The Solar Alliance was first formed between the planets of Mars, Earth, and Venus, but has grown to become a great civilization that spans our solar system and beyond. It was founded with the Universal Bill of Rights, and the Solar Constitution which guarantee basic freedoms of speech, press, religion, peaceful assembly, and representative government. The government seat is in Atom City on Earth, in a structure which covers a quarter of a mile at its base and which towers three thousand feet into the sky. It is there that the Solar Council delegates, representing the planets and populated satellites, make the laws that govern the galaxy. There also resides the Chamber of the Galactic Court, where the supreme judicial body of the entire universe makes its rulings.

The Solar Guard is the powerful force that was created to protect the liberties of the planets. Sworn to protect the constitution of the Solar Alliance, and preserve freedom and peace throughout the universe, the enlisted men and officers of the Guard are the best trained and equipped spacemen in the whole Alliance. Patrolling the space lanes across the millions of miles between the satellites and planets, they protect against marauders, evacuate civilians from natural disasters, come to the aid of ships in distress, and uphold law and order in the galaxy. To be an officer in the fleet requires a combination of skills and technical knowledge so demanding that eighty per cent of the Solar Guard officers retire at the age of forty.

Space Academy, founded in the 23rd century, trains the most promising boys of the Solar Alliance to become officers in the Solar Guard. A cadet's waking hours are either spent in powerful rocket cruisers, blasting through space on endless training missions, or at the Academy in classrooms and lecture halls, where he studies everything from the theory of space flight to the application of space laws. From the beginning, Academy standards have been so high, requirements so strict, that not many make it. Of the one thousand boys enrolled every year, it is expected that only twenty-one of them will become officers. There are four possible classifications for a cadet: Control-deck officer, whose duties include leadership and command. Astrogation officer, whose duties include radar and communications. Power-deck officer for engine-room operations. And the fourth classification is for advanced scientific study at the Academy.

The Academy Oath is taken individually, and is something each cadet candidate locks in his spirit, his mind, and his heart. It is not a show of color, it is a way of life. Each candidate faces as closely as possible in the direction of his home and swears by his own individual God:    I solemnly swear to uphold the Constitution of the Solar Alliance, to obey the interplanetary law, to protect the liberties of the planets, to safeguard the freedom of space and to uphold the cause of peace throughout the universe . . . to this end, I dedicate my life!

A rocket cruiser is the most powerful class of spaceship in the Solar Alliance, and the Polaris is one of the newest and fastest ships in space. It has a polished beryllium steel hull, and measures two hundred feet from the needlelike nose of its bow to the stubby opening of the rocket exhausts, without a seam or rivet visible on its surface. When resting on its stabilizer fins, one can see a large blister made of six-inch clear crystal where the radar bridge resides at the top of the ship, near the nose. Twelve feet below it, six round window ports show the position of the control deck. And over a hundred feet above the ground is the emergency hatch of the power deck. When acting as a training ship, the Polaris carries only four atomic war heads for emergency use and paralo-ray guns for armament, but in all other respects is equal to the Solar Guard cruisers that patrol space. It is also equipped with a hyperdrive, a well-guarded secret method of propulsion, enabling Solar Guard ships to travel through space faster than any other craft known. One of the lower decks houses two jet-boats with catapult launchers. These small vehicles accomodate several passengers, and can be used to ferry people between ships, land on the surface of a planet or other astral body, or any number of other projects.

Tom Corbett is a ruggedly built boy with curly brown hair, and a pleasant, open face with a snub-nose. He grew up near New Chicago on Earth, and has a younger brother and sister. When he was six, the space explorer Jon Builker passed through Tom's home town, returning from the first successful flight to a distant galaxy, and ever since then Tom wanted to be a spaceman. Through high school and the New Chicago Primary Space School where he had taken his first flight above Earth's atmosphere, he had waited for the day when he would pass his entrance exams and be accepted as a cadet in Space Academy. He has a firm grasp of command, good instinctive intelligence, and can always be relied upon to make good decisions.

