micromegas. Voltaire, 1752. Short story.

“But there was, unfortunately, a little animalcule in a square hat who interrupted all the other philosopher animalcules. He said that he knew the secret: that everything would be found in the Summa of St. Thomas. He looked at the two celestial inhabitants and argued that his people , their worlds, their suns, their stars, had been made exclusively for mankind. In this speech our two travelers nearly collapsed with that unquenchable laughter which, according to Homer, is shared with the gods. Their shoulders and stomachs heaved. and they went down, and in these convulsions the vessel that the Sirian had on his fingernail fell into one of the Saturnino’s pants pockets”.

Micromegas background

this is the first. It is the first short story about aliens, the first short story to question the position of humans in the universe in relation to aliens, and the first to suggest that aliens could be our equals, even our superiors. It is also, at 260 years old, one of the earliest science fiction texts in existence.

This is Aliens-come-to-earth, Sci-Fi Patient Zero right here, and he certainly didn’t keep his ideas to himself.

Since it’s one of the foundational works of science fiction, you can see quite a few quintessential elements throughout it: aliens think a bit differently than we do (anthropomorphism is a bit rampant though), Voltaire uses aliens to do a point about human civilization, and raises questions about why we matter, philosophy in general, and what else is out there.

Also, it’s Voltaire. He unashamedly talks about war, religion, romance, and arrogance, and has quite a bit of fun doing it.

Micromegas premise

The story begins with the introduction of Micromegas, a 120,000 foot tall alien from an unnamed planet around the star Sirius, and much shorter (6,000 feet tall) and less sensory advanced (having 72 senses, unlike the almost 1,000 senses of Micromegas) Saturnino . They come to Earth and, due to their rather unimaginable size compared to our typical height, they initially believe the planet to be uninhabited.

Soon, however, they see a whale and believe it to be the best, if not the only, form of life on Earth. But then they come across a ship of explorers in the Baltic Sea and spend some time discussing philosophical and scientific differences with humans.

Voltaire being Voltaire, he focuses primarily on the stupidity of war. It starts off by astonishing aliens with our practical science, which wasn’t bad at all in the 18th century, but then moves on to our penchant for fighting and dozens of conflicting philosophies about meaningful existence. This contrast confuses the aliens a bit: they know we’re smart, but they can’t figure out why we’re also so stupid, and then they leave, presumably to continue exploring the universe.

The story is short (half an hour tops), to the point, and features plenty of commentary on established authorities. It also uses some conventions that writers today can’t, like unabashed anthropomorphism, unexplained alien powers, and humans rationally accepting the existence of aliens and discussing politics with them while stuck in a nail at least 60,000 feet above the ground, but is the first alien, anything fictional: we have to give a little margin.

Who should read this story?

All the world. Really. Micromegas is not only groundbreaking alien fiction and a brief look at the 18th century and Voltaire’s philosophy, it’s free. More specifically, I guess, I’d recommend this short story to anyone interested in the intersection of aliens and philosophy, as well as anyone looking for Voltairean political sarcasm.

Final verdict on Micromegas

While Micromegas probably isn’t the kind of tale you’d want to curl up with and reread on a rainy afternoon, it’s definitely worth your time. I really like the implications that Voltaire raises, as well as the opportunity to examine them without a war-torn or potentially explosive backdrop. There are also quite a few good one-liners about whales, hats, and conceit.

The story is free (and in English) courtesy of ReadBookOnline.com. Also, LibraVox has a free recording along with some other sci-fi short stories.