User:DoctorWho42/The Market in Aliens

"The Market in Aliens" is a short story by American author Barry N. Malzberg as K. M. O'Donnell. It was first published in the November 1968 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction.

Publication history
"The Market in Aliens" was first published in the November 1968 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction. In 1969, it appeared in the books Final War and Other Fantasies and The First Step Outward edited by Robert Hoskins. In 2001, online magazine Sci Fiction republished it.

Plot
Harry buys an alien at an auction. He brings it home and places it in the bathtub as it lives in an "acqueous environment." As it turns the water black, he makes a strong drink and calls Intercontinental via a video phone. His contact is named Black. Harry had sold Black eight aliens at fair prices. Harry tells Black about the alien. Black turns off the visual part on his end of the phone call and tells him they're overstocked. Still, Harry persists in the sale. Initially, he asks for five hundred. Black asks if that is dollars or cents. Harry confirms it is dollars. Black says he can buy an alien for five hundred cents for taxidermy. Black tells him they're not selling like they used to. Harry lowers his price to three hundred, turns off visual on his end, and tells Black he bought it for 275. Black tells Harry he can buy the alien for 150-175 but it would be too much of a loss to do business for him. Black tells Harry to try Franchise. Harry tells Black he doesn't like Franchise, but brings the price to 250. In reality, Harry bought the alien for 100. However, Harry has never lost money on aliens and doesn't plan on it. Black sighs and turns visual on his end back on to show he is smoking. Black says "200" and says the alien should pass. They negotiate the price from 225 to 210 as Harry turns visual back on on his end. Black tells Harry he will have a crew come over and pick up the alien in a half hour. Black tells Harry to have the alien sedated but don't overdose it. Black says the market is running dry, but the current specimen might work in a lab which tends to pay 300. Black asks who's taking the loss. Harry says maybe the alien and hangs up. Harry is disgusted. He looks at the alien who is half-asleep. He locks the bathroom and watches television. The crew arrives late as he watches a news bulletin about an alien ship landing near Lake Michigan. Harry calls United for a flight to Detroit in the hopes of attending another alien auction. The profit of the sale and the airline deposit leaves him with fifty so he decides to take Ginny out. He takes her to the zoo and shows her two aliens at an exhibit.

Reception
In its 1969 reprint for Ace Books's Barry N. Malzberg collection Final War and Other Fantasies, the author called it "a simple, slick, polished gimmick short–a perfect example of the subgenre which H. L. Gold created for the early-50's Galaxy." In 2018, Rich Horton described "The Market in Aliens" as "a cynical short story, as Malzberg writes very much in 50s Galaxy mode, about exploiting alien visitors."