This story was written when the author was 15, and appeared in the June 1928 issue of The Adjutant, published by his high school cadet corps in Washington D.C. In this original form, it did not contain references to elements of his later "Instrumentality of Mankind" series, or dialogue.

In the early 1960's, he rewrote and expanded the story for intended inclusion in his first anthology, You Will Never Be The Same. That version did not appear until 1993's The Rediscovery of Man: The Complete Short Science Fiction of Cordwainer Smith. The main character was changed, characters and dialogue were added, and details were included which set it in the chronology of his "Instrumentality" stories.

The two versions should not be combined.