All Cats Are Gray

Steena sees the world in shades of gray, and out in the deep black between stars, that makes her the only one who can see what's really there. When spacer Cliff Moran sets out to salvage his reputation on the haunted hulk of the Empress of Mars, he doesn't expect a stowaway with a cat and an unusual gift for seeing what others cannot. On the derelict ship, where ghostly lights have driven men mad and an invisible entity guards ancient secrets, Steena's colorblindness becomes their greatest asset. Andre Norton, one of science fiction's most beloved authors, wrote this novella in the early 1950s as a quiet meditation on perception: the world isn't always what your eyes tell you it is. The bond between Steena, Cliff, and the cat Bat deepens as they face the unknown together, revealing that connection can flourish even in the darkest reaches of space.