Det finns en specifik novell från en antologi typ sak som jag letar efter från 50-talet till 80-talet (förlåt att det är så stort).
"Dörrsteg" av Keith Laumer , först publicerad i Galaxy Magazine , februari 1961 , tillgängligt på Internetarkivet . Du kanske har läst den i en Laumer-samling, som Nine by Laumer eller The Best of Keith Laumer , eller i antologin < a href="http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/pl.cgi?276716"> Unga utomjordingar aka Extraterrestrials aka Asimovs yttre gränser . Är någon av dessa omslag bekant?
Berättelsen är att det fanns en massa människor som hittade en låda
The general dropped the phone back on its cradle and absently peeled the cellophane from a cigar. He had moved fast, he reflected, after the State Police notified him at nine forty-one last night. He had his men on the spot, the area evacuated of civilians, and a preliminary report on its way to Washington by midnight. At two thirty-six, they had discovered the four-inch cube lying on the ground fifteen feet from the huge object—missile, capsule, bomb—whatever it was.
med något främmande boende inom.
"What the devil's that racket?"
"That's the sound we were getting from inside before, General. There's something in there, alive--"
Det var ett kodat meddelande som ingen kunde räkna ut.
"We'll review that matter at a later date. What I'm calling about is more important right now. The code men have made some headway on that box of yours. It's putting out a sort of transmission."
"What kind, sir?"
"Half the message—it's only twenty seconds long, repeated—is in English. It's a fragment of a recording from a daytime radio program; one of the network men here identified it. The rest is gibberish. They're still working on it."
"What--"
"Bryant tells me he thinks there may be some sort of correspondence between the two parts of the message. I wouldn't know, myself. In my opinion, it's a threat of some sort."
Folk talar om farorna med vad den utomjordiska livsformen skulle kunna ge och vad de skulle göra med det. Så småningom bestämmer de sig för att döda utlänningen.
He looked at Major Greer. "I'm neutralizing this thing once and for all. There'll be no more men killed."
Lieberman stood up. "General, I must protest any attack against this—"
Straut whirled. "I'm handling this, Professor. I don't know who let you in here or why—but I'll make the decisions. I'm stopping this man-killer before it comes out of its nest, maybe gets into that village beyond the woods. There are four thousand civilians there. It's my job to protect them."
Skjut det och det suger sig genom lådan.
The mortar fired with a muffled thud. Straut watched tensely. Five seconds later, the object erupted in a gout of pale pink debris. The lid rocked, pinkish fluid running down its opalescent surface. A second burst, a third. A great fragment of the menacing claw hung from the branch of a tree a hundred feet from the ship.
Någon som hade arbetat med koden och hade lämnat kom tillbaka. Utan att märka att utlänningen var död, förkunnar han att han knäckte koden.
The telephone rang. Straut picked it up.
"General Straut," he said. His voice was firm. He had put an end to the threat.
"Straut, we've broken the message," General Margrave said excitedly. "It's the damnedest thing I ever . . ."
Straut wanted to interrupt, announce his victory, but Margrave was droning on.
". . . strange sort of reasoning, but there was a certain analogy. In any event, I'm assured the translation is accurate. Here's how it reads in English . . ."
Han ropar att det sa något som "Var vänlig och ta hand om min dotter för mig."
Straut listened. Then he carefully placed the receiver back on the hook.
Lieberman stared at him.
"What did it say?"
Straut cleared his throat. He turned and looked at Lieberman for a long moment before answering.
"It said, 'Please take good care of my little girl.'"