Path: ...!weretis.net!feeder9.news.weretis.net!panix!.POSTED.panix2.panix.com!not-for-mail From: jdnicoll@panix.com (James Nicoll) Newsgroups: rec.arts.sf.written Subject: Re: YASID: "Alien Ruler" possibly Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2024 12:55:50 -0000 (UTC) Organization: Public Access Networks Corp. Message-ID: References: Injection-Date: Sun, 29 Sep 2024 12:55:50 -0000 (UTC) Injection-Info: reader1.panix.com; posting-host="panix2.panix.com:166.84.1.2"; logging-data="26894"; mail-complaints-to="abuse@panix.com" X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test77 (Sep 1, 2010) Bytes: 2193 Lines: 36 In article , Robert Carnegie wrote: >If I sisn't raise this already, does anyone recognise >a short story described here? > > > >This is a link to a long and, from experience, >variably accurate memory on "Quora". >Basically: An alien lands his spaceship on Earth. >The good news: He represents the galactic empire of >benevolent non-interferers, and Earth is within the >empire. The bad news: The empire has decided to swap >the space containing Earth for some nicer space owned >by the other galactic empire of exploiting planets >and their inhabitants. So the message from the >non-interferers is hello, goodbye, and submit. > >The asker says "I might have read it in a >SF anthology back in the 80’s or possibly in >Analog or Isaac Asimov’s SF magazine back in >the 80’s." > >Which Earth "political" situation is represented >is one of the points of debate: I proposed >Hong Kong, in 1997. So the alien may look like this. > I think it's a Mack Reynolds. Down the River (1950), which appeared in The Best of Mack Reynolds and Galactic Empires Volume Two. My bet would be that they read it in the latter. -- My reviews can be found at http://jamesdavisnicoll.com/ My tor pieces at https://www.tor.com/author/james-davis-nicoll/ My Dreamwidth at https://james-davis-nicoll.dreamwidth.org/ My patreon is at https://www.patreon.com/jamesdnicoll