Ch 01

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Chapter one of Advance Agent. This is a LibriVox recording.
All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more
information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox dot org. Advance
Agent by Christopher Anvil, Chapter one. Dan Redman stooped to

(00:26):
look in the mirror before going to see the director
of a section. The face that looked back wasn't bad
if he had expected, strong cheekbones, copper skin, and a
high arched nose. But Dan wasn't used to it yet.
He straightened and his coat drew tight across chests and shoulders,

(00:46):
the sleeves pulled up above hands that felt average, but
that the mirror showed to be huge and broad. Dan
turned to go out in the hall and had to
duck to avoid banging his head on the doorframe. The
way down the hall. He wondered just what sort of
job he had drawn this time. Dan stopped at a

(01:07):
door lettered a section JA keelguard director. A pretty receptionist
goggled at him and said to go in. Dan opened
the inner door. Keel Guard, big, stocky, expensively dressed, looked
up and studied Dan as he came in. Apparently satisfied,

(01:30):
he offered a chair, then took out a small plastic
cartridge and held it in one hand. Dan, He said,
what do you know about subspace and no points? Practically nothing,
admitted Dan honestly. Keel Guard laughed, Then I'll fill you
in with the layman's analogy, which is all I know.

(01:53):
Suppose you have a newspaper with an ant on the
middle of the front page. To get to the middle
of page two, the ant has to walk to the
edge of the paper, then walk back on the inside. Now,
suppose the ant could go through the page. The middle
of page two is just a short distance away from
the middle of page one. That going through instead of

(02:17):
around is like traveling subspace. And a null point is
a place just a short distance away going through subspace.
The middle of page two, for instance, is a null
point for the middle of page one. Yes, said Dan, patiently,
waiting for the point of the interview. Keel Guard pushed

(02:40):
the plastic cartridge he had been holding through a slot
in his desk. A globe to one side lighted up
a cottony white with faint streaks of blue. This, he said,
is Porsas Dan studied the globe under that cloud blanket,
it looks as if it might be a water whirl.

(03:00):
It is, except for a small continent. The planet is
covered with water, and the water is full of seafood
edible seafood. Dan frowned, still waiting Galactic enterprises, said Keelguard
has discovered a region in subspace which has purses for

(03:21):
one null point and Earth for another. Oh, said Dan,
beginning to get the point, and Earth's hungry. Of course,
Galactic can ship the seafood straight through subspace at a
big profit. That's the idea. But there's one trouble. Keelguard
touched a button and on the globe, the white layer vanished.

(03:43):
The globe was a brilliant blue with a small area
of mingled green and grayish brown. The land area of
the planet is inhabited. Galactic must have the permission of
the inhabitants to fish the ocean, and Galactic needs to
close the deal. Fat or some other outfit like trans
Space may get wind of things and move in. Keelguard

(04:07):
looked at the globe thoughtfully. All we know about the
portions could be put on one side of a postage stamp.
They're physically strong, they have a few large cities, they
have an abundant supply of seafood. They have spaceships and
matiform transceivers. This much we know from long distance observation,

(04:28):
or from the one portion we anesthetized and brain spied.
We also know from observation that the Portions have two
other habitable planets in their solar system, Fumidor, a hot
inner planet, and an earthlike outer planet called Vacation Planet.
Keelguard drummed his fingers softly, granting the usual course of events. Dan,

(04:53):
what can we expect to happen? The Portions have an
abundance of food, a small living area, base travel, and
two nearby habitable planets. What will they do colonize the
nearby planets, said Dan, Right, said Kilgard. Only they aren't

(05:14):
doing it. We've spied both planets till we can't see straight.
Fumidor has a mine entrance and a metaform center. Vacation
Planet has a mataform center and one or two big buildings,
and that's it. There's no immigration from Porsus to the
other two planets. Instead, there's a sort of cycling flow

(05:37):
from Porss to Vacation Planet, to Fumidor to Porses. Why
the portion we brainspied. He went on, associated vacation planet
with rejuvenation. What does that mean we're up against Galactic
wants to make a contract, but not until they know

(05:57):
what they're dealing with. There are some races it's best
to leave alone. This rejuvenation might be worth more than
the seafood, sure, but it could also be a sack
full of trouble. Dan waited, realizing that Keelguard had come
to the crux of the matter. Keelguard said, Galactak wants

(06:19):
us to find the answers to three problems. One, how
do the Porsons keep the size of their population down? Two?
What is the connection between rejuvenation and vacation planet? And
three do the Porsons have a proper mercantile attitude? Are

(06:39):
they likely to make an agreement? Will they keep one
they do make? Keelguard looked intently at Dan. The only
way we're likely to find the answers in a reasonable
time is to send somebody in. You're elected, just me,
asked Dan. In surprise, all your eggs in one basket

(07:03):
in a situation like this, said Keelgard, One good man
is worth several gross of dubs. We're relying on you
to keep your eyes open and your mind on what
you're doing. And suppose I don't come back, Galactic probably
loses the jump it's got on trans space and you

(07:23):
miss out on a big bonus. When do I leave
tomorrow morning? But today you better go down and pick
up a set of Porson clothes we've had made for
you and some of their money. It'd be a good
idea to spend the evening getting used to things we've
implanted in your brain. The Porson language patterns we brain

(07:43):
spied and we've installed in your body cavity, a simple
or ganotransmitter you can use during periods of calm. Because
the portions are physically strong and possibly worship strength. We've
had your body rebuilt to one of the most powerful
human physique patterns, that of an American Indian that we

(08:04):
have on record. They shook hands and Dan went to
his room. He practiced the Porson tongue until he had
some conscious familiarity with it. Then he tried his strength
to make sure he wouldn't accidentally use more force than
he intended. Then, while the evening was still young, he
went to bed and fell asleep It was Dan's experience

(08:27):
that everything possible went wrong the first few days on
a new planet, and he wanted to be wide awake
enough to live through it. End of Chapter one read
by Paul Hampton,