Project Gutenberg 2019-05-26 Public domain in the USA. 94 Winterbotham, R. R. (Russell Robert) 1904 1971 Winterbotham, Russell Robert Winterbotham, Russ Winterbotham, R.R. Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH A Little Knowledge Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, December 1956 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "A Little Knowledge" by R. R. Winterbotham is a science fiction short story published in the mid-20th century. The narrative explores themes of interplanetary life and the inherent dangers of human ambition, as an alien named Olbu visits Earth to assess whether humanity poses a threat to the galaxy. The story reflects the burgeoning interest in space exploration and societal introspection prevalent during this time. The plot centers around a telecast featuring Olbu, the alien ambassador from the planet Xvik, and Earth scientists Dr. Bruber and broadcaster Ralph Rodkey. As Olbu shares his observations about humanity, he observes that Earthmen are ambitious and dangerous — an assessment that sparks discussions about the future of mankind. Through moments of humor and tension, Olbu reveals his planet's view of Earthlings and the possibility that they may need to be eliminated for the safety of the universe. However, the story takes a twist when Dr. Bruber informs Olbu that his home star has gone supernova, leaving the alien stranded on Earth. Ultimately, the story comments on the cyclical patterns of ambition and destruction inherent in human nature and hints that the fate Olbu feared for humanity may be the one his own kind has already faced. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 77.3 (7th grade). Fairly easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Television programs -- Fiction PS Text Category: Short Stories Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 46908 2025-06-23T15:46:41.367034 text/html 43232 2019-05-26T15:35:24 text/html 291926 2025-06-23T15:46:43.386108 application/epub+zip 290755 2025-06-23T15:46:41.812086 application/epub+zip 79640 2025-06-23T15:46:41.561037 application/epub+zip 324859 2025-06-23T15:46:44.715047 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 317972 2025-06-23T15:46:43.151076 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 107189 2022-09-27T01:25:21.669099 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 40097 2025-06-23T15:46:41.228104 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 40334 2019-05-26T15:35:24 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20927 2025-06-23T15:46:44.865048 application/rdf+xml 28944 2025-06-23T15:46:41.660054 image/jpeg 4937 2025-06-23T15:46:41.610054 image/jpeg 460473 2019-05-26T15:35:24 application/octet-stream application/zip 15285 2019-05-26T15:35:24 application/octet-stream application/zip 461921 2025-06-23T15:46:41.382116 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 en.wikipedia