Herbert George Wells

Howard Phillips Lovecraft

Isaac Asimov

a cura di M. Barbero e C. Gelli
 
 Five stories written by some of the most famous science-fiction authors: H.G. Wells - the English father of this genre - with a story of a crystal egg which enables the owner of a curiosity shop to see the Martians; H.P. Lovecraft with the Cthulhu literary mythology; A. Porges who writes a story in which humanity is freed from space invaders by man's traditional enemy: the devil; A.C. Clarke with Sentinel of Eternity, from which S. Kubrick's film "2001: A Space Odyssey" drew inspiration; I. Asimov with a tale in which a space war is won by means of a not very orthodox strategy…
 A presentation on the history and themes of science-fiction introduces the book; stimulating inserts enrich each story. 
 
 Teacher's Resources available online: Answer Key - Audioscripts - Summing-up Activities.
 
 Cinque racconti di alcuni dei più famosi autori di fantascienza: il capostipite H. G. Wells con un racconto su un uovo di cristallo da cui si vedono i marziani; H. P. Lovecraft con la mitologia letteraria Cthulhu; A. E. Van Vogt si inserisce nel filone dell'alieno mostruoso e ostile; A. Porges racconta dell'umanità che viene liberata dagli invasori grazie al diavolo; A. C. Clarke con The Sentinel, da cui fu tratto il film di S. Kubrick "2001: Odissea nello spazio"; I. Asimov con una guerra stellare vinta con una strategia non proprio ortodossa…

Introduction:

What is Science Fiction?

History of Science Fiction?

Main Themes and Characters

Popularity of Sci-Fi in Films or TV Series

H.G. Wells

Story 1 – The Crystal Egg

Extension: Is there life on Mars?

H.P. Lovecraft

Story 2 – The Call of Cthulhu

Extension: Excuse me, Cthulhu who?

A. Porges

Story 3 – The Liberator

Extension: A deal with the Devil

A.C. Clarke

Story 4 – Sentinel of Eternity

Extension: 2001: A Space Odyssey

I. Asimov

Story 5 – The Machine That Won the War

Extension: Technology at risk or the risks of technology?

Summing-up activities

Glossary

AFTER READING   The Liberator 3 Story Writing 11 As President of the World Council, in your exercise book write an open letter to all the inhabitants of the Earth informing them of the invasion and of its consequences. Dear men, women and children all over the world, the day has at last come when  Listening 12 Imagine General Milvan captures Satan and takes him to his planet for interrogation. Listen and fill in the blanks with the missing words. Milvan: So, what s your name .......................? Satan: I ....................... to be called Satan. Milvan: You ....................... prefer anything. I .......................... what to call you. So, what planet are you from? Satan: I come from wherever I like. Milvan: Aaarghh! Answer my ....................... or I ll torture you! Satan: I have answered your question. I can decide where to come from. In this period I m from ........................ Nice place to be, quite warm and with a lot of ....................... to work on... Milvan: How old are you? .......................! Satan: I m as old as souls are. I ....................... long before you were, General. Milvan: What insolence! What do you do for a .......................? Satan: Are you sure you want to know? Milvan: I m not joking. I will ............................. your ............................. if you don t answer me! Satan: Uuhhmm... Why not, I m missing my daily pedicure  Anyway, if you really insist... I ....................... people, I tempt them, I ....................... them to make wrong choices, I deceive men, I ............................... at their mistakes, I terrify ..............................., I live on the sins of people, I give ............................. to ignorant ............................., I... Milvan: Ok, ok, that s ....................... . Where do you live? Satan: Well, it depends. I tend to prefer warm places, so sometimes I am on tropical ......................., other times I visit saunas, now and then I have a pleasant stay in some furnaces, but my ......................., if that s what you want to know, and my most favourite place indeed is ........................... , Hell. Nice, warm, ........................... and a lot of people to make fun of... ehm, sorry, to have fun with. You should ....................... , you d like it. Milvan: You,YOU,YOUUUU!!! Take him back to the ....................... , I don t want to ....................... or hear him any longer. Enough! 64 

E X T E N S I O N A DEAL WITH THE DEVIL In this story only the reader can decide whether the future of humanity will be better thanks to the Devil or not. What is sure is that man didn t ask the  liberator  for help. He alone decided to intervene and protect his  investments , and that is what he has done ever since man s creation, according to The Devil s Dictionary by Ambrose Pierce: «SATAN, n. One of the Creator s terrible mistakes. [...] As an archangel, Satan behaved unpleasantly and was finally expelled from Heaven. Before leaving he said,  There is a favour I would like to ask.   Say it.   I understand Man is about to be created. He will need laws.   What! You, his eternal enemy, full of hatred for his soul   you ask for the right to make his laws?   Pardon. What I ask is simply to let him make his own laws.  It was so ordered.  But that s not always the case. According to tradition, it is humans who ask Satan for help and offer him their soul in exchange for diabolical favours, usually youth, knowledge, wealth1, love or power; in doing so, they are making a deal2 with the Devil and condemning themselves to eternal damnation. This pact can be oral or written. An oral pact consists in invocations or rituals to attract the Devil; when the person believes he is present, he asks for his favour and offers his soul in exchange. Although in this case there is no visible evidence of the deal, according to tradition even an oral pact leaves a  diabolical mark , a permanent sign where the person has been touched by the Devil to seal3 the pact. Whereas a written pact consists of the signature of the act with the person s blood. Christianity, however, is not the only way to look at the Devil. Satanism offers a completely different point of view. While with Christianity Satan and his demons are evil spirits whose aim is to 1. wealth: riches, prosperity. 2. making a deal: making an agreement, a contract. 3. seal: make an agreement more formal or definite. 65 

Narrativa inglese, livello B1 pre-intermedio. Cinque racconti di alcuni dei più famosi autori di fantascienza.

Tales from Outer Space - Collana RAINBOWS

Level B1 • Pre-Intermediate - Collana RAINBOWS

Tales from Outer Space

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