History Repeats

In Short

Set in the decadent, all-powerful galactic empire of Xanabar, George O. Smith’s History Repeats follows Peter Hawley, an officer of the Terrestrial Extraterrestrial Service, and his genetically evolved canine partner, Buregarde. When the daughter of Terra's envoy to Lonaphite is abducted from a spacecraft and hidden in Xanabar’s slums, Hawley and Buregarde must track her through a metropolis where mercenaries sell law enforcement to the highest bidder. The story has endured as a classic example of mid-century pulp science fiction that blends hard-boiled detective conventions with a historical warning about the decay of mercenary empires.

The Story

The story opens in the central trading city of Xanabar Citadel, a sprawling empire that maintains its supremacy by standing over the galactic trade tables and levying taxes on both sides of any conflict. Because Xanabar relies entirely on paid mercenaries who have "no god but gold," its core is thoroughly corrupt. In a smoky tavern, two alien outlanders quarrel over a wager regarding whether one can capture a "barbarian" Terrestrial. A lithe mercenary steps in, not to enforce order, but to broker a paid contract so Xanabar can collect its tax on the wager.

Meanwhile, Peter Hawley strolls through the city’s waterfront slum accompanied by Buregarde, a talking, highly intelligent dog of mixed breed. Buregarde possesses heightened senses, telepathic empathy, and a sharp wit. They are on a covert rescue mission to find Miss Vanessa Lewis, the daughter of the Terrestrial envoy, who was kidnapped from her stateroom aboard the Polaris during its landing pattern at Xanabar.

Navigating the dark streets, Buregarde detects the emotional signature of violence and tracks Vanessa’s location to a dark, closed building. Before they can enter, an attacker ambushes Hawley with a pencil-ray. Hawley flips the assailant to the pavement while Buregarde disarms him and holds his throat. A uniformed mercenary interrupts the fight, threatening to arrest them all for breaking the Peace of Xanabar. Hawley quickly assesses the mercenary's true motives and bribes him with seven weight of crystal-cut—eventually agreed at ten—to haul the attacker to jail and look the other way.

Inside the establishment, Hawley and Buregarde bypass the check girl and floor an armed guard who attempts to block their path. Pushing past the main hall where mercenaries are busy collecting taxes on local wagers, they search the rear rooms. Hawley uses his subtle mental empathy while Buregarde uses his acute hearing and sense of smell to locate the exact room where Vanessa is held, bound and gagged on a bed.

After Hawley removes the tape from her mouth and frees her restraints, the kidnappers corner them in the room. A chaotic firefight ensues. Buregarde intercepts a thrown flash grenade in midair, hurling it back into the hallway where it detonates, and then attacks the assailants. Working in tandem, Hawley fires his pencil-ray, Buregarde slashes at their wrists and throats, and Vanessa defends herself by hurling objects and wielding a table lamp to knock out an attacker.

Having subdued the kidnappers, Hawley, Vanessa, and Buregarde make their way back down to the street, where they are confronted once more by the bribed mercenary. The officer attempts to arrest them for murder and demands Vanessa's passport. Backed by his arriving crew, Hawley refuses to comply. He leaves the mercenary with a warning message for His Excellency, comparing Xanabar's rotten foundation to the fallen Byzantine Empire and predicting that if Xanabar does not clean up its corruption, the "barbarians" will inevitably tear it down.

How It Unfolds

A deal in the smoke In a crowded Xanabar tavern, two outlanders nearly come to blows until a mercenary intervenes to force a bloodless wager. The mercenary drafts an official contract on the spot, ensuring that Xanabar extracts its customary tax from the transaction.

Tracking the scent Peter Hawley and his intelligent dog, Buregarde, hunt through the city's waterfront slums for the missing Vanessa Lewis. Buregarde uses his keen nose and historical pride as Terra's "noble dog" to pick up her trail outside a dark, shuttered building.

Bribing the peacekeeper An ambush by a local thug is thwarted when Hawley flips the attacker and Buregarde pins him. A uniformed mercenary attempts to arrest them, but Hawley buys their freedom and the guard's look-the-other-way cooperation with ten weight of crystal-cut.

