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Short story written from alien perspective with this line: “It's too bright to look at, so they don't”

Name of short story told from perspective of mechanical alien?Short story about humans from alien perspectiveScientists accidentally breed super-intelligent miceStory about someone serving a life sentence when their life has been extended indefinitelySeeking a short story about psychologically curing a human serviceman of his obsession with an alien female's affectionShort story with a first person narrator in a future where racial conflict had exploded into an all out war

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41

1

In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.

story-identification short-stories

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asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

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  This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
  
  – Valorum
  May 30 at 6:44
  

  
  
  
  

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41

1

In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.

story-identification short-stories

share|improve this question

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

4,29411 gold badge1919 silver badges5757 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  5
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  This question would be improved by going through the checklists here; How to ask a good story-ID question?
  
  – Valorum
  May 30 at 6:44
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

In this brief story read in the 1980s to 1990s, the narrator is an alien explorer who is describing the Earth and its inhabitants. Regarding the Sun, the alien says, "It's too bright to look at, so they don't." That sentence has stayed with me while the memory of the rest of the story decayed; the rest is gone, forgotten, except that I thought it was a clever approach and enjoyed the story. It was published in an English-language anthology. I am hoping that someone who read the story will recognize this sentence.

story-identification short-stories

share|improve this question

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

4,29411 gold badge1919 silver badges5757 bronze badges

share|improve this question

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

4,29411 gold badge1919 silver badges5757 bronze badges

share|improve this question

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

4,29411 gold badge1919 silver badges5757 bronze badges

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

4,29411 gold badge1919 silver badges5757 bronze badges

asked May 30 at 1:18

Invisible TrihedronInvisible Trihedron

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1 Answer
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89

I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.

Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:

"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.

"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."

share|improve this answer

edited May 30 at 12:17

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  15
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
  
  – Invisible Trihedron
  May 30 at 12:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

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89

I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.

Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:

"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.

"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."

share|improve this answer

edited May 30 at 12:17

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  15
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
  
  – Invisible Trihedron
  May 30 at 12:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

89

I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.

Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:

"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.

"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."

share|improve this answer

edited May 30 at 12:17

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

• 
  
  
  

  
  15
  

  
  
  
  
  
  

  
  
  Thank you very much; that looks like a match. I can't imagine how I lost the connection between the quote -- "so they don't" -- and the rest of the novel, which I read and reread, and remember a great deal about. The novel, Life, the Universe and Everything, was published in 1982 and I read it when it was new in hardback, so my "internal time stamp" matches. Case closed!
  
  – Invisible Trihedron
  May 30 at 12:45
  

  
  
  
  

add a comment
 | 

I'm pretty sure this is actually from a book: Douglas Adams's third Hitch-Hiker's book, Life, The Universe and Everything.

Slartibartfast is explaining exactly why the Krikkiters are so traumatised by a spaceship crashing on their planet:

"No," said Slartibartfast, with a slight quickening of his step, "the people of Krikkit have never thought to themselves 'We are alone in the Universe'. They are surrounded by a huge Dust Cloud, you see, their single sun with its single world, and they are right out on the utmost eastern edge of the Galaxy. Because of the Dust Cloud there has never been anything to see in the sky. At night it is totally blank. During the day there is the sun, but you can't look directly at that so they don't. They are hardly aware of the sky. It's as if they had a blind spot which extended 180 degrees from horizon to horizon.

"You see, the reason why they have never thought 'We are alone in the Universe' is that until tonight they don't know about the Universe. Until tonight."

share|improve this answer

edited May 30 at 12:17

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

share|improve this answer

edited May 30 at 12:17

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges

answered May 30 at 7:35

Daniel RosemanDaniel Roseman

45.4k1313 gold badges130130 silver badges166166 bronze badges