The Ugly Little Boy, also known as Lastborn, is a science-fiction short story by Isaac Asimov.
It was first published in the September 1958 issue of Galaxy Science Fiction as "Lastborn". It was later collected in 1959's Nine Tomorrows, 1985's The Edge of Tomorrow, 1986's The Best Science Fiction of Isaac Asimov and Robot Dreams, 1989's The Asimov Chronicles, and 1990's The Complete Stories Volume I.
Asimov mentions it as one of his favorites in I, Asimov: A memoir and It's a Good Life.
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This article, The Ugly Little Boy, contains spoilers. Be forewarned, plot and/or ending details follow.
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Summary[]
A research organization called Stasis, Inc. brings a Neanderthal child from the past to the present through time travel. The boy cannot be removed from his immediate location due to the risk of catastrophic energy loss and time paradoxes, so he is confined within a special enclosure called a Stasis module. The organization hires a children's nurse named Edith Fellowes to care for him.
Initially repelled by the boy's appearance, Edith grows to love him, naming him Timmie and recognizing his intelligence. She dedicates herself to giving him the best childhood possible, becoming enraged when newspapers refer to him as an "ape-boy." Her maternal love for Timmie brings her into conflict with her employers, who view him as a scientific specimen.
The organization eventually decides it has extracted all possible knowledge and publicity from Timmie. To proceed with a new project—bringing a medieval peasant to the present—they plan to return Timmie to his exact point in the past. Edith fights this decision, knowing he will not survive in his own time due to his modern acclimatization.
After a failed attempt to smuggle him out, Edith makes a final choice. She disrupts the Stasis module, which sends both her and Timmie back to the ancient past together.
Adaptations[]
A 26-minute Canadian telefilm was produced in 1977. Directed by and starring Barry Morse, it featured Kate Reid as Nurse Fellowes and Guy Big as the boy. The film was noted for its close adherence to the original story and the powerful emotional dynamic between its main characters, earning it a place on the ALA Notable Children's Films list.
Trivia[]
The 1991 novelization (titled Child of Time in the UK) significantly expands the story. It introduces Timmie's sophisticated Neanderthal tribe and a parallel plot involving the arrival of Cro-Magnons, with whom the Neanderthals cannot communicate. When Edith Fellowes travels to the past with Timmie, both groups perceive her as a goddess. Her appearance, with a Neanderthal child at her side, averts a conflict and suggests a potential future of cooperation and interbreeding between the two human species, potentially altering the entire course of human history.
See Also[]
List of short stories by Isaac Asimov
External Links[]
- Full text (pdf - Galaxy Science Fiction September 1958 issue)