Project Gutenberg
2006-10-02
Public domain in the USA.
11644
Piper, H. Beam
1904
1964
Piper, Henry Beam
Piper, Horace Beam
Freas, Kelly
1922
2005
Freas, Frank Kelly
Omnilingual
Produced from "Astounding Science Fiction," February, 1957.
Wikipedia page about this book: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Omnilingual
Produced by Susan Skinner, Greg Weeks and the Online
Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
"Omnilingual" by H. Beam Piper is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The story centers around a team of archaeologists who are excavating the long-buried ruins of an ancient Martian city, grappling with the challenge of translating Martian texts without any known bilingual reference. As they delve deeper into the remnants of Martian civilization, they confront the mysteries of language, culture, and the history of a race that went extinct millennia before humans reached Mars. The narrative follows Martha Dane, an archaeologist determined to decipher the Martian language. Throughout the excavation, the team uncovers significant artifacts and hints of a rich Martian history, including a library filled with books. Martha's efforts eventually lead to breakthroughs in understanding the Martian language, providing insights into their culture and scientific knowledge. However, they also grapple with the existential question of why the last Martians died and what happened to their civilization. The discovery of Martian remnants serves not only as a gateway to translation but raises deeper reflections on the nature of knowledge, memory, and the human quest to connect with those long gone. (This is an automatically generated summary.)
Reading ease score: 72.7 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read.
en
Science fiction
PS
Text
Science Fiction
Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy
Category: Archaeology & Anthropology
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