Project Gutenberg 2009-11-17 Public domain in the USA. 151 De Vet, Charles V. 1911 1997 DeVet, Charles V. Vet, Charles V. de Vet, Charles Vincent de Martin, Bob Vital Ingredient Produced from If Worlds of Science Fiction July 1952. Produced by Greg Weeks, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at https://www.pgdp.net "Vital Ingredient" by Charles V. De Vet is a science fiction short story written in the early 1950s. The narrative centers around a group of extraterrestrial explorers who encounter a native creature on a planet with a low-gravity environment. Their exploration takes a poignant turn when they inadvertently alter the native's body structure, leading to unforeseen consequences regarding its survival in its own environment. The story features a character named Orville Pollnow, who is transformed by the explorers into a being with enhanced physical capabilities, yet it tragically results in his demise due to an inability to consume enough sustenance to support his new form. The dialogue among the explorers grapples with moral and ethical concerns about their interference with a primitive species, as they debate whether they should enhance Orville's capabilities for the greater good of his civilization. Ultimately, their well-intentioned actions become a cautionary tale about the unexpected ramifications of meddling with the natural evolution of life. The narrative explores themes of responsibility, the complexities of intervention, and what it means to truly help another being. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 74.8 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 44511 2025-08-12T12:13:57.747805 text/html 20482 2024-10-24T20:32:43 text/html 265974 2025-08-12T12:14:02.692761 application/epub+zip 264313 2025-08-12T12:14:00.432798 application/epub+zip 74392 2025-08-12T12:13:59.298785 application/epub+zip 408042 2025-08-12T12:14:04.285815 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 400057 2025-08-12T12:14:01.942773 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 161737 2022-09-14T06:34:41.223048 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 37613 2025-08-12T12:13:57.494802 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17856 2024-10-24T20:32:43 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 37629 2021-01-05T20:42:17 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 19647 2025-08-12T12:14:04.430244 application/rdf+xml 14684 2025-08-12T12:13:59.788772 image/jpeg 3696 2025-08-12T12:13:59.538774 image/jpeg 192564 2021-01-05T20:42:17 application/octet-stream application/zip 14533 2021-01-05T20:42:17 application/octet-stream application/zip 266038 2025-08-12T12:13:57.763777 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