The h2g2 Literary Corner: The Very Secret Agent
Created | Updated May 8, 2016
This 1954 science fiction story from the magazine If is truly amazing for several reasons: one, the storyline is counterintuitive, and you're sure to be surprised; two, there's surprising depth in the characterisations; and three, there's something totally retro/Starship Troopers about it all – less steampunk, more zootpunk, to coin a 1940s reference. See what you think, and you can read the whole story courtesy of Gutenberg at The Very Secret Agent.
The Very Secret Agent
by Mari Wolf
The plot so far: Riuku is an alien who has infiltrated the mind, such as it is, of a Rosie the Riveter type named Alice. Alice works at a defence plant that is producing weapons to fight the aliens. Alice has no idea that Riuku's in her head, so she goes about her business – which mostly involves her affair with Pete, who is married to someone else.
Riuku probed. Her thoughts were easy enough to read, but just try to translate them into anything useful.... He probed deeper. The plugs she was soldering. He could get a good picture of them, of the wires, of the harness lacing that Coralie was doing. But it meant nothing. They could be making anything. Radios, monitor units, sound equipment.
Only they weren't. They were making a weapon, and this bit of electronic equipment was part of that weapon. What part? What did the 731 plug do?
Alice Hendricks didn't know. Alice Hendricks didn't care.
The first break. Ten minutes away from work. Alice was walking back along the aisle that separated Assembly from the men's Machine Shop. A chance, perhaps. She was looking at the machines, or rather past them, at the men.
"Hello, Tommy. How's the love life?" He's not bad at all. Real cute. Though not like Pete, oh no.
The machines. Riuku prodded at her thoughts, wishing he could influence them, wishing that just for a moment he could see, hear, feel, think as she would never think.
The machines were—machines. That big funny one where Ned works, and Tommy's spot welder, and over in the corner where the superintendent is—he's a snappy dresser, tie and everything.
The corner. Restricted area. Can't go over. High voltage or something....
Her thoughts slid away from the restricted area. Should she go out for lunch or eat off the sandwich machine? And Riuku curled inside her mind and cursed her with his rapidly growing Earthwoman's vocabulary.
At the end of the shift he had learned nothing. Nothing about the weapon, that is. He had found out a good deal about the sex life of Genus Homo – information that made him even more glad than before that his was a one-sexed race.
Before you read the rest: what do you think is likely to happen? Hint: remember, this is the 1950s.
