Project Gutenberg 2016-04-07 Public domain in the USA. 117 Smith, George O. (George Oliver) 1911 1981 Smith, George Oliver Long, Wesley Amateur in Chancery Produced from Galaxy Magazine October 1961 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Amateur in Chancery" by George O. Smith is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative explores the complexities of communication between humans and an alien species when a project aimed at sending a human to Venus encounters serious problems. The likely topic delves into themes of perception, understanding, and the challenges of interspecies communication. The story follows Tom, a computer programmer, who is called to help rescue Holly, a scientist stranded on Venus after exposure to a hazardous atmosphere. As time ticks away and Holly's condition worsens, the team realizes that they must communicate effectively with Harla, a Venusians who has the key to bringing Holly back. The primary challenge arises from differing perceptions of concepts like "left" and "right," as well as the alien's lack of familiarity with Earthly references. Ultimately, through a blend of emotional intuition and ingenious reasoning, Tom guides Harla to press the right button in the rescue vehicle, highlighting that feelings and emotions can bridge the gaps that logic sometimes cannot. The rescue operation unfolds with a sense of urgency, blending tension with scientific exploration in this engaging tale. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 76.6 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Venus (Planet) -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 56499 2025-07-20T14:46:33.175160 text/html 32857 2024-10-23T00:18:28 text/html 178654 2025-07-20T14:46:34.954138 application/epub+zip 177489 2025-07-20T14:46:33.536147 application/epub+zip 76711 2025-07-20T14:46:33.339137 application/epub+zip 216123 2025-07-20T14:46:36.129113 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 209553 2025-07-20T14:46:34.714139 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 109062 2022-09-23T14:22:18.452404 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 49227 2025-07-20T14:46:33.054145 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 29498 2024-10-23T00:18:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18117 2025-07-20T14:46:36.251115 application/rdf+xml 28408 2025-07-20T14:46:33.408135 image/jpeg 4728 2025-07-20T14:46:33.373146 image/jpeg 159304 2025-07-20T14:46:33.188125 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia