The Year's Best Science Fiction 9

... or they may not even watch. Could be, the star charts show Sol III as “unmapped; uninhabited; nonarable; overrun with poison ego. Infectious entropy-accelerator.”

Or we might be succulent pickings for any number of star-market buyers. Does the peach tree know about canning and slicing? Do you have yourself announced by an aphid butler if you spend an hour watching an anthill?

On the other hand, will you really worry about whether the ants know that you are watching? Or what interpretation they may put on it, if they do?

In what he himself calls “a satire of hasty conclusions,” André Maurois here sets forth a first lesson in alien-watching. If there is come small confusion in identifying the true alien, bear in mind that it is a parable, not a primer. As for who watches the watchers—it it an old question, and adds a certain spice to the game.