Peterson, John Victor creator Giunta, John 1920-1970 text utu 2021 monographic en 1 online resource : multiple file formats "Lie on the Beam" by John Victor Peterson is a science fiction novel likely written during the mid-20th century. The story navigates the tension of interplanetary politics and technological mishaps, set against the backdrop of a tumultuous Venus, where the protagonists must operate under dire circumstances as a Martian destroyer threatens a political conclave. The plot revolves around Frederic Ward, an engineer at the Astronautics Authority, who is awakened in a fog-cloaked Venus to handle a crisis involving two unlisted incoming ships and a Martian destroyer. As interplanetary tensions rise, Ward contends with an incapacitated colleague and a series of critical equipment failures. The narrative escalates as the Martian destroyer mistakenly believes it can bomb the city of Pali-Vanyi without consequence, prompting Ward to cleverly manipulate the trajectory beams to direct both the destroyer and a civilian ship to safety, averting disaster at the last moment. The book encapsulates themes of human ingenuity in the face of technological and geopolitical threats, making it an engaging read for fans of speculative fiction and adventure. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Release date is 2021-03-18 Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net Original publication data not identified Science fiction Short stories Space flight -- Fiction Venus (Planet) -- Fiction PS Original publication data not identified https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64863 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64863 UtSlPG 260607 20260610134509.0 64863