Yokel with Portfolio by Robert Silverberg

“Yokel with Portfolio” is a 1955 science fiction short story by Robert Silverberg. It is about a man from a backwater, forgotten world who comes to New York City to ask for technological help from the Colonial Minister of Earth.

Non-Spoiler Summary In A Nutshell:

Kalainnen has been chosen by the people of Trask to come to Earth on a technical aid mission. It seems their little forgotten world is centuries behind the technology of Earth, and Kalainnen is going to try to get help to bring them up to speed. The only problem is that there are thousands of people with the exact same agenda! Lucky for Kalainnen that he meets Hork, a Quangen from his same system. Hork is nice enough to explain the very long and complicated process that needs to be followed to even get an appointment to make an appointment with the Colonial Minister! Oh, and he introduces Kalainnen to the TV, where they discover that a ferocious animal has escaped from the zoo – a rather strange animal from some forgotten world. Hmm… any guesses which world it’s from?

“Allow me,” said the Quangen. He reached into his upper hip pocket with his tail and withdrew a small coin, which he inserted in the appropriate slot. The video flickered and came to life.

“The big news of the day!” said a deep, robust voice, and the screen showed a fleeing multitude, “All New York is in terror today. For the first time in over a century, a dangerous alien beast has escaped from New York’s famed Zoological Gardens and is roaming the city.” The camera showed a deserted cage.

My Two Cents:

• The good:

• Ah, the good old days of pulp science fiction stories! They were fun…
• … and easy to read…
• … and colloquial enough to give you a peek into the time in which they were written!

• The bad:

• Sure it’s kind of a campy old scifi story, but that is half the fun! One thing I couldn’t get out of my mind though, was the word “yokel” – that kind of dates this story a bit!

Fact Sheet:
• Page Count: 10
• Word Count: 4,853

Where you can find “Yokel with Portfolio”:

• This short story first appeared in the November 1955 issue of Imaginative Tales.
• “Yokel with Portfolio” is included in Robert Silverberg’s nifty collection of early stories In the Beginning: Tales from the Pulp Era.
• You can read a free online version of this story at webscription.

Some Interesting Links:

• Did you know that Robert Silverberg was only twenty years old when he published “Yokel with Portfolio”? Yep. You can learn more about this science fiction author at majipoor.com.

Craving More Stories?
If you enjoyed this story then you might also like Profession, about a young man in the 65th century who dreams of being a computer programmer, by Isaac Asimov.

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