Murray Leinster's "Med Ship Man" (novelette, land sharks, free)

When the hero, Med Ship man Calhoun, approached the world Maya for ordinary "planetary health inspection", he was befuddled by the fact that no one answered from local spaceport. Forced landing, & he's even more surprised - the whole city seem to have been abandoned 3 days ago - both in a hurry, & in a planned manner!

His investigations will reveal a gang of land sharks playing dirty games to reduce the local real estate prices...

Notes.

1. The story tells us carnivorous plants have muscular tissues somewhat like in animals. I didn't know that.
2. Story features ground cars that run on air cushion (like hovercraft), & wirelessly broadcast power (kind of Tesla machine). If they appear in other Med Ship stories, I'd not noticed so far.

See also.

1. This story features force-field based cattle fencing driving machinery that appeared in Arthur Clarke's novel "The Deep Range" (1957) a decade earlier.
2. This story features a "projector" of force field. Even more magical projector appears in Leinster's "The Skit-Tree Planet" - a material projector! Focus it somewhere & give it the design of a building (including material properties), & you immediately have a building erected - solid as anything!!

Fact sheet.

First published: Galaxy, October 1963.
Rating: A.
Download full text from Webscription - 5 pages beginning here.
Related: Stories of Murray Leinster.