Guest Expert by Allen Kim Lang

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About this eBook

Author Lang, Allen Kim, 1928-
Illustrator Orban, Paul, 1896-1974
Title Guest Expert
Note Reading ease score: 76.1 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
Credits Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Summary "Guest Expert" by Allen K. Lang is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative explores the dark moral dilemmas surrounding overpopulation and the drastic measures proposed to resolve it through the perspective of a Martian visitor. The story examines themes of survival, ethics, and the consequences of human choices. In this chilling tale, Earth faces severe issues due to overpopulation, prompting a Martian visitor to propose a radical solution: culling the human population by half. The protagonist, a Secretary, grapples with the moral implications of this proposal while hearing the Martian's justification based on historical suffering caused by famine, war, and disease. After a vote among his colleagues, the Secretary ultimately consents, leading to a horrifying conclusion where each woman and girl on the planet inexplicably dies, leaving behind a stark reality that starkly contrasts the Martian's promise of survival through sacrifice, effectively addressing the immediate population crisis at an unfathomable cost. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Language English
LoC Class PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature
Subject Science fiction
Subject Short stories
Subject Martians -- Fiction
Subject Overpopulation -- Fiction
Subject Earth (Planet) -- Fiction
Category Text
EBook-No. 63931
Release Date
Copyright Status Public domain in the USA.
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