Allen Kim Lang 24 min read

Nose-flaps drawn tight against a gathering dust-storm, the old Martian priest Klaggchallak pitches his tiny tent against a gleaming steel rocket, trusting the elder gods of Mars to watch over him.

Allen Kim Lang's 1950 story pairs an aged Martian priest with a human machine in a wry AI-and-space-opera tale. Vivid, atmospheric golden-age SF. Read it for a colorful story that views a mysterious Earth rocket through the reverent eyes of a native Martian.

In its time

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

Reading it

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

Illustrated by

Earl Mayan