
Task of Kayin
A lone traveler from a dead, sterile world drifts down to Earth, his battered ship hidden among the city’s foliage. He steps onto bustling streets, overwhelmed by the indifferent crowds that rush past, each absorbed in their own tiny worries. The alien feels the sting of isolation even as the planet’s daily grind offers a strange kind of safety. He must quickly figure out how to survive in a place that is both familiar and utterly alien to him.
With limited supplies and a body that needs food, he learns to read the human language from newspaper clippings and the expressions of hurried commuters. A brusque encounter with a streetwise local forces him to improvise polite phrases he barely understands, highlighting his desperate attempt to blend in without raising hostility. As he pieces together the alphabet, customs, and even the rhythm of human thought, the listener is drawn into his quiet quest for shelter, identity, and perhaps a new home.
Language
en
Duration
~35 minutes (34K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Credits
Greg Weeks, Mary Meehan and the Online Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net
Release date
Jan 15, 2021
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1906–1980
A research chemist by training, Joseph Samachson became a prolific science-fiction writer under the pen name William Morrison—and helped create DC Comics’ Martian Manhunter. His work blends scientific imagination, cosmic adventure, and thoughtful human questions.
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by Joseph Samachson