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The Venusian Horgles were cute, clever, intelligent.They made perfect pets.They were lovable. But that was the big trouble.They were much, much too lovable.Quarantine Species by J.F.Bone.That's next on the Lost Sci-Fi Podcast.
Today's episode is the third time author J.F.Bone has been on our podcast.His previous stories, Trigger Man, and On the Fourth Planet.
From Super Science Fiction in December 1957, this lovable story can be found on page 80, Quarantine Species, by J.F.Bone. Did you ever own a cat, Thompson asked.
He leaned forward, a small gray man in his late 60s, and peered at his visitor through old-fashioned bifocals across the breadth of desk which separated them.
The young man standing before the desk fidgeted impatiently as Thompson looked down at the interview card which read, Edward Farnsworth, Agent, Worldwide Shows. and scratched the ears of the big Siamese cat sitting on his lap.
The cat looked up with incurious blue eyes, regarded Farnsworth with a peculiarly dispassionate stare, stretched, yawned, and closed his eyes again.It was perfectly apparent that the tall, swarthy visitor was a matter of complete disinterest.
Now, take Cato here, Thompson continued.He's a fine specimen of a cat. Have you owned anything like him?"Once, Farnsworth said, when I went to Venus.But I don't see what this has to do with my business with you.All I want is the simple answer.
Do I or do I not get permission to import a pair of Venusian Horgles?You do not, Thompson said succinctly. This makes the fourth time, Farnsworth sighed, so I'll have to go to higher authority, I suppose.There is no higher authority, son.
This is the end of the line. You bureaucrats, Farnsworth's voice was filled with poorly suppressed anger.You sit here behind a desk and play God.Tell us working people what they can and can't do, just as though you knew all the answers.
And never give a tinker's damn about the fact that your stupid decisions can ruin people.Just why in heaven's name won't you allow something cute and clever like the Horgles to be brought to Earth? There's nothing wrong with them.
They'll survive nicely in a terrestrial environment.And they'll save our show from bankruptcy.People will simply love them if they're given a chance.I suppose they would, Thompson said.But I doubt if they'll ever get a chance to do it.
They're a quarantine species. There was an odd note of grimness in his voice.Cats don't like them, he added obliquely.What's that got to do with it?I repeat, have you ever owned a cat?And I repeat, sir, I did.
It was mandatory to own one on Venus, although why it was, God only knows.There are millions of cats there, and to require a man to lead a Siamese around on a leash is sheer foolishness. You're like all the rest.Thompson sighed.
You confuse words with facts.You never owned a cat in your life, but you just think you did.Thompson concluded gently.I have papers to prove it.So what? Did your cat ever obey you when it didn't wish to?Did it ever sacrifice its comfort for your own?
Did it ever go out of its way to be good to you?Farnsworth shook his head. I can't say that it did, he admitted.It was a nasty, selfish brute.I loathe cats.But you like horgles.Yes, I'm quite fond of them.They're cute and clever and lovable.
Yes, they are.That's the trouble with them.They're too cute, too clever, and too lovable. That's impossible.That so?Just a moment, son.How long were you around those horgles?Just a few days.
A swamp rat owned them, kept them in a locked cage and never touched them.He even had one of the natives feed them.The poor little things were terrified.I don't think they'd ever been in a cage before. And I can't see why they were.
They're the softest, most endearing things.They'd make perfect pets."Undoubtedly they would, Thompson said.Well, there's no damage done.Oh, by the way, did you see any cats about the place?" No, none but my own.
I heard them, nasty brutes that yowled all night.That's one worry taken care of.I was afraid that I'd have to ask you where that traitor lived, and I know you wouldn't tell me.Thompson beamed pleasantly at him over his spectacles.
The cats will take care of them.It's just a matter of time. You mean that they'll kill those inoffensive little things?Of course, it's a matter of priority rights.There was iron in Thompson's voice.Cats are great believers in direct action.
Now sit down, young man, and I'll tell you why you'll never get an entry permit from this office, and why you'll never again be allowed to visit Venus.But you can't do that.I already have, Thompson said gently.
I revoked your ship permit before I ever saw you.You what?You heard me, son.Venus is closed.But why? Sit down and I'll tell you."Farnsworth sputtered, but did what he was told.
At least, he reflected bitterly, he should get something out of this highly unsatisfactory interview.That's fine, Thompson beamed.
