Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Gambler's World
    Gambler's World
    Gambler's World
    Ebook54 pages37 minutes

    Gambler's World

    By Keith Laumer

    ()

    Read preview
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArchive Classics
    Release dateJan 1, 2009
    Gambler's World
    Author

    Keith Laumer

    John Keith Laumer (June 9, 1925 – January 23, 1993) was an American science fiction author. Prior to becoming a full-time writer, he was an officer in the United States Air Force and a diplomat in the United States Foreign Service. His older brother March Laumer was also a writer, known for his adult reinterpretations of the Land of Oz (also mentioned in Laumer's The Other Side of Time). Frank Laumer, their youngest brother, is a historian and writer.

    Read more from Keith Laumer

    Related to Gambler's World

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Roger’s Profanisaurus

      Oct 15, 2020

      Amber warning n. A log dropped in a partner’s bed; a subtle sign that a romantic relationship may just possibly be heading for trouble. Named in honour of Johnny Depp’s estranged squeeze, viz. Amber Heard = Douglas Hurd. and in local news… phr. Annou

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Time Traveller Returns

      Oct 29, 2018

      The Time Traveller Returns
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Great Lindemann

      Jun 26, 2014

      The light dimmed and the murmur of conversation died away. The curtain opened. Lindemann was standing on the stage. He was plump and had a bald spot made all the more noticeable by the few sparse hairs combed over the nakedness of his skull, and he w

      19 min read

    • Article

      Two-Stroke Toilets: The trouble with time travel.

      May 8, 2014

      What’s this?” I said, looking down at the change the old woman had put down on the counter between us. There were bills of the wrong size and color, clunky-seeming coins that were too big and too dull. I stirred a finger in the little pile. She glanc

      31 min read

    • Article

      Honeymoon

      Mar 15, 2019

      Honeymoon
      15 min read

    • Article

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes

      Jul 26, 2022

      An Afternoon In Her Shoes
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Conversation

      Nov 1, 2023

      The Art Of Conversation
      4 min read

    • Article

      Cristina Rivera Garza

      Jun 15, 2018

      She would remember everything, out of the blue and in full detail. She would see the jade ring wrapped around her ring finger and, immediately, she would see the other jade ring. She would open her eyes wide and, without knowing why, would fall silen

      13 min read

    • Article

      Nancy Mitford, Queen of the Adriatic

      Mar 6, 2024

      In 1957, Gill Johnson, 25, left London for a Venetian palazzo to teach English to the children of the Brandolini family. One day, at the Venice Lido, she spotted a familiar figure… She seemed unattached and sitting in pointed isolation, as if the tid

      8 min read

    • Article

      The Penalty

      Nov 5, 2020

      The Penalty
      8 min read

    • Article

      I Feel It

      Mar 15, 2022

      In Majorca, jet-lagged at the airport, Nathan bought a one-liter bottle of Tanqueray, and then, after an hour’s drive, their van stopping in a small, possibly medieval town, a second bottle of gin, soda water, limes. They drove farther, another half

      14 min read

    • Article

      The Memento

      Jan 16, 2022

      In the middle of the night, after a particularly tough day of interrogations in a Beijing security facility, the artist and dissident Ai Weiwei began to write what would become 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrow: A memoir. His tough, implacable interrogat

      4 min read

    • Article

      Playing God

      Apr 10, 2023

      After Jack was abducted by the alien spaceship, and after the round vessel had vanished into the Milky Way, he found himself walking down a tubular corridor with white vibrating walls, escorted by a sinuous blonde who smiled graciously and said her n

      13 min read

    • Article

      Confessions Of A Hitman

      Oct 14, 2019

      Confessions Of A Hitman
      3 min read

    • Article

      The Bargain

      Dec 10, 2022

      “Which one of you owns G2V3889?” Cygnus glided through a luminescent star field suspended in the center of an otherwise dark, oblong studio, then turned in a slow circle to survey the twenty Agents surrounding him. “Come on, speak up.” Vega shuddered

      16 min read

    • Article

      Making Contact

      Mar 14, 2023

      CHARTER LIFE Nine boats, nine captains, nearly 70 people, and about a million problems. That’s the mayhem we faced as we prepped to leave on a group charter from Martinique bound for Grenada. As captains, our single assigned point of contact to help

      3 min read

    • Article

      New NEIGHBOUR

      Oct 21, 2020

      “It was a cold rainy morning and Mr Dear was staring out of the sitting room window. He does this because a) he thinks it makes him look wistful and sensitive, and b) he knows it annoys me when I’m dusting because he could be lifting up all the usele

      3 min read

    • Article

      Profanisaurus

      Jun 23, 2022

      bite off more than you can poo v. To overeat. bite the brown bullet v. To walk with tightly clenched buttocks, perhaps after biting off more than you can poo. ‘Prince Charles there, graciously and regally biting the brown bullet as he graciously and

