User:DoctorWho42/Oaten

"Oaten" is a short story by American author Barry N. Malzberg as K. M. O'Donnell. It was first published in the October 1968 issue of Fantastic.

Background
"Oaten" was originally written as a submission to the magazine Astounding. However, it was rejected.

Publication history
"Oaten" was first published in the October 1968 issue of Fantastic. In 1969, it appeared in the book Final War and Other Fantasies.

Plot
A human scout Sam goes on a cultural mission with the alien race Grabalzi. The Grabalzi are significant for their rich interior life. Holding a translator called the Codifier, the scout greets them and asks to participate. The initiation ceremony goes awry. The "Chief" called him a liar and spreads green paint on his face. Sam runs through the bonfire back to his spaceship. He comments how the Grabalzi are the dominant race despite the smelly animals called Oaten. Walker writes back how he has failed the initation ceremony but things might be salvaged if he contacts the Elders and tries to resume the ceremony. Walker notes the Grabalzi are the only dominant race and there are no Oaten. Sam tries the ceremony again but the Chief comments on his spacesuit. Sam remarks it's necessary for protection. However, the Chief tells him to leave immediately. He takes to the spaceship again as 75 Grabalzi surround him. Post replies back that Walker has been relieved of duties and punished. Post tells Sam the Oaten are projections of his psyche. They tell him to depart the planet immediately. Sam regresses to a child in his last letter as he prepares to leave the spaceship and join the Grabalzi.

Reception
In its 1969 reprint for Ace Books's Barry N. Malzberg collection Final War and Other Fantasies, the author noted a "respected friend" said "it was the funniest parody of an Astounding story he had ever seen." In 2018, Rich Horton says "written as an Analog story, and came off as a parody of an Analog story."