Forell spread his hands. "You're quite welcome to look them over," he
said. "Come on up to my rooms now." He smiled. "As a matter of fact,
I've been doing a little extension on my dream world. Built up a little
sketch a while ago, and I'm not just sure what to do with it."
* * * * *
As they entered the study, Forell walked across to his desk. He fumbled
for a few seconds under the desk, then opened a drawer. For a moment, he
paused, looking inside, then pulled out a thin folder. Again, he
hesitated. At last, he picked a small, metallic object from the drawer
and held it in his left hand.
"Might need this," he told himself. "If I'm wrong, it'll take a sector
patrolman to straighten out the mess. And I could be wrong--two ways."
Casually, he placed his left hand in his pocket, then he turned toward
Andorra, holding out the folder.
"Here," he said. "See what you think of this one."
Andorra opened the folder, taking out a few sheets of paper. He read for
a moment, then looked up quizzically.
"A little different from your usual style, isn't it?"
Forell nodded, watching the man tensely. "I'm trying something new," he
said. "Go ahead and read it, then tell me what you think."
He busied himself with a bottle and glasses.
* * * * *
INFORMAL MEMO
130-263
From: Explorations Officer, Sector Nine
To: Ecological Officer
Subject: Incident Report
Enclosed is the file on that recent occurrence on Planet 3-G3-9/4871,
consisting of the certificates and statements of the various officers
and guardsmen concerned, together with a digest of the interrogation of
Elwar Forell, a young planetary native, who appears to have been the
instigator.
It seems to me that something is seriously wrong with our system of
operation, at least on the subject planet. After all, our operations
have the purpose of research and observation, with a view to protection
and development. Certainly, we cannot create chaos. And knowledge of our
existence by very young cultures would certainly cause just that. We've
got to clear this up in a hurry. The Elder Galactics are most certain to
be unhappy about it in any event, and I don't like to make them unhappy.
Obviously, there was a chain of errors, and some of our people concerned
will have to be reassigned for further training, but that's just the
beginning. I've recalled all the observers from this planet, pending
reorganization, and we've got to come up with an answer that'll prevent
further occurrences of this nature, as well as covering this affair on
the planet concerned.
I realize that the situation has some of the elements of comedy, and I
presume that it will eventually be regarded with considerable amusement,
but right at the moment, my sense of humor is working very poorly.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account