"The Egg" | |
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Author | L. Sprague de Camp |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Genre(s) | Science fiction |
Published in | Satellite Science Fiction |
Publisher | Renown Publications, INc. |
Media type | Print (Magazine) |
Publication date | October 1956 |
"The Egg" is a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Satellite Science Fiction for October, 1956. [1] [2] It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales (Doubleday, 1963). [1] [2] The story has been translated into German. [1] [2]
The reptilian alien Gnoth, Yerethian consul to Earth, is preparing to go out to a drive-in movie with his wife Triw. The outing is business as well as pleasure, as it's part of Gnoth's job to monitor Terran popular entertainment to determine Yerethians are being represented fairly. Since their egg is due to hatch in four days and they are concerned about its safety, they have hired Patrice Ober, a local teen, to babysit it. After giving Patrice her instructions they leave, and Pat settles down to read Jane Eyre as part of her high school homework. When that palls she thinks about boys, notably the two currently vying for her affection, the aggressive football hero Terry Blaine and the more gentlemanly intellectual Andy Dupas.
Meanwhile, Terry has called Pat's house and been told by her mother where she is. Her father is put out over this, suspecting Terry's intentions. Terry zips off to the Yerethians' home on his buzzer, or flying platform, to surprise Pat. He has brought some records, and entices her into dancing, during which they accidentally bump the incubator, injuring Pat and eliciting odd sounds from the egg within. Pat begs off from further dancing, whereupon Terry begins a forceful campaign of seduction. Andy, in the meantime, has also called the Obers asking about Pat. Pat's father, feeling him a responsible counterbalance to the reckless Terry, lets him know where she is as well.
At the Yerethians', the distracted teens fail to notice that the egg is hatching, and the baby alien, resembling a long-legged, long-necked alligator, emerging from the incubator. Yerethian young are mindless, instinct-driven carnivores during their first three years of life, after which they become teachable. Seeing the humans as prey, it immediately makes for them. They flee to the front door, but the Yerethian is speedier than they are, albeit less adept at sharp turns, and catches up before they can open it. They make for the powder room; Terry, reaching it first, locks himself in, leaving Pat to her fate. She can barely keep ahead of the alien in the pursuit that follows, and is trapped by the time Andy arrives at the house. The quick-thinking Andy attracts the baby's attention and ducks under a couch; it gets stuck trying to follow, and as it struggles he whips off his belt and chokes the creature with it.
At this point the parents arrive home; Triw gathers up her baby, clouting it into quiescence when it tries to bite her, while Gnoth sternly demands explanations. At first they blame the teens for causing their egg to hatch prematurely by jostling it, but it soon becomes apparent that Triw had miscalculated the incubation time due to confusion in reconciling the Yerethian and Terran calendars; the egg in fact hatched right on time. Gnoth proposes they all keep the matter quiet to prevent embarrassment to everyone concerned. The teenagers agree.
Terry flies off in disgrace, while Andy drives Pat back home, taking the rogue's place in her regard. Alas for romance; Andy is heading off to college soon, and expects to be away for years earning his Ph.D. She asks if he wants her to wait for him, but Andy, practically, notes that's too much to expect of someone so young. He allows that if she's still around when he's done with college they can talk about it. Broken-hearted, Pat goes to bed and cries on her pillow.
P. Schuyler Miller's comment on the tale takes a rather unrealistic lesson from it: "Need a baby-sitter for your egg? Then make sure—as the Yerethian couple of 'The Egg' did not--that you have correlated your calendar properly with the terrestrial one." [3]
Avram Davidson found the story among most others in A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales "a great disappointment," feeling the author "[t]ime after time ... gets hold of a great idea—and throws it away in playing for laughs of the feeblest conceivable sort." [4]
De Camp also dealt with the theme of teens disrupting interplanetary relations in "Let's Have Fun" (1957), in which juvenile delinquents endanger the young of aliens rather than vice versa.
The Hostage of Zir is a science fiction novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the seventh book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the fifth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the third Krishna novel. It was first published in hardcover by Berkley/Putnam in 1977, and in paperback by Berkley Books in 1978. A new paperback edition was published by Ace Books in 1982 as part of the standard edition of the Krishna novels. An e-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The novel has also been translated into German and Czech.
A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales is a short story collection by science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardback by Doubleday in 1963, and in paperback by Curtis Books in 1969. The first British edition was issued by Remploy in 1974. It has also been translated into German.
The Tritonian Ring and Other Pusadian Tales is a 1953 collection of stories by American science fiction and fantasy author L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers. An E-book edition was published as The Tritonian Ring and Other Pasudian [sic] Tales by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The pieces were originally published between 1951 and 1953 in the magazines and anthologies Two Complete Science Adventure Books, Fantasy Fiction, Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy, and Fantastic Adventures. The title story, the novel The Tritonian Ring has also been published separately.
The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens is a 1953 collection of science fiction stories by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the fifth book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971 with a cover by illustrator Bob Pepper. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. It has also been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, and Italian. The pieces were originally published between 1949 and 1951 in the magazines Astounding Science-Fiction, Startling Stories, Future Combined with Science Fiction, and Thrilling Wonder Stories.
Divide and Rule is a 1948 collection of two science fiction novellas by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, first published in hardcover by Fantasy Press, and later reissued in paperback by Lancer Books in 1964. The collected pieces were previously published in 1939 and 1941 in the magazines Unknown and Astounding. The first stand-alone edition of the title story was published as a large-print hardcover by Thorndike Press in September 2003. An E-book edition of the title story was issued by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form.
