September 25, 2025 • 10 mins
In Police Your Planet, Bruce Gordon finds himself at a crossroads as he stares at his ONE WAY ticket, a symbol of his life choices. With a heavy heart, he tears it into thirty pieces, each representing a year of his life filled with regrets and lost opportunities. From his two years as a cop to his struggles in the boxing ring, from fleeting attempts at professional gambling to his explosive rise as a journalist uncovering the Mercury scandals, Bruces journey has been anything but ordinary. But after a shocking revelation about his big scoop, he receives one last assignment that could change everything. Join Bruce as he navigates the complexities of ambition, truth, and the price of exposure. (Summary by Christian Alexander and Excerpt of Chapter 1)
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Chapter seventeen of Police or Planet by Lester Dalray. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seventeen, Security
pay Off. It was three days before Bruce Gordon made
up his mind to hunt up security. Another four days
(00:24):
passed after they had sent him back to wait until
they received orders from headquarters for him. There was a
man coming from Earth on a second ship who would
see him. They gave him a chauffeur back to the
Chicken Coop and politely indicated that it would be better
if he stayed within reach. The dome had been down
(00:44):
a full week when he watched the last of Randolph's
equipment packed onto a truck and hauled away. The Little
Publisher was back at the Crusader again. Rusty was busy
opening his bar, and the others were all busy. Only
Gordon and Sheila were left. He heard her coming down
the old stairs and ducked out through the private exit,
(01:06):
snapping his helmet in place as he went through the seal.
She must have sensed his desire to be left alone,
since she made no attempt to follow. She'd asked no
questions and hadn't even tried to convince him that he'd
be sent back to Earth now, he muttered to himself
as he headed over the rubble toward the previously domed
(01:28):
section out at the spaceport. Ships were dropping down from
daymus with the supplies that had been held up so long,
and a long line of trucks went snaking by. Credit
had been established again and the businesses were open for
the time being. The hoods and punks were having a
tough time of it with working papers demanded his constant identification,
(01:52):
and while it lasted at least Marsport was beginning to
have its face lifted. Rex were being broken up with
salvageable material used for newer homes. Gordon came to a
row of temporary bubbles, individual dwellings built like the dome,
but opaque for privacy. As Gordon drew closer to the
(02:15):
old foundation of the dome, the feeling around began to
clarify into something halfway between what he had seen on
that real frontier and what he had known as a
kid in Earth's slums. They had been lucky. The dome
had exploded outwards, with only bits of it falling back,
and the buildings had come through the outward explosion of
(02:37):
the pressure with little damage. Gordon grinned wryly. Shulburg's volunteers
were official. Now. Izzie was acting as chief of police,
Shulburg was head of the reconstruction corpse, and Mother Corey
was temporary mayor of all Marsport. The old charter for
(02:58):
Marsport from North America was dead, and the whole city
was now under secured each charter like the rest of
the planet. But the dozen security men had left most
of the control in Mother's hands, and the old man
was up to his fat jowls and business. Gordon moved
automatically toward the seventh ward. Fat's place was still open,
(03:21):
though the crooked tables had been removed. Gordon dropped to
a stool, Slipping off his helmet. He reached automatically for
the glass of ether needled beer. This time it even
tasted good to him on the house copper, Fat's voice said.
The man dropped to another stool, rolling dice casually between
(03:42):
his thumbs and bringing out a steak. There you look
as if you could stand it, and Fats don't forget
old friends, friends and other things, Gordon said, remembering his
first visit there. Maybe you should have got me that night, Fats,
the shrugged. That's Mars. He rolled the dice out, then
(04:04):
picked them up again. Guess I'll have to stick to
selling meals mostly for a while. At least. Somebody told
me you'd joined security and got banged up trying to
keep trench from blowing up the doom. Thought you'd be
in the chips. That's Mars. Gordon echoed the other's comment.
Why don't you pull off the planet, Fats. You could
(04:26):
go back to Earth, I'd guess. The other nodded, YEA.
