The Incomplete Theft by Randall Garrett and Robert Silverberg
"The Incomplete Theft" by Ralph Burke is a science fiction short story written in the mid-20th century, specifically in the 1950s. The narrative revolves around a Valdorian spy named Torlyn Khy, who seeks to steal advanced spaceship technology from Earth to further his home planet's agenda in an ongoing war. The story explores themes of espionage and the clash between two societies, highlighting the contrasting efficiency of Valdorian culture against what isperceived as the sloppy nature of Earthmen. The plot follows Torlyn Khy as he disguises himself as an Earth engineer to infiltrate the Sahara Spaceport and steal the newly developed spaceship, the "Skyjumper", which features groundbreaking teleportation technology. As he executes his plan, he encounters unforeseen complications, including an unexpected confrontation with an engineer named Harris. Despite managing to access the ship and initiating the teleportation sequence, a last-minute technical adjustment made by Harris leads to an ironic twist: the inner workings of the ship are projected into space, leaving Khy stranded inside the empty hull. The story concludes with a grim realization for the Valdorian spy, encapsulating the story's clever blend of suspense and humor. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Garrett, Randall, 1927-1987 |
|---|---|
| Author | Silverberg, Robert, 1935- |
| Title | The Incomplete Theft |
| Note | Reading ease score: 75.4 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Note | By Garrett and Silverberg, writing under the pseudonym Ralph Burke, according to the Internet Speculative Fiction Database. |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Subject | Spy stories |
| Subject | Space ships -- Fiction |
| Category | Text |
| EBook-No. | 65659 |
| Release Date | Jun 21, 2021 |
| Copyright Status | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 118 downloads in the last 30 days. |
| Project Gutenberg eBooks are always free! | |
