Millard Grimes 12 min read

Lying in the spring grass with his cocker spaniel Mimsy nibbling his ear, the world's top archaeologist gets the message he can't refuse: he's wanted for Earth's first expedition to Mars.

Millard Grimes's 1954 story spins a warm, wry first-contact space opera from a scientist's summons and the dog he leaves behind. Gentle, charming golden-age SF. Read it for a genial story that pairs the wonder of the first Mars expedition with a very down-to-earth farewell.

In its time

Published in 1954, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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