Author Language English Publication type Periodical | Country United States Published in Galaxy Science Fiction | |
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Genre(s) Science fiction short story | ||
"To Serve Man" is a science fiction short story written by Damon Knight. It first appeared in the November 1950 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction and has been reprinted a number of times, including in Frontiers in Space (1955), Far Out (1961), and The Best of Damon Knight (1976).
Contents
Synopsis
The story is set in the United States in a time that appears to be contemporaneous with the story's 1950 publication date. It is told in first-person narrative by a United Nations translator. The story opens at a special session of the UN where three alien emissaries, the pig-like "Kanamit", are testifying that the purpose of their mission to Earth is to bring humans "the peace and plenty which we ourselves enjoy, and which we have in the past brought to other races throughout the galaxy". The aliens soon supply Earth with cheap unlimited power, boundless supplies of food, and a device that disables all modern armies by suppressing all explosions, and they begin work on drugs for prolonging life. As a further token of friendship, they allow humans to visit their home planet via ten-year "exchange groups".
While the narrator has trusted the Kanamit from the time of their arrival, his friend and fellow translator Gregori has not. Gregori dismisses any notion of disinterested altruism and is certain the Kanamits must have an ulterior motive underlying their actions. Determined to discover what the Kanamit stand to gain by helping humans, Gregori takes a job at the Kanamit embassy to learn their language. This affords him access to a Kanamit–English dictionary, and he later steals a Kanamit book, hoping to translate it.
The narrator has also left the UN to work at the Kanamit embassy, and working together with Gregori, the two determine that the book's title is How to Serve Man. Two weeks later, the narrator returns from a trip to find Gregori distraught, having discovered to his horror that the title is a double entendre. Gregori informs the narrator that he has translated the first paragraph of the book and has determined that "it's a cookbook" (and not a treatise on serving humanity).
Awards
In 2001, the story was awarded a Retro Hugo Award as the "Best Short Story of 1951".
Adaptations
Knight's story was adapted for use as a 1962 episode of the television series The Twilight Zone.
The second segment of The Simpsons episode Treehouse of Horror "Hungry are the Damned" makes use of a similar plot device.