AUDIOBOOKS · STORY NOTES

Omnilingual — LibriVox Audiobook

An audiobook edition of Omnilingual. "Omnilingual" is a science fiction short story by American writer H. Beam Piper. Originally published in the February 1957 issue of Astounding Science Fiction, it focuses on the problem of archaeology on an alien culture.

Description adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Omnilingual · CC BY-SA 4.0. Text adapted for this entry.

FULL SPOILERS AHEAD

The story, including the ending.

These write-ups discuss major events and outcomes for this listed work. Each source and its coverage are identified below.

Underlying book story — recording-specific coverage unverified

Coverage is limited to the scope described in this write-up. Recording changes, further installments or an unwritten ending may remain outside it.

This synopsis covers the underlying book linked to this recording: Omnilingual. Recording-specific abridgements, added material or adaptation changes have not been verified.

An expedition from Earth to Mars discovers a deserted city, the remains of an advanced civilization that died out 50,000 years before. The human scientists recover books and documents left behind, and are puzzled by their contents. Earnest young archeologist Martha Dane deciphers a few words, but the real breakthrough comes when the team explores what appears to have been a university in which the last few civilized Martians made their last stand. Inside, they find a "Rosetta Stone": the periodic table of the elements. The story builds tension from the skepticism of the rest of the team, mostly male, as well as from Dr. Dane's competitive, spotlight-seeking teammate, Tony Lattimer.
Sources and content license

Source and revision history ↗ · Underlying book identified by the catalog’s explicit book_slug relation. Exact source annotation 979. Adapted from Wikipedia contributors, Omnilingual. Section headings and formatting adjusted. · Content license