There's nothing like acquiring knowledge, and the first bit of knowledge you should acquire is that I haven't always been a bureaucrat. Once I was a biotechnician in the Space Service, and I was a member of the first expedition to Venus.
There were five of us on the Venus One, Archie Slezak, the pilot, Ed Smith, the navigator, Mitsui Watanabe, the engineer, and myself.And then there was Katie, the ship's cat.
She was an unlisted crew member, a big, black, short-haired cat of dubious ancestry. From her size, I'd judge that there was a little wild cat somewhere in her family tree.
But despite the fact that she looked like a black panther, she was affectionate enough in her way.And we all endured her, all except Watanabe.He liked her.I think he smuggled her aboard before we took off, even though he never admitted it.
He was a sucker for pets. But she never paid too much attention to him.Generally, she was nosing around in dark corners of the ship once acceleration pressure was off.
We had a little artificial gravity, of course, but it was about one-eighth Earth normal, just enough to keep our feet.Katie loved it.
It was nothing for her to leap 20 feet across the control room and land on one of our shoulders so lightly that we hardly felt her.She had an incredible judgment of distance and would amuse us by the hour with her antics.
As far as cats went, she was likable enough, but I never really trusted her.There was a little too much of the wild cat in her.He reached down and scratched Cato's ears and smiled when the big Tom swore at him in low Siamese.
Then why, Farnsworth began. Save it, son.I'll explain.As I was saying, we all thought she was amusing, but useless, until the day she came floating into the control room with a dead rat in her jaws.
It was a pregnant female filled with pups, and I'll tell you, it scared us silly. Rats and spaceships just don't go together.They breed fast and mutate easily in the drive radiations.And once they get started, they're hard to control.
It's particularly bad if an intelligent mutation appears.But Katie stopped that threat before it ever got started. We got into spacesuits and blew the ship down.Not even rats can live in a vacuum.
Man, we kept the ship open long enough to make sure the last trace of air was removed from the fiberglass insulation of the hull.Fortunately, none of our unwanted guests had been exposed to the dry radiations long enough for mutations to appear.
So we managed to get a complete kill. Watanabe had fixed a pressure tank for Katie, and during the blowdown, she sat in it as smug as a dowager empress while we killed off the rats.After that, Katie was a heroine, and did she take advantage of it.
It was almost as though she knew she had reached privileged status.She'd boss us around and glare at us to move if we were sitting on one of her favorite spots.
She wasn't very nice about it, and if you've been bossed by a cat, you'll understand what I mean.She liked to be petted, but wanted affection on her own terms and time, and she picked the damnedest times.
Whenever Smitty was busy with calculations, there would be Katie, sitting in the middle of his papers, tail straight up in the air, her back arched and her purr as loud as a dynamotor.
And when I checked the algae tanks for ecological balance, there she'd be trying to unbalance the ecology. And if Mitsui wanted to check the engines, he always had to check the cat first.She was a pest, but poor Sleazack got it worst.
For some unknown reason, Katie liked him, and Archie hated cats.She'd fuss over him, croon cat talk to him, and then slump bonelessly on his lap and sleep.
Archie's body temperature probably had a lot to do with it, since it was a full degree warmer than the rest of ours.But Sleazack used to say that she did it deliberately out of sheer orneriness, and I wouldn't disagree with him.
Anything was possible where Katie was concerned. She looked on the ship and all that was in it as her personal property, especially created for her comfort and amusement, and she used it just that way.
There was something direct about her that didn't bother with such niceties as form and attitude.She was a cat, we were only human, and she was never averse to putting us in our place.
We spent two months coasting under minimum power, and then started the breaking run.We blasted down after turnover until we got the trajectory straightened out, and then let Venus do the rest.
We circled the planet just above the ion belt, where the few molecules of atmosphere slowed us down without too much overheating, making close-range observations of the world below. We checked the atmosphere.
The upper layer was mainly carbon dioxide and formaldehyde, just like the astronomy boy said it would be.But it was neither thick nor cloudy.The clouds were all down at the surface.As you know, Venus has a heavy gas-based atmosphere.
But even then, the oxygen content was high enough to be breathable, if you didn't mind the smell of embalming fluid. Our orders called for landing if it was feasible, so Slezak cleared the board and trimmed ship for a set-down.
We made it all right, and landed on one of those humps of land that stick up out of the swamp.There wasn't much to see, of course.Venus was a pretty dismal place, what with the steady rain and air that smelled like a cut-rate undertaking parlor.
