Prospector's Special, Robert Sheckley

Mostly I've been pretty happy with the tales spun by Robert Sheckley. This one is not a favorite, but there are a few interesting bits. "Prospector's Special" is available online for free at Gutenberg.org.

This is a story set on Venus. I guess at the time there was fairly little practical knowledge about the planet. It is closer to the sun, so therefore must be hotter. So it must be a big desert? That's essentially what this planet has.

The main character, Morrison, is on a high risk venture looking for something called goldenstone. He's spent his las
t dollars (and there's no credit; credit is illegal on Venus) on outfitting the trip. Unfortunately for him, despite some ultra advanced technologies, his vehicle cracks up and leaves him stranded.

He is able to order water from a company that is able to materialize water to pour into his container, for a price. When they find out that he's out of credit, they cut him off. Postal service comes from a robot that appears and disappears in a little tornado. At last, he is able to find a rich vein, but his phone is out of credit and they refuse to loan him anything. The postal robot, however, comes back. He asks to borrow the emergency phone, but the robot refuses, citing laws. He beats the robot up and threatens to kill it until the robot finally agrees to let him use the phone (what else would this emergency phone be for? Just for the robot? It wouldn't be built into the machine?) In any case, he's able to send a sample of the goldenstone to a company that is able to verify its value. They are able to rescue him and I guess he lives happily ever after. The story ends here.

The other bit that is interesting is that he is trying to save money for a farm under the sea. Was Sheckley thinking that earth would run out of land as the seas rise? I am not sure, but I wonder if global warming and global sea level rise was a concern when this story was published (1959).