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A Planet Named Shayol

Cordwainer Smith · 1961novelette

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In the distant future, a man is sentenced for crimes against the Galactic Emperor to a planet where the native microbes cause the humans there to grow extra body parts which are harvested for transplants throughout the empire; although the process is incredibly painful, a human-animal hybrid attendant administers a powerful euphoriant to relieve them, while the microbes maintain the humans' health for centuries until they finally become vegetative.

Source · ISFDB CC BY 4.0

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