02542cam a22003853u 4500 60981 UtSlPG 20260610134415.0 m cr n 260607r2019||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d UtSlPG en iso639-1 PS Stamers, James The Useless Bugbreeders Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg, 2019 1 online resource : multiple file formats text txt rdacontent computer c rdamedia online resource cr rdacarrier Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1961 Release date is 2019-12-20 Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "The Useless Bugbreeders" by James Stamers is a science fiction story written in the early 1960s. This whimsical tale revolves around interplanetary legal disputes concerning a peculiar race of aliens known as the Bugbreeders. The narrative explores themes of alien life, culture, and the perception of utility and value in a galactic community, questioning what makes a civilization worthy of preservation amid the rapid expansion of humanity in the cosmos. The story follows the legal representative, Mr. Jones, as he defends the Bugbreeders' claim to Asteroid 4722 against the Space Council, who sees the asteroid merely as an obstruction to interplanetary traffic. Through a comical courtroom setting, Mr. Jones presents evidence of the Bugbreeders' capabilities, including their production of food and housing through their unique bacterial breeding practices. However, as demonstrations go awry and cause chaotic destruction, it becomes apparent that the Bugbreeders' offerings may not be compatible with human expectations. Ultimately, the narrative culminates in Mr. Jones discovering that these aliens have a secret regarding their biology that could profoundly affect humanity, raising poignant questions about life and immortality. (This is an automatically generated summary.) Original publication data not identified Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Legal stories Human-alien encounters -- Fiction Lawyers -- Fiction Produced from Worlds of If Science Fiction, May 1961 https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/60981 101807 101807