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"Nobody Bothers Gus" is a 5000-word short story by Algis Budrys, about a man with special powers, who chooses to remain out of the public eye. The story was first published in the November, 1955 issue of Astounding Science Fiction.

Spoiler Warning: Plot details and/or information about the ending follow. If you wish to enjoy the work first, stop reading here and return at another time.

Plot

Gus buys a house out in the country, and spends a couple of years fixing it up. Then the mailman delivers a notice from the government, saying they must demolish the house to build a highway. Gus has supernatural powers, including the power to stop those who would destroy his house, but he decides it would be too public a display of power, and he wants to keep his anonymity. Gus knows that people like him would want to remain out of the public eye, but he believes he has spotted a person with the same power—a major league pitcher named Halsey. Halsey is just too good most of the time, striking out batters at will, and too bad at selected times (giving up easy home runs) to keep his records from grabbing any public attention.

Additional Notes

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 17 (1955). Editor Martin H. Greenberg writes, "The Superman theme is one of the oldest and most popular in science fiction, but few have done it as well as Algis Budry is Nobody Bothers Gus."

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