Roger Manning is a slender boy of 165 pounds, standing 5'11", with sharp features, blue eyes, and a thick shock of close-cropped blond hair. His father, Kenneth, was a Solar Guard captain and winner of the Solar Medal, and was killed in action in 2335. Growing up without a father was tough on Roger, and he and his mother barely survived on the Solar Guard pension. He is fairly cynical and cocky, and has a sharp sarcastic wit, but he is a true spaceman underneath. Living with his father's Academy textbooks since he could read has made Roger a brilliant cadet, and with his native wizardry at higher mathematics, he is one of the best astrogators in the Galaxy.

Astro is a huge boy with enormous strength, fists like hams, and stands a full head taller than Tom or Roger in his size thirteen boots. His trademark bull-like bellow can often be heard when he is exuberant or joyful. He never knew his father, and his mother died when he was born, leaving him to grow up alone on Venus. As a boy, he occasionally earned a living by parachuting into the Venusian jungle to hunt baby tyrannosaurus rex. He would sell the meat to restaurants who made prized steaks from them. Much of his early life was spent in and around a spaceport in Venus' capital city –– first listening to stories of the older spacemen and running errands for them, then lending a helping hand wherever he could, and finally becoming a rigger and mechanic before his years as an enlisted spaceman and eventual appointment to Space Academy. Although he has difficulty understanding the principals of rocket propulsion, just a look or two at the engine room is all he needs before he can get the best performance a ship can give. His love of atomic rocket motors and his ability to repair anything mechanical is almost legendary at the Academy. His big heart and honesty, his wild enthusiasm for any kind of rocket power has won him many friends.

Captain Steve Strong is a tall, broad-shouldered officer with a deep tan. Graduating from the Academy in 2338, he once put down a mutiny in space as a young lieutenant, and is one of the most capable officers in the Solar Guard. He is the unit commander and personal instructor of the Polaris unit.

Commander Walters is the commandant of the Space Academy and commander in chief of the Solar Guard, as well as a delegate to the Solar Council. He is a tall, lean man with iron-gray hair, and his office is at the top of the crystal Tower of Galileo.

Dr. Joan Dale is a young, pretty astrophysicist who holds the distinction of being the first woman ever admitted into the Solar Guard in a capacity other than administrative work. She has received the chair of Master of Physics at the Academy as a result of her experiments with atomic fissionables and hyperdrive, giving her access to the finest laboratory in the tri-planet civilization. She was also a childhood friend of Captain Strong.

Major Lou "Blast-off" Connel is the oldest line officer in the Solar Guard, having risen through the enlisted ranks, and being commissioned as an officer in space during an emergency. He has been awarded the Solar Medal three times, and is one of the toughest officers in space. He recommended a slightly younger Walters for the post of commandant of Space Academy and the Solar Guard so that he himself could escape a desk job and continue blasting through space where he has devoted his entire life. He has a rough-hewn face with a bulldog chin that juts out stubbornly. Standing only a few inches shorter than Astro, his muscular, barrel chested frame is quite striking. More imposing, however, is his forceful personality, and his enormous drive to accomplish whatever task is at hand. The nickname "Blast-off" was earned by his habit of powerfully dressing down any officers or cadets that offer less than their best, and his penchant for giving out demerits is legendary. For all his seeming harshness, though, he is one of the finest officers in the Guard, and the best ally anyone could have in a tough situation.

Professor Barnard Sykes is the gray-haired Chief Astrophysicist of the Space Academy, and the head of the nucleonics laboratory. He is a man of great talent, and even greater temper. Called "Barney" by the cadet corps, he is held in high regard and downright fear. Though he is cantankerous at best, and liberally uses his scathing tongue, sheer devotion to his work and single-mindedness of purpose have made him the leading scientist in his field.

Jeff Marshall works as aide to Professor Sykes. He is a gentle, mild fellow with a quietly humorous manner.

Philip Morgan is from Georgia, and speaks with a southern drawl. He attended Space Academy with Tom and Astro, but washed out. Figuring if he couldn't get into space one way, he'd do it another, he enlisted in the Solar Guard. He quickly worked his way through the ranks, and became one of the youngest master sergeants in the Guard.

Alfie Higgins, affectionately called "The Brain" by his fellow cadets, is a small, thin boy with a thick pair of eyeglasses that give him an owllike look. He is the cadet courier for Commander Walters and the administrative staff, and has the highest I.Q. in the Academy.

Warrant Officer Mike McKenny is a short, squat, heavily built man with a seamed and weather-beaten face, and a strangely light, catfooted tread. He has been an enlisted Solar Guardsman for over forty years, and has been the cadet supervisor at the Space Academy for more than ten years now.

