Genesis

by H. Beam Piper

Was this ill-fated expedition the end of a proud, old race--or the beginning of a new one? There are strange gaps in our records of the past. We find traces of man-like things--but, suddenly, man appears, far too much developed to be the "next step" in a well-linked chain of evolutionary evidence. Perhaps something like the events of this story furnishes the answer to the riddle.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Fiction, Ebooks

48 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1951

About the author

Henry Beam Piper was an American science fiction author. He wrote many short stories and several novels. He is best known for his extensive Terro-Human Future History series of stories and a shorter series of "Paratime" alternate history tales.

Reviews

[Tristram Shandy · Rating 2 out of 5]

If It Were Done When ‘tis Done

I don’t know whether it had been done before, but since then it has been done so often that it did nothing special to me. In other words, in its own time, i.e. in the year 1951, H. Piper Beam’s short story Genesis might have had a surprise in store for its readers but a modern reader will hardly fail to see where the whole story is going to go soon after they have read the first few pages: After a failed Martian enterprise to set up a colony on Terra, the surviving Martians have to fend for their lives against grumpy Neanderthal men, who tend to regard the newcomers as a welcome addition to their diet, and the outcome is the beginning of the human race as we know it. Even though the story in itself is not overly gripping, a more colourful writing style might have increased my interest but the author prefers to cling to a rather matter-of-fact style and he annoyingly persists in using the word “girls” for “women”.

The only interesting detail consisted in the fact that originally, the Martians knew a lot of things, like agriculture or the use of the alphabet, which, faced with the challenges of fighting for their daily survival in a prehistoric world, they never really thought of passing on to their children – so that it would take millennia for these civilizational achievements to be re-developed. There is an underlying concept of progress in this assumption, namely that, given the time and place necessary, the Martio-Humans would invariably come up with the same technologies, that made me think about the limitations of human imagination. Apart from this, however, the story was quite lame.

[SciFiOne · Rating 5 out of 5]

2019 grade A

Kindle mega-pack

Out of date but great. The harsh reality of a small band surviving on a new planet with some slightly predictable twists at the end.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting story of the colonization of Earth (Tarsheesh) by humans from Mars. It very clearly lays out ideas that were prevalent in Evolutionary Biology, Anthropology and Archeology as the fields stood in the mid 1900s. Of course, more recent discoveries have changed our ideas, but this was entertaining in my opinion.

[Armin · Rating 3 out of 5]

H. Beam Pipers Time-Police-Zyklus basiert auf fünf Parallelwelten in unterschiedlichen historischen Entwicklungsstadien. Allen vorausgehend ist die Auswanderung der menschlichen Marspopulation auf einen unbesiedelten Planeten, je nach Erfolg der Mission geht der technische Fortschritt einfach so weiter (Stufe 1) oder muss auf einem niedrigeren Niveau neu ansetzen. Bei Genesis geht erst mal so ziemlich alles schief, das Schiff, dessen Bau 50 Jahre in Anspruch nahm wird von einem Meteoriten getroffen, nur eines der Rettungsschiffe erreicht die Erde. Da Stufe 5 komplettes Scheitern bedeutet, geht es wohl um Stufe 4, allerdings fällt die Besatzung mit der Zeit auf Steinzeitniveau zurück. Der permanente Überlebens- und Verdrängungskampf gegen die Neandertaler lässt keine Zeit für die Vermittlung der Kenntnisse von Ackerbau und Viehzucht oder auch nur Lesefähigkeiten, der Nachwuchs ist fit genug, um die Neandertaler auszutricksen, mehr aber auch nicht, die Siedler müssen den Bildungsweg noch mal ganz von vorn gehen.
Die Idee liest sich, wie fast immer bei H. Beam Piper, besser als die Umsetzung. Der Autor ist weder ein großer Charakterzeichner noch ein begabter Baumeister von Alternativwelten.

[William · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fantasy listening

Due to eye issues and damage Alexa reads to me.
An space adventure thriller novella, that is will written with interesting characters trying to survive when a spaceship explodes. I would recommend this novella to readers of fantasy Sci-Fi adventures. Enjoy the adventure of reading 2021 😐

[Patrick Gibson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Speculative, on why a certain humanoid species suddenly appeared in the historical record. Short (only a few chapters) read. Interesting.

[Wampuscat · Rating 5 out of 5]

A five star short story about the alternate origins of mankind on planet Earth. Excellent.

[Chris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well-written, fun origin story of the human race. It's become (?) a sci-fi trope by now, not sure if H. Beam Piper originated this one or not, but either way, it's a solid installment in the genre.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review

About the Author: H. (Henry) Beam Piper was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, in 1904, and died, an apparent suicide, in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, in 1964. Piper's first published story, "_Time and Time Again_" (Astounding Science Fiction, April 1947), was adapted for radio and aired on the NBC program Dimension X on 12 July, 1951, and again on the NBC program X Minus One on 11 January, 1956. His first novel was the 1953 mystery Murder in the Gun Room.

Piper's science-fiction novel Little Fuzzy was nominated for a Hugo Award in 1963. His historical essay "_Rebel Raider_," published in True: The Men's Magazine in 1950, inspired the fictional teleplay Willie and the Yank, a three-part mini-series which aired on Walt Disney's Wonderful World of Color in January 1967 (and was later released theatrically as Mosby's Marauders).

Piper was a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA), the New York Authors' Club, and the Hydra Club.

Product Description

The book has no illustrations or index. Purchasers are entitled to a free trial membership in the General Books Club where they can select from more than a million books without charge.

[Ginny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was published in 1951, so it's pretty quaint. The big reveal at the end is that humankind (the ancestors of modern humans at least) emigrated from Mars. Due to an asteroid impact, their spaceship explodes and only eight people make planetfall on Tareesh (Earth). They manage to stay alive and reproduce, fighting off the Hairy Ones (Neanderthals) the whole time. It's such a struggle to survive that the older generation never gets around to explaining things like agriculture and written language; one of the last thoughts of the leader of the group as he dies is this horrified realization. It takes millenia for the decendents to discover those important lessons on their own. The canals on Mars theory is mentioned which always makes me giggle (and remember that things can be much different than they seem).

Liked this quote:
"She had not been idiotic, or raving mad; she had just escaped from a reality she could no longer bear."

[Rockbobster · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a story of the perils of a band of people struggling to make a living in a new world, much as settlers and colonists have done throughout history. These perils include the environment, wild beasts, and hostile sentient creatures. This is a theme we have seen in many stories since this was published. Will our band of settlers prevail, and what does their success mean for us? A thought provoking read.

[Sean Brennan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this story which actually was the beginning of all his subsequent works whereby a spaceship crashes on a planet and the survivors find themselves at war with the local indigenous humanoids, contains a marvellous twist at the end.

[Lindsay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice twist at the end

[Aimee · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was very thought provocing. I downloaded it from ManyBooks for my Nook.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

Origin story for Level 4 paratime (us).
3.5-ish.

[A Hoppy Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
A little spooky with a good blend of suspense and mystery.

[Susan Molloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story.