"Call Him Lord" is a novelette by the American writer

Gordon R. Dickson Gordon Rupert Dickson (November 1, 1923 – January 31, 2001) was an American science fiction writer. He was inducted into the Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame in 2000. Biography Dickson was born in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1923 ...

. It was first published in ''

Analog Science Fiction and Fact ''Analog Science Fiction and Fact'' is an American science fiction magazine published under various titles since 1930. Originally titled ''Astounding Stories of Super-Science'', the first issue was dated January 1930, published by William Cla ...

'' in May 1966.. Retrieved February 2, 2019. In the story, the heir to a galactic empire tours a museum-like Earth, accompanied by a bodyguard who is a resident. Through ensuing events and conversations they judge each other.

Story summary

In the far future, Earth is preserved as it was before there was a

galactic empire Galactic empires are a science fiction setting trope, in which most or all of the habitable planets in the setting's galaxy are ruled by a single centralized political entity. Galactic empires most frequently appear in works in the sub-genre ...

. In Kentucky, Kyle Arnam, whose ancestors were bodyguards to the Emperor's ancestors "back in the wars of conquest against the aliens", is required to accompany the Emperor's eldest son, who is visiting Earth and traveling incognito. The Prince is callow, arrogant and patronizing, and has little respect for Earth; he says that his tutor "belongs to the school of old men who still think your Earth is something precious and vital"; he is here only to please his father. They ride through the countryside on horses, and find a

beer garden A beer garden (German: ''Biergarten'') is an outdoor area in which beer and food are served, typically at shared tables shaded by trees. Beer gardens originated in Bavaria, of which Munich is the capital city, in the 19th century, and remain co ...

. They have refreshments at a table near a dance floor, and the Prince insists that he should dance with the waitress who served them. A

busboy In North America, a busser, sometimes known as a busboy or busgirl, is a person in the restaurant and catering industry clearing tables, taking dirty dishes to the dishwasher, setting tables, refilling and otherwise assisting the waiting staff ...

, noticing his arrogant behavior, takes hold of his arm; the Prince is scandalized and attacks him. Kyle persuades the Prince to abandon the argument, and they leave. "The only way to keep a race and culture preserved is to keep it alive," Kyle says in the bar of a roadside inn. The Earth is "a living example for the Younger Worlds to check themselves against." The Prince is more interested in the waitress. While Kyle goes out to check the horses, the Prince disappears. When he later finds him, he learns that the Prince has been in the waitress's room. Asked by Kyle why he did it, he says, "You see I've seen through you. I know whose bodyguard you are. You're ''theirs!''" They leave the inn and find a bar at a fishing resort. The Prince says, "I've seen you people, now. You don't outclass us, out on the Younger Worlds.... I can do what I want here, and no one on this planet is good enough to stop me. Watch." He starts to talk to the waitress, interrupting a man nearby; the man throws the Prince's beer in his face. The bartender tells them to go outside to fight. The Prince, aware that the man would win the fight, takes Kyle's gun and backs out of the bar; Kyle follows him. The Prince refuses to give him back the gun. Kyle realizes the Prince, a coward, has failed the test set by the Emperor, and he takes action.

Reception

"Call Him Lord" was a finalist for the

Hugo Award for Best Novelette The Hugo Award for Best Novelette is one of the Hugo Awards given each year for science fiction or fantasy stories published or translated into English during the previous calendar year. The novelette award is available for works of fiction of ...

in 1967. It won the

Nebula Award for Best Novelette The Nebula Award for Best Novelette is given each year by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers Association (SFWA) to a science fiction or fantasy novelette. A work of fiction is defined by the organization as a novelette if it is between 7,5 ...

in 1967, and was included in '' Nebula Award Stories Two''; in the introduction to the story, the editors wrote: "His Emperor has the ring of a true emperor, and behind him we are aware of that star-spanning empire and of the problems it must present." The story was described, in an obituary by

David Langford David Rowland Langford (born 10 April 1953) is a British author, editor, and Literary criticism, critic, largely active within the science fiction field. He publishes the science-fiction fanzine and newsletter ''Ansible'' and holds the all-time ...

, as "a short, unflinching parable of power and responsibility"."Gordon Dickson"
Obituary in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'', February 14, 2001. Retrieved February 2, 2019.

References

External links

"Call Him Lord"
at Speculative Library {{Nebula Award Best Novelette 1966 short stories Works originally published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact Short stories by Gordon R. Dickson Nebula Award for Best Novelette–winning works