"The Tryouts" 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 by American writer Barry B. Longyear. It was first published in ''

Isaac Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine ''Asimov's Science Fiction'' is an American science fiction magazine which publishes science fiction and fantasy named after science fiction author Isaac Asimov. It is currently published by Penny Publications. From January 2017, the publication ...

'' in 1978.

Plot summary

On Momus, a primitive

planet A planet is a large, rounded astronomical body that is neither a star nor its remnant. The best available theory of planet formation is the nebular hypothesis, which posits that an interstellar cloud collapses out of a nebula to create a you ...

with no mass communications technology, news and information is disseminated by itinerant members of the Newstellers

Guild A guild ( ) is an association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area. The earliest types of guild formed as organizations of tradesmen belonging to a professional association. They sometimes ...

. One night, a group of travellers sit around a campfire and a Master Newsteller, Boosthit, accompanied by his

apprentice Apprenticeship is a system for training a new generation of practitioners of a trade or profession with on-the-job training and often some accompanying study (classroom work and reading). Apprenticeships can also enable practitioners to gain a ...

, tells a story. The tale he spins tells of Lord Ashley Allenby, an

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or sov ...

from a neighbouring quadrant of inhabited planets, whose mission is to warn the planetary government of an impending invasion. Allenby's ship is damaged and he has to put down his

lifeboat Lifeboat may refer to: Rescue vessels * Lifeboat (shipboard), a small craft aboard a ship to allow for emergency escape * Lifeboat (rescue), a boat designed for sea rescues * Airborne lifeboat, an air-dropped boat used to save downed airmen ...

in a

desert A desert is a barren area of landscape where little precipitation occurs and, consequently, living conditions are hostile for plant and animal life. The lack of vegetation exposes the unprotected surface of the ground to denudation. About on ...

, not knowing his location. He learns from a traveller that all information, even directions to the nearest town, has a value and must be bargained for. In the town of Tarzak, he also learns that the planet has no capital and no central government. He falls in with a Master Newsteller and apprentices himself to him, hoping to thus spread the news of his mission. But the keen listeners around the campfire are one step ahead of the Newsteller, and realise the

punchline A punch line (a. k. a. punch-line or punchline) concludes a joke; it is intended to make people laugh. It is the third and final part of the typical joke structure. It follows the introductory framing of the joke and the narrative which sets up ...

to be that Allenby is the Master's apprentice. As Master and apprentice depart, Allenby tentatively suggests improvements to the story to make it more believable. The Master stalks off in a huff, declaring "Everybody wants to be a critic! Everybody!"

External links

* Science fiction short stories Works originally published in Asimov's Science Fiction 1978 short stories {{1970s-sf-story-stub