Uncommon Sense

"Uncommon Sense" is a 1945 science fiction short story by Hal Clement. In 1996, it was retrospectively awarded the 1946 Hugo Award for Best Short Story.

Publication history

"Uncommon Sense" was first published in the September 1945 edition of Astounding Science Fiction and included in Clement's 1969 collection Small Changes. Subsequently, it was published in Nebula Awards Showcase 2000. The story was the first of Hal Clement's "Laird Cunningham" series, followed by "The Logical Life" in 1974, "Stuck With It" in 1976 and "Status Symbol" in 1987. In February 2000, all four stories were re-published in The Essential Hal Clement, Volume 2: Music of Many Spheres.

Plot

Laird Cunningham is a rich man who enjoys travelling to distant worlds in search of bizarre life forms. On the trip told in this story, Cunningham overhears the plotting of his two assistants to loot the ship. To avoid this, he forces a crash landing on an unnamed planet, sabotages the ship and escapes, leaving his assistants in the ship.