The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stairway to the Stars, by Larry Shaw

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Title: Stairway to the Stars

Author: Larry Shaw

Release Date: October 24, 2007 [EBook #23159]

Language: English

Character set encoding: ASCII

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+------------------------------------------------+
| Yes, Earth may be a sort of fenced-off area, |
| so far as other intelligent races of the |
| galaxy are concerned. But not for the |
| grandiose reasons that some have imagined.... |
+------------------------------------------------+

[Illustration]

STAIRWAY TO THE STARS

By Larry Shaw

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
| It was a stairway leading down, but it also led out into |
| space--indirectly. And the situation had the aspects of a |
| burlesque on Grand Hotel, but.... |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

John Andrew Farmer scowled at the octopus that sprawled on his
living-room couch, rubbed his stubbly jaw with a stubby fist, and said,
"I love you."

Farmer was uncomfortable. He was almost always uncomfortable, for
various reasons; though it rarely if ever occurred to him, as he
considered each individual irritant, that this was his normal state of
existence. Right now he was acutely conscious of how ridiculous it must
look for him to be making love to an octopus, but he was even more
conscious of the very real pains of unrequited love.

It wasn't even a respectable, ordinary-looking octopus. To be accurate,
it would have to be called a nonapus; each of the nine tentacles had a
lobsterish claw at its tip, and there were various other unusual
appendages. It would be hard enough to explain an earthly octopus in his
living-room if the necessity arose, Farmer reflected for the teenteenth
time--but how in the name of Neptune could he ever explain _this_?

It had all started with Judge Ray. Ray had not been a real judge,
obviou