Thursday, August 6, 2026

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The Story that Inspired The Day the Earth Stood Still is Scary! Farewell to the Master - Harry Bates

Liminal Spaces
47.4K subscribers
1,344 views Jul 11, 2025
For the second week of rocket summer I present Farewell to the Master by Harry Bates, a story I thought would be dated, but it turns out is modern and very scary!
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Harry Bates

American novelist

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Liminal Spaces

47.4K subscribers
I’d say that the twist is possibly MORE relevant in these days of AI replacement fear.
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that's pretty good movie to rewatch in the summer. This story has incredible foresight
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Did not know this, thank you. On the list now. Also one of my favorite SciFi movies.
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Another for the TBR!
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i had forgotten about this story, but i remember it from marvel worlds unknown comic from when i was a kid that you mentioned. that was my fav comic book series of all time (including the later more adult unknown worlds of scifi). 🎉
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I will definitely check this book out! Thanks for putting it on my radar.
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I have that volume "They Came from Outer Space" and I believe it was through that collection I read the original story by Harry Bates! And in the last year or two, maybe three, I also read the Marvel Comics adaptation that somebody posted online. Yep, it's the implication of Gnut's final four word sentence, "I am the master," that makes the story so chilling.
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Congrats on 20k!
I just so happened to stumble upon this forgotten jewel in 2017, when I first became an over the road truck driver and dove into the world of audio books. It really is an amazing sci-fi adventure. And yes, it does teeter on the scary/suspense genera. My hope is to one day use my Film & CGI/3D Animation Degree to make an animated adaptation. Thank you for exposing the rest of the viewing world to this hidden gem.
Sounds like a great story to seek out.
The idea that different decades are scared of different things is intriguing. Watching films and reading books from different decades is a cool way to experience what people feared and why. Great video, Chris!
I love the original film version, and god knows how many times I have seen it over the years. The Keanu Reeves remake only the once, and once was enough. I didn't know it was based on a short story, I don't think I've ever heard of Harry Bates before.
Movies do sell books. TV series as well. I'm sure 'The Expanse' and 'Foundation' have initiated increased sales of their source material. I've seen the original 'The Day the Earth Stood Still' movie a number of times. Didn't know it came from a story! Will check my anthologies to see if I have this story. Great review!
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The end of "Farwell to the Master" confirms the chilling truth about Klatau's society that is only hinted at in the film, showing how alike we and the alien's civilisations are. Classic story, always think it's a shame so few people have read it.
In one Documentary about the movie it was mentioned that the screenplay was written by a serious Christian writer who tried to inject some small religious references whenever he could. He named the spaceman CARPENTER for example and in the story the robot could bring someone back from the dead but of course in the movie they had that ponderous explanation how it was just temporary and Life and Death were controlled by the "Almighty Spirit"
The early harry Bates storeis that I've read are indeed quite bad. However, it seems like once he was able to put aside being an editor, his writing to a sharp increase in quality. Sadly yes there wasn't much after tghe mid 30s. "Alas, All Thinking" was in Astoundig in 35 I believe and it is an incredible story. SO was "Death of a Sensitive", maybe the last thing he wrote, and that was a really powerful story. This one is great too, of course. Awesome talk. Now I have to comment on vance!
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2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKVUteAXqH4

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