Allamagoosa
"Allamagoosa" is a science fiction short story by English author Eric Frank Russell, originally published in the May 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and collected in The Hugo Winners (1962), The Best Of Eric Frank Russell (1978), and Major Ingredients: The Selected Short Stories of Eric Frank Russell (2000).[1]
| "Allamagoosa" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Eric Frank Russell | |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Astounding Science Fiction |
| Publication type | magazine |
| Publication date | May 1955 |
Plot summary
While preparing for an inspection, the crew of the starship Bustler reread their manifest and discover that they are supposed to have something called an "offog"; however, nobody knows what that is. They devise a plan to pass the inspection anyway: going on the assumption that nobody else would know what it is either, they simply manufacture a small box with blinkenlights and feed the commanding officer some technobabble about what the device does. The plan seems to work, and the ship passes the inspection.
The ship is soon ordered back to Earth for overhaul; the crew, fearing that their deception will soon be uncovered, try to get rid of the "offog" and message headquarters that it "came apart under gravitational stress". Two days later, the entire fleet is ordered to be grounded, and the crew realizes that "offog" was a typo of "off.dog", short for "official dog", and the headquarters are now grounding the fleet to conduct an investigation about how an animal could come apart under gravitational stress.
Reception
"Allamagoosa" won the 1955 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.[2]
John Joseph Adams has called it "uproariously funny".[3]
James Nicoll has commented that it is "apparently based on an urban legend".[4] In fact, it is essentially a science-fictional retelling of a traditional tall story called "The Shovewood".[5]
References
- ISFDB entry
- "Locus Index to SF Awards". Archived from the original on 2010-10-25. Retrieved 2010-10-11.
- Locus Listens to Audio: Reviews by John Joseph Adams, at Locus Online; published July 23, 2004; retrieved September 7, 2017
- One of the gentler voices of the Golden Age: The Best of Eric Frank Russell — Eric Frank Russell, reviewed by James Nicoll, at James Nicoll Reviews; published November 9, 2014; retrieved September 7, 2017
- Ingham, John L. (2010). Into Your Tent: The Life, Work and Family Background of Eric Frank Russell. Plantech (U.K.). ISBN 978-0-9564576-0-8.
External links
- Allamagoosa title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- Allamagoosa at webarchive of scifi.com