The Chaste Planet by John Updike. Short summary

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The inhabitants of the planet Minerva expressed their feelings through music. When they arrived on Earth, they became satiated with the music available and lost the ability to feel.

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In late 1999, the small planet Minerva was discovered. Its inhabitants were like large cucumbers and moved on six legs. They had no sexual differentiation and multiplied like plants. The aliens did not understand what love or passion was.

Understanding the inner world of the Minervians came through music. It was music that reflected their feelings and emotions and embodied Minervian Paradise.

When the aliens arrived on Earth, they heard music from everywhere. Such accessibility shocked the Minervians at first, then they experienced elation. Then the aliens became accustomed to the music, bored with it. The Minervians lost their keen senses and their ability to hear.