Alarm Clock

"Alarm Clock" by Everett B. Cole is a science fiction novella published in the early 1960s. The story follows Stan Graham, who has recently been expelled from the Stellar Guard Academy and finds himself imprisoned on Kellonia, a planet that has degenerated from freedom into a brutal prison culture. The narrative explores themes of societal structure, personal identity, and the fight against systemic oppression. In the story, Stan Graham struggles with his academic and social failures, reflecting on his past experiences and the culture of Kellonia while in prison. As he interacts with other inmates, he learns about the grim reality of life outside prison walls and faces off against Val Vernay, a violent strongman. The plot builds towards a confrontation that leads to Stan inadvertently unlocking his latent abilities, which capture the attention of the Special Corps, a covert organization tasked with maintaining order across the galaxy. Ultimately, Stan's experiences set him on a path towards becoming an agent, determined to fight against the oppressive systems of his new home. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Everett B. Cole (1910-2001) was an American writer of science fiction short stories and a professional soldier. He fought at Omaha Beach during World War II and worked as a signal maintenance and property officer at Fort Douglas, Utah, retiring in 1960. He got a bachelor's degree in Math and Physics and became a Math, Physics, and Chemistry teacher at Yorktown High School in Texas. His first science fiction story, "Philosophical Corps" was published in the magazine Astounding in 1951. His fix-up of that story and two others, The Philosophical Corps, was published by Gnome Press in 1962. A second novel, The Best Made Plans, was serialized in Astounding in 1959, but never published in book form. He also co-authored historical books about the south Texas region.