A Clear Shot, also known as Big Shot, is a mystery short story by Isaac Asimov.
Part of the Union Club series, it was first published in the December 1980 issue of Gallery magazine and later collected in The Union Club Mysteries.
Summary[]
At the Union Club, Griswold recounts an incident from 1969 when he was the target of an assassination threat. He was scheduled to receive an honorary doctorate at a college in Connecticut when the college president received an anonymous letter. The writer, objecting to Griswold's supposed activities in Vietnam, threatened to kill him during the commencement ceremony with a "clear shot," while promising no one else would be harmed.
Griswold insisted on proceeding with the ceremony, arguing that a genuine assassin would not send a warning. He believed the threat was a bluff designed to disrupt the event and humiliate him. To appease the nervous president, he agreed to security precautions but reasoned that a rifle would be impossible to conceal on a hot day and difficult to aim from the crowded stands.
During the ceremony, as Griswold gave his speech, he and a confidant he had placed among the photographers watched the crowd intently. Griswold had interpreted the threatening letter's phrasing, "in my sights" and "a clear shot," as potentially referring to a camera. He therefore focused on individuals with cameras. They identified a man who had taken no pictures previously but then raised his camera to aim at Griswold. The man was apprehended quietly. The weapon was a camera modified to fire a poisoned dart. The would-be assassin was later committed to a mental hospital.
Characters[]
- Griswold
- Club Member (the narrator)
- Jennings
- Baranov
- The College President
- The Would-Be Assassin
- The Photographer
Historical Figures mentioned[]
- Robert Kennedy
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
- Lee Harvey Oswald
- Sirhan Sirhan
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov