Micromegas

A colossal inhabitant of a planet circling Sirius, some eight leagues tall, is exiled from his world and sets off to explore the universe. On Saturn he picks up a comparatively tiny companion, and together the two giants eventually reach Earth, where they are astonished to find intelligent life in creatures as small as human beings. Voltaire uses their outsider’s eye to poke at human vanity, at philosophers who squabble over questions they cannot answer, and at our habit of imagining ourselves the center of creation. Barely a few dozen pages long, it counts among the earliest works of science fiction and shows Enlightenment wit at full strength. This free PDF and EPUB edition offers a short, sharp classic of philosophical storytelling.