A full-length version of the short story, "Farewell to the Master" by Harry Bates, upon which the world-famous film was based.

Out of the sky it comes--silent and mysterious and menacing. For more than two days people of the Earth watch as it crisscrosses the globe. All over the world there are the same reactions: mystification . . . and fear.

Then it lands. In an open park near the heart of Washington, D.C., it sits for a day and a night. After many hours, a panel in the ship opens. From it come two figures: a man and a robot. For a long moment they stand facing the silent crowd. Then the man speaks: "I am Klaatu and this is Gnut." He raises his right arm, palm outward, in the universal symbol of peace. The gesture is rewarded with a burst of gunfire. Mortally wounded, the alien falls to the ground.

Thus begins a great story about invaders from outer space--a story that inspired a popular movie classic.