The Winds of Time

In Short

Gefty Rammer, owner of Rammer Spacelines, charters his semifreighter, the Silver Queen, to an aloof client named Mr. Maulbow for a mysterious survey near a lifeless star. When a sudden force knocks the ship out of normal space and into a rushing time current, Gefty discovers that Maulbow has activated a damaged machine of extraterrestrial origin. Alongside the machine is a dangerous, ammonia-scented entity called a janandra. After Maulbow attempts to eliminate them, Gefty and his secretary, Kerim Ruse, must trap the creature, jettison the control unit, and navigate a bewildering temporal journey to find their way home.

The Story

Gefty Rammer is trying to steady his nerves after the Silver Queen is violently thrown out of normspace. Checking on his passengers, he finds Mr. Maulbow unconscious and his secretary, Kerim Ruse, unhurt. Suspecting Maulbow is hiding something illegal, Gefty investigates the ship's storage vault and uncovers a battered, clicking machine wired to expensive instruments, alongside a massive, ammonia-smelling creature that nearly attacks him.

When Maulbow regains consciousness, he attempts to threaten Gefty with a thin white weapon. After a tense standoff, Maulbow explains that his machine operates within the Great Current, a temporal highway filled with hostile energy forms resembling conscious lights. He claims he needed the ship to escape a wreck and promises a safe return. However, as Maulbow tries to take control, he moves to kill Gefty, prompting Gefty to throw a service knife that strikes Maulbow deep in the chest.

Leaving Maulbow incapacitated in the sick bay, Gefty and Kerim realize the control unit is holding them in the time current and carrying them away from their era. To escape, they must clear the storage deck to eject the machine. Meanwhile, the janandra escapes containment and roams the ship's corridors. Gefty manages to lure the creature into the cargo lock and seal it inside, though he chooses not to kill it, recognizing its high intelligence.

Using the ship's mining equipment to cut through the hull, Gefty triggers the explosive ejection of Maulbow's machine. The resulting flash of light and shockwave knocks Gefty unconscious and kills the janandra outside the hull. When Gefty recovers, they find themselves back in standard space.

Gefty checks on Maulbow in the sick bay. Despite his severe wound and tranquilizers, Maulbow regains consciousness, raves in an alien language, and reveals that he served the janandra's kind—who viewed humans merely as fresh gourmet snacks. Refusing healing, Maulbow effectively lets himself die. As the ship's power restores, Gefty consults the star charts and realizes they have not only returned to their galaxy, but have arrived back on the exact day they started their journey three weeks prior. Choosing not to disrupt the timeline by contacting their past selves, Gefty and Kerim accept their strange survival, relieved to leave Maulbow and the janandra behind.

How It Unfolds

• The voyage begins: Gefty Rammer pilots the Silver Queen through an unexpected and violent spatial jolt that knocks his secretive client, Mr. Maulbow, unconscious and leaves secretary Kerim Ruse shaken but unharmed.
• The hidden machine: Searching the storage vault, Gefty discovers a battered extraterrestrial device paired with expensive instruments, alongside an aggressive, ammonia-smelling entity known as a janandra.
• A deadly confrontation: Maulbow threatens Gefty and Kerim with exotic weaponry, explaining that his machine has thrust them into a temporal current, but is killed by Gefty's quick knife throw when he tries to murder them.
• Trapping the beast: With Maulbow incapacitated, Gefty and Kerim evade the roaming janandra through the ship's corridors before successfully luring it into the cargo lock and sealing the heavy doors.
• Ejecting the unit: Using self-powered mining tools, Gefty cuts through the hull to blow Maulbow's machine out into space, enduring a massive shockwave that restores them to normspace.
• The temporal loop: Maulbow dies in the sick bay after revealing the horrifying truth about the janandra's appetite, and the ship's navigation reveals they have traveled backward three weeks in time to the day their journey began.

The People

• Gefty Rammer: The practical, quick-thinking owner of Rammer Spacelines who wants to keep his ship intact and survive an impossible situation. He overcomes his initial panic, outwits his adversaries, and successfully navigates the ship back to his own era.
• Kerim Ruse: Maulbow's loyal, sharp-eyed secretary with large gray eyes and thick blue-black hair who stays calm under pressure. She aids Gefty through the crisis, assists with the ship's operations, and ultimately shares in the bewildering triumph of their return.
• Mr. Maulbow: A lean, blond, taciturn engineer and client whose secretive charter hides a dangerous alliance with an extraterrestrial intelligence. His ambition and hostility drive the plot until his violent end in the sick bay.
• The Janandra: An intelligent, ammonia-scented alien entity that guards Maulbow's machine and views humans as gourmet food. It becomes a lethal obstacle aboard the ship before being trapped and ultimately destroyed by the temporal blast.

In Its Own Voice

Gefty Rammer came along the narrow passages between the Silver Queen's control compartment and the staterooms, trying to exchange the haggard look on his face for one of competent self-assurance.

This opening line establishes Gefty's precarious position as a stressed pilot forced to project false confidence to his passengers.

If you can imagine radiant energy being capable of conscious hostility....

Maulbow describes the terrifying, sentient energy forces that inhabit the Great Current.

"Kerim," he said, "I'm going to blow the deal right now. Got your suit snapped to the wall braces like I showed you?"

Gefty prepares his secretary for the hazardous climax of ejecting the temporal control unit from the ship.

What It's Really About

The narrative explores the friction between human commerce and incomprehensible cosmic forces, represented by Gefty's pragmatic space-trucking life intersecting with ancient alien technology. It examines the ethical dilemmas of dealing with a sentient, hostile lifeform that views humans as prey rather than equals. Furthermore, it plays with the paradoxes of time travel, destiny, and causality, questioning whether humanity can truly master the universe or if we are merely passengers caught in currents far older and vaster than our civilization.

Why Read It Today

Readers who love classic, fast-paced pulp science fiction featuring resourceful protagonists, tight shipboard claustrophobia, and high-stakes problem-solving will thoroughly enjoy this novella. It feels like an intense, cinematic thriller set against the vast, indifferent backdrop of deep space and temporal anomalies. While modern readers might notice period conventions in how characters interact—such as the traditional secretary dynamic between Gefty and Kerim—the sheer momentum of the plot overrides these dated elements. What stays with you is the eerie atmosphere of the Great Current, the menacing presence of the janandra, and the dizzying realization of stepping back into time just as your past self is setting out on the very same journey.