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* FunWithHomonyms: The words Venice and Venus sound similar, causing Sheriff Cameron to confuse the 'foreigners' for people from Italy.
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* FunWithHomonyms: FunWithHomophones: The words Venice and Venus sound similar, causing Sheriff Cameron to confuse the 'foreigners' for people from Italy.
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* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: The crime rate of zero is why the aliens choose to land in Twin Gulch, and speak with the sheriff. Unfortunately, said sheriff had a short temper, and thought they were aliens from Italy, asking him [[FirstContact to call the President over]]. It didn't go well.
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* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: The crime rate of zero is why the aliens choose to land in Twin Gulch, and speak with the sheriff. Unfortunately, said sheriff had a short temper, and thought they were aliens from Italy, asking him [[FirstContact [[TakeMeToYourLeader to call the President over]]. It didn't go well.
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First published in ''Magazine/SatelliteScienceFiction'' (October 1956 issue), this ShortStory by Creator/IsaacAsimov is a ScienceFiction {{Feghoot}} about foreigners from Venice.
[[TheAllConcealingI The unnamed Deputy]] of [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere Twin Gulch, Idaho]] tells how Sheriff Burt Cameron has turned the planet earth into [[AlienNonInterferenceClause a permanent off-limits zone]]. Poor ol' Sheriff Cameron was busy doing his taxes (which always gets him riled up), when two strangers come into the sheriff's office. They claim to have been watching for awhile and say they're from far away. How far? That [[TheNamesake watery place]]; Venus. Annoyed with them for interrupting when he's trying to finish his taxes, he yells at them to leave him alone and never come back.
That's why humanity will never encounter aliens again. Because a podunk sheriff thought he was being bothered by aliens from that [[DoubleMeaningTitle watery place]]; Venice.
This story has been reprinted six times; ''Literature/EarthIsRoomEnough'' (1957), ''Literature/ScienceFictionVerhalen 3'' (1964), ''Literature/TheFarEndsOfTimeAndEarth'' (1979), ''{{Magazine/Sirius}}'' (Yugoslavia/Croatia magazine #55 January 1981 issue), ''Literature/MeineFreundeDieRoboter'' (1982), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990).
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!!Examples of tropes within this work:
* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Because of a small-town sheriff, the aliens are taking a hands-off approach to humanity. No TechnologyUplift, no joining the GalacticSuperpower, and no CasualInterstellarTravel. We're stuck here forever.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The "foreigners" speak perfect English, except for having a stilted sense of pronunciation, saying each word separately rather than running them together like many-ynglish-shpeaking folksdo. They admit to having watched our society and learning our language before approaching us.
* TheAllConcealingI: The Deputy never reveals their name, gender, or even description, despite being the narrator.
* CityOfCanals: When the strange-talking foreigners said they were from "the watery place", Sheriff Cameron figured they were talking about {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}. (He had misheard them, because they said {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}.)
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The aliens in this story said "the [[VenusIsWet watery place]]", meaning {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}. Unfortunately, the Sheriff thinks the [[HumanAliens aliens are from Italy]], so when they said "the [[CityOfCanals watery place]]", he thought they meant {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}. The title can refer to either one, and the whole plot was [[{{Feghoot}} a joke at the similarity in sound/description between Venus and Venice]].
* FeaturelessPlaneOfDisembodiedDialogue: The aliens are described as [[SharpDressedMan wearing expensive suits]], but the two human characters aren't described. The setting is barely mentioned either, aside from a desk and window.
* {{Feghoot}}: The whole story is a joke at the similarity in sound/description between Venus and Venice. Sheriff Cameron confuses {{UsefulNotes/Venus}} for {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}, since both places might be called "the [[DoubleMeaningTitle watery place]]".
* FirstContact: The aliens chose to land in [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere a remote town, notable for its lack of crime]], and speak with the Sheriff. Unfortunately, first contact between humans and aliens goes badly because the Sheriff thinks [[HumanAliens the aliens are from Italy]], and are just being annoying.
* FlyingSaucer: The aliens from Venus use a saucer-shaped craft with incredibly silent engines. They're probably capable of interstellar flight, but they were only observed in atmosphere.
