#609 A Matter of Traces- Frank Herbert
This is the official minutes for a meeting of “The Special Subcommittee on Intergalactic Culture.” They are convening to look into the finances of the “Historic Preservation Teams of the Bureau of Cultural Affairs.” Thankfully this story is more entertaining than such a meeting would actually be if it really existed.
The testimony relates the story about a cultural and planetary pioneer. On a new planet with strange vegetation and animal life he invented a devise to harness a large amoeba-like beast of burden to help clear land. The device is simple and obvious, but it wasn’t so obvious at first:
“Sometimes the obvious isn’t so obvious until someone’s showed it to you.”
More fun than the sci-fi look at fictitious planets, is the satire about government committees. This one has an official saboteur in order to have built-in excuses for not getting anything done.
Notable Passage: “People had to help each other…and they had to live honest because their lives depended on it. It’s only after we get civilized that we feel free to cheat.”
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