Short Science Fiction · Chapter
Everest explained
The narrator recounts the decision to use an airplane to drop a climber, Jimmy Robbons, onto the summit of Mt.
What happens
The narrator recounts the decision to use an airplane to drop a climber, Jimmy Robbons, onto the summit of Mt. Everest after years of failed attempts and mysterious sightings of creatures on the mountain. After surviving a two-week blizzard alone, Jimmy is rescued and later reveals to the narrator that the creatures are intelligent Martians who helped him survive but are watching humanity warily from their only habitable outpost on Earth.
Themes in this chapter
Alien Contact and Misunderstanding
The creatures on Everest are revealed to be Martians, intelligent beings who help Jimmy but are wary of humanity's atomic power and rocket ships, watching from their only safe refuge.
Human Nature and Moral Choice
The narrator's guilt over risking Jimmy's life and the human tendency to expend great resources to save one life reflect on moral priorities and the value of individual life.
Technological Progress and Its Risks
The use of airplanes, spacesuits, and atomic power highlights both human ingenuity and the threat it poses to other beings, prompting the Martians' vigilance.
Characters to notice
- Jimmy Robbons
The enthusiastic mountain climber who pushes for an aerial assault on Everest, volunteers to be dropped on the peak, survives a two-week blizzard with help from the creatures, and later reveals they are Martians.
- The Explorer
The narrator and head of Planetary Survey who authorizes the Everest mission, feels guilt for leaving Jimmy alone, and interviews him in the hospital to learn the truth about the creatures.
Key passages
“It’s about time we stopped fooling around with picks, ropes, camps and all the paraphernalia of the Gentlemen’s Club that sends suckers up the slopes every five years or so.”
We should abandon traditional mountaineering methods and use modern technology like airplanes to reach the summit.
The narrator criticizes the conventional approach to climbing Everest and advocates for a more direct, technological solution.
“They’re intelligent, boss. They compressed air for me. They set up a little power pack to keep me warm. They set up the smoke signal when they spotted the airplane coming back.”
The creatures are intelligent; they provided me with compressed air, a heating device, and a smoke signal to attract the rescue plane.
Jimmy reveals that the creatures actively helped him survive on the mountain.
“What do you suppose would be so adapted to thin air and subzero cold that Everest would be the only livable place on Earth to them? That’s the whole point. They’re nothing at all on Earth. They’re Martians.”
The creatures are so adapted to extreme conditions that only Everest is habitable for them on Earth—they are not native to this planet; they are Martians.
Jimmy reveals the true origin of the creatures, explaining their unique adaptation and isolation.