Project Gutenberg 2019-10-23 Public domain in the USA. 87 Ellanby, Boyd Ellanbee, Boyd Ellamby, Boyd Emshwiller, Ed 1925 1990 Emsh Emsh, Ed Alexander, Ed Emshwiller, Edmund A. Willer EMSH A Toothache on Zenob Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, October 1958 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "A Toothache on Zenob" by Boyd Ellanby is a science fiction novella published in the late 1950s. The story centers around the character Pehn Karn, an intelligent but physically unattractive young man who battles a recurring toothache. It presents themes of exploration, communication with extraterrestrial beings, and the clash between progressive thought and traditional beliefs within a unique alien culture. The plot unfolds as Pehn and his friend Nautunal intercept signals from a distant planet in a neighboring solar system, potentially indicating intelligent life. As they decipher the mathematical patterns in the signals, they realize the signals are a means to communicate with extraterrestrials from a planet orbiting the star Topaz. Despite his worsening toothache and familial pressures, Pehn seeks out his friend Bidagha, a progressive Healer, to understand the mysterious signals better. Tension arises between the scientific aspirations of Pehn and Bidagha and the conservative views of Pehn's father, the Premier. The climax occurs during a ceremony in a sacred cave, where Bidagha attempts to use modern tools to heal Pehn, leading to tragic consequences as the cave collapses, sealing both Pehn and Bidagha within. Ultimately, the story examines the consequences of rejecting scientific progress in favor of tradition. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 83.5 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Life on other planets -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 62078 2025-07-23T14:19:25.184525 text/html 58538 2019-10-23T12:06:12 text/html 272638 2025-07-23T14:19:26.945538 application/epub+zip 271455 2025-07-23T14:19:25.556518 application/epub+zip 79987 2025-07-23T14:19:25.342533 application/epub+zip 311602 2025-07-23T14:19:28.188528 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 303803 2025-07-23T14:19:26.743515 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 112698 2022-09-27T01:56:36.043068 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 55087 2025-07-23T14:19:25.065557 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 55321 2019-10-23T12:06:12 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 20039 2025-07-23T14:19:28.315520 application/rdf+xml 26125 2025-07-23T14:19:25.419536 image/jpeg 4536 2025-07-23T14:19:25.381532 image/jpeg 418789 2019-10-23T12:06:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 22135 2019-10-23T12:06:12 application/octet-stream application/zip 421533 2025-07-23T14:19:25.197570 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 More titles under Boyd, Lyle Gifford