A unit is the backbone of the Academy, and made up of three cadets who are assembled after careful study of their individual psychograph personality charts. It was set up to develop three men to handle a Solar Guard rocket cruiser. Three men who could be taught to think, feel and act as one intelligent brain. Three men who would respect each other and who could depend on each other. The unit is the ultimate of hundreds of years of research and progress. It consists of a control-deck officer who is the pilot and commander of the ship, an astrogation officer who handles the radar, navigation, and communications, and a power-deck officer to run the mighty engines of the ship. All units design their own graduation rings, so each of the members wears one of only three rings like it in the universe when he begins life as a Solar Guard officer.

The Polaris unit was originally designated 42-D before the three cadets passed their ground manuals. It consists of command officer Tom Corbett, astrogation officer Roger Manning, and power-deck officer Astro. Together, they are one of the finest units in the Academy, and have achieved many top academic and sport honors. Steve Strong is the personal instructor and commander of the unit.

The Capella unit was originally designated 77-K before the three cadets passed their ground manuals. It consists of command officer Tony Richards –– a tall boy with closely cut black hair, broad shoulders, and a lazy smiling face, heavy-set astrogation officer Al Davison, and power-deck officer Scott McAvoy. They are second only to the Polaris unit in their abilities, and are well respected at the Academy. Lieutenant Charlie Wolcheck, a tough, smart young Solar Guard officer is the Capella unit commander.

The Arcturus unit consists of cadets Swift, Allen, and a tow-headed boy with short chunky legs named Schohari.

Free-Fall Wrestling is considerably more complicated than its gravity-bound counterpart, for obvious reasons. It is extremely difficult to master, but fascinating to watch.

Mercuryball is much like a three vs. three game of soccer, but with a twelve inch plastic sphere with a partially filled tube of mercury inside it instead of the standard ball. Once stirred up, the mercury makes the ball take crazy dips and turns, and a player has to be pretty fast even to touch it. Mercuryball is played on a hundred-yard long field with a goal on each end, and the players are allowed to touch the ball with any part of their body except their hands. The game lasts five five-minute periods with a one-minute rest in between.

Space Chess is a two-player space maneuvers game that consists of a seven-foot glass cube divided by light shafts into smaller cubes of equal shape and size. Each man has a complete space squadron –– three model rocket cruisers, six destroyers and ten scouts. The ships are filled with gas to make them float, and the player's power is derived from magnetic force. The problem is to get a combination of cruisers, destroyers, and scouts into a space section where it can knock out an opponent's ships.

Venus is the second planet from the sun, making it much warmer than Earth. Though it was originally a colony, it developed its own language and customs. One interesting custom is that most natives only have a first name. Other customs have more practical reasons, such as taking a short nap at noon when the heat is greatest and all human and animal activity must stop anyway. The first city and largest metropolis is Venusport, but the population on this misty planet is largely rural. Out in the wilderness are vast tracts of cultivated land that supply food to the planets of the Solar Alliance and her satellites. Between the weaker gravity that causes things to grow larger than on Earth, and the favorable climate, Venus is quickly becoming the breadbasket of the universe. In the eastern hemisphere is a jungle belt that is home to some of the dinosaurs that are now extinct on earth, as well as an incredible variety of other strange plants and animals.

Venus Space Station was built since Venus has no natural satellite. It is a huge white metal sphere studded with gaping holes –– air locks that serve as landing ports for spaceships. Inside the station is a compact city with living quarters, communications rooms, repair shops, weather observations, meteor information, and everything needed to serve the great fleet of Solar Guard and merchant spaceships plying the spacelanes between Earth, Mars, Venus, and Titan. The station actually handles ninety per cent of the traffic in and out of Venusport, and acts as a refueling stop for the jet liners and space freighters bound for the outer planets, and for those returning to Earth. Some ships go directly to Venusport for heavy overhaul or supplies, but the station was established primarily for quick turn-arounds. Many ex-enlisted spacemen who are injured or retired have been given special permission to open shops for the convenience of the passengers and crews of the ships and staff of the station, and one can find restaurants, a curio shop, and even a small stereo house in the space station. In twenty years, the Venus satellite has become a place where summer tourists from Earth and winter tourists from Titan have made a point of stopping. The first of its kind in the universe, it is as near a perfect place to live as can be built by man.

