace in the wilderness by Marion Zimmer Bradley is a science fiction novelette written in the mid-20th century. It explores a world kept under curfew by a fabricated alien threat, using that myth to enforce global order and prepare humanity for spaceflight. The story follows newspaper editor Kerry Donalson, who is led by young Lew Fallon to a dying ex-government rocket scientist, Ben Thrusher. Ben reveals that he secretly reached the Moon and that the “Pharigs,” blamed for years of night raids and curfews, are a political hoax; their crashed “ships” were built on Earth to justify a worldwide military regime. After Kerry hides Ben and begins drafting an exposé, the Night Police take Ben to a precinct hospital, where he dies. There, Commander Shakhara Lal and surviving scientist Paul Chapman confirm the hoax and explain its purpose: to prevent thermonuclear war, reduce crime through curfew and employment in the Night Police, secure food and power via solar packs, conserve resources for space travel, and unify Earth until real spaceflight opens new frontiers. Confronted with these trade-offs—and warned of the risks of revealing the truth too soon—Kerry abandons his expose and resolves to honor Ben as a martyr whose work will carry humanity to the planets.

Peace in the wilderness, by Marion Zimmer Bradley. Republished by OpenStories from Project Gutenberg eBook #78807.