02496cam a22003493u 450000100060000000300070000600500170001300600020003000700050003200800410003704000110007804100170008905000070010610000500011324500130016326400510017630000470022733600260027433700260030033800360032649000570036250000310041950800940045052013890054453400450193365300200197865300180199870000130201683000570202985600430208699900170212923931UtSlPG20260610133541.0mcr n260607r2007||||utu|||||o|||||||||||||| d  aUtSlPG 7aen2iso639-1 4aPS1 aSmith, George O.q(George Oliver),d1911-198110aInstinct 1aSalt Lake City, UT :bProject Gutenberg,c2007  a1 online resource :bmultiple file formats  atextbtxt2rdacontent  acomputerbc2rdamedia  aonline resourcebcr2rdacarrier1 aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction March 1959.  aRelease date is 2007-12-20  aGreg Weeks, Bruce Albrecht, Stephen Blundell and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team  a"Instinct" by George O. Smith is a science fiction novella penned in the late 1950s. The story revolves around the themes of communication, human nature, and the cyclical rise and fall of civilizations, specifically reflecting on the interactions between humans from Earth (referred to as Terra) and a more advanced alien race. The narrative explores the difficulties that arise when different species attempt to understand each other's motivations and behaviors.  The plot centers on Jerry Markham, a Terran astronaut, who is captured by an alien race after landing on a foreign planet. The aliens, led by Chelan, are intrigued but perplexed by the Terrans' propensity for conflict and their relentless drive to push boundaries despite past failures. As Markham finds himself isolated from communication and subjected to experimental isolation to uncover the secrets of human instinct, he begins to reflect deeply on memory and communication. Ultimately, the aliens learn that despite shutting off his sensory inputs, the essence of Markham's being—the drive to connect and communicate—remains unyielding, prompting a recognition of humanity’s persistent will to thrive, even when faced with adversity. The story concludes with the aliens reconsidering their approach to humanity, acknowledging its resilience and intrinsic nature. (This is an automatically generated summary.)  nOriginal publication data not identified  aScience fiction  aShort stories1 aMartinez 0aProduced from Astounding Science Fiction March 1959.40uhttps://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/23931  c64953d64953