But I shouldn't have to tell you what Venus is like.You've been there too.It still is bad, Farnsworth said.It hasn't improved much.Any improvement in Venus would be a lot, Thompson continued.
Well, we did the usual things, planted the flag and claimed the planet.And then while Sleazack and I stayed with the ship, Smitty and Watanabe went exploring.We drew straws for the honor and Archie and I won.
We stayed close to the ship, peering through the rain for what seemed hours, walking around a little and stretching our legs.We weren't equipped for any real exploration work, but we had to do some to make the claim legal.
The real work would come later, after the lads back home evaluated our data. But at least we had the honor of being the first humans to set foot on the planet.Thompson coughed wrackingly and smiled when the spasm passed.
The memory still gets me, he explained.I never could stand formaldehyde.My lungs got over being partially embalmed years ago.But thinking of Venus still makes me cough. It was about an hour before Smitty and Mitsui came back.
Mitsui had a horgel in his arms.The kid was a sucker for animals.But this time, we all thought he really had something.None of us had ever seen a horgel before.
And it looked so innocent and appealing that we couldn't help falling for it, with its pink fur and violet eyes.It looked for all the world like a child's doll, a pint-sized teddy bear with a button nose.
black, hand-like feet, and an expression of utter trust on its pointed face. But that didn't explain all of its appeal.I guess there's a little of the mother in every man.
Because the damn thing touched something within us that could only be called the maternal instinct.There's nothing else that can describe it.It made us feel all soft inside.And every one of us wanted to hold it and protect it.
I know, Farnsworth said, I've held one.Mitsui had fallen in love with it. You know how emotional the Japanese are.He was cuddling her in his arms and whispering sweet words into its shell-like ears, and it was crooning back at him.
His actions would have made me sick, except that I wanted to hold it so bad that it hurt.I wanted to feel the softness of its fur, to pet and fondle it. I wanted it like I'd want a woman.
Smitty was green with jealousy, and even Sleazack looked interested.All of us were acting a little queer, I suppose, but it seemed all right at the time. Katie didn't react like we did.
She came to the entrance port, stepping delicately as though she was treading on eggs, and was afraid of breaking them.But the moment she saw the little pink puffball in Watanabe's arms, her whole attitude changed.
Her back arched, and her tail looked like a bottle brush.She let out one yowl of pure hate and leaped for Mitsui. Her claws dug into his jacket and she clawed upward toward the Horgel, a screaming, spitting fury of insane rage.
Hi, this is Christopher Kimball from Milk Street Radio.I often shop at Whole Foods Market since they sell the kind of food I like.Organic vegetables, a great meat counter, and of course, a great staff.
For Thanksgiving, Whole Foods offers brined turkeys, as well as a spiral cut bone-in ham.The Whole Foods Market bakery has a large assortment of pies, even a vegan pumpkin pie, or grab some brioche and butterflake rolls for the table as well.
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Hey, I'm Ryan Reynolds.Recently, I asked Mint Mobile's legal team if big wireless companies are allowed to raise prices due to inflation.They said yes.
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The Hordal screamed just once.It sounded so much like a hurt baby that we were paralyzed for a moment.
And while we were all standing there, it leaped from Mitsui's arms and ran clumsily across the seared landing area to the jungle, some 50 yards away.But it never reached it.Katie was after it like a thunderbolt.
She caught it after it had gone about 20 yards.And by the time we reached the scene, she had swiftly and completely demolished it. Now, I've seen cats kill many times, but it always seemed to be more for the fun of it than anything else.
Cats appear to hunt for the sport of the thing, but there was no sport in Katie.She simply caught the hordle and tore it to ribbons. Mitsui was heartbroken.From the way he acted, it was almost as though Katie had killed his baby brother.
I loved that little thing, he sobbed.I've never seen anything so trusting and affectionate.Damn that dirty cat.I cocked an interested ear. Mitsui was always the one who had defended Katie.
He always liked her, wasted three times the affection on her than any of the rest of us did.But right now, he would have cheerfully killed her.
Katie apparently realized how he felt, because she beat a quick retreat to the ship and hid in one of the dark corners she knew so well.While Mitsui prowled after her, calling the wrath of his Japanese ancestors down upon her murderous head.
Katie, of course, ignored him.Mitsui calmed down after an hour or so, but he spent the rest of the evening building a strong box with a barred door. It's not that I don't like Katie, he said apologetically, but I love that little thing.