      8 min read

    • Article

      Coffee Ghosts

      Jan 6, 2022

      Coffee Ghosts
      7 min read

    • Article

      The Emperors of Existence

      Dec 28, 2018

      The Emperors of Existence
      9 min read

    • Article

      A quiet NIGHT IN

      Jun 15, 2022

      A quiet NIGHT IN
      3 min read

    • Article

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS

      Nov 19, 2020

      Roger's PROFANISAURUS
      8 min read

    • Article

      Three Poems

      Sep 1, 2022

      1. Here there’s no rainy season.Sun scalds my forehead,yet the pool is empty. Beside it,a toppled table, its glass surface shattered.The asphalt is too hot for bare feet. 2. Far away: white hillocksand white dunes under a deepblue sky. Swirling winds

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Straw Hat

      Aug 2, 2018

      The Straw Hat
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Stars at Noon

      Mar 4, 2024

      “Nothing fancy,” I tell him. “The bulbs are very dim …” “Bulb. There's only one bulb.” I relieve my purse of its bulge in the bathroom and discover that the administration of this motel, meaning some sneaky relation of the Señora's, has also been loo

      1 min read

    • Article

      6667 Hollywood Boulevard

      Jul 2, 2019

      6667 Hollywood Boulevard
      7 min read

    • Article

      I Live For The Night

      Sep 4, 2018

      I Live For The Night
      15 min read

    • Article

      Roger’s PROFANISAURUS

      May 18, 2023

      Roger’s PROFANISAURUS
      7 min read

    • Article

      Four Poems

      May 1, 2020

      1. Stop the action. 1a. Does that include apologizing? 1b. Because I’m sorry about this poem. I’m so embarrassed. Please forgive me. 3. Tape pictures of policemen all around the house, especially on the refrigerator. 7. Cheap tops. 49. Cheap tops. ii

      3 min read

    Reviews for Gambler's World

    0 ratings

    0 ratings0 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

      Book preview

      Gambler's World - Keith Laumer

      The Project Gutenberg EBook of Gambler's World, by John Keith Laumer

      This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with

      almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or

      re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included

      with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org

      Title: Gambler's World

      Author: John Keith Laumer

      Release Date: May 28, 2007 [EBook #21627]

      Language: English

      *** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK GAMBLER'S WORLD ***

      Produced by Robert Cicconetti, V. L. Simpson and the Online

      Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net

      Transcriber's Notes

      This etext was produced from Worlds of If November 1961.

      Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.

      Obvious typesetting errors have been corrected.

      GAMBLER'S

      WORLD

      By KEITH LAUMER

      Illustrated by GAUGHAN

      I

      Retief paused before a tall mirror to check the overlap of the four sets of lapels that ornamented the vermilion cutaway of a First Secretary and Consul.

      Come along, Retief, Magnan said. The Ambassador has a word to say to the staff before we go in.

      I hope he isn't going to change the spontaneous speech he plans to make when the Potentate impulsively suggests a trade agreement along the lines they've been discussing for the last two months.

      Your derisive attitude is uncalled for, Retief, Magnan said sharply. I think you realize it's delayed your promotion in the Corps.

      Retief took a last glance in the mirror. I'm not sure I want a promotion, he said. It would mean more lapels.

      Ambassador Crodfoller pursed his lips, waiting until Retief and Magnan took places in the ring of Terrestrial diplomats around him.

      A word of caution only, gentlemen, he said. Keep always foremost in your minds the necessity for our identification with the Nenni Caste. Even a hint of familiarity with lower echelons could mean the failure of the mission. Let us remember that the Nenni represent authority here on Petreac. Their traditions must be observed, whatever our personal preferences. Let's go along now. The Potentate will be making his entrance any moment.

      Magnan came to Retief's side as they moved toward the salon.

      The Ambassador's remarks were addressed chiefly to you, Retief, he said. Your laxness in these matters is notorious. Naturally, I believe firmly in democratic principles myself—

      Have you ever had a feeling, Mr. Magnan, that there's a lot going on here that we don't know about?

      Magnan nodded. Quite so. Ambassador Crodfoller's point exactly. Matters which are not of concern to the Nenni are of no concern to us.

      Another feeling I get is that the Nenni aren't very bright. Now suppose—

      I'm not given to suppositions, Retief. We're here to implement the policies of the Chief of Mission. And I should dislike to be in the shoes of a member of the staff whose conduct jeopardized the agreement that will be concluded here tonight.

      A bearer with a tray of drinks rounded a fluted column, shied as he confronted the diplomats, fumbled the tray, grabbed and sent a glass crashing to the floor.

      Magnan leaped back, slapping at the purple

      Enjoying the preview?
      Page 1 of 1