From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!npoiv!npois!houxm!houxa!houxi!houxz!ihnp4!ixn5c!inuxc!pur-ee!uiucdcs!uicsl!pollack
Newsgroups: net.sf-lovers
Title: Re: puns in SF - (nf)
Article-I.D.: uiucdcs.1301
Posted: Thu Jan  6 18:47:17 1983
Received: Mon Jan 10 02:58:19 1983

#R:sri-arpa:-22400:uicsl:10700002:000:1329
uicsl!pollack    Jan  6 15:21:00 1983

I can vividly recall one of Asimov's pun stories, called "Death of a Foy"
which appeared in F&SF several years ago. I will reconstruct it from memory:

     A Foy was dying on Earth. This was very unusual because few Foys ever
came to Earth since their planet (named Sortibakenstrete) was several
light-years away, and because they had extraordinary cardiovascular systems
(including 5 large hearts) which usually lasted a very long time. Anyhow, 
this Foy was dying and it wanted to return to Sortibakenstrete for its last 
rites. But the Foy's terran Cardio-pulmonologist, Maude Feldman, unable to
save it, didn't want the Foy to depart; she wanted to make a big contribution
to science by examining the Foy's heart system. So she had her assistant,
Ray Smith, continually cajoling and pestering the Foy to try and make
it stay.  One day, during his cajoling and pestering session, Ray told the Foy
that if the New York Philharmonic Choir, led these days by Harold Peterson,
sung a dirge at the Foy's funeral, then its soul would waft through space 
back to its native planet.
   Anyhow, soon it was d-day for the Foy, and on its death-bed it called
its pesterer over and said:
    "Give my big hearts to Maude, Ray. Dismember me for Harold's choir. Tell
     all the Foys on Sortibakenstrete that I will soon be there..."