The Handicapped

Plot

Mr Garvey traveled to the planet Down after hearing about its native inhabitants, the Grogs. His family’s company, Garvey Limited, produces artificial limbs and other equipment for species that are sentient but lack hands—beings like dolphins, which the company classifies as “Handicapped.” A local resident reluctantly showed him a living Grog in the desert, but the creature was a letdown. It was a stationary, furry cone attached to a rock, and it showed no signs of intelligence. A local exobiologist later confirmed that impression. The next morning, Garvey had a sudden, unexplainable certainty that the Grogs were actually sentient. He went back to the desert and found another Grog, which began speaking to him through telepathy. The Grogs were indeed intelligent and possessed strong telepathic abilities, but they had hidden this out of fear that humans would see them as dangerous. After reading Garvey’s thoughts and realizing he could help them end their isolation, they decided to trust him. Garvey was uneasy, noting that their telepathic power reminded him of the Thrintun, also known as the Slavers. The following day, he brought a typewriter so a Grog could communicate without telepathy, since he disliked the absolute, unquestionable knowledge that telepathy forced into his mind. The Grog explained that being stuck in one place was extremely dull. It wanted an animal with hands that it could control, along with access to human libraries and guest speakers who would not mind having their thoughts read. In exchange, the Grogs offered to use their abilities to herd livestock, defend Down from invasion, handle police duties, and watch over zoo animals. They claimed no knowledge of the Slavers and insisted that even working together, their mental reach could not extend more than halfway across the planet, making them no threat to humans. Because the Grogs’ telepathic power caused public relations problems, a campaign was started to present them as harmless and helpful. As a safety measure, an old Bussard ramjet ship was put into orbit, capable of making the local sun emit lethal radiation. Still, Garvey remained concerned that the Grogs might have lied about the range of their power and could possibly overcome that last-resort safeguard.