"Smith . . . is . . . not . . . a . . . man."
"Huh? Explain yourself, Captain."
"Smith is an intelligent creature with the ancestry of a man, but he is more Martian than man. Until we came along he had never laid eyes on a man. He thinks like a Martian, feels like a Martian. He's been brought up by a race which has nothing in common with us-they don't even have sex. He's a man by ancestry, a Marian by environment. If you want to drive him crazy and waste that 'treasure trove,' call in your fatheaded professors. Don't give him a chance to get used to this madhouse planet..."
...
"One thing won't wait," said the Minister for Public Information...
"If we don't show the Man from Mars in the stereo tanks pretty shortly, you'll have riots, Mr. Secretary"
Page seven
So this is what made me really want to read this book. My friend, Jenna, told me a little bit about this book while we were talking about the philosophical elements of Science Fiction. The concept of a human that has never experienced Earth opens up so many possibilities and questions that are hard to fathom so early in the book.
The fact that society is so interested in Smith, the Man from Mars, becomes a major conflict for the first part of the book. Many news reporters and journalist try to circumvent the hospital's security to get a look at the martian. Gillian Boardman, a nurse at this hospital breaks the rule plainly pasted on the door, "No Female Visitors" in order to get a personal glimpse at the mysterious finding.
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