The Pirate (short story)

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The Pirate (short story) - Wikipedia

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"The Pirate"

Short story by Poul Anderson

First publication
Cover art by Frank Kelly Freas

Country

United States

Language

English

Genre(s)

Science fiction

Publication

Published in

Analog Science Fiction and Fact

Publication type

Periodical

Publisher

Street & Smith

Media type

Magazine

Publication date

October 1968

Chronology

Series

The Psychotechnic League

Teucan

The Peregrine

"The Pirate" is a science fiction short story by American writer Poul Anderson that first appeared in the October 1968 issue of Analog. "The Pirate" was a prequel to the earlier Psychotechnic League novel Star Ways (later retitled The Peregrine), and was the last story in the Psychotechnic series to be published. The story was included in the 1975 collection Homeward and Beyond and the 1982 collection Starship, and the timeline from the latter collection places the story in the year 3115.^[1]

Plot summary

Trevelyan Micah, an agent of the Stellar Union's Coordination Service, is alerted to some suspicious activity on the part of Murdoch Juan, a Trader with whom Trevelyan has crossed paths before. Murdoch claims to be recruiting settlers for a newly discovered planet he calls Good Luck. However, the cost of building housing and infrastructure for the settlers would make the settlement uneconomical for Murdoch, and the equipment he is loading aboard his ship, the Campesino, seems mismatched for the planet he describes.

When the Campesino sets out, Trevelyan and his alien partner Smokesmith pursue in a smaller, faster ship called the Genji. They follow Campesino to an Earthlike world a hundred light years from the remains of a supernova. Landing on the world, Trevelyan discovers that it once had a race of intelligent natives who were wiped out four centuries earlier when the supernova's radiation front passed by. Their buildings are still mostly intact, and Trevelyan realizes that that is the secret to Murdoch's plan: he won't have to build housing or other infrastructure for his settlers, because he can simply renovate the deserted native buildings. Murdoch stands to become the richest man in the Stellar Union.

Trevelyan confronts Murdoch, and tells him that he must wait until archeological teams from the Stellar Union have thoroughly investigated Good Luck, probably for a century, before he can begin moving settlers in. Murdoch has a counterproposal: Trevelyan will surrender to him, and Murdoch will maroon him alone on a deserted island on Good Luck for ten years while the planet is colonized. Trevelyan responds with his final offer: Murdoch will allow him to leave Good Luck or else Smokesmith will nuke Trevelyan, Murdoch, and the Campesino. After Smokesmith sets off a sample nuke in the atmosphere above them, Murdoch agrees. Trevelyan will return to the Stellar Union and spread the word that anyone who takes up Murdoch's offer and settles on Good Luck will be forcibly removed by the Coordination Service, which should suffice to prevent settlement of the planet.

References

^ Marcus, Gideon (September 30, 2023). "[September 30, 1968] A spoonful of sugar… (October 1968 Analog)". GalacticJourney.org. Galactic Journey. Retrieved November 1, 2024.

External links

The Pirate title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Works by Poul Anderson

Hoka!

Earthman's Burden
Star Prince Charlie
Hoka!

The Psychotechnic League

Star Ways
The Snows of Ganymede
Virgin Planet
The Psychotechnic League
Cold Victory
Starship

Technic History

Polesotechnic League period of Nicholas van Rijn	War of the Wing-Men Trader to the Stars The Trouble Twisters Satan's World The Earth Book of Stormgate Mirkheim The People of the Wind
Terran Empire period of Dominic Flandry	Ensign Flandry A Circus of Hells The Rebel Worlds The Day of Their Return Agent of the Terran Empire Flandry of Terra A Knight of Ghosts and Shadows A Stone in Heaven The Game of Empire The Long Night Let the Spacemen Beware

History of Rustum

Orbit Unlimited
New America

Maurai

Maurai and Kith
Orion Shall Rise

Other science fiction novels

Flight to Forever
Vault of the Ages
Brain Wave
Question and Answer
No World of Their Own
The Long Way Home
Perish by the Sword
War of Two Worlds
The Enemy Stars
The High Crusade
Murder in Black Letter
Twilight World
After Doomsday
The Makeshift Rocket
Murder Bound
Shield
Three Worlds to Conquer
The Corridors of Time
The Star Fox
The Fox, the Dog and the Griffin: A Folk Tale Adapted from the Danish of C. Molbeck
World Without Stars
Tau Zero
The Byworlder
The Dancer from Atlantis
There Will Be Time
Fire Time
Inheritors of Earth
The Winter of the World
The Avatar
The Demnon of Scattery
The Devil's Game
The Boat of a Million Years
The Saturn Game
The Longest Voyage
War of the Gods
Starfarers
Genesis
Mother of Kings
For Love and Glory

Collections

Strangers from Earth
Un-Man and Other Novellas
Time and Stars
The Horn of Time
Beyond the Beyond
Seven Conquest
Tales of the Flying Mountains
The Queen of Air and Darkness and Other Stories
The Worlds of Poul Anderson
The Many Worlds of Poul Anderson
Homeward and Beyond
The Best of Poul Anderson
Homebrew
Winners
The Night Face & Other Stories
The Dark Between the Stars
Explorations
Fantasy
Winners
Cold Victory
The Gods Laughed
Starship
The Winter of the World / The Queen of Air and Darkness
Conflict
The Long Night
Past Times
The Unicorn Trade
Dialogue With Darkness
Space Folk
Alight in the Void
The Armies of Elfland
Inconstant Star
Kinship With the Stars
All One Universe
Going for Infinity
Swordsmen from the Stars

Operation Otherworld

Operation Chaos
Operation Luna

Other fantasy novels

Historical novels

The Golden Slave
Rogue Sword
Mother of Kings

Novellas and short stories

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