He waited patiently until Katie came out of hiding, scooped her up and popped her surprise body into the box.Now stay there until you can learn to behave yourself, he said grimly.
Then without a word to us, he walked outside and in a half hour came back with another of the pink things, exactly like the one he had lost. He was grinning from ear to ear.There's a village over there, he said, pointing outside the port.
And these animals are as thick as fleas on a dog's back.The natives keep them for pets. So Mitsui Watanabe was the first one of us to discover the dominant intelligence of Venus.But we weren't thinking of that.
We just wanted one of those delightful creatures for our own.And this time, there was no drawing straws.We set out in a body, leaving a raging Katie behind us, safely locked up in the box.
The village was a cluster of mud huts filled with little humanoid natives.You know what they're like, stupid, imitative primitives who follow you around, looking for something to beg or steal.
I understand that they are no different now than they were.The only difference was that the village simply swarmed with hordles.They were everywhere, scampering familiarly through the village for all the world like a lot of pet dogs.
As far as we could tell, the humanoids were a harmless lot.From what we could see, they spent their time fishing and taking care of their pets and children.The way they coddled those pink furballs was amazing.
I even saw nursing mothers feed them at the same breasts they fed their children.It was a perfect expression of the love and tenderness the Hordles inspired. The natives didn't object when we scooped up a horgel of peas and held them in our arms.
There were plenty of them, and they seemed to be community property.The horgels apparently liked us as much as we liked them, because it was no time at all before we were all acting like kids, despite our space ratings.
And since you've held a horgel, you know how we felt. Farnsworth nodded.They are appealing, he said.I never experienced a sensation quite like holding one of them. There's no word for it.Sure there is, son.Try love.
Thompson's voice softened and then turned cynical.Anyway, we took them back to the ship with us and Katie went crazy in her box.She swore, snarled, screamed, spat and clawed until she was exhausted.
And then lay on the bottom of the box and growled at us. It wasn't a nice noise, but it did her no good.The box would have held a bobcat, and we weren't listening.We were fascinated by the horgles.
They were wonderful, soft, clever, affectionate, and intelligent, too.Mitsui taught his to sit up in a matter of minutes, and for hours afterwards, we explored their repertoire of accomplishments.They could do almost everything but talk.
And they could damn near do that.They seemed to know instinctively what we wanted and what would please us most.And then they did that thing.It was a happy time for all of us.We never had so much fun simply watching the annex of our newfound pets.
They were natural comedians and kept us laughing most of the night.And when we finally turned in, each of us held his horgle in his arms. No one remembered to feed Katie.
It probably would have done no good if we had, since she was so mad that she would have refused food.And her disposition didn't improve.But we didn't forget her completely.After a day or so, we gave her food and left her alone.
If she wanted to eat, all right.Otherwise, we didn't care.Being a cat and being sensible, she ate. But there was no gratitude or affection for our kindness.She just crouched in the back of the box and spat at us.
We spent several days on the island in the swamp, but found nothing of interest outside of the natives and the horgles.We took pictures, made notes, and tried to make some sense out of that perfectly incomprehensible native language.
But about the only thing we learned was the name of the pink creatures and that everybody loved them.Of course, we had to take off sooner than we would like.
But Venus was passing conjunction, and if we waited too long, our fuel supply wouldn't take us back to Earth. So we loaded our horgles and ourselves into the ship, blasted off for Earth, and bade farewell to the formaldehyde stink of Venus's air.
We were a week out and built up to terminal velocity when it happened. Somehow, Katie managed to open her cage and escape.The first I knew about it was when she killed my horgle, bit through its spine as it lay sleeping on my bed.
She was so quiet that I never knew what had happened until I woke to find my poor little puffball lying cold and stiff in the circle of my arm.I looked for the cat all the next period and every free chance I had thereafter.I wanted to kill her.
Losing my horgal was just like losing a child.I was disconsolate and consumed with envy for my more fortunate crew members.Their horgals were still alive, and mine was dead.And my companions were utterly selfish.
They must have known how I felt, but they wouldn't share their horgals with me for a moment. I felt like a single man on a desert island peopled by happy and contented couples.I was left out, and I was miserable.
It's odd how the horkles took on the attributes of all the desirable women I'd longed for, but never had.
