Project Gutenberg 2016-02-21 Public domain in the USA. 83 Laumer, Keith 1925 1993 Laumer, John Keith Laumer, Kit A Bad Day for Vermin Produced by Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net "A Bad Day for Vermin" by Keith Laumer is a science fiction short story written in the early 1960s. The narrative unfolds in a small town where an extraterrestrial being makes contact, prompting a heated debate about the definition of life and human rights. Through its engaging plot, the story tackles themes of prejudice and the nature of humanity in the face of the unknown. The tale begins with Judge Carter Gates witnessing the arrival of a friendly alien, only to have that moment shattered when a local man, Cecil Stump, shoots the creature. This act sparks an uproar among the townsfolk, leading to a contentious community meeting where the very concept of personhood is fiercely debated. As emotions run high, the townspeople strive to redefine what constitutes a “person,” ultimately deciding that a "person" is any harmless creature, whereas those who commit violent acts are deemed "vermin." The story culminates in a twist as a new exterminator arrives, leaving readers to ponder the implications of their decisions. Laumer deftly explores the complexities of morality and societal norms, making this short story thought-provoking and timely. (This is an automatically generated summary.) en Science fiction Short stories Extraterrestrial beings -- Fiction Human-alien encounters -- Fiction United States -- Fiction Ethics -- Fiction PS Text Science Fiction Browsing: Literature Browsing: Science-Fiction & Fantasy Browsing: Fiction 38947 38950 2024-09-21T11:45:00.218247 2023-09-22T08:48:56.542426 text/html text/html 35065 2016-02-21T12:32:32 text/html; charset=us-ascii 123263 2016-02-21T12:32:32 text/html; charset=us-ascii application/zip 138489 2024-09-21T11:45:02.025207 application/epub+zip 137402 2024-09-21T11:45:00.597205 application/epub+zip 68011 2024-09-21T11:45:00.386233 application/epub+zip 171330 2024-09-21T11:45:03.322213 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 164377 2024-09-21T11:45:01.823216 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 95050 2022-09-23T10:31:55.007733 application/x-mobipocket-ebook 32512 32417 2024-09-21T11:45:00.114211 2023-09-22T08:48:56.357417 text/plain; charset=us-ascii text/plain 32443 2016-02-21T12:32:32 text/plain; charset=us-ascii 12797 2016-02-21T12:32:32 text/plain; charset=us-ascii application/zip 19893 2024-09-21T11:45:03.446195 application/rdf+xml 28532 2024-09-21T11:45:00.455220 image/jpeg 4664 2024-09-21T11:45:00.418242 image/jpeg 124297 2024-09-21T11:45:00.226227 application/octet-stream application/zip Archives containing the RDF files for *all* our books can be downloaded at https://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Gutenberg:Feeds#The_Complete_Project_Gutenberg_Catalog en.wikipedia