Laboratory

Two human explorers crash-land on what they think is a deserted planet, only to discover it houses a supercolossal scientific laboratory run by two very stressed alien scientists. Pud, the senior researcher, and his jittery assistant Gop have spent centuries building their secret facility in peace. Now they must scramble to stay hidden while Johnny and Helen Gorman poke around their forbidden complex. The comedy emerges from the aliens' increasingly desperate attempts at concealment, the cultural misunderstandings, and the question of whether humans can ever truly comprehend alien minds. Bixby, who would later co-write "The Thing," brings sharp dialogue and genuine tension beneath the humor. For fans of light 1950s SF that treats first contact as both terrifying and absurd.