* FunWithHomonyms: The words Venice and Venus sound similar, causing Sheriff Cameron to confuse the 'foreigners' for people from Italy.
* HumanAliens: The aliens from Venus were careful to assume human shapes. Unfortunately, this meant the person they chose to meet for FirstContact thought they were humans playing around with him, and he was already annoyed from doing his taxes, so he told them to "Get the hell out of here".
* TheNamesake: The title refers to [[DoubleMeaningTitle two different places]] because Creator/IsaacAsimov was writing a {{Feghoot}} based on Venus/Venice. The 'foreigners' used "the [[VenusIsWet watery place]]" to refer to {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}. The sheriff thought "the [[CityOfCanals watery place]]" referred to {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}.
* NoNameGiven: There are four characters present in the work, but only Sheriff Cameron has a name. The [[TheAllConcealingI narrator only refers to themselves as "I"]].
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: The crime rate of zero is why the aliens choose to land in Twin Gulch, and speak with the sheriff. Unfortunately, said sheriff had a short temper, and thought they were aliens from Italy, asking him [[FirstContact to call the President over]]. It didn't go well.
* SharpDressedMan: The two aliens approach Sheriff Cameron wearing charcoal grey suits, white shirts, and maroon ties. They claim to be dressed like the dominant social class, and want him to arrange for the "important men" to come talk to them.
* SuppressedRage: Sheriff Cameron is already annoyed by trying to do his taxes. Then a couple of foreigners start talking oddly to him. He grows sarcastic, then red-faced, until he finally explodes at them, yelling for them to leave and never come back. It isn't until they're out the door that his deputy can explain how he had just botched FirstContact.
* {{Telepathy}}: Subtly implied by one of the aliens saying that they can see "in [his] mind" that the sheriff really wanted them to leave. Obviously not very good telepathy, because then they'd know he thought they were merely humans giving him grief.
* TitleDrop: Used several times, the title refers to [[VenusIsWet Venus being a watery planet]], but the human chosen by aliens for FirstContact misunderstands them, and believes it to refer to [[CityOfCanals Venice being a watery city]].
* VenusIsWet: The irascible sheriff chosen for FirstContact is annoyed by these foreigners from "[[TitleDrop the watery place]]", and tells them to get out since nobody wants to be bothered by them. So they arrange for Earth to be forever isolated. He thought they said {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}!
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[[TheAllConcealingI The unnamed Deputy]] of [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere Twin Gulch, Idaho]] tells how Sheriff Burt Cameron has turned the planet earth into [[AlienNonInterferenceClause a permanent off-limits zone]]. Poor ol' Sheriff Cameron was busy doing his taxes (which always gets him riled up), when two strangers come into the sheriff's office. They claim to have been watching for awhile and say they're from far away. How far? That [[TheNamesake watery place]]; Venus. Annoyed with them for interrupting when he's trying to finish his taxes, he yells at them to leave him alone and never come back.
That's why humanity will never encounter aliens again. Because a podunk sheriff thought he was being bothered by aliens from that [[DoubleMeaningTitle watery place]]; Venice.
This story has been reprinted six times; ''Literature/EarthIsRoomEnough'' (1957), ''Literature/ScienceFictionVerhalen 3'' (1964), ''Literature/TheFarEndsOfTimeAndEarth'' (1979), ''{{Magazine/Sirius}}'' (Yugoslavia/Croatia magazine #55 January 1981 issue), ''Literature/MeineFreundeDieRoboter'' (1982), and ''Literature/TheCompleteStoriesVolume1'' (1990).
----
!!Examples of tropes within this work:
* AlienNonInterferenceClause: Because of a small-town sheriff, the aliens are taking a hands-off approach to humanity. No TechnologyUplift, no joining the GalacticSuperpower, and no CasualInterstellarTravel. We're stuck here forever.
* AliensSpeakingEnglish: The "foreigners" speak perfect English, except for having a stilted sense of pronunciation, saying each word separately rather than running them together like many-ynglish-shpeaking folksdo. They admit to having watched our society and learning our language before approaching us.
