A Matter of Taste

In Short

This work of science fiction follows an insurance claims adjuster who arrives on the planet Sunder’s Pride to save a failing colony from mysterious, mind-controlling aliens. While his predecessors relied on psychic talent, this protagonist employs a blend of crude mechanical ingenuity and cold, calculated logic to outmaneuver a superior foe. It remains a sharp, witty exploration of human resourcefulness, subverting the tropes of the "psychic hero" genre. Its enduring appeal lies in its cynical humor and the protagonist’s refusal to play by the rules of conventional space-faring heroism.

The Story

Mark Atkinson, a claims adjuster for the Interstellar Insurance Company, lands on the lethal, frozen planet of Sunder’s Pride. He arrives stark naked, shocking the local expedition manager, Obadiah Jones, who is already terrified. A group of slug-like aliens has been kidnapping human miners at regular intervals, effectively holding the expedition hostage and forcing them to trade valuable technology for their lives. The aliens, who possess immense mental control, are preparing to turn the human colony into a permanent source of "pets" for their own markets.

Jones is desperate to call in the military, but the insurance policy forbids such interference, as a military intervention would destroy the lucrative trade profits the company is trying to protect. Atkinson, possessing no true psychic ability, dismisses the fears of the miners and instead relies on an array of experimental mechanical devices surgically implanted in his own body. He sets out alone into the "forbidden zone" where the aliens reside, ignoring the complex, vivid hallucinations they project to deter intruders.

He wades through a mental projection of a piranha-infested river and resists a seductive, dream-like vision of a past love. By trusting his internal mechanical sensors—which bypass his brain’s sensory receptors—he navigates the true physical reality of the terrain. He locates the aliens' base, which turns out to be nothing more than a simple prefab hut. He kills two of the creatures and captures a third, returning to the camp to leverage this prisoner for a permanent solution.

Atkinson forces the miners to chain themselves together to prevent them from wandering off or succumbing to further alien manipulation, and he oversees the development of technology to block the aliens' mental influence. When the surviving aliens return, they attempt to overwhelm Atkinson by projecting his own consciousness into one of their alien bodies, hoping to use his confusion against him. Atkinson remains calm, navigates the camp while suffering from this profound bodily displacement, and secures the airlock just in time. The aliens, realizing they have met a human who can bypass their mental dominance, agree to a favorable trade deal. Atkinson concludes his report with a characteristic blend of arrogance and relief, claiming his victory as a simple triumph of mechanical science over mental posturing.

How It Unfolds

The arrival on Sunder’s Pride Atkinson lands in a sub-zero, poisonous environment without a protective suit, immediately clashing with the pragmatic expectations of the colony’s manager. He learns that the human settlers are being harvested as pets by aliens who exert complete control over the human mind.

The walk into the forbidden zone Atkinson disregards the warnings of the terrified colonists and enters the alien territory alone. He relies on hidden, internal mechanical devices to navigate through intense, sensor-tricking hallucinations that would destroy any ordinary human.

The discovery at the alien base He penetrates the center of the alien operation and finds that their "superior" power is housed in a mundane, low-tech prefab structure. He captures an alien and secures a piece of their building material, turning the tide of the conflict.

The final confrontation The aliens attempt one last desperate strike, projecting an identity crisis onto Atkinson, but his reliance on mechanical logic allows him to prevail. He forces the aliens to the negotiating table by threatening them with the same technological destruction they underestimated in humans.

The People

Mark Atkinson is the central figure, a self-assured, cynical, and highly pragmatic claims adjuster. He views the galaxy through the lens of profit and loss, possessing a deep disdain for "psychic experts" and bureaucratic red tape. He is defined by his willingness to undergo radical, intrusive physical modifications to ensure his survival and efficiency.

Obadiah Jones is the beleaguered expedition manager, a man who represents the "provincial" colonist. He is earnest, fearful, and exhausted by the loss of his men. He wants to rely on the military for salvation, standing in direct contrast to Atkinson’s preference for independent, ruthless problem-solving.

Ralph Carter, an arrogant mental control expert, appears as a foil to Atkinson. He represents the "soft" approach to alien contact, relying on mental techniques that the aliens easily neutralize. He is characterized by his vanity and his distaste for "mechanical gadgets," providing a target for Atkinson’s biting, superior tone throughout the latter half of the story.

In Its Own Voice

"When a planet turns in an insurance claim, it could run to more than real money."

The adjuster explains the high stakes of his profession, where the financial risks of interstellar trade are as dangerous as the planets themselves.

"They look something like overgrown sea anemones, with three multi-jointed arms and three short legs."

Atkinson provides a rare, unclouded description of the aliens once he successfully penetrates their mental shielding.

"I decided that a simple expletive would suffice as an answer."

When confronted by the alien captors who believe they have him trapped, the adjuster refuses to offer them the satisfaction of a panicked response.

What It's Really About

The central theme is the triumph of the mechanical and the empirical over the mystical and the psychological. The story acts as an argument against the idea that human progress should be centered on mental or psychic evolution. Atkinson represents the "unromantic" reality of human nature: stubborn, tool-using, and aggressively practical. The book posits that technology—or "gadgets"—is the true hallmark of human superiority. It suggests that while aliens may possess a temporary advantage through mental deception, they are intellectually vulnerable because they rely on their own "natural" abilities rather than the external, quantifiable tools that humans have perfected. It is a defense of the material world against the ethereal.

Why Read It Today

Readers who enjoy hard-boiled, cynical protagonists will find much to admire in this story. It feels like a noir detective tale set in the depths of space, where the "case" is the survival of a colony and the "detective" is a man who trusts his tongue and his synthetic implants more than his own eyes. The writing is brisk, confident, and unapologetically cold.

However, a modern reader should be aware of the story's period attitudes. The protagonist’s casual dismissal of danger, his condescending attitude toward others, and the underlying assumption that humans can and should force their way across the galaxy through superior firepower can feel abrasive. The narrative style is firmly rooted in the mid-20th-century "hard" science fiction tradition, where characters are often archetypes of professional competence rather than deeply explored emotional beings.

The story remains relevant for those interested in the history of the genre, particularly in how it critiques the "psychic hero" archetype that dominated much of the fiction of the era. It stays with you not for its warmth, but for its sharp, mechanical coldness and the memorable image of a man using his own physiology as a weapon to outwit a superior intellect. It is a satisfying, punchy read for anyone who prefers their sci-fi with a heavy dose of irony.