Masquerade on Dicantropus, The-Jack Vance short story
Masquerade on Dicantropus, The-Jack Vance short story The Masquerade on Dicantropus is a 15 page short story that is an early work, originally published in September, 1951 in Startling Stories magazine . A couple named Jim and Barbara Root live on the planet Dicantropus where Jim is studying the planet's archeology and Barbara is deeply bored and unhappy. Jim agrees to return to Earth in three months when the next supply ship arrives and suggests that they might engage in more swimming and badminton until then. There is an unusual pyramid on the planet that intrigues Jim but he is afraid to explore it because the alien beings called Dicantropus who live on the planet have warned him to stay away from it. One day one of the resident creatures swims up to them wearing a diamond necklace. They converse with the Dicantropus but it will only say that it found the necklace but not where. The Roots suspect it came from the pyramid and Barbara wants Jim to explore the py...