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The Envoy, Her
The Envoy, Her
The Emperor must be getting old, they thought, to deal so mercifully with the upstart Jursan Rebels—which was quite true. He was not too young to dream....
Book Excerpt
ax, Wilkins," said Vyrtl when they were again alone. "It just occurred to me that I ought to have another word with that woman. Have someone get hold of her at once!"
He left the disordered balcony and waited in a nearby library. The books lining the walls were real, he noticed idly--another painstaking point by the designer of the palace.
There Wilkins found him presently, to report that the Jursan envoy was already on her way back to that planet.
"I called the landing field guard," he explained, "but she had already taken off. His spotters swept space for them and got a curve on the ship."
"Of course," mused Vyrtl. "The treaty has been broadcast."
"Shall I have the patrols close in on her rocket?"
"No." The Emperor pondered a moment. "Have a telescreen set up in here so we can speak directly."
A frenzied bustle ensued as Wilkins directed a platoon of awed techs through the process of bringing the mountain to Mohammed. In the end, the Jursan ship was in commun
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The pompous, frustrated emperor of a couple of star systems magnanimously agrees to meet with an upstart world and discuss peace conditions instead of just sterilizing the world. They didn't exactly insult him by sending a female envoy.
There's nothing original in the characterizations; everyone's a stereotype. The plot is mundane. The story is science fiction because of the technology involved, and the setting on another planet's moon.
There's nothing original in the characterizations; everyone's a stereotype. The plot is mundane. The story is science fiction because of the technology involved, and the setting on another planet's moon.
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A quick read from 1950s scifi master Horace Brown Fyfe, "The Envoy, Her" is less about a planet-conquering emperor and the subjugation of a race as it is the inability of absolute power (and limitless material wealth) to bring real happiness. Enjoyable.
06/01/2012
