(A Wish) reading of Murray Leinster's "The Propagandist"

[Mbwebwe]

I guess I can wish this... it is unlikely to come to fruition, but...

Murray Leinster's, "The Propagandist" is a story of a man and his dog, in space, from the dog's point of view... If you like dogs and classic pulp Sci-Fi, this is guaranteed to satisfy.

So, it's pretty hard to find. I have a crappy PDF of it... And, the clincher is that I don't believe it is public domain... The heirs of William Fitzgerald Jenkins (Murray Leinster) have sued Paramont Pictures for stealing "First Contact" in the Star Trek movie... a novella of Leinster's... The case was dismissed, as was the appeal... the term had become generic and not copy-writable... But, there is a willingness to protect... Personally, I could see it if it were the author... but, the heirs... ?

Anyway, that is my wish... if you think it can happen... I can provide the text, otherwise it is out there (Astounding, Aug. 1947) and a couple of old out of print sci-fi mass market collections...

Even if you can't air it, read it... it's an awesome story.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

But, there is a willingness to protect... Personally, I could see it if it were the author... but, the heirs... ?

My theory is that heirs are MORE likely to be combative and restrictive. Many professional writers are happy for exposure and new venues, often for free or just bragging rights.

On one hand, we have an explosion of fan-fiction, original fiction, videos, art, music, and movies being published to the innerwebz -- for free, by amateurs, but often of near-professional quality.

On the other hand, we have:

• Yoko Ono
• Walt Disney's works
• Ayn Rand's estate
• Occasional issues with Gene Roddenberry's works
• Those A-holes that own the rights to "Happy Birthday"!!!
• etc.

All heirs that had ZERO input to the content-producer's work (or the quality parts of it, in Yoko's case). And the heirs often don't even understand or appreciate the art, whose legacy they tarnish.

QED

[strawman]

Poor heirs. They're never gonna look good.

Now, I just inherited a 1/20 share of some mineral rights. Got no qualms about retaining 1/20 of an attorney to prevent anyone from collecting shells from that beach.

[Algernon Sydney is Dead]

Excellent idea. I suggest you retain 1/20th of several lawyers, just to be safe.

BTW, I think the liver is about 1/20th of the body (hint, hint) -- or close enough. You can grab some extra guts, if it's not enough.