 What would have happened had Major Polk never reported Captain Walsh for sleeping on Boiler Watch at the Academy?
There were more Joes on Venus than you could shake a ray-gun at. Perhaps there was method in Colonel Walsh's madness—murder-madness—when he ordered Major Polk to scan the planet for a guy named Joe. [Transcriber's Note: This etext was produced from Planet Stories November 1952. Extensive research did not uncover any evidence that the U.S. copyright on this publication was renewed.] For example, he could have chosen a Second Looie for the job on Venus. We were somewhere in Area Two on Earth, takeoff point for any operations in Space II. The rest was gravy, and Colonel Walsh wasn't going to let me get by with gravy. "It will be a simple assignment, Major," he said to me, peering over his fingers. He folded his fingers like a deck of cards and dropped them on his desk as if he were waiting for me to cut. If Walsh really wanted to know the reasons for the revolt, I could give them to him in one word: Walsh. It had been going on for six months now and we'd lost at least a thousand men from Space II. Revolt. It was just like Walsh to ship me off to a strange place. That was before I'd reported him for sleeping on Boiler Watch. He'd goofed off on a pile of uranium that could've, and almost did, blow the barracks sky-high that night. The trip to Venus came off without a hitch. And I thought about Colonel Leonard Walsh and how he was supposed to be quelling that revolt. Ever since Walsh had taken command, ever since he'd started pushing the natives around, there'd been trouble. Venus was hotter than I'd expected it to be. His features, his muscles, everything seemed to have been stretched like a rubber band. "The guys back in Space II are searching high and low for you," I told him. "You've got the wrong number," he said, and I was a little surprised at his use of Terran idiom. "Only thing I ever traded, though, was a pocketknife. My orders said I was to report to Captain Bransten immediately upon arrival. The Officer's Club was a plasteel hut with window shields that protected it from the heat of the sun. I began to curse Walsh for taking me away from my nice soft job in Space II. Walsh was about the lowest, most contemptible.... Very.... "You Major Polk, sweetheart?" "Yes," I said, still thinking of Colonel Walsh.
 Captain Walsh would have never sent Major Polk on the mission.
 Major Polk would have outranked Captain Walsh in the military.  Major Polk and Captain Walsh would have never worked together like they do now.  Captain Walsh and Major Polk would still have the same feelings toward each other.  Captain Walsh would have never sent Major Polk on the mission.