The Guardians

"The Guardians" by Irving E. Cox, Jr. is a science fiction story that explores what happens when people question the world around them. A young woman named Mryna Brill lives on the planet Rythar, where everyone believes they are on Earth and that a god protects them. But Mryna is curious and wants to know more. She travels above the clouds and learns that everything she thought she knew was a lie. The "god" is just a man controlling them, and the people of Rythar are sick, which is why they were hidden away in the first place. Mryna has to face the truth about her society and tries to convince others that they need honesty to be free, even as she understands that exposing the truth might change their world forever.