Short Fiction · Chapters
Chapters explained
Chapter companions for Short Fiction by Harry Harrison.
Each chapter has a companion in the reader — open a free preview to see notes beside the text.
Chapter 1
An Artist’s Life
Brent Dalgreen, a famous painter, returns to Earth after a year on the Moon, where he contracted radiation sickness. He visits the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where he discovers a painting by Arthur Di Costa that possesses an 'alienness' he has been trying and failing to capture. Obsessed with finding the artist's secret, he seeks out the curator. Later, he is confronted by the museum's director, a redhead who reveals herself to be an alien. She explains that the painting is a trap, and that he is now in a sanitarium. She plans to dispose of him by transforming his body to live on a chlorine planet, but assures him he will live and be able to paint.
Chapter 2
Navy Day
General Wingrove addresses Congress, requesting the abolition of the Navy, and demonstrates the Army's Dornifier technology that allows vehicles to travel on water. The Navy, led by Admiral Fitzjames, counterattacks by revealing the Mark-1 Debinder, which can make solids liquid, and sails the battleship Missouri up Constitution Avenue, demanding the Army's abolition instead.
Chapter 3
The Velvet Glove
Jon Venex, a free robot, repairs his own knee in his hotel room, enduring the nightly curfew. He meets an old friend, Alec Diger, and sees a job listing in his specialty. On his way to apply, he accidentally collides with a man who accuses him of assault, leading to a mob forming. A police officer takes Jon into custody, but they are intercepted by a man named Coleman, who reveals a plot involving bombs. Jon, with quick thinking, disarms the bomb threat by using his own leg as a decoy and escapes through a window to make an emergency call.
Chapter 4
The Repairman
The Repairman is summoned by his employer, the Old Man, and assigned to repair an ancient Mark III hyperspace beacon on a Proxima Centauri planet. Despite attempting to quit, he is bound by an unbreakable contract and a fine for destroying a duplicate. He travels to the beacon, which is housed in a pyramid, and disguises himself as a native reptile to approach the temple and its priests, aiming to restore the 'Holy Waters' (the beacon's power).
Chapter 5
Arm of the Law
Ned, a police robot, arrives in Nineport and is assigned to the local police force. He quickly causes trouble by arresting China Joe's men, including Alex the Axe, leading to a confrontation with China Joe's gang. The robot's efficiency and lack of understanding of local politics create chaos, and the chapter ends with a rocket attack on the station.
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