Breaching the hideout Inside the suspect building, Hawley and Buregarde refuse to check their weapons, overcome a heavy guard at the end of the hall, and move deeper into the complex while the patrons in the main bar remain oblivious.

The rescue and firefight Hawley locates Vanessa tied to a bed, removes her restraints, and prepares to fight their way out. When the remaining kidnappers charge the room, Hawley, Buregarde, and Vanessa team up to disarm, ray-burn, and knock out the entire squad.

A warning to the empire Stepping out into the dark street, the group is intercepted again by the mercenary demanding passports and making threats of arrest. Hawley rejects the demands, delivers a stern historical lesson comparing Xanabar to the fallen Byzantine Empire, and marches away untouched.

The People

• Peter Hawley: An agent of the Terrestrial Extraterrestrial Service. Hawley is pragmatically ruthless, calm under fire, and skilled in hand-to-hand combat and mind-reading empathy. He wants to retrieve Vanessa Lewis safely without losing his life or starting an open war, ultimately leaving behind a sharp ideological warning to Xanabar's leaders.
• Buregarde: An intelligent, talking dog of mixed breed who acts as Hawley’s partner. Proud of his ancestral heritage and his species' long partnership with humanity, Buregarde wants to protect Hawley and catch his enemies. He is fiercely eager for combat, constantly arguing for direct action over diplomatic restraint.
• Vanessa Lewis: The daughter of the Terrestrial envoy to Lonaphite. Abducted from her ship, she spends much of the story bound and gagged in a slum backroom. When freed, she displays immediate resourcefulness, using a lamp and office knick-knacks to help fight off her captors.
• The Mercenary: A uniformed "Peacekeeper" representing the Empire of Xanabar. He cares nothing for justice, law, or safety, wanting only to extort bribes, enforce taxes, and line his own boots with crystal-cut currency.

In Its Own Voice

"We in Xanabar are not interested in the details. Only in the tax."

A mercenary cold-bloodedly interrupted a tavern brawl, insisting that any conflict or wager be recorded under official contract so the empire could take its cut.

"None of us has been intelligent long enough to really believe that dog has a soul, and those of us who do believe that also know that dog's soul is devoted to man."

Buregarde lectured a startled Xanabian peacekeeper on the half-million-year bond between humans and dogs before threatening to shred his hand.

"So tell His Excellency that he'd better clean up his own foul mess, or some barbarians will clean it up for him."

Peter Hawley delivered a parting warning to the mercenary on the dark street, drawing a direct parallel between Xanabar's corrupt decline and the historic fall of Byzantium.

What It's Really About

History Repeats uses a classic pulp rescue narrative to explore the inevitable decay of civilizations that replace moral civic duty with mercenary greed. Xanabar represents a culture that has grown wealthy by taxing interstellar trade, yet its total reliance on paid soldiers leaves it hollow at the core. The story contrasts this cynical, transactional empire with the deep, evolutionary loyalty shared between humans and dogs. Beneath the fast-paced action lies the thesis declared in Hawley's final monologue: empires that reduce law enforcement to extortion and ignore the rights of travelers will eventually be overrun by the very "barbarians" they hold in contempt.

Why Read It Today

History Repeats will appeal to fans of mid-twentieth-century space opera, classic Astounding Science Fiction stories, and buddy-cop dynamics featuring non-human sidekicks. The prose moves at a brisk pace, filled with snappy dialogue, retro-futuristic technology like "pencil-rays" and "crystal-cut" currency, and engaging tactical action.

Modern readers should be aware of the story's mid-century pulp conventions, including straightforward characterizations, a brief run time, and a view of galactic politics that feels firmly rooted in Cold War-era historical analogies. The depiction of Vanessa Lewis begins with a traditional damsel-in-distress setup, though she quickly proves willing to join the fistfight once freed. What lingers after reading is the memorable dynamic between Hawley and the sarcastic, combat-ready Buregarde, alongside the story's unyielding conviction that wealth without principle is a recipe for collapse.