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20-NOV-2025 | Excerpt from “Specialist” by Robert Sheckley

Author

Dan Bogachek
November 20, 2025

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Excerpt from “Specialist” by Robert Sheckley

The rest of the inspection went quickly. Thinker was fine, and Eye was ecstatic over the beauty of the storm. There was only one casualty.

Pusher was dead. Bipedal, he didn’t have the stability of the rest of the Crew. The storm had caught him in the middle of a floor, thrown him against a stiffened Wall, and broken several of his important bones. He was beyond Doctor’s skill to repair.

They were silent for a while. It was always serious when a part of the Ship died. The Ship was a cooperative unit, composed entirely of the Crew. The loss of any member was a blow to all the rest.

It was especially serious now. They had just delivered a cargo to a port several thousand lightyears from Galactic Center. There was no telling where they might be. 🏁

  • Pusher’s death is sad, yet… pathetically hilarious? “Broken several of his important bones” and “beyond Doctor’s skill to repair” 😂

  • A great example of illustrating emotion through action instead of literal narration. How did the members of the ship react to Pusher’s death? They were silent.

  • Take note of how the end of one paragraph sets up the beginning of the next.

  • Doubling down with mild repetition on “serious.”