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(7,500 words, approx.)
He knew himself to have that rare knack of making friends with
everybody,*
and the corporal, who was also a keen amateur gardener, and himself
had become very pally.
'Assisted Passage' is a titular allusion to the 1950s Anglo-Australian
£10 per convict -- sorry colonist -- emigration. Doc
Mathewson helps a marooned humanoid alien calling himself Allen
to escape from Woomera rocket range back into space, using an
Ion Drive of other-worldly invention. Wilson Tucker was
then developing this E.T./Starman 'anticipation' at novel-length,
in The Time Masters (1953: revised edition, 1971). There's
also a period-piece of Cold War paranoia: "Why aren't you with
Allen's friends, safe and sound, back in …" (Major Turner
to Doc Mathewson).
*"Self praise is no recommendation" (I can almost hear James saying
it).
Synopsis by Graham Andrews
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