In a bustling future where Earth and Mars are linked by work, radio, and uneasy commerce, a haunting Martian song keeps drifting through the air like a warning. At Oxco, George Huber tries to hold together a factory strained by failing human workers, resentful foremen, and a growing dependence on Martian labor, even as ships crash and oxygen tanks begin to fail across the space industry. Huber's anger flares when he sees the hardworking Martian Chafnu mistreated for a trivial burn, exposing the casual cruelty beneath the plant's efficiency. At home, he endures a bitter marriage to Diana, who drinks, despises Martians, and blames them for taking human jobs, while he insists they are the most reliable workers he has. A disastrous television interview, a radio DJ's praise of the eerie hit "Melancholy," and a formal inquiry by Montague Collins all deepen the mystery and satire, pointing to a collapse in human morale rather than Martian incompetence. As Curly needles and grabs Chafnu, the story sharpens into a tense, darkly comic portrait of prejudice, labor conflict, and a workplace on the edge. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.
