The World That Couldn't Be (Unabridged‪)‬

Award winning author Clifford D. Simak published "The World That Couldn't Be" in 1958.

It appeared in the January issue of Galaxy Science Fiction magazine. In the story, Layard was an alien world that puzzled sociologists, since the planet's inhabitants were genderless, yet there was no decrease in population. Gavin Duncan had come to this world to farm vua, a plant that cured mental illnesses. Vua was a cash crop that Gavin hoped would bring him great wealth. He is thwarted by the Cytha, a large, supposedly simple-minded creature with a taste for vua. Like Ahab in Moby Dick, Gavin sets out to hunt the creature down. This creative story draws you in from the first description to the final ending.