To Choke an Ocean

To Choke an Ocean

"Not too bad. They treat me all right. But these natives sure are tough on visitors. I've never been checked so thoroughly in all my lifeand now this thirty day quarantine! Why, you'd think I was carrying the plague instead of a sample case!" The chubby little commercial traveller probably had a right to complain, Lanceford thought. After all, a Niobian quarantine station isn't the pleasantest sort of environment. It's not meant to be comfortable, physical discomfort being as good a way as any to discourage casual visitors. The ones who have fortitude enough to stand the entry regulations can get in, but tourists seldom visit Niobe. However, the planet's expanding economy offered a fertile field for salesmen, and men of that stripe would endure far worse hardships than a port of entry in pursuit of the Almighty Credit. "I suppose not, but you can hardly blame the Niobians for being suspicious of strangers. Perhaps there's no harm in you. But they have a right to be sure; they've been burned before." Lanceford uncoiled his lean gray length from the chair and walked over to the broad armorglas window. He stared out at the gloomy view of Niobe's rainswept polar landscape. "You know," he continued, "you might call this Customs Service a natural consequence of uninvestigated visitors." He brooded over the grayness outside. A polar view was depressingscrubby vegetation, dank grassland, the eternal Niobian rain. He felt sorry for Perkins. Thirty days in this place would be sheer torture. ......Buy Now (To Read More)

Product details

Ebook Number: 32124
Author: Bone, Jesse F. (Jesse Franklin)
Release Date: Apr 24, 2010
Format: eBook
Language: English

Contributors

Illustrator: Wood, Wallace, 1927-1981