First Contact (short story)
- First Contact (short story)
Infobox short story |
name = First Contact
author = Murray Leinster
country = flag|USA
language = English
series =
genre = Science fiction short story
published_in =
publication_type =
publisher =
media_type = Print (Magazine)
pub_date = 1945
followed_by =
"First Contact" is a science fiction short story by Murray Leinster originally published in 1945.
Plot summary
A spaceship from Earth on a scientific mission to the Crab Nebula encounters an alien ship on a similar mission. The aliens are humanoid with a few differences, such as 'speaking' with microwaves rather than sound, but with far more similarities, such as a shared sense of humor. The crews of the two ships soon devise a means of communication, and find that they get along well. However, each group fears that they cannot allow the other to leave, and potentially carry information back to that species' home planet which would allow the destruction of the other.
Months pass with the ships in stalemate before a junior scientific member of the human crew comes up with a proposal that allows both crews to return home without destroying each other: swap ships, but erase all records of their own home.
"First Contact" was among the stories selected in 1970 by the Science Fiction Writers of America as one the best science fiction short stories of all time. As such, it was published in "The Science Fiction Hall of Fame Volume One, 1929-1964".
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