Delivery Guaranteed

by Robert Silverberg

writing as Calvin M. Knox

 
 
Form
Short story
Year
1959

Publication history

Blurb

(None on file)

Comments

Though the initial magazine publication of this story was under the Knox pseudonym, it has later been anthologized with Silverberg's name on it.

An interplanetary ferryman sees all kinds of strange cargo, and Sam Diamond thinks he's seen some pretty strange ones. Then he gets the assignment of transporting a log cabin, a cannon, and other historical artifacts from Mars to Ganymede. The objects are relics of a failed colonial revolution on Venus long ago, and the client is Erna Vanderweghe, Curator of Historical Collections at the Ganymede Museum. That's all well and good, but a Venusian fanatic has strong objections to his planet's history being appropriated by a museum, and he's willing to do anything it takes to stop the transport. According to the terms of his license, Diamond can't refuse, so off goes the ferry, logs and all.

Things get interesting when the Venusian manages to disable the ship, leaving it off course, without a computer or communications gear or enough fuel to finish the trip. Diamond's solution to the problem invovles some nifty naviagional mechanics and clever reasoning, rather more hard-science than Silverberg's usual fare.

Other resources

(None on file)