I went back about ten years ago, spent four weeks
down there. I dunno, guess a man gets used to anything. Hell,
maybe I can hire some bumps to sit around and
whoop it up when the ships come in, and build
this as a real old Martian den of sin. Get
(04:47):
a barker out at the port run special buses charged
the suckers a mint for a cheap thrill. Gordon grinned wryly.
Fats would probably make more than ever. He finished the meal,
accepted a pack of the Earth's cigarettes that sold at
a luxury price here, and went out into the thin
(05:09):
air of Mars. It was almost good to get out
into the filth of the salums and be heading back
to the still standing monument of the old Chicken Coop.
He headed for the private entrance out of habit and
then shrugged as he realized it was a needless precaution.
Now he moved up the front steps and through the
(05:29):
battered seal. Then he stopped. Security had finally gotten around
to him, it seemed. Inside the hallway the security man
who'd first sent him to Mars was waiting. There was
a grin on the other's face. Hello, Gordon, finally got
our orders for you. It's Mercury. Bruce. Gordon nodded slowly.
(05:55):
All right, I suppose you know I ruined the dome,
was supposed to have killed Murdoch, pretended I was a
security agent. You were one, the man said, He grinned again.
We know about Murdoch, and we know where Trench is.
But he's a good citizen now, so he can stay there.
(06:15):
We're not throwing the book at ye, Bruce. Damn it.
We sent you here to get results, and you got them.
We sent twenty others the same way and they failed.
You are a bit drastic, that, I have to admit.
But we're one step closer to keeping nationalism off the planet,
and that's all we care about. I wonder if it's
(06:38):
worth it, Gordon said slowly. The other shook his head.
We can't know in our lifetime. All we can do
is to hope. We'll probably get this mother. Cory and
Isaac's elected properly, and for a while things will improve.
But there'll be pushers as long as weak men turn
to drugs and graffed, as long as voters allow them
(07:00):
to get out of their hands. Let's say you've shifted
some of the misery around a bit and given them
a chance to do better. It's up to them to
take it or lose it. So I get sent to Mercury.
You can't stay here. They'll find out too much eventually,
he paused, estimating Gordon, you can go back to Earth, Bruce,
(07:22):
but you won't like it now. You're a fighter, and
there's hell brewing on Mercury worse than here. We've got
permission to send you there if you'll go with a
yellow ticket again, but without any razzle dazzle this time.
The only thing you'll get out of it is a
chance to fight for a better chance for others. Someday,
(07:44):
and a promise that there'll be more until you get
old enough to sit at a desk on Earth and
fight against every bickering nation there is to keep the
planets clean. There's a rocket waiting to transship you to
the Moon on the way to Mercury right now, Gordon sighed,
all right, but I wish you'd tell my wife some
time that well, that I didn't just run out on her.
(08:08):
She's had bad luck with men. She already knows. The
security man said, I've been waiting for you for quite
a while, you know, and I paid her the pay
we owe you from the time you began using your badge.
She's out shopping. The car pulled up to the waiting rocket,
(08:28):
and the security man helped him up the steps with
a perfunctory wish for good luck. Then Bruce Gordon stopped.
His great arms surrounded him. Mother Corey was immaculate. They're
not much prettier, but his old eyes were glinting. Did
you think we'd let you go without seeing you off cobber,
he asked, And after I took a bath to celebrate,
(08:52):
I I, oh, drat it, I'm getting old, Izzie. You
tell him, He grabbed Gordon's hand and waddled down on
the landing plank. Izzie shook his head. I can't say
to either guv'nor, but some day I'm going to have
one of those badges myself. Like I always said, honesty
sure pays, even if it kills you. Here he followed
(09:17):
Mother Corey, leaving behind his favorite knife in a brand
new deck of reader cards, marked exactly as the one's
Gordon first used. Gordon dropped into his seat while the
sounds outside indicated take off time. He had less than
a hundred credits, a knife, a deck of phony cards,
(09:39):
and a yellow ticket. Mars was leaving him what he'd brought.
She dropped into the seat very quietly, but her blouse
touched his arm, and her hand was a punched ticket
with the orange of Mars on top and the black
of Mercury on the bottom. Hullo Bruce, Sheila said softly.
