Este é o O osso de Gordon R Dickson, publicado pela primeira vez em If: Worlds of Science Fiction , outubro de 1966.
Aqui está o navio pirâmide alienígena:
The world was one which, from orbit, seemed to be the best of all the planets which he had discovered were suitable for human settlement; and he was about to go down to its surface personally in the control-suit, when his instruments picked out something already down there.
It was a squat, metallic pyramid about the size of a four-plex apartment building; and it was radiating on a number of interesting frequencies. Around its base there was mechanical movement and an area of cleared ground. Further out, in the native forest, were treaded vehicles taking samples of the soil, rock, and vegetation.
E aqui está a mensagem:
The lightning vanished. A yellow lightness filled the air about Harry and the dismembered suit. There was a strange quivering to the yellowness; and Harry half-smelled, half-tasted the sudden, flat bite of ozone. In the headpiece a button clicked without being touched; and the suit speaker, still radio-connected with the recording tank in orbit, spoke aloud in Harry’s voice.
“Orbit …” it said. “… into … going…”
These were, in reverse order, the last three words Harry had recorded before sighting the pyramid. Now, swiftly gaining speed, the speaker began to recite backward, word for word, everything Harry had said into it in nine weeks. Faster it went, and faster until it mounted to a chatter, a gabble, and finally a whine pushing against the upper limits of Harry’s auditory register.
Suddenly, it stopped.
The little clearing about Harry was full of silence. Only the odd and distant creaking of something that might have been a rubbing branch or an alien insect came to Harry’s ears. Then the speaker spoke once more.
“Animal …” it said flatly in Harry’s calm, recorded voice and went on to pick further words from the recordings. “… best. You … were an animal … wrapped in … made clothing. I have stripped you back to … animal again. Live, beast …”
Quase tudo o mais na sua descrição corresponde também. Depois de ser despojado de sua tecnologia, o personagem principal sofre o que hoje seria chamado de ruptura psicótica. Eventualmente, ele é capaz de começar a se juntar o suficiente para derrotar o alienígena.