Authentic Science Fiction Monthly No. 53 — page 79: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

Suppose you met a man in a Flying Saucer... by E. C. TUBB ONE DAY it will happen. Someone, it may be you, will be the first terrestrial to greet a visitor from space and that meeting will be the most important event in the entire history of Man. For the first time we shall have met an alien in the truest sense of the word— someone without any of the inescap- able attributes to be found in any man of Earth. Such a meeting will be more than just two representatives of differ- ent races coming into contact for the first time. It will be a meeting of two cultures, two ideologies, two sci- ences, even, perhaps, two entirely different ways of thought. Such a meeting could form the basis of common understanding and mutual friendship. Or it could lead directly to interplanetary war. FOURTEEN The choice could depend on vou. You think that is unlikely? You think that planets would not go to war because of what one person happened to say or do? Nations have done it: why not planets? Maybe these aliens start off with friendship: their envoy comes in peace and pleasure. But if you, so to speak, start off on the wrong foot, he may go back to his superiors with an unfavourable report. Their attitude may change and when full contact is made, stubbornness on either side may lead to the kind of war you only meet in bad dreams. When you meet an alien, you are not just you any more. You are a representative of Earth. What you say and how you conduct yourself will be of immeasurable im- portance to any extra-terrestrial visitor and to the whole of this world. He will base his opinion of the human race on you. What you do or say may well determine the future of our planet. So —what would you do if you met a man in a flying saucer ? As with most human actions there is always a choice of three alternatives: two positive, one negative. You can do nothing—negative. You can advance— positive, or you can run—again posi- tive. You have also a built-in mechan- ism which automatically takes care of your survival. When you are faced with danger—you run. The trouble is that to your instinct “‘danger” also spells “unknown,” “unfamiliar,” “‘alien,”’ or “‘unrecognised.”” A savage will run from something he cannot understand. But you are not a savage, so the first thing would be to master your primi- tive instincts and use your intelligence. The first meeting could take place in several different ways. You could see the saucer land, you could see it at rest, or you could just meet the alien. Naturally, in this context, we are using the word ‘“‘saucer”’ to cover the generic term for any extra-terrestrial vessel and “‘alien”’ for its crew member. Suppose you see it land ? Modern aircraft have made you familiar with the whistling roar of displaced air so that the sound alone commicbooks. com