Hot Night, Alien in Tree: A Short Story

By Robert Silverberg

An unsuspecting newlywed finds himself the subject of alien scientific study in this humorous tale from the Hugo and Nebula Award–winning author.
 
After an evening out to dinner, one sultry midsummer eve, Charlie finds himself in the right place at the wrong time: lying underneath an oak tree after making love with his new wife. But while Maria drifts off into dreamland, Charlie finds himself being watched by a one-eyed alien in the branches above.
 
No leering voyeur is this alien; it’s here on research purposes only and has been lucky to observe human copulation. Now it has a favor to ask of Charlie: a personal demonstration. To make the situation more palatable, it transforms into one of Charlie’s beautiful ex-girlfriends. To keep the alien’s eye from wandering to his sleeping wife, Charlie will have to make the ultimate sacrifice . . . 
 

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Media
• Release date: Aug 22, 2023
• ISBN: 9781504086462

Robert Silverberg

Robert Silverberg has written more than 160 science fiction novels and nonfiction books. In his spare time he has edited over 60 anthologies. He began submitting stories to science fiction magazines when he was just 13. His first published story, entitled "Gorgon Planet," appeared in 1954 when he was a sophomore at Columbia University. In 1956 he won his first Hugo Award, for Most Promising New Author, and he hasn't stopped writing since. Among his standouts: the bestselling Lord Valentine trilogy, set on the planet of Majipoor, and the timeless classics Dying Inside and A Time of Changes. Silverberg has won the prestigious Nebula Award an astonishing five times, and Hugo Awards on four separate occasions; he has been nominated for both awards more times that any other writer. In 2004, the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America gave him their Grand Master award for career achievement, making him the only SF writer to win a major award in each of six consecutive decades.

Book preview

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Hot Night, Alien in Tree

A Short Story

Robert Silverberg

Hot Night, Alien in Tree

A midsummer evening, humid, sweltering. We drove out to Armand’s in Garden Grove for a late dinner in the country, our favorite restaurant, our special table outdoors under the moonlit elms next to the gentle creek, and Armand, to celebrate the fact that Maria and I had gotten married at last a few weeks ago after three years of living together, filled us full of champagne cocktails, chardonnay, a couple of snifters of fine cognac afterward. Then at midnight I drove us woozily home through the steambath night.

I’m not bad