bsa@ncoast.UUCP (Brandon Allbery) (09/14/85)
Expires: Quoted from <3597@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> ["Re: Alien Lowlife in Star Wars"], by Miller.pasa@Xerox.ARPA... +--------------- | Now all this makes for interesting reading, and it's bound to be good | for our racial self-image, and it may well be (as I would like to | believe in my more rational moments) that EVERY sentient species is | distinctive enough to warrant having novels written about it, but just | once (deep breath,) I'd like to see a story written where man gets his | come-uppance-- where an alien race finds us and is bored because we're | just like everybody else. How would THAT affect our collective psyches, | I ask you??!!?? | | Anybody seen an interesting story about a boring race (i.e. us) ? +--------------- Not exactly one, but I remember reading one of Niven's ``bar'' stories wherein a chirpsithra reminisces about having come to Earth millions of years ago to find that the intelligent life was poisoning itself with its output of those deadly chemicals, oxygen and free water. At the end, the bartender is left wondring what the chirpsithra will think of whatever race replaces the humans... I don't remember the story's title or where I read it (or a lot of other things, as I'm sure the Niven fans out there will have noticed by now). --bsa -- /****************************************************************************\ * Brandon S Allbery, 6504 Chestnut, Independence, OH 44131 +01 216 524 1416 * * (phone and address subject to change in ca. 1-2 months when I get an apt.) * * 74106,1032 CIS BALLBERY MCIMAIL TELEX 6501617070 ncoast!bsa@Case.CSNET * \****************************************************************************/
keen@inuxd.UUCP (D Keen) (09/20/85)
Back, back, don't eat this line. There is a "classic" short story whose title and author will, I'm sure, be supplied by some other netter in which a group of non-humans and humans of various evolutionary types are searching for the origin of humanity as a class. The gist of the conclusion is that humanity was a pest aboard a large and temporally different races spaceships, ala, the rat, aboard sailing ships. Don Keen AT&T something or other Oh yes, AT&T's comments don't represent what I think and mine certainly do not represent what AT&T might think. > Expires: > > Quoted from <3597@topaz.RUTGERS.EDU> ["Re: Alien Lowlife in Star Wars"], by Miller.pasa@Xerox.ARPA... > +--------------- > | Now all this makes for interesting reading, and it's bound to be good > | for our racial self-image, and it may well be (as I would like to > | believe in my more rational moments) that EVERY sentient species is > | distinctive enough to warrant having novels written about it, but just > | once (deep breath,) I'd like to see a story written where man gets his > | come-uppance-- where an alien race finds us and is bored because we're > | just like everybody else. How would THAT affect our collective psyches, > | I ask you??!!?? > | > | Anybody seen an interesting story about a boring race (i.e. us) ? > +--------------- > > Not exactly one, but I remember reading one of Niven's ``bar'' stories wherein > a chirpsithra reminisces about having come to Earth millions of years ago to > find that the intelligent life was poisoning itself with its output of those > deadly chemicals, oxygen and free water. At the end, the bartender is left > wondring what the chirpsithra will think of whatever race replaces the humans... > > I don't remember the story's title or where I read it (or a lot of other things, > as I'm sure the Niven fans out there will have noticed by now). > > --bsa > -- > /****************************************************************************\ > * Brandon S Allbery, 6504 Chestnut, Independence, OH 44131 +01 216 524 1416 * > * (phone and address subject to change in ca. 1-2 months when I get an apt.) * > * 74106,1032 CIS BALLBERY MCIMAIL TELEX 6501617070 ncoast!bsa@Case.CSNET * > \****************************************************************************/ *** REPLACE THIS LINE WITH YOUR MESSAGE ***
mrh@cybvax0.UUCP (Mike Huybensz) (09/23/85)
In article <794@inuxd.UUCP> keen@inuxd.UUCP (D Keen) writes: > There is a "classic" short story whose title and author will, > I'm sure, be supplied by some other netter in which a group of > non-humans and humans of various evolutionary types are > searching for the origin of humanity as a class. The gist of > the conclusion is that humanity was a pest aboard a large and > temporally different races spaceships, ala, the rat, aboard > sailing ships. In William Tenn's "Of Men And Monsters", the protagonists come to the conclusion that the best niche for humans is as pests on the alien conquorers' spaceships. I highly recommend all of Tenn's SF. -- Mike Huybensz ...decvax!genrad!mit-eddie!cybvax0!mrh
grady@ucbvax.ARPA (Steven Grady) (09/28/85)
On the otherside of the coin, I recall a story (book?) wherein the upstart new Earthlings first come out into space, after having been given the technology for space drive, and suddenly the galaxy finds itself up a creek, because the humans are conniving, conning, and in general swindling the other people of the galaxy, because it turns out the humans are just plain smarter than the other races. Just out of curiosity, anyone got a name for this story? Steven
markb@sdcrdcf.UUCP (Mark Biggar) (09/30/85)
In article <10483@ucbvax.ARPA> grady@ucbvax.UUCP (Steven Grady) writes: >On the otherside of the coin, I recall a story (book?) wherein >the upstart new Earthlings first come out into space, after having >been given the technology for space drive, and suddenly the galaxy >finds itself up a creek, because the humans are conniving, conning, >and in general swindling the other people of the galaxy, because >it turns out the humans are just plain smarter than the other races. >Just out of curiosity, anyone got a name for this story? Try "Pandora's Planet" by C. Anvil. Mark Biggar {allegra,burdvax,cbosgd,hplabs,ihnp4,akgua,sdcsvax}!sdcrdcf!markb