Agent of Vega is a science fiction novel by American writer James H. Schmitz, published in 1960. It is a collection of stories that originally appeared separately in magazines. The tale began in 1949 as a longish short story published in the SF magazine Astounding. In 1960 it appeared as a book, along with three loosely related stories set in the same time and context: "The Illusionists", "The Truth About Cushgar" and "The Second Night of Summer".
In the far future, humans are building a "Confederacy of Vega" to replace the original fallen Empire of Earth. The new empire includes some mutated humans and also some non-humans. Enemies are also a mix of humans and aliens and it is very much space opera, featuring Vega's 'zone agents'. Combat involves both physical weapons and telepathic attacks.
James Henry Schmitz (October 15, 1911 – April 18, 1981) was an American science fiction writer born in Hamburg, Germany of American parents. Schmitz wrote mostly short stories, which sold chiefly to Galaxy Science Fiction and Astounding Science-Fiction (which later became Analog Science Fiction and Fact). Gale Biography in Context called him "a craftsmanlike writer who was a steady contributor to science fiction magazines for over 20 years."