Project Gutenberg 2009-09-17 Public domain in the USA. 164 Gilbert, Robert E. 1924 1993 Gilbert, Robert Ernest Gilbert, R. E. Terry, W. E. 1921 1992 Terry, Willis E. Terry, Bill Stopover Planet Produced from Imagination Stories of Science and Fantasy August 1953. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Stopover Planet" by Robert E. Gilbert is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative centers on a bizarre encounter where an alien being captures various Earth inhabitants, showcasing the strange and often dark interplay between their desires and the aliens' predatory nature. The story is crafted within a whimsical yet eerie setting that reflects the fusion of daily life with fantastical elements. In "Stopover Planet," the plot unfolds as various characters from Earth, including a patrolman, a baker, and a reverend, are drawn into a peculiar scheme orchestrated by aliens. The aliens seduce these individuals by exploiting their desires—whether for promotion, love, or familial security—before capturing them in a mysterious truck. As the aliens prepare to take their captives to another dimension, they reflect on the unique traits of humanity and their own mission to collect specimens for the Galactic Museum of Natural History. Through sharp humor and absurdity, the story critiques human nature and explores themes of selfishness and the struggle for connection. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 86.2 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Humour 42408 2025-08-12T10:13:24.576634 text/html 18309 2024-10-24T20:21:24 text/html 249182 2025-08-12T10:13:28.508633 application/epub+zip 247498 2025-08-12T10:13:26.293623 application/epub+zip 144006 2025-08-12T10:13:25.175637 application/epub+zip 377787 2025-08-12T10:13:30.284591 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 278066 2025-08-12T10:13:27.832614 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 149428 2022-09-14T04:04:11.059941 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 35471 2025-08-12T10:13:24.330623 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 15715 2024-10-24T20:21:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 35486 2021-01-05T16:38:49 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20089 2025-08-12T10:13:30.411601 application/rdf+xml 14294 2025-08-12T10:13:25.717607 image/jpeg 3648 2025-08-12T10:13:25.463650 image/jpeg 179981 2021-01-05T16:38:49 application/octet-stream application/zip 13923 2021-01-05T16:38:49 application/octet-stream application/zip 248557 2025-08-12T10:13:24.588637 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