(10:00):
I've been shopping and I spent the money the man
gave me. This is all I have left. D'ye think
it's worth it? Or should I take it back? He
turned it over in his hands slowly, and the smile
came back to his face Gradually, you've got a bargain cuddles,
he said, a lot better than the meal ticket you bought.
(10:23):
Let's keep it. End of Chapter seventeen and of Police
Your Planet by Lester Delray. Recording by Christian Alexander
Chapter seventeen of Police or Planet by Lester Dalray. This
LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Chapter seventeen, Security
pay Off. It was three days before Bruce Gordon made
up his mind to hunt up security. Another four days
(00:24):
passed after they had sent him back to wait until
they received orders from headquarters for him. There was a
man coming from Earth on a second ship who would
see him. They gave him a chauffeur back to the
Chicken Coop and politely indicated that it would be better
if he stayed within reach. The dome had been down
(00:44):
a full week when he watched the last of Randolph's
equipment packed onto a truck and hauled away. The Little
Publisher was back at the Crusader again. Rusty was busy
opening his bar, and the others were all busy. Only
Gordon and Sheila were left. He heard her coming down
the old stairs and ducked out through the private exit,
(01:06):
snapping his helmet in place as he went through the seal.
She must have sensed his desire to be left alone,
since she made no attempt to follow. She'd asked no
questions and hadn't even tried to convince him that he'd
be sent back to Earth now, he muttered to himself
as he headed over the rubble toward the previously domed
(01:28):
section out at the spaceport. Ships were dropping down from
daymus with the supplies that had been held up so long,
and a long line of trucks went snaking by. Credit
had been established again and the businesses were open for
the time being. The hoods and punks were having a
tough time of it with working papers demanded his constant identification,
(01:52):
and while it lasted at least Marsport was beginning to
have its face lifted. Rex were being broken up with
salvageable material used for newer homes. Gordon came to a
row of temporary bubbles, individual dwellings built like the dome,
but opaque for privacy. As Gordon drew closer to the
(02:15):
old foundation of the dome, the feeling around began to
clarify into something halfway between what he had seen on
that real frontier and what he had known as a
kid in Earth's slums. They had been lucky. The dome
had exploded outwards, with only bits of it falling back,
and the buildings had come through the outward explosion of
(02:37):
the pressure with little damage. Gordon grinned wryly. Shulburg's volunteers
were official. Now. Izzie was acting as chief of police,
Shulburg was head of the reconstruction corpse, and Mother Corey
was temporary mayor of all Marsport. The old charter for
(02:58):
Marsport from North America was dead, and the whole city
was now under secured each charter like the rest of
the planet. But the dozen security men had left most
of the control in Mother's hands, and the old man
was up to his fat jowls and business. Gordon moved
automatically toward the seventh ward. Fat's place was still open,
(03:21):
though the crooked tables had been removed. Gordon dropped to
a stool, Slipping off his helmet. He reached automatically for
the glass of ether needled beer. This time it even
tasted good to him on the house copper, Fat's voice said.
The man dropped to another stool, rolling dice casually between
(03:42):
his thumbs and bringing out a steak. There you look
as if you could stand it, and Fats don't forget
old friends, friends and other things, Gordon said, remembering his
first visit there. Maybe you should have got me that night, Fats,
the shrugged. That's Mars. He rolled the dice out, then
(04:04):
picked them up again. Guess I'll have to stick to
selling meals mostly for a while. At least. Somebody told
me you'd joined security and got banged up trying to
keep trench from blowing up the doom. Thought you'd be
in the chips. That's Mars. Gordon echoed the other's comment.
Why don't you pull off the planet, Fats. You could
(04:26):
go back to Earth, I'd guess. The other nodded, YEA.
I went back about ten years ago, spent four weeks
down there. I dunno, guess a man gets used to anything. Hell,
maybe I can hire some bumps to sit around and
whoop it up when the ships come in, and build
this as a real old Martian den of sin. Get
(04:47):
a barker out at the port run special buses charged
the suckers a mint for a cheap thrill. Gordon grinned wryly.
Fats would probably make more than ever. He finished the meal,
accepted a pack of the Earth's cigarettes that sold at
a luxury price here, and went out into the thin
(05:09):
air of Mars. It was almost good to get out
into the filth of the salums and be heading back
to the still standing monument of the old Chicken Coop.