Atom City is a proud city of giant crystal buildings where the first slidewalks, air cars, three-dimensional stereos, and hundreds of other ideas for better living had been developed. Rising from a barren North American wasteland on Earth, it has become a show place of the universe, and the center of all space communications. It is the seat of the Solar Alliance and the Galactic Court, boasts some of the finest hotels in the Solar System, features a zoo that contains animals from across the galaxy, and also the mighty Hall of Science that is at once a museum of past progress, and a laboratory for the development of future wonders, where thousands of experiments take place. There are also famous monuments, such as the Plaza de Olympia –– a huge fountain filled with water taken from the canals of Mars, the lakes of Venus, the oceans of Earth, and ringed by statues, each symbolizing a step in mankind's march through space.

Space Academy is located in the heart of a great expanse of cleared land in the western part of the North American continent on Earth. Towering over the green grassy quadrangle of the Academy is the magnificent Tower of Galileo, a symbol of man's conquest of space, built of pure Titan crystal. It houses the administration offices of the Solar Guard and the Space Academy staff, and also contains Galaxy Hall, the museum of space which attracts thousands of visitors from every part of the Solar Alliance. Smaller buildings of gleaming white, including study halls, the nucleonics laboratory, the cadet dormitories, mess halls, and recreation hall, are all connected by rolling slidewalks. To the north, set in a low valley surrounded by rolling hills, is the vast area of the spaceport with its blast-pitted ramps. The spaceport is the main base for the fleet of rocket cruisers and scouts used by cadets in their training and space hops, but also has a special section devoted to commercial traffic.

Luna City is the great metropolis built on Mare Imbrium, the largest of the flat plains on Luna, Earth's moon.

Mars, the fourth planet from the sun, is practically a wasteland. Marsopolis is the largest of the few cities, but much of the surface merely contains vast deserts of powdery sand and small mountainous areas, making it nearly uninhabitable. The thinner atmosphere is easier for the sun to burn through, and temperatures in the New Sahara desert can reach one hundred fifty degrees. Sandstorms also occur in the desert periodically, the more violent of which can last more than a week, with wind velocity reaching one hundred sixty miles per hour, piling sand two hundred feet deep. The early pioneers tried to cross to the dwarf mountains in a rush for uranium-yielding pitchblende, but nine out of ten had never returned because they came unprepared for the harsh conditions. The famous Martian canals that flow with excellent water across the surface are one respite, though. Atmosphere boosting stations have been erected at intervals along these to improve conditions. Even though, the people of Mars are unable to produce many of the necessities, and must rely on supplies that are flown in.

Deimos, the smaller and outermost moon of Mars' two moons, is used as a transfer point for the great passenger liners that rocket between Venusport, Atom City, and Marsopolis. The refueling station there is well staffed and expertly manned.

Ganymede is the largest of the moons of Jupiter, and the first colony there was founded by Christopher Hardy. It is an important way station of the Solar Alliance for all spaceships traveling between the outer planets of Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto, and the inner planets of Mars, Earth, Venus, and Mercury. The colony is more of a supply depot than a permanent settlement, with one large uranium refinery to convert the pitchblende brought in by the prospectors of the asteroids. Refueling ships, replenishing supplies, and having a small tourist trade, it is a quiet colony.

Titan is the largest of Saturn's fifteen moons, and has a greater diameter than the planet Mercury. It was a dead satellite due to its poisonous methane ammonia atmosphere when the Solar Guard discovered crystal on it in recent years. Combining steellike strength and durability with great natural beauty, this crystal is quickly replacing metal in all construction work. Since its discovery, force fields have been used to push back Titan's deadly atmosphere and the resulting vacuum filled with oxygen, making it safe to live. It is home to hundreds of thousands of colonists, and extensive mining operations that send the valuable crystal throughout the galaxy.

