H. L. Gold 1 hr 7 min read

A man in constant, overwhelming danger is entitled to a bodyguard, the trouble is that he has to be his own, and his body won't cooperate.

H. L. Gold's 1956 story centers on the arrogant, exceptionally handsome Gabriel Lockard, watched from a corner booth by a nondescript man and resented by all, with extraterrestrials taking a peculiar interest. Sharp, ironic social SF from Galaxy's founding editor. Read it for a clever golden-age tale where the peril and the protection share one body.

In its time

Published in 1956, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

1 hr 7 min read (a novelette, room for a turn or two).

Illustrated by

Cavat