Gentlemen, Be Seated!

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"Gentlemen, Be Seated!" is a science fiction short story by Robert A. Heinlein. It was first published in the May 1948 issue of Argosy magazine. It was later included in two of Heinlein's collections, The Green Hills of Earth (1951), and The Past Through Tomorrow (1967).

[edit] Plot summary

The story tells of a visit to a tunnel on the surface of the moon which goes awry when a pressure seal fails, trapping three men (a supervisor, a reporter, and a tunnel worker). The title of the story derives from the way they plug an air leak while awaiting rescue: by sitting on it.

The phrase "Gentlemen, Be Seated!" is the opening line of the interlocutor in a traditional minstrel show.

[edit] External links

• The Heinlein Society concordance

v • d • e Robert A. Heinlein's Future History Collections The Past Through Tomorrow, The Man Who Sold the Moon, The Green Hills of Earth, Orphans of the Sky, Revolt in 2100, The Worlds of Robert A. Heinlein, Expanded Universe Short stories "Life-Line", "Let There Be Light", "The Roads Must Roll", "Blowups Happen", "The Man Who Sold the Moon", "Delilah and the Space Rigger", "Space Jockey", "Requiem", "The Long Watch", "Gentlemen, Be Seated!", "The Black Pits of Luna", "It's Great to Be Back!", "—We Also Walk Dogs", "Searchlight", "Ordeal in Space", "The Green Hills of Earth", "Logic of Empire", "The Menace from Earth", "If This Goes On—", "Coventry", "Misfit", "Universe", "Common Sense" Novels Methuselah's Children, Time Enough for Love, To Sail Beyond the Sunset