The Prison Asteroid or "Rock" is where the most vicious criminals in the whole universe are confined. Every one of them is capable of committing any crime in the solar code, and most of them have. The men there have refused psychotherapeutic readjustment to make them into healthy citizens, preferring to waste their lives in isolation with no hope of ever returning to society. Each prisoner lives in a plain, small white hut with all the necessary furniture, audioceivers and story spools that he change once a week, and basic gardening equipment. Each man is dependant on himself to grow everything he eats, and is restricted to his own hut and the area around it. Welded to a chain that each each inmate wears around his waist is a disk that is responsive to radar impulses and allows the guards to watch his movement at all times. The security is tighter than anywhere else in the solar system; all ships are thoroughly searched to an extreme, approaches are kept secret and heavily defended. There is great prestige in being part of the garrison on the Rock, in addition to the triple wages paid, and Solar Guardsmen who run the prison are extremely dedicated and efficient.

Tara is a planet four and a half light years from Earth, in orbit around the sun star Alpha Centauri. It is in a stage of development similar to that of Earth several million years ago, with a tropical climate and lush jungle vegetation covering the surface. Two great oceans, Alpha and Omega, separate the land masses. Tests have proved that Tara can sustain life and be transformed into a paradise, and it is planned to become the newest colony in deep space.

Roald is a dusty satellite in orbit around the sun star Wolf 359, fifty-five billion miles from Earth's own sun. It is suitable for habitation, with fertile soil and similar atmosphere to Earth, from which it is more than thirteen light years distant. With the aid of a few atmosphere booster stations, it will be perfect for a new deep space colony.

Alpha Centauri is a tiny Solar Guard outpost many light years from Earth with a population of more than ten thousand, consisting mainly of Solar Guardsmen and their families, and a sprinkling of civilian engineers and technicians. It is a lush tropical planet with slightly less gravity than Earth. Because of its remote location, not more than one or two freighters a week land there, besides the regular mail ship that comes in every four days. The population center is Connel City, located near the California Ocean, a magnificent body of fresh water that stretches three-quarters around the surface of the globe. The planet is a virtual paradise that does not have one poisonous snake, ferocious beast, or any animal that lives off anything but vegetation. The creatures that are native have never known a natural enemy, and since nothing has ever tried to harm them, they are perfectly friendly and gentle.

Earthworm Cadets wear a green one-piece coverall uniform.

Space Cadets wear a vivid royal blue uniform once they have successfully passed their ground manuals and are no longer Earthworms.

Enlisted Solar Guardsmen wear a scarlet uniform.

Solar Guard Officers wear a crisp black and gold uniform.

The Merchant Spaceman uniform is a tight-fitting black jacket with matching trousers, and a big-billed hat.

Passenger Space Service crew wear a red-brown uniform.

Mercuryball Players are usually stripped to the waist, and wear soft, three-quarter-length space boots and shorts.

Prison Asteroid Inmates wear snow-white coveralls.

The Paralo-Ray Gun is the only weapon used by law-enforcement agencies in the Solar Alliance, and comes in a variety of pistol and rifle models. When fired, they send out a controlled energy ray with an effective range of about fifty yards. At point-blank range it can destroy a person's brain, but is entirely non-lethal at regular distances. The beam can paralyze the nervous system of humans and animals, and while the victim's heartbeat and breathing remains normal, he is unable to move a muscle. While paralyzed in this manner, a person can still hear and see, but is reduced to a mild state of hysteria because of the immobility. The guns are equipped with a neutralizing charge which will release the victim, but the aftereffects are even worse, making the victim feel like ten thousand bells are vibrating in his head at one time, and leaving him with violent muscle soreness. If being hit is inevitable, the best way to receive the charge is by standing at attention, taking the strain off the heart.

A standard Shock Rifle uses ammunition that can knock out any living thing at a range of a thousand yards, and stun the largest animal at twice the distance. The latest Solar Guard issue releases a force three times greater than anything put in a rifle before.

A Heat Blaster is a powerful rifle that destroys anything it touches by burning it to a crisp.

Narco Grenades release gas that renders a person unconscious within five seconds.

An Atomic Mortar can send a powerful atomic shell a long distance.

Atomic Blasters are artillery that come in standard one, two, three, and six inch bore varieties, and can fire devestating atomic shells. They can be mounted in the nose of a ship, or placed in turrets.

A Space Torpedo uses a magnetic warhead to home in on its target once it has been fired, and has a nearly perfect design. A theoretical counter-measure, though, is to fly back and forth between extreme turns, thereby throwing off the balance in the torpedo's gyros and preventing its return if it misses on the first collision attempt.