Everest by Isaac Asimov Episode #156

Isaac Asimov | December 15, 2023

Everest by Isaac Asimov Episode #156
Isaac Asimov

EVEREST

Episode #156 · Written by Isaac Asimov · Narrated by Scott Miller

A daring plan sends a man to the summit of Everest by air instead of rope. What he discovers waiting at the top isn’t human—and it isn’t from Earth.

It begins with a few fuzzy photographs—dark shapes darting across the snow near the summit of Mount Everest. Explorers call them mirages, Sherpas whisper of mountain spirits, and the Planetary Survey wants answers. When a scientist proposes to drop a man onto the summit by airplane, it sounds absurd… until James Abram Robbons volunteers. Two weeks later, alone amid hurricane winds and air too thin to breathe, he becomes the first true visitor to the roof of the world.

When rescuers finally haul him back, Robbons is alive but shaken, refusing reporters and officials alike. Only his supervisor hears the confession: intelligent beings already inhabit Everest. They live where no human can, watching us through telepathy, quietly observing a species about to reach the stars—and worrying about what we’ll do when we get there. They are not Earthborn. They are Martians.

“Everest,” first printed in Universe Science Fiction (December 1953), shows Asimov in rare atmospheric form—mixing scientific reasoning with eerie restraint. He transforms a feat of exploration into a revelation about surveillance, adaptation, and humanity’s cosmic neighbors. In under 3,000 words, Asimov shifts from mountaineering realism to planetary awe, leaving readers to wonder how long we’ve been the ones under observation.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Isaac Asimov (1920–1992) reshaped the imagination of the modern world. Born in Russia and raised in Brooklyn, he grew up surrounded by books in his family’s candy store, teaching himself English and devouring the pulp magazines that lined the shelves. By the time he was nineteen, Asimov was selling stories to Astounding Science Fiction—and soon became one of the magazine’s brightest voices.

A scientist by training and storyteller by instinct, Asimov held a Ph.D. in biochemistry from Columbia University and spent years teaching at Boston University before writing became his full-time pursuit. His style was unmistakable: clear, logical, and endlessly curious. He believed that science fiction should make sense, that it should explore not just rocket ships and aliens but the way people think, build, and believe.

His Robot stories gave us the immortal Three Laws of Robotics, while the sweeping Foundation saga redefined the idea of a galactic civilization and inspired generations of readers, scientists, and filmmakers. Yet Asimov’s imagination reached far beyond science fiction—he wrote about chemistry, history, literature, religion, and humor, producing more than 500 books in his lifetime. Few authors have ever matched his range or productivity.

Behind the intellect was a storyteller who loved humanity, flaws and all. He saw science as an adventure, not a threat, and believed that knowledge was the surest path to freedom. Whether writing about distant planets or the fall of empires, Asimov always returned to one idea: that reason and curiosity are humanity’s greatest strengths.

Today, his stories remain cornerstones of the genre, their influence echoing through modern science, technology, and culture. Isaac Asimov didn’t just imagine the future—he helped build the blueprint for it.