Project Gutenberg 2020-12-10 Public domain in the USA. 138 St. Clair, Margaret 1911 1995 Saint Clair, Margaret Clair, Margaret St. Hazzard, Wilton Seabright, Idris Clair, M. St. The Dancers Produced from Planet Stories January 1952 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Dancers" by Wilton Hazzard is a science fiction novella written in the early 1950s. The story explores themes of humanity, knowledge, and the consequences of actions in a new world following the demise of Earth. It follows a group of astronauts who land on a new planet and grapple with the ethical implications of their first contact with a primitive humanoid species, ultimately leading them to ponder deeper existential questions about the nature of knowledge and the human connection to the cosmos. The plot centers around Rossiter and Bernard, two crew members of the spaceship "Elpis", who reflect on the violent encounter they had with the planet's native inhabitants. Their initial shock and guilt over killing five primitives - a woman, a baby, and three men - lead to discussions about loss, memory, and the potential for unintended consequences of their actions. As they delve into their conscience, Rossiter proposes a thought-provoking idea: that throughout history, humanity's collective rituals and dances may have played a crucial role in the natural order of the universe, including the rising of the sun. This notion brings a sense of irony and heaviness as they realize that in their quest for knowledge and civilization, they may have severed a vital connection that influenced the cosmos, prompting readers to reflect on the nature of belief, culture, and humanity's legacy. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Reading ease score: 87.3 (6th grade). Easy to read. en Science fiction Short stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Life on other planets -- Fiction Interstellar travel -- Fiction PS Text Category: Science-Fiction & Fantasy 34973 2025-07-25T10:09:39.397912 text/html 11055 2024-10-18T09:01:28 text/html 239385 2025-07-25T10:09:41.052923 application/epub+zip 238235 2025-07-25T10:09:39.803968 application/epub+zip 67630 2025-07-25T10:09:39.567912 application/epub+zip 270743 2025-07-25T10:09:42.206899 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 263535 2025-07-25T10:09:40.843947 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 93120 2022-09-28T20:29:22.448177 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 29106 2025-07-25T10:09:39.318906 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 9393 2024-10-18T09:01:28 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 17387 2025-07-25T10:09:42.343894 application/rdf+xml 30332 2025-07-25T10:09:39.674910 image/jpeg 4996 2025-07-25T10:09:39.618916 image/jpeg 261553 2025-07-25T10:09:39.405958 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