He was bored enough to take to crime and smart enough to go uncaught, and he's been pulling off heist after heist as he hones his skills and pads his nest.

James 'Slippery Jim' diGriz is one of the few who ever slipped below the radar.

See, the government has gotten so good at spotting pre-criminals that they can whisk the kids away early for a little corrective programming, ensuring the safety and continued boredom of the general populace. People no longer open their newspapers to read about murders and bank robberies and various missing persons. Only it's a little more peaceful than that, because, as it turns out, they've managed to stamp out crime. Many people spend their entire lives planetside, enjoying the kind of cheerfully dull life you could find in hundreds of towns and cities on Real Life Earth at this very moment. Many people never get as far as space, of course. But, hey, you should have read the tourist guide before you landed.

Then again, someday you might find yourself held at gunpoint while the government confiscates your ship and goodies and trucks you off to a short life of back-breaking labor for the good of the local planetary empire. With enough wealth, you can enjoy a plethora of luxurious accommodations on various vacation planets. It was there that humanity had its start, and from there they spread out, developing a large number of planets with diverse civilizations and forms of government. A Space Opera of a different color by Harry Harrison.Ī long time ago, there was a planet called ' Dirt' (or something like that).

The stainless steel rat returns