John D. MacDonald 14 min read

A scout group returns with a complete study of a rare, high-potential-danger Class Seven alien civilization, and the alarmists begin to howl.

John D. MacDonald's 1951 story frames a thoughtful first-contact tale around the Bureau of Stellar Defense and the panic that grips three worlds at news of contact. Sharp, intelligent social SF from a future master of crime fiction. Read it for a shrewd golden-age story about fear, defense, and what advanced races really have in common with us.

In its time

Published in 1951, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

14 min read (a short story, a single idea, delivered and gone).

Illustrated by

Don Hunter