The Hate Disease

Dr. Calhoun of the Med Service and his coffee-loving tormal Murgatroyd arrive at Tallien Three expecting a routine public health inspection, only to find a world already sliding toward collapse. Beneath the planet's alien ecology and neglected oversight lies a baffling crisis: conflicting landing warnings, rocket attacks on his ship, and a colony gripped by fear of the so-called "paras." Once on the ground, Calhoun is drawn into a desperate struggle between frightened officials, armed police, and a population split by suspicion and violence. He learns that the paras are not merely angry citizens but victims of a strange epidemic that begins with depression and distrust, then erupts into madness, hostility, and a twisted social unity against "normals." Government Center is sealed, suspects are isolated behind glass, and even researchers have fallen ill. As Calhoun presses for the truth, he confronts half-formed theories of a jungle-born intelligence, the colony's grotesque local scavengers, and a society unraveling under a threat that is medical, ecological, and political all at once. This edition has been fully restored with modern typesetting, custom cover design.