"The Tactful Saboteur" is a

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

novelette by American writer

Frank Herbert Franklin Patrick Herbert Jr. (October 8, 1920February 11, 1986) was an American science-fiction author, best known for his 1965 novel Dune (novel), ''Dune'' and its five sequels. He also wrote short stories and worked as a newspaper journalist, ...

, which first appeared in ''

Galaxy Science Fiction ''Galaxy Science Fiction'' was an American digest-size science fiction magazine, published in Boston from 1950 to 1980. It was founded by a French-Italian company, World Editions, which was looking to break into the American market. World Edi ...

'' magazine in October 1964. It is the second story in Herbert's ConSentiency universe, the first being " A Matter of Traces". Its three chapters are written in a brisk, economical style, and it proved to be one of Herbert's most accessible and popular works. It was subsequently republished in ''The Worlds of Frank Herbert'' in 1971, and again in Herbert's 1985

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction. It can typically be read in a single sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the old ...

collection ''

Eye An eye is a sensory organ that allows an organism to perceive visual information. It detects light and converts it into electro-chemical impulses in neurons (neurones). It is part of an organism's visual system. In higher organisms, the ey ...

'' after the

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of his ''magnum opus'', ''

Dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, flat ...

''.

Plot

The protagonist of "The Tactful Saboteur" is ''saboteur extraordinary'' Jorj X. McKie, an employee of the Bureau of Sabotage (BuSab). BuSab is a government agency responsible for conducting dirty tricks "in lieu of red tape" to help slow down and regulate the vast galaxy-spanning bureaucracy of the ConSentiency. (In keeping with its ethos the Secretary of the agency retains their office until they themselves are sabotaged or resign). Tasked with finding missing saboteur Napoleon Bildoon, McKie attempts to penetrate the secrets of the Pan-Spechi, a race divided into groups of five crèche mates, only one of whom possess ego-awareness at a time. In so doing he runs afoul of the "Tax Watchers" organization, which is adamantly opposed to the very existence of BuSab.

Sources

* Herbert, Frank. "A Matter of Traces" (short story) ''

Fantastic Universe ''Fantastic Universe'' was a U.S. science fiction magazine which began publishing in the 1950s. It ran for 69 issues, from June 1953 to March 1960, under two different publishers. It was part of the explosion of science fiction magazine publishi ...

'', 1958 * Herbert, Frank. "The Tactful Saboteur" (short story) ''

'', 1964 * Herbert, Frank. ''Whipping Star'' (novel)

G. P. Putnam's Sons G. P. Putnam's Sons is an American book publisher based in New York City, New York. Since 1996, it has been an imprint of the Penguin Group. History The company began as Wiley & Putnam with the 1838 partnership between George Palmer Putnam an ...

, 1970 * Herbert, Frank. ''The Dosadi Experiment'' (novel) G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1977

External links

*
"The Tactful Saboteur"
at the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tactful Saboteur, The Tactful Saboteur, The Tactful Saboteur, The ConSentiency universe Works originally published in Galaxy Science Fiction