Project Gutenberg 2009-08-21 Public domain in the USA. 173 Bixby, Jerome 1923 1998 Bixby, Jay Lewis Bixby, Jerry Bixby, Drexel Jerome Lewis Neal, Harry Drexel, Jay B. Lewis, D. B. Lewis, D.B. Ashman, William Ashman Ashman, Bill Zen Produced from Galaxy Science Fiction October 1952. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Zen" by Jerome Bixby is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative unfolds in a distant future where a team of scientists explores the asteroid Vesta, seeking signs of life and remnants of extraterrestrial civilizations. The story delves into themes of intelligence, isolation, and the longing for companionship, centering around a unique encounter between humans and a remarkable alien species known as the Zen. The protagonist, David Koontz, a paleontologist, discovers a singular Zen creature, the last of its kind, living in solitude after the destruction of its home planet, Sorn. Their poignant interaction reveals the Zen's struggle with loneliness and survival, as she yearns for companionship after three thousand years of isolation. Koontz learns about her incredible resilience and intelligence but is faced with her desperate request for death, unable to end her own suffering. Eventually, the arrival of another Zen offers a glimmer of hope for their species’ continuity. As the story unfolds, it not only highlights the intrinsic value of life but also raises questions about the responsibilities of advanced civilizations toward one another. The resolution of the tale leads to a surprising resurgence of the Zen population, emphasizing the unpredictability and beauty of life amidst adversity. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 83.4 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 44515 2025-06-12T10:05:27.628217 text/html 40557 2021-01-05T11:44:01 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 286489 2021-01-05T11:44:01 text/html; charset=iso-8859-1 application/zip 348956 2025-06-12T10:05:32.482174 application/epub+zip 347321 2025-06-12T10:05:29.739183 application/epub+zip 79774 2025-06-12T10:05:28.299201 application/epub+zip 442363 2025-06-12T10:05:34.580153 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 434261 2025-06-12T10:05:31.578184 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107685 2022-09-13T17:01:40.689631 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 37723 2025-06-12T10:05:27.317274 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 37581 2021-01-05T11:44:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 14928 2021-01-05T11:44:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19920 2025-06-12T10:05:34.802157 application/rdf+xml 8567 2025-06-12T10:05:28.960361 image/jpeg 2382 2025-06-12T10:05:28.646184 image/jpeg 352489 2025-06-12T10:05:27.644236 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