"The Watery Place" is a

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

by American writer

Isaac Asimov yi, יצחק אזימאװ , birth_date = , birth_place = Petrovichi, Russian SFSR , spouse = , relatives = , children = 2 , death_date = , death_place = Manhattan, New York City, U.S. , nationality = Russian (1920–1922)Soviet (192 ...

. It was first published in the October 1956 issue of ''

Satellite Science Fiction ''Satellite Science Fiction'' was an American science-fiction magazine published from October 1956 to April 1959 by Leo Margulies' Renown Publications. Initially, ''Satellite'' was digest sized and ran a full-length novel in each issue with a ...

'' and reprinted in the 1957 collection ''

Earth Is Room Enough ''Earth Is Room Enough'' is a collection of fifteen short science fiction and fantasy stories and two pieces of comic verse by American writer Isaac Asimov, published in 1957. In his autobiography ''In Joy Still Felt'', Asimov wrote, "I was sti ...

''. It is Asimov's only science fiction story set in

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. To the north, it shares a small portion of the Canada–United States border with the province of British Columbia. It borders the states of Montana and Wyom ...

Plot summary

"The Watery Place" is narrated by the unnamed deputy sheriff of Twin Gulch, Idaho, who opens the story by explaining that humanity will never achieve space travel. This, he says, is due to his boss, Sheriff Bart Cameron. The deputy explains that Cameron is an impatient man generally, and becomes particularly impatient when he's working on his

income tax An income tax is a tax imposed on individuals or entities (taxpayers) in respect of the income or profits earned by them (commonly called taxable income). Income tax generally is computed as the product of a tax rate times the taxable income. Tax ...

es. It was the world's bad fortune that the first extraterrestrials to land on

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surfa ...

happened to arrive in Twin Gulch, Idaho on the evening of 14 April 1956. The deputy sees a

flying saucer A flying saucer (also referred to as "a flying disc") is a descriptive term for a type of flying craft having a disc or saucer-shaped body, commonly used generically to refer to an anomalous flying object. The term was coined in 1947 but has g ...

land while staring out the window of the sheriff's office, and sees the two occupants approach. The aliens look perfectly human, and are dressed in ordinary business suits. The deputy notes, "I would have thought they were city fellows if I hadn't seen the flying saucer land in the scrub." Cameron is too busy working on his taxes to notice the landing. The aliens enter and explain to Cameron that they have chosen to make

first contact First contact may refer to: *First contact (astronomy), the moment in astronomical transit when the apparent positions of the two bodies first touch *First contact (anthropology), the first meeting of two cultures previously unaware of one another ...

with humanity in Twin Gulch because it is isolated and peaceful, and that they have chosen Cameron to make first contact with because he is the local leader. "We come from the watery place your people call

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

." They want Cameron's help contacting the leaders of the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

. This sets Cameron off. He storms at them, calls them wise-guy jerks, and threatens to lock them up for disturbing the peace. He finishes by saying, "Get the hell out of here and back to wherever you're from and don't ever come back. I don't want to see you and no one else around here does." The alien can tell that Cameron is serious, so he says that he will leave, and see to it that nobody ever returns and that Cameron's people will never have to leave. The deputy can tell that he means it, and that humanity will be fenced in on Earth forever. After the aliens leave, the outraged deputy drags Cameron over to the window and makes him watch as the flying saucer takes off. He asks why Cameron sent them away. When Cameron says he thought they were just foreigners, the deputy reminds him that they said they were from Venus. Cameron responds, "Venus! When they talked about the watery place, I thought they meant ''

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

!''"

External links

* Short stories by Isaac Asimov 1956 short stories Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Satellite Science Fiction {{1950s-sf-story-stub