Book where aliens are selecting humans for food consumption
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I have read a science fiction years ago. About aliens selecting humans on Earth and people trying hard to fit in their criterias in order to be the "chosen ones" and go away with the aliens.
But they don't know that aliens actually want to select them in order to exploit them for food consumption.
I might have messed up the plot a little, as I'm hardly remembering it. It might have been written by C. S. Lewis or Arthur C. Clarke or any other author similar to these.
Do you have guys have any clues what this book might be called?
story-identification novel books aliens
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
add a comment |
I have read a science fiction years ago. About aliens selecting humans on Earth and people trying hard to fit in their criterias in order to be the "chosen ones" and go away with the aliens.
But they don't know that aliens actually want to select them in order to exploit them for food consumption.
I might have messed up the plot a little, as I'm hardly remembering it. It might have been written by C. S. Lewis or Arthur C. Clarke or any other author similar to these.
Do you have guys have any clues what this book might be called?
story-identification novel books aliens
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
5
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00
add a comment |
I have read a science fiction years ago. About aliens selecting humans on Earth and people trying hard to fit in their criterias in order to be the "chosen ones" and go away with the aliens.
But they don't know that aliens actually want to select them in order to exploit them for food consumption.
I might have messed up the plot a little, as I'm hardly remembering it. It might have been written by C. S. Lewis or Arthur C. Clarke or any other author similar to these.
Do you have guys have any clues what this book might be called?
story-identification novel books aliens
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
I have read a science fiction years ago. About aliens selecting humans on Earth and people trying hard to fit in their criterias in order to be the "chosen ones" and go away with the aliens.
But they don't know that aliens actually want to select them in order to exploit them for food consumption.
I might have messed up the plot a little, as I'm hardly remembering it. It might have been written by C. S. Lewis or Arthur C. Clarke or any other author similar to these.
Do you have guys have any clues what this book might be called?
story-identification novel books aliens
story-identification novel books aliens
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
edited Mar 1 at 9:05
Klaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
8,19622233
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
asked Mar 1 at 8:53
KimiaKimia
914
914
5
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00
add a comment |
5
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00
5
5
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
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It might well be Damon Knight's 1950 short story "To Serve Man". It fits the time frame of Lewis and Clarke (pun intended).
The synopsis, from Wikipedia (abbreviated):
The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, etc. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
The narrator has trusted the emissaries from the time of their arrival, but his friend Grigori is certain that the aliens have an ulterior motive. He takes a job at the alien embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to an alien dictionary, and he later steals an alien book, hoping to translate it.
The two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Grigori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Grigori has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that it is not a treatise on serving humanity, but a cookbook.
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
|
show 2 more comments
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1 Answer
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1 Answer
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It might well be Damon Knight's 1950 short story "To Serve Man". It fits the time frame of Lewis and Clarke (pun intended).
The synopsis, from Wikipedia (abbreviated):
The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, etc. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
The narrator has trusted the emissaries from the time of their arrival, but his friend Grigori is certain that the aliens have an ulterior motive. He takes a job at the alien embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to an alien dictionary, and he later steals an alien book, hoping to translate it.
The two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Grigori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Grigori has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that it is not a treatise on serving humanity, but a cookbook.
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
|
show 2 more comments
It might well be Damon Knight's 1950 short story "To Serve Man". It fits the time frame of Lewis and Clarke (pun intended).
The synopsis, from Wikipedia (abbreviated):
The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, etc. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
The narrator has trusted the emissaries from the time of their arrival, but his friend Grigori is certain that the aliens have an ulterior motive. He takes a job at the alien embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to an alien dictionary, and he later steals an alien book, hoping to translate it.
The two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Grigori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Grigori has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that it is not a treatise on serving humanity, but a cookbook.
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
|
show 2 more comments
It might well be Damon Knight's 1950 short story "To Serve Man". It fits the time frame of Lewis and Clarke (pun intended).
The synopsis, from Wikipedia (abbreviated):
The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, etc. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
The narrator has trusted the emissaries from the time of their arrival, but his friend Grigori is certain that the aliens have an ulterior motive. He takes a job at the alien embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to an alien dictionary, and he later steals an alien book, hoping to translate it.
The two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Grigori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Grigori has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that it is not a treatise on serving humanity, but a cookbook.
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
It might well be Damon Knight's 1950 short story "To Serve Man". It fits the time frame of Lewis and Clarke (pun intended).
The synopsis, from Wikipedia (abbreviated):
The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, etc. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
The narrator has trusted the emissaries from the time of their arrival, but his friend Grigori is certain that the aliens have an ulterior motive. He takes a job at the alien embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to an alien dictionary, and he later steals an alien book, hoping to translate it.
The two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Grigori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Grigori has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that it is not a treatise on serving humanity, but a cookbook.
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
answered Mar 1 at 9:04
Klaus Æ. MogensenKlaus Æ. Mogensen
8,19622233
8,19622233
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
|
show 2 more comments
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
2
2
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
If it is the right answer, remember to accept it. :-)
– Klaus Æ. Mogensen
Mar 1 at 9:14
7
7
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
And as an aside, I have just discovered what The Simpsons was riffing off in the original Treehouse of Horror!
– Tom W
Mar 1 at 13:45
16
16
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
One of the most famous episodes of The Twilight Zone is also based on this book. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/To_Serve_Man_(The_Twilight_Zone)
– Rob Bajorek
Mar 1 at 14:41
9
9
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
Quite a coincidence that that ambiguity is present in both English and the alien language.
– Acccumulation
Mar 1 at 17:26
1
1
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
@Acccumulation, it worked in Spanish as well, which is amazing - double entendres are tough to translations. (I originally read it translated as “El hombre: como servirlo” but I’ve also seen it as “Como servir al hombre” - either works well)
– Euro Micelli
Mar 2 at 3:31
|
show 2 more comments
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5
To Serve Man! is a very old trope in scifi
– Valorum
Mar 1 at 9:00