“The Great Air Monopoly”
Published under the pen name Rene Lafayette

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Publication date: September 1948

Original publication: Astounding Science Fiction

Genre: Science Fiction

Series: Ole Doc Methuselah

Story description: Ole Doc Methuselah and his companion, Hippocrates, discover that a man named Tolliver has monopolized the air on the planet Arphon, taxing the inhabitants tyrannically for making the air breathable. The Soldier of Light uncovers the truth—an atmosphere contaminated with ragweed—and exposes Tolliver’s scheme to control the planet.

Currently available in the book Ole Doc Methuselah.