In-Group
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| "In-Group" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by L. Sprague de Camp | |
 Al Williamson's illustration of the story in Marvel Science Fiction | |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | Marvel Science Fiction |
| Publisher | Stadium Publishing Corporation |
| Media type | Print (Magazine) |
| Publication date | May 1952 |
"In-Group" is a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Marvel Science Fiction for May, 1952.[1][2] and later reprinted in the magazine Skyworlds for February 1978.[2] It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales (Doubleday, 1963).[1][2] The story has been translated into Italian and German.[1][2]
Soldier of fortune Ali Moyang, leader of a band of Terran treasure hunters in the jungles of the planet Kterem, rescues archaeologist Charles Bertin, whose helicopter had crashed during an aerial survey. Moyang learns Bertin has located the site of the ancient ruins of Zhovacim, the very place he himself had been seeking to loot it of its historical tablets, made of gold. Moreover, the archaeologist has established good relations with the notoriously touchy Kteremian natives. To Moyang, Bertin represents an unprecedented stroke of luck.
Bertin, distressed at the thought of the tablets' loss to science, attempts to talk Moyang out of his raid. Failing, he agrees under duress to serve as intermediary between the treasure hunters and the native Kteremians of the village closest to Zhovacim. But he has an ace up his sleeve in his knowledge of Kteremian culture and psychology.
The expedition arrives in the village at the time of the annual mating dance, a period in which ethnic identity and pride are at their peak, and strangers or outsiders are regarded as lower creatures. Accordingly, the aliens seize and sacrifice the Terrans, sparing Bertin only because they know him. The archeologist confesses to Moyang just before the latter is butchered that he couldn't be certain he himself would be spared, but deemed it worth risking his own life to preserve the wonders of Zhovacim.