A review by cerv
One of Our Asteroids is Missing/The Twisted Men by Calvin M. Knox, Robert Silverberg, A.E. van Vogt

3.0

This novella really ought to have had a better title as no asteroid goes missing. A more appropriate title would have been "An Unbelievable Claim". The protagonist is an asteroid prospector and there explicit parallels made to the 1849 California Gold Rush. The first 10% is about the daily life of an asteroid prospector. Just before he's entirely given up all hope, he strikes it rich. He puts in his claim at the Mars office, which has had a colony since 1998, similar to other Silverberg novellas of this era that I've read and the year is 2015. Thinking that's well and settled, he returns to Earth, only to find that all digital and official proof of his existence has been erased. He then battles bureaucracy and succeeds somewhat, only to be targeted by a drive by shooting after he leaves. And so he leaves Earth to return to his claim. To where he finds that corporation that has more power than most governments has been behind everything. The asteroid is not what it appeared to be. Inside is an alien, which reminded me of the ones in Ted Chiang's "Story of Your Life" in a lot of ways, of which the movie "Arrival" is based upon. After that is resolved, they all live happily ever after.