* TheAllConcealingI: The Deputy never reveals their name, gender, or even description, despite being the narrator.
* CityOfCanals: When the strange-talking foreigners said they were from "the watery place", Sheriff Cameron figured they were talking about {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}. (He had misheard them, because they said {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}.)
* DoubleMeaningTitle: The aliens in this story said "the [[VenusIsWet watery place]]", meaning {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}. Unfortunately, the Sheriff thinks the [[HumanAliens aliens are from Italy]], so when they said "the [[CityOfCanals watery place]]", he thought they meant {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}. The title can refer to either one, and the whole plot was [[{{Feghoot}} a joke at the similarity in sound/description between Venus and Venice]].
* FeaturelessPlaneOfDisembodiedDialogue: The aliens are described as [[SharpDressedMan wearing expensive suits]], but the two human characters aren't described. The setting is barely mentioned either, aside from a desk and window.
* {{Feghoot}}: The whole story is a joke at the similarity in sound/description between Venus and Venice. Sheriff Cameron confuses {{UsefulNotes/Venus}} for {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}, since both places might be called "the [[DoubleMeaningTitle watery place]]".
* FirstContact: The aliens chose to land in [[NothingExcitingEverHappensHere a remote town, notable for its lack of crime]], and speak with the Sheriff. Unfortunately, first contact between humans and aliens goes badly because the Sheriff thinks [[HumanAliens the aliens are from Italy]], and are just being annoying.
* FlyingSaucer: The aliens from Venus use a saucer-shaped craft with incredibly silent engines. They're probably capable of interstellar flight, but they were only observed in atmosphere.
* FunWithHomonyms: The words Venice and Venus sound similar, causing Sheriff Cameron to confuse the 'foreigners' for people from Italy.
* HumanAliens: The aliens from Venus were careful to assume human shapes. Unfortunately, this meant the person they chose to meet for FirstContact thought they were humans playing around with him, and he was already annoyed from doing his taxes, so he told them to "Get the hell out of here".
* TheNamesake: The title refers to [[DoubleMeaningTitle two different places]] because Creator/IsaacAsimov was writing a {{Feghoot}} based on Venus/Venice. The 'foreigners' used "the [[VenusIsWet watery place]]" to refer to {{UsefulNotes/Venus}}. The sheriff thought "the [[CityOfCanals watery place]]" referred to {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}.
* NoNameGiven: There are four characters present in the work, but only Sheriff Cameron has a name. The [[TheAllConcealingI narrator only refers to themselves as "I"]].
* NothingExcitingEverHappensHere: The crime rate of zero is why the aliens choose to land in Twin Gulch, and speak with the sheriff. Unfortunately, said sheriff had a short temper, and thought they were aliens from Italy, asking him [[FirstContact to call the President over]]. It didn't go well.
* SharpDressedMan: The two aliens approach Sheriff Cameron wearing charcoal grey suits, white shirts, and maroon ties. They claim to be dressed like the dominant social class, and want him to arrange for the "important men" to come talk to them.
* SuppressedRage: Sheriff Cameron is already annoyed by trying to do his taxes. Then a couple of foreigners start talking oddly to him. He grows sarcastic, then red-faced, until he finally explodes at them, yelling for them to leave and never come back. It isn't until they're out the door that his deputy can explain how he had just botched FirstContact.
* {{Telepathy}}: Subtly implied by one of the aliens saying that they can see "in [his] mind" that the sheriff really wanted them to leave. Obviously not very good telepathy, because then they'd know he thought they were merely humans giving him grief.
* TitleDrop: Used several times, the title refers to [[VenusIsWet Venus being a watery planet]], but the human chosen by aliens for FirstContact misunderstands them, and believes it to refer to [[CityOfCanals Venice being a watery city]].
* VenusIsWet: The irascible sheriff chosen for FirstContact is annoyed by these foreigners from "[[TitleDrop the watery place]]", and tells them to get out since nobody wants to be bothered by them. So they arrange for Earth to be forever isolated. He thought they said {{UsefulNotes/Venice}}!
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