Project Gutenberg 2012-10-06 Public domain in the USA. 152 Reynolds, Mack 1917 1983 McCord, Guy Reynolds, Dallas McCord Mallory, Mark Potential Enemy Produced from Orbit volume 1 number 2, 1953. Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Potential Enemy" by Mack Reynolds is a science fiction novel written in the early 1950s. The book centers on humanity's first contact with a seemingly alien intelligence that has been secretly cohabiting Earth for centuries, ultimately delving into themes of fear, prejudice, and the human tendency to perceive even potential friends as threats. The narrative follows a seasoned journalist who becomes embroiled in the conflicting paradigms of xenophobia and diplomacy when the elusive beings reveal their presence. The story unfolds as Markham Gray becomes the first human to communicate with an alien species, only to discover that they are tiny descendants of terrestrial life, having developed advanced intelligence while remaining hidden from humanity. As Gray seeks to understand their intentions, the military, driven by fear and a desire for dominance, resolves to annihilate the alien presence, viewing them as a potential enemy rather than a possible ally. Throughout the novel, Gray wrestles with the moral implications of humanity's instinct to eliminate perceived threats, building towards a compelling commentary on the nature of human interaction with other intelligent life and the risks of perpetuating cycles of hostility. (This is an automatically generated summary.) file:///public/vhost/g/gutenberg/html/files/40954/40954-h/images/cover.jpg Reading ease score: 74.4 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories PS Text Science Fiction Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 52506 2025-08-16T14:20:09.845813 text/html 29069 2024-10-23T11:14:01 text/html 176976 2025-08-16T14:20:11.762844 application/epub+zip 175795 2025-08-16T14:20:10.318821 application/epub+zip 74262 2025-08-16T14:20:10.075853 application/epub+zip 212893 2025-08-16T14:20:12.974816 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 205515 2025-08-16T14:20:11.511836 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 104237 2022-09-18T17:41:19.216422 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 44371 2025-08-16T14:20:09.716840 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 24652 2024-10-23T11:14:01 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16912 2025-08-16T14:20:13.096811 application/rdf+xml 23556 2025-08-16T14:20:10.140820 image/jpeg 4386 2025-08-16T14:20:10.106852 image/jpeg 163419 2025-08-16T14:20:09.855840 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