Get Off teh Unicorn

Informationen zum Autor Anne McCaffrey Klappentext A splendid selection of stories from the lady who taught dragons to fly and rockets to sing . . . Lady in the Tower The Rowan was one of a select group of telepaths-a complete Prime! one of only five. Then one day! another Prime appeared mysteriously from the outer boundaries of space! asking for help in a savage battle against evil! Finder's Keepers Young Peter had a unique gift which earned him and his mother a little money and gave pleasure to others. Then! one day! an unscrupulous man forced Peter to use his precious gift in a crooked scheme-and Peter grew up fast! Honeymoon Helva and her new brawn were sent on an especially urgent mission . . . a mission that not only put them both in great danger! but a mission that also caused them to break the ultimate taboo! The Smallest Dragon Boy The only thing Keevan wanted in life was to be a dragonrider! just like his father . . . but everything seemed to stand in his way! Lady in the Tower   WHEN THE ROWAN came storming toward the station, its personnel mentally and literally ducked. Mentally, because she was apt to forget to shield. Literally, because the Rowan was prone to slamming around desks and filing cabinets when she got upset. Today, however, she was in fair command of herself and merely stamped up the stairs into the tower. A vague rumble of noisy thoughts tossed around the first floor of the station for a few minutes, but the computer and analogue men ignored the depressing effects with the gratitude of those saved from greater disaster.   From the residue of her passage, Brian Ackerman, the stationmaster, caught the impression of intense purple frustration. He was basically only a T-9, but constant association with the Rowan had widened his area of perception. Ackerman appreciated this side effect of his position—when he was anywhere else but at the station.   He had been trying to quit Callisto for more than five years, with no success. Federal Telepathers and Teleporters, Inc., had established a routine regarding his continuous applications for transfer. The first one handed in each quarter was ignored; the second brought an adroitly worded reply on how sensitive and crucial a position he held at Callisto Prime Station; his third—often a violently worded demand—always got him a special shipment of scotch and tobacco; his fourth—a piteous wail—brought the Section Supervisor out for a face-to-face chat and, only then, a few discreet words to the Rowan.   Ackerman was positive she always knew the full story before the Supervisor finally approached her. It pleased her to be difficult, but the one time Ackerman discarded protocol and snarled back at her, she had mended her ways for a whole quarter. It had reluctantly dawned on Ackerman that she must like him and he had since used this knowledge to advantage. He had lasted eight years, as against five stationmasters in three months before his appointment.   Each of the twenty-three station staff members had gone through a similar shuffling until the Rowan had accepted them. It took a very delicate balance of mental talent, personality, and intelligence to achieve the proper gestalt needed to move giant liners and tons of freight. Federal Tel and Tel had only five complete Primes—five T-1’s—each strategically placed in a station near the five major and most central stars to effect the best possible transmission of commerce and communications throughout the sprawling Nine-Star League. The lesser staff positions at each Prime Station were filled by personnel who could only teleport, or telepath. It was FT & T’s dream someday to provide instantaneous transmission of anything, anywhere, anytime. Until that day, FT & T exercised patient diplomacy with its five T-l’s, putting up with their vagaries like the doting owners of so many golden geese. If keeping the Rowan hap...

Produktdetails

• Autoren: Anne McCaffrey
• Verlag: Del Rey
• Sprache: Englisch
• Produktform: Taschenbuch
• Erschienen: 12.05.1987
• EAN: 9780345349354
• ISBN: 978-0-345-34935-4
• Seiten: 303
• Abmessung: 108 mm x 172 mm x 17 mm
• Thema: Belletristik > Science Fiction, Fantasy