Thoughtful Meat

Hmmm…

There’s probably not a lot of time to read full-length books these days, or at least that’s what it feels like. So if you’re crunched for time, a solid short story might be a good thing to chew on mentally.

Recently, I re-read one of my favorites, by Terry Bisson. It’s called “They’re Made out of Meat” (1993) and it’s absolutely brilliant, provocative, and entertaining. It made me laugh and it made me think.

Here it is.

They’re Made out of Meat

by Terry Bisson, 1993

“They’re made out of meat.”

“Meat?”

“Meat. They’re made out of meat.”

“Meat?”

“There’s no doubt about it. We picked up several from different parts of the planet, took them aboard our recon vessels, and probed them all the way through. They’re completely meat.”

“That’s impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars?”

“They use the radio waves to talk, but the signals don’t come from them. The signals come from machines.”

“So who made the machines? That’s who we want to contact.”

“They made the machines. That’s what I’m trying to tell you. Meat made the machines.”