The espadrilles

Metadata

Gutenberg ID

78942

Title

The espadrilles

Language

en

Book source

Project Gutenberg

Description max 80 words

A hard-luck spaceman recounts his terrifying encounter with alien life on a dense, glittering planetoid. After landing to repair his ship, he discovers trees made of hard, metallic crystal and realizes the entire world is alive. Fleeing the encroaching, resilient flora, he returns to Mars only to find the alien life has spread to the desert, threatening to consume the planet.

Summary up to 500 words

In Margaret St. Clair's science fiction tale "The Espadrilles," a gaunt, space-burned man named Jack recounts a harrowing story of cosmic contamination to a skeptical bartender and a curious patron in a Marsport bar. Jack, a hard-luck spaceman carrying a significant amount of money, is initially shunned for his appearance but eventually wins the attention of the narrator with a tale of alien life. His ship was forced to land on a small, dense planetoid featuring a double sun and an unbreathable atmosphere. While repairing the hull, Jack discovered a world that glittered like mica, covered in trees composed of hard, metallic crystal that rang like glass bells when tapped. Realizing the entire planetoid was alive, he fled before the terrain could swallow his vessel. Upon returning to Mars, Jack attempted to prospect in the desert but discovered a spreading patch of the same glittering, metallic life. Despite his efforts to contain the threat, including destroying the piece of tree trunk he had used to repair his ship's main drive shaft with an atomic blast, the alien life had already taken root. He warns that the quiet Martian sands are now crawling with this hard, bright new life, which current technology cannot resist. Jack begs for help from archaeologists or respectable observers to document the patches before it is too late, fearing the end of the desert's peaceful existence. The narrative takes a surreal turn when Jack reveals the true extent of the infection: he himself is infested. As he attempts to demonstrate the "soft, wet kind of life" on the edge of the galaxy, he struggles to lift his right foot. When the bartender forcibly removes him from the bar, Jack's espadrille falls off, revealing a green, emerald-hard leaf growing directly out of the sole of his foot. The sole is elevated around the leaf, causing him pain and stiffness. As he is dragged out into the street, Jack yells that he must saw the leaf off twice a week. The story concludes with Jack staggering down the street, a living testament to the invasive, metallic flora that has breached the barrier between worlds and now threatens to consume even the most hardened human traveler.

LLM editorial rating

4.2/5

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