F. L. Wallace 13 min read

Far out in space, two aliens listen to Earth's radio and early TV, compiling dictionaries as they go, and reach a grim verdict: the place is a complete mess. Now they must decide, make, or break.

F. L. Wallace's 1957 story is a sharp first-contact and social-SF tale of humanity judged from outside. Clever, wry golden-age SF. Read it for a story where two visitors weigh whether the human race is worth saving, and the fate of Earth hangs on their conversation.

In its time

Published in 1957, during the 1950s, post-war optimism meets cold war anxiety.

Reading it

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