The Great Silence (story)
”The Great Silence” is a science fiction short story by American writer Ted Chiang that originated as the onscreen text for a video installation of the same name created in collaboration with Allora & Calzadilla.[1] It was initially published as a story in e-flux Journal in May 2015. The story also appeared in the 2016 anthology The Best American Short Stories and in the 2019 collection Exhalation: Stories.[1][3][4]
| "The Great Silence" | |
|---|---|
| Short story by Ted Chiang | |
 | |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction |
| Publication | |
| Published in | e-flux Journal[2] |
| Publication type | Magazine |
| Publication date | May 2015 |
Plot summary
The structure of this short story is a fable told from the point of view of a Puerto Rican parrot, a critically endangered species endemic to Puerto Rico. It describes the country's Arecibo radio telescope and how, in 1974, the telescope was used to broadcast a radio message from humanity into deep space to demonstrate humanity's intelligence.
The parrot likens this message to the contact call of some social animals, attempting to similarly get the attention of an extraterrestrial intelligence, while noting parrots' intelligence has largely been overlooked. It describes Alex, a grey parrot famous among humans for its ability to communicate, as an exception.
The fable culminates in describing the parrots' imminent extinction, and what they would like to communicate to humanity first.
See also
- Fermi Paradox, a seemingly paradoxical absence of evidence for extraterrestrial intelligence.
- Irene Pepperberg, the animal cognition scientist whose work with the parrot, Alex, is reference in the story.
References
- Fowler, Karen Joy (12 October 2016). "The Great Silence by Ted Chiang". Electric Literature. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- "The Great Silence". e-flux.com. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- "TANK SELECTS: The Great Silence". Tank Magazine. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
- Oates, Joyce Carol (May 6, 2019). "Science Fiction Doesn't Have to Be Dystopian". The New Yorker. Retrieved 30 April 2021.
External links
- The Great Silence title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
- The Great Silence video installation by Allora & Calzadilla in collaboration with Ted Chiang
- The Great Silence in Nautilus, August 15, 2019.
- Klein, Ezra (2021-03-30). "Transcript: Ezra Klein Interviews Ted Chiang". New York Times. Archived from the original on 2023-03-19. Retrieved 2023-04-15.