Riya’s Foundling

by Algis Budrys

Now, if the animal we know as a cow were to evolve into a creature with near-human intelligence, so that she thought of herself as a “person” ...

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories

20 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 30, 2010

About the author

Algis Budrys was a Lithuanian-American science fiction author, editor, and critic. He was also known under the pen names Frank Mason, Alger Rome, John A. Sentry, William Scarff, Paul Janvier, and Sam & Janet Argo.

Called "AJ" by friends, Budrys was born Algirdas Jonas Budrys in Königsberg in East Prussia. He was the son of the consul general of the Lithuanian government, (the pre-World War II government still recognized after the war by the United States, even though the Soviet-sponsored government was in power throughout most of Budrys's life). His family was sent to the United States by the Lithuanian government in 1936 when Budrys was 5 years old. During most of his adult life, he held a captain's commission in the Free Lithuanian Army.

Budrys was educated at the University of Miami, and later at Columbia University in New York. His first published science fiction story was The High Purpose, which appeared in Astounding Science Fiction in 1952. Beginning in 1952 Budrys worked as editor and manager for such science fiction publishers as Gnome Press and Galaxy Science Fiction. Some of his science fiction in the 1950s was published under the pen name "John A. Sentry", a reconfigured Anglification of his Lithuanian name. Among his other pseudonyms in the SF magazines of the 1950s and elsewhere, several revived as bylines for vignettes in his magazine Tomorrow Speculative Fiction, is "William Scarff". He also wrote several stories under the names "Ivan Janvier" or "Paul Janvier." He also used the pen name "Alger Rome" in his collaborations with Jerome Bixby.

Budrys's 1960 novella Rogue Moon was nominated for a Hugo Award, and was later anthologized in The Science Fiction Hall of Fame, Volume Two (1973). His Cold War science fiction novel Who? was adapted for the screen in 1973. In addition to numerous Hugo Award and Nebula Award nominations, Budrys won the Science Fiction Research Association's 2007 Pilgrim Award for lifetime contributions to speculative fiction scholarship. In 2009, he was the recipient of one of the first three Solstice Awards presented by the SFWA in recognition of his contributions to the field of science fiction.

Budrys was married to Edna Duna; they had four sons. He last resided in Evanston, Illinois. He died at home, from metastatic malignant melanoma on June 9, 2008.

Reviews

[Zen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ahh......a Happy Ending.....didn't expect that.

This is a simple tale about Two Lonely People of Different Sentient Species overcoming their Differences to find Companionship together.

One is a Human Child of "About Five Years of Age" with some Special Psionic Abilities who is an Orphan.

The other is a "Woman of a Certain Age" who has some Special Maternal Psionic Abilities, and who is a Large Alien Herbivore of an indeterminate bison-like appearance. She is Loney because She is no longer valued as a Breeding Companion on her Home Planet.

I gave this a 4 star rating because, despite the story's brevity, and it's somewhat simple and predictable plot, the World Building has Depth and the Narrative is Precise and To The Point. There's no wasted Verbiage here. It is a Well Crafted Piece of Writing. Nicely done.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining fantasy listening 🎶🔰

Another will written fantasy Sci-Fi adventure thriller short story by Algis Budrys about a boy 👦 and Bison who meet and become mother and son. I listened to this as part of a ghost 👻 story box 📦 set. Give it a try. Enjoy the adventure of novels 👍🔰 and books 📚. Enjoy 2022

[Kay Hawkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute but nothing spectacular

[Jane Roxanne Beamon · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple tale of simple creatures. Each with a need that the other can fulfill.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

✔️Published in Science Fiction Stories 1953.

This is a simple futuristic short science fiction story from the Golden Age of Science Fiction that shows how two creatures need one another, and both fulfill one another’s needs after the war destroys most of the world they inhabit.

This story is sad and happy simultaneously. I like Algis Budrys’s writing style; it is easy-flowing and direct.

We are introduced to Riya:

Riya—Riya bore a strong resemblance to an intelligent cow. . . .Spring had come to Riya's world; spring and the thousand sounds of it. . . . Riya presented a perfect average of her people. She stood two yards high and two wide at the shoulders, a yard at the haunches, and measured three and a half yards from her muzzle to the rudimentary tail. Her legs were short and stumpy, cloven-hooved. Her massive head hung slightly lower than her shoulders, and could be lowered to within an inch or two of the ground. She was herbivorous, ruminant, and mammalian. Moreover, she had intelligence—not of a very high order, but adequate for her needs.

Here is Phildee:

. . .five, towheaded, round faced, chubby, dressed in a slightly grubby corduroy oversuit, and precocious—had his attributes, too. Grubby and tousled; branded with a thread of licorice from one corner of his mouth to his chin . . . Phildee's mother wanted green grass and apple trees, tight skirts and fur jackets on Fifth Avenue, men to turn and look, a little room where nobody could see her. Phildee's mother had radiation burns. Phildee's mother was dead.

Algis Budrys is a new-to-me science fiction author and his work is fast becoming among my favorites to read.

Note: He is buried at Maryhill Catholic Cemetery and Mausoleum; Niles, Cook County, Illinois, USA

🟤 Gutenberg Project.
🟣Kindle version.