It was British science fiction writer Olaf Stapledon, not US physicist Freeman Dyson, who first imagined the "Dyson sphere" - an immense macrostructure which would enclose and harness the entire energy of a star. Beginning with his BSFA Award-winning novel Orbitsville (1975), Northern Irish SF writer Bob Shaw explored this dizzying concept in a trilogy of novels.

This episode explores not only Orbitsville but also its belated sequels Orbitsville Departure (1983) and Orbitsville Judgement (1990).

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