Science fiction; Short stories; Venus (Planet) -- Fiction
When we finally got the ship repaired and was about ready to take off,
a ship arrived from headquarters, carrying a most important visitor, a
Mr. George Cooper, head of publicity. Wearing beautiful clothes, his
fingers manicured, delicately perfumed--for he was a sensitive man--he
descended from the lock.
Molock and Shad Brisbee greeted him.
Cooper smiled urbanely at them.
"He wants to dance, Shad," Molock said. "Try out your new step on him,
the one I've been teaching you."
With one single forearm jab, Shad Brisbee knocked Mr. Cooper clear back
into the ship the publicity man had just left. Then Shad turned eagerly
to Molock.
"Tell me ... do I dance him good...?"
"Shad," Molock said, beaming. "You dance him beautiful."
The smile on Molock's face was a heavenly thing.
* * * * *
Well, that's about it, except for the pics, the ones Rita took of the
dance and other carefully selected horror shots of some of the less
beautiful aspects of this Eden in the Sky.
I understand these pics are terrific box office on Earth. All we know
is that they're kicking credits in to us so fast that we're all getting
rich, Wilkerson, Molock, Mrs. Molock, and me.
Of course, we're not exactly trying to double-cross the publicity
department of Trans-Space, Inc., but if you are thinking of coming to
Venus, it might be wise to see our picture first. It will give you a
little more rounded view of a place that is a little short of
Heaven ... about a couple of billion miles short of it.
And, if you are thinking of coming to Venus, you had better take one
other thing into consideration--the promise Molock made to Shad Brisbee
before the Venusian would concede defeat in dancing. Shad made Molock
promise to teach him this new and wonderful form of dancing that humans
knew.
Molock spent two weeks doing exactly that, which accounts for the
enthusiastic greeting Mr. Cooper got from one of the tame Venusians.
I understand this form of "dancing" is spreading like wild fire over
the Veiled Planet.
If you are thinking of going to Venus, you had better take in
consideration not only the fog flies, the forty foot boa constrictors,
the blue tigers, but the fact that every blasted Venusian native now
considers himself an expert at "human dancing" and spends most of his
spare time looking for humans to practice with.
Unless you're fully prepared to "dance" with these Venusians, you had
better think twice before deciding to settle on this Eden in the Sky.
THE END
End of Project Gutenberg's Publicity Stunt, by Robert Moore Williams
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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