[I only spoil the main premise of the story.]
The title of this one is pretty on point. It involves the first interplanetary colony from Earth. They land on a planet they think is uninhabited, but they soon find out that there is a primitive yet intelligent alien race living there. This gives them some concern since they don't know if it will prove a problem or not.
These natives obsessively drink from a fruit called a "tala" which makes them drunk. They also seem to live their lives for fun and play... while also being drunk. So the race tends to lean towards hedonism. Also they only live for like three years, so I figure that might not be such a bad thing if you want your race to survive. Short lives mean quick breeding.
The problem for the humans was that the colonists were beginning to get the same habits from the aliens. The leaders become concerned that this could pose a problem for their colony. Everyone needs to help one another and do their assigned work... not just live their life for play. This is when the leaders begin considering the genocide of the entire race of aliens.
The idea is this: they give them free tours of their medical facility. When they get to the X-ray scanner, they give them a dose that will render them all infertile. In only a few years, the entire race would be wiped out. The idea of this is enough to make one sick which is why they kept this plan from most of the colonists.
Now, this plan does not go entirely as they expected, and I do think this story is good enough not to spoil. It's not the best scifi I ever read, but I think it still deserves to be recommended. "The Test Colony" does a good job of not pulling punches on some very serious topics. The consequences of people's actions are well explained, and I think its a story ultimately worth reading.
This blog was written on May 24, 2024.
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The best science fiction is about our reality but from an imaginative perspective. It seems this story is what the genre is supposed to be. It was written in the 1950s but is very 1960s in its theme, which meant the "free love" movement was already creeping into the culture.
ReplyDeleteYeah, that's probably what happened.
DeleteThey decide to kill the aliens, rather than discipline their own people. One thing humans tend to avoid is responsibility. So, it is not surprising they would do something so drastic to avoid it.
ReplyDeleteHumans can be so silly sometimes.
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