Project Gutenberg 2009-04-21 Public domain in the USA. 137 Long, Frank Belknap 1903 1994 The Calm Man Produced from Fantastic Universe May 1954. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Calm Man" by Frank Belknap Long is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative delves into themes of emotional detachment and alien identity, exploring the complexities of domestic life through the eyes of a woman named Sally. The story unfolds as she grapples with her unresponsive husband's true nature, ultimately leading to revelations about both her family and her own feelings of isolation. In this tale, Sally Anders bears the burden of her husband's emotional coldness, which becomes increasingly troubling as they raise their son, Tommy. Despite the joy of motherhood, Sally's life with her husband, Jim, feels hollow and lacking warmth. As the story progresses, a shocking truth is revealed: Jim is not human but an alien who has been using a stand-in to maintain his life on Earth while preparing to return to Mars. This revelation not only shatters Sally's world but also reveals the deeper impacts of her husband's calm demeanor. The climax builds towards the realization that Tommy, too, is drawn to his father's world, culminating in an emotional goodbye as the two entities leave Earth behind, illuminating the profound sorrow of a mother who is losing her child to another realm. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 84.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 57449 2025-08-11T15:30:46.261351 text/html 53766 2009-04-21T09:28:18 text/html 87887 2025-08-11T15:30:50.032348 application/epub+zip 86702 2025-08-11T15:30:47.781363 application/epub+zip 86702 2025-08-11T15:30:46.783362 application/epub+zip 161640 2025-08-11T15:30:51.574450 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 154161 2025-08-11T15:30:49.336337 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 121415 2022-09-13T10:02:52.722419 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 50669 2025-08-11T15:30:46.018373 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 50585 2009-04-21T09:28:18 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 18742 2025-08-11T15:30:51.701338 application/rdf+xml 11517 2025-08-11T15:30:47.283342 image/jpeg 3253 2025-08-11T15:30:47.037342 image/jpeg 21339 2009-04-21T09:28:18 application/octet-stream application/zip 20010 2009-04-21T09:28:18 application/octet-stream application/zip 85223 2025-08-11T15:30:46.266370 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://book.klll.cc/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia