trenarzh-CNnlitjarufaen





PREFERRED RISK

By EDSON McCANN

Illustrated by KOSSIN

[Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from
Galaxy Science Fiction June, July, August, September 1955.
Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that
the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.]


Winner of the $6,500 Galaxy-Simon & Schuster novel contest,
this taut suspense story asks the challenging question: how
dangerous would it be to live in a rigidly risk-free world?


The liner from Port Lyautey was comfortable and slick, but I wasleaning forward in my seat as we came in over Naples. I had been onedge all the way across the Atlantic. Now as the steward came throughthe compartments to pick up our Blue Plate ration coupons for thetrip, I couldn't help feeling annoyed that I hadn't eaten the foodthey represented. For the Company wanted everyone to get the fullestpossible benefit out of his policies—not only the food policies, butBlue Blanket, Blue Bolt and all the others.

We whooshed in to a landing at Carmody Field, just outside ofNaples. My baggage was checked through, so I didn't expect to have anydifficulty clearing past the truce-team Customs inspectors. It was onlya matter of turning over my baggage checks, and boarding the rapidothat would take me into Naples.

But my luck was low. The man before me was a fussbudget who insisted oncarrying his own bags, and I had to stand behind him a quarter of anhour, while the truce-teams geigered his socks and pajamas.

While I fidgeted, though, I noticed that the Customs shed had, highup on one wall, a heroic-sized bust of Millen Carmody himself. Juststanding there, under that benevolent smile, made me feel better. Ieven managed to nod politely to the traveler ahead of me as he finallygot through the gate and let me step up to the uniformed Companyexpediter who checked my baggage tickets.

And the expediter gave me an unexpected thrill. He leafed throughmy papers, then stepped back and gave me a sharp military salute."Proceed, Adjuster Wills," he said, returning my travel orders. Ithadn't been like that at the transfer point at Port Lyautey—not evenback at the Home Office in New York. But here we were in Naples, andthe little war was not yet forgotten; we were under Company law, and Iwas an officer of the Company.

It was all I needed to restore my tranquility. But it didn't last.


The rapido took us through lovely Italian countryside, but it was inno hurry to do it. We were late getting into the city itself, and Ifound myself almost trotting out of the little train and up into themain waiting room where my driver would be standing at the Company desk.

I couldn't really blame the Neapolitans for the delay—it wasn't theirfault that the Sicilians had atomized the main passenger field atCapodichino during the war, and the rapido wasn't geared to handlingthat volume of traffic from Carmody Field. But Mr. Gogarty would bewaiti

...

BU KİTABI OKUMAK İÇİN ÜYE OLUN VEYA GİRİŞ YAPIN!


Sitemize Üyelik ÜCRETSİZDİR!