Robert Silverberg 10 min read

Two million stellors of stolen gems in the hold and a hypnotized spaceport waving him off, Kiley has never felt happier, sure he's pulled the perfect job.

Robert Silverberg's 1958 story is a sharp first-contact and space-opera caper with a sting. Clever, ironic golden-age SF. Read it for a story about a smug thief who thinks he's outsmarted everyone, and the partner who proves the title's warning.

In its time

Published in 1958, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

10 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).