Export Commodity

"Export Commodity" by Irving E. Cox, Jr. is an adventure into space where a soldier named Henig travels to a faraway world thinking he's better than the people who live there, only to find out he's completely wrong. Henig is assigned the task of taking soil samples from an alien world, but his mission takes an unexpected turn when he sees profound displays of love and sacrifice from the native population, beings that his society wrote off as simple-minded. Through dangerous events and the recognition of deep emotional ties, Henig realizes these aliens possess something his own logical civilization lacks. Because of the aliens, Henig makes a difficult moral choice that goes against his original orders to protect their unique way of life, proving feelings are more powerful than any technology.