Rogue Queen is a science fiction novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the third book in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in hardcover by Doubleday in 1951, and in paperback by Dell Books in 1952. A later hardcover edition was issued by The Easton Press in its The Masterpieces of Science Fiction series in 1996; later paperback editions were issued by Ace Books (1965) and Signet Books. A trade paperback edition was issued by Bluejay Books in June 1985. The first British edition was published in paperback by Pinnacle Books in 1954; a British hardcover reprint followed from Remploy in 1974. The novel has been translated into Portuguese, Italian, French and German. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. Arc Manor's Phoenix Pick imprint reissued the book in both trade paperback and e-book format in January 2012.
The Continent Makers is a science fiction novella by American writers L. Sprague de Camp, part of his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories in the issue for April, 1951. It first appeared in book form in the collection The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens, published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971. It has also been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, and Italian.
The Viagens Interplanetarias series is a sequence of science fiction stories by L. Sprague de Camp, begun in the late 1940s and written under the influence of contemporary space opera and sword and planet stories, particularly Edgar Rice Burroughs's Martian novels. Set in the future in the 21st and 22nd centuries, the series is named for the quasi-public Terran agency portrayed as monopolizing interstellar travel, the Brazilian-dominated Viagens Interplanetarias. It is also known as the Krishna series, as the majority of the stories belong to a sequence set on a fictional planet of that name. While de Camp started out as a science fiction writer and his early reputation was based on his short stories in the genre, the Viagens tales represent his only extended science fiction series.
The Prisoner of Zhamanak is a science fiction novel by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, the eighth book of his Viagens Interplanetarias series and the sixth of its subseries of stories set on the fictional planet Krishna. Chronologically it is the fourth Krishna novel. It was first published in hardcover by Phantasia Press in 1982, and in paperback by Ace Books in April 1983 as part of the standard edition of the Krishna novels. An E-book edition was published by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form. The novel has also been translated into German.
Bibliography of science fiction, fantasy, historical fiction and nonfiction writer L. Sprague de Camp:
"The Galton Whistle" is a science fiction short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, a story in his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first (chronologically) set on the planet Vishnu. It was first published, as "Ultrasonic God," in the magazine Future Combined with Science Fiction Stories in the issue for July, 1951. It first appeared in book form under the present title in the collection The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens, published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971. It also appeared in the anthologies Novelets of Science Fiction, The Good Old Stuff, and The Good Stuff. The story has been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, and Italian.
"Summer Wear" is a science fiction short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, part of his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first (chronologically) set on the planet Osiris. It was first published in the magazine Startling Stories in the issue for May, 1950. It first appeared in book form in the anthology The Best Science Fiction Stories: 1951, edited by Everett F. Bleiler and T. E. Dikty, published in hardcover by Frederick Fell in 1951, and was gathered together with other Viagens stories in the collection The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens, published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971. The story has been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, Italian and German.
"The Inspector's Teeth" is a science fiction short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, part of his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It is the first (chronologically) set on Earth, and a linchpin tale in the sequence, showing how the interstellar political system forming the background of the rest of the series was established. It was first published in the magazine Astounding in the issue for April, 1950. It first appeared in book form in the collection The Continent Makers and Other Tales of the Viagens, published in hardcover by Twayne Publishers in 1953, and in paperback by Signet Books in 1971. It also appeared in The Best of L. Sprague de Camp, and Anthropomorphic Aliens: An Interstellar Anthology. The story has been translated into Portuguese, Dutch, Italian and German.
"The Colorful Character" is a science fiction short story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp, part of his Viagens Interplanetarias series. It was first published in the magazine Thrilling Wonder Stories in the issue for December, 1949. It first appeared in book form in the collection Sprague de Camp's New Anthology of Science Fiction, published simultaneously in hardcover by Hamilton and in paperback by Panther Books in 1953.
"Judgment Day" is an apocalyptic science fiction story by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction for August, 1955, and first appeared in book form in the anthology The Best Science Fiction Stories and Novels: 1956. It later appeared in the de Camp collections A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales, and The Best of L. Sprague de Camp, as well as the anthologies Great Science-Fiction, A Science Fiction Argosy, and Masters of Darkness III. The story has also been translated into German.
"Divide and Rule" is a science fiction novella by American writer L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published as a serial in the magazine Unknown from April to May, 1939 and first appeared in book form in de Camp's collection Divide and Rule. The story was revised for book publication. The first stand-alone book edition of the story was published as a large-print hardcover by Thorndike Press in September 2003. An E-book edition of the story was issued by Gollancz's SF Gateway imprint on September 29, 2011 as part of a general release of de Camp's works in electronic form.
"The Guided Man" is a classic science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Startling Stories for October, 1952. It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales. It has also appeared in Science Fiction Yearbook no. 3 and the collection The Best of L. Sprague de Camp. The story has been translated into German.
"Let's Have Fun" is a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Science Fiction Quarterly for May, 1957. It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales, and afterwards appeared in the anthology Rare Science Fiction. The story has been translated into German.
"In-Group" is a science fiction short story by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Marvel Science Fiction for May, 1952. and later reprinted in the magazine Skyworlds for February 1978. It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales. The story has been translated into Italian and German.
"Throwback" is a classic science fiction short story featuring atavism by L. Sprague de Camp. It was first published in the magazine Astounding Science Fiction for March, 1949. It first appeared in book form in the collection A Gun for Dinosaur and Other Imaginative Tales ; it later appeared in the anthology Apeman, Spaceman. The story has been translated into Italian and German.