A Baby on Neptune story

shortstory: A Baby on Neptune (1929) · 1929-12 · Clare Winger Harris, Miles J. Breuer

A radio transmission is received from Neptune, but a pair of pioneering astronauts find the planet to be a wasteland, seemingly devoid of life.

14 total · 5 major · 9 minor

Theme	Level	Motivation
gaseous being	major	Much was made of the gaseous nature of Neptunian life. It was revealed that the gaseous lifeforms on the planet, of which both intelligent and non-intelligent specimens existed, were composed of huge gaseous cells that operated on slow timescales.
incompatible modes of communication	major	The Neptunians had trouble communicating with the people of Earth, and vice versa, because their biological and mental processes operated on a very slow timescale by comparison.
Neptunian extraterrestrial	major	Humanity made contact with a gaseous physicist on Neptune, named Elzar, but communication was made difficult by the fact that it operated on a comparatively slow timescale.
parent and child	major	Elzar was grateful when a team of astronauts saved his young son from being devoured by a gaseous beast.
search for extraterrestrial intelligence	major	In the 22nd century, the people of Earth started sending out radio messages to other planets in the solar system in the hopes of making contact with intelligent life. And it turned out that beings on multiple planets in the solar system were doing the same in hopes of making contact.
interplanetary space travel	minor	It was revealed that the first successful interplanetary voyage had occurred in 2345. It was to Venus, and the voyagers made contact with its intelligent worm-like inhabitants. Corrigan and Dalton's fifty day voyage to Neptune was described in vivid detail.
Jovian extraterrestrial	minor	It was revealed that regular radio communication with the inhabitants on four of Jupiter's moons had been established by the year 2300.
Martian extraterrestrial	minor	It was revealed that regular radio communication with Martians had been established by the year 2300.
Saturnian extraterrestrial	minor	It was revealed that regular radio communication with the inhabitants on one of Saturn's moons had been established by the year 2300.
space exploration	minor	The story describes various pioneering efforts to explore the solar system: Bjerken's trans-geodesic coaster trip to the Moon in the year 2310, the first successful interplanetary voyage (to Venus) in 2345, an ill-fated attempt to go to Mars, and a pioneering fifty day voyage to Neptune.