Short Fiction · Chapter
All Were Monsters explained
A lone farmer encounters an alien named Provvorr, who has studied Earth from afar and plans to colonize it after humanity's predicted self-destruction.
What happens
A lone farmer encounters an alien named Provvorr, who has studied Earth from afar and plans to colonize it after humanity's predicted self-destruction. The alien is horrified by Earth's animals—dogs, cats, moths—which he finds monstrous and uncontrollable. After witnessing the farmer's casual killing of a moth and meeting his dog Skip and cat Oscar, Provvorr decides his people cannot colonize a world swarming with such 'hideous life.' Before leaving, he offers the farmer a simple solution to prevent humanity's destruction.
Themes in this chapter
Isolation and Otherness
Provvorr is utterly alienated by Earth's animals, which he perceives as monstrous and uncontrollable, highlighting the theme of otherness and the difficulty of understanding radically different life forms.
Science vs. Superstition
Provvorr uses advanced technology (telepathy, gold-making, resurrection) but is terrified by natural creatures, blurring the line between scientific rationality and irrational fear.
The Power of Belief and Ritual
Provvorr's disguise and behavior are shaped by human preconceptions, showing how belief systems shape perception and interaction.
Characters to notice
- Provvorr
An alien from an overcrowded, exhausted world who plans to colonize Earth after humanity destroys itself. He is telepathic, uses a synthetic disguise to conform to human expectations, and is deeply disturbed by Earth's animals, which he considers monsters.
- Neil Andresson
The unnamed narrator and farmer who first contacts Provvorr. He is a telescope hobbyist, lives alone, and tries to reassure the alien about Earth's animals. He crushes a moth instinctively, shocking Provvorr.
Key passages
“All are monsters. Your world breeds a horrible variety of abnormal creatures. We thought you were like us—a single living species, subduing a planet to your will. These other things are—uncivilized.”
Provvorr declares that Earth's animals are monstrous and uncivilized, contrasting them with his own single-species world.
This line encapsulates the alien's horror at Earth's biodiversity and his inability to rationalize non-human life.
“When I tell you, it will seem simple. So simple, the way to stop wars and conquests and destruction—I hope it won't sound ridiculous when I pass it on to the United Nations.”
Provvorr offers a simple solution to prevent humanity's self-destruction, which the narrator hopes to share with the United Nations.
The ending leaves the solution ambiguous, emphasizing the story's ironic twist and the narrator's desperate hope.