Instinct by George O. Smith
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"Instinct" by George O. Smith is a science fiction novella penned in the late 1950s. The story revolves around the themes of communication, human nature, and the cyclical rise and fall of civilizations, specifically reflecting on the interactions between humans from Earth (referred to as Terra) and a more advanced alien race. The narrative explores the difficulties that arise when different species attempt to understand each other's motivations and behaviors. The plot
centers on Jerry Markham, a Terran astronaut, who is captured by an alien race after landing on a foreign planet. The aliens, led by Chelan, are intrigued but perplexed by the Terrans' propensity for conflict and their relentless drive to push boundaries despite past failures. As Markham finds himself isolated from communication and subjected to experimental isolation to uncover the secrets of human instinct, he begins to reflect deeply on memory and communication. Ultimately, the aliens learn that despite shutting off his sensory inputs, the essence of Markham's being—the drive to connect and communicate—remains unyielding, prompting a recognition of humanity’s persistent will to thrive, even when faced with adversity. The story concludes with the aliens reconsidering their approach to humanity, acknowledging its resilience and intrinsic nature. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
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About this eBook
| Author | Smith, George O. (George Oliver), 1911-1981 |
|---|---|
| Illustrator | Martinez |
| Title | Instinct |
| Series Title | Produced from Astounding Science Fiction March 1959. |
| Credits | Greg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team |
| Reading Level | Reading ease score: 74.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. |
| Language | English |
| LoC Class | PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature |
| Subject | Science fiction |
| Subject | Short stories |
| Category | Text |
| eBook-No. | 23931 |
| ISBN (HTML) | 979-8-238-23931-6 |
| Release Date | Dec 20, 2007 |
| Last Update | Jun 26, 2021 |
| Copyright | Public domain in the USA. |
| Downloads | 519 downloads in the last 30 days. |
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