A Martian Odyssey
by Stanley G. Weinbaum
A crew of four lands on Mars, and Dick Jarvis, who sets out on his own, meets Twiel, a compassionate creature who shows him the ways of the planet. A strange creature building a pyramid forged the tentacles of the "dream monster" and people's record cars. Check for yourself why the Martian Odyssey ranks 2nd in the best science fiction stories of all time, just behind Asimov's Night. This short story bombarded Stanley Weinbaum's career because he wrote a story that no one had ever written before: it was not about a mindless barbarian, but about a smart and intelligent alien. He also added that despite the intelligence of the being, he lacks human logic or logic. It was followed four months later by the sequel, Dream Valley.
