Sometimes an organizational setup grows, sets its ways, and becomes so traditional that once-necessary jobs become unnecessary. But it is sometimes quite hard to spot just which man is the unnecessary one. In this case. not the one you think!
Some men just haven't got good sense. They just can't seem to learn the most fundamental things. Like when there's no use trying--when it's time to give up because it's hopeless....
Two Timer in the February 1954 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. Here is a brace of vignettes by the Old Vignette Master. short and sharp. like a hypodermic! - Experiment - Sentry
The most dangerous, utterly vicious carnivorous animal the Galactics knew had escaped. to Earth! Because contact with Earth was forbidden, they knew little of Earth. which led to certain false conclusions.
That he was a phony Swami was beyond doubt. That he was a genuine prophet, though, seemed. but then, what's the difference between a dictator and a true prophet? So was he....
There are times when a broken tool is better than a sound one, or a twisted personality more useful than a whole one. For instance, a whole beer bottle isn't half the weapon that half a beer bottle is.
Zeckler was a con-man, a human con-man. But he had no idea what he was up against when he decided to try to outwit the Altairians, an alien race that believes telling the truth is a weakness. Really he never had a chance.
Charles Chase is the Chancellor of the Alliance. He is not a king, or a ruler, or a monarch of any kind. He is a leader. A leader of many worlds, many kings, many rulers, and many monarchies. Join The Chancellor as he finds wives, concubines, allies, and foes alike, treating each with the love, consideration, respect, or vitriol, they deserve. From his childhood friend to the daughter of the leader of a most hostile civilization, he meets the best of the best and the worst of the worst.
On the Earth of the future, cities are overcrowded and the elite have nothing to do but buy fame from people who really do the work. A faster than light drive is invented and Jed Cochrane, a television producer, seizes the chance to change the course of history and free the people who are willing to work for themselves and not be faceless proles.