The Planet with No Nightmare

A small exploration team lands on a remote planetoid to map its puzzling ecology and discovers animallike beings that collapse apparently dead at the sight of the ship yet later show contradictory signs of life, baffling instruments and observers. The captain and two surveyors debate possible causes—environmental shock, radiation, or a native agent—while they set up camp and defensive sensors. One crewman who never sleeps struggles with isolation and secrecy, roaming the planet at night and revealing a private perspective on the unfolding scientific mystery. The story alternates between methodical investigation and the individual experience of persistent wakefulness.