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I'm looking for a short scifi story about invaders with futuristic sounding technology - blasters and chargers - invading a new world after having conquered many others and attacking the civilisation they find there.

The twist being these are conquistadores with guns and horses, invading the Americas.

Kitsune
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    So are there any genunie science fiction elements in this story then, or just the illusion of such elements? Also, if there is genuine sci-fi in this story, then when did you read it, and when do you think it might've been published? – LogicDictates Mar 19 '21 at 10:33
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    It sounds like it was written to deceive the reader into thinking it was SF. I think it counts as on-topic for the forum. – Pete Mar 19 '21 at 10:40
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    @LogicDictates yep, just the illusion. Pete is correct. – Kitsune Mar 19 '21 at 10:58

1 Answers1

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This is Randall Garrett's Despoilers of the Golden Empire (published in the March 1959 Astounding Science Fiction as by "David Gordon"). It's a perfect match to your question and tells the story of Pizarro's conquest of the Incas using language which sounds like an interstellar invasion.

DavidW
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Mark Olson
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  • From the same author, in the same magazine, a couple years earlier: the answer to this question: a story in which the protagonist does what the author is doing here. – hobbs Mar 20 '21 at 05:44
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    Can you provide another source for the book, preferably an ISBN? The site blocks access for users with an IP Address of my country. – Polygnome Mar 20 '21 at 23:52
  • @Polygnome Is this link any better? https://web.archive.org/web/20210216140533/http://www.gutenberg.org/files/24091/24091-h/24091-h.htm – trlkly Mar 21 '21 at 00:15
  • I'd argue it gives the game away a bit with making the Power Metal explicitly gold. – trlkly Mar 21 '21 at 00:16