"Rescue Party" is a science fiction short story by English writer Arthur C. Clarke, first published in Astounding Science Fiction in May 1946. It was the first story that he sold, though not the first one published. It was republished in Clarke's second collection, Reach for Tomorrow (1956), and also appears in The Collected Stories of Arthur C. Clarke (2001).
Plot summary
Aliens, aware that the Sun will explode very soon, arrive to save as many humans and as much of their culture as possible. Normally the galactic civilizations conduct surveys of planets every million years for new species, but the human race did not exist the last time the Earth was checked – nearly four hundred thousand years before. However, radio signals had been detected at a planet 200 light years away, indicating intelligent life had arisen.
To the aliens' surprise, the planet seems to be empty of intelligent life, except for the remnants of a civilization. While the aliens explore the old cities, it is revealed that it is typical for species to take thousands of years to go from radio transmission to space travel.
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