Ministry of Disturbance

Ministry of Disturbance is a science fiction novella written by H. Beam Piper frist published in 1958.

Sometimes getting a job is harder than the job after you get it--and sometimes getting out of a job is harder than either!

The galactic empire (of a few thousand planets) has been stable for 600 years. Emperor succeeds emperor, and planetary production is regulated to keep markets and economies stable. Then why is there a plot to overthrow the emperor? And who is behind it?

Ministry of Disturbance first appeared in Astounding Science Fiction, in December 1958.

Henry Beam Piper (1904-1964) was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales. Piper's stories fall into two camps: stark space opera, such as Space Viking, or stories of cultural conflict or misunderstanding, such as Little Fuzzy or the Paratime stories.