Larry Verdansky, a repair technician assigned alone on Station Five, is interested in "siliconies", the silicon-based life forms found on some asteroids. The creatures typically grow to a maximum size of 2 inches (5 cm) by absorbing gamma rays from radioactive ores. Some are telepathic.[1]
When the space freighter Robert Q appears at the station with a giant of a "silicony" 1 foot (30 cm) in diameter, Verdansky deduces that the crew has found an incredibly rich source of uranium. Verdansky contacts the authorities, but before a patrol ship can reach her, the Robert Q is hit by a meteor, killing the three human crew members. The silicony itself is fatally injured from the explosive decompression.[2]
When questioned, the dying silicony states that the coordinates of its home are written on "the asteroid". Dr. Wendell Urth deduces that the silicony meant that the numbers were actually engraved on the hull of the Robert Q, disguised as serial and registration numbers, since the ship fit the definition of an asteroid (a small body orbiting the Sun) the ship's crew had read to it from an ancient astronomy book.[3]
talking, stone, some, this, article, listed, sources, reliable, please, help, this, article, looking, better, more, reliable, sources, unreliable, citations, challenged, deleted, november, 2020, learn, when, remove, this, template, message, science, fiction, m. Some of this article s listed sources may not be reliable Please help this article by looking for better more reliable sources Unreliable citations may be challenged or deleted November 2020 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Talking Stone is a science fiction mystery short story by American writer Isaac Asimov which first appeared in the October 1955 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction and was reprinted in the 1968 collection Asimov s Mysteries The Talking Stone was the second of Asimov s Wendell Urth stories citation needed The Talking Stone by Isaac AsimovCountryUnited StatesLanguageEnglishSeriesWendell UrthGenre s Science fictionPublished inFantasy and Science FictionPublication typePeriodicalPublisherFantasy HouseMedia typePrint Magazine Hardback amp Paperback Publication dateOctober 1955Chronology Preceded byThe Singing Bell Followed by The Dying NightPlot summary EditLarry Verdansky a repair technician assigned alone on Station Five is interested in siliconies the silicon based life forms found on some asteroids The creatures typically grow to a maximum size of 2 inches 5 cm by absorbing gamma rays from radioactive ores Some are telepathic 1 When the space freighter Robert Q appears at the station with a giant of a silicony 1 foot 30 cm in diameter Verdansky deduces that the crew has found an incredibly rich source of uranium Verdansky contacts the authorities but before a patrol ship can reach her the Robert Q is hit by a meteor killing the three human crew members The silicony itself is fatally injured from the explosive decompression 2 When questioned the dying silicony states that the coordinates of its home are written on the asteroid Dr Wendell Urth deduces that the silicony meant that the numbers were actually engraved on the hull of the Robert Q disguised as serial and registration numbers since the ship fit the definition of an asteroid a small body orbiting the Sun the ship s crew had read to it from an ancient astronomy book 3 References Edit Asimov s Mysteries pp 22 28 LCCN 68 10573 Asimov s Mysteries p 29 Asimov s Mysteries p 22External links EditThe Talking Stone title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database This article about a mystery short story or stories published in the 1950s is a stub You can help Wikipedia by expanding it vte Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Talking Stone amp oldid 1019441903, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
