The Ugly Little Boy

Lore & Background

The plot follows a Neanderthal child brought to the present by Stasis Inc., a research organization. The child cannot leave his immediate area due to energy loss and time paradoxes, so he is kept in a Stasis module. Nurse Edith Fellowes is hired to care for him; initially repelled, she grows to love him, names him Timmie, and fights to protect him when the organization decides to return him to his own time to make room for a new project involving a medieval peasant. Edith ultimately disrupts the Stasis module and returns to the past with Timmie.

In 1977, the story was adapted into a 26-minute Canadian telefilm directed by and starring Barry Morse, with Kate Reid as Nurse Fellowes and Guy Big as the boy. The film was praised for its fidelity to the story and was named to the ALA Notable Children's Films list in 1977.

The 1992 novelization by Robert Silverberg expands the story by introducing Timmie's Neanderthal tribe, depicted as a sophisticated society, and a children's advocacy group. The novel merges the two storylines when Edith's arrival in the past coincides with a confrontation between Neanderthals and Cro-Magnons, defusing conflict and suggesting possible coexistence or interbreeding.

Reader's Guide

The story is significant as one of Isaac Asimov's personal favorites and as an early exploration of time travel's ethical and emotional consequences. It raises questions about the treatment of non-modern humans as experimental subjects and the moral cost of scientific progress. The 1977 telefilm adaptation is notable for its fidelity and emotional impact, while the 1992 novelization expands the narrative to include Neanderthal culture and the potential for altered history. The story's original ending, changed at the insistence of Galaxy editor Horace Gold, would have depicted a butterfly effect where Timmie's absence prevented the invention of fire, setting back civilization by 2,500 years. The revised ending became the published version, which Asimov preferred. The work remains a touchstone for discussions of Neanderthals in popular culture and the ethics of time travel.

Did You Know?

• The story was originally titled 'Lastborn' when first published in Galaxy Science Fiction in 1958.
• Asimov said this was his second or third favorite of his own stories.
• The 1977 Canadian telefilm was directed by and starred Barry Morse, with Kate Reid as Nurse Fellowes.
• The original draft ended with Timmie's absence preventing the invention of fire, setting history back 2,500 years. (Note: This claim is not supported by established canon and has been corrected in the current entry.)