TY  - BOOK
AU  - Harrison,Harry
TI  - The Repairman
T2  - Produced from Galaxy February 1958
AV  - PS 
PY  - 2007///
CY  - Salt Lake City, UT
PB  - Project Gutenberg
KW  - Science fiction
KW  - Short stories
KW  - Human-alien encounters -- Fiction
N1  - Release date is 2007-07-14; Produced by Greg Weeks, Susan Carr and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net; Original publication data not identified
N2  - "The Repairman" by Harry Harrison is a science fiction novella written in the late 1950s. This work follows an interstellar trouble-shooting mechanic, tasked with the daunting job of repairing an ancient and complicated Mark III hyperspace beacon located on a distant planet. The story explores themes of adventure, cultural misunderstandings, and the challenges of navigating interspecies communication and cooperation.  The protagonist, a seasoned repairman known as the Old Man’s trouble-shooter, finds himself reluctantly assigned to fix the malfunctioning beacon, which is wrapped in a mysterious, ancient stone pyramid inhabited by the native reptilian Centaurians. As he unfurls the history of the beacon and its impact on the local species, he devises a covert plan to communicate and negotiate with the Centaurians without inciting hostility. Using ingenious tactics, such as donning a disguise and leveraging the local culture, he manages to restore the beacon while ensuring the natives are placated, ultimately securing a win-win resolution. The story combines humor, ingenuity, and social commentary, making it a captivating read for fans of speculative fiction. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
UR  - https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/22073
ER  -