The loss of my pet and the obvious callousness of my companions to my feelings made the sense of loss even more sharp than it would have been otherwise. I took it badly.At first, I was hurt and miserable.
But gradually, I began to hate the others for their good fortune, their cruel selfishness, their lack of consideration.And finally, my thoughts turned toward murder.What right did these others have to possess horgles when I had none?
I brooded about it during the days we sped earthward. I was damned if they were going to have all the pleasures of companionship while I was left out in the cold.
I thought it over carefully, and finally decided that Smitty was the one who would least be missed.I waylaid him in the passageway that period, and damn near fractured his skull with a wrench.He dropped to the deck, blood streaming from his head.
But I didn't give him a thought until I had his horgle.Once I had that pink puffball safe in my arms, I felt sorry for him and carted him up to his shock couch where I patched up his injuries as best I could.But I didn't give up the horgle.
Peculiarly enough, none of the others seemed the least shocked at what I had done, as long as it was for a horgle.And since the horgle wasn't theirs, it was all right.
But as Smitty improved, I began to fear that he would try to take it back, and that, I swore grimly, would never happen.The pet I had stolen was just as precious as the one I had lost, and I wouldn't trade the world for it.
It was my joy and pleasure, and I guarded it fiercely from harm.I couldn't forget Katie and her hatred for the creatures, and that cat was still loose, roaming somewhere through the ship looking for more Horgles to kill. But I didn't search for her.
I wasn't gonna take any chances on losing my pet.Instead, I stayed in the open where it was safe, and carried the wrench with which I'd nearly brained Smitty.It wasn't for Katie alone.
I was equally afraid that Smitty would try to take the Horgle back from me once he recovered.But I needn't have wasted the energy.As the days passed, and there was no sign of Katie,
Our vigilance relaxed, and the Horgles didn't like to be held all the time.They were active little things who liked to romp.
So when we finally gave in and allowed them the freedom of the control room, after searching it carefully, of course, there they would tumble and play with each other while we watched with fondly possessive eyes.
Smitty looked at them from his shock couch where he lay with his head bandaged, and his eyes were murderous when he looked at me. I knew what was passing through his mind, and in a strange sort of way, I sympathized with him.
But a pet like the Horgle was worth all the hate Smitty could generate.I felt good.I had a pet, and he didn't.It was then that Katie struck.She must have been waiting with devilish patience for her opportunity.
Because when Mitsui opened the door to go aft to inspect the drives, She darted in.
A sweep of her claws disemboweled the closest of the fragile little creatures, and with a leap and pounce she seized the other in her jaws and disappeared down through the door in one of those long, swift leaps that she had perfected on the outward voyage.
It was done so swiftly that neither Slezak nor I had time to move. Mitsui had time only for a startled curse, as Katie sailed down the shaft toward the stern with the heart-rending scream of the Horgel following her.
It died to a choked whimper as she disappeared. We found the torn pink body in the dry room a few minutes later, but there was no sign of Katie.But now, instead of three Horgles and four men, there was one Horgle and four men.
Sleazack and I stood it for a week until we made an agreement based on desperation and loss.We would take the last Horgle from Mitsui and share it between ourselves.If we had to kill Mitsui to get it, Well, that was his bad luck.
We shook hands on it, but I knew from the look in his eye that he didn't intend to keep his promise. I had enough of broken promises, so I decided to kill him after we had disposed of Mitsui.
Then I would kill Smitty and have the delightful creature all to myself, without anyone to bother my enjoyment.And I'd never give Katie another chance.It was all perfectly logical.
After all, there was only one Horgle, and it should belong to the one who could best take care of it. I was obviously the one, since I'd lost two already and was fully conscious of the menace Katie represented.
But it was hard to catch Mitsui off guard.He went around with the horgle buttoned under his jacket and a loaded pistol in his pocket.Apparently, he'd smuggled the gun aboard in defiance of the regulation which prohibited sidearms aboard ship.
He said it was for Katie, but Slezak and I knew better.We knew the gun was for us if we tried to take the hortal from him.It made us cautious.Much as we wanted that lovable little creature, we didn't want to die for it.
There could be no enjoyment of its charm if we were dead. And we couldn't carry rifles.Even if we could have stood up to their recoil in 1 8th G, they were too big and clumsy to carry in the cramped quarters of the ship.
It was a weird situation, one that might have been laughable, except for its deadly undertones.Smitty recovered enough to walk around, and naturally joined forces with us have-nots. He was still pretty weak, but any help lessened the odds.
