Project Gutenberg 2020-10-16 Public domain in the USA. 116 Smith, Richard Rein 1930 Smith, Richard R. (Richard Rein) Rein Smith, Richard Vestal, Herman B. 1916 2007 Vestal, H. B. (Herman B.) Vestal, Herman Beeson Beeson Alien Equivalent Produced from Planet Stories Summer 1955 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "Alien Equivalent" by Richard R. Smith is a science fiction novella written in the mid-20th century. The story explores themes of exploitation, survival, and the complex dynamics between Earthmen and the Martian race. Set on Mars, it captures the struggles of colonists and their interactions with the indigenous Martians, who are portrayed as a frail and resentful people living under Earth’s dominion. The narrative follows Chester Farrell, an Earthman who has spent three years in the harsh environment of Mars trying to earn enough money to return to his family on Earth. After managing to save a thousand dollars for the return trip, he is accosted by Tharp, a violent Earthman who demands Farrell's money. In a desperate bid to save himself, Farrell proposes a gambling scheme using the Martian game called "duchal," which involves the painful sensations of losing being transmitted from one player to another. The novella culminates in a tense encounter at the gambling den where Farrell must navigate the risks of both betrayal and the Martian's unique customs, ultimately revealing deeper truths about exploitation and moral choices in a foreign land. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 85.1 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Martians -- Fiction Mars (Planet) -- Fiction Criminals -- Fiction Games -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Category: Novels 45757 2025-06-25T07:30:26.085838 text/html 21882 2024-10-18T07:15:14 text/html 432256 2025-06-25T07:30:28.409865 application/epub+zip 431078 2025-06-25T07:30:26.521851 application/epub+zip 82919 2025-06-25T07:30:26.266878 application/epub+zip 466355 2025-06-25T07:30:29.989820 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 459430 2025-06-25T07:30:28.209837 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 111563 2022-09-28T16:20:51.381587 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 39165 2023-09-27T07:44:40.916617 text/plain 19327 2024-10-18T07:15:14 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 16982 2025-06-25T07:30:30.263829 application/rdf+xml 25769 2025-06-25T07:30:26.379856 image/jpeg 4536 2025-06-25T07:30:26.319849 image/jpeg 374675 2025-06-25T07:30:26.109866 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