Science Fiction Short Story Review: "The Hour of Battle" by Robert Sheckley

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Earth is expecting an invasion of alien telepaths. Not just any type of telepathy, but ones capable of robbing other sentient life forms of their will. From Earth’s single contact with the aliens, it’s been concluded that the aliens’ power diminishes with distance or even quick-thinking Jones would never have gotten home. The answer to Earth’s defense lie in the ring of ships in orbit equipped with Attison Detectors. These detectors are something like a cross between radar and the electroencephalograph. Any alteration from the typical human brain wave pattern sets them off. Even a bad dream would disturb it. Surely an attempt at possession will send it off the charts. This is a creepy little story whose end may not be a surprise, but it nevertheless sad and inevitable. The bored men in the ships stare at the dial endlessly. The dials never move. The men play cards. They snap at each other. They continue to wait for the dials to move. While not a pleasant read, this is a fine little science fiction story. This is available from Project Gutenberg Title: “The Hour of Battle” Author: Robert Sheckley (1928-2005) First published: Space Science Fiction Sept. 1953