He headed for the private entrance out of habit and
then shrugged as he realized it was a needless precaution.
Now he moved up the front steps and through the
(05:29):
battered seal. Then he stopped. Security had finally gotten around
to him, it seemed. Inside the hallway the security man
who'd first sent him to Mars was waiting. There was
a grin on the other's face. Hello, Gordon, finally got
our orders for you. It's Mercury. Bruce. Gordon nodded slowly.
(05:55):
All right, I suppose you know I ruined the dome,
was supposed to have killed Murdoch, pretended I was a
security agent. You were one, the man said, He grinned again.
We know about Murdoch, and we know where Trench is.
But he's a good citizen now, so he can stay there.
(06:15):
We're not throwing the book at ye, Bruce. Damn it.
We sent you here to get results, and you got them.
We sent twenty others the same way and they failed.
You are a bit drastic, that, I have to admit.
But we're one step closer to keeping nationalism off the planet,
and that's all we care about. I wonder if it's
(06:38):
worth it, Gordon said slowly. The other shook his head.
We can't know in our lifetime. All we can do
is to hope. We'll probably get this mother. Cory and
Isaac's elected properly, and for a while things will improve.
But there'll be pushers as long as weak men turn
to drugs and graffed, as long as voters allow them
(07:00):
to get out of their hands. Let's say you've shifted
some of the misery around a bit and given them
a chance to do better. It's up to them to
take it or lose it. So I get sent to Mercury.
You can't stay here. They'll find out too much eventually,
he paused, estimating Gordon, you can go back to Earth, Bruce,
(07:22):
but you won't like it now. You're a fighter, and
there's hell brewing on Mercury worse than here. We've got
permission to send you there if you'll go with a
yellow ticket again, but without any razzle dazzle this time.
The only thing you'll get out of it is a
chance to fight for a better chance for others. Someday,
(07:44):
and a promise that there'll be more until you get
old enough to sit at a desk on Earth and
fight against every bickering nation there is to keep the
planets clean. There's a rocket waiting to transship you to
the Moon on the way to Mercury right now, Gordon sighed,
all right, but I wish you'd tell my wife some
time that well, that I didn't just run out on her.
(08:08):
She's had bad luck with men. She already knows. The
security man said, I've been waiting for you for quite
a while, you know, and I paid her the pay
we owe you from the time you began using your badge.
She's out shopping. The car pulled up to the waiting rocket,
(08:28):
and the security man helped him up the steps with
a perfunctory wish for good luck. Then Bruce Gordon stopped.
His great arms surrounded him. Mother Corey was immaculate. They're
not much prettier, but his old eyes were glinting. Did
you think we'd let you go without seeing you off cobber,
he asked, And after I took a bath to celebrate,
(08:52):
I I, oh, drat it, I'm getting old, Izzie. You
tell him, He grabbed Gordon's hand and waddled down on
the landing plank. Izzie shook his head. I can't say
to either guv'nor, but some day I'm going to have
one of those badges myself. Like I always said, honesty
sure pays, even if it kills you. Here he followed
(09:17):
Mother Corey, leaving behind his favorite knife in a brand
new deck of reader cards, marked exactly as the one's
Gordon first used. Gordon dropped into his seat while the
sounds outside indicated take off time. He had less than
a hundred credits, a knife, a deck of phony cards,
(09:39):
and a yellow ticket. Mars was leaving him what he'd brought.
She dropped into the seat very quietly, but her blouse
touched his arm, and her hand was a punched ticket
with the orange of Mars on top and the black
of Mercury on the bottom. Hullo Bruce, Sheila said softly.
(10:00):
I've been shopping and I spent the money the man
gave me. This is all I have left. D'ye think
it's worth it? Or should I take it back? He
turned it over in his hands slowly, and the smile
came back to his face Gradually, you've got a bargain cuddles,
he said, a lot better than the meal ticket you bought.
(10:23):
Let's keep it. End of Chapter seventeen and of Police
Your Planet by Lester Delray. Recording by Christian Alexander
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