However, I was always conscious of the speculative look in his eye when he looked at me.I would have to get rid of Smitty permanently after we had gotten Mitsui's pet, or he would join forces with Sleazak to murder me.
I caught them whispering together once or twice, and the guilty looks they gave me were enough proof of their intentions.But none of us wanted to brave Mitsui's gun. It stayed that way for nearly a week.
We were just entering Earth's atmosphere and Mitsui was busy with the engines when we made our bid.I jumped him from behind while Sleazack and Smith took him from the side.But I had forgotten that he knows jujitsu like we know boxing.
He bent and suddenly I was flying over his head.I landed with a thump that knocked the breath out of me.I was sick and paralyzed with the shock. But I saw with satisfaction that Sleazack had gotten the engineer's gun.But Mitsui wasn't through yet.
He caught Smith with a judo blow that almost tore his head off, and turned on Sleazack, a squatty Brown's Fury with death in his hands.Sleazack didn't even have time to raise the gun.
But the fight had ripped Mitsui's jacket open, and the Horgel fell from the torn cloth. With a howl of terror, Mitsui bent to pick up the pink furred creature.
Sleazack's gun barrel landed on the back of his head with crushing force before any of us saw what had caused him to cry out.
And Katie leaped from behind a motor mount, snatched the hurdle from Archie's clutching hands, and killed it with one quick bite.Completely disregarding Sleazack's anguished cry, she clawed and ripped the thing to bloody ribbons.
And then arched her back and spat at him as if to say, well, I've killed the last of the little monsters.Now, what are you going to do about it?
Sleazack bent over and picked the cat up almost tenderly, turned, and smashed her head against the bulkhead with a full arm blow that would have killed a horse.
Then he got down on his knees and picked at the bloody shreds of the hordle and cried like a baby. Somehow or other we managed to get the ship down, but when the reception committee met us their congratulation turned to stares of horror.
Of course they found out what had happened, and the next expedition to Venus, instead of carrying explorers, carried cats, a couple of hundred of them. The ship marked the landing site carefully, released the cats, and came home.
After that, we sent exploration parties, and we've been operating like that ever since.It's been better than 40 years now that we've been trying to clean up that planet, and we're obviously not through yet.
Did you ever go back to Venus to see what your cats have done?Farnsworth asked.Thompson shook his head.No, he admitted.I never returned.I didn't have the heart to, he added.
I like horgles too, but as long as I'm a few million miles away, it isn't so bad. I can even be philosophical about it.But up there, feeling as I feel and knowing what I know, it'd drive me mad.
Incidentally, Farnsworth, that's the reason you're grounded.Now that you know that we are methodically exterminating the Horgles, Venus is no longer a safe place for you to be.
The government, strangely enough, worries about the welfare of its citizens, and has no desire to see him in physical or mental danger when it isn't necessary.Since you've already held one of the Hordals, you're no longer a safe risk.
You're conditioned.Farnsworth's protest was ignored as Thompson swept on, speaking rapidly to forestall any possible interruption.You see, the smart boys found out what the trouble was.Horgles are a menace.We never looked at them the right way.
Instead of us owning the Horgles, it was the other way around, and they were greedy.They didn't want one man, they wanted all men. On Earth, an animal like that would be more disruptive than the atom war.
What that last one on the ship did to us was only a small sample of what they could do here if given a chance.Thompson shivered.We missed that only because of Katie.But why did the cat hate them so?Farnsworth asked curiously.
Thompson sighed and rose to his feet, dislodging Cato, who jumped lively to the floor, voicing his disapproval.He looked down at the cat and smiled.You may think you own me, old boy, but what you think and what I think are two different things.
He faced Farnsworth and answered slowly.As regards your question, there are two possible answers. The biologists say it's because of the horgles body odor.It's sort of the reverse of catnip and its effect.But I think they're wrong.
I think it's more basic than that.You see, like I said, you don't own a cat.The cat owns you.And those things were cutting in, violating Katie's prior rights.
Katie had been queen of the ship, and she couldn't stand competition, for which the human race should be forever grateful.The end.Next on the Lost Sci-Fi Podcast, all your life you've crouched, waiting in the path of impending disaster.
That has been your job, what you were trained for. But you can't help visualizing its arrival, prophesying what form it will take.So how could you be blamed for not recognizing it on arrival?Yellow Streak Hero by Harlan Ellison.
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