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"The Business, As Usual" is a 1500-word short story by Mack Reynolds, about a 20th century man who travels in time to the 30th century. It was first published in 1952.

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

A time traveler from the 20th century suddenly appears in the 30th century, and strikes up a conversation with a man. He wants to trade for something to take back with him. The 30th century man haggles, then offers his knife for everything the 20th century has on him. The time traveler agrees, then disappears, automatically returning to his own time. But the knife remains in the 30th century, as the 30th century man knew it would, since time travelers (they are fairly common) cannot take anything back with them, not even a memory of what they’ve seen.

Additional Notes

This story has been reprinted in, among other places, Isaac Asimov Presents